Final answer:
Rites of affliction are healing and remedial rituals in response to individual suffering, distinct from rites of intensification, which strengthen community bonds, and rites of passage, which mark life transitions. Examples include shamanic practices, divination, and the Christian laying on of hands for healing.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rites of affliction are a type of ritual commonly found in many cultures and religious practices that seek remedy or compensation for various kinds of suffering. These rites are typically non-calendrical and unplanned, occurring in response to particular events of distress. They can encompass a wide range of practices, from healing rituals and petitions for supernatural intervention to more specific acts like exorcism, divination, and even the use of witchcraft or sorcery to address the source of the affliction. The purpose is often to plead for help and control over life-threatening or disruptive events.
In contrast to rites of affliction, a rite of intensification is performed to unify, affirm, and strengthen community bonds. This type of ritual is more stable, repetitive, and often part of a religious calendar, such as the Islamic practice of salat. Additionally, rites of passage are ceremonies marking a significant change in an individual's life, like the transition to adulthood. Arnold van Gennep, an anthropologist, identified three stages of these rites: separation, transition, and incorporation.
In some traditions, such as among the Iroquois in eastern North America, afflictions such as disease were viewed as actions by hostile forces, leading to 'mourning wars' where captives may be taken and either adopted or sacrificed in response to the losses caused by illness.
In the Christian tradition, an example of a rite of affliction is the 'laying on of hands', which is believed to convey healing and the Holy Spirit to those afflicted by physical or mental distress. Through this ritual, the religious community offers its support, illustrating a powerful collective response to individual suffering.