Chapter 4 Response

Rituals are a very important part of everybody’s life. Whether it is being sworn in as president of the United States of America, or being paddled in order to join a frat, I never did quite understand that, everyone has undoubtedly been part of a ritual. On page 94 of Living Folklore the definition of ritual is given. Rituals are ceremonies or performances that enact deeply held traditions or values. Rituals are very organized events, and page 95 discusses how each ritual may reflect values in many other types of folklore. One event in my life that I would consider a ritual would be when my high school soccer team won the State Championship and the ritual that was performed at the end of the game to show that we were the best in the state. Pages 98 and 99 talk about certain aspects used to classify rituals. Winning the State Championship would be an example of a high-context, invented ritual. It his high-context because the attire is always the same at the end of the game the leaders of the IHSAA (Indiana High School Athletic Association) congratulate the victors. The leaders always have suits and ties on and the players always have their sweaty uniforms on. It is invented because it is used to classify us as the best in the state as well as symbolize a passing of the torch. What happens in the ritual is the leaders of the association walk out to the center of the field where all the players are lined up horizontally in front of all the fans. The leaders then walk down the line and individual shake every player’s hand and then place the State Championship medal around the players’ necks. The State Championship trophy is then handed to the tournament’s MVP and everyone celebrates. On page 119 of our book it is stated that an initiation ritual is one that expresses a person’s entrance into membership in a group. In order to win the State Championship every single member had to give their all and work everyday at practice in order to be good enough to win the tournament. I know this is not the same as being initiated into a fraternity or some cleanly-outlined club, but we all became a part of a group containing all the former teams that were good enough to be crowned champion. This is a response to the Chapter 4 Reflection Question for my F-121 World Arts and Cultures class.