Neopagan Rites

Neopagan Rites

Author: Isaac Bonewits

Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0738711993

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A practical guidebook for creating and conducting public rituals that that unify, inspire and fulfil their intended purposes.


Ritual: A Very Short Introduction

Ritual: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Barry Stephenson

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2015-01-28

Total Pages: 143

ISBN-13: 0199943583

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Ritual is part of what it means to be human. Like sports, music, and drama, ritual defines and enriches culture, putting those who practice it in touch with sources of value and meaning larger than themselves. Ritual is unavoidable, yet it holds a place in modern life that is decidedly ambiguous. What is ritual? What does it do? Is it useful? What are the various kinds of ritual? Is ritual tradition bound and conservative or innovative and transformational? Alongside description of a number of specific rites, this Very Short Introduction explores ritual from both theoretical and historical perspectives. Barry Stephenson focuses on the places where ritual touches everyday life: in politics and power; moments of transformation in the life cycle; as performance and embodiment. He also discusses the boundaries of ritual, and how and why certain behaviors have been studied as ritual while others have not. Stephenson shows how ritual is an important vehicle for group and identity formation; how it generates and transmits beliefs and values; how it can be used to exploit and oppress; and how it has served as a touchstone for thinking about cultural origins and historical change. Encompassing the breadth and depth of modern ritual studies, Barry Stephenson's Very Short Introduction also develops a narrative of ritual's place in social and cultural life. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.


The Interweaving of Rituals

The Interweaving of Rituals

Author: Nicolas Standaert

Publisher: University of Washington Press

Published: 2011-07-01

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0295800046

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The death of the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci in China in 1610 was the occasion for demonstrations of European rituals appropriate for a Catholic priest and also of Chinese rituals appropriate to the country hosting the Jesuit community. Rather than burying Ricci immediately in a plain coffin near the church, according to their European practice, the Jesuits followed Chinese custom and kept Ricci's body for nearly a year in an air-tight Chinese-style coffin and asked the emperor for burial ground outside the city walls. Moreover, at Ricci's funeral itself, on their own initiative the Chinese performed their funerary rituals, thus starting a long and complex cultural dialogue in which they took the lead during the next century. The Interweaving of Rituals explores the role of ritual - specifically rites related to death and funerals - in cross-cultural exchange, demonstrating a gradual interweaving of Chinese and European ritual practices at all levels of interaction in seventeenth-century China. This includes the interplay of traditional and new rituals by a Christian community of commoners, the grafting of Christian funerals onto established Chinese practices, and the sponsorship of funeral processions for Jesuit officials by the emperor. Through careful observation of the details of funerary practice, Nicolas Standaert illustrates the mechanics of two-way cultural interaction. His thoughtful analysis of the ritual exchange between two very different cultural traditions is especially relevant in today's world of global ethnic and religious tension. His insights will be of interest to a broad range of scholars, from historians to anthropologists to theologians.


When Rituals Go Wrong

When Rituals Go Wrong

Author: Ute Hüsken

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 9004158111

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This volume investigates the implications of breaking ritual rules, of failed performances and of the extinction of ritual systems. The essays thus break new ground in the comparative analysis of rituals and introduce new perspectives to ritual studies.


The Book of Egyptian Ritual

The Book of Egyptian Ritual

Author: Keith Seddon

Publisher: HarperThorsons

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780007132874

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A unique workbook detailing ancient Egyptian rituals from experts in the field.


Hindu Rites, Rituals, Customs and Traditions

Hindu Rites, Rituals, Customs and Traditions

Author: Prem P. Bhalla

Publisher: Pustak Mahal

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 812230902X

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Rites, rituals and customs play a major role in the life of every person, irrespective of religious affiliations.Right from the time of birth, till a person's passing away and even after it, rites and rituals follow a Hindu, much like a shadow. This book outlines all these practices from the sunrise to the sunset years. It makes for an enlightening reading for Hindus as well as non-Hindus.


Ritual Communication

Ritual Communication

Author: Eric W. Rothenbuhler

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Incorporated

Published: 1998-06-24

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13:

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Ritual Communication provides a perspective on ritual as a special and powerful form of communication. It begins with a critical review of the definitions of ritual and then explores mediated rituals in a variety of situations.


Awkward Rituals

Awkward Rituals

Author: Dana W. Logan

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2022-05-06

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 0226818500

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A fresh account of early American religious history that argues for a new understanding of ritual. In the years between the American Revolution and the Civil War, there was an awkward persistence of sovereign rituals, vestiges of a monarchical past that were not easy to shed. In Awkward Rituals, Dana Logan focuses our attention on these performances, revealing the ways in which governance in the early republic was characterized by white Protestants reenacting the hierarchical authority of a seemingly rejected king. With her unique focus on embodied action, rather than the more common focus on discourse or law, Logan makes an original contribution to debates about the relative completeness of America’s Revolution. Awkward Rituals theorizes an under-examined form of action: rituals that do not feel natural even if they sometimes feel good. This account challenges common notions of ritual as a force that binds society and synthesizes the self. Ranging from Freemason initiations to evangelical societies to missionaries posing as sailors, Logan shows how white Protestants promoted a class-based society while simultaneously trumpeting egalitarianism. She thus redescribes ritual as a box to check, a chore to complete, an embarrassing display of theatrical verve. In Awkward Rituals, Logan emphasizes how ritual distinctively captures what does not change through revolution.


Hindu Rites and Rituals

Hindu Rites and Rituals

Author: K V Singh

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2015-11-25

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9385890042

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Why is the tulsi considered sacred? What is the significance of namaste? Why do Hindus light a lamp before performing a ritual? Why is it forbidden to sleep facing the south? Why do Hindus chant 'shanti' three times after performing a rite? Millions of Hindus the world over grow up observing rites, rituals and religious practices that lie at the heart of Hinduism, but which they don't know the significance of. Often the age-old customs, whose relevance is lost to modern times, are dismissed as meaningless superstitions. The truth, however, is that these practices reveal the philosophical and scientific approach to life that has characterized Hindu thought since ancient times; it is important to revive their original meanings today. This handy book tells the fascinating stories and explains the science behind the Hindu rites and rituals that we sometimes follow blindly. It is essential reading for anyone interested in India's cultural tradition.