On rites of passage.......
Jun. 14th, 2004 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1This past weekend, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
filkerdave's first son had his Bar Mitzvah. He did well. Mazel Tov!
I believe the Jewish Bar Mitzvah ceremony is the only formalized initiation into manhood in current Western society. The Catholic Sacrament of Confirmation, which I had in 1979, certainly didn't feel like an initiation into manhood to me. I stood in line, the Bishop anointed me with oil on his thumb, and that was it. (Little-known fact: I took my grandfather's name as my confirmation name; if my grandmother were alive at the time I was born, I certainly would have been named after my grandfather.)
For girls' initiation into womanhood, the Jewish Bat Mitzvah ceremony and the Mexican "Quinceaños" (15th birthday) ceremony are the only two that come to mind.
Now, our American culture has a whole series of events -- some big, some small -- that have collectively become our rites of passage from boyhood to manhood, or girlhood to womanhood. First bra (girls), first menstrual period (girls), first shave (boys), first kiss, turning 16, getting a learner's permit (for driving), the senior prom, graduating high school, turning 18, getting a driver's license, first voting experience, first drink, first time getting drunk, first time getting drunk enough to get sick, first use of tobacco, first sexual experience. Not necessarily in that order; your mileage may vary.
Tribal cultures had -- and still have -- formalized rituals which initiated boys into men. A great example of this was the chapter in Alex Haley's Roots where Kunta Kinte is kidnapped from his mother's hut and taken to the woods, along with the other similarly-aged boys in the tribe, where the men of the tribe were waiting. There may have been physical and emotional tests -- other than a vague memory of hunting, I don't remember any other such tests from the book. But the final ceremony I remember -- ritual circumcision (the line in the book was: "...a part of his foto would be cut off..."). This was a physical reminder to himself, and to others, that he is no longer a boy, but a man. Different tribes had different marking traditions -- some might brand, some might tattoo. I've heard there is one aboriginal tribe in Australia where a tooth is knocked out. Personally, I don't care for any rituals which scar or disfigure.
Would our society be better off if we had such rites for our young men or women today? While a person's physical age may imply that they're grown up, their emotional processes would indicate that the person is not old enough. I've seen and heard too many college stories about people who weren't emotionally mature enough to handle college, or real life, and either self-destructed or destroyed others. And I know there are lots of things I'd love to tell my 20-year-old self, if I could only go back in time to do so. Back then, I lacked the self-confidence and self-discipline that I have now.
filkerdave's first son had his Bar Mitzvah. He did well. Mazel Tov!I believe the Jewish Bar Mitzvah ceremony is the only formalized initiation into manhood in current Western society. The Catholic Sacrament of Confirmation, which I had in 1979, certainly didn't feel like an initiation into manhood to me. I stood in line, the Bishop anointed me with oil on his thumb, and that was it. (Little-known fact: I took my grandfather's name as my confirmation name; if my grandmother were alive at the time I was born, I certainly would have been named after my grandfather.)
For girls' initiation into womanhood, the Jewish Bat Mitzvah ceremony and the Mexican "Quinceaños" (15th birthday) ceremony are the only two that come to mind.
Now, our American culture has a whole series of events -- some big, some small -- that have collectively become our rites of passage from boyhood to manhood, or girlhood to womanhood. First bra (girls), first menstrual period (girls), first shave (boys), first kiss, turning 16, getting a learner's permit (for driving), the senior prom, graduating high school, turning 18, getting a driver's license, first voting experience, first drink, first time getting drunk, first time getting drunk enough to get sick, first use of tobacco, first sexual experience. Not necessarily in that order; your mileage may vary.
Tribal cultures had -- and still have -- formalized rituals which initiated boys into men. A great example of this was the chapter in Alex Haley's Roots where Kunta Kinte is kidnapped from his mother's hut and taken to the woods, along with the other similarly-aged boys in the tribe, where the men of the tribe were waiting. There may have been physical and emotional tests -- other than a vague memory of hunting, I don't remember any other such tests from the book. But the final ceremony I remember -- ritual circumcision (the line in the book was: "...a part of his foto would be cut off..."). This was a physical reminder to himself, and to others, that he is no longer a boy, but a man. Different tribes had different marking traditions -- some might brand, some might tattoo. I've heard there is one aboriginal tribe in Australia where a tooth is knocked out. Personally, I don't care for any rituals which scar or disfigure.
Would our society be better off if we had such rites for our young men or women today? While a person's physical age may imply that they're grown up, their emotional processes would indicate that the person is not old enough. I've seen and heard too many college stories about people who weren't emotionally mature enough to handle college, or real life, and either self-destructed or destroyed others. And I know there are lots of things I'd love to tell my 20-year-old self, if I could only go back in time to do so. Back then, I lacked the self-confidence and self-discipline that I have now.
