"…He posited ‘things’ as possessing being…No wonder he later always discovered in things only that which he had put into them!" – Nietzsche
The Rites of passage are classically viewed as the method by which age-superior members of the society transmit new and powerful knowledge to the young as part of the initiation into a new state of being. Some initiations involve a tangible progression, from one occupation or status group to another. Other initiations are passages of an intangible nature, involving the acquisition of metaphysical knowledge and abilities.
Since the age of antiquity the Rite of Passage was one that occurred around the time of puberty and had two predominant functions. The first was to cause a transformation of the child’s response systems from dependence to responsibility (Campbell 46). The second, and fundamental utility, was to facilitate a revelation of the world of sex, birth and life- the sacred world (Raphael 78). These were ritualized spiritual rebirths. The Rites of Passage are a ritual, which is by definition a set of repetitive behaviors intended to communicate sacred symbols, that is performed with the intent of ensuring a psychological transformation within the participant.
The Rite of Passage in and of itself is merely a framework. This framing is necessary because Man is a creature of paradox. He is a being of Primary Symbolic Unconsciousness and Articulated Linguistic Consciousness, both inextricably bound together in the ultimate tool, the transcendent vehicle that man has created to continue his evolution- his intellect. The paradox is this: the symbolic mind is the seat of hopes, desires, fears, and intuition. This is the fabric of dreams. This is man before his suggested d...
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...but it is true- man is expressing supreme knowledge of things with language because these things are just articulations of inner symbolic territory. And it is for this reason that he finds in things only that which he put there!
Works Cited
Campbell, Joseph. The Inner Reaches of Outer Space. New York: HarperPerennial, 1986
Campbell, Joseph. Myths to Live By. New York: Viking, 1973
Elkin, A.P. Aboriginal Men of High Degree. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 1994
Harner, Micheal. Jivaro: People of the Sacred Waterfall. New York: Doubleday/Natural History, 1972
Harner, Micheal. The Way of the Shaman. New York: Bantam, 1986
Jung, C.G. Psychological Reflections. New York: Pantheon, 1953
Leakey, Richard. Origins Reconsidered. New York: Doubleday, 1992
Raphael, Ray. The Men from the Boys. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1988
Rituals help many people to feel more in control of their lives. Both American baseball players and Malinowski’s Trobriand Islanders practice some sort or ritual. In each case, the ritual is used to bring comfort in the face of
A ritual "is a sequence of events involving motions, words, and objects, performed according to set sequence”. In addition, a religious ritual is a solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order (Michael, 2012). The ritual I have chosen to investigate is Jewish Marriage. This ritual will be analysed using Lovat’s five-step approach.
Have you ever wondered what the “rite of passage” means or how would one consider if they had gone through a rite of passage? It could be something big that could change someone’s entire foundation, such as getting married or if that person enters to the next world leaving behind everything from the world that the individual knows of, afterlife. The novella, “The Body” written by Gordie Lachance, elaborates on this one event during his childhood, with his childhood friends, as a rite of passage between himself and his friends. This event is surrounded by the corpse of Ray Brower, a young boy around the same age of Gordie, Teddy, Vern, and Chris. It was an easygoing, playful journey where they believed that at the end of this
Rite of passage is defined per Wikipedia.com as, “a celebration of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society.” Such as when a student graduates high school and prepares to attend college, get married, or live away from home working to support themselves. Maturation is not signified by an arbitrary age. Nor is it gauged by whether one attends college or not. The stage where the adolescent lives on their own, is the beginning of the process. This is a time to make choices based on the knowledge accumulated up to this time. In America, when one reaches the age of eighteen they are considered an adult and can vote. Chronologically they are
A noted French ethnographer and folklorist, Charles Arnold Van Gennep, recognized that life consists of social status transitions, which are often marked by rites of passage that separate individuals from their past identity. Gennep , in his most famous work “The Rites of Passage” (1909), suggests that a mans life can be seen as a succession of stages and that with each stage comes a ceremony whose purpose is the enabling of the individual to pass from one stage to another (Gennep, 1950, p. 3). Gennep subdivides the classification of the rites of passage into three separate categories, these being; the rite of separation, transition rites and rites of incorporation. These subcategories are also known as preliminary rites, liminal rites a...
In Christian communities, especially communities that practice adult baptism, the ritual is seen as more than just an act of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The specific actions associated with baptism have evolved to represent Jesus’ death (the liminal stage) and resurrection (the reaggregation stage). By manipulating the symbolic actions in the ritual “so as to bring them into parallel with the pre-established non-symbolic system,” we are better able to understand the symbolism of the three stages of this rite of
Abraham Lincoln’s original views on slavery were formed through the way he was raised and the American customs of the period. Throughout Lincoln’s influential years, slavery was a recognized and a legal institution in the United States of America. Even though Lincoln began his career by declaring that he was “anti-slavery,” he was not likely to agree to instant emancipation. However, although Lincoln did not begin as a radical anti-slavery Republican, he eventually issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves and in his last speech, even recommended extending voting to blacks. Although Lincoln’s feeling about blacks and slavery was quite constant over time, the evidence found between his debate with Stephen A. Douglas and his Gettysburg Address, proves that his political position and actions towards slavery have changed profoundly.
As children we wished to grow up and become an adult sooner so we can have more rights, but the way to adulthood varies with different cultures. Since different cultures have different ways of becoming an adult the meaning of being an adult is different. A person leaves childhood and enters adulthood in many ways there are cultural, religious, or social events. A common way in many cultures is by a rite of passage or ceremonies; a rite of passage is a ritual or event that shows that a person is now an adult. A rite of passage usually reflects certain things that are important in a culture such as values, and beliefs. Rites of passage can be described as specifications that need to be met and occur around the same time as things such as puberty, and marriage. Common types of these ceremonies are usually found in religion; some examples of these ceremonies include baptism, and a Bat Mitzvah. All of these things are considered rites of passage for a person to become an adult in their respective religions.
. Fantasy theory relates to the work of Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and Invisible Cities through themes of liminality, symbolism and distortion. Liminality can be perceived “the transitional period or rite of passage, during which the participant lacks social status or rank, remains anonymous, shows obedience and humility”(Dictionary), Both books are dealing with an individual or collective coming of age. These coming of age tales can also be observed as rite of passage. “Arnold van Gennep, described rites of passage as a threefold process with phases of separation, segregation, and integration” (Rites of Passage). The initiate (that is, the person undergoing the ritual) is first stripped of the social status that he or she possessed before the ritual, inducted into the liminal period of transition, and finally given his or her new status and re-assimilated into society.
In the poem, "Rite of Passage," by Sharon Olds, the speaker, who is a mother, goes into detail about her son's birthday party celebration. Let us first begin by analyzing the title of the poem, "Rite of Passage," Encyclopedia Britannica describes a rite of passage as a ceremonial event, existing in all historically known societies, that marks the passage from one social or religious status to another. Given the plot of the poem about a young boy having his peers over celebrate his birthday, one might be automatically compelled to say the rite of passage is for him, however with a closer analysis of the poem in its entirety, one can argue the title and the plot hold deeper meaning.
A rite of passage is defined as a ceremony marking a significant transition or an important event or achievement, both regarded as having great meaning in lives of individuals. In Sharon Olds' moving poem "Rite of Passage", these definitions are illustrated in the lives of a mother and her seven-year-old son. The seriousness and significance of these events are represented in the author's tone, which undergoes many of its own changes as the poem progresses.
As species we are all born human, yet the journey we take on the passage of life defines us as individuals. Our lives are an array of moments of secular and spiritual change. Regardless of their importance, in both contexts, these occurrences represent a transition from one stage of life to another. People formalized these important moments of physical or social change by ritualization, or also known as ‘rite of passage’. The rites of passage play an important role in society. They are an efficient tool in restoring and maintaining balance within the social environment. At the same time, through rituals, they lead the initiate to social transformation. Rites of passage characteristically give assurance of mastery of the new roles and often include instruction in the new roles.
Adolescence is not cultural universal. In some societies, young children go straight from childhood to the adult life once they have done the necessary puberty rites. Puberty rites are formal ceremonies that mark the entrance of young people into the adult life. People at the age of 13 to 14 that completed these puberty rites can become accepted into the adult society.
...[R]ites of passage are not confined to culturally defined life-crises, but may accompany any change from one state to another, as when a whole tribe goes to war, or when it attests the passage from scarcity to plenty by performing a first-fruits or a harvest festival. Rites de passage, too, are not restricted, sociologically speaking, to movements between ascribes statuses. They also concern entry into a new achieved status, whether this be a political office or membership to a exclusive club or secret society...On the whole, initiation rites, whether into maturity or cult membership, best exemplify transition...(Tumer 235).
I believe it is a process that God has us go through so that we are better equipped to follow his plan for our lives. I also believe that this process is a way of God showing us his love for us through his unfailing grace. This process is something that we go through to make us more and more like our heavenly Father.