Mistakes, Procedural Errors And Incorrect Performances

Chapter Summary

It seems that in ritual something always can go wrong, but this does not mean that a slip necessarily matters. This chapter talks about the six contributions, which gives evidence of a wide range of possible deviations, errors, flaws, slips and mistakes, but also of the diversity of perspectives and modes of evaluation. It clearly document that rituals are always evaluated, assessed and interpreted, although the investigated traditions and the perspectives of the five authors could hardly be more different. Five authors are: Claus Ambos; Jan Weinhold; Burckhard Dücker; Jan A.M. Snoek; and Axel Michaels. These six contributions reveal that deviations are constitutive features of ritual, and that dealing with such deviations is therefore an integral part of most ritual traditions: these methods can be interpreted as 'incorporation of risks', serving as means to avert the dangers arising from improper ritual performances.

Keywords: Axel Michaels; Burckhard Dücker; Claus Ambos; Jan A.M. Snoek; Jan Weinhold; ritual tradition