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 Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreDhikrذِكْر Islamic remembrance of God through repeated recitation and prayerRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority 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

🇳🇬 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

🇮🇳 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

🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCandomblé An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing 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

🇯🇵 JapanShugendō修験道 A Japanese mountain ascetic path blending Esoteric Buddhism, Shinto, and folk ritualsTradition · Protection · Healing 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

🇮🇳 IndiaLeft-Hand and Right-Hand Paths Two distinct orientations in occult magic, dividing taboo-breaking from orthodoxy.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority 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 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

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreOrishaÒrìṣà Divine spirits of the Yoruba religion and their diasporic descendants in the Americas.Being · Protection · Healing Living

🇮🇳 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

🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreFace tattoo Marks inked on the face for spiritual protection, identity, rank, and rite of passageTradition · Protection · Power and authority Living 🇳🇬 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)Ifá A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living 🇦🇺 AustraliaDaramulum A one-legged sky hero of south-east Aboriginal culturesBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇮🇪 IrelandFellowship of Isis𓊨𓏏𓁐𓌞𓋴𓅱𓂻𓐰𓏥 An international spiritual fellowship honouring the Divine Feminine and the goddess IsisTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇬🇷 GreeceSacred mysteriesμυστήριον Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

🇦🇺 AustraliaCleverman A traditional Aboriginal healer and cultural keeper in Australia with varied magical abilities.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇦🇲 Armenia and 5 moreSpilling water for luck A folk custom of pouring water to wish a traveler or worker a smooth journeyBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living

🇹🇷 TurkeyKhirqaخرقه An initiatory cloak in Sufism that passes spiritual lineage and blessings from teacher to student.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreBullroarer A wooden slat on a string that produces a roaring sound for ritual and communication.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Orunmila: unknown Yoruba artist, CC0, source
Incense: nakimusi, CC BY 2.0, source
Yantra: Photo by Daniel Conrad (Chromacon), artwork by Daniel Conrad under dir, Public domain, source
Ifá: Toluaye, Public domain, source
Ukuthwasa: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Candomblé: André Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Shugendō: 唐山健志郎 (Kenshiro Karayama), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Upanayana: vinodbahal, CC BY 2.0, source
Gut: ReSearcher at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Khirqa: Unknown author, CC0, source
Mandala: Marion Golsteijn, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Orisha: Turismo Bahia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Kalachakra: Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source
Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
Sacred dance: Jorge Barrios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Dhikr: Eugène Baugnies, Public domain, source
Land diving: Paul Stein, CC BY-SA 2.0, source