Ritual Observation

Writing based on the ANTHROPOLOGY OF RELIGION, MAGIC, AND WITCHCRAFT

This is a very structured assignment. Before beginning your observations you need to carefully read through the following material to learn what is expected of you. Write up your observations by answering the following questions. This is not a difficult assignment, but it does require that you follow the format very carefully. Each step is numbered. 

You do not have to retype the questions. Just number each answer in order.

 

1. What is the religion that you are studying? Be specific.

You should be able to identify the religion in a few words. However, do not be overly broad. For example, instead of Judaism, you might write down Reform Judaism. For a Christian church, note the denomination or the affiliation of the church.

 

2. Where did you observe the ritual? When did the ritual take place?

Normally this would be the name of the place (church, temple, mosque, etc.). Provide the address and the date and time of your observations. However, if the ritual took place in a person’s home do not report the address but simply give the city (e.g., West Hills) to preserve the person’s anonymity.

 

3. Very briefly describe the physical layout of the space.

Describe the appearance of the ritual space. Include the approximate number of people who participated and where were they located during the ritual.

 

4. Provide some very basic information about the ritual.

a. What ritual did you observe?

(E.g., Bar Mitzvah, Sunday morning church service, funeral, etc.)

b. Was it a periodic or occasional ritual?

c. What it a prescriptive or situational ritual?

d. How would you classify the ritual (social rite of intensification, rite of passage, therapy ritual, hunting and gather rite of intensification, divination ritual, etc.)?

 

5. Describe the ritual.

The best way to describe the ritual is to break it down into short steps or activities. Examples of activities would be a prayer, a sermon, singing a hymn, and so forth. Your description of a typical ritual should contain a dozen or so activities. The activities should be listed in the order in which they occurred.

For each activity you should note (a) roughly how long the activity took, (b) a description of what took place, (c) who performed the activity, (d) what symbols played a role in the specific activity, and (e) was any altered state of consciousness involved.

 

6. List and describe all symbols that were a part of the ritual.

Make a summary list of the symbols that were involved in the ritual. Describe each one and discuss its meaning.

Students frequently make errors in listing objects as symbols when they’re not. Objects, such as a Bible or a musical instrument, are usually not symbols, but it can be under special circumstances.

 

7. List all of the religious specialists involved in the ritual.

Make a summary list of the religious specialists. Do not include all participants, just those who can be labeled as specialists. What did each one do?

 

8. Were there any examples of altered states of consciousness in the ritual you observed?

 

9. Finally, are there any other observations you would like to report?

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