A ritual is a well-defined sequence of words and actions
designed to focus attention, establish significance, and achieve a beneficial result.
Although some people think we have lost our sense of ritual, modern society makes use of
many rituals to mark the beginning of significant events (baby showers, grand openings,
ship launchings); the ending of life, or ways of life (funerals, bachelor parties, happy
hours); the completion of important tasks or performances (graduation ceremonies, toasting
successful negotiations, applause); the transition of one state or time period to another
(birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, religious ceremonies like baptism/bar
mitzvah/confirmation); and the making of connections (marriage ceremonies, church
services, flirting).
There exist abundant rituals for every occasion -- so why
are more and more people in this modern age seeking out rituals different from what they
have?
In order for a ritual to be fully effective it must
fulfill four requirements:
It must be intellectually
satisfying.
It must be emotionally satisfying.
It must have a strong beginning.
It must have a strong ending.
To be satisfying intellectually, every word and movement
must be filled with meaning which is understood by the participants and the observers.
Otherwise the event is just confusing and uninteresting. If you have to ask "Why are
we doing this?" the effect of the ritual is lost.
Emotional satisfaction comes from stimulating or pleasing
the senses or the ego. Watching a well performed ritual is interesting, but unless you
have an emotional bond with a participant (like the mother or father of a bride), just
being an observer doesn't affect you much. It's like the difference between being at the
Mardi Gras in New Orleans and watching it on television.
Falling somewhere between the above two points is the
kind of satisfaction that comes from an event with a clearly defined beginning and ending.
Part of the power of ritual derives from the fact that, in addition to relating to
something significant, it is significant in itself. The more clearly a ritual is set off
from all other events, the more impact it has on our psyche and our behavior.
Many of modern society's rituals have lost their
satisfaction because their performance is not as effective as it used to be, and because
new issues important to people are not being addressed by those traditionally looked to
for meaningful rituals.
The purpose of a ritual is to impress and
influence people, but too many of society's standard rituals are being done for the sake
of tradition or dogma or habit alone and those who are leading them are no longer
impressed or influenced by them. So people are increasingly seeking out different rituals
to meet their needs for significance and enjoyment. This is one reason why such large
numbers of people are now interested in shamanism, which includes dance, song, touch, and
connections with Nature, as well as joy, meaning and creativity in its rituals.
As the people of the world continue to grow in
love and confidence they will have more freedom to adapt ancient rituals for modern use,
rejuvenate the dead ones of the present society, or create entirely new ones at will. This
is exactly what is happening now, and it's a very good sign for the future.
I greatly appreciate the
ideas and thoughts of Serge Kahili King in rendering insight into the contents of this web
site. I have spent many years in appreciating Pacific Islander and Native American
cultures in addition to those of the Japans and of the Hong Kong Chinese.
I prescribe cross-cultural investigations so that we each may become a more valuable person, not only to ourselves, but to each
other.
