The Evolution of Rituals

The Evolution of Rituals

The Evolution of Rituals Rituals and the stories contain profound meanings, but as ritual and story are passed through generations, the original meaning may be changed or entirely lost. In Christianity, for example, the idea of eternal life through Jesus is expressed through the ritual of communion—the sharing in the body and blood of the Savior. This ritual had long been a tradition before Christianity brought it to its spiritual height. Scholars trace similar concepts in the Hellenic religions of Dionysus, as well as in various other religions originating in the Mediterranean area. Many modern Christians are unaware of this ritual’s history or even its full meaning within the context of Christianity. It is possible in any ritual or story that the original meaning will become less known to those who practice it. When this happens, everything associated with the myth is reduced to the literal surface level, to the specific narrative or plot of the story and to the action of the ritual. This loss of meaning is called petrification or concretization. Both words suggest a hardening of the mythical process. Instead of an organic and vital story and ritual, the story is rigidly fixed and the practitioners of the ritual go through the motions with little reflection and without knowledge of the true meaning of the activities. As you study various myths and rituals, be aware many cultures have explanations for life’s questions that are very different from our own. Prepare to see the universe through different eyes, respecting various viewpoints. Remember that there was a time in history when the world was a flat plate surrounded by a river called the Sea; the sun was pushed across the sky by a giant dung beetle; the gods resided in the sky above the clouds in some heavenly abode; the Underworld was deep inside the earth, and the moon’s waxing and waning were caused by the appetites of an enormous rabbit. Perhaps some of the ideas that seem perfectly logical and real today will be considered ridiculous in centuries to come. Petrifiction Petrification or concretization occurs when the intended symbolic meaning of a myth or ritual becomes obscured or lost. Then the myth is understood only on a literal level and the ritual becomes more like a habit. When asked about the meaning of the ritual the answer is often, “that’s the way we’ve always done it” and the story that accompanies it is simply accepted on a superficial level: “because it is a tradition” is the only explanation given. In many of the rituals and stories that accompany the Christian Christmas festival, petrification has occurred. The date of the celebration was determined by Roman tradition. The festival of Saturnalia, which commemorated the annual return of the sun, and the celebration of the birth of the Roman soldier’s god, Mithras, were at the same time. Christians adapted the Roman holiday and made it their own. During the Christian Middle Ages many elements were added; the animals in the stable were the contribution of Saint Francis, for example. The story was embellished until it satisfied the needs of the Christians and then it became unassailable; one could say it was set in concrete, thus the concretization of myth. Even in living myths like Christianity, petrification has taken place. The candy cane, for instance, is a common Christmas treat for many. However, the sweet possesses meanings that most today are not aware exist. Originally, the candy cane was devised to look like a shepherd’s crook to denote the biblical allusion to Jesus as a shepherd tending to his flock. The red represented his blood and the white represented his purity. Though a fairly recent addition to the Christmas ritual, for most the candy cane already has become nothing more than another holiday sweet. Historical Petrification As different cultures with different myths have encountered each other, one myth has often given way to another, or at the very least the two have influenced each other. The Demeter and Persephone story, for instance, is not wholly an original one. Parts of the story are borrowed from Sumerian and Egyptian myth. Similarly, during the European Middle Ages, Scandinavian warrior tribes like the Vikings were converted to Christianity, and these tribes, in turn, altered fundamental aspects of Christianity. The Viking social code emphasized courage and skill as a warrior. As a result, the metaphoric directives of St. Paul to “put on the armor of God” and brandish “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:10-17) were treated literally. The figurative spiritual battles became literal physical battles by the period of the Crusades. The Vikings celebrated warfare in their mythology arid Christ was transformed in their culture from the Prince of Peace into a triumphant warrior king, the king of Heaven victorious in his battle against the forces of evil, which were personified by the forces of the fallen angel, Lucifer. In many other areas “pagan” activities continued to exist alongside Christianity, and gradually became assimilated into Christian celebrations. For example, elements from Celtic celebrations, such as the Yuletide plants of holly, ivy and mistletoe survived into the resent age with altered meanings. For centuries after the original Celtic meaning had been lost, the practice of erecting a Maypole on the first of May continued. Though no mention of colored eggs or bunnies is made in the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection, millions of people continue to hide colored eggs and eat chocolate bunnies at Easter without recognizing that this was an aspect of the worship of the Celtic goddess Oestre. Many civilizations believe that “our myth is the one true view, all others are lies.” This was the apparent conflict when the Native Americans encountered the settlers who tried to convert them to Christianity. Benjamin Franklin noted this in his Remarks Concerning the Savages. He writes of a missionary repeating a story to an Indian tribe. When the tribe’s Chief attempted to relate his tribe’s stories, the missionary cut him off and remarked that his truth was the only real “Truth.” The missionary believed the Indian’s stories were no more than misguided falsehoods. In fairness to the missionary, in spite of his bad manners, the Indian’s tales were nothing but stories because for him they had no deeper symbolic meaning. Obviously, the key to understanding the myth of any culture rests in trying to derive the symbolic meaning rather than the literal interpretation of the stories and rituals.

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