Religious Ritual Observation

User Generated

Fnxb123

Writing

Description

Everything you need to know is in the provided file. Please try and make the ritual a common one in los angeles. Thank You!

Unformatted Attachment Preview

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
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Surname 1
Student Name:
Professor’s Name:
Course Name & Number:
Date:
Ritualistic Hindu Funeral
Introduction
Due to the diverse nature of religious rituals, selecting the right religious ritual for my
assignment was quite challenging. I did intense research on various forms of religious rituals and
deciding the one to attend to wasn’t easy. At first, I thought of attending a Muslim church service
since am not a Muslim and have never been to a Muslim service. However my distant cousin
recently lost her close friend, and after asking me to accompany her to the funeral service, I
decided to write about my experience since I believe the funeral qualifies as a religious ritual.
The ceremony was orchestrated at the funeral home and was overseen by a priest. After the
ceremony, I got an opportunity to talk with the priests during which I asked him questions about
the various practices I witnessed and their significance. The priest was very friendly and
elaborated on all practices and their importance to the Hindu religion and culture. Out of respect
for the deceased and his family, I will withhold the names of the family. The funeral ceremony
comprised of various significant practices and rites that are observed across all funeral
ceremonies and as a result qualifies as a ritual.
The Hindu funeral qualifies as a ritual due to the customs and traditions observed. During
the funeral, there was an open casket, and all guests viewed it. The viewing of the casket was

Surname 2
done quietly and in a respectful manner. The guests are also not allowed to touch the deceased
person. I learned that this is a tradition observed in all Hindu funerals. Another f...

Similar Content

Related Tags