The Problem of Ritual: Based on Papers Read at the Symposium on Religious Rites Held at Åbo, Finland, on the 13th-16th of August 1991

Description

Since 1962 the Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History in Åbo/Turku, Finland has regularly organised Nordic symposia in comparative religion and published the symposium papers in its own series Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis. The theme of the symposium, 'Religious Rites', of which the papers are published in this work is a broad one. The advantage of a regional theme is that the volume of papers from the congress tends to be uniform and homogeneous. The disadvantage is that only Nordic scholars of religion specialising in the area covered by the symposium consider it of benefit to attend. On the other hand, a broad theme means that the symposium can attract scholars interested in many different religions; this means that the symposium can be a truly pan-Nordic meeting of scholars of religion. However, the result is that the published papers are then often marked by a certain heterogeneity as far as content is concerned. The theme of this symposium, 'Religious Rites', is justified by the key role played by ritual in religion. Rites as the focus of research have the advantage that they can be studied to a large degree empirically. This, in turn, means that it is easier to compare the research results of different scholars; at the same time it opens up greater possibilities for cumulative research. Unfortunately this is not the case with all research topics in comparative religion. Editorial Note 7 JØRGEN PODEMANN SØRENSEN / Ritualistics: a New Discipline in the History of Religions 9 TOVE TYBJERG / Wilhelm Mannhardt — A Pioneer in the Study of Rituals 27 JONATHAN HORWITZ / Shamanic Rites Seen from a Shamanic Perspective 39 ANTOON GEELS / A Note on the Psychology of 'Dhikr'. The Halveti-Jerrahi Order of Dervishes in Istanbul 53 OWE WIKSTRÖM / Liturgy as Experience — the Psychology of Worship. A Theoretical and Empirical Lacuna 83 RENÉ GOTHÓNI / Pilgrimage = Transformation Journey 101 NORA AHLBERG / Forced Migration and Muslim Rituals: An Area of Cultural Psychology? 117 THOMAS MCELWAIN / Ritual Change in a Turkish Alevi Village 131 J. PETER SÖDERGÅRD / The Ritualized Bodies of Cybele's Galli and the Methodological Problem of the Plurality of Explanations 169 LILIAN PORTEFAIX / Ancient Ephesus: Processions as Media of Religious and Secular Propaganda 195 MORTEN LUND WARMIND / The Cult of the Roman Emperor before and after Christianity 211 ANDERS HULTGÅRD / Altskandinavische Opferrituale und das Problem der Quellen 221 JENS PETER SCHJØDT / The Relation between the two Phenomenological Categories Initiation and Sacrifice as Exemplified by the Norse Myth of Óðinn on the Tree 261 MARIANNE GÖRMAN / Influences from the Huns on Scandinavian Sacrificial Customs during 300-500 AD 275 MIKAEL ROTHSTEIN / Rituals and Religious Innovation. The Meaning of Rituals in Shan the Rising Light 299 PETER BUCHHOLZ / Religious Foundations of Group Identity in Prehistoric Europe: The Germanic Peoples 321 ALVAPPILLAI VELUPPILLAI / The Hindu Confrontation with the Jaina and the Buddhist. Saint Tiruñanacampantar's Polemical Writings 335 Biographical Notes 365