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EveryJaadu

Initiation and coming of age: practices that mark them

The rites by which someone enters a priesthood, a society or adulthood.

Initiation and coming of age are the rites by which a person enters a priesthood, a society, a religion or adulthood. They include the Hindu upanayana, the Jewish bar and bat mitzvah, Christian confirmation, Vodou kanzo, Santeria's making of a saint, Aboriginal and African age-grade ceremonies, Sande and Poro societies in West Africa, shamanic calling, and the degrees of ceremonial orders. This page asks what is entered, who decides, and what is kept secret.

Entering a role

Initiation changes status. A Hindu boy of a twice-born caste receives the sacred thread, a young Jew is called to the Torah, a Santeria initiate spends days in seclusion and emerges as a new person in a lineage. Many such rites involve seclusion, new clothing, a new name, instruction and a return to the community with changed standing. The age at which it happens varies, and the experience may be public and joyful or private and hard.

Secrecy and closed knowledge

Initiation often carries secrecy. In the Sande society for women in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and in Poro for men, learning is protected from outsiders. Many Aboriginal Australian and Native American ceremonies are restricted by gender, age and kinship. This guide describes only what a community shares and will not publish restricted detail. Some orders, secret societies and sects also protect themselves by oaths, which are meant to bind members but have been used to silence victims of abuse.

Harm in the name of tradition

Some initiation practices are harmful. Female genital cutting, hazing, sexual abuse by leaders and coercive recruitment into groups have been documented, and international bodies and local activists campaign against them. Others are being reformed or replaced with alternative rites that keep the ceremony and drop the cutting. Consent and age matter. Initiations in the Pacific, in Australia and in parts of Africa have also been disrupted by missionary and state action, and some are now being recorded or revived under community control.

Scholars and the individual

Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner described initiation as a threshold that moves a person from one state to another. Psychologists see value in marking transitions and warn about coercion. Today, rites are adapted for the diaspora, and people choose to join traditions as adults, as in Wicca, Vodou, Buddhist ordination and modern orders. Many initiations give a new name, and with it a new set of duties, which may be a heavy responsibility for the person concerned.

Initiation and coming of age on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFeng Shan封禪 An imperial rite performed at Mount Tai to honor heaven and earth and confirm the mandate of rule.Rite · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKalachakraདུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ། A Tibetan Buddhist tantric deity and system of yogic time cyclesTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇳🇬 NigeriaOrunmilaỌ̀rúnmìlà Yoruba deity of wisdom and the creator of the Ifá divination systemBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇸🇩 Sudan and 5 moreIncense Aromatic plant materials burned to release fragrant smoke for ritual, scent, or timekeeping.Substance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇷 GreeceKykeonκυκεών An Ancient Greek ritual drink linked to the Eleusinian Mysteries and peasant lifeSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreYantraयन्त्र A geometric diagram from Indian traditions used for worship and meditationTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreIfá A Yoruba divination system using palm nuts to access spiritual guidanceTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇿🇦 South AfricaUkuthwasa A spiritual calling and initiation process for traditional healers in Southern Africa.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreSacred dance Movement used in worship to honour deities, heal communities, or connect with the spirit world.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCandomblé An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreDhikrذِكْر Islamic remembrance of God through repeated recitation and prayerRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreMandalaमण्डल A sacred geometric design used in Indian religions for meditation and spiritual mapping.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇮🇳 IndiaMuhurtamuhūrta A Hindu unit of time used to select auspicious moments for rituals and daily practiceBelief · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMachi Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇷 GreeceEleusinian MysteriesἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια Ancient Greek secret initiation rites honouring Demeter and Persephone at EleusisTradition · Change and initiation · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇯🇵 JapanShugendō修験道 A Japanese mountain ascetic path blending Esoteric Buddhism, Shinto, and folk ritualsTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreOrishaÒrìṣà Divine spirits of the Yoruba religion and their diasporic descendants in the Americas.Being · Protection · Healing Living 🇻🇺 VanuatuLand divingnanggol A ritual jump from a wooden tower using vines to ensure a good harvestRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUpanayanaउपनयन A Hindu rite of passage marking a student's initiation into formal education and spiritual discipline.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇰🇷 South KoreaGut굿 Rites performed by Korean shamans to commune with spirits and ensure community welfare.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomGrimoire (sample) A handbook of rites and names.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.