Rites of passage are diverse, and are found throughout many cultures around the world. Many western societal rituals may look like rites of passage but miss some of the important structural and functional components. However, in many Native and African-American communities, traditional rites of passage programs are conducted by community-based organizations such as
Man Up Global. Typically the missing piece is the societal recognition and reincorporation phase.
Adventure education programs, such as
Outward Bound, have often been described as potential rites of passage. Pamela Cushing researched the rites of passage impact upon adolescent youth at the Canadian Outward Bound School and found the rite of passage impact was lessened by the missing reincorporation phase. Bell (2003) presented more evidence of this lacking third stage and described the "Contemporary Adventure Model of a Rites of Passage" as a modern and weaker version of the rites of passage typically used by outdoor adventure programs.
Coming of age scroll at his
Bar Mitzvah, using a
Yad is a rite of passage for boys of the South Pacific island of
Pentecost. in the
Amazon rainforest intentionally use
bullet ant stings as a rite of passage into manhood. In various
tribal and
developed societies, entry into an
age grade—generally gender-separated—(unlike an
age set) is marked by an
initiation rite, which may be the crowning of a long and complex preparation, sometimes in retreat. • Acquisition of a
drivers license • Removal of
Impacted wisdom teeth •
Bar and Bat Mitzvah •
Breeching, when an infant is put into boy's clothing •
Coming of Age in Unitarian Universalism • Completion of
toilet training •
Débutante ball •
Dokimasia • First
training bra and
bra • First
menstruation, i.e.
menarche •
Seclusion of girls at puberty •
Sevapuneru or
Turmeric ceremony •
Graduation •
Matrescence, the transition to motherhood •
Okuyi in several
West African nations •
Philippine debut •
Poy Sang Long in Shan Buddhist community •
Quinceañera •
Retirement •
Russefeiring in
Norway •
Scarification and various other physical endurances •
Secular coming of age ceremonies for non-religious youngsters who want a rite of passage comparable to the religious rituals like confirmation •
Shichi-Go-San in Japan •
Shinbyu in Burmese Buddhist community •
Sweet Sixteen •
Wedding •
Walkabout Religious , here depicted in a Catholic cathedral; a
liturgical feast commemorates this on New Year's Day •
Amrit Sanchar in
Sikhism •
Annaprashana •
Baptism (
Christening) •
Bar and Bat Mitzvah in
Judaism •
Bwiti •
Circumcision •
Zeved habat and
Bris in
Judaism •
Khitan in
Islam • In
Coptic Christianity, the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the
Eritrean Orthodox Church • Consecration in Reform Judaism •
Confirmation in Western
Christianity and some streams of Judaism • Diving for the Cross, in some Orthodox Christian churches •
First Communion, First
Eucharist and First
Confession • Siddur presentation ceremony in Judaism • Bible presentation ceremony in several branches of
Protestantism •
Hajj in
Islam •
Chudakarana, or hair cutting in Hinduism •
Rumspringa •
Sanskara, a series of
sacraments in
Hinduism •
Shinbyu in
Theravada Buddhism •
Vision quest in some Native American cultures • in traditional
Mandan culture •
Wiccaning in
Wicca • Temple
Endowment in the
Latter-day Saint tradition
Military •
Boot Camp and
Officer Candidate School are rites of passage from civilian to military life. In the United States Navy's Officer Candidate School and the United States Marine Corps,
Drill Instructors manufacture stress as a form of training. In Turkish Armed Forces recruits have an oath taking ceremony as a passage from civilian to military members. •
Blood wings •
Line-crossing ceremony •
Krypteia, a rite involving young
Spartans, part of the
agoge regime of Spartan education. •
Ephebeia, a training period for young Athenians •
Wetting-down. In the
U.S. Navy and
Royal Navy, is a ceremony in which a naval officer throws a party for his shipmates upon receiving a promotion. •
Turkish Air Force officers in pilot training are hosed down with water and ordered to do push-ups after completing their
first solo flight.
Academic • The first day of school, whether the first overall or the first in a specific phase prior to postsecondary education • Graduation •
Matura Some academic circles such as dorms, fraternities, teams and other clubs practice
hazing,
ragging and
fagging.
Szecskáztatás, a mild form of hazing (usually without physical and sexual abuse), is practiced in some Hungarian secondary schools. First-year junior students are publicly humiliated through embarrassing clothing and senior students
branding their faces with
marker pens; it is sometimes also a contest, with the winners usually earning the right to organize the next event. Fraternities and sororities, like other private societies, often have codified initiation ceremonies as ritual separating candidates from members.
Vocational/professional •
White coat ceremony in medicine and pharmacy. •
The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer, also known as the
Iron Ring Ceremony •
Walk on Water: Second-year students must pass the competition to continue in the school of architecture at
Florida International University in the United States • A student pilot successfully completing a
first solo flight traditionally gets drenched with water and has his or her shirt tail cut off.
Sports •
Batizados in
Capoeira •
Black belt in martial arts •
Blooding in fox hunting • a
Major League Baseball player's first hit (The ball is retrieved, labeled, and given to the player as a keepsake.) • A
National Hockey League player's first goal (The puck used to score said goal may be retrieved, labeled, and given to the player as a keepsake.) • In
Trap Shooting and
Skeet Shooting, the first time a shooter scores 25 straight (perfect score for a round), their hat is thrown in the air and shot down by the other shooters present.
Other •
Castration in some sects and special castes •
Dental evulsion, among various cultures of Africa, Asia and Oceania. • Earlier seasons of the television series
Survivor typically include a rite of passage prior to the final immunity challenge. Though the specifics of this rite of passage vary based on the customs and traditions of the host country, most rites of passage include a lengthy walk to the final challenge along which the remaining castaways pass the torches of every eliminated contestant from that season. There have been variations on this walk, such as seasons in which the remaining contestants paddle a boat to the final challenge and drop the torches into the ocean along the way. ==See also==