Formal rights of passage have been used in many cultures and permit adults to monitor and aid the transition. Formal rites of passage are beneficial to society because they permit others to help in the transition, and an opportunity for the entire group to adjust to the new status. Rites of passage typically involve religious, symbolic, and musical or other artistic expressions. They reaffirm the values of the society and provide a clear delineation between the rights and obligations of the individual before the passage and after. Rites of passage occur at birth, puberty, marriage, menopause and death.
Initiation rituals are often parts of the rites of passage.
In some African tribes as well as in the Muslim tradition, circumcision was used as a part of the rite of passage from puberty to manhood. Modern Western society has abandoned most rites of passage for puberty. We retain important rights of passage for marriage and death, although these too are changing. Give some examples. African-Americans from Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton.