Steppe memorial games substituted for war as a way to test rivals

Evidence

The games of the Memorial Feast were not mere sport. They were how the steppe peoples remembered the dead, tested the living, and measured one another without — quite — going to war. — , A Year of World Stories, 11314

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the functionalist view of ceremony/play in Communication as Culture and the broader reading on ritual as social glue. — connects to: Fighting is dangerous enough to favor assessment before battle; Conflict destructive at one level can integrate the larger group — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 280

Broader Connections

• Conflict destructive at one level can integrate the larger group #expands (0.72) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 280
• Fighting is dangerous enough to favor assessment before battle #expands (0.70)