1. The Circle of Life: Four Universal Rites of Passage that Unite the “Human Family”
By Alan D. DeSantis

2. The Circle of Life
1) On the surface, our world and its people seem very different (if not outright strange)
Different foods, languages, Gods, clothes, etc.
2) Below the surface, however, societies share many commonalities that, at first glance, are not apparent
Philosophers call these “Cultural Structures”
3) One of the most fascinating commonality is the Four Universal Rites of Passage that Unite the “Human Family”

3. Four Universal Rites of Passage
Every culture celebrates . . .
1) Birth
We enter life
2) Coming of age
We enter into adulthood
3) Marriage
We enter life with a partner
4) Death
We enter the afterlife with the belief that we will be re-born
In essence, every culture believes that we all symbolically die and are spiritually re-born many times

4. Birth

5. Birth and Childhood
Ever society has a ritual to welcome children into the world and integrate them into the community
“When a child is born, they have only a physical existence; they are not yet recognized by their family nor accepted by the community. It is only by virtue of those rites performed immediately after birth that they are incorporated into the community of the living.”
-Mircea Eliade (The Sacred and the Profane)

6. The leaping man symbolizes the dangers of life
*The leaping man symbolizes the dangers of life. When he lands safely, the hazard has passed and the babies have been symbolically prepared for a safe passage through childhood
*This is symbolic of Jesus being safe from King Herod after hearing that the King of Kings was born. He ordered all male babies killed in Bethlehem. Jesus lived after Joseph and Mary escaped to Egypt
Burgos, Northern Spain

7. Ekundu-Kundu in Cameroon
*This mother paints her face and the face of her son to ask for the blessing and protection for her newborn
*For there is a danger of bad spirits
Ekundu-Kundu in Cameroon

8. “The world of early humans was dangerous
“The world of early humans was dangerous. The pregnant woman and mother and child were objects to prey for all manner of evil spirits; so it was that the crisis of childbirth came to be surrounded with precautions and prohibitions, spells and incantations, things to be done and things to be avoided at all costs.”
Eric J. Sharpe (Man, Myth, & Magic)

9. Palau, Micronesia *Mother remains isolated with her child for 4 days
*8 times each day she is cleaned by the midwife with coconut oil
*After the last bath, the mother in reintegrated into the society with her child
*This type of ritual bathing takes place also with the Navajos and followers of traditional Shinto Religion of Asia
*They all see seclusion rituals as a way of protecting the new mother and her community from the blood of childbirth, believed to be a 1) source of deep impurity and 2) dangerous power
Palau, Micronesia

10. *This Yeneni baby and mother went into seclusion for forty days after birth (sound familiar 40 days)
This is to protect 1) the community from the spirits that may be looking for the baby and 2) to mother and baby from the possible bad spirits of the community
*The baby is wrapped in swaddling clothes to recreate the security of the mother’s womb
*In fact, baby bonding is very common, from China, the Soviet Union and many Native American Communities (as well as American Parents)
Yemen

11. Northern Australian Aboriginals
*At this baby’s smoking, the mother and the grandmother first collect branches and leaves of the Konkerberry bush. They light the fire and toss crushed bark mixed with water and mother’s milk on the flames to produce purifying smoke. (I like the involvement of the grandmother)
*After the mother has waved her baby over the smoke, she passes the baby to the grandmother
*This smoke allows the baby to enter life with the multiple blessing of the earth mother and the mothers of the tribe
Northern Australian Aboriginals

12. St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in DC
*Pulled from the water, the babe is pulled from the water and held high by the priest for all to see
*A rite of passage that brings the newborn into the family of Christians
*Symbolically, 1) the child is brought from the dead (where no human can exist) to the living; and 2) the child is re-born as a Christian and a life of eternal existence.
St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in DC

13. “Every church still has its baptismal font in which initiates are bathed or symbolically drowned. After a figurative death in the baptismal bath, they come out transformed as reborn ones.”
C. G. Jung (Symbolic Life)

14. Coming of Age (Passage into Adulthood)

15. Coming of Age
To become fulfilled members of their society, adolescents must understand when 1) childhood ends, 2) adulthood begins, and 3) what their culture expects of them
Girls: In parts of Africa, South America, and various Native American communities, when girls begin menstruating, they are secluded and taught the art of womanhood by the older females in their community

16. Coming of Age
Boys: typically face an ordeal or trial where they earn and affirm their passage to manhood.
This can range from first hunts & ritual warfare
What ever the case, both sexes understand that the ordeal will officially mark their entrance into adulthood
They never think of themselves as children again

17. *The Congolese know that for the adult to be born, the child must symbolically die. With ghostlike masks of blue, they signify the phantom of their childhood.
*This ritual has been constantly evolving: They use to get initiated at 9 or 10 and animal were scarified
* Today, they are 16 to 19 and get gifts
Congolese Kota Boys

18. *Like generations of Apache women before her, this pubescent girl will be chanted into womanhood by the elders of her tribe.
*Over the course of four days, during an appointed time each summer, every one from her tribe will gather to help her enter the next stage of her life.
*First a ceremonial lodge is built with for main poles symbolizing 1) the 4 directions of the universe, 2) four seasons, 3) 4 stages of life, 4) and the 4 mythical grandfathers who hold up the universe (Christianity likes the #3)
*Next she is dressed by her grandmother in traditional buckskin and jewelry, who will guide her through the ceremony
*As the sun goes down on the first day, she is sprinkled with yellow cattail pollen, a symbol of fertility
*On the last day of the ceremony, the initiate must dance from sunset to sunrise for the well-being of her people. When the lodge is taken down, a final song is sung.
Apache Girl

19. The song chanted by all members of the Apache Tribe
“Now you are entering the world.
You become an adult with responsibilities . . .
Walk with honor and dignity . . .
For you will become the mother of a nation.”

20. Lesse girl, Zaire, Africa
*In Zaire, a girl prepares for her first menstruation ceremony
*She is secluded for one month with other girls her age.
*Men and boys are strictly excluded
*Older women of the community instruct the girls about sex and child rearing
*At the conclusion of she rites, the girls are presented to the community as new women. Among the Lesse, this involves an elaborate and joyous community feast sponsored by the family.
Lesse girl, Zaire, Africa

21. Seclusion and Womanhood
From the Zulus of South Africa to the Cuna of South America, seclusion is an almost universal response to the onset of menstruation in non-industrial societies. The menstruation hut is seen as a safe place where a girl may complete her physical transformation to womanhood while learning her adult responsibilities.

22. A girl in Cairo is circumcised
*Clitoridectomy, the ritual removal of the clitoris, is a rite so ancient that Egyptian mummies are believed to bear its mark
*Although illegal in many countries where it is practiced, the tradition is deeply entrench, and the laws against it are rarely enforced. In Egypt alone, it is estimated that 75% of its women are circumcised.
*Millions of women in some two dozen Muslim and sub-Saharan African nations have undergone this operation.
*Why? 1) It is seen at a passage into adulthood. The removal of the clitoris, considered to be a male vestige, ends a period of androgyny. 2) To curb passions of young girls; and 3) to discourage infidelity in married women
A girl in Cairo is circumcised

23. “One is not born, but rather becomes, a women.”
Simone De Beauvior (The Second Sex)

24. Kingston, Jamaica *Young Rastafarian Church members smoke Ganja
*Marijuana is a sacred herb (actually found in the grave of King Solomon)—why it is called Wisdom Weed
*Ritualistic smoking of tobacco is an expression of group bonding in numerous Native American ceremonies
Kingston, Jamaica

25. The use of “substances” in rituals
The use of incense, hallucinogens, or alcohol to alter the senses is a common initiatory practice worldwide.
In our culture, we will often . . .
1) Smoke cigars at the birth of a child
2) Toast champagne at weddings
3) Take wine at Christian communions
4) Do shots on our 21st Birthday
A rite of passage (close to death)

26. *A young man’s “virility initiation” reaffirms his connection to God and earth
*A sapling has been split and a sacred image of the Virgin Mary is attached to the inner surface.
*Then the parents pass their son between the halves of the halves three times.
*The sapling is bound together so it can grow to maturity with the sacred image deep inside it
*The boy is passed through a doorway of nature and god and has come out a man.
*Why is he naked? (like birth—his rebirth)
Quite Forest in Italy

27. *George Lucas, after reading Joseph Campbell, decided that the young Luke Skywalker needed a mentor and sage to help him out of childhood and into adulthood.
*As Campbell has wrote, many cultures still have tribal elders (both men and women) serving this role. America has lost them.
Yoda

28. *Near Pecos River, a father, reenacting an ancient rite, takes his son out for his first deer hunt.
Pecos River, Texas

29. The Importance of Hunting Around the World
While hunting is no longer a vital skill in most of the world, many people in traditional societies still consider the first hunt to be a necessary milestone on the road to adulthood.
1) Among the Kung in Namibia, a boy traditionally cannot marry until he has made a kill
2) Among the Yupik of Alaska, a passage to manhood occurs when a boy kills his first seal

30. Dani tribesmen of Indonesia
*Young Dani tribesmen engage in mock battles to hone the hunter-warrior skills that have traditionally defined their conception of manhood.
*Before the Indonesian government suppressed the activity in the mid-1960s, warrior initiates would fight neighboring tribes in full-scale battles.
*Now, the Dani have channeled this energy into ritual battles and archery competitions.
Dani tribesmen of Indonesia

31. Like American football, such games provide a
more harmless outlet for the warrior energy

32. *Teenage surfistas ride atop speeding trains swerving through the hills of Rio. If they touch the electric lines or fail to duck at the right moment, they risk serious injury or death.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

33. *Van*u*a*tu Jumpers (small Island of the coast of Australia)
*In Vanuatu, adolescents dive from 50 foot towers to prove that they are courageous enough to become men. Elastic vines attached to their ankles are just short enough to prevent them from crashing to their death (where bungee jumping came from)
Vanuatu Jumpers

34. “Boys everywhere have a need for rituals marking their passage to manhood. If society does not provide them, they will inevitably invent their own.”
Joseph Campbell

35. This is one explanation for the extreme popularity of Fraternities
throughout America

36. East Los Angeles A female street gang pummels a new member
This type of extreme punishment & endurance in initiation rights is common throughout most of the world. It is thought that the trial must be hard if the reward is going to be valued.
East Los Angeles

37. “Trials of strength and endurance are common to all initiations
“Trials of strength and endurance are common to all initiations. The adult must be brave in the face of danger and must be steadfast in the face of pain.”
Professor J. A. Jackson

38. *A Maasai woman in Kenya has her head shaved and her body painted with occre in preparation for marriage.
*The older she gets, the more her body will be adorned with piercing, decorative scaring welts, paints, and jewelry
Maasai woman in Kenya

39. American adolescents also ritualistically mark their bodies.
Is this to become part of, or separate from, the community?

40. Coming of Age
Western cultures have largely abandoned the initiation rites that honor the adolescent transition
“Modern society has provided adolescents with NO rituals by which they become members of the tribe, of the community. All children need to be twice born, to learn to function rationally in the present world, leaving childhood behind.”--Joseph Campbell
Consequently, we have too many men and women in “arrested development”—not becoming adults, acting like irresponsible children well into their 30s

41. *For many in the United Stats, coming of age is marked by enacting adult behavior
*Drinking and Sexual experimentation are often the first two adult acts that mark this “un-ceremonial” transition
Dallas, Texas

42. Prom Night--Louisville, Kentucky
*Prom night is a dress rehearsal for kids conception of adulthood.
*The ritual transportation is often a limousine
*The Dress is formal, and accepted behavior is to stay out all night, breaking curfew, one of those last vestiges of adolescence.
*For years, it was the night that many young women would lose their virginity
*As parents witness this, they become aware that their little girls and boys are entering a new era in their lives.
*Unlike other cultures, however, when the night is over, no new behavior or accountability is expected from the couple. It is all “play”, no actually “change”
Prom Night--Louisville, Kentucky

43. Prom Night—Papue New Guinea
*On the island of Losuia, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, teenagers from neighboring villages dance under a full moon at a festival that celebrates the yam harvest
Prom Night—Papue New Guinea

44. “Comparison of rites from all over the world suggest that these initiation rites themselves possess an archetypal structure, for the same underlying patterns and procedures are universally apparent.”
Anthony Stevens

45. Marriage

46. Marriage
For most of humanity’s history, marriage was more an alliance between families than a bonding to two individuals in love
Marriages were formed to reinforce kinship lines or improve the social or economic status of the families involved
Starting in Europe in the 12th Century, a new impulse began to take hold—Romantic Love
Marriage became about personal happiness
Today, our marriages join love, happiness, sex, procreation, finance, & family ties into one relationship
Without a doubt, the most complicated of all relationships
No wonder 51% of all marriages end in divorce
Are we asking too much from this one relationship?

47. A Berber girl in Morocco (and the legend of Isli & Tilsit)
*A Berber girl is married at timghriwin, the festival of bribes held yearly in the High Atlas of Morocco
*Traditionally, the desert people of North Africa arrange their children’s marriage. The Berbers, however, add their own romantic twist based on the ancient legend of Isli & Tilsit (it is their Romeo & Juliet Story—2 lover kept from each other, both killed themselves).
*Each autumn, the Berber families gather to sell their fruit, grains and meats and to marry their unwed daughters.
*With elaborate fanfare, parents conclude the arranged pairings.
*After 5 day ceremony, however, almost all of the young women obtain a divorce in order to marry someone else.
A Berber girl in Morocco
(and the legend of Isli & Tilsit)

48. *Families of the bride and groom attend a prenuptial meeting in Kyoto, Japan

49. Marriage Question #1 Question: Why are bridesmaids all dressed a like?
Answer: Roman law required ten witnesses to make a wedding legal. Several of these witnesses dressed up exactly like the bride and groom to confound any evil forces who might show up uninvited.
*There is no answer, however, why bridesmaids dresses are always ugly

50. *In Sydney, a young woman covers her face with a wedding veil to mark her status as a bride
*Wedding veils have been an integral part of the bridal costumes for at least 2,000 years. In Roman times, brides covered their entire bodies with red veils. These were symbols of purity and shield against malicious spirits that attended the sort of event.
*Nowadays, the veil has a more romantic function. When the groom lifts the veil, he sees the bride as if for the first time—not as a girlfriend or fiancée, but as the one women he has chosen as a lifelong partner.
Sydney, Australia

51. Marriage Question #2
Question: Why is the ring placed on the third finger on the left hand?
Answer: The ancient Greeks believed that a vein in this finger ran directly to the heart.
*Note: Because of an advertising campaign by the diamond industry in the 20th Century, we now all think it is customary to give diamond rings for engagements.

52. Lendak, Czechoslovakia
*At a wedding in Lendak, Czechoslovakia, married women in traditional dress dance in honor of the bride
Lendak, Czechoslovakia

53. Marriage Question #3
Question: Why does the bride stand to the left and the groom to the right?
Answer: Ex-suitors, romantic lunatics, and other thugs sometimes rushed the alter to take the bride. Thus, the groom needed to keep his right hand free so he could grab his sword.
*Lesson: Always steal the bribe of a left handed groom!

54. *This widowed couple in their seventies weds in the presence of 9 children from previous marriages, as well as 38 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
* In our culture, love and marriage is not just for the young—love is timeless
Louisville, Kentucky

55. Marriage Question #4 Question: Where did the term Honeymoon come from?
Answer: 4,000 years ago in Babylon, it was customary for the bride's father to provide his new son-in-law with mead (beer made from honey) for one lunar cycle (or one month). “Honey month” became “Honeymoon.”
*Note: Walt Disney World is the #1 site in America for Honeymooning (replacing Niagara Falls)

56. U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland
*A groom removes his bride’s garter, a traditional symbol of her virginity (it has “never” been removed before)
*By publicly removing her garter, this groom employs a Civil War-era ritual to claim his bride in front of other young men in his community
U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland

57. *A Romanian couple prepares for a wedding reception
*After taking Orthodox vows at the Monastery in northeastern Romania, the bride and groom await their arrival of their guests.
*In the poorer countries of Eastern Europe, an elaborate display of food serves as a public proof of the couple’s hospitality.
*It is just like our elaborate wedding receptions. Go to a cheap one (where the couple does not spend a lot of money and we the guests are pissed off!)
Northeastern Romania

58. Marriage Question #5
Question: How much money does the average American wedding cost (clothes, food, drink, etc.) ?
Answer: $21,000

59. Morocco *Wedding night in Morocco
*In most societies, marriages are traditionally consummated on the wedding night
Morocco

60. Wedding Nights Around the World
1) Among the Hausa of Nigeria, for example, grooms bring their brides gifts such as perfume and blouses to persuade them to be romantic
2) In Taiwan, a marriage is consummated on the wedding night, but only after the bride and groom are teased for a considerable amount of time
3) In Zambia, a bride walks backwards into her husband’s house and is escorted to her wedding bed by an older woman who has acted as her sex and marriage instructor. She presents her husband with fertility beads, each representing a future child.

61. “Every culture has a wedding ceremony that serves as a rite of passage for the two young participants. It marks the end of who they were and the beginning of who they will become.”
Marion Woodman

62. Death

63. Death When a loved one dies, we go through a gamut of emotions
Denial, bargaining, anger, depression, & acceptance (5 stages)
To help us deal with this pain—and to help us face our own mortality—societies throughout the world have created a diverse set of rituals
These rites all honor the deceased and consecrate their passage to the next world
Unlike most Eastern and non-industrial societies, modern Western cultures (including USA) seem to resist and insulate the reality of death
Don’t talk about it; If you do, you are morbid and depressing

64. “Death is the key to the door of life
“Death is the key to the door of life. It is through accepting the finiteness of our individual existences that we are enabled to devote each day of our lives—however long they may be—to growing as fully as we are able.”
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

65. In the Chinese tractions of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, death is the gateway to rebirth, and therefore, a potentially joyous occasion (as with Christianity and Judaism)
*Grieving, wailing, crying and other expressions of grief are encouraged as signs of love and respect for the deceased (as with our culture)
*On the morning of the funeral, the oldest male relative baths the body in water blessed by Taoist priest.
*Grieving relatives arrive wearing white, the color of death
*Along the route of the burial procession, firecrackers are ignited to ward off unfriendly spirits, and mourners prostate themselves under the passing coffin
*When the pallbearers reach the cemetery, family members each through a handful of dirt on the grave. This hands on participation in the burial, common to many cultures, allows the family to perform a positive act of closure
Taoist Funeral, China

66. *In the Transylvania region of Romania, young women who die before marriage become brides at their own funerals.
*According to local tradition, an unfulfilled soul can return to cause trouble for the living
Therefore, when unwed men or women of marriageable age die, they are given a symbolic wedding at their funeral. This act fulfills the life cycle.
*At her funeral/wedding, which takes place in the home, the Romanian bride is accompanied by family, friends and a bridesmaid in full regalia. A young man from the village stands by her coffin and recites the wedding vows before the priest.
*A small doll representing the child she will never have is placed by her side.
Transylvania, Romania

67. A Christian cemetery in Colma, California
*It is the custom in America to 1) burry the dead body in an expensive casket; 2) cover the ground with flowers; 3) buy an expensive grave stone with the dead’s name and dates; and 4) talk to the stone, as if it is a pathway to dead.
*Through the years after the death, it is also customary to go back to the grave yard and visit the stone (and continue the conversation). Outside observers would surely say we were crazy or primitive!
A Christian cemetery in Colma, California

68. Understanding our Rituals
1) Mourning clothing: Pagans dressed in different (special) clothes so that the evil spirits would not recognize them.
2) Covering the face: Once believed that the dead’s spirit would escape through the mouth & nose
3) The firing of gun shots (21-guns): Once spears were thrown in the air to try to hit the evil spirits covering of the dead’s grave
4) Why flowers: Floral offerings were originally intended to gain favor with the spirit of the deceased

69. The First Act of Humans
Traces of pollen discovered in burial caves in northern Iraq indicate that Neanderthal communities put flowers on the graves of their dead. So with bouquets of flowers or gravestones of marble, humankind has been marking the final resting places of loved ones for at least 60,000 years.

70. *Friends and family console a window in Soviet Moldavia
*Black for grieving
*Community support
Soviet Moldavia

71. Mourning the Dead
In nearly every culture, it is customary to set aside a circumscribed period for mourning.
During this time, friends and family provide support and comfort
1) In Papua New Guinea, for example, the entire community gathers to sing mourning songs.
2) In Australia, Tiwi communities go so far as to arrange a new husband for the widow, who then marries at the funeral.

72. *Three generations gather from a home funeral in Leatherwood, KY
*The mountain people of Eastern KY prefer to hold their funerals and wakes at home. So after the body is prepared at a local mortuary, it is brought back to the house
*Then, for two days and two nights, friends and relatives sit with the deceased.
*Children run in and out of the house and around the open coffin, acquiring a familiarity with death that serves them well in later years
Leatherwood, Kentucky

73. “Family and community involvement in death & dying rituals [like that found in Leatherwood] give individuals the comfort of shared responsibility and shared mourning. It helps all involved to view death as a part of life.”
Kubler-Ross

74. Dani people of Irian Jaya
*Funeral rites among the Dani people of Irian Jaya (on the Island of New Guinea on the Indonesia side) involved intense ritualistic interaction between the living and dead
*First, the property of the deceased is distributed among the community
*Then, fat from the freshly slaughtered pig is used to anoint the body
*The funeral pyre is lit, and kinsmen place the corpse on the fire
*While one man holds a bundle of grass above the body, another shoots the grass with an arrow, instantly releasing the spirit of the deceased.
*The following morning, a healer comes to the funeral compound to meet the prepubescent girls who have been selected to make the sacrifice. With a quick blow from a stone ax, a finger is amputated up to the second joint and thrown onto the dying embers of the funeral fire
*The children's hands, bandaged with banana leaves, serve as a reminder of the deceased for the rest of their lives
Dani people of Irian Jaya

75. Some (less-than-poetic) Death Rituals
1) Some cultures burn the body out of fear
2) Some simply run away from the dead, leaving them to rot
3) Zoroastrians left their dead to be devoured by vultures. To bury it would be a defilement to mother earth
4) In Tibet, dogs are used for this purpose, believing that those eaten by dogs will be better off in the other world
5) Many African tribes still grind the bones of their dead and mingle them with food to be eaten

76. *Traditionally, when a jazz musician would die, his band, or another band, would play a crucial role in the funeral.
1) the band meets at the church or funeral parlor where the services are being conducted
2) Slow and sad: After the service, the band leads the procession slowly through the neighborhood. The mood in generally somber, and the musical selections are taken from Christian hymns (“Just a closer walk with three”). There is no improvisation by the band
3) Happy: When a respectful distance from the site has been reached, the lead trumpeter sounds a two-not preparatory riff to alert his fellow musicians. Now, the band sheds it solemnity in favor of music more conducive to lively, even joyous, activities on the part of the family & friends. The band is announcing to the community the good news that another soul is on its way to heaven.
4) Grand Marshal: Playing an important role is the grand marshal, who may be a band member or a member of the same social or benevolent club as the deceased. His demeanor (head erect, expression solemn, dressed in a black tux, white gloves, black hat held held in his hand) is crucial to the dignity of the procession on the way to the gravesite. He is responsible for setting the tone and energy during the jam march.
*When the returning brass band is heard in the distance, that sound announces the impending arrival of a public celebration. Out come the umbrellas, many of them elaborately decorated, that seem to be more about styling than protecting the nature’s elements. Those who are able fall in behind the band and follow them to the party.
New Orleans, LA

77. Indian Funeral Pyre Find picture
*Probably the strangest rite was practice among the Hindu in India prior to being outlawed by the British. The practice was known as suttee, or wife burning. The wife of the deceased was expected to dress herself in her finest clothing and lie down by the die of her deceased husband on the funeral pyre and be cremated alive. The eldest son lit the pyre.
Indian Funeral Pyre

78. Bathurst Island, of the coast of Northern Australia
*It is customary for Tiwi mourners to paint their bodies and cut and burn their hair at funerals.
*The Tiwi believe that dead spirits are lonely and try to take their friends and family with them
*Mourners are therefore considered to be in a state of spiritual danger, and must disguise themselves.
Bathurst Island, of the coast of Northern Australia

79. “Do not go gentle into the good night, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
Dylan Thomas
(writing of his father’s death)

80. A Baimi tribesman of Papua New Guinea
*While modern cultures resist death, many traditional societies see it more naturally as part of the life cycle.
*Various Native American communities, for example, give accounts of relatively young people in good health who not only have premonitions of their exact moment of death, but actually invite family and friends for a last visit.
Such s the case of this Biami man in Papua New Guinea.
*He felt that sorcery had been worked on him, and that it was his time to die. He lay down on a mat and, over the course of a day, literally willed himself to death.
A Baimi tribesman of Papua New Guinea

81. Concluding Thoughts The importance of this finding
1) We find that there are 4 universal rites & rituals that all cultures enact —regardless of race, religion, & ethnicity
2) We find that these universal rites & rituals supply each culture with meaning and significant to their lives
3) We find that at a deeper cultural level, we are a lot more alike than we are different

82. The End