Country dancing as a ritual (9)
I believe the answer is:
australia
'country' is the definition.
(I know that Australia is a country)
'dancing as a ritual' is the wordplay.
'dancing' indicates anagramming the letters.
'as'+'a'+'ritual'='asaritual'
'asaritual' is an anagram of 'AUSTRALIA'.
(Other definitions for australia that I've seen before include "Commonwealth member" , "English speaking nation" , "A US lariat can be found in this country, strangely" , "Island continent" , "Antipodean continent" .)