Mwiri is the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. The ritual is for males only. Normally you would undergo the Mwiri rite between the ages of 6 and 8 and afterwards be initiated into the Bwiti. It is a serious ritual including beatings and scarification in order for the supplicant to learn to increase endogenous opioids, substances capable of reducing suffering and pain. We see the novice being lead to a secret place to receive scarification.

In the modern period, with life in the cities and foreigners taking interest, traditions change in that French and others from Europe and the Americas are inducted into the Bwiti before undergoing Mwiri and are not beaten. Under those circumstances they do not become soldiers but, only aspiring soldiers.