Initiation Rites Research Articles

The impact of adolescent initiation rites in East and Southern Africa: Implications for policies and practices

ABSTRACT The present formative research study reviewed existing literature relating to adolescent rites of passage and initiation ceremonies in East and Southern Africa (ESA), with a focus on Eswatini, Malawi, South Africa and Zambia to assess the impacts of these rites on youth in these countries. Research was conducted entirely online using Google, Google Scholar and the Widener University (US) database. The research found different cultures maintain a range of customs and practices to prepare young people for their roles and responsibilities as adults, and that some initiation practices have negative impacts on the physical, emotional and psychological health and well-being of adolescents. The research supports the conclusion that it is important to have policies and programmes that are designed to protect the rights and welfare of young people in ESA, and that local leaders and stakeholders play invaluable roles in determining and maintaining any changes to existing practices.

Morality and Community Behaviour in Africa

Societies that thrive are those that have mechanisms for enhancing moral values amongst their growing generations in a sustainable way. This study singled out traditional initiation rites as a mechanism used by the Bukusu people of Kenya to cultivate morality among the youth, with an intention of raising men that are morally upright, and who are able to provide leadership in a similar way. It was envisaged that observance of the lessons and principles given through the initiation process would be effective in sustaining morality and virtuousness in the community. This was an ethnographic study, where 20 participants were interviewed. They were accessed using snowball technique. This study operated with four objectives: (i) to find out how the process of initiation of boys into adulthood was fashioned to inculcate moral lessons; (ii) to explore how the nurture given during initiation process had been helpful in enhancing moral values among the ‘graduates’ of traditional initiation; (iii) to probe areas, if any, where traditional initiation rites resulted in immoral behaviour and why; and (iv) to explore whether the rites had been revised in light of available information in medicine, education, and religion. The study found that while traditional Bukusu initiation rites were designed to raise men that were morally upright and virtuous,and while the traditional process of initiation has been widely successful in the past, unfortunately, this study found that due to lapses in control mechanism of the process, traditional Bukusu rites have sometimes failed to produce ‘graduates’ that were morally upright and virtuous. This study concludes that, while the initiation process remains an important stage for inculcating good morals among the youth, checks and controls should be applied on the system, the process and the mentors, to make sure the purpose of the rites of initiation into adulthood are achieved. The study recommends that the checks and controls should be guided by available information in medicine, education and religion.

Do initiation rites hasten sexual debut among adolescent girls? A longitudinal analysis from Ghana

Many Ghanaians identify their country’s most enduring female initiation rite as a risk factor for early sexual debut, claiming that initiates interpret the rite as a normative starting point for sexual activity as was standard in the past. However, the assumption that African initiation rites may hasten sexual debut has not been statistically substantiated. This study explores this association using three waves of longitudinal data collected between 2010 to 2013 from 690 girls and young women aged 12-19, about half of whom had participated in the rite. The results suggest that initiates typically participate in the rite at age 11 and begin having sex around age 16, about six months earlier than non-initiates. Results from survival analyses correspondingly indicate that initiates are 50% more likely to report sexual debut than their non-initiated counterparts. This relationship remains robust when accounting for confounding variables and reverse causality and is not moderated by socioeconomic status. Findings suggest that initiation rites should be understood as having potentially meaningful implications for adolescent sexual debut and sexual and reproductive health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Capitalising on initiation rites for their role in sexual socialisation may be a valuable opportunity to promote sexual and reproductive health among youth.

The Socio-Cultural Views of the Mamanwas of Tandag: An Ethnographic Study of the Peace-Loving Community

The following sociocultural practices or worldviews are based on a series of interviews with the Mamanwas presented in an ethnographic manner. It will discuss its birth and initiation rites, engagement and wedding customs, burial practices, indigenous value system, worldviews on natural phenomena, and indigenous values system.

AGE-SET SYSTEM AMONG THE BABUKUSU OF WESTERN KENYA

This paper was extracted from a Master of Arts Degree (History) thesis which was submitted to Graduate School of Kenyatta University in April 2017. The study interrogated the Impact of the Inter-Christian Fellowship Evangelical Mission on circumcision Rituals among the Babukusu of Kimilili Constituency. However, this paper traces the origin and the development of circumcision concepts among Babukusu, emphasizing on age-sets that are closely attached to this initiation ritual. It gives a historical perspective of this rite that has been examined by social Anthropologists. To achieve this, the adoption of interview schedules was very paramount and as such, knowledgeable informants were subjected to Oral Interviews whose data was corroborated with other secondary sources to ascertain relevant historical facts. That aside, significant information was collected from the Kenya National Archives and this was a crucial source towards the development of this paper.

ІНВАРІАНТНА СТРУКТУРА ОБРЯДІВ ПЕРЕХОДУ МІЖСВІТТЯ В НАУКОВОМУ ОСЯГНЕННІ АРНОЛЬДА ВАН ҐЕННЕПА

The article is devoted to the analysis of Arnold van Gennep's study of the invariant structure of funeral rituals in his famous work "The Rites of Passage" (1909). In the scientific concept of the scientist, the rites of passage (initiation rites) accompany the most important periods and events of human life and are associated with changes in the position (including social) and status of an individual. Analyzing the funeral cycle, A. van Gennep emphasizes that preliminar rites ("rites of separation from the previous world") are the least pronounced, liminar rites ("rites performed in the intermediate period") are long and complex, and the most important and most developed are postliminar rites ("rites of inclusion in the new world") which are carried out to incorporate the dead to the world of the dead. Rich empirical material allowed him to characterize the general ideas in different cultures about the afterlife as a space similar to the world of the living, with an equivalent structure of organization of society. At the same time, A. van Gennep points to the mythologies of a complex journey to the world of the dead and concludes that the elements of the complex of rites of passage depend on ideas about the distance and location of the otherworld.The most dangerous among the dead A. van Gennep characterizes those whose death was not accompanied by funeral rites, as well as children who were not baptized, did not receive a name and did not pass initiation, and therefore can not be incorporated into the world of the living or the dead – they exist at the expense of the living and often seek revenge. On this basis, A. van Gennep calls funeral rites "practical rites of long duration" that help the living to get rid of eternal enemies. These ideas, according to the author of this article, influenced the formation of the paradigm of demonological characters of mythological legends and folk tales. A. van Gennep emphasizes the reverse voluntary or forced movement of the soul from the world of the living to the world of the dead and vice versa. The rites of joining the mortal space, according to A. van Gennep, are consistent with the incorporative rites of the profane world. A. van Gennep considers the folklore motifs of the descent to the land of the dead with a number of taboos to reflect on this, the violation of which, on the contrary, serves as a means of incorporation into the community of the dead, which allows a safe and unimpeded stay of the newcomer in the afterlife. These numerous transitions of an individual from life to death and vice versa, or from profane to sacred with a return back to the profane worlds, the scientist calls "complete turnover", which is the main essence of the rites of passage.

The Mistress of Dogs and warrior initiation at archaic Trebenishte

The paper analyses and interprets the symbolic meaning of an iconographic composition consisting of a central Gorgon flanked by two canines, present on a bronze tripod from the archaic necropolis of Trebenishte, near Ohrid (6th–5th centuries BC). After introducing and describing the subject of interest, the author goes on to analyse the Gorgon in the symbolic role of ‘Mistress of Dogs’, comparing it to similar representations from geographical and chronological aspects. This is followed by an overview of the symbolic role of canines in the prehistoric and ancient Balkans as part of a wider Indo-European cultural milieu. The observed findings are then analysed in relation to the archaeological context of the tripod itself, which was deposited, along with a complementary krater, in the ‘princely grave’ of a high-ranking male individual with a warrior identity belonging to the archaic community buried at Trebenishte. The final conclusions of the author are that the iconography of the tripod reflects symbolic notions of liminality and transformation, whereby the object was probably intended to be used in initiation rituals that derive from the Indo-European traditions of the ‘Männerbünde’.

Conversion, Circumcision, and Ritual Murder in Medieval Europe

In 1230 Matilda de Bernham claimed she had found Edward, son of Master Benedict, a Norwich physician, lamenting and saying that he was a Jew. Moreover, she accused the city's Jews of trying to retrieve the boy by force, calling him “their Jew.” Four years later, Master Benedict, who had not actively searched for Edward, accused the Jews of circumcising him. There followed both legal proceedings and attacks on Norwich Jews and their property. Some Jews fled elsewhere, and three moneylenders were condemned to be hanged. A church court awarded Master Benedict land and a house owned by Jews. Edward, who was five years old in 1230, then nine, was made to undergo physical examinations as part of the proceedings. The examinations were inconclusive. Paola Tartakoff notes that the official records, such as survive, may have omitted Edward's mother because she was a Jew. That would explain the claims of local Jews that Edward, named Jurnepin, a diminutive of Joseph, after his circumcision, was “their Jew.”Paola Tartakoff takes this case as a springboard for an inquiry into the borders between Christian and Jewish identities in the European Middle Ages. Her principal point is that these borders were permeable rather than fixed. There were conversions of Jews to Christianity in some numbers, but also (as she shows) some conversions of Christians to Judaism. Further, converts in either direction might return to their original communities. (Tartakoff's studies of Christians who embraced a Jewish identity are particularly interesting, whether or not they retained it.) Medieval Jews were particularly worried about their children being abducted for baptism. Reports remain that some killed their children rather than have them forcibly christened.Although the borders were permeable, attitudes on either side differed dramatically. Christians were often eager to convert Jews, and they supposed Jews were equally zealous. As the author shows, Jews were often reluctant to embrace converts. One reason for this reluctance was fear of Christian retribution. However, Jews did accept some of these converts, circumcising the men, men and women alike accepting a ritual bath. There was more zeal evident for winning back those Jews who embraced what was seen as Christian error. Christian authorities were harder on those they uncovered practicing as Jews. Those who would not repent this “apostasy” might be burned for embracing Jewish “unbelief.” (These condemnations and penalties are shown to fit into a larger pattern including heretics and Muslims as enemies of orthodoxy.)Tartakoff extends her inquiry into a more familiar realm, the belief that Jews practiced ritual murder of Christians, especially of their children. The English chroniclers William of Newburgh and Matthew Paris early on tied Edward's circumcision to that anti-Jewish libel. They and many others thought circumcising Edward was one step toward reenacting the crucifixion of Jesus by murdering a Christian made a Jew with a bris. That belief, and not just in the subsequent accounts of the Norwich case, passed over from Catholic to Protestant belief, including in the writings of the martyrologist John Foxe.This book presents compelling evidence that the borderline between Christians and Jews was not impermeable. Moreover, it shows how Christians often projected fears of apostasy onto their Jewish neighbors. Small wonder that the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 tried to reinforce that religious division by requiring Jews living in Latin Christian lands to wear distinctive badges. There is one weakness in the argument. Evidence of Christian attitudes toward circumcision tends to be drawn from inquisitors and Latin chroniclers. Theologians presented more nuanced views of that rite in commentaries on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. They treated the Jewish rite of initiation as once useful but since superseded. That omission, however, does not vitiate the value of Tartakoff's penetrating study.

Notas sobre os saberes do povo Tentehar: “tudo para nós é espaço sagrado”

this paper discusses indigenous spirituality from the observation of the Tentehar people, better known as the Guajajara, and keeps a dialogue with other relevant interpreters of the original peoples’ cosmovision. The central issue is to inquire about the existence of a multifaceted perspective of spirituality intertwined with contexts of historical and everyday struggles. For this, testimonies available on websites and in specialized literature are used, as well as historical and empirical research on the Tentehar from Maranhão state. The female initiation ritual is observed and it is understood that in the past the preservation of this ritual was related to the conflict in Alto Alegre city. It is concluded that indigenous spirituality is intertwined with the existential, cultural, social and political dimensions of the original peoples.

The motive of initiation and the problem of evil in W. Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies”

The article explores traces of the motive of initiation in the given literary work. The relevance of the study is that the motive of initiation in the novel “Lord of the Flies” has not yet been traced by any of the researchers of the writer’s literary path. The aim of the research is to reveal the motive of initiation in the novel, which, owing to the revealed motive of the ritual transition, acquires a new in-depth coverage. The authors of the study trace in the work allusions to certain symbolic signs of the initiation ritual, in particular, the allocation of a group of adolescent boys, a territory closed to outsiders (in this case it is an uninhabited coral island), the performance of a ritual dance (dance of the hunters), the application of signs to the initiating persons (painted faces – masks in Jack’s tribe) etc. The novel even features the image of a beast’s head (a boar’s head), and the writer casually uses a phrase that is important for the symbolic meaning of initiation: swallowing by the mouth (at the moment when Simon loses consciousness). This article draws attention to the specifics of initiation in the work: we have a group initiation of adolescents without a mentor, without a shaman. Instead, two leaders appear among the boys, two chiefs who lead the teenagers in completely opposite directions in the development of their small island society. One of them, Ralph, tries to worry about their possible rescue by adults, tries to take care of the little ones, and is also based on a completely democratic version of governance and humanity. The second boy, Jack Meridue, is offended that he was not chosen as the leader; he becomes the leader of hunters’ group. He is very ambitious, gaining prestige by hunting wild pigs and holding meat-eating banquets; he violates Ralph’s orders regarding the boys doing their duty (for example, maintenance of a fire on a mountain for a smoke signal when a ship appears on the horizon), incites them to games and entertainment etc. As a result, most of the boys follow Jack and create a tribe in which the boys paint their faces, dance ritual dances, hunt wild pigs, and tolerate a tyrant little chief, who hates dissent. Eventually, the tribe kills Piggy, and then hunts the only “dissident”, the only owner of “common sense” Ralph. In order to “smoke” Ralph out of the forest, the jungle is set on fire, turning the green island into black ashes. Before us there is the degradation of well-bred English boys into a tribe of cruel savages. Such degradation is confirmed both by the religious motifs present in the novel and by the symbolic features of the ritual – an initiation that turned out to be unsuccessful. Instead of developing and improving, a group of boys on a deserted island degrades as a result of life’s trials, turning into a herd of selfish and cruel savages. Looking for an answer to the question of where evil comes from in the world and why even cultured European nations often forget about spirituality and culture and become cruel killers and often even sadists (as it happened to the SS in World War II), the writer in his novel-experiment comes to the conclusion that evil is created not only by society, the environment, but it is inherent in the potential state of human nature; and under certain conditions, when indulging mundane desires and interests, a person becomes a carrier of evil, which we see in the novel “Lord of the Flies”.

The Role of Traditional Methods and Case Management Approach in Preventing Teenage Pregnancy in Tanzania: A Case of Temeke Municipality, Dar es Salaam Region

This article presents an empirical evidence-based analysis of traditional methods that include initiation ceremonies and a modern approach called case management approach in preventing teenage pregnancy in Tanzania. It is based on a qualitative study with a sample size of 20 participants. The first objective was niched around the premises of assessing traditional methods of preventing teenage pregnancy, premised on cultural norms and values, which have been weakened. The second objective was focused on a case management approach (introduced by the researcher) as a child protection mechanism and behavioral control that filled the gap left by traditional methods. The findings indicate that, through symbolic interactionism, traditional values and norms that held the community together are on the wane. Therefore, case management approach has proven to help in controlling early pregnancy to teenage girls. This study recommends that by combining traditional methods and a case management approach, pregnant teenagers will be actively involved in decision making and being part of the solution and change agents for community's attitudes and perceptions. The study concludes that case management is increasingly becoming important as the social fabric on which traditional methods are anchored in preventing teenage pregnancy.

The impact of Pandita training on the skill of performing Buddhist rituals

This study aims to explore the impact of pandita training on the skill of performing Buddhist rituals. Rituals or ceremonial acts are not inherently religious. Rituals play a role in relieving social pressures and strengthening the collective bonds of a group. Rituals are performed in various forms, including the tradition of lighting candles or incense, wearing certain clothes, and sitting, standing, or kneeling during praying. The most common of all rituals is the initiation ceremony which marks a stage in the human life cycle. The type of research used in this study is descriptive quantitative research. The data analysis technique was carried out in several stages, including the following: 1) validity test technique to determine the validity of the moment item, using product moment analysis; 2) the instrument's reliability test uses the Alpha formula; 3) simple regression model is chosen to measure the effect of religious training variable (X) on skills to lead religious activities (Y). Based on data analysis, it can be concluded that the training of Pandita can improve the skills of Pandita in performing rituals.

The Integration of Islam with the Local Culture of Tanete Kingdom (a Cultural Approach to the Historical Study)

Tanete is one of the Bugis Kingdoms in South Sulawesi which has been established since the 16th century. This paper aims to explain the influence of Islamization on the socio-cultural life of the Tanete Kingdom in the 17th – 18th centuries. The process of Islamization which was started by King Tanete IX, named Petta Sugie, had an impact on two things, first, Islam was integrated in the elements of government with the existence of a saraq institution led by a Kalie. Second, the process of Islamization has an impact on initiation ceremonies or rites de passage. The changes were marked by the addition of Islamic elements and values in the birth-marriage-funeral rites

An Initiation Rite in Tibetan Historiography

I shall investigate a quasi-historical event in the biographies of the second ‘Dharma King’ of the Tibetan Empire, Khri-srong Lde-btsan (Trisong Detsen). As the newborn heir to the throne, he was stolen from his mother by a rival queen; however, at a ceremonial event the still infant prince indicated his true descent by sitting on the lap of his maternal uncle. As Ruzsa (2016) noticed, the complex motif of the new ruler choosing his family by sitting on the lap of a male representative can be found in the Indian legend of Śunaḥśepa, embedded in a much richer structure. Following his reconstruction, by analysing further parallelisms in a wider corpus, it appears that the seemingly innocent story of a baby prince is, in fact, a remnant of an archaic rite. I suppose that originally this was a rite of passage, a special variant of puberty initiation: the consecration of the heir apparent. Furthermore, its relationship to the Indian legend of Śunaḥśepa connects it indirectly with the stories of Isaac and even Snow White and also with several rites of passage in ancient Greece. I will also suggest that some versions of the legend point to a probably even more archaic cycle of maternity rites with parallels in Solomon’s judgment and the Chinese Chalk Circle.

Coping with Images of Initiations in the Mithras Cult

This paper starts with a preliminary reflection on the broader field of “mystery cults”, which are characterized by a ban on divulgation and the incommunicability of experience. The “mysteries” of Mithras present a further difficulty: their images, built within Roman contexts, lack the visual markers of the Greek “mystery cult” tradition. Moreover, the epigraphical evidence for the worshippers of Mithras does not mention “mysteries”. The second and longer section of the paper addresses the few frescoes that were interpreted as depictions of initiation rituals inside three mithraea and on an adorned krater. It first recalls the main approaches to the interpretation of these images (historiography, anthropological approach, semiotic reading), and then argues that these images intended to display to the viewers (insiders/initiates) a sense of grouping and of contrasted agencies within the groups, to different extents in each mithraeum. By focusing on a case-study from Caesarea Maritima, it proposes to identify the three different ways through which a religious group might give an image both of itself and to itself: a collective ritual (i.e. a procession), the initiation as a transmission (without a special terrifying ambiance), and a mythological narrative on the deity who protects the group.

Familial Terminology and the Progressive Nature of Church Membership in Cyril of Jerusalem

Abstract There is too little study of Cyril of Jerusalem’s notion of the ecclesiological identity of baptismal candidates. I found that his use of familial terminology was not simply limited to that of the Biblical and Patristic models, i.e., fully initiated members of the church. He applied it to unbaptized candidates as well. They shared in a primal yet real membership of the ecclesial family. They were progressively brought into church membership through the individual rites of initiation, each contributing to a growing transformation in the candidates. They could be identified as family even prior to their ultimate, baptismal adoption as members. This article fills a significant gap in research on the late fourth century theology of initiation. It provides present-day catechists with a deeper understanding of their baptismal candidates’ ecclesiological status. It opens a Patristic and ecumenical vista into the relationship of non-Orthodox Christians with the Orthodox church.

JOURNEY «BEYOND THE BODY» IN THE NOVEL OF H. MURAKAMI «KAFKA ON THE BEACH»

The article examines the phenomenon of traveling «beyond the corporeality» of the characters of Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Beach. Special attention is paid to the bodily transformations of the characters, going beyond the limits of physicality, as signs of the loss of personal identity. The article also compares the «bodily journeys» of the main character of the novel with the passage of the labyrinth, which also symbolizes the rite of initiation. The relevance of the research is due to the need to fill in the existing gaps in modern literary criticism on the problems of bodily metamorphoses considered in the designated context, as well as on the study of the creative heritage of H. Murakami in general. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that the novel by H. Murakami, chosen as the object of research, is analyzed through the prism of the phenomenological theory of corporeality by V. Podorogi, special attention is paid to the concept of «the body outside the norm». The work also reflects the ideas about the physicality and identity of J. Baudrillard, F. Nietzsche, M. Yampolsky et al. It is proved that in the novel the phenomenon of the hero's journey inside his own body is both a sign of the loss of personal identity and a way of acquiring this identity.

Rituals and Embodied Cultural Practices at the Beginning of Life: African Perspectives

Cultural beliefs and practices find expression through rituals. Rites of initiation or passage are some of the most common rituals among the indigenous African societies. Pregnancy and Childbirth are not only biological events, but also socially and culturally constructed with associated symbols that represent the social identities and cultural values of Africans. Birth is a rite of passage, and children are perceived as special gifts from the Supreme Being. As such, pregnancy and childbirth are special events cherished and celebrated through varied rituals. Drawing on empirical literature and relevant commentaries, this paper aims to discuss selected rituals and embodied practices surrounding the start of life (pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood). The paper will specifically focus on the following aspects: pregnancy rituals; birth songs and dancing; the omugwo (care after birth); the cord and placenta rituals; and the naming ceremony. Some of the pregnancy rituals are purificatory in nature and therefore beneficial for maternal and infant health. The celebrations surrounding the birth of a child are community events, marked with singing and dancing. Following childbirth, the new mothers are not expected to participate in house chores to allow them time to recuperate. In all, discourses concerning the beginning of life, i.e., pregnancy and the periods surrounding it, are filled with rituals which are embodiments or expressions of cultural values, customs, and beliefs.

Klaros’tan Apli̇ke El Fi̇gürlü Kase Üzeri̇ne İkonografi̇k Değerlendirme

A bowl sherd with an applique hand figure from Klaros constitutes a very interesting find group which especially finds parallels in sanctuaries. The fragment from Klaros belongs to the junction to the body of an Ionian cup. The rather long fingers are attached to each other while the thumb is separated and extended upwards. The right hand, which has a bracelet on the wrist, extends forwards. Although it is not easy to make clear comments about the function of the cup could be related to libation or initiation rituals or could be used as offerings. The iconographical meaning of the hand figure is the focal point of this paper. The hand is a very important symbol both for pagan and monotheistic religions, carrying similar meanings in nearly all of these beliefs. Some of the meanings attributed to the hand are creation, protection, blessing, prayer, force, oath, strength, instruction, healing, benevolence, love, compassion, and marriage. Based on the shape and the decoration scheme of the cup and examples of hands on large-scale sculptural works the bowl with an applique hand from Klaros is dated to about 600-575 BC.

4 - Práticas Tradicionais e Direitos Humanos na Sociedade dos Amakhuwa: Estudo de caso da Cidade de Nampula


 
 
 African traditional societies, including the Amakhuwas of Northern Mozambique, developed believes and traditional practices, in the spiritual as well as in the social field, which evolved over time. Nevertheless, the prevalent trend in research relegates such cultures to a role of subordination. This was the case of colonial as well as missionary literature, and it is so in part until today, with the use of paradigms centered into a supposed modernizing approach, which invites ethnic and linguistic groups as the Amakhuwas to leave their practices, in name of the respect of a set of human rights which those practices, would violate. This research, carried out in Nampula city, tries to show that a similar perspective does not consider a universe of values, believes and practices which have to be understood through an “internal” philosophical and anthropological approach. This approach has not to disregard the respect for human individual rights, as well as for collective rights of a group which built its identity on these believes and practices. This research was focused in particular on two interconnected aspects: the social functions of traditional medicine and the initiation rites, especially of feminine type. As a conclusion, this research shows that traditional practices suffered an evolution, in general going towards the respect for human individual rights, differentiating them in accordance with the localization and the social and cultural environment in which they are practiced. Without drawing definitive conclusions, it seems necessary to carry out a deep reflection regarding the relation between traditional practices and respect for human rights inside the amakhuwa society.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Laura António Nhaueleque, Researcher at the CEMRI – Open University of Lisbon. Professor of Human Rights, Technical University of Mozambique. Email: lauramacua@gmail.com