Aided hy a comparison with the public performances in a pre-industrial city, this study reveals the manner in which secular rituals in a predominantly black, economically depressed American city both reflect and effect social change. Specifically, it demonstrates how developments in Afro-American dance, developments achieved through the efforts of {Catherine Dunham, have accompanied, supported, and celebrated the emergence of a black presence on the American scene.The study of public ritual in urban settings is similar to that of ritual in primitive or folk communities in that both require a consideration of social contexts. A comparison of public ritual in the urban context of Renaissance Florence and in East St. Louis, Illinois, reveals commonalities in social and ritual occurrence that transcend contrasting cultural and historical situations. During the Renaissance, Florence was a flourishing pre-industrial city with, however, serious economic and political problems, while East St. Louis is a largely black, economically troubled American city. Despite such differences, in both instances, changes in public rituals mirror and cause changes in society. The following pages trace developments in America, both nationally and in East St. Louis, relative to public ritual events and particularly to Afro-American dance. The symbolic aspects of these events are analyzed to explain their meaning to the groups involved and to underscore the political effectiveness of ritual expressions.
Renaissance Florence-The Uses of RitualIn a discussion of public ritual in Renaissanie Florence, Trexler (1980) describes public events as media through which Florentine political life was ordered, social contracts made, commitments and loyalties displayed, and conflicts expressed and sometimes resolved. He characterizes medieval and early Renaissance European public ritual as controlled by politically and religiously dominant groups and notes that during pageants, processions, and ceremonies marginal peoples and immigrants were "excluded from the streets, from organization, and from citizenship' (xxiv). During the later Renaissance, social change was reflected in and also effected by civic festivals in which the formerly politically powerless groups-artisans, small businessmen, youth, and women-participated. Those groups formed organizations that publicly stressed the dignity of work and gently mocked the nobility.Trexler applies the term liminal to these formerly powerless groups that gradually assumed public roles. They were regarded by the power structure as irrational and uncontrolled, and their roles in human reproduction and physical labor were downgraded in favor of the more spiritual contributions of male lineages and of the military and religious leaders. In accordance with this interpretation, Douglas (1970) has argued that more complex and highly organized societies exert greater control over public events that center around the human body, even to the point of disembodying social discourse and activities. However, certain quali...