Religious Ritual Observation

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3:28 1 LTE Done 2 of 2 RITUAL Anthropology 121 Field Project Historians, folklorists, sociologists, and anthropologists have long considered community holidays, ethnic festivals, and family traditions as types of "cultural performance". Cultural performances may be found in all societies around the world. There are diverse examples ranging from those associated with major religious traditions to those more localized or secular. Examples include: parades, rodeos, carnivals, and bazaars. Cultural performance may revolve around national holidays such as the 4th of July, Thanksgiving or Memorial Day; a religious holiday such as Easter or Diwali; or an ethnic celebration such as Chinese New Year. Even sporting events like the Superbowl may provide examples of cultural projection. These celebrations of existence act to substantiate the human experience in many ways beyond mere entertainment: symbolize identity, preserve heritage, foster social cohesion, instill pride, validate worldview, release social tension, etc. As such, these public ceremonies as cultural performance provide an opportunity for field observance and can be interpreted and analyzed as "Ritual". ASSIGNMENT 1. Choose a “religious" ritual to observe: Church service, Baptism, Wiccan gathering, Funeral, Quincenara, Bar-Mitzvah, Luau, etc. (excludes any activity that is harmful to self or others or illegal. 2. Make plans to visit the "site". This is easier with a "contact "informant”. Tell them who you are and what are your plans. 3. Do a "literature search". Make sure you do a background check (Google, Wikipedia, Religions.com) on the people and places you plan on observing. The more information you have previous, the better you are prepared. Here you can possibly identify a possible contact and determine the best time for your visit/attendance/observation. 4. Conduct "fieldwork”. Have a framework in mind of things to watch for and informal questions in which to ask. Take a notebook. Ask permission when tape recording or visually documenting. Remember non-invasiveness, courtesy, and respect. PAPER This is a documentation of your field experience. 5-7 pages double spaced and typed. Three parts: 1. Introduction-Identify and describe the cultural performance: setting, participants, Ys - pa performance, etc. 2. Analysis-How does this qualify as ritual? What are the symbols? Is there a mythological basis? Who are the "specialists"? (Use textbook as reference) 3. Conclusion- How would this be considered "religious" and/or superstition? Why? Use key terms: ethnocentrism/cultural relativism, emic/etic, context. 6
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Running Head: RELIGIOUS RITUAL OBSERVATION

Religious Ritual Observation
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RELIGIOUS RITUAL OBSERVATION

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Religious Ritual observation
Introduction
The ritual being observed is the catholic baptism. The baptism is taking place at the
Cathedral of Our lady of the Angels. The church is one of the most Iconic places that people visit
when they are in Los Angeles. There are very many people in the church, however, the ones
being baptized are dressed in white and are seated at the first five rows. Farther David Gallardo
is the one in charge performing the baptism and saying mass. Each of the children to be baptized
has a sponsor or god parent by their side. It is interesting to see that there are young children as
young as five months whose parents have brought to be baptized.
The mass begins following the catholic mass procedure, and the baptism is performed at
the point where the priest usually does the sermon. The parents with the younger children below
five months go first together with the godparent. I found out that the younger children went first
because they were only going to be baptized. The older people in the group had not been
baptized, but had gone through the process of catechism, which meant that they were going to
also receive their first communion in this exact mass.
The priest says a small prayer and then ushers them towards an area on the right side of
the altar that is used for the ritual. They stand in a line and the priest first applies some oil on
their foreheads while saying a small prayer. He does this for all the children and proceeds to pour
on them in cycle each three times. While he pours the water on the children, he recites a prayer
by first mentioning the child’s and then saying “I baptize you in the name of the father, son and
the holy spirit” and they all respond “Amen”.

RELIGIOUS RITUAL OBSERVATION

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The prie...