Initiation rite
Initiation rites are formalized, ceremonial
rites of passage as an individual moves from stage to stage within a social
career or formally acquires such status.
The term often relates to the transition from
childhood to
adulthood, and may involve secret or private procedures and/or painful and difficult trials before the initiate can become a "real" or "accepted" man or woman who the community is bonded to; and who is bonded to the
community.
Examples include:
*
Hunter-gatherer societies have a reputation for dramatic pre-requisites before an
initiate can become a full adult, marriageable member of
society. Especially for boys, the path to manhood often includes one or more endurance tests, often involving pain, deliberate wounds, even
body modifications such as tattoos, branding or other scarring. This often has a religious/mythical meaning; for example the New-Guinean
Sepik tribe organizes its adolescents (and men who have put it off) to be completely stripped and after a mildly sedating cold river bathing carved by initiated men for hours, all over their body, with hundreds of bleeding cuts (requiring equally painful natural antisceptic; some died from bloodloss or infection) forming a pattern symbolizing the tribal tottem animal, the crocodile; as the wounds are on all sides of the body, they remain naked in agony to heal slowly on dried plant material.
*
Secret societies often require their candidates for membership to undergo such rites, which can be their most secret and important activity, in a closed building or retreated in the wild, often organized from time to time for a whole group, e.g. once a year or less in a small community.
*In modern societies, both harsh and milder, playful forms of
hazing (in many forms, see there) still exists in many walks of organized life, such as schools, athletic and other teams, clubs, military units (e.g. the
joining run in the UK's
Royal Marines)...
* The
first haircut is an initiation rite in certain cultures and religions.
* In
Christianity,
baptism is an initiation rite. Some
Christian churches offer a traditional
sacrament of
confirmation as an initiation rite recognizing full membership status, and as a remembrance of infant
baptism.
* In
Judaism, a
Bar Mitzvah or a
Bat Mitzvah ceremony performs a similar religious coming-of-age function.
* Initiation by an Outer Living
Satguru (Sat - true,
Guru - teacher) is required in the spiritual tradition of
Surat Shabda Yoga.
* Many school and training systems feature a
graduation ceremony as a rite of passage marking the end of (at least a stage of) learning, which is usually festive, not enduring, and public.
The
United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued
patents for devices to be used in initiation rites, including:
* No. 654,611 Initiating Device (issued in
1900)
* No. 920,837 Combined Lifting and Spanking Machine (issued in
1909)
* No. 953,411 Trick Weight-Lifting Machine (issued in
1910)
* No. 6,293,874 User-operated amusement apparatus for kicking the user's buttocks (issued in
2001)
*
Tjurunga*
Encyclopaideia A list of male initiation rites
*
Puellarium A list of female initiation rites
*
Initiating Device *
Baka Pygmies Rituals Culture and Rites of initiation among Baka Pygmies
*
Becoming a Pygmy A young Italian ethnologist went through a Pygmy rite of initiation
*
Ugandan circumcision video Documenting a mass adult circumcision initiation ceremony in Africa
* National Geographic Channel documentary (film material used in several programs)
