Popular Rituals Research Articles

The British Royals in Australia

The British Royals in Australia

Screening of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola in the free-ranging snake community annually harvested for the popular ritual of San Domenico e dei Serpari (Cocullo, AQ, Italy)

In the Abruzzi village of Cocullo (Italy), each year, on May 1st, local snake hunters (known as Serpari) display colubrids, captured in the wild, to commemorate the ancient ritual of San Domenico. The ascomycete Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (Oo) is the causative agent of ophidiomycosis, an emerging disease with sublethal effects. Skin lesions, such as dysecdysis, edematous, crusty or necrotic scales, swellings, nodules, and ulcers, are the most common clinical manifestation of the disease. The pathogen and its associated disease are well characterized in wild snakes in North America, whereas broad screenings of free ranging wild ophidians in Europe are rare. In 2019, as part of a multi-year snake health monitoring project, all the Cocullo ophidians were carefully examined for integumentary affections and those showing signs consistent with ophidiomycosis were dry swabbed on the skin and on any visible cutaneous lesions with a single applicator. The extracted DNA underwent a broad-range panfungal PCR targeting the D1-D2 region, as well as two conventional PCRs specific to the ITS2 and IGS regions of Oo DNA. Twenty-three out of 129 snakes (13/82 Elaphe quatuorlineata; 7/31 Hierophis viridiflavus; 3/15 Zamenis longissumus; 0/1 Natrix helvetica) resulted clinically affected, but no specific Oo genomic DNA was detected by PCR. The Cocullo ritual celebration provided a unique opportunity for the first systematic testing of a large sample size of a local snake community for the monitoring of this pathogen in Italy.

A Case Study on the Popular Rituals of Marma Buddhists in Bangladesh

Marma is a microscopic Buddhist ethic community in Bangladesh, who mainly live in Chittagong Hill Tracts and follow Theravada Buddhism. Though they have every regards for the Bangladeshi National Jurisdictions, they have their own administrative body of jurisdiction. They have their own language, traditional dress and observe colorful popular rituals, through which they keep their identity as a distinct community. In this article, it has explored some popular rituals of Marma Buddhists and to uncover the meaning, and understand them regarding these rituals. Social Science Review, Vol. 39(1), June 2022 Page 199-209

Mourning for Tammuz: Prophecy and Projection in Ezekiel 8:14

Abstract While many commentators take Ezek 8:14 at face value, ancient Near Eastern parallels call this understanding into question. Both East and West Semitic sources indicate that mourning rituals for a goddess’s dead consort were carried out in state-sponsored temples that symbolized the goddess. Since this does not accord with what is known about the Jerusalem temple in the early sixth century BCE, it is probable that the visionary writer of verse 14 has projected onto the temple observances for the dying god that did not belong to it. There are indications, however, that his mourning rites were also observed in less formal settings. Women were prominent participants in these popular rituals (as they were in funeral observances in general). It is likely, therefore, that the author of verse 14 knew of mourning rites for a dead god observed in Judah outside of the temple context. Since Ezekiel indicted illegitimate cultic activities that took place throughout the nation for defiling the central sanctuary, the vision of ritual mourning for Tammuz buttressed the prophet’s claim that YHWH had decided to abandon the temple. As it is uncertain that women in Judah called the dead god “Tammuz,” the use of that divine name may come from Ezekiel.

The liturgy of triumph: victory culture, popular rituals, and the US way of wartiming

Wartime is fundamentally important to the study of international politics but not especially well understood. In this paper, we use timing theory and the concept of liturgy to unpack the contemporary dynamics of US wartime. A theory of political timing posits that all temporalities derive from and symbolize underlying social processes, and that these timing efforts unfold according to a master organizing standard. Liturgy highlights the way that ritualized acts help participants commune with the sacred – whether this be God or the nation-state. Scrutinizing contemporary US culture practices, we combine these ideas to argue that the notion of victory, as enacted through a widespread set of performative routines, acts as an organizing standard that embeds and reifies wartime in US security policy and daily life. Prevalent ideals of winning wars gather together a stylized past, explicate present problems, and generate expectations about future problems and conflicts. We tabulate several highly influential examples of this liturgy of triumph from national calendars, commemorative sites and events, and cultural practices like spectator sports. In addition to normalizing a view of wartime as having clear beginnings and uniquely successful endings, the US liturgy of triumph highlights a growing gap in the country’s relationship to the use of force. Most of what performative war liturgies commemorate is ‘finished’; it has been seen, known, and ostensibly won. Yet, much of what defines 21st century conflict is anything but certain or victorious. Moreover, US victory culture has only grown more acute the longer the concrete victories fail to materialize, suggesting a tragic code at the heart of US security politics.

Social Acceptance of the Fatimid Caliphs in the Light of Social Vitality of Popular Rituals

Social Acceptance of the Fatimid Caliphs in the Light of Social Vitality of Popular Rituals

The Shakespearean Poetic Rosary: The ‘Sacred Numbers’ in Shakespeare’s Sonnets

In human culture there are certain numbers of special importance. They are mostly used in old and modern writings as “sacred numbers” of religious and literary significance. They are present in the Greek myths, in Egyptian Pharaonic culture, in ancient Persian, in the Indian culture, and in Arab traditions; then (Islamic) culture as well as in the Biblical Western culture. These numbers are of two kinds: even and uneven or odd. The odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7and 9 play a far more important part than the even numbers. One is Deity, three the Trinity, five the chief division, seven is the sacred number, and nine is three times three. These numbers have good function and been looked at as ‘Sacred’ or ‘Perfect’ numbers either of good omen or evil. There is another forth number, which is “10”, it comes mainly in Jewish and Islamic education in very few cases having similar religious suggestion. Shakespeare has used the number Ten in Sonnet 6 Then let not winter's ragged hand deface. “Sacred Numbers” have become a part of religion and even of modern belief, and mostly represented in the popular rituals. Shakespeare has used the “Sacred Numbers” in his works either prose or poetry, and this article is restricted to deal only with three Shakespearean sonnets where I imagine Shakespeare reciting his Latin Rosary in a poetic religious tone and drawing the cross sign on his chest and on the forehead of his sonnets in order to invoke divine protection. It seems that Shakespeare’s date of birth and death (1564 -1616) carries a certain secret of his fondness for sacred numbers; thus: The sum of the date of his birth (1564=16) is doubled in the date of his death (1616).

Rainmakers for the Cosmopolitan Empire: A Historical and Religious Study of 18th Century Tibetan Rainmaking Rituals in the Qing Dynasty

Although Tibetan rainmaking rituals speak of important aspects of both history and religion, scholars thus far have paid only biased attention to the rituals and performative aspects rather than the abundant textual materials available. To address that issue, this article analyzes a single textual manual on Tibetan rainmaking rituals to learn the significance of rainmaking in late Imperial Chinese history. The article begins with a historical overview of the importance of Tibetan rainmaking activities for the polities of China proper and clearly demonstrates the potential for studying these ritual activities using textual analysis. Then it focuses on one Tibetan rainmaking manual from the 18th century and its author, Sumpa Khenpo, to illustrate that potential. In addition to the author’s autobiographical accounts of the prominence of weather rituals in the Inner Asian territory of Qing China, a detailed outline of Sumpa Khenpo’s rainmaking manual indicates that the developmental aspects of popular weather rituals closely agreed with the successful dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism in regions where Tibetan Buddhist clerics were active. As an indicator of late Imperial Chinese history, this function of Tibetan rainmaking rituals is a good barometer of the successful operation of a cosmopolitan empire, a facilitator of which was Tibetan Buddhism, in the 18th century during the High Qing era.

Perspektif Peneliti Outsider Terhadap Perilaku Keagamaan Masyarakat Muslim (Kajian pada Pemikiran Frederick M. Denny)

This study examines the approach used by Frederick M. Denny who is an outsider researcher about the religious behavior of Muslim communities. The method used is the library method. Meanwhile, the primary source used as a data source is the writing of F. M. Denny's in Richard C. Martin's anthology book. This study found that the approach used by Frederick. M. Denny in understanding the religious behavior of Muslim societies is a sociological approach by distinguishing rituals in Islam into two, namely official and popular rituals. Through this approach, Denny concluded that outside of official worship, in Islam there were also additional rituals performed by Muslim communities. The difference is that these additional rituals are local and vary by region

The Transformative Power of Food: The “Milk Mothers” in Sri Lankan Buddhism

This article examines the role of food in the religious cosmology of Sri Lankan Buddhists, combining textual and ethnographic research and drawing on original material, including untranslated pamphlets and interviews. Looking at food as an agent rather than an instrument reveals a creative and transformative power that is tangible in individual ritual contexts. One such context is the offering of dishes rich in milk to seven “milk mothers,” who are representatives of the Buddhist goddess Pattini. Despite its great popularity this ritual has so far received little scholarly attention. The milk mothers are often invited in fulfilment of a vow to Pattini who is associated with fertility, childbirth and childhood diseases, but also more generally with prosperity and health. The article demonstrates how milk is crucial for the success of this popular ritual as it creates the necessary ritual frame and, from an ayurvedic perspective, has the power to transform mothers into milk mothers.

The symbol of Saint Gióng and the Gióng festival in the historical context of Vietnam

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to trace the way in which a popular ritual became one of Vietnam’s most important festivals, elevated as a celebration of national heroism and charts its gradual transformation in modern society. Design/methodology/approach This research focuses on the combination of a fertility rite and narratives of St Gióng based on nationalism or heroism created a special festival reflecting many traditional cultural characteristics of Vietnam and the Việt people and the transformation of St Gióng from a mythological to a national symbol of heroism in anti-invader history was recorded in texts. Findings The paper casts light on the mythologization and historicization of St Gióng in Vietnam’s particular historical context by decoding the Gióng symbol as a core element of the folktales and myths about St Gióng to understand the formation and development of St Gióng in the cultural history of Vietnam. Research limitations/implications The paper is not exploring the Gióng symbol within a larger cultural context of nationalism and ethnosymbolic approach in a comparison of national symbolism and heroism. Practical implications The paper includes implications for advised scholars to conduct further exploration of the symbol and myth of not only St Gióng in Vietnam but also Kubera in India and Vaisravana in China to connect Kubera, Vaisravana and St Gióng under the connection of literal myth and heroic symbol. Social implications The paper shows how processes of historicizing myth and mythologizing history are important features of Vietnamese socio-historical research. Originality/value The paper shows how a fertility rite became a historical festival and the figure of St Gióng became a symbol of patriotic heroism.

Holy Time and Popular Invented Rituals in Islam: Structures and Symbolism

This paper tackles three popular invented rituals in the early centuries of Islam performed in the seventh and eighth months of the Islamic calendar; Rajab and Shacbān, namely the sacrifices of faraca and catīra, fasting and prayers. In the light of sociocultural and psycho-cultural perspectives, the paper discusses the cultural and spiritual perceptions of time and space in Islam, and the reasons that make specific settings fertile soils suitable for inventing new rituals. Then, it analyses the structures and symbolism of these rituals as a means of dialogical relationship with the self, the other, and the group. The paper also sheds light on the piety folk developed by Sufism as a response to spiritual void and psychological needs that lead Muslims to invent new forms of worship. The paper will, then, analyze the scholarly debate over the legitimacy of these invented rituals and the festivities associated with them, and tackle the interpretative strategies to approve them in a long dialectical process with ‘puritan’ Muslims. In the end, it discusses the relationship of invented rituals to the embedded structure of power and it sheds light on the reasons behind the escalation of practicing these invented rituals in recent decades in the Arab Islamic world.[Tulisan ini mengkaji tiga ritus ibadah di awal abad perkembangan Islam yaitu perayaan bulan Rajab dan Sha’ban, puasa dan shalat. Dengan pendekatan sosial budaya dan psikologi budaya, tulisan ini membahas persepsi budaya dan spiritual mengenai waktu dan ruang dalam Islam, serta menjelaskan setting khusus yang membuat reka cipta ritual baru. Disamping itu tulisan ini juga membahas struktur dan simbol ritual teresebut sebagai perangkat dialog dengan diri sendiri, pihak lain dan kelompok. Tulisan ini juga membahas pengembangan bentuk kesalehan kaum sufi sebagai respon kebutuhan psikologis dan pemenuhan spiritual yang menuntun umat muslim mereka cipta bentuk persembahan baru. Termasuk perdebatan para ulama mengenai legitimasi perayaan tersebut dan proses dialog dengan kelompok puritan. Di bagian akhir akan dijelaskan hubungan ritual tersebut dengan struktur kekuasaan yang melekat dan menguatnya praktik tersebut beberapa dekade terakhir terutama di dunia muslim Arab.]

Holy Time and Popular Invented Rituals in Islam: Structures and Symbolism

This paper tackles three popular invented rituals in the early centuries of Islam performed in the seventh and eighth months of the Islamic calendar; Rajab and Sha c bān, namely the sacrifices of fara c a and c atīra, fasting and prayers. In the light of sociocultural and psycho-cultural perspectives, the paper discusses the cultural and spiritual perceptions of time and space in Islam, and the reasons that make specific settings fertile soils suitable for inventing new rituals. Then, it analyses the structures and symbolism of these rituals as a means of dialogical relationship with the self, the other, and the group. The paper also sheds light on the piety folk developed by Sufism as a response to spiritual void and psychological needs that lead Muslims to invent new forms of worship. The paper will, then, analyze the scholarly debate over the legitimacy of these invented rituals and the festivities associated with them, and tackle the interpretative strategies to approve them in a long dialectical process with ‘puritan’ Muslims. In the end, it discusses the relationship of invented rituals to the embedded structure of power and it sheds light on the reasons behind the escalation of practicing these invented rituals in recent decades in the Arab Islamic world. [Tulisan ini mengkaji tiga ritus ibadah di awal abad perkembangan Islam yaitu perayaan bulan Rajab dan Sha’ban, puasa dan shalat. Dengan pendekatan sosial budaya dan psikologi budaya, tulisan ini membahas persepsi budaya dan spiritual mengenai waktu dan ruang dalam Islam, serta menjelaskan setting khusus yang membuat reka cipta ritual baru. Disamping itu tulisan ini juga membahas struktur dan simbol ritual teresebut sebagai perangkat dialog dengan diri sendiri, pihak lain dan kelompok. Tulisan ini juga membahas pengembangan bentuk kesalehan kaum sufi sebagai respon kebutuhan psikologis dan pemenuhan spiritual yang menuntun umat muslim mereka cipta bentuk persembahan baru. Termasuk perdebatan para ulama mengenai legitimasi perayaan tersebut dan proses dialog dengan kelompok puritan. Di bagian akhir akan dijelaskan hubungan ritual tersebut dengan struktur kekuasaan yang melekat dan menguatnya praktik tersebut beberapa dekade terakhir terutama di dunia muslim Arab.]

Memaknai Praktik Tradisi Ritual Masyarakat Muslim Sumenep

THIS -- paper seeks to reveal the meaning of tradition in the Muslim’s ritual in Sumenep Madura which is understood as a local or popular ritual, associated with the determination of the calendar in Islam. This ritual, when expressed and understood in practice, is always based on the popularization of calendar names in local-based Islam with certain insights and meanings. With this deductive-inductive explorative approach, this paper explain to three popular ritual praxis of the Sumenep Madurese. Firstly, the practice of the death ritual that was intended as a repentance to God for self and “al-marhum”, ties the brotherhood, and effective for Islamic preaching. Secondly, the ritual practice of “Peret Kandung” is a ritual of the first pregnancy for husband and wife entering the seventh month which is meant as a symbol of purification, so that the born child will survive and truly become sholeh child who boast of parents. Third, “sonat ritual” is a continuation of initiation ritual in Sumenep only for boys which is meant as a ritual as well as da'wah media for islamization.

طقوس الزواج في محافظة جنين

The study examined the marriage rituals in Jenin governorate as the most popular folk ritual in a rural society that cherishes these rituals because they are related to prestige, role and status. When we talk about the rituals of marriage, we notice the Palestinians' perception of their importance at an early age, and their fear of the phenomenon of spinsterhood for both male and female. If the spinsterhood is associated with the girl more than the man,

The neglected side of philanthropy

Anthropological interest in giving, including religious charity, has grown in recent years. However, studies of philanthropy have largely been confined to activities relating to human-to-human sociality. By contrast, this article explores conceptions of giving and acts of charity from the perspective of interactions between the living and the dead. Drawing on Buddhist traditions and popular rituals in contemporary Việt Nam, it takes an in-depth, ethnographic look at a series of ritual performances that seek to provide relief to ‘orphaned’ restless ghosts. Forms of religious charity constitute the unfortunate dead as the impoverished ‘other’ and strive to create a nexus of reciprocity that associates the living with the dead, and the human with the non-human. Further, the article argues that Vietnamese charitable acts for ghosts are not driven simply by an awareness of the needs and sufferings of others. Such concerns and sensibilities are undeniably instilled by moral and religious training in Buddhist disciplines. However, they are supplemented and reinforced by the menacing influence that the neglected dead are believed to be capable of exerting upon the living, in terms of the threat they pose, and the power they often exercise, putting one’s prospects for a prosperous future and general well-being in jeopardy.

Characteristics of Exposure to Particles due to Incense Burning inside Temples in Kanpur, India

ABSTRACTIncense burning in temples is a common and popular ritual in India and other Asian countries. This study aims at assessing the quantity and size segregated distribution of particulate matter in temples of Kanpur city, India. Active air sampling was performed in three temples using the Micro Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI). PM10 mass concentrations as high as 2184 µg m–3 were recorded inside the temples. Mass concentration values for all samples exceeded the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 100 µg m–3. Particle counts were high, and more than 99% of the numbers of particles generated were PM2.5. Particle coagulation is an active mechanism leading to formation of polydispersed particles. Most abundant particles occur in the accumulation mode (dp < 1 µm). Ventilation conditions and amount of incense burned are major factors affecting particle size distribution. Exposure through inhalation, to critically high concentrations of fine particulate matter generated via incense smoke especially for worshippers who frequent the temple and temple workers, raises health concerns. The results clearly indicate that incense smoke is a major source of particulate matter in the temple microenvironment and their chemical characteristics need further examination.

Exploring the Aesthetics of Mexican-American Popular Ritual

This essay explores the ritual dynamics of Good Friday at the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, Texas. Four liturgies take place on this day, the most famous of which is the via crucis, or public reenactment of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. As gripping as the via crucis is, the author focuses on a lesser-known Good Friday liturgy, a traditional Mexican service called the Pésame. In this solemn service, congregants come to pay their condolences to the grieving Mary, who performs a powerful liturgical dance. The essay explores the ways that Mary’s dance ignites not only a visceral aesthetics of sense but also a more encompassing aesthetics of the moral imagination. In offering this interpretation, the author draws on insights from both ritual studies and practical theology, showing how they may critically inform each other.

English

Among the Digo of Kenya the belief and fear of sorcery is most prevalent that many things are explained in relation with it. Over the years, major sorcery-detection and eradication ‘crusades’ conducted by individuals alleging to be endowed with supernatural powers to detect and neutralize purported sorcerers have been witnessed among the Digo. During the eradication ‘crusades’ a considerable amount of money is collected to pay for the services of the presumed experts, indicating how serious the problem is regarded in Digo region. Islam is the religion of majority of the Digo, which has influenced their thinking and world-view, and has specific teachings on the practice of sorcery. Despite substantial influence of Islam on the Digo, the people continue to belief and practice sorcery leading to the development of popular religious therapy. This article will demonstrate that popular Islamic rituals and talismans have been adopted by the Digo to assist the traditional healers in countering the forces of sorcery as a means to restoring health to individuals and the general well-being of society. In exploring the practice of sorcery as experienced by the Digo, this article demonstrates how the traditional techniques of countering sorcery are rooted in the indigenous belief system of the Digo. Both the traditional and the popular Islamic approaches of countering sorcery reveal the ability of the different world views in making remedies and medicines for the victims. Key words: Witchcraft, Sorcery, Islam, Digo and Magic

Charivari and popular ritual in 17th-century Italy: a source and context for improvised performance?

Early improvisation practices, especially of instrumental music, are difficult to describe with any certainty today, as is music of any sort that was performed outside the literate aristocratic and church environments. This article explores a document by one of the lesser-known members of theAcademia dei Lincei, Francesco Stelluti, which describes a ritual he witnessed in the Umbrian town of Acquasparta, probably in the early 1620s. Stelluti, a member of the academy from its inception, was, with Cassiano dal Pozzo and Prince Federico Cesi, a staunch supporter of Galileo and a promoter of empirical scientific observation, evidenced in his acute observation of vernacular culture. The document, a letter to an unknown recipient, describes a charivari—a popular shaming ritual carried out to indicate disapproval of a second or other seemingly inappropriate marriage. Stelluti calls this ritual cocciata, cioccona or scampanata—words that may indicate an etymology similar to the ciaccona. In Stelluti’s description we can catch a glimpse of a context in which improvised music may have been performed within a popular context, but framed in a way that suggests it is a relic of antiquity and as such has value worthy of a written record.