Practice

Abstract

Rituals constitute a practice. Their performative character creates community and the social. When staging and performing a ritual, people participate in a social practice that has a beginning and an end and is carried out in a particular place. It is practice that accounts for the social effect of rituals. This practice is carried out in various institutions and organizations which provide the historical and cultural conditions that define the quality and character of the rituals involved. Four main perspectives can be broadly distinguished in research on rituals. The first focuses on rituals in relation to religion, myth and culture. The second looks at rituals with a view to analyzing the structures and values of society. The third perspective considers rituals as texts with a view to deciphering the cultural and social dynamics of society. The fourth perspective, which is at the core of this brief contribution, focuses on the practical, staged and performative aspect of rituals. Central to this orientation are forms of ritual action that allow communities to generate, restitute and overcome or work through their differences.

Keywords: rituals, society, social anthropology, gestures, community