Free Essays on Ritual to Get Inspired & Learn by Example

In ancient times, people practiced different rituals some of which have been transported to modern times. According to Smith, in countries like Japan, India and China, the people living there are highly observant to some of the rituals that have been passed down from their ancestors. This paper will examine some the rituals in these countries using both the religionist and reductionism approach (Smith, 2010).It is widely known that the Chinese have fine skills when it comes to kung fu fighting and the skills were purposely passed down from one master to their disciple who then learnt and Continue reading...

Rituals occur throughout life, whether it be every day, once a week, month or year. Or they can be erratic in occurrence but repetitive the behaviour and activities associated with them. They mark the passage of time and often we look at them to acknowledge that another year or month has passed, for instance New Year’s Eve is a ritual that celebrates the coming of a new year. Rituals can hold importance on a national scale (for instance New Year’s Eve) or on a personal scale. Perhaps the most important ritual to the individual is their birthday. Continue reading...

The term ‘rites of passage’ refers to the rituals conducted during critical changes of an individual’s life, which includes birth, puberty and marriage. In the three phases of the rites of passage, while the first phase separates an individual from the initial state, the second phase holds the individual into a transitional state . On the other hand, the third phase incorporates the individual into a new state. The African death ritual is one of the famous and unique rituals structured as ‘rites of passage’. The ritual demonstrates an effort to counter the disruptive potential of death. In this Continue reading...

Buddhists and Hindus devotees visit the temple every day to worship and receive Maha Vishnu’s Divine Blessings. Hindus believe that Maha Vishnu is the preserver of the universe since he is one of the Thirumoorthy in the Hindu Pantheon. The Sri Lanka receives Maha Vishnu as the custodian of the Island while they venerate him as the Supreme Deity. Hindu mythology cites that Maha Lakshmi arises from the milky ocean while churned by Devas. The goddess embodies grace and charm to generate a fortune and a good future. Her statue appears seated or standing on a Lotus pedestal. Continue reading...

Introduction

The Lottery is authored by Shirley Jackson, who is a master at manipulating her reader. The title itself is a great example as to how Jackson is an expert with toppling reader expectations. The word “lottery” fills one with hope, and the reader is taken to another level of the grim reality of the lottery. The story is about a small village or town, where the people gather together for the town lottery. Mr. Summers runs the lottery and arrives at the village square with the black box used for lottery and Mr. Graves, the postmaster. Men, women and Continue reading...

The praiseworthy act of sacrifice illuminates what an individual as well as culture at large values in the face of difficult and often debilitating circumstances. Furthermore, it reveals how past experiences however good or painful dictate the values and actions of characters that may contradict venerable characteristics of the human condition. The theme of sacrifice threads together the powerful narrative proffered in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." This short story focuses on a town that holds a lottery each year to determine which denizen would be sacrificed in order to ensure that the community would subsist and provide a bountiful Continue reading...

2015 Cannibal Tours to Papua New Guinea
The 2015 Cannibal Tours to Papua New Guinea are a month away. The tours attract numerous eco-tourists from America, Britain, and Australian. The preparations for the tours are into gear at the moment. The tours present rare opportunities for the tourists to sample the amazing cultures of the people of Papua New Guinea. Have you ever experienced the life of people who live around the Sepik River Area? Have you ever seen the wonderful and amazing handicrafts they produce? What about their bewildering sacred ceremonies? The Sepik River life? What a wonderful Continue reading...

The most powerful Religious ritual in Christianity is the partaking of the Eucharist. I find the sacrament of the Eucharist as one of the most powerful ritual since it is upon which all the other ritual arises from. It symbolizes the divine life of Christians and the unity between man and God. The Eucharist signifies the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon which the Christian faith is based as manifested by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Of all the other ritualistic practices of the Christian, Exorcism or healing is the most off-putting ritual. Exorcism tends to lacks credibility in Continue reading...

Human culture is quite diverse and distinct. Indeed, the question of origin and development of cultures has been of primary concern to people of all cultures. Interestingly, each culture has its beliefs on their inception. This paper examines these myths in light of various theories. In addition, it considers different aspects of culture.

Question One: Myth as a sacred history.

How myths help human beings relate to deity
Myths play a fundamental role in every society of people. Indeed, they help people relate to the deity. Eliade posits that myths define the structures of worship and determine the modes of worship among its subscribers (Eliade 63). Continue reading...

On February13th, I attended the Synagogue on Oxford Street called ‘The Beth Israel’ to observe a ritual service called Shabbat in Judaism. The ritual Shabbat started at five o'clock on Friday and lasted for almost 60 minutes. The ceremony was led by Rabbi Amram Maccabi, the official leader of ‘The Beth Israel’ Synagogue. He is the one who guided and showed me everything I needed to see including welcoming me at the entrance of the Synagogue and saying good-bye when I left around six o’clock. As for the reasons I have chosen the ritual worship service in Judaism, Continue reading...

Every society has formal and informal rituals designating the passage of a boy or girl into adulthood. There are universally three phases that comprise a rite of passage: severance, threshold, and incorporation. One such rite of passage is the Native American Indians of Southern California welcoming young girls into womanhood.
The Severance Phase of this ritual involves an announcement and public celebration when the girl begins to menstruate. She is leaving behind the life of a child and entering the unknown territory of becoming a woman with the guidance of the other women in the tribe. The girl experiences Continue reading...

Recently, I have visited a Hindu temple in the city of New York. The temple is so unique with authentic architectural designs and sculptures. From the temple, I observed that the rituals, sacred texts and deities are different in various ways. The temple provides religious services starting from Friday evening, throughout Saturday, Sunday until Monday evening. Depending upon their convenience, Indian Hindus attend the services at the temple. A Hindu priest at the temple who was also a college professor told me that the participants in the temple services do not consider themselves as the members of congregation as Continue reading...

Writing Studies

Learning is an essential aspect in the societies. It promotes the understanding of knowledge and employment of skills. Nevertheless, there are various barriers to the learning process. One of the elemental barriers, in relation to Cole’s “Arrow of Time”, is the concept of entropy. This element increase once created and cannot be destroyed. In terms of learning, entropy, energy is wasted, and opportunities lost when the individuals involved in the learning process fail to implement and apply the concepts of learning in real life situations. Individuals are also blind to new information because of the same issue of Continue reading...

Anthropology

2015
Essay
Introduction
In this essay, I will consider the question - What role does ritual play in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down? What does the book teach us about the relationship between ritual, religion, and medical practice? The book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, written by Anne Fadiman gives an account of cultural differences between Hmong and Americans. Hmong who are aborigines of Lao and have settled in American since few decades but still continue their life with Laotian culture and have not let themselves been affected by Americanized society. In the Continue reading...

Muslim Wedding

It is always very interesting to get to know new cultures as well as uncommon rituals and customs that differ from those we are used to. Observing them makes us closer to the inexperienced and unbelievable things. This makes us understand each other better and widens our horizons. We become more tolerated and treat each other as equal. Religion plays a key part in all of this. Every religious ritual has its sacred explanation and serves its mission. The great meaning of particular customs that are performed at weddings, funerals and other important events contributes to their sense.
Hardly Continue reading...

“The Lottery” presents the horrifying society that used the lottery as a means of ridding the society of some of its members. At a first glance, the title would suggest that the events of the story are positive as when one thinks of the lottery, one thinks of a positive change in one’s lifestyle. The tone shifts dramatically in the story as the Jackson moves from quiet setting to the raucous behavior of the children. The readers see that the contrast in the tone adds to the anticipation of the mood of the readers. Throughout the story, Jackson Continue reading...

“Myth” by Eliade describes myths as a sacred history. They are stories that are the beginning of all people. Essentially, the describe a time before what people remember, and even times before they existed. They often explained the world’s structure, why the sun rose, and set, where the dead went when they died, or why the seasons changed. The myths help people relate to a god, or gods and spirits, because the myths always pertain to the natural world, and the eternal soul within everything, as well as the afterlife. There is an all-knowing being in all myths, Continue reading...

In Cynthia Vreeland’s essay “Blood and Beauty” in her book What is Art?, the central question motivating her to write is “Why has blood been used in so much art?” (1). The author’s answer to that is a mixture of things, tying blood with its own aesthetic beauty, its connection to life, its associations with both good and evil, and the transition from childhood to adulthood, offering “a host of expressive and symbolic associations” that can arise from this simple symbol (1). Vreeland’s explanations are detailed and valid, linking blood to ritual as it is given “ Continue reading...

After reading the chapters by Stone and Ellwood, I can now trace history of religion of humankind on planet earth. The article gives highlight to the origin of religion back in 7000BC. During this time, the worship of the female deity was the main focus. Later, a male God was introduced around 25,000 BC. However, the practice of worshipping female goddesses continued and still finding its place in our contemporary society. 2. Describe the religion of early gatherers and hunters.Early men were hunters’ and gatherers. The role of hunting was left for men only. Hunting  was considered a Continue reading...

Question 1

Karei was a thunder god, believed to be a big creature that demonstrates his power though thunder. Karei manifested his power by demanding that people perform frequent sacrifices of blood. He was mainly interested in human blood, rather than that of animals and birds. Thunder was a way through which he cautioned people and inform them that it was time for them to cut themselves and offer a blood sacrifice.

Question 2

The things that offend karei are sins that involved incest, abuse and ill-treatment of animals, rape, showing disrespect towards others, ill treatment of birds and other animals. The offenses Continue reading...

Clyde Kluckhohn book, Queer Customs points out that since culture is an abstraction. It is of paramount importance, not to confuse it with society for society refers to a group of people who share and interact more with each other for the purposes of attaining certain ends. The social rules always reproduce acceptable conduct in any situation. The book further defines culture as a store or warehouse of learning of the group because of that. He states it categorically that culture is not an instinct or an inborn occurrence rather it manifests in individual’s life as he interacts Continue reading...

According to Bowen, a common definition of magic is when objects are manipulated or spells are recited to achieve certain practical ends (101). In an attempt to explain what magic is, Frazer noted that magic is based on two principles: the law of similarity and the law of contact (contagion). The law of contact is based on the premise that an effect resembles its cause (like produces like). The law of contact on the other hand, states that things that have been in close contact will continue to be in the same way even if they are separated (Frazer, Continue reading...

In all the cultures and societies the women are given the status of second-class citizens. Historically there exists bias towards the women in my country Korea. The gender bias that exists in the Korean society and culture has its deep roots in Confucianism. According to the Confucian teachings the men and the women have rigid traditional roles. The Korean men are the bread earners and their rightful place is the outside world. The Korean women are restricted to the home as housewives. The Korean she-child is taught early on in life to respect and to obey her father and Continue reading...

Abstract

Oppression and sexism against women was one of the greatest vices in United States in the past. Women especially the African American women faced a lot of oppression and sexism as well as racism from their counter-parts white women in the 20th century when feminism comes on board. These women therefore faced a lot of challenges in addressing their situation. When they had come out in large numbers to join feminists’ movements, they were discriminated against and their problems continued. As much as the vice was seriously fought and reduced by great percentage, it still exists in some places Continue reading...

Jade in Bronze in the Bronze Era

Introduction
Jade is an ornamental rock; it applies to the two categories of a type of rock called metamorphic which is made up of different silicate minerals. The two minerals are Nephrite and Jadeite.
Bronze Age refers to that period which was characterized by the use of bronze and other early features of urban civilization. The bronze was classified by Christian Jurgensen at the second time of the three age stone bronze iron system. The ancient culture was defined to be in the Bronze Age. Bronze Age culture was different in their development of the first writing. Bronze Age Continue reading...

In religious in the West have a dualism of good against evil. How does the Chinese dualism of yin and yang differ from this? What do yin and yang represent? Why should we seek to have both?
In terms of yin and yang good and bad are not opposite. Chinese people do not believe that good should triumph over evil, but rather that they should be in balance. Yin and yang symbolize day and night, man and woman, birth and death, summer and winter and so on. Each of those is important, so we need to have both to Continue reading...

Introduction

The article discusses the archaeology of China and the conclusions drawn from the archaeology. Special emphasis is given to the Sanxingdui and Anyang archaeological sites and their roles in the Chinese civilization. The two areas are similar interms of the artifacts found such as the tools, living structures and burial structures. The document also does a comparison of the two sites. In addition to that, the agricultural practices of the ancient people is discussed with emphasis on the adoption of agriculture and the domestication of crops such as rice ans millet. the high population of the country, China ranks Continue reading...

1. The sky is reddened by a typical Midwestern sunset in late 1976. The sky begins clouding over just before dusk.

2. But no threat of rain can stop something. Twenty thousand rock fans flock to Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum. They are coming to see and hear Pink Floyd.
But no threat of rain could stop the twenty thousand rock fans that flocked to Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum to see and hear Pink Floyd.
3. The concert is still three hours off. The concert has already attracted early birds. There are several thousand of them. They are all decked Continue reading...

1. INTRODUCTION
The Japanese folklore passed on the Samurai stereotype as a hero, as representative of the Bushido high values, as brave and high trained warrior. Harold Bolitho retracts the character of the samurai exploring two contextualized historical periods. He started to analyzed the samurai warriors before the 1580, and in the Tokugawa period – from 1580 to 1870. The final portrait is completely different from the myth.
As a matter of fact, before the Tokugawa era the samurai had been fighting in several conflicts, including the Mongol invasions. They certainly were trained for a war, but they were not Continue reading...

Abraham is the Forefather of Judaism and the one who started it all for the three prominent religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Bronze Age was the birth of the Jewish people and God promised a leader, such as he, to do great things for the Jewish people. This essay will go into Abraham’s nomadic history, his impact on the Jewish faith and one of his covenants to the Jewish faith.
Jews regard Abraham as the first patriarch of the Jewish people. There is little to be known of Abraham’s history but it has been discovered that Continue reading...

Native Americans are composed of different communities who are believed to be the ancient settlers of the land. Just like many other indigenous communities, religion was an important aspect of their day to day life. The practice of religion was a cultural religion that brought people together as well as connecting them to a supernatural being. The belief in a supernatural being during those early years was more important compared to the present years. Religion was at the center and heart of every community. During those years, there were no scientific or technological developments that enable people to verify Continue reading...

Section I: Multiple Choice

Indicate the correct answer in the space provided at the beginning of each question. (2 points each)
Because the human brain already has compatible receptors for the chemicals produced by plants. Why do sacred plants produce visions?
Because the human brain already has compatible receptors for the chemicals produced by plants
Because plants have psychic powers
Because plants photosynthesize energy from the sun
Because plants are considered deities by primitive people
Buddha & Mahavira Which two figures were compared by Kripal regarding their conceptions of asceticism and enlightenment?
Guru Jain & Hesse
Buddha& Mahavira
Jesus & Mohammed
Confucius & Lao Tzu
imposed from Continue reading...

Zhang Changshou. 2000. A Comparative Study of the Ding Bronze Vessels from Xin'gan.
This study by Zhang Changshou entails a comparative analysis of the ding bronze vessels from the Central Plains with those from Xin’gan in Southern China. This is after the discovery of numerous vessels and objects in a large tomb in Xin’gan in Dayangzhou, Jiangxi Province during 1989. Some of the equipment that was discovered included pottery, weapons, bronze tools and jades. A large percentage of the ding vessels discovered were made of bronze giving an indication of the huge significance of Xin’gan bonze Continue reading...

Introduction

Anthropologist seeks to understand if the differences across ethnic groups are either because of variation in their culture or the environment. Migration has contributed to changes in the socio-economic activities and relationship with nature by ethnic groups. People end up adapting to new environments and cultures leading to differences in behaviors. San Jose is one of the areas of the World under the effect of the changes in people’s behavior. The Itza, Qeqch and Ladinos ethnic groups reside in San Jose have different cultures and backgrounds. Itza as the indigenous Maya ethnic group and Qeqchi, which is also Continue reading...

The Rise of Islam

In the year 570 CE, in the city of Mecca, in what is today Saudi Arabia, the man Mohammed was born. He would become the founder of Islam, a mighty monotheistic religion that has over a billion-and-a-half adherents, a religion that would exert a great influence on civilization and the history of humanity in general.( Jewishhistory, 2011)
Islam originated in the north-west of the Arabian Peninsula in the first quarter of the VII century. Prior to Islam, the bulk of the inhabitants of Arabia worshiped pagan gods, their shrines to perform the pilgrimage, they offered sacrifices. Single pantheon among Continue reading...

Affiliated institution

In ten thousand years of evolution of a human being, culture has evolved from The Stone Age to The Era of Space Exploration. It never remained static: it appeared, evolved and spread from one region to another, transmitted from past generations to present and future ones, constantly refueled with new material and spiritual elements. Various types of cultural changes have been identified in cultural anthropology as the concept of "cultural dynamics", which refers to all kinds of changes taking place in culture and society under the influence of external and internal reasons (Lemke, 1993). A change is an inherent Continue reading...

Introduction

Why some companies in practice are achieve a high level of organization (success), while others do not? Thus, the company «Apple» was started with two people, on the other hand, personal computers of a large in the past company RCA are now unknown. One reason for this is a different culture of these organizations.
In practice, organizational culture is a set of traditions, values, symbols, common approaches, ideology members, which have stood the test of time. It is a kind of expression of individuality of the company, the manifestation of its differences from the other.

Body

According to L.Bolman and Continue reading...

The Lottery

Introduction
The short story by Shirley Jackson, depicting an unexpected plot line in a very extraordinary manner, is considered to be a horror story. The writer addresses various fiction techniques in order to distract and lull the reader’s attention, and shock and terrify the audience in the end of the story. They gather together to participate in a lottery, but the readers get to know what is the “prize” only in the end of the story. A very interesting and horrifying plot is supported by various fiction elements, for instance, reflection of characters, setting, symbolism, bright imagery, etc. Continue reading...

Introduction

Healthcare is such that there is the need for a professional in the healthcare sector to interact with people of various races, social background and religious origins. Hence, there is the need for some kind of understanding and knowledge to be gained about the main framework through which the differences in religion between patients and professionals/nurses can be carried out in a peaceful and effective manner.
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis of Orthodox Judaism in relation to Christianity and how the philosophies of these two relationships work in the area of providing healthcare. Continue reading...

The journal discusses expressive art forms across cultures. It goes on to distinguish between “art” and “not art”. The writer further maintains that anthropologists do not classify the diverse art forms into folk art, fine art and the like. In fact, anthropology believes in providing a non-ethnocentric definition of art. Anthropologists believe in the relativity of culture and the comparative analysis of diverse art forms reigning across cultures. Spradley (1996, 19) maintains that anthropology strives to understand the intricacy and complexity of art forms reigning across diverse cultures. The industrialized society has traditionally viewed art to be primitive, scientific Continue reading...

Introduction: Culture refers to every thing about people, the way they live, view things and communicate. Culture is an integration of human thoughts, communication, actions, customs, belief and values. It shapes the individuals experience, perception, decisions and the way they relate to others. Canada was declared a multicultural society in 1971. Multicultural Act was passed in 1988, with the aim to preserve and enhance multiculturalism in the country. It describes multiculturalism as the fundamental characteristic of our Canada.
Islam is a monotheistic religion, which originated in Arabian countries and later spread to rest of the world. The followers of Continue reading...

Appearance of Sacred Analysis

When one thinks of the word sacred, it can hold many different meanings. By definition sacred means that something is connected to a higher power, such as God or other gods. It is born of a religious experience that might include a special place, event, or ritual.
One such example of this might be a wedding. This type of event usually consists of being held in a special place such as a church, a garden, a beach, or other place that might be considered sacred. Typically, there is a minister or someone in authority who officiates the ceremony as Continue reading...

Question 1

Political organization- Describe food production, distribution of resources, and leadership in following types of the societies: Band Societies, Tribal Societies, and State Societies

Band societies

Food production in band societies is achieved from nature through hunting and gathering. The hunting and gathering are heavily dependent on the environmental conditions hence the band societies may relocate from place to place based on the abundance of forage (Price and Burton 36). Distribution of resources typically follows an egalitarian approach. Importance of this approach was crucial to their survival and sharing and giving without any expectation was a dominant social and economic characteristic (Hedican Continue reading...