成人礼的类型与特征

成人礼,又叫成年礼、成丁礼、入社式等,是世界上绝大多数原始民族和比较落后的民族都曾实行过的一种传统仪式,其具体形式多种多样,各不相同,但对象都是即将进入成年人行列的青年男女,目的都是以此表明他们从此以后就不再是孩子,而是大人了。世界各地形形色色的成人礼,大致可以归纳为四类:标志型、教导型、考验型和象征型。其共有的特征主要有:限定年龄、广泛性、民族特色明显、主要功能是标志“成人”等。

The Style and Character of Initiation Rite

Initiation rite,also called "rites of passage","puberty rites","ceremony for coming of age",have been used by almost every primitive nationality and relatively uncivilized nationality.Although the forms are very various,but the objects are the same: young men and women who will enter adult's ranks soon, the purposes are to indicate they are no longer children,but adults.Varied initiation rites all over the world,can roughly be classified to four kinds: Indicating type,teaching type,testing type and symbolizing type.Their mutual characteristics as follows: defined the age,the universality,the obvious national characters,the main function is to symbolize "the coming of growing up",and so on.