ritualistic-behavior
The crewmen engage in inexplicable, ritual-like actions with ropes and symbolic killing of a rock creature, suggesting a blend of survival instinct and mythic enactment.
1 chapter across 1 book
Space Chantey (1968)R. A. Lafferty
In this chapter, the crew of the hornets navigate a dense, moving asteroid belt known as the 'wandering rocks,' encountering mysterious phenomena such as rocks that appear to have eyes and multiply inexplicably. As they become trapped in a chaotic 'stampede' of these rocks, the men engage in ritualistic behaviors, including using ropes to form loops and ultimately killing and feasting on a calf-sized rock creature, which they interpret as a sacred cattle of the sun. Despite the danger and the unknown forces at play, the crew bonds through shared song and camaraderie as they are swept into the deadly Vortex, a region from which no one has returned.