Part of the ceremony of the Changing of the Guard in Whitehall, London.

A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including by a religious community. The term usually refers to actions which are stylized, excluding actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers.

The field of ritual studies has seen a number of conflicting definitions of the term. One given by Kyriakidis (2007) is that Ritual is an outsider's or "etic" category for a set activity (or set of actions) which to the outsider seems irrational, non-contiguous, or illogical. The term can be used also by the insider or "emic" performer as an acknowledgement that this activity can be seen as such by the uninitiated onlooker.

A ritual may be performed on specific occasions, or at the discretion of individuals or communities. It may be performed by a single individual, by a group, or by the entire community; in arbitrary places, or in places especially reserved for it; either in public, in private, or before specific people. A ritual may be restricted to a certain subset of the community, and may enable or underscore the passage between religious or social states.

The purposes of rituals are varied; with religious obligations or ideals, satisfaction of spiritual or emotional needs of the practitioners, strengthening of social bonds, social and moral education, demonstration of respect or submission, stating one's affiliation, obtaining social acceptance or approval for some event—or, sometimes, just for the pleasure of the ritual itself.

Rituals of various kinds are a feature of almost all known human societies, past or present. They include not only the various worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also the rites of passage of certain societies, atonement and purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations and presidential inaugurations, marriages and funerals, school "rush" traditions and graduations, club meetings, sports events, Halloween parties, veterans parades, Christmas shopping and more. Many activities that are ostensibly performed for concrete purposes, such as jury trials, execution of criminals, and scientific symposia, are loaded with purely symbolic actions prescribed by regulations or tradition, and thus partly ritualistic in nature. Even common actions like hand-shaking and saying hello may be termed rituals.

In psychology, the term ritual is sometimes used in a technical sense for a repetitive behavior systematically used by a person to neutralize or prevent anxiety; it is a symptom of obsessive–compulsive disorder.

Ritualistic behavior in animal kingdom and early human prehistory[link]

Ritual actions are not characteristic of human cultures only. Many animal species use ritualized actions to court or to greet each other, or to fight. At least some ritualized actions have very strong selective purpose in animals. For example, ritualized fights are extremely important to avoid unnecessary strong physical violence between the conflicting animals.

According to Joseph Jordania, the initial function of ritualistic behaviors in human evolutionary prehistory was to achieve the altered state of consciousness in hominid brain, in order to transform individual hominids into a group of dedicated individuals with a single collective identity. In this state (which Jordania calls battle trance) hominids did not feel fear and pain, they were religiously dedicated to group interests, were not questioning orders, and could sacrifice their lives for the common goal.^[1] This state was induced by ritualistic actions: loud rhythmic singing, clapping and drumming on external objects, dancing, body and face painting, and the use of specific cloths. The same kind of ritualistic actions are still widely used in order to achieve the psychological unity of participants in various religious practices, as well in military forces to prepare soldiers for the combat situations^[2][3]

Ritual actions[link]

Aztec ritual human sacrifices, Codex Mendoza.

There are hardly any limits to the kind of actions that may be incorporated into a ritual. The rites of past and present societies have typically involved special gestures and words, recitation of fixed texts, performance of special music, songs or dances, processions, manipulation of certain objects, use of special dresses, consumption of special food, drink, or drugs, and much more. Religious rituals have also included animal sacrifice, human sacrifice, and ritual suicide. Ritual lamentation—song performed with weeping—in many societies was regarded as required to ritually carry the departed soul to a safe afterlife (Tolbert 1990a, 1990b; Wilce 2006).

Religious rituals[link]

In religion, a ritual can comprise the prescribed outward forms of performing the cultus, or cult, of a particular observation within a religion or religious denomination. Although ritual is often used in context with worship performed in a church, the actual relationship between any religion's doctrine and its ritual(s) can vary considerably from organized religion to non-institutionalized spirituality, such as ayahuasca shamanism as practiced by the Urarina of the upper Amazon.^[4] Rituals often have a close connection with reverence, thus a ritual in many cases expresses reverence for a deity or idealized state of humanity.

Note that the only religion in the world that rejects religious rites and rituals is Buddhism.^{[citation needed]} One of 3 characteristics of the first level of Buddhist sainthood called sotapanna, is the elimination of the clinging on to Rites and Rituals. Buddhists believe that Clinging to the view that one becomes pure simply through performing ritual or rigid moralism, such as praying to a god for deliverance, slaughtering animals for sacrifice, ablutions, etc. need to be eradicated because the Sotāpanna realizes that rites and ritual are nothing more than an obstructive tradition, repetitious rites and dead dogmas; Deliverance can be won only through the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Social functions[link]

Kowtowing in a court, China, before 1889

The social function of rituals has often been exploited for political ends. Alongside the personal dimensions of worship and reverence, rituals can have a more basic social function in expressing, fixing and reinforcing the shared values and beliefs of a society.

Social rituals have formed a part of human culture for tens of thousands of years. The earliest known undisputed evidence of burial rituals dates from the Upper Paleolithic. Older skeletons show no signs of deliberate "burial," and as such lack clear evidence of having been ritually treated. Anthropologists see social rituals as one of many cultural universals.

Rituals can aid in creating a firm sense of group identity. Humans have used rituals to create social bonds and even to nourish interpersonal relationships. For example, nearly all fraternities and sororities have rituals incorporated into their structure, from elaborate and sometimes "secret" initiation rites, to the formalized structure of convening a meeting. Thus, numerous aspects of ritual and ritualistic proceedings are engrained into the workings of those societies.

Anthropological studies[link]

Of particular interest to anthropologists has been the role of ritual in structuring life crises, human development, religious enactment and entertainment.

Among anthropologists, and other ethnographers, who have contributed to ritual theory are Victor Turner, Ronald Grimes, Mary Douglas, and the biogenetic structuralists. Anthropologists from Émile Durkheim through Turner and contemporary theorists like Michael Silverstein (2004) treat ritual as social action aimed at particular transformations often conceived in cosmic terms. Though the transformations can also be thought of as personal (e.g. the fertility and healing rituals Turner describes), they become a sort of cosmic event, one stretching into "eternity."

See also[link]

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (July 2007)

Further reading[link]

• Jean-Marc Aractingi and G. Le Pape,2011:Rituals and catechisms in Ecumenical Rite "East and West at the Crossroads Masonic", Editions l'Harmattan- Paris (ISBN: 978-2-296-54445 - 1)
• Durkheim, Émile. (1912) The Elementary Forms Of The Religious Life.
• Durkheim, E. 1965 [1915]. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. New York: The Free Press.
• Malinowski, Bronisław. (1948) Magic, Science and Religion. Boston: Beacon Press.
• Gennep, Arnold van. (1960) The Rites of Passage. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
• Douglas, Mary. (1966) Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo". London: Routledge.
• Turner, V.W. 1969. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Harmondsworth: Penguin. —. 1967. The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
• Turner, Victor W. (1969) The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company.
• Erikson, Erik. (1977) Toys and Reasons: Stages in the Ritualization of Experience. New York: Norton.
• D'Aquili, Eugene G., Charles D. Laughlin and John McManus. (1979) The Spectrum of Ritual: A Biogenetic Structural Analysis. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Smith, Jonathan Z. (1987) To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Lawson, E.T. & McCauley, R.N. (1990) "Rethinking Religion: Connecting Cognition and Culture". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Staal, Frits (1990) "Ritual and Mantras: Rules Without Meaning". New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.
• Tolbert, E. 1990a. Women Cry with Words: Symbolization of Affect in the Karelian Lament. Yearbook for Traditional Music, 22: 80–105. —. 1990b. "Magico-Religious Power and Gender in the Karelian Lament," in Music, Gender, and Culture, vol. 1, Intercultural Music Studies. Edited by M. Herndon and S. Zigler, pp. 41–56. Wilhelmshaven, DE.: International Council for Traditional Music, Florian Noetzel Verlag.
• Bloch, Maurice. (1992) Prey into Hunter: The Politics of Religious Experience. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Grimes, Ronald L. (1994) The Beginnings of Ritual Studies. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.
• Bell, Catherine. (1997) Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Rappaport, Roy A. (1999) Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Perniola Mario, Ritual Thinking. Sexuality, Death, World, foreword by Hugh J. Silverman, with author's introduction, Amherst (USA), Humanity Books, 2000.
• Yatromanolakis, Dimitrios and Panagiotis Roilos, Towards a Ritual Poetics, Athens, Foundation of the Hellenic World, 2003.
• Yatromanolakis, Dimitrios and Panagiotis Roilos (eds.), Greek Ritual Poetics, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 2005.
• Silverstein, M. 2003. Talking Politics :The Substance of Style from Abe to "W". Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press (distributed by University of Chicago). —. 2004. "Cultural" Concepts and the Language-Culture Nexus. Current Anthropology 45: 621–652.
• Seijo, F. 2005. The Politics of Fire: Spanish Forest Policy and Ritual Resistance in Galicia, Spain. Environmental Politics 14 (3): 380–402
• Wilce, J.M. 2006. Magical Laments and Anthropological Reflections: The Production and Circulation of Anthropological Text as Ritual Activity. Current Anthropology 47: 891–914.
• Fogelin, L. 2007. The Archaeology of Religious Ritual. Annual Review of Anthropology 36: 55–71.
• Kyriakidis, E., ed. 2007 The archaeology of ritual. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology UCLA publications
• Bax, Marcel. 2010. 'Rituals'. In: Jucker, Andeas H. & Taavitsainen, Irma, eds. Handbook of Pragmatics, Vol. 8: Historical Pragmatics. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 483–519.
• McCorkle Jr., William W. (2010) Ritualizing the Disposal of Dead Bodies: From Corpse to Concept. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.
• Carrico, K., ed. 2011. 'Ritual.' Cultural Anthropology (Journal of the Society for Cultural Anthropology). Virtual Issue: http://www.culanth.org/?q=node/462.

Ulrich Schnauss
Background information
Born	1977 (age 34–35)
Origin	Kiel, Germany
Genres	Indietronica, ambient techno, shoegazing
Occupations	Musician, record producer, remixer
Labels	Independiente Records/Domino USA
Associated acts	A Shoreline Dream Longview Engineers
Website	www.ulrich-schnauss.com

Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is an electronic musician and producer based in Germany.

Biography[link]

Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of Kiel in 1977. He became interested in a range of music: My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Tangerine Dream, Chapterhouse, and early bleep & breakbeat tracks. There was not much opportunity to see his musical influences in Kiel, so he moved to Berlin in 1996.

Live in London

Ulrich's musical output began under the pseudonyms of View to the Future and Ethereal 77. These electronica and drum-driven pieces were noticed by Berlin electronica label CCO (City Centre Offices), to which Schnauss sent CD's on a regular basis. Ulrich developed these submissions to CCO into his first album under his own name, Far Away Trains Passing By, released in Europe in 2001, and in the United States in 2005.

Ulrich Schnauss performing at Bestival, 2008

His next album, 2003's A Strangely Isolated Place, showed the influence of My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields and Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie. Schnauss has said of this album, "When you've worked with computers and keyboards for a number of years, they become not so fascinating of themselves anymore. I gained confidence after people began to discover Far Away Trains Passing By, and it hasn't really stopped since then. This time I decided not to compromise on what I wanted to do, with what I thought people might want me to do."^[1]

Since the release of both albums Ulrich has been asked to work with and remix with artists, including Port-Royal, Mojave 3, Airiel, A Shoreline Dream, Asobi Seksu, Televise, Long-view, Johannes Schmoelling, The Zephyrs, Lunz (Rodelius), and others.

He also plays keyboards for UK indie band Long-view, whose singer Rob McVey was featured on Ulrich's next album, Goodbye. In an interview he said: "I have always loved music that has both elements: melancholy and sadness as a description of the current situation you are in, but at the same time a hopeful, utopian element that reminds you of the possibility of a different life." ^[2]

His third album, Goodbye, was completed in early 2007. It was released in Europe by Independiente Records on June 25, 2007. The United States release followed on July 10 under Domino Records. Regarding this album, he said: "The overall idea was pretty much the same. I just wanted to merge the indie songwriting elements and electronic instrumentation. After the previous album I still had a feeling like there was more room to take these ideas to an extreme level when it comes to layering and laying down as many tracks as possible." ^[3]

On June 12, 2007, Ulrich released an EP named "Quicksand Memory." It contains two remixes by Robin Guthrie of previous releases, a mix by Rob McVey of a previously unreleased track, and an edit of a track appearing on his latest album.

In the spring of 2008, Ulrich remixed two tracks by the Manchester based shoegaze band Daniel Land and The Modern Painters. On October 27, 2008, the two tracks, 'Within The Boundaries' and 'Benjamin's Room', were released as a double A-side 7" single by the independent record label Sonic Cathedral - the labels 11th release.

In July 2008, the Stars EP was released to support his June/July US tour. A co-produced/co-written track with A Shoreline Dream titled "neverChanger" was released on an EP of the same name. Ulrich traveled out for a short tour with the band in Texas and Colorado to promote this effort, and performed this track with A Shoreline Dream during his performances.

In the fall of 2008, Ulrich collaborated on three new tracks with A Shoreline Dream entitled "hypermode", "departure" and a live version of "neverChanger" which all appear on the A Shoreline Dream album Recollections of Memory – officially released on February 10, 2009.

In October 2009, Schnauss' record labels, Independiente and Domino, sued Guns N' Roses, alleging that the band had committed copyright infringement by using portions of Schnauss' compositions in the track "Riad 'n the Bedouins" on the album Chinese Democracy.^[4]

In 2010, Schnauss was involved in the mixing of Exit Calm's self titled debut album.

Rachel Staggs and Carlos Jackson of All in the Golden Afternoon began work in the studio with Schnauss in June 2010. The song entitled "The Long Goodbye" is a result of this collaboration, and marks its debut on a compilation for Rocket Girl Records.

Ryan Policky of A Shoreline Dream visited Ulrich Schnauss in July 2010 to work on a new collaboration entitled "London". With the exception of live drums performed by Sean Merrell (also of A Shoreline Dream) the song was fully produced, engineered and mixed by Schnauss/Policky, and marks its debut on a compilation for Rocket Girl Records.^[5]

Schnauss also provided keyboards and backing vocals on Engineers' third album, In Praise Of More.

In other media[link]

• "Monday Paracetamol" from A Strangely Isolated Place was used as one of the BGMs for the 2007 version of popular global EA Sports video game franchise Tiger Woods PGA tour.
• Later in 2007, the "On My Own" track from A Strangely Isolated Place was used by Pontiac in its "Cars" TV commercial.
• GMC's Super Bowl commercial in 2008 ("Mountain Top") featured "Blumenwiese Neben Autobahn" from Far Away Trains Passing By.
• "A Million Miles Away" was featured in the PAL territory version of the PlayStation 2 video game Gran Turismo 4.
• "...Passing By" from the album Far Away Trains Passing By featured in the 2005 movie Elizabethtown and its accompanying soundtrack
• In the CSI: Miami Season 3 episode, "Under the Influence", the song, "On My Own" can be heard playing in the background as the newest addition to Horatio Caine's team, Ryan Wolfe played by Jonathan Togo is busy searching through Kenwall “Duke” Duquesne's car for evidence.
• "On My Own" from "A Strangely Isolated Place" was featured in the Spring Summer 2012 collection for Emanuel Ungaro.
• "Look At The Sky" was selected as the Tom Hiddleston song of the day on November 1, 2011.

Pseudonyms and groups[link]

• Ulrich Schnauss
• Ethereal 77
• View to the Future
• Hexaquart
• Police in Cars with Headphones
• Hair (with Alex Krueger)
• Long-view (Keyboardist)
• Engineers (Keyboardist)

Discography[link]

Releases[link]

Remixes[link]

• as Ulrich Schnauss
  • Death Cab For Cutie - Home Is A Fire (Ulrich Schnauss Remix) - (Atlantic)
  • Halo (Ulrich Schnauss Remix) - Lang Remixed (Preco)
  • Madrid - Out To Sea (YYZ Records)
  • Port-Royal - Stimmung (Resonant Recordings)
  • The High Violets - "Chinese Letter" (Reverb Records)
  • Howling Bells - Setting Sun (Bella Union)
  • Johannes Schmoelling - Icewalk (Viktoriapark - Collaboration With Robert Wässer)
  • Hrk - Love World (Joint Records)
  • Obscure Celebrities - Fahreinheit (Gooom Disques)
  • I'm Not a Gun - Make Sense & Loose (City Centre Offices)
  • Airiel - Sugar Crystals (Highwheel)
  • Justin Robertson - Love Movement (Bugged Out)
  • Mojave 3 - Bluebird of Happiness (4ad)
  • Long-view - Can't Explain (14th Floor Rec)
  • Long-view - Will You Wait Here (14th Floor Rec)
  • Pete Lawrence - Musical Box (Big Chill)
  • Sia - Breathe Me (Go Beat)
  • Depeche Mode - Little 15 (Reprise/Mute)
  • The Zephyrs - Stand Round Hold Hands (Club Ac30)
  • Rachel Goswell - Coastline (4AD)
  • Mark Gardener - The Story of The Eye (Sonic Cathedral)
  • Asobi Seksu - Strawberries (One Little Indian)
  • A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ghost in the Graveyard (Ruined Potential Records)
• as View to the Future
  • Korsakow & Nudge (Usm)
• as Hexaquart
  • Daniel Lodig - Connect (Müller)
  • Beroshima - Electronic Discussion (Müller)

Compilation appearances (exclusive tracks only)[link]

• Police in Cars With Headphones - "Bitte Lächeln - Wenn Sie Wollen," on Artgenda 96
• View to the Future - "Addicted to Your Smile," on Barcode
• Tinkabell - "Rosarotes Meer," on Chillin' Voices 2 (Shift Music - Collaboration With K. Hein)
• Ethereal 77 - "Forever," on Schöne Neue Welt (Space Teddy)
• Ethereal 77 - "Oblivion" & "Open Skiez," on Unpleasant Poems (Ground Liftaz)
• Ulrich Schnauss - "Nothing Happens in June," on Mashed Mellow Grooves 5
• Ulrich Schnauss - "You Were the Only One Around," on The Sound of the Cosmos (Hooj Choons)
• Ulrich Schnauss - "Crazy For You" & "Wherever You Are," on Blue Skied An' Clear (Morr Music)
• Ulrich Schnauss - "As If You've Never Been Away," on The Trip (Universal)
• Ulrich Schnauss - "On My Own (Sasha Involver remix)," on Involver (Global Underground)
• Ulrich Schnauss - "Nobody's Home" on Nick Warren:Reykjavik (Global Underground)
• Ulrich Schnauss - “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” (live version) on Vapor Trails: The Echoes Living Room Concerts Volume 14 (Echodisc)

References[link]

External links[link]

Official sites

• Official website
• Official website for A Shoreline Dream

Unofficial/fan sites

• Schnaussifier

Discographies[link]

• Ulrich Schnauss discography at Discogs
• Ulrich Schnauss discography at MusicBrainz

Interviews[link]

• Ulrich Schnauss interview with TMF in 2010 prior to release of Missing Deadlines
• Ulrich Schnauss interview (2007)
• Ulrich Schnauss interview at Aural States (2008)
• Ulrich Schnauss article August 2007
• Aural States article
• Barcode zine interview