CHAPTER 8 - Ritual and the Management of Misfortune

Abstract

Rituals are a feature of all human societies, large and small. They are an important part of the way that any social group celebrates, maintains, and renews the world in which they live, and the way they deal with the dangers that threaten that world. Rituals occur in many settings, take on many forms, and perform many functions, both sacred and secular. This chapter describes the type of rituals that relate to health and illness and the management of misfortune. There are two functions of ritual: (1) an expressive function and (2) a creative function. These two functions of ritual are achieved by the use of symbols. These include certain standardized objects, clothing, movements, gestures, words, sounds, songs, music and scents used in rituals, and the fixed order in which they appear. While there are many types of private ritual, anthropologists have described three main types of public ritual: (1) cosmic cycle or calendrical rituals, (2) rituals of social transition (rites de passage), and (3) rituals of misfortune. The chapter describes three stages of social transition: (1) separation, (2) transition, and (3) incorporation. Rituals fulfill many functions, both for the individual and for the society. Depending on the perspective from which they are viewed, these functions can be classified into three overlapping groups: (1) psychological, (2) social, and (3) protective.