Fiona Bowie's "Ritual, Rites of Passage, Ritual Violence"

Paper Summary:

This summary outlines Bowie's attempts at defining the term 'ritual' in an anthropological and culturally acceptable way. She discusses the differing stances on the symbolism of ritual, as well as the more specific ritualistic 'rite of passage'. She also includes a section investigating the gender-specific function of rituals and its possible patriarchal nature.

From the Paper:

""Ritual" as a social and anthropological concept is difficult to define. Although, ethnocentric thinking has influenced researchers into believing that ritual is a universal phenomenon, it is quite illogical to attempt to find a single "type" or definition of ritual to explain the diversity this term encompasses. Although Fiona Bowie suggests that modern anthropology operates with the assumption that there are common behaviours and themes which allow researchers to identify ritualistic practices, she warns against universalistic definitions. However, in the attempt to examine "ritual," anthropologists and theorists have formulated broad concepts which they believe address the components of ritualistic practice."

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