We are proud to present the traveling exhibition "Rites of Passage in America: Traditions of the Life Cycle." This is the Balch Institute's sixty-eighth exhibition since it opened in 1976. We feel it fulfills, in an especially exciting and dynamic way, our mission of interpreting and promoting intergroup understanding. In a period of community tensions nationally, "Rites of Passage" celebrates our ethnic and racial diversity, while revealing our cultural commonalties.

How do we Americans mark our life transitions? Birthday parties, graduations, bachelor parties, and retirement dinners are common rites of passage in American life. Yet, the Edin Toa (Akan baby-naming ceremony), Sunrise Ceremonial (Apache coming-of-age ritual), Mehendi party (Pakistani pre-marital custom), and sitting Shiva (Jewish mourning tradition) are rites of passage traditions observed in the United States, too.

Most of us are less aware of the importance of rites of passage than were our ancestors. Yet, while many of the traditional rituals brought to this country have been lost, others continue to be practiced. In many cases, traditional rituals have been adapted to fit American values and lifestyles.

The exhibition and the accompanying catalogue explore the role of rites of passage in our lives. A primary focus is on the ways in which Americans of diverse ethnic heritage are becoming more conscious of the power and meaning of rites of passage and, as a result, choosing or creating customs which better reflect their own cultural experience. The story is one that attests to the vitality of our multicultural society.