Ritual Gone Wrong
What We Learn from Ritual Disruption
Seiten
2016
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-979092-0 (ISBN)
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-979092-0 (ISBN)
Ritual theorizing has tended to focus on perfect rituals, as prescribed in sacred texts, yet ritual mistakes occur all the time--crucial items can go missing or get broken, incorrect phrases can be said.
The discipline of religious studies has, historically, tended to focus on discrete ritual mistakes that occur in the context of individual performances outlined in ethnographic or sociological studies, and scholars have largely dismissed the fact that there are extensive discussions of ritual mistakes in many indigenous traditions' religious literature. And yet ritual mistakes (ranging from the simple to the complex) happen all the time, and they continue to carry ritual "weight," even when no one seriously doubts their impact on the efficacy of a ritual.
In Ritual Gone Wrong, Kathryn McClymond approaches ritual mistakes as an integral part of ritual life and argues that religious traditions can accommodate mistakes and are often prepared for them. McClymond shows that many traditions even incorporate the regular occurrence of errors into their ritual systems, developing a substantial literature on how rituals can be disrupted, how these disruptions can be addressed, and when disruptions have gone too far. Using a series of case studies ranging from ancient India to modern day Iraq, and from medieval allegations of child sacrifice to contemporary Olympic ceremonies, McClymond explores the numerous ways in which ritual can go wrong, and demonstrates that the ritual is by nature fluid, supple, and dynamic-simultaneously adapting to socio-cultural conditions and, in some cases, shaping them.
The discipline of religious studies has, historically, tended to focus on discrete ritual mistakes that occur in the context of individual performances outlined in ethnographic or sociological studies, and scholars have largely dismissed the fact that there are extensive discussions of ritual mistakes in many indigenous traditions' religious literature. And yet ritual mistakes (ranging from the simple to the complex) happen all the time, and they continue to carry ritual "weight," even when no one seriously doubts their impact on the efficacy of a ritual.
In Ritual Gone Wrong, Kathryn McClymond approaches ritual mistakes as an integral part of ritual life and argues that religious traditions can accommodate mistakes and are often prepared for them. McClymond shows that many traditions even incorporate the regular occurrence of errors into their ritual systems, developing a substantial literature on how rituals can be disrupted, how these disruptions can be addressed, and when disruptions have gone too far. Using a series of case studies ranging from ancient India to modern day Iraq, and from medieval allegations of child sacrifice to contemporary Olympic ceremonies, McClymond explores the numerous ways in which ritual can go wrong, and demonstrates that the ritual is by nature fluid, supple, and dynamic-simultaneously adapting to socio-cultural conditions and, in some cases, shaping them.
Kathryn T. McClymond is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Georgia State University.
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1 Negotiating Ritual Repair: The prayascitta material in the Baudhayana Srauta Sutra
Chapter 2 Don't Cry Over Spilled Blood: Ritual Correction in the Mishnah
Chapter 3 Blood Libel: Ritual Misrepresentation
Chapter 4 Of Fists and Feathers: The Modern Olympic Games
Chapter 5 When Ritual Systems Collide: The Execution of Saddam Hussein
Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
| Erscheinungsdatum | 22.03.2016 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Oxford Ritual Studies Series |
| Zusatzinfo | 2 illus. |
| Verlagsort | New York |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 155 x 231 mm |
| Gewicht | 340 g |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-19-979092-2 / 0199790922 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-19-979092-0 / 9780199790920 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
aus dem Bereich
eine Philosophie der besten Jahre
Buch | Hardcover (2024)
Carl Hanser (Verlag)
CHF 38,90
Antisemitismus in der Bibel
Buch | Hardcover (2025)
Verlag Herder
CHF 29,90
