So I find this whole coming of age thing quite
interesting. Turns out the passage of
rites is more involved than a Xhosa boy loosing his foreskin somewhere in the
bush or a 13 year old Jewish boy suddenly capable of understanding the Torah after
his bar mitzvah.
The difference between Xhosa youth in Transkei and white
boys in Limpopo is quite evident. Here
in rural Transkei, becoming a man is the most important event in a boy’s life. There is a lot of psyching up before the
initiation and after a hearty 3 week chat from the old men in the village who visit
the boys who are tucked away in a secret hut, their foreskin is chopped off. Depending on the boy’s father’s financial
position, he slaughters a goat or a chicken but preparing a meal of samp and
beans often clinches the deal. From that
day on, he is expected to act responsibly as well as attend family funerals
which takes up most of their Saturdays. Young men display their newfound
manhood by wearing a checked jacket and/or a floppy flannel beret. This outfit from the 50’s probably confuses
onlookers into thinking the wearer’s limped shuffle, prompted by a recent slice
and dice, is a carefree swagger.
Boys in Limpopo on the other hand, are treated to a
weekend away with their dad, dad’s buddies, and as much brandy and coke that
can fit next to the rifles and ammo packs in the back of the bakkie as they
head off to the nearest game farm to find an animal to kill and turn into
biltong. Once the boy has made his kill,
he smears the dead animal’s blood all over his face and eats a piece of its
intestines. He straddles his kill for a
photo shot and sometimes the initiate takes the head home to mount against the
lounge wall to remind everyone of his manhood.
His swagger is brought on by brandy and coke as he celebrates his
newfound manhood.
Even Japanese people, both male and female have a coming
of age day. It’s celebrated on the 2nd
Monday of January and everyone who turns 20 that year is allowed to vote, drink
and smoke. Perhaps men walk around
asking everyone for a light to show their newfound manliness even though they are
the size of an average 9 year old Benoni boy.
20 Year old girls probably peer at you from smouldering almond eyes as
they pluck out a cute, miniature cigarette, wrapped in origami paper decorated
in Hello Kitty designs which they keep in a cute little box stuffed up their
kimono sleeve.
American Indian boys go off to pray in a sauna and
afterwards, a special spirit, who appears in their dreams, protects them for
the rest of their life and they are rewarded with a new adult name like eagle
eye, big bear or hopping rabbit.
Young men of the Buddhist faith go to a monastery for
between 3 days to 3 years, depending on how dedicated they are in trying to
levitate. After abstaining from sex and food but thriving on praying, you are
primed for adult married life and cooled down enough to attract a woman.
In Australia, Aboriginal tribes get together for a Bora
ceremony where singing, dancing and storytelling is performed. After sacrificing something to the spirits, boys
loose their foreskins, a finger or a tooth to signify their manhood.
In the Amazon, the Satere Mawe tribe push pain levels to
the extreme as boys have to wear a glove of ants whose bite is excruciatingly
painful but they have to repeat the exercise 20 times before becoming a man
with a swollen hand.
On the Pentacost island, a little place in the south
pacific, boys do bungee jumping on land with a length of jungle vines and hope
to survive the fall. If they do, their
yam crop will be good but the trick is all about the length of the vine and I
imagine how much impact your head can take.
In New Guinea, timid Matausa tribesmen injure themselves
in order to let their mother’s woosie blood bleed out of their bodies. They stick sharp reeds up their noses, down
their throats and repeatedly cut their tongues with arrows. Once they’ve spat out all the bad blood, they
are certified brave men and probably from then on speak with a forked tongue.
Maybe you think these rites of passage are unusual and
outdated. I think that although some are
a bit extreme, the concept of a passage of rites is important for many primitive
communities. To be acknowledged as a man
within these communities and honouring their tradition keeps hierarchy levels
in order, respect for the elders is kept alive and separates the boys from the
men.
On the other hand, every year modern, first world Danish
teenagers trap hundreds of dolphins in a bay and butcher them to death. I find this demonstration of manhood much
more shocking and barbaric.
Each tribe has a system that works for them, some just
differ from others but some just are not acceptable no matter how you look at
it.
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