Ritual

Abstract

This entry surveys the etymology of the term and the history of the anthropological concept of ritual. After presenting the earliest anthropological approaches to ritual, it discusses ethnographic accounts of rituals that are based on insights gained through ethnographic fieldwork and traces the impact these accounts had on subsequent theories of ritual. By reviewing classical approaches along with some of the most recent developments in theorizing rituals, an attempt is made to outline the future directions in ethnographically grounded and theoretically informed research in the anthropology of ritual.

Future Directions on BIPOC Youth Mental Health: The Importance of Cultural Rituals in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The concept of cultural ritual (henceforth, rituals) typically refers to a broad group of coherent behaviors that follow an order, are relatively scripted, and have important social and individual meanings that may not be apparent to outgroup members (Kreinath, 2018). Rituals are the arranged performance of an intricate sequence of choreographed words and actions in a ceremony that provide meaning and purpose to individuals and groups (Kreinath, 2018). We use the terms rites and rituals interchangeably, although we acknowledge there is considerable debate regarding their similarities and differences (Kreinath, 2018).…”

“…Rituals are the arranged performance of an intricate sequence of choreographed words and actions in a ceremony that provide meaning and purpose to individuals and groups (Kreinath, 2018). We use the terms rites and rituals interchangeably, although we acknowledge there is considerable debate regarding their similarities and differences (Kreinath, 2018). We also recognize that there are many terms to refer to different types of rituals.…”

A Case Study of The Exploration of Implicit Symbolic Meaning and Practices of The Native People of Sematan Areas, Lundu, Sarawak

“…Ritual is an event or behaviour that aims to display the customs and traditions of a society symbolically. This ritual has several definitions according to anthropologists (Kreinath, 2018). Among them, ritual comes from the Latin word ritualist which means anything related to ceremony (Boudewijnse, 1998).…”

“…Nevertheless, it has the same function where every ritual that is delivered is intended to convey a sense of gratitude or a way to ask for blessings before carrying out an activity that involves customs in a community of practitioners. According to Mulyana (2000); Inai (2020); Kreinath (2018), rituals are closely related to a society where a variety of different ceremonies will be carried out throughout the year for well-being. According to Gennep (1960), people also say words or use symbolic behaviour as a sign to express the ritual they want to convey.…”