Rites of Passage in America

A traveling exhibition organized by The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies
June 22, 1992 - January 2, 1995

This Internet publication has been supported by
a grant from The Equitable Foundation
Table of Contents
  • Preface
    John Tenhula
  • Acknowledgments
    Gail Stern and Pamela Nelson
  • Introduction
    Gail F. Stern

    • Essays:

  • The Life Cycle: Folk Customs of Passage
    Steven Zeitlin
  • Art and Rites of Passage
    Jill Leslie McKeever-Furst
  • Reviving Rites of Passage in America
    Pamela B. Nelson

    • Case Studies:
    "Doing the Month" and the "Full Month" Party: Chinese Birth Traditions in America
    Quinceañera: Latino Sweet Sixteen
    Mehendi Party: A Pakistani/Indian Pre-marital Tradition
    Edin Toa: Akan Baby-naming Ceremony
    Day of the Dead: Mexican Memorial Traditions
    Sunrise Ceremonial: An Apache Girl's Coming of Age
    New Rituals in Jewish Tradition
    Unyago: An African-American Initiation into Adulthood
    Kiddushin: An Interracial Lesbian Wedding
    African Funeral and Memorial Traditions in America

  • Selected Bibliography

    • Catalog scanned and converted to HTML by David Toccafondi