- published: 28 May 2016
- views: 11160
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.
Call of the wild has been
Draggin me down
Spirit controls what's inside you
Tears flow like blood
in a hot open flame
A sign of the fire inside you
We gotta give it up-We can't resist
We gotta get away
Time stands still
When your having fun
But you pay the price
When the day is done
Kindred Spirits come one by one
When the day turns black
We will become-
The ritual
Down in a hole
When the sky closes in
And darkness will fall upon you
Walk into the light
To be free from the spell
Let the ritual surround you
Is it at the rainbow's end
Out in the cold
Is just a breath away
Time stands still
When your having fun
But you pay the price
When the day is done
Kindred Spirits come one by one
When the day turns black
We will become-
The ritual
We couldn't give up
We still persist