Coming Of Age

A detailed Summary of Coming Of Age

Coming of Age is a very important ritual in some cultures. Many cultures believe that you need a coming of age ritual to do exactly what it says; come of age, which if u analyze, may mean be of age to produce children. Most coming of age rituals take place around puberty, between the ages of ten and thirteen. Of the ones I have found, they all involve a big celebration of some kind including the whole family. Coming of age rituals may involve boys becoming men, girls becoming women, or both. Of the ones that celebrate both, they may stress more on one sex then the other. The Navahos, the Aruntas, people who study the religion of Judaism, and the Yanomamis are all cultures that have rituals for coming of age.

The Navahos of the mid-west united states celebrate both the boys and the girls coming of age, yet they stress the girls a lot more then the men. The men go simply on a vision quest by themselves to find a lifelong helper and guide. The women's rituals are more complex. They celebrate the Kinaalda, which translates to "Changing Woman", which is a 4 day ritual for them. The "Changing Woman" is said to bring fertility and long life to other women of the tribe. A major part of the kinaalda is the traditional run towards the s

un's rays, which symbolize life, truth, beauty, and goodness. After the run is completed she will grind corn; which symbolizes the sun to the Navahos, for a cake. At the end of the fourth day they place the cake over a fire for the night. While the cake is baking everyone of the family stays up all night singing and praising, until the break of dawn when the sunlight's rays touch the girl. They sing one final song and then the ceremony is over.

The people who study Judaism, many times referred to as Jews, have celebrated the Bar Mitzvah similarly as we know it today since the sixth century CE. I don't prefer to call them "Jews" because it seems to have almost a mocking tone to it, something Hitler would have said, and we all know what Hitler did. The Bat Mitzvah was not developed until the middle ages. The difference between the Bar and Bat Mitzvah is that the Bar Mitzvah is for the boys becoming man and the Bat Mitzvah is for the girls becoming women. Mitzvah can be translated as "good deed" or commandment. The Bar/Bat Mitzvah occurs when a child has reached thirteen years of age. Before thirteen it had to been seen that the parents were obliged to carry out religious responsibilities for the child. During the religious service of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, He would chant the Torah blessings, all or part of the weekly parasha (Torah portion) as well as a section of Haftarah (an additional reading from the prophets). The young man's father would then recite a b'racha (blessing), and also the child has to recite part of the Talmud. Then the celebration is a big party in which family and friends are all invited to rejoice the child becoming recognized as more responsible in the culture. My friend Keith Petrower , who is a practicing member of the Judaism realign said, "M

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Approximate Word count = 1199
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Religion