“Interesting Ceremony” by Brandon Schall

As I was reading through the Ritual Process I thought the APO Ceremony of the Ashanti was very interesting. It is an eight day ceremony that starts after their New Year on April 18. Their ceremony includes singing, skipping, dancing, Mirth, and Jollity. This holiday is also about expressing how you feel about you and your friends. The purpose of this is to cleanse your soul for the New Year so you can start the year off fresh. I think this could be interesting because the ritual allows you to be honest with one another. Often in our culture we do not want to hurt someone’s feelings by telling them the truth, because it could hurt them. I live in a house with two of my friends and we have it out all the time and tell each other how we feel. However, I know many living situations where people do not say anything and it hurts their relationships. If all cultures were more honest it might help relationships rather than lying to each other.