| Abstract: | Great rituals of conflict—annual celebrations containing episodes of threat, insult, or contention—are widely, though sporadically, distributed worldwide. To account for their incidence, propositions derived from Gluckman's analysis of Southeast African rituals of rebellion are tested crossculturally. Results indicate annual rituals of conflict occur disproportionately among societies situated in environments prone to seasonal hunger and possessing political systems strongly inclined to favor communal over individual decision making. Analysis suggests that such rites originate in a spontaneous reaction to sudden, drastic uptakes of food energy. Further substantive findings bearing on mode and amplitude of collective enactments, combined with theoretical understandings of ritualization, lead to conclusions regarding subsequent cultural development. |
