HUNTING THE WILD RED DEER - THE SOCIAL-ORGANIZATION AND RITUAL OF A RURAL INSTITUTION

The paper examines the social organization of deer hunting in the South-west of England and considers the ways in which such activities constitute a distinct form of life. The ritual of hunting is discussed and responses from a questionnaire survey of Hunt followers are presented to show that the two Hunts investigated appear to attract a small but tightly-knit group of people whose world is entirely dominated by hunting. The social organization of hunting entails a succession of commemorative ceremonies giving rise to a very particular kind of belonging, whereby social relations sustain and effectively reproduce the strongest of social identities.