Anthropologists having being studying ritual in human societies on a formal basis since Emile Durkheim (1858—1917) (Durkheim, Emile | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
Ritual is a condensed event within a human society that contains a high degree of symbolism. Building on a solid body of scholarship about ritual, this author connects the findings with neuroscience. Xygalatas (HOME | xygalatas) explains what participating in ritual does to our brains, what effect it has on our psychology.
It is stressed that ritual is universal in human societies. From birthday parties and coronations, to silent prayer, fire-walks, church services, ceremonies around birth, marriage and death, terrifying rites of passage to summer gala days, the variety is astounding. Locally we might think of Whuppity Scourie and Lanimers.
There might be a bewildering variety of ritual across the globe and across time, but Xygalatas suggests there are subtle and universal social mechanisms at work. Ritual binds us together. It is no accident that the etymology of the word ‘religion’ derives from the Latin ‘religare’ – ‘to bind together’.
To accompany this excellent study read ‘The Meaning of Belief‘ (2017) by Tim Crane.
Also, ‘How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures‘ (2022) by Robin Dunbar (How Religion Evolved by Robin Dunbar review – sharp history of belief | Religion | The Guardian), which deals with ritual as a component of human life.
Check if ‘Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living‘ by Dimitris Xygalatas is in stock at your local library here Home | South Lanarkshire Libraries (sllclibrary.co.uk)
WINNER OF THE CAROL R. EMBER BOOK PRIZE FOR SCIENTIFIC ANTHROPOLGY
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE
320 pages in Profile Books
First published 2024
ISBN-13 : 978-1788161039
Dimitris Xygalatas