Part 1 Theories: The History of Interpretation
1.: Myth or Ritual: Questions of Origin and Essence
Early Theories and Theorists
They Myth and Ritual Schools
The Phenomenology of Religions
Psychoanalytic Approatches to Ritual
Profile: Interpreting the Akitu Festival
Conclusion
2.: Ritual and Society: Questions of Social Funciton and Structure
Early Theories of Social Solidarity
Functionalism
Neofunctional Systems Analyses
Structuralism
Magic, Religion, and Science
Profile: Interpreting the Mukanda Initiation
Conclusion
3.: Ritual Symbols, Syntax, and Praxis: Questions of Cultural Meaning and Interpretation
Symbolic Systems and Symbolic Action
Linguistics
Performance
Practice
Profile: Interpreting British and Swazi Enthronement Rites
Conclusion
Part II Rites: The Spectrum of Ritual Activities
4.: Basic Genres of Ritual Action
Rites of Passage
Calendrical Rites
Rites of Affliction
Feasting, Fasting, and Festivals
Political Rites
Conclusion
Part III Contexts: The Fabric of Ritual Life
5.: Ritual Density
Systems
Typologies
Orthopraxy and Orthodoxy
Traditional and Secular
Oral and Literate
Church, Sect, and Cult
Conclusion
6.: Ritual Change
Tradition and Transformation
Ritual Invention
Media and Message
Conclusion
7.: Ritual Reification
Repudiating, Returning, Romancing
The Emergence of "Ritual"
Conclusion
Notes
Reference
Index