Cross Country Anthropology

A human lives their life according to their beliefs and focuses. Many of these focuses and beliefs are reflected in the ritual(s) a human performs. Rituals are very reverent and/or traditional aspects of a participant's being, and may help to guide one to their definition of living. Cross country and marching band provide example to this theory of how strongly rituals are strongly involved with how one lives. Cross country is a sport that is designed for anyone besides the weak- to become a true cross country runner, one must love to purposely endure pain for longer than they think they ever believed they could. Coaches and teammates push and encourage each other to run their fastest and believe in themselves, as well as in their team to be fast. Any group with such a familial bond is bound to participate in ritualistic events together. The Saint Clair Cross Country Team performs a ritualistic event called “The Spit Circle” before every race. Summed up, the team huddles together, motivating one another to be the best runner they can be, not only for …show more content…
The band feels confident as they step onto the turf, tune into their music, and perform the greatest halftime show they can. No one outside the band can directly relate to the work and dedication it took to memorize, perform and believe in the show- most outsiders do not understand what we take away from and desire from our performance. On Wednesday nights, the band gets together to rehearse and motivate each other. A very important ritual to the band is “The Drum Major send off” at the end of every rehearsal. The Drum Majors inspire and motivate the band by offering advice and expressing their gratitude. The importance of rituals that involve gratefulness help make the involved persons feel admired and important. Once enveloped into human lives, rituals like this are meant to inspire and involve everyone in a