Pederasty among primitives: institutionalized initiation and cultic prostitution

For several reasons it is difficult to find examples of pederastic practices in historical and ethnological sources. Besides the social taboo, these practices have always been mixed up with other forms of sexual contact. However, existing material shows pederastic practices in primitive societies as initiation rituals for male youth. Several examples of institutionalized pederasty, especially from the area of Papua-New Guinea and Melanesia are described. These practices, with a clear societal function, are part of a distinct outlook on life and only superficially resemble the man-boy relationships we can observe today. In other parts of the world, pederastic practices were forms of prostitution. Taking place in a religious context, it was also a different form of prostitution than the one we commonly know. Both forms of man-boy involvement attempt to attain assimilation through physical contact. In these practices sexuality serves purposes other than sexual satisfaction and procreation.