 |  Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, 6/e Arthur Lehmann,
California State University -- Chico
Pamela Moro,
Willamette University
James Myers,
California State University -- Chico
Ritual
Chapter Outline
Introduction
Ritual
-universal
-common elements
-action
-connection with religion
-addressing cultural anxieties
Typologies of Ritual
-secular rituals?
-textbook division
-Anthony Wallace's approach
-overlapping categories
-comparison with theater?
The Dynamism of Ritual
-elusive encompassing meaning or significance
-change over time
-new creations
-issues of appropriation
Approaching Ritual
-two basic functions
-the articles: a range of rituals and interpretations
Article: Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in 'Rites of Passage' by Victor W. Turner
The Liminal Period of Rites of Passage
-Arnold van Gennep
-interstructural situation
--features and themes?
Rites of Passage
-expression in small-scale, cyclical societies
-transition between "states"
-van Gennep's 3 phases (separation, margin, aggregation)
Investigating the Liminal
-structural invisibility
-neophyte
Symbolism of the Liminal Persona
-often modeled on human biological processes
-condition of ambiguity, paradox, neutrality
-Douglas' theory of contradiction/pollution
-human 'prima materia'/prototype of 'sacred poverty'
Neophyte Social Structure
-simple
-authority of tradition/axiomatic values
-comradeship
-passivity and absorption of 'gnosis'
The Communication of Sacra
-the heart of the liminal matter
-3 issues to explore: disproportion, monstrousness, and mystery
--examples
--prompts reflection
-3 parallel processes: reduction, recombination, and recombination
-abstraction encouraged
-sacerrima
-archetypal paradigm
Conclusion
-communication of the sacra
--teaches thinking abstractly
--offers ultimate standards of reference
--allows transition between states
-conclusions applied
-invitation to further study
Article: Female Circumcision in Egypt and Sudan: A Controversial Rite of Passage by Daniel Gordon
Female Circumcision in the Arab World
-limited literature
-growing awareness/activism of "female genital mutilation"
-concerns about passivity
Female Genital Operations
-literal circumcision, sunna, "duty" in Arabic
-excision or clitoridectomy, & "intermediate circumcision"
-Pharaonic circumcision, tahara forowniyya, "infibulation"
-rural and urban approaches to operation
-geographic prevalence info
El Dareer's Survey
-extensive statistical survey (1977-81)
-Northern Sudan
-type prevalence
-education level as a factor
-dayas
Egypt
-less survey info
-lower prevalence/ more moderate procedures
-except Nubian south
Recognized Women's Health Concern
-Egyptian and Sudanese statutes against radical forms
-El Dareer's work to educate
-difficult to assess extent of health problems
--culture specific issues
-complications described (not quantified)
--immediate and chronic concerns
--childbirth, sex
--medical and psychological sequelae
Endurance of the Practice
-public resistance to enforcement
-religion and tradition-based rationales
-evidence of religious validation?
-interplay between doctrine and cultural sense of propriety
-rite of passage?
Arabic Code of Modesty
-separation and seclusion for women
-culturally conceived idea of female sexuality
-genital operations as substitutes for total seclusion
-issues of patrilineal purity and changing conditions
Women Advocates
-role of the daya
-focus on fertility and de-emphasizing sexuality
-'enclosedness'
-assertive and symbolic act controlled by women
Issues for Opponents
-culturally embedded solutions
-peripheral incorporation into health care system
-WHO "passive stance"
Changing Conditions
-mothers as a barometer for change
-effects of Westernization/urbanization
Cross-Cultural Ethics
-integrating concerns and methods
-position of advocacy
-anthropological perpetuation of a "cover-up"
-female genital operations as a test case
-a new integrative model?
-advocating a positioned approach
Article: I Can Only Move My Feet Towards 'Mizuko Kuyo': Memorial Services for Dead Children in Japan by Elizabeth G. Harrison
Mizuko Kuyo
-"water child"
-a new tradition
-Buddhist associations
-object of the services
-press coverage
Emergence of Mizuko Kuyo
-contextual history
-Buddhism in Japan
-gained popularity in the 1970's
-increased controversy
-disjunction between public images
-meaning for lay practitioners?
Promotional and Media Images
-successful promotion of specific sites
-subsequent change in media representation
-"business of terror"/ tatari
-positioning of Buddhist clergy
Buddhist Clergy and Mizuko Kuyo
-opposition rationale
-support rationale
-examples
Invented Traditions
-effacing memory
-using cultural and symbolic space
-giving Buddhist history to the practice
-mutual confirmation of traditions
-changing approach of the clergy
-modern acceptance
-irrelevance of intentionality/ appropriation
Lay People's Mizuko Kuyo
-stereotypical media image of women
-active attempt to deal with personal loss
-complexity of involved emotions (sense of responsibility)
-survey: feelings about the practice
-oversimplification into 'guilt'
-reproductive control in Japan
-formal, public, ritualized acknowledgement
-silent resistance and subversion
Mizuko Kuyo in the Lay Participant's Context
-more complex than media and public images
-reasons given
-formalized public mechanism for:
--acknowledging the existence of a child, mizuko
--establishing a continuing relationship with the mizuko
-- a way to speak on women's unspeakable issues
-Buddhism provides the means
Article: Ritual is My Chosen Art Form: The Creation of Ritual as Folk Art Among Contemporary Pagans by Sabina Magliocco
Ritual in Neo-Pagan Groups
-central to religious worship
-process of creation
-creative and aesthetic qualities?
-insights?
Neo-Paganism: An 'Invented Tradition'
-Hobsbawm
-"a pile of old and new fragments"
-socio-historical context
-a contrary identity
-the lost ethos / revitalization?
-use of folkloric materials
-ritual as folk art
-dynamics of ritual participation
-why focus on Neo-Paganism?
Ritual in the Neo-Pagan Community
-centrality
-gathering types
-vehicle for healing and transformation
-historical links
-transcendence
Ritual As Art
-creativity/artistry
-"the Craft"
-affecting aesthetic qualities
-example
-organization and flexibility
The Structural Framework
-Gerald Gardner
-Alicia Bay Laurel
-folklore matrix
-Van Gennep's 3-part model
-example ritual
Practical Considerations
-logistics
Sources for Ritual Material
-living folk traditions
-academic culture
-popular psychology
-mass media and popular culture
-festivals and networking
-internal sources
The Communal Creative Process
-case study
Folklore, Popular Culture, and the Invention of Tradition
-relationship between academic and popular sources
-differentiation?
-validation
-bricolage/ tactic
-postmodern context
-Neo-Pagan alternative to consumer culture
Article: Body Ritual Among the Nacirema by Horace Miner
Nacirema Culture
-poorly understood
-background
-ritual activity
--focus on the physical body
Body Ritual
-underlying approach to the body
-daily ceremonies and rites
-shrines
-charms and magical potions
-specialized practitioners
-rites of ablution
"Holy-Mouth-Men"
-Nacirema oral fixation
-social impact
-mouth-rites
-specialist ceremonial treatment
-masochistic tendencies?
Latipso
-temples of the medicine men
-ritual purification
-gifts and payment
-exposing the body
-temple ceremonies
-faith
The "Listener"
-witch doctor
-susceptibility of children
-curses and "counter-magic"
Conclusions
-practices based on an aversion to the body
-functions ritualized and distorted
-magic-ridden culture
-self-imposed burdens
-position of insight?
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2005 McGraw-Hill Higher Education