Coming+of+Age

What kinds of rituals do we have for celebrating the onset of womanhood/manhood? [|Apache Girls]

[|Land Divers]

[|Initiation with Ants]

Designing your own coming-of-age ritual:

The Rites of Passage Institute notes that the educational system rarely provides a significant passage ritual. Many families are now creating their own. The Institute suggests that it incorporate a number of elements:
 * Contact with the natural environment: One or more days spent in nature, experiencing isolation, beauty and grandeur.

Ordeal: A test of strength, self-discipline, and endurance: a fast, an all night vigil, a difficult task.

Solitude: A complete physical withdrawal from the pressures of life.

Public recognition: An "...announcement, ceremony or gathering with family and friends..." to acknowledge the person's new status.

Symbolic representations: Some object that symbolizes the person's new status: a totem, ring, etc. ||