Human beings go through a series of physical and emotional changes in their lives. While the physical transition of individuals from one stage to another may be similar, the approaches to these transitions are marked by the cultural differences in people. A majority of the cultures consider the stages of birth, puberty, marriage, childbirth, and death to be the important stages in life, as such, mark them with certain ceremonies or rituals, popularly known as the rites of passage.
Some of the prominent rites of passage in North America include baptism, convocation ceremonies, marriages, and funerals. The rites of the passage thus mark the transition between psychological or physical changes occurring in the individual in the presence of family members, relatives, and friends. Most cultures include ceremonies or rites of passage to mark the onset of puberty or adulthood among boys and girls. This phase is an important one and several cultures have different approaches to it.
The native Australians and Africans mark the onset of puberty or adulthood in males with the process of circumcision or Subincision. Circumcision involves the removal of part of the skin of the penis while Subincision involves making a cut in the side of the penis or making a hole in it. It is noteworthy that the process of circumcision is carried out in many societies at the attainment of puberty, while in Islam circumcision is generally performed when the child is very young, often within forty days from the birth of the male child.
Some cultures celebrate puberty and adulthood in males in rather severe manners as compared to others. The East African tribe, Barabaig, has certain rigid and painful ceremonies to mark the onset of puberty among boys. The boys’ heads are shaved off and deep cuts are made in them, extending from one ear to another, leaving deep scars in their skulls. Similar painful ceremonies were included in the Luiseno Indian culture.
Upon reaching puberty, the boys were laid on heaps of red ants and were not expected to cry, even while the ants bit them severely. A rather agonizing instance of celebrating puberty was noted among some of the Australian Aborigines. The adult boy was expected to hit his own penis with a heavy stone until it bled. Some of his incisors were also broken with stones by men who gave him instructions regarding the appropriate behavior of men in their society. These rituals and ceremonies marking the passages of puberty in males were very painful in some societies.
While the ceremonies of onset of puberty among girls may be taboo in the North American culture, many of the Native Americans celebrated the girls’ onset of menstrual periods. An example of this could be found among the South Californian Indians who publicly announced the onset of puberty among their girls and daughters, acclaiming their girls’ transition to womanhood. This transition was marked by a typical ceremony in which the girls’ bodies were buried in part in mildly warm sands.
During this ritual, the girls were not permitted to scratch themselves or to eat salt. Instructions and information were passed from the older experienced women to these young girls regarding the accepted norms of behavior. The girls were also advised on the ideal ways of behavior of women and wives. It is noteworthy that in North America today, such rites of passage or public announcement regarding the onset of menses or puberty would be considered rather embarrassing, but would be celebrated with fervor and dignity in a majority of Native American cultures. Thus we see that notable cultural differences existed in the approach of different societies to the transition to adulthood.