Talk:Rite of passage/Archives/2014

Islam Rite of Passage
i removed the part where circumcision is thought to be rite of passage in Islam. Where is your reference? circumcision is done in Islam for hygiene (cleanliness) only as instructed by religion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.163.165.19 (talk) 14:03, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Here are several references. I don't know the Wikipedia citation rules, and I'm not suggesting that these are legitimate references in the Wikipdia sense. But collectively they suggest that circumcision is a rite of passage in Islam. I think this part should be restored. 24.189.1.111 (talk) 01:03, 27 May 2013 (UTC)
 * http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2020?_hi=0&_pos=15
 * http://www.encyclopedia.com.my/volume10/islamicrites.html
 * http://www.circlist.com/rites/moslem.html
 * http://www.male-initiation.net/anthropology/eliade.html

✅ - Islam was added back under "circumcision", with the references provided. Thank you for the assistance. Boneyard90 (talk) 07:11, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Thracian Crastolo?
Anyone know/want to research whether this is a real phenomenon or a vandalous/joke edit? I can't tell. (If the person who added the information wants to cite sources, that would be great.) Hbackman 04:30, 15 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Here is the guilty material: "''Thracian Crastolo: in ancient Thrace, a boy, upon reaching the age of thirteen, was given his first spear. He was then sent out into the hills outside of his village for a week or sometimes more. The boy would create his own shelter and live out in the hills until he was able to fully accept his role in society, after which acceptance he would return to the village. He would be greeted with a large meal prepared by the entire village, consisting mostly of roasted lamb and pancakes flavored with onions and served with a garlic butter made of goats' milk or cheese, similar to the Jewish latke. He would then be danced for by older men. They would perform the 'Thracian Fire Dance' or Anastenaria and dance around fires with torches. When the fire died down they would tread upon the ashes of the fire, finally inviting the boy to join in. He was then presented with a newly forged sword, if he was to be a mercenary, or a pickaxe if he was to become a miner."
 * Amusing that he fooled us for a whole year. But if anyone can show this is for real, post it back with proper citations, and I'll eat my hat. Haiduc 06:23, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

North American Coming of Age

 * First obtained driver's license
 * First learned to ride a bicycle

...

Do North Americans tend to forget how to ride a bike, so there is at least a second learned to ride a bicycle, and is it common to obtain several driver's licenses...? --Abdull 14:35, 1 July 2006 (UTC)


 * You make a good point about the bicycle example, it was worded poorly; but "Learning to ride a bicycle" is a rite of passage in North America. As for the driver's license, I would say yes, it is fairly common to obtain more than one. Each state has its own laws regarding licensing, so each time you move to a new state, you have to apply (and sometimes take a test) for a new license. Licences are also different for motorcycles or other vehicles, so a person can have several types of driver's licenses. Because of these reasons, I've had 5 or 6 driver's licenses in my life. Finally, if you break the law and have the license revoked, you may have to apply and test for a new license. Hope this answers your questions.Boneyard90 (talk) 21:30, 10 December 2011 (UTC)

Modern/Western rites of passage
Retitled to "Modern rites of passage". Those rites of passage described there aren't confined to North America, or even to Western society - not everyone outside the United States is a disabled, mute, uneducated, unloved, non-working, teetotal, unmarried person without any children living with their parents (I think that covers everything on the list). Makaar 21:15, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
 * That is NOT the point- do non-Western societies consider these 'transitions' so typical and important as to choose them as rite of passage, or do they prefer some alternative, which may be inspired not be presnet practical considerations but by their ancestral way of life, religious traditions etc., ord o only westernized sections (e.g. educated young generations)? Fastifex 16:12, 26 August 2006 (UTC)


 * "Western"? "Modern"? I think that this list actually is north-american centered, because it lists moments that aren't so important elsewhere, even in the west. For example, I don't know what this "prom" thing is all about (seen it only in american movies?), and much less this "dorm" thing (That one is even more alien)--164.77.84.43 16:25, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Does anyone else find it a little bit silly that birth and death are listed as rites of passage, let alone uniquely American rites of passage?

I do find it silly that they are listed as uniquely American rites of passage, but not that they are listed as rites of passage. A rite of passage is a collection of rituals that are common in a given culture when an individual or group moves from one social status to another. The way many culture groups act when a new child is born or a member of the group dies do qualify as rites of passage. An example is funeral rites in American society. The deceased is moving from the social group of "living" into the social group of "dead". Following the terms Arnold van Gennep used to describe rites of passage, the "separation" occurs when the individual dies (though in cases of long-term illness this could be said to begin once the disease is diagnosed). "Liminality" occurs while the individual is being embalmed, this is the point where he or she is, as Victor Turner would put it, "betwixt and between" the two social groups. Finally, incorporation comes during the viewing and the burial service when the individual is presented as a dead person ready to be buried, and finally laid to rest.

Maybe it would be best to create a second article that lists different Rites of Passage, allowing this article to focus on the theoretical? Josterhage (talk) 03:42, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

Order of "Coming of Age in America 20th CEN"
Why is "losing one's virginity" listed after marriage and so obviously out of place?!?! Besides, we don't really have rites of passage in the dominate American culture!!! --Carlon 01:09, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Coming of age in U.S. folklore in the late 20th century
This part of the article is questionable given the lack of sources. It needs to be verified or else this can be construed as original research.

Since when has Death become a Coming of Age Ritual in North America? Does any other culture regard death as a right of passage? A milestone yes, coming of age, hardly. Grifter tm (talk) 08:11, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

On second thought, since the whole section isn't sourced, I'm taking it out. A lot of people in the US might not agree, but since there are no sources that can be used to verify the whole section, it might be taken as original research. Grifter tm (talk) 02:44, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Three stages of RoP
The description of liminality is piss poor. Framed0000 (talk) 04:05, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Given that liminality is discussed on another page, this page seems to contain a pretty decent summary. On the other hand, the three stages need their own subsection separate from "History of Term", and need to be cited. Furthermore, the History of Term presented is imprecise, as the term was originated by Arnold van Gennep as the title of his book in which the concept was first presented. Victor Turner, Mary Douglas, and Joseph Campbell largely based their theories on his ideas, and if there are no objections I'm going to change the article to reflect this. Josterhage (talk) 09:35, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Schoolies Week
An IP removed the reference to Schoolies Week. I read the article, and I feel that it DOES fit the description of a Rite of Passage. However, without a verifiable source describing it as such, its inclusion may constitute Original Research. So, I'm going to leave it as is unless someone can find a source describing it as a Rite of Passage. Josterhage (talk) 20:32, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Should not redirect from "right of passage"
"Right of passage" should not redirect to "rite of passage." They are two quite different things. "Right of passage" is a term in international law, meaning (approximately) a country's right for its ships to pass through coastal straits. (See, for example, http://www.seerecht.org/wegelein/iptext.htm .) There's at least one instance in Wikipedia which links to "right of passage" using this definition. See the "Geography" section of the "Bosnia and Herzegovina" article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.

Someone needs to create (or restore?) the "right of passage" article. It would be better for it to link to nothing, than to link to "rite of passage." As a side note, a Google search does return a number of hits where "right of passage" is misused in the meaning "rite of passage." 24.189.1.111 (talk) 00:53, 27 May 2013 (UTC)