Intimachay and the Royal Feast of the Sun
How were the nobles' young songs initiated into their manhood?
Machu Picchu
Pathways Foundation Baiame Gamilaraay people Men's spaces Lifting stone
Pathways_Foundation-Pathways_to_Manhood Baiame-Description_and_history Gamilaraay_people-Dreamtime Men's_spaces-History_of_men's_spaces Lifting_stone-Clach_cuid_fir
Who is involved. Pathways to Manhood. The Pathways to Manhood camp are aimed at young males (approx 12–16) together with their fathers, step fathers, uncles, grandfathers or mentors. 
The Baiame myth tells how Baiame came down from the sky to the land, and created rivers, mountains, and forests. He then gave the people their laws of life, traditions, songs, and culture. He also created the first initiation site. This is known as a bora; a place where boys were initiated into manhood. When he had finished, he returned to the sky, and people called him the "Sky Hero" or "All Father" or "Sky Father". He is said to be married to Birrahgnooloo (Birran-gnulu), who is often identified as an emu, and with whom he has a son Daramulum (Dharramalan). In other stories Daramulum is said to be brother to Baiame. It was forbidden to mention or talk about the name of Baiame publicly. Women were not allowed to see drawings of Baiame nor approach Baiame sites—which are often male initiation sites (boras). In rock paintings Baiame is often depicted as a human figure with a large head-dress or hairstyle, with lines of footsteps nearby. He is always painted in front view; Daramulum is drawn in profile. Baiame is often shown with internal decorations such as waistbands, vertical lines running down the body, bands and dots. The dots are said to have given him power over smallpox. 
Kamilaroi mythology includes Baiame, the ancestor or patron god. The Baiame myth tells how Baiame came down from the sky to the land, and created rivers, mountains, and forests. He then gave the people their laws of life, traditions, songs, and culture. He also created the first initiation site. This is known as a bora; a place where boys were initiated into manhood. When he had finished, he returned to the sky, and people called him the Sky Hero or All Father or Sky Father. He is said to be married to Birrahgnooloo (Birran-gnulu), who is often identified as an emu, and with whom he has a son Daramulum (Dharramalan). In other stories Daramulum is said to be brother to Baiame. It was forbidden to mention or talk about the name of Baiame publicly. Women were not allowed to see drawings of Baiame nor approach Baiame sites, which are often male initiation sites (boras). In rock paintings Baiame is often depicted as a human figure with a large head-dress or hairstyle, with lines of footsteps nearby. He is always painted in front view; Daramulum is drawn in profile. Baiame is often shown with internal decorations such as waistbands, vertical lines running down the body, bands and dots. 
In the early days of human civilizaton, as proven by several indigenous and aboriginal tribes, boys, along with other children, lived in women's spaces till they reached puberty, after which they generally had to undergo 'manhood tests' or 'rites of passage into manhood' in order to be initiated into men's spaces. The manhood tests became more and more torturous with time during which men were expected not to show the slightest sign of pain or sighcultures? gross overgeneralisation. Boys who failed these tests were denied membership of men's spaces, which amounted to denying manhood and being emasculated, and were isolated as one of the third genders, deprived of social rights and privileges available to 'men.' This was a fate worse than death for masculine gendered males. The feminine gendered males, i.e. the third genders were in some tribes exempt from manhood tests and were raised as third genders from early childhood, when they showed what is today known as "Gender incongruent behaviour. "In what are considered modern civilizations, it is still of great importance to be counted as one of the men. It can even be a matter of life and death for masculine gendered males. - and to be isolated as a 'third gender' remains severely stigmatizing for masculine gendered males. 
Clach cuid fir. Clach cuid fir, Gaelic for "Manhood Stones", originate from Scotland. Manhood stones were used for centuries as tests of strength in Scotland. Typically, a young man was welcomed into manhood when he was able to lift his clan's testing stone to waist height. There are many examples in Scotland including:  the McGlashen Stones  the Inver Stone (121.6 kg (268 pounds))  the Dinnie Stones (two stones weighing 333 kg (734 pounds): 187 kg (413 pounds) and 146 kg (321 pounds))  the Menzies Stone (115 kg (253.5 pounds)). Both the McGlashen Stones and the Dinnie Stones have been used in numerous Strongman competitions since the 1980s including World's Strongest Man and Pure Strength. 