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Rite out of Place: Ritual, Media, and the Arts
Much ritual studies scholarship still focuses on central religious rites. For this reason, Grimes argues, dominant theories, like the data they consider, remain stubbornly conservative. This book issues a challenge to these theories and to popular conceptions of ritual. Rite Out of Place collects 10 revised essays originally published in widely varied sources across the past five years. Grimes has selected for inclusion those essays that track ritual as it haunts the edges of cultural boundaries-ritual converging with theater, ritual on television, ritual at the edge of natural environments and so on. The writing is non-technical, and the implied audience is sufficiently broad than any educated person interested in religion and public life should find it intelligible and engaging.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Ronald L. Grimes
24 books5 followersRon Grimes is a Professor Emeritus in Religion and Culture at Wilfrid Laurier University.
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January 18, 2011
Rite out of Place; Ritual, Media, and the Arts
Ronald L. Grimes (2006)
Oxford University Press, New York
Memorable quotes;
“War-making is one of the most ritualized activities on earth, and the films are one of the most effective ways of ritualizing, even sacralizing, the process of becoming a citizen, inventing a hero, or destroying an enemy. How we ritualize acts of imagination declares whom we aspire to be and what costs we are willing to pay to enact this aspiration, so how we imagine ritual is as important as how we enact or theorize about it.” (Grimes 2006, 58)
“Ritual is not only a phenomenon that scholars turn into subject matter, it is also a way of engaging things. One can ritualize teaching as surely as one can ritualize sitting or eating” (Grimes 2006, 61).
“I believed-and still believe- that if students do not sense, as well as think, a topic they will not understand it. Education is of the sense and emotions as well as the brain” (Grimes 2006, 63)
“Ritualizing, it seems, can work even when it fails” (Grimes 2006, 68).
“[…] what mattered was that the students learn to care about writing and then develop a writerly rhythm: attend, discard, treasure; attend, discard, treasure; attend fully, then discard. Have no attachment to a word, phrase, paragraph, or paper, yet write something you treasure passionately. Just remember treasuring has a life span. Today’s treasure will become tomorrow’s discard” (Grimes 2006, 71).
“I seem constantly to discover what I already know about my community, my workplace, and the culture: ritually speaking, we are profoundly disabled” (Grimes 2006, 76)
“[…] New situations require ritual invention” (Grimes 2006, 85)
“[…] Education by unlearning” (Grimes 2006, 89)
Grimes on the importance of Smith on placement; “Sacrality becomes evident in how people act”
(Grimes 2006, 108)
“A cosmos is not merely an empty everywhere. It is an everywhere as perceived from somewhere, a universe as construed from a locale” (Grimes 2006, 146)
[…] “Performance is currency in the deep world’s gift economy” (Grimes 2006, 147, 159) (originally from Gary Snyder, The practice of the Wild (San Francisco: North Point, 1990), 75
“A few centuries ago we graduated from homicide, patricide, matricide, and suicide, to genocide. Now, we’re on to bigger deeds: ecocide and biocide” (Grimes 2006, 148).
Setup of the Book
The book consists of three parts. In the first part ritual is discussed in connection with the media. This ranges from documentaries done on ritual and the perception and fabrication of movies. But also the result and response these constructions have thereafter. At some point a film can become a ritualized object and a point of reference. The second part is concerned with teaching about ritual in the classroom, teaching as a form of ritualized activity that can be used as a means to an end. It’s about where we usually encounter ritual, in the classroom and the academic field. Part three goes beyond all, and culminates in posing the overall importance of ritual for human kind and our survival connected with the environment.
Part I
The first three chapters describe how ritual is perceived, documented, shot and constructed by the media. The experience of Grimes as an expert working with documentary makers is the starting point for the dissemination. What is important to realize is that making a documentary is making decisions. The camera is a window frame, certain things stay outside the frame, others are put in due to aesthetic importance from the perspective of the director. At the end of chapter three grimes calls scholars forward to shoot rites and make documentaries. But I highly doubt this is going to happen, maybe in the new and digital age where almost every one can fabricate a crude piece of film. But it is still a highly specialized profession that is in dire need of expert advise from scholars. I would suggest a new current in movie theory where the importance of their role in educating the public is put forward. They are responsible for what they create, it is not just entertainment it is edutainment, and for this they should console with experts, and make it as real as they possibly can. Unfortunately this is not done as many archaeologists can attest concerning historical movies. Scripts are not drawn from what is deemed real but what is thought to work on the movie screen. Reality is what makes something better, but just giving the audience the idea that what you show them is based on reality and then falsify it is actively lying, and unnecessary, real history is in most cases much more spectacular than any script writer can ever imagine.
Chapter 4 disseminates film in regard to ritual and ritualization. Cinematic icons can be named for every period but Grimes chooses a movie that is also about ritual itself; a Jewish wedding. The fiddler on the roof is used to illustrate that film can be seen as ritual on different levels. Filming is also actively constructing, but linked to the “real outside world” otherwise people would not be interested.
Part II Ritual in Classroom and Conceptual Space
Chapter 5 describes Grimes’s setup and development of a Zen course. The interesting aspect is the difficulties of setting up such this perceived “non-academic” course and the process of developing and teaching it throughout his career. When describing the art of writing grimes mixes Zen into a writing course, but not on purpose. The descriptions concerning the writing process are very inspiring and border on a ritualistic approach to the profession. The mix illustrates a completely different way of looking at learning in general. Instead of a clinical detached approach, the senses are an integrated part of the experience. It is about letting go instead of restraining or trying desperately to fulfill the demands of the academic field. The work ethic that is preached generates liberation, it is acceptance of the fact that nothing is static and that the experience counts. Throwing away a sentence or a word is not a sin, it is part of the process. Sometimes the experience of writing might even be considered the ultimate goal. The end of this chapter is a mind-blowing epiphany on the concept of writing that fits perfectly with the mindfulness approach that is becoming ever more popular in western society. Courses in mindfulness are even paid for by Dutch health insurance companies as it is scientifically proven that they prevent burnout and change lifestyle and philosophy that resonates through in everything, reducing overworking and stress related illnesses.
Chapter 6 discusses the ritualization process of 9/11 and how Grimes handled the situation with his son and the community. “We ritualized in order to render the event real” (Grimes 2006, 74). In general the ritualization takes place on multiple levels, the participants ritualized their attack, and the word in various ways ritualized the responses to the event. The result was solidarity in the form of ritual and the dualistic construction of us and them and the different views of a holy war.
Ritual can be explained as a channeling of individual responses to disaster or change. Instead of making it personal and random a ritual has a dictated form of how one should act in s specific case. When students were asked how they reacted on 9/11 the responses varied from person to person (Grimes 2006, 81).
Grimes explains his view of Zen using classes he taught and the interaction with students. I believe he means that the core is coexistence between softness and hardness, a combination of strictness and spontaneous flexibility. Zen can be perceived as how one perceives the structures that are laid upon us, not about total freedom. Nothing happens when we are not coerced into activity. But how we partake in the activity is what is important (Grimes 2006, 64-65).
Rites are legitimized by authority and repetition turning it into tradition. When a rite is obviously constructed it loses its power but every rite is born out of a response to an event and can be seen as an active construction. “[…] New situations require ritual invention” (Grimes 2006, 85)
Grimes ends the chapter with his view on how ritual is used and that it is important for scholars to not only look at ritual and ritualization in the past but especially in the present. They can speak up and give an alternative perspective on the events and the active construction of the “truth”.
Chapter 8: “So a typical ritual studies tactic, especially when investigating things sacred, is to search out the ordinary beneath the special and sacred” (Grimes 2006, 90) There is a need to go back to basic, to the roots and elementary parts of the ritual. Not just go up into the higher layers of meaning but down towards the components that construe it. When talking about separation it is important to remember that barriers do not only shut out but also shut in (Grimes 2006, 93). Barriers do not have to be physical, space can be divided with a simple gesture (Grimes 2006, 94). Using the placement of desks and office furnishing Grimes illustrates the power of gestures, implicit placement and separation serve as an encoded message for those who are aware of it. The beauty of it is that most people pick up on it without knowing it, incorporating the signaling with the person who habituates the room.
Describing how an improve actor approaches a play Grimes illustrates that a kind of “tuning in” is necessary to understand what a play is really about. This can seriously enhance understanding of the underlying themes and currents. Don’t be afraid to use metaphoric moves to understand a rite, play with it, and have fun. The comparison between an altar and skin for instance can be very fruitful. But there are dangers, what pops up in improve is already in our heads, we are no blank slate I interpret Grimes here in saying that both the science, detached deconstructive, and the improvising metaphoric approach must be used in combination to result in a fruitful result touching on all aspects of a ritual (Grimes 2006, 99).
What follows is a description of Grimes’ difference of opinion regarding ritual with that of Smith who is concerned more with placement. For Grimes it is more a matter of action, if there is a privilege (Grimes 2006, 102). Discussing Smith’s focus on space as the prime component of ritual, a reductionist approach, Grimes unfolds his own perceptions; he suggests that it is multidimensional and build up of several kinds of components. But most importantly Smith disembodies ritual (Grimes 2006, 109). Ritual is a way of focusing attention. (Grimes 2006, 110)
Part III
Chapter 9 is written in conversational form with Susan L. Scot discussing the “lab” Grimes created to conduct ritual experimentation and a barn where Scot has a ritual connection with. Using these two different spaces the two talk about ritualization, their experiences, and the function of these different places. The overall aim of Grimes is to teach his students to think about ritual construction and ritual criticism. Ritual is not static; it is constantly reinvented and contested. It might seem static but when zooming in to the details there is a lot of change. Scot describes that she has a ritualized view of the world. “I have experimented with what you might call a ritual view of the world” (Grimes 2006, 126). The barn experience, could only come into existence in response to the flooding incidence in the area. What this shows is that a ritual has to have a certain cause, a ripple in society. Someone just performing ritual will probably be ignored. “Ritual is episodic” you can’t be in a state of hyper-productivity all the time (Grimes 2006, 128-129)
Chapter 10 is split up into two parts; I) Ritual theory and the environment. II) Performance Is Currency
Can ritual save the planet? Do we need to get more attuned to nature again and can ritualization be the tool for the job? The job of ritual performance is to provide a kind of attention to a specific happening, topic or animal. These might in a way be used to centre on for instance environmental problems emerging in our technocratic society. But how do you implement this? Some will be susceptible to this kind of religious activities, but tree hugging is still seen as a desperate act and for the slightly insane, although my psychologist has convinced me of the training usefulness of “hugging” activities. It’s about the nature/culture divide, that has become a wall surrounded constructed with barbed wire, electric current, a minefield and a curfew. But rituals are not only a means to generate equanimity, they can be used to alienate, disturb and be a means to an end. On page137 Grimes talks about the nature/culture divide describing ritual as a non evolutionary force, say culture, but it does have survival impact. It is not a clean cut separation but rather a membrane where things can pass through. Like language, “a cultural edifice constructed on a natural foundation” (Grimes 2006, 137). There are some alternative theories that suggest that ritualization is a piece of biological software. Even if people deny participation in rituals they might ritualize and dramatize by themselves to fulfill the urge. In this view ritual is more than just cultural it has biological premise and is therefore an integrated part of who we are. We might label it differently but it might all point to the same system of survival (Grimes 2006, 137-138). These theories are placed under labels such as; neuropsychology, neurophenomenology or biogenetic structuralism (Grimes 2006, 138-139). In this view the performance aspect is just the manifestation of the backstage abilities. It is a holistic approach in which both aspects of ritual, culture and nature, are part of the same process. Grimes has some objections and reservations on biogenetic structuralism, but to me these seem to be more concerned with where to draw a line between what is and what is not an influence on a bio-system. To me, in the era of genetic explosion, and the advent of epigenetics, I would certainly say that ritual has a meaning. Even a small ritual can put certain psychological pieces in place. How far these can be proven I do not know but I believe that the human mind might benefit in certain circumstances from a ritual to come to terms with an even. There might be other activities that have the same outcome however. The question of what drives what is central, but might not be answerable. To me it seems that they catalyze each other and the one cannot exist without the other. In the end everything is genetic, but the culture label might be useful to highlight certain aspects preventing reductionist approaches.
Grimes does discuss some core disciplinary perspectives. For Rappaport “ritual is the basic social act” (Grimes 2006, 141). “Whereas for Turner ritual is essentially creative, for Rappaport ritual is essentially conservative”(Grimes 2006, 142). A good summary of the leading views on ritual can be found on page 142-146. To perform a rite is to establish and accept a canonical order and recognizing it does not mean that it cannot be violated. Ritual is used to generate social order. The chapter ends with a rather difficult to follow train of thought discussing the correct use of ritual and concludes with a call for experimentation and critiquing of rituals in order to discover what it is that rituals actually do (Grimes 2006, 146).
II Performance Is Currency
In the last section Grimes attempts to weave everything together; ritual, performance, currency, and how to save the earth and future. It is a strange attempt that might stem from Rappaport. The road to salvation lies in a change of human consciousness. As I interpret grimes’ philosophy we need to become part of the planet again. The idea that Grimes tries to plant is that everything is linked to the human experience and the perception of the cosmos. When performing a bear you become the bear, and by becoming we start to feel the gravity of the situation. The idea is bold, and we do see a change in the perception of people cosmos that might be ready for this seed of mental improvement. But for most people this monk is not worth following. One must be ready to perceive the world in an epistemological way, where perception is everything and relativism reigns. It seems to relate to Goodman’s worldmaking and the idea that everything is connected, there is no isolation, we only create it to feel in control. It is a strange end for a good book. The start was normal the middle was epic and the end is just weird. The basic idea would be that ritual can be everywhere, and that it is a part of life. How we use it in our modern world is up to us, we are now in the position to actively use it on a global scale that goes beyond laws and legislation, to better ourselves, our surroundings, and the future. Not just of us as a species, but of everything.
The concept behind the book
Ritual is almost always linked to religion, in this book Ronald L. Grimes takes the reader into our (his) normal world, and shows that boundaries cannot be easily drawn. Ritual can be anywhere, but is only perceived to be when it is recognized and some might say “experienced”. Grimes calls the publication a “consultative” effort because it does not take place in ‘the field’ or the library. It is not particularly ethnographic or scientific but can be put in the category of applied anthropology (Grimes 2006, x). What the book did to me is open up the mind to ritualization and the power of performance. These aspects of humanity are powerful mediators that are still used today and are basically all around us. That ritualization can be a powerful tool, a means to an end, is not that special, but the way Grimes introduces the topic through documentary work on rituals themselves, then jumping to the ritualizing act of documenting and filming to being a ritual “object” in itself is very interesting. It all based on the point of perspective. Ritual can be anywhere, and everywhere, and this is an important revelation. In modernity we can actively choose to ritualize, to feel again what we are doing. The departure from this perceived religious experience into the secular realm is new and stems from the eastern “religious” experiences. But with anything, religion is just a badly defined label most often guarded by rules, regulations and punishment. What Grimes shows is that a ritual experience can be so much more. It is an individual experience, in or outside a group, focusing on the senses, something that has been away for a long time from the modern western scientific world perception.
References
Grimes, R. L. (2006). Rite out of Place; Ritual, Media, and the Arts. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Ronald L. Grimes (2006)
Oxford University Press, New York
Memorable quotes;
“War-making is one of the most ritualized activities on earth, and the films are one of the most effective ways of ritualizing, even sacralizing, the process of becoming a citizen, inventing a hero, or destroying an enemy. How we ritualize acts of imagination declares whom we aspire to be and what costs we are willing to pay to enact this aspiration, so how we imagine ritual is as important as how we enact or theorize about it.” (Grimes 2006, 58)
“Ritual is not only a phenomenon that scholars turn into subject matter, it is also a way of engaging things. One can ritualize teaching as surely as one can ritualize sitting or eating” (Grimes 2006, 61).
“I believed-and still believe- that if students do not sense, as well as think, a topic they will not understand it. Education is of the sense and emotions as well as the brain” (Grimes 2006, 63)
“Ritualizing, it seems, can work even when it fails” (Grimes 2006, 68).
“[…] what mattered was that the students learn to care about writing and then develop a writerly rhythm: attend, discard, treasure; attend, discard, treasure; attend fully, then discard. Have no attachment to a word, phrase, paragraph, or paper, yet write something you treasure passionately. Just remember treasuring has a life span. Today’s treasure will become tomorrow’s discard” (Grimes 2006, 71).
“I seem constantly to discover what I already know about my community, my workplace, and the culture: ritually speaking, we are profoundly disabled” (Grimes 2006, 76)
“[…] New situations require ritual invention” (Grimes 2006, 85)
“[…] Education by unlearning” (Grimes 2006, 89)
Grimes on the importance of Smith on placement; “Sacrality becomes evident in how people act”
(Grimes 2006, 108)
“A cosmos is not merely an empty everywhere. It is an everywhere as perceived from somewhere, a universe as construed from a locale” (Grimes 2006, 146)
[…] “Performance is currency in the deep world’s gift economy” (Grimes 2006, 147, 159) (originally from Gary Snyder, The practice of the Wild (San Francisco: North Point, 1990), 75
“A few centuries ago we graduated from homicide, patricide, matricide, and suicide, to genocide. Now, we’re on to bigger deeds: ecocide and biocide” (Grimes 2006, 148).
Setup of the Book
The book consists of three parts. In the first part ritual is discussed in connection with the media. This ranges from documentaries done on ritual and the perception and fabrication of movies. But also the result and response these constructions have thereafter. At some point a film can become a ritualized object and a point of reference. The second part is concerned with teaching about ritual in the classroom, teaching as a form of ritualized activity that can be used as a means to an end. It’s about where we usually encounter ritual, in the classroom and the academic field. Part three goes beyond all, and culminates in posing the overall importance of ritual for human kind and our survival connected with the environment.
Part I
The first three chapters describe how ritual is perceived, documented, shot and constructed by the media. The experience of Grimes as an expert working with documentary makers is the starting point for the dissemination. What is important to realize is that making a documentary is making decisions. The camera is a window frame, certain things stay outside the frame, others are put in due to aesthetic importance from the perspective of the director. At the end of chapter three grimes calls scholars forward to shoot rites and make documentaries. But I highly doubt this is going to happen, maybe in the new and digital age where almost every one can fabricate a crude piece of film. But it is still a highly specialized profession that is in dire need of expert advise from scholars. I would suggest a new current in movie theory where the importance of their role in educating the public is put forward. They are responsible for what they create, it is not just entertainment it is edutainment, and for this they should console with experts, and make it as real as they possibly can. Unfortunately this is not done as many archaeologists can attest concerning historical movies. Scripts are not drawn from what is deemed real but what is thought to work on the movie screen. Reality is what makes something better, but just giving the audience the idea that what you show them is based on reality and then falsify it is actively lying, and unnecessary, real history is in most cases much more spectacular than any script writer can ever imagine.
Chapter 4 disseminates film in regard to ritual and ritualization. Cinematic icons can be named for every period but Grimes chooses a movie that is also about ritual itself; a Jewish wedding. The fiddler on the roof is used to illustrate that film can be seen as ritual on different levels. Filming is also actively constructing, but linked to the “real outside world” otherwise people would not be interested.
Part II Ritual in Classroom and Conceptual Space
Chapter 5 describes Grimes’s setup and development of a Zen course. The interesting aspect is the difficulties of setting up such this perceived “non-academic” course and the process of developing and teaching it throughout his career. When describing the art of writing grimes mixes Zen into a writing course, but not on purpose. The descriptions concerning the writing process are very inspiring and border on a ritualistic approach to the profession. The mix illustrates a completely different way of looking at learning in general. Instead of a clinical detached approach, the senses are an integrated part of the experience. It is about letting go instead of restraining or trying desperately to fulfill the demands of the academic field. The work ethic that is preached generates liberation, it is acceptance of the fact that nothing is static and that the experience counts. Throwing away a sentence or a word is not a sin, it is part of the process. Sometimes the experience of writing might even be considered the ultimate goal. The end of this chapter is a mind-blowing epiphany on the concept of writing that fits perfectly with the mindfulness approach that is becoming ever more popular in western society. Courses in mindfulness are even paid for by Dutch health insurance companies as it is scientifically proven that they prevent burnout and change lifestyle and philosophy that resonates through in everything, reducing overworking and stress related illnesses.
Chapter 6 discusses the ritualization process of 9/11 and how Grimes handled the situation with his son and the community. “We ritualized in order to render the event real” (Grimes 2006, 74). In general the ritualization takes place on multiple levels, the participants ritualized their attack, and the word in various ways ritualized the responses to the event. The result was solidarity in the form of ritual and the dualistic construction of us and them and the different views of a holy war.
Ritual can be explained as a channeling of individual responses to disaster or change. Instead of making it personal and random a ritual has a dictated form of how one should act in s specific case. When students were asked how they reacted on 9/11 the responses varied from person to person (Grimes 2006, 81).
Grimes explains his view of Zen using classes he taught and the interaction with students. I believe he means that the core is coexistence between softness and hardness, a combination of strictness and spontaneous flexibility. Zen can be perceived as how one perceives the structures that are laid upon us, not about total freedom. Nothing happens when we are not coerced into activity. But how we partake in the activity is what is important (Grimes 2006, 64-65).
Rites are legitimized by authority and repetition turning it into tradition. When a rite is obviously constructed it loses its power but every rite is born out of a response to an event and can be seen as an active construction. “[…] New situations require ritual invention” (Grimes 2006, 85)
Grimes ends the chapter with his view on how ritual is used and that it is important for scholars to not only look at ritual and ritualization in the past but especially in the present. They can speak up and give an alternative perspective on the events and the active construction of the “truth”.
Chapter 8: “So a typical ritual studies tactic, especially when investigating things sacred, is to search out the ordinary beneath the special and sacred” (Grimes 2006, 90) There is a need to go back to basic, to the roots and elementary parts of the ritual. Not just go up into the higher layers of meaning but down towards the components that construe it. When talking about separation it is important to remember that barriers do not only shut out but also shut in (Grimes 2006, 93). Barriers do not have to be physical, space can be divided with a simple gesture (Grimes 2006, 94). Using the placement of desks and office furnishing Grimes illustrates the power of gestures, implicit placement and separation serve as an encoded message for those who are aware of it. The beauty of it is that most people pick up on it without knowing it, incorporating the signaling with the person who habituates the room.
Describing how an improve actor approaches a play Grimes illustrates that a kind of “tuning in” is necessary to understand what a play is really about. This can seriously enhance understanding of the underlying themes and currents. Don’t be afraid to use metaphoric moves to understand a rite, play with it, and have fun. The comparison between an altar and skin for instance can be very fruitful. But there are dangers, what pops up in improve is already in our heads, we are no blank slate I interpret Grimes here in saying that both the science, detached deconstructive, and the improvising metaphoric approach must be used in combination to result in a fruitful result touching on all aspects of a ritual (Grimes 2006, 99).
What follows is a description of Grimes’ difference of opinion regarding ritual with that of Smith who is concerned more with placement. For Grimes it is more a matter of action, if there is a privilege (Grimes 2006, 102). Discussing Smith’s focus on space as the prime component of ritual, a reductionist approach, Grimes unfolds his own perceptions; he suggests that it is multidimensional and build up of several kinds of components. But most importantly Smith disembodies ritual (Grimes 2006, 109). Ritual is a way of focusing attention. (Grimes 2006, 110)
Part III
Chapter 9 is written in conversational form with Susan L. Scot discussing the “lab” Grimes created to conduct ritual experimentation and a barn where Scot has a ritual connection with. Using these two different spaces the two talk about ritualization, their experiences, and the function of these different places. The overall aim of Grimes is to teach his students to think about ritual construction and ritual criticism. Ritual is not static; it is constantly reinvented and contested. It might seem static but when zooming in to the details there is a lot of change. Scot describes that she has a ritualized view of the world. “I have experimented with what you might call a ritual view of the world” (Grimes 2006, 126). The barn experience, could only come into existence in response to the flooding incidence in the area. What this shows is that a ritual has to have a certain cause, a ripple in society. Someone just performing ritual will probably be ignored. “Ritual is episodic” you can’t be in a state of hyper-productivity all the time (Grimes 2006, 128-129)
Chapter 10 is split up into two parts; I) Ritual theory and the environment. II) Performance Is Currency
Can ritual save the planet? Do we need to get more attuned to nature again and can ritualization be the tool for the job? The job of ritual performance is to provide a kind of attention to a specific happening, topic or animal. These might in a way be used to centre on for instance environmental problems emerging in our technocratic society. But how do you implement this? Some will be susceptible to this kind of religious activities, but tree hugging is still seen as a desperate act and for the slightly insane, although my psychologist has convinced me of the training usefulness of “hugging” activities. It’s about the nature/culture divide, that has become a wall surrounded constructed with barbed wire, electric current, a minefield and a curfew. But rituals are not only a means to generate equanimity, they can be used to alienate, disturb and be a means to an end. On page137 Grimes talks about the nature/culture divide describing ritual as a non evolutionary force, say culture, but it does have survival impact. It is not a clean cut separation but rather a membrane where things can pass through. Like language, “a cultural edifice constructed on a natural foundation” (Grimes 2006, 137). There are some alternative theories that suggest that ritualization is a piece of biological software. Even if people deny participation in rituals they might ritualize and dramatize by themselves to fulfill the urge. In this view ritual is more than just cultural it has biological premise and is therefore an integrated part of who we are. We might label it differently but it might all point to the same system of survival (Grimes 2006, 137-138). These theories are placed under labels such as; neuropsychology, neurophenomenology or biogenetic structuralism (Grimes 2006, 138-139). In this view the performance aspect is just the manifestation of the backstage abilities. It is a holistic approach in which both aspects of ritual, culture and nature, are part of the same process. Grimes has some objections and reservations on biogenetic structuralism, but to me these seem to be more concerned with where to draw a line between what is and what is not an influence on a bio-system. To me, in the era of genetic explosion, and the advent of epigenetics, I would certainly say that ritual has a meaning. Even a small ritual can put certain psychological pieces in place. How far these can be proven I do not know but I believe that the human mind might benefit in certain circumstances from a ritual to come to terms with an even. There might be other activities that have the same outcome however. The question of what drives what is central, but might not be answerable. To me it seems that they catalyze each other and the one cannot exist without the other. In the end everything is genetic, but the culture label might be useful to highlight certain aspects preventing reductionist approaches.
Grimes does discuss some core disciplinary perspectives. For Rappaport “ritual is the basic social act” (Grimes 2006, 141). “Whereas for Turner ritual is essentially creative, for Rappaport ritual is essentially conservative”(Grimes 2006, 142). A good summary of the leading views on ritual can be found on page 142-146. To perform a rite is to establish and accept a canonical order and recognizing it does not mean that it cannot be violated. Ritual is used to generate social order. The chapter ends with a rather difficult to follow train of thought discussing the correct use of ritual and concludes with a call for experimentation and critiquing of rituals in order to discover what it is that rituals actually do (Grimes 2006, 146).
II Performance Is Currency
In the last section Grimes attempts to weave everything together; ritual, performance, currency, and how to save the earth and future. It is a strange attempt that might stem from Rappaport. The road to salvation lies in a change of human consciousness. As I interpret grimes’ philosophy we need to become part of the planet again. The idea that Grimes tries to plant is that everything is linked to the human experience and the perception of the cosmos. When performing a bear you become the bear, and by becoming we start to feel the gravity of the situation. The idea is bold, and we do see a change in the perception of people cosmos that might be ready for this seed of mental improvement. But for most people this monk is not worth following. One must be ready to perceive the world in an epistemological way, where perception is everything and relativism reigns. It seems to relate to Goodman’s worldmaking and the idea that everything is connected, there is no isolation, we only create it to feel in control. It is a strange end for a good book. The start was normal the middle was epic and the end is just weird. The basic idea would be that ritual can be everywhere, and that it is a part of life. How we use it in our modern world is up to us, we are now in the position to actively use it on a global scale that goes beyond laws and legislation, to better ourselves, our surroundings, and the future. Not just of us as a species, but of everything.
The concept behind the book
Ritual is almost always linked to religion, in this book Ronald L. Grimes takes the reader into our (his) normal world, and shows that boundaries cannot be easily drawn. Ritual can be anywhere, but is only perceived to be when it is recognized and some might say “experienced”. Grimes calls the publication a “consultative” effort because it does not take place in ‘the field’ or the library. It is not particularly ethnographic or scientific but can be put in the category of applied anthropology (Grimes 2006, x). What the book did to me is open up the mind to ritualization and the power of performance. These aspects of humanity are powerful mediators that are still used today and are basically all around us. That ritualization can be a powerful tool, a means to an end, is not that special, but the way Grimes introduces the topic through documentary work on rituals themselves, then jumping to the ritualizing act of documenting and filming to being a ritual “object” in itself is very interesting. It all based on the point of perspective. Ritual can be anywhere, and everywhere, and this is an important revelation. In modernity we can actively choose to ritualize, to feel again what we are doing. The departure from this perceived religious experience into the secular realm is new and stems from the eastern “religious” experiences. But with anything, religion is just a badly defined label most often guarded by rules, regulations and punishment. What Grimes shows is that a ritual experience can be so much more. It is an individual experience, in or outside a group, focusing on the senses, something that has been away for a long time from the modern western scientific world perception.
References
Grimes, R. L. (2006). Rite out of Place; Ritual, Media, and the Arts. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
February 1, 2015
Great read
Students of ritual and theology will enjoy this journey with Grimes. Two thumbs up... He does exactly what he tells you he is going to do.
Students of ritual and theology will enjoy this journey with Grimes. Two thumbs up... He does exactly what he tells you he is going to do.
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