Page 174 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

initiation and rites of passage 993

man then enquires in how many holes there are par-
rots and the man tells him how many children are
proposed for confirmation. The headman then an- transitions can generate.Thus, such disruptions are most
nounces a date and commands all the villagers to be likely, and likely to be most intense, in small societies
present. where individuals interact with a small number of
On this day the village assembles.The children are cohorts.This is because the position and behavior of any
washed by the midwives who assisted at their births. single person is maximally likely to affect others in such
All the married women are given fresh vermilion for groups. Further, where stability in institutions and behav-
their foreheads, and after rice-beer has been circu- ior is valued, change has maximum potential to threaten
lated, the headman starts the ritual. the group. In large groups and in groups open to change,
“Early today,” he says, “I was passing this house by contrast, the status or behavior of any specific individ-
when I heard some little parrots in a hole.They were ual or class of individuals has less potential to threaten
trying to fly out. For bringing them down we are or actually affect the circumstances of the remaining mem-
drinking this rice-beer. Let those who can make lad- bers of the group. Further, in a society typified by change,
ders, make them. Those who can climb trees, climb as is the case in technologically innovative cultures, rites
them; those who can hold a cloth, hold it. Not a sin- of passage become difficult to execute. This is because
gle parrot must break its legs or wings.” the transition phase of a rite of passage includes quite
An old man or guru then launches on the Caco specific content regarding the roles, rights, and respon-
Chatiar sermon. He begins by recalling the early his- sibilities accorded to the individual entering into a new
tory of the race and reminds the Santals of the vital state or status. In a changing society, as the future is likely
role played in parturition by the midwife. He describes to be different from the past, the idea of incorporation
how the early Santals discussed their customs for into a new status with known roles and rules is com-
twelve years and how none could be finalised owing promised. Finally, where differences among groups are
to the accidental omission of the midwife’s dues. meticulously defined, membership in such groups may
Source: Archer,W. G. (1974) The hill of flutes: Life, love, and poetry in tribal India: a por- be more difficult to achieve, promoting the need for a rite
trait of the Santals (pp. 58–59). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
of passage. Such a ritual would include tutoring of the
individual in the detailed rights and responsibilities of
the new state. It might also certify the person as a mem-
opposed to another. Such differences are in part ber in good standing of the new group, thus promoting
accounted for by variations in certain identifiable fea- acceptance of the initiate by already established mem-
tures of a society. Salient among such features are pop- bers. In summary, the patterning of rites of passage from
ulation size and the degree to which cultural institutions one place to the next, including differences in how rites
are subject to change. Thus, rites of passage tend to be are played out, is attributable to the nature of a society
most elaborated in small-scale, more or less stable cul- at a specific moment in history. As relevant features of a
tures. By contrast, in large societies characterized by society change in historical time, so will the specific man-
technological innovation, rites are less prominent. Sim- ner in which the society reacts to the inevitable life tran-
ilarly, rites of passage take on more importance in cul- sitions of its members. As population grows larger, as it
tures with a high degree of status differentiation, while becomes characterized by innovation, and as it increas-
rites are less important where status differences are ingly devalues status distinctions, rites are predicted to
underplayed. Rites are also more common in places become less important to the culture.
where fine distinctions are made among people, for
example, of different chronological ages, from various Historical Trends
occupational groups, and so on. The societal features associated with the presence or
Each of the trends described above is consistent with absence of rites of passage tend follow a historical time-
the idea that rites serve to manage disruptions that life line within the culture in which they are found. So, any