Category Archives: 18F Initiation Rituals

Men’s Swim Team Initiation Ritual #1

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Initiation Ritual

 

Connor LaMastra
Dartmouth College
October 3rd, 2018

 

Informant Data:

Connor LaMastra is a member of the class of 2021 here at Dartmouth and is a member of the Men’s Swim Team. He is from Atlanta, GA and has been swimming his entire life. His older sister also swims at the collegiate level for Johns Hopkins University. He credits his sister for getting him interested in swimming at a young age to follow in her footsteps.

 

Contextual Data:

Social Context: This initiation ritual is performed by new members of the Dartmouth Men’s Swim Team at the first swim meet of the season. This ritual impacts these new members through hard, physical exertion as well as bringing together the class to feed on each other’s energy.

 

Cultural Context: In a collegiate swim meet, a swimmer is only allowed to swim in 3 of the 11 total events. Swimming more than this results in disqualification of the swimmer from the meet. In order to swim multiple events, a swimmer must “exhibition” the events. This means that they are allowed to swim the events in the meet along with the everyone else; however, they cannot score points. Events during a meet are swam back to back and swimming two in a row would give you only a few minutes of rest between the two swims.

 

 

Item:

At the first meet of the season, the freshman swimmers swim every event at the meet. Due to the quick turnaround between events, this becomes a grueling exercise. It serves as a way for the freshman to acclimate themselves to the intense nature of college athletics where they will be training much more than they are used to in high school. The rest of the team cheer them on and encourage them to keep pushing themselves. They learn to rely on each other and the rest of the team when they are tired and are struggling.

 

 

Analysis:

Because they must be removed from the meet in order to complete this ritual, they are unable to score points for the team. The three stages of initiation rituals are illustrated in this ritual. The separation from the rest of the team for the duration of the meet to complete the ritual, the transition as they swim all the events, and the incorporation back as a member of the team able to score points and contribute for the next meet.

 

 

 

James Patrick; 22 years old
4400 Montreux Rd
Warrenton, VA
16 W Wheelock St
Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
Russian 13 Fall

Initiation into Dartmouth Social Spaces – Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority

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General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Sarah Roberts
  • Date Collected: Fall 2016

Informant Data:                   

  • Sarah Roberts was born in Miami, FL in 1996. She has lived in Miami her entire life with her mother, father, two sisters, and brother. Today, she still lives with her family in Miami and is currently a senior at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. At Dartmouth, Sarah is majoring in cognitive science and minoring in education. In the fall of 2016, Sarah’s sophomore year at Dartmouth, she rushed Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority (KKG) and was initiated into the house as a new member. Sarah’s Grandmother, mother, and older sister are also all members of KKG since they joined the sorority when they were in college. In the spring of 2018, her junior year at Dartmouth, Sarah was elected as New Member Educator (NME) of KKG. When a new class is chosen in KKG, NME helps to initiate the women into the sorority. Sarah served as NME in the fall of 2018 when a new class of women became members of KKG.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: KKG is a national sorority that was founded in October of 1870 as a women’s fraternity at Monmouth College. Since then, KKG sorority has expanded and currently has 143 chapters throughout the country. Although the chapters are very different, all of them must perform the same initiation ritual with new members.
  • Social Context: The Epsilon Chi chapter of KKG was founded at Dartmouth College in 1978. It was the second sorority at Dartmouth. Approximately fifty new members are taken every year from the sophomore class at Dartmouth—freshmen are not allowed to rush Greek houses.

 

Item:

  • The initiation ritual for new members in KKG lasts for about 6 weeks. The new members are required to go to a meeting hosted by their NME every week. In these meetings, the NME teaches the new members about the rules and values of the sorority and facilitates getting-to-know-you games. The NME also creates “Big-Little” pairs, where one older member of the sorority is paired with a new member and acts as the new member’s mentor. Finally, at the end of the initiation, there is a formal initiation ceremony that every chapter of KKG has been required to conduct with their new members since the sorority was founded. The new members of the sorority dress in white robes to symbolize new beginnings. The older members lead the new members in traditional songs about togetherness and sisterhood. Finally, the old members put a special KKG pin on the robes of the new members, marking the official initiation of the new members into the sorority.

Analysis: 

  • Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For this initiation ritual, separation occurs when the new class is chosen. The transition period occurs throughout the 6-week period when the women are learning about KKG but are not yet official members of the sorority. Finally, incorporation occurs after the official initiation ritual when the new members become permanent members of the sorority and are fully integrated into the house.

Meaning and interpretation: 

  • For members of KKG sorority, this initiation ritual is a very important part of joining the house. The ritual helps new members learn more about the house they joined and what their experience will be like as an active member for the next 3 years. In addition, the initiation period helps new members get to know other women in the house and to feel comfortable in their new social space. This ritual is taken very seriously by older members of the house and the NMEs.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup:  In this sub-group, we focused on Dartmouth College social initiation rituals. One similarity between most of these rituals is that they are experienced by freshmen. A student’s freshman year is a time learn about his or her new community and the traditions that form its unique culture. Freshman year is also the time that most students join the clubs or sports teams that they will be most involved in throughout their Dartmouth careers. Therefore, it makes sense that so many of the Dartmouth social initiation rituals take place during the freshman year, such as the homecoming bonfire ritual. One difference within our subgroup is who initiates and runs each initiation ritual. Sometimes these rituals are set up and funded by the Dartmouth administration, and sometimes they are student-run. Another difference is the duration of each ritual. Some social spaces take a while to initiate into or involve a few different rituals that initiate new members, whereas others only require one short ritual.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Transcript: “One special thing (about initiation) is how much things open up immediately. Suddenly you have 100 upperclassman girls saying hi to you as soon as you join…they know your name and they know your face and I think that is really special”

Collector: Caroline Elliott, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Initiation
  • Ritual
  • Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority
  • Freshman class
  • Dartmouth

Initiation into Dartmouth Social Spaces – Homecoming Bonfire (Original)

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General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Matthew Hayes
  • Date Collected: Fall 2015

Informant Data:                 

  • Matthew Hayes was born in Ealing, England in 1997. He lived there with his mother, father, sister, and brother until the year 2007 when they moved to Darien, CT in the United States. Matthew went to Darien public school until he started college at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH in the fall of 2015. Matthew is currently a senior at Dartmouth College majoring in mathematics and economics. As a freshman in 2015, Matthew Hayes participated in many of these first-year traditions, one of which was running around the bonfire during homecoming weekend.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Dartmouth College was founded in Hanover, NH on December 13, 1769, as an all-male private college. In the fall of 1972, 1000 women were enrolled into Dartmouth’s freshman class, making it the last Ivy League college to begin admitting women. As the ninth-oldest institution for higher education in the United States, Dartmouth College has many student traditions that have developed throughout the years. Many of these traditions revolve around integrating the freshman class into the Dartmouth community.
  • Social Context: Homecoming weekend is an event that happens every fall on campus when alumni of all ages are invited back to Dartmouth in order to commemorate the college and their class. The bonfire is a major event that all alumni and current Dartmouth students are encouraged to attend for the homecoming celebration.

 

Item:

  • Freshmen running laps around the homecoming bonfire is a very old tradition at Dartmouth. The homecoming bonfire is built to be approximately 2-stories tall with the numbers of the freshmen class’s graduation year at the top. On the Friday night of homecoming, the freshman class gathers as a huge group and marches around campus. When the bonfire is lit, the freshman class goes to the green where the bonfire is set up and begins to run around it. Upperclassmen and alumni stand on the outskirts of the bonfire and cheer for the freshmen as they complete their laps. Typically, the freshmen wear t-shirts with their graduation year on it to show support and pride for their class. The ritual serves as an initiation into the Dartmouth community for the freshmen running the laps. It is tradition to run around the bonfire as many times as the year one is graduating for good luck. However, as a new member of the Cords A Capella group, Matthew was encouraged to run around the bonfire 119 times—his class year plus one hundred. He completed his 119 laps with his classmates—most of which did not do 119—and symbolically became an integrated member of the Dartmouth community.

Analysis: 

  • Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. During this initiation ritual, separation occurs when the freshman class isolates itself from the rest of the student body and comes together as a group to march around campus. The transition period occurs as the freshmen are running around the bonfire. Finally, the freshmen are incorporated back into the student body when the bonfire ends and the class disperses.

Meaning and interpretation: 

  • Running around the bonfire has been an initiation ritual at Dartmouth for over a century, and is, therefore, an important rite of passage that every Dartmouth student experiences. It is a chance for the freshman class to get attention and support from upperclassmen and alumni and to truly feel as though they are a part of the Dartmouth community. It is also a chance for the freshmen to come together as a group and to feel like a cohesive class.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup:  In this subgroup, we focused on Dartmouth College social initiation rituals. One similarity between most of these rituals is that they are experienced by freshmen. A student’s freshman year is a time learn about his or her new community and the traditions that form its unique culture. Freshman year is also the time that most students join the clubs or sports teams that they will be most involved in throughout their Dartmouth careers. Therefore, it makes sense that so many of the Dartmouth social initiation rituals take place during the freshman year, such as the homecoming bonfire ritual. One difference within our subgroup is who initiates and runs each initiation ritual. Sometimes these rituals are set up and funded by the Dartmouth administration, and sometimes they are student-run. Another difference is the duration of each ritual. Some social spaces take a while to initiate into or involve a few different rituals that initiate new members, whereas others only require one short ritual.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Transcript: “Looking back on it (the bonfire), you are really able to see the significance it has. And even if you don’t realize it at the time, as you get older and look at the freshmen who are running it, you can definitely see that it is an important and cool part of homecoming”

Collector: Caroline Elliott, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Initiation
  • Ritual
  • Homecoming Bonfire
  • Freshman class
  • Dartmouth

Initiation into Dartmouth Social Spaces – Homecoming Bonfire (Post 2017)

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General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Wilson Hafner
  • Date Collected: Fall 2018

Informant Data:

  • Wilson Hafner was born on June 15, 2000. She grew up in Westport, CT with her mother, father, and four sisters. Wilson went to high school at The Taft School and started college at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH in the fall of 2018. Wilson is currently a freshman at Dartmouth and wants to study government and psychology. In the fall of 2018, Wilson participated in the homecoming tradition of the homecoming bonfire.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Dartmouth College was founded in Hanover, NH on December 13, 1769, as an all-male private college. In the fall of 1972, 1000 women were enrolled into Dartmouth’s freshman class, making it the last Ivy League college to begin admitting women. As the ninth-oldest institution for higher education in the United States, Dartmouth College has many student traditions that have developed throughout the years. Many of these traditions revolve around integrating the freshman class into the Dartmouth community, such as the homecoming bonfire.
  • Social Context: Homecoming weekend is an event that happens every fall on campus when alumni of all ages are invited back to Dartmouth in order to commemorate the college and their class. The bonfire is a major event that all alumni and current Dartmouth students are encouraged to attend for the homecoming celebration.

 

Item:

  • Traditionally, the homecoming bonfire is built to be approximately 2-stories tall with the numbers of the freshmen class’s graduation year at the top. On the Friday night of homecoming, the freshman class gathers as a huge group and marches around campus. When the bonfire is lit, the freshman class goes to the green where the bonfire is set up and begins to run around it. Upperclassmen and alumni stand on the outskirts of the bonfire and cheer for the freshmen as they run their laps. Freshmen wear t-shirts with their graduation year on it to show support and pride for their class. It is also a tradition to run around the bonfire as many times as the year one is graduating. However, in 2018, the tradition changed because the college administration got increasingly worried about freshmen students attempting to touch the bonfire. In the past, some students thought it was “funny” or “exciting” to break from the pack of freshman running laps and try to touch the fire. To prevent this hazard, the administration changed the bonfire tradition so that the bonfire was slightly smaller, there was tall fencing around the bonfire, the freshmen were forced to walk instead of run around the fire, and they could only do one lap. Wilson and her class obeyed these new rules and walked one lap around the bonfire in the fall of 2018.

 

Analysis: 

  • Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. In accordance with the old tradition, the separation stage of this initiation ritual still occurs when the freshman class isolates itself from the rest of the student body and comes together as a group to march around campus. The transition stage occurs when the freshmen walk one lap around the bonfire—signifying their integration into the Dartmouth community. Finally, the freshmen are incorporated back into the student body after they finish their one lap, and the freshman class disperses.

Meaning and interpretation: 

  • Running around the bonfire has been an initiation ritual at Dartmouth for over a century. Although some of the recent changes in the ritual—such as being forced to walk—might make the ritual less exciting, it is still an important rite of passage that every Dartmouth student experiences. It is a chance for the freshman class to get attention and support from upperclassmen and alumni and to truly feel as though they are a part of the Dartmouth community. It is also a chance for the class to come together as a group and to feel cohesive.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: In this subgroup, we focused on Dartmouth College social initiation rituals. One similarity between most of these rituals is that they are experienced by freshmen. A student’s freshman year is a time learn about his or her new community and the traditions that form its unique culture. Freshman year is also the time that most students join the clubs or sports teams that they will be most involved in throughout their Dartmouth careers. Therefore, it makes sense that so many of the Dartmouth social initiation rituals take place during the freshman year, such as the homecoming bonfire ritual. One difference within our subgroup is who initiates and runs each initiation ritual. Sometimes these rituals are set up and funded by the Dartmouth administration, and sometimes they are student-run. Another difference is the duration of each ritual. Some social spaces take a while to initiate into or involve a few different rituals that initiate new members, whereas others only require one short ritual.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Transcript: Wilson Hafner on the changes in the ritual: “We were hearing so many different things about the controversy surrounding (the bonfire). I think once it becomes more normal after a few years go by, it won’t be as weird. I do still think it is a very important event”

Collector: Caroline Elliott, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Initiation
  • Ritual
  • Homecoming Bonfire
  • Freshman class
  • Dartmouth

Initiation Ritual – Serbian Baptism

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Title: Serbian Wedding Rituals – Serbian Baptism

General Information about Item:

  • Slavic initiation ritual (wedding)
  • Language: Serbo-Croatian
  • Country of Origin: Serbia
  • Informant: Katarina Nesic
  • Date Collected: 11-12-18

Informant Data:

  • Katarina Nesic was born and raised in Serbia. Katarina is currently 20 years old. She left Serbia at 16 for Swiss boarding school. Katarina is currently a student at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. She was baptized at the young age of one and was integrated into Serbian culture. She has personally been in attendance to many weddings. She was involved with the Serbian Orthodox Church and celebrates many religious holidays.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: While Serbia may be in a politically and economically challenged region, religion is a part of Serbia’s culture that has always stood the test against time. The Serbian Orthodox Church has a large influence over many rituals and traditions. Many Serbians are affiliated with the Serbian Orthodox Church, and are baptized at the age of one (or very young). The Serbian Orthodox Church very similary catholicism with several differences (for example they cross differently). The Serbian Church also has icons, an older Slavic language, and its own unique holidays, signifying their strong sense of uniqueness.
  • Social Context: Katarina is a friend and classmate of mine at Dartmouth. Katarina grew up as a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church herself. She told me she was baptized at one, herself. Her family also grew up with strong Christian values and celebrated religious holidays. Katarina grew up in the social environment of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Item:

Everyone gathers at the church in the morning. This shows the central importance of the Serbian Orthodox Church’s community. At the start of the baptism, the priest says prayers quickly in an old Slavic language. Katarina was unable to remember or recall the prayers likely due it being recited in an older Serbian language. The child/baby is sent to the priest (separation/preliminal). The priest sprinkles water on the child in the shape of a cross and uses parts of a tree to conduct the religious baptism (liminal). This serves as initiation into the Serbian Orthodox Church and integration with Christ. Afterwards, the child is given back to his/her parents.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

 https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nNbwPIf_e9O9EgM_BdYCyvWIr5t_87O3

Informant’s Comments:

 

Collector’s Comments:

It was interesting to have a religious intitiation ritual. This initiation ritual showed how religion played a large role in Serbian society. The initiation shows that the Christian Orthodox Church is an important value of Serbian communities. In a way, many other initiation rituals also are vaguely tied to religious influences (Christian/Serbian weddings).

Collector: Andrew Yang, 19 years old
773 Hinman, Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
RUSS 013
Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Slavic
  • Serbian
  • Baptism

Initiation Ritual: Serbian Wedding Celebration

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Title: Serbian Wedding Rituals – Wedding Celebration

General Information about Item:

  • Slavic initiation ritual (wedding)
  • Language: Serbo-Croatian
  • Country of Origin: Serbia
  • Informant: Katarina Nesic
  • Date Collected: 11-12-18

Informant Data:

  • Katarina Nesic was born and raised in Serbia. Katarina is currently 20 years old. She left Serbia at 16 for Swiss boarding school. Katarina is currently a student at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. She was baptized at the young age of one and was integrated into Serbian culture. She has personally been in attendance to many weddings. She was involved with the Serbian Orthodox Church and celebrates many religious holidays.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Southern Slavic nations, like Croatia and Serbia, enjoy preserving their traditions, especially the ones that are entertaining for bigger groups. Thus, these wedding rituals seem to be indispensable, and many Serbs of all ages know about them. In addition, the Serbian Orthodox Church has a large influence over many rituals and traditions. Many weddings are officiated by The Church, and its history is a vehicle for traditions. Politically, Serbia’s poor political and economic situation create a sense of unity.
  • Social Context: Katarina is a friend and classmate of mine at Dartmouth. She told me about how Serbian weddings are often a large event, and that she has attended many herself. Many of these weddings, that she attended, took place and ended in a church. Katarina grew up as a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church herself.

Item:

 

The groom and the groomsmen go to the bride’s house with gifts. The bride, groom, and groomsmen leave in the same car and the family follow (pre liminal, separation) . They will honk their horns so the entire village/town knows and will participate. They drive to the church (if the wedding is religious, Katarina said 95% of weddings are). At the church, a priest officiates the wedding (liminal, journey). They play traditional folk music and everyone dances together. This is the way the community welcomes the couple (reincorporation). Compared to a Western wedding, everyone gets into a circle and dances. Katarina said there was less focus on the individual and more focus on the group.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Informant’s Comments:
Katarina has also heard from her parents/grandparents that they used to fire shotguns/AK47 after the wedding.

Collector’s Comments:

There were some similariteis (such as the groom and groomsmen going to the bride’s house with gifts) between Katarina’s initiation ritual and the initiation ritual of our other Serbian informants. Our other informants are significantly older, so this may be an indication that Serbian initiation rituals are changing over time.

Collector: Andrew Yang, 19 years old
773 Hinman, Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
RUSS 013
Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Slavic
  • Serbian
  • Wedding

Bat Mitzvah

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Title: Bat Mitzvah

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Culture: Judaism
  • Informant: Sarah Alpert
  • Date Collected: 2018

Informant Data:

  • Sarah is from Newton, Massachusetts. She was raised by two Jewish parents who are no longer very religious. She rarely celebrates holidays, except for the major ones like Rosh Hashanah. She never really thought of herself as a Jew, but when she saw all of her Jewish friends getting Bat Mitzvahed, she knew she wanted one too. To her, in order to consider herself a Jew, she had to be Bat Mitzvahed. Sarah currently attends Dartmouth College and is 19 years old. She no longer celebrates any Jewish holidays, but she is very happy she was Bat Mitzvahed.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context:  I collected this folklore from Sarah Alpert, a 19 year old student at Dartmouth College. She is a close friend of mine and one of the few Jewish people I know at Dartmouth. She is a member of Hillel, the Jewish community at Dartmouth. I asked her to tell me about Jewish initiation rituals, and she told me about Bat Mitzvahs. Sarah learned about Bat Mitzvahs from a private tutor as her family did not belong to a synagogue. She invited most of her classmates and family members to the ritual, which she performed when she was 12. To her, this was a rite of passage into becoming a woman. She was proud, and said that she felt more like an adult following the event.
  • Cultural Context: The Jewish culture is centered around a tight knit community. It is very important to Jews that the culture is passed on, even if they are not very religious themselves. Therefore, it is very normal for a non religious Jew like Sarah to get a Bat Mitzvah just to stay a part of the community. Even though she is not religious, Sarah said she felt like the ritual made her feel grown up.

Item:

  • At the age of 12, girls can be Bat Mitzvahed. This ritual is almost identical to Bar Mitzvahs, but it is the time when a girl becomes a woman. Most girls study in Hebrew school, but some like Sarah study with a private tutor. The girl must read a section of the Torah that is assigned for the day of the Bat Mitzvah. Just like in Bar Mitzvahs, the girl is separated from her family. She must pass the test of reading from the Torah, and then is incorporated as a woman in the Jewish community. To Sarah, this ritual had nothing to do with making her parents happy, but was a way for her to become a woman in her own eyes.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcription (from voice recognition software):

Sarah: Bat mitzvah, which is the girls of the little apartments of is basically the coming of age. Money for. Jewish. Teenagers. It occurs when you’re. Supposed to be twelve year old told you’re too old for a girl. Whereas it’s thirteen years old. For a boy or maybe the opposite I forget and we have to do we have to learn a section of the Torah that corresponds to the date on what’s your. That takes place you’re about to start when it takes place and you essentially have to memorize how to read the Torah scripture straight from the Torah. Then you also have to read the corresponding piece of scripture that I like the criticism that’s actually up from the exact word for it. And you have to like the ceremony entails reading these sections from like a platform above the congregation and once you do read all the necessary parts and to sail the necessary prayers you’re considered a part of the ceremony usually by older family members. I think it depends on where you’re from. It’s about taking place but for mine at least I am but in most of my life all my immediate family and then. Some of my other relatives but not too many people. Then most I mean American teenagers at least would invite their friends from school. And I think since most Jews tend to go to camp also their camp friends and. Say. The impact on the impact on me. I am not a very religious person so I would say it had a spiritual effect on me. I would say that I always considered apartments a rite of passage. Just because I grew up in a Jewish community and had Jewish friends and I honestly didn’t know if I would want to have a Bar Mitzvah until I started hanging out with people who were all having them and I went to something else like this seems like an important stage in my life. So I had a Bar Mitzvah based off that. And I think for me I felt strange being the center of so much attention. I was the main concern for me during the event. That was why I was worried about having one. But I think overall I’m glad I did have a bar mitzvah because I think it didn’t necessarily define my transition from childhood to adulthood. It made me feel more of a complete Jew. And. Made me feel like I have more full right to say that I identify with being Jewish.

Me:  Was it difficult to like memorize or learn how to read the Torah. Do you feel like they were testing you.

Sarah: I had a private tutor because I felt I didn’t belong to a synagogue. So for me I was pretty relaxed. My tutor was really nice shoes and woman who have done this with many kids before it’s over like me but from mostly secular families who still wanted to have a Bar Mitzvah ceremony and I usually enjoyed my sessions. I tried really cute cats from the rapper house and we just kind of had a little bit and then go through the day’s lesson and I mean there’s at a time in my life when I didn’t have much homework so it was like a weekly hour I spent reading and memorizing and I think from what I can remember learning the Torah wasn’t too bad because like once you recognize the patterns.

 Informant’s Comments:
  • Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah was very important to her. She felt like it was difficult, and she said it was a coming of age event for her. She invited all of his friends and family, and she had a big party afterward. While she is not very religious, she still felt like it was important to have a Bat Mitzvah.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I could tell that Sarah really cared about her Bat Mitzvah. It made her family very proud, and she definitely felt like she had grown up following the ceremony.

Collector’s Name: Evan Muscatel

Tags/Keywords:

  • Bat Mitzvah
  • Initiation Ritual

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup:  Sarah is from a family of reform Jews; however, the ritual is almost the same across all types of Judaism. The Bat Mitzvah must read from the torah and she is celebrated as an adult after. This is common among all jews. However, reform jews must be 13 to have a Bat Mitzvah, while other sects of Judaism only require the girl to be 12.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups (Written by Katarina Nesic): The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Bar Mitzvah

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Title: Bar Mitzvah

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Culture: Judaism
  • Informant: Justin Kramer
  • Date Collected: 2018

Informant Data:

  • Justin Kramer is from San Francisco, California. He went to a Jewish school from Kindergarten through 8th grade. He was raised Jewish his entire life, and his parents are both Jewish. His family is not very religious, but they do still participate in most holidays and traditions to stay a part of the community. Most of the people Justin knows are Jewish since he grew up going to a Jewish school. When I collected this information, Justin was 19 and studying at Dartmouth College. He was Bar Mitzvahed when he was 13.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context:  I collected this folklore from Justin Kramer, a 19 year old student at Dartmouth College. He is a friend of mine and a member of Hillel, the Jewish community at Dartmouth. I asked him to tell me about Jewish initiation rituals, and he told me about Bar Mitzvahs. Justin learned of Bar Mitzvahs in Jewish middle school as every boy was Bar Mitzvahed. All of his classmates and close friends and family attended. He performed the ritual when he turned 13. They were their to celebrate Justin (Mazel Tov as he said). He said he felt proud and that it was a stepping stone in his life. He said they are normally in the morning and the party is at night.
  • Cultural Context: The Jewish culture is centered around a tight knit community. Jews have been persecuted for thousands of years, so naturally they feel more comfortable around other jews. Also, it is very important to Jews that the culture is passed on. Justin said his grandparents really wanted him to be Bar Mitzvahed, and he felt that he made them proud.

Item:

  • A Jewish boy can be Bar Mitzvahed when he turns 13. It is a big celebration in which the boy becomes a man. He must study for years to learn all of the prayers required to become a man. First, he must separate himself from his family. Then, he is tested as he must read from the Torah. Then, he is incorporated as a man in the Jewish community. He is celebrated in a big party, and everybody shouts “mazel tov” to congratulate him. During the party, the Bar Mitzvah chooses one girl to dance with as his first dance as a man. Afterwards, the Hava Nagila dance is performed as they are lifted up and down in a chair.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcription (using voice recognition software):

Comments wasn’t General or my bar both. Which was in general are meant to signify a Jew becoming an adult in the eyes of the Jewish religion. So I’ve had my bar mitzvah right around my 13th birthday which is when guys typically have it. Girls can have their apartments far starting at age 12. And my bar mitzvah was in the local Jewish Community Center. Most people have their bar mitzvahs in the mornings with a party in the night. My family isn’t that strictly observant so. Mine started around 5:00p.m. I did a little bit of Torah portion but we also mixed in some other fun things I told some. Fun Jewish stories called out what they’re called. I told some stories and also. Did a couple of little like kind of mythology things and there was mythology themed which was fun. I think the term for a Jewish story by the way is in my. But don’t quote me on that unless it’s correct then you can quote me on that that after immediately after the service people threw a little sun kissed chewy candies at me to congratulate me. Mazel tov and then I had a party immediately after the basement of the big ballroom of the building that I was in who was there. So I went to a Jewish day school kindergarten through eighth grade and so my school had a rule that you had to invite everyone in the grade. So at that point like 33 of us all them were invited. Many of them were there plus had some other friends from sports and some other activities along with all of my extended family that could make it. Some family friends parents some of my some of my closest friends had their parents there as well. I think for me more than anything it was kind of like. A check point in life like I’ve made it through 13 years and I’m becoming a man in the eyes of the Jewish religion. But it was really cool to have so many friends and family there supporting me. And the fact that they felt I guess a really big accomplishment meant a lot to me and being surrounded by. So many people who made such a big effort to get there really meant a lot to me I’d say.

 Informant’s Comments:
  • Justin’s Bar Mitzvah was very important to him. He felt like it was difficult, and he said it was a coming of age event for him. He invited all of his friends and family, and he had a big party afterward.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I could tell that Justin really cared about his Bar Mitzvah. It made his family very proud, and he definitely felt like he had grown up following the ceremony.

Collector’s Name: Evan Muscatel

Tags/Keywords:

  • Bar Mitzvah
  • Initiation Ritual

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup:  Justin is from a family of reform Jews; however, the ritual is almost the same across all types of Judaism. The Bar Mitzvah must be 13 in all sects of Judaism, he must read from the torah, and he is celebrated as an adult after. This is common among all jews.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups (Written by Katarina Nesic): The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Initiation rituals of music groups at Dartmouth College – Rockapellas2

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Title: Initiation rituals of music groups at Dartmouth College – Rockapellas2

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Initiation Ritual
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: USA
  • Informant: Ijeoma Nwuke, female, 20 years old
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College, King Arthur Flower Café
  • Date Collected: 10-13-2018

Informant Data:

  • Ijeoma Nwuke comes from Lagos, Nigeria. She is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She is an Engineering major. On campus, she has been a member of the Ricapellas acapella group since freshman year.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The Rocapellas are an acapella group at Dartmouth College. They perform songs that deal with social justice. Many of the acapella groups at Dartmouth perform initiation rituals and the Rocapellas are no exeption. The Rocapellas’ initiation process is deemed important because welcomes the new members and allows them to see how they get along with the rest of the group outside of rehearsal.
  • Social Context: The folk group that the Rocapellas consist of singers who feel deeply passionate about social justice. The setting in which one part of the ritual takes place is private – the new members are taken to an unknown location and initially made to believe that they

Item:

  • On a Saturday, starting at 9 a.m, Ijeoma went through the first round of auditions to be in an acapella group. After the first round came the second round of auditions. Her welcome into the Rocapellas, also known as the initiation process, was being woken up at 3 in the morning. She was told they were going to Canada, gave her some “flair” and drove them to an unknown location. They ended up going to a restaurant, having breakfast and just getting to know each other.
  • A second part of initiation consists of getting together, watching a movie, eating food, and singing their audition song. All the members are required to do this in an effort to bring the group together as a whole.

Analysis: Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition and incorporation.

  • For the first part of initiation, the separation stage can be viewed as the process of being woken up by the group and taken an unknown location as they are separated from the campus. The transition stage includes the time during which they believe they are being taken to Canada as well as all the activities at the unknown location, including games and singing songs. Incorporation is the stage at which they go to the “Shack” and learn more about the new and the old members.
  • The second part of initiation can be included in the incorporation stage and is used to further solidify membership and create greater group unity.

Meaning and interpretation: Initiation rituals of the Rocapellas, much like the initiation process of the rest of the music groups, has the purpose of making the new members feel welcome. According to the informants, even though the process was somewhat strange and scary initially, it ultimately made them feel less anxious about being new in the group. The initiation process also had the purpose of creating a feeling of excitement and group unity.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: More professional groups (those guided by a director) are notified that they had become part of the group prior to initiation. That is not the case with acapella groups (i.e. the Rocapellas). All the groups within the subgroup are surprised by the wakeups and all the groups get a meal as part of initiation. This is the case because the meal has the purpose of bringing the group together as the new members and old members get to know each other better. The goal of initiation for all the music groups is not to scare or test the new members, but to welcome them into their circle.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Transcript: “It made me feel welcomed and less frightened, especially since I was quite anxious going into the audition process.”

Collector: Katarina Nesic, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Initiation
  • Ritual
  • Acapella Groups
  • Dartmouth

Initiation rituals of music groups at Dartmouth College – Rockapellas 1

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Title: Initiation rituals of music groups at Dartmouth College – Rockapellas 1

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Initiation Ritual
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: USA
  • Informant: Alice Zhang, female, 19 years old
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College Library, Baker-Berry Lobby
  • Date Collected: 10-23-2018

Informant Data:

  • Alice Zhang was born in and currently lives in San Clemente in Southern California. She is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. Alice is a very involved member of the Dartmouth community. On campus she is a member of the Rocapellas acapella group, a member of the Fusion Dance Ensemble and a member of Kappa Delta sorority. She joined the Rocapellas because the focus of the group is on social justice and freedom.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The Rocapellas are an acapella group at Dartmouth College. They perform songs that deal with social justice. Many of the acapella groups at Dartmouth perform initiation rituals and the Rocapellas are no exeption. The Rocapellas’ initiation process is deemed important because welcomes the new members and allows them to see how they get along with the rest of the group outside of rehearsal.
  • Social Context: The folk group that the Rocapellas consist of singers who feel deeply passionate about social justice. The setting in which one part of the ritual takes place is private – the new members are taken to an unknown location and initially made to believe that they are taken to a place in Canada, which creates an element of surprise as well as secrecy.

Item:

  • After waking up at 9 a.m. to audition for an acapella group, Alice got a callback from the Rocapellas and ultimately decided to join. She was woken up at 3 in the morning by the old members, taken to an unknown location to sing and do games with the old members. After that, she was taken to the “Shack” in West Lebanon. They talked more and got to know each other better.
  • Another part of initiation included the “Baby show.” All the new are featured as soloists in a show organized by the Rocapellas and Alice was no exception. At the “Baby show” they put together skits in which they make fun of old members for things they observed in the time they had spent with them.

Analysis: Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition and incorporation.

  • For the first part of initiation, the separation stage can be viewed as the process of being woken up by the group and taken an unknown location as they are separated from the campus. The transition stage includes all the activities at the unknown location, including games and singing songs. Incorporation is the stage at which they go to the “Shack” and learn more about the new and the old members
  • For the second part of initiation, also known as the “Baby Show,” separation is the stage in which they are tasked to come up with a skit and be featured as soloists. Transition is their task of performing their skits, as they are placed in a state of uncertainty because they are unsure if they had done their skit correctly. Incorporation comes at the end, when they are done with the skit and re-welcomed into the larger group.

Meaning and interpretation: Initiation rituals of the Rocapellas, much like the initiation process of the rest of the music groups, has the purpose of making the new members feel welcome. According to the informants, even though the process was somewhat strange and scary initially, it ultimately made them feel less anxious about being new in the group. The initiation process also had the purpose of creating a feeling of excitement and group unity.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: More professional groups (those guided by a director) are notified that they had become part of the group prior to initiation. That is not the case with acapella groups (i.e. the Rocapellas). All the groups within the subgroup are surprised by the wakeups and all the groups get a meal as part of initiation. This is the case because the meal has the purpose of bringing the group together as the new members and old members get to know each other better. The goal of initiation for all the music groups is not to scare or test the new members, but to welcome them into their circle.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Transcript: “The initiation made me feel pretty welcome – it was pretty obvious that they put a lot of effort into making us feel included and they were excited to take us on!”

Collector: Katarina Nesic, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Initiation
  • Ritual
  • Acapella Groups
  • Dartmouth