Coming of age
Coming of age is a time at which young persons legally (or otherwise) become adults. It can be at different ages in different countries. Many cultures have ceremonies to test or mark the coming of age.
The term coming of age is also used in reference to stories, movies, etc. that have a young character or characters who, by the end of the story, have matured in some way, usually through the acceptance of responsibility.
Australia, NZ, etc.
In Australia, New Zealand and numerous other countries, a party known as the Twenty First has long celebrated the coming of age. On their 21st birthdays, young people and their families and friends traditionally gather together for social parties where gifts are presented to the birthday boy or girl. The practice is gradually waning.
Japan
Japan, since 1948, has held an annual ceremony called the Coming of Age day (成人の日; seijin no hi), the second Monday of January, for those becoming 20 years old in the new calendar year. Until 1999, the day was held on January 15. The day is a national holiday and local governments generally hold some ceremony. Females tend to wear yukata, a traditional Japanese formal dress. After this age, the right to smoke, drink and vote is granted to them. It was known as genpuku (see the section below) among samurai in the past.
Genpuku
Genpuku (元服) in Japan was a celebration that showed a samurai was considered to be an adult. The age of genpuku varied roughly from 12 to 18.
They usually changed their names from their birth names to adult names, changed their hair styles by shaving the forelocks, received their first swords, and began to be treated as adults. They separated from their mothers or governesses, and they became able to take on the dominant role in shudo (male-male love) relationships. Some were even given a territory to protect. No samurai was allowed to marry before genpuku, though they could be engaged. Females did not have genpuku or any equivalent ceremony. On a rare occasion, genpuku was held on someone younger than 12 just to have a marriage.
Alternate Spellings include gembuku, genbuku, gembaku, and genbaku.
Hispanic
In traditional Hispanic cultures there is a tradition very similar to that of the Bat Mitzvah in the Jewish faith. The Quinceañera (Fifteenth Birthday) for young Latin women is a rite of passage signifying that she has reached the age of adulthood. The event is marked by a large celebration and a event called the candle lighting ceremony which acts as a more spiritual mark to their achievement. This tradition is based on societal views of youth as well as faith.
Papua New Guinea
Kovave is a ceremony to initiate Papua New Guinea boys into adult society. It involves dressing up in a conical hat which has long strands of leaves hanging from the edge, down to below the waist. The effect is both humourous and frightening. The name Kovave is also used to describe the head-dress.
Jewish communities
Within Judaism there is the well-known ceremony of Bar mitzvah for a boy when he turns thirteen years old and becomes recognized as a "man". For a girl at twelve years of age she becomes a "woman". In Judaism it is recognised that girls mature slightly ahead of boys. Judaism recognizes that these ages coincide with puberty, which in past times made them eligible for marriage.
The coming of age ceremony called a bar mitzvah ("son of the commandment" in Hebrew) is held on the Saturday (Shabbat) after a Jewish boy's thirteenth birthday. A similar ceremony called a bat mitzvah (or bas mitzvah) is held on the Saturday closest to a Jewish girl's twelfth birthday. However, the female coming of age ceremony is really only practised and recognised mostly by Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, (or Liberal Jews), and in Modern Orthodox Judaism.
Haredi Judaism and Hasidic Judaism only celebrate the Bar mitzvah's of boys at thirteen.
Samoa
In 1928, Margaret Mead published a book called Coming of Age in Samoa. It not only launched her career as an anthropologist but remains a classic in its field.
First Year Student Initiation
In many universities of Europe, first year students are made to undergo tests or humiliation before being accepted as students. Perhaps the oldest of these is "Raisin Monday" at St Andrews University. It is still practiced. A senior student would take a new student, a "bejant" or "bejantine" under his wing and show them round the university. In gratitude, the bejant would give the senior student a pound of raisins. In turn this led to bejants being given receipts in Latin. If a bejant failed to produce the receipt, he could be thrown into a fountain. The word bejant derives from "bec jaune" (a yellow beak, or fledgling). Among apprentices, the step from apprentice to journeyman was often marked by some ceremonial humiliation. Among printers this lasted until the twentieth century. The unfortunate young man would be "banged out" by being covered in offal.
Reference
- Coming of Age (seijin no hi) (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2280.html)
See also
fr:Majorité civile ja:成人