Logo - Feel The Words

Ceremonial Quotes

Ritual grace, passed down.

Ceremonial quotes here connect poetry to its most formal roots, describe sacred Muscogee ground tied to the birthplace of jazz, and recall an interview with a 103-year-old Lakota ceremonial chief. Together they treat ceremony as a serious carrier of cultural memory. For more on artistic expression, see our Art quotes.

Coming from a very inarticulate family made me try to speak for those who can't express themselves and created a need for articulation at its most ceremonial - poetry.

Quotes by Tony Harrison

A suit is just a suit: a practical garment, not a ceremonial robe; it can be worn out to dinner with friends or for a visit to an art gallery. Its beauty and craftsmanship are utterly wasted if you think...

Quotes by Russell Smith

The aboriginal women leaders of Papunya - the Papunya Artists - performed a dance for me: the Honey Ant dance. They'd never done it for anyone else. They honoured me with a ceremonial stick that signifies the story of the...

Quotes by Quentin Bryce

Medical knowledge and technical savvy are biodegradable. The sort of medicine that was practiced in Boston or New York or Atlanta fifty years ago would be as strange to a medical student or intern today as the ceremonial dance of...

Quotes by Lewis Thomas

Always Quotes

Most people don't know that Congo Square was originally a Muscogee ceremonial ground... in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz.

Quotes by Joy Harjo

Few people have ever seriously wished to be exclusively rational. The good life which most desire is a life warmed by passions and touched with that ceremonial grace which is impossible without some affectionate loyalty to traditional form and ceremonies.

Quotes by Joseph Wood Krutch

I was interviewing an elder, Chief Fool's Crow, who was the ceremonial chief. He was 103 years old. I was getting his information on the history of Lakota horses. He told me the story of Hidalgo and Frank Hopkins.

Quotes by John Fusco

My father had retained an emotional affection for the ceremonial of his parental home, without allowing it to influence his intellectual freedom.

Quotes by Franz Boas

The exercises of our meeting are to be simple and devoid of all ceremonial and formalism.

Quotes by Felix Adler

Art Quotes

As PM, you have got to do everything from chairing the Cabinet to ceremonial things. You have also got to do the nitty gritty. I do get stuck into the detail.

Quotes by David Cameron

If I had remained in Lhasa, even without the Chinese occupation, I would probably have carried the ceremonial role in some orthodox way.

Dalai Lama

The juke joint, the honky tonk, and the ballroom also represent one more thing, anthropologically speaking: a ceremonial context for the male-with-female-duet dance flirtation and embrace, upon which the zoological survival of the human species has always been predicated.

Quotes by Albert Murray

Frequently Asked Questions

What cultural traditions do ceremonial quotes reference?
They cover several, including a Muscogee ceremonial ground later known as the birthplace of jazz and an interview with a 103-year-old Lakota ceremonial chief. Both point to ceremony as a living link to cultural history.
How is poetry connected to ceremony in these quotes?
One quote describes poetry as articulation at its most ceremonial, framing it as the highest, most deliberate form of expression for people who otherwise struggle to speak up. It elevates poetry to something closer to ritual.
Do ceremonial quotes touch on philosophy as well as tradition?
Yes, one broader quote argues that a good life needs ceremonial grace alongside passion and reason, suggesting ritual has value beyond specific cultural practices. It treats ceremony as essential to a well-lived life.
Are real historical figures or places named in these quotes?
Yes, Congo Square in New Orleans and Chief Fool's Crow of the Lakota are both mentioned directly, grounding the quotes in real cultural history. These references are handled factually and respectfully.
What other topics pair well with ceremonial quotes?
Our Dance quotes explore another ritual art form, while Art quotes cover creative expression more broadly, including poetry's ceremonial side.

Ceremony, in these quotes, is less about spectacle and more about preserving something meaningful across generations. Continue with Beauty and Dance quotes for related cultural themes.