Describe what is meant by the term "rites of passage," and explain how these are different in societies around the world and provide examples.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Rites of passage are ceremonies or rituals that mark an individual's transition from one status to another, such as the entry into adulthood. Some societies have elaborate rites of passage that signal the adolescent's transition to adulthood; others do not. In many primitive cultures, rites of passage are the avenue through which adolescents gain access to adult practices, responsibilities, knowledge, and sexuality. These rites also involve dramatic ceremonies, intended to facilitate the adolescent's separation from the immediate family, especially boys from the mother. Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, has been the location of many rites for adolescents. In locations where formal education is not readily available, rites of passage are still prevalent. Western industrialized societies are noted for their lack of formal rites of passage that mark the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Some religious and social groups have initiation ceremonies that indicate an advance in maturity. School graduation ceremonies come closest to being culture-wide rites of passage in the United States. The high-school graduation ceremony has become nearly universal for middle-SES adolescents and increasing number of adolescents from low-income backgrounds. Another rite of passage for increasing numbers of American adolescents is sexual intercourse. The absence of clear-cut rites of passage makes the attainment of adult status so unclear that many individuals are unsure whether they have reached it or not. In sum, exactly when adolescents become adults in the United States has not been clearly delineated as it has in primitive cultures where rites of passage are universal.