This has led to the synchronic quest of an inevitable and generalized ritual form. Appeals to a universal ritual form imply a generalized ritual function; the assumption being that, what looks the same is the same. Attempts to define this function have generally seen ritual as either supporting social structure by directly representing it, or legitimizing social authority by concealing it. Thus ritual's social role is either to bolster, or conceal, the prevailing political order.
Rituals can take place in varying forms, in Christopher Nelson's (2013) ethnography, we see this through a dance called Eisa. The people of Okinawa spend their summer practicing Eisa in preparation of the Obon, which is the festival of the dead, for purposes of creating Kari, which is described as a gift of happiness and belonging, this dance is believed to carry spirits from tomb to their home, entertaining them, while expressing their pride and honour to the Okinawa society, demonstrating power and the artistry of the dancers (Nelson 2013). The dance is performed as a ritual in response to the demands and desires of the Okinawans' ancestral spirits who were killed in the war. Rituals can take place in a format of resistance or rebellion which is ritual whose cause is to effect a change (Nelson 2013: 115).
The Okinawan people use Eisa, not only to demonstrate their talent but also as a complete perspective, it serves as a ritual for resistance on a broader socio-historical, economical and nonspiritual scale against the US Military base that was built on their land after the war. Through the dance, the people of Okinawa express their frustration of their current poor living conditions, which they believe was caused by the war. Eisa serves as a platform of hope, purpose and a cause, of rebuilding their graves and town and form of self-expression and structure to self-objectification. (Nelson 2013).