Rites of Passage

When an individual experiences move work enduringnesst, or a change from an affixed military posture in society to a nonher position, that individual backside good describe their change as a passage into a new body politic of brisk. A new realm of living is the agency in which the individual and society views, ac fellowships, and proceeds with their life. Their changes ar monu manpowertal not only for the individual, solely for his/her society as fountainhead. Many changes shine place during the span of a some unmatched?s life. They break down rites of passage and rites of existence-which be overmuch than sightly simple changes. A plethora of come with these rites and atomic number 18 raise in all told corners of the globe. Going on mental imagery quests, by the plains Indians of North America, to circumcision by certain Australian cultures, rites of passage lay a vast t competent of religious comparisons (Eliade, p. 287-88).

This essay provide examine 2 rites of first appearance, by comparing and contrasting their immensity to each culture, and discussing how that importance affects that particular individual as well as their society. Finally, the essay will explore possible rationalnesss as to why these initiation rites hold a deep heart in their respective societies.

The Kurnai of Australia be in possession of an initiation rite for the sons of espouse men in their perspective villages. Within a shargon by A. W. Howitt, in Eliades book, From Primitives to Zen: A thematic Sourcebook of the level of Religions , a rite known as the Showing the granddad is described(Eliade, p. 288) In this initiation the Kurnai present a formal way of life of bringing a mans son into the highest, and most secret realm of their religion. By incorporating the use of the father and son relationship, this particular ritual involves the revelation of the central meaning, or mystery of their religion. The men and women are divide. Secrecy is one the most important traditions in this initiation. The initiation is not revealed to the women, or anyone else not of their society. The sons, or novices as Howitt calls them, are taught the proper religious traditions that they need to know for the observance, and for the lodge in of their lives, as this initiation will conclude their step into religious righteousness, and humanity. This all takes place the day before the ceremony, while other men, who arouse already been through the ceremony, prepare by hunting for intellectual nourishment and arranging a site, not too far from the village, where the initiation will take place. The next morning, a new day at hand, the novices are taken to the site at which sentence the ceremony commences. Howitt continues in writing of his recollection of the ritual by inferring that after legion(predicate) ritual transactions (gestures of offering towards their god, etc.) and instrumental songs much(prenominal) as the Tundun, the Kurnai have two bull-roarers, a larger one called Tundun, or Ã"the man, and a depleteder one called Ã"Rukat-Tundun, the woman, or wife of Tundun.. After this the novices are instructed of the importance of the secrecy factor, and the laws by which they piece of ass be punished if they reveal anything to their mothers, sisters, or anyone other than the men of that society. Howitt even points out horror stories that are told to the novices about the penalization of man, a burning world, because he revealed the ceremony to women back in the village after being initiated. He writes that these stories exist in the Kurnai to scare the novices into not telling anyone the ritual. The ceremony even use to have a part where the men took spears, cocked them back oer their shoulders, and pointed them at the Novices. such a hostile act was utilize to instill the feeling they would have if they ever revealed the secrets of the initiation, not to describe a cold rush of intense fear. From there the ritual is ended and the novices play the Tundun.

Unlike the secret nature of the Kurnai ceremony the Shashonis of Central-Western Wyoming offer a more open and artistic ceremony for their initiations. During puberty, the boys, by their own motives, participate in the traditional sunbathe saltation, as pointed out in a sectionalisation by Ake Hultkrantz in Byron Earharts book Religious Traditions of the human race,the boys...participate in the sunbathe Dance, usually on their own initiative. However their motives today are mainly social: to show other youths their strength and fortitude and of course to impress the girls. In a way their pass participation in the Sun Dance takes place of the vision quest as a mark of the attainment of maturity(Earhart, p. 306).

The girls in like manner have rites of initiation. One that is much more involved and detailed, and has many more taboos associated with them. For example, if a girl is in her menstrual cycle, she is considered to have evil spirits around her, and she must be separated from the rest of the tribe so as to not have the spirits cause trouble for others(Earhart, p. 307) The age at which girls aim to menstruate is the first sign that initiation must take place. She abstains from eating meat but may eat grow and drink water. After a few days or maybe a week, the girl appears again, shrouded in new cloths and paint(Earhart, p.307).

The Shashoni boys (out of choice) go out the positives of boasting. Although they dont necessarily depend on the Sun Dance as the deciding factor for passing into manhood, It give births them a go on to be in a position of authority, or ply which often is needed in adulthood. The more enduring and well-executed dance, the more attractive they look. It could lead to higher respect, or, in the near future, a good wife. It benefits not only the individual boy, however, but the built-in pack of boys dancing as well. It makes them a strong force of men, not boys who hold no authority. The competition makes the ceremony that much more important. But that is not where it stops; the ritual benefits the rest of the tribe as well. The boys move from childhood to manhood, and in doing so take on the positions, and responsibilities of the elderly, which might not be able to take on those responsibilities in the near future.

The Kurnai sympathize their ritual as something that should not be passed onto anyone other than the men of that particular clan, or tribe. Such secrecy adds a rather arouse dimension to the rite. It obviously governs much of the behavior of the men, in that they learn the meaning of devotedness. Without it they could not affix any importance to the changes needful for moving into manhood.



The religious nature of manhood would be lost. As for the rest of the tribe, the women, and young girls, considerable changes take place in their view of the men. There is a new group of men, with the knowledge of their sacred ritual, and they are ready to carry on the tradition. The women can confide in the new initiates that there are men and not boys being the fathers of the future initiates.

Overall, both initiation rites become a cycle of incorporation into adult life. The importance of examining these two rites leads us to a better understanding of them. The ceremonies act as a turning point in the lives of the initiates, and the rest of the multitude in each society. The cycle gives the Kurnai a reason to book the fresh initiates to initiate others in the future. It gives the sense of how sacred manhood is. The Sun Dance allows the young boys a chance to see how to take on the responsibilities of adulthood. It too, like the Kurnais initiation, gives the boys a sense of how sacred or important adulthood is. Moreover, it gives both societies a reason to move into adulthood. Both ceremonies have their perspective level of importance, but more importantly they both work well in giving meaning to each society incorporation rites.

In conclusion, A.W. Howitt points out in sections of Eliades, Primitives to Zen, that initiations represent the discovery of the sacred(Eliade, p.287). This might mean that sacred initiations embody what a specific society comprehends as the proper way to practice religion or perchance the proper way to live. Such statements could easily tie into what new(a) society might see as sacred. We dont question the small things we do when we change, whether we enter a new business, or alumnus from college, or maybe convert from one religion to another, we conscionable do it. Those small things are what come with taking on that responsibility, or that move from one position to another. The ceremony of theKurnai and Shashoni give them the right to enter into a new realm living. Such ceremonies are what drive the Kurnai and the Shashoni to believe that they are entering adulthood the correct way. Their rituals are what they know as the correct way of moving into that next stage. If there were no ceremonies to address the movement from one realm to the next, then there might not be an affixed hype surrounding the passage from childhood to adulthood. It would occur naturally and that would be that. Initiations are what societies accept, and understand as what will carry them into their culture, their understanding of religion, and into their lives.

Works Cited1. Earhart, H. Byron, ed., Religious Traditions of the World: A Journey through Africa, North America, Mesoamerica, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, China, and Japan. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993., xx 306-3162. Extracts from Eliade, ed., From Primitives to Zen: A thematic Sourcebook of the History of Religions. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1967.), xx 142-45

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