Rites Of Passage

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According to the text, the phrase “rites of passage” is used to describe the “formal similarities in the ritual that move a person from one status to another” (Heider, 2007, p 351). By studying this concept, anthropologists can identify the types of transitions, both individual and cyclical, that initiate this type of passage. Likewise, they can determine how different cultures and religions define a rite of passages, whether it is clearly or vaguely defined, and how the celebrations surrounding a rite of passage varies from culture to culture and group to group. (Heider, 2007, p 352). Rites of intensification can be described as a ceremony that functions to bring a group of individuals together again after an unsettling event. (Heider, 2007, …show more content…
While there have not been very many memorable rites of passage moments in my life, the one that does stick out is the completion of high school. Prior to the last semester of my senior year, I moved to Austin, Texas to live with my aunt. With it being too late to enroll at one of the local high schools, I complete the last of my credits online. I knew I wouldn't get to walk across a stage and collect my diploma like all of my friends back home, nor would I get to celebrate with them, which, at the time, was discouraging. However, the week that followed the completion of my online classes, my aunt set up a mock graduation for me with a tiny stage and fake diploma ready. Though we laughed at the ridiculousness of it the entire time she held my “ceremony,” she was set on giving me the best rite of passage to adulthood that she could. As for rites of intensification, I have experienced many of those. The most recent, nearly a year ago, was my nana's funeral. Nearly 200 people filtered in and out of the viewing hall on the day of her funeral. Most of these people, old

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