WOMEN’S HEALING RITUALS

SOME THOUGHTS ON RITUALIZING - Rituals are born out of necessity... And the people who know best that life is difficult are the ones most likely to cleave to ritual and make it work for them. -A ritual must fulfill a communal need as well as a personal one. - Through ritual we create structures that provide an element of predictability and therefore safety around times of insecurity, transition and loss.

THREE MAJOR TYPES OF RITUAL MYTHIC RITES– acting out or dramatizing sacred stories e.g.– Last supper = Eucharist, The Exodus = Passover CALENDRICAL/TEMPORAL RITES – observing daily, weekly and seasonal changes – e.g. summer/winter solstice, prayers for rain, good crops and so forth, Thanksgiving RITES OF PASSAGE – celebration of transitional moments in a person’s life e.g. birth, puberty, marriage, death.

VICTOR TURNER and ARNOLD VAN GENNEP’S 3 STAGES OF RITUAL - in the broadest sense all ‘rites of passage’ have these three phases according to the above scholars. Separation (preliminal) detachment from the community Transition (liminal) – being on the threshold – neither here nor there – an in between stage Incorporation (postliminal) – re-incorporation

SOME COMMON GOALS INHERENT IN WOMEN’S HEALING RITUALS -personal empowerment -new ritual forms both for the individual and the community often to disrupt oppressive social systems -the need for and acknowledgement of mutual bonding and support

CRITERIA IN WOMEN’S RITUALIZING - according to Charlotte Caron a)Rituals must link the personal and the political b)Rituals must contain elements of healing, change, and transformation c)Rituals must celebrate women’s myths and narratives d)Ritual participants must be clear about the intentions of the rituals being performed e)Rituals must be inherently ‘just’ f)Rituals must have careful and shared preparation with emphasis given to environment, mood, space

WOMEN’S WORDS OF HEALING THE HEALING EXPERIENTIAL CATEGORY OF LITURGY IS OFTEN INCORPORATED INTO RITUALS OF HEALING Healing/experiential = focus on healing of individual with and by the community - includes movement, dance and in some instances touch. -the words of worship (liturgy) may be part of a repeating chant such as in Jewish liturgist Hana Tiferet Seigel’s “EL NA R’FA NA LA – GOD PLEASE HEAL HER NOW” -Prayers such as Debbie Friedman’s MISHEBERACH blessing: “Bless those in need of healing with ‘refuah shelayma’ (a full healing) – the renewal of body, the renewal of spirit and let us say Amen.”

WOMEN’S ALTARS – THE SACRED -note the teddy bear! Emphasis on women’s crafts and the ‘ordinary’ in women’s altars are elements of women’s healing rituals.

WITH APOLOGIES TO TINA TURNER BUT WHAT’S BELIEF GOT TO DO WITH IT? WOMEN’S HEALING RITUALS

HEALING RITUALS ARE WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF BEHAVIOURAL& TRANSPERSONAL MEDICINE -The key ingredient is the mind, the awesome power of the imagination. -In the context of Judaism and Christianity women invoke the name of the feminine aspect of the Divine (Shekinah, Sophia, Inanna, Mary) understanding her to be the means or conduit for healing and regenerating the ‘soul.’ -the constant factor in all healing... is trust that the ritual will work for its intended purpose

IDENTIFYING THE 3 STAGES OF A RITUAL IN ‘FRUITS OF CREATION’ First bowl of water for personal cleansing = separation stage, preliminal Second bowl of sand and then water = transitional stage, liminal Third bowl filled with gifts = final stage reincorporation, postliminal NOTE: non-hierarchical, whole community support, circular and shared.

WOMEN HEALERS PART OF OUR HERITAGE AND OUR HERSTORY AFRICA ANDES