
Ritual Gone Wrong
What We Learn from Ritual Disruption
Kathryn T. McClymond(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 14. April 2016
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-19-979091-3 (ISBN)
Description
The discipline of religious studies has, historically, tended to focus on discrete ritual mistakes that occur in the context of individual performances outlined in ethnographic or sociological studies, and scholars have largely dismissed the fact that there are extensive discussions of ritual mistakes in many indigenous traditions' religious literature. And yet ritual mistakes (ranging from the simple to the complex) happen all the time, and they continue to carry ritual "weight," even when no one seriously doubts their impact on the efficacy of a ritual.
In Ritual Gone Wrong, Kathryn McClymond approaches ritual mistakes as an integral part of ritual life and argues that religious traditions can accommodate mistakes and are often prepared for them. McClymond shows that many traditions even incorporate the regular occurrence of errors into their ritual systems, developing a substantial literature on how rituals can be disrupted, how these disruptions can be addressed, and when disruptions have gone too far. Using a series of case studies ranging from ancient India to modern day Iraq, and from medieval allegations of child sacrifice to contemporary Olympic ceremonies, McClymond explores the numerous ways in which ritual can go wrong, and demonstrates that the ritual is by nature fluid, supple, and dynamic-simultaneously adapting to socio-cultural conditions and, in some cases, shaping them.
In Ritual Gone Wrong, Kathryn McClymond approaches ritual mistakes as an integral part of ritual life and argues that religious traditions can accommodate mistakes and are often prepared for them. McClymond shows that many traditions even incorporate the regular occurrence of errors into their ritual systems, developing a substantial literature on how rituals can be disrupted, how these disruptions can be addressed, and when disruptions have gone too far. Using a series of case studies ranging from ancient India to modern day Iraq, and from medieval allegations of child sacrifice to contemporary Olympic ceremonies, McClymond explores the numerous ways in which ritual can go wrong, and demonstrates that the ritual is by nature fluid, supple, and dynamic-simultaneously adapting to socio-cultural conditions and, in some cases, shaping them.
Reviews / Votes
Ritual Gone Wrong is a worthy entry in the Oxford Ritual Studies series and well worth adopting into a graduate course on ritual or methodology and creatively excerpting for undergraduates. * Brian Collins, Ohio University, Religious Studies Review * Ritual Gone Wrong: What We Learn from Ritual Disruption provides an analysis of several types of ritual error in an effort to expand our understanding of ritual, its complexity, and the relationship between ritual practice and the mundane ... Perhaps the greatest benefit of McClymond's book is the broad understanding she holds of ritual and ritual disruption. * Sarah Gane Burton, Reading Religion *More details
Product info
Print PDF
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
2 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
555 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-979091-3 (9780199790913)
Schweitzer Classification
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04/2016
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Person
Kathryn T. McClymond is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Georgia State University.
Author
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Religious StudiesAssociate Professor and Chair, Department of Religious Studies, Georgia State University
Content
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1 Negotiating Ritual Repair: The prayascitta material in the Baudhayana Srauta Sutra
Chapter 2 Don't Cry Over Spilled Blood: Ritual Correction in the Mishnah
Chapter 3 Blood Libel: Ritual Misrepresentation
Chapter 4 Of Fists and Feathers: The Modern Olympic Games
Chapter 5 When Ritual Systems Collide: The Execution of Saddam Hussein
Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1 Negotiating Ritual Repair: The prayascitta material in the Baudhayana Srauta Sutra
Chapter 2 Don't Cry Over Spilled Blood: Ritual Correction in the Mishnah
Chapter 3 Blood Libel: Ritual Misrepresentation
Chapter 4 Of Fists and Feathers: The Modern Olympic Games
Chapter 5 When Ritual Systems Collide: The Execution of Saddam Hussein
Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography