CEREMONIES AND TRADITIONS FOR COMING OF AGE

MATIS HUNTING TRIALS

When it comes time for boys from this Brazilian tribe to become men

They have bitter poison dumped in their eyes, they are whipped,

and then they must inject themselves with the potent poison

of the Giant Leaf Frog.

THE OGIEK ROAR

The young boys and girls of the Ogiek tribe in Africa go off into the

wilderness by themselves for several months. During this time they

are “haunted” by a creature that produces a roaring sound. They

become adults when the elders show them the instrument used to

produce the sound and they blow into it for themselves.

VISION QUEST

Similar to the Aborigine Walkabout many Native American tribes sent

their young boys into the wilderness for several months before they

could become men.

MASAI LION HUNT

Although today government regulations in Kenya prevent the practice,

in the past young men from the tribe had to kill a lion with only a

spear in order to become men.

NAGHOL (LAND DIVING)

Something like bungee jumping, it is done with vines instead of

elastic cords. When young boys in Vanuatu become men they must

attempt to come as close as they can to brushing their head on

the ground.

FULANI FACIAL TATTOOS

Performed with a sharpened piece of wood, young girls in the west

African Fula tribe must not grimace while their face is tattooed

for several hours.

SAMBIAN PURIFICATION

At the age of seven, boys in this tribe are taken from their mothers

and placed in all male huts for the next 10 years. Throughout this time

they are forced to vomit, defecate, and bleed from their noses in

order to rid them of impurities.

PEDERASTY

In ancient Greece young boys would engage in an officially sanctioned

relationship with an older man before becoming adults. Many historians

believe this was often the beginning of a young man’s military career.