“All rituals are paradoxical and dangerous enterprises, the traditional and improvised, the sacred and the secular. Paradoxical because rituals are conspicuously artificial and theatrical, yet designed to suggest the inevitability and absolute truth of their messages. Dangerous because when we are not convinced by a ritual we may become aware of ourselves as having made them up, thence on the paralyzing realization that we have made up all our truths; our ceremonies, our most precious conceptions and convictions - all are mere inventions.”
Quote by Barbara Myerhoff
Author
Barbara Myerhoff
Barbara Myerhoff was an influential American anthropologist known for her research on Jewish communities. Born on February 16, 1935, and passing away on January 7, 1985, Myerhoff's work emphasized participant observation and the development of deep personal relationships with her research subjects. Her contributions to anthropology have had a lasting impact. more
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