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AFL1501 Assignment 6: A ceremony
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LANGUAGE THROUGH AN AFRICAN LENSASSIGNMENT 6
COMING OF AGE – A 21ST
It will be my 21st birthday this weekend. I’m coming of age. I will be an adult now. Or will I?
Literature studies and observations indicate that ceremonies surrounding births, marriage
and death are common to most cultures, although the meaning and form of the ceremonies
may differ. There is, however, a ceremony that seems to be more particular to my culture
(Afrikaans), and that is the “21st”. In this paper, this coming of age ceremony will be
discussed in more detail, in terms of origin, language and cultural significance.
The Ceremony
In South Africa, the age at which one becomes an adult in terms of the law, is eighteen. At
that age you may obtain a driver’s licence, you may get married without requiring legal
consent from your parents, you are allowed to vote and you are allowed to purchase liquor.
Eighteen is also the age at which you matriculate, given that you started school at the age of
six and passed all your years. Culturally, however, the age at which you are deemed to
become an adult is twenty-one. This birthday is usually a big affair, often in the form of a
dinner and dance, to which friends and family members are invited. At the ceremony, the
parents of the birthday boy / girl will give a speech welcoming the young person into
adulthood and handing them an ornamental key: a symbol for unlocking life or, more
mundanely, to be able to come and go from your parents’ home as you please.
Origin
Although not part of the Afrikaans culture, it is interesting to note the origins of the 21 st
birthday celebration. The significance of the age dates back to medieval times, when young
men trained to be knights (www.greatrace.com.au/blog/the-origins-significance-of-the-
21st-birthday/). The training period was subdivided into three stages spanning seven years
each. A boy’s journey to knighthood began at age seven and lasted to age thirteen. Doing
these seven years he was called a page, basically a servant and messenger to a knight. From
age fourteen to twenty, the boy would start to accompany his knight into battle, carrying
the knight’s weapons and caring for his horse. Upon the boy’s twenty-first birthday, and
given that he had performed the required duties during the first two stages, he would
become a knight. The idea of becoming responsible at age 21 spread from this practice to
the rest of society and became the age of adulthood.
In more modern times, the age of 21 used to be the age at which you were allowed to vote,
to borrow money, to buy a house or to get married. In the United States, you have to be 21
years old to purchase alcohol or to consume alcohol in public.
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