Ritual Value Research Articles

What Ceremony Does to Psychedelics: On the Importance of Applying Integrated Theories of Ritual Value Generation to Psychedelic Studies

What Ceremony Does to Psychedelics: On the Importance of Applying Integrated Theories of Ritual Value Generation to Psychedelic Studies

World, Symbol, Gaze

As it is written in the Bhagavad Gita: 1 The mind wanders, It’s restless at any moment, It needs to be controlled, Accept self-discipline. The three texts in this portfolio follow a critical, reflexive, and self-constraining first- person perspective. They are, in order: the “World” text, the “Symbol” text, and the “Gaze” text, with the “World” text as the starting point. The “World” text specifically analyzes Khyentse Norbu’s narrative film, Travellers and Magicians, and points out the Māyā characteristics of film. The “Symbol” text reflects on the distance between human and the God by combining semiotics and personal experience of devoting self to Buddhism with a research method that is mutually referenced with the Perennial philosophy. Finally, inspired by the first two texts, the “Gaze” text is a summative and complementary text. It takes Benjamin’s research as a starting point to reflect on the ritual value of contemporary spiritual films. These three texts point to each other and suggest a research style and methodology that is closely linked to personal experience, religion, and art.

Tradition, Transformation, and Democratic Education

Abstract As Tocqueville saw almost 200 years ago, rituals sit uncomfortably with democratic people, who tend to see them as inegalitarian or unjust impositions of authority. Molly Farneth's new book, The Politics of Ritual, encourages American progressives to see ritual differently. Rituals, she says, can be enacted in novel ways to serve democratic ends in the service of political and cultural transformation. But in emphasizing the transformative potential of rituals, Farneth may undersell the traditional value of rituals—a value that I think should be just as important to contemporary progressives. Against the serious antidemocratic forces arrayed in the United States today, most of which speak in terms of “transformation” and “disruption,” progressives would do well to think of themselves as the conservators and protectors of democracy—not just as radical innovators. In making this argument, I give special attention to the state of U.S. higher education.

Ritual and Struggle: Movement of Banyuwangi Gandrung Dance from the Colonial Era to the Reformation

This research examines the Gandrung dance from a historical perspective from the Colonial to Reformation period in Banyuwangi Regency, Indonesia. The origins of the Gandrung dance cannot be separated from the historical roots of dance in Indonesia. The birth of the Gandrung dance was intended to clean the village by worshiping Dewi Sri or the Goddess of Rice as an expression of gratitude for the Using ethnic group for abundant harvests and for bringing prosperity to the community. Village clean ritual activities initially used male Gandrung dancers. The process of changing a Gandrung dancer from male to female contains metaphysical elements that are closely related to spiritual values. In the colonial period until the Reformation, Gandrung dance was no longer focused on as a dance art that contained mere ritual values but also contained political values ​​and commercial entertainment. Gandrung Dance is not only involved in political activities but also tourism performances. The various changes that have occurred in the Gandrung dance show mean that the movement of the Gandrung dance in Banyuwangi has taken advantage of changes to be able to continue to survive amidst global cultural flows.

Inheritance Cultural Values of Local Wisdom Obong Ritual to the Young Generation in Kendal Regency

The obong ritual is a means of honoring the spirits of the ancestors of the deceased Kalang people. This study aims to analyze the inheritance of cultural values and the perspective of the Kalang people in responding to the implementation of the obong ritual. The research method uses a qualitative approach. Data were taken by in-depth interviews, documentation, and observation. The research was conducted in Tratemulyo Village, Weleri District, Kendal Regency. The results showed that the provision of knowledge was carried out through stories conveyed by parents to their children. The content of the story conveyed contains the importance and meaning contained in the obong ritual for the life of the Kalang community. The inheritance of obong ritual values is carried out by parents as part of efforts to preserve cultural values in the next generation. The inheritance of this value is done to teach the next generation about good and bad or right and wrong, in the hope that the next generation will do it well and right. The views of the Kalang people towards the obong ritual vary, namely as a ritual that must be done and only as a cultural activity.

Children's distinct drive to reproduce costly rituals.

Costly rituals are ubiquitous and adaptive. Yet, little is known about how children develop to acquire them. The current study examined children's imitation of costly rituals. Ninety-three 4-6 year olds (47 girls, 45% Oceanians, tested in 2022) were shown how to place tokens into a tube to earn stickers, using either a ritualistic or non-ritualistic costly action sequence. Children shown the ritualistic actions imitated faithfully at the expense of gaining stickers; conversely, those shown the non-ritualistic actions ignored them and obtained maximum reward. This highlights how preschool children are adept at and motivated to learn rituals, despite significant material cost. This study provides insights into the early development of cultural learning and the adaptive value of rituals in group cognition.

PANCHAGAVYA IN HUMAN LIFE AND HEALTH: A REVIEW

Gomutra (cow ghee), gomaya (cow dung), ksheera (cow milk), dadhi (cow curd) and sarpi (cow ghee) cumulatively known as Panchagavya. In India, the cow is worshipped as mother and commonly known as ‘Gaumata’. The ratio of ksheera, dadhi, ghrita, gomutra and gomaya is 16:10:8:2:1 according to Shastra yoga, and in Rastargini, it is 1:1:1:1:1 in panchagavya. panchagavya holds traditional as well as ritual values in human life. Each component of panchagavya also has medicinal properties individually. To assess the role of panchagavya and its therapeutic benefits in our day-to-day life and health and to untapped hidden areas mentioned about panchagavya in Ayurveda. Different Ayurvedic classical textbooks, research papers and journals were referred to. After a review of many Ayurvedic literatures and other data sources, the importance of panchagavya was seen. In Ayurveda, panchagavya has a great role in GIT and skin disorders. Panchagavya is also used in havan karma, which also purifies the environment and devotees. Panchagavya products serve irreplaceable medicinal importance in Ayurveda. It is also used in traditional Hindu rituals. During a pandemic, the importance of panchagavya was noticeable. In Ayurveda, there are many Ayurvedic formulations where gomutra and sarpi are used. For example, gomutra is used as bhavana dravya in Sanjeevani vati.

Landed and Rooted: A Comparative Study of Traditional Hakka Dwellings (Tulous and Weilong Houses) Based on the Methodology of Space Syntax

Both Tulous (土楼) and Weilong Houses (围龙屋) are important types of traditional Hakka (客家) dwellings whose architectural morphology is closely related to the historical origin, social organisation, and cultural values of Hakkas. Previous studies focused on the influence of Chinese traditional etiquette systems and ritual values on the physical morphology of Hakka traditional dwellings, where ancestral halls are often the core of the entire building. This article selects six typical case studies of Tulous and Weilong Houses and launches a comparative study on their spatial configurations through quantitative analysis of space syntax. This study found that compared to Tulous, Weilong Houses exhibit decentralisation and gridification in their spatial structure, in addition to a decrease in defence capability and an increase in residential privatisation. The ancestral hall of the Tulou is still the spiritual and living centre of Tulou residents, located in the geometric centre and possessing high spatial configurational values. However, although the ancestral hall of the Weilong House is still located in the geometric centre of the entire building, it does not exhibit the highest spatial configurational values, indicating that the increase in secularisation and the decrease in ritualisation of Hakka communities inhabiting Weilong Houses resulted in the separation of secular space and ritual space. It coincides with the “Centre–Periphery” distribution characteristics of Hakka communities related to Tulous and Weilong Houses, reflecting the different community existence paradigms of the Hakkas “landed” and “rooted” in the Guangdong–Fujian–Jiangxi border area.

When rites go wrong: the impact of failed rituals of news sharing

ABSTRACT When people share news stories on social media, they appeal to transcendent values: showing care, creating a community, seeking certainty, or demonstrating competence. This places news sharing in the realm of ritual actions. This is not always successful, however. This paper argues that failure of these rituals indicates their importance and shows how news-sharing rituals adapt to maintain their relevance in an environment dominated by the smartphone and influenced the fear of misinformation. Twelve focus groups discussed news sharing and the discussions suggested first what kind of transcendent ritual values are important when sharing news; second, what happens when the ritual fails; and third how the ritual adapts in the face of failure to maintain appeals to transcendent values. It offers evidence to challenge the myth of the media centre, and to question the role of the individual taking personal responsibility for the adaptation of ritual behaviour that contributes to the cohesion and survival of communities.

CACI: The Contradiction Between the Nature and Practice of Modern Manggarai Society with Its Relevance to the Character Formation of the Millennial Generation

Caci is one of folk game or war dances originating from Manggarai, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. The existance and nature of Caci dance teaches the value of nasionalism, brotherhood, social interaction, rituals, resilience, courage, hospitality, tolerance and aesthetics. Nonetheless, nowadays the way milenials generation play it tend to display negative aspect compared to the internalization of Caci itself. In many cases, Caci showed more personal ego, anger, fights, grudges, hate speech (rants), and the aesthetic and entartaiment functions whis are applied in Lomes (dancing), Bokak (sound art in Nenggo and Danding), and Paci (symbolic expressions/metaphors to show the existance and quality of self) almost have no space. Caci has relevance to character formation functionality such as: the values ??of nationalism, patriotism, brotherhood, aesthetics, social interaction, rituals, toughness, courage, sacredness and manners. Caci becomes a place for the formation of people character if the act of caci is played in accordance with its essence.

The sacred stone from the sea. Archaeological and ethnographic perspectives on the ritual value of coral across the Pacific

ABSTRACTThe Pacific Islands offer a variety of marine environments providing peoples in the present and past with abundant coral materials, a “stone from the sea”. Archaeologists have long recognised the importance of coral in ancient contexts, whether as gravel, natural branches, squared blocks or cut‐and‐dress slabs. Coral was also used to manufacture tools such as files or pounders and incorporated in monumental ceremonial architecture as a favoured construction material and foundation offerings. However, Pacific Islanders also employed coral material for other ritual applications that remain overlooked in the literature. In this article, we consider the multiple uses of coral in the archaeological and ethnographic records of three Pacific regions: Central‐East Polynesia (CEP), New Caledonia and the Torres Strait Islands. This includes offering of coral branches, sometimes associated with cairns, paraphernalia and magic stones, also production of coral lime for body ornamentation. Using these case studies, we consider material selection, modes of deposition, archaeological and ethnographic contexts, associations with other features and artefacts, before interrogating the potential significance of these unrealised datasets. By doing so, we shed new light on the ritual value of coral and reflect on the symbolic nature and function of this material.

The Anatomy of Space – András Both’s Vision about Theatricality

András Both shares insights and experiences from his theatrical journey. He reflects on creating his artistic identity in Romania, then on the challenges of rebuilding this, after emigrating and navigating cultural shifts. The renowned designer underlines the role of seizing the given chance and collaboration in his success, highlighting how opportunities are interconnected. He emphasizes the significance of working with talented colleagues, like directors, actors and costume designers, and the influence of other great artists in shaping his path. The importance of immersive preparation, akin to Stanislavski's approach, is highlighted, along with the value of rituals in the act of artistic creation. He also contemplates the mysterious alchemy of theater and its power to transform ideas into tangible, resonant productions. Amidst musings on artistic growth, he contemplates the essence of creativity, the vitality of unconventional thinking, and reveals his plans of presenting his works on an exhibition.

Impact Examination of the Lockdown on the Status of the Heavy Metal Pollution Index and Health Risk of Ganga River Water Quality

Ganga River is the lifeline for socio-economic development of India. The unlimited desire of human and anthropogenic activities degraded the water quality of Ganga River, especially in Haridwar. The present study investigated the significant impact of lockdown on physio-chemical status of the Ganga River in Haridwar. Study also revels the significant augmentation of heavy metals as lockdown released, however, average daily dose and hazard index has advocacy in suitability of Ganga River water in Haridwar for their utility. Moreover, this is the first study that highlights Cancer Risk value of Arsenic (As) and Chromium (Cr) in Ganga River water in Haridwar exceeded over the target risk of 1 ×10<sup>−4</sup>. The values for As was calculated as 0.000172 - adult and 0.00074 - children, whereas, for Cr was estimated as 0.000067 - adult and 0.00029 - children. This indicates the ingestion of Ganga River water (except for Cr values for adult which is less than targeted value) in Haridwar for long time may increase the probability of cancer to the population. Therefore, it is imperative to formulate such policies and strategies that keep ritual values and maintain water quality.

Old Rituals in New Cultural Environment. “Drowning of a Midwife” and “Hanging of a Matchmaker” in Lithuania and Western Belarus

In the analysis of baptism rituals in eastern Lithuania and western Belarus, I have repeatedly drawn attention to the similarity in the structure of individual traditional wedding and baptism rites and even the transition of some ritual acts from one ritual to another. The similarities noticed in the ritual acts performed at baptisms and weddings in the first half of the twentieth century have led to a more detailed analysis of these life-cycle celebrations in the twenty-first century. In this article, I examined the peculiarities of the ceremonial/symbolic killing (or attempted killing) of a midwife and a matchmaker. Analysing both rituals I revealed the differences between the traditional ceremonial killing of a midwife and the ‘hanging’ of a matchmaker; uncover and compare modifications of these rites in modern society. I showed that, with the loss of their former ritual value and the absence of matchmakers and midwives in real life, the ritual practice of symbolic drowning or hanging has remained. This indicates a desire to preserve the old customs and, with modifications, practice them in today’s baptism and wedding ceremonies as the final part of the ritual. On the other hand, a thorough analysis of the ceremonial acts has shown that both the symbolic hanging of a matchmaker and, in particular, the drowning of a midwife (bobutė) are late cultural phenomena, dating back only one or several hundred years in the areas studied.

Signifikansi Nilai Simbol Budaya Dan Nilai Religi Pada Pemugaran Arsitektur Warisan di Pura Kentel Gumi Kabupaten Klungkung

Kentel Gumi Temple is one of the oldest temples in Bali which has its own uniqueness because there are many archaeological objects stored in the temple area. Not many people know about the unique process of Kentel Gumi Temple and the process of restoring the temple compared to other temples in Bali. This research was conducted with a qualitative exploration method to examine the significance of the values ​​of cultural symbols and religious values ​​in the process of restoring the cultural heritage architecture at the Kentel Gumi Temple. In addition, to explore the activities of preserving architectural forms and ritual values. The results of the study found that the restoration of the Kentel Gumi Temple was significant for maintaining the value of cultural symbols and religious values ​​with the discovery of many archaeological objects from the lytic tradition in the form of menhirs, as well as relics from the classical period such as the Pancer Jagat shrine which is the unit that has the greatest cultural significance value. , considering that this building unit is an early milestone in the development of Kentel Gumi temple. The presence of a bronze phallus and stone in the Meru pelinggih overlapping solas, chess advance pelinggih, ancient statues in the form of 4 (four)-faced Lord Brahma made of solid stone, pelinggih gedong statues (queen puseh), and Ganesha statues. While the religious value can be seen from the ritual procession of restoration through spiritual transfer of all buildings through a form of symbol transfer called tapakan pelinggih with a set of upakara daksina, procession of building pralines, determination of layout (nyukat), excavation work (ngaruwak), ngenteg linggih ceremony to Tawur Panyegjeg Jagat level ceremony.

On a Possible Basis for Metaphysical Self-development in Natural and Artificial Systems

Recent research into the nature of self in artificial and biological systems raises interest in a uniquely determining immutable sense of self, a “metaphysical ‘I’” associated with inviolable personal values and moral convictions that remain constant in the face of environmental change, distinguished from an object “me” that changes with its environment. Complementary research portrays processes associated with self as multimodal routines selectively enacted on the basis of contextual cues informing predictive self or world models, with the notion of the constant, per-vasive and invariant sense of self associated with a multistable attractor set aiming to ensure personal integrity against threat of disintegrative change. This paper proposes that an immutable sense of self emerges as a global attractor which can be described as a project ideal self-situation embodied in frontal medial processes during more or less normal adolescent development, and that thereafter serves to orient agency in the more or less free development of embodied potentials over the life course in effort to realize project conditions, phenomenally identified with the felt pull towards this end as purpose of and source of meaning in life. So oriented, life-long self-development aims to embody solutions to problems at different timescales depending on this embodied purpose, ultimately in the service of evolutionary processes securing organism populations against threats of disintegrative change over timespans far beyond that of the individual. After characterizing the target sense of self, research circling this target is briefly surveyed. Self as global project and developmental neural correlates are proposed. Then, the paper discusses some implications for research in biological and artificial systems. Building from earlier work in cognitive neurorobotics, discussion affirms the value of reinforcement rituals including prayer in metaphysical self-development, considers implications for value alignment and rights associated with free will in the context of artificial intelligence and robot religion, and concludes by emphasizing the importance of self-development toward project ideals as source of meaning in life in the current social-political environment.

Human Socialization and Role of Islam in Personality Development

Socialization is a learning process which takes place informally in man’s life from his birth to his death. The process affects in both ways: positive and negative. Positive form of socialization gives fruitful results and negative form promotes anti-social activities. A religion has pivotal role in a society. One of many social functions of a religion is its social training of a man. Religious beliefs help in nurturing a child mentally, psychologically and in some ways physically. For socialization purposes, a religion has basic role. Islam influences on one’s character in different ways. In one’s whole life, it grants many social, personal and ritual values. After studying the available data and work done already on this topic, it was felt that there was need to explain the role of Islam in improving one’s personality. The main objective of this study is to highlight the Islamic ways of socialization. The research question of this study is that, what is the role of Islam in personality development? A descriptive research method has been used for this study.

Politics of Production, Glass Provenance and Social Context on the Early Islamic Silk Roads

Islamic material culture is often either discussed in terms of its typology or its technological characteristics, as defined by scientific analysis, sometimes leading to its provenance. Here these aspects will be discussed in terms of their contrasting social, political and ritual contexts along the Eurasian Silk Roads. The concept of the terrestrial and maritime “Silk Roads” as routes of interaction is considered in terms of its definitions and indeed whether it is a useful term to use. The political context in which production occurred is considered, especially during the Abbasid caliphate, when the political centre shifted from Damascus to Baghdad. This shift in the centre of power is discussed in terms of the way it affected the growth and mass production of ceramics and glass during the golden age of Islam. The use of scientific analysis to investigate glass feeds into this discussion by providing evidence for increasingly more precise provenances and for trade, recycling and for production of different decorative vessel types in specific cosmopolitan hubs and therefore specialization. Moreover, evidence for a decentralized production model for glass and ceramics is discussed. Although the emphasis here is on glass in western Asia, the paper considers Islamic ceramics and glass in eastern Asia, especially during the Tang Dynasty. The social provenance of “exotic” material culture is tied to trade, exchange and gift giving and, in turn, to the acculturation of foreign populations in China, including Arabs and Sogdians. All these activities and factors, and the use of scientific analysis feed into the social, ritual, and economic values of material culture that occurs along the Silk Roads.

Values as a hobby: the transformation and survival of cultural ritual values in the process of desecration

The paper examines how values lose their sacred or protected significance and turn into values as a hobby. Using an excerpt from Arundhati Roy’s novel “The God of Small Things”, a trend of transformation of values is outlined, raising questions about the importance of different values – both sacred and secular – for the representatives of these values. In short, the question is related to the value of values: is their practice (affirmation) meaningful in the basic sense of these values, or is this practice mere imitation as a hobby? The article gives several examples that show the versatility of this topic. The case of Qutb’s Islamism highlights the importance of the distinction between private and public: the exclusion of the Islamic religion from the public sphere would result in the religion and its values losing their prominent role. A contrasting direction of change is evident in the woke movement, in which secular ideas transform into quasi-religious beliefs (resacralization of values). Finally, an explanation of this contemporary cultural picture of values becoming a hobby (in the dynamics of private-public relations) is sought in Andreas Reckwitz’s observation that the “general” is being replaced by a “singular” logic. Since the sacred and general meaning of values is abolished, this is where the shift in the understanding of values is most apparent. Because there is no longer a foundation of a sacred myth, individual values become a private matter and have no public meaning.

The value(s) of social media rituals: a cross-cultural analysis of New Year’s resolutions

ABSTRACT New Year’s resolutions are acts of valuation where people express ideas about what is important and worthwhile in life. Although resolutions have a long history, the twenty-first century has transformed the practice into a social media ritual with greater visibility, interactivity, and reach. Using this unique event to explore the globalization of values, we analyze tweets about New Year’s resolutions in English, German, Italian, Japanese, and Korean. Combining network analysis (n = 160,592) and content analysis (n = 2000), we compare discursive topics, modes of ritual participation, and the values expressed in resolutions. Our findings indicate both that the ritual crosses cultures and that there are language-specific dynamics that do not map neatly onto established divisions between ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ value orientations. Instead, we identify three underlying tensions organizing the articulation of values: self-acceptance vs. self-improvement, public vs. private, and conformity vs. oppositionality. We discuss these in relation to an overarching tension between local contexts and global platform cultures. Finally, we explore the study’s broader implications for understanding the interaction between values, norms, and global communicative practices.