Rites of Passage

rites of passage (French: rites de passage) are a set of symbolic ceremonies that regulate, sanctify, and socially validate an individual’s or group’s transition from one social condition to another, from one status to another, or from one space to another. These rituals mark the biological and social turning points in human life. The individual life cycle typically consists of fundamental stages such as birth, maturation (entry into or transition to adulthood), marriage, and death, each accompanied by specific ceremonies.

The primary purpose of rites of passage is to socially manage the transition from one condition to another, define, celebrate, and sanctify the new status. At the same time, these rituals aim to protect the individual from perceived dangers and harmful influences believed to accompany such transitional moments.

Theoretical Approaches

Arnold van Gennep’s Model

The concept of rites of passage was first systematically defined as a theoretical framework in 1909 by Arnold van Gennep in his work Les Rites de Passage (Rites of Passage). By examining various ceremonies across different cultures, van Gennep observed that despite superficial differences, these rituals follow a universal structural pattern. This schema consists of three fundamental stages:

1. Separation (Fr. Séparation): Acts symbolically detaching the individual or group from their current condition, social status, or location. Funeral rites are the most prominent examples of this stage.
2. Liminality (Fr. Marge; Lat. Limen): The intermediate phase of the ritual. During this stage, the individual occupies an ambiguous position: they have left their former status but have not yet fully entered the new one. This “in-between” state (liminality) is regarded as the period when the individual is most vulnerable to external influences and dangers. Periods such as engagement, postpartum seclusion, or initiation during maturation (novitiate) are clear examples of this “threshold” condition.
3. Incorporation (Fr. Agrégation): Rituals through which the individual completes the transition and is formally accepted into society with their new status, reintegrating into the social order. Wedding ceremonies are among the most intense examples of this stage.

Victor Turner and the Liminal Phase

The British anthropologist Victor Turner developed van Gennep’s model, focusing particularly on the “liminal” phase. According to Turner, the liminal phase is a space of “anti-structure,” where normal social structure is suspended. During this phase, individuals are stripped of their usual social status, rank, or wealth; they experience an egalitarian and homogeneous “communitas.” Symbolically, the individual “dies,” becomes “invisible,” or “genderless,” submits absolutely to social rules, and prepares to receive sacred knowledge necessary for their new status.

Types and Functions of Rituals

In addition to the three-stage structure, rites of passage operate through different mechanisms according to van Gennep’s classification. Rituals may be classified according to their underlying belief systems as “animistic” (spirit-based) or “dynamic” (based on impersonal power); according to their action principles as “imitative” (sympathetic — the effect of like on like) or “contagious” (contact — the continued influence of things once in contact); and according to their purpose as “positive” (performing an action) or “negative” (taboo — avoiding an action).

These rituals encompass not only transitions between social statuses but also transitions between physical spaces. Crossing a boundary, a threshold, or the entrance to a village may require ritual acts. This explains why social transitions are often symbolized through material or spatial transitions, such as passing through a door or portal.

Rites of Passage in Turkish Culture

In Turkish culture, rites of passage play a prominent role in maintaining social continuity and constructing individual identity. These rituals exhibit a layered structure formed by the convergence of pre-Islamic Turkish beliefs (Shamanism, the Sky God faith, ancestor cult) with Islamic practices and local customs.

Birth

Birth Rituals (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)

Prenatal (Separation and the Beginning of Liminality)

The process begins with the desire to have a child. Childlessness (infertility) may be perceived as a social deficiency, prompting recourse to religious-magical practices such as making vows or visiting tombs. Pregnancy is a liminal phase for the mother. During this time, “ashurma” is experienced, and certain foods are believed to be avoided (negative ritual) because they are thought to cause harm to the child—for example, consuming rabbit meat or liver is believed to cause birthmarks or cleft lips.

At the Moment of Birth

Traditionally, birth is assisted by a midwife. Immediately after birth, cutting the umbilical cord and burying the placenta (“eş”) constitute fundamental separation acts. It is believed that the location where the umbilical cord is buried determines the child’s future profession or character.

Postnatal (Incorporation)

• Postpartum Seclusion and Kırklama: After birth, the mother (lohusa) and infant enter a dangerous liminal period lasting “forty days.” During this time, they are believed to be defenseless against evil spirits or harmful influences known as “alkarısı,” “kırk basması,” or “karaota.” Protective practices include placing iron objects (knives, scissors) in the room, wearing red ribbons, carrying a talisman (“ümmüsıbyan”), and placing the Qur’an or bread under the pillow.

On the fortieth day, the liminal period ends with the “kırklama” ritual, in which the mother and infant are washed with water containing a stone, olive leaf, gold or iron coin, followed by the “kırk uçurma,” the first visit to the home, marking their reintegration into society.

• Naming: This is the fundamental ritual that recognizes the child as a social individual. Traditionally, especially for the first son, the father gives the child the name of his own father; for a daughter, the name of her paternal grandmother is used. The name is usually conferred during the “kırk mevlüdü,” a religious ceremony in which an imam or elder recites the call to prayer into the child’s ear three times. It is also common for families who have lost children to give names such as “Yaşar” (Living), “Dursun” (Let Him Live), “Satılmış” (Sold), or “Arap” (Ugly, to avoid the evil eye) in order to deceive the angel of death or ensure the child’s survival.

Maturation (Circumcision and Transition to Alphood)

The transition from childhood to adulthood is the stage in which the individual is recognized as a responsible member of society. This phase typically involves a series of tests, education, and symbolic rituals.

Becoming an Alp in the Oğuz Tradition (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)

Historical Form (Transition to Alphood)

As seen in the Dede Korkut Book, in ancient Oğuz society, a young man was expected to demonstrate a “hüner” (skill) to attain the status of “alp” (hero, adult). This skill could involve hunting, battling a wild animal, or fighting an enemy and taking a head or shedding blood. Upon successfully completing this trial (incorporation), the community’s wise elder (Dede Korkut) would formally confer a name upon him. Failure to receive a name meant exclusion from full membership in the community.

Religious Form (Circumcision)

Today, the primary rite of maturation for boys in Turkish culture is circumcision, an Islamic practice. Circumcision makes the child a member of the religious community and transitions him into manhood (adulthood).

• Pre-Circumcision (Separation): The child is dressed in special clothing and paraded on horseback or in a carriage.

• At the Time of Circumcision (Liminality): During the ceremony, the “kirve” (sponsor) stands beside the child to offer support.

• Post-Circumcision (Incorporation): After the ceremony, a “sünnet düğünü” (circumcision feast) is held. The mevlüt is recited, food is served, and entertainment is arranged. Gifts given to the child publicly celebrate his new status.

Marriage

Marriage is a sequence of rituals that move individuals from the group of singles (separation) to the group of married persons (incorporation), while simultaneously uniting two families through a bond of kinship.

Bridal Henna Night (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)

Pre-Marriage (Separation and Liminality)

The process typically begins with partner selection through a “görücü usulü” (matchmaking). The groom’s family then visits the bride’s family to formally request her hand (“dünürlük gitmesi”). Once an agreement is reached, “söz kesme” (engagement) takes place. The “nişan” (engagement) constitutes a long liminal period during which the bride’s family prepares the “çeyiz” (dowry).

Wedding (Liminal and Incorporation Rituals)

• Kına Gecesi: Held one day before the wedding (usually Saturday evening) at the bride’s home, this is the primary “separation” ritual symbolizing the bride’s departure from her father’s house (her former status). Sad folk songs are sung as henna is applied to the bride’s hands.

• Gelin Alma: The bride is taken from her father’s home to the groom’s home accompanied by music. Along the way, coins, sugar, rice, or wheat are scattered over her head to wish for abundance and prosperity.

• Entry into the Home (Incorporation): This symbolizes the bride’s entry into her new home (new status). Rituals include smearing her hands with oil and honey at the threshold to ensure easy adaptation and sweet speech, and breaking a vessel filled with water or a plate to shatter misfortunes and bad omens. It is also common for the bride to enter the house with her right foot first and to be presented with a boy in her lap, expressing the wish for the continuation of the lineage and for her first child to be male.

• Duvak Bürleme / Paça Günü: A celebration, typically for women, held one day or one week after the wedding to honor the bride’s new status and formally welcome her into the community of married women.

Death

Death regulates the transition of the individual from the world of the living (separation) to the world of the dead or the afterlife (incorporation). These rituals have a dual purpose: first, to ensure the deceased’s safe passage into their new status; second, to help the bereaved overcome their shock and reintegrate into social life (incorporation).

Funeral Ceremony (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)

At and Before Death (Separation)

There are believed to be premonitory signs of approaching death: a dog barking at an unusual time, an owl hooting, or dreaming of losing teeth. The dying person is given water, the chapter Yasin is recited nearby, forgiveness is sought, and “telkin” is given. Telkin, in Islamic tradition, is the recitation of answers to be given to the questioning angels.

Preparation (Beginning of the Liminal Phase)

Immediately after death, the deceased’s eyes are closed and the jaw is tied. Washing the body and shrouding it are fundamental separation rituals. The funeral prayer allows the community to bid farewell and seek forgiveness for the deceased.

Burial (Separation/Incorporation — The Afterlife)

Lowering the coffin into the grave and burying it constitute the ritual acts. After burial, when leaving the cemetery, participants wash their hands as a purification rite to cleanse themselves of the “weight” or “contamination” associated with death.

The Mourning Period (The Liminal Phase of the Bereaved)

The close relatives of the deceased, especially the spouse, enter a liminal phase known as the “yas dönemi” (mourning period). During this time, they withdraw from social life, avoid festivities, and wear black or dark-colored clothing.

Modern Era and Technocultural Context

Industrialization, urbanization, and the rapid technological developments since the second half of the twentieth century have profoundly transformed traditional social structures and their associated rituals. The contexts through which culture is transmitted have expanded from traditional, physically and socially grounded environments toward new technocultural domains such as media (radio, cinema, television) and the internet. Analyses suggest that the modern world largely lacks meaningful, collective rites of passage that confer social status, and that this function has been assumed by secular, individual, or commercial practices.

Functional Transformation and Recyclage

In traditional societies, rites of passage, according to William Bascom’s functionalist approach, served fundamental roles: maintaining cultural stability, instilling moral standards, legitimizing institutions, and integrating the individual into the community. The shift from rural to urban structures has weakened traditional relational networks among individuals and diminished the community-based control function of rituals. This control has migrated in modern societies to institutional structures such as the workplace or new social platforms like social media.

Jean Baudrillard, in his work The Consumer Society, analyzes modern social status transitions through the concept of “recyclage” (recycling). According to this view, the traditional, one-time rites of maturation have been replaced by cyclical practices in which individuals feel compelled to continuously update themselves to adapt to the social system (“labor market” or “consumer society”). This necessity for recycling manifests in areas such as fashion (changing clothing styles seasonally or annually), career (adapting to status and profile demands through continuous professional development), and even health (routine medical check-ups).

Media, Popular Culture, and the Liminal Phase

Traditional rites of initiation (maturation) aim to guide the individual through arduous trials (liminal phase) to emerge as a mature adult (incorporation) after a symbolic death. In the modern era, media and popular culture offer new models for these transitions.

For example, certain television talent, endurance, or style-based competition programs adopt the structure of traditional maturation rites (separation from the community, testing, enduring hardship). However, these modern rituals tend not to lead participants to a permanent social status (incorporation) but rather leave them in a temporary “famous” status or perpetually in an adolescent (liminal) phase. This can generate false heroes or “kırkyama heroes” who gain cultural recognition but fail to complete the social transition.

Digitalization and Netlore

The internet revolution has created entirely new contexts for the performance and sharing of rites of passage. Folklorists have conceptualized this new digital folklore domain as “netlore” (internet folklore) and the method of studying it as “netnography.” Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) have become the primary stage on which individuals publicly display transitions in their lives (engagements, marriage announcements, births, even mourning periods) and seek social validation through likes. Digital communities such as virtual wedding sites or blogs and forums where women exchange ideas can assume the functions of traditional matchmaking, dowry negotiations, or peer support rituals. These new technological environments have fundamentally transformed the transmission, spatiality, and communication of folklore and rituals.