Transition to Womenhood
An ex-colleague posted pictures of his daughter’s Quinceañera event. It is a celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday in Latin American countries.
This birthday is celebrated differently from any other as it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood. Per Wiki, historically, in the years prior to their 15th birthdays, girls learned about cooking, weaving, and childbearing from the elder women in their communities in preparation for their future roles as wives. During the celebration the girl’s father would present her to potential suitors.
This reminded me of Tuloni Biya celebrated in Assam. The word Biya in Assamese means marriage, thus, Toloni Biya is a ceremonial symbolic wedding of the girl after her first periods. This ceremony is celebrated with great enthusiasm, and the purpose of this celebration is to educate the girl about reproduction and menstrual cycle. The parents of the girl and neighbours pray for the well-being of her reproductive health.
In addition to the celebration, the ceremony also secludes the girl and imposes restrictions on her movements and food preferences, mainly aimed at providing rest and relaxation to deal with the recent changes in her body.
The festival is also celebrated in Odisha and is called Raja Parba or Mithuna Sankranti. It is a four-day festival which celebrates the girl’s transition into womanhood. While all the preparation is going on, women enjoy during the festival and wear new clothes, jewellery etc.
https://pragativadi.com/raja-festival-of-odisha-a-celebration-of-womanhood-and-menstruation/
In some south Indian communities, a girl’s first period is welcomed through a coming-of-age ceremony called Ritusuddhi or Ritu Kala Samskara.
Certain tribes, like the Khasi tribe in Meghalaya, celebrate menarche (a girl’s first period) with a grand feast and gifts, signifying a transition into womanhood.
Menstruation is the key to a woman’s health and this is also highlighted in the Hindi talk shared in the link below.
