Paper short abstract:

This contribution would like to present a few significant spatial shapes which can be observed among contemporary European rituals. The contribution will describe different ways of using local places in rituals, bringing together anthropology, cultural geography and performance studies.

Paper long abstract:

As an introduction to panel P204 "Ritual Shapes through the Ritual Year", this contribution would like to present a few significant spatial shapes which can be observed among contemporary European rituals, such rituals being traditional, revitalized or invented. First the contribution will use ethnographical fieldwork data to describe different ways of using local places in rituals (processions, ritual perambulations or circumambulations, dual or multiple oppositions, ritual scrums, ritual crowd gatherings, etc.). The examples will show how the different ritual shapes can be represented through simple drawings and maps, using various scales of analysis. Second, the description will lead to a structural analysis of the different ritual spatial schemes. The contribution will show how the rituals manage to combine a limited number of primary shapes and to build their cultural meaning through the social uses of space. Third the different rituals will be interpreted as possible contributions to the emotional making of places. It will be suggested that the spatial shapes of rituals contribute to reinforce their emotional meaning in the eyes of the people performing them. The demonstration will eventually try to promote a new theoretical perspective on rituals which would bring together the accepted anthropological knowledge on rituals, geographical methodology and the study of performance.