A rite of passage is a very important part of an individual’s life in many cultures. Most typically represent when the individual comes of age in the culture. Young Jewish children have a Bat Mitzvah or Bar Mitzvah, depending on their genders, to express when they become adults. The Satere Mawe tribe in the Amazon are forced to wear gloves filled with bullet ants for several hours to show that they have the strength to face adulthood. In rites of passage such as these, sometimes the participants die. In less serious, more celebratory rites of passage, the participants merely get to be the center of an extravagant party, as the one I attended for my friend’s Quinceanera.
A Quinceanera is the rite of passage for Mexican girls entering womanhood. It occurs on their fifteenth birthday, after which they are looked at by the community as adults. They are expected to take on more responsibility and act as women within the community. I was a guest at my friend’s Quinceanera; my participation was merely to observe and celebrate with her. The ceremony used to mark the occasion was a relatively extravagant party. It was similar to the American girl’s traditional “Sweet 16” party, thrown when many girls come of age and often get their first car, alone with their license. The birthday represents more freedom as well as responsibility. The same is said for the Quinceanera. The planning of the event was very extensive; her parents began talking about it shortly after she my friend turned 14.
The Quinceanera is taken very seriously in Hispanic culture. It was a very grand event. There was a reception, held at a local dancehall. Then we were moved to a local church, were a traditional ceremony was held. The ceremony is called The Tree of Life. My friend handed her 15 birthday candles to the 15 people she considered to be most influential in her life. Most of which were her family and very dear friends. She then gave a short speech about each of the people she had given a candle to, briefly explaining how they had helped shape the person that she had become over the past 15 years. After this there was a formal dance, wherein my friend danced with her father. This was followed by a family dance, which is just what it sounds like: my friend’s entire family joined in the dance. After this everybody danced and the celebration was considered complete. My friend was an adult. The dancing symbolized freedom. Traditionally, Hispanic girls were not allowed to dance in public before they came of age. This display of multiple dances, first with family and then with the community, is meant to show that the girl is an adult and is ready to act as the other adults do. I believe the purpose of the ceremony was important because, as traditional as they were, my friend’s family abided by the rules of their culture. I know the Quinceanera represented freedom, independence, and adulthood to her in the deepest sense. To many it may just be a party, observed out of obligation. For her, it was something she took pride in because she finally felt like a woman in the Hispanic community.
While there are many parts of the ceremony that express traits of any rite of passage, two stand out specifically. One is related to the Tree of Life ceremony. When my friend, or any Hispanic girl, hands out her birthday candles to the 15 most influential people in her life it more than just a thank you, it is a moment where she can express that these people are why she is who she is. She is standing here, able to be a part of her own rite of passage because of these people in her community. Part of the success in a rite of passage, according to Arnold Van Gennep’s book “Rite of Passages” is that the community has produced a fully functioning member of society, ready to take on adult responsibilities (78). A rite of passage is not just for the individual, but for the community because, as Van Gennep also quotes, “It takes a village to raise a child (96).” Another part of the ceremony relating to aspects of a rite of passage was the gradual progression of the dance that took place after the Tree of Life Ceremony. In Traditional Hispanic culture, girls are not to dance in public before the age of 15. As she gave thanks to the community for raising her into adulthood she gained respect and independence. To solidify this, she danced in public with her father, then with her family, and then with her friends and the rest of the community. In Michael Banton’s “Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion” he expresses how important the representation of stages is for rite of passage ceremonies (103). Slowly the girl becomes a woman as she dances with just her father and then the entire community. It is like she is shedding the skin of her childhood to reveal the new adult hiding underneath. This visible progression is important as part of the rite of passage because it involves them in an individual’s transformation (104).
There are several rites of passage like this one, all around the world. I am aware of a few. One that is most familiar is the simple act of turning 21 in America. This is a rite a passage that marks one of the final stages of coming of age. The occasion is usually marked by getting very drunk, legally, in an establishment that will most certainly ask you for identification. It is not a formal ceremony as a Quinceanera, nor is it something as grand as becoming an adult for the first time. Another rite of passage for Americans is getting a driver’s license. This event is usually marked by driving alone or with friends and without parental supervision for the first time. While neither of these relies on religiously bound ceremonies they are culturally traditional. In Jewish culture, according to Mark Appenheimer, author of 13 and A Day: The bar and bat Mitzvah Across America”, a young boy becomes a man at his Bar Mitzvah while a young girl becomes a woman at her Bat Mitzvah (2005). Many do not know that Bar means “son” in Hebrew, while Bat means “daughter”. It is also commonly unknown that Jewish girls have a similar coming-of-age ritual like that of Jewish boys. Each ceremony takes place on the child’s thirteenth birthday (2005). They consist of the celebration, including a big meal with family and friends. Orthodox Jews often do not allow girls to read from the Torah, but it is required of boys whether in relaxed or strict settings (2005). The Amazonian boys of the Satere Mawe tribe may have one of the most brutal rites of passage. In their culture, adulthood is believed to be very strenuous and difficult. Young boys must prove they have the strength to become adults. Sometimes they must prove this as young as 12 years old by wearing gloves filled with bullet ants for several hours. The ants are easily agitated and, when they become hot, they begin feasting on the hands of the young boys. Throughout the hours, the boys must not show emotion of any kind. This is another way to show that they are strong enough to take on adulthood. What is more, they may be asked to complete the task two, three, or four more times before they are granted the independence and responsibilities of adulthood. Many have died in the process.
In sum, whether it is a young Hispanic girl’s Quinceanera, a 16 year old American’s first joy ride without his parent’s, or an Amazonian boy’s turn to wear gloves filled with bullet ants, rites of passage take all different forms. Sometimes they are very ceremonial. They can be filled with religious meaning that involves the entire community, as a Quinceanera. Rites of passage can also be more intimate, only involving close friends. An example could be like when an American turns 21 and buys their first beer. However the rite of passage is performed, it is a ceremony specific to the culture and should be respected within that context.
References
Banton, Michael. Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion. Routledge, 2013. Print.
Oppenheimer, Mark. 13 and a Day: The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Across America. Portland: Macmillan, 2005. Print.
Van Gennep, Arnold. Rites of Passage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. Print.
