Extraordinary Rituals

Episode
Episode 1 - Circle of Life
Broadcast Info
2018 (58 mins)
Description
Extraordinary Rituals explores the spectacular and emotional world of rituals. In our frenzied lives rituals answer our human needs and desires; they teach us how to love, how to let go and where we belong. Across the globe we perform rituals, from the intimate ceremonies around birth, to great mass pilgrimages in our millions. Rituals can challenge our courage through tough initiations and give us hope through our grief. They have the power to change us completely and connect us to something greater than ourselves. In Indonesia the Torajans put on the most elaborate funerals on Earth to secure their loved ones a place in the afterlife, while in Japan new hi-tech cemeteries store people’s ashes behind glowing neon plaques. In Italy, a passionate bareback horserace called the Palio is the ritual which keeps fierce rivalries between the districts of Siena in check. While in Malaysia, pilgrims carry massive burdens and their bodies are pierced to show their extreme devotion to the Hindu god of war. Rituals can inspire us, but to stay relevant they must also adapt to our modern lives. In China, 21st century teenagers sing ancient love songs in a 7th century dating ritual, and follow it up by text. In Senegal, where wrestling has become the top sport, fighters still use amulets, potions and tribal dances to give them the edge in the arena. Rituals are woven into the survival story of humanity. Among the Inuit in Greenland a boy’s rite of passage to become a hunter still demands he must hunt a seal on the sea ice. It’s a ritual of survival, but for those families that follow tradition, it’s also key to their identity. Aboriginal culture is the oldest surviving on Earth, using fire ceremonies to shape the landscape over 50,000 years. Passed down from the ancestors, the Dow fire ceremony teaches the next generation how fire brings fertility to the landscape. Today, science has caught up - ancestral knowledge and modern technology has combined, as Aboriginal rangers protect the land by creating vast firebreaks from helicopters. We will continue to invent new rituals, from street crews practising parkour in Gaza, to the building of a Temple at Burning Man in USA, where people leave their painful mementos before it’s burnt down as a ritual of release. These rituals could become the traditions of the future, alongside ancient ceremonies for modern times, to help us to make sense of our human experience.The key rituals on our journey from birth, to marriage and death. These are universal, yet we perform them in extremely different ways. In Sulawesi the Torajan people have the most elaborate funerals on earth. The dead are kept in the home for over a year, while the family raise funds for the rituals, to secure the status of the dead in the afterlife. In the Amazon, the Kayapo people believe that during birth their ancestors are trying to steal the baby’s soul back into the land of the dead, so they perform rituals to give the baby protection. In Papua New Guinea boys undergo a brutal rite of passage to become men. Their skin is cut with patterns of crocodile scales, so they can take on the power of the crocodile spirit. In China, modern teenagers perform seventh century rituals to find love. The girls of the Long Horn Miao wear their ancestors’ hair in this ancient singing ritual to find a boyfriend. In the Sahara desert in Niger, a Tuareg couple returns home for their wedding. This gathering of nomadic clans is a celebration of Tuareg identity, including building a sacred nuptial tent for their wedding night. In Japan, rituals are evolving to suit modern needs. More people are living and dying alone, without family to perform key rituals for their soul through the afterlife. Some temples will store your ashes in high-tech cemeteries, while priests pray for you, at a price. The exuberant death culture of the Torajans continues beyond the grave with the Ma Nene ceremony. Families remove their dead from tombs, change their wrappings and post selfies with them on Facebook. Rituals give us meaning, and they bind us together for the most extreme moments in the circle of life.
Genre
Culture; Religion; Philosophy

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Extraordinary Rituals". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/230135 (Accessed 10 Jan 2025)