Chapter 3.4: Ceremony and Society

People across the world engage in a wide range of ceremonial rites and spectacles. Some of these are religious, others political or social.

Through these practices and the arts that accompany them—costumes, masks, vessels, ancestor figurines, altarpieces, staffs, and other objects and images—people across cultures define identity, build community, express belief, negotiate power, and attend to the physical and spiritual well-being of both individuals and societies.

Watch the video, Ceremony and Society (27 minutes). To see more art with this theme scroll down to the Sections topic, located under the video, and click on any of the links.