1.Objective facts:
ex.
Statue of Liberty
For the many immigrants that flocked from Europe to New York, the Statue of Liberty was the first image they saw of the USA. The statue was a gift from the French government for the 100th birthday of America's Independence.
Statue of Liberty
Design
The statue was designed by a young French sculptor, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, who was striving to build a statue like the great Colossus that once stood at the Greek island Rhodes.
The statue's face was modeled after his mother's and the story goes that the body was modeled after a prostitute.
The crown of Lady Liberty, as the statue is often affectionately called, has seven spikes, symbolizing the Seven Seas across which liberty should be spread. In her left hand she holds a tablet with the Declaration of Independence and in her right hand a torch, symbolizing Enlightenment.
Source: http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/statueofliberty.htm
2. Subjective opinions:
ex.
Top 10 Bizarre Cultural Rites of Passage
The many, many different countries on our earth mean that a vast amount of differing cultures have developed. Each society has set their own beliefs, superstitions and traditions on how to live. The British are well known for the tradition of getting together on a Sunday for a roast dinner whilst the Americans are more famed for celebrating Independence day which is of course the 4th of July. But the further you venture in to less tourist occupied countries of the world, the weirder the traditions seem to get (at least to most of us anyway). Probably because western influences, believe it or not, haven’t reached or indeed had any impact on the traditions or rituals of some small communities still tucked away in other corners of the earth and they have amazingly survived relatively untouched by today’s technological advances and leaps forward. Hence, some of the traditions followed and openly practiced are dangerous, extremely painful and are certainly crazy sights for us westerners to see today. A hundred or so years ago I’m sure we wouldn’t have flinched much. But be warned, we are now so western that you may find some of these rituals crazy and probably extremely disturbing…
So I am about to share with you some rather strange traditions which date back many centuries and generations. Although odd, I am certain that they will continue to practice these rituals that their ancestors followed for much time to come yet despite however bizarre and horrid they are!
So here are 10 bizarre cultural rites of passage…
10. Scarificaion
This may seem alarming but perhaps it is more shocking to know that although a relatively new trend amongst Tattooists and those who favor body modifications, this is set to become big business in the western world! The act of scarification in Papau New Guinea, amongst the Sepik River Tribes, has been taking place for generations. Boys are taken away from their families for days on end in order to suffer thousands of cuts with razors. This act transforms them from boy to man and once they have healed the patterned skin then resembles the skin of a crocodile. I just can’t imagine the pain these young boys must feel, especially since I can’t even stand one paper cut myself!9. Blood Ritual
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That’s right, this next ritual brings us right back to that lovely country known as Papau New Guinea. This is a tradition that is believed to rid boys of their mothers bonds so that they can effectively change from a boy and in to a man, a warrior. The Matausa tribe believe that if the boy doesn’t complete the ritual he will be forever tied to his mother and will therefore never be considered a man, which in turn will effect him for the rest of his life.
The blood ritual starts with them self inducing vomiting by repeatedly shoving thin canes down the young boys throats. They then push reeds up their noses to bleed out their mothers influence. Lastly, they are then subjected to the torturous pain of being repeatedly stabbed in their tongue.
8. Land Diving
Both a harvest ritual and a rite of passage at the same time the art of land diving has caused a huge tourist attraction. The men and boys of the island of Vanuatu in the Pacific climb 30 meter rickety wooden towers before tying vines to their ankles and jumping headfirst towards the ground. Miscalculations in the vines length can have horrific consequences causing awful injuries or even death. When the boys land dive, their mothers throw items away also that represent their childhood. After completing these terrifying leaps of faith these boys are considered men.
7. Bullet Ants
An Amazon tribe perform a ritual with bullet ants which is believed to take young tribal men and transport them into manhood. This is done by the bullet ants being firstly dipped in a liquid which knocks them out so that they can be woven into mittens made of leaves. Once the ants awaken from their slumber, the men don these mittens and will dance for 10 minutes, all the time enduring the ants very painful stings. The pain can last up to 24 hours and cause convulsions. These tribesmen will perform this painful ritual several times in their lives to prove themselves as men.
6. Cow Jumping
In Ethiopia, for Hamer men to have the right to marry, they must jump naked over the backs of castrated cattle in order to be rid of their childhood. Once the ritual has been accomplished, the man is then welcomed into the ranks of “Maza” in the tribe. According to Wikipedia, the man-to-be must “jump the cattle” four times to be successful (only castrated male cattle and cows may be used to jump over). This test is performed while naked (except for a few cords bound across the chest) as a symbol of the childhood he is about to leave behind him.
5. Warrior Ritual
The Mandan Indians used this ritual to transform their young men into warriors. The ceremony began with the bison dance, then the men wouldn’t eat, drink or sleep for 4 days. They were then led into a hut where they would endure the pain of having wooden skewers pushed through their chest muscles, all the time maintaining a smile on their faces (of course). They would then be suspended from the hut ceiling until they fainted. After they woke they would proceed to chop off both their little fingers as an offering to the spirits. Only then would they be known as mighty warriors.
4. Male Circumcision
For the Xhosa in South Africa , male circumcision is a celebration of a boy becoming a man. His head is shaved and he is offered a feast in preparation for the ceremony. He is then lead to a remote area where his family built a fortified hut for him free from animals and insects. Here he stays until his wound has healed which may be several weeks. The worst part is that the surgeon removes the skin with a dull knife and no anaesthetic is used at all. He is not allowed to scream in pain or he will not be seen as a true man. The boy is finally left alone in his hut in agony. He is not permitted by tradition to eat fresh food or drink water while he is healing. Nor does he see any of his family. Infections and STD’s from the overused and under cleaned knives is the biggest danger after the surgery.
3. Whip Match
For the Fulani People in West Africa, the tradition of these bloody whip matches still lives on in our modern times. For boys to be considered men they must endure 3 painful blows from their opponent who is wielding a long sharpened stick which is used as a severe whip. This match not only tests the boys strength, self control and bravery but also sorts the men from the boys once and for all. How you handle these blows is a testament to your manhood.
2. Tribal Tattoos
Again, the Fulani Tribe have a tradition of Tattooing their young women who they feel are ready to move on into adulthood (and you thought it was just the boys who endured such rituals). A respected member of the tribe uses a black dye to mark out patterns and shapes on the girls face, many with different meanings. Every girl in the tribe has a different tattoo. Needles are bound together and are then used to create the tattoo by puncturing the skin through the dye. These girls will endure the pain of this slow process for anything over 3 hours without moving, flinching or even crying as this is the Fulani way.
1. Female Genital Mutilation
In Uganda, a horrid tradition is still been upheld in the Sabiny Tribe to this very day. The ceremony of female circumcision of young women and girls (some as young as 6) is the disgusting process of removing part or all of the girls clitoris in order to keep her faithful to her husband. It marks her passage from a girl to a woman. Many of these girls are left with horrendous infections and awful scars both physically and mentally and that is if they actually survive as many women don’t! But this is thought to prove her strong enough to withstand anything her life can throw at her.
I hope this gave you a bit of a better understanding of how other cultures in the world still practice traditions that have been around for hundreds of years, even if some of them are very brutal and really need to be banned. That’s all for this time….
Demon Chick xx
Source: http://totallytop10.com/lifestyle/culture/top-10-bizarre-cultural-rites-of-passage
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