But this is a Western view of religion. In most societies, particularly in non-state societies, religion is an integral part of social life and social identity. In fact, this makes it much more difficult to define, since it may have social, political, moral, and other dimensions not readily extractable from everyday life. We'll be exploring religion a bit more fully in class during the next few days. Drawing on the society you have already chosen in your study of kinship, I would like you to explore some of their myths and rituals.
Myths provide members of society a blueprint for action.
I would also like you to describe and examine one ritual practiced in that society. Rituals are, of course, collective patterned activities which generally reveal something about a culture's view of the sacred or supernatural. There are many different kinds of rituals, including rites of passage, seasonal rites, healing rituals, etc. I would like you to write this up in a two-three page summary to hand in. You want to remember that this, along with the kinship project and other small projects during the course of the semester, will be pulled together at the end of the semester into one larger project on the society you have chosen.