How Ritual Works

This book purports to show that ritual is a very important stabilizing factor in a society. It also acts in a didactic fashion and provides individuals with psychological security, a guard against personal angst and social anomie. Much data is drawn from Dr. Mendonsäs fieldwork among the Sisala of Northern Ghana. The empirical findings in the African research have implications of the malaise that has overcome America. Perhaps, this is due to a loss of ritual in everyday life.