[German version] Properly Mene-tekel-ufarsin, a cryptic Aramaic inscription in the literary context of Dan 5:25-28 (within an Aramaic apocalypse in Dan 2-7), written by a supernatural hand on the wall of the palace during a banquet given by Belsazar, the heir to the Babylonian throne. The elements of this writing have been interpreted as cuneiform signs for weights (Neo-Babylonian manû‘mina’, šiqlu‘shekel’; mišlu/ zūzu‘half’/‘to share’), or as Aramaic terms in cuneiform script, in the order mina, shekel, half-shekel. Daniel interpreted the writing as a play on the words manû ‘to c…

[German version] I. Term Ritual refers to an elaborate sequence of individual rites which, following an established ritual syntax, are logically connected within a certain functional context. Rituals are not limited to religious contexts but exist in other cultural contexts, political as well as social. The significance of rituals for those who participate in them can be reduced neither to an integrative function (legitimation ritual) nor to a temporary disabling of the regular structure - the two e…