Ritual and Ceremonial Dance
The study of dance as it functions within ritual, ceremony, and religious life across cultures.
Definition
The study of dance as a constitutive element of ritual, ceremony, and religious practice.
Scope
This topic covers dance in ritual and ceremonial contexts: its roles in religious worship, rites of passage, healing, trance and possession, and communal celebration. It draws on anthropological theories of ritual to understand how dance enacts belief, marks transitions, and binds or transforms communities.
Core questions
- What functions does dance serve in ritual and ceremony?
- How does dance enact belief, transition, and transformation?
- How do trance and possession dances relate to ritual structure?
Key concepts
- ritual
- liminality
- trance and possession
- rites of passage
- communitas
Key theories
- Dance within the ritual process
- The application of anthropological ritual theory, including the dynamics of liminality and communitas, to understand how dance operates within rites of transition and collective ceremony.
History
Anthropologists have long documented dance in ritual settings, and from the 1960s onward the integration of ritual theory, including concepts of liminality and communitas, gave the study of ceremonial dance a stronger theoretical grounding within social anthropology.
Debates
- Function versus meaning of ritual dance
- Scholars debate whether ritual dance is best explained by its social functions, such as solidarity and transition, or by the specific symbolic meanings it holds for participants.
Key figures
- Paul Spencer
- Victor Turner
- Judith Lynne Hanna
Related topics
Seminal works
- spencer1985
- turner1969
Frequently asked questions
- What roles does dance play in ritual?
- Dance can enact and embody belief, mark rites of passage, induce trance or possession, heal, and create a sense of community, serving as an active component of ritual rather than mere accompaniment.