“ZA DUSHA”: AN INTERPRETATION OF FUNERAL PRACTICES IN MACEDONIA*

Anthropologists and sociologists have generally approached an understanding of funeral rituals in terms of their psychological or social consequences. Such functional analyses have typically depended on regarding ritual behaviors as learned reponses that symbolically create or affirm the society's organizational “rules”. An alternative or supplemental approach is the view that ritual behavior, and thus ritual content, results from purposive interactions between individuals determined by their interpretations of the ritual's interactive situation. An elaboration of this view is offered in an examination of funeral practices in the developing city of Skopje in Yugoslav Macedonia where the many commemoratives for the dead typically result in great costs of time, money and effort. Variations and changes in funeral rituals are related to different strategies of adjustment to the city, and, in particular, to the creation and maintenance of relationships within a network of specific others that is essential to urban adaptation. Ritual is also described as providing a means of social boundary maintenance, in addition to the creation of these social networks, thus limiting obligations and claims on resources.     

On the Elementary Neural Forms of Micro‐Interactional Rituals: Integrating Autonomic Nervous System Functioning Into Interaction Ritual Theory

Randall Collins's interaction ritual (IR) theory suggests social solidarity as hardwired in the human neurological capacity for rhythmic entrainment. Yet, this article suggests that IR theory may benefit from being tied more firmly to recent neurobiological research, specifically Stephen W. Porges's polyvagal theory that proposes autonomic nervous system functioning as a basis for emotions and social behavior. In this perspective, IR theory does not sufficiently acknowledge the human nervous system as a system involving a phylogenetically ordered response hierarchy, of which only one subsystem supports prosocial behavior. The ritual ingredients of mutual attention and shared mood may, moreover, be specified as part of a social engagement system, neurally regulating attention and emotional arousal via a face–heart connection. The article suggests that this social engagement system provides part of the neural basis for rhythmic entrainment. The polyvagal theory furthermore challenges IR theory to reconsider the importance of individual biological differences—ritual success may not merely be ascribed to interactional effects, but also to reciprocal causality between situations and neurobiological properties of ritual participants.     

Mediatized Ritual – Expanding the Field in the Study of Media and Ritual

The purpose of the article Mediatized ritual – Expanding the field in the study of media and ritual is to identify the key debates in present‐day scholarship on media and ritual and bring them into dialogue with current theorizing on the mediatization of society and culture. The article consists of three parts. The first presents a short outline of the study of media and ritual in modern life. The second discusses the idea of mediatized ritual as an evolving concept in the field. The third provides an empirical illustration of the mediatization of ritual by applying the concept to the analysis of the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013). In conclusion, it is argued that to study mediatized rituals in today's society is to face the theoretical and empirical challenge of engaging the two social realms of ritual and media in a close interplay. This intellectual venture changes our understanding not only of rituals and media (what they are and what they do) but also of society. This said, to study mediatized rituals is, in fact, to study society in action.     

STRATEGIC RITUALIZATION AND ETHNICITY: ATYPOLOGY AND ANALYSIS OF RITUAL ENACTMENTS IN AN ITALIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

This investigation utilizes a theoretical framework that focuses on ritual enactments to examine the ways members of an Italian American community in southeastern Oklahoma use social rituals to achieve different outcomes. Several methodological strategies (especially interviews and historical analysis) are utilized to document how individuals within this ethnic community have, for over the last century, employed numerous rituals to, among other things, express their ethnicity, create community ties, enhance personal gain, and survive. Building upon the theory of structural ritualization, the concept of strategic ritualization is employed and expanded upon to examine this issue. A typology of three types of strategic ritualization is presented and defined: ritual legitimators, ritual entrepreneurs, and ritual sponsors. This conceptualization represents the first elaboration of structural ritualization theory addressing this topic. In focusing on this little studied ethnic community, the importance of ritualized practices and their strategicuse throughout society are emphasized. The relation of this research to broader concerns dealing with the social constructionist approach to ethnicity and the intersection of decision-making, culture, and structure are briefly highlighted and directions for future theory development and research are indicated.     

Ritual Dynamics: Mayor Making in Early Modern Norwich

Through a detailed analysis of a Guild Day ceremony in early modern England we demonstrate that liminal points in this ritual are interrelated to form a "pattern" or "dance" of liminal pulsations. We argue it is the felt necessity, on the part of participants, to complete that pattern that provides a dynamic to any ritual event. It impels participants to continue the ritual to its conclusion and leads them to resist any interference with the "flow" of the ritual. "Flow", we assert, is thus both an interior state of participants and an exterior social characteristic of a ritual. It is created by the structuring of liminal points in a ritual, the liminal pulsations, but it achieves its dynamic by affecting the interior states of participants so that they feel impelled to "close off" the ritual and complete it.     

Experiences from Pagan women: A closer look at croning rituals

In this qualitative study I explore how Pagan women conceptualize aging, more specifically social aging, through the ritual process of being a Pagan and becoming a Crone. The central question of this research revolves around how older women who identify as Pagan experience, understand, and conceptualize their social aging and their role as aging women in American society. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and explore the meaning of aging for women identifying as Pagan. Major emergent themes within the data demonstrate that the croning ritual, a central aspect of Paganism, affirms these women in their process of aging. These women, through the ritual of croning, are able to understand their aging as celebration, maintain a positive sense of self while aging, and reclaim visibility as aging women. These women were able to embed their experiences of aging within a unique and specific cultural framework, a spiritual and foundational framework cultivating a spiritual connection with nature.     

Professional Wrestling as Moral Order

This paper treats structuralist and interactionist perspectives as complementary in an approach to the dynamics of professional wrestling as a social scene. Both directive or formulating aspects of culture as it is specified for social life and the creativity of human agents in negotiating such constraints from the viewpoint of their particularistic interests are emphasized in an examination of the confirmation and negotiation of identities, the clash and resolution of moral meanings, the calculated transgression of legal tradition, the location of the charismatic hero, and the ritual importance of disorder and crisis in wrestling. As such, the paper is offered as a contribution to an understanding of the sources and movement of meanings in ritual and dramatic forms.     

INCORPORATING RITUAL INTO GREEDY INSTITUTION THEORY: The Case of Devotion in Amateur Chess

Based on ethnographic data, this article explains devotion to chess in terms of the structural mechanisms of its social organization. I use Lewis Coser's theory of greedy institutions as a way to analyze how these mechanisms influence player decisions and foster devotion to the game. Inspired largely by Randall Collins, I expand Coser's original framework by analyzing how the ritual of competitive play is structured in ways to heighten the intrinsic rewards of the game and further encourage commitment among the players. As such, devotion in chess is explained as a product of the following organizational elements: (1) isolation from competing social spheres; (2) encapsulation within a symbolic status structure; (3) a collective feeling of elite status; (4) trials of worthiness; and (5) prestructured ritual. After considering how these mechanisms operate in the world of chess, I discuss the potential of this expanded model of greedy institutions for future research across other social contexts.     

Generative Ritual Among Nonmetropolitan Lesbians and Gay Men: Promoting Social Inclusion

Generativity is typically studied as a normative adult inclination expressed through social roles (D.P. McAdams & E. de St. Aubin, 1992). We extend this research by examining generativity through the lenses of social marginality and ritual. Toward this end, we utilize in‐depth interview and observational data about family rituals from 49 downstate Illinois residents who participated in a larger survey of nonmetropolitan lesbian and gay life. We first examine their ritual intentions and the locations where they are enacted. Then we identify what makes the rituals generative and identify their facilitating and moderating conditions. The findings suggest a distinction between normative and queer generativity. Our final product is a substantive grounded theory of generativity among sexual minorities that extends current theory.     

The Real Book of Mormon Musical: Latter-day Saint Family Home Evening as a Weekly Ritual

Abstract

Scholars of religious ritual have noted that inadequate attention has been paid to religious ritual in the social sciences. Based on what has been done, it is apparent that sacred family rituals (when done well and with relational sensitivity) can enhance structure, meaning, and family unity. The present study examines the family-level ritual practice of weekly Family Home Evening among members of 26 Latter-day Saint (LDS) families (N?=?58 individuals). Qualitative analyses found the following three themes: (a) Family Home Evening as a Conversation; (b) Challenges of Family Home Evening; and (c) The Value of Family Home Evening. Primary data that support and illustrate the three themes are presented, along with implications and applications.     

Paddock Rites: Integrative Ritual in the Racing Community*

This paper explores a focal ritual in the community of horseracing known as the paddock. Using data gathered through participant observation, the author interprets the paddock ritual within the context of the racing community and its status hierarchy. The ritual integrates members of the racing community in relation to their social prestige and thus contributes to the social order. The paddock accomplishes this integrative function by according marginal members of the racing community temporary public recognition and acknowledgement of their contributions, both of which mitigate the alienation these individuals routinely experience.     

Die Wirkung organisationaler Rituale – Eine qualitative Interviewstudie

Organizational rituals pose a paradox. They are ubiquitous in business and other organizations; however, they do not fulfill an obvious organizational purpose. Psychological research on ritual suggests that group rituals fulfill important social functions and thereby solve the adaptive problems associated with living in large groups. Prior research on organizational ritual is dominated by case studies that often neglect the ritual participants’ perspective. Thus, in this article we aim at investigating which effects organizational members attribute to organizational rituals and at tapping into the implicit theories concerning the evolution of these effects. Based on qualitative interviews conducted with employees of different organizations from different sectors, holding different positions and employment contracts, the effects of organizational rituals on the individual as well as on the group level will be presented. Results suggest that organizational group rituals are linked above all with positive effects, whereby fostering and establishing group cohesion is the most frequently mentioned effect. The article will conclude with practical implications derived from the study results.     

Political Economic Analysis in Sociology as Dramatic Rhetoric*

The relationship between political economy and social problems advanced by S. M. Miller in his presidential address to the Society for the Study of Social Problems is analyzed. Political economy is judged to qualify as ritual drama as much as science or as ideology because (1) political economy reduces Maclver's distributive and conjunctural phenomena to collective phenomena, (2) it fails to grapple directly with political and economic obstacles to its proposed policies, and (3) it does invest these obstacles with symbolism. The function of ritual drama is suggested and the concept is applied to the work of other sociologists.     

Behavior, Belonging, and Belief: A Theory of Ritual Practice

A new model of ritual based on Durkheim's ([1912] 1995) theory is developed. It is argued that ritual practices generate belief and belonging in participants by activating multiple social–psychological mechanisms that interactively create the characteristic outcomes of ritual. Specifically, the distinctive elements of ritual practice are shown to induce altered subjective states and effortful and/or anomalous behaviors, which are subsequently misattributed in such a way that belief and belonging are created or maintained around the focus of ritual attention. These processes are traced in detail, and the resulting model is shown to be empirically credible, comprehensive, and theoretically fertile.     

Counselors' Beliefs About Ritual Abuse: An Australian Study

ABSTRACT

This study compares the beliefs held by Center Against Sexual Assault (CASA) workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists about ritual abuse. These beliefs were examined across a number of dimensions, of which five are discussed here: definitions of ritual abuse; number of cases identified between 1985–95; belief of client statements; religious beliefs; and training in therapy for sexual assault. In spite of the literature indicating broad disagreement with the definition of ritual abuse in other studies, results indicate 70% of all counselors agreed with a single definition of ritual abuse, and 85% agreed that ritual abuse was an indication of genuine trauma. There were 153 cases of ritual abuse identified by counselors between 1985-1995. Not one of these counselors believed that any of the claims made by their clients were intentionally fabricated. Overall, the CASA workers were much more likely to believe their client's ritual abuse and marginally more likely to identify ritual abuse cases than other therapists. Religious beliefs had no relationship to the identification of ritual abuse. Training in recognition and treatment of sexual abuse was significantly positively related to the identification of ritual abuse cases.     

Ritual,and child sexual abuse,but not ritual child sexual abuse

Central to the controversy over ritual (satanic) child sexual abuse have been claims concerning agency ‘diagnoses’ of cases. Specifically, it has been alleged that agency findings of ritual abuse have been erroneous and are the product of poor practice. There is, though, little systematic information regarding agency assessment of suspected ritual abuse cases. This paper presents two cases where there was evidence both of child sexual abuse and ‘ritual’ but where agencies adjudged that these aspects occurred independently of one another and were not indicative of ritual child sexual abuse. The existence of these cases underlines the need for a broader and more balanced debate in respect of ritual abuse in general and the agency handling of these cases in particular. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment and intervention in cases of suspected ritual child sexual abuse

Agency workers have been heavily criticized over their handling of alleged ritual child sexual abuse cases, particularly in respect of their assessments and interventions. However, a study of referrals to police and social service departments revealed that agency workers raised suspicions of ritual abuse in respect of both child ‘victims’ and adult ‘survivors’ very rarely. Furthermore, they did this only after an assessment which showed the cases to possess a number of ‘troubling’ features. While agency workers believed that all the child ‘victims’ had been subject to serious sexual abuse, virtually all of them were circumspect as to whether this had occurred in a ‘ritual’ context. Initially, agency workers were generally open-minded as to the experiences of adult ‘survivors’, but by the end of their assessments, they tended to be more concerned about their mental health and less concerned about issues of ritual abuse. Finally, agency workers appeared to act appropriately in terms of the types of intervention they used and the way in which they applied these. These results suggest that there should be more confidence in the ability of agency workers to respond to cases of alleged ritual abuse. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ritual Power in Interaction*

Research (by a self-styled participant observer) into two fashions of persons—nurses and punks—lends unexpected significance to the ritual “frame” as this appears in Erving Goffman's thought. A new concept that was only implicit in Goffman's ritual frame is demanded by the research experiences. This is “ritual power.” Ritual power, especially when it is strong, is like “presence” or “possession”, and it may well exert a major claim on interactants' consciousnesses (whether the interactants are displaying it or appreciating it). Of course, it must follow that verbal forms which try to define ritual power will do so the more powerfully the more they arrest the reader's attention. So it may not be a good idea to use sociological rhetoric of any sort to suggest that punks and nurses are exemplary referents of “ritual power”, but this last possibility is only latent in what follows.     

Ritual abuse: Consequences for professionals

This paper details the results of a questionnaire survey completed by 71 members of a national support group of workers in the field of ritual abuse, investigating the extent and nature of personal, interpersonal and professional stress factors involved in such work. The results indicate that professional work in the field of ritual abuse frequently gives rise to negative changes in behaviour and in physical and emotional health among workers. Support and supervision requirements are also addressed, as is the possibility/probability of threat and intimidation. The discussion proposes, and considers, three hypotheses: that workers in the field of ritual abuse are currently professionally isolated; that ritual abuse work is qualitatively different from other work; and that ritual abuse work may involve threat and intimidation.     

Negotiating Conflict through Music: The Case of the Tsonga Tingoma Ritual

Abstract

Tingoma is a three-day ritual conducted by Tsonga people to facilitate communication between the living and their Ancestor spirits, and to ensure that there is no disharmony between the beings in these two realms. Using a tingoma conducted for Eunice Maluleke as a case study, we argue that this ritual not only negotiates tension within an individual (body and spirit), and between an individual and his or her Ancestor spirits, but also functions as a site through which larger social and political tensions are addressed. Further, we propose that the structure of tingoma as it is practiced today inscribes and negotiates inter-ethnic tensions of the past. In the second part of this article we examine the ways in which tingoma has been affected by, and engages with, more recent power struggles and related identity politics, specifically those relating to the religious and political affiliations of people residing in South Africa's Limpopo province since the early 1980s.