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Spiritual
Ceremonial Rites
Ceremonial rites are formal ritual events, such as weddings, funerals and coming-of-age rites, held to mark a special occasion.
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The idea
A ceremony is a unified ritual event with a purpose, held on a special occasion. It usually combines several artistic parts, such as music, speech, costume or dance. The word ceremony may come from the Etruscan language, through the Latin word caerimonia.
Ceremonies are built from rituals: repeated, structured sequences of actions that change the state of a person, a group or a place. Rituals often use special gestures, words and revered objects, and many follow tradition and fixed rules. Rituals are found in every known human society. They include religious worship and sacraments, as well as weddings, funerals, oaths, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations.
One important kind is the rite of passage, a ceremony held when a person leaves one group to enter another. It marks a major change in a person's place in society, such as becoming an adult. Such a rite has three phases: separation from the old status, an in-between stage, and joining the group in a new role. For example, a new soldier may have his or her hair cut short to mark cutting away the old civilian self. Even some animals show ritual behavior, such as elephants mourning their dead.
Check yourself
Question 1 of 3
Who coined the term rite de passage?
Composition
what it's made of
- Ritual actions — A repeated, structured sequence of actions at the heart of the ceremony.
- Words and gestures — Spoken words and set movements that carry the meaning.
- Revered objects — Special items, such as rings, candles or sacred texts, used during the rite.
- Artistic elements — Music, costume and other art forms combined into one event.
- Special occasion — The event or life change, such as a marriage or funeral, that the ceremony marks.
Connection
how it relates
Under Rituals and Practices
Change
how and why it evolves
- Past
- In 1909 the ethnographer Arnold van Gennep coined the French term rite de passage in his book Les rites de passage.
- Now
- Today ceremonies range from religious services to inaugurations, and even a handshake or saying hello can be called a small ritual. The term rite of passage is now fully adopted into anthropology and into the popular culture of many modern languages.
- Next
- Ceremonies will probably keep adapting to new settings, such as online gatherings, while keeping their core actions.