Rites of Passage

As an anthropologist in training, one of the things I have learned not to do is make wide general statements. That said, it seems like almost every culture has some form of a rite of passage, where a person progresses from one stage of their life to the next. Perhaps one of the most well known examples is the Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony where a young man or woman recites passages from the Torah before they become an adult in the eyes of their congregation/community. Another well known example (after a fashion) may be eighteenth birthday in the United States, when one is legally an adult, and thus can vote, fight for their country, and buy cigarettes. These are just some of the better known examples, however history and culture are both filled with countless more examples.

I bring all of this up as a reflection on something I read in April of 2009. It was an article for one of my classes. In that article, one of the arguments made was that almost all rites could be seen as rites of passage. I don't know if I agree with that point of view, but the author did make a compelling argument. Everything moves us from one to another point of life. Everything takes us from one destination to another. There is the journey, and that in itself is a rite of passage.