Celebrants aim to provide ceremonies which fit the needs and expectations of their clients, at the same time helping them to take part in rituals which enact and convey
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both the continuity of traditions of culturally determined expectations and current personalised meanings. They see themselves as working for, and so implicitly answerable to, their clients. Their role involves asking and listening in order to understand their clients‟ beliefs, expectations, and needs. Then they work with this information to create or adapt ceremonies. Celebrants do not perceive themselves as assuming, or being credited with, positions of authority over clients. Clients expect celebrants to work in these exploratory ways, and they expect personalised
ceremonies, similar to the desire for personalised ceremonies and the requirements of Kohn‟s „new believers‟ (2003). In studying the nature of people‟s spiritual beliefs in contemporary Australian society, Kohn named a group of people as „new believers‟, people engaged in exploring inward, self-focused forms of spiritual and religious expression, reshaping received traditions and minting new spiritual practices as well as taking their inspiration, direction, and language from a vast array of different spiritual and secular influences and ideas (Kohn, 2003:3-7). There are many
interrelated socio-cultural reasons why Australians, like some other westerners, now expect personalised ceremonies, and individualism underlies them. Themes
described by Kohn include: the counterculture and the dismissal of mainstream values and politics in the 1970s; the shifting focus to a „subjective turn‟, an inner- focused search for meaning and spirituality; the globalisation of religious traditions, which means people have more choices and opportunity to encounter some of the vast array of cultural and religious traditions which exist; protest against formal creeds and crystallised forms of worship; and people‟s desires and searches for personally meaningful spiritual traditions.
The role of the celebrant is clearly broader than repeating existing rites and upholding traditions. The role entails forming a relationship of trust with clients, seeking information about their expectations, and organising and integrating this into a ritual framework. The tasks of the celebrant include interweaving components from relevant ritual traditions, adapting elements, and creating new parts or entire
ceremonies as required. It extends to suggesting ways of symbolically enacting the transformation the ceremony is based around, as well as giving the clients choices around who participates in the ceremony, where they will be positioned in relation to each other during the ceremony, and how the significance of the location of the ceremony can be communicated to the guests. There is a technical project
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management or stage management aspect to the celebrant role, too, and in different situations, different tasks may be performed. For example, the celebrant may co- ordinate with others who are speaking in the ceremony, such as individual family members or friends who are reading or speaking, or groups. Pinky referred to a civil union ceremony in which both mothers of the men joining in civil union and another close family friend „gave their blessing on behalf of the families‟. Lynne described having groups of school children singing as part of a funeral ceremony for a classmate. Celebrants may work with other religious ritualists who are performing part of the rite such as Hindu priests and Buddhist monks in marriage ceremonies. A slightly different example is where celebrants have to manage unscripted aspects of ceremonies. For example, I have been asked to include a time for „open
contributions‟ during a civil union ceremony where guests were invited to express their wishes to the couple. This „open floor‟ opportunity to participate is a common, although controversial, feature of some New Zealand funerals.
Celebrants may weave in elements of creative design such as standing near beautiful backdrops (particular trees in gardens or parks, coastal outlooks, hilltop or bush settings). More traditional and symbolic creative elements, such as the gifting or placement of flowers, also commonly feature in ceremonies, and the particular personalised meanings of these need to be communicated along with their seamless enactment. An example is a civil union ceremony led by Ruth, where guests
expressed their „care and support‟ for the two women with „tangible‟ gifts: flowers. These flowers were described by the celebrant to be „eternal symbols of hope and love...grace and loveliness‟. The flower gifting took place before the couple made their vows. Twelve (previously chosen) guests formed a line and one at a time presented their gifts, each of a single different flower, to the couple. As each guest offered their flower, they bequeathed „aspirations of love‟ to the couple. For example, one guest said „Love is, in all things, a most wonderful teacher‟, and another said, „Love is a belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself, which allows me to venture into the unknown and the unknowable‟. Afterwards the celebrant bound a ribbon around the bunch of flowers to form it into a bouquet while the two partners held it. The celebrant reinforced the symbolism of what was
happening with an explanation that, „these flowers, lovingly gifted to you by your friends and family, reflect your love....beautiful, radiant, abundant and blossoming,
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they reflect each of you and the wondrous third entity which is your relationship‟. The action of binding the bouquet was linked to the uniting of beauty and the lives of the partners.
Another example of creative design in a ceremony was Lynne‟s description of incorporating flora into a wedding ceremony for a young couple who had had five family members die in the lead up to their wedding day. For that couple, as part of the wedding altar, five flax leaves were arranged standing in stones, to acknowledge the absent family who were so keenly missed on that day.
The „rose ceremony‟ is another example of a creative and symbolic element which can be incorporated into weddings, one which I became aware of from clients describing the idea to me and requesting that I script it into a form which could be included in their service. (Later I found the rose ceremony referred to in Cant‟s (2009) Australian book on celebrancy in the section on weddings.) The rose
ceremony worked like this. During the wedding ceremony, after they had said their vows, the couple exchanged single red roses with one another. These roses were described by me as representing their „first gifts to one another as husband and wife‟, as „symbols of love‟ and as a way of saying „I love you‟ to one other. I continued by suggesting that wherever they make their home in the future, they choose a very special place for roses, and that they place roses on that spot to remember the love that brought them together, and as recommitment to their marriage.
Candles are another creative element used in a multitude of different ways depending on the ceremonial need. For example, at the commencement of one wedding
ceremony I performed, a bride and her sister lit a candle in remembrance of their mother who had passed away some time earlier. In a different wedding, the mothers of the couple lit a candle to symbolise the joining of their two families. In another example, a candle was lit by a couple to signify their love of God. The use of candles was discussed by several celebrants, all of whom stressed the importance of only using candles when these were meaningful to the families involved, and also the need to make it clear what the particular meanings of candles were in different ceremonies. Rhys, for example, described candles as part of naming ceremonies for
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children. These candles were lit during a ceremony for a baby, and then taken home by the parents to re-light on birthdays and other milestones.
Exchanging gifts was another frequently mentioned creative and symbolic element of ceremonies. In weddings and civil union ceremonies, partners frequently gave each other gifts, with rings the most obvious example. Sometimes the couple‟s children were given gifts. Pinky described children being given jewellery (e.g. necklaces, bracelets) within wedding and civil union ceremonies. These were described as „ancient ways of sealing vows‟, referring to the pledges made to the children which accompanied the gifts, reassuring the children about the security and love that would continue for them with the changing relationships and blending of families that the ceremonies marked. Some venues impose restrictions which celebrants need to be able to work within, such as outdoor venues where celebrants need to take into account how to gather participants as a group so that the bride and groom sense that everyone is surrounding and supporting them and the guests can also hear over the noise of sea, wind, water, or chirping cicadas. Celebrants often work out how to incorporate live music or performance into ceremonies, and they often need to take into account different languages spoken by the clients and guests.
The celebrants I interviewed were eager to tell me ways in which they personalised ceremonies. One spoke of arranging for a young woman‟s horse to be inside the place where her funeral was held, as a means of acknowledging the importance it had for her. On occasions, parts of the ceremonies were performed in other languages (including Māori, Japanese, and German) so that non-English-speaking members of the families attending could take part or at least understand what was being said. The celebrants emphasised that the rationale for their innovation was grounded in what they believed would be most meaningful for the ritual participants. Bill, for example, talked about his role as a funeral celebrant and counsellor for an extended family with Pitcairn Island connections. He conducted funerals, weddings, and unveilings for this family over many years:
It‟s nice because you get to know people and it means a lot more somehow. Sometimes these are people who treat you as if you were their village vicar and sometimes it‟s not religious, at all, you know. It‟s funny with that family, the Pitcairn group … had a Seventh Day Adventist background and they liked me because I didn‟t have any of the Puritanism of the Seventh Day Adventist
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Church. You know I‟d encourage them to sing the hymns they wanted to sing and so on, you know … I was able to both use many of the same forms that were familiar to them from the Seventh Day Adventist Church, but allowed, helped, encouraged them to put in a lot of their own history and ways of thinking, and so on, which was clearly what they wanted. (Bill 1/9/05)
These words indicate that Bill feels that he has helped that particular community by learning about which cultural and ritual traditions the individuals find most useful, meaningful, and helpful. He used ceremonies with similar ritual forms to those which the community were steeped in and also drew on the history valued by the
community and their own ways of thinking. The fact that this community has invited Bill back over several years to perform his celebrant role for them suggests that they value the way he works and the ceremonies he creates.
Rhys described a funeral ceremony which she had planned with the person concerned prior to their death from a terminal illness. The family arranging the woman‟s funeral asked that the celebrant honour the detailed list of very particular personal requests the woman had made in relation to her own funeral. Some elements included dressing the casket to reflect things the woman had enjoyed (walking shoes, tramping boots, line-dancing shoes, coffee-maker and coffee). Other elements were woven into the ceremony and included: the woman‟s life story, several pieces of music in styles the woman had enjoyed (Glenn Miller Orchestra, Victor Sylvester Dance Band, Jim Lowe‟s Green Door, and The Bayside Boys‟ Macarena), a range of specified readings (from the Bible, from Katherine Mansfield, from Richard Bach‟s Jonathon Livingston Seagull, from William Shakespeare‟s The Merchant of Venice), invited speakers (including the woman‟s brother), particular prayers
(including the Serenity Prayer), and candles which were blessed by a Chaplain and then given to guests to take with them as they left the service.
An overall observation in this study has been celebrants‟ openness to extending and innovating around the types of ritual performed. The trend is one of an increasingly broad range of occasions which are being marked ritually, and independent
celebrants are at the forefront of this, both in responding to demand from people who come to them and also in their willingness to ritualise in new areas and in innovative ways. The CANZ website is one of the main gateways by which the public can
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obtain information about the celebrants in their areas and what celebrants offer. Prior to 2009 the website listed a few broad categories of what celebrants offer: birth, marriage, civil union and commitment, funerals and memorials. In 2009 the website was updated, and now it lists more than 30 types of ceremonies celebrants offer. These include:
- anniversaries,
- awards recognising achievement, - blessings of a place or event,
- honouring the milestones for birthdays for any age, - burial of the placenta as part of a naming ceremony, - civil union,
- cleansing and celebration of new beginnings, - coming of age,
- commitment,
- croning and honouring of age and transition to wise womanhood, - divorce and separation,
- engagement, - farewells, - funerals,
- interment or scattering of ashes, - launching ceremonies,
- Matariki, the Māori celebration of New Year and the rising of the Pleiades, - memorial services,
- special ceremonies for women or for men, - name-giving,
- pet and animal farewell ceremonies, - recognition of seasons,
- celebrations of promotions and new challenges, - renewal of vows and reaffirmation of relationships, - retirement,
- reunions,
- marking the seasonal cycles,
- unveiling of permanent memorials, and - weddings.
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A list on a website does not mean that such a range of ceremonies is commonplace in New Zealand, nor does it mean that all of these types of rituals have even taken place. But it does indicate an attitude of flexibility to ritualise in innovative ways by some celebrants, an attitude which is endorsed by one prominent celebrant
professional organisation. My involvement with celebrants, reviewing of the
newsletters and conference content, and discussions with various celebrants strongly confirmed the role of celebrants in advocating for, and broadening the types and times we ritualise. In my experience, individual celebrants openly and
enthusiastically let it be known to other celebrants and people more generally the ideas and experiences they have around ritual innovation and adaptation. In their local and national networks celebrants actively develop and share ideas around tailoring ceremonies to the particular situation; for example, in the case of funerals where someone has suicided, where the deceased is a baby or child, or where a „green‟ (environmentally-sensitive) funeral is requested. Some celebrants have worked with promoting starting-school and other ceremonies for children and adolescents, some with ceremonies of affirmation and celebrating ageing for mature women. Commitment ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples, as well as civil union ceremonies, are other areas where celebrants share ideas and resources. Several celebrants are active in the area of ritualising around loss, coping, and grieving. Some celebrants promote particular types of ceremonies such as business launching ceremonies or ceremonies for pets.39 To summarise, celebrants‟ intentions and their
39 Bill Logan, CANZ Conference Workshop, „Funerals for people who have suicided‟, 2003; Nicola Daly, „Sasha‟s legacy: A guide to funerals for babies‟, 2005, and CANZ Conference Workshop, „Funerals for babies‟, 2003;
Deb Cairns, Speaker, CANZ Conference, „Greening the funeral‟, 2009;
Kathrine Fraser and Elspeth Lamb, CANZ Conference, „Ceremonies for children and adolescents‟,
2005;
Wanda Brittain, CANZ Conference, „Crowning of the wise woman – a ceremony of affirmation for
mature women‟, 2007;
Bill Logan, CANZ Conference workshop, „Ceremonies for gays and lesbians‟, 2003;
Keith King, CANZ Conference workshop, „Creating the ceremony – Civil Unions‟, 2005;
Winnie Duggan and Christine Bannan, CANZ Conference Workshop, „Be fertile with your infertility –
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ways of working are primarily centred on meeting the needs and expectations of their clients, but the ceremonies also reflect the diverse approaches of different celebrants. The trend is towards an increasingly broad range of ritually marked occasions, and independent celebrants are at the forefront of this trend, both in responding to
demand from people who come to them and also in their openness and willingness to ritualise in new areas and in innovative ways.
Celebrants‟ own perceptions of the qualities and competencies they bring to their ritual-making roles can be augmented with perceptions of others around them: fellow celebrants, clients, and others in society. How celebrants compare in respect to the qualities each brings to their role and clients‟ experience of them varies enormously. Anecdotally, I have heard several accounts of celebrants under-delivering on clients‟ expectations, and some descriptions imply that the celebrants concerned are not regarded as possessing the necessary qualities and competencies for the role they are purporting to perform. Examples include poor planning, ineffective time
management, inadequate communication with clients prior to ceremonies, and poor facilitation of ceremonies. An examination of individuals‟ qualities and
competencies must also consider the broader contexts, in order to develop a realistic understanding not just of how they operate, but also how changes can be effected. Among the weaknesses in the ways secular funeral celebrants work that Schäfer (1998) identified, was that they tended to be strangers to their clients. Celebrants may be strangers to their clients in other types of ceremonies, too. However I do not believe it is always the case that celebrants are strangers to their clients any more. Several of the celebrants I came across who had been practising for a long time, spoke of working for families and performing different ceremonies on different occasions, sometimes over generations. This suggested that clients chose celebrants they have some experience of working with, and that this is satisfying or valuable to them; from the celebrants‟ perspective, this satisfaction seemed mutual. For example, Marie spoke of how, even though she is involved with people for a short time when she creates and performs a ceremony for them, during that time she builds a
relationship which sometimes extends beyond the ceremony because their „paths