RITUALChapter 5
2 BROAD CATEGORIES OF SACRED RITUAL
change of seasons(solstices, equinoxes , new
year, planting, harvest) Historical event
remembered
Life Cycle Calendar
birth puberty adulthood marriage religious initiation death
OFFERING SACRIFICES Atonement for defilement,
transgression, sin Escaping violence or maintaining peace
by transferring aggression outside of the community
Scapegoat
Syria, Greece, Israel
RITUAL dromenon (greek): a thing done to
achieve a specific end rite (latin) Just as a symbol is a meaningful sign, ritual is a meaningful action (movements, sounds)
Confucius taught that rituals from the Cho dynasty needed to be revived in order to create virtuous people and rulers. Without ritual he believed one could not have a just, ordered society or raise responsible adults. Read p. 75 (bottom)
RITES OF PASSAGE Arnold van Gennep (anthropologist)
wrote The Rites of Passage (1909) {see p. 77, bottom}
3 stages: separation, transition, reincorporation
Victor Turner (anthropologist) called the transitional stage limenal (limes= border, threshold) . He called reincorporation into the community communitas.
serve both the individual and the community
EXAMPLES OF RELIGIOUS RITES OF PASSAGE
The Hindu Brahman class observes 16 samskaras.
Try to sort the samskara cards first by a category of your choosing. Then sort chronologicaly within each category.
Do the 7 Roman Catholic sacraments fall into categories as well?
Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance (Reconciliation), Marriage, Holy Orders, Annointing of the Sick (Last rites – Extreme Unction)
SACRAMENTS Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox
Christians define 7 sacraments as a visible sign instituted by Christ to give grace, a sign that really effects what it symbolizes. It works ex opere operato.
Protestant Christians see sacraments more as representational symbols, and the number varies among different denominations (0, 2, 3)
SECULAR EXAMPLES OF RITUAL ACTIONS The pledge of
allegiance Exchange of wedding
rings & vows Graduation ceremonies Blowing out birthday
candles Fireworks on 4th of July Raising of the flag –
flying at half-mast Funerals - Burial
KEY VOCABULARY rites of passage liminal stage tonsure social puberty rites shamans exorcisms
seasonal/calendar rites propitiaition expiation/atonement sacrament scapegoat Akitu Yom Kippur Bar mitzvah Communitas mantra