Reflection #5

According to the articles, these children are basically taught by traditions. This is the way their ancestors were taught and parents so therefore it seems like they live in a little bubble because this is the only way of life they know. The rites of passage in different cultures or tribes that I've read about is similar to teaching and learning because it's an act of trying to reach a higher and more successful level. In African tribes that I have read about in the articles, the tribes teach the children how to become a woman if they are girl, and boys how to become a man. Some tribes would perform ceremonial acts such as circumcision for woman called clitoridectomy in order for the girl to become a woman. A rite of passage for the boys, which to me seemed not to be a ceremonial act but more like a ritual, in the Sambia tribe the younger boys would perform fellatio on the older boys and drink their semen in order to become stronger men. A way of learning which is common in all cultures maybe from even the time of the first child, is Nurturance. Nurturance is the cycle by which children grow up in, to watch their parents way of life and so they may grow up in the same way. I call this a cycle because as a newborn baby we cling onto our parents especially our mothers because we think they know best. This is exactly what happens in cultures and perhaps may have been happening since the beginning of time. The difference between the cultures in the different tribes of Africa and maybe even in different countries in contrast to the cultures in America even as immigrants is that after some children reach a certain age they most likely will choose there own paths. The common rights of passage for most children growing up in America is to go to school and excel in different fields in order to survive in the real world. Although they've been trained to live speak, act, respond, and solve problems in such a way as their elders would, some actually choose to start a new trend or traditions to live by. A reason why most of the children in these tribes of South Africa don't go their separate ways after a certain age is because maybe they are actually brainwashed with the thought that the way they grew up is the only right way to grow up. There's also the fact that they are not really exposed to any other way of living. Something else the article stated is that if any member chooses to dishonor their tribe, they will no longer be acknowledged as not only a member of the tribe but also as a member of their own family. I America most families get over it.