Elements of Ritual and Violence

Description

Ritualized violence is by definition not haphazard or random, but seemingly intentional and often ceremonial. It has a long history in religious practice, as attested in texts and artifacts from the earliest civilizations. It is equally evident in the behaviors of some contemporary religious activists and within initiatory practices ongoing in many regions of the world. Given its longevity and cultural expanse, ritualized violence presumably exerts a pull deeply into the sociology, psychology, anthropology, theology, perhaps even ontology of its practitioners, but this is not transparent. This short volume will sketch the subject of ritualized violence, that is, it will summarize some established theories about ritual and about violence, and will ponder a handful of striking instantiations of their link.

'Elements of Ritual and Violence is a slim but weighty volume that offers the reader an excellent overview of relevant anthropological, sociological, literary and philosophical literature on ritualized violence. Wide-ranging in scope, yet piercingly focused in analysis, it deftly interweaves disparate theories of ritualized violence from diverse fields while concisely critiquing each.' Candace Alcorta, Journal of Religion and Violence