Tag Archives: Initiation

Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – Dodecaphonic

Title: Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – Dodecaphonic

General Information about Item:
Genre: Initiation Ritual
Language: English
Country of Origin: UK
Informant: Maxine Perroni-Scharf, female, 19 years old
Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Byrne II
Date Collected: 10-19-2018

Informant Data:
Maxine Perroni-Scharf was born and raised in the UK. She is a sophomore at Dartmouth College and has been singing in choirs at school since she was 8 years old. On campus, she is a member of the Dodecaphonic. Maxine joined the Dodecaphonic her freshmen year because the Dodecaphonic impressed her the most with their performance at the auditions.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: I collected this folklore from Maxine Perroni-Scharf, a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She is a close friend of mine, and the only person I know who is in Dodecaphonic. I asked her about initiation rituals in Dodecaphonic. Maxine told me how she learned about the Dodecaphonic’s initiation ritual after experiencing it for the first time freshmen. During her second year, she was the upperclassman that performed the initiation rituals to the new members. The initiation rituals involve the upperclassmen of Dodecaphonic and the newly accepted members.

Cultural Context: The Dartmouth Dodecaphonic (Dodecs) is the College’s oldest and premier co-ed acapella group, singing a variety of music ranging from 80’s, rock, contemporary pop, Dartmouth traditional, and many others. The initiation rituals of the Dodecaphonic is important because all members get to meet each other for the first time and build a strong, tight-knit group, who will eventually travel and perform together across the United State.

Item:
Maxine auditioned to all girl acapella groups on Dartmouth campus. She also had to audition for one solo, where she had to sing a couple of solo songs. It was a day-long process and she didn’t find out of the results until a few days later. During the initiation ritual, older members went to Maxine’s room early in the morning around 4-6 am. They knocked on her door and sang in her room. They separated the new members from the familiar daily routine. After the Dartmouth Dodecaphonic gathered the other new members and sleepy Maxine, they transitioned to Dartmouth Hall, where they sang the Twilight Dartmouth song together. Then, the new members returned to their rooms. After Maxine went to her first rehearsal, all members of the Dodecaphonic drive out to Denny’s super late to get a meal together. The Dodecaphonic also held a party for the new members and told them that everyone would dress as “Space Cats” but, then the upperclassmen did not dress as Space Cats. During the party, older members of the Dodecaphonic passed down quest-items to younger Dodecaphonic and give them Dodecaphonic T-shirt. During the party, they also had an initiation contest, where they spent time together and competed against who can drink jam with a straw first. The last part of the Dodecaphonic’s initiation ritual is when the new members perform at their “baby show”. The show was the first time Maxine and the rest of the members sing together. All new members wore flare to show the public that they are new members of the acapella group. This baby show showed their incorporation into the group.

Associated file:

Informant’s Comments: According to Maxine, she thinks Dodecaphonic’s initiation ritual helped new members transition into the acapella group really fast. She said that new members don’t feel like new members anymore after initiation. Everyone in Dodecaphonic was really friendly and welcoming.

Collector’s Comments:
I think the Dodecaphonic’s initiation rituals sound like fun. Because there are more initiation rituals after wake-up, I think the Dodecaphonic’s initiation rituals form a more closed-knit group compared to other musical groups on campus.

Comparison:

Comparison within the subgroup: Since most of the new members of all the groups within the subgroups were mostly freshmen, they were surprised by the wakeup. All of the musical groups’ initiation rituals compose of wakeup and getting a meal together with their group. However, compared to other acapella groups, the Dodecaphonic also have other initiation rituals (e.g. party, sing at Dartmouth Hall) they do to welcome the new members. The purpose of the initiation ritual is to integrate the new members into the group more easily and for the group members to bond with each other.

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.

Vanessa Chhoa; 20 years old
Hanover, NH 03755
Dartmouth College
Russian 13: Slavic Folklore
Fall 2018

Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – The Dartmouth Sings

Title: Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – The Dartmouth Sings

General Information about Item:

Genre: Initiation Ritual
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Informant: Summer Cody, female, 20 years old
Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Occom Common
Date Collected: 11-01-2018

Informant Data:

Summer Cody was born and raised in New York City, New York. She is a junior at Dartmouth College and has been singing all her life. On campus, she is a member of the Dartmouth Sings. Summer joined the Dartmouth Sings her freshmen year because she was interested in a co-ed acapella group and felt like the Dartmouth Sing had a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: I collected this folklore from Summer Cody, a junior at Dartmouth College. She is a close friend of mine, and the only person I know who is in the Dartmouth Sings. I asked her about initiation rituals in Dartmouth Sings. Summer told me how she learned about the Dartmouth Sing’s initiation ritual after experiencing it for the first time freshmen. During her second and third year, she was the upperclassman that performed the initiation rituals to the new members. The initiation rituals involve the upperclassmen of the Dartmouth Sings and the newly accepted members.

Cultural Context: The Dartmouth Sings is the College’s premier co-ed acapella group, singing an eclectic repertoire ranging from contemporary pop, folk, R&B, musical theatre, and Dartmouth traditional. The initiation rituals of the Dartmouth Sings is important because all members get to meet each other for the first time and learn about its history.

Item:

The audition process consists of two parts; the standard audition and the callback. If people don’t get into the group they went to callbacks for, there is a post-callback audition called a “Pref audition” that they can go to. Generally, the Sings test for pitch matching and musical scales, as well as listen to solo songs during the auditions. Then they hear those who auditioned sing with members of the group in the callback. They decide who gets in strictly on musical ability; if people can blend their voice with others well, match pitch, and/or has an excellent solo voice. No other considerations are taken into account (e.g. looks and personality are not considered). Summer participated in “wake-up” where older members of the Dartmouth Sings knocked on new members door after determining who gets in. The new members were woken up by loud poundings on their door. This process separated the new members from other Dartmouth students. Summer and the other older members went inside the new members’ dorms to pickup their new members and drove them to the golf course. At the golf course, they told their new members the history and origin story of the Dartmouth sings. Later, Summer and the other members of the Dartmouth Sings took them out to dinner, all the while making jokes and singing songs with them. Summer thinks their initiation rituals is pretty fun because up until that point, none of the new members really know who else got into the group, so it was their first time meeting everyone.

Associated file: She did not want to be recorded.

Informant’s Comments: According to Summer, she personally really likes the Dartmouth Sings’ initiation ritual. She thinks their initiation ritual is fun, exciting, and welcoming. Because the initiation ritual also speaks to the founding of the Dartmouth Sings, she thinks the initiation ritual is a significant part of being a member of the Dartmouth Sings.

Collector’s Comments: The Dartmouth Sing has a fun and uplifting initiation ritual. From Summer’s description of the members sitting at the golf course and listening to the history of the Dartmouth Sings while the sun is rising is beautiful and memorable.

Comparison:

Comparison within the subgroup: Since most of the new members of all the groups within the subgroups were mostly freshmen, they had never heard of wakeup and were surprised to experience it during initiation. All of the musical groups’ initiation rituals compose of wakeups and getting a meal together with their group. However, compared to other acapella groups, the Dartmouth Sings went over the history of the Dartmouth Sings; therefore, it incorporates a more serious aspect to initiation. The purpose of the initiation ritual is to integrate the new members into the group more easily and for the group members to bond with each other.

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.

Vanessa Chhoa; 20 years old
Hanover NH, 03755
Dartmouth College
Russian 13: Slavic Folklore
Fall 2018

North America Initiation Rituals: The Importance of Family at a Quinceañera

Title: North America Initiation Rituals: The Importance of Family at a Quinceañera

 General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: Latinx and Catholic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Mexico/America
  • Informant: Athina Schmidt
  • Place Collected: Kappa Delta Sorority
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Athina Schmidt, age 29, is a female Dartmouth student who is graduating with the class of 2019. She was born in Hilton Head, South Carolina. She is currently living in Brooklyn, New York. Her ethnic background is half Dominican and half German. She went to a public high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Athina is in Kappa Delta sorority, a member of the club Squash team, and a member of the Gospel Choir. She is planning to major in Psychology with a minor in Digital Art.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The U.S. Latinx culture has deep roots in respecting their cultural customs, traditions, and religion from the past. The main religion practiced by this cultural community is the Catholicism. In the U.S. a way many their Latinx families continue to pass down their cultural and religious customs is through the Quinceañera. The Quinceañera is an important way for a girl of Mexican American decent to stay connected to their ethnic history. After completing theQuinceañera a girl becomes incorporated into the cultural community in a meaningful way.
  • Social Context: The Quinceañera is practiced by most self-identifying Latinx members no matter their economic and geographic situations. TheQuinceañera can vary in how elaborate the ceremony and party is, depending on the particular socioeconomic state of the individual family and community. This coming of age ceremony is not only important to the girl and her family, but also the cultural and Catholic community she is a part of.

Item:

  • One of the most important aspects of the Quinceañera is the family of the girl. The event is just as much for the girl as it is for her family. The whole extended family is invited to the Quinceañera. For my informant, that meant having over 150 people at her Quinceañera. The past generations are honored and symbolized through the candle lighting ceremony at the church. The family gives speeches at the Quinceañera about the birthday girl. An iconic aspect of the Quinceañera is the father and daughter dance. The family is just as active in the initiation traditions as the girl. The family is initiating the girl and welcomes her into womanhood throughout the ceremony. As a result, the family is involved in all three stages of the initiation rite.

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

 

Transcript:

  • “For the Quinceañera it was done in Brooklyn with my entire family. So my aunt and uncles were there and all my cousins. And all my girl cousin had matching dresses and of course we went to the first part of the service was at our Catholic church. And we did like a special mass and you know the lighting of the candles for like our dead relatives and all that stuff… And after that, then there was like a big party at a dining hall. That’s when the family, like all of the families, got together. And it had to be like 150 people. It was so crazy, I didn’t realize there was so many people in my family… They all had speeches… We did the dance with your dad, the first dance. That was really cute.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • She thought that she had a small family before her Quinceañera. She was amazed by the amount of people at the Quinceañera.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I never realized just how family centered this the Quinceañera

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: Both the Quinceañera and Sweet Sixteen are very family centered events. There are many overlapping family traditions that are a part of both initiation rites. For example, at both many family members give speeches about the birthday girl. One of the most iconic parts of both traditions is the father and daughter dance. Both have the meaning that the first man in a girl’s life should be the father.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvahsare rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. In all three coming of age ceremonies the family is an interregnal part of what makes the tradition special. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones,Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • Initiation
  • Quinceañera
  • Catholicism
  • Family
  • Candles
  • First Dance
  • Speeches

North America Initiation Rituals: Gifts and Dresses at the Quinceañera a Symbol of Marriageability

Title: North America Initiation Rituals: Gifts and Dresses at the Quinceañera a Symbol of Marriageability

 General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: Latinx and Catholic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Mexico/America
  • Informant: Serena De La Cruz
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College Library, Novak
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Serena De La Cruz, age 21, is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2019. She was born and raised in San Diego, California. Her ethnic background is Hispanic and Mexican American. She went to a public high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Serena is in Kappa Delta sorority, is a Spanish drill instructor and works at the library. She is planning to major in Geography modified with Medical Communities.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The U.S. Latinx culture has deep roots in respecting their cultural customs, traditions, and religion from the past. The main religion practiced by this cultural community is the Catholicism. In the U.S. a way many their Latinx families continue to pass down their cultural and religious customs is through the Quinceañera. The Quinceañera is an important way for a girl of Mexican American decent to stay connected to their ethnic history. After completing theQuinceañera a girl becomes incorporated into the cultural community in a meaningful way.
  • Social Context: The Quinceañera is practiced by most self-identifying Latinx members no matter their economic and geographic situations. TheQuinceañera can vary in how elaborate the ceremony and party is, depending on the particular socioeconomic state of the individual family and community. This coming of age ceremony is not only important to the girl and her family, but also the cultural and Catholic community she is a part of.

Item:

  • Receiving and opening gifts at birthdays is a common custom across many cultures. For theQuinceañera the gifts have an additional meaning associated with them. The Quinceañera originated as a symbolic transition from childhood to a status of womanhood. Thus in the community she is considered marriageable after her fifteenth birthday. The gifts brought to the girl were for her dowry. Additionally, the dress worn was traditionally white to symbolize her new marriageable status. The symbolism behind the gifts and dress are unique to the Latinx culture. Now, the customs are still used, but the meaning of the overall ceremony is not necessarily about the marriageability anymore.

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

 

Transcript:

  • “Quinceañeras I think like a lot of coming of age things for women kind of originated like this women is marriageable, she’s a women now. Like the gifts were originally supposed to be for the women’s dowry when she got married. And the dresses were always traditionally white.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • She notes that though gifts and dresses are important aspects of the Quinceañera, the idea that this ceremony is a mark of marriageability is not necessarily the case anymore. The traditions are passed down and still continue but the meaning is now more about a tradition from childhood to adolescence.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It never knew that the gifts and dresses had a historical symbolic meaning behind them. It is interesting that modern the Quinceañera and Sweet Sixteen use these old traditions, but did not continue the symbolism behind it.

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: Both the Quinceañera and Sweet Sixteen have opening of gifts and wearing elaborate dresses as a custom. Similar to the candles having different meanings, the gifts and dresses have different symbolism between the two initiation rites. For the Quinceañera, there is historical symbolism behind wearing dresses and the gifts of m But for the Sweet Sixteen these customs are just a part of celebrating a girl transitioning from a child to an adolescent.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvahsare rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. For example, all three use opening gifts as a central tradition associated with the ceremony. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones,Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • Initiation
  • Quinceañera
  • Dress
  • Gift

North America Initiation Rituals: Quinceañera a Catholic Coming of Age Rite

Title: North America Initiation Rituals: Quinceañera a Catholic Coming of Age Rite

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: Latinx and Catholic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Mexico/America
  • Informant: Serena De La Cruz
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College Library, Novak
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Serena De La Cruz, age 21, is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2019. She was born and raised in San Diego, California. Her ethnic background is Hispanic and Mexican American. She went to a public high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Serena is in Kappa Delta sorority, is a Spanish drill instructor and works at the library. She is planning to major in Geography modified with Medical Communities.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The U.S. Latinx culture has deep roots in respecting their cultural customs, traditions, and religion from the past. The main religion practiced by this cultural community is the Catholicism. In the U.S. a way many their Latinx families continue to pass down their cultural and religious customs is through the Quinceañera. The Quinceañera is an important way for a girl of Mexican American decent to stay connected to their ethnic history. After completing the Quinceañera a girl becomes incorporated into the cultural community in a meaningful way.
  • Social Context: The Quinceañera is practiced by most self-identifying Latinx members no matter their economic and geographic situations. TheQuinceañera can vary in how elaborate the ceremony and party is, depending on the particular socioeconomic state of the individual family and community. This coming of age ceremony is not only important to the girl and her family, but also the cultural and Catholic community she is a part of.

Item:

  • The ultimate root of the Quinceañera is Catholicism. The Quinceañera is ultimately a Catholic rite of passage, despite the party and entertainment aspects of the ceremony. For my informant, though she did not have the traditional church ceremony, she had her deacon come to her Quinceañera. This was a way to respect the Catholic traditions that are involved with the Quinceañera. The deacon made a speech in her honor and blessed her during the ceremony. These are both very important traditional aspects of the Quinceañera. When analyzed as an initiation rite, the different Catholic traditions that are involved in theQuinceañera is part of the transition stage.

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

 

Transcript:

  • “I think the hallmarks are the girls fifteenth birthday. She’s a women and I think Catholicismis still really incorporated with it. There’s a church ceremony and the party after where you invite all your friends and family. It’s a very family orientated party… It’s a lot of cultural things mixed with Catholicism things. We had our local deacon he came. And we didn’t have a church ceremony but he basically came and talked to my family and everyone that was there about me and my parents. They did a blessing over me.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • She did not have a church ceremony, but she had been to many Quinceañera’s that had them. She thinks that the church ceremony is still and important aspect of the Quinceañera.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It is interesting to see how the Quinceañera’s traditions are intertwined with both religious and cultural symbolism.

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: In general all the informants that spoke about their Quinceañera always mentioned something about It makes sense that every informant would mention Catholicism when talking about their Quinceañera because Catholicism is the base of the ceremony. Most girls who have a Quinceañera often have a church ceremony for the first half then a party afterwards.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvah are rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Both have a church ceremony portion of the ceremony that represents the transition stage of the initiantion rite. The church ceremony of both  the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvah are followed by a party that represents the incorporation stage of the initiation rite. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • Initiation
  • Catholicism
  • Quinceañera

North America Initiation Rituals: Sweet Sixteen Planning

Title: North America Initiation Rituals: Sweet Sixteen Planning

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: American
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Vanessa Pinney
  • Place Collected: Colllis Center
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Vanessa Pinney, age 19, is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2021. She was born and raised in New York, New York. Her ethnic background is primarily English. She went to a small private high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Vanessa is a U.G.A., is a member of Sexperts, and a member of the Taekwondo team. She is planning to major in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Environmental Sciences.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Many consider America to be the “melting pot” of a diverse range of cultures. The blending of cultures is reflected in many traditions in America, including sweet sixteen. Sweet sixteen’s borrow various traditions from othercoming of age ceremonies. The two main celebrations that it borrows from are the Jewish Bat Mitzvah and the Latinx Quinceañera. ​
  • Social Context: Sweet sixteen are typically thrown by middle class toupper class families. The frequency of girls that have a sweet sixteen varies from region to region, but in generally since the celebration is quite a financial burden regions that are economically well off tend to have a higher frequency. Sweet sixteen’s are celebrated by girls in America, regardless of ethnicity.

Item:

  • The Sweet Sixteen is often regarded as a transition point between childhood and adolescence. As a result, many girls for the first time are allowed to take on the responsibility of planning out their Sweet Sixteen. This is often the first time a girl will have to think of planning and financial aspects of a birthday party. The taking on of responsibility is an important first step in becoming incorporated as a women. When analyzed this tradition falls under the separation stage of the three stages of initiation.

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

 

Transcript:

  • “My family doesn’t really have an established tradition of sweet sixteen’s… My mom thought before I went away it might be fun if I had a small Sweet Sixteen party with some of my friends. She told me that she did not have to much time to plan it, so I had to do a lot of the work myself…It was fairly last minute but it was fun because I got to plan it out myself. And up until that point I didn’t have to many birthday parties. Whenever I had them it would be something my parents planned and so I guess it was unofficially some sort of experience in responsibility in how to plan an event like this. And I had to figure out the finances and the tickets to the show and what restaurant. Actually, (I) made the reservation myself and it was a cool experience…”

Informant’s Comments:

  • She really enjoyed the new experience of taking on the responsibility of planning her Sweet Sixteen. She was still able to enjoy her Sweet Sixteen, even though her family did not have a long tradition of having Sweet Sixteen’s.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I had a very similar Sweet Sixteen experience as my informant. I am the first in my family to have a Sweet Sixteen. Also, I planned by myself my Sweet Sixteen dinner as well. It is interesting to see the parallels to my experience despite the fact that our cultural and regional backgrounds are very different.

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: The aspect of taking an more active role in the birthday is a comparable piece of folklore with the subgroup in general. In both the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the takes on more responsibility in the ceremony. For example, for a Sweet Sixteen many girls for the first time help plan out and think of the financial aspects of a party. For the Quinceañera many girls are required to make speeches and learn dances.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvah are rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. For example, all three force the girl to take an active role in planning and executing the ceremony. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones,Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • Initiation
  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Planning
  • Responsibility

North America Initiation Rituals: Sweet Sixteen Birthday Candles

Title: North America Initiation Rituals: Sweet Sixteen Birthday Candles

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Rituals
  • Culture: American
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Morgan Gelber
  • Place Collected: Dartmouth College Library, First Floor Berry
  • Date Collected: 11-2-18

Informant Data:

  • Morgan Gelber, age 20, is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2020. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Her ethnic background is half Russian and half Caucasian. She went to a small public high school in the city. At Dartmouth, Morgan is in Kappa Delta sorority and is a member of the fencing team. She is planning to major in English with a minor in Russian studies.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Many consider America to be the “melting pot” of a diverse range of cultures. The blending of cultures is reflected in many traditions in America, including sweet sixteen. Sweet sixteen’s borrow various traditions from othercoming of age ceremonies. The two main celebrations that it borrows from are the Jewish Bat Mitzvah and the Latinx Quinceañera. ​
  • Social Context: Sweet sixteen are typically thrown by middle class toupper class families. The frequency of girls that have a sweet sixteen varies from region to region, but in generally since the celebration is quite a financial burden regions that are economically well off tend to have a higher frequency. Sweet sixteen’s are celebrated by girls in America, regardless of ethnicity.

Item:

  • The birthday candle is one of the most important traditions involved with birthdays. A common tradition to make a wish before blowing out the candles on the birthday cake. Most believe that all the candles must be blown out in one breath for good luck and the wish to come true. The blowing out of candles marks the true point when the person transitions to the next year of their lives. As a result, blowing out the candles is part of the transition stage of the three stages of initiation rites.  For sweet-sixteens this transition point also represents moving from childhood to adolescence. For this particular person’s sweet-sixteen the candles had an extra tradition associated with them. Each of the sixteen candles would represent a friend or family member who helped her get to that point in her life. For each candle she would tell a short story about what those people important in her life.

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

           

Transcript:

  • Morgan: “My friend… for the candles around the cake, she calls up (people). My friend made a speech for each candle and had either one or a group of people come up for each (candle) that were significant in her life and we lit the candle together.”
  • Darien: “So a story pre-candle basically?”
  • Morgan: “Yeah, so one was like her very best friend, one was like her parents, one was like a group of four or five people. But (they were) who had helped her get to that point in life. And she blew them (the candles) out and ate the cake.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • Even though this was not her sixteenth birthday party, the story about the candles was a defining memory for her when she looks back on birthday parties she’s been to.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found the extra tradition that was involved with the candles on her sixteenth birthday really special and meaningful. The retrospective thoughts on the people who were important in her childhood was a nice way to reflect and move on from her childhood to adolescence.

Analysis:                

  • All initiation rituals consist of three main stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the North American Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera, the separation stage consists of the girl getting prepared and planning for the ceremony. This includes, for many girls, their first time wearing tall high heels, getting the makeup professionally done, and wearing elaborate gowns. The transition stage is marked by the various ceremonial traditions. The ceremonial traditions include the opening of gifts, the dance between the father and daughter, reading of speeches, and blowing out candles. The incorporation stage of the Sweet Sixteen and Quinceañera is the party after all the ceremonial traditions are completed. The girl celebrates becoming a women with her friends, family, and community.

Comparison:

  • Comparison within the subgroup: A comparable piece of folklore within the subgroup of North American initiation rites is the candles used in the Quinceañera. Both initiation rites include candles as a central symbol in the tradition. In the case of the Sweet Sixteen the candles only represent the transition from one year of life to the next. On the other hand, for the Quinceañera the lighting of the candles is in honor of the deceased relatives.
  • Comparison to the rest of subgroups: Many of the culturally based initiation folklore include tasks and physical activities as an aspect of the initiation rite. A comparable initiation rite to the North AmericanQuinceañera and Sweet Sixteenfrom another subgroup was the Jewish Bat Both the Quinceañera and Bat Mitzvah are rooted in religious beliefs and customs. Since, both these religious based initiation rites are common in America, customs from both are commonly borrowed in Sweet Sixteen celebrations. For example, all three use candles as a central tradition associated with the ceremony. In the context of the rest of the our group, this piece of folklore is another example of a tradition that is a transition point in a person’s life.

Collector’s Name: Darien Jones, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • Initiation
  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Candles

Initiation into Dartmouth Social Spaces – Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority

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)

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

Freshmen Retreat

Title: Freshmen Retreat

General Information about Item:

  • Customary folklore: rituals, traditions
  • Language: English
  • Country where Item is from: USA

Informant Data:

  • Trevor Davis is an ’18 that joined X.ado his freshman year and sang in his high school choir for three years. He is 21 years old. He was born in Wheaton, Illinois. He grew up and still lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is majoring in computer science, and minoring in math and anthropology.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context

All members of X.ado participate in this ritual. It usually occurs early in the fall term after new member have been chosen. This tradition has existed for as long as the informant can remember and he first experienced it when he joined the team.

  • Cultural Context

X.ado wants to include the freshmen into the group, and this exercise lets the new members get comfortable, and serves to further integrate them into the group. It teaches them about the group and influences them with the group’s culture. It’s sort of like a cultural boot camp for the new members. This ritual reflects the group’s attempt to create an inclusive culture.

Item:

X.ado brings their freshmen to a new member retreat. Freshmen introduce themselves to the group, exchange funny stories such as old love stories, and play icebreaker games to get to know the other new members and returning members.

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

https://youtu.be/2ueTizRurPs

Transcript of Associated File:

There are some things that we always do with our new members. One is right off the bat, we like to wake them up to welcome them into the group with a song that we sing every year in X.ado called ‘The Lord Bless You’. We come to their door, early in the morning after we’ve decided to take them into the group. We wake them up and sing to them, and then we go out to a diner and have our first breakfast with them. Everyone’s tired, but you know, you’re bonding and really exicted that you have these new members. We also have a freshman retreat, and we do things like ‘get to you know’, and ‘hot seat’, and get stories from the new members like they always tell us their history and love stories and stuff like that. It’s always really entertaining and just funny ways to get to know the new members, and kind of break the ice, off the bat.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • See transcript

Collector’s Comments:

This is something that other groups on campus do as well. At Dartmouth, doing little retreats like this makes sense, because people are typically very busy, and if they didn’t schedule an event like this, then no one would have time to sit down with each other and meet each other.

Collector’s Name: Marcus Reid

Compiled/Analyzed by: Afnan Enayet/Sruthi Pasupuleti

Tags/Keywords:

  • Acapella
  • Retreat
  • Initiation
  • Freshmen
  • New member