Ritual plays an important role in defining Equalitiva as a region with a unique culture, differentiating them from their neighbors who do not belong to the community. All of the rituals in use within Equalitarian society serve to maintain the structure of the region’s culture, and each plays a specific role in supporting that structure.
The Harvest Ritual and the offering of agricultural sacrifices to the five founders and the Higher Power maintain the economic structure above all else, but the ritual also works as a way to maintain the community structure, as well as the religious structure. This is truly a multi-purpose ritual.
The ritual must be performed each year in order to secure abundance and prosperity in the coming year’s crops, and failing to produce quality crops worthy of sacrifice to the Higher Power is seen as a failing on the people’s part, necessitating sanctions from above. Because of this mindset, the people are driven to work diligently and pay special attention to their crops throughout the year, keeping the economy in full swing because of the motivated labor force and productive yield.
The ritual’s emphasis on the whole region coming together to sacrifice serves to maintain the community structure, because without every person participating and buying in to the ritual, the community’s importance could drop and push Equalitiva towards a more independent mindset. The emphasis on the Higher Power as the source of all blessings and the idea that a good harvest is a “gift” of thanks for the people’s work maintains the religious structure, because this idea keeps the region centered on religion as a means of economic productivity.
The Council Change ritual maintains the idea of a uniquely Equalitarian government structure run by the people, where no person is granted power above any other except through the ritual, and outgoing delegates are ritually stripped of that power and returned to their former state as regular citizens through the Council Change. Without this ritual, it would be easier for independent-minded citizens to try to wield influence over others due to their former position of power, but because they are publicly stripped of office and returned to their communities as equals, the structure makes it difficult for anyone to try to lord their former position over their neighbors.
The Star of the Valley ritual maintains the community structure, and is one of the biggest ritual events of the year in Equalitiva. Everyone comes together at the “heart” of the region to work towards the common goal of raising the star, and all contribute as best they can to the effort. This is a chance for the various communities to come together in a show of unity despite their geographic differences, and the close bonds formed through their effort force the people to develop relationships beyond their neighborhoods and valley communities – the ritual occurs yearly, which means regional bonds are renewed over and over again.
Finally, the Meditation on the Five Values ritual serves to maintain Equalitarian religion and spiritual values by presenting the people with a regularly scheduled opportunity to gather together and reflect on their common beliefs. If these rites were not performed, there would be a much greater chance that some members of society would break away from the core values, but by making the show of commitment to their religious structure a public act, conformity becomes the norm and the people are united through their shared faith. This keeps the religious structure alive and well over time and discourages upstarts from trying to supplant the dominant faith with another form of spiritualism.
Rituals also work as a form of perpetuation, allowing the culture as a whole to continue through expressions of shared values and traditions. For example, the Fifth Year Blessing includes ritual activity that indoctrinates young people into the idea of what it means to be an Equalitarian, and perpetuates the shared values of the region by teaching them to the next generation. Another example of perpetuation would be the ritual activity performed at Regional Socials, which keep the area united and serves to perpetuate the idea of marriage and kinship within the region, so young people don’t go looking for mates outside of Equalitiva.
Rituals also reflect the ideological norms and values shared by Equalitarians. The idea of communal effort is present in every major ritual throughout the region, reinforcing the Equalitarian value places on community above self.
The Star of the Valley ritual is a prime example of this value, as the entire ritual centers around a group effort to achieve a mutual goal. Without widespread communal participation, the ritual would die out. The people come together each year in agreement that communalism and commitment to the region as a whole is highly desirable for the good of the people themselves.
While all the rituals focus on the value of a strong work ethic to a degree, the Harvest ritual serves as a good example of this value expressed through ritual – agricultural abundance and prosperity are viewed as the norm, and in order to maintain that norm, everyone must contribute to the labor force, valuing hard work and dedication to the task as a shared and desired attribute.
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