4700 years ago, tea culture was born in China. For thousands of years, drinking tea has become one of the popular part of the daily life in many places around the world. Tea culture is no longer limited to the tea itself, it is also reflected in the way people drinking tea, in other words, tea ceremony. But fast-paced life has forced people to simplify the seemingly unnecessary process in their lives. The invention of the teabag replaced the complicated tea ceremony, but at the same time, the story and meaning behind drinking tea disappeared. In addition, in today's globalization, no matter where we are in the world, we always can see the spreading of culture. We can buy everything imported from other countries in the world. However, culture exists not only in people's creations but also in people's behaviors. More and more people are beginning to pay attention to the cultural significance behind the items. People began to try to experience another culture by doing rather than owning objects. So I started this project with the idea of critical design and slow design aiming to improve people's awareness of slowing down their lives through the spread of complex tea ceremony cultures. At the same time, the user experience and emotional design are also used as my guidance to stimulate people’s senses, which goes beyond reading to offer the opportunity to perform the tea rituals.

The question addressed by this study would be to ask where there is any semantic overlap in the way in which on the one hand child sacrifices functioned in the OT and on the other hand how muti rituals function in contemporary South Africa. Do these different rituals function similarly, or not? In answering this question, this study will first provide a literature overview of how muti murders are described in academic literature and show the complexities of trying to understand African religion and culture. This is achieved by looking at the concept of muti rituals, its meaning, targeted victims (who are usually women and children) and development in history, from sacrifice in war times to sacrifice for material gain. In this section works from cultural anthropology are used to help form a clearer picture of what muti rituals are and how they function within society. The study then moves to how the practice of child sacrifice is portrayed in texts such as Genesis 22:1-19 (the binding of Isaac) and Judges 11:29-40 (Jephthah’s vow). Although many scholars chose to separate the sacrifices of Genesis 22 and Judges 11, this study will show that they should be read together since they share the common theme of burnt-offering. In the comparison it will become clear that both Abraham and Jephthah are fathers of an only child; their child is the single most precious thing they possess. Moreover, both accounts are of an etiological nature. The fact that both narratives are in the canon should be seen as an indication of the important contribution that they make to the theme of sacrifice. In a more general chapter, the concepts of sacrifice and offering are outlined and are both acknowledged as a form of worship. This is followed by an overview of the different types of sacrifices as outlined in the Levitical literature and their different occurrences, focusing on the burnt-offering. Rituals are therefore understood as a communicating and clarifying social reality and establishing it. These patterns are understood with the use of a Mesopotamian inscription about “The death of Gilgamesh” which shows that warfare and killing were necessary to maintain and establish order, prosperity and peace. A comparison between muti rituals and child sacrifice yields more differences than similarities. One of the major similarities is that a blessing is bestowed on the offerer, be it success in business, victory in war or the acquisition of land. The motif of sacrificing one for the greater good seems to be at play. The main difference between muti rituals and child sacrifice is that in muti rituals, the sacrifice is dedicated to ancestors while in child sacrifice they are dedicated to Yahweh. In muti rituals, the victim does not need to be related to the offerer but in both these texts; the victim is the only child, a special possession of the father. / Dissertation (MTh)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / NRF-Freestanding / Old Testament Studies / MTh / Unrestricted

MAAS ( Xitsonga) / Ehansi ka Senthara ya M.E. R. Mathivha ya Tindzimi ta Afrika, Vutshila na Ndhavuko / This study is an investigation of Shangani rituals in the Shangaan communities with specific reference to N’wanedzi and Chiredzi District in Zimbabwe. The study analyses the relevance of Shangaan rituals and how they can be performed and preserved. Rituals are cultural or religious ceremonies performed according to the prescribed social rules and customs. Rituals of various kinds are a feature of almost all known human societies but each community has specific rituals that can be prescribed by the tradition of that community. These rituals are critical to individual and community development. The study also examined the extent to which the Shangaan rituals have disappeared and how the socio-economic lives of the Shangaan communities have been affected. The study also highlighted what best can be done to promote rituals, the attitudes of the Shangaan people towards rituals and importance of reviving them. The study is qualitative in nature henceforth the researcher will employ qualitative approach to collect data. The research technique to be used will be interviews and observations. Although the essence of the study will be generalised to the whole of Shangaan speakers, the field will be delimited to N’wanedzi District in Zimbabwe. Data will be analysed using thematic qualitative method. Through this method of analysing data, a number of themes will be identified conveying the findings and making an interpretation of the meaning of the data. Chapter I focuses on the background, research problem, rationale of the study, aims and objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, theory of the study, definition of terms which were mostly used in the research, and methods of analyising data. Chapter 2 deals with literature review whereby the researcher will explore work done by other scholars related to rituals .Research to be reviewed includes dissertations, thesis books and articles that have addressed issues like the importance of rituals in society. Chapter 3 deals with research methodology and data analysis. Research methodology is the plan for selecting subjects and data collection procedures to answer a research question. The study shall employ two data collection techniques namely interviews and observations. vii Chapter 4 is an analysis of Shangaan rituals, death rituals that is the announcement of death, the burial of chiefs, family head and kids, the unveiling of the tombstone, appeasing of family and national spirits and the reasons for their disappearance among the Shangaan. Chapter 5 is an analysis of Shangaan rituals like the rainmaking ceremony, Christian’s participation in praying for rain, the first fruit festival, male circumcision and girls initiation rites. The chapter also focuses on the attitudes of the Shangaans towards rituals and the importance of reviving them. Chapter 6 provides an overview of entire the study, research findings, conclusions and recommendations.

Thesis (M. A.) -- University of Limpopo, 2005 / Refer to document

South African people love sport. In a context where sport events like the Soccer World Cup or a Super 15 rugby match can draw crowds of up to 95 000 people, we cannot ignore the importance of sport. In contrast to the popularity of sport events and the huge crowds they manage to attract, most churches struggle to get 500 people to church on a Sunday morning.This situation raises two questions, namely: “What draw people to sport?” and “Can theology and Liturgical Studies in particular, learn something from sport?”<p< In order to pursue these and similar questions I used a practical theological model to guide me in my observation of the South African context. I’ve chosen the practical theologian RR Osmer’s model to work with. He works with the four tasks of Practical Theology and suggests four questions to guide a researcher or minister in their interpretation and response to situations. Answering each of these questions is the focus of the four core tasks of practical theological interpretation. The first question is: “What is going on?” Gathering information that helps us discern patterns and dynamics in particular episodes, situations, or contexts is the descriptive-empirical task of practical theological interpretation. I gathered information since the Soccer World Cup in South Africa in 2010. I identified ten moments in our sport contexts that will be looked at more closely within the framework of Osmer’s model. The ten moments are: <ul> <li>the need to predict the future</li><li> rituals</li> <li>physical contact</li> <li>tribal and together</li> <li>symbols</li> <li>tole models</li> <li>performance</li> <li>the meeting space</li> <li>Godly role</li> <li>defying death</li> </ul> The second question is: “Why is this going on?” Here we try to make sense of what we’ve found. What theories might help us to better understand and explain the patterns and dynamics we’ve begun to discover? These are the key questions of the interpretive task of practical theological interpretation. Here I’ve used theories from the arts and sciences to better understand and explain why the ten moments I identified in sport are occurring. The third question is: “What ought to be going on?” This is the normative task of practical theological interpretation. Here theological concepts are used to interpret particular episodes, situations, contexts or in this study, the ten moments. The aim of this task is to construct ethical norms to guide our responses, and to learn from “good practice”. The fourth question is: “How might we respond?” This is the pragmatic task of practical theological interpretation. The aim is to determine strategies of action that will influence situations in ways that are desirable. Here I looked into the possibility of the liturgical inculturation of the ten moments. In conclusion suggestions for the liturgical praxis were made./ Copyright / Dissertation (MDiv)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

This study explore the existence of a possible relationship between participation in corporate rituals and the employee commitment to the company. This case study examines the “Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP)”. Questionnaires where designed using Microsoft Forms. A convenience sampling of 379 employees participated in this study. As revealed in the findings, there is no relationship between the employee commitment and the number of rituals in which he participates. Millennial collaborators mostly participate in only 1 to 2 rituals within the company with 27% and 31% respectively; being the Halloween contest the ritual that has the highest ratio of millennials who do not participate.

Magister Artium - MA / Death is an everyday occurrence for many urban Africans living in South Africa, and it is expressed through the everyday management of financial and social networks. The purpose of this study is to investigate what happens to African migrants, particularly the Ngemba people of Cameroon living in Cape Town when they die “away from home”. In this study, I will be exploring the steps followed, the rites that are performed, perceptions regarding death and funerals, as well as the social implications that death has for the group members concerned, and the various challenges faced when someone dies ‘away from home’. In other to achieve all this, I used a qualitative research design in which in-depth interviews and participant observation were administered to sixteen (16) participants.

The purpose of this study was to examine the types of connection rituals and negotiation patterns that newlywed couples use in their marriage. Past research has shown that rituals can have a positive effect on marital satisfaction . Five research questions guided the study: (1) Who initiates rituals and the frequency in which the rituals are performed? What process does the couple go through to negotiate them? (2) What percentage of rituals do newlywed couples take from their family of origin? (3) Are women the "kin keepers" in their fami ly/relationship? (4) Are there certain factors newlyweds take into consideration when negotiating? and (5) Are there some rituals more important to marital satisfaction? The research questions were tested with data from twenty newlywed couples who completed a survey designed specifically for this study. Results found that women initiate rituals more frequently in newlywed couples, verbal communication was the highest reported process couples go through to negotiate, family of origin practices are more often taken from the wife's family, and there are connection rituals both for husbands and wives that aid to their marital sati satisfaction. Implications and suggestions for future research are also presented.

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Amituofo recitation is the chanting of the phrase "namo Amituofo , which is a rite commonly used among Buddhists for the attainment of merit. However, the attained merits would be nullified if the initiate gets pregnant after she has done Jiezhu. This has much to do with taboos related to female sexuality. Women always have a marginalized status as the supposedly "weaker" gender having a lower social position. The association of female bodily discharges with defilement further discredits their status. Jiezhu in effect reinforces the idea of "defilement" attributed to the female body. The shame that the women feel with the male-defined negative female bodily image affirms the patriarchal hegemony. / Based on historical, textual and field studies, this thesis examines a women-oriented initiation rite called Jiezhu. Jiezhu, a once-in-a-lifetime rite of passage, is performed by menopausal women in Ninghua, Western Fujian, China. / However, ritualistic acts provide therapeutic healing. The Jiezhu woman has to go through a stage in which she has to handle the change of her role and identity as a life-giver (mothering) with the end of her procreative cycle. The ritual provides both private and public meanings to the woman and helps her relieve the physical and mental difficulties that she faces in her menopausal stage. / It is believed in the villages of Ninghua that when a woman reaches her menopausal age, she has to do Jiezhu, without which, her Amituofo recitation (nianfo) would not be efficacious. In other words, Jiezhu, as a pre-requisite for Amituofo recitation, is at the same time a purification rite. / Jiezhu appropriates the woman into a new phase of being by first providing private meanings to her. Ritualistic acts can bridge memory and imagination. The ritual program allows the woman to go back and forth the past, the present and the future. Jiezhu dramatically juxtaposes girlhood and mature womanhood, reenacts her wedding and rehearses her future funeral. Death and rebirth symbols abound. In Jiezhu, the woman "witnesses" her own funerary rites to ensure abundant personal possessions are burned for her to receive in the underworld after her death. The woman acquires spiritual strength to ease off from her menopausal stress and to allay the fears of the approach of death. Jiezhu and Amituofo recitation make up a twin tool they use to ensure a more fortunate rebirth. / Second, Jiezhu gives social meanings. The woman is given a new identity. She is now eligible for Amituofo recitation and becomes a member of the nianfo community. As social inferiority can be compensated for by a show of lavishness, Jiezhu as an expensive event creates symbolic capital. Jiezhu has become a symbol of prestige and resources that in part enhances the status of the women. / The women are also able to express their power within the limits of their traditional politics. The woman's contributions as a wife and a mother are valued and celebrated in the Jiezhu ceremony. The youthful, bright and colourful gift items given by the married daughter display a defiant tone against the association of Jiezhu with old age. Jiezhu celebrates an oft-neglected life crisis of women. / To conclude, Jiezhu on the one hand "traditionalizes", and on the other hand, as a strategic mode of action, challenges traditions through religious and social empowerment. Jiezhu preserves the established order but it also facilitates transformation in the initiate. The two dynamics of ritual are not antithetical; they produce and contend with each other. / Cheung, Tak Ching Neky. / "September 2007." / Adviser: Chi Tim Lai. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3178. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 390-406). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.