A Susurrus Around the World

An Introduction

Hello there! My name is Keara, and I am participating in an Introduction to Cultural Anthropology class this semester, Fall 2013. As an end-of-the-year assignment, I've been commissioned by my professor to create a blog. Yay!

The prompt is this: We are to compare, contrast, and analyze the rites of passage for a handful of cultures. Thus, in the end I will have described six rites of passage for six cultures, two cultures for each of the following ceremonies: Coming of Age, Marriage, and Death.

I'm super excited, this is going to be a lot of fun. I am an Anthropology major, so any project that I can get my hands on that has to do with the study of humans makes me so very happy!

So, in conclusion to all of this, I hope that you get as much out of my little project as you can! And I hope you like it too!

A Year in Seclusion: An Athabascan Coming of Age

            When a girl beings her first menses in the Athabascan culture of Alaska, she is put into seclusion for a year. Caroline Williams goes into great detail describing this coming of age ritual in her article “From One Young Woman to Two Old Women: How Cultural Continuity Is Illustrated Through Athabascan Values” (2012). In the past, before the natives encountered white intervention, the girls were put into small huts or tents about a mile from the homes of their families (Williams 2012:1-2). They were watched over by their mothers, who took this time to train the young teenagers in the etiquettes and standards of being a good Athabascan woman through stories. 

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The girls are taught to go without food for the sake of children (Williams 2012:7), beading, and how to sew. They sew and sew and sew, from dawn until dusk most of the time. They sew decorative pieces and pieces of clothing for their families-to-be. They are kept busy because if a girl is idle during her time in seclusion, she will only be lazy when she becomes a wife and mother. To keep her focused, the girl would be made to wear a special hood, reaching to their waists, which prevent them from seeing around themselves, much like the blinders used on horses (Williams 2012:8). After their period of time relatively alone, the girls would return to the homes of their parents, though now as a woman ritually eligible for marriage.

Their Rumspringa: An Amish Coming of Age

            When Amish teenagers, both boys and girls alike, reach the age of 16, they are thrown into a liminal state known as their rumspringas. Translating into “running around” from Pennsylvania Dutch, this is the period of time when Amish teens are neither children or true members of the church, which they become should they decide to get baptized. Rumspringas last for many years, usually into the person’s early twenties. Tom Shachtman reveals this Amish coming of age period in his book “Rumspringa: To Be or Not To Be Amish” (2007). During their rumspringa, the teens are allowed to partake in “worldly activities” without their parents’ intervention; activities such as smoking, drinking, driving, and sexual collaborations. Not every teen goes as far as to participate in all of these actions though. Many simply partake in courting and gatherings of other youth called “singings” after church services on Sunday mornings.  

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The rumspringas end when the teenager decides that they are in fact ready to become a full, permanent member of the church. They will be baptized and their period of mischief and freedom will be over. There is another option though. A teen can choose to not get baptized. However, the repercussions for this are hard. The young adult will be excommunicated from their church. They are shunned by their families, made to leave their communities. Except for their upbringing, they become English. This is why teens attempt to drag their rumspringas on for as long as they can, although it is usually shorter for girls than for boys.