Sorority Rituals - Reflections On Rites of ... - Mari Ann Callais

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter presents research previously conducted regarding rituals and rites of
passages, the history and structure of sororities, and the growth and development of women. The
literature presented provides a context for my research focus on the impact that sorority rituals
have on the values and behavior of contemporary sorority women.
History and Need for Ritual
Rituals date back to early tribal times and yet are a part of everyday contemporary life.
Rituals encompass a set of values, oftentimes establish a culture, and influence behavior of
individuals. Rituals may be in forms recognizable to many, such as weddings, funerals, religious
ceremonies, and family traditions. Yet, they are also a part of everyday life affecting how we
think, how we behave, and what we value. Rituals have different meanings depending on the
context in which they are used, as well as the history associated with the ritual (Rayburn, 1999).
“Reflexive artifacts, magic, priestly intermediaries, group crisis, ceremonial patterns, liminal
interstices, comic levity, sacred seriousness” are terms, washed in meaning, that are part of the
abundant anthropological literature about rituals (Manning, 2000; Raybin, 1990; Turner, 1990).
“As these terms imply, there is something magical and mystical about rituals. Even or perhaps,
especially, in postmodern societies, ritual bind us in the primordial levels through community
and culture-building, individual, and communal celebration” (Manning, 2000, p. 1).
In the context of organizations such as sororities, ritual is a symbolic and often emotional
expression of the organization’s myths, values and identity and, as such, forms the metaphorical
bridge between the individual and the organization (Westley, 1990; Rayburn, 1993).
21