Cognitive architectures of ritual lamentation: analyzing zorile songs using image schemas

Abstract

The current study analyzes the process by which individuals psychologically, socially, and culturally process the phenomenon of death through the analysis of the ritualistic “Songs of Dawn” (Zorile). In this research, the focus was on Image Schemas, cognitive and social processing, and the interactions of elements from Terror Management Theory (mortality salience, self-esteem, and cultural worldviews). The research encompassed four variants of the “Outdoor Dawn Songs” (Zorile de afară) present in the work Cântecul zorilor și bradului (Kahane & Georgescu-Stănculeanu, 1988), collected between 1934 and 1950, utilizing a Corpus Linguistics methodology in RStudio. In the analysis, the schemas CONTAINMENT, PATH, FORCE, VERTICALITY, BALANCE, and CENTER-PERIPHERY were identified and quantified, as were the dimensions of TMT and social relations. The results revealed a predominance of the CONTAINMENT schema (M = 5.75, SD = 2.22), denoting a constant preoccupation with the existential space of the deceased. The analysis of social relations revealed the dominance of the Family category (52.94%) compared to the Spiritual dimension (17.65%). A non-uniform distribution of the schemas was also observed (χ² = 36.2, p < .001), as well as a decrease in scores after 1939, possibly influenced by the socio-historical context of the onset of World War II. Cognitive processes highlighted the predominance of causality (35.14%), thus indicating a focus on understanding and rationalizing death within the traditional community. The present study contributes to understanding how traditional communities process and integrate the experience of death through ritualistic practices, emphasizing the importance of the cognitive and social dimensions in managing grief through the development of a collective imaginary.