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A ritual is a ceremonial act that has spiritual or religious significance. Rituals create cosmologies they enact in different ways; firstly, they promote a sense of cosmos and order by establishing recognizable patterns of behavior. Secondly, they foster community logic by uniting people with similar interests. Thirdly, the key moments in a cultures history are frequently symbolically reenacted as part of rituals. Fourthly, rituals can provide a medium to allow communication with the spiritual realm. Rituals create organization and unity among communities through events such as baptism, weddings, Christmas, Passover, and Hanukkah, as well as provide a connection to the spiritual realm in the Native American Church.
Rituals create a sense of order and cosmos by setting up predictable sequences of actions. This helps people to feel like there is an organization in the world, which gives people a sense of stability and control. One example of how rituals aid in creating a sense of order is by enabling humans to transition from one stage of life to another. For example, a baptism ritual marks the transition from being a child to becoming an adult member of a religious community (Hristov 74). Similarly, a wedding ritual marks the transition from being single to being married. These rituals provide structure and meaning for these major life changes.
Additionally, rituals often involve a symbolic reenactment of key events in the history of a culture. For example, Passover is a Jewish ritual celebrating the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt. The ritual involves a Seder, which is a ceremonial meal that recreates the story of the Exodus (Glaser 8). Participants read from a Haggadah, a text that tells the story of Passover, and they also perform specific rituals, such as drinking wine from cups shaped like hands crossed at the wrists to represent bondage. Another example of this is the Hindu festival of Diwali, which celebrates the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom after fourteen years of exile (Chintaram 651). During the festival, Hindus light lamps and candles to represent the light that guided Rama home. They equally perform rituals such as fireworks and prayer to commemorate the event.
In addition, rituals create a sense of community by bringing people together to share common experiences. Rituals play a vital role in uniting people as a community; they provide a shared experience that assists in building bonds between people and create a sense of cohesion. One example of this is the holiday season when people come together to celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah (Palmer 565). These rituals provide a common experience that helps to unify people and strengthen the bonds between them. Similarly, by sharing common experiences, people are able to connect on a deeper level and form closer bonds with one another. Another example was the Jewish holiday of Passover; it was observed over the course of eight days, and families came together to share in common rituals and traditions.
Similarly, rituals can be used to create an altered state of consciousness, which can allow participants to communicate with the spiritual realm. One example of this can be found in the Native American Church, which incorporates the use of peyote as a means of achieving an altered state (Sabucedo 369). Peyote is a psychoactive cactus that contains the hallucinogen mescaline. When it is ingested, it makes users experience visions and hallucinations. These visions can provide participants with spiritual insight and understanding and can help them to communicate with the spirit world. Peyote ceremonies are often used as a way of gaining guidance and wisdom from spirits and can be beneficial for people who are seeking spiritual enlightenment or healing.
In conclusion, rituals create cosmologies that enact a shared understanding of the world and the human place in it. They help define people and provide a sense of continuity between the past, present, and future. Rituals play an important role in most cultures by assisting people in remembering their history and connecting with their ancestors. They also provide action sequences in a given group of people as well as bring them together.
Works Cited
Chintaram, Marie Vinnarasi. Mauritians and Latter-Day Saints: Multicultural Oral Histories of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Within the Rainbow Nation . Religions. 2021. Web.
Glaser, Zhava. Passover in Rabbinic Writings. Journal of Messianic Jewish Studies, 2017. Web.
Hristov, Petko. Bulgarian Ritual Kinship (Kumstvo) Old Patterns, Established Beliefs, and New Trends. Journal of Family History, 2018. Web.
Palmer, Sarah Jane. A Tribute to All the Staff Working at Christmas. British Journal of Healthcare Assistants. 2021. Web.
Sabucedo, Pablo. The Psychological Flexibility Model from a Cultural Perspective: An Interpretative Analysis of Two Native American Healing Rituals. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 2017. Web.
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