Menstruation is a cultural as well as scientific phenomena as many societies have specific rituals and cultural norms associated with menstruation. These rituals typically begin at menarche and some are enacted during each menstruation cycle. The rituals are important in determining a status change for young girls. Upon menarche and completion of the ritual they have become a woman as defined by their culture.
Rites of passage
editFor young women in many different cultures the first Menstruation is a marker that signifies a change in status. Post Menarche the young woman enters a stage called maidenhood, the stage between Menarche and marriage. [1] There are cultures that have in past centuries, and in present, practiced rites of passage for a girl experiencing menarche.[2]
Celebratory ceremonies
editIn some cultures a party, or celebration is thrown to show the girl's transition to womanhood. This party is similar to the Quinceanera in Latin America, except that a specific age marks the transition rather than menarche. In Morocco, the girl is thrown a celebration. All of her family members are invited and the girl is showered with money and gifts.
When a Japanese girl has her first period, the family celebrates by eating red-colored rice and beans (sekihan). The color of blood and the red of Sekihan are not related. All the rice of ancient times of Japan was red. Since rice was precious in ancient Japan (Usually, millet was eaten), it was eaten only at the festival. Sekihan is the tradition of an ancient custom. The celebration is kept a secret from extended family until the rice is served.[3]
In some Indian communities, young women are given a special menarche ceremony called Ruthu Sadangu.[4]
The MescaleroApaches place high importance on their menarche ceremony and it is regarded as the most important ritual in their tribe. Each year there is an 8 day long event celebrating all of the girls that have menstruated in the past year. The days are split between feasting and private ceremonies reflecting on their new womanly status.[5]
Religious rituals and/or ceremonies
editIn Nepal, Kumaris are young girls worshiped as goddesses by Hindus and some Buddhists, at the onset of menarche it is believed the goddess spirit vacates her body and they are returned to ordinary life after a series of rituals.[6]
Rituals of learning
editIn Australia, the Aborigines treat a girl to "love magic". She is taught the ways of womanhood by the other women in her tribe. Her mother builds her a hut to which she confines herself for the remainder of her menses. The hut is burned and she is submerged in the river at the end of menstruation. When she returns to the village is paired with a man who will be her husband.[3]
In the United States, public schools have a sex education program that teaches 4th grade girls about menstruation, and what to expect at the onset of menarche. Historically menstruation has been a social taboo and girls were taught about menarche and menstruation by their mothers or a female role model. Then, and to an extent now, menstruation was private matter and a girls menarche was not a community reaching phenomena.[7]
Rituals of cleansing or purification
editThe Ulithi tribe of Micronesia call a girl's menarche kufar; She goes to a menstrual house, where the women bathe her and recite spells. She will have to return to the menstruation hut every time she menstruates. Her parents build her a private hut that she will live in until she is married.[3]
In Sri Lanka an astrologer is contacted to study the alignment of stars when the girl experiences menarche because it is believed that her future can be predicted. The woman of the family then gather in her home and scrub her in a ritual bathing ceremony. Her family then throws a familial party at which the girl wears white and may receive gifts.[3]
In Ethiopia, Beta Jewish woman were separated from male society and sent to menstruation huts during menarche and every menstruation following as the blood associated with menstruation in the Beta Jewish culture was believed to be impure. The Beta Jews built their villages surrounding and near bodies of water specifically for their women to have a place to clean themselves. The menstruation huts were built close to these bodies of water.[8]
Rituals of transformation and scarification
editIn Nigeria, the Tiv ethnic group cut 4 lines into the abdomen of their young girls during menarche. The lines are supposed to represent fertility.[3]
Rituals of strength
editThe Navajo have a celebration called kinaalda (kinn-all-duh). Girls are expected to demonstrate their strength through footraces.The girls make a cornmeal pudding for the tribe to taste. The girls who experience menarche wear special clothes and style their hair like the Navajo goddess "Changing Woman".[3]
The Nuu-chah-nulth (also known as the Nootka)believe that physical endurance is the most important quality in young women. At menarche the girl is taken out to sea and left there to swim back.[3]
- ^ School-age pregnancy and parenthood: biosocial dimensions. New York: Aldine De Gruyter. 1986. pp. 273–275. ISBN 0202303217.
- ^ Hartman, Holly. Girlwonder: Every Girl's Guide to the Fantastic Feats, Cool Qualities, and Remarkable Abilities of Women and Girls. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
- ^ a b c d e f g Siegel, Alice (1995). Information Please Girls' Almanac. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0395694582.
- ^ Chockalingam, K. Census of India, 1971: A. General report.
- ^ Crawford O'Brien, Suzanne J. (2005). Suzanne J. ABC-CLIO.
- ^ Narayan, Purkayastha, Anjana, Bandana (Kumarian Press). Living Our Religions: Hindu and Muslim South Asian-American Women Narrate Their Experiences. Kumarian Press. ISBN 1565492706.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Freidenfelds, Lara (2009). The Modern Period: Menstruation in Twentieth Century America. JHU Press. ISBN 0801892457.
- ^ Tal, Ilana (2004). Exploring the Meaning of Becoming a Woman in Non-Western Culture: A narrative Analysis of First Menstruation Stories of Ethiopian Jewish Women. ProQuest Information and learning Company. p. 64.