- Ritual
- 女子初潮時のkaraña身体装飾
- Region and community
- ベネズエラ・La BateaのEñepá社会
- Age at the cultural rite
- Age 12
- Transition conditions
- Reaching a recognized age / Community initiation / Menarche or physical maturity
- Legal age of majority
- Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of18 yearsVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic of · Calendar unspecified · Special statutory exceptions may apply. · Law and supporting sources
About the rite
In La Batea, Eñepá women mark a girl’s first menstruation by painting black dots made from karaña on parts of her body. In 2015, a researcher saw a twelve-year-old girl whose mother and grandmother had painted her legs. Through this intimate family practice, the girl’s relatives recognize her passage into a new stage of life.
The same study describes a decline, after evangelization, in a separate boys’ initiation in which boys received a first loincloth and an adult name.
Related rites
