First International Conference of the SIEF Working Group on the Ritual Year : Proceedings

Abstract

The Proceedings of the First Ritual Year International conference on ethnology and folklore, the first ever to be held in Malta, is the fruit of the joint work by the SIEF Working Group on the Ritual Year, a project under the presidency of the inspiring Dr Emily Lyle. Through the efforts of all the members of the group, namely Dr Terry Gunnell, University of Iceland, Dr Aude Le Borgne, University of Edinburgh, Dr Patricia Lysaght, University College Dublin, Dr Irina Sedakova, University of Moscow, and myself, we have put in practice the original proposal presented to the 2004 SIEF General Meeting in Marseille, thus 'responding to the challenges and opportunities of the new technology ... and begin to mesh together the approaches and materials from all over Europe .. .'Our group, as recommended, is serving 'as a most valuable forum for discussion.' (First International Conference of the SIEF Working Group on the Ritual Year, Abstracts, 2005: 8, 9). The organization of the Malta Conference and this publication and are undoubtedly our greatest achievement and through the support of this group. As Convener of the conference and editor of this publication I've done my best to build the first bridges by discussing our common ritual year cultural heritage. The local organizing committee has worked hard to make the conference a success. Each of us ensured that the participants from the twenty five different countries in Europe and beyond felt at home in Malta. Their appreciative comments on the conference and Malta show they have returned home culturally enriched. It is not the task of this preface to sum up the contents of the many papers, which are to be found in the booklet of Abstracts published in 2005. However, a look at the various papers included in these Proceedings of this First International Ritual Year Conference reveals the wide spectrum of multiple dimensions of the phenomenon of ritual to be discussed. The volume is divided into two: 'Rituals in Malta' and 'Rituals in Europe and Elsewhere'. One finds various issues, styles and degrees of religiosity, genres of ritual practice, as well as fluidity, vitality and rationality. Local perspectives and complexities, reflecting the time and place in which they have come into existence, become inextricably locked within their cultural particularity and immediate world, and/or adapt themselves to the needs, self-expression, ideals, and innovations of the community/ies in question. Let us hope that this volume will stimulate further reflection on the Ritual Year.