The Efficacy of Ritual

Ritual and attendance to process maintain and perpetuate aspects of Gansu society, as well as serving as a starting point from which to make observations about cultural ideologies. Each ritual previously discussed serves a purpose in the sense of maintenance, or maintaining the nature of a society in differing ways. For example, religious rituals simply maintain a daily schedule and indicate daily activities; in the morning, afternoon, and evening, tributes to our Gods and prayers are performed daily. As few villagers have watches, religious rituals are necessary for the everyday and furthermore to maintain a schedule that is efficient for village labor. Politics and the specific rite of passage maintain rigorous and dangerous qualifications and training for the governing elders, and they ensure worthy political leadership. The political rituals additionally serve to maintain social cohesion and notions of reciprocity and trust in Gansu society. The marriage anniversary ritual serves a purpose of psychological functionalism through mediating the monotony of everyday labor and realities and letting a couple enjoy one another’s company. This therapeutic aspect of the ritual maintains and allows for Gansu people to have faith in the institution of marriage and it prevents a complacency that could lead to a decay of Gansu ideas of family and marital structure. Finally, our economic ritual simply maintains our survival through acknowledging and the gifting of the wealth and capital as well as village labor that allow for Gansu society to thrive, and maintaining the flow of goods necessary for our current lifestyle. In a sense, the marriage and economic rituals can maintain society through literal (biological) reproduction for younger couples, and through material goods that are now shared and enjoyed in our society.

Ritual also perpetuates culture, or serves a purpose of social reproduction. Our religious rituals serve to teach the discipline required to perpetuate beliefs; this is why daily prayer is vital, because without it villagers may forget or disregard the importance and necessary protection offered so graciously by our Gods. The political governing or legislative session upon inaugurating a new political elder perpetuates faith in political decision-making and it perpetuates the idea amongst villagers that the Gansu government is valid and working in their best interests. Historically, many people dissatisfied with their government have attempted revolutions and overthrowing those in power, but Gansu rituals perpetuate the trust and notions of efficacy required for effective governing. Our marriage ritual, an example of cultural change, simply serves to perpetuate culture by placing importance on the unity and partnership required for marriage, and for younger couples that have no children, culture is biologically perpetuated through offspring as they do not yet face the taboo of having too many children and they are actually expected to have unprotected sex on their anniversary. Our economic ritual involving the economic exchange of labor truthfully perpetuates village life through the wealth and outside goods that are exchanged, because they have become sought after and necessary in the village; it additionally perpetuates the nature of labor in modern China, which is characterized by many seasonal laborers such as Gansu villagers. In other words, there is a relationship of mutualism between the modern Chinese and Gansu spheres, and our economic ritual solidifies, validates, and perpetuates the exchange of labor and goods between both spheres. 

Ideological aspects of culture are additionally acknowledged through ritual. Our religious ritual indicates our polytheistic beliefs and beliefs concerning divine favor and protection from the evil demon spirit of the mountains, all stemming from our origin mythology. It shows that respect must be paid to the Gods in exchange for their protection from evil and for their protection, which was offered hundreds of years ago. Our political ritual and rite of passage can serve to show the respect shown to elders for their age and wisdom, as well as serving a purpose of ritual sacrifice when dead elders are fed to a panda, which is believed to be one of our Gods incarnate. Our ritual governing session in public also furthers ideological ideas concerning trust and honesty in our culture, as many citizens worldwide doubt the efficacy of their government and doubt it’s efficacy. Our marriage ritual gives insight to the monogamous nature of Gansu marriages and a taboo against divorce, which is prevented in the previously mentioned psychologically functional sense. Finally, our economic ritual encourages an ideology involving a hard work ethic, the ambition for specialized labor and prestigious positions in society, and a cooperation with and lack of hostility towards modern Chinese society. The crucial ideological tenants in Gansu society involve reciprocity, trust, respect, and equality. While there are structures that govern daily life in our society, they do so with these values in mind.