I surmise, per the Denver Library's digital collection, that Kismet Club/ Theta Kappa Chi sorority was active at North High School from 1920 - approximately 1936. The maturity of the pledge and initiation rituals is far above the downright cruelty described in the initiation rituals of other high school sororities from that time. At the following link, you will find various ephemera from Kismet Club, including their pledge and initiation ceremonies:
The pledge ceremony had a unique pledge, in that it is taken from the Book of Ruth:
Entreat me not to leave thee, for
whither thou goest, I shall go;
Your people shall be my people,
Their elaborate initiation ceremony had an Egyptian/Hindu/Middle-Eastern motif. The depth of the ceremony makes me wonder if the girls received assistance from a woman in a collegiate sorority. The ceremony incorporated everything we associate with collegiate and community-based sororities, from its organization to its deities to the "Blessing" to the "Story of the Colors". If they did not receive assistance, then perhaps the girls who wrote the initiation ceremony belonged to Job's Daughters or similar organizations.
Initiation started with the officer "Kadta" carrying the torch "to light the pathway to the shrine for the initiates". The first story told was about the "Kismet Star of Fate", which told the tale of their unnamed goddess finding a sort of salvation from the star- "... gave her of its snowy white pureness, temptation and evil being cast aside." Kismet sisters were instructed to make this star "... your guide that you may be as pure, as good, and as true ... and stand apart from the Evil and Wickedness of the world...".
As Kismet sisters were set apart through their membership in the sorority, so was their symbol- the star- set apart from other stars. "... our Great White Star of Fate stands apart from other stars." Their star was their guide.
Kismet's initiation ritual did not use Judeo-Christianity, but rather, like Phi Sigma Sigma, a non-sectarian ritual. After imparting the meaning of Theta Kappa Chi (truth, productiveness, happiness) the officer Caliph explained that each quality was a "god that we worship". The gods were Thoth, Khem, Xneph. The sorority also "worshiped" the sun god in his three forms: Horus, Ra, Tum. These three manifestations matched to the three principles of the secret motto: truth, productiveness, happiness. The Caliph commanded, "So then let us worship the principles they bring to us- Truth, Productiveness, Happiness. "
The initiate received a Judeo-Christian from the Caliph, which began " May the Almighty and Merciful Lord...". The ceremony concluded with the bestowal of the sorority pin, and the revelation of the grasp, embrace, password, and whistle. The Kismet song was then sung.
Initiation started with the officer "Kadta" carrying the torch "to light the pathway to the shrine for the initiates". The first story told was about the "Kismet Star of Fate", which told the tale of their unnamed goddess finding a sort of salvation from the star- "... gave her of its snowy white pureness, temptation and evil being cast aside." Kismet sisters were instructed to make this star "... your guide that you may be as pure, as good, and as true ... and stand apart from the Evil and Wickedness of the world...".
As Kismet sisters were set apart through their membership in the sorority, so was their symbol- the star- set apart from other stars. "... our Great White Star of Fate stands apart from other stars." Their star was their guide.
Kismet's initiation ritual did not use Judeo-Christianity, but rather, like Phi Sigma Sigma, a non-sectarian ritual. After imparting the meaning of Theta Kappa Chi (truth, productiveness, happiness) the officer Caliph explained that each quality was a "god that we worship". The gods were Thoth, Khem, Xneph. The sorority also "worshiped" the sun god in his three forms: Horus, Ra, Tum. These three manifestations matched to the three principles of the secret motto: truth, productiveness, happiness. The Caliph commanded, "So then let us worship the principles they bring to us- Truth, Productiveness, Happiness. "
The initiate received a Judeo-Christian from the Caliph, which began " May the Almighty and Merciful Lord...". The ceremony concluded with the bestowal of the sorority pin, and the revelation of the grasp, embrace, password, and whistle. The Kismet song was then sung.
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