4.1.2.

3 RITE OF PASSAGE – MEETING NOTES ( Arnold van Gennep )

(Step 1) General definition;

Right vs Rite – rites=rituals or even as specific rites of magic, superstitions, or magico-religious
performance.
YouTube URL:  "Rites of Passage" -Tribal Jazzman Scholar, Episode #4 (Notes)

 Emotional, cognitive, and spiritual growth. Desire for transformative experiences

 Rite of passage are large ordeals that can create fear or danger; but gives the sense of
achievement of heroic narrative and identity. Adult like
 Critical feature in tribal societies to have this adolescence right of passage into adulthood.
 Very little sense of

Part 4

1) The best way to introduce ourselves to Van Gennep’s study is to look first at the wealth
of anthropological evidence describing territorial rites of passage. Skim through the
above excerpts (the PDF) from Van Gennep’s book until you locate a section that
provides one or two examples (not just a definition) of “territorial rites of passage” and
provide a brief quote here. Choose a page from somewhere deep inside the book, not
an introductory page (And be sure to cite the page number in Van Gennep’s book). 
a. “Dr. Van Gennep was the first anthropologist to notice how cultures all around the
world mark their key social and territorial transitions with Rites of Passage. E.g., some
rites of passage are trials (followed by celebrations) that mark admission into an
exclusive group, whereas others mark the beginning of adulthood, or the start of a
marriage.” PDF p. 1
b. “-passage from one country to another, from one province to another within each
country, and, still earlier, even from one manorial domain to another was accompanied
by various formalities. These were largely political, legal, and economic, but some were
of magico-religious nature. For instance, Christians, Moslems, and Buddhists were
forbidden to enter and stay in portion of the globe which did not adhere to their
respective faiths.” P.15
c. The natural coundary might be a sacred rock, tree, river, or lake which cannot be
crossed or passed without the risk of supernatural sanctions. –more often the coundary
is marked by an object-a stake, portal, or upright rock (milestone or landmark)---whose
installation at the particular spot has been accompanied by rites of consecrations. P.15

Pg 22 – “MOUNTAIN PASSES QUOTE”

2) Rite of Passage
a. i. First Stage:
This stage can be called _______________ or ________________.
Criteria/description of this stage: You stop and prepare for something to happen.
Getting ready

ii. Second Stage:

This stage can be called _______________ or ________________.
 Criteria/description of this stage: __

iii. Third Stage:

This stage can be called _______________ or ________________.
Criteria/description of this stage: __

For ALL THREE STAGES, make notes here on quotes & citations (with page
numbers from our Van Gennep document):

STAGE THREE of a Rite of Passage (the “incorporation” phase, aka “rite of incorporation”) may involve
eating and drinking together

Here Van Gennep defines the three stages of rituals that are WITHIN EACH RITE OF PASSAGE:

A. Preliminal rites: “rites of separation from a previous world”; (prep) You stop and prepare for
something to happen.;

B. Liminal (or threshold) rites: “those [rites] executed during the transitional stage”; (The threshold or
the doorway) in the middle of the trials and tribulations – like passing this class/semester to graduate

C. Post-liminal rites: “ceremonies of incorporation into the new world” (reaggregation) you become
apart of society again. Or reintegration and being apart of a new group. You are celebrating, you got
through the challenge and are to the other side.

p.21 and PDF pg 8

Other video calls them

Separation

Liminal

Reaggregation

Tripartite=3 stages

Rites of incorporation (i.e., the THIRD stage of any Rite of Passage) might include these examples:
“libations, ceremonial visiting…” (etc.)

“…the door is the boundary between the foreign and domestic worlds in the case of an ordinary
dwelling, between the profane and sacred worlds in the case of a temple. Therefore to cross the
threshold is to unite oneself with a new world.” P.7
3) (3) Now think specifically about non-territorial rites of passage, i.e., rites that do
not involve physical transgression or movement over an actual “border.” (You
may have to view the videos and/or skim through other sections of Van Gennep’s book
to figure this out.
     Reflect on a personal (family or friend-related) experience that illustrates Van
Gennep’s definition. Provide one quote (with page number cited) from Van Gennep's
book that helps explain that rite, plus some discussion showing you understand how
these similarities or insights apply to the situation.
a. A personal experience for a non-territorial rite of passage for me was becoming a father.
I considered talking about joining the military but felt the rituals and impact of
becoming a parent are much more powerful than anything I can do individually (like
joining the military, or getting a driver’s license, etc). “In order to pass from one
category to another and to join individuals in other sections” p. 189 Joining a group of
parents who understand the struggles and do it over again for the benefits. The power
of providing life and care for the most precious and perfect object in existence. The
minor cost of money or sleep and the was your eyes change and shift perspectives. A
quote from Interview with a vampire movie Brad Pitt says, “the way things move
without moving”. The world is different, you are different, you have so much
power/wisdom but are lost and stumbling. You don’t know what to do but then you do.
Primal instincts overcome you and suddenly you act and know what to do and feel
proud. Nothing can beat that Rite of passage!
Enable others to act. Motivate them and allow them to leave their mark on their work. Giving your team
members a sense of accomplishment and purpose is vital to high levels of productions, quality, and
morale. Think of how low your shop’s morale is? (or was during 2020 – early 2021) What is the cause of
that? A team is a direct reflection of its leadership. What is leadership doing that is causing ultra-low
motivation levels? People are losing a sense of accomplishment, no small victories are celebrated, no
sense of independent decision-making power. Everything is micro-managed, and we cannot make
decisions for ourselves. We are not able to leave our mark and are forced to make decisions with a
sense of fear. Are we making the right choice, if this comes back will it be on me again, can I afford to
take a risk? We are not enabled to act but more DISABLED!

“ There’s an African proverb that advises, “never test the depth of the water with both feet.”– Leaders
should dream big but start small. We are committed to training and gaining experiences to make
decisions based on our expertise but supervision strips us of that, our Rite of Passage to being an NCO
was meaningless. When new supervision came in they saw our high level of productivity with low levels
of management involvement. This was now and uncomfortable to them. This would have been a great
opportunity to separate, transition, and integrate into a better organization. Take what we were doing
well and improve on. Rather than that they tested the water with both feet and drove away important
team members and demotivated the rest of us. “ This insight helped me appreciate how important it is
for leaders to be constantly on the lookout for opportunities for improvement, to identify and
challenge systems that are not working well, and foster an environment where everyone is open to
sharing new ideas. (Kouzes and Posner 2017, pg. 151)

Take every opportunity to learn and grow from; good or bad.

• “Life itself means to separate and to be reunited” – we are in a constant state of change and
adaptation throughout life. Every aspect of our lives shifts through time; professionally,
politically, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Take these opportunities to grow forward.
Look for every chance you get to improve. Don’t be afraid of failure; trial and error is doing the
best you can. I’d rather live life and think back ‘at least I tried’ rather than dwell in regret for
playing life too safe.

@ 07:58 “He discusses the ceremonial mountain pass of the world and talks about various offerings to
the place and spiritual. Going through all these experiences and crossing over. -- That is how I
interpreted it. Opening doors and taking that into a religious sense. Crossing over into a spiritual sense
where God or whoever is calling you to do [something]. “God calls me to do this” you are stepping into
that new experience” – Aleccia 07:58 - 09:42
Weeks 5 and 6 are about inspiring your team, creating vision, and looking to help others. This idea is to
help your team and without it, your team will remain stagnant. Being uninspired will drop product
quality, creating vision helps everyone understand the ‘big picture and work together towards the same
goal.

“ This insight helped me appreciate how important it is for leaders to be constantly on the lookout for
opportunities for improvement, to identify and challenge systems that are not working well and foster
an environment where everyone is open to sharing new ideas. (Kouzes and Posner 2017, pg. 151)

Looking to help others will set the example required of a leader. As you help others they will help each
other, and even help you! Everyone has something to teach another. Some work environments I have
been in kept a ‘knowledge is power’ mentality and would only help if absolutely necessary or directly
asked. This may have helped them feel empowered but also made the team less efficient and less
productive. If everyone were to learn from each other and help each other the results would double!
The proof is in the pudding I have seen it on highly efficient/productive teams. It seems now we are
constantly trying to find that team again. We don’t have those members anymore and need to develop
our new team to feel as inspired and accomplished as that old team!

It's difficult, if not impossible, to imagine going to a place you've never experienced, either actually or
vicariously. Taking a journey into your past before exploring your future makes the trip much more
meaningful.”

It is not about getting back to that team with only that goal in mind. Appreciate the journey and build
that relationship with the team. This makes everyone feel whole, enjoy what we do, and enjoy who
we do it with. This will help everyone trust more and be willing to be vulnerable to learn and take
risks together.

He [Captain Cook] recognized what his crew was causing [dieseses] so we started bringing everyone
on board and not letting other people get on board to try and separate it. So by trying to separate it
he was trying to save both populations; which is a great example of a leader! (Kate Layne, 22:10-
22:40)