Ritual, Sanctity, and Cybernetics¹

The role of the sacred in human communication and in the regulation of social and ecological systems is approached through ritual. After a brief review of salient features of Maring ethnography, formal characteristics of rituals making them suitable for communication and regulation functions are examined. From this discussion a concept of sanctity relating it to a problem inherent in symbolic communication is derived. The non‐discussiue basis of sanctity is then considered and the role of the sacred in the cybernetics of social and ecological systems is then discussed. Next it is suggested that the relationship between sanctity and authority changes with technological development. Finally, some tentative suggestions concerning the origins of the sacred are advanced.