Understanding Ourselves - The Meaning and Importance of Initiation
Limpopo Boy Initiates Initiation is one of the widely practiced practices in Africa. It is a rite of passage that both boys and girls go through. Rites of passage are an important part of a person's life because they mark the transition from one stage of life to the next. They exist because of the four main stages we go through namely birth, maturation (transition into adulthood), reproduction (marriage and procreation) and death. They help young people navigate the dangerous period between childhood and adulthood and have been proven to have a positive psychological effect on the individual going through it. The absence of rites of passage in some societies have led to the youth creating their own badges of adulthood which vary from obtaining drivers licence, 21st birthday celebrations, experimentation with drugs and alcohol and other dangerous ceremonies. It is apparent that rites of passage are an important and integral part of the human psyche and that in their absence, hu...
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