Year 8 Religion Task 3 – Initiation Rituals-Natasha Ong
PART A
The Sacred Thread Ceremony, also known in Hindu as Upanayana, is a Hindu ceremony. In Hindu culture, a person in born twice, and the Scred Thread Ceremony represents a boy’s second birth. It can be performed on a boy on any odd-numbered year in his life, usually when he is 7 to 15 years old. The Sacred Thread ceremony is the initiation ritual when a boy becomes a man; and is only performed when the boy’s parents believe he is mature enough to accept the responsibilities the Sacred Thread Ceremony presents. This ceremony initiates the process of learning, maturity and a boy’s growing knowledge.
Traditionally, this ceremony was performed when the man left home to train with his spiritual advisor, but is now performed when a boy reaches adolescence. In the days leading up to The Sacred Thread Ceremony, feasts are held and a boy’s hair is shaved off and offered to the Gods of the household. The father makes an offering and the boy and mother are anointed together. Usually, the boy is spoon-fed by his mother, as this symbolises the last time the boy will be ‘spoon fed’ by his mother-as after the ceremony he no longer is a little boy.
During the ceremony, the boy sits in the guru’s left hand. The guru (which is a spiritual adviser in Hinduism) whispers word in the boy’s …show more content…
Both ends of the strings are knotted together to form a ring, which is then strung over the boy’s left shoulder and under his right arm. The boy recites the Gayathri Mantra for the first time, which is taught to him by his father. This mantra is traditionally only recited by boys, however in modern times, girls are permitted to chant it. From the day of the Ceremony until the end of his life, the boy is required to chant the Gayathri Mantra each morning. The mantra symbolises the better side of life, and it is believed if you recite the mantra each day, your day will be filled with
PART A
The Sacred Thread Ceremony, also known in Hindu as Upanayana, is a Hindu ceremony. In Hindu culture, a person in born twice, and the Scred Thread Ceremony represents a boy’s second birth. It can be performed on a boy on any odd-numbered year in his life, usually when he is 7 to 15 years old. The Sacred Thread ceremony is the initiation ritual when a boy becomes a man; and is only performed when the boy’s parents believe he is mature enough to accept the responsibilities the Sacred Thread Ceremony presents. This ceremony initiates the process of learning, maturity and a boy’s growing knowledge.
Traditionally, this ceremony was performed when the man left home to train with his spiritual advisor, but is now performed when a boy reaches adolescence. In the days leading up to The Sacred Thread Ceremony, feasts are held and a boy’s hair is shaved off and offered to the Gods of the household. The father makes an offering and the boy and mother are anointed together. Usually, the boy is spoon-fed by his mother, as this symbolises the last time the boy will be ‘spoon fed’ by his mother-as after the ceremony he no longer is a little boy.
During the ceremony, the boy sits in the guru’s left hand. The guru (which is a spiritual adviser in Hinduism) whispers word in the boy’s …show more content…
Both ends of the strings are knotted together to form a ring, which is then strung over the boy’s left shoulder and under his right arm. The boy recites the Gayathri Mantra for the first time, which is taught to him by his father. This mantra is traditionally only recited by boys, however in modern times, girls are permitted to chant it. From the day of the Ceremony until the end of his life, the boy is required to chant the Gayathri Mantra each morning. The mantra symbolises the better side of life, and it is believed if you recite the mantra each day, your day will be filled with