antro
Ritual is an important part of every society, every culture, every individual's lives in our world. It is impossible to come up with one clear-cut definition; however there are specific aspects associated with ritual that most anthropologists will definitely agree upon. Rituals are important in providing a sense of security and loyalty to groups, as well to each individual person. Ritual study is imperative to the understanding of religion between different cultures, as it is such an important part of religion. We practice rituals to demonstrate our values and beliefs, to pray, and sometimes just to reinforce group solidarity. Ritual has become such a regular part of our everyday routine that sometimes we don't even realize that we are doing it anymore. But realization of it's practice or not, it still continues to be such an important part of our lives. Anthropologists believe that ritual has existed since the very beginning of our time. Some believe that it is ritual that has kept us here so long; that without this regular practice, we, as a being, would not have the security or solidarity needed to survive. Although it is agreed upon that ritual has always existed, that it has varied from culture to culture and evolved thr
In addition to there being many different ways to perform a ritual, there are also many different reasons for it's practice. As earlier implied by Turner, rituals are meant to bring good fortune upon those enacting them; or they can be merely a mean to visually express one's religious orientation. But In most cases, however, anthropologists will agree that rituals are definitely performed as a rite of passage or rite of intensification. hope and belief, that by continuing doing them, some phenomenal force will help continue their good fortune on the field. Rituals don't actually batter the skills of the players, but just make them a bit more assured of themselves. They continue practicing them from game to game until they no longer feel that it is bringing them the same good luck, and that perhaps they should now try to attempt a new routine in effort to come out of their slump. (p.294-295) For many, the purpose of performing rituals in groups is to provide everyone with a sense of group solidarity and loyalty. By worshipping together they learn to trust each other; however, there are many rituals that people prefer to do on their own. George Gmelch, talks about many rituals performed by baseball players throughout a game. In this case, most of the rituals are on a personal level; many players have routines, or sequences that they go through before each game, each inning, or each pitch. They feel that these preparatory rituals, will help them give a good performance in the day's game. Many of the rituals are brought about by a previous stroke of luck, and it is believed that since that act brought them luck the first time, it might do it again. Things such as tagging result of their sacrifice, it will all be good. While some groups prefer to worship as a community, others would rather worship in smaller, more private groups; such as with their family. The North American tribe, the Nacirema, is an example of such a group. Their ritual secrets are told only to their children, and even then, are passed on only when they become old enough to take part in the rituals themselves. The main objective of the Nacirema, when they perform these rituals, is to
Some common words found in the essay are:
George Gmelch, , Turner Ritual, North American, Nuer Sudan, Conclusion Define, ritual religion, perform rituals, religion ritual, performing rituals, passage rite intensification, ritual religion ritual, rite passage rite, anthropologists agree, it's ritual, religion sets, simply visual demonstration, rituals help, it's ritual religion, ritual existed, crossing themselves,
Approximate Word count = 1463
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
