Closed practice
A tradition whose rites or knowledge are kept for members, initiates or a community, which outsiders are asked to respect.
Also: closed tradition, initiatory tradition, not for outsiders
Closed practice is a term used by many practitioners for traditions that restrict who may learn or perform them, for example Native American ceremonies, Aboriginal sacred knowledge, initiated Vodou and Ifa priesthoods, or Santería rites. The reasons include protecting sacred meaning, keeping responsibility with trained elders and refusing to let colonial history repeat itself through taking and selling. Communities hold different views on what may be shared, so a respectful reader follows what each community says about itself. In writing about such matters, this site describes customs in outline and does not publish what is held secret. Open practices, such as a household custom shared in a village, stand on the other side of the line.