1.- Write about main ritual manifestations from the country you are investigating. Consider: Important group processions, sacred dances and meaning, sacred words,prhases or prayers, sacred religious songs or hyms and sacrede places and way of manipulating sacred objects.
The full moon, with its intense amount of energy, is a good time for releasing and manifesting. It is important to take action, harness this powerful energy and make use of it in a positive way. Take this time to let go and cleanse. Purge things that no longer serve you, release yourself from old attitudes or thoughts that block you from being your best self. If you are feeling stuck in and having difficulty on moving towards your goals, use this opportunity to tap into the full moon’s energy to bring back growth into your life. Remember that the full moon in its luminescence and brightest phase brings immense energy and amplifies whatever it is that you are thinking, feeling or doing. So stay positive and be positive throughout the full moon.
Make the full moon’s energy work for you. Here are 2 rituals you can perform for cleansing and manifestation.
Full Moon Ritual For Cleansing
· Sacred dance is any type of dance that is done with an intention to connect with or communicate something about the sacred, however that may be understood by the dancer or the choreographer.
Sacred dance has a rich history which stretches back to the earliest periods of human society, when ritual movement was part of our efforts to understand and control the natural world. This effort was a part of daily life, and, as such, evidence of sacred dance can be found in almost every ancient civilization. As societies developed politically and culturally, so did dance and its sacred uses, resulting in the traditional and contemporary forms of movement that are familiar today.
Sacred words, phrases or prayers
- 1. Hoc est corpus meum. (Hoke–est–core-puss–may-oohm)
- 2. Habemus papam! (Hah–bay–moose–pop-ahm)
- 3. Agnus dei, qui tolis peccata mundi. (Ahn-use-day-e-qwee-tow-lease-peck-ah-tah-moon-dee)
- Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
- 4. Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus (sahnct-oose)
- 5. In saecula saeculorum (een-seh-coo-la-seh-coo-low-room)
- 6. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti – (Een-no-me-nay-pah-trees-eht-fee-lee-e-eht-speer-it-toose-ahnct-tea)
- In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
- Sacred religious songs or hymns:
A Message Came to A Maiden Young[1]
All Glory, Laud and Honour
Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise the Lord
Alleluia! Alleluia! Sing a New Song to the Lord
Angels We Have Heard on High
Anima Christi (Soul of my Saviour)
At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing
Sacred Objects, Sacred Places combines native oral histories, photographs, drawings, and case studies to present current issues of cultural preservation vital to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Complete with commentaries by native peoples, non-native curators, and archaeologists, this book discusses the repatriation of human remains, the curation and exhibition of sacred masks and medicine bundles, and key cultural compromises for preservation successes in protecting sacred places on private, state, and federal lands.
2.- Explain at least two ritualistic procedures or routines infused with deeper meaning within the society you are investigating:
You can observe in a wedding of North America, unique traditions of cultural and religious origins. However, American influences have remained and dominated the old customs and superstitions surrounding the wedding event. Weddings are considered by many to be the most important day in a person’s life. They take care of themselves and plan the details to ensure a perfect day.
The order of service, religious customs, gifts, etiquette and ceremonial rituals vary depending on the origin of the couple and their families. Some common aspects of North American weddings are an elaborately decorated wedding cake, a symbol of the love of the couple (rings) and a wedding party with godmothers and godparents. American weddings are not pre-arranged, since the bride and groom have the option of choosing their partner based on love. The ceremony is religious or civil. The father of the bride delivers her to the groom at the beginning of the ceremony.
In the United States, people follow different customs regarding funerals, depending on religion and geographical location. The rituals are as varied as the ethnic and religious background of the Americans and the geopolitical divisions of this country. However, in most communities, family and friends gather to eat after a funeral.
The meal after the funeral brings together the members of the deceased’s family and allows them to socialize and support themselves. Eating after a funeral, on a fundamental level, reminds us that we are still alive.
Food served after a funeral can be eaten in the basement of a church, with food provided by a committee or church members assigned to carry a stew, salad, or dessert. A community center or an organization may be the place where food is served. Families can open their homes and invite guests to a meal for neighbors and extended family. Busy families may also choose to go to a restaurant.
The deceased’s family should have no responsibility for the meal after the funeral. Friends, neighbors, church members and the distant family can organize the location, the menu and the eating utensils. Any funeral attendant can offer to take food or help clean up later. Guests should make sure to take the time to talk to the deceased’s family during the meal and to thank the organizers.
3.- Search about yhe following types of rites within the community you are investigating.
a) rite of passage is a ritual that marks a change in a person’s social or sexual status. Rites of passage are often ceremonies surrounding events such as childbirth, puberty, coming of age, marriages, or death. The term was popularized by German ethnographer Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957) in the early part of the twentieth century. Rites of passage are diverse, celebrated in a wide variety of ways throughout the world. There continue to be many diverse examples of rites of passages in contemporary society.
Despite their diversity, rites of passage all serve the same purpose: To separate the individual from their former group, prepare them for their new phase of life, and their re-entry into society at this new level or position. The process not only prepares the individual for a new role or phase in their life, but also may serve to bind them with others who are going through the same process. Researchers noted that this “liminal” phase, in which individuals are neither in their former group or position nor yet re-introduced into society, is very significant. During this time, each individual prepares him or herself for the future, and the responsibilities that will come, yet during that time they are not constrained. Thus, barriers that might normally exist between people of different social status, for example, dissolve and each person is regarded as simply another person in the same liminal state. Such an experience can have a powerful impact, laying the foundation for deep relationships in the future. In order to establish a world of peace and harmony, all people may need to go through a “rite of passage” and experience this liminal state wherein all are equal in value.
American culture encompasses the customs and traditions of the United States. “Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things,” said Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London.
The United States is the third largest country in the word with a population of more than 320 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Because of this, the United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Nearly every region of the world has influenced American culture, as it is a country of immigrants, most notably the English who colonized the country beginning in the early 1600s. U.S. culture has also been shaped by the cultures of Native Americans, Latin Americans, Africans and Asians.
The United States is sometimes described as a “melting pot” in which different cultures have contributed their own distinct “flavors” to American culture. Just as cultures from around the world have influenced American culture, today American culture influences the world. The term Western culture often refers broadly to the cultures of the United States and Europe.
c) Civic rituals mobilized a range of people, objects, urban spaces and notions of time in organized, sometimes scripted performances that ran the gamut from the simple to the spectacular. The goals of civic rituals were numerous and wide-ranging. They enacted hierarchies of social and political power, yet at the same time tried to promote civic harmony among disparate social groups. State pageants in particular might be staged to counteract political instability or recent upheavals, or to win the allegiance of particular groups. On occasion, these ostensibly orderly representations of power and status turned into opportunities for social groups to express grievances over specific civic policies or simply a generalized sense of discontent. Civic rituals celebrated various local foundation legends, honored local patron saints, and commemorated important political events in the life of a community. In addition, civic rites helped map a sacred topography of the city by means of processional itineraries and their placement of participants. Inspired by anthropologists, scholars of early modern Europe have recently begun to analyze the meanings and significance of these complex enactments. Their work is taking shape as an emerging interdisciplinary field called “ritual studies” that includes literature and theater, art, popular religion, anthropological studies of popular culture, the social history of the family, life-cycle rites such as weddings, baptisms and funerals, political theory, and other subfields. This bibliographic entry, which emphasizes work written by historians explicitly concerned with the civic aspects of ritual, should be considered a starting point for further investigation into a rapidly growing yet thematically diffuse area of inquiry.
American birthday parties are steeped in homegrown tradition. From preschoolers to seniors, the heart of the family birthday follows a recognizable pattern year after year. A party gets decorations like balloons, streamers, flowers, special plates and napkins, and party hats. Gifts could include a new book each year, from infancy on, to build a personal library and a love of reading. A cake alight with a candle for each year is standard. So is singing “Happy Birthday to You,” making a secret wish and trying to blow out the candles with one breath so the wish will come true. The most American thing about these birthday traditions is that familiar song. It was written by two kindergarten teachers – Patty and Mildred Hill – in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1893.
George Washington was the first president to issue a national Thanksgiving Day proclamation but it took Abraham Lincoln to formally set aside the third Thursday in November as the annual American Thanksgiving observance. Today, Thanksgiving is the most traveled holiday of the year as Americans gather “at home” for a feast of turkey with all the trimmings. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is a nationwide television spectacular – and spots along the parade route are coveted. Afternoon football is another reason to gather around the screen. Vegetarians may substitute tofu for turkey but apple, pumpkin and pecan pies are classic desserts everyone can sample. And, religious or not, the whole family can pause before chowing down to give thanks for the blessings of the past year and the grace of sharing Mom’s cornbread stuffing together.
Food, Fireworks and the Fourth
Thomas Jefferson spent barely two weeks drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776 – the nation he helped to found has been partying hard on July 4th for more than 200 years. Independence Day is an annual excuse for Americans to fire up the backyard grill, slather on the relish and mustard, serve up the potato salad and settle down for spectacular fireworks after dark. In small towns across America, kids and parents line Main Street for a glimpse of marching high school bands, local officials and beauty queens waving from convertibles firetrucks and inventive floats. Families make the annual trek to riverbank, lakeside, beachfront or park to watch public fireworks displays. On July 4th, hoist a flag from the front porch, muster up a multi-generational game of softball, and cool down with slices of chilled watermelon and fresh-squeezed lemonade.
Sunday supper is an American tradition with its roots in ethnic cultures and its benefits under the research microscope. Italian, Irish, Hispanic and African-American families historically spent Sundays in church – and at the table together. These days, the family meal is a casualty of chronic overscheduling. But the glue that binds a family together and keeps every member heard and healthy is the family meal, so reviving traditional Sunday supper provides nurture on multiple levels. Research shows that sitting down at the table together gives children more stability, healthier eating patterns, less obesity and better verbal communication skills. Teens who eat with their families are at lower risk for depression, drug use, early sexual relationships and emotional stress. They tend to do better academically, are more at ease socially and develop a strong sense of identity and belonging.
4.1. Search about laws supporting the rights of people to follow religious rites in the country you are investigating.
Religion in the United States is characterized by a wide diversity of religious beliefs and practices and by its high level of adherence. Throughout the history of the United States, a history that is relatively short compared to other countries, many religions have flourished and many more have gradually become extinct. As a multicultural immigrant country and people from hundreds of different ethnic backgrounds, the United States has become one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world. Moreover, according to census data, most Americans admit that religion plays a very important role in their lives, a proportion not currently common among developed nations.
“The Congress shall not make any law concerning the establishment of any religion, or prohibit the free exercise thereof, or that breach freedom of expression, or the press, or the right of persons to assemble peacefully and to ask the Government reparation of grievances ”.
The First Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed and continues and guarantees the inalienable right of any US citizen to follow or not any system of religious or non-religious beliefs and to carry out practices related to their beliefs as long as they do not interfere with The legal and civil rights of another person, or any reasonable law, and without thereby exposing themselves to offense or persecution.
4.2. Search about new from newspapers or magazines in English or Spanish concerning rights and/or restrictions of people to follow religious rites.
Increases the rate of restrictions on religion in the United States
The United States moved from the low-category category to the “moderate” category for the first time since the Pew investigation began.
It is a surprise to the few who follow religion closely, but much to the dismay of many observers, even casual, Pew Forum researchers on Religion and Public Life documented a worrying increase in restrictions on religion in the United States between 2009 And mid-2010.
USA was one of the 16 countries that registered an increase of governmental and social restrictions against the religion.
This is the first time in the course of research by Pew, the USA. Recorded an increase in both measures.
Unsurprisingly, Islamic governments and governments of Muslim nations to a large extent, most always make restrictions imposed on religion. Egypt, Indonesia, Maldives, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan were the five most restrictive countries in the Pew survey. Iran (6th) and China (10th) also severely prevented citizens from freely exercising their faith.
Caribbean countries, Latin American countries and governments in the South Pacific generally scored low on religious restraint, although some African and European countries also allowed freedom of worship, according to Pew.
But the United States, moved from the low category of restrictions to the “moderate” category for the first time since the Pew investigation began.
“During the period between 2009 and mid-2010, a number of sources used in the study reported an increase in the number of incidents at state and local level (in the United States), where members of some religious groups Faced constraints on their ability to practice their faith, "Pew wrote.
"This included incidents in which individuals were prevented from wearing the suit to certain religious or symbols, including beards, in some judicial settings or in prisons, penitentiaries or prisons.”
Christians also experienced government restrictions. Pew wrote: Some religious groups in the US They also faced difficulties in obtaining zoning permits to build or expand cult centers, religious schools or other religious institutions.
Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Iraq and Bangladesh scored the highest in social hostilities, while Russia ranked at the top of government restrictions and social hostilities. Lower social hostilities towards religion were in Australia, Denmark, Spain, Burundi and Haiti, according to Pew.
While the US Continues to be one of the most religious countries in the world, any increase in religious restriction threatens America’s Primate freedom. Following recent attacks on Libyan embassies, senior US officials called for the removal of a YouTube video where Muslims were allegedly offended.
The increase in restrictions on religion in the United States in the Pew study is unfortunately not surprising, given the recent actions of the current administration.
4.3. Get a consensus about the idea of supporting or restricting the wearing of Muslim, Hijab or headscarf in woman in any country.
The team believes that women should not wear hijab. The use of headscarf violates the rights of women or human rights to feel free. Ultimately, hijab use should be optional.
5.-Include a video two traditional stories from the country you are investigating as ours “La Llorona in Chile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ONP-sZkkL8
Stories of a giant, hairy creature that appears half man and half ape have existed in various parts of the world for many centuries. In fact, the only continent not to have stories of “wild men” is Antarctica. In the Himalayas, it’s the Yeti. In Canada, it’s the Sasquatch. And in the northwest United States, it’s Bigfoot. Bigfoot is described by believers as being between six and eight feet tall with a large forehead and pronounced brow, like a cave man’s, and a rounded, crested head like a gorilla’s. He is covered in brown or red hair and has enormous feet that are his namesake, with the biggest estimation at a whopping two feet long by eight inches wide. Some “witnesses” claim that the five-toed Bigfoot prints they saw on the ground were accompanied by claw marks (not unlike a five-toed, clawed paw print of a bear—but rational explanations aren’t as fun).
Stories of a “wild man” existed among the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest long before white colonists moved in. Versions of Bigfoot ranged from harmless giants who stole fish from fishermen’s nets, to cannibalistic monsters living on mountain peaks. These stories varied from tribe to tribe, and even from family to family, which meant that Bigfoot had a lot of different names. In the 1920s, J.W. Burns compiled the local legends for a series for a Canadian newspaper, coining the term “Sasquatch” in the process.
It wasn’t until 1958 that the Bigfoot legend really started to kick off in the United States. That year, a man named Gerald Crew found a set of large footprints at a construction site where he worked in California. He had his friend make plaster casts of the prints. The story gained a lot of attention after being published in the Humboldt Times, and was picked up by the Associated Press, drawing international attention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOPdvUgG7eM
No city does Halloween quite like San Francisco. While many may check out the party scene in the Castro, go trick-or-treating in Noe Valley, or visit the pet cemetery in the Presidio, few have the courage to brave Stow Lake at night.
The famous ghost story and legend of Stow Lake has been circulating for nearly 100 years, and it goes something like this: Once upon a time at Stow Lake, in Golden Gate Park, there was a lady who was walking her baby in a stroller. After a while, this lady got tired and rested on the bench next to the lake, with the stroller right next to her. While she was sitting, another lady came to sit down next to her and they started talking. While they were conversing, the stroller rolled away unnoticed. The stroller with the baby fell in the lake. After the two women finished talking, the lady noticed her baby was gone and panicked right away. She then walked around Stow Lake and asked people, “Have you seen my baby?” She spent all day and all night asking everyone. When the night was over, the last place she checked was the lake. She went into the lake looking for her baby and ever since, she hasn’t been seen again.
It is rumored that if someone goes to Stow Lake at night, weird occurrences take place. Stories have been told that the lady comes up from the lake, or the statue in her honor comes to life, or she will come up to you and ask, “Have you seen my baby?” Other reports say if you drive there with your friends in a group of cars, all the cars will stall at the same time. Another rumor is said that, if someone says “White lady, white lady, I have your baby” three times, the lady will appear. She’ll ask you, “Have you seen my baby?” If you say yes, she’ll haunt you and if you say no, she’ll kill you.
So if you decide to walk around Stow Lake some night, beware of the White Lady. And if you walk through the street at night this All Hallows Eve and feel your hair stand on end, you might just be in the presence of one of the other ghosts of San Francisco.
6.- Search about the origins of the following patterns of thoughts. Quote from the author(s) or source(s)
- Some people believe after death the soul is separated from the body
“The innumerable recorded and researched cases of past life experiences clearly point to life after death. In all the recorded cases of reincarnations, it was found that there was a variable time lag between the death of the person and his next reincarnation on Earth.” (http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritual-research/afterlife/life-after-death/)
- Some people believe if they commit a “mortal or unforgiven sin”, they should go to “purgatory” to purge the sin.
“At the time of death, as the physical body becomes inactive the vital energy used for the functioning of the physical body is liberated into the Universe. This vital energy at the time of death propels the subtle body away from the Earth region. Just as the weight of a projectile decides how far a rocket will propel it, similarly the weight of the subtle body decides which plane of existence it goes to in the subtle planes of existence in life after death.”
(http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritual-research/afterlife/life-after-death/)
7.-Consider as a group 5 most outstanding Chilean traditions you are or have been involved with along your life. Explain your reasons to do.
1.- To dress as a Huaso on September
The huaso is the typical Chilean character that is characterized for being a country man who lives mainly in the central and southern part of the country. It is the man who works the land, the peasant who is generally seen riding a horse.
2.- Cueca dance
The cueca is the national dance of Chile since it was made official, after being a legal body promulgated on September 18, 1979. However, it is danced in our country from approximately 1824
The Rodeo symbolizes the permanent fight between the man and the beast, to submit it on his agriculture needs
To make fly a kite is a Chilean tradition that takes a place on September. Many kids have fun seeing the kite in the high of the sky.
5.- The palo ensebado (grease pole)
To climb the grease pole is a typical activity in Chile; people have to climb to the top of the greased pole to get the flag on the top. There are two different ways to get there; the first one is having a great technique, and the other one is making a human pyramid hugging the pole.