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Right of Passage?

Well lately ive been thinking about my heratige.

Mostly Hispanic, and small parts of Native American. And Ive been thinking of some of the rituals that were and are practiced. i recently read an artical where a Mother took her son out into nature, and proceeded to eat some peyote as a right of passage.

How many of you parents would be offended if your kid came up to you with a proposition to something similar?

Ive been thinking about asking my Mom but worry how she would react. Same thing Ive been wondering about asking my Dad as well.
 
If you have spent your life dedicated and living the traditional ways of the native culture of the Hispanic country or the Native American tribe of your ancestral heritage then you’re right on target. But if that were the situation, you wouldn’t be posting this question would you? To pick and choose from a list of traditional rituals until you find something that strikes your interests and then attempt to justify acting out this ritual by leaning on a traditional background that you don’t have would be quite hypocritical.

Do like most mature young adults would do when spurred to more deeply investigate their curiosities.
Organize an adventure, get a small group together consisting of people with similar curiosities and head to southern Mexico for spring break. Score on some peyote, find your own in the wild or BYOP and then locate the nearest, coolest jungle environment the area has to offer and trip your butts off while watching the monkeys swinging from the trees. In short, do what you’re gonna do and leave mom and dad the hell-outta it. Quit torturing them with your silly whims. They have gotten you this far through life, so they must doing their job. You’re a young adult that is soon to be outta their nest.
Save these thoughts and desires, jot them down if you must and at a later date (*like when your out on your own and at least semi-self supportive) review them, if they still interest you, go for it.

*RE: Later Date/Semi Self-Supportive
As we mature from child/young-adult/adult, we build our own support system….or at least we’re suppose to.
Act’s mentioned by yourself and I in the above post can result in unanticipated fall-out, aka collateral damages.

Before you have the right to knowingly act on such desires you have to have your own support system in place.
Before tripping on peyote or heading off to a foreign land with the intent of tripping on peyote, a responsible person should first have:

A. Studied up on the subject to the point of having a above average knowledge of what they are getting into.

B.Suitable Medical Insurance just incase you find yourself in a Mexican jungle saying something to the order or “Dude, Idunno what that was but it wasn’t peyote, I’m feeling weird and my lips are turning an odd shade of green”.

C.Bank Account preferably one that isn’t dependant on next weeks paycheck to have a positive balance.

D.Somebody To Call Upon other than mom or dad that would be capable and willing to help you in your **time of special need.


**RE: Time of Special Need/ Somebody to Call Upon
This can and should consist of both a responsible friendship and professional base of individuals that are your very own personal contacts.( friends friends don’t count here) These individuals should include, but not be limited to a friend that would be willing and able to care for you if you were to find that peyote, or what you first thought was peyote doesn’t agree with your system. You know somebody that would house you, feed you and wipe your butt while you spend a couple months in a coma. For professionals, you should know a good attorney that has a proven track record of dealing with substance abuse convictions in and out of the country. Line C above applies here, be ready and able to afford such services. Inquire, ask questions, and be responsible.....

If the above criteria can be met, party on bud, in my book you would be considered a somewhat responsible adult with full rights to do what ever turns your crank…..

Until then, try being cool where mom and dad are concerned, your actions and even your comments affect them you know. You have been their little project for a lot of years, show a little more respect for there efforts. Think of doing something wild like getting a standard issue "good boy" haircut for your graduation photos. It could be like a prize or a gift to them from you, something they might hold onto as representation of the efforts, pain and agony they have been through while raising your lame butt.

Have a great Thanksgiving!!
 
A very well thought out response Igrow. You have both literary and cognitive skills.
 
No offense dude, but considering you lead a very modern life, and just read this article a little while ago, it sounds to me like you just want to trip and not have some deep, spiritual journey into manhood. Is this really a rite of passage to you, or is this an excuse to get high?

And it's not like your mother has a tolerating eye on drug use, and it's not like the two of you are on the best of terms considering your trouble at school. Assuming your dad is really cool about drug use, he's probably like everyone else and leads a very modern life with little attachment to the rituals of his ancestors. If that's the case, it loses any significance it really ever had. I'm just hypothesizing, since I don't know your family. Look at me. I'm part Indian (1/16th, but it's something) and you don't see me hunting buffalo or performing rain dances. I'm mostly Irish but you don't see me performing Celtic magic or whatever it is my ancestors did.

Now if you're serious about this, you don't have to go through any (meaningless in my opinion to the modern person but it's fine if you disagree) rituals to somehow legitimize yourself. Once you're 18 your an adult in this country. I'm stoked about it and I didn't perform any Celtic magic or smoke any peace pipes :) I don't feel any less fulfilled about not performing any rites. I'm happy I've made it this far :)
 
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you do realize very few tribes took peyote right? it has a rather limited range compared to all the tribes.....i know it has nothing to do with the Lakota and Assiniboine up here.
 
you do realize very few tribes took peyote right? it has a rather limited range compared to all the tribes.....i know it has nothing to do with the Lakota and Assiniboine up here
X2

do you even know the name of the tribe you descended from? Native American culture was very heterogeneous and varied. Anything that can be assumed to be true of a certain group of peoples at a certain point in time cannot be assumed to be true of all them. Peyote was restricted in the area we know of as the USA to the regions adjacent to the Rio Grande valley… anything for peoples beyond that area has no real historical cultural significance.
 
Thanks for all input, it is greatly appreciated!

Jlap, im sorry you think I just "want to get high"

The past two years, with any drug use, I meditated, and didnt do it just to get high. If i wanted to do that I would do a variaty of other drugs. Its not just peyote im thinking about, some areas the indigenous people took Cacti called Sanpedro which has similar alkaloids that Peyote has. Im more hispanic than any thing. Its not just the native americans I know, but its just something I want to do for fun (sure that will be apart of it, but allot of it has to do with entering adult hood).

Thanks for the input

happy thanksgiving guys!
 
Anyone can take a drug. I'd do something more grueling, like a vision quest. Rites of passage are difficult; that's the whole point.
 
The assumption that a drug can help you reach manhood is about as accurate as assuming that once you reach a certain chronological age then you automatically become a man. You will meet 40 year olds that you could never call in good conscious a man, and you will meet some of your peers who may seem to have already reached that point. Adult does not always = man. Its more of a thing of behavior that everyone reaches at their own speed. If this will make you think you are a man, it may make it so in your own mind, but only your actions will make it so in the eyes of everyone else.
 
  • #10
Drugs are stupid, and it also sounds like you're trying ot think of an excuse/justify it. If you want to do some things "your people" used to do, go kill a buffalo or a bear with a spear. Eating psychoactive cactus makes you stupid, killing a bear with a stick makes you a man (if you survive). Good luck ;).

But I agree with earlier comments, you are modern as hell compared to those people. My people used to put people in the iron maiden, make beeer out of wild yeast that was teeming with bacteria and unpalatable, not bathe but once a year, etc. Its 2007 and life is good. Just because people you descended from did it doesn't make it right or give you an excuse to do the same.
 
  • #11
How does it make you any more stupid than getting wasted? If anything it's safer than getting way too wasted. And how are drugs stupid when you yourself love beer? Come on dude... Ethanol is a drug. It's a legal drug but it's still a drug.

Saying that this custom may or may not be "right" seems a little... closed minded. It's not up to us to judge the customs of ancient people. At least when it comes to harmless things like this.
 
  • #12
Jlap, im sorry you think I just "want to get high".......... but its just something I want to do for fun.....................


:headwall: :headwall: :headwall:


also San Pedro was used by only a few high altitude tribes in Peru and Chile.........why n the hell do you try and blow smoke up our rears? you want to get high and are looking for an excuse to justify it. re-read Igrows' post.........prolly one of the more well thought out posts on drug use ive seen in awhile...........
 
  • #13
You know Rattler, you keep doing that and it is going to give you a headache...
 
  • #14
already have one :grin: older brother showed up for the first time in 18 months.......keep forgetting how much bigger he and my baby brother are than i am......we went rounds till Dad got pissed and made us stop :grin:
 
  • #15
already have one :grin: older brother showed up for the first time in 18 months.......keep forgetting how much bigger he and my baby brother are than i am......we went rounds till Dad got pissed and made us stop :grin:

well now there's an appropriate story for a thread about growing up. :-))

nep ak, my feeling about this sort of thing is, as long as you don't hurt anybody, including yourself, do whatever floats your boat. But I think some very good points were made about your parents' involvement. ::applauds Igrow:: A very big part of growing up is doing things without mom and dad's help. If you really do want to do this for the right reasons, then demonstrate your maturity by waiting until you can do it by yourself, from the planning to the finances to the risk both medical and legal. I would think that not relying on them would make for a more legit and satisfying coming-of-age experience anyway.
 
  • #16
Eating psychoactive cactus makes you stupid, killing a bear with a stick makes you a man (if you survive). Good luck .

Ok, I actually kinda disagree with this. Eating a psychoactive cactus doesn't make you stupid. I may make you ACT stupid for while. And one can certainly be stupid about how one goes about doing it, but the act in and of itself isn't stupid.

Attaching a bear with a sharp stick, on the other hand, is galacticly stupid.
 
  • #17
Attaching a bear with a sharp stick, on the other hand, is galacticly stupid.

it is? dang it...............prolly should head out and find my brother before he finds a bear.....i told him he had to bring home a bear skin rug using only a wooden stick in order to become a man.....sorta left out the the part about a rifled piece of steel attatched to the "wooden stick"..........hope he hasnt found Yogi yet.............ill talk to you guys later............
 
  • #18
the Inuits had a pretty great way...piss off a bear, then hit the ground and point a 12' spear at them...and hope they fall on it and die before you do :D. Now THAT is a right of passage.
 
  • #19
phission.............look up Sasha Siemel........i really have my doubts a lone spear man would go after a polar bear and expect to survive
 
  • #20
I don't think they do/did it totally alone....I would probably have my doubts of me surviving alone with a gun vs. a bear. I guess its like how the Amazonian tribes used to hunt anacondas...work in teams of 2 or 3
 
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