Essay XX:  Generativity Three : Ceremony, Preservation, Display and Honor

 Ceremony

Many years ago a social analyst, Johan Huizinga (1968), propose that a unique feature of human beings is their ability to play and make believe. He used the term, homo ludens, to identify this special capacity. While many other animals spend considerable time in playful activities, human beings play in a particularly “big way” through the invention of elaborate ceremonies, parades, and other rituals. We know how to put on a good show and have invented many devices (e.g., movies, television, sporting events) to make them even bigger and more accessible to an expanding public.

Obviously, many of the big shows are intended for nothing more than entertainment. However, at other times these shows are meant to honor a person, event, community, or entire nation. We pass on a tradition through use of ritual. We initiate a young person through a rite of passage and ceremony. In many instances, initiation processes are coupled with Generativity Two mentoring. But there is something more than just mentoring that is involved in these initiation processes; the ceremonies are tangible manifestations of the tradition into which the young person is being initiated.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have abundant ceremony, honoring the young person’s achievement of specific competencies (merit badges and ranks). A variant on the scouting initiation process is also found in the YMCA and YWCA. These organizations honor young men and women at the start of their journey. Called the “Ragger” ceremony, the young man or woman receives a “rag” (kerchief) that is bestowed as a challenge for the initiate to meet an ambitious goal they have set for themselves. The kerchief is only a “rag” until the goal has been achieved. The young person then sets another goal and receives a different color kerchief that represents an even more ambitious personal aim. The Ragger ceremony, like the scouting ceremonies, uses the traditions and value system of YMCA/YWCA to encourage further development of the young person with the assistance of a Generativity Two mentor.