1. Vanuatu boys from the southern part of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu must jump off from wooden towers 20-30 meters high with vines wrapped around their ankles in the presence of elders to be recognized as men.

2. Hamar boys from Ethiopia must run naked across the back of a herd of cows four times without falling to be recognized as men by the tribe.

Among the Hamar people, this coming-of-age initiation ceremony demonstrates their athleticism and fitness.

3. Satere-Mawe boys from Brazil must stick their hand in a glove woven with bullet ants and withstand the pain for over 10 minutes without making a noise to prove their masculinity.

The sting is so poisonous and agonizing, that the arm remains paralyzed for days.

4. Maasai boys from Kenya and Tanzania are circumcised to be recognized as men by their tribe.

Boys from the Massai tribe of age 10-20 are brought in from across the country are made to drink a concoction of milk, cow’s blood, and alcohol and eat piles of meat which is followed by their circumcision. 

5. Native American Mandan boys were hung from the ceiling with wooden splints pierced through their body to be initiated as men in their tribe.

Their chest, shoulder, and back muscles were pierced with large wooden splints. While hanging, more splints were hammered through the boys’ body and skull of their dead ancestors were placed on the end of the splints. The boys were supposed to withstand the pain and not cry during the entire ceremony.

6. Sambia tribe boys from Papua New Guinea have their noses filled with sharp grass leaves and sticks until blood poured down to be inducted as men into their tribe.

They are then whipped by the elders.

7. Algonquin Indian boys from North America were made to drink a powerful plant mixture called wysoccan which is a hallucinogen to remove childhood memories to be initiated as men by their tribe.

This mixture was administered to them for a period of 20 days. It marks the separation between childhood and adulthood.

8. Elders from the Matis tribe, Brazil, drip bitter plant juice into the eyes of young boys and they are beaten with rattan sticks, injected with the frog poison, and slapped with stinging poces leaf to initiate them as men.

9. The Okiek boys of Kenya are painted white and covered in charcoal and sent into the forest for 24 weeks to prove to the tribe that they are men.

Natives of Kenya, the Okiek tribe believe that a host of ghosts live in the forest called cemaasiit. Young boys are required to follow the roar of the ghosts and after the boys emerge from their isolation, they are required to recreate the roar in front of the tribes-people to be recognised as men.

10. Aborigine boys from Australia undergo a spiritual journey across the indigenous land, living in the wilderness alone for a period as long as six months to be recognised as men.

11. Munda, Santhal, Ho, Bhumij, Oraon, and Kharia boys from Jharkhand are supposed to participate at least once in the annual hunting festival of Bishu Shikar.

If the boys do not attend a single hunt since birth, they are considered to be still in their mothers’ womb.

12. Pumi boys from China are made to step on a piece of fat with their right foot and on a bag of rice with their left as the rite of passage to become men.

This is followed by a kowtow bow to the cooking stove and the elder members of his family. The bow should be so low that it touches the ground.

13. Boys from Hawaii are supposed to dive into the sea from a high cliff to officiate the status of men.

They also receive a massage which is supposed to release tension and childlike habits and awaken their true purpose.

14. Cherokee boys from America were blindfolded by their fathers and taken to the forest and made to spend the night alone to be recognised as men.

The boys were made to sit on a stump without removing the blindfold or crying for help.

These ceremonies were their way of preparing the young ones to brace and survive the harsh future.