Ritual in Its Own Right

<p> Historically canonic studies of ritual have discussed and explained ritual organization action and transformation primarily as representations of broader cultural and social orders. In the present as in the past less attention is given to the power of ritual to organize and effect transformation through its own dynamics. Breaking with convention the contributors to this volume were asked to discuss ritual first and foremost in relation to itself in its own right and only then in relation to its socio-cultural context. The results attest to the variable capacities of rites to effect transformation through themselves and to the study of phenomena in their own right as a fertile approach to comprehending ritual dynamics.</p>