What do all of these have in common?

1. What do all of these have in common? Christening / Baby Naming / Circumcision Bar / Bat Mitzvah Confirmation Sweet 16  Graduation Wedding Funeral

2. What is a Rite of Passage? rite= ritual

3. Rites of Passages are... • “Turning points” in a person’s life • Ceremonies that mark a person's progress from one phase to another (from one stage to another, one role/position to another) • Correspond to important events in the lifecycle (i.e. birth, puberty, mating, reproduction, old age, death) • Can be associated with religion, culture, or social change – they usually surround things that a specific culture or group finds meaningful/important

4. Cont’d... • Usually are publicly sanctioned events – they are usually not experienced by only the immediate family • Usually coincide with physiological states (i.e. birth, puberty, adulthood, death, etc.) • Involve the use of special symbols that are meaningful to the ceremony/event

5. Can you think of any other rites of passage that we have in Canadian culture? Other cultures?

6. What are the features of a rite of passage? • They were originally defined by Arnold van Gennep (anthropologist) in 1907. • Gennep argued that rites of passage often include three (3) stages:

7. #1... • Separation – of the initiate from his/her everyday life (you are changed from what you were to something new)

8. #2... • Transition – a period during which the person is no longer in their former stage but is not yet in their future stage of development (you remove yourself from society temporarily)

9. #3... • Incorporation – the time when the person is accepted by his/her self and by community members as having achieved a higher status (you are re-admitted to society as a new person)

10. What are the purposes of a rite of passage? 1) Psychological • reduce anxiety about new social roles and major life changes –legitimizes the individual’s new role in society • R of P occur at times that individuals are often moving from one psychological stage to another. Thus entering the identity vs. role confusion stage

11. 2) Socio-cultural • They increase group solidarity and group identity through a public acknowledgement of the initiate’s changing social status in the community. • Rites of passage preserve social stability by easing the transition of groups or individuals into new status and prestige roles; they are a social acknowledgement of aging. • e.g., A baptism is a public ceremony in which a new baby is initiated into a religious community. It preserves group identity by ensuring that a new generation will be part of the community.

13. How have rites of passage become a part of “mass” society? • In Western culture, Hallmark is a company which is in the “Rites of Passage” business. Here I have a card for an event which may or may not be considered a rite of passage.

14. Are the 3 stages incorporated in this event? • What psychological needs does a wedding fulfill? • What social/cultural needs does a wedding fulfill? • Do you think you would be able to walk into Shoppers and find a card like this? • What are some other couple combinations that would be hard to find at Shoppers? • Do you think that this societal norm is perpetuated ONLY through wedding cards?

15. Personal Rites of Passage Personal Reflection • Describe a rite of passage that you have undergone in your past. • Provide a description of the ceremony/event as it is traditionally celebrated in your culture and any modifications that you/your family made when you underwent this rite of passage. • Include explanations of any special symbols that are included in the ceremony and links to the three (3) stages of a rite of passage.