RITE OF PASSAGE

ceremonial event, existing in all historically known societies, that marks the passage from one social or religious status to another. This article describes these rites among various societies throughout the world, giving greatest attention to the most common types of rites; explains their purposes from the viewpoints of the people observing the rites; and discusses their social, cultural, and psychological significance as seen by scholars seeking to gain an understanding of human behaviour. Additional reading Arnold van Gennep, Les Rites de passage (1909; Eng. trans., The Rites of Passage, 1960), is a pioneering study and standard work on passage rites. D.M. Schneider and K. Gough (eds.), Matrilineal Kinship (1961), is also, in comparison, a discussion of patrilineal kinship. Bruno Bettelheim, Symbolic Wounds (1954), is a Freudian-inspired work interpreting ritual acts of circumcision and other genital operations. E.D. Chapple and C.S. Coon, Principles of Anthropology (1942), has useful information on social interaction, social equilibrium and disruption, and the role of rites of passage in restoring equilibrium. J.G. Frazer, The Golden Bough, 3rd ed., 12 vol. (190715), is a classic work that discusses rites of passage and many other features of religion. A.M. Hocart, Social Origins (1954), is an interesting interpretive work although somewhat dated. Frank W. Young, Initiation Ceremonies (1965), concerns rites of coming-of-age, interpreting their significance in relation to the social roles of males and females and the organization of social groups.