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Through my eyes

Through my eyes

Author: Kasia Yoko
Date: 2016-12-02
Its three am and the mystical calmness of the pre dawn hour envelopes me like a cashmere blanket. I am up this early, penetrating my soul for the last drops of creativity before the well deserved break from constant deadlines and the chase, the cat and mouse chase of life.

The magical silence suddenly is pierced and my heart skips a million beats as the sirens of a police car infiltrates my peace. It is that time of the year again. The "Rage" festival and again my heart breaks for each parent out there who has entrusted their "babies" to this craze of hedonistic stupor.

I can sympathise. I had at least six years of 'raging' with my sons, and if you know me, you will know that like me, my sons do not do anything in half measures. Oh golly they were hell bent on getting smashed and there was not much I could do about it. I was helplessly on the edge of delirium, waiting for that phone call.

This form of a right of passage is not a new thing. The European comparative sociologist Arnold van Gennep (1873 - 1957) delineated in "Les rites de passage" a structure for transformative ritual practices he considered universal and common to all cultures. Although they vary greatly in intensity, specific form, and social meaning, rites of passage are ceremonial devices used by societies to mark the passage or transition of an individual or a group from one social status or situation to another. Rites of passage resolve life-crises; they provide a mechanism to deal with the tension experienced by both individuals and social groups during ambiguous occasions including, but not limited to, birth, puberty, marriage, and death.

Arnold van Gennep believed that by facilitating these life course transitions, rites of passage hold considerable emotional importance for both the individual and society. To take on a new social identity, the former must negotiate an often-arduous status passage. Furthermore, society must assist individual members in accomplishing these rites and, when these occasions are complete, recognise the new standing of the initiate.

van Gennep assumed that by adopting a comparative approach to develop his taxonomy of social rites, he noted that these social customs are used to mark specific moments of the life course. Many societies use these ceremonies to articulate events that hold significance not only for individuals and families but the larger society as well. Associated with each life stage is a specific social status and a definitive set of obligations and responsibilities that the incumbent is expected to fulfil. As the individual advances the normative, sequential stages of the life course, generally from infant, adolescent, spouse, parent, elder, to deceased; taking on a new social role at each phase. Rites of passage function to accomplish status transitions; they provide a mechanism for individuals and their societies to recognize those who negotiate the rites as intrinsically different beings.

Puberty rites for van Gennep demark social rather than biological events. These initiation rites signify a departure from the asexual world of the child and are followed sequentially by rites of incorporation into the sexual world of the adult. Depending on the society, these ceremonies may take place either prior to attainment of sexual maturity or, alternatively, long after physiological puberty has occurred. These rites are extremely important in that they signify that the initiate is capable of upholding the office of an adult member of the social group. He or she is prepared to take a spouse, meet the occupational demands as a full member of the community, and to parent children.

Even though we might not understand why our youngsters choose this method to reach adulthood, we can only pray they get to the other side unharmed and ready for the real adventures.

My prayers are with all the parents and "Ragers", the one good thing is that they all grow out of the "Rage" Scene and become law abiding adults, eventually. Haleluja!