Rites of Passage

Most societies have rites of passage - formalized events that mark major transitions in life. Marriage is one, birth of the first child is another. One that is quite strong in African cultures is the coming of age ceremony for young men and women. Kathy and I had the privilege yesterday of participating in the conclusion of this rite of passage for Seth Mairori, the son of Stephen and Roselyne Mairori, our good friends and national leaders.
















The traditional rite takes about a month and involves the separation of the boys of a certain age group (around 13 years of age) from their families. The boys are taken out into the bush or forest by a selected group of older men. They stay out for about a month, learning from their mentors what it means to be a Sabaot man and warrior. At some point the young men are circumcised. When the period is complete the new young men are reintroduced to their community as men who can now begin taking on the responsibilities and privileges of adulthood. They are also expected to leave the things of childhood behind. Typically the new young man would begin living in his own dwelling on the family compound.

One of the challenges facing Christian parents is how to keep their children connected with their culture, while remaining true to biblical principles. Stephen and Roselynne determined that there were aspects of this coming of age rite that they wanted Seth to experience, but there were other aspects they wanted to avoid. They enlisted the help of others, including Dr. Emmanuel Chemengich, a fellow Sabaot, and the Principle of Africa Theological Seminary, who is writing a book on the subject of creating Christian Rites of Passage for African young people.

Seth and his cousin became the age group and were circumcised at the beginning of the period. Then they lived apart in a specially-built shed on the Mairori property for 30 days. During this period they had no contact with the women of their household and were mentored by Dr. Chemengich in what it means to be a Christian man in today's society. Yesterday was the final day of the rite and about 70 family members and guests gathered to celebrate the event.

At the end of the event, Seth was presented with a few new responsibilities - a sheep from his family and a cow from the guest speaker, General Sumbeiywo, a retired Kenya military officer turned peace maker for Kenya. I had the privilege of brining a greeting as an ICM representative. I observed that this is one more area where we in the West have an opportunity to learn from our African brothers and sisters. What rites of passage do we have for our own sons and daughters to help them learn what it means to be godly members of our society?