performance of culture

The previous chapter established how the shared performance of culture, particularly in mundane circumstances and often in unconscious ways, provides a sense of belonging for participants. The fact that we are present with others in both the performance and experience of ritual communication – co-presence – provides an insight into how cultures form, are maintained and transformed. As the idea of ritual communication shows, co-presence can exist in all sorts of ways. We can be co-present in dance, in dress, in behavioural codes, and in more subtle ways, such as modes of perception or language use. These are all aspects of ritual performance that provide a sense of belonging. However, studies in ritual communication do not sufficiently examine sound in the constitution of co-presence, which should be differentiated from the ritual aspects of music. Exploring the phenomenal aspects of sound in ritual extends the theory of ritual communication to include co-presence in the recent sensorial turn in cultural studies. This thesis examines co-presence as an effect of sound. It develops this idea and builds on some of the work in sound studies concerned with notions of presence and shared presence. The notion of co-presence assumes that sound precedes and surrounds individual sounders and listeners, an approach that is adopted by contemporary studies of soundscapes. We are always in sound which presumes an environmental response in which we share a presence in sound. Shared presence can be understood in several ways. First is a shared presence in sound or a sonic co-presence. If sound is fundamental to our individual experience, is it fundamental to our shared experience and shared immersion? Furthermore, all sound consists of fundamental sonic elements, such as rhythm, tone, timbre and the like. What would it mean to be co-present in sound elements, not just a general soundscape? Can we be co-present in rhythm or timbre, and what does a sense of place have to do with this? Second, if we as individuals are present or immersed in a soundscape, that soundscape can also be made up of the sounds of others. So, co-presence, in this sense, is being present in the sounds of others and co-present in the sound elements of others. In moments of ritual communication, all participants are present in each other’s performance.

French sound theorist Francois J. Bonnet contrasts being present in communicative sound, such as music, which is communicated from performer to listener, with presence in a decentred sound, such as the sound of a seashore which does not intend to communicate anything but can still be culturally meaningful. Bonnet’s distinction also maps against Carey’s two modes of communication. This thesis aims to locate co-presence, not in the direct transmission of meaning from performer to listener, but in the experiencing of sound that maintains culture through a shared presence. This chapter works through some of the relevant sound studies literature, moving from a more general understanding of being present in sound towards two particulars. The first particular is to show that when we are present in sound, we are also present in sound elements. The focus here will be on rhythm and vibration. The second is to show that this co-presence is collectively performed. Ritual communication is the co-performance of being present in a ritual that stands for certain aspects of the world that are deemed significant, rather than a transmissive dialogue. Culture is maintained by being present in sound with others and in the sound of others.

Ritual communication draws on or is embedded in the processes that unfold during sound immersion and co-presence. Co-presence presence can be understood in several ways. The first is a shared presence in sound. If sound is fundamental to our individual experience, is it fundamental to our shared experience and shared immersion? Furthermore, all sound consists of sonic elements, such as rhythm, tone, timbre and the like. What would it mean to be co-present in sound elements, not just a general soundscape? Can we be co-present in rhythm or timbre? This chapter will focus on the sound elements of rhythm and vibration to make this point. Also, and what does a sense of place have to do with this? As Michelle Duffy notes, ‘we may encounter a sound that triggers access and draws our attention. This is fundamental to understanding the nature of sound, for, as Cox points out, it “renders…not the world of objects and things that are composed” but rather “makes audible the dynamic, differential, discordant flux of becoming”’ Second, if we as individuals are present or immersed in a soundscape, that soundscape can also be made up of the sounds of others. So, co-presence, in this sense, is being present in the sounds of others. If this is the case, can we also be co-present in the sound elements of others? In moments of ritual communication, participants are present in each other’s sonic performance. Focussing on rhythm, the chapter will show co-presence manifests in sound elements, specifically in the sound elements of others. Rhythm speaks to the ideas of tempo and periodicity, which are crucial to ritual communication. Ritual communication can be punctuated with rhythms that represent certain aspects of humanity, such as the heartbeat.