Quote:
Originally posted by Pi Kapp 142
There was once a study done by a respected scholar on fraternity rituals. I can't remember who did it, but a quick search on google will bring it up. About 20 GLOs voluntarily gave him the ritual handbooks and what not, wiht out revealling any secret meanings or grips, just the handbooks. No one particular fraternity was named, the guy just talked about certain similarities and historicle parts. He devided them up by certain periods. It was quite an interesting study though.
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Actually, it was Bobby McGinn's doctoral dissertation in 1979. He asked 67 fraternities to allow him to study their rituals, with the promise that his dissertation would keep all rituals confidential and would be worded in such a way as to avoid identification of any particular ritual with any specific fraternity. 22 fraternities honored his request. Somewhere on the web (I can't remember where) there is a place where doctoral dissertations can be ordered, if anyone is interested.
There is information that can be found by clicking on
this link to Duncan's Greek Pages that, as I recall, is culled from McGinn's dissertation.
I will add that I have, from time to time, run across ritual information from other fraternities. I will also admit that I have found that information interesting for two reasons: I like studying the form of secret rituals -- I guess as a social science study -- and I am particularly interested in the use of symbols and symbolism. For this second reason, I find it interesting how GLO's (and other groups with secret rituals) use their secret symbols on public items: badges, coats-of-arms, seals, etc.
That said, I will add two other things very quickly: I would
never ask anyone to reveal secrets of their GLO -- I would respect their vow to secrecy just as I would hope they would respect mine -- and I would
never reveal the few things that I have come across. I would never even admit that I knew any secrets of any GLO, and certainly would not divulge any secret that I know. I consider it my obligation to keep the information that I have come across just as secret as I would if it were information of my own fraternity.