Bar-Mitzvah's Rituals

Rituals play a significant role in all cultures. A ritual ‘is the practice or embodiment of beliefs expressed in structured action or prescribed procedures that often link to the sacred.’ Rituals are created by taking events from everyday life and giving them some sort of symbolic meaning. As one of the founding concepts of our discipline, ritual has long been a cornerstone of anthropological thought: from the works of Emile Durkheim through Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner and Terry Lovat. Within this presentation I will be outlining the similarities and differences between Bar Mitzvah and Confirmation, and I will also explain the impact which the ritual has on the individual and society

Initiation Rituals are nothing new to different parts of the world or in different tribes. Different places have different initiation rituals, some far outside the norm and others mild. But the main goal is typical to go from one old status to a liminal status, and then into a new status, like for example entering Manhood. For western society, physical changes to the body through the body like the beginning of menstruation or the addition of more body hair would be some of the many physical changes that take place and signal the start of the transition to adulthood in this culture. It is not like that for everyone else, in many tribes such as the Fulani people, the people involved are put through a series or just one thing that will officially

Rituals and rites are required in almost all religions because they hold meanings spiritually and emotionally. Reaffirming faith and practicing traditions are important parts of adherents' personal and religious life. Christian sacrament and Jewish rituals are derived from their religious stories and histories that represent symbolic stories of the origin and their sacred destiny (Esposito, 18) yet Judaism hold means of obedience to and gratitude for God, whereas Christianity is accepts "divine grace or aid through the incarnation of God" (Esposito, 23). Christians and Jews have religious expressions that have a beginning and an end (Esposito, 22) which corresponds with their rituals and rites providing the "assistance through every stage of life, from birth to death" (Esposito, 180).

Rituals around the world all teach valuable lessons that help initiates see the value and importance of life. Each culture has different rituals that provide experiences for their youth to learn these valuable lessons of life. Many coming of age rituals are intense procedures. The Amazon's Satere Mawé youth enter adulthood through the bullet-ant glove initiation, teaching courage and endurance, and the crocodile scaring ritual that the men from the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea participate in teaches them pain and accomplishment.

Describe the purpose of the rite of passage from three perspectives: anthropologist, sociologist and psychologist

With the cultural differences, it is hard to understand why the Nacirema make these rituals a huge importance. Ethnocentrism plays a role, and is very present because it is very easy to judge one group’s behaviours and beliefs from the perspective of our own. It may be because it is something that we are not accustomed to or may find odd and unethical. If we were to put ourselves in their shoes, it is certain the cultures around the world may find our own “rituals and traditions” to be odd as well.

Infancy is from the ages 0-3 years old. It’s a time of rapid growth. During this period of time most changes occur. At this age children develop physical, intellectual, emotional and social skills. When a baby is born they are helpless and depend on their carer in order for them to survive.

3. Characterize the initiation ritual. How do you think it compares to the “real” ritual – if such a ritual exists?

Most common cultures have rituals, celebrations, or traditional ceremonies to acknowledge the coming of age of boys and/or girls. The Hispanic culture have a traditional “Quinceañera” for young teenage girls turning age 15 to recognize her coming of age as a woman. Jews have “Bar Mitzvah” for men or “Bat Mitzvah” for women to celebrate coming of age. Although in some cultures, celebrating coming age is nothing less than actually celebrating; but in other cultures, such as Aborigine culture, rather than having a huge celebration, young teenage boys, age thirteen, are enduring an essential evaluation. In this stage of their life, their elders test them to see if they are “man” enough to survive by themselves.

In “The Lion King”, the Sacraments of Initiation are clearly depicted through events in the movie. The Sacrament of Baptism is shown when he first born and Rafiki presents Simba to the rest of the animals. The Sacrament of Confirmation can be seen when Simba walks over the river with Pumbaa and TImon during the song Hakuna Matata. The final Sacrament of initiation can be seen when Simba eats the bugs with Pumbaa and Timon. These are where the three Sacraments of Initiation can be seen in the movie “The Lion King”.

It is sad that misuse of rituals could lead people to death. “The Lottery” illustrates a rural town with small population doing a drawing yearly to pick one person and stone him (her) to death. People follow rituals to remember the elders or being moral; it’s not the way of

* Does the ritual seek to have practical outcomes (health, safety, prosperity)? Social outcomes (a change in status)? Emotional outcomes (feelings)?

What was expected of the female children was vastly different than what was expected of the adults. Unlike most cultures where the boys attend school and the girls learn housework, it is believed that neither attended school. Instead, boy’s learned men’s work and girls did work alongside the females in their life. They learned to cook, garden, and take care of domestic animals and make clothing. By the time the females are ready to marry at the expected ages,

Infancy refers to babies from birth to two, sometimes three years of age. Physical and cognitive growth during infancy is rapid, more rapid than any other time in a person’s life excluding adolescences. The first three years of a child’s life are crucial to their overall cognitive development (Berger,2014). All aspects of early life affect brain patterns from infancy until late adulthood. Renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud said that all adult behavior is rooted in the infancy period and that infant experiences are the cornerstone for behavioral and cognitive development (Bremner, 2006).

Girls on the other hand are iniated The young girls are gathered and are grouped in tents for several weeks. The elder woman of the village would come and teach them their proper place, to please a man. Often times laying on top of each other to get the feeling for a position or to become