For the next part of the discussion you will need to use the last reading, Dance as Function part two. In that reading a number of ritual dance char
For the next part of the discussion you will need to use the last reading, Dance as Function part two. In that reading a number of ritual dance characteristics and elements were introduced. The reading framed these characteristics around dances from global and historic perspective, but really these ritual elements are still all around us. Your task for this post is to share a modern ritual that you participate in that involves these elements. Please tell us about your ritual and describe it using terms from the reading. What type of ritual is it? Which of the listed ritual elements are used? How would you classify this ritual from the classifications given in the reading? Your ritual will not use all of the characteristics, but it will use many of them. Please be thorough and include as many as you can.
At first you may think it is difficult to pinpoint a ritual in your actually they are all around you so don’t look too deep, or think too hard. Here is an example we can all relate to: A typical American style kids birthday party. This is a social ritual and an initiation ritual. At the party we use circle form when we sit around the cake, which is also the ritual centerpiece. Fire is involved with the candles on the cake, and the common sound is when we all sing happy birthday. The setting is usually a house, or a park, and the cake ritual always happens on some sort of table. It is a harmonious celebration that is a rite of passage, and we also find body decoration in the party hats we wear.
See? No problem. Just think about the rituals and celebrations in your life, and you will start to see the connections between your ritual and the characteristics described in the reading. Please make sure you refer to the ritual types, elements, and classifications described in the reading, as that is the main purpose of this discussion. Your ritual does not need to involve dance, but bonus points if it does.
There will be some overlap with people sharing the same ritual, but try and challenge yourself to come up with an example that has not already been shared.
Dance as Ritual The purpose of this entire chapter is to examine dance as function. The crucial concept to remember is that for many cultures both living and extinct dance is not a separate act. Rather, it is a function of life, and tied to nearly every significant event from birth to death. This makes dance a ritual event, and these rituals are needed to insure the happiness, prosperity and safety of the group. A ritual is simply a series of actions that have been established through tradition. These actions are performed as communication with a higher power as well as other members of the community. Through enacting a prescribed ritual the group is able to express their needs, fears and desires through movement, music, and rhythms. Keep in mind for these groups there is no science to explain why people get sick, why disasters happen, or even how babies are made. Instead it is all part of the great mystery of life. It is through ritual that people are given some sense that they can affect their own fate, and gain some control over events that influence their survival.
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Even in the modern era we still have ritual events. Most churches and religious groups have a number of rituals they regularly perform. But ritual can also extend into our daily lives. Remember that a ritual is a prescribed series of actions established through tradition. We all have our own little personal rituals
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we enact, sometimes on a daily basis. We even refer to it by saying things like, my morning ritual. The morning ritual is whatever you go through each morning to get yourself ready and out the door. The actions you go through to get dressed, eat breakfast, and whatever else have been established over time because they produce results. The result being you are able to get out of bed and get wherever it is you have to go. Rituals are either specific or cyclical. A specific ritual is developed to address a one-time, or unique situation. A tribe may discover that a stream commonly used for fishing has suddenly run out of fish. In this instance a ritual could be created to ask the higher powers to return the fish to the stream. A cyclical ritual is repeated at the same time each season, year, or day. Your morning ritual is carried out every weekday morning, but could be different on the weekend. Harvest rituals are always performed during harvest time. Our own holiday rituals happen during the specific holidays. Among different cultures the rituals can vary widely. But even though people worked out their own cultural rituals, there are a number of broad categories that encompass all the variations. We can group the rituals into categories by looking at the content and the purpose of the wide variety of rituals performed by humans globally and throughout history. Fertility Rituals:
The most basic concern of early man was fertility. Without food or new offspring the tribe would perish. This makes the cycle of the seasons, the weather, and the fertility of the soil, animals, and humans’ very crucial factors. It’s important to keep in mind that fertility was not exclusive to human fertility. Rather, plants and animals had to also produce and renew in order to provide for the humans.
The most important efforts of the community are going to go toward fertility rituals. The goal being to influence the higher powers to provide a good harvest, insure an abundance of animal births, and produce new babies within the tribe. There were undoubtedly many anxieties wrapped up with fertility because it is the sustenance of the tribe. The tribe has to have food in order to survive, and a lot can happen in the time between planting the crop and harvesting it. If the tribe looses its crops and/or animals they all face starvation, malnutrition, and even death. Through the performance of dance rituals the humans are able to placate their fears, and these rituals allow them to feel they are in contact with a higher power who can influence the development of crops, the health and well being of the herd animals, and the tribes ability to produce new members.
Initiation Rituals: These rituals focus on human development at the various life stages. An initiation ritual is concerned with life events such as boys and girls as they reach puberty, weddings, or boys becoming warriors. Sometimes these rituals are
referred to as lifespan rituals because they focus on events occurring within a human’s life. Social Rituals: In many ways a social ritual can be thought of as a little bit lighter than the other various dance rituals. A social ritual simply promotes community through integration, entertainment, and celebration. A social ritual may not be quite as developed as a fertility or initiation ritual, and may happen more spontaneously. A group may gather to dance together after a long day of daily chores. Although this activity is not shrouded in exacting ritual, there are many ritual aspects still at play. A ritual is a traditional cluster of actions. Therefore the gathering of the people in a particular spot in the village after a hard days work constitutes these actions. No, these are not magical, revered, sacred actions, but they are still a traditional cluster of actions and can therefore be considered ritual. Hunting and Animal Rituals: In some ways these rituals are similar to that of fertility because they are concerned with animals that provide food. However, a fertility ritual centers on the fertility of animals and their ability to reproduce. A hunting ritual is focused on hunting and catching animals to feed the tribe. An animal ritual is about calling on an animal spirit to aid a human. In tribal cultures humans had a great respect for the animals. They recognized them as a great resource in providing not only food, but also skins for shelter and clothing, bones for tools, and organs and tissues for various items like strong ties and water pouches. Whenever they took the life of an animal they were careful to show respect to the life form they just ended in order to maintain their own.
Humans also recognized the power of the animals. Sometimes they were interested in harnessing this power for their own. If a tribe was preparing for battle they may call upon the spirit of a large predator to imbue them with its strength as well as protect them during The&Hopi&of&North&Eastern&Arizona&perform&the&Eagle&Dance.&
battle. They may also do an animal dance as a hunting charm wherein the dancer attempts to win power over the animal he is imitating. Some hunting and animal dances may focus on the tools used rather than the animal. If a fisherman has crafted a new net he would perform a dance ritual to ensure the new net catches many fish. A similar dance ritual could be performed on any number of hunting tools, whether they are arrows, spears, or clubs. Healing and Funeral Rituals: This example may be the easiest to spot in modern times. Every culture across the globe since the dawn of man has had some sort of ritual for handling their dead. Whether it is burial, cremation, floating the body on a raft, or having a huge celebration all societies have funeral rituals, and early man was no exception. A funeral ritual helps those left behind cope with their loss. It also focuses on helping the dead transition to the afterlife. There are many, many varying beliefs on what happens to someone when they die, but regardless of the belief all cultures build some ritual around funerals and the journey of the dead. In a time before medical science a healing ritual was one of the main forms of medicine. When someone got sick or injured early man had some knowledge of healing herbs and plants, but for the most part they were dependent on ritual and the communication with a higher power as a means to heal their sick and injured. Really this is not far gone in modern America. Anyone who has had a seriously ill or injured family member has felt a loss of control. Even with all our medical knowledge sometimes systems fail us. When this happens many of us turn to the power of prayer and religious belief. This is our modern attempt to communicate with a higher power to ask for assistance in healing the sick. War and Weapons Rituals: These rituals focus on groups that have to fight for or defend territory, freedom, or particular beliefs. Like a hunter may perform a ritual to make his arrows hit their animal targets, if need be he can also do a ritual to ensure his arrows hit human targets. For pre-historic groups that had to engage in battles with other humans these rituals take on great importance.
War and weapons rituals could focus on the weapons themselves, as in the above arrow example. They could also focus on the warriors themselves. Before heading into battle the warriors need to prepare. A ritual could be done to protect them and make sure they fight strong. Of course there can be some crossover between ritual forms. The warriors of a tribe could do a dance ritual wherein they dance like a lion and mimic its actions. Here the warriors are preparing themselves for battle by giving themselves the strength of the lion. They are also using an animal ritual because they are asking for the strength and protection of the lion.
Cosmic or Celestial Rituals: We have already discussed that pre-historic man was very in touch with the cycles and rhythms of the earth. Living very close to nature one would be able to easily identify when seasons were changing. They also had reverence for the sun, which provided light and warmth, as well as the moon, which created mystery and shadow. Therefore people had rituals to honor the sun and moon, as well as the changing seasons. Some of these may overlap with fertility rituals. The rituals enacted during harvest time focus both on the onset of winter as well as the yield of the crops. But groups would also have cosmic rituals that stood alone. During the depths of winter a tribe could hold a ritual acknowledging that the winter will end and the warm weather will return. Ritual Elements: A number of elements are commonly found in dance rituals. They vary from ritual to ritual, group to group, but in a comparison of dance rituals they occur with frequency and regularity.
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Circle Form: Many dance rituals happen in a circle. These rituals frequently rotate around something such as a fire, a post, a person, or a representative object. The circle is seen as a powerful shape, capable of trapping energy within it while keeping unwanted elements out. The circle also allows for the development of community. All the community members are together in the circle with their backs to the outside, keeping all else out. Additionally the circle represents the cyclical powers of the earth, such as the changing of the seasons, the transition from day into night and back to day, the natural cycles of womanhood, the cycle of growing and harvest, and the cycle of life from birth to death. Line/column: While line or column form does not have the same sense of community as circle form does, it still has its place. A line or column represents forward progression, strength, and progress. It may be used to represent a journey into battle, a journey to the afterlife, or any event that can be represented through forward progression. Sounds: Just about every dance ritual is going to include sounds in a variety of forms. Sounds may come from drumming or other percussive instruments, simple flutes and horns, clapping, stomping, chanting, and singing. Often times the drummers are the main musicians in a tribal group. Some groups believe that the gods are able to speak through the drums. In these groups where drumming and other instruments are key great care is taken to care for, protect, and store the instruments when not in use.
In the European Maypole dance the dancers use circle form to rotate around the maypole.
Body decoration: Body decoration accounts for the many things that can be used to decorate the body. Feathers, masks, paint, beads, stones, cloth, leather, and plants are all used as adornment. One of the most common forms is the mask, which is
believed to hold a lot of power. The wearer of the mask takes on the power and character the mask represents. The mask also allows the wearers to feel removed from themselves and become the character of the mask. It also hides you, allowing one to do things they may not usually do.
Just as a tribe would take great care in how they handle their drums and instruments, they would take the same care with masks and costumes. These items are believed to carry a power all their own, and are often representations of important gods and spirits. Great care must be taken not to offend these spirits; therefore any representation of them must be handled with extreme care and ritual. Setting:
Most rituals take place in a particular area, whether that is a communal place in the village, a clearing in the woods, or a mysterious cave. Different rituals would call for different settings. If the group is giving thanks to a water spirit the ritual may take place by the river. If the group is celebrating harvest they may go to the field. Fire:
For early humans fire is extremely important as it provides both light and heat. A crackling fire also seems to possess light and magic, and is a very mysterious element onto itself. Many rituals relied on fire as a representation of power and life, while also giving light and warmth to the ritual participants.
Ritual Dance Classifications One of the first scholars to analyze the elements of tribal dance forms was Curt Sachs. He lays out his descriptions in his book, “The World History of the Dance”, originally published in German in 1933. These classifications describe
A Balinese masked dancer.
general characteristics found within dance rituals, and categorize the dances by type. Harmonious: A harmonious dance repeats a basic rhythmic pattern, with accompanying repetitive movements. The energy of the dance is low to medium intensity, and this is maintained throughout the dance. The movement vocabulary would include stamping, shuffling, hopping, lunging, stepping with a bent knee, and just about any movement that can be easily repeated and stays at a medium intensity.
It is important to note there is a difference in a harmonious dance and being harmonious together. A harmonious dance refers to the dance itself. Being in harmony is more of a musical term and refers to people singing well together. Being harmonious with others is a feeling of togetherness. Harmonious in dance has it’s own meaning and is not tied to or the same as being in harmony or feeling harmonious. Ecstatic: Ecstatic dances begin as harmonious dances but build in intensity and energy until they reach a fever pitch. The build comes from the emotional level of the dancers as well as their movements. An ecstatic dance will employ larger, more energetic movements such as whirling, big leaps and jumps, shaking, and head rolls. The accompanying music is faster than that of a harmonious dance, or the tempo gradually increases as the dance is performed. Trance: Often times the climax of an ecstatic dance is a trance state. When an ecstatic dance is allowed to build to its full heights the trance state can be achieved. Usually a person who has reached trance state is considered to be possessed by a spirit. In the United States it is common thinking that one must be under the influence of drugs or alcohol in order to reach a trance state, but this is not the case. A group of dancers building intensity by moving repetitively together can be very powerful. If a person is completely in the moment and able to let her mind go then trance state can be achieved without any influence from drugs or alcohol.
For explorers and anthropologists from Western European countries and the United States trance state often presents the biggest gap in understanding. Much of the western world views the effects of a trance state such as rolling eyes, speaking in tongues, the inability to feel pain, and unresponsiveness as signs of mental illness. Nowhere in general western society do we find trance state used on a regular basis. Of course there are some exceptions to this, such as the snake handlers of Appalachia, but even these Western religions sit on the fringe of what is considered acceptable in modern western societies.
Westerners simply
cannot get past equating trance with mental illness or something evil, like being possessed by the devil. Western societies often teach a certain refinement of character and actions and they are not sure how to process the trance state. The first explorers and anthropologists had nothing in their societies to compare trance to, aside from people suffering from a mental illness or being possessed by a demon, so they immediately dismissed trance as bad. To this day trance state continues to be a source of hang-ups and misunderstandings for the western mind. It is so far removed from our culture that it becomes difficult to make meaning of this altered mental state. We also have trouble seeing how one could reach this state without the aid of drugs or alcohol.
Mimetic: A mimetic dance either portrays an entire event and/or uses movements that portray a specific image. Animal dances provide a great example. If a group of hunters are acting out a hunt on the night before they leave they are doing a mimetic dance. Or, if the hunter is dancing like the buffalo in order to win over its power that is also a mimetic dance. In another example, perhaps a tribe is performing a fertility dance to get the crops to grow tall and strong in the field. If they choose to jump up and down and use gestures reaching to the sky they are performing a mimetic dance because they are mimicking the growth of the plants.
Imageless: An imageless dance is basically the opposite of mimetic. In this form the dance ritual has a purpose, but it is not mimicking something directly. Here the power of the dance is found in rhythmic repetition and other ritual aspects rather than the gestures. For example, a tribe is performing a marriage dance for a newly wed couple. The dancers dance in a circle around the new couple, but they do not act out the wedding ritual itself. Rather the power of the dance comes
The Sufi Order of the “Whirling Dervishes” received their name in part due to their dance wherein they whirl in a circle for an extended time. This whirling can induce a trance state, which allows the performer to feel closer to god.
from the community circling the couple, signifying they are newly joined in the eyes of the tribe. Summary For early humans dance always had a function and served a specific purpose, whether it was for the crops to grow strong, a new marriage to be successful, or to prepare for a hunt. People also recognized the importance of dance as communication and used it to strengthen tribe bonds and communicate with unseen forces. Humans did not dance simply for the sake of dancing; rather, dance was always tied to a specific intent. We can only speculate as to why humans created dance movements that were separate from everyday human actions. Indeed, it was probably not just one factor alone but a combination of many. By trying to replicate the movements of higher animals, explore the natural rhythms of life, and search for ways to communicate with the unseen people began to develop dance vocabularies. These vocabularies became specific to a particular tribe or group, and over time groups of people the world over had their own series of dances and ways of moving. To study the dances of a pre-historic culture we can look in a few places. Art and artifacts left behind provide some of the best records and are first hand accounts of the dance itself. We can also look to the surviving descendants of these cultures to provide some evidence of long-ago dances. There are some written and pictorial records that are first hand accounts of the dances, but these have to be approached with caution. While they can prove helpful the researcher must keep in mind that these accounts are from cultural outsiders who approach the culture with ethnocentrism and major bias. Even though pre-historic dance forms vary widely across the globe we can find some commonalities. The various dance rituals tend to fit into a number of identified types, and most seem to share in a number of common elements. Curt Sachs also identifies a number of ritual characteristics that provide a framework for categorizing dances by their general character or form. By using these ideas in combination dance scholars and anthropologists are able to better discuss, analyze, and describe the dances of pre-historic peoples.
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