Rituals Chapter 4

Part I

Introduction  Ritual can be defined as patterned, recurring sequence of events  When these acts involve religious symbols, prayers, reading or saying sacred words, etc. it is a religious ritual

The Basics  Religious rituals are a lot like plays. They have:  Actors (shamans or priests)  Words (prayers, spells, sacred text)  Sets (altar, church, mosque)  Props (incense, masks, robes)  They also have music and dancing

The Basics  So what makes a play not a religious ritual?  It is not to entertain  The audience actively participates

The Basics  Religious practices most commonly have ritual and myth  These are tied to worldview  Audience participates and rituals help stabilize society and unify the group

The Basics  What are some familiar religious rituals?

The Basics

Types of Rituals  Prescriptive rituals: required to be performed  ex. Command to keep Sabbath holy  Situational rituals: spontaneous, can be during times of crisis  Sept. 11th

Types of Rituals  Periodic/Calendrical rituals: performed on a regular basis  ex. Sunday church, Passover, Ramadan  Occasional rituals: performed when the need arises  Marriage ceremonies, funerals

Classification of Rituals  Anthony Wallace created categories of types of rituals  Pg. 79  Include rituals that try to:  Control nature  Heal the sick  Maintain peace in a community  Rites of passage (stages in life cycle)

Technological Rituals  Attempt to control or influence nature  Used with hunter/gatherers or people who rely on nature for survival  Common among Native American groups  Ex. Thanking an animal that you have hunted for its meat and skin

Technological Rituals  Read the Inuit creation myth (pg. 81)

Technological Rituals  Seal hunts are part of their survival  Success depends on Mother of the Sea  Seals have souls and rituals pay respect to seals they hunt  Creation myths, world views influence rituals

Lakota buffalo ritual

Protective Rituals  Are used before dangerous activities  May be done before each activity or when an unexpected event occurs  Ex. The Vikings ‘blooded the keel’ of a new ship (human sacrifice)  Today we break a bottle of champagne on a new ship

Social Rites of Intensification  These maintain normal functioning of society  Teach good/evil; moral/immoral; how to act/how not to act  Ex. Sabbath, Easter, Rosh Hashanah (rituals can belong to more than 1 category)  Ex. Jewish practice of reciting kaddish at someone’s funeral  Reaffirms their faith

Offerings and Sacrifices  Many rituals try to communicate with deities  People give gifts, bribes, money, etc. in the hopes the gods will return the favor  The difference is that in a sacrifice blood is shed and in an offering gifts are exchanged

Offerings and Sacrifices  Human sacrifices have been common through history  Aztecs fed human blood to the Sun so the world would not end  Those sacrificed believed they would become gods  Would cut open the chest and remove victim’s still-beating heart  1CoGe98

Assignment  Read and discuss handout on sacrifices in your groups.

Healing Rituals  Cultures have different explanations for what makes people sick  Ethnobotany is using medical plants to help cure people  We have made many common drugs out of medicinal plant knowledge

Healing Rituals  Therapy rituals focus on curing those who are sick  Anti-therapy rituals are those that try to bring illness, accident, or death to others  Ex. Fore of New Guinea take a something associated with an enemy, recites a spell and buries it. They believe this will cause person to develop kuru

Video  Taboo: Healing Rituals  R8 R8  What types of healing rituals are in the videos?  What elements from lecture are demonstrated?  Do these rituals ‘work’? Explain your answer

Part II

Salvation and Revitalization  Salvation rituals involve a person changing in some way, usually being possessed or having altered state of consciousness  Revitalization rituals aim to return to the traditional way of doing things

Rites of Passage  These are rituals that mark a certain life stage or the transition of status  Ex are birth, naming rites, puberty, marriage, death  In some societies naming rites are delayed because of high infant mortality  Other examples: circumcision, bat mitzvahs, quinceaneras,

Rites of Passage  These can also be coming-of-age rituals, especially to mark puberty  Also called initiations  Girls are usually separated from the group  Initiations are usually more complex for boys than for girls  Rituals involve separation, modifying body, wearing different clothes, getting a different name, etc.

Rites of Passage  Initiations has an important phases:  Liminality : ambiguous phase during the change  Usually there is communitas, or the bonding of everyone going through the same phase  Rites are very difficult and show that the person can be an adult (pain, separation)  In the US, military initiation is a rite of passage. Describe why

Initiation with Pain  Taboo: Initiation Taboo: Initiation  eQ eQ  Questions:  What is the purpose of the initiation ceremony?  What aspects from lecture are demonstrated?

Altering the Body  Can be temporary or permanent  Often during rites of passage  Includes tattooing, piercing, and scarification

Permanent Altering  Tattooing, branding, stretching, circumcision  Tattoo is Tahitian for “to mark or strike”  What are social implications in the US about tattoos?  They can mark social identity

Horimono tattoo:Some African tribes use Scarification Pay homage to ancestorsstretching to show wealth as initiation

Video  Taboo: “Marks of Identity”  Questions:  How do the neck rings and tattoos mark these groups’ cultural identities?  How are these considered rituals?

Genital Cutting  Circumcision is very common and also accepted in Western cultures  What is the reason for doing it?  Male circumcision is a common rite of passage  Though much older and no anesthesia or scalpels  Initiations should show pain tolerance

Genital Cutting  There is one practice that is almost universally condemned  Female circumcision or clitoridectomy in which the clitoris and/or labia are removed  Vaginal opening can be sewn almost shut  Keeps a woman “pure” until her husband has sex with her  Female domination, health issue, human rites issue

In-Class Assignment  ICA #3: Article on FGM

Pilgrimages  Sacred places occur in creation myths and these become places worshipers visit  Muslims  Mecca  Jews and Christians  Jerusalem  Hindus  River Ganges  May also be sites of miracles

Religious Obligations  Actions performed by a group or individual  Saying grace, kissing a mezuzah (on doorway), lighting a candle  We know of behaviors that are appropriate for religious rites, but how do we know what is inappropriate?

Tabu or Taboo  Tabu means things that are restricted, forbidden, or off limits  In marriage, incest is usually a tabu  In a Polynesian chiefdom, the chief is sacred because he was given power by the gods. Everything he touches is sacred, so he is carried everywhere  Jewish tradition of keeping kosher  Prohibits pork  Rules for slaughter and preparation

Discussion  1. What are rituals performed in your own culture (at school, work, at sporting events, religious ceremonies, etc.)?  2. Discuss a rite of passage you have had or have attended. Identify the phases.  3. How do we identify adulthood in the US? Is there a specific rite of passage for this? Is there a formal marker of adulthood?