Gesture and Rituals. The Mimetic Creation of the Social

Abstract

The aim of this article on gestures and rituals is to investigate their corporeality and their mimetic and performative character. i want to show how gestures and rituals are developed in different fields and contexts as a mode of self-expression and a means of representing something that would otherwise remain invisible. I shall focus on the how of gestural and ritual representation and expression. Starting from the assumption that gestures and rituals are highly context-dependent, the article will investigate the social contexts in which they occur and show how intentions and feelings are condensed in them and what significance they therefore have for social and cultural relations. The underlying assumption is that gestures and rituals are influenced firstly by collective ideas and practices, secondly by institutional conditions, and thirdly by individual conditions.

Keywords: rituals, gestures, performativity, corporeality, self-expression