A boy holds the name he has received after birth until getting another one, which happens when he is between the ages of 9 and 12. The criteria is not the exact chronological age, but the degree of knowledge he has attained. Between 3 and 5-years old, he gets a small bow and tiny arrows made by his father and starts to go along with him in fishing and hunting expeditions. He begins to learn the “talk” of the animals (that is, how the animals communicate with each other, the sounds they produce and what they indicate), the names and characteristics of the plants and trees, the local geography. By the time he is 8-10-years old, he already knows how to make his own bow and arrows, although smaller than the adults’, and uses them with some expertise. After he has mastered their use, at the age of 11-12, he has his nose pierced in the ceremony of the maize, in the rainy season, and gets his second name, an intermediate name between his child’s and his adult’s, which he will hold later in life.

He then begins to go to the men’s house during the day, where he is taught about the ceremonies, the myths and the use of medicinal plants; he also learns how to play the flute, as well as how to make feather ornaments and the bows and arrows of adults. At the same time, he assumes more systematically the responsibilities of provider of his household and village, participating increasingly more in all adult chores.

At 14-15-years old – when he is already able of killing large animals such as wild pigs, tapirs, capybaras, deer etc., and already knows enough about the ceremonies –, he used to go through the ritual of perforation of the earlobes, which occurred in the big celebration, in the dry season, that is the culmination of the annual ritual cycle. This rite, which is no longer practiced, introduced the boy into the age class of the grown-up men. He was then considered apt for marrying and also of taking part in the war expeditions the Rikbaktsa made against the Cinta-Larga, other neighboring groups and, later, against rubber gatherers. In this phase he would get his thirds name, soon after the ear perforation or after getting married.

Currently, even without perforating their ears, young men are considered adults when they reach the adequate conditions of age and knowledge. That is when they get their third name, which generally occurs after they get married. Some men may even change their names once more, when they reach maturity, head their own malocas and have grown children, a large family and social influence.

Women get their names just like men, during the ceremonies of clearing the fields, but after being subjected to different rites of passage.

Just as boys, each newborn girl gets a clan child name. In the past, around the age of 12, after having their period for the first time, the girls would have their noses perforated. Nowadays some have it and some have not. In any case, at this age they take “forest medicine” in order to reduce birth pains when, in the future, they give birth.

Traditionally, the Rikbaktsa father decided when his daughter would get her facial tattoos, which occurred during the big celebration, in the same occasion in which the boys had their earlobes perforated. After that she was considered a full woman, ready to get married.

A boy holds the name he has received after birth until getting another one, which happens when he is between the ages of 9 and 12. The criteria is not the exact chronological age, but the degree of knowledge he has attained. Between 3 and 5-years old, he gets a small bow and tiny arrows made by his father and starts to go along with him in fishing and hunting expeditions. He begins to learn the “talk” of the animals (that is, how the animals communicate with each other, the sounds they produce and what they indicate), the names and characteristics of the plants and trees, the local geography. By the time he is 8-10-years old, he already knows how to make his own bow and arrows, although smaller than the adults’, and uses them with some expertise. After he has mastered their use, at the age of 11-12, he has his nose pierced in the ceremony of the maize, in the rainy season, and gets his second name, an intermediate name between his child’s and his adult’s, which he will hold later in life.

He then begins to go to the men’s house during the day, where he is taught about the ceremonies, the myths and the use of medicinal plants; he also learns how to play the flute, as well as how to make feather ornaments and the bows and arrows of adults. At the same time, he assumes more systematically the responsibilities of provider of his household and village, participating increasingly more in all adult chores.

At 14-15-years old – when he is already able of killing large animals such as wild pigs, tapirs, capybaras, deer etc., and already knows enough about the ceremonies –, he used to go through the ritual of perforation of the earlobes, which occurred in the big celebration, in the dry season, that is the culmination of the annual ritual cycle. This rite, which is no longer practiced, introduced the boy into the age class of the grown-up men. He was then considered apt for marrying and also of taking part in the war expeditions the Rikbaktsa made against the Cinta-Larga, other neighboring groups and, later, against rubber gatherers. In this phase he would get his thirds name, soon after the ear perforation or after getting married.

Currently, even without perforating their ears, young men are considered adults when they reach the adequate conditions of age and knowledge. That is when they get their third name, which generally occurs after they get married. Some men may even change their names once more, when they reach maturity, head their own malocas and have grown children, a large family and social influence.

Women get their names just like men, during the ceremonies of clearing the fields, but after being subjected to different rites of passage.

Just as boys, each newborn girl gets a clan child name. In the past, around the age of 12, after having their period for the first time, the girls would have their noses perforated. Nowadays some have it and some have not. In any case, at this age they take “forest medicine” in order to reduce birth pains when, in the future, they give birth.

Traditionally, the Rikbaktsa father decided when his daughter would get her facial tattoos, which occurred during the big celebration, in the same occasion in which the boys had their earlobes perforated. After that she was considered a full woman, ready to get married.

After the nose perforation, the young woman was entitled to a new name, generally given after she was tattooed or soon after her wedding. There is no practice of reclusion of young women except during this short period of time. Neither there are menstrual huts, nor there are rules of isolation related to menstruation among the Rikbaktsa.

Today, this ritual of passage is no longer practiced, just like the perforation of the boys’ earlobes and the warring expeditions, in which the just-formed hunter had his first experience as a warrior, thus completing his preparation to be an adult, has been abandoned. The experience of being a warrior has been replaced, in recent years, by the active participation of the young Rikbaktsa in the struggle for the recovery and maintenance of their territory.

After the nose perforation, the young woman was entitled to a new name, generally given after she was tattooed or soon after her wedding. There is no practice of reclusion of young women except during this short period of time. Neither there are menstrual huts, nor there are rules of isolation related to menstruation among the Rikbaktsa.

Today, this ritual of passage is no longer practiced, just like the perforation of the boys’ earlobes and the warring expeditions, in which the just-formed hunter had his first experience as a warrior, thus completing his preparation to be an adult, has been abandoned. The experience of being a warrior has been replaced, in recent years, by the active participation of the young Rikbaktsa in the struggle for the recovery and maintenance of their territory.