Abstract
The theme of this essay is centered upon ritual processes involved in the transformation of inert physical and spatial fabric into living, participating, and richly experienced home places. Through such rituals not only is the physical environment transformed but so too are the human participants and their relationships with the changed place. This theme emerged from my studies of Pueblo house-building procedures and, although these studies focused upon the Pueblo world during the past 100 years, there appear to be lessons for learning about homes in other cultures and times (Saile, 1977, 1985).
Slowly it is becoming our house. With each new coat of paint, each box unpacked, each tile set into place, we begin to feel our presence in its past…. We treat the house, the house which is slowly becoming ours, with some respect. We, after all, have moved into it. It may be our new house, but we are its newcomers…. Yes, other families have settled here, other lives have been played out here. But now it is our time. We renovate, renew this structure, make changes. Slowly it is becoming ours.
—Goodman, 1982, p. 5
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Saile, D.G. (1985). The Ritual Establishment of Home. In: Altman, I., Werner, C.M. (eds) Home Environments. Human Behavior and Environment, vol 8. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2266-3_4
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