Chap3. Human Ingenuity - Rituals

Since humans gathered and lived in groups, they created various types of Human Ingenuity. Today, I'm going to talk about Rituals among them. Ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed in a sequestered place and according to a set sequence. Rituals are practiced in every part of human society. They may be prescribled by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. (For example, there are sacraments of organized religions, purification rites, oaths of allegiance, dedication ceremonies, coronations, marriages, and even hand-shaking.) Usually, large and formal rituals are conducted in a limited and strictly organized manner, and participants must observe certain vocabulary, sound size or order. On the other hand, rituals such as small weddings, which are pursued by many people these days, are not limited. Rituals contain human life and history. They generally repeats historial precedents, religious rituals and customs. Some are traditionally considered important, like Thanksgiving in the U.S., and some are held to celebrate historically significant days such as Liberation Day in Korea. In addition, the types of rituals are depended on each community - county, region, or familiy. Ritual is a human Ingenuity deeply embedded in real life, and no ritual is meaningless.