Xygalatas first experimented with these gadgets in the Spanish village of San Pedro, Manrique. That is, by measuring how hard people’s hearts are pumping, and other aspects of their physiology. Through his ingenious use of biometrics, Xygalatas reveals that rituals can now be detected in the human body. Despite the groundwork they laid, Xygalatas points out that anthropologists rarely put their theories to the test. Perhaps most importantly, rituals help solve the central challenge of getting large groups of fiercely tribal primates to cooperate.Īnthropologists have long explored the functions of traditions, amassing rich descriptions of the world’s most exotic rituals. These challenges include: finding a romantic partner, coping with the pain of losing a loved one, and instilling a sense of order in a chaotic world. So, what are the functions of rituals then? In essence, Xygalatas argues that rituals are cultural gadgets that help solve a raft of recurring challenges we modern humans face. “Behaviours that are impractical or maladaptive do not tend to stick around forever.” “Evolution is not wasteful”, asserts Xygalatas. Although the ‘mental glitch hypothesis’ should be taken seriously, Xygalatas argues the weight of evidence is stacked against it. One camp of scientists argue that the gravitational pull of rituals is an evolutionary accident, and that our ritualistic behaviour is the result of misfiring mental systems that detect danger. In fact, it is as ancient as our species itself – and for good reason. My findings, as well as convergent discoveries from a variety of scientific disciplines, reveal that ritual is rooted deep in our evolutionary history. That said, Xygalatas stresses the prevalence and extent of our ritualistic practices is uniquely human. Whether it’s the ritualised greetings of chimpanzees, frisky flamingos engaging in elaborate courtship rituals, or elephants trekking vast distances to pay respect to their dead, rituals have been spotted across the animal kingdom. However, humans do not hold a monopoly on rituals. The oldest known ritual is the funeral, where archaeologists have unearthed evidence of burials taking place over a hundred thousand years ago. From prehistoric hunter-gatherers to the urbanites of the 21 st century, people across cultures and throughout history have felt compelled to form large crowds and participate in communal ceremonies.

“From knocking on word to uttering prayers, and from new year celebrations to presidential inaugurations, ritual permeates every important aspect of our private and public lives.”Įvidently, the human desire to congregate is ancient. “There is something about high-arousal rituals that seems to thrill groups of individuals and transform them into something greater than the sum of their parts.”Įven as the Western world loses its religion, Xygalatas argues that rituals remain rampant.

It was as though the crowd had become a single entity with a life of its own.”Īccording to Xygalatas, sports events like this mirror some of our most primitive ceremonies. “As soon as the referee blew the first whistle, it was as though a jolt of electricity had run through the stadium. Forming a sea of black and white shirts, forty thousand football fans created a spectacle Dimitris would never forget. The most interesting part was what was happening in the terraces”. “For most of the game my father kept trying to lift me up so that I could watch the action. Xygalatas’s worldview was shaken when his father took him to his first football game. “Why do so many strange traditions persist in the modern age of science, technology and secularisation?” “To me, the human obsession with ceremony seemed puzzling”, Xygalatas writes. Ironically, Xygalatas started out as a ritual sceptic. Flicking through his first copy of the National Geographic and learning about exotic cultures in faraway places sparked his curiosity, planting the seeds of his career in anthropology. By fusing the latest breakthroughs in science and technology, Xygalatas presents a powerful new perspective on our most sacred ceremonies.Ī native of Greece, rituals have fascinated Xygalatas since his early childhood. In his new book Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living, trailblazing anthropologist Dimitris Xygalatas takes us on an electrifying tour of the world’s most exotic and extreme rituals. What explains their persistence, and this apparent contradiction? And yet, when prompted, most of us can’t explain why we perform them. We stress their importance, reflecting on these services as some of life’s most cherished moments. Whether weddings, national parades or religious festivals, rituals present a puzzle.

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