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American Rites of Passage
| Article
# : |
16769 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1989 |
3,706 Words |
| Author
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Roger L. Welsch
Plains folklorist Roger L. Welsch is professor of English and
anthropology at the University of Nebraska. |
Cultures throughout time and around the world have established specific landmarks for the lives of their participants, milestones that mark major thresholds between stages of life. The timing of some is arbitrary, based simply on the individual's decision to marry, for example, while others stem from inevitable changes we experience as result of being living organisms--birth and death.
These thresholds are usually embedded in a matrix of traditional customs and activities--rites of passage, sometimes including changes in physical appearance-- mutilation, tattooing, or changes in hairstyle, clothing, or privilege. In some cultures, passage from one level to another requires learning a new language or accepting a new circle of friends and associates.
Most importantly, when a boy or a girl, a man or woman goes through such a passage and its concomitant rituals, both the person in question and his or her entire culture understand that any other person passing through the cultural gateway undergoes a similar, profound change. Rites of passage are not, like birthday parties, mere games that offer an opportunity to sing a couple of songs and give some nice gifts to a friend. These rites are fundamental stages in human development that provide explicit, serious acknowledgement that the person who was, no longer is; that in that person's place is a new human being with new awareness, potential, obligations, and responsibilities.
Conversely, in those cultures where rites of passage have been blurred, forgotten, or purposely destroyed, the resulting cultural gap contributes to a disruption of life processes. That is, without clear landmarks, the path through life becomes a highway without markers in an empty landscape, confused and confusing.
It is difficult for anyone from one culture to understand or appreciate the rituals of another. Some seem cruel to the outsider, but for the young persons undergoing the ritual, the rite of passage is a proud moment in which there is not the slightest question of what they have become: now, only now, are they men and women.
There are cultures in which passage into manhood requires the killing of a dangerous animal or perhaps another man. In some, the young boy-become-man learns a new "man" language or must adopt a new set of relationships with his mother, potential wives, other clan members, or women who are potential
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