3. Discuss the role of music in ritual, drawing on the video of the Tumbuka healing ceremony and on any other examples from your experience
             Music plays an undeniably powerful role in everything that we do. It also has a powerful effect over rituals and the individual spirit as well. In addition to the effects music has on individuals, it has an important role to play in the functioning of society and has had for many thousands of years. Music is invariably expressed in relation to religion, celebrations and dance. In most religions, but not all, music is used in chanting and hymn singing. It is also involved in the human preoccupation with seeking altered states of consciousness as part of ritual. This can be especially seen in the video that we viewed in class on the Tumbuka healing ceremony. The video was about a healing ceremony and how the beat of the music had the ability to energize spirits. This energizing of spirits through the music was able to awake and drive out the evil spirits in the body. The beat of this music was ever so constant, like that of a heartbeat, which had the ability to create !
             stability and also create a bond of trust among spirits. For the Tumbuka people, traditional medical practices are saturated with music. Music is the energizer that is able to transform the bodily and social functioning of the individual. The sound of the drum, the clapping of the choir, call-and-response singing, and the jangle of tin belts and iron anklets do not simply accompany other more important ritual activities--they are the very substance of a sacred clinical reality and can place the patient in an altered state of consciousness. Music has also played a huge part in rituals that I partake in. For example, in my final paper I wrote about the music and dancing of the Giglio. As I expressed in the paper, there is one song, O'Giglio e Paradiso that is played. This song is not simply just music that is p...