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Anthropology Magazine
essay /
Decoded
What Cargo Cult Rituals Reveal About Human Nature
Dimitris Xygalatas
In Melanesia, Indigenous communities developed elaborate rituals to bring themselves material wealth starting in the late 19th century. These practices reveal a profoundly important and universal social technology.
essay /
Phenomenon
Five New Year’s Rituals of Renewal
Dimitris Xygalatas
An anthropologist explores a range of cultural celebrations around the world to mark the new year. Spoiler alert: They don’t all fall on January 1.
essay /
Crisis
Explaining the Emergence of Coronavirus Rituals
Dimitris Xygalatas
An anthropologist illuminates how both old and new rituals can provide a sense of comfort during times of uncertainty.
essay /
Culture Lab
How Rituals of Pain Help Heal
Dimitris Xygalatas
A new study reveals how ceremonies involving physical suffering can be invaluable tools for building resilience and coping skills.
photo-essay /
Field Notes
How Hearts Align in a Muslim Ritual
Dimitris Xygalatas and Christopher Manoharan
An important Sufi ritual brings participants together in a shared experience of trance and movement that actually synchronizes their heartbeats.
essay /
Culture Lab
Are Religious People More Moral?
Dimitris Xygalatas
Cultures around the world share the belief that atheists lack morality. The evidence, however, tells a different story.
photo-essay /
Decoded
The Perennial Power of Ritual
Dimitris Xygalatas
Rituals soothe, excite, and unite people throughout the world. But how exactly do they work, and what makes them so meaningful?
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An editorially independent anthropology magazine of the Wenner-Gren Foundation
& University of Chicago Press
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