Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
1
Coming up… Final exam…Wednesday, Dec. 9th Kelley Building, room 211, 7 pm. Chapters 9,12,14 Projects due on last class… or bring a memory stick to class. Meeting Prince Phillip Back Home...
2
Cultural Anthropology
Chapter Twelve: Religion and the Supernatural
3
Chapter Preview What is Religion?
What Are Religion’s Identifying Features? What Functions Does Religion Serve?
4
The Anthropological Approach to Religion
A set of rituals, rationalized by myth Universal From permeating daily life to specific occasions Reduces anxiety and keeps confidence high Not replaced by science
5
The Practice of Religion
Participation in religious ceremonies Brings a sense of personal transcendence Reassurance, security, or ecstasy Kecak (Ramayana monkey chant) Balinese- Ramayana Monkey Chant Buddhist monk Creates a feeling of closeness to fellow participants
6
Morris Berman…”The Reenchantment of the World”
Participating Consciousness...
7
Emile Durkheim.. Mechanical Solidarity-
TRADITIONAL… MODERN… Mechanical Solidarity- Society is held together by the basic similarity of its members Organic solidarity- Society is held together by the interdependence of its parts and the allegiance to common symbols
8
Ferdinand Tonnies… Gemeinschaft…
TRADITIONAL… MODERN… Gemeinschaft… Community: Traditional rules create a sense of universal solidarity among people Gesellschaft… Society: constituted by a deliberately formulated social contract which reflects rational self-interest.
9
Lewis Henry Morgan… Common kinship… The basis for collective identity
TRADITIONAL… MODERN… Common kinship… The basis for collective identity Common territory… The basis for collective identity
10
Max Weber… Enchantment…
TRADITIONAL… MODERN… Enchantment… People relate to the world around them as participants in an animated whole; legitimacy is derived from divine sources; positions and relations are determined by social stratus Rationality… People see themselves as separate from the natural world; legitimacy derives from proven merit; institutions are organized for efficiency
11
Lucien Levy-Bruhl… Pre-logical thinking…
TRADITIONAL… MODERN… Pre-logical thinking… The thought of ‘primitive’ people is not illogical, but mystical and associative Logical thinking… Modern thought is dominated by logic and scientific method
12
Supernatural Beings and Powers
Gods and Goddesses Monotheism Polytheism Pantheon
13
Gods and Goddesses Relation to everyday life
Gods found in societies that subordinate women to men Goddesses most prominent in societies where women make a major contribution to the economy, are equal to men, and men are engaged in raising children
14
Ancestral Spirits Spirit is freed at death
Retains an active interest in society after death Reborn into society Found in societies with descent-based groups
15
The Asmat of New Guinea The Asmat are a Melanesian people who live within the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya. They are widely known for the quality of their wood sculptures. They are also notorious for their traditional practices of headhunting and cannibalism. These Asmat practices have been linked to the unsolved 1961 disappearance of the twenty-three-year-old son of former New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, who was touring the region to collect native artwork.
16
The Asmat's first European contact was with the Dutch in 1623
The Asmat's first European contact was with the Dutch in For many years the group had few outside visitors due to their fearsome reputation. The Dutch began to settle the Asmat area in the 1920s, bringing in the first Catholic missionaries. Contact with the West has expanded steadily since the 1950s, and traditional Asmat warfare and cannibalistic practices have declined.
17
Animism Belief in spirit beings (Tylor)
Belief in many spirits often found among peoples who see themselves as part of nature
18
The Asmat of New Guinea Spirit entities are thought to inhabit trees, earth, and water. The spirits of deceased ancestors mingle among the living, at times aiding or hindering activities and bringing sickness. Cyclical rituals—such as those involving the carving of elaborate ancestor ( bis ) poles—and rituals that accompanied headhunting raids, the death of great warriors, and ceremonies of peace and reconciliation can be related to the appeasement of the ancestral spirits.
19
Belief in impersonal supernatural powers
Animatism Belief in impersonal supernatural powers Mana
20
Religious Specialists
Shamans Part-time religious specialists with exceptional abilities for dealing with the supernatural Acquire power individually Act on the behalf of clients Priests and Priestesses Full-time religious specialists Members of a recognized religious organization Source of power is the institution
21
Rituals and Ceremonies
Religion in action Means by which persons relate to the sacred Serve several functions Two major types of rituals Rites of Passage Rites of Intensification
22
Rites of Passage Rituals marking important transitions of life
Birth, puberty, marriage, death, etc. Three stages Separation Transition Incorporation 1908 work by Arnold VanGennep “Rite de Passage” 1982 work by Victor Turner “From Ritual to Theatre”
23
Rites of Transition…from one state of existence to another
Separation----transition---reincorporation Stage 1----transitional stage----stage 2 Childhood adulthood liminal phase
24
Liminality…from the Latin word “limen” meaning “threshold”
…is a psychological, neurological, or metaphysical subjective state, conscious or unconscious, of being on the "threshold" of or between two different planes of existence (a "liminal state“). Popularized in anthropological theory by the work of Victor Turner and Arnold VanGennep The liminal phase of a ritual is often called the ‘betwixt and between’ phase…the participants are between the old phase and the new.
25
The Nuer…receiving Gar
26
Liminality in ethnographic research…
…the researcher is...in a liminal state, separated from his own culture yet not incorporated into the host culture - when he or she is both participating in the culture and observing the culture.
27
Rites of Intensification
Mark group occasions Functions Expression and affirmation of common values Unification of group Prevention of disruption of society
28
Religion, Magic, And Witchcraft
Attempts to control the supernatural Sir James Frazer’s Golden Bough Religion is propitiation or conciliation of the supernatural Magic a false science Imitative magic Contagious magic Frazer’s distinction between magic and religion no longer accepted by anthropologists
29
Imitative magic…Cargo Cults
30
Contagious magic… magic that attempts to affect a person through something once connected with him or her, as a hair or nail clipping.
31
Witchcraft Belief that individuals may possess psychic powers
Ibibio Witchcraft - Misfortune due to witches - Substance provides power - May be used unintentionally - Antisocial behaviour
32
The Functions of Witchcraft
Provides explanations Serves as a mechanism of social control Witchcraft Among the Navajo Channels anxieties, tensions, and frustrations Permits direct expression of hostile feelings Divination Magical procedure to determine causes or to foretell the future
33
Divination Magical procedure to determine causes or the future
34
The Functions of Religion
Provides an orderly model of the universe Sanctions a wide range of conduct Lifts burden of responsibility from individuals Provides education
35
Religion and Cultural Change
Revitalization Movements Deliberate efforts to construct a more satisfying culture Four phases Normal state of society Period of increased individual stress Period of cultural distortion Period of revitalization
Similar presentations
