PSW

• Cultural rites of passage

  Rituals or ceremonies that mark important stages in a person's life
• Rite of passage


  A ritual or ceremony that marks important stages in a person's life
• South African society consists of many diverse cultures. Each culture has its own rites of passage
• Birth rituals


  Rituals of blessing, introducing the new born child to the community, giving the child a name
• Cultures covered


  • Xhosa
  • Sotho
  • Afrikaner
  • Muslim
• Xhosa birth rituals


  • Imbheleko ritual to introduce the baby to ancestors
  • Still practiced by some, but many urbanised Xhosa do not follow strictly
• Sotho birth rituals


  • Soaking the father with water if firstborn is a girl, beating the father with a stick if firstborn is a boy
• Afrikaner birth rituals


  • Christening or baptising babies
  • Naming first son after husband's father, first daughter after wife's mother
• Muslim birth rituals


  • Whispering the Muslim call to prayer in the baby's right ear
  • First taste is something sweet
  • Shaving the baby's head, circumcising boys
  • Sacrificing sheep and distributing the meat
• Circumcision is performed on the eighth day of the boy's life during the day. Only boys are circumcised
• Circumcision is done for hygenic reasons but is also seen as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jewish people and that they will continue to multiply and make Abraham the father of many nations
• A pregnant woman sews a sash, called a garter or wimple, for a Torah scroll. If the new born is a son, the sash is used on the torah from which he receives his bar mitzvah Aliyah, and then once again the Aliyah on the Shabbat before his wedding
• Xhosa babies are often named after events, like a thunderstorm or lightning, or wishes the family may have
• Wedding


  A ceremony during which two people are united in marriage
• Wedding traditions and customs covered

  • Zulu
  • Hindu
  • Islamic
  • Buddhist
  • Western
• Zulu wedding


  • Celebrated with bright colours, beautiful beaded necklaces, izicholo (headdresses), singing, dances, and mock fighting of ukugiya (imaginary enemies)
  • Entire community usually attend
  • Groom pays lobola (wedding price) for the bride, groom's family gives valuable gifts including cattle
• Hindu wedding


  • Rituals and festivities in days leading up to wedding
  • Applying henna to bride's hands and feet
  • Nikaah (wedding ceremony) performed by maulvi (priest) in presence of family
  • Bride and groom share a sweet piece of fruit after ceremony
• Islamic wedding


  • Separated into pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding
  • Pre-wedding celebrations heighten excitement
  • Wedding makes marriage official
  • Post-wedding rituals celebrate the marriage
  • Can be lavish affairs with hundreds of guests, or smaller more conservative weddings
• Buddhist wedding


  • Simple ceremony focused on love and commitment of the couple
  • Often held in garden or house of relative
  • Couple may go to temple for monk's blessings after legal marriage
  • Celebration with vegetarian food, singing and dancing
• Western wedding traditions


  • Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe
  • Traditions believed to bring good luck for the marriage
• Jewish boys and girls do not get their names at the same time
• Vegetarian


  No meat, poultry, fish or seafood
• Vegan


  No animal products like eggs, milk and cheese
• Something old, something new; Something borrowed, something blue; And a silver sixpence in her shoe


  • Something old
  • Something new
  • Something borrowed
  • Something blue
  • Silver sixpence
• Something old


  Relationship between the bride's family and their history
• Something new


  Optimism and hope for the couple's new life together
• Something borrowed


  Bond between the bride and her family and friends
• Something blue


  Symbol of loyalty and purity
• Silver sixpence


  Blessing for the couple's financial prosperity
• At no point do the bride and groom exchange vows in a traditional Zulu wedding ceremony
• The Zulu marriage has taken place once the symbolic cutting of the past has taken place with the bridal knife
• Besides the festivity and frolic that mark the days leading up to the wedding, the families of the prospective bride and groom hold a special Sangeeta (singing) session
• The bride and groom exchange rings during the mangni or engagement ceremony
• The nikaahnaama is a document in which the marriage contract is registered. It contains a set of terms and conditions that both parties must respect
• The groom receives blessings from the older women and offers them his salaam (a respectful salutation)
• The groom's mother holds the Qur'an above the head of her new daughter-in-law as she enters her new home for the first time
• The chauthi is the fourth day after the wedding when the bride visits the home of her parents. She receives a joyous welcome on this day
• Death


  Symbolises the changes that takes place after a person has died. These changes involve not only the person who died, called the deceased, but also the family and community. During this period of change, people prepare the body, pay their respects to the dead, share stories remembering the person and express their sorrow
• Beliefs about the meaning of death

  • Muslims believe there is another world, or paradise, after death
  • Baha'is believe the soul lives on after the body's death and starts a spiritual journey
  • Hindus believe death is part of the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth
  • Buddhists believe death is only part of an ongoing process of reincarnation until one receives enlightenment
  • Jews believe death in this life will eventually lead to resurrection in a world to come
  • Christians believe death is a passage from this life to the new everlasting life promised by Jesus
• Customs associated with death

  • Body is either buried in a grave or cremated and the ashes kept in an urn or scattered
  • Body is first laid in a coffin
  • Muslims and Jews bury their dead in special cemeteries within 24 hours, with Muslim graves facing Mecca
  • Hindus cremate their dead and scatter the ashes in water
  • Traditional Africans bury the deceased facing their home, except for those with violent deaths who are buried facing away