article
Boys' initiation rites among the Luguru of eastern Tanzania
Anthropos • 75 (3/4) • Published In 1980 • Pages: 369-382
By: Brain, James Lewton.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Luguru youth are initiated into adulthood through extensive rites. For boys, the rituals involve isolation in a remote forest where they receive secret instructions as a group on a range of issues, including sexual intercourse, personal hygiene, politeness, and other preferred practices. For girls, the initiation instead requires living in isolation in a dark room for several months. This study discusses boys' initiation rites as having both symbolic and sociological functions relevant for understanding psychological tensions and power differentials between genders, generations, and lineage groups.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Puberty and initiation
- Ceremonial during infancy and childhood
- Techniques of socialization
- Sex training
- Transmission of cultural norms
- Functional and adaptational interpretations
- Gender roles and issues
- Gender status
- Naming
- Avoidance and taboo
- Adolescent activities
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Luguru
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Eastern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi Abate Adem; 2020
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1965-1966
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1965-1966
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Uluguru Mountains, Morogoro Region, Tanzania
- NotesAdditional notes
- James L. Brain
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 381-382)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 07021775
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Luguru (African people)