Ritual and Symbol in Peacebuilding (review)

Book Review Lisa Schirch. Ritual and Symbol in Peacebuilding. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2005. Pp. 224, paper. $25.95 US. Reviewed by Janine Minkler, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff A dancer stands before the Nazi gas chambers; in a moment of poised defiance, she glides up to the guard, seizes his gun, and shoots him. Lisa Schirch opens Ritual and Symbol in Peacebuilding with this story, dramatically illustrating one of her key points: through the act of ‘‘doing,’’ the doing becomes reality. ‘‘The dancer acts as if she is alive and powerful,’’ Schirch writes, ‘‘and through dancing, she becomes alive and powerful’’ (3). Traditional peacebuilding1 approaches tend to deal with issues directly, linearly, and rationally and, ironically, to reproduce adversarial space by placing conflicting parties in opposition to each other across the negotiating table. Schirch proposes that those working to resolve conflict should instead consider facilitating ‘‘peacebuilding dramas’’—ritual and symbolic acts that engage the senses, passions, and emotions to create a ‘‘unique social space’’ that includes cooperative images and activities. Schirch, associate professor of peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, draws on her work with three different communities to examine how rituals work to erode rigid social structures. In her work with First Nations peoples in the province of Ontario, Schirch has observed how the power of silence operates in ways that cannot be conveyed through verbal communication, the primary medium of conventional conflict resolution. The activities involved in smudging ceremonies (purification ceremonies during which varieties of sage are burned to drive our harmful influences) work to create a sacred space distinguished from everyday conflict and struggles. Schirch also describes how women’s spirituality groups use ritual to resist oppressive patriarchal structures and create new possibilities and opportunities for positive social change. Through both improvised and formalized rituals, women’s spirituality groups seek to create new perceptions and experiences. Finally, Schirch documents her observations of peacebuilding activities among Turkish and Greek Cypriots, who have been in conflict since 1974. A group of Greek and Turkish Cypriots was brought together for the first time in the 1990s for training in conflict resolution. At an informal dinner, they had an opportunity to view each other as more than their ethnic identities—as parents, teachers, victims of war, men, women, and so forth. ‘‘Eating and dancing take on new meanings when they are done in the company of enemies,’’ Schirch explains (5). Such informal ritual space is critical to creating opportunities for peacebuilding. ‘‘In ritual,’’ writes Schirch, ‘‘the impossible and unlikely can come true as people create a unique context where, if only temporarily, symbols, sensory cues, and the expression of emotion communicate what words alone cannot’’ (86). Schirch has not limited her examination of the use of symbols and rituals in peacebuilding to one body of knowledge. She draws on the work of sociologists such as Émile Durkheim to examine how symbols function to externalize collective sentiments while concurrently drawing on contemporary biology to examine how rituals and Janine Minkler, review of Ritual and Symbol in Peacebuilding by Lisa Schirch. Genocide Studies and Prevention 2, 2 (August 2007): 195–198. ß 2007 Genocide Studies and Prevention. doi: 10.3138/gsp/008 symbols alter consciousness and reorganize cognitive systems. She offers a comprehensive justification for the use of ritual in peacebuilding, carefully analyzing how rituals transform space, worldviews, identities, and relationships. Schirch’s extensive justification of the use of ritual and symbol is an important contribution to the literature in mediation and peacebuilding. Many key texts2 focus on the continued use of language to address conflict but overlook the more subtle and ‘‘messy dimension of conflict’’ (38) that symbols and rituals access. As Schirch explains, ‘‘Symbolic acts can penetrate the impenetrable, overwhelm the defensive, and convey complex messages without saying a single word’’ (4). Rituals help people make sense of the world, especially during periods of transition, when the symbols of the old social structures no longer adequately express collective sentiments. By engaging the emotions and senses, rituals ultimately have the power to transform the way we experience the world. Furthermore, Schirch maintains that ‘‘ritual does not solve problems by negotiating the best solution, but by creating a...