10 crazy rites of passage

Most cultures recognize the importance of rites. However, not all ceremonies are safe. Some can be completely fatal. The crazy ceremonies on this list mark the entrance of young people into adulthood. They also show excruciating things that people are willing to endure in order to earn respect.

10 PHOTOS

1. Naghol.

The jump is done with a vine instead of bungee ropes when bungee jumping and the target should be as close to death as possible. Performed by the people of Vanuatu, the jumper's goal is to scratch his head on the ground. If he survives, he is a man. Or a very, very lucky person.

2. Vision Quest.

Similar to the Aboriginal practice of sending young people to take care of themselves in the wilderness, many Native American tribes sent their young people out into the wild for several days during periods of strenuous fasting to find direction for their lives.

3. Sharpening mentawai teeth.

For the natives of the Mentawai Islands, beauty is extremely important. If a person's soul is dissatisfied with their body, they believe that the person will die. To beautify themselves, young Mentahuai women who have reached puberty sharpen their teeth with a stone and a chisel.

4. Fulbe face tattoos.

Fulbe women in West Africa must get tattoos on their faces before they are considered adults. The process takes several hours and is usually done with a sharpened piece of wood.

5. Ulwaluko.

Khosa boys in South Africa must be circumcised before being considered male. He is shaved and planted in the mountains, where he will live in seclusion in a hut built for him by his family. At the same time, the surgeon comes and circumcises the boy, after which he is not allowed to return to the tribe until he is healed.

6. Crypt.

As part of the Spartan training, the young Spartan would participate in the crypt, which was essentially an annual "war" against the helots (slaves). Boys as young as 12 will engage in murders using covert tactics they learned in school.

7. Scarification.

Although scarification is a common coming-of-age rite around the world, it is widely practiced by the Sepik River tribes in Papua New Guinea as part of the male initiation ceremony. This is just a small part of the ceremony, which lasts for weeks. Tribal elders use razor blades to slice young men all over their bodies in a pattern that accurately mimics the rough skin of an alligator. They believe that the alligator will then devour any semblance of a boy left in their bodies and they will become men.

8. Okipa.

For a Mandan boy to become a warrior, he had to fast for 4 days without sleep. On the 5th day, the boys were taken to a hut, where they were hung from the ceiling.

9. Mittens with ants.

Deep in the jungle of the Brazilian Amazon, the Sater Mau tribe lives. Young boys have to wear gloves filled with bullet ants, the bite which is considered the most painful. Ants cause paralysis and throbbing pain for 24 hours.

10. Female infibulation.

Practiced in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, this gruesome and often life-threatening rite is also known as female circumcision. During the procedure, the labia and clitoris are removed.