INTERPRETIVE RESTRAINT AND RITUAL TRADITION

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Abstract
Interpretive restraint is the purposeful withholding of symbolic meaning for traditional ritual performance. Within a multicultural urban community, interpretive restraint often is an essential precondition for promoting cooperative action from community segments who otherwise would be alienated. The annual Bok Kai Festival at Marysville, California, was begun by Chinese immigrants over a century ago. By 1990, the multicultural community participated and sustained these orthodox Chinese folk religious rituals, which were publicly presented as historic civic festival activities. The article argues that because of an effective interpretive restraint on the traditional religious symbolism, this diverse urban community, Chinese and non-Chinese alike, can celebrate harmoniously together in this local tradition.

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