Ritual Process

In the institutions within Spine-Chilling Village there are several rituals performed. One of these rituals would be marriage practices. When the decision comes for a monster couple to become married they must inform the village and pray to their creator, Dr. Frankenstein, for acceptance of their marriage. Following acceptance, everyone in the village does their part to plan for the wedding or participate in some type of wedding activity. The Creation Station is located in the center of the village. This is where the first monster was created, therefore it is considered a sacred place and all weddings and births are performed here. During the ceremony the bride and groom both wear green, showing that they have an environmentally pure state of mind. Becoming a married monster couple is important within the village because it bonds both the couple and the village together as one, by reminding them they have to work together and support one another to move along in life.

          Caring for their environment is important for the Monstarians. Every other month the Monstarians enter into an environmental week, called Freak Week. During this week they pray and care for the environment in order to keep themselves in a better frame of mind. Each day is assigned for a specific ritual activity. Day 1: spiritual reflection to remind themselves what the environment does for them. Day 2: Plant and tend to trees and bushes. Day 3: Water cleanup/purification. Day 4: Praying for guidance. Day 5: Care for wildlife, including tending to injured animals, feeding, and creating/tending to homes. Day 6: Tend to and pick crops or livestock to prepare for celebration on day 7. Day 7: Environmental celebration. On this 7^th day the village comes together and feasts on the crops they have planted for the hexacyle (2 month cycle=6 per year).  They celebrate the achievements they have completed during this 2 month cycle.

Screeching is a ritual performed within the village’s religion, Creaturism. This ritual allows children and newcomers to the village to become accepted into Creaturism. The children must be 10 years or older and go through specific levels of education. Newcomers to the village must be accepted into Creaturism before they are able to participate in the village environmental and educational events. During this process the villagers lead them to Dr. Frankenstein’s death location, Acceptant River, at the edge of the village. The initiator emerges itself into the water and begins to bathe in it. Bathing in the sacred water shows your internal purity to the village and environment. Depending on your level of purity will depend on whether Dr. Frankenstein feels the need to accept you or not. This ritual brings new people into the religion and shows how much they have to contribute to the village. Once you have been accepted you must contribute to the village as much as another Monstarian does.

Every Monstarian must be educated in order to become accepted into the village. Education begins at age 8 so they have time to learn their cultural ways before setting out into society. Upon the entrance of Monster High the children participate in an orientation ceremony. This ceremony consists of a celebration for the beginning of their life bath. The ceremony begins 2 days before the 8^th birthday of the child. The reason for this is so the child will be prepared before attending school for challenges which may arise. The children enter the school with their parents. From there, the students are separated and assigned to an upperclassman who will care for them for the next 2 days during their educational preparation. The children are required to pray and ask for guidance through their educational journey. The village brings the children gifts and gives advice which will help them succeed. The children also must learn the history of the school, current school traditions and the significance of it before attending. This history education gives the young monsters an opportunity to see what type of impact their education has had on their village, by looking at how previous monsters have succeeded.

To be accepted into Monstarian society you must be educated. This rite of passage is an important part in a Monstarians life. There are three phases to this process. The first phase is before their 8^th birthday. During the first 8 years of their life, children are considered “the unknown”. They are known by as the prefix of their parent’s names. Once they enter into the liminal stage of education they are seen as children and given a character name. During the liminal stage they go though school and are educated on their particular gender roles and how to perform them. They also learn skills for their profession in which they choose to go into. Throughout all educational training they are also taught the correct ways in which to protect and care for their environment and one another. Upon completion of their education they will now participate in the Monstarian rite of passage ceremony which transitions them into full Monstarianism. The ceremony takes place on the first Friday after graduation and all of the villagers are required to attend. The ceremony begins with the recent graduates dressed in traditional Monstarian garments allowing them to reflect of the first monsters that participated in this ceremony. Upon the completion of the ceremony they shed the garments as a symbol of their readiness to participate into society. Now that they are accepted members of society they have the option to continue further education or to enter into their career path in which they were educated.