Sept. 11 Memorials Provide Traditional Framework For Collective Grief

In a culture that embraces the psychotherapeutic approach to resolving problems, memorial rituals such as those planned to mark the first anniversary of Sept. 11 provide a traditional avenue for people to collectively express and experience grief, says Duke cultural anthropology professor Katherine Pratt Ewing.

Americans often see the "talk-it-out" approach as the key to resolving emotional distress, but rituals also allow people to handle grief, says Ewing, the author of "Arguing Sainthood: Modernity, Psychoanalysis and Islam" (Duke Press, 1997).

"One of the things that ritual does is give otherwise formless grief an outlet and also some closure," she says. "It's OK to be devastated within this framework, but then you put yourself back together and live the rest of you life, go on with your everyday activities."

Memorial rituals, which take different forms in various cultures, can serve many functions -- psychological, social and even political, says Ewing, who specializes in psychological anthropology.

For individuals, a public memorial can help assuage renewed feelings of despair; for society as a whole, it's a way to bring people together; and for governments it can be a way to legitimize political power, she says.

"Ritual is a way of bringing social groups together," she says. "People then have more support and have a community at a time when they feel most isolated."

Ewing can be reached for additional comment at (919) 684-5170 or by email at ewing@socsci.duke.edu.