Bartaman: The Male Not-So-Alternative Counterpart to Ihi

I became so absorbed in my past two discussions about the rituals that Newar girls go through as rites of passage that I almost forgot to mention the one ritual that Newar boys go through. This is the not-so-alternative counterpart to the female Ihi ceremony. How so? Well, the male alternative counterpart to Ihi would mean that the rite of passage is very similar to Ihi in nature of significance, meaning, symbolism, and rituals except that it is performed for young boys rather than young girls. However, this rite of passage shares nothing in common with Ihi other than the fact that boys go through it at the same age that young girls would go through Ihi, People claim that it is the male counterpart to Ihi and call it Kayta (boy) Puja while Ihi is known as Keti (girl) Puja. But in reality, the differences in the significance of the rituals suggest that they are certainly not equal.

While Ihi is about protecting and freeing a girl (because we need so much protection and freeing that we have to have an entire ceremony dedicated to it), Bartaman is about welcoming a boy into manhood. They undergo this rite of passage to become full members of their patriarchal line and caste. Even if they are quite small at the time, they become, for religious purposes, men, able to conduct and participate in sacrifices, marriage, and other rituals, and most importantly, to perform the death rituals for their parents. 

I have never seen the ceremony performed but my understanding comes from the stories I have heard about my cousins and other male relatives who have undergone the ritual. It involves the boy renouncing the life of a householder by having his head shaved, and, while naked with only a loincloth, he performs actions that symbolize a "going away" from his family as the boy knew it, and "coming back" transformed as a man, permitted to take an active part in all religious ceremonies and ready to take on new responsibilities.

Okay. So lets think about this for a second. 

Attention. 

Spotlight. 

Respect. 

Glory. 

Praise. 

Hmm. Yeah. Don't see any underlying tones of subjugation or any problematic issues with the meanings that can be interpreted from the Bartaman ceremony. Sure, they might be slightly embarrassed for having to walk around naked for part of the ceremony and then with only a loincloth. But guess what? Tarzan did it. And he is probably the most manliest of all Disney men if there were ever a competition for greatest portrayal of masculinity. Moreover, there is no extraction of meanings suggesting their inferiority or impurity or fragility and need for protection and freedom. The stripping of clothing has nothing to do with vulnerability. It is not used as a tactic for humiliation. Instead, it seems more like an opportunity for a boy to acquire more confidence as he is going through this symbolic process of transformation. This ritual does not try to protect them or free them from anything whatsoever. 

They are the protectors. They are free.

Thus, they make the rules and carry on the traditions for man.

And for woman.