7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/w04-sep14-vangennep1908-the-rites-of-passage 1/31 RITES OF PASSAGE publisher has been a victim of the scholar an d friend within him. I hope that, at least, he will no t be a victim of th e reader. CLAMART December. 1908 xxVi A.v.G. i i ! . i i I I TH E CLASSIFICATION OF RITES Each larger society contains within it several dis t i n c t ~ y s e p a r a t ! l : S Q c i l \ r g r " ' ] I ) i n g s ; A s we move from hjgher tQJ,!'\'·.e,-kvels 9J..civilizatIOn, th e differences among t h ~ s e g ~ ( ) u p ~ hei30me a e c e ~ i ~ - a t e d an d theIr autonomy increases. In contrast, th e only clearly marked social division remam in g in modern 1 -society A s . . _ ~ . h a t __ ~ ~ ( ~ h - _ ~ ~ t i n : g ~ s ~ e s - - h e t - w e e n th e s e c u l a r . a . l l i l 3 I 1 e E e l i g I O u 8 w o r l d ~ ~ b e t w e e n th e profane an d i h ~ " sacred. Since t h ~ ' - t i ~ e - of th e Renaissance th e rela tions between these two realms have undergone all kinds of changes within nations and-states. But it is a significant fact that, because of fundamental differences between them, secular an d religious groups as a whole have remained· separate throughout th e countnes of Europe. Th e nobility, th e world of finance, th e working classes, retain their identi ties without regard-in- theory at least-for national boun . daries. In additIOn, all these groups break down into still smaller sOCIeties or subgroups. We find distinctions between th e higher nobility and the hwiled gentry, between high finance ; ~ l ~ ~ ; i I moneylending, as ~ e l l as among th e various pro fessions and trades. For a man to pass from group to group -for example, fo r a peasant to become an urban w o d ; : e r ~ or even for a mason's helper to rise to mason-he must fulfil certain conditions, al l of which have on e thing in common: t ~ _ p ] l ! . e l y _ ~ ( ) ? ! , : o m ~ C _ ? r . _ ' ~ ~ e . ~ ~ " t . l l - " - l . On the other hand, for a layman to enter th e priesthood or fo r a priest to be unfrocked calls for ceremonies, acts of a special kind, derived from a particular feeling an d a particular frame of mind. So great is t h e - , n c o r n p a t i b i l i l ; y J ) . " ~ " ' - " ~ l u h e pmfane j( an d t h e s a c r ~ . d w o r l d s t h a t a l l l ~ l l c . J ) a n n l ! t ..p!ls8Eromone to , t h ~ _ Q t h e 1 " - , - w i t h . Q ~ ~ .._ ~ ? _ ~ ~ g . ~ ~ , ~ ! . ~ : t . t _ g ~ " . __ ~ . ! » : __ ! ~ t ~ _ : t ' m e d i C I : ~ . ~ ) t _ a g ~ ~ · · " · 1 To van Gennep, as to many writers of his time and ours, th e term" mOdern" implies essentially th e pattern of industrial society found in western Europe and th e UUlted States. All further notes by th e translator appear lU brackets; th e author's original notes are without brackets. 1
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
publisher has been a victim of the scholar and friend within
him. I hope that, at least, he will no t be a victim of th e
reader.
CLAMART
December. 1908
xxVi
A.v.G.
ii!.
iiI
I TH E CLASSIFICATION OF RITES
Each larger society contains within it several dis
t i n c t ~ y s e p a r a t ! l : S Q c i l \ r g r " ' ] I ) i n g s ; A s we move from hjgher
tQJ,!'\'·.e,-kvels 9J..civilizatIOn, the differences among t h ~ s e g ~ ( ) u p ~ hei30me a e c e ~ i ~ - a t e d an d theIr autonomy increases.
In contrast, th e only clearly marked social division remam
in g in modern1 -society A s . . _ ~ . h a t __ ~ ~ ( ~ h - _ ~ ~ t i n : g ~ s ~ e s - - h e t - w e e n th e s e c u l a r . a . l l i l 3 I 1 e E e l i g I O u 8 w o r l d ~ ~ b e t w e e n th e profane
an d i h ~ " sacred. Since t h ~ ' - t i ~ e - of th e Renaissance th e rela
tions between these two realms have undergone all kinds of
changes within nations and-states. But it is a significant fact
that, because of fundamental differences between them,
secular an d religious groups as a whole have remained·
separate throughout the countnes of Europe. The nobility,
th e world of finance, th e working classes, retain their identities without regard-in- theory at least -for national boun .
daries.
In additIOn, all these groups break down into still smaller
sOCIeties or subgroups. We find distinctions between th e
highernobility and the hwiled gentry, between high finance
; ~ l ~ ~ ; i I moneylending, as ~ e l l as among th e various pro
fessions and trades. For a man to pass from group to group
- f o r example, fo r a peasant to become an urban w o d ; : e r ~ or
even for a mason's helper to rise to mason-he must fulfil
certain conditions, al l of which have one thing in common:
t ~ _ p ] l ! . e l y _ ~ ( ) ? ! , : o m ~ C _ ? r . _ ' ~ ~ e . ~ ~ " t . l l - " - l . On the otherhand, for a layman to enter th e priesthood or for a priest to
be unfrocked calls for ceremonies, acts of a special kind,
derived from a particular feeling an d a particular frame of
mind. So great is t h e - , n c o r n p a t i b i l i l ; y J ) . " ~ " ' - " ~ l u h e pmfane
j( an d t h e s a c r ~ . d w o r l d s t h a t a l l l ~ l l c . J ) a n n l ! t ..p!ls8Eromone to
, t h ~ _ Q t h e 1 " - , - w i t h . Q ~ ~ .. _ ~ ? _ ~ ~ g . ~ ~ , ~ ! . ~ : t . t _ g ~ " . __~ . ! » : __! ~ t ~ _ : t ' m e d i C I : ~ . ~ ) t _ a g ~ ~ · · " · 1 To van Gennep, as to many writers of his time and ours, th e term" mOdern"
implies essentially th e pattern of industrial society found in western Europe and th e
UUlted States. All further notes by th e translator appear lU brackets; th e author's
original notes are without brackets.
1
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
As we move downward on the scale of civilizations (taking
\' ; ~ , i the term "civilization" in the broadest sense), we cannot
fail to note an e v ~ r - i n c r e a s i n g ~ o m i n a _ t ~ o n . ~ . f t h e s ~ c . ~ , ~ ~ J ~ . Y th e sacred. We see that in the least advanced cultures th e
holy enters nearly every phase of a man's life .Being born,
giving birth, and hunting, to cite bu t a few examples, areall acts whose major aspects fall within the sacred sphere.
Social groups in such societies likewise have magico-religious
foundations, an d a passage from group to group takes on
that special quality found in our rites of baptism an d
ordinatIOn.
At th e simplest level of development, too, there are social
groups that r e a c h - _ ~ . ? " r o ~ _ ~ __ l?oundanes. For example, a totem
clan is recognized as a single intertribal unit among al l th e
tribes of Australia, an d it s members look upon one another
as brothers for th e same reason as do Roman Catholic
priests, no matter what country they live in. Bonds of caste,on the other hand, present a more complicated problem, for
here differences based on occupational specialization are
added to those founded on kinship. While modern societies
reduce to theoretical minimum th;"aistinction between
male alld Xe_maIe, it plays a role of considerable importance
among semicivilized peoples, who rigidly segregate th e sexes
in the economic, th e political, and, above all, th e magico-
religIOUS sphere. The family, whether conceived on a broader
or narrower basis than in our own culture, is likewise shal'ply
defined among semicivilized peoples. Furthermore, while a
tribe mayor ma y no t form part of a larger political unit, itis in all cases endowed with an individuality comparable in
rigidity to the narrow parochialism of th e ancient Greek
city-states. To al l th e above-mentioned group distinctions,
th e semicivilized ad d still another-one for which our society
...._has no real counterpart-a division into generation or age
groups.Ir The life of an individual in any society is a series of pasL·1 [Writing in Europe in 1908, van Gennep did not know the awareness of age dis
tmctIOns characterIstic of modern American society.]
2
CLASSIFICATION OF RITES
sages from one age to another ,and frQIP ,pue .occupation to
another1Whereverthere are fine distinctIOns among age or
occupatktnal groups, progression from one group to the next
is accompanied by speCIal acts, like those which make up
apprenticeship in our trades. Among .semicivilized peoples
such acts are enveloped in ceremonies, since to th e semi.
civilized mind no ac t is entIrely free of the sacred. In such
societies every change in a person's life involves actions and
reactions between sacred and profane-actions and reac .
tions to be regulated and guarded so that society as a whole
will suffer no discomfort or injury. Transitions from group
to group and from one social situation to the next are looked
on a{tmplicit in th e very fact of existence, so that a man's
, life comes to be made up of a succession of stages with
similar ends an d beginnings: birth, social puberty,' mar
riage, f a t h e r h o o d ~ advancement to a higher class, occupa
tional specialization, and death. For everyone of thesee ~ e n t s there are ceremonies whose " ~ ~ s e n t i a l purpose is to
enable the individual to pass from one defined posItion to
another which IS equally well defined. Since th e goal is th e
same, it follows of necessity that the ways of attaining it
should be at least analogous, if no t identical in detail (since
in an y case th e individual involved has been modified by
passing through several stages an d traversing several boun-
daries). .
Thus we encounter a wide degree of general SImilarity
among ceremonies of birth, childhood, social puberty, be-
trothal" marriage, pregnancy, fatherhood, initiation into
religious societies, and funerals. In this respect, man's life
resembles nature, from which neither the individual nor th e
society stands independent. Th e universe itself is governed
by a periodicity which has repercussions on human life,
wit4 stages an d transitions, movements f O r W ~ r d , and periods
o f elative inactivity. We should therefore include among
ceremonies of human passage those rites occasioned by
1 [Van Gennep distinguishes between social and pbysiologlcal pub erty (see
chap. vi}.)
3
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
7 Jane E. Harnson, PrOlegomena to the Study of Greek Religton (Cambridge:
Cambridge UruverSltv Press, 1903).
8 Frank Byron Jevons, An Introducuon to the History of Religion (London:Methuen, 1896).
9 Albrecht Dieterich, Eine Mithrasliturgie (LeipZig: TeUbner, 1903); Mutter Erde(Leipzig: TeUbner, 1905); and other works.
10 Konrad Theodor Preuss, "Phallische FruchtbarkeItsdiirnonen als Tragcr des
altmexikanIschen Dramas: Ei n BeItrag zur Urgcschichte des mimIscbeu W e I t ~ dramas," Archiv fu r Anthropologie, XXIX (1903), 129-88.
11 Salomon Remaeh, Gulles, mythes, et religions (a collectIOn of articles published
after 1892; 3 vols.; ParIS: Leroux, 1905-8).
12 Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss, .. Essal sur la nature et la fonction du sacrifice,"Annlia s o c i o l o g ~ q u e , II (1897-98), 2 9 ~ 1 3 8 .
13 Eduard Hoffmaun<Kraycr, .. Die FruchtbarkellsrIten im schweizerlschen Yolks
brauch." Schweizensches Archivfiir Volkskunde (Basel), Vol. XI (1907).
6
C LASSIFIC ATION OF RITES
being,-the dynamistic schoo!. Marett· 10 England and
Hewitt2 TilAmerica ha d t ~ ' a stand in sharp opposition
to th e animistic theory. Both pointed on t th e weakness I I I
th e concept of anImism previously glimpsed by Tiele'
(namely, polyzoism or polyzoiilatry)4 an d pu t forward th e
dynamIstic theory. This theory was further elabOl;.ated byPreuss' in Germany; by Farnell,' Haddon,' an d Hartland'
in England; and by Hubert, Mauss,' and van Gennep'o in
France (among others); and today it continues to draw
adherents.
This double stream of theory enables uS to assert that In
addition to sympathetic rites, and ritual with an animistic
basis, there exist groups of < ! y _ n a m i s t i \ U : ! ! ~ s (i.e., rites based
on a , o ~ . C ~ C . ~ p L Q . f . . . J L , P ' . Q , W J t ~ . , - - , § u c h ~ L ~ ~ ! 1 . that IS n.ot p e r ~ sonalized) as well as contagious ntes. The rites in this last
gronp are c h a r a c t e r i s t I ' ; ~ f i $ M e ; r O ; ; : a beliefthat natural or
acquired characteristics are material an d transmissible(either through physical contact or over a distanceT.'i We
should note that sympathetic rites are no t necestarily
a n i m i s t i c ~ no r contagious rites necessarUy dynamistic. Th e
1 Robert R. Marett, "Prcaniruistic Religion;" Folk_lore. XI (1900), 162-82;
"From SpeIl to Prayer," ibid • XV (1904). No.2. 132-65.
2 J. N. B. Hewitt, "Orenda and a Dc.6nition of ReligIOn," AmericanAnlhrOpologist,N.S. IV (1902),33-46.
3 C. P. Ticle, "ReligIOns," Encyclopaedia Britanmca (9th cd,), and other works.
<\ rThe Oxford English Dicttonary defines PolYZolsm as "the propcrtv II I a·complex.orgawsm, of bemg composed of mIllor and quaai-independent orgaDlsms (likePolyzoa)."j
5 Konrad Theodor Preuss, "Der Ursprung der Religion und Kunst," Globus. Vols.
LXXXVI (1904). LXXXVII (1905).
6 LcwIS R. Farnell. Tha Evo/unon of Religton: An Anthropological SWdy (London:
Williams & Norgate, 1905).
7 Alfred C. Haddon, Magtc and Fetishism: Religwns. Ancient and Modem
(London: A. Constable. 1906).a EdwIll SidneY Hartland, Address as President of Section 1-1 (Anthropology) of
the British AssocmtlOn for tbe Advancement of Science, Seventy-sixth Meeting,
York, 1906. Published m Reports of Meetings (London: John Murray, 1907),
LXXVI, 675-88.
9 Hubert and Mauss. "Esquisse d'une theorie generale de Ja magle."
10 Arnold va n Gennep, Tabou et totfimisme a Madagascar: J1tuda descriptive et
tMonque (Paris: E. Leroux. 1904); l\fYlhes et UJgendes d'Ausiralie (Pans: Guilmoto,
1906); "Anlmlsme en dynamisme," De Beweging (Amsterdam), 1907, No.2,
pp.394-96.
7
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
four classes are independent, although they have been
grouped in pairs by th e tw o schools studying magico
religious phenomena from different points of VIew.
Secondly, we ca n distinguish between rites which ac t
directly and those which ac t indirectly. A d i r e , , 1 ; . - , ! ! . ~ , for
example a curse or a spell. IS designed to produce resultsimmediately, w i t h o u t ~ t e r v e n t i o n by a ~ y outside agent.
On the other hand. a:r\indirect r i te-be it vow. prayer. or
religious service-is a kind of initial blow which sets into
motion some autonomous or personified power, such as a
demon, a group of jinn. or a deity, who Intervenes on behalf
of th e performer of th e rite. Th e effect of a direct rIte is
automatic; that of an .indirect rite comes as a repercussion.
An indirect rite IS no t necessarily animistic. To Cite one
example, when a central Australian aborIgine rubs an arrow
against a certain s t o n e ~ he charges it with a magic power
called arungquiltha. Later, he will shoot this arrowI I I
th edirectIOn of an enemy, an d as th e arrow falls th e arung ..quiltha will follow it s course and strike down th e enemy.'
Th e power is thus transmItted wIth th e help of a carrier, an d
th e rite is accordingly d y n a m i s t i c ~ contagious. an d indirect.
Finally, we ma y also draw a distinction between positive
.rile_s (o r volitions translated into action) an d ! g ~ g a t i v ; - ; l t e s . Th e latter. now known as taboos. ar e p r o h i b i t I o n s ' : - - c o ' m ~ mands "not to do" or "not to act." Psychologically, they
correspond to negative volitions, Just as positive rites are
th e equivalents of positIve volitIOns. In other w o r d s ~ taboos
also translate a kind of will an d are acts rather than nega
tions of acts. But just as life IS no t made up of perennial
inaction. so by itself a taboo does no t make up a ceremony,
le t alone a magic spelI.2 In this sense a taboo is no t 'autono-
1 See my Mythes et liigendes d'Australie, p. lXXXVI.
\I Regarding taboo as a negative ute, see va n Gennep, Tab(JU et totemisme a
Madagascar, pp. 26-27. 298. 319; Hubert an d Mauss. "Esqmssc d'unc thcol:Iegencrale de la magie"', p. 129. On taboo as negatIve rnagle, see Frazer, Lectures on the
Early History of Kingship, pp. 52, 54·. 56, 59; my reVlew of that book In Revue d(j
l'histotre des r e l i g ~ o n s . LU I (1906), 396-401; and Robert R. Marett, "I s Taboo a
Negative Magic?" in Anthropotoguat Essays Presenied to E. B. Tylor (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1907), pp. 219-34. Because It is eaSIer to enumerate the things that
8
CLASS IF ICATION OF RITES
mous, ,i t eXIsts only as a counterpart to a positive rite. In
other words, every negative rIte i f considered in isolation
ha s it s ow n individuality. But taboos in general ca n be
understood only in relation to the active rites WIth which
they coexist In a ceremony. Jevons.., Crawley, R e i n a c h ~ an d
several others erred in no t having perceIved this relationshipof mutual dependence.
According to the criteria outlined in these pages. a single
rite may fall simultaneously into four categorIes. When their
four opposites are eliminated. there remain sixteen possible
ways of classifying an y given rite according to the table
below:
Ammistic rites
SympathetIc riti
POSItIve r I t e s /
Direct rItes !
1 ContaglOus ntes
',Negative rItes
, Indirect rItesIi 'DynamistIc rites
Fo r instance. a pregnant woman abstaIning from eating
mulberries for fear that he r child would be disfigured IS per
forming a rite which is at th e same time dynamistic. con
tagious, direct. an d negative. A sailor who ha s been in
danger of perishing In a shipwreck an d as a consequence of
a vo w offers a small boat to Our Lady of Vigilance (Mary,
Star of th e Sea) is performmg an animistic, sympathetIc,
indirect, an d positive rite. Perhaps additional classes of rites
will be discovered, but those listed here already mclude a
considerable number. The difficulty lies only II I determimng
precisely th e proper Interpretation for each case. Often aSIngle rite may be interpreted in several ways. or a single
interpretation may fi t several rites whose forms differ
greatly. Above all, It is difficult to determine whether a rite
is essentially animIstic or dynamistic-whether. for example.
a certain ceremony designed to transfer an illness ha s as it s
object transferring th e illness as a quality, or exorCIsing a
one should no t do than those which one must or ma y do, the theorists have found
among all peoples extensive series of taboos, prohibitions, etc., and havc oVerrated
theIr Importance.
9
-,1-----
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
demon or spirit who personified th e illness. To cite one con
crete exampIe. th e rite of passage through or across some ..
thing (which will be discussed later in greater detail) is open
to several interpretations-one anImistic an d indirect. th e
other dynamistIc an d direct. In th e attempt to formulate an
acceptable systematization of rites, general treatises proveof little help: theIr authors as a rule include only those
elements of a ceremony which serve their purposes. More-
over. their classifications are usually ,based on external
sImilarities rather than 011 th e dynamICS of th e rite. an d this
IS particularly true in th e work of folklorists.
Most ceremonies of a given kind fall into the same cate
gory. Accordingly, most pregnancy rites are dynamistic,
contagious. direct. an d n e g a t i v e ~ while most childbirth rites
are anImistic. sympathetic. indirect, an d positive. Bu t i t is
always just a matter of proportion; an animistic, positive
ritual will include a counterpart of dynamistic. an d positiveor animistic. contagious. and indirect rites. Limitations of
space prevent me from indicating in each instance th e
proper category for every particular. rite, bu t at least I
should state that I have no t interpreted the many rites
analyzed here unilaterally.
Once a classification of ritual dynamics has been estab
lished, it becomes relatively easy to understand the basis of
characteristic patterns in th e order of ceremonies. Yet
theoreticians have rarely attempted a classification of these
ceremonial patterns. There are excellent works on one or
another of theIr aspects. bu t only a few carry through a
complete se t of ceremonies in order from beginning to end,
an d still fewer are th e studies of ceremonial patterns in
relation to one another (cf. chap. x) .
Th e present volume is Intended to be such a study.I have
tried to assemble here all the ceremonial patterns which
accompany a passage from one situation to -another or from
one cosmic or social world to another. Because of th e im .
portance of these transitions. I think it legitimate to single
ou t rites of passage as a special category, which under fur-
10
I
I
\".,
i
i
CLA SSIFICA TIO N OF RITES
ther analYSIS ma ybe subdivided into ...,ites of separation,.
trart_sition T i t e s ~ an d r i , t e ~ , of i n c o r p ( J r a ( i g ~ .. These three sub
c ~ t ~ g ~ r i e s ' a r e ' not developed to the same extent by al l
peoples in e'.'ery ceremonial p a t t e r n ~ ~ t e s _ . o f s e p a r a t ~ o n ... !,re prominent In f-Qll.eral c e r e . m Q Q ! . ~ . L Q ! ~ ~ of IncorporatIOn
at marriages. Transition rites may play an important p a r t ~ for instance. in pregnancy, betrothal. and initiatIOn; or they
may be reduced to a minimum in adoption. in th e delivery
of a second c h i l d ~ in r e m a r r I a g e ~ or in th e passage from th e
second to the third age group. Thus, although a complete
scheme of rites of passage theoretically includes preliminal
rites (rites of separation), liminal rites (rites of transition),
an d p·ostliminal rites (rites of incorporation), in specific in
stances these three types are no t always equally important
or equally elaborated.
«'Furthermore. in certain ceremonial patterns where th e
transitional period is sufficiently elaborated to cons.titute anindependent state, th e arrangement is reduplicated. A
hetrothal forms a liminal period between adolescence an d
marriage, but th e passage from adolescence to betrothal
itself involves a special series of rites of separation, a transi
tion, and an incorporation into the betrothed condition; and
th e passage from th e transitional penod, which is betrothat
to marriage itself, is made through a series of rites of separa
tion from th e former, followed by rites consisting of transi·
tIon, an d rites of incorporation Into marriage. The pattern
of ceremonIes compriSIng rites of pregnancy, delivery, an d
birth is equally involved. I am trying to group al l these rites
as clearly as possible, but since I am dealing with activities
I do no t expect to achieve as rigid a classification as th e
botanists have, for example.
I t is by no means illy contention that al l rItes of birth,
initiation, marriage. an d th e like, ar e only rites ot.passage.
For. in addition t.o theIr over-all goal- to insure a change
of_condition or a passage from one magico-religious or secu H
la r group to anothe;r-all these c ~ r e m o n w s have their indi
vidual purposes. Marriage ceremonIes include fertility rites;. 11
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
birth ceremonies include protection and divination rites;
f u n e r a l s ~ defensive rites; i n i t i a t i ( j n s ~ propitiatory r i t e s ~ ordinations, rites of attachment to the deIty. All these ntes.
which have specific effective alms. occur in juxtaposition
an d comhination wIth rites of p a s s a g e ~ a n d are sometimes
so intimately intertwined with them that it is impossible todistinguIsh whether a particular ritual i s ~ fo r e x a m p l e ~ one
of protection or of separation. This problem arises in relation
to various forms of s o . ~ c a n e d purification ceremonies. which
ma y simply lift a taboo an d therefore remove th e co,,·
taminating quality, or which ma y be clearly actIve r i t e s ~ imparting the quality of purity.
In connectIOn WIth this problem. I should like to consider
bnefly th e pivoting of th e sacred.' Characteristically, th e
presence of th e sacred (and th e performance of appropriate
rItes) is variable. Sacredness as an attribute is nDt absDlute;
it is brought into play by the nature of particular sItuatIOns.A man at home. in his tribe. lives In th e secular realm: he
moves into th e realm of th e sacred when he goes on a JDurney
an d finds himself a foreigner near a camp of strangers.
A Brahman belongs to th e sacred world by birth; bu t
within that world there is a hierarchy of Brahman families
some of whom are sacred in relation to. others. Every
woman, though congenitally I m p u r e ~ is sacred to all adult
men: if she is pregnant, she also becomes sacred to al l other
women of the tribe except her close relatives; an d these
Dther women constItute in relation to her a profane world.
which at that moment includes al l children and adult men.
Upon performing s o ~ c a l l e d purification rites. a woman who
has just given birth re-enters society, bu t she takes her place
only in appropnate segments of i t - such as he r se x an d he r
family-and she remaIns sacred in relation to the inItiated
1 This pIvotmg was already well understood by Smith (see The ReligIOn of the
Semttes, pp . 427-28 an d discussion of "taboo ", pp. 152-53, 451-54, ctc.). Compare
the passage from sacred to profane, and VIce versa, among th e Tarahumare and tbe
Huichol of MeXICO as described by Karl Sofus Lumholtz, Unknown Me:nco: A Record
of Five Years' ExploratIOn among the Tribes of Western Sierra Madre (London:
C. Scribner's Sons. 1903), passtm.
12
C L A S S ~ F I C A T r o N OF JIITES
me n an d to th e m a g i c o ~ r e l i g i o u s ceremonies. Thus th e
"magIc circles" pivot, shifting as a person moves frDm one
place I II society to another. Th e categories an d concepts
which embody them operate in such a wa y that whoever
passes through th e vanous positIOns Df a lifetime one da y
sees th e sacred where before he has seen th e profane. or viceversa. Such changes of condition do. no t occur withDut d i s ~ turbing th e life of SOCIety and the individual, an d it is th e
function of rites Df passage to reduce their harmful effects.
That such changes are regarded as real an d important is
demonstrated by the recurrence of r i t e s ~ in important c e r e ~ monies among widely differing peoples, enacting death In
one condition an d resurrection in ·another. These r i t e s ~ d i s ~ cussed in chapter lX . are rites of passage In theIr most
dramatic fDrm.
I t remains for me briefly to define th e meaning of th e
terms used in this work. Dynamism designates th ei m ~
personal theory of mana; a n i m i s m ~ th e personalistic theory,
whether th e power personified be a single or a multiple
being, animal or plant (e.g., a totem), anthropomorphic or
amorphous (e.g . God). These theories constItute religion,
whose tephniques ( c e r e m o n i e s ~ r i t e s ~ services) I call magic. -Since th e practice an d the theory are insryarable-the
theory without th e practIce hecoming metaphysics. an d th e
practice on th e basis of a different theory becoming science
- t he term I will at all times use is th e adjective magico .
religious.
The result is the diagram overleaf.
13
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
divinities (such as Hermes. Priapus,J. or th e deities repre
sented on th e Babylonian kudurru). When milestones or
boundary signs (e.g., a plow. au animal hide cu t In thongs,
a ditch) are ceremonially placed by a defined group on a
delimited piece of earth. th e group takes possession of it in
such a wa y that a stranger who sets foot on it commits a
sacrilege analogous to a profane person's entrance into asacred forest or temple.
Th e idea of th e sanctity of a territory so delimited has
sometimes been confused with the belief in th e sanctity of
th e entIre earth as th e Earth Mother.' In China, according
to the most ancient documents. th e deity was not the earth
as such, but each plot of ground was sacred fo r its inhabi
tants an d ,0wners. SI t seems to me that th e case of Loango,'"
tb e terrItory of Greek cities, an d that of Rome' ar e al l
analogous.
Th e prohibition against entering a given territory is
therefore intrinsically magico-religious. I t has been ex
pressed WIth th e help of milestones, walls, an d statues In th e
1 Herais mv interpretation (as vet to be fully demonstrated) of the almost u r u v e r ~ sal assocIation betwecn landmarks and the phallus: (I) There IS an association of
th e stake or the upright rock with the penis In erection; (2) the idea ofumon assoCI
ated with the sexual act has a certaIn magical s l g n i f i ~ n c e ; (3) pOInted objects
(h?r?-s, fingers, etc.) .are b ~ l i e v e d to protect through their power to "pierce" the
evIl Influences, th e wlCked pnn, etc.; (4,) very seldom IS there the idea of the fecundity
of the terntory and its Inhabitants. The phallic symbolism of landmarks has almostno truly sexual sIgnificance.
2 Several interpretatIOns by Dieterich (in MuUer Erde), which I helieve to be
Incorrect, will be discussed with reference to birth and childhOOd.
3" In the ancIent Chinese religion there was a gOd of thc soil for each district (no
d O U b ~ for t w e n t y ~ f i v e families); th e king ha d a god of the soH for his people and one
for ~ ~ s own p e r s o n ~ l use; the same was true for each feudal lord, each group of
famIlies, each ImperIal dynasty. These gods presided over war, which was created as
a punishment; they were fashioned from a pIece of wood and associated with gods
of the harvest. It seems to me that the earth goddess came later as a result of several
svncretisms" (Eduard Chavannes, •• Le dieu du sol dans r anClCDne religIOn chinOlse . .Revue de l'histolre des religrons, XLIII rI90lJ, 124-27, 140-44). •
" Cf. E. Dennett, At the Ba_ck of he Black Man's Mind: Or Notes on the Kingly
Office tn West Africa (London: Macmillan, 1906), and Eduard PechiieI-Loesche,Volkskunde von Loango (Stuttgart: Strecher & Schroeder, 1907).
6 Cf. W. Warde FOWler's mterestlllg diSCUSSIOn t i t led" Lustratio" in Anthropology
and the Classlcs, cd. Robert R. Marett (Oxford, 1908), pp . 173-78. My readers will,I hope, accept the VlCW that lustrauo is nothing more than a rIte of territorial scparation, cosmIC or human (e.g., return from wax).
16
TH E TERRITORIAL PASSAGE
classical world, an d through more simple means among th e
semicivilized. Naturally, these SIgns are no t placed along
th e entire boundary line. Like our boundary posts, they ar e
se t only at points of passage, on paths and at crossroads.
A bundle of herbS, a p,ece of wood, or a stake adorned with
a sheaf of straw may be placed in th e middle of the path or
across it,1 Th e erection of a portal,2 sometimes together with
natural objects or crudely made statues, ' is a more compli
cated means of indicating th e boundary. The details of
these various procedures need no t concern us here.'"
Today, In ou r part of the world, one country touches
another; bu t th e sItuation was quite different m th e times
when ChrIstian lands comprIsed only a part of Europe.
Each country was surrQunded by a strip of neutral ground
which in practice was divided into sections or marches.
.l To the references gIven by H. Grierson II I The Silent Trade (Edinburgh, 1903),
pp. 12-14, n. 4 (where, unfortunatcly, the rItes of appropriation and the taboos of
passage have been confused), add: Dennett, At the Back of the Black Man;s MinH,
pp. 90, 153, n. 192; Pechiiel·Loesche, Volkslmnde vo n Loango, pp. 223-24,456.472,
etc.; J. Biittikofer, Reisebilder aus Liberia (Leiden, 1890), II , 304; va n Gennep',
Tabou'et totemlsme aMadagascar, pp . 183-86 (taboos of passage); J. M. M. Van der
Burght, Dichol1naLre / r a n t ; a ~ s Kirundi: Avec l'indicahon succmcte de ta stgnificatwnswahili et allemande augmente a'une mtrodUctlon et de 196 articles eUlUologiques sur
les Urundi et les Warundi (Bar*le-Duc: Societe cl'Illustration Catholique, 1904),
S.v. ,. Iviheko," etc. The custom of planting a .stake surmounted with a sheaf of
straw-to prohibit the entrance mt o a path or field is very widespread in Europe.
2 Paul B. du Chaillu (in L' A/rique sauvage: Nouvelles excurswns au pays des
Ashongos [Paris: Michel Levy Freres, 1868J, p. 38, from th e English; Journey to
Ashango Land [New York, D. Appleton CO, 1867J), mentIOns a portal with sacred
plants, chimpanzee Skulls. etc. (in th e Congo). Portals formed by two stakes driven
mto the ground with a polc runuIng between them, on wh.i('h hang Skulls, eggs, etc.,
are often found on th e Ivorv Coast as taboOB of passage and protection against th e
spirits (oral report bv MaUrice Delafoss e); P e c h i i e l - L o e s c h e ~ Volkskunde von Loango,
figures on p. 224, 472, etc.
3 See among others for Surmam, K. MartIn, "Bericht ubcr eine Reise ins Gebelt
des oberen SurInam," Bijdragen tot de Taal-Land en Volkekunde von Nederlands
Indie (The Hague), XXXV (1886), 28-29. Figure 2 shows a statue with two faces
which I compared to Janus hi/rons in an article of the same title in Revue des
traditions populaires, XXII (1907), No.4, 97-98. It confirms Frazer's theory II ILectures on the Early History o/the Kingship, p. 289.
"OccasIOnally In Loango a palisade is erected across the road (Du I3haiIlu,
L' Afrique sauvage, p. 133) to prevent diseases from enterIng the territory of th e
villages; Biittikofer (ReMebilder aus Liberia, p. 304) mentions a barricade of straw
mattIng used to prevent access to sacred forests Where initiatIOn rites take placc;
perhaps th e barriers made from branchcs and from straw matting found in Aus
tralia and in New Guinea serve this purpose, rathcr than SImply that of hiding from
the profane what IS gOIng on there, as is usually thought.
17
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
These have gradually disappeared, although th e term" letter
of marque"l retains th e meaning of a permit to pass from
one territory to another through a neutral zone. Zones of
this kInd were important in classical antiquity, especially in
Greece, where they were used for market places or battle
fields .'
The same system of zones is to be found among th e s e m i ~ civilized. although here boundaries are less precise because
th e claimed territories are few In number and sparsely s e t ~ tled. Th e neutral zones ar e ordinarily deserts. marshes, an d
most frequently virgm forests where everyone ha s full rights
to travel and hunt. Because of the pivoting of sacredness,
th e territories on either side of the neutral zone are sacred
in relation to whoever is in th e zone. but t.he zone, in turn.
"is sacred fo r th e inhabitants of th e adjacent territorIes.
£Whoever passes from on e to the other finds himself physl
cally an d m a g l C o ~ r e l i g i o u s l y in a special situation fo r a
certain length of time: he wavers between tw o worlds. It is
this situation which I have designated a transition. an d on e
of th e purposes of this boiik IS to demonstrate that this
symbolic and spatial area of transition ma y be found In
more or less pronounced form in al l th e ceremonies which
accompany th e passage from on e social an d magico-religious
position to anothe9
1 rLettera of marque origmally constituted a license from a sovereign authorizing
a subject to seek rcprlsals agamst subjects of a hostile state for injuries mflicted by
that state. In later hmes these letters enabled prIvateers to commit acts against a
hostile natIOn which otherWIse would have been considered piracy. In Europe,letters of marque were abolished by the Congress of ParIs In 1856. (See Oxford
English Dictwnary.)J
2 On the subject of sacred zones and bands of neutral territory, see Grierson, The
Silont Trade, pp. 29, 56-59; and on frontiers an d SIgns of sacred frontlers In Palestine
an d Assyro.BabyLonia, see H. Gressmann, "Mythische Reste II I de t Paradieser·
z§.hlung," Archivfilr R e l i g ~ o n s w ~ s s e n s c h a f t , X (1907),361-63 n. On th e feast of the
Termmalia in Rome, see W. Warde Fowler, The Roman Festwals of he Penod of he.
Republic (London: Macmillan, 1899), pp. 325-27. It seems likely that the CapItoline
Hill was origmally one of those neutral zones of which I speak (FOWler, p. 317), as
well as a frontier between the city of the Paiatme and that of th e Quirinal; see also
Roscher's Lexilwn, s.v. "Jupiter ," col. 668, an d W. Warde Fowler in Anthropology
and the ClaSSICS pp. 181 ff. on the subject of the pomerium.
18
j
iI THE TERRITORIAL PA SSA G E
With this introduction we no w turn to some descriptions
of terrItorial passages. When a king of Sparta went to war.
he sacrificed to Zeus; i f th e prognostication was favorable,
a torchbearer took fire from th e altar and carried it In front
of th e army to th e frontler. There th e king sacrificed agam,
an d if th e fates again decreed in his favor he crossed th e
frontler with the torchbearer still preceding the army.' The
rIte of separation from one's own land at th e moment of
entering neutral territory was clearly acted ou t in this p r o ~ cedure. Several rites of frontier crossing have been studied
by Trumbull,' who cites th e following example: when
General Grant came to Asyut, a frontier point In Upper
Egypt, a- bull wa s sacrificed as he disembarked. The head
was placed on one side of the gangplank and th e body on
th e other, so that Grant ha d to pass between them as he
stepped over th e spilled blood.' The rite of passmg between
the parts of an object that has heen halved, or between two
branches. or under something, is one which must. in a cer
tain number of cases, be interpreted as a dire2.t.!ite of
passage by means of which a p e r s c ) , i i l e ' a v e ' s " · 6 n e ~ world behind
him and. enters a new one.4
Th e procedures discussed apply no t only in reference to a
country or territory but also In relation to a village. a town,
a section of a town. a temple, or a house. Th e neutral zone
shrinks progressively till it ceases to exist except as a simple
stone, a beam, or a threshold (except for th e pronaos, th e
narthex, th e vestibule, etc.).' Th e portal which symbolizes
1 See Frazer. The Golden Bough, I, 305.
2 H. Clay Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant: Or Ihe Beginmng of Religwus Riles
(New York; Charles Scribner's Sons, 1896), pp. 184-96. I wish to thank Mr. Salomon
Reinach for tending me this book, which IS difficult to find.
3 Ibid., p. 186. Trumbull 's theSIS IS that the blOod which was shed is a symbol, ifno t an agent of union.
01 A collection of these rItes ha s been published in Melusme: Recueil d f l · m y t i l O l a g ~ e , liUerature papulatre, iradilian, et usages (Paris: Gaidoz & Rolland, 1878-1912). A few
implY th e transfer of a disease, bu t what are commonly called rItes of purification
suggest the idea of a transition from the Impure to th e pure. All these ideas, an d the
rItes to which they correspond, often form a smgle ceremonial groupmg.
Ii Fo r details on the rites of passage pertaming to th e threShold, I refer you to
Trumbull's The Threshold Covenant. Some prostrate themselves before th e threshold,
BOrne kiss It, some touch it with theIr hands, some walk-upon it or remove theIr shoes
19
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
a taboo. against entering becomes th e postern of th e ram
parts, th e gate In th e walls of th e city q u a r t e r ~ th e door of
th e house. The quality of sacredness is no t localized in th e
threshold only; it encompasses th e lintels an d architrave as
well. '
The rituals pertaining to. th e door form au n i t ~
an d differences among particular ceremonies lie in technicalities: th e
threshold is sprinkled with blood or with purifymg water:
doorposts ar e bathed with blood or with perfumes: sacred
objects are hnng or nailed onto them. as on·the architrave.
Trumbull. in the monograph which he devoted to "the
threshold c o v e n a n t ~ " bypassed th e natural interpretatIOn.
although he wr{)te that th e bronze threshold of Greece" is
an archaic synonym fo r th e e n d u p - ~ g border. or outer limIt.
of spmtual domam.'" P r e c I s e l y : ~ e door IS th e boundary
between th e foreIgn and domestIc worlds m th e case of an
ordinary dwelling, between th e profane an d sacred worlds)Jr·
i,n th e ca,se of a temple. Ther, to cross th e threshold is to
nnlte oneself With a ne w worl2-.dlt is thus an Important act
in marriage. adoption. ordination. an d funeral ceremonIes.
Rites of passing through th e door need be stressed no
further at this point because several of them will be des
cribed in chapters to follow. I t will be 'P)!,d-rhiit"llie--tIt"f
carned Dut. _ on."".the,. _threshold Itself a v . ~ ' " tranSItion rIte'_
"Purifica:tions" (washing, c l e a n s i n g ~ - e t c ~ r ~ ( j ~ , ~ i i t ! ! ! . ~ " . r i f ~ of
separation from previous s u r r o u n d i n g s ~ there follow rites of
incorporatIOn (presentation of salt. a shared meal, etc.). Th e
before dOIng 50 , some step over It, some are earned over It, etc. See also William
Crooke, .. The Lifting of the Bride," Folk-lore, XIII (1902), 238-42. All these rItes
vary from people to people an d become more complicated if he threshold is the seat
of the spirit of th e house, the family, or the threshold god.
1 Fo r a detailed list of Chinese practices with reference to doors, see Justus Doo
little, Social Life of the Chinese with Some Account of the Religious, Governmental,
Educatwnal, and Business Customs and Optnions with Special but Not Exclusive
Reference to Fuhchau (New York: Harper, 1865), I, 121-22; II , 310-12; Wilhelm
Grube, Zur pekinger VoUcskunde (Berlin, 1902), pp . 93-97. On magIcal ornamentatIOn
pertaInIng to the door, see Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant, pp. 69-U" 323.
2 I canDot share Trumbull's VICW that the threshold is a primitive altar and the
altar a transplanted threshold, nor can I attribute a greater Importance to the
presence of blood in ntcs pertaInmg to the threshold than to the use of water or
Simple contact. All these are ntes of incorporatIon or union.
20
i
TH E TERRITORIAL P A S S A G E
rites of th e threshold are therefore not" union" ceremonies.
properly speaking, but rites of preparatIOn for union. them
selves preceded-by rites of preparation fo r th e transitional
stage.
Consequently,(I propose to call the ntes of separatIOn
from a previous world. preliminal rites. those executed
during th e tranSItional stage liminal (or threshold) rites, an d
th e ceremonies of Incorporation into th e ne w world p o s t ~ liminal rites'0
The rudimentary portal of Africa is very probably th e
orIgmal form of th e Isolated portals which were so highly
developed I II the Far East, ' where they not only became
independent monuments of architectural value (for ex
ample, porticoes of deities. of emperors. of widows) but also.
at least in .,S.hinto;>ism an d T ~ ~ , are used as ceremonial
instruments (see description of childhood ceremonies in
chap. v). ' This evolutIOn ,from th e magiC portal to th e
monument seems also to have occurred in th e case of th e
Roman arch of triumph. The VIctor was first required to
separate himself from th e enemy world through a series of
rites. in order to be able 1m return to the Roman world by
passing through th e arch. The rite of incorporation in this
case was a sacrifice to Jupiter CapItoline and to the deities
protecting th e city. '
In th e instances CIted thus fa r th e efficacy of th e ritual
portal has been direct. But the portal may also be th e seat
of a partIcular deity. W h e n " guardians of the threshold"
take on monumental proportions. as In Egypt. in Assyro
Babylonia (winged dragons, th e sphinx, an d all sorts of
1 rThis statement appears to be primarily speculatIVe.I2 Fo r China, see Gisbert Combaz, Sepultures Lmperiales de La Chine (Bmssels:
Vromant & Co., 1908), pp. 27-33; Doolittle, Social Life of the Chinese, II , 299-300.
For Japan, scc W. E. Griffis, lU Trumbull. The Threshold Cot·enani, Appendix,
pp. 320-24; B. H. Chamberlam, Things Japanese: Notes on Various Subiects Con
necied with Japan for the Use of Travellers and Others (London: Paul, 1891, p. 356,s.v. "torii"); N. Gordon Munro, "Primitive Culture lU Japan," Transaciwns afthe
A s ~ a t t c Society of Japan, XXXIV (1906), 1M.3 Fo r the order of ntes of triumph, see Le Perc Bernard de Montfaucon,
O.S.B., Antiquites expliquees et representees en figures (Paris: F. Deluulne, 1719),2d ed.; IV, 152-61. .
21
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
monsters),' an d in China (in th e form of statues), they push
th e door and the threshold into th e hackground; prayers
an d sacrifices ar e addressed to th e guardians alone. A rite
of spatial passage has become a rite of spIritual passage. Th e
ac t of passIng no longer accomplishes th e p a s s a g e ~ a p ~ r -sonified power insures it through spiritual means. 2
Th e tw o forms of portal rituals mentioned above seldom
occur in isolation; in th e great majority of cases they ar e
combined. In th e var IOUS ceremonies one ma y see th e direct
rite combined with th e Indirect, th e dynamistic rite with
th e a n l m i s t l c ~ either to remove possible obstacles to the
passage or to carry out the passage itself.
Among th e ceremonies of terrItorial passage those per
taIning to the. c!ossmg ~ ~ ~ ~ ! ~ ~ ~ § _ ~ Q . u l g also becIted. These mclude th e deposIting of varIOUS objects
(stones, bits of cloth. haIr, etc.), offerings. invocations of th e
spIrit of the place, an d so forth. They are to be found, for
Instance, in Morocco (kerkour), Mongolia, Tibet (abo),Assam, th e Andes, an d th e Alps (in th e form of chapels). Th e
crossIng of a rIver IS often accompanied by ceremonIes,3 an d
1 Hegarding thcse divmitics and the rites pcrtammg to them, see Eugene Lefebure,
Rites egyptwns: Construction ei proiection des edifices (Pans: E. Leroux. 1890); fo r
th e Assyrian wlllged hulls. sce p. 62.
2 Regarding th e divlllitics of th e threshold. see (i n addition to Trumbull, The
Threshold Covenant, pp. 94 If.): L. R. Farnell, "The Place of the Sonder·gotter III
Greek PolytheIsm," in Anthropological Essays Presented to E. B. Tylor, p. 82; and
Frazer, The Golden Bou.gh. In China they are ordinarily Shen·Shu aDd Jii.Lii (see
Ja n M. de Groot an d Eduard Chavannes. Les fetes annuellement c61€brlies a Emouy
fPans, IB861, pp . 597 ff.) bu t III Peking also Ch'in·Ch'iung and Yu"chih·Kung (see
Grube. Zn r pekinger Vollcskunde). Fo r Japan see Isabella L. Bird, Unbeaten Tracks tn
Japan: T r a v e ~ m the Interior, InCluding Visits to the Abongmes of Yozzo and the
Shrme ofNikhQ
(London: J. Murray,1905),
I,117. 273;
Reyon. "L e shinntolsme."
pp. 389, 390; Munro." Primitive Culture In Japan," p. 144. etc.
3 See among others H. Gaidoz. Etude de la mythologle gauloise, Vol. I: Le dieu
gaulolS du solei! et le symbolisme de Ia roue (Pans: E. Leroux, 1886), p. 6S; I recall
th e cercmomes of constructIOn and of the openmg of bridges (cf. "pontifex"). As
for rItes of passmg betwcen or under something, tbey have been colIeeted in
Melusme an d by almost all folklore students. They should all be discussed agaIn.
Im t It will be Impossible to do so at this time. Therefore I will CIte only th e followmg,
taken from Stepan Petrovrtch Krascrunnikov. Ilistotre et descnption du Kamtchatka,
trans. from the Russian by M. de SaUlt Pr e (Amsterdam: M. M. Rey, 1760), I,
130-31. an d sec p. 136: "Soon afterward, thcy bronght birch branches into the
VUrt, according to the number of families represented. Each KamcJladal took one of
tbcse branches for his family, and after bending It Illto a CIrcle he made his wife an d
22
TH E TERRITORIAL PA SSA G E
a corresponding negative rIte is found where a king or a
priest is prohibited from crossing a certain rIver or an y
flowing water. Likewise, th e acts of emharking an d dis
embarking, of enterIng a vehicle or a litter. an d of mounting
a horse to take a trip are often accompanied by rites of
separation at th e t ime of departure an d by rites of i n c o r ~ poration upon return.
Finally, in some cases th e sacrifices associated with laying
th e foundation fo r a house and constructing a house fall
into the category of ntes of passage. I t is curious that they
have been studied in isolation, SInce they ar e part of a h o m o ~ geneous ceremonial whole. th e ceremony of changing reSI
dence.! Every ne w house IS taboo until. by appropriate
children pass through it tWice; as they emerged from this hOOp, they began to spin
around. Among them this is called being purified of one's faults."
It S apparent from the detailed descriptIOns by Krascmnnikov that th e birch is a
sacred tree for th e KamChadals an d that it is used ritually 1Umost of their ceremomes.
'fWD interpretatIOns are possible: direct sanctificatIOn ma y occur under the Illfiuence
of the birch, which IS c o n s i d ~ r e d pure, or a transference of impunty from the peopleto the birch may take place. Th e latter seems to be In keeping with the rest of the
ceremony: "When all ha d been purified, the Kamchadals came out of the yurt with
these small branches through the zupan, or th e lower opening, an d they were fol
lowed by their relatlves of both sexes. As soon as they were out of the yurt, thCY
passed through the birch cncIe for the second tlme and then stuck the little branches
II I th e snow. bending th e end towards the east. After throwmg all theIr wnsiif on this
spot an d Shaking theIr clothing, th e Kamchadals re-entered the yurt by the ordinary
openlllg an d not by th c znpan." In other words, they rid themselves of the sacred
material impurities which had accumulated m their clothes. an d of theIr most
important rrtual obieet. Ule tonsiif (Which togcther with" swect grass." cte., com
pnses therr catcgory of sacra). Th c branches, which ha d been endowed with th e
sacred, are thrown away.
Th e passage through th e sacred arcs automatIcally removes from th e celebrants
th e sacred charactenstlCS which they acqUIred by performing th e complicated cere·
monies that this nt e termmates. These cItcIes form th e portal which separates the
sacred world from the profane world,so
that , once they have entered th e profane,
th e performers of the ceremony are again able to use th e big door of the hot.
I Regarding constructIOn sacrifices, see Paul Satan ("Uber das Banopfer,"
Zeitschriftfilr Ethnologw, XX X r18981, 1-54,), wh o did no t see that a few of them are
ntes of appropriation. Fo r French rites. see Paul Scbillot, Lefollt-lore de La France
(Pans: E. Guilmoto, 1907), IV , 96-98; an d for varIOUS theories, see Trumbull. The
Threshold Covenant, pp. 45-57, and Edyard Alexander Westermarck, The Odgm
and Deve(opment of Moral Ideas (London: Macmillan. 1906-8), I, 461. Those rItcs
fall into a wider category which I call th e "ri tes of the first tIme" (sec chap. IX).
Th e charm 43. 3-15. of th e Kausikasutra (W. Calland, AltindiscMs ZanberrN:
Darstellung der altindischen Wunsdwpfer rAmsterdam: J. Muller, 19001. pp. H,7-4B)no t only IS connected with construction and with entering hu t also IS mentioned ill
people's and arumals' Changing of dwellings.
23
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
rites. it is made noa (secular or profane),.!. In form an d
dynamics, .the lifting of this tahoo resembles those pertain
ing to a sacred territory or woman: there IS washing or
lustration or a communal meal. Other practices are intended
to insure that th e house remaIns Intact , does no t crumble.
an d so forth. Scholars have been wrong in Interpreting some
of these practices as survivals an d distortions of an ancient
custom of human sacrifice.,[£eremonlcs to lift a taboo, to
determine wh o will be th e protecting spirit, to transfer th e
first death, to Insure all sorts of future security, are £gnowed
hy ntes of incorporation: libations, ceremonial visiting,
consecration of th e various parts of the house. th e sharing
of bread and salt or a beverage, th e sharIng of a me,;i}(In
France, a housewarming is given. called literally, "hanging
th e pothook.") These ceremonies are essentially rItes identi
fYIng the future inhabitants with their ne w residence. When
th e inhabi tants-for instance. a betrothed man or a young
husband and hi s family or hi s wife-build th e house themselves. th e ceremonIes begin at the very start of construction.
Rites of entering a house. a temple. an d so forth. have
their counterpart In rItes of exit. which al e either identical
or th e reverse. At th e tIme of Mohammed, th e Arabs stroked
th e household god when entermg and when leavmg,' so
that th e same gesture wa s a rite of incorporation or a rite of
separation. depending on th e case. In th e same way, when
ever an Orthodox Je w passes through th e main door of a
house, a finger of hi s right hand touches th e mezuzah. a
casket attached to th e doorpost which contains a piece of
paper or a ribbon upon which is written or embroidered th esacred name of God (Shaddai). He then kisses th e finger an d
says, "The Lord shall preserve th y going ou t an d th y
coming. in from this time forth evermore."3 Th e verbal rite
is here joined to the manual one.
1 Fo r a typical ceremony. scc W. L. Hildburgh, "Notes on Sinhalese Maglc,"
Journal of ho Royal Anthropological InstllUle, XXXVIII (1908), 190.2 Smith, Tho Religion or tho S e m ~ t e s , pp. 4,61-62.
3 Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant, pp. 69-70, with reference to SYIla. rVan
Gennep evidently relied on Trumbull for this mformatlOn. According to The Jewish
24
i
I
t
TH E TERRITORIAL PA SSA G E
I t will be noted that o ~ _ . t h . ! ' } ! : ! a l n . l l o o r is th e site of
entrance an d exit rites, perhaps because it IS consecrated by
a special rite or because it faces in a favorable direction.
Th e other openmgs do no t have th e same quality of a point
of transltion between the familial world and the external
world. Therefore thieves (in CIvilizations other than ou r
own) prefer to enter otherwise than through th e door;
corpses are removed by the back door or th e window; a
pregnant or menstruating woman is allowed to enter and
leave through a secondary door only; th e cadaver of a
sacred animal is brought in only throngh a wmdow or a
hole; an d so forth.(These practIces ar e intended to prevent
th e pollution of a passage which must r e m ~ i n u n c o n t a : ~ : r n : " , nated once it ha s been purified by speCIal ceremonIes.)
Spitting or stepping on it , for instance, are forbidden. But
sometimes th e sacred value of th e threshold IS present II I all
th e thresholds of th e house. In Russia I saw houses in which
little horseshoes, used to protect th e heels of boots, werenailed on th e threshold of every room. In addition, every
room In these houses ha d it s ow n Icon.
In order to understand rites pertaining to th e threshold,
one should ah';ays remember that th e threshold is only a
part of th e door an d that most of these rites should be
understood as direct an d physical rItes of entrance. of
waiting, an d of depar ture- that is. as rites of passage.
Encyclopedia, e ~ . Isidore Singer (New York and London: Funk & Wagnalls, 1916),
th e prayer at the door IS translated as " may God keep my gOlDg out and my COmIng
in from· now on and evermore." Thc Inside of the mezuzah contams the wordS of
Deuteronomv 6 : 4-9 and 11 : 13-21, both ofwhlch exhortthc Jews to love and obey
God and which command them to wrIte God's name on thcIr doors and gateposts." S h ~ d d a i " is written on the outside of th e mezuzah, which IS touched and kisscd in
passlDg through th e door.J
25
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPSI I I - society is similar to a house divided into
; ,rooms an d corridors. Th e more th e society resembles ours inits
form of civilization. the thinner are its internal partitions
an d th e wider an d more open ar e it s doors of c o m m u n i c a ~ tion. In a semicivilized society, on th e other hand. sections
are carefully Isolated, an d passage from one to another must
be made through formalities an d ceremonIes which show
extensIve parallels to th e rites of territorial passage d i s ~ cussed in the last chapter.
An individual or group that does no t have an immediate
rIght. by birth or through speCially acqUIred attributes. to
enter a partIcular house and to become established in one of
it s sections is in a state of isolation. This IsolatIOn has two
a s p e c t s ~ which may be found separately or In combination:
such a, person is we_ak. because he is outside a given group
01' sOCIety, but he is also strong, since he is in th e sacred
realm with respect to the group's members, for whom their
society constitutes th e secular world. In consequence. Some
peoples kill. strip, an d mistreat a stranger without c e r e ~ ~ o n y , . l while others fear him, take great care of him, treat
hIm as a p o w ~ r f u l being, or take m a g i c o ~ r e l i g i o u s protectIve
measures against him.
_For a great many peoples a stranger is sacred, endowed
with m a g l C o ~ r e l i g i o u s powers. and supernaturally benevo
lent or malevolent. This fact has been pointed ou t r e ~ peatedly, espeCIally by Frazer ' an d Crawley,' who both
att.ribute th e r i t ~ s to.which a stranger IS subjected to m a g i c o ~ r e h ~ l O u s terror In hIS presence. These rites. they maintain,
are Intended to make him neutral or benevolent. to remove
In the case of organized l 'obberv-of caravans, for example-or of the right of
shIpwreck, th e phenomenon IS m u ~ . ~ more economIC and legal than magicO-l"eliglOu8;
occaSIOnally however, as III th e FIJI IslandS, the right of shipwreck seems mtcnded
to 2Prevent magtcally dangerous strangers from entermg the tribe's territory.
Frazer, The Golden Bough, I, 297-304. Trumbull, The ThreShold Covenant
pp. 4-5 and passim, considers only l'ltes of entrance m relatIOn to the blood and th ;threshold.
3 Crawley, The Mystic Rose, pp. 414, 239, 250 fr.
26
INDIVIDUALS AN D G RO U P S
th e special qualities attriliuted to him. Grierson accepts th e
same point of VIeW, bu t he is also Interested in th e economIC
an d legal positIOn of th e stranger. an d he cites many
references ! Westermarck presents even ampler evidence.
an d also suggests further motives which ma y affect be-
havior toward a stranger (e.g., personal feelings, positive or
supernatural mterest). ' He rejects Crawley's theory based
on th e .concept of contagion-that rites pertaining to the
stranger are but a means of lifting •• a taboo of individual
isolatIOn"3 by which everyone is surrounded-and proposes
an even narrower one. Fo r hi m th e purpose of th e ntes is
, to destroy both th e evil ey e possessed by all strangers a
priori an d t he " conditional curse" placed upon th e host by
th e stranger"s presence. 4 J e v o n s ~ on th e other hand limits,
th e significance of these rites to purification of th e clothing
an d belongings of th e stranger. excluding th e stranger
hImself. 5
Each of these pOints of view IS applicable to a series ofparticular facts. but none of them enables us to understand
th e dynamics of ntes pertmning to the stranger, then
patterns. and the parallels between these ceremomal pat.
terns and the order of rItes of childhood. adolescence,
betrothal, and marriage.
However. if we consult documents which describe in d e ~ tail the ceremonIes to which isolated strangers or groups
(such as caravans or scientific expeditions) are subjected,
we see. beneath a varIety of forms, a _ s ~ x p . ! i ~ i I g l y uniform
Pl!ltern. Th e actions which follow an arrival ofsti-angers'Ill
large numbers tend to reinforce local "social coh,l:::sion: th einhabitants al l leave th e v l ! l a g - ' ; - ; ~ ; f t a k ~ - - ~ e f ~ g e - 1-;; a well·
protected place such as a hill or forest; or they close their
.1 Grierson, The Silent Trade, pp. 3 0 ~ 3 6 . 70-83.
2 Westermarck. The Origm and Development of Moral Ideas; I, 570.3 Crawley, The Myslic Rose, p. 172.
4 Westermarck. The Origm and Devetopmeni of Moral Ideas,!' Sec cspeciaIIy pp.
586-92 and the truly Ignorant conclUSIOns of p. 390."Jevons, An IntroduciwlI to the History of Religion, p. 71. It is Impossible to
understand how clothing or other possessions can be impure. dangerous, and taboo
while the user remalOS unaffected.
27
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
doors. ar m themselves, an d send ou t sIgnals for a gathering
(e.g., fire, trumpet. drum); or th e chief., alone or with his
warriors, goes before th e strangers as a representative of his
society, SInce he is better immunIzed against this contact
than th e ordinary inhabitants. Elsewhere., special i n t e r ~ mediaries or elected delegates are sent. In addition (though
there are exceptions of a political nature., fo r example),
foreigners cannot immediately enter th e territory of th e
tribe or th e village; they must prove their llltentions from
afar an d undergo a stage best known in th e form of th e
tedious African palaver. This preliminary stage., whose
duratIOn varies., is followed by a transitional period consist
Ing of such events as an exchange of gifts. an offer of food
by the inhabitants, or th e prOVIsion of lodging. . Th e c e r e ~ mony terminates in rites of incorporatlOn-a formal e n ~ trance. a meal in c o m m o n ~ an exchange of handclasps.
The length and intrIcacy of each stage through which
foreigners an d natives move toward each other vary with
different peoples. 2 Th e basic procedure IS always th e same,
h o w e v e r ~ fo r either a company or an individual: ~ h e y must
stop. wait. through a transitional period. enter. be
IncorporatedJI'he particular rites ma y include actual c o n ~ tact (e.g., a slap, a handclasp), exchanging gifts of food or
valuables. eating, drinking, smoking a pipe together, s a C r I ~ fiClng animals, sprInkling water or blood. anointing, being
attached to each o t h e r ~ being covered together, ·or sittIng
on th e same seat. Indirect contact may occur through a
spokesman or through touching simultaneously or one after
th e other a sacred object. the statue of a local deity, or a"fetish post." This enumeration could be continued i n d e f i ~
1 This ma y he a "communal house" of young me n or warriors. a special place
belongmg to th e chief or a noble, or even a roo,m m a Jocal familv's house. In the
last case the stranger is often mcorporated into the family, and thus into the society.
2 See some accounts which are compared in my Tabou et t o t e m ~ s m e Ii Madagascar,
pp. 'W-47. In this category Imght be listed the protocolfor tile receptIOn of ambassa.
dorial misslOns, etc., which mark the contact .between two groups. Particularly the
"Welcome" ritual of th e central Australians should be noted; see B. Spencer an d
F. J. Gillen, The Northern Tribes of Centrat Australia (London: Macmillan, 1904),pp.568-79.
28
,,
ir
INDIVIDUALS A N D G R O U PS
nitely, but space forbids a close exammation of more than
a few rites.
(The rIte of eatlllg an d drinking together, which will be
frequently mentioned m this book, IS clearly a rIte of in
c o c p o r a t i o n ~ of physical union, l an d has been called a
sacrament of communion. 2 A union by this means ma y be
p e r m a n e n t ~ bu t more often i t lasts only dUring th e period
of digestion)Captain Lyon ha s noted that th e Eskimo con·
sider a man their guest only for tweuty-four hours.3 Often
th e sharing of meals is recIprocal, an d there is thus an
exchange of food which constitutes th e confirmation of a
bond. When food is exchanged without a common meal, th e
actIOn falls Into the vast category of gift exchanges. 4
Exchanges have a direct constraining effect: to accept a
gift IS to be bound to th e giver. Crawley perceIved this in
part. ' hut Ciszewski, II I his monograph on fraternal bonds
among th e Slavic populations of th e Balkans an d Russia.
di d no t understand it . He considered rites of incorporation"symbolic" ,and recognized four major ones: eating an d
drinking together, the act of tying one to the other. kisSlllg
on e a n o t h e r ~ an d t h e " symbol of naturae ~ m i t a t w . " Leaving
aside the last (SImulated childbirth, etc.), which IS sympa
thetic In nature. the ntes described by Ciszewski In his
research ma y be classified as follows: individual or collective
eating in common; simultaneous Christian communIOn;
being tied with a single rope or belt; holding hands; em
bracing; putting feet together on th e hearth; exchanging
gifts of cloth, garments, weapons, gold or silver coins, b o u ~ quets, garlands, p i p e s ~ rings, kisses, blood, Christian sacredobjects (a cross, a candle, or an icon); kissing these sacred
1 See Cr awley, The M y s t ~ c Rose, pp . 157 ff., 214. 456 ff.
2 Smith, The Religlon of he Semites, pp . 206-10; Hartland, The Legend of Perseus.
Vol. III, passim.
a The Private Journal of C a p t a ~ n G. F. Lyon of the H.M.S. Hecla, During the
Recent Voyage of Discovery under Captam Parry (London: J. Murray, 1824), p. 350.
4 For hibliographic references, see Grierson, The Silent Trade, pp. 20-22, 71;
Westermarck, The Origin and Development of Moral Idtlas, r. 593-94.
6 Crawley, The Mystic Rose, p. 237; he was mistaken in interpreting the lifting
of the taboo and th e rItes of Ulllon fw m a totally individualistic point of VIew.
29
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
38,4,0,35,46,54,55,45,47,27.33,34.45,46,55,32,57, 69, 43-45, 43-46. 41, 57,42,27,33,37,38,41-43,45,27,45.60-69,37,156-57,34, 37. 39, 55, 56. On pp. 41 ff.
an d 33, Ciszewski cites an interesting instance where the fraternal bond is formed in
three stages (small, medium, and large)-whicb, call to mllld the stages of initiatIOnand incorporation into age groups,
2 On fraternal honds see th e inquirY of the Revue des traditions TJOpulaLl'es and of
Mclusme; G. Tamassia, L'affratellamento (TUrIn, 1886); Smith, The Religion of the
Semtics. pp. 239-48; J. Robinsohn, PsychotogLe del' Naturviilker (LeIpzig, 1896),pp. 20-26. According to eyen Ciszewski's account (p. 94) social fraternal bonds
create!l stronger relatIOnship than natural consanguimty.
3 Taplin, The Nal'nnyeri (2d ed.; Adelaide: T. Shawyer, 1878), pp. 32-34. This
exchange creates the relationship called ngiangtampe, on which Crawley (in The
Mystu Rose) built his theory of" mutual inoculation between individuals," without
seem/!; that all forms of exchange have exactly th e same purpose. On the social
slgnificance of fraternal bonds, see Ciszewski. Kiinstliche Verwandscha!t bei den
SUdslaven, pasnm, esp. p. 29. Fraternal bonds may be permanent or temporary, in
which case they may be renewed (see Ciszewski, pp. 7. 45, 49, etc.).
4 Among others, see C. Hm.Tout, "Report on the Ethnology of the Southeastern
Tribes ofVaneouver Island, British Columbia," Journal of he Royal A n t h r o P Q l o g ~ c a t Illsmute, XXXVII (1907), 3 1 1 ~ 1 2 . 30
t
INDIVIDUALS AN D GROUPS
One of the duties of royalty, among th e semicivilized, is
redistributing to their subjects th e "gif ts" obligatorily
given. In short,( th e movement of objects among persons
'" constItuting a defined group creates a continuous social
bond between them in th e same wa y that a "communIOn"
d o e s ~ Among rites of union similar to those creating _a f ~ ! ~ . ! } J ? 1
,. bond may be cited th e joint performance of a ceremonial
. - ; c r ~ s u c h as godparenthood or a pilgrimage. Such a unIOn
cannot be broken except by a specIal nte of separation.
Th e direct and simple operation of th e rite lllcorporatmg
a stranger is very clear in th e ceremony to which Thomson
submitted Just before his entrance Illto MasaI terrItory.!.
On the da y after our arrival a Swahili runaway came as a messenger of
th e chief to make friends an d brothers with me . A goat was brought
and, taking it by one ear, I was reqUlred to state where I was gomg, to
declare that I meant no evil an d did no t work in uchawi (black magic),
an d finally to promise that I would do no harm to the country. The
other ear wa s then taken by th e sultan-·s ambassador. and he made
promise on his part that no harm would be done to us , that food would
be given. an d aU artICles stolen refunded. The goat was then killed .
an d a strip of skin cu t off th e forehead, in which two slits were made.
Th e M-S wahili, taking hold of this. pushed it on my finger by th e
lower slit five times, finally pushing It over th e Jomt. I ha d next to take
th e strip, stilI keeplllg it on my finger. an d do th e same for th e M-
Swahili, through th e upper slit. This operation finished, th e strips ha d
to be cu t in two, leaving th e respective portions on our fingers: an d th e
Sultan of Shira an d I were sworn brothers. 2
Among th e Zaramo, WaZlgula, an d Wasagala it is th e
practice to exchange blood. The two individuals SIt face toface, th e legs of one crOSSing those of the other, while a
third person brandishes a sword above t h e m ~ pronouncing
a curse against th e breaker of th e fraternal bond. Here
th e bond is created by simultaneous contact an d blood
1 [The ceremony described was performed by Thomson with the Chaga of Shira
at a camp adjacent to Masal territory.J
2 JosepJl Thomson, Through Masai Land (London: Law, 1885); French transla·
tion: Au pays des M a s s a ~ (Paris, 1886), pp. 101-2. [The ol'lginai English has been
used in the translation.J
31
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
exchange, and an exchange of gifts follows.' I cite this last
instance. chiefly to show that it is a mistake to separate
rites involving blood arbitrarily from those of incorporation.
Actually, these special rites seldom constitute th e whole
ceremony, which, in the great majority of cases. includes
rItes of contact. food sharing, exchanges, Joining (tying,
etc.), '"lustration," and so forth.A combinatIOn of th e various rites of incorporation by
direct contact IS very apparent, for instance. in the follow
ing customs ofthe Shammar, an Arab tribe. Layard writes:
Amongst th e Shammar, if a ma n ca n selze th e end of a stnng or
thread the other end of which is held by his enemy, he Immediately
becomes his Dakheel. I f he touch th e c ~ n v a s of a tent, or ca n even
throw his mace towards It. he becomes th e Dakheel of its owner. I f he
ca n spit upon a man, or touch an y article belonging to him with his
teeth. he is Dakhat, unless, of course, in th e case of theft, it be the
person wh o caught him. The Shammars never plunder a caravan within
sIght of thell' encampment, for as long as a stranger can see their tents
they consider him their Dakheel. 2
Here even sight is contact. Rites of this kind play an im
portant part in ceremonials of the rIght of asylum.' Th e
simple fact of pronouncing a word or a formula like th e
Moslem salaam also ha s th e effect of creatmg at least a
temporary bond; that is wh y Moslems look for all sorts of
ways to avoid giving a salaam to a Christian. 4
Th e variOUS forms of greeting also fall into th e category
1 R. Burton, The Lake Regions of Central Africa (London: Longntans, G.reen.1860), I, 114, 115.
2 A. H. Layard, Nineveh and Babylon: Second Expedition to Assyna, 1848-51
(Loudon: Munay, 1861), pp . 317 ff. Regarding the daMU, see W. Robertson Smith.Kinship and Marriage m Early Arabia, ed. Stanley A. Cook (London: Stack, 1907),
pp . 48-49 n. rThe rules governIng contact applv equallY to protector (daMal) an d
protege (dakhil); th e role assumed depends, of course, on CIrCUmstances Independent
of th e l'ltual.l
.3 On the right of asylum, see Trumbull, The Thresltold Covenant, pp. 58-59. AIbas
HellWIg (Das Asylrecht der NatUTVoiker [Stuttgart, 19031) did not see the maglCO-
religious side or the link between taboo and the rites of incorporation pertaIning to
th e l'lght of asvlum among th e semicivilized; these have been studied in part from
this point of VIew by Smith (The R e l i g ~ o n of he S e m ~ t e s , pp. 53-57, 206-8) an d Cis
zewski (Kiinstliche Verwandschaft b e ~ den Siidslaven, pp. 71-86, etc.).
4. Edmond Doune, Merrakech (Paris: Comlte de Maroc, 1805), I, 35-38.
32
I\
J
INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS
of rites of incorporation; they vary according to th e extent
to which th e person arriving is a stranger to the inhabitants
of the house or to those he meets. The various greetings of
Christians. still found in archaic forms In Slavic countries,
renew each time th e mystical bond created by belonging to
th e same religion, as does th e salaam among th e Moslems.
The reading of several detailed deSCriptions will show thatamong semicivilized people(these greetings have th e follow
in g effects: (1) In th e case of relatives, neIghbors, or mem
bers of th e same tribe. there is a renewal an d reinforcement
of membership In a single. more or less restrIcted group.
(2) In th e case of a stranger, he is introduced first to a limIted
group and then, i f he so deSIres, to other restricted groups
an d at th e same time to th e society at large. Here agam,
people clasp hands or ru b noses, separate themselves from
th e outside world by removmg their shoes, coat, or head
dress. unite by eating or drInking together. or perform
prescribed rItes before household gods, an d th e like. Inshort, a person identifies himself in one wa y or another with
those he meets, i f only for th e moment) Among th e Ainu,
fo r instance, a greeting is intrinsically a religious act. , Th e
same ritual sequences ma y be found In th e exchange of
VIsits, which as an exchange also baSIcally ha s th e value of
a bond; among th e Australians, for example. it is an inter
tribal custom.
Direct rites of incorporation based on contagIOn include a
number of sexual r i t e s ~ such as wife exchange. If th e rite is
unilateral, -; woman is loaned (a w i f e ~ daughter, sister, rela
tive, wife of th e host, or woman of the same class or tribe
as th e host).' Although I I I some cases th e purpose of this
I Fo r details of these rites see J. Batchelor, The Ainu: the Hairy Aborigmes of
Japan (London: ReligIOUS Tract Society, 1891), pp. 188-97; Chamberlain, Things
Japanese, pp. 333-39. on tea ceremOllles; F. Hutter, Wanderungen und Forschungen
in Nord Hinterland von Kamerun (Brunswick, 1902), pp. 135-36, 4·17-18; and III
general the references to politeness, etiquette, salutation, and hospltnlity in ethno
graphic monographs.2 Fo r theories an d references see: Edvard Alexander Westermarck, The History of
Human Marriage (London: Macmillan, 1891), pp. 73-75; Crawley, The Mystic Rose,pp . 248, 280, 285, 479; The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venehan, trans. Henry Yule,
33
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
of gift's, a meal in common, a last drink, wishes, a c c o m p a n i ~ ment on th e road, an d sometimes even sacrifices. Explorers'
accounts generally mention observances such as th e follow
ing:
Among th e Moslems. in particular, th e religion includes numerous
precepts pertaimng to travel. The hooks of the Ahadith and th e adab1
dedicate a whole chapter to travelers• • . • In North Africa water 1S
thrown under th e steps of th e one departing. When, in 1902, we were
leaving Mogador for an excursion into th e interIOr. a member of th e
family of one of my Moslem compalllons came out of his home at th e
moment of our departure an d threw a pail of water under the feet of
my companion's horse. Z
Perhaps t ~ ~ . s J § " - ! l _ . ! ~ , ~ o ! . . . : ~ ! i ~ ~ ~ ? ~ : : ' ~ ~ : ~ ~ 1 ~ ~ tended to break past or tuture spells" as Doutte asserts on
t h ' e ' ' ' h · ; ; i ~ t F r a z e ; ' ~ i ; t ; ; p ; ; t a f w i i s ; a ~ t o my mind i t is more
probably a rite of separation in which th e traveler crosses
an artifiCIal Rubicon. Rites of separation have been greatly
elaborated in China to mark a mandarin's change of province, a departure for a trip, an d so forth.' I t seems to me
that al l th e rites observIng departure on a trip or an e x p e d i ~ tion are intended to make the break gradual rather than
a b r u J ! ! M l ~ ~ j ; t ! E 9 , ! ~ t t i ~ A i ~ ~ : ~ 1 § E c ! _ « ! ~ ~ i i ~ · -:AS fo r rites on th e occaSIon of the traveler's return, these
include th e r e m o ' : . ~ . L ~ f i ~ ~ . ! . ~ ! i e s acquired , 9 . ! , L t J ~ , ~ . " " X Q y , e . g e ~ ~ - , ' ' ' ' ' - . - ' - ' , " " - - " , , , , " , ' ' ~ " p ,
l The Ahadith are sacred writings of Islam. The adab al-kiitib, adab ai-wuzarii',
and others are stnctly distmguished from religious writings bu t are works of a
secular nature dedicated to a cultivation of higher human qualities, or adab (see
Encyclopedia of Islam, ed. M. T. Houtsma and M. Seligsohn rLeiden: Brill, 1908J).2 Doutte, Merrakech, pp. 31, 91.
3 Frazer, The Golden Bough, It 303; see also Grierson, The Silent Trade, pp. 33-34,
72-74; Westermarck, The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas, I. 589-94.4 "When the mandarm IS about to leave. all th e inhabitants go out on the mam
roads and line up from place to place, from the Clty gate through which he will pass
up to two or three miles farther. Highly polished tables draped with satm and
covered with preserves, liqueurs, and tea can be seen everywhere. Everyone stops
th e mandarm, and agamst his wishes he IS made to Sit, eat, and drink . • • The most
pleasant part is that all th e people want something which belongs to him. Some take
his shoes, others his cap, some his overcoat, bu t each one of these things is replaced
by others, and by th e tIme he has passed through the mob, he ma y have changed
shoes thirty different times.!' Le Pe:re LoUls LeComte, Nouveaux memotres sur I'ltatprhsent de la Chine (3d cd.; Paris: J. Anmaon, 1700), II . 53-54. For more modern
details, see Doolittle, Social Lile 01 the Chinese, II , 235-36, 302-3.
36
Ir
t[I
INDIVIDUALS AN D G R O U PS
( r ~ ~ , . 2 f ~ , p . ; u : a t i ! l n ) , J ! l ) J : L x J t e s . Q , f , g I ! ! i b l l l , \ J ! } £ ! l I P , w : , l ; \ t ~ ( ) n , such
as certain ordeals an d rites of anImal Intercourse In M a d a ~ gascar 1 Such rites are especially prevalent where absences
- o f th e h u s b a n d ~ fo r instance-are regular.
However, th e traveler's departure does no t completely
separate hIm either from th e society to which he OrIginally
belonged or from th e one he joins during his trip. Therefore.
speCIal rules for th e conduct of his family while he is absent
prohibit all actions which could harm him directly (by
telepathy) or by sympathetic means.' H e n ~ e , too, it is th e
custom ,to provide th e traveler, at each d e p a r t u r e ~ with a
sIgn of r e c o g n i t l O n ~ such as a s t a f f ~ a letter, or a tessera in
anCient Greece.3 which automatically incorporates him Into
other groups. This is done among th e Votyak when a
shaman or usto-tuno is called for cases of illness or animal
epidemics:
He is brought from far away, so that he knows no one. He is taken
from village to village. as he is needed. When he leaves home. he asks
th e village that ha s called him for a "pledge" conslstlllg of a p i e c ~ of
wood on whiCh th e chief of each family has lllscribed his tamga (clan
and property mark). The UslQ-tuno leaves this piece of wood at home,
giving his wife tlle nght to demand that her husband he brought back
to 'her. This formality IS repeated each time th e usto-tuna goes to
another village, an d th e piece of wood bearing the tamga of t11e next
village is always placed in th e hands of th e mistress of th e household
th e usto-tuno leaves.'
Th e journeys of Australian messengers among various clans
1 Tabou et totemisme a Madagascar, pp. 249-51. 169-70: on rItes of return III
general, see Frazer. The Golden Bough, I, 306-7; for the return of warrIors, see
Joseph FranyOls Lafitau, Meeurs des sauvages ameriquams comparees aux mrours despremiers temps (PaIlS: Saugrain l'Aine, 1124), II , 194-95, 260; on th e rItes of travel
In ancient India. see Calland, ,Altindisches Zauberrei, pp. 46, 63-64.
II I t is the same durmg the absence of fishermen, hunters. and warriors; seeFrazer. The Golden Bong/t, I, 27-35; van Gennep, Tabou et tOliimismeaMadagascar,
pp. 171-72; as well as references in William Ellis, History of Madagascar (London:
Fisher & Co., 1838), I, 167; for Borneo; Florence E. HeWitt, "Some Sea Davak
Taboos;" Man, VI I (1908), No. 12, -186-87.
3 [A tessera was" a die brOken between host and guest and kcpt as a means of
recognition (AttIC and Ionic)" (Oxford English Dictionary).]4 Vasiliev. O b o z r e n ~ e wzyc heski kh obriadov, sueverii i verovan ii Votiakov Kazanslcot
~ Yiatsko'i gUbernii (Kazan, 1906). p. 15. See, on this subject, publications on
messengers; staffs. etc.
37
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
an d tribes are also definitely rituaIized,i as were th e pr o .
cedures regulating merchants:: coming an d going in Europe
and the Far East durmg th e Middle Ages.
Th e pattern outlined for ceremonies pertaining to
s ~ r a n g e r s an d travelers ma y be found also in ~ i o n In Rome these mcluded th e detestatio sacrorum. a
set of rites of separation from th e patrICIan class. th e gens.
th e cult of th e former household. and the former immediate
family; an d th e transitio in sacra. a se t of rites of incorporaw
tion to the new environment. 2 Th e Chinese ritual likewise
includes relinquishing ties with th e former clan an d housew
hold cult fo r th e sake of th e new. The particular rites per
formed at adoptIOn are identical with those mentioned fo r
other Instances of incorporation. They include exchanges
(of blood, gifts. etc.), tymg, veiling, seating together. real or
simulated nursmg, simulated birth. and so forth. Th e rites
of separation have been observed much less frequently, bu t
I have noticed that among th e southern Slavs there is a rIte
of separation for persons c o n s i d e r ~ d related because they
were born during th e same month.
Among th e Chamar. a caste of tanners an d leatherworkers
in northern India. in cases of adoption al l members of th e
clan come together. an d th e parents of th e bo y say: " Yo u
were my son by a deed of evil (pap); now you ar e th e son of
so-and-so by a virtuons act (dharm)."3 Th e members of the
clan sprmkle th e child with rice. an d th e adopting parent
gives a ceremonial meal to al l those present. Among some
American Indians. th e adoptIOn ritnal is related to concepts
of mana (orenda, manito. etc.) an d reIncarnation. Naming
J. Spencer and Gillen, Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 94, 156, 274; TheNort/lem Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 139, 551; A. W. HOWItt, The Native Tribesof S o u t h ~ e a s t Australia (London: Macmillan, 1904), pp. 678-91.
a Charles Daremberg and Edmond Saglio, Dictwnnazre des antiquit€s grecques et
romames d'apres les textes et tes monuments (Parts: Hachette, 1877-1906), s.v.:
"adoptlO," "consecratio," "detestatio," etc.; regarding adoption among th e s e m l ~ civilized, see Hartland, The Legend of Perseus, II , 417 i f.; Frazer, The Golden Bough,I, 21 i f.; among th e Slavs, Ciszewski, KUnstliche Verwandschaft b e ~ den Sildslaven.pp. 103-9.
a. William Crooke, "Typical Castes and Tribes . • • of the Aryo-Dravidian Tract:
Chamar," Census of India, Ethnographical Appendixes (Calcutta, 1903), p. 174.
38
INDIVIDUALS A N D G R O U PS
forms an important part of their ceremonies. because an
individual's name indicates his place with reference to the
varIOUS marriage an d clan sections_ In addition, those
adopted are assigned a fictitious age group, even where a
group IS Involved- (the Tuscaroras became "children" to
th e Oneida; th e Delawares were adopted as "cooks" by th e
Leagne of Five Nations an d therefore wore women's dress
an d changed their economic activity).'
Th e rites performed when a slave or a retaIner changes
masters also ma y he explained as rites of p a s s a g e ~ As a rite
.of incorporation. one may CIte th e VIolent blow with a stick
given by a slave in Loango to a ne w master he- has chosen
for himself;' another is th e ceremony of th e Bambunda
called tombika (o r shimbika).' Th e change in a slave's statns
brought about when she gives her master a child is marked
by rites of incorporation sometimes reminiscent of marriage
ceremonies; these rites are related to those of the right to
asylum. Ceremonies of changing clan, caste, or tribe andthose of naturalization also include rites of separation,
transition. and incorporation. Some of these will later be
discussed in detail.
Th e operation of rites is th e same for groups as fo r indi
viduals. Among rites of s e p a r a ~ r may be inw
eluded a deelarat;;;;:; of war, either trillal or familial. Th e
European and Semitic rites of th e vendetta are well known.
so I shall mentIOn th e Anstralian ones, which have also been
described in detail . The gronp charged with implementing
revenge is first separated from society an d acquires it s own
individuality; its members do no t re .enter SOCIety until afterth e performance of rites which remove that temporary
individuality and reintegrate them into the society. Th e
1 See J. N. B. HeWltt, under" Adoption." in HandbOOk of American IndiaT/4, ed.
Frederick Hodge (Bulletm of tile Bureau of Amencan Ethnology, Vol. I [19071,
No. 30, pp. 15-16.
2 P e ( ' h i i e l ~ L o e s c h e , Volkskunde von Loango, pp. 245-46.
3 References in Albert Hermann Post, Afrikamsche Jurisprudenz, 2 vall!. lD
EthnotogMchjunstische Beitriige zur Kenntnis des einheimische RecMe Afrikas
(Oldenburg: SchUlze, 1887), I, 102.
4. See Spencer and Gillen, The Northern Tribes oj'Central Ausiralia. pp. 556-68.
39
4. ; I¢. i !#4
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
purpose of the vendetta IS to recreate a social unity of which
some aspect has heen destroyed; in this sense It resembles
certain kinds of adoption an d shares a number of elements
with rites of passage. Th e ceremonies performed at th e end
of a vendetta or a war (peace ceremonIes)! are identical
wIth rites of friendship' an d of adopting groups of strangers.
Rites of union with a god or wIth a group of deities alsoought to be mentioned in this chapter. The Jewish Passover
(the word itself signifies passage) is a rite of passage which,
through a process of convergence, has been combined on tb e
on e hand with ceremonies of the changing of seasons and on
th e other with a commemoration of th e passage through
Babylon and th e return to Jerusalem. The ritual of this
holiday therefore mcludes, in combination, several of th e
kinds of rites of passage studied in this volume.4
1 Regarding these 1'ltes. see Hartland, "Rite at the Temple of MyIitta," pp. 250-
251; Crawley, The Mystu Rose,pp. 377. 239-46; Hutter, Wanderungen und F o r s c h u n ~ gen, pp. 435-38.
1I And on mdividual reconciliation In Borneo: " If two men wh o have been at
deadly feud meet in a house, they refuse to cast their eyes npon each other till a fowl
has been killed and th e blood sprinkled over them; and. when two tribes make peace,after solemn engagements are concluded, a pig is killed the blood of which is supposed
to cement the bond of friendship." Spencer Samt John, Life in the Forests of the
Far East (London: Smith & Elder, 1B62), I, 64-65. The word "cementmg" should
be taken In its m a t e r i ~ sense, but not symbolically, uS IS ordinarily done. This nt e
has nothing to do with th e threshold, as Trumbull believed (The Threshold Covenant,
p.21).
3 IVan Gennep IS III error here. Passover has no relation to the BabylOnIan c a p ~ tiVItY-It IS connected with the belief that durmg the last of the seven plagues In
Egypt th e houses of the Hebrews were spared by the Angel of Death, an d they were
exempt from th e slaYlllg ofthe first-born children. The angel knew Hebrew homes by
the mark of a lamb's blood on the portal (see Exodus 12, The Jewish Encyc,topedia,
Umversal Jewish Encyclopedia).]
4. I do not know wJlether this very Simple Interpretation has ever been proposed
before. It expJams th e sequence of the rites of th e Jewish Passover and the i n c o r ~ poration into the ChristIan Easter of the idea of death and resurrection without an y
borrowing from th e ntes of Adonis, etc. This holiday has been a ceremonial of
passage from its very beglOmng and hi t by hi t has attracted and absorbed various
elements which are still independent among other peoples.
40
I
PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH
IV he ceremonies of pregnancy and childbirth
\together generally constitute a whole. Often th e first rites
\performed separat,e th e pregnant woman from society, from
~ e r family group. and sometImes even from her sex. They
Iftre followed by rites pertaining to pregnancy itself, which
[:
' s ,a trans, tional period. Fin,ally come th e rites of Chi,ld,birt,h1 ntended to reintegrate th e woman into th e groups to which
1 he previously belonged, or to establish her new position in
society as a mother. especially if she has given birth to he r
" first child or to a son.
Of all these rites, those of separation at pregnancy and
childbirth have been subject to closest study. Frazer and
Crawley1have drawn attention especially to the customs of
seclusion in special huts or in a special part of the home;
to th e taboos, which are primarily dietary, sumptuary, an d
s e x u a l ; ~ n d to the so-called purification rites, through which
in some cases taboos may be lifted, in others reIntegration
effected. I t has been established that at th e onset of preg
nancy a woman is placed in a state of isolation, either b e ~ cause she is considered impure and dangerous or because he r
very pregnancy places her physiologically and socially in an
abnormal condition. Nothing seems more natural than that
sh,e should be treated as if she were il l or a stranger':\
(Pregnancy ceremomes, like those of childbirth, include a
great many rites-sympathetic or contagious. direct or i n ~ direct. dynamistic or animistic-whose purpose is to f a c i l i ~ tate delivery an d to protect mother an d child (and sometImes also th e father, close relatives. th e whole family, or
th e entire clan) against evil forces, which ma y be impersonal
or personified.\These have been studied repeatedly,' no
1 Frazer, The Golden Bough, I. 326-27. II , 462; CraWley, The Mystic Rose, pp. 213,414-16,432; also passages cited further on from Hermann H. Ploss, Das Weib m
Natur un d Viilkerkunde, posthumously cd. Max Bartels (Leipzig: Theodor Griehen,1899. Bth cd.; 1905).
2 -Tylor, Primitive Culture, II . 305; Hartland, The Legend of Perseus, I. 147-B1;
Victor Henry, La magic dans I'Inde antique (PallS: DUJarric. 1904,), pp. 138...44;
41
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
soul, animal-soul. blood-soul, head-soul, etc. Some of these
souls surVIve forever or fo r a time. others die. In th e d i s ~ cussion that follows I shall abstract from al l these v a r i a ~ tlOns, since they affect th e formal complexity of rites of
passage but no t their internal structure.
Mourning, which I formerly sa w simply as an aggregate
of taboos an d negative practices marking an isolation from
sOClety of those whom death, in it s physlCal reality, ha d
146
FU N ERA LS
placed in a sacred. impure s t a t e ~ . L now appears to me to be
a more complex phenomenon. I t is a transitional period fo r
th e survivors, an d they enter it through rites of separation
an d emerge from it through rItes of reintegration into society
(rites of th e lifting of mourning). In some cases, th., transi
tional period of th e living is a counterpart of th e transitional
period of th e deceased, 2 an d th e termination of th e firstsometimes coincides with the termination of th e second
that IS, with th e mcorporation ofthe deceased into th e world
of th e dead. Thus among the Hab" of th e Niger plateau
"the period of widowhood corresponds, It IS said, to the
dUl'ation of th e Journey ofthe deceased's wandering soul up
to the moment when it joins th e divine ancestral spirits or
is reincarnated."3
During mourning, the living mourners and th e deceased
constitute a special group, situated between th e world of
th e living an d th e world of th e dead, and how soon living
individuals leave that group depends on the closeness oftheu relationship with the dead person. 'Mourning r e q u i r e ~ ments arc based on degrees of kinship an d are systematized
by each people according to their speClal way of calculatmg
that kinShIp (patrilineally, matrilineally, bilaterally. etc.)
I t seems rIght that widowers an d widows should belong to
this special world for th e longest tIme; they leave it only
through appropriate rites and only at a moment when even
a physical relationship (through pregnancy, for example) IS
no longer discernible. The rites which lift al l the regulations
(such as special dress) an d prohibitions of mourmng should
be considered rites of reintegration into th e life of SOCIety
1 Van Gennep, Tabou et toUimisme a Madagascar, pp. 40, 5B-77, aa, 100-103,
338-39. 342.
2 This is what George Alexander Wilken had already secn about IndoneSia
(" Uber das Haaropfer: Dn d clOige andere Trauergebrauche bei den Volken indo
~ e s l e n s , " Revue coloniale mternationale, 1886 and 1887. see P. 254); he hus been fol
lowed by Robert Hertz, who generalizes his pomt (" ContributIOU ii une etude sur
la representation collective de In mort," Anniie sociologique, X r1905-6J, 82-83, 101,105, 120). In reality, tile duration of mourmng depends more often, as IS stated
below, on two other factors.
3 DespJagnes, Le plateau central mglirien, p. 221; on beliefs concerrung the other
world, see pp. 262-68.
147
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
as a whole or of a restricted group; they are of th e same
order as th e rites of reintegration for a novice.
During mourning, social life is suspended for all those
affected by it , an d th e length of th e period increases with
th e closeness of social ties to th e deceased (e.g., for widows,
relatives), an d with a higher social standing of th e dead
person. If th e dead man was a chief. th e suspension affectsth e entire society. There is public mourning, th e proclama
tion of holidays, and, following the death of certain petty
kings of Africa. a "period of license." At this very moment
(1908) in China, new political, economic, an d administrative
necessitles tend to mitigate th e considerable effects on th e
society of th e Emperor's an d Empress Regent's deaths.'
Formerly, socmllife even in the households in China was
completely suspended on such occasions for many months
a suspension which in ou r time would be simply catastrophic.
Th e transitional period in funeral rites is first marked
phYSICally by th e more or less extended stay of the corpseor th e coffin in th e deceased's room (as dunng a wake), in
th e vestibule of his house, or elsewhere. But this stay is only
an attenuated form of a whole series of rites whose Impor
tance an d ulllversality has already been pointed ou t by
Lafitau. "Among most savage nations, the dead bodies are
only in safekeeping in the sepulchre where they have
initially been placed. After a certain time, ne w obsequies
ar e gIven them, an d what is due them is completed by
further funeral dutIeS.n2 Then he describes th e rites of th e
Caribs: "They are convinced [that the dead] do no t go to
th e land of souls until they are without flesh." Th e existence
of a transitional period also interested Mikhailowski.' Th e
chief rite of this period consists of either removing th e flesh
or waiting until it falls off by Itself. On this idea are based,
fo r Instance, th e ceremonies performed by the Betsileos of
1 [Both died in November, 1908. Van Gennep must be referring to the considerabl . mternal turmoil in China due to economIc and political reform nnd to the often
un>latlsfactory relatlOns with European powers. '
2 Lafitau, Mreurs des sauvages ameriquains, II , 444.
3 M. M. Mikhailowski, Shamanstvo, fasc. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1892), p. 13.
148
FUNERALS
Madagascar. who have a first series of rites while waiting
fo r th e corpse to decompose m its abode (where it s putrefac
tion IS accelerated by a great fire) and then a second senes
fo r the burial of th e skeleton.I
Fo r others. th e transition stage is sometimes subdivided
into several parts, and. in th e postliminal period, it s exten
sion is systematized in the form of commemorations (aweek, tw o weeks, a month, forty days, a year, etc.) similar
in nature to rites of th e anniversary of a wedding, of birth.
an d sometimes of initiation.
Since funeral stages already have been closely studied fo r
Indonesia,2 I shall use instances from data pertainIng to
other regIOns. Th e ceremonies of th e Todas are similar to
th e I n d o n e ~ i a n rites. 3 They include cremation, preservation
of the relics an d burial of th e ashes, an d th e erection of a
circle of stones around them. The whole procedure lasts
several months. The dead go to Amnodr, a subterranean
world. an d there they ar e called" Amatol "; the route is no t
th e same fo r al l th e clans, an d it IS surrounded with ob
stacles. Th e ' ~ b a d " fall from a thread which serves as a
bridge into a stream on whose shores they live for a while,
mingling with individuals from al l sorts of tribes. Th e
buffaloes also go to Amnodr. The Amatol walk a great deal
there, an d when they have worn their legs up to th e knees
they return to earth. Among th e Ostyak of Salekhard,' th e
house is stripped of al l it s contents except th e utensils of
th e deceased, who is dressed an d placed in a dugout canoe.
1 See reference in va n Gennep, Tabou et toMmisme Ii Madagascar, chap. VI,
pp.277-78.2 ~ e r t z . "L a representation coUecttve de la mort," pp. 50-66; a collection of
detailed descnptlOns of the world beyond the grave, journeys to reach it, etc., ma y
be found in Krnijt, lIet A m m ~ s m e in den Indisch{Jn Archipet, pp. 323-85, a work
ba:ed on th e theones and pomts of view of Tylor, Wilken. an d Le Tourneau.
See Rivers, The Todas, pp. 336,404; for a descnptton of Amnodr see pp.
397-400); for a descnptIOn of the ntcs, see also Thurston. Etluwgraphic Notes InSouthern India, pp. 145-46, 172-84.
<1 I will keep the name gIven by th c informant, although the Ostvak of Salekhard
are a mIxture of true Ostyaks and Samoveds: see Arnold van Gennep, .. Origine et
fortune du nom de peuple Ostiak," K e l e l ~ Szemte: Revue onerna/e pour Iss EtudesO u r a l o - A l t a ~ q u e s (Budapest), II (1902), 13-22.
149
I';I,
1'1! I:
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
A shaman asks th e deceased why he has died. He is taken to
th e burial place of his clan an d deposited in th e boat on th e
frozen ground. with his feet facing north. surrounded with
al l th e things he will need in the next world. Th e deceased
is thought to partake of a farewell meal eaten on th e spot
by the mournerS. who then al l leave. Th e female relatives
make a doll in the image of th e deceased, an d they dress,
wash, an d feed It every da y fo r two an d a half years if th e
dead person was a man. or for two years if it was a woman.1
Then th e doll is placed on the tomb.
Mournmg lasts five months for a man and four months
fo r a woman. The dead go by a long and tortuous route
toward th e north. where th e dark and cold land of th e dead
IS located.' The length ofthe journey seems to coincide with
the penod durmg which th e doll is kept. Thus there is a
series of preliminary rites, a transitional period, an d a final
funeral when the dead person reaches his final abode.
The Northern Ostyaks place th e land of th e dead beyond
the mouth of th e Ob, I I I th e Arctic Ocean;3 it is illuminated
only by th e light of th e moon. No t fa r fro';; that world th e
road divides in three forks which lead to three entrances.
one for th e assassinated, th e drowned, th e suicides, et c •
another fo r the other sinners. an d a third for those who have
lived a normal life. Fo r th e Irtysh Ostyak, th e other world
IS I I I th e sky. I t is a lovely country reached by ascending
laddcrs each three hundred to one thousand feet long, or by
climbing up a chain; from It th e gods, th e sacred hears
"- Gondattl, Sledy wzychestva U HWTodtsev SeveTo-Zapadnoi Sibirii ("Traces of
Pagamsm among the Natives of Northwest ASia") (Moscow, 1888), p. 43; be states
that the doll is kept for 8lX months. I f the deceased was a man, the widow sleeps
next to it ; among the Irtysh Ostyak, according to Patkanov (Die Irtysch-Ostialten.p. 146), the doll has :in recent times been replaced by th e pillow and undergarments
of t.he deceased.
2 V. Bartenev, "Pogrebalnvia obvchai Obdorskikh Ostiakov" ("The Funeral
Rites of th c Ostyak of Obdorsk rSalekhard]"), Shivma Starina, V (1905). 478-92;
Gondatt.i, p. 44.
3 I do no t understand why Gondattl, followed by Patkanov (Die Irtysch-Ostiaken.p. 146), later says of this world that It 18 underground when itls underwater. Inciden
tally, there IS no doubt that there was some ChrIst.ian mfiltration lUto the beliefs of
th e Vogul sn d the Ostyak (the devil, hell, punishment).
150
F U N E R A L S
(totems perhaps),! an d th e dead sometimes come back to
ear th-or so sa y th e ancient legends of th e epics. 2I t seems
to me that there must be a relationship between th e length
of t imedurmg which th e dolls ar e kept an d th e supposed
duration of th e Journey into th e other world.
Th e funeral ceremonies of th e Kol of India furnish a good
example of a combination of known prophylactic rites WIth
rites of passage. 3 TheIr order runs as follows: (1) Im
mediately after death th e corpse IS placed on th e ground
"s o that th e soul should more easily find it s way to th e home
of th e dead," which is under the earth. (2) Th e corpse is
washed and painted yellow to chase away evil spirits who
would stop th e soul on It s Journey. (3) Fo r th e same purpose
th e assembled relatives an d neighbors utter pitiable cries.
(4) Th e corpse is placed on a scaffold with th e feet facing
forward so that th e soul should no t find th e way back to th e
hut, an d for th e same reason th e procession travels by
detours. (5) Th e cortege must no t include either children or
girls: th e women cry; th e men are silent. (6) Each man carries
a piece of dr y wood to throw on th e pyre. (7) Rice and th e
tools of th e deceased's sex are placed there. an d I I I th e
mouth of th e corpse there are rice cakes an d silver coins
for th e journey, since th e soul retalls a shadow ofthe body.
(8) Th e women leave, and the pyre is lighted;' the litter is
also burned to prevent th e deceased's return. (9) The men
gather th e calcified bones, place them in a pot, and bring
the pot back to th e deceased's house where it is hung from
a post. (10) Grams of rice are strewn along th e route, an d
food is placed in front of th e door so that th e deceased,
should he return in spite of al l precautions. will have something to ea t without harming anyone. (11) All th e deceased's
1 See my summary In th e Revue de l'histoire des religions, Vol. XL (1899). of th e
monograph by N. Kharouzine, Le 8erment par l'ours et te culte de l'ours chez les Ostiak
et les V ogout.2 Patkanov, Die Irtysch-Ostiaken, p. 146.
a See Hahn, EinfilhTung in das Gebiet der Kolsmisswn, pp. 82-88.<1 If t is raining too hard, the corpse IS burled according to specific rItes so that it
may be disinterred after th e harvest and cremated; In this instance th e ceremony
takes place In three st.ages.
151
III
II"
.... 1
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
utensils are carried far away, because they have become
impure an d because th e deceased may be hidden in them.
(12) The house is purified by a consecrated meal. (13) After
h f "b h I " '" fcertaIn time t e ceremony 0 etrot a . or unIOn 0
th e deceased with th e population of th e lower world," is
performed. MarrIage songs ar e sung, there is dancing, an d
th e woman who carrIes th e po t leaps with joy. (14) A marriage retinue with music. etc., goes to th e village from wh ich
th e deceased and his ancestors have originated. (15) Th e
po t containing th e bones of th e deceased is deposited in _a
small ditch, above which a stone is erected. (16) On th e .
return the participants must bathe. All those wh o have
been mutilated or who have died because of a tiger or an
accident remain evil spirits and cannot enter the land of th e
dead. That land is th e home of the ancestors to which only
persons who have been married can gO. l They return to the
earth from time to t i m e ~ an d when they wish they are
remcarnated in th e first-born (this holds especially for
grandfathers and great-grandfathers).'
This is no t th e place fo r a comparative description of
worlds beyond th e grave.3 The most widespread idea is that
of a world analogous to ours, but more pleasant, and of a
society organized in th e same wa y as it IS here. Thus every
on e re-enters again th e categories of clan. age group. or
occupatIOn that he ha d on earth. I t logically follows that
th e children who have no t ye t been incorporated mto th e
society of th e livmg cannot be classified in that of th e dead.
On this subject, see p. 133, above.
2 I mentIOn this document because it proVides proof for what has been said above(p. 52) about ih e nte in which th e newborn are placed on th e ground (also
performed by the Kat; see Hahn, Einfilhrung m das Gebiet der Kolsm/.$swn, p, 72),
as are corpses. Dieterich (Mutter Erde, pp. 25-29) has collected parallels for th e
latter practlce, which he explalns as "a return to th e bosom of Mother Earth",
it can be seen that here, at'least, this theory IS no t acceptable, I would like to add
that the Kol burY dead children bu t do no t hurn them "because thcy dO not have
souls" (the Kol acqUlre a soul only on their wedding day) and do no t have the right
to go to thc land of their ancestors, the purpose of cremation being to gIve a c c e ~ s to it. Another of Dieterich's theorIes (Mutter Erde, pp. 21-25) also collapses on thiS
Thus, for Catholics, children who die without baptism for
ever remaIn in the transition z o n e ~ or limbo; th e corpse of a
semicivilized infant not yet named. circumcised or other
wise ritually recognized, is buried without th e usual cere
monies. thrown away, or burned-especially i f th e people
in question think that he did not yet possess a soul.
Th e journey to the other world and the entrance to itcomprise a series of rites of passage whose details depend on
th e distance an d topography of that world. First I should
mention th e Isles of the Dead to be found in th e beliefs of
ancient Egypt.' Assyro-Babylonia.' th e Greeks m various
times an d regions (cf. Hades of Book XI of the Odyssey),'
th e Celts.' Polynesians.5 Australians. an d others. These
beliefs undoubtedly are th e reason for th e practice of giving
the deceased a real or miniature boat an d oars. Some peoples
see th e other world as a citadel surrounded by walls (such
as Sheol, th e underworld abode of th e dead in Hebrew
tradition which has bolted doors' or th e Babylonian Aralu),8
as a region with compartments (for instance. the Egyptian
Duat), as situated on a high mountain (as do th e Dyaks),
or in th e interior of a mountain (as in Hindu India).
What is lmportant to us in these cases is that. since th e
deceased must make a voyage. 9 his survivors are careful to
On the subject of th e fields an d islands of Aaru, th e JUdgment andjournev of the
dead, see Gaston Maspero, Histoirc andonne des peuptes de l'OTiern c t a s s ~ q u e , I
(Paris: Hachette, 1895), 180 ff., with hibliography.
2 Ibid., pp, 574 fT.
a See, among others, Ervin Rohde, PsycM (2d cd.; TiibiQ,gen: J. C. Mohr, 1898);
Albrecht Dieterich. Nekyia (Leipzig: B. C. TeUbner, 1893); A. J. Reinaeh. "Victor
Berard et l'Odyssee," Les essais, 1904, pp. 189-93,
4. K. Mever, The Voyage of Bran (London, 1895).
(> Johannes Zemmrich, "Toteninseln und verwandte geographische My hen,"
Internattonates An;hivjilr Ethnographic, Vol. IV (1891).6 See Carl Strehlow and Leonhardi, DifJ Aranda und L u r i t j a ~ S t i ' i m m e in Zentrat
Australia (Frankfurt am Main: Volker·Museum, 1907-8). I, 15; II , 6.
7 See Schwally, Das Leben nach 8em Tode: Naok dem Vorstellung die alter Israel
in dem ]udcntus einschliesslich Volkglaubens m Zeitale Chris# (Giessen, 1892).S Maspero, Histoire annenne, I. 693 if.o Regarding th e world of the dead according to Sabian beliefs, sec Sioufli. Etude
sur ta religwn des Soubbas, pp. 156-58; on the roads which lead there and join
together, pp. 126-29; and on the corresponding funeral rItes, pp . 120, 121 n.,
124-26, The soul requires seventy-five days to mak.e the Journey, bu t mourning
lasts only sixty days; th e communal meal an d th e meal of eommemoration are
153
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
lives a chief called Great Moving Cloud, who is responsible
for the abundance of salmon. After some time in the land
of souls th e deceased equips a canoe, reassembles his be
iongings. an d amid th e lamentations of his companions goes
away to a country called Xada. This is his second death, an d
he also goes through a third an d a fourth. Upon his fifth
death he returns to earth as a blue fly. Some think the fourdeaths occur only after several human reincarnations. There
are different countries for th e drowned, fo r those dead by
violent means, fo r shamans. and so forth.
Th e funeral ntes for a person who dies in th e ordinary
way are given below. Th e face of the deceased is painted, a
sacred headdress is placed on his head, an d he is seated on
th e bier. where he remains fo r four to si x days. SpeClal
magical songs are sung, recited first by th e members of the
clan an d then by those of th e opposite clan. All sorts of
food and drink and tobacco leaves are thrown mto a
~ ' c r y i n g f i r e . ~ ' These
becomemultiplied many times an d ar e
taken by th e deceased to th e other world. Relatives pu t on
th e signs of mourning-they shave their heads and stain
their faces with pitch. Th e coffin is carried ou t through a
hole in th e wall an d is taken to th e grave house, where only
th e deceased of th e same clan can be placed.
Fo r te n days the widow fasts. uses a rock in place of a
pillow, and bathes daily without washing her face. Then
she gathers some children of the OpposIte clan an d serves
them a meal. (The Haida are exogamous.) '.' This feast was
called' causmg one's self to marry.' The object of it was that
she might marry someone next time who ha d still more
property, and that she herself an d he r new husband might
have long lives an d be lucky. Another informant added that
th e widow went through regulations much like those of a
girl at puberty."l Briefly, while th e purpose of the rites is
to unite the corpse with those of members of his clan and to
provide him with what he will need durmg his voyage an d
l J. R. Swanton, C o n t r i b u t ~ o n . ~ to tlw Ethnology of he Haida (" PublieatlOlls of the
Jesup North Pacific Expedition,I' V, Port I fLeiden, 1905]), 52-54,;;for Haida ideas
of the afterlife see pp, 34-37,
156
FU N ERA LS
in his sojourn beyond th e grave, these rites are at th e same
time prophylactic an d animistic (the opening in th e wall of
th e house, th e coffin, th e vault, etc., prevent a return ofthe
deceased) or prophylactic an d contagiOUS (mourning, baths,etc.).
Th e funeral rites of ancient Egypt furnish a good example
of a system of rites of passage whose purpose is i n c o r p o r a ~ tion into th e world of th e dead. Here I shall examine only
th e Osirian ritual,' whose fundamental idea is th e identifica
tIOn of Osiris and the deceased on one hand, the sun and the
deceased on th e other. I think there must at first have been
two separate ntuals which were unified on th e theme of
death and rebirth. As Osiris th e deceased is dismembered
an d then reconstituted; he is dead an d is born again in th e
world of th e dead, an d so there are a series of resurrection
rites. As Ra (the sun), th e deceased dies each evening upon
arrIval at the edge of Hades. His mummy is thrown into a
c o r ~ e r an d abandoned: but th e series of rites it undergoesduring th e mght in th e sun's barge, revives him little by
little, an d in th e mornIng he is again alive and ready to
resume his daily journey in th e light, above th e world of th e
livlllg. These multiple rebirths of th e su n ritual have been
combined with th e single reconstitution of the deceased
upon his :first arrival In Hades. according to the Osirian
rit?,al, so that this reconstitution has come to take place
daily. Th e performance of th e converging rites is in accor
dance with the general idea that th e sacred, th e divine, th e
magical, an d th e pure are lost if they ar e no t renewed in
periodic rites.
Th e following is th e syncretic pattern according to th e
·Book of What /so in Hades an d th e Book of the Doors.'
i Gaston Maspero, "Etudes de mytMlogie ee d'aTcMologie € g y p t ~ e n n e , Vol. II : Compte
r e n d ~ de les h y p ~ l 5 . e e s royaux Thebes (Paris: E. Leroux, 1893), 1-:-187; G. Jequier,
Le It.VTe de ell qu d y a dans! Hades: Verswn abregee publi€ d'apres les papyrus de
Bcrlm et de Leyde avec vanahons ee traduchon -<ParIS; E, Bouillon, 1894); Alexandre
M ~ r e t " Le Rituet au cutre divin J o u r ~ a l i e r en Egypte. and La royaute pharaomque.This book was 'Wrltten to conciliate the solar theory with the Oaidan theory no t
takenInto account in the Book of What Is in 1lades; see the summary of it glyen byMaspero, Les hypogees royaux de Thebes, pp. 163-79. -
157
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage
Different conceptions of Duat (Hades) were current in
different periods an d places. but through fusions an d com
binations th e priests of Thebes developed a complete plan.
Hades was "like an Immense temple, very long, divided
Into a certaIn number of rooms separated by doors an d
havmg at each en d an outside court an d a pylon (gateway
building) contiguous to both the inside world and the outside world. " 1 In th e first hour of th e night. when th e sun
was d e a d ~ he receIved in his barge th e souls which were
" p u r e ~ " that IS, buried in accordance with th e proper rites
an d provided -yvith th e necessary t a l i s m a n s ~ an d th e doors
guarded by baboons an d spirits were opened to him. Th e
dead who did no t go in the sun's bark ha d to vegetate
eternally I n th e vestibule. 2
According to the Book of the Doors, th e doors were
identical to those of fortresses an d were guarded at th e
entrance and the exit by a god in the form of a munlmy, at
th e bend by two uraei (cobras) emitting flames an d nine
mummYRgods; passage was obtained by an Incantation. 3
Th e Journey is described in the Guide for the Traveller in
the Other World.' Fo r details I refer th e reader to th e works
c i t e d ~ bu t I want to mention that each compartment was
separated from th e preceding one by doors whose opening
had to be secured by ritual means. Th e names of th e first
three and of the last aTe unknown; th e names of the fourth
and the doors follOWing It were "the one which hides th e
corTidors," "the pillar of th e gods." "the one adorned with
s w o r d s ~ " "the portal of Osins." "the one which stands
upright. motionless(?)," "the guardian of th e flood." "the
great one of beings. th e begetter of f o r m s ~ " an d "the one
which incloses th e gods of Hades." At the exit there was
also a vestibule.
.1 JeqUlcr, La livre de ce qu'il ya dans l'Ifades, p. 19.
2 Ibid., pp. 20, 39-41; Maspcro, Les hypogiies royaux de Thebes, pp. 43-44; note
th e conversation between th e gOd and cynocephalus (baboon) for the" opening of
th e doors."
3 Ibid., Vol. II , pp. 166-68; on tbe door which opens on th e place of judgment, seeLivre des morts ("Book of th e Dead") , chap. cxxv, 1. II. 52 fr.
4 Muspero, ibid., Vol. I, p. 384.
158
FUNERALS
These" openings of the doors" ha d a counterpart in th e
ritual of daily worship-the opening of the doors of th e naos
(the part of th e temple WIthin th e walls): th e cord was
broken. th e seal was removed. an d th e bolts were slid.'
Then came th e dismemberment an d reconstitution of th e
god. a rite which was also part of th e funeral (opening th e
mouth. 'etc.).
Th e second openmg of the naosreaffirmed
th efirst. Th e god was washed wIth water and incense. dressed
in sacred bands. an d anointed with paint and perfumed oils.
Then the statue was replaced in th e naos an d installed on
th e sand. just like th e mummy and th e statue of th e
deceased in the funerary ritual. The ritual closing of th e
naos which followed was th e prinCipal rite of departure from
th e sanctuary.
Thus th e divine worship ha d fo r it s object th e daily
revival of Ra-Osiris. just as th e funeral rites both (1) re
vived th e deceased and made him a god by mummificatIOn
an d varIOUS rites. an d (2) prevented a real an d final death
by a reconstitution an d nocturnal rebirth.' There are, there
fore. parallels among th e funeral rites. th e daily worship.
th e inauguration of a temple. an d th e ritual of enthrone
ment. ' The death and rebirth. simultaneously, of Ra.
Osiris, th e king, th e priest. an d every deceased ma n who
was "pure" ceTtainly constitutes th e most extreme case
known to me of a dramatic representation of th e death and
l Moret, Le rituel du cuUe divin j(Jurnalier en Egypte, pp. 35 fr.
2 Ibid., pp. 73-83, 87-89; Muspero, "L e Rituel du sacrifice funermre," Les hypogeesroyaux de Thebes, pp. 289-318.
3 Ibid., pp. 102-212 and Plate III.
4 Moret, Le ntuel du culle divin }ournalier en Egypte, p. 226; cf. pp. 10-15 andpages noted above.
/; The compartments of Hades belong to at least two origmally distinct systems.
Th e final rebirth is secured on the twelfth hour, according to the Theban rrtuai, by
t ~ e passage of the sacred barge, fromtail to head, across the glgantlC serpent "The
life of the gods"-symbol, says ]eqlller, of the renewal due to th e serpent;s abilitv
to change skins each' year (Le livre de ce qu'il y a dans l'Hades, pp. 132-33). Bu t this
does no t explam the reason for the passage across th e two bulls' heads (Maspero,Les hYPQglies rQyaux de Thebes, pp. 169-71); on the subject of th e twelfth hour, seepp.96-101.
159
7/29/2019 W04 SEP14 VanGennep1908 the Rites of Passage