WHAT IS A RITUAL?
“Rituals are symbolic, routine, and repetitive activities and actions through which we make connections with what we consider to be the valuable dimensions of life.” Ring et al (1998), p.73.
A religious ritual can be defined as an agreed-on and formalized pattern of ceremonial movements and verbal expressions carried out in a sacred context. James C. Livingston
Arnold van Gennep’s (1873-1957) three phases in a rite of passage:
1. Separation: Separation or detachment of the individual or group from the previous status – often marked by a minor ritual (bath) or physical isolation, accompanied by a guide.
2. Transition (Liminality): An ambiguous phase without the old status and the new phase not yet conferred. The person is “betwixt and between” (Victor Turner). A stage of temptation and discernment!
3. Incorporation: New status is conferred and welcomed back to the community; often name is changed to mark the new identity.
STAGES OF SACRIFICIAL RITUAL:
1. Separation – a breach of relationship: Whether the source of the separation is an ailing deity or king (Frazer), sin (Robertson Smith), a state of impurity (Hubert and Mauss), a rift in the clan (Durkheim), or a general sense of lack or disorder (Valeri), dissociation is linked to an explainable problem.
2. Sacrificial Event: Meaning of sacrifice is brought out by the ritual itself and by the symbolic character of the object of sacrifice. A consecration of the object takes place in order to lift it from the profane world yet still have the offering serve as a bridge to the sacred.
3. Reestablishment of the Relationship: Consummation by fire, or consumed as food by the sacrificers.
Dual functions (according to Robert Daly) of Sacrifice:
1.Horizontal dimension: Among groups of people: The horizontal function affects the strictly socio-political and economic realm of society, and is operative implicitly.
2. Vertical Dimension: Between the sacrificers and their deity(s): The vertical dimension is the deepening of the relationship with the divine. It is the hope of the sacrificer that the sacrifice will win the divine good will.
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