Anthropology and the study of Religion

Sir Edward Burnett Tylor/ANIMISM Tylor was a founder of the anthropology of religion Tylor thought, religion was born as a people tried to understand conditions and events they could not explain

Tylor(cont) Tylor believed that our ancestors were particularly intrigued with death, dreaming and trance Tylor believed that attempts to explain dreams and trances led early humans to believe that two entities inhabit the body, one active during the day and the other-a double or soul –active during sleep and trance states Tylor named this belief “animism”

Tylor, animism and polytheism Animism is generally, belief in spiritual beings Tylor believed that religion had evolved through stages, beginning with animism

Tyler-cont Polytheism Monotheism Tylor thought religion would decline as science offered better explanations

Mana and Taboo An alternative to Tylor’s theories related to animism is that humans first saw the supernatural as a domain of impersonal power or force(MANA), that people could control under certain conditions

MANA AND TABOO In some places MANA was attached to political offices In some populations, the MANA of a given official was so powerful that their bodies were TABOO (set apart as sacred and off-limits to ordinary people)

MAGIC AND RELIGION MAGIC-supernatural techniques intended to accomplish specific aims

MAGIC AND RELIGION TYPES OF MAGIC: Imitative magic Contagious magic

MAGIC AND RELIGION We find magic in cultures with diverse religious beliefs Magic can be associated with animism, polytheism and monotheism

RELIGION AND MAGIC- ANXIETY, CONTROL AND COMFORT/SOLACE Supernatural beliefs and practices can help reduce anxiety Magical techniques can dispel doubts that arise when outcomes are beyond human control Supernatural beliefs help people face death and endure crises

Malinowski, religion and magic Bronislaw Malinowski conducted research among the Trobriand Islanders He noted the use of magic during sailing He suggested that people turn to magic for matters they can’t control or when there is a gap in their knowledge or power while an activity/pursuit must be continued He argued that religion is born out of …”the real tragedies of human life”

Separation Transition Reincorporation LIMINALITY COMMUNITAS RITES OF PASSAGE Separation Transition Reincorporation LIMINALITY COMMUNITAS

What is a “Ritual of Inversion”

TOTEMISM Totemism is a religion that uses nature as a model for society Totems can be animals, plants or geographic features People relate to nature through their totemic association with natural species Totems are sacred emblems symbolizing common identity

What are the categories of tatoos among the Shan?

Myth, Levi-Strauss and structuralism

Claude Levi-Strauss and Myth Anthropology is also interested in religious and quasi-religious stories about supernatural entities or MYTHS Myths often include people’s own account of their creation, of the beginning of their world and the extraordinary events that affected ancestors Myths tell of continuing exploits and activites of deities or spirtis either in an alternative world or as they come into contact with mortals Myths express cultural beliefs and values

Levi-Strauss and Myth A way of studying myth is structural analysis (structuralism) Structuralism does not attempt to explain relations, themes and connections among aspects of culture but at DISCOVERING them Structuralist method differs from methods of gathering and interpreting data ussually used in sciences

Levi-Strauss and Myth Structuralism rests on the belief that human minds have certain characteristics which originate in features of the homo sapien brain These common mental structures lead people everywhere to think similarly regardless of their society or cultural background

Common features of myth and human mental structure (according to Levi-Strauss) Need to classify: Need to impose order on aspects of nature, on people’s relationship to nature, and on relations between people Binary Oppositions-although many things in our lives are similar, we treat them as being more different than they are; things that are quantitatively different are made to seem absolutely dissimilar *there is a need to convert differences of degree into differences of kind

Application of Levi-Strauss’ structuralism Myths have simple building blocks (mythems) One myth can be converted to another by : Converting the positive element of a myth into its negative Reversing the order of the elements Replacing a male hero with a female hero Preserving or repeating certain key elements

Religion and culture Religions are parts of particular cultures and cultural differnces show of systematically in religious beliefs, practices and institutions Shamanic religions Communal Olympian monotheistic

Questions from Chapter 12 How do we define religion? What is a “cargo cult”? What is a “world religion”?