Patterns & Metaphors
Traditional and spontaneous ceremony
Template:
Ceremony consists of a structured pattern of activities of symbolic significance. Individual activities may recur during the course of the ceremony. Repetition tends to play an important function in reinforcing the significance of certain acts.
Metaphor:
Ceremonies may be deliberately designed to encode a representation of a pattern of relationships between the powers governing society.
[Features] The activities in making up a ceremony tend to occur (and possibly recur) in a linear sequence, although some activities may occur in parallel. The ceremony is structured so that certain acts are perceived as especially appropriate or 'fitting' particularly in spontaneous ceremony.
[Contrast] In modern society the significance of ceremonies has been severely eroded to the point of embarrassment, except when viewed as spectacles or shows.
[Keys] The manner in which the pattern of activities enhances and defines the appropriateness of particular activities. How activities which are 'fitting' are fitted together.<
