A rite of passage is a ceremony that marks a person's transition from one status to another. Birth, puberty, marriage, and death are the classic occasions. Arnold van Gennep, writing in 1909, identified three phases: separation, liminality, and incorporation. The person leaves their old status, exists for a time in a betwixt-and-between state, and then re-enters society with a new identity. Victor Turner later expanded the idea of liminality, describing it as a moment of ambiguity and potential.

These ceremonies are often dramatic. Initiates may be secluded, given new names, scarred, or taught secret knowledge. The ordeal matters. It marks the transition in the body and the memory. In many societies, the entire community participates, witnessing the change and confirming the new status. Without the ritual, the transition may be considered incomplete or illegitimate.

Common phases

• Separation: the initiate leaves the old life.
• Liminality: a period of ambiguity and testing.
• Incorporation: return with a new status.
• Community recognition seals the change.

Rites of passage are not just for the individual. They renew the group's understanding of its own structure and values.