Week 8 - Suggestions for Ritual Writeup

Prev | Fiji Term Abroad | Handouts | Next

WEEK 8 - SUGGESTIONS FOR RITUAL WRITEUP

When describing and analyzing the ritual you observed, you should keep in mind the general features of a rite of passage (a ritual designed to move an individual or group one social role to another) and should analyze the ritual in this light. Keep in mind that rites of passage in all cultures operate in similar ways but that in each culture the ritual will be sending messages about individuals and their role in the community which are distinctive to that culture. Analyzing a ritual is thus a good way to get insight into how communities and individuals are viewed in a particular culture.

Any rite of passage is designed) to move an individual to a new social status by impressing upon them (and the community) that they are leaving their old status behind and by announcing the requirements of the new role. You should be able to see how the ritual you observed is doing that. E.g. in the wedding Stephanie observed, a man from the bride's side made a long speech telling the husband's side that they were now responsible for looking after the bride because she was now part of their group; the minister also talked to the young couple about how they should behave after marriage. The young couple was also given mats, blankets, and pillows. This is also a way of affirming their change of status: they now have an independent household and will be expected to participate in ceremonies (young women now has a starter supply of mats to start contributing to things like funerals etc.). ii) rites of passage also rearrange relations in the community to suit this change of status, and/or to reaffirm existing relations that might be threatened by the change of status. For instance, in typical Fijian rituals there are exchanges between the mother's group (and sometimes the father's mother's group) and the father's group. This reaffirms the importance of these relationships even when the person passes to a new status - they continue to look after her even though she is not a part of their mataqali and will continue to do that throughout her life. There is also an element of reaffirming the relationships between the groups (reaffirming that the father's mataqali and the mother's mataqali have an important relationship.

It is also important to realize that the sevusevu is an important element of the way that rituals reaffirm social ties. All sevusevus frame any particular event as involving recognizing the authority of the high chief and the chain of authority under them. They start by framing the sevusevu as a gift to the high chief of the group receiving the sevusevu and end with the "ama dua" chant which roughly translates as something like "may the chief's authority never be questioned" So again this frames any individual life event as a transaction between groups where it is important to recognize the authority of the head of the group. This is also represented by allusions to the "vu" (ancestral spirits) - there is usually an allusion somewhere to the yaqona being represented to the chief and "all behind him" meaning the spirits. Again this reaffirms the proper spiritual and social order of Fijian life as always involving the recognition of the authority of those higher up.

Prev | Top of Page | Fiji Term Abroad | Handouts | Next