Why Do People Perform Rituals?

Axel Michaels

All human societies have rituals, both in everyday life and for special, festive occasions or religious ceremonies. As AXEL MICHAELS points out in this video, rituals are not necessary for our lives. So, why are there so many and why do people follow rituals at all? Michaels has pursued these questions in the context of India. Applying an ethno-indological approach – observing how rituals are performed in India today and studying ancient handbooks that prescribe these rituals – Michaels came to a three-part definition of rituals. These three components are formality, modality, and transcendence. This last component points to an explanation of why people observe rituals at all. By submitting themselves to the prescription of a ritual without questioning it, they become homo ritualis and thereby relieve themselves from the continuous search for meaning.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10417

Researcher

Axel Michaels is Professor of Classical Indology and Religious Studies at the University of Heidelberg. There, he is also co-director of the cluster of excellence ‘Asia and Europe in a Global Context’. In 2006, he became a member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and in 2016, he was appointed vice-president. His research focus includes the theory of ritual, the cultural history of Nepal, and the social and legal history of Hinduism. Among his more recent awards are the Manfred-Lautenschläger Research Prize (2015) and the Höffmann Academic Award for Intercultural Competence (2015).

Heidelberg University (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg)

"Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, is Germany’s oldest university and one of the strongest research universities in all of Europe. The successes in both rounds of the Excellence Initiative and in internationally recognised rankings prove that Heidelberg’s excellent reputation and leading role in the scientific community are well deserved. In terms of educating students and promoting promising early-career academics, Heidelberg relies on research-based teaching and an outstanding, well-structured training for doctoral candidates. Heidelberg University is a comprehensive university, offering the full spectrum of disciplines in the humanities, law and the social sciences alongside the natural and life sciences, including medicine. As a comprehensive university, Heidelberg aims to continue to strengthen the individual disciplines and to further interdisciplinary cooperation, as well as to carry research results over into society and industry. With its aspiration of connecting traditional values with future-oriented scientific concepts in research and teaching, the university is building bridges to the future – Zukunft. Seit 1386." ( Source )

Original Publication

Homo Ritualis: Hindu Ritual and Its Significance for Ritual Theory

Axel Michaels

Published in 2015