Ideological Rituals cont.

1
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

2
Rite of Passage Coming of Age Rituals Boys vs.
Girls

• Coming of Age Ritual Marks transition from
  childhood to adulthood.
• Girls
• Menarche usually marks the beginning.
• Since time of menstruation is different for each
  girl, the Coming of Age Ritual is usually an
  individual event.
• Ex Yanomamö women onset of menarche, girl is
  cloistered in a specific area of the home
  (separation). She sits here for 3 days, shaves
  her head, eats little and wears no adornments
  (transition). At the end, she cleans herself and
  re-enters society as an adult (incorporation).
• Boys
• Usually initiated as an Age Set (a group of
  people around the same age), instead of
  individually like girls.
• Ex Gururumba men group of boys are taken from
  their respective women/children homes
  (separation) to the mens house. Here they must
  wipe off the polluting sweat obtained from the
  womens hut, are psychologically and physically
  hazed to test their fortitude and learn secret
  knowledge meant only for men, including
  flute-playing (transition). Once they have
  accomplished this, they are then presented to the
  community as men (incorporation).
• Since boys often go through Coming of Age Rituals
  together, communitas, or a sense of community and
  camaraderie, develops.
• Also, individuals of the same Age Set may
  naturally move through Age Grades (a specific
  status, like child/teen/adult/elder defined by
  age) together.
• Ex of a Right of Passage/Coming of Age Ritual in
  our culture Wedding/Other?

3
Alterations of the Human Body

• Some rituals require alteration of the
  body/certain body part(s) in the liminal state
  (Transition phase). Can be permanent and
  indicate completion of the ritual.
• Clothing and body paint
• Ex Wedding Gown, Tuxedo (Wedding),
  Uniforms/Haircuts (Law Enforcement/Military)
• Tattooing/Piercing
• Ex piercing/cutting the skin, inserting
  ink/pigment
• Ex Earrings/plugs/weights
• Ex Cicatrization (Scarification)
• In West Africa, used in initiation and as a sign
  of bravery. Usually done with razor blades
• Ex Stretching of the Neck/Lower Lip/Neck
• Paduang tribe from Thailand. Girls begin to wear
  coils right before puberty (Coming of Age
  Ritual).
• Ex Piercing nose, eyebrow, lips, tongue,
  nipples, genitalia

4
Genital Alterations

• Sometimes performed as a Right of Passage
• Male Circumcision
• Cutting of the Foreskin. In Judaism termed
  Berit Mila. May also include official naming
  of the child. For girls, only the naming
  ceremony and not circumcision is performed.
• Subincision Underside of penis (and sometimes
  part of the urethra) is cut.
• Female Circumcision
• 3 major types
• Clitoridectomy Clitoris/part of clitoris and
  sometimes part/all of labia minora.
• Infibulation Clitoris, labia minora and majora.
• Pharaonic Infibulation entire clitoris, labia
  minora, majora and remnants sewn together to form
  small openings for bodily functions. Wound
  reopened for sexual intercourse.
• Not as widely accepted as Male Circumcision,
  considered by many outside cultures as a breach
  of Universal Human Rights
• (Google news broadcast) http//www.youtube.com/w
  atch?v8sBhTYEE030
• Themes Attempting to observe and understand, but
  not to judge. Question, how to balance Cultural
  Relativism with Human Rights?

5
Salvation Rituals, Revitalization Rituals and
Pilgrimages

• Salvation Ritual in which an individual is
  changed in some way
• Ex Spirit possession (temporary), initiation of
  a Shaman (permanent), Altered States of
  Consciousness Rituals (next chapter).
• Revitalization Rituals Elimination of
  foreign/recently introduced customs in order to
  return to a more traditional way of life.
• Ex The Amish
• Pilgrimages Journey to a sacred place, or a
  series of rituals that are associated with a
  sequence of religious sites.
• Ex Muslim (Kaaba in Mecca, the Hajj).
• Ex Navaho, Aborigine sacred landscape. Physical
  features of the environment (boulders/rivers/lakes
  ) part of mythology that is still tangible (i.e.
  touched/seen).

6
Tabu and Dietary Restrictions

• Not quite Ritual, but are still Religious
  Obligations
• Tabu objects/people/actions that are off limits.
  Dishonor, bad luck or something else negative
  would result for the one who breaks Tabu.
• Ex Judaism (Uzzah steadies the ark to prevent it
  from capsizing but is smote dead by God for
  touching this most sacred of objects).
• Ex Mana (Polynesia) an impersonal supernatural
  force found concentrated in people, objects and
  the landscape (like The Force). Chief has so
  much Mana that he may pose a threat to others.
  Tabus are put in place to protect others (i.e.
  cannot touch the chief/use his items).
• Tabu in our culture?
• Kosher (Jewish Food Law)
• Did not originally mean everythings cool.
• Refers to foods deemed proper in Jewish Food Law
• Eating only land mammals that have cloven hooves
  and chew their cud (reason for no pork), meat
  must be drained of blood.
• Symobl of group identity and a barrier to social
  interactions between different social units.