Paper No.

: 02 Social-Cultural Anthropology
Module : 29 Belief and Rituals

Development Team
Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor
Principal Investigator Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi

Prof. Sabita Acharya

Paper Coordinator
Department of Anthropology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar

Content Writer Dr. Meenal Dhall

Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi

Prof. A.K.Sinha
Content Reviewer
Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Description of Module

Subject Name Anthropology

Paper Name 02 Social-Cultural Anthropology

Module Name/Title Belief and Rituals

Module Id 29

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Contents of this Unit

Learning Objectives
1. Introduction
2. Background of belief and rituals-
3. Variations in beliefs
3.1. Characteristics of belief
3.2. Functions of belief
4. Variation in rituals
4.1. Characteristics of ritual
4.2. Different types and genres of rituals
4.3. Functions of ritual
5. Variation in religious practices
5.1. Anthropology of religion and Anthropological approach to study religion
5.2. Types of practitioners
5.3 Functions of religion
6. Role of belief and ritual in the process of cultural change, Globalization and latest trends.
7. Summary

Learning Objectives
· To understand belief and rituals.
· To examine/investigate functions performed by belief and ritual for the individual and for the whole.
· To understand different forms and characteristics of beliefs and rituals.
· To know what role does religion play in the process of culture change.

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
1. INTRODUCTION-
Beliefs and rituals have always been the main focus of anthropologists to study and understand society
that how and what they reveal about political, social and aesthetic aspects of societies and cultures. We
study beliefs and rituals not only to know the meaning and significance, but also to know the effects
they have on the lives of their participants and how they influence their thoughts and activities. Both
beliefs and rituals can be found in every society because these two elements are embedded in the
culture and structure of society. Every society possesses beliefs. Beliefs and rituals vary from culture to
culture, time to time and society to society. One ritual which is considered as sacred in one region
might not be considered as sacred in other region. Variations can be observed easily across the world.
To understand the reason behind their existence is quite a difficult task. Supernatural forces are
discussed in different ways in different places. One must look for the differences & the similarity
among them. Explaining the unknown with the help of unknown is the goal. Broadly speaking belief in
supernatural forces/power, symbolic expression of feelings and rituals performed by individual and
groups explains the pattern and the reason for particular behavior of some people at some occasion in
every society. Many a times belief and ritual help in finding the universal questions like nature of
humans, nature of universe, relationship between humans and the universe, nature of death, life after
death, reincarnation & transcendental world. People assume a kind of world they live, in which forces
or elements are controlling it and what is the position. Beliefs and rituals should always be studied with
other social institutions to get a holistic, universalistic & comparative understanding. Belief is
embedded in aspects of everyday life and ritual is core of religious belief. Religion is a unified system
of beliefs and practices, which unite into one single moral community. Every religion is comprised of
beliefs, rituals, symbols, organization and feelings & emotions.

2. BACKGROUND OF BELIEF AND RITUALS

Some of the best works:

Name Book
Edward Burnett Tylor primitive culture
Emile Durkheim the elementary forms of religious life
Max Weber the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism
Clliford Geertz religious as a cultural system
Evans Pritchard theories of primitive religion
Claude Levi-Strauss totemism
Arnold Van Gennep rites of passage
Hertz death and the right hand
Mary Douglas purity and danger
Victor Turner the ritual process

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Belief were found from Homo sapiens (who lived 60,000 years ago), burial pattern, graves revealed the
presence of rituals at that time, because remains of food, tools, objects that were essentially required of
everyday life was kept along with the dead which probably implies a belief which shows a need for
after life. Various symbols, at the entrance of hut or rock shelter, rock paintings and prehistoric art
show a belief in practicing some rituals to protect themselves from evil powers. Anthropologists
looked at why belief and ritual is found in all societies and how and why it varies from society to
society. Some believe humans created religion and rituals, whereas some believe religion is prior to
humans. With the need for intellectual understanding, reversion of feelings, anxiety and uncertainty
and need for community, humans created these elements like belief, rituals, customs, ceremonies and
religious practices.

A number of hypotheses regarding the origins of belief, rituals and religious practices have been
developed by scholars of anthropology. They have tried to study these elements with respect to other
social institutions like polity, economy, kinship, marriage and family etc. they studied belief & ritual in
two-stage operation, first analyzing the system of meanings embodied in the symbols which make
belief and religion proper and second, the linking of these systems to social-structural and
psychological processes.

In the late nineteenth century, one of the earliest evolutionists proposed a theory of the origin of
religious belief was Sir Edward Burnett Tylor (1871). In his view the most primary form of religion
was animism. He suggested that religious belief oriented in people’s speculation about dreams, trances,
and death. He thought that there was a dual existence of all things- a physical, visible body and
psychic, invisible souls. Soul leaves the physical body at the time of death. Even though the death
occurs but souls continue to live on. Souls were the earliest form of religion. He used the term
animism, a belief in the existence of souls, spiritual beings or spirits. This view reflected the
intellectual component not the emotional component therefore faced criticism. He also suggested that
early humans devised the notion of spirits to explain the images of people they encountered in their
dreams and trances. He said every simplest religion to most complex religion had some animistic
belief. Belief in spirits is fundamental to the concept of animism and provides the basis of later forms
of religious beliefs. Explaining the evolutionary ladder of religious belief, his views were animism in
the starting point then spirits took greater power and authority and eventually became deities. Non-
human entities or elements (animals, plants, and inanimate objects or phenomena) possess a spiritual
essence. Tylor redefined animism in his 1871 book Primitive Culture, as "the general doctrine of souls
and other spiritual beings in general". It includes a belief that natural objects other than humans have
souls. Eventually this process of evolution transformed animism into polytheism then to monotheism.
Polytheism is the belief in the existence of many gods like in Shinto tradition. Monotheism is the belief
in only one god like in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam includes one supernatural being.

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Sir Edward Tylor’s theory

Tylor’s student R.R.Marett agreed with animism and suggested that early religion was more emotional
and intuitive in origin. He said that early humans believed that people, animals, objects and plants are
possess certain impersonal and supernatural powers. He proposed the notion of Animatism, a belief in
impersonal and supernatural powers over which people have some measure of control which preceded
the creation of spirits. He used a Melanesian term mana a concentrated form of animistic force and an
impersonal supernatural force inhabiting certain people or things that is believed to confer power,
strength and success. Objects like a spear that has killed many animals, a knife used to carve wood
sculptures, a person or places can be considered as mana. Marett argued that Animatism and mana
preceded animism in sequence.

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 R.R.Marett theory

Sigmund Freud claimed that early humans lived in groups which were dominated by a tyrannical man
who had all women. After maturing, sons move out of the group and later killed and ate the hated
father. For them totem animal is the father-substitute. Sons express this guilt and remorse by
prohibiting the killing of totem animal. This was repeated in the form of occasional ritual. According to
Freud, these practices became slowly transformed into worship of deities or gods modeled after the
father. His interpretation from this ritual was- reversion of childhood feelings which means events that
happen during infancy have long-lasting effects on beliefs and practices in adult life. When children
feel out of control of their parents or in need, they revert to their infancy and childhood feelings. They
look to gods, deities, or magic to protect, help and take care for them and their need like what their
parents did during their infancy. According to Freud, humans turn into religion when there is need,
anxiety and uncertainty.

Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist believed that living in society makes human feel pushed and
pulled by some powerful forces such as public opinion, custom, law which is invisible and often
unexplained & mysterious directs behavior like pushing them when they do wrong and pull them when
they do right. Therefore a belief was there on gods and spirits. According to Durkheim religious belief
arose out of the experience of living in social groups that affirm a person’s place in society and
enhance confidence with feelings of community. He pointed out society is really the object of worship
in religion and believed that people didn’t form clans and totem animals, it is the totem animal of each
clan that distinguishes one clan from other. Totem gives identity to people and it is the clan that is
affirmed in ritual.

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Beliefs and rituals is not only a way of relieving anxiety but also therapeutic and provides a feeling of
union, togetherness that fulfils the need of individual and the community. It serves socially and
psychologically.

Max Weber’s approach to study belief, ritual and religion was historical, he focused on causes that
made people to believe, to think and act as they did. His observation was in context of collective
system of meaning. Products of direct and human universal concerns shape themselves by diverse
religious traditions. He focused on kinds of mean-end relations rationalization with some unease.

Clifford Geertz, a twentieth century American anthropologist who is the most influential, made one the
strongest attempts to compose definition of religion. He focused on portraying different cultural worlds
by means of ethnographic examples. According to him, religion is- A system of symbols which acts to
establish powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by forming conceptions
with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seems uniquely realistic. He described
how religion constitutes the worlds that are comprehensive and comprehensible; their adherents inhabit
and provide guides for their actions within them. He believed that when the power breaks down, new
religious movements may arise.

3. VARIATION IN BELIEFS
Belief is a feeling of certainty that something exists and that is true or is good to a great extent; belief is
one’s own view, strong opinion which actually is a strong mental representation. Pistis and Doxa are
two different concepts about belief in Greek. Pistis refers to trust and confidence and Doxa refers to
opinion and acceptance.

This is a Venn/Euler diagram which shows that truth and belief may be distinguished and their
intersection is knowledge. Therefore, belief is an entity or element which is formed by the trust and
8

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 confidence that has been accepted and embedded by an individual or group in any society. Belief is
either the truth or the modification or the explanation of truth. It is the building block of conscious
thought which is accepted and absorbed by one. It always comprise of a subject who is the believer and
an object that is the proposition which implies the existence of mental state and intention. Religious
belief is evident in all known cultures and is inferred from artifacts associated with Homo sapiens since
at least 10,000 years ago. Categorizing beliefs as religious, political or social is relatively a new
custom. Belief can be natural or supernatural and by human or subject to laws of nature. Our belief
with a common-sense of a group or world may not be entirely correct, but it makes useful prediction
for an individual, group and the community. Belief, a conviction, may be categorized as justified or
partial or modified or as perception. It is said that certain motives, accuracy and efficiency, desirability
and consistency form belief to cope with life situations. When belief is talked in terms of religion or
ideology or philosophy it is generally referred to “belief system” which is a set of mutually supportive
belief which includes psychic power. No belief exists in isolation in the mind therefore it has to be
considered holistically which always relates to other beliefs. Beliefs are flexible and flow in one or
many directions.

PARTIAL TRUTH
ACCEPTED
JUSTIFIED MENTAL REPRESENTATION
BELIEF
Supernatural Psychic power

PERCEPTION SUPPORTIVE FLEXIBLE

Different Types of beliefs

Gods are anthropomorphizing, attributing human characteristics, motivations to non humans
particularly supernatural events. The name god is given to the spirit or being who is worshipped as the
creator and ruler of the world and the one who has power over nature or world. Monotheistic religion:
members believe in one god, like in Christianity and Islam. Polytheistic religion: members believe in
many gods. Some believe gods are anthropomorphs like human having a face, body, limbs, whereas
some believe god has no form.

Spirits are the part of you which is not physical, and is invisible that consists of your feeling. Gods and
spirits may be predictable and unpredictable aloof form or interested in human affairs, helpful or
punishing. Some believe they can connect to spirits by practicing some actions. The manner to

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 approach to the supernatural varies from one to other like requesting, praying, pleading, fasting,
sacrificing, etc.

Spirituality is any kind of meaningful activity or blissful experience. It aims to recover the original
shape of man, image of god. Like in Judaism the Torah, in Christianity Christ, in Buddhism Buddha
and in Islam Muhammad.

Ghosts- Spirit of a dead person that someone believes they can see or feel. Some communities like of
northern Ghana, sisala believe in ancestor ghosts who take care and protect their community from bad
things and punish them who violate rules or norms of behavior. Belief in ghosts is universal.

Deity is a god or goddess. There are family deities in many caste groups of Hindu. Like some groups
have family deities as lord Krishna, lord shiva whom they worship individually and collectively with
family.

Divination, An art or practice of discovering what will happen in the future using supernatural means.
It seeks practical answers from supernatural about anything like decisions to be made or curing illness.
Diviners use a variety of methods like tarot cards and alters conscious mind.

Magic is a system of supernatural belief that involves the manipulation of supernatural forces for the
purpose of intervening the human activities and natural events. When people believe that their actions
can compel the supernatural to act in a particular and intended way, it is known as magic.

Supernatural creatures or forces are believed by some people to exist or happen, although they are
impossible according to scientific laws.

Totemism- a belief in which each human is believe to possess a spiritual connection with another
physical being like animal or plants, these are often called as spirit-being or totems and serve as their
emblem or symbol. For example, in Orissa there is a tribe Bondo in which two phratries are there who
have their different totems tiger and cobra. The people of one clan can never imagine of hunting or
killing their clan totem.

Shrine is a place where people visit and treat with respect, worship that place that is associated with a
particular holy person/object. Like in Toda of Nilgiri hills have matrilineal shrine.

Satanists are individuals who believe and worship the devil.

Superstition is any belief or practice which is explained by supernatural causality, and is in

contradiction to modern science. Belief and practices that are considered as superstition by some
people might not be considered the same by others.

10

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 3.1 Characteristics features of belief:
· Belief of a person or a people forms the basis of behavior of an individual or group or community.
Some believe ancestor-spirits protect them and punish them if they violate rule of behavior.
Whereas some believe one should punish their enemies, who have had done something wrong to
them. They themselves punish enemies by harming them (sorcery and witchcraft).
· It shapes human’s life and the surrounding environment.
· Belief is fundamentally an inner condition, a psychological state.
· Belief sometimes is the key determinant of the status or position of what it is and where it stands
in society and in individual’s life.
· Belief brings distinctive nature between two groups. There are Latin Christians, Syrian Christians
and the Protestants. All three differ from each other by the beliefs they hold.
· Belief is flexible, structured or anti-structured
· Belief is central to all religions. Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, etc. Beliefs are
more or less similar. But there are similarities and differences in belief among these religions. For
example, Judaism shares some similarities with Islam. The Torah, teaching of the law stands at the
core or central of Judaism. But there is difference among these two religions. In Islam, parallel is
closer: the “five pillars” of Islam- witness to god and his prophet come close to being a credo and
some formal creeds. The duties of relationship, practice of ritual, following of Islamic custom, and
the observance of Islamic law are some beliefs of Islam.

Example, Fundamental aim of Jain faith is to perfect the soul by following the teachings of the Jinas
which reveals the essential truth of the universe and provide guidance to reach liberation through the
cycle of rebirth. Jains believe and live by the principles of the most recent Jina, Mahavira. Jain believes
in soul, karma and knowledge. Knowledge is required to recognize the delusions of world. With this,
the highest type of knowledge, truth of universe is known. Non-violence is the most underlying
principle of Jainism.

3.2Functions of belief:
· Belief transforms signs to meaningful symbols which assures mystical providence. And forms a
design or framework by founding social drama.
· Belief put a high worth on the human person, both as flesh (visible physical body) and spirit
(invisible form).
· Belief magnifies the value of life by making its conservation and renewal into a cult (a group with
its own beliefs, rituals and practices which might be an anti social group).
· It acknowledges the material domain under spiritual authority.

11

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 · Belief may/may not include a structure, a fixed order.
· Belief includes discipline to subdue egotistical man to a sacred, continuing motive.
· Belief expresses a philosophy of assent to life’s terms.
· Beliefs inculcate attitude and personality. The major cults inculcate a sense of mystery through the
use of symbolisms pointing to ultimate or metaphysical realities that are known by their signs.

4. VARIATION IN RITUALS
Ritual is a service which involves a series of actions performed in affixed order which shows a way of
behaving that people regularly carry out in a particular situation, because it is their custom to do so,
and every service is done in a meaningful manner or way that generally has a meaning. Rituals have
that power to effect meaningful transformation which includes patterned interactions of everyday life,
such as etiquettes and ordinary daily performances. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of
community(religious), or by society or by culture in a sequence of activities involving gestures, words,
symbols, signs, language, actions and objects performed in a sequestered place. Rituals bind religious
community together with a belief. Members of any religion may have different beliefs, but it is the
common religious rituals that give them a we feeling, a unity, togetherness. Religious rituals often
create and sustain continued fellowship in religion as a social institution. Social structure of religious
communities can be understood with the help of religious ritual-belief relationship. We can clearly see
that an individual may faithfully hold religious beliefs, whereas a group does not have a common mind
or thought to hold any belief. It is often observed that until there is action or activity, religion is
socially meaningless. Belief is many times without structure, therefore flexible. Whereas rituals are
patterned, a series is followed which implies a structure. Even though it is in pattern but sometimes
rituals are in an anti-structured state. With time, faith may become socially relevant through action.
Faith reflects a strong religious belief in a particular god or power. It is believed that religious practices
always originate during period of stress. A ritual and belief reflects the framework of values which
provide an understanding of the transcendental world. Both rituals and beliefs satisfy psychological as
well as social needs common to all people. Rituals are fundamental edifice on society and culture. It
symbolizes a system of ideas of a community. Rituals often support traditional forms of social
hierarchy and authority. Like, in some societies of India, certain rituals are supposed to be performed
by men only, like in rites of funeral are performed by men only. There are some occasions where
women are supposed to be fasting a day or more for the good of their husband, son and brother. It is
now that men have also started fasting on these occasions for their wives. The example is Monday
fasting for getting good husband “sola somvarka vrath” or “karvachauth”. Rituals are not only
actions, gestures, praying, sometimes there are rituals like dancing singing certain songs or reading the
holy book of a particular religion or avoiding non-vegetarian food, alcohols, or sexual relations in

12

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 certain occasions. Like, Muslims fasts during Ramadan for many days, they are not allowed to eat food
and even not allowed to swallow saliva or drink after 4am in the morning till 7pm in the evening.

4.1 Characteristics of rituals:

· Formalism: ritual uses a set of expressions in an organized and limited manner; anthropologists call it
“restricted code”. Example, use of Latin in a Tridentine Catholic Mass. There are certain formal things
that gives ritual a restriction code such as use of particular language while reading the holy book like
Bible or Quran or Bhagvad Geeta or while reciting phrases or prayers, mantras. Restriction like a fixity
of order, louder, intonations, oratorical style, etc. Formalism is followed and brings compliance and
acceptance among the communities.
· Traditionalism: rituals follow tradition and generally repeat the historical actions, practices. A good
example is of American thanksgiving dinner which is based on early puritan settlement of America.
Rituals reflect tradition, history and shows how humans have adapted, modified and absorbed these
rituals. Performing rituals show historical transmission and changes in traditional practices.
· Invariance: rituals are invariants marked by bodily discipline. For example in monotheistic religion,
prayers are performed in union or in groups. We can see in churches a day before and on the day of
Christmas, good Friday and Easter or in mosques, men who follow Islamic religion gather there and
pray together with discipline or in temples at certain festivals like shivratri, janmashtmi or during
jagran people pray in groups or individually perform rituals.
· Rule-governance: rituals are sometimes governed by rules that impose rules, norms on the behavior
which defines the outer limits of what is in order. A legitimate communal authority is evoked by
customs approved by individuals in community. In some societies fighting or violence is not conducted
in wars.
· Sacral symbolism: activities based on the belief in gods or supernatural beings are considered as rituals
like in religious belief practices. It requires a human response who expresses generalized belief in the
existence of the sacred beings. Symbols, sign, objects become sacred through a process. People
identify these things as sacred symbols which are an identity of any religion, country or nation.
Example, flag, specific folding, saluting and raising the flag represents a nation which shows it should
not be treated as a piece of cloth. Example are symbols or sign or objects or holy book of religion that
gives people a religious feeling when they see it like in Christianity or Islam.
· Performance: it creates a frame around the activities, symbols and events which shape the
order/pattern. It is said that until there is performance, ritual is socially meaningless. Not only is seeing
or believing but doing too. Performance is clearly observed in all types of rituals.

13

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Performance
http://www.aboutFestivalsofIndia.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/08/janamashtmi-celebration-
in-mathura.jpg

Flag hoisting ritual

http://www.b3.2cubes.com/viewBlog or
http://www.pib.nic.in/photo/2007/Aug/12007081514
296.jpg

14

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 http://www.ommons.wikimedia.org or
http://www.commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:US_Navy_
090401_N-0958B-
001_cheifs_hoist_the_america_flag_on_the_116th_annivers
ary_of_the_chief_petty_officer_rank.jpg

Traditionalism, performance, invariance, formalism

http://www.insidemedford.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/06/ecumenical/prayerservices.gif

15

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Sacral symbolism
http://www.religion-people-world-
cliparts-set-human-representing-
christian-muslims-buddists-sikh-taoist-
hindus-40371901.jpg

http://www.religious-
symbols.net/pictures/religious-symbols-
2.png

http://www.hinduonline.com/PhotoGallery/
Hinduimages/DeathRitual.jpg

Rituals are determinants of all known human societies and cultures which include worship rites,
sacraments of organized religions and cults, rites of passage, atonement, purification, rites, oaths of
allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and marriage, presidential inaugurations, funerals,
traditions, ceremonies and customs.

4.2 Different types of Rituals-

16

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Rituals can be of more than one type. Rituals are performed or practiced by people to protect their
village from crisis, illness, bad luck, omens, drought, scarcity of food and water, gynecological
troubles, difficulties and severe physical injuries. Some believe rituals are formed by supernatural
powers like gods or goddesses, if not performed in prescribed manner likely chances are there for the
occurrence of bad things either to individual or to the whole group or community. There are no obvious
types of rituals but those ritual types which are commonly seen:

· Contingent rituals: it can be subdivided into life-crisis ceremonies, performed at birth, puberty,
marriage, death to demarcate the passage from one state to another in the individual or group’s life
cycle. These rituals are performed to placate or exercise preternatural forces (preternatural abilities or
qualities are very unusual in a way that might make think that unknown forces are involved) for
protection, safety and security in a meaningful manner.

· Seasonal rituals: rituals may be seasonal or climatic depending on the crops, availability of food, water,
pastures, and resources. For example pastoralists still practice religious rituals before selecting pastures
or breeding of their animals. Shifting cultivators still follow the rituals prescribed from earlier times,
like performing rituals before selecting a plot, before cleaning up the land, before burning the land,
before sowing seeds and weeding, before harvesting and fallowing. These people perform rites by
taking care of direction of wind, sun, moon, lunar or solar eclipse, etc. culturally defined moment of
change in the climatic cycle or the inauguration of an activity such as planting, harvesting, setting up a
new hut for shelter or moving from winter to summer or at the time of crisis.

· Divination rituals: other class called as divinatory rituals, ceremonies, customs that are performed by
political, authority to ensure the health and fertility of human beings, animals, crops in their area or
territories; invitation into priesthoods devoted to certain duties, into religious associations or into secret
societies where the daily offering of food along with libation of deities or ancestral spirits.

Different genres of Rituals-

· Rites of passage- rites of passage are ceremonies that celebrate the transition of person from one social
status to another. It includes rituals events that marks individual’s transition from one status to another
such as birth, ageing, marriage, death, initiation of becoming parents. As said by Arnold van Gennep
those rites of passage go through three phases: separation, transition and incorporation. It marks a
change in person’s social position. Ritualistic ceremonies have religious significance which helps both
individual and society to deal with important life changes such as birth, puberty, marriage and death.
For example, when a person marries, he or she takes a new status and creates a new complex of new
relationships. Rites of passage also include public rituals which recognize a wider range of altered
social relationships. The first phase, separation is characterized by shedding away the old status. For

17

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 example, in puberty rites, childhood is ritually shed or symbolically killed by pricking the initiate’s
navel with spear. In the second phase, transition, individual is in between the old and new stage of
status. Person’s old status is not completely cut off and not properly entered into new status. This stage
is often associated with danger and ambiguity and involves unpleasant ordeals, deviation from normal
everyday life. The last phase is incorporation of the individual into the new status. Anthropologists
have studied certain societies and came up with ethnographic accounts like in the Nuer by E.E. Evans
Pritchard has mentioned about the rituals in which boys are transformed into adulthood by piercing in
the head and other actions. Also in Kikuyu- East African societies of Kenya, rites of adulthood is
practiced by initiating both boys and girls into which measures children become morally and socially
responsible adults. These rituals in Kikuyu go through separation of individual from society and their
old status and place them closely to god. This initiation ceremony starts by a man and his wife showing
separation from their parents, and then initiates spend their night by singing and dancing to solicit the
guidance and protection of the ancestor gods. After this, they shave off their head which shows
shedding their old status. At last a mixture of honey, milk and medicine is sprayed by their adopted
parents. In the second phase among Kikuyu, there is marginal phase in which initiates undergo the
dramatic and traumatic circumcision. This lasts for four to nine days in which they know their
responsibilities of adults. In the final phase, rituals are performed marked by incorporation of initiates
back to the society as a whole new status. In this final phase new male adults wear large ceremonial
plants on their earlobes which symbolize a new newly acquired status. The men put an end to their
transition phase by shaving their head again and engaging in ritual intercourse, they discard initiation
clothing and wear warrior attire with all of the rights and responsibilities of their new status. In some
traditional East African societies a young man wear black clothes with ostrich feathers and white
patterns on his phase to show adulthood.
· Calendrical and commemorative rites- these rituals are fixed, happens at a particular time of the year.
Calendrical rituals give an important social meaning to the passage of time which is created repeatedly
in weeks, months or yearly cycles. Some rituals are performed by the solar or lunar calendar. Dates of
solar calendar always fall on same days but lunar calendar dated may fall differently. This imposes a
cultural order on nature. It links between past and present. For example in India purnamasi, shivratri,
holi, janamashtmi, holi, diwali, all fall on different dates in each year. Whereas Christmas, Easter,
good Friday or national holidays like independence day, republic day, Gandhi jayanthi or Ambedkar
jayanthi, these are fixed dates.
· Rites of exchange and communion- it includes rituals in the form of sacrifice, offering which are meant
to praise, please or placate divine powers. For example, in bakrid festival of Muslims, they sacrifice
goat. In many Hindu cultures people offer fruits, gold, money to god to please divinity for their own
betterment of life.

18

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
· Rites of soliditary- it involves welfare or betterment of the community. Ceremonies performed for the
sake of enhancing social integration among groups of people. In some cultures like in northern Ghana,
the Sisala believe that their ancestor-ghosts are guardian who protects them. All the member of this
lineage respects and gives authority to elderly people because they are the caretaker and oversee the
interests and harmony of the whole group. Members of Sisala believe ancestor-ghosts punish those
who violate behavioral rules. They believe in the power of ancestor-ghosts to protect the moral order.
This is a way of maintaining social harmony within the lineage and serves as warning of danger to
those who might think of stealing or fight with their kin.
· Rites of affliction- it includes activities which mitigates spirits that inflict humans with misfortune.
Rites of affliction comprise of forms of spirit divination, an art or practice of discovering what will
happen in the future using supernatural means, to establish causes and rituals that cure, purify and
protect. This includes healing rites performed by shamans to cure illness of an individual or solve the
problem of drought and climate related problems. For example, in the Isoma ritual among the Ndembu
of north-western Zambis, this rite of affliction is used to cure a childless woman of infertility. Attention
of matrilineal descent and Virilocal marriage is there in Ndembu community. They believe that woman
who is infertile is being impaired by her dead matrikin. To heal the infertility of woman the Isoma
ritual is performed by requiring the woman to reside with her mother’s kin to please and placate the
deceased or dead spirits. Spirit is the non- physical part of the person that is believed to remain alive
after their death. Shamanic rituals not only heal physical injuries or problems but also cure
psychologically.
· Rites of feasting, fasting and festivals- these rites are publicly expressed which reflects religious
values. For example, communal fasting during Ramadan by Muslims, carnival festivities, fasting on
shivratri, janmashtami or navratri. Feasts prepared during marriage, ceremonies, festivals, etc. These
rites are social dramas which allow social stresses.
· Political rituals- power of political actors depend upon their ability to make a framework of rituals
within the social structure of society. Rituals are more or less like an ornament of political power.
These types of rituals are known from the times of kings and their kingdom to present day centralized
authority. There are certain presidential rituals, or monarchic rituals for kings or oaths taken by
political leaders, chiefs are considered as rituals. Political ritual constructs power and can be used as a
type of resistance. Rituals performed by Popes of church also include political social institution.

19

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 http://www.inmobile.reuters.com/slidesho
w?articled=INTRX248E&irpc=932

http://www.boldsky.com/img/2013/11/21-
sacredthreadceremony.jpg

20

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
4.3 Functions of rituals-

· Rituals gives social control

· Satisfy psychological needs
· Maintains past-historical essence
· Medium of rebellion
· Gives Structure and anti-structure
· Performs as social dramas
· Gives a form of communication
· Serve a disciplinary program
· Provides methodological measure of religiosity
· Enhances with ritualization
· Performs with religion

5. VARIATION IN RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

5.1. Anthropology of religion and Anthropological approaches to study Religion

Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices, which unite into one single moral community.
Every religion is comprised of beliefs, rituals, symbols, organization and feelings & emotions.
Different societies have different sets of beliefs and rituals.

Anthropology of religion is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions and the
comparison of religious beliefs. Anthropological perspective is of neither fully objective nor fully
subjective phenomena, but like poised in the mediating space of culture or the social or the socio-
cultural and participating in a whole process. Anthropology understands that religious worlds are real,
vivid and impactful to those who construct and live or inhabit them. How religious truth became
socially realized and confirmed is focused. How certain religious acts and utterances become the
ground against which social acts and cultural facts can themselves be established. Religion as a social
institution and is never studied in isolation, always studied in relation with other social institutions like
family, kinship, marriage, economy, polity, awareness, education, values, etc. On the basis of history,
one can note contrasts between societies or sectors of society that readily gave up particular religious
structures and practices in the face of more powerful social realities.

21

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Name Understanding religion
Emile Durkheim Religious phenomena as social, intimate connection between
function & meaning in religious ritual and representation and
between religion & social order

Karl Marx Attention to power, alienation, fetishism and mystification

Max Weber Comparative aspects of the text based religions, place of

religion in transitions to modernity, links between religion and
political and economic action, puzzle of locating meaning in
the givenness of the world, suffering and death

Clifford Geertz Religion as a cultural system- religion constitutes the world

and provides guidance for the actions of inhabitants.

Anthropological approaches to study Religion:

· Holistic- to understand religion it is looked as a part of a social whole. Religion is seen as part or
dimension of larger social whole. Because religion is linked to everything like to social reproduction of
family, gender hierarchy, political organization, etc.
· Universalistic- whole range of human society is studied to understand religion. Past and present is
examined. Model of unity and diversity is produced to study religion and ethnocentrism is kept aside.
· Comparative- to understand all aspects and make it understandable to all, comparative study is required
by interacting and connecting with each other to see similarities and differences.
· Contextual-facts are understood with contexts like linguistic, cultural, social, political, etc. which
provides a structure, meaning or weight to understanding.
· Historical-looking into past. Temporal Colonialisation, capitalism and emergent globalization. To
grasp the historical consciousness this approach is necessary.
· Ethnographic- to know intensity and depth of religion this approach is necessary. In this specific
societies or specific units/parts like indigenous or tribal or urban communities are studied for better
understanding of religion.
Example, studying written ethnographic accounts of Evans Pritchard: Azande (to study witchcraft), the
Nuer.

22

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
· Dialogical-conversation with people, who has knowledge and experience of practices. It involves
listening, studying and multiple voices.

· Critical-the best anthropological approach is critical. Every view and opinion matters. It tries to
overcome biasness, know more advancements and enlightenment.

5.2. Types of practitioners

To contact or interact with supernatural people use direct or other methods performed by part-time or
full-time or magical practitioners.

· Magic- magic is directed toward specific, immediate problems such as curing an illness, bringing rain
or ensuring safety on a long journey. Magicians can control or manipulate nature or people by their
own efforts. It is practiced irregularly in response to specific and immediate problems. It may be
performed by a large variety of practitioners who may or may not recognize within the community as
having supernatural powers. Thus magic involves manipulation of supernatural forces for the purpose
of intervening in a wide range of human activities or natural events. In some societies it is used
ritualistically to ensure the presence of hunting animals, rainfall, to cure or prevent illness or to protect
oneself from misfortune. It is also sometimes directed to cause evil. Satanists use magic for evil
purposes and worship the devil. The two forms of magic distinguished by Sir James Frazer are:

· Imitative magic- A form of magic based on the idea “what you do is what you get” procedure governs
the desired result. Like sticking a doll-like image with pins will harm the person the doll represents.
· Contagious magic- A form of magic based on the ground that things, once in contact with a person
(nails, hair, clothes), continue to influence that person after separation. Example- voodoo practice
involves both imitative and contagious magic because the idea behind voodoo doll is to do harm to the
doll by sticking pins or throwing in ocean, that voodoo doll may contain objects of their enemies or the
person whom they want to harm, like hair, nail clipping or teeth attached to it.
Researchers suggest four main types of practitioners which are: shamans, sorcerers, mediums and
priests. These vary with degree of cultural complexity.

· The Shaman- Usually a part-time specialist having high status in his community and involves healing.
They enter into a trance to get help of guardians or spirits. Shamans interact with the people seek to
solve their practical problems in life like availability of food, health issues, rainfall, drought, etc.
Shamans also sometimes bring news or warn people of coming disasters. Shaman is thought to have
supernatural powers by virtue of birth, training or inspiration. Shamanistic training can take several
years under the guidance of mater shaman. Example: shamanism is still practiced in some parts of
Korea, Africa, and native America.
23

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
· Sorcerers and witches- They have low social and economic status in their societies. Both sexes are
involved in practicing sorcery and witchcraft. Sorcery is the performance of certain magical rites or
practices for the purpose of harming others with the use of certain objects. Witchcraft is an inborn
involuntary and often unconscious capacity to cause harm to other people. Suspected sorcerers and
witches are feared as they are thought to know how to invoke supernatural to cause bad, illness, injury
and death. Evidence of sorcery can be found and suspected ones are often killed for their malevolent
behavior. Whereas it is difficult to prove someone a witch. They practice magic secretly. Example:
E.E.Evans Pritchard in his ethnographic account has mentioned about witchcraft among the Azande of
Zaire in central Africa practiced witchcraft part in everyday living-used to explain the unexplainable.
Witchcraft and sorcery are usually associated with small scale societies. In highly industrial societies
such as in USA, Canada, these practices are found but in different form. Wicca- a term derived from
witch is modern-day movement of witches and pagans. Wicca has a matriarchal character. Local
organization of witches is called covens, often presided by high priestess and symbolic representation
of mother goddess, consider themselves as fertility cults. They are found in some parts of North
America. Wiccans use certain fertility tools such as spells, meditation to focus their inner powers and
bring desired change, Wicca is non dogmatic, non-hierarchical and no proselytizing, based on
principle- do what you will, but harm no one. Witches are more involved in harming others, whereas
wiccans are modern-day specialists who do good to others by their power.

· Mediums- Females are part-time practitioners. People seek them to heal and are divine in possession
trances, when they are thought to be possessed by spirits. Mediums might have tremors, convulsions,
seizures and temporary amnesia. Example: some use boards, cards to interact with spirits. This type of
practice is found in some parts of India, Nepal, northern Africa and Japan.
· Priests- They are generally full-time male specialists who officiate public events and are of very high
status. They have the ability to relate to superior or high gods who are beyond the ordinary person’s
control. Either through inheritance or by political appointments priests is decided. They are in different
attire, special clothing, and hairstyle. Their training is vigorous, long and includes praying, physical
labor, learning the dogma, rituals of his religion like mantras, shlokas, bible, quran. Priest is supported
by donation, does not get fee for his services. Example: priests in church, temples. In India Hindu
priest have distinguishable attire and are mostly Brahmins. In southern part of India, namboothiri are
priests who are of high status.

Types of religious organization based on cults:

Religious Role Specialization Subsistence pattern Example

organization
Individualistic cults No role specialization Food collector Crow vision quest
24

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 Shamanistic cult Part-time specialization Food collector or Tungus shamanism
pastoralism or
horticulturism
Communal cults Groups perform rites Horticulture or pastoralism Totemistic rituals
for community
Ecclesiastical cults Full-time specialization Industrialization Christianity and
hierarchy Buddhism

· Cults- A group with its own beliefs, rituals and practices which might be an anti social group.

· Individualistic cults- It is a Religious organization in which each person has his or her own religious
specialist. Each person has relationship with one or more supernatural beings. Vision quest is the best
example performed under individualistic cults. It is a ritual through visions; people establish special
relationships with spirits who provide them with knowledge, power and protection. A person goes for
it if he/she wants special power or knowledge.

· Shamanistic cults- The most simplest form of religious division of labor who are involved in healing
illness and practical problems of food, water, rainfall, drought, etc. Forms of religion in which a part-
time religious specialists called shaman usually males, interact with spirits or deities on the behalf of
their clients. Shamans contact spirits in altered consciousness by taking drugs, smoking, drumming
rhythmically, chanting, or dancing monotously. They seek for causes of earthly problems and then beg
or do combat with the spirits to intervene on the behalf of the living. Example- Inuit shamans who
believe water mammals are controlled by an underwater female spirit who occasionally withholds
animals when Inuit people behave immorally.

· Communal cults- Involve elaborate set of beliefs and rituals, societies in which groups of ordinary
people conduct religious ceremonies for the well-being of the total community. Groups of people
conduct common religious or public rituals.

· Ecclesiastical cults- This is highly complex religious organization employing full-time clergy, like in
societies with state systems of government. Priests are parts of a hierarchal or bureaucratic
organization under the control of church or temple. A clear distinction is made between priests and
ordinary man in this cult.

5.3. Functions of religion

· Social functions
Ø Social control
Ø Conflict resolution
25

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
Ø Reinforcement of group solidarity- unites people and bring social solidarity

· Psychological functions
Ø Cognitive function
Ø Emotional function

· Other general functions are it provides emotional and psychological comfort, unites people, gives
answers to basic questions of life like purpose, motive of living or why people die etc, helps man to
deal with his fear of supernatural powers, gives explanations to salvation, controls social behavior,
provides guidelines for everyday life, social behavior, mannerism toward others, helps in adapting
changing customs and environment, provides a sense of identity and helps in understanding the aspects
of life.

6. ROLE OF BELIEF AND RITUALS IN THE PROCESS OF CULTURAL CHANGE,

GLOBALIZATION AND LATEST TRENDS
As the years passed by some new beliefs are formed by linking two beliefs. New trends of practicing
rituals are practiced day by day. As we live in multi-cultural world, we are influenced by all types of
beliefs, rituals and religions. Thoughts of people are blending. Some look for the correct explanation or
logic to accept any belief. While some try to link beliefs with scientific/biological thinking. There are
people who accept belief in its original form with no change, and follow these principles in their life.
With change, globalization and modernization comes shift in power, authority. Certain beliefs and
rituals are working their way into the secular world of business. Most of the Indians still believe in
astrology. Astrologers who claim to predict the future by analyzing numbers, alignment of stars. There
are many who believe in vaastu. They build a house or design a house according to vaastu which tells
which direction is best. The fine line between science and supernatural belief is becoming blurred.
People prefer ayurvedic products over English medicines. Yoga is influencing most of the people to
live a healthy life. Beliefs and rituals have played a major role in global social change over the past
several decades. Earlier one belief was restricted to society/culture whereas today there is a lot of
intermixing of thoughts, that all types of beliefs and rituals are found in every part of the world. Under
certain stressful circumstances, new religion, new beliefs are formed. There are few religion
fundamentalists who reject foreign and modern ideas, and follow strict principles. Example, Islam,
Judaism. An extremely significant trend in the world can be observed-religious nationalism, a
phenomenon occurring in some parts of the world in which traditional principles are interlinked with
the working of government. Polity as a social institution is influencing beliefs, rituals and religious
practices. Government institutions and leaders take help of religion and beliefs to show their power and
authority. Sometimes belief and ritual act as a source of solution to political, economical and military

26

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals
 problems. Because of the IT revolution and the internet economic, political and social life are getting
affected. Internet is bringing people with different religion and beliefs which together are bringing new
life and energy into a society especially among the youth. But it has negative effects too.

7. SUMMARY
· Belief and ritual is universal and embedded in everyday life.
· No part of the world is devoid of belief and rituals which helps in understanding the tradition, past,
meanings of certain practices.
· Belief, an entity or element formed by the trust and confidence that has been accepted and embedded
by an individual or group in any society. Different forms of belief-gods, ghosts, spirits, superstitions,
animism, animatism, totemism, shrine, deity and magic. Functions of belief to understand society,
culture, history and human behavior.
· Ritual, a service which involves a series of actions performed in affixed order which shows a way of
behaving that people regularly carry out in a particular situation. Features of rituals are formalism,
traditionalism, performance, invariance, rule-governance and sacral-symbolism. Different types of
rituals are contingent, seasonal and divination rituals. Different genres of rituals are Rites of passage,
soliditary, affliction, exchange and communion, feasting, fasting and festivals, calendrical and
commemorative rites and political rituals.
· Anthropology of religion, the study of religion in relation to other social institutions and the
comparison of religious beliefs. Every religion is comprised of beliefs, rituals, symbols, organization
and feelings &emotions. Anthropological approaches to study religion are Holistic, Comparative,
Universalistic, Contextual, Historical, Ethnographic, Dialogical and Critical.
· Types of practitioners in society: the shamans, sorcerers, mediums and priests. Witchcraft and sorcery
are two supernatural beliefs and wicca & coven are modern-day creations.
· Different types of religious organization based on cults are individualistic, shamanistic, communal and
ecclesiastical cults.
· Religion performs social and psychological functions.
· With globalization, IT and internet belief, rituals and religion has undergone many changes by
intermixing, interconnecting in a cross-cultural way.

27

Social-Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology
Belief and Rituals