This past weekend, I reached a new milestone in my young adult life: I turned 21. As I prepared for this transition, many a friend asked me which bar I wanted to go to or where I wanted to go clubbing, and they were drastically put out when I told them I simply wanted to purchase a bottle of vintage pinot and stay in with my family. They said I was insulting tradition, that I was now officially an adult and going and getting blackout drunk on my 21st birthday was my coming of age celebration. While a night of sloven debauchery is perhaps an American coming of age tradition, I'd like to examine some other coming of age customs and traditions from other cultures around the world.
1. Amazon.
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The Sateré-Mawé, a native tribe in Brazil, hold a tradition for a young boy's 13th birthday called the Bullet Ant Initiation. The tribe searches the jungle floor for bullet ants, a particularly aggressive breed of ant, and collects them. The ants are woven into large handmade gloves, stinger end up, and the lucky boys must wear the gloves for up to ten minutes. By not crying out in pain, they demonstrate they are now men.
2. Latin America.
You may be familiar with the Hispanic tradition of the Quinceanera, which is the celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday. On her birthday, the girl traditionally renews her baptismal vows, and then the entire family gathers for a fiesta full of food and celebration, and the girl wears a beautiful elaborate gown.
3. Kenya.
In the Maasai, a boy's transition from boy to man, or boy to warrior, takes places usually when the boy is a teenager. The boys of age will gather, and they will spend a night sleeping in the forest, followed by a day of celebration, feasting, dancing and circumcision. Again, the boys demonstrate their manhood by not flinching or crying out during this process.
4. Japan.
On the second Monday of January, Japanese 20-year-olds dress in traditional clothing and celebrate their new ability to drink and vote in what they call the Seijin-no-Hi, which is a 1,200-year-old coming of age tradition.
5. Malaysia.
When Malaysian girls turn 11, they celebrate with the Khatam Al Koran, which is a special ritual where the girls recite the final chapter of the Koran at their local mosque to their friends and family. They study and practice for months before this ritual.
6. Sri Lanka.
Once girls have their first menstruation, they are considered officially women. In Tamil, once a girl comes of age, she is bathed, fed and adorns heavy makeup and traditional attire to receive gifts from friends and relatives.
7. America.
The Native American Apache tribe also celebrates the first menstruation. They do this with a four-day celebration known as the Sunrise Ceremony. During this celebration, the girls are said to embody the Changing Woman, who is a primary deity among the Apache. The ceremony is full of dancing, chanting, music and full body painting of clay and mud.
8. Ethiopia.
In Ethiopia, coming of age is can also be viewed as a bachelor party. In this fun ceremony, the grooms-to-be must jump naked over four adult bulls to symbolize their transition into manhood.
9. Amish.
The Amish have a tradition called Rumspringa. This is the process where, once 16 years old, the youth may take part in modern society and all its culture. They may dress how they wish, drink alcohol and party. Once they've had their full, they may decide whether or not they wish to return to their home community and culture.
10. South Pacific.
In the South Pacific Island of Vanatu, young men take place in a yearly coming of age ritual known as land diving. This puts bungee jumping to shame. The villagers will construct towers made of wood, often high as 100 feet, and then the men will tie a rope around their ankles and to the platform of the crude tower, and jump. This is symbolic of leaving behind childhood, as well as inviting a good crop for the following harvest.
While my coming of age did not involve flinging myself from high towers or jumping naked over bulls, I like to think these other cultures feel as much pride and accomplishment for reaching adulthood as I do- if not more.
