Rite of Way
Rites of passage are interesting in our Western world. “The term ‘rite of passage’ refers to any customary observance or practice marking a transition in the life of an individual from one state or status to another. All human beings experience a series of such transitions in the course of their lifetime. Transitions will often reflect biological or maturational progressions so, birth for instance, marks the maturational transition from existence within the womb to life in the outside world, puberty marks the transition from sexual immaturity to sexual maturity and death marks the transition out of the realm of the living.
Individuals may also experience transitions in other areas of their lives like educational, occupational, legal, or social status, in-group membership and role assignment. Graduation from school, certification into a profession, marriage, the shift to a new social class, acceptance into a social club and parenthood are also examples of such transitions. Human societies tend to mark such life transitions with rites of passage, like baptisms, naming ceremonies, coming out balls, dedications, graduation ceremonies, induction rituals, weddings and funerals to name a few.
A customary observance or practice that has elements of a rite of passage may also simultaneously serve other purposes. A marriage say, may mark the transition of the prospective spouses from the status of single to married and also promote fertility of the couple. Rites of passage are found in every known human society, past and present.
Additionally, these customary observance or practices tend to share certain broad structural features in common thus any rite of passage typically begins with a formal separation of the transitioning individual from the old state or status. A person then remains for some period of time in a marginal or transitional state separate from both past and future statuses. It’s a bit like being in an elevator. One enters, doors close behind us, one pushes the button to our required floor, the elevator stops, the doors open again and finally, in the incorporation phase of the rite the transitioning individual steps out of the lift entering into the new state or status or floor as this analogy would have it.
The details of a specific kind of rite often symbolically mirror the nature of the specific transition that it is marking. For example a birth ceremony that celebrates the entrance of a person into the world is also likely to emphasise the incorporation phase of the rite, while in a funeral ceremony marking the departure of the individual from the world the separation features of the ritual might also be elaborated on. An outworking of that may be seen in the practice of a mourning period followed by the actual burial.
Further, the content of a rite may be a symbolic reference to some aspect of the transition that it is marking. So, an opening door may mirror the idea that the individual is entering a new status. Similarly, the incorporation of a person into some new status may be reflected in the acts of eating and drinking, themselves a kind of incorporation of sustenance into the body. The similarity in the overall structure of rites of passage across cultures dramatises the striking historical uniformity in the way in which human societies negotiate life transitions.
The fact that human beings across historical time and place mark life transitions in a similar way points to the likelihood that rites of passage may serve a similar purpose for the people who participate in them. The key to the historical and geographical uniformity characteristic of rites of passage may be found in the universal nature of life transitions.
Transitions from one state or status to another have the potential to disrupt the smooth functioning of the community at large and the psychological functioning of the transitioning individual. Births, marriages and deaths can disturb the normal relationships among individuals in a family, community, and society. Rites of passage then, are proposed to serve as the strategy devised by human societies to mediate whatever social upheaval and personal turmoil are associated with life transitions.
The societal features associated with the presence or absence of rites of passage tend to follow a historical timeline within the culture in which they are found. The connection between the patterning of rites of passage and historic context is well illustrated by the adolescent initiation rite. It’s perhaps the most-studied instance of a rite associated with a life transition.
The adolescent initiation rite is a customary observance or practice that mediates the shift of an individual from the socially recognised status of child to that of adult. Adolescent initiation rites, when they are adopted by a society often take place at or around puberty. Although the adolescent rite is thus often linked to a physiological change, these rituals are understood to achieve their important because they confer a new social status on the initiate.”
On the eve of my 50th birthday and against the backdrop of passing adolescence I feel myself make a positive right turn toward a new stage, that hopefully, is sufficient to steer me through yet another revealing chapter of this life of mine. I have rite of way. Happy Days.