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Types of Rituals

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Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Confirmatory Rituals 
  3. Piacular Rituals
  4. Other Types of Rituals
In human society, rituals have numerous and diverse purposes. Human nature, which is characterized by its frailty and constrained abilities, necessitates supernatural intervention in all of the activities that people engage in on a daily basis.

Numerous classifications for the various kinds of rituals in human society were offered by the ethnographic literature on the topic. It was earlier noted that researchers who study ritual phenomena refer to two sets of activities as rituals. These comprise:
  1. The rituals connected to organized religions' religious practices; and.
  2. The Rites of Passage or rituals that a community performs on special occasions to mark the significance of a particular event in their lives, such as rituals at the time of birth, marriage, and death, as well as seasonal rituals in nature like sowing time and harvest time.
Based on the underlying intentions, both ritual activities can be categorized. We will offer two of these classificatory types at the comparative level, where classification is developed by observing general features of rituals across various cultures. Comparative sociological theories of ritual.

Rituals can be divided into two major categories based on the purpose and situation in which they take place, according to social anthropologist Evans Pritchard.

Confirmatory Rituals 

These are customs that reflect the shifting of social status and the interactions of various social groups. Rituals that are carried out in connection with birth, marriage, death, etc. tend to exist in all major world cultures and represent a change in a person's standing within a particular social group. The solidarity and interdependence of various groups for the maintenance of the community are further highlighted symbolically in rituals involving group interaction. Participants in such rituals exhibit a high level of emotional solidarity with the larger community. In modem times, rituals in a Temple, Mosque, Church, etc. emphasise such group solidarity. Confirmatory rituals as the term itself would suggest can be explained as rituals that emphasise the identity, integrity and solidarity of the social group.

Piacular Rituals 

This second kind of rituals, according to Evans Pritchard, are those that are concerned with the moral and physical health of an individual or a social group. The need to emphasize this state of moral or physical well-being results from the fact that both individuals and groups encounter situations throughout their lives where such a state of moral or physical well-being is threatened. a person who has to deal with a disaster, an epidemic, a drought, etc. situations necessitate the execution of such rituals. Intentions like appeasement and atonement are included in such rituals. Traditional folk societies still practice piacular rituals, despite the fact that modern societies' increasing reliance on science and technology may in some ways make them less common.

Other Types of Rituals 

Anthony F. used a similar intention criterion but created a more detailed descriptive classification of rituals based on their functions. The following types were suggested by Wallace in his 1959 book Religion: An Anthropological View.
  • Technology Rituals : The functions of these rituals is essentially aimed at controlling non-human nature. Among this type are : 
    • Divination Rituals : seeking out he cause of affliction, injustice and whether human or otherwise, as well as suggesting remedies for the same. 
    • Intensification Rituals : meant to increase material resources such as increase ,of food, success in hunting, fishing, etc. 
    • Protective Rituals : meant to avert any form of affliction, misfortune or catastrophy, etc.
  • Therapy and Anti-Therapy Rituals : The function of these rituals is to promote the well being of individuals and groups and include : 
    • Curative Rituals : meant to cure individual illnesses or afflictions. 
    • Witchcraft and Sorcery : meant to cause affliction or injustice on others
  • Ideology Rituals : The function of such rituals is aimed at the control of the Social Group, its values and traditions. Among these are : 
    • Rites of Passage : Rituals marking the transition in Individual status within the life cycle. These rituals are ubiquitin's and part of all religions. As we can see there are many types of ritual for different kinds of situations.
    • Social Intensification Rituals : Rituals meant to renew group solidarity life Friday prayers among the Muslims. 
    • Rebellion Rituals : Rituals that are meant to allow for catharsis amongst group members.
  • Salvation Rituals : The function of such rituals is to help individuals to cope with personal difficulties. Among these are : 
    •  Shamanic Rituals : Rituals performed by individuals claiming supernatural powers that may be put to good or bad ends, 
    • Expiation Rituals : meant for forgiveness and repentance of individual misdeeds.
  • Revitalisation Rituals : The function of such Rituals is to cure society's difficulties and identify crisis e.g. the millenarian movements.

Further Readings

  • Gennep, Arnold van (1909) 1960, The Rites of Passage, London : Routledge. 
  • Durkheim, Emile (191 2) 1954, The Elementary Forms of the Religious L$e, ' London : Allen and Unwin. 
  • Leach, Edmund R. (196 l), Rethinking Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science, Monographs on Social Anthropology, No. 22. London : Athlore. 
  • David L. Sills (ed.), (1968) Ritual, pages 520-526 in 'International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences ' Vol. 13, New York : Macmillan.
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