Ritual, Performance, And The Self
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The socially defined Ðself is made and experienced in social interactions. Every individual perceives their own self differently based on their interactions with other members of society. Social interactions do have some guidance, and it is how well people follow these Ðguidelines that gives insight to self. ÐRitual is used to describe the agreed upon mannerisms that society relies upon for conformity. Performance of these rituals is ultimately what defines the self. For example, when one is walking down the street and they meet with an acquaintance, they have a couple of options: acknowledge the person or avoid eye contact and continue down the street. Each option defines a person in a different way and it teaches them more about who they are. Niels Winther Braroe describes this relationship between self, ritual, and performance in his book Indian and White: Self-Image and interaction in a Canadian Plains Community. He illustrates to his readers his idea of what Ðself is and he relates it to his experiences with the people of Short Grass. Braroes writes Indian and White in an attempt to explain “how people respond in their daily lives to the perceived facts of their social existence” (Braroe 8). In particular, Braroe is explaining how Indians adapt to certain situations while society is judging then and defining them as ÐIndians. He confirms the fact that ritual and performance are what helps to create self; they are creating social experience.
People do not like to be judged, so they take every precaution, when first engaging in conversation with a stranger, to avoid judgment. In conversation “our behavior is under scrutiny” and our “performances are judged by standards or rules governing the minute as well as the gross effects of that behavior” (Braroe 92). Indians are constantly faced with being judged by Whites, so they have learned to avoid social interaction so that Whites cannot judge them. This is the Ðritual that is learned at a young age, and it effect definitely affects performance in front of white people. This leads to Indians being very uncomfortable in front of Whites, as the following examples exhibit.
In Braroes words, “a self is the outcome of communications in social interactionÐthat expressively and impressively conveys information about the actors social and personal qualities, making it possible for persons to direct their own actions in accordance with their anticipations of one anothers behavior” (Braroe 26). He is saying that when people interact and communicate, they impress on people who they are, and that person can then decide how to act around them. Braroe spent time with the people of Short Grass to try and discover how white peoples actions helped to define their Ðself as an Indian. Many stereotypes are directed towards natives; stereotypes that affect the way they act around white people. In some cases it took prolonged exposure to Braroe and his wife before the people of Short Grass accepted them. Braroe recalled how in his first summer in Short Grass, he “had insurmountable difficulties in talking with women” (Braroe 22); they “would not answer [his] knocks a the door” and “would avoid even avoid eye contact on streets in town” (Braroe 22). The women of Short Grass were simply not used to the presence of a white man, and they performed in the way they felt was expected of them. In the past, the women most likely did not get the attention from white men that Braroe was giving them. They were used to being ignored by these men, so when Braroe gave them attention, they did not know how to Ðperform in his presence. When he returned to Short Grass, the women were more comfortable and a lot friendlier toward him. He found that once they got to know him, they had learned how to act around him and were no longer estranged. It took multiple interactions, but the women eventually came around, just as the rest of the population did when Braroe and his wife attended the Sun Dance.
The Braroe couple did not attend the first Sun Dance while they were in Short Grass and an Indian friend told him that even though they were uninvited, people expected them