Rites and Symbols of Initiation

by Mircea Eliade, Willard R. Trask (Translator)

Organizing data from cultures the world over, Eliade lays out the basic patterns of initiation: group puberty rites, entrance into secret cults, shamanic instructions, individual visions, and heroic rites of passage.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Mythology, Philosophy, History, Psychology

175 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Romanian-born historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, professor at the University of Chicago, and one of the pre-eminent interpreters of world religion in the last century. Eliade was an intensely prolific author of fiction and non-fiction alike, publishing over 1,300 pieces over 60 years. He earned international fame with LE MYTHE DE L'ÉTERNAL RETOUR (1949, The Myth of the Eternal Return), an interpretation of religious symbols and imagery. Eliade was much interested in the world of the unconscious. The central theme in his novels was erotic love.

Reviews

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know what kind of descriptive blurb is called up on your screen when you scan through the description of this book, but the one I get on my screen is grossly misleading.

Let me digress for a moment...

I read this wonderful MUST-READ by the then world-famous anthropological writer Éliade in 1967. This book, though, said we must REDISCOVER the Ancient Rites of Initiation.

Something rotten in the state of Denmark? Now it’s just a bit too obvious to me that we must be wary of books - like Greeks - bearing gifts.

The self-reflection that brings wisdom is best carried out in a solitude quite beyond the glitz of Book blurbs.

I was just getting whiffs in the air around me of such rotten goings-on back then in 1968 - in the summer in which I first enrolled in my new Alma Mater, Button-Down U. - which in turn would lead me to use this theme of rebirth incessantly in my Freshman and Sophomore essays for the English Department.

You got it.

I wanted to “follow... right to the bottom of the night.”

But meanwhile my stories were making me some rather outre Unknown friends in other faculties. People DO talk in the faculty lounges.

More about THAT bizarre phase of my Magical Mystical Tour in the SECOND part of this tiresome tell-all-treatise-cum-book-review!

Anyway, so I read Éliade’s book again, the summer of 1969 at home, and as I read of its outlandish primitive capers I thought I smelled a rat. For yes, a nearby rat fit the bill quite aptly. So I shut up - wisely, don’t you think?

But the theme I kept sitting on was, unbeknownst to poor me, a poorly-disguised IED. And that grizzly part is my next exposé.

Here it is:

When the summer of my Junior Year in '69 commenced, I had been made busier than a lone wallpaper hanger. Yeah, sure, same ruse agin...

When the last straw was added to my chock-full-o-nuts job jar, I rather gracelessly imploded. Time to recall the scouts, right?

And naturally when I returned to Button-Down U. in the fall, I meant at the outset to select a subject of minor concentration (along with my English major), and so I walked over to the Classics Faculty - classical literature in the original languages after all, used to be an admirable side-order for lit students.

And of course the intra-faculty scouts there were ready and waiting - waiting to get comfy & cozy with, and Corner me. And I KNOW this is old hat to my ‘old-boy’ pals! But here goes...

The dénouement of this fable will be obvious to all.

The rat in my home town was ready to squeal, and though I hadn’t cut off its tail, I was appropriately sequestered, iced, and prepared for the meat market - just like our friend Bill Kerwin tells it in his delightful new tale, Big Sleep Boogie (read my review)!

EXCEPT I had first read THIS (Éliade’s) book when I was seventeen, and again, at nineteen.

And therefore didn’t give my controllers - under sequestration - an INCH OF MANEUVERING ROOM! I had a fuzzy feeling that the vein of rot ran deep and all I had ever wanted was to be left alone.

Yeah, they threw every known legal chemical in the medical reference books at me - and some downright illegal - and they cowed me. But they didn’t BREAK MY RESOLVE.

Or my will -

No way.

And now, 53 years later I’m VERY happy in my old age, as I Wait for God.

For I made the right choice, and have found Peace.

The end of all our searching
Is to arrive back in the Place we Started
And KNOW the Place for the first time.

[Philippe Malzieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eliade is a key to understand religion and spirituality. In this book, he describes the rite of passage in different country, in no occidental people. It's surprising to discover that the rites of passage to adult are at the same dimension in Africa or Oceania. And it's also the same in secret society where initiation begin by a symbolic death, for exemple in Free Mason.
It appears to be so important that we can be anxious that this phenomena desappeared in our countries.

[Antoniolarsongmail.com · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but repetitive and cursory.
Author set out to show the similar themes in many world initiation rites. In the end, there was not that wide a spectrum of themes, so he proved his point, but the study listed same examples over and over.

i was finishing this book at physical therapy, with a bag of ice on my shoulder. i couldnt help overhear an older lady across the room update a therapist on her family. apparently her adult son was till having delusions of being decapitated and murdered. this was quite startling to me, since i was reading a paragraph at that moment about how one of the common tropes of shamanic initiations was being dismembered, decapitated, and disemboweled by higher forces and spirits. in order to usher in a death and rebirth into the enlightened state necessary in the shamanic path. when i left the physical therapy office i noticed an elder gentleman with a marines baseball cap entering, and outside, a cadillac running with the passenger door open and the elder lady sitting. i approached and excused myself for overhearing of her son. she told me "yes, the doctors are not very hopeful for his condition to improve and are not quite sure what to make of it. " i read her the paragraph in Eliade's book and shared that maybe we couldnt quite understand, but he was actually on a classic death/rebirth arc toward a more enlightened state. she thanked me fot he positive spin as her husband returned. he asked me if everything was alright and i said "yes sir. we were just finishing our conversation. she can fill you in on the details" and i left

[Ángela D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha parecido interesante pero bastante pesado y con una estructura repetitiva, no me gusta el estar más de 100 páginas de libro describiendo diferentes tipos de rituales, no significa que no me parezca interesantes, al contrario, simplemente que buscaba otra cosa en el libro

[Jacqueline Horsfall · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who enjoys mythologist Joseph Campbell's books, this is a wonderful in-depth look at the birth-death-rebirth theme in world mythology. I re-read Eliade's study every few years to remind myself of what's really important in this life.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful research on mysteries of birth and rebirth, folk heroes and magicians, tribal ritual ceremonies and so on ...
What ever written by Mircea Eliade about Myth, religion, ritual and traditional ceremonies, is highly knowledgeable and worth to read ...
این کتاب با عنوان "آیین ها و نمادهای آشناسازی" توسط نصرالله زنگوئی به فارسی برگردانده شده و انتشارات آگاه در 1368 آن را منتشر کرده است.

[Ehsan Mohammadzadeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

آشناسازی یا تشرف "initiation" مفهومیه که به طور ضمنی و پراکنده باهاش آشنا بودم ولی این کتاب برای طبقه‌بندی کردن دانسته‌های پراکنده‌ام کمک بزرگی بهم کرد.
اگر بخوام یه تعریف کوتاه ازش داشته باشم یه جور استحاله‌اس. آیین‌هایی که برای عبور از مراحل مختلف زندگی و تغییرات جسمی، روحانی قرار داده شده‌ان و تاریخچه‌ای پیش از تشکیل ادیان رو داره که بعدها نمادهاشون تو ادیان به کارگیری شدن. از مهم‌ترین موارد آیین‌های آشناسازی هم دوران بلوغه، و همچنین تبدیل شدن شخص به جادوگر در جوامع بدوی.
از بخش‌های مرتبط به جوامع بدوی کتاب بیشتر استفاده بردم، و افسوس که الیاده روی آشناسازی بین‌النهرین، ایران، نورس، چین، افریقا، شمال افریقا و روسیه کار نکرده. امیدوارم بتونم منابعی برای این مناطق هم پیدا کنم.

[Nick Mather]

As one of the primary figures in comparative religion, Eliade's work is always foundational. He pulls together information from anthropological reports to piece together patterns that seem to be inherent in initiation rites the world over. The emphasis on this book is on small-scale socieites (he uses the term "primitive" which has since been dropped by anthropologists). Despite the possibly dated and problematic anthropological reports, Eliade does ask a good question: Do we lack any meaningful kind of initiation rites in our modern culture?



The chapter on shamanism is fascinating, though pales when compared to his larger work on the subject. The final chapters examine the classical mystery traditions and how these initiatory rites were eventually absored into Christianity - though he is careful to point out that the earliest formation of Christianity was not influenced by the mytery traditions, that this was a later development.



An interesting book, that seems to stand the test of time, though a more thorough examanition of whether it does based on post-colonial studies is definitely in order.

[Josh Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of religions, early Christian and Pagan conflict, hermetic practice, shamanism, yoga or secret societies. If one wants to get a grasp on perennial archetypes, and the supposed psychodrama that lies within mankind's time eternal, Eliade is the one to read. He is for the person of adventurous faith and of unquenched skepticism.

[BonGard · Rating 3 out of 5]

آیا سنت‌های توارثی خود را بخاطر تاریخی تروماتیک از یاد خاهیم برد؟

[Mohammad Mirzaali · Rating 4 out of 5]

آیین‌های تشرف مناسکی‌اند که فرد «مبتدی» طی آن‌ها از زندگی نامقدس قبلی خود جدا می‌شود و حیات مجدد و مقدس می‌یابد. فرد با برپایی این آیین عضوی از یک اجتماع یا انجمن دینی سرّی می‌شوند یا منزلت شَمَنی و ممتازی از می‌یابند. الیاده این آیین‌ها را از جوامع و ادیان ابتدایی تا مسیحیت تحلیل می‌کند و تفسیر شگفت‌انگیزی از عناصر مقوّم آن به دست می‌دهد

[Avni Alper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eliade’nin Antropolojide yer alan tüm alan araştırmalarında yer alan inisiyasyonları ve mitlerdeki inisiyasyonları bir araya toplamış ağır bir bilimsel eser çıkarmış ortaya inisiyasyon ve ayinleri merak edenler için okunması çok da kolay olmayan bir eser

[Robert Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant study

I highly enjoyed this book. I liked how the author blended the disciplines of theology, anthropology, philosophy, and psychology. What was especially striking to the me is how many similar correspondences could be found across various cultures regarding how people would be initiated and the various yet similar ways this was done.

Finally, I loved how the author reminded us of some of the wonder we have lost as we in modern and postmodern society lose our grasp of the language of symbolism, and how much it enriched the lives of the ancients. I highly recommend this book to the deep thinker.

[Arman · Rating 4 out of 5]

این کتاب مجموعه سخنرانی های الیاده در هاسکل(شیکاگو) است.
یکی از دیدگاه های اولیه‌، سری بودن تشرف در ادیان است بنابر این آنچه بدست آمده قطعی نیست و مدارک و مستندات محدودی در دسترس است بنابر این الیاده با توجه به این محدودیتها اطلاعات نابی در اختیار ما قرار می‌دهد
بازگشت به رحم، تولد دوباره، قربانی، گوشت خواری آدم خواری و...
با خواندن این کتاب اولین واکنش تعجب است از این دنیای عجیب آدمها
و پی می بریم چقدر مدنیت انسان تصنعی و متزلزل است

https://taaghche.com/book/40525/

[Edric Unsane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked by how much research must have went into this work. Don't let the page count mislead you, as the book is beaming with details and elucidations. I highly recommend Rites and Symbols of Initiation.

[Talvez... · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este livro mereceria quatro estrelas pela clara explicação dos temas e motivos iniciáticos presentes em várias épocas e vários locais, mas a parte final do livro, em que o autor investiga o Cristianismo e as sociedades modernas, é bastante valiosa (e um pouco ousada).

[Vahid Masoumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب خوبی بود ولی خواندنش برای من که مخاطب تخصصی این موضوع نیستم و صرفاً می‌خواستم اصل موضوع رو آشنا بشم زیادی بود. کتاب خیلی آکادمیک نوشته شده، پر از ارجاع و مثال و ضمیمه. یک پنجمش هم برای من کافی بود.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The lectures that earned E a place at Chicago.

[Siscanova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am citit-o pentru cursul de antropologie si am indragit-o imediat. Cel mai mult mi-a placut partea cu motivele literare si initierea in literatura.

[Birch · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK

[Kevin Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dangerously close to being, within its two covers, pretty much everything you want out of a small, compact book about myths and rites, Mircea Eliade's "Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth and Rebirth" concerns itself with initiatory scenarios such as group puberty rites, entrance into secret cults, shamanic instruction, individuals visions, and heroic rites of passage. Laying out the wealth of evidence for the probity of his thesis, Eliade, along the book's journey, describes the Kwakiutl indigenous tribe's initiatory rites, with their use of the "World Tree," or axis mundi; Australian aborigine's use of the bullroarer (and its corelated use by Koretes in archaic Crete); and the Eleusian Mysteries, where initiation material informed the content of that important religious rite. Professor Eliade even brings evidence of initiatory elements in Medieval tales such as "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and the tales of the Holy Grail. As the man himself put it:

"It is as if initiation and its patterns were indissolubly linked with the very structure of spiritual life; as if initiation were and indispensable process in every attempt at total generation, in every effort to transcend man's natural condition and attain a sanctified mode of being."

Like the dichotomy between Innocence and Experience in the Blake poem sequence of the same name, rites of this sort separate the child from the man (or woman). The dysfunction of our society (gangs, suicide, general anomie) and the continued presence of initiatory "traces" in our pop culture point out the continued need for mentors, rites, and structure in our society.
Luckily for us readers, we have Eliade to point this out for us, in prose that is smooth and supple. A good book this is!

[Bahman Bahman · Rating 2 out of 5]

تشرف معرّف یکی از مهم‌ترین پدیده‌های معنوی در تاریخ بشریت است. در معنای جدید کلمه «دین» تشرف عملی است که تمامیت زندگی فرد را درگیر می‌کند. در جوامع بدوی و کهن از طریق تشرف است که انسان آن چیزی می‌شود که هست و آن چیزی می‌شود که باید باشد وجودی که بر حیات روح گشوده می‌شود و از آن پس، شخصی است که در فرهنگی سهیم می‌شود که در آن پا به هستی گذاشته است. زیرا همان‌طور که به‌ زودی خواهیم دید، تشرفِ مرحله بلوغ، بیش از هر چیز آشکارسازی امر مقدس است و در چشم‌انداز دنیای بدوی، امر مقدس نه‌ تنها به معنای هر چیزی است که ما اکنون از دین می‌فهمیم، بلکه به‌ معنای کل مجموعه سنن و روایات اسطوره‌ای و فرهنگی قبیله است. در بسیاری از موارد، آیین‌های بلوغ از جهت یا جهاتی، به‌ طور ضمنی به پرده‌‌برداری از مسائل جنسی اشاره دارند اما در کل دنیای پیشامدرن، جنسیت نیز در امر مقدس سهیم بوده است.

کوتاه سخن آن‌ که داوطلب از طریق تشرف، پا ورای نحوه وجود طبیعی نحوه وجود کودک خود می‌گذارد و به وضعیت و شرایط فرهنگی دست می‌یابد؛ یعنی او با ارزش‌های معنوی آشنا می‌شود و از آن‌ها آگاهی می‌یابد. از یک نقطه‌ نظر می‌توان گفت که در جهان ابتدایی انسان‌ها از طریق تشرف است که به جایگاه موجود بشری می‌رسند؛ پیش از تشرف آن‌ها هنوز به‌ طور کامل به زندگی دینی دست نیافته‌اند. به این دلیل است که تشرف نمایانگر تجربه‌ای مهم برای هر فردی است که عضوی از جامعه پیشامدرن است؛ این تجربه یک تجربه بنیادین‌ هستی‌ شناختی است زیرا انسان به‌ واسطه آن این قدرت را پیدا می‌کند تا به‌ طور کامل تن به نحوه وجودی جدید بدهد.

[Robert]

Religia și sentimentul de sacru sunt două lucruri esențiale în viața unui om, dar și a unei societăți. Cred că, indiferent de alegerile personale făcute în acest sens, este foarte important să avem cunoștințe elementare despre modul în care oamenii și-au satisfăcut această nevoie de sacralitate de-a lungul timpului, modul în care au intuit anumite realități, în care și-au trăit viața sacră etc. De aceea, Nasteri Mistice nu este o carte destinată (doar) specialiștilor, ci una potrivită oricărei persoane ce vrea să aibă o cultură de bază.
Mai multe aici: https://www.pov21.ro/2020/07/04/ce-am...

[Sebastian Oprea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone interested in religious history, early religions, and shamanism should read this. As Eliade said, "religion has become the unconscious that lies buried in the deepest strata of man's being."

Oricine care este interesat de istoria religioasă, de religiile timpurii și de șamanism ar trebui să citească această carte. Cum a spus Eliade, „religia a devenit inconștientul care sta îngropat în cele mai adânci straturi ale ființei umane.”

[Jeni Ferret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep review of many puberty rites, initiatory ceremonies and shamanic initiations throughout the world. An excellent supplement to any study of religion, mythology, or archetypes. Focuses on the effect of these deep seated ideas in the psyche and their transmutations in today’s world through literature and cinema. Stresses the importance of these events subconsciously even though we don’t actively practice them any longer. A great read.

[Jonas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. Feel a similar way as when I'm reading Jung. Finally one who takes the totality of human experience seriously.
you will learn many things, from the value of stories in general to the role of religion in modern society, and how exactly it disappeared - to the degree that it has - from the conscious of modern man in the first place.

[Norman Bennett Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book which includes data from many different religions. Eliade elucidates the perennial motif of birth and rebirth as the initiatory window into transformation and regeneration. This book holds many keys to understanding human spirituality and religion.

[Mehmet Kalaycı · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not just referring to this book, but to all Mircea Eliade's works. Regardless of your ideas and beliefs, I believe it is important to read Mircea Eliade for his insights into the interpretation of mythology, spirituality and religion.

[David Lugo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante pero repetitivo, esperaba algunos ejemplos de ritos modernos o en la actualidad.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic look at how mythology ties into the rituals of primitive religions. It was very interesting and well-written. I'd recommend it to anybody with an interest in these topics.