Emerging From the Chrysalis Rituals of Women's Initiation [Paperback]

Now reissued in an expanded edition, this unique book offers the first full-length treatment of women's initiation rites in five cultures. Asserting the critical importance of such rites in a world dominated by men, Lincoln shows that in these societies women's initiation involves not only a transformation of the self but also of the cosmos. Considering initiation rites among the Tiyyar of South India, the Navajo, the Tiv of West Africa, and the Tukuna of the Northwest Amazon, Lincoln argues that unlike men's rites, women's rites do not impart a change in hierarchical status, but rather a cosmic change which offers religious compensation for women's generally low socio-political status. Lincoln concludes with a brilliant reconstruction of ancient Greek initiation rites based on his original interpretation of the Demeter and Persephone myth. With a new chapter and bibliography,Emerging from the Chrysaliswill be stimulating reading for those interested in ritual and its cultural impact.

Introduction
Talikettukalyanam: The Marriage of Opposites
Kinaald?: Becoming the Goddess
Tiv Scarification: The Pattern of Time
Festa das Mo?as Novas: The Cosmic Tour
The Rape of Persephone
On the Nature of Women's Initiations
Afterword: Rethinking Rituals of Women's Initiation
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Bruce Lincolnis Caroline E. Haskell Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions in the Divinity School, the University of Chicago.