Rite of passage - Initiation, Transition, Rituals: The most prevalent of rites of initiation among societies of the world are those observed at puberty. These have frequently been called puberty rites, but, as van Gennep argued long ago, this name is inappropriate. Puberty among females is often defined as the time of the onset of menses (the menstrual flow), but no such clearly identifiable ...
Rite of passage - Initiation, Transition, Separation: From its beginning, the study of rites of passage has attempted to account for similarities and differences between the rites of different societies. The similarities are striking and doubtless reflect the close similarity in ways of human thought. Modern attempts to account for similarities and differences have generally given little ...
Rite of passage - Life Cycle, Ceremonies: Life-cycle ceremonies are found in all societies, although their relative importance varies. The ritual counterparts of the biological crises of the life cycle include numerous kinds of rites celebrating childbirth, ranging from “baby showers” and rites of pregnancy to rites observed at the actual time of childbirth and, as exemplified by the ...
Ritual - Initiation, Transition, Celebration: Any typology of rituals would not be complete without including a number of very important rites that can be found in practically all religious traditions and mark the passage from one domain, stage of life, or vocation into another. Such rituals have often been classified as rites of passage, and the French anthropologist Arnold van Gennep’s ...
Arnold van Gennep was a French ethnographer and folklorist, best known for his studies of the rites of passage of various cultures. Although Gennep was born in Germany and had a Dutch father, he lived most of his life and received his education in France, his mother’s native country. Gennep learned