Ritual
• Patterned, recurring
sequence of events
– Morning, bedtime,
workout, TV,
Homework rituals.
– These ritual activities
are secular (nonreligious)
• Religious Rituals
– Involves religious
paraphernalia/symbols
like prayers, offerings,
sacred literature
recitations, etc.
Ritual and Myth
•
They are interrelated and form the basis of religious practices
– A Ritual may derive its methods and directives from Myth. A ritual can reenact
mythology, therefore bringing the sacred to the present for participants.
• Ex: Heb Sed ritual
• Myths provide the basis for a society’s morals and values. Rituals are the
vehicle with which these values are imparted to the group.
– Myth: Egyptian creation story: Egypt = balance
– Ritual: Pharaoh creates/maintains balance.
General Classifications of Ritual
• Prescriptive vs. Situational/Crisis Rituals
– Prescriptive Ritual: Required to be performed either by a religious text, a
deity/religious authority or dictated by tradition
• Ex: Prayers/recitations/communion in Catholic Mass
• Ex: Yom Habikkurim (Shavuot) the “Day of the First Fruits” to celebrate the
giving of the 10 Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai. Also marks
beginning of wheat harvest.
• Ex: Offering to spirit of ancestors, ancient Egypt
– Situational/Crisis Rituals: Arise “as needed,” usually in times of crisis
• Ex: Sept. 11th, Jessica Stephens
General Classifications of Ritual cont.
•
Periodic vs. Occasional Rituals
–
Periodic (also called Calendrical) rituals are performed on a regular basis as part of a religious calendar
• Ex: Daily prayers of Islam: One of the 5 pillars of faith mentioned earlier in connection with the
Pentacle. Prayers must be performed at dawn, midday, midafternoon, sunset and nightfall as
commanded by the prophet Mohammad.
• Ex: Diwali Hindu festival of lights. Performed on the darkest night of the month of Kartik. A
reenactment of Myth in which Rama, Sita and Lakshmana return to their kingdom of Ayodhya after a
14-year exile. The lights represent a celebration of the return and cleansing of spiritual darkness. May
also relate to the harvest season.
• Many Periodic Rituals are associated with the Agricultural Calendar (i.e. when crops are
planted/harvested)
» Ex: Samhain (Loreena McKennitt’s All Souls Night)
Means “November” in Gaelic. Marks the end of the Harvest season and regarded as
the traditional Irish New Year. A time to gather and take inventory of crops, animals and
supplies for Winter. Large, central bonfire created to bring community together.
Divination used to foresee future spouse, children, agricultural success. Related to
Catholic All Souls Night/Day (remembrance of the faithfully departed), Dia De Los
Muertos and our Halloween.
–
Occasional Rituals performed when a particular need arises as in marriage and death or to bring about
change, or to ensure survival:
• Ex: Ghost Dance
More Specific Ritual Classification
• Technological Rituals
– Hunting & Gathering Rites of Intensification
– Protective Rituals
• Therapy Rituals
– Ethnobotany, Anti-Therapy Rituals
• Ideological Rituals
– Rites of Passage
• Coming-of-Age Rituals
• Alterations of the Human Body
– Tattooing and Piercing
– Other Modifications
– Genital Alterations
• Salvation Rituals
• Revitalization Rituals
• Pilgrimages
– The Huichol Pilgrimage
Technological Rituals
Rituals that attempt to influence/control nature
•
•
Hunting and Gathering Rites of
Intensification: goal is to influence
nature in the quest for food. Includes
hunting, gathering, fishing, herding,
farming.
– Ex: Inuit seal hunt
• Placing fresh water into the
mouth of the deceased seal
would mollify its spirit and
might encourage its return
(reincarnation), thereby
providing additional
resources. Seals have souls
and are part of a creation
myth involving the Mother of
the Sea (Sedna).
Protective Rituals: Performed in
anticipation of dangerous activities or
in response to threats.
– Ex: Making boats seaworthy
Therapy Rituals
• Meant to cure/rehabilitate
upon accident/illness
– Ex: Traditional, plantderived medicines and
ethnobotany:
Anthropologically based
study of plants, especially
in healing.
– Ex: Sekhmet and the
destruction of Humanity
• Offerings to Sekhmet if
hurt/sick (a type of
Crisis/Situational Ritual)
Anti-Therapy Rituals
• Meant to bring about
harm
– Ex: The Fore (from Ch. 1)
• Cause of Kuru – Sorcery
ritual.
– Steal something of the
victim’s, mix with
leaves/bark/stones, bind
into a package. Recite a
harmful spell, bury into
the cold, muddy ground.
Victim then develops
uncontrollable shaking of
Kuru.
– Ex: Australian Aboriginee
Cursing Ritual “Bone
Pointing”
Ideological Rituals
•
Meant to maintain social order, norms,
values, morals. Assist community in
times of change and crisis, reasserting
social order.
• Ex: “Ghost Dance” mentioned
previously under the major
classification of “Occasional Ritual”
– Associated with the Massacre at
Wounded Knee in 1890 where 153
Lakota Sioux were killed during its
performance. Started by Wovoka, a
Paiute Native American who
received a message from God that if
this dance was performed,
impending doom from the “Manifest
Destiny” of settlers could be
avoided, and harmony and peace
would prevail.
•
Can also be a Social Rite of
Intensification: Same definition as
above, but usually a Prescribed and
Periodic ritual.
–
Ex: Sunday morning church/Jewish
Sabbath/Islamic daily prayers/Major
annual religious festivals and holidays.
Ideological Rituals cont.
• Rite of Passage: purpose is to change the status of an
individual within a community and to imprint this new status to
collective memory.
– Status: refers to social position (i.e. brother, mother, husband, Instructor,
student, policeman) not to rank
– Rank: Hierarchical placement of an individual within society (i.e.
Employee, Supervisor, Middle Manager, Vice President, President, CEO)
• Ex: Chimpanzee politics in relation to human social groups.
• Rite of Passage stages:
– Separation: an individual is separated from previous status
– Transition: undergoes rituals (can involve initiation and/or pain
ceremonies)
• Often a time of mystery and metamorphosis. An individual is in a state of
Liminality: ambiguous social marginality occurring in this transition phase.
– Incorporation: Individual reenters society w/ new status