Rites and Rituals

RITES AND RITUALS
INTRODUCTION
• A ritual is a set of symbolic behaviors designed to have a
particular effect.
• Rituals are typically both stylized and repetitive.
• Rituals are commonly associated with religion.
• Arnold van Gennep first used this term to describe these rituals
in his book “The Rites of Passage.”
• Rites of Passage are rituals that mark changes in status
throughout one’s life.
RITES OF PASSAGE
• Birth Ceremonies
• Entrance into Religious/Social Communities
• Graduations
• Reaching Adulthood/Coming of Age
• Weddings
• Funerals
RITES OF PASSAGE
STAGES:
1. Separation: the ending of one social status. The individual may be
physically and/or socially removed from their normal everyday life.
2. Transition or Liminality: a stage between one status and another:
where one is neither one thing nor another. Victor Turner described
liminality as being characterized by communitas. When rites of
passage are undergone by groups, there is a de-emphasis on social
differences (race, class…etc.) Often typical social rules don’t apply.
This is communitas.
3. Re-incorporation: the person is reintroduced to society with a new
social status and new social identity. Regular rules of behaviour are
once again followed.
For example, the cutting of the hair for a person who has just joined
the army. He or she is "cutting away" the former self: the civilian.
CHARACTERISTICS OF RITUAL ACTIVITIES
Bell (2008) explains six characteristics of ritual-like activities:
1. Formalism: the degree of formality in dress or speech that marks an
activity ritual-like; use of a more limited and rigidly organized set of
expressions and gestures; a “restricted code” of communication or
behaviour in contrast to a more open or “elaborated code.” Formal
gestures, restricted codes of behaviour; more prescribed, restrained and
impersonal.
2. Traditionalism: the attempt to make a set of activities appear to be

identical to or thoroughly consistent with older cultural precedents is
called “traditionalization.”; appeals to cultural precedents.
3. Invariance: Usually seen in a disciplined set of actions marked by
precise repetition and physical control. The emphasis may be on the
careful choreography of actions, the self control required by the actor,
or the rhythm of repetition in which the orchestrated activity is the
most recent in an exact series that unites past and future. Invariance
seems to be more concerned with ignoring the passage of time in
general; emphasizes precise repetition and physical control.
4. Rule Governance: Much interest and conjecture attend the question

of how sports may have originally emerged from religious ritual or been
closely linked to it, as in the Greek Olympic games; maintains that ritual-
like activities are governed by rules that guide and direct the activities.
5. Sacral Symbolism: Activities that explicitly appeal to supernatural beings are readily
considered to be examples of ritual, even if the appeal is a bit indirect, as when the president
of the United States takes the oath of office by placing his left hand on the Bible and
swearing to uphold the duties and responsibilities of the presidency. Although it is not part
of the institutional life of a specific religious group, the oath of office clearly derives from
Christian ritual and represents the Christian values in American civic religion. Even swearing
oath on Geeta in courts ; appeals to supernatural beings.
6. Performance: theatrical performances, dramatic spectacles, and public events. Deliberate,

self-conscious “doing” of highly symbolic actions in public—is key to what makes ritual,
theater, and spectacle what they are. While a performative dimension often coexists with
other characteristics of ritual-like behavior, especially in rule governed sports contests or
responses to sacral symbols, in many instances performance is clearly the more dominant or
essential element. For example, a number of studies address the ritual-like aspects of clowns
and clowning. They point out how clowns follow certain rules, usually rules of inversion, by
which they upset and mock the status quo. By extension, clowns themselves function as
powerful symbols of cultural inversion, ludic freedom, and social innocence.
SUMMARY
• Rituals are typically formal social ceremonies that take place in a
prescribed way, often in a sacred context.
• Rituals follow established customs, such as when those getting married say
their vows to one another. These rituals convey information about the
culture and about the participants of that culture. Those who attend
recognize the ritual as having an important meaning.
• Participating in a ritual provides an opportunity for an individual to fulfill a
social commitment to their community of people.
• A rite generally refers to a religious ritual that is an important part of a
particular faith tradition: for example, the rite of baptism, or the rite of
communion, which are both important to Christians.
• In other words, a rite is something holy or sacred.
THANK YOU
MRS. AVNEET KAUR

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DME LAW SCHOOL

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RITES AND RITUALS

2. Traditionalism: the attempt to make a set of activities appear to be

4. Rule Governance: Much interest and conjecture attend the question

6. Performance: theatrical performances, dramatic spectacles, and public events. Deliberate,

MRS. AVNEET KAUR

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