Every day we live a lot of events, important or not, but there are among them special, completely changing lives, and from ancient times they are accompanied by special rituals that help to accept the changes that have occurred.
Three status for life
Actually, there are only three such events when a person in a global sense changes his status: when he comes to this world, when he gets the opportunity to bring someone else to this world and when this world leaves. In other words, it is birth, wedding and funeral. The ritual acts that accompany them are called transition rites, and some of them are still performed. Why do these three completely different events have similar rites?
Rites of passage: we come to this world
Let's look deep into. That person came from somewhere to this world, now he is not just an unknown creature, but a child. At first, he sits quietly in his mother’s tummy, which he immediately a lot of restrictions: Do not go to the cemetery, do not look at ugliness, do not knit ...
Then a miracle happened - baby was born. He and his mother spent some time in the hospital and made the very first trip - went home. He and his mother are met by close people and give the first gifts in life. And in his life there are special dates that parents and loved ones in any way mark:
- 1 month from the date of birth;
- half a year;
- 1 year and further every year on the birthday.
Rites of passage: here we are adults
Now consider some points of the wedding ceremony. In the old days, after the father had “drunk off” his daughter, that is, he negotiated with the groom’s parents about the wedding, the bride not allowed to housework, she could only sew a dowry. In the modern world, everything happens the same way - the bride runs around the salons, looking for outfits, wedding attributes and so on and so forth. She doesn’t care about her old life at all. preparing for a new. By the way, in some regions of Russia, the father of the bride, upon returning home from the matchmakers, took a corner of the headscarf, tied on the head of the daughter, and tightened the front, curling the girl's face. Veil does not resemble?
The wedding day was on, the bridegroom took the bride from the house, led her to church, after which the whole "wedding train" rode through the village. Well, now the wedding processions without fail attend memorial sites of the city.
Then the young people come home, where the wedding walk. There without fail each guest gives them a gift. And, of course, there are also memorable dates here, which the newlyweds treat with special trepidation: a month, half a year, a year and further every year.
Rites of passage: it's time to leave
Finally, let's look at the funeral. The man is dead. He some time is in the house (according to tradition - 3 days). Relatives curtain all the mirrors in the house. Physically, man is in this world, but at the same time, he is no longer with us.
Then the body of the deceased being taken to the cemetery and buriedput on the grave flowers and treats. Often, relatives organize funeral festivities, close ones as well. bring money relatives of the deceased. Memorable dates also exist, only slightly different: 9 days, 40 days, six months and a year.
One outline for all rites
And now, after a thorough analysis of the three most significant events in a person’s life, but before paying attention to the actual rites of passage, we can talk about what unites them. To do this, pay attention to those words that are highlighted in bold in the text. So, there are three basic steps required for any of these events:
- alienation;
- transaction;
- donation.
Alienation - a period when a person is preparing to move to a new status for himself, while he is no longer in the former "world", but not yet in a new one. In the first case, it is pregnancy, in the second - the time to prepare for the wedding, and in the third - the period from death to funeral.
Transaction - physical movement of a person in space. This is actually the birth of a child, that is, physically moving him to this world, as well as his way home, a trip to the church and a wedding train ride, and of a funeral procession from home to the cemetery followed by burial.
Donation - presenting gifts to a person as a sign that he is recognized in the new status. If within a year after the birth of a child, for example, a relative did not bring him a gift, then he did not recognize this child, was against his appearance. Same with the wedding and the funeral.
Everything has its time
It is also important that the transition from one status to another takes time, and a considerable one. In order to survive all the changes occurring during this period, the painful rites of passage are used less painfully since ancient times. Actually, the traditions of alienation, transactions and donations themselves are their elements that have come down to us from ancient times. Rituals for all three events show common features, for example, the ritual crying was performed not only at the funeral, but also at the wedding, and the bride herself.
There are many nuances that help to carry out the transition ceremony, however, in order to reveal the fullness of their meaning, it is necessary to analyze each of the events separately, only this way you can show all their colorful and applied necessity.
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