In his paper “The Ritual Experience: Pain and the Transformation of Consciousness in Ordeals of Initiation” Alan Morinis explores the use of pain in adolescent initiation rituals. Initiation rituals that adolescents so frequently take part in are rituals used to symbolize the transition from childhood into adulthood; however Morinis notes that all over the globe these rituals are intrinsically associated with pain (Morinis 1985). While these initiation rituals have been studied extensively over the course of human history, with anthropologists and psychologists such as Durkheim, van Gennep, and Freud all having taken a stab at attempting to interpret these rites of passage, Morinis argues that there is still a crucial piece of the puzzle missing …show more content…
The word ordeal has been used several times when talking about initiation rituals and it is fitting to do so. Ordeal implies an extremely serious and severe situation of test or trail, which in its simplest description fits that of initiation rituals perfectly. In fact several anthropologists have used the word ordeal to describe the events of initiation rituals, while most do not limit their use of the word to only the experience of pain but rather the ritual in its entirety. When describing the Gisu circumcision rituals Suzette Heald brings to the reader’s attention clarity of the ordeal like nature of initiation rituals. Within the Gisu community this rite of passage for adolescent males is described as being a test of the individual (Heald 1982). The process is drawn out over several months of preparation, the earliest stage involving the preparation of costumes and dancing; this stage of the ritual is associated with “searching for imbalu” or in other words the gradual awaking of intent in the individual, boys have the opportunity to drop out at this stage without the consequences of societal disgrace (Heald 1982). The costume is especially significant as its purpose is to make the boys appear ‘wild’ (Heald 1982), and thus plays an important role in the liminal stage of the ritual (Morinis 1985). The liminal period is essential when it comes to the infliction and …show more content…
Elaine Scarry in her book The Body in Pain delves into this phenomenon; “that pain is so frequently used as a symbolic substitute for death in many tribes is surely attributable to an intuitive human recognition that pain is the equivalent in felt-experience of what is unfeelable in death” (Scarry 1987).Whether the conscious intent of the use of pain is to symbolize death can be contested, however the fact remains that pain, and therefore the recognition of death, is present within the initiation ritual. This gives new power to pain, Scarry reasons that physical pain has the ability to be all encompassing, meaning that it can obliterate all forms of psychological feeling, it has the power to “end all aspects of self and world” (Scarry 1987). Here is where the body and the individual intersect, the body is both the platform for which pain is inflicted and death is experienced as well as the place in which the individual is housed. The body is essentially the only thing that truly belongs to the individual, therefore the infliction of pain within the confines of the ritual demands that one sacrifice the self in order to be accepted within the desired societal group (Morinis 1985). The liminal state which the individual is forced into before the introduction of pain allows for the initiate to experience the new self-awareness
“The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality, and Change in Papua New Guinea” is a book written by Gilbert Herdt. It is based on a case study Herdt did during the 1970’s of the culture of the Sambia people. His study took place in Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. He didn’t know much about their language, however through out his time there he was able to learn their language and customs. As he settled into their village, he mostly slept in the clubhouse with the other Nilangu villagers; however, eventually they built a house for him to stay at. Herdt had a great interest in gaining new knowledge about the Sambia culture.
The Cross-Cultural Articulations of War Magic and Warrior Religion by D. S. Farrer, main purpose of this article is to provide a re-evaluated perspective of religion and magic, through the perspective of the practitioners and victims. Farrer uses examples that range from the following: “Chinese exorcists, Javanese spirit siblings, Sumatran black magic, Tamil Tiger suicide bombers, Chamorro spiritual re-enchantment, tantric Buddhist war magic, and Yanomami dark shamans” (1). Throughout the article, he uses these examples to address a few central themes. The central themes for war magic, range from “violence and healing, accomplished through ritual and performance, to unleash and/or control the power of gods, demons, ghosts and the dead” (Farrer 1).
“The contents of Vodou rituals – from private healing consultations to public dances and possessions-performances- are composed from the lives of the particular people performing them. When I began to bring my own life to the system for healing, I began to understand more of what it meant for Haitians to do that (Brown, 134).”
the deities and attempt to explain the psychological necessity of these rituals. An examination will be made of the typical forms of rituals, and cite their effects,
The reading, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”, shows the strange and torturous culture traits of the Nacirema of North America. This people are extremely barbaric in their practices, and often torture themselves just to look good. In our modern society, it seems nearly impossible to us to understand, or even partake in these horrific actions. But there is something hidden within the Nacirema culture that would shock the modern American world.
The goal of the anthropologist is to come to understand the beliefs and behaviours of the cultures around them, without judgement. When one scrutinizes Western rituals, we often have difficulty seeing the strangeness of our own culture. To understand those around us, we must first be able to understand ourselves. In this paper, I will attempt to critically summarize and analyze Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”.
familiar with their own culture that they do not easily recognize their culture’s uniqueness. People may face some opposition when observing how different a culture’s practices are from their own. Horace Miner’s article “Body Rituals among the Nacirema”, provides insight of how odd another culture may seem when people view it from their own perspective.
What happens during a child’s first years can be very crucial in how this individual turns out in adulthood. “Recurrence of episodes involving physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in the childhood.” (Diseases 1: Pais 3) Which means when a child experiences one of these traumatic events constantly they try to seek comfort. This is wher...
In John Barker’s Ancestral Lines, the author analyzes the Maisin people and their culture centered around customs passed from previous generations, as well as global issues that impact their way of living. As a result of Barker’s research, readers are able to understand how third world people can exist in an rapid increasing integrated system of globalization and relate it not only to their own society, but others like the Maisin; how a small group of indigenous people, who are accustomed to a modest regimen of labor, social exceptions, and traditions, can stand up to a hegemonic power and the changes that the world brings. During his time with these people the author was able to document many culture practices, while utilizing a variety of
The phenomenon occurring in the article “Exploring Pain Processing Differences in Native Americans” written by Shreela Palit, Kara L. Kerr, Bethany L. Kuhn, Ellen L. Terry, Jennifer L. DelVentura, Emily J. Bartley, Joanna O. Shadlow, and Jamie L. Rhudy of The University of Tulsa, is that of pain tolerance and threshold between individuals of the Native American descent and white non-Hispanic descent. Pain is a feeling that can cause a reflex in the body which can help with the protection of the body sometimes in the form of moving a limb after the initial stimulus. The initial stimulus of pain that is inflicted to the individual can take many forms, some of which are a stab, cut, or blow to an area of the body, this process
...out of Step, Smith-Spark says, “Prof Mtuze said a problem for many boys was that they had lost touch with the ideas behind the rites. This meant they competed to be the first to achieve manhood and viewed anyone who admitted pain as a weakling” (2). This confirms the inaccurate purpose of this event. In the end, this rite of passage isn’t worth practicing since there a lot of things that could go wrong.
Rituals "Rituals are found in every human community and area primary means of social communication and cohesion."(pg. 96, Livingston) Rituals help to make a smooth transition through the human life cycles. It gives a structure to the chaos of these events. Rituals also help explain changing of the seasons or a commemoration of a historical event.
The relationship between religious ritual and social power is very complex in its nature. In each society examined thus far religious ritual is intertwined into almost every aspect of life from social taboos to rites in hunting, marriage and an innumerable amount of other cultural aspects. Religious ritual is so interwoven into the fabric of society that separating ritual from the act is often times impossible. In researching this topic I have become aware of two forms of connection that must be addressed to fully cover the idea governing the connection of these principles.
Proverbs 22:6 states, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (King James Bible. 1973). When you train your children, you are passing doing rituals. Rituals that you learned from your parents and your parents learned from their parents. Some people think that they don’t have any family rituals. However, they do not realize that everyday task that you do with your family can be considered a ritual. Family rituals can consist of eating meals together, watching a favorite show each night, and all the birthdays and holidays that you celebrate with your family they can even help out with some behavior issues. In one particular video, the author talks about how family rituals can help build an
...uld have had the body move. Certain body functions like breathing, reproducing, healing are controlled by the body but can be influenced by the mind. Pain is not something created by the mind and given to the body, our nervous system actually communicated with the body via the mind to control our actions. If there is a misfire or injury we might not find fear, or pain as something the mind might control but only be controlled by natural body functions. The body does not know that fire will burn us, only the mind can value add previous experiences and history to help us remember, or learn a lesson of the pain of fire.