Observation Paper Essay Example

In the Sonoma County, the state of California, it is mid-day at the beginning of the summer. The land gets the highest amount of rainfall in this state but also has the longest summer, which makes it prone to fire. The natives create a simple ceremony in the fields at the beginning of every summer. The fields are open, no chairs except one on the podium, which is used by the priest. A table with bottles of water and some glasses is at the center. There are about two hundred people, both whites and African Americans though the whites are the majority. The demographic composition is female of the middle age. Present males are mostly elderly; there are a small number of youths.
The congregation is jovial, people form groups and seems to discuss issues together without racial discriminations. In the absolute terms, the whole group is happy and their mood is jovial. The sun and the clear sky add to the beauty of the day making it bright and amplifying the celebratory mood. The laughter and happiness on the faces of the participants is visible from miles.
The ritual is a protective prayer that is offered to the gods to protect their houses and families. Each participant has a branch from his favorite tree. They come together and form a big triangle and the priest stands at the center. They tie the branches together into a simple charm, a triangle bound by a circle. The priest leads the services by calling each member to talk about the tree they choose. They say its importance to them, what significance it has to them and what they love about it.
There are norms that are strictly followed. Nobody is allowed to speak without the priest permission and before one starts talking, they have to bow before the priest and the priest says a purification prayer. Once a person is through with talking about their tree, they shake the priest hand and they are given a half a glass of the holy water. They then shake the hands of a few others in the congregation before resuming their place.
After the ceremony, each hangs the charm near the firehouse and offers prayers for the safety of their land. The charms stay until winter when the rain comes where they remove them, offer prayers of gratitude and cut them into pieces and burn them in their wood stoves to protect their homes. The ritual is special because it came out of particular rhythms and needs for their land and place. It gives them a chance to honor the land and one another.
There was a noticeable difference in bowing before the priest. Women and men of African origin bowed lower than the white men did. Another noticeable difference was the way the upper class shake peoples hand compared to the others. It was amazing to see the people bring a tree branch that they adored to represent a divine sacrifice that will be offered in return for protection.
The ritual was meant to offer protection for the community due to the possibility of fire outbreak, which could be caused, by the combination of wet winter and bone-dry summers. Through the group observation, I understood the culture behind the ritual. It was not only meant to please the gods but also to bring the people together in a traditional practice that has been there over the years.
The major problem encountered in the exercise was the lack of immediate interpretation of what the various activities meant. To understand the ritual completely, I had to seek clarity from the participants’ after the ritual. This was time consuming and expensive than I had earlier estimated.