This book is both an attempt to understand the role which ritual has played for five centuries in the evolution of the Hutterian culture, and a refinement of our understanding of ritual itself. The first section of the book describes the history of the Hutterites as a wandering and persecuted people. The symbols which emerge from the historical era link the first half and the second half of the work together. The second half of the book is an examination of the Hutterite expansion process of today and the role which ritual plays in it. In the epilogue the author analyzes the evolution of a self-simplifying system.