A ritual is a ceremony consisting of spoken words and symbolic objects, used to perform a predetermined sequence of actions. Mystical and magical belief systems employ rituals, as a means of conjuring up and/or communicating with supernatural forces, which include practices such as recitation, changing, singing, prayer, invocation, dancing, movement, postures, costumes, incense, smoke, candles, fire, offerings/sacrifices (1).
In Africa, rituals may be highly or loosely structured, but matters such as position and movement in time, space and thought are always important: the practitioner and client either sit next to or across from one another, the direction the diviner and supplicant face is also significant, as is the time of day or night, where they sit in the room or crossroads or edge of town or in a forest. Ritual objects are arranged in a way which conveys order in contrast to the disorder of a client’s life (2).
To the tribe of a shaman, a ritual is a way of commemorating things a system for accessing the spiritual sphere and transmtting the deeds and responsibilities of ancestors to the tribe to connect everyday reality to the otherworld so that supernatural beings can witness changes in this world and the living can witness the powerful changes of the spirits (3).
- Guiley, R.E. 1991. Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience.
- Pemerton III, John. 2000. Insight and Artistry in African Divination.
- Matthews, J. & Matthews, C. 2003. Walkers Between the Worlds.