Anthropology Question

Prompt

Historians, folklorists, sociologists, and anthropologists have long considered holiday, festivals, and family traditions as types of cultural performance.  Cultural performances are found in all societies.  They may be secular or sacred:  parades, rodeos, carnivals, Thanksgiving, Easter, Kwaanzaa, Ramadan, Yom Kippur,  weddings, birthdays…etc.  There are diverse examples ranging from those associated with major religious institutions, or those more localized and individualized which are sometimes interpreted as superstitions.  These celebrations of existence act to substantiate the human experience in many ways:  symbolize identity, promote unity, satisfy existential needs.  As such, these public and private activities provide an opportunity for observance and can be analyzed as “Ritual”.

Instructions

Choose a “religious” or sacred ritual to observe/watch. Remember what is religious to one person may be superstitious to another.  Both qualify.  The ritual can be part of a major institution (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism) or and individual practice (chanting, meditation, throwing salt, cracking eggs over care tires).

Make time to visit a “site”.  There are many livestreaming sites on the internet.  Or YouTube.

Do your fieldwork/observation.  Have a framework in mind of what you are about to watch (see Analysis below)