WHY IS VIOLENCE A TYPICAL FEATURE OF INITIATION CEREMONIES?
The ‘rites of passage’ is an integral part of the human life course. We constantly go through different rites of passages in our lives; Birth, confirmation, marriage, and death to mention a few. Initiation as a rite of passage is defined as when a person goes from one state of life to another. Initiation marks a transformation in which the person is ‘reborn’ into a new role. In many cultures around the world, it means going from social childhood to adulthood (La Fontaine, 1985). It can also mean a ritual a person has to go through in order to gain entrance to a group or society. Initiation, as we see it in both modern and pre-modern societies, demonstrates a tendency to include violence in its rituals. In this essay, I shall attempt to explain why most initiation rituals include violence, and why it is seen by many as a necessity to the rite of passage.
Some of us might think of American fraternities (Greek Letter Organisations) when we hear the word initiation ceremonies, and indeed, the initiation ceremonies of fraternities and sororities at American colleges are infamous for their hazing of initiates/pledges. Hazing is defined as ‘‘any activity expected of someone that joins a group, which humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers its victims.” (Edelman, 2005, p. 310) This violence of their initiation rituals can be life-threatening and downright stomach-turning. An example is The University of Dartmouth where a fraternity forced their pledges to
‘swim in a kiddie pool of vomit, urine, fecal matter, semen, and rotten food products; eat omelettes made of vomit; chug cups of vinegar, which in one case caused a pledge to vomit blood(…)” (https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/confessions-of-an- ivy-league-frat-boy-inside-dartmouths-hazing-abuses-238604/).
This physical and psychological abuse is a tradition in many American colleges. The biological effects of and psychological reasoning for this violence in initiation rituals are explained by Van der Kolk, who said:
“People sought increased attachment in the face of danger. Adults, as well as children, may develop strong emotional ties with people who intermittently harass, beat,
and threaten them. The persistence of these attachment bonds leads to a confusion of pain
and love.” (Van der Kolk, 1989, p. 15)
His explanation for violence is easily applied to the hazing of the pledges in fraternities. The initiates will grow attached to the fraternity and feel loyal to the brotherhood after going through the violent initiation. I would also argue for the possible explanation of violence in initiation ritual as a means to get control over and loyalty from future members of the fraternity. Hazing of newcomers could also be a way to ensure the social order in the Greek Letter Community.
However, fraternities did not invent hazing in initiation rituals. Violence and terror is an integral component of initiation rites in Papua New Guinea (Whitehouse, 1996). Among the Orakaiva clan in New Zealand, initiation of boys into adulthood is an extensive process. The function of the rites is to instil ‘absolute and lasting terror in the candidates’ (Schwimmer, 1973, p.177). The initiation begins with the novices being isolated in a hut for several months while observing a taboo on washing and speaking (Iteanu,1990). After this period of isolation, the initiates are blindfolded by hoods and herded into the village. Here they are brutally attacked by senior men who assume the guise of spirits. After this, a new period of seclusion commences. This period is longer, from 3 to 7 years. During this period they learn to play sacred instruments. Now the novices make their debuts, entering the village brandishing spares and stone clubs.
The spiritual background for this abusive and extensive initiation ritual is explained by Bloch (1992). He explains that the Orokaiva tribe use porcine and avian imagery in an effort to explain the world. They see pigs as the biological aspects of humans. The pigs are integrated into their society and their deaths are mourned. Further, the spirit and extraterrestrial are represented by birds. During the initiation debut, a ritual/symbolic murder of the initiates as pigs with the parallel butchering of the pigs by the initiates takes place, as an emphasis of their past inhumanity. The initiations purpose is not to kill the initiates, but rather the pig aspect of them. They return to the village as changed persons; killers rather than victims, hunters rather than prey.
The violence and terror among the Orokaiva would be traumatising and terrifying for the children involved. These children who are going through a rite to be allowed to join the adult society is a good example of Van der Kolk’s explanation of the desire of attachment to the new community in the face of shared trauma (Whitehouse, 1996). By pushing home to the initiates their past nature as mere pigs and then reversing this process by having the initiates butcher the pigs, the violence of the initiation succeeds in isolating the initiates and pulling them back to adult society by forcing them to confront they past natures as animals. (Bloch, 1992)
The violence of the Orokaiva initiation is duplex. There is the physical violence of the seniors attacking the initiates, and emotional violence of long periods of isolation. Furthermore, there is physical violence of butchering pigs, as well as the emotional violence of the ritual murder of the pig-aspects of the children. As mentioned, both the physical and emotional violence lead to a greater level of attachment between the initiates and their new adult community. The bonding growing from this violence can be said to validate the inclusion of violence in the Orokaiva initiation rituals. Whitehouse describes a direct correlation between the violence in the rites of the Orokaiva initiation and the emotional impact these rites had on the initiates involved (Whitehouse, 1996).
Violence is also an integral part of the initiation rituals of the mafia. Sicily in Italy is infamous for their mafia and the influence the Sicilian mafia has had on the city. The mafia initiation ceremony involves significant ritual, oaths, blood, and an agreement by the initiate is made to follow the rules of the Mafia. In Sicily, the first known account of their initiation ritual dates back to 1877 (Gambetta, 1993). Since then, specific components within the mafia have remained unchanged. The ritual of initiation represents the most prominent example of such a constant in mafia history.
Tommaso Buscetta, an ex-mafioso, offered a testimony in 1984 in which he provided the investigators with valuable insights into ‘Cosa Nostra’ (the mafia). He described the initiation ritual in great detail. He explained how an initiate was taken to a secluded place, in the presence of three or more mafiosos. The oldest would tell him the aim of ‘Cosa Nostra’ (the mafia) was to protect the weak and eradicate abuse. Then, the boss read the fundamental rules of the society and the initiate’s finger was cut and its blood dropped over a holy image of a saint (Merlino, 2013). He explained:
“The image is placed in the hand of the novice and set on fire. At this point, the
novice, who must endure the burning by passing the sacred picture from one
hand to another until it burns out completely, swears his loyalty to the principles of ‘Cosa Nostra.’ He repeats in a solemn way: ‘May my flesh be burned like this sacred picture if I betray the oath’
The purpose of the violence and intimidation in the mafias initiation ritual is testing the initiates acceptance of the leader’s authority, as well as demonstrating his ability to endure the physical pain and follow orders from his superiors. Further, the fire that burns the holy picture and the initiates hands is the symbol of purification and destruction of the previous life of the initiate, as he now is initiated into a new life. While the blood smeared on the picture could be explained as a “dominant ritual symbol” (Turner, 1969). In addition, violence in this context is used to make a clear point of what will happen to the novice if he ends up betraying his new ‘family’, as well as creating an attachment to the other mafiosos. The initiation ceremony creates a bond of solidarity and a collective spirit of unity. Furthermore, it marks the hierarchical boundaries within the structure of the mafia.
Violence is prominent in most initiation rituals cross cultures and places. Whether it is in the Orokaiva tribes extensive initiation ritual to join the cult community, the initiation ceremony to get into a fraternity at a US college campus, or if its an initiate leaving his previous life behind to join the mafia, violence is an integral part of the rites. Violence in all these instances is essential to the initiation in order to achieve certain goals. The violence, shared trauma, and collective experience during the initiation leads to psychological and biological consequences for the novices. They will feel a strong attachment to the rest of the group and build a bond that will last. It also makes the initiates loyal to the group/community. Violence is also used to demonstrate control over the new members and assure obedience. These are some of the reasons for violence in initiation rituals and why it is seen by many as a necessity to the rite of passage.