The Initiation of the Boy into the Society of Men
In all the hunting
cultures, Campbell maintains, one of the most important rites is the initiation
of boys into manhood. The society requires a type of man who knows how
to act and who knows what the tribe knows. This was most important among
societies that existed on the thin margin of survival, without the written
word. These rites have been observed in Australian bushmen among others
where they are quite fierce and go beyond mere ritual. They change the
boy's mind and body. Besides cutting and marking the body, they involve
isolation, disorientation, fear and imparting the founding myths of the
tribe. The primary message Paleolithic man would have been handing down
to the generations was the mythology of the hunt and the kill (Campbell-2,
xiii).
Bahn summarizes the case for the cave as a place of initiation:
"It has long
been assumed that cave-art has much to do with the initiation of young
members of the group..the secrecy and darkness involved in a visit to
them must have been a memorable experience for any initiate. Quite apart
from the physical difficulties encountered in some caves, whether rock
formations, flowing water or holes to crawl though, there is the utter
blackness, the total silence, the loss of sense of direction in the often
labyrinthine passages, the change of temperature, and the frequent sense
of claustrophobia. The fear of being abandoned, lost and alone in the
dark, would have concentrated the mind wonderfully and prepared the apprehensive
initiate for anything. Similar techniques are still in use today for purposes
such as brainwashing or debriefing...The technique of sensory deprivation
also concentrates the mind. A cave would affect all the senses of scared
initiates and leave them vulnerable to indoctrination" (Bahn 186-188).
Prehistoric Painting: Lascaux - or the Birth of Art, text by Georges Bataille, photos by Hans Hinz, Claudio Emmer. Albert Skira publisher, Switzerland, 1955.