Class 11

Anthropology 1540 with Lxbarger at Oakland Community College

About this deck

By: Larry Craig
Textbook:

Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge, 13th Edition
Created: 2011-06-20
Size: 32 flashcards
Views: 13

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Taxonomy: Human Interaction with the Supernatural

Supernatural Realm (World View)

Religion (Organized Collective System)

Functions

Supernatural Forces/Beings - Rites & Ceremonies

Specialist and Methods

Spirituality (Individualistic)

Functions

Supernatural Beings / Forces - Practices & Methods

Religion & Spirituality

Part of a culture’s superstructure

Worldview- the collective body of ideas that members share concerning ultimate shape and substance of their reality

Making sense of our origins, destiny, time, space, earth and the universe

Religion

Organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or the supernatural

Often has associated ceremonial practices by which people try to interpret or influence aspects of their universe

Spirituality

Also concerned with supernatural

Distinguished from material matters

Individualistic

Does not require organization

Purpose of Religion and Spirituality

Fulfills numerous social and psychological needs

No known group of people anywhere on the earth, at any time over the past 100,000 years, has been without religion

Zulu Congregation Near Durban, South Africa

Among the fastest-growing religious communities in the world are the indigenous churches of Africa.

Members of the Church of Zion, an indigenous Christian church with a Zulu congregation, perform a baptism in the Indian Ocean near Durban, South Africa.

Over half of Christian church members in South Africa belong to churches that combine traditional African beliefs and rituals with Christianity.

Supernatural Beings and Powers

Belief in supernatural being(s) or force(s) common to all religions

Gods/goddesses (Polytheism, monotheism), ancestral spirits, sacred places, animism, animatism

Reflection of type of society

Judeo-Christian Theology:

The patriarchal nature of Euramerican society is expressed in its Judeo-Christian theology, in which a supreme male deity gives life to the first man, as depicted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Only later is the first woman created from the first man.

Ancestral Spirits

Deeper belief - the body consists of two entities: the flesh and the soul

Associated with unilineal descent systems

Ancestors are worshiped - thought to bring good or poor fortune and play active role in lives of the living

Animism

Belief that nature is animated (energized) by distinct personalized spirit beings separate from bodies

Probably first form of religion

These spirit beings are concerned with human activities and are closer to humans than gods and goddesses

Typical of peoples who see themselves as part of nature rather than superior to it

Animatism

Belief the world is animated by impersonal supernatural powers

Not to be confused with animism

Form of power does not take a particular shape, emotion, etc.

Often found in similar cultures where animism is found

Sacred Places

Worship of places in the natural world

Sites for religious pilgrimages

Usually where an important event took place

Example: Mecca of the Islamic faith

Sacred Places: Mt. Kailash, Tibet

Rising 22,000 feet, this mountain has been held sacred for thousands of years by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and followers of Bön.

Year after year pilgrims follow the ancient tradition of circling the mountain on foot, a holy ritual they believe will remove sin and bring good fortune.

Religious Specialists

Guide and supplement religious practices of others

Hold specific rights to contact and influence supernatural beings and manipulate supernatural forces

Have special training and may display certain distinctive personality traits

Priests and Priestesses

Full-time specialists

Socially initiated, ceremonially inducted member of a religious organization

Examples: priest, minister, imam, lama, rabbi, etc.

Shaman

* Part-time specialist

* Enters altered state of consciousness to contact and manipulate supernatural beings and powers while in trance

* Provides a focal point of attention for society and can help maintain social control

* Benefits for the shaman are prestige, wealth, and an outlet for artistic self-expression

Ju' hoansi Shamans and Healing

When Ju’/hoansi healers enter a trance, they are assisted by trance dancers.

About half of the older men and a third of the older women are healers.

They possess the powerful healing force called n/um, the Ju/’hoansi equivalent of mana.

Shamans Around the World

Traditional Shaman in Mongolia

The traditional Mongolian shaman’s drum is made from a tree struck by lightning and covered with leather made from a female deer.

It is believed that when a shaman goes into a trance, her drum transforms into a steed that carries her into the dark sky of her ancestors.

Rites of Purification

Culturally prescribed rules about what members of a society can or cannot eat or drink, touch, or talk about

Taboos if not observed lead to punishment inflicted by magic, spiritual force, or religion (negative sanction)

Rites of Passage

Found among all human groups

Ritual stages mark important periods in one’s life such as birth, marriage, and death

Men and women may have differing rites of passages

Stages in Rites of Passage

Separation- ritual removal of individual from society

Transition- isolation following separation

Incorporation- reintroduction into society with new status

Rites of Intensification

Religious rituals enacted during times of crisis

Mass ceremonies unite people in common effort so fear and confusion yield to collective action and degree of optimism

Balance in relations of community restored to normal and group’s values celebrated and affirmed

Magic

Belief that supernatural powers can be compelled to act in certain ways for good or evil purposes by utilizing certain specified formulas

Believed to be possible way to gain control over uncontrollable situations (e.g., weather, love, fertility, animals, and illness)

Imitative magic:

Like produces like; also called sympathetic magic (e.g., use of voodoo dolls)

Contagious magic:

Things or persons once in contact can influence each other after the contact is broken (e.g., saints’ relics, celebrity memorabilia)

Witchcraft

Explanation of events based on belief that certain individuals possess inherent psychic power capable of causing harm, including sickness and death

Found worldwide but used to varying degrees

Divination--magical procedure for determining cause of particular event (e.g., illness) or foretelling the future

Witchcraft - Wicca

In North America, interest in and practice of witchcraft have grown significantly over the past four decades, with the rise of Wicca among highly educated segments of society. Contrary to popular belief, witchcraft is

not concerned exclusively, or even primarily, with working evil.

Functions of Witchcraft

Explains events that cannot otherwise be explained by logic of group

Effective way for people to explain away personal misfortune without having to shoulder blame

Outlet for feelings of hostility and frustration without disturbing norms of larger group

Functions of Religion

* Sets guidelines (education) for acceptable behavior by deliberately raising people’s feelings of guilt and anxiety about their actions

* Helps keep people in line (social control and group solidarity)

* Lifts burden of responsibility off individuals and lies instead with gods or spirit forces

* Can also reduce anxiety by explaining unknown and offer comfort in times of crisis

Revitalization Movements 1

Religions change, just as cultures change

Social religious movements, with purpose of totally reforming society

Revitalization Movements 2

Often radical in nature, response to society’s stress, disruption and despair

Can drastically change religion and culture (e.g., Mormonism)

Ultimately, revitalization movements are root of all known religions (i.e., Judaism, Christianity, Islam)

Cargo Cult

Revitalization movement in reaction to disruptive contact with Western capitalism

Promise of resurrection of deceased relatives, destruction or enslavement of white foreigners, and magical coming of utopian riches

Common to societies (e.g., island cultures in southwest Pacific Ocean) where explanations of western (white) power not easily understood

About this deck

By: Larry Craig
Textbook:

Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge, 13th Edition
Created: 2011-06-20
Size: 32 flashcards
Views: 13

About StudyBlue

“I have been getting MUCH better grades on all my tests for school. Flash cards, notes, and quizzes are great on here. Thanks!”
Kathy