Editing Initiation (section)

===Types===
[[File:George Catlin - The Cutting Scene, Mandan O-kee-pa Ceremony - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|The {{lang|mhq|[[Okipa]]}} ceremony was a test for young [[Mandan]] men to prove themselves as warriors. The ceremony as witnessed by [[George Catlin]], circa 1832]]
* [[Puberty]] rites: "collective rituals whose function is to effect the transition from childhood or adolescence to adulthood."  They represent "above all the revelation of the sacred."
* Entering into a [[Secret Society]]
* [[Mystical]] [[vocation]]: "the vocation of a [[medicine man]] or a [[shaman]]." This is limited to the few who are "destined to participate in a more intense religious experience than is accessible to the rest of the community."
These can be broken into two types:
* [[puberty]] rites, "by virtue of which adolescents gain access to the sacred, to knowledge, and to sexuality-- by which, in short, they become human beings."
* specialized initiations, which certain individuals undergo in order to transcend their human condition and become protégés of the Supernatural Beings or even their equals."