what social functions do rites of passage play course hero

by Ms. Alana Padberg II 6 min read

Why are rites of passage important?

Jul 24, 2017 · Question : What social functions do rites of passage play? Student Answer: They help maintain stability and order in society. They help a society to achieve a new form. They are symbolic dramatizations during crisis events in an individual’s life.

What are the rituals of passage?

Dec 11, 2018 · Question 7 1 / 1 pts What social functions do rites of passage play? They help the individual maintain his or her original status. They are symbolic dramatizations during crisis events in an individual’s life. They help a society to achieve a new form. Correct! They help maintain stability and order in society.

Why do we drink alcohol in rites of passage?

View full document Question 1 0 / 1 pts What social functions do rites of passage play? They help the individual maintain his or her original status. You Answered They are symbolic dramatizations during crisis events in an individual’s life. They help a society to achieve a new form. Correct Answer They help maintain stability and order in society.

What are the different forms of rite of passage?

Oct 23, 2015 · Question : What social functions do rites of passage play? Student Answer: They help maintain stability and order in society. They help a society to achieve a new form. They are symbolic dramatizations during crisis events in an individual’s life.

Why do we have a rite of passage?

One of the main purposes of a rite of passage is to help us make sense of change as individuals but also as a community. A rite of passage can help your children gain a deeper awareness of the transitions going on in their lives, while providing a sense of continuity with their personal story and of connection with their community.

What are some examples of rites of passage?

Baptisms, graduations and proms are examples of modern rites of passage. These ceremonies have one trait in common: They provide a social frame to ease an individual into a new stage without creating uneasiness or disruption. In a nutshell, they provide a way to make official an important change.

Who coined the term "rites of passage"?

In a nutshell, they provide a way to make official an important change. The term “rites of passage” was coined in 1909 by the French anthropologist Arnold van Gennep, who observed that these ceremonies are a way to help individuals go through the difficulties of a social transition. Nowadays the term is in common use, ...

What is the purpose of ceremonies?

Ceremonies that function as rites of passage connect us with our own past selves, but also with the past of our forebears. These ceremonies tend to be highly ritualized and are passed from one generation to the next, in a flow that evokes the continuity of life, and reminds us of our place in the great scheme of things.

What is Akoma Unity Center?

Akoma Unity Center (AUC) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, grassroots organization committed to the progress of African American youth, families, and communities. Akoma’s programs and services are specifically designed to meet the needs of historically excluded African American youth and communities.

What are the rites of passage?

Most of the rites of passages are closely connected to the biological milestones of life, viz., birth, maturity, marriage/reproduction, and finally death. These rites and religious events prepare the person’s transition from one phase of his/her life to another. Rites of passage are ceremonial events that mark the passage from one social status ...

What is the ceremony for a boy who turns 13 called?

This ceremony is called Bar Mitzvah. Bat Mitzvah is held when a girl turns 12. As the two religions do not discriminate between the two genders, the girl too gets to read the Torah at the Temple on a Sabbath.

Why do Mentawai women sharpen their teeth?

In the pursuit to beautify their body, Mentawai women who have reached puberty sharpen their teeth to a point to make the body more appealing to the soul.

Do Buddhists have a strict custom?

Buddhists do not require to observe a strict custom. This is because they mainly focus on the internal life. Some choose to take part in the passage ceremonies, while the rest do not. Either way, they are accepted into the community.

What does Rumspringa mean?

Rumspringa, meaning running around it, is derived from the word “rumpspringen”, meaning to jump around. However, in the Amish community, it simply means adolescence. Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa is a term used in the Amish community.

Is a Christian born a Christian?

As per the belief, no one is born a Christian; they become one after being christened as they go through the rites of entering the church. The Church of England practices baptizing infants, while introducing confirmation and holy communion for adults.

What is the main service of marriage?

The main service is a reminder of the provision made in the Bible, and thus, it begins with the reading of the sermon. The priest leads the vows that are taken of companionship, respect, and love, through thick and thin situations. They are then confirmed with a ring that both the bride and groom place on each other’s ring finger of the left hand. The priest then declares the two to be legally wed.

What are the rites of marriage?

These rites vary from extremes of elaboration to utmost simplicity, and they may be secular events or religious ceremonies . Subclasses of rites of marriage, named and unnamed, exist in many societies, beginning with ceremonies of betrothal that require complex formalities of transfer and exchange of goods, which are often regarded as compensation to the bride’s kin group for their loss of the bride. Ceremonies of dramatic sham “ capture” of the bride by the groom and his relatives and friends have been common in both preliterate and literate societies. Marriage in these societies is seen by social scientists as a cooperative liaison between two different groups of kin, between which some feelings of hostility exist. Ceremonies of token capture are conducted even when betrothal and all other arrangements for marriage have long been completed to the expressed satisfaction of both sides, and the sham captures are interpreted as socially sanctioned channels for the expression and relief of feelings of hostility between the two kin groups. In some historically known societies of Africa, such sham battles between kin of brides and grooms may occur, with full societal approval, for years after a marriage during any kind of religious rite.

Why are marriage ceremonies important?

In addition to sharing the functional significances of other passage rites, marriage ceremonies may be seen especially to stress social bonds between husband and wife and their kin groups.

What is female genital cutting?

Female genital cutting —which has received international attention and has been condemned by human rights advocates since the 1980s—may have psychological significance following Freudian lines of interpretation, but it seems clear that it is also significant as an insignia of social status.

Is puberty a male or female?

Puberty among females is often defined as the time of the onset of menses (the menstrual flow), but no such clearly identifiable point exists in the sexual maturation of males. Moreover, the age at which rites of attaining maturity are observed vary greatly from society to society, going far beyond the normal range of years at which sexual maturity ...

What would be the impact of cross cultural examination of alcohol in transitional rituals?

More extensive, systematic and detailed cross-cultural examination of the use of alcohol in transitional and festive rituals would provide valuable insight into perceptions of drinking and beliefs about the powers and properties of alcohol in different societies. Such research would also shed light on any shifts or changes in these beliefs - changes which could have significant effects on levels and types of alcohol-related problems.

What is the ritualisation of transition?

In many cultures, the ritualisation of transition is not restricted to the major life-cycle transitions of birth, coming-of-age, marriage and death , but extends to less portentous life-changing events such as graduation, job promotion, house-warming and retirement. The need to invest ‘lifestyle’ transitions with wider social and symbolic meaning - and particularly to do so by drinking - seems a near-universal feature of human cultures.

What is alcohol used for?

Alcohol is a symbolic vehicle for identifying, describing, constructing and manipulating cultural systems, values, interpersonal relationships, behavioural norms and expectations. Choice of beverage is rarely a matter of personal taste.

What is the meaning of choice of beverage?

Choice of beverage may also be a statement of affiliation, a declaration of membership in a particular group, generation, class, ‘tribe’, sub-culture or nation and its associated values, attitudes and beliefs.

Is drinking a social leveller?

Alcohol has long been regarded as a social leveller, and the act of communal drinking as a means of communication between those of different ranks and status in society. If, as we propose above, the drinking-place embodies the symbolic social functions of alcohol, we would therefore expect to find, in most cultures, that drinking-places tend to perform a socially integrative, equalising function. We would expect drinking-places to be, if not strictly egalitarian, at least environments in which the prevailing social order may be challenged.

What is the function of drinking places?

These integrative qualities, along with its role as a special, liminal environment, contribute to the key function of the drinking-place as a facilitator of social bonding. This function is so clearly evident that even in ambivalent drinking cultures, where research tends to be problem-centred and overwhelmingly concerned with quantitative aspects of consumption, those conducting research on public drinking-places have been obliged to "focus on sociability, rather than the serving of beverage alcohol, as the main social fact to be examined" (Campbell, 1991).

What is drinking ritual?

Drinking-rituals are also used to define, facilitate and enhance far less momentous passages, such as the daily or weekly transitions from home to work and from work to leisure, or even the beginning and completion of a specific task. Mandelbaum (1965) observes that: