Coming of age around the world Puberty rituals Coming of age around the world

Puberty in the Toba/Qom of Argentina

Apache girls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B3Abpv0ysM

South India https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL56mbqvgH0

Quinceañeras https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib2UMcdT_oc

The Tukana of Brazil SLIDE: Tukana Girls   This first ceremony is in the Tukana girls. These are a group of South American Indians living in along the Amazon in Brazil. When a girl gets her first period she takes a necklace from around her neck -- which is a string of carved birds, fish, reptiles and insects and hangs it on a crossbeam in her house. Then she goes into the forest and waits striking two sticks together. When her mother sees the necklace she finds the girl and brings her inside where the girl must stay in seclusion, or at least not be seen by men for three months. In this picture the girls have just come out of seclusion. They don't open their eyes. A fruit dye is applied to their hands. Then their entire bodies are painted with this dye by women in the village using corncobs.

SLIDE: Tukana Girls  In this picture the girls have just come out of seclusion. They don't open their eyes. A fruit dye is applied to their hands. Then their entire bodies are painted with this dye by women in the village using corncobs.

Then the girls return to the seclusion hut Then the girls return to the seclusion hut. Which is a special hut built for the ceremony next to their own house. Then there will be 3 days and four nights of ritual music making and dancing, celebrating the girls entrance into adulthood. The belief is that if the music stops the girls would die.

After the third day the girls are dressed up and brought out After the third day the girls are dressed up and brought out. After dancing with the maidens, inside, the paternal uncles slash a hole in the wall bringing the girls out. They are escorted around and then go back inside a large festival house for a day of dancing. During this whole time they are blindfolded.

During that 3rd night a hair pulling ceremony takes place During that 3rd night a hair pulling ceremony takes place. In which women jerk tufts of hair from their girls. All is taken off except a single red-dyed lock held by one of the relatives.

Afterwards the girls are repainted with dye.

When the ceremony is over the girls may marry at once When the ceremony is over the girls may marry at once. But most wait until their hair grows out and a ceremony marks the trimming of the regrown hair.

Mondari of Sudan

So that's one example of a puberty ritual So that's one example of a puberty ritual. Other puberty ceremonies commonly involve scarification. This is a girl from the Mondari Tribe in the Sudan. Her hair style and forehead scars mark her as a member of this tribe. The star shaped scar is an adolescent beauty mark.   Common to have some additional signs that menarche has been reached SLIDE: Scarred woman Here is a picture of another woman from the Sudan.

Pokot Girls These are girls of the Pokot People of Kenya. Where they go through puberty ritual as a group. They are covered in chalk disguises and go through weeks of confinement and instruction. At the end of the ceremonies they have ritual circumsion -- or clitoridectomies and usually are married within days afterwards.

Surma The Surma people who I spoke about during previously also have some interesting rituals.

Surma At puberty girls start to wear these aprons made out of rifle cartridges. Which are symbolic of restricted sexual access. Later they'll take about a year to have these lip plates put in place.

Western Puberty Rituals

Puberty Rituals Signs of menarche Restricted access to men Scarification Adornment Hair style changes Clothing changes Restricted access to men Seclusion Symbolic clothing