Having seen all the presentations on various Coming Of Age ceremonies from around the world, please respond to
one of the following questions: Please produce a well written properly formatted paragraph. This will be assessed for a grade based on the usual writing rubric!
- What similarities do you see among the Coming of Age ceremonies from around the world? Are there any commonalities? How could you explain this?
- Compare your Coming of Age to that of other cultures. Do you see any value in the Coming of Age ceremonies of other cultures? Do you think that some of the Coming of Age ceremonies are valuable and perhaps prepare people better for adulthood than Western societies?
I think there is a lot of similarity among most of the coming of age ceremonies especially those among women. One of the most common thing all women does is the isolation almost every tribe carries out this step. When a girl first becomes a woman she is isolated in a hut and is not allowed to talk to anyone. Some does this for only some time while the others for a long period that might last for maybe months. Most of the women also is stopped from talking to men due to superstitious reasons like hidden evil spirits. I think almost every tribe still maintains this tradition but the ritual is changed a bit due to modern influences
ReplyDelete* What similarities do you see among the Coming of Age ceremonies from around the world? Are there any commonalities? How could you explain this?
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that many of the coming of age ceremonies isolate the initiates from all people except the mom. I think this is to protect the child from something and agree with the process.It is a very interesting one as in the Western Cultures, parents usually spend more time with the adolescents. I think that protecting the child is important but I don't understand why they isolate them. And i also don't understand why they only let the mom inside. But I can accept their ways and ant to learn more about them.
Ross
I would consider that my coming of age is getting a driver's license which is very different than the coming of age ceremonies in tribes. One ceremony in a tribe is a dance that lasts for many days which would show endurance, while my coming of age doesn't require endurance. My coming of age requires some skill to learn how to drive but nothing else. My coming of age is similar to some tribes because I don't have a ceremony, like some tribes don't have them for males. I know that the coming of age ceremonies are valuable for the tribes themselves but I do not see an value for them in our culture. I think that the coming of age ceremonies prepare the tribal people for their life while our ceremonies prepare us for our lives. The tribe's ceremonies show endurance and physical strength which they need to survive, while our ceremonies show smartness, popularity and give freedom(getting a car). I think that each culture has ceremonies which relate to their lives and are useful to them,so that all ceremonies are different.
ReplyDeleteThe similarity I see among the Coming of Age ceremonies from around the world are that they are all really meaningful and special, and boys and girls do something in order to be free. For example, the boys in one culture throws boomerang to their moms and sisters and it symbolizes that they're now not being cared by their family, they are independent now and free.
ReplyDeleteI see many similarities between the different coming of age ceremonies. Many of the tribes had big ceremonies for the girls. In a lot of the tribes the girls were put in huts for a long period of time. The girls were kept away from the evil spirits. In Apache the girls had to do a sunrise dance. In the Mbuti tribe the girls also did a sunrise dance. I do not know of it was the same, but i am pretty sure the dances were similar. The boys in the different tribes mostly had to hunt or show their strength. In the San tribe the boys did dancing and had a special hair cut. The tribes around the world are similar in many ways. I really don't know how the tribes around the world could have similar ceremonies, but maybe way in the past these tribes wandered near each other and they may have learned something from the different tribes. All i now is that the tribes are similar in many ways.
ReplyDeleteMost of the tribes that we studied had a lot of similarities in ceremonies. First, I found out that the tribes that we studied were mostly about becoming the adult of when they reach a certain age. Also some tribes had cleaning there sins of life. There were also a lot of ceremonies dealing with puberty of teens dealing circumcision and others. There are similarities but also differences. Compared to the western culture they have a lot of customs which I value that they have good meanings. To sum up I think the tribes have better belief and coming of age ceremonies.
ReplyDeleteResponse #2
ReplyDeleteComing of age in western cultures is almost a joke compared to what indigenous tribes around the world do, in western culture it is different for each individual family but in most cases there are 'sweet 16' in which the child turns into an adult by getting his/her (more often her) first car. Tribes in central Africa have their children run through the desert with a mouth full of water for 24 hours without consuming any of it,or kill a lion. In tribes these acts of bravery transform the child into a adult who is worthy of having tales of lore written after him. In our culture an act of bravery is driving your flaming pink Chevy Malibu to the Gucci on fourth and main and then spending your parents retirement fund to buy a 3,000 dollar purse to match those shoes you bought last year. Frankly I thinks its embarrassing that we think that these 'coming-of-age ceremonies' are actually an important part of the world today, I would rather have a culture that dose not believe in coming-of-age that believe in what westerners do. I don't believe that these ceremonies are important because it just emphasizes that the child is changing, emphasis that I don't believe is necessary.
In the world we live in today coming of age is referred to as adolescents. This is a stage in everyone's life to were he or she is becoming and adult. Around the world to how this stage in life is celebrated is different. However the majority of the world does not make this life stage to big. But in some tribes that are still making their way through life today have ceremonies that are held for this topic. For the newer generation when you are going through adolescents you are given moral support or. But for most tribes have the child mainly woman perform harsh tasks and are looked at in a different way. These tribes who hold the same costumes and value their cultures have and in depth meaning to what adolescents is all about. I see that they take this stage in life as a holy stage. When i hear about the tasks that the kids must do I find it very interesting. Because it is very new to me I can't feel the emotions the kids in the tribes are going through but i feel that their jobs are to harsh. Although considering that the tribes have a different life style then these tasks are probably very helpfull to them. But overall i believe that the kids in western society are good with the amount of support they get and for the kids in the tribe are also set to go this is because we both live in different worlds.
ReplyDeleteMehza Memon
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe similarity between all tribes are that they're hunters and gatherers making the boys to man ceremony the same which is that they have to hunt and kill an animal and bring the kill to their tribe. I also feel that the changing of the ceremonies are also the same. This is because usually overtime the country that these native tribes live in will make their ceremonies illegal or something like that.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn most of the cultures around the world there are a couple of similarities that make them seem that they are really similar and close together. One of the similarities is that they all have the same type of lifestyle, which is a hunter gatherer. Since they are hunter gatherers the boys will show there strength by hunting an animal by themselves. Since the boys are normally the ones that get the food the girls are cleaning so the girls need to get ready for being a woman so they are cleansed. I think that they are all similar because first of all they all live in the same conditions so they would want to live the same lifestyle resulting in similar ceremonies.
ReplyDelete*what similarities do you see among the coming of age ceremonies from around the world? are there any commonalities? How could you explain this.*
ReplyDeleteThe most similarities among all the tribe about the coming of age ceremonies was, all the girls' ceremonies are easier than the boys. like the boys have to practice hunting and there are some worst stuff i heard for the boys, and almost all the ceremonies for the boys includes Hunting.
The similarities in all the cultures that we have looked at are that for the women ,who are mostly considered a woman after they get their period. Maybe the culture may have some dancing and singing in the initiation process of the girls. The most different ritual that i thought was interesting was the yanomamis preparation for the coming of age. this is different because the girls have to endure the pain of the piercing on her earlobes and the her face. another different ritual is the girls ritual in the navajo tribe. this was interesting because the girls would stay away from the family and the community and the girl would make a cake and put it in a hole in the ground. she would later share this cake with the sun and her neigbours or relatives.
ReplyDeleteA similarity between some of the tribes is that they have made some rituals illegal. This has affected them because some of them aren't able to get lions for food. Because the government has made some rituals illegal it has changed the way people know about them. This has also effected the different tribes because they are not able to do things they used to do before.
ReplyDeleteAs a westerner I don't see the point of coming of age ceremony they are painful and cruel.We westerners have different points of view. I believe that this isn't right. Thought it is important to the tribes I think that is important. Thought I don't approve I think that if I was the head of the a area I would let them do it.
ReplyDeleteWestern cultures are nothing compared to what these indigenous tribes teach and show. The yanomami boys have to hunt to become a man. This ceremony for boys is very common in indigenous tribes. Hunting is not easy to do. It takes a lot of strength just to tell your mind to hunt. You might not come back alive. The ceremonies for girls varies a lot between the tribes. The yanomami girls have pierce sticks and feathers into there skin and keep it on for the rest of there lives. It can be very painful. In the Navajo tribe, girls have to make a cake and have to burry it in the ground. Then they wait till the morning and feed it too the sun. Not all ceremonies have great value in them but they surely possess more value than western cultures. I would say that tribes prepare people for a better adulthood.
ReplyDeleteMay of the tribes have large ceremonies that are held for coming of age, for both boys and girls. For the boys, the ceremony consists mostly of hunting and learning the ways of the tribe, as they will most likely be leading it later on. For the girls there is some time of isolation from the rest of the tribe, whether it be for a few days or a few months. In all the ceremonies, dancing is a common activity, and also learning about the responsibilities adulthood will hold for the boys and girls. I think there are many similarities because most of these tribes are very old, and have old traditions to celebrate coming of age.
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple of similarities I see among the Coming of Age ceremonies from around the world. One of the similarities is that they are hunter gatherers who hunt animals for food. (The reason why they are hunter gatherers is because their lifestyle is almost the same) Since they are hunter gatherers, in some tribes, the boys might be asked to show they are men by hunting animals themselves and staying in the jungle and survive for four days. This was the similarities for the boys' coming of age ceremony, and for girls, their coming of age is much carefree and not dangerous. Furthermore, their ceremonies are not special at all; they just help their parents at home by cleaning their house and doing some chores. I think that some tribes' coming of age ceremonies are similar because their LIFESTYLE is SIMILAR. (For example, they live in the same geographical environments.)
ReplyDeleteTavis
ReplyDeleteHaving seen all the presentations of tribes around the world, i have noticed that most of the tribes celebrate their coming of age with their family and friends. Unlike us, when we are coming of age, we do not celebrate. For people in my culture, adolesence is a time of more responseibility and more independence. We would not be partying all night long with our relatives to show that i am becoming an adult. We would be more likly too be hanging out with our friends, and showing independence, away from our family. So comparing my culture to tribes around the world, i think the celebration of coming of age is not as important to us as it is to them, and i don't think we have much commonalities. Then again i don't know everything that goes on in my friends houses. :)
There are many similarities between all different type of coming-of-age ceremony. Mostly, the coming-of-age ceremony is a big, special ceremony. It is not a ceremony only for boys and girls who are going through puberty. It's a special ceremony for everyone. Also, these ceremonies doesn't finish in one day. It takes more than one day. It takes even for three months. And people mostly celebrate coming-of-age ceremony when boys and girls are going through puberty. Compare to now, we are celebrating coming-of-age ceremony when we gets our driver license.
ReplyDeleteAlthough all these tribes are located in different areas around the world, I was surprised that most of their coming of age rituals were proceeded in a similar way. For example, a lot of tribes had hunting animals, and being isolated from the group/tribe members,etc. were common in a certain number of tibes. As well as this, I could see that some rituals were really painful and "harsh" and some were disappearing and becoming illegal due to the modernized law and the developing civilizations. Something that I have noticed, which a lot of tribes' ceremonies had in common, was that the girls' rituals were usually less painful and harsh than the boys'.
ReplyDelete