When I was in first grade, our teacher told us to choose a hero and explain our choice to the class. Like many other little girls, I chose my mother, so I drew my own picture of the two of us and presented to the class the stories of this wonderful woman, who I called "the best mother ever", I meant it, and I do Still. I then described what it meant to be the woman of our house as much of a beast as my little seven-year-old self could do. But now, as a student, I choose to revisit that proud speech I gave, wondering what it means to become a woman, but, more importantly, what anthropological ritual known as the rite of passage she followed to earn this title. I will demonstrate or question this rite of passage by referring primarily to the anthropological writings and beliefs of Victor Turner. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayA rite of passage is defined as the passage between two structures in society. The two structures in my example range from my mother as a child to becoming a woman. Unlike other girls, my mother's journey into womanhood was not marked by a day dressed in white, a Quinceanera, or a special birthday, etc. Instead she found herself on the other end of the spectrum dressed in black, mourning the loss of her mother and her life. mentor. It's never a good time to lose a loved one, but for a 16-year-old, it's an especially difficult time to deal with a loss like this. Not only has she lost her mother, but also the person who was supposed to guide her through the changes a teenager faces at sixteen. This rite of passage that he experienced is marked by three phases, as explained by Arnold van Gennep (1909): Separation is the first stage of the rite of passage and marks the loss of one's identity, as well as the end of one's status in society, so that the path towards a new one can begin. Her mother's death in a car accident, waking up in the hospital without her, and attending the funeral marks her separation from being just a child in the house and begins her journey to a new role in life. The funeral is there to assist family members and friends at a time of change and to say goodbye (to the person and stage of life). It's also where I've found the most symbols come into play (the symbols seen in the reading of "Original Venda Hustler" are an important part of the rite of passage, as they mark the phase of life a person is going through ( McNeill, 2016 : 197)). During the church ceremony, a candle was lit to symbolize her life as light and allowed to burn as family and friends remembered stories about her and the life she led. Towards the end, as the coffin was carried out, the candle went out to show that his life had come to an end. Another significant symbol was the shoveling of earth onto the lowered coffin. Here the family is literally part of the burial process and says goodbye physically and emotionally (the symbolic meaning). The liminality phase is when one does not belong to any group in the social structure (Turner, 1996: 94). But it can be seen as a time when you learn what the rules and obligations of your new role are and how to fill them (if you don't learn the rules of your new status you can cause conflict in society). This happened for her after saying goodbye at the funeral and having to take on her new role at the wake (where she learned to be a woman, a feminine and caring figure). At the funeral he was no longer alone.