The Rights Of Passage To Manhood.
The existence of the rights of passage among male species has so many variations around the globe. It all however turn into one conclusion, a prove of manhood. To gain the respect, trust, and place in the ‘elite’ society. In this modern age, most of the rituals had lost their attraction, most society no longer practice them. To most of our modern thinking youth, they look at the rituals as ancient, no longer practical and maybe humiliating for some.
On this post, I’m gonna write about an ancient ritual still practiced in Dantesque, Faeroe Island. Faeroe Island are islands group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. It belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark.
What seems to be acceptable in the past however is now viewed as a cruelty globally. The 10th century aged of practice involves killing of whale or dolphin to initiate into adulthood. This is a mandatory! So anyone reaching their adolescence has to go through it. Nearly 1,000 pilot whales and calderon dolphins are killed annually in the “grindadráp” — whale hunt — during summer months.
On a different point of view, the death of the dolphins and whales have been part in the life of the Faeroe and the animals themselves. They look at this as a custom, a way to tell the stories of their ancestral to the younger generation. They took the meat for consumption as well. However, the way it is done gave me an uneasy feeling. The animals were trapped, brought to the shallow just to be stabbed and left to bleed to death. Hunting is probably much more acceptable terms it it applies here. As a rights of passage, it will not be acceptable by the world. It is far beyond basic needs. It is far from nutrient needs and is done in a very inhumane way, long painful death instead of painlessness. It is beyond justification of killing for survival. A prove of bravery against a weak and helpless animals does not fit into its purpose. The biggest problem I have was with the display of enjoyment the people show during the ritual watching young people torture animals in the name of bravery.
The truths are even worst, if the Faeroe are labeled as cruel, think about the killing of polar bears in Alaska for the sake of a trophy and a picture, think about thousands of bulls in Spain killed for human entertainment. Think about the Japanese method of killing dolphins.
“Japanese Fishermen often injure a few captives by spear thrust or knife slash to retain the group since dolphins never abandon injured family members. The water turns red and the air is filled with their agonising screams. They are then dragged to the slaughter place and their throats slashed and left to die. Dolphin meat are later marketed and often disguised as whale meat.”
Their government right now are receiving enormous pressure to stop these. We need to keep pressing these people so they would eventually ceased to stop. You can start by signing on this petition to stop Faeroe rights of passage:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/395494117
You should also check on the video and pictures to see it for yourself.
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