Year 6 Exhibition
My Central idea: "Rituals, traditions and artefacts provide a window into the beliefs and values of cultures." My line of enquiry: "Rituals are an expression of our beliefs".
Key Concepts: Form, Change, Connection, Perspective, Reflection Related Concepts Identity, Difference, Prejudice, Chronology, Artifacts, Truth, Conflict, Commonalty, Traditions, Religion, Diversity, Roles
September 2015
By Holly Dixon
Year 6 Exhibition
My Central idea: "Rituals, traditions and artefacts provide a window into the beliefs and values of cultures."
My line of enquiry: "Rituals are an expression of our beliefs".
Key Concepts: Form, Change, Connection, Perspective, Reflection
Related Concepts
Identity, Difference, Prejudice, Chronology, Artifacts, Truth, Conflict, Commonalty, Traditions, Religion, Diversity, Roles
September 2015
Introduction Are you an Olympian walking with your country's flag or just watching the mayhem? Whichever one you are you will want to know why and how these kind of rituals have survived hundreds of years in our world. "Why is it that these rituals that have been alive since the start of the age old calendar and still are today"? My Central idea is "rituals, traditions and artefacts provide a window into the beliefs and values of cultures." My line of enquiry is "rituals are an expression of our beliefs".
What is a belief? According to myself a belief is "Accepting something to be true". According to the Oxford Dictionary a belief is " An acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof".
What is a ritual? The dictionary definition for a ritual is: "prescribed, established, or ceremonial acts or features collectively, as in religious services. Any practice or pattern of behaviour regularly performed in a set manner." According to one member of the public, a man called Jonathan, he believes rituals "are one-‐off experiences. Repeat something often enough and it will become a ritual." To my father, Steve Dixon, rituals are things that you do consistently or regularly in a society, family or by yourself. When he was growing up most of their rituals were to do with food. Every Sunday lunch would be a roast. They were English and that’s what my dad's parents did when they were growing up and probably for generations before. This is an occasion that has been repeated and repeated over time which is how it has become a family ritual.
Queen Margaret College Chaplin, Mr Edgecombe believes a ritual is a set of practises that are always done the same way. e.g. at QMC we walk to assembly in silence every week and it's always done the same way, never different. Any group of people can have rituals no matter what background. It's a standard practice that has symbolic value. Any religious group has its rituals. Big rituals are things that you do once a year or once in a lifetime. At Easter time you will go to church and some people won't. It's what different people believe in. Clothing often plays a part in religious rituals. In some churches the minster will be wearing a robe and collar and in some they won't. Orthodox churches will stick to a pattern and liberal churches do things in a more casual manner. The robe is a way to stop people from being distracted. Mr Edgecombe has a friend who is an American religious writer and when he was visiting Russia he went to a prison with a Russian orthodox priest. The Russian priest recited a 20minute Prayer in his full robes, lit a candle and rang a bell. This is an example of a very specific religious ritual where religious beliefs are strong. There can be other types of rituals, for example, cities have rituals and traditions too. Some rituals and traditions in Wellington are the, Santa Parade, Cuba Dupa, WOW and Festival of the Arts, Guy Fawkes on the harbour. The one my mum thinks is big is the ritual of coffee. In the morning a lot of Wellingtonians will buy a coffee on the way to work. They will usually have a favourite place that they go to every day. Their belief is that that particular cafe makes the best coffee and that's why they will always go to that same cafe even if it is out of their way. The three rituals that I have chosen to concentrate on are a world-‐wide ritual -‐ The Olympics; a religious ritual -‐ Ramadan; and a cultural ritual -‐ the Japanese Tea Ceremony. I will look at what these three events are and what has turned them into rituals and how each one is an expression of a certain beliefs.
The Olympics Why does the Olympics have rituals such as the torch and the athletes’ parade? Today the Olympic Games are a major event in the global calendar. Every four years athletes come from all over the world to participate in the Olympic Games. Millions of people all over the world watch athletes compete in over three hundred sporting events. People watch the games live at the stadiums or via satellite. This tradition with its distinctive Opening Ceremony, began many centuries ago in ancient Greece. It all started in 778 BC when it was a celebration of the God Zeus (the main god and he was also god of the sky and thunder). Part of the Olympic celebration throughout the ancient games was that a flame was kept burning in the temple of Zeus. A Christian emperor stopped the games because he thought that they were celebrating an improper religion. To me, the Olympics isn't an improper religion, in a way it's a religion about sporting endurance and never giving up. The Olympics is an event where the people participating are the best in the world. The belief is that the Olympics is the pinnacle of sporting greatness. Anyone who competes in the Olympics is at the top of their sport. Mrs Beable who competed in the 1970 Commonwealth Games said "To win a medal in a competition like that shows the reward of all the days and nights training and hours and hours of sacrifice and enjoyment has paid off. To have something at the end of it to say I did the best I could." "I did better than my best and to beat people who were expected to beat me was amazing." "You got to realise that you were actually good at what you could do, it gave you confidence, it gave me a feeling of "yes" I am good enough to be in this field of top athletes and it gave you the confidence to believe in yourself and to do what perhaps you wouldn't have done before."
This is an example of someone who was at the top of her sport and who got the chance to compete with other top sports people from around the world in the greatest sporting event. It shows that her coaches and everyone around her believed in her sporting greatness and this as well as her dedicated hard work was how she managed to represent New Zealand and win a medal in an event filled with rituals and traditions. The Olympics started again in 1896 and the ritual of the flame was continued. In modern times the Olympic torch is relayed by runners starting from Olympia and going through all the countries to finally end up in the host city.
Since the start of the modern Olympics there have been new rituals: 1. Olympic rings. The five different rings represent the different continents that athletes are picked from -‐ North and South America are considered one area, along with Africa, Oceania, Asia and Europe. 2. Athlete’s parade -‐ The modern Olympics introduced an Olympic parade that includes all the participants from every country. Greece always leads this parade as they are the founding country and then countries parade out in alphabetical order. 3. Female events -‐ in the Ancient Olympics no women were allowed to compete and married women weren't allowed to watch the Olympics. Women had a separate athletics competition called Hera which was held at the Olympic Stadium.
4. Motto -‐ the International Olympic Committee introduced an Olympic motto in 1924. "Citius, Altius, Fortius". This is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger." 5. Moving around countries. The Ancient Olympics were always held in the same place -‐ Olympia in Ancient Greece. With the modern Olympics, different countries host the games every four years. 6. Medals -‐ in the old Olympics the first three winners would be awarded with Olive branches and big celebrations. In the modern Olympics, the top three athletes are presented with gold, silver and bronze medals. When I interviewed Mrs Beable I asked her what rituals made it special for her. She said that the ritual of "wearing that black singlet with the silver fern on it was so special. Putting on the blazer and standing on the podium with a superstar. It was so different and something only a few people get to do. To be representing your own country was very special. I was very lucky to be one of those people. " Rituals do change over time and often for the better. In the Olympics there are now better facilities and more modern uniforms to take into account of the seasons of the country that's holding the games. However, it is also good to keep some old traditions and rituals such as the Olympic flame. It is important to have an event like this that keeps rituals alive and unifies the world once every four years. It is the belief that the greatest sports people come together to compete, no matter what their religion, race or other beliefs that makes the Olympics such a traditional and ritualistic event.
Islam and the Ramadan ritual The religion Islam started over 1500 years ago and the word Islam means peace and submission. Islam is based on the belief of one God called Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. There are the five pillars of Islam that make up the religion -‐ 1) Shahada -‐ the most important pillar which the declaration to the Muslim faith. 2) The Salat -‐ the prayer itself. 3) Zakat -‐ involves giving up money and caring the poor. 4) Saum -‐ the prayer of fasting in the Ramadan. 5) Hajj -‐ the pilgrimage to mecca in the twelfth month in the year which all Muslims should try to make at least once in their lifetime. There are 1.6 billion Muslim's who live all over the world however the main countries where Islam is practiced is in South Asia in Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Muslim's have lots of rituals and Ramadan is the ritual I have looked at in detail.
Ramadan Ramadan is the holiest month of the year and is celebrated in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. During this month Muslims fast -‐ eating and drinking only when the sun is down. Ramadan is a month of praying and fasting to cleanse the body and to help people in need and to forgive and apologise for any arguments you have been involved in or made.
During Ramadan Muslim's pray six times a day rather than the usual five times. The sixth prayer takes place when you can just see the sunlight over the horizon. They must always pray facing the direction of Mecca which is East. The other five prayers are always recited at the same time every day either on clean ground or a prayer mat. You must wear clean clothes and clean their feet and hands before entering any prayer ground or before praying. The five times of prayer are pre-‐dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening. The reason for praying so often is so you are constantly reminded of God. Eid celebrates the end of Ramadan. It's the first time that Muslims will eat during the day. It's a very happy occasion and is the biggest festival in the Muslim calendar. Some of the things that happen during the Eid celebration is dancing, singing, being with friends and family, eating sweets and drawing henna of their hands. They give money to charities and the poor. When talking to a woman from the United Arab Emirates Wafa Al Yamani, she noted the following important things about the Ramadan and in particular the end of the Ramadan month -‐ the breaking of the fast celebration called Eid al Fitr. “This is a very important celebration for us Muslims the most important of the year. It’s a big family time after the final prayers at the end of the day when we have a big feast and the children get presents – like Christmas.” “The giving of gifts is also important. Each member of the family gives gifts for the poor even the children have to save money for giving to the poor.”
Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony is a ritual only performed in Japan and came about from the adoption of drinking powdered green tea from China and Zen Buddhist beliefs. It incorporates the ideas of simplicity and that each ceremony should be special and unique. The definition from http://japanese-‐tea-‐ceremony.net/ states “The Japanese Tea Ceremony is a choreographic ritual of preparing and serving Japanese green tea, called Matcha, together with traditional Japanese sweets to balance with the bitter taste of the tea.” It is a spiritual experience that includes harmony, respect, purity and tranquility and the ceremony changes throughout the year depending on the season, the time of the day and the type of occasion. It is full of rituals such as the wearing of the Kimono, flower arranging and choosing special utensils to use.
During my research I interviewed a QMC year eleven student Yukino Kawakami. Her Grandma still performs the traditional Tea Ceremony although Yukoni has only attended two ceremonies. She said that there are lots of different ways to do it and that the tea ceremonies change depending on the region of Japan and the seasons.
One question I asked Yukino was what rituals are of significance. She stated that: “Some Japanese believe the Tea is like a medicine and believe it is beneficial for their health. It is also used as a social occasion – a genuine Tea party!” The Japanese Tea Ceremony is a very old tradition that has many rituals associated with it. After talking to Yukino, I don’t think it’s performed in very often in modern day life. I think it will always be part of the Japanese culture even if it’s not performed in everyday life any more.
Conclusion In concluding my investigation that rituals are an expression of our beliefs, I have looked at the Olympics, Ramadan and the Japanese Tea Ceremony to show how these rituals are staying alive in our world.
Common things across all of the rituals I have investigated include the fact that: -‐ these rituals are something more than one person experiences it can be one family like my father’s roast lunches on Sundays or a billion people like Ramadan. -‐ The rituals are well known and people know about them even if they don’t do them -‐ The rituals are more than what they look – the Olympic medal is not just a bit of metal and Ramadan is not just having no food My line of enquiry is "rituals are an expression of our beliefs". In my investigation I found this to be true because the rituals show that what people practice are greater than what is shown. Ramadan shows a belief in God, the Olympics show a belief that sport can bring people together and show that if you set your mind to something you can achieve it. Rituals are more than what you see on the page or watch on TV it is what you feel inside.
Bibliography
Books The Olympics History by Moira Butterfield Welcome to the Ancient Olympics by Jane Bingham Macmillan Encyclopedia of Olympic sports by Garry Chapman Id-‐UL-‐FITR by Kerena March Muslim Festivals by Honor Head Websites http://www.teavana.com/tea-‐info/japanese-‐tea-‐ceremony http://japanese-‐tea-‐ceremony.net/ Interviews Mr Edgecombe Mrs Beable Steve Dixon Jeanette Bornholdt Yukino Kawakami Wafa Al Yamani