Ritual

Ritual is the commemoration of a memorable scene aimed at making the center present.

Origin

After the originary scene and the sparagmos, the members of the community would once again face each other over the remains and mementos of the central object of desire. However, since this would no longer be the same central object the originary sign deferred appropriation of, the sign would be at risk of failing. But once it's recognized that the sign can defer potentially violent situations, and the "new" central object is "similar" enough to invoke the memory of the originary scene, the sign can once again be used successfully at a lowered "threshold of significance." The process of constructing scenes around "similar" central objects commemorate the originary scene in order to issue the sign is known as ritual.

Characteristics

Early rituals aimed at making the "sacred being" appear, and required participation from all the members of the community in issuing the sign. A failure of performance from a participant is known as mistakenness, and might cause the center to refrain from making itself "present" if not corrected. If ritual is successfully performed, the community enters into an imperative exchange with the center; by "honoring" the "sacred being," they hope to be given protection from certain harms (mimetic violence). However, even in successful performance the ritual will sometimes fail (the center fails to fulfill its "promises"), leading to narrative explanations for the failures through myth.