Publications

Announcing a new series: Ritual, Celebration, and Festival
Utah State University Press and Jack Santino, series editor,  announce a series of books on ritual, festival, and celebration. The topics include holidays, carnivals, and public or social events such as political demonstrations and death commemorations. The editor and publisher solicit submissions from various disciplines, including anthropology, folklore, [...]

Toying with God: The World of Religious Games and Dolls Nikki Bado-Fralick and Rebecca Sachs Norris. Baylor Univ., $24.95 paper (210p) ISBN 978-1-60258-181-4
For Bado-Fralick and Sachs Norris (religious studies professors at Iowa State University and Merrimack College, respectively), religious games and dolls are charged with “the magic of childhood combined with the mystery of religion.” [...]

There is a general perception that rituals are invariable, static and unchangeable, that they follow strict rules and norms, and are highly repetitive. In contrast to this prevalent view, this volume suggests that in fact change and transfer, invention and reinvention are the norm of rituals. Furthermore, rather than being clearly separated from everyday life, [...]

Rituals transform citizens into presidents and princesses into queens. They transform sick persons into healthy ones, and public space into prohibited sanctuary. Shamanic rituals heal, legal rituals bind, political rituals ratify, and religious rituals sanctify. But how exactly do they accomplish these things? How do rituals work? This is the question of ritual efficacy, and [...]