National Rituals Research Articles

Roman wealth, native ritual: Coin hoards within and beyond Roman Britain

Abstract Coin deposits constitute one of the more striking, and yet common, elements of the archaeological record of Roman Britain. However, their study is based upon assumptions concerning the motives behind deposition and distinctions made between hoards and other categories of coin find. This paper has two aims. Firstly, it seeks to demonstrate the inadequacy of current interpretations of coin hoards. Secondly, it attempts to broaden the analysis of coin hoards by considering also votive deposits of coins in areas peripheral to and beyond the frontiers of Roman Britain. Several common features between coin deposits within and beyond the province are identified, and the implications of these for the motives behind deposition — and the nature of Romano‐British society and economy — are then considered.

The Sacred and the Subversive: Political Witch-Hunts as National Rituals

The Sacred and the Subversive: Political Witch-Hunts as National Rituals

The Sacred and the Subversive: Political Witch-Hunts as National Rituals

Journal Article The Sacred and the Subversive: Political Witch-Hunts as National Rituals, by Albert Bergesen. Storrs, Ct: Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (Monograph No. 4), 1984, ix + 66 pp. $5.50 Get access Richard Weisman Richard Weisman Glendon College, York University, Canada Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Sociology of Religion, Volume 47, Issue 2, Summer 1986, Pages 175–177, https://doi.org/10.2307/3711464 Published: 01 July 1986

The Sacred and the Subversive: Political Witch-Hunts as National Rituals.

The Sacred and the Subversive: Political Witch-Hunts as National Rituals.

The Sacred and the Subversive: Political Witch-Hunts as National Rituals

Dr. Mukenge has written an interesting book on and by utilizing social science concepts presents a somewhat different perspective on than has been presented in much of existing literature. By defining for her readership what the church is and is not, Dr. Mukenge establishes parameters of her study at outset. According to her definition, the is a sociological abstraction. Whether or not reader agrees with that statement, it is necessary to accept it for balance of her argument is posited upon assumption that this is an acceptable statement. For purpose of study, is defined as (a) an organization . . . a structural body which is designed to achieve specific objectives that are part of a larger institutional process; and (b) The denominational family is term that is used to provide rubric for understanding black church, i.e., A group of similar denominations, whether in direct fellowship and cooperation with one another or not. They have common elements in their history, doctrines, or organization and therefore are often referred to as an analytical unit. What other historians and scholars have termed historic church are included in this

Crisis in the American Republic: The Legal and Political Significance of Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

In November 1963, John F. Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic President of the United States of America, was assassinated while travelling in a motorcade through the streets of Dallas, Texas.The election of Kennedy was a significant moment in relations between religion and public life in this nation for, although Catholics were physically present on the continent over a century before Protestant's, the Protestant spirit clearly dominated the newly formed nation in positions of political and economic power well into the twentieth century.But the death of Kennedy was also a significant moment, a moment in which religious sentiments and public concerns were fused. The grief that was felt nationwide betrayed depths of religious emotion usually reserved for the intimate spaces of family life. But this was the grief of a body politic for one in whose office the entire community, however otherwise divided, was symbolized. Moreover, the funeral, stately and elegant, came as close as any other event in the history of America to being a national religious ritual, even if conducted for many only through the conveyance of electronic media.

National Ritual, Neighborhood Performance: Celebrating Tujuhbelasan

National Ritual, Neighborhood Performance: Celebrating Tujuhbelasan

Religion Among American Indians

The traditional worldview of North American Indians is outlined as a basis for explicating the central tribal ceremonials and for comprehending the tribal response to prolonged missionization from Christian denominations. The missionaries operated in a context of authoritarian superiority, and most conceived of themselves as bearing civilization, rather than a plain scriptural message; hence, there was little concern to modify Euro-Christianity to fit with native rituals and values. Today, most Indians are Christians, at least nominally; but, in many cases, the Christianity is integrated with the native worldview, and the individual participates in a variety of both Christian and neotraditional rituals. The destructive impact of the European invasions stimulated millenarian movements, such as the Ghost Dance; the continued vitality of these movements was expressed in the recent occupation of Wounded Knee, which should be comprehended as a religious, rather than a political, action. The Peyote Cult, organized as the Native American Church, constitutes a syncretism of Christian and traditional rites and attitudes, and it is widespread as intertribal and pan-Indian. Further pan-Indian, neotradi tional, revivalistic, and millenarian movements may be anticipated.

Hamlin Garland’s Observations on the American Indian, 1895–1905 ed. by Lonnie E. Underhill and Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr.

350 Western American Literature the intricately connected life of plants, animals, insects, birds — and the land itself — with great skill. Basically a presentation of the life of a badger, Borun, and in this sense a detailed and unusual story, the novel also interweaves its human and animal characters — the aging country dweller, Polly; a one-eyed fox; the cat Vandal; badgers of various ages and stages in their life-cycles; as well as fox-hunters and farmers. A nonsentimental environmental viewpoint pervades the book, along with a sound sense of both natural and human history. Obviously, The Badgers of Summercombe, with its animal characters and simple story line, would be suitable for younger readers (11-12 and up) ready for a more sophisticated view of nature and ecology. The richness of zoological detail (one is reminded at times of Walter Clark’s fine story of a hawk, “Hook”), and our interest in the American Badger found as an intriguing resident throughout the West, broaden the novel’s appeal. ROBERT A. RORIPAUGH, University of Wyoming Hamlin Garland’s Observations on the American Indian, 1895-1905. Edited by Lonnie E. Underhill and Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr. (Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona Press, 1976. 182 pages, bibliography, $4.95 paper; $9.95 cloth.) The theme for this series of non-fiction essays by Hamlin Garland could be stated in this way, “The Indian should not be civilized at the expense of his native rituals, ceremonies and amusements.” Throughout his writings, Garland is insistent that the Anglo recognize the point of view of the Indian. This is a request we, the Anglos of the 1970’s, could still honor. In the 1890’s Garland developed an interest in the West, its land, places, and especially its people — the Indian. Traveling widely in the West, he kept accurate notes based on his observations and later used these to write essays on the reservation Indian. The Indian was then in a transi­ tion period. Established patterns of living were abandoned as a push for assimilation into Anglo culture came from Indian agents and missionaries. Garland many times pointed out the absence of proper Anglo models for the Indians to follow. The Anglos on the reservation were not always the best to serve as mentors, causing the Indian to become nothing more, in Garland’s opinion, than a low class Anglo. Garland was present to witness this occurrence. In his writings, Garland attempted to show the Indian as a human being. Other writers of the time were not doing this. Garland is sympathetic toward the Indian. No doubt of that. He views them through the eyes of a reformer, seeing the injustices being done to them and the unjust social conditions they had to bear. Reviews 351 The editors of this volume, Lonnie E. Underhill and Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr., have selected thirteen essays by Hamlin Garland. Each essay is prefaced by a short introduction. Footnotes used throughout each essay clarify portions of the text and put others into perspective. An informa­ tive introductory survey apprises the reader of Garland’s background and his literary endeavors. The editors are to be commended for this presenta­ tion of factual material. A reference section presents many sources of primary and secondary materials as well as a bibliography of Garland’s writings on the American Indian. Hamlin Garland’s Observations on the American Indian is a good book, one which would appeal to many readers, the historian, anthropolo­ gist or to the student of literature. The format is presented in an informa­ tive manner. The reader will see a way of life which no longer exists, but will see the beginning of a problem which has lingered through the years and faces us today. PATRICIA ANN OWENS, Godfrey, Illinois ...

Costume and Cosmology: The Animal Symbolism of the Ncwala

Social anthropologists have long been interested in the relationship between animal symbolism and social organisation, particularly under the rubric of totemism (Durkheim & Mauss (I903) I963; Radcliffe-Brown I93 I; I952; EvansPritchard i956; Fortes I945; Levi-Strauss I963). Writers in this tradition have repeatedly stressed the relationship between specific social segments and various animal species, and have thereby emphasised the role of animal symbols in the articulation of social structure. Levi-Strauss and several other investigators have supplemented these social structural considerations with analyses of the internal logic of conceptual systems and varying assumptions about the universal structure of human thought (Evans-Pritchard I956; Leach I964; Douglas I966; LeviStrauss I966; Fortes I967). This essay draws upon ideas central to both these interpretative styles. But while I recognise the social correlates of symbolic systems, I focus on animal symbolism in the perspective of the political system of an entire nation, rather than in relation to specific social segments. Again, while I appreciate the validity of examining symbolic systems as self-contained wholes, I am in accord with those who reject the notion that such systems are either closed or invariably built upon a series of binary oppositions. In a previous article I examined the language of space in systems of political communication (I972a), and in a subsequent article analysed styles of clothing, formal and informal, as conveying messages of different and changing identities (I973): this article extends the analysis to costume, the clothing of ritual. Once again I use material from the culture of the Swazi of south-east Africa to make points of more general interest. I must refer readers to earlier writings for a full description of Swazi kingship (Marwick I940; Kuper I947a; I963; I972b). Here it is necessary to emphasise that the Swazi had developed a complex political oral constitution, much of which persisted throughout the Colonial era, and which is being revitalised in the period since Independence. At the head of the polity is the king, titled Ngwenyama (lit. Lion), who rules with his 'mother', real or surrogate, titled Ndlovukati (lit. She Elephant). They are metaphorically described as 'twins' (emapahla); their powers however are complementary, not identical, and at times overlap (Kuper I947; esp. S4-6). Among the Swazi, animals, including birds, figure prominently in the costumes worn at the ncwala, the most important annual national ritual of kingship. Though I described the ncwala in earlier writings (I947; I97-225; I968), I did not elaborate on, or examine, the meanings conveyed by the costume. I provide here both new ethnographic data, and interpretations of the animal symbolism of costumes

"The Foundation of Life": The Cherokee National Ritual

"The Foundation of Life": The Cherokee National Ritual