Ritos

Ritos are ceremonial actions performed according to established conventions to convey meaning, authorize roles, or transform participants. In Spanish and Portuguese, the word 'ritos' is the plural of 'rito' and translates to 'rites' or 'rituals.' The concept derives from Latin ritus, meaning customary practice, and appears in many cultures as a way to structure social life.

Rites typically combine a formal script of actions, symbolic objects, and specified participants at a designated time and place. They may be religious, secular, or blended, and they often involve performance, repetition, and community participation. Through rites, groups mark transitions (birth or adolescence, marriage, death), celebrate milestones (harvests, national holidays), and reaffirm shared beliefs, values, and identities.

Anthropologists have developed frameworks to study rites. Arnold van Gennep described rites of passage as three phases: separation, limen (threshold), and aggregation. Victor Turner emphasized the emotional and symbolic energy of ritual, including the idea of communitas. Other scholars highlight ritual function in solidarity, social control, and meaning-making.

Ritos vary widely but share core features: a defined sequence of actions, shared meanings, and communal participation. Common examples include religious sacraments such as baptisms or weddings, funerary rites, initiation ceremonies, and rites of passage like quinceañeras. Secular equivalents include graduations, oaths of office, and national or sports ceremonies.

See also: ceremony, ritual, rite of passage, initiation, sacrament, secular ceremony.