Sanctity and Sanction in Communal Ritual: A Reconsideration of Shinto Festival Processions

Abstract

Japanese society is characterized by an emphasis on harmony and self-restraint as guiding principles of daily interaction. A a consequence, alcohol is often considered a necessary catalyst for promoting the open expression of alternative viewpoints, though only in certain culturally prescribed contexts. A Shinto festival procession provides one such context. The bearers of a large, sanctified object purify themselves with liberal amounts of sake, and their intoxicated condition combines with the sheer bulk of the object to lend an ominous uncertainty to its movement. Since the object is perceived as being controlled by the will of the deity, however, no one can be held responsible for any damages incurred during the procession. This type of ritual may thus be considered an instrument of social sanction, affording the people a means of enforcing compliance with accepted norms or seeking retribution for perceived injustices. (Japan, Shinto festival processions, matsuri, alcohol consumption, informal social sanctions, ritual liminality) Small-scale, highly integrated communities employ a variety of informal social control mechanisms that function in the absence of, in addition to, or in conjunction with formal legal institutions. Well-known examples include gossip, ridicule, and social ostracism, all of which rely upon the weight of public opinion to influence personal behavior. Often some form of supernatural power is invoked, as in the use of sorcery, witchcraft, and curse, which threaten the errant party with physical harm of misfortune. While such beliefs and practices convey a generally negative image, they have nonetheless been recognized as conferring certain social benefits. Fear of being labeled a practitioner of such dubious arts - generally associated with a despicable or avaricious personality - encourages people to reaffirm their good faith through periodic acts of kindness and generosity. Perhaps more significantly, incertainty as to who is capable of generating the malevolent power and fear of it being directed against oneself lead people to avoid offending others in any way that might invite retribution. The overall result is the promotion of harmonious social relations and a more equitable distribution of wealth (Norbeck 1961:202-04; Mair 1969:105-06; Mbiti 1989:206). It is within this context that I propose a reconsideration of the Japanese matsuri, Shinto shrine festival, which has figured prominently in much of the recent literature on the anthropology of Japan (see for example Bestor 1989; Robertson 1991; Ashkenazi 1993). Matsuri are communal celebrations generally performed as annual events. They are dedicated to the local tutelary deities that Smith (1974:3) describes as defenders and protectors of the people who live within the compass of their power, whether or not those people are bound by ties of kinship. Part of the significance of these celebrations lies in their ability to encapsulate the values, ideology, and accepted patterns of interaction that identify the local population as a cohesive social unit. In fact, community festivals of this type serve as excellent examples of what Singer (1955:23-26), Geertz (1973:113), and Ortner (1978:1) describe as cultural performances; physical expressions of a people's world view presented in a succinct and readily observable manner. Indeed, previous characterizations of matsuri have focused almost exclusively on their role in reaffirming the social order and instilling a sense of territorial identity (Bestor 1985; Littleton 1986; Ashkenazi 1988, 1993; Ben-Ari 1991). This article, however, addresses an entirely different aspect, that of the intoxication and general unruliness the occasion of matsuri almost inevitably entails. The core of the matsuri as a religious event is a public procession in which some type of large, sanctified object (typically a palanquin-like vehicle containing the spirit of the local tutelary deity) is borne shoulder-high through the streets, in order to revitalize the community with its supernatural presence. …