COMING OF AGE CEREMONIES AND TRADITIONS

MENTAWAI TEETH SHARPENING

When young female Mentawaians reach puberty they sharpen their

teeth with a rock and chisel, and file them down to points.

It is supposed to look beautiful.

THE KRYPTEIA

As part of a “graduation” exam, young Spartan boys would be pitted

against captured slaves in a sort of death match called the Krypteia.

The “barely teenagers” would employ all of their lethal Spartan

training to quickly finish their foes.

FULA WHIP MATCH

Young Fula boys must engage in a whipping match with boys from a

neighbouring tribe. During the match they cannot show any sign of

pain. Whoever the crowd deems the winner earns the right

to be called a man.

IRIA CEREMONY

The Orika tribe in Nigeria believe that young girls have romantic

relationships with water spirits. Before their marriage they must go

down to a river and perform the Iria ritual which involves singing

songs to break their relationship to the water spirits.

HAMAR COW JUMPING

Men of the Hamar tribe in Ethiopia must undergo a ceremony where

they are whipped by the other men of the tribe. They then run across

the backs of four castrated bulls to become a man.

ABORIGINE WALKABOUT

Some aboriginal Australian tribes send their boys off into the Outback

by themselves for up to 6 months.

XHOSA CIRCUMCISION

A Xhosa boy must be circumcised before becoming a man. He will be

sent off to live in a hut in the woods where a tribe doctor will come

and circumcise him. He will not be allowed to return to his family

until he is healed.

SCARIFICATION

Practiced heavily by the Sepik River tribes in Papua New Guinea, the

elders of the tribe cut the younger men with razors so that their

scars resemble alligator skin. They believe that the alligator will then

consume their boy hood and leave them as men.

ALGONQUIN INDIAN TRIP

Young boys in this Indian tribe are caged and given a powerful drug

called wysoccan which supposedly causes them to forget everything

about their childhood. If they mention any aspect of it in their

adulthood then they are given a second dose of the drug.