coming of age

A detailed Summary of coming of age

Many cultures have a unique way of accepting the leap from childhood to a manhood. These customs might be extremely different in each culture, but they share a common thread. The Jewish, Ibo and Mayan cultures are examples of variant societies that share the common notion that this stage should be marked in a distinctive way.

In the Jewish religion, boys are not obligated to observe the commandments, although they are encouraged to do so. At the age of thirteen, boys are required to abide by the commandments. The Bar Mitzvah, which literally means "son of the commandment," is the ceremony in which the Jewish boy accepts that obligation. During a Bar Mitzvah, the boy is called up to the Torah to recite a blessing over the weekly reading. In today's culture, it is expected for the boy to also recite the haftorah portion (weekly text from the prophets), and sometimes to lead part of the service. He is expected to make a speech that starts with the phrase, "Today I am a man." Although a Jewish boy automatically becomes a Bar Mitzvah at the age of 13, it has recently become popular to have a ceremony. The ceremony does not fulfill any commandment. In recent times, there is normally a reception that follows

On the contrary to the nonchalant Ibo culture (on the subject of the transition from boyhood to manhood), it was a very important aspect of the Mayan culture. A party of boys was assembled in the godfather's courtyard where they sat before four elders of the clan along with a priest. The priest was situated next to a brazier. Taking turns, each child stood before the priest where he received maize and a pinch of copal. The child threw them into the brazier. The child had to confess his sins, and after this was done, the priest gave a lecture on maturity. Then the priest blessed each child by placing pure water over them, and the white bead stuck to the boys head at birth was removed. The children gave the elders cacao beans and feathers that they had brought for gifts. In return, each child was given a puff of smoke from the elders' pipes. Wine offerings were made to the gods. Then the brazier was brought to the outskirts of the village where it was quickly dumped. They believed that it carried away demons that had been removed from the children. The courtyard was then swept so that if any demons did happen to make it out, the courtyard would not look familiar to them. This ceremony was followed by a big feast, called the descent of the gods, which ended the ceremony. This ritual is obviously a very important time in a boys life. He was purified from the demons from inside of him, and he took on the title of a man, normally at the age of fourteen. This is much like the Jewish religion because in the early teen years, childhood was replaced by the responsibilities of manhood. They both have a one-day ritual which fulfills this transformation. On the other hand, the Ibo culture has no special day, nor set

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Approximate Word count = 1168
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous