Final answer:
Rites of passage mark social transformations and change in social status within a cultural context. They follow a three-stage process of separation, transition, and incorporation. This process involves individuals or groups being taken out of their social context, experiencing an in-between state, and then reintegrating into society in a new social category.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rites of passage function in a cultural context by marking social transformations in people's lives and establishing a change in social status within their communities. These rituals, such as naming ceremonies, puberty rites, weddings, and funerals, follow a three-stage process identified by anthropologist Arnold van Gennep: separation, transition, and incorporation. In the separation stage, individuals or groups are taken out of their everyday social context. In the transition stage, people exist in an in-between state and undergo special behaviors and teachings. In the incorporation stage, people are reintroduced back into society in a formal ceremony with a new social category.