2. Religion

3. Religion is Notoriously difficult to define. But we have no difficulty in deciding whether something is Religious or not Or do we

4. A Luba diviner and her client, performing a divination ritual, jointly hold a friction oracle known as a kakishi on a woven mat on the ground between them.. (John Pemberton)

9. Albrecht Durer 1504

13. The Major Features of Religion Texts A means of explanation Stress/Anxiety Relief Body of myth Rituals Magic and witchcraft supernatural Beings and powers Specially skilled individuals Belief in the supernatural Symbolic Moral code Sacred vs. profane Emotional Experience Group membership/identity System A philosophy What makes these religious?

14. w Religion can be defined as any set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to supernatural power, whether that power be forces, gods, spirits, ghosts, or demons. w What is considered the supernatural varies from one society to the next. w Many societies don’t have a separate word for religion--it is so integrated into politics, or cultural identity Defining Religion

15. Explanations for the Universality of Religion PsychologicalSociological IntellectualEmotional Interpretative Functional

16. w primitive man was a rationalist and a scientific philosopher w the notion of spirits was not the outcome of irrational thinking w preliterate religious beliefs and practices were not “ridiculous” or a “rubbish heap of miscellaneous folly” w they were essentially consistent and logical, based on rational thinking and empirical knowledge. Intellectual approach E. B. Tylor

17. 1.“what is it that makes the difference between a living body and a dead one and what causes sleep, trance, disease, death?” “ancient savage “philosophers” - impressed by two groups of biological problems:

18. 2.“what are these human shapes which appear in dreams and visions?” a spirit or soul, derived from the experience of human souls or spirits in `dreams and waking hallucinations' is thought to `animate' lifeless objects such as sticks or stones, trees, mountains, rivers, etc.

19. Animism w the idea that the world and everything in it is filled with souls or spirits. w These spirits can be communicated with. w Spirits “feel” and therefore, can be harmed, flattered, offended and can also hurt or help.

20. “belief in spiritual beings” = animism Tylor’s minimal definition of religion  primitive man was a rationalist and a scientific philosopher  the notion of spirits was not the outcome of irrational thinking  preliterate religious beliefs and practices were not “ridiculous” or a “rubbish heap of miscellaneous folly”  they were essentially consistent and logical, based on rational thinking and empirical knowledge. (from the Latin word anima meaning breath or soul.)

22. Psychological Approach  Reduces anxiety  provides comfort  Gives meaning to life – Yes there is life after death  a means for dealing with crises death and illness, famine, flood, failure  helps people cope with reality.  Tells them how to behave  Removes burden of responsibility  Participation in religious ceremonies provides reassurance security, and even ecstasy, closeness etc

23. Sociological Approach  religion stems from society and societal needs and provides for them  religions validate the social: they posit controlling forces in the universe that sustain the moral and social order of a people  sanction human conduct by providing notions of right and wrong  setting precedents for acceptable behaviour, group norms  provides moral sanctions for individual conduct  education function through ritual used to learn oral traditions  eg. puberty rites provide information about tribal lore.

24.  Sees religion as a set of symbols and stresses the meaning of those symbols, as referents and creators of meaningful life.  "a religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods and motivations by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic." “Clifford Geertz”  Claude Levi-Strauss structuralism -- Analysis of symbolic forms of mythic  Through the work of Douglas and Victor Turner, as well as performance theory, a new emphasis on ritual was established.  Concerned with the act Interpretative

25. Coping with Uncertainty Magic, divination, oracles, and witchcraft

26. MAGIC

27. w Nature is understood to be controlled by forces which can be manipulated w Magic is a way of controlling the natural elements. w Magicians attempt to control the elements for the benefit of their society or for the detriment of their enemies.

28. Contagious Magic

29. Sympathetic Magic

30. Standing Bison, Altamira (Spain) c. 15,000-10,000 B.C Cave art used for rituals of this sort?

31. Playoff Beard Stephane Yelle Jarome Iginla Miikka Kiprusoff

32. Louis Van Zelst (c.1896-1915) Philadelphia Athletics hunchback mascot and bat boy (1910-1914) “better rub my hump for a hit” Athletics won World Series in 1910, 1911, 1913 (top of league 1914) Credited for the wins as much as the coach 1915 Athletics finished dead last National Post

33. What is divination? " the practice of foreseeing future events or acquiring hidden knowledge through supernatural means"

34. bronze model of sheep liver with Etruscan writing used for divination (hepatomancy) The Piacenza Liver Modern Examples?

37. Omens Ordeals Oracles

38. An Azande diviner uses a friction oracle (iwa), holding his foot against the lower part to keep the instrument in place and rubbing the upper part against it.

39.  Men always carry an iwa with them for consultation on questions ranging from whether or not to take a journey to identification of the witch who has made him suddenly and violently sick.  The small table-like portion is thought of as the female part. The rubber is considered male. Rubbing Board oracles (iwa)

40. A diviner operating the rubbing- board oracle.  Any individual may make an iwa so long as he observes the appropriate taboos, such as abstaining from sexual relations for two days and not eating certain foods,  He must also follow prescribed procedures which include burning the surface of the wood with a red-hot spear, preparing and anointing the object with a mixture of boiled root juices and oil over which he has prayed:

41. ‘the inherent power to harm other persons by supernatural means’ Evans-Pritchard Witchcraft

42. The image of the Witch

43. When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurly-burly's done. When the battle's lost and won. That will be ere the set of sun... Fair is foul, and foul is fair Hover through the fog and filthy air." Macbeth, Act I, Scene I

44. Christian Witch White predominant color Black dominant (Black Mass) Chastity Orgie Heterosexual norm Homosexual norm Holy Communion Cannibalism Daytime Mass Night time Mass Prayers said normally Prayers said backward Worship God Worship devil authority divinely ordained Authority from the devil (Eve) Witches represent a reversal of normal behaviour Where does this concept come from

45. Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger first published in 1486 > 20 editions next 200 years The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch Hammer) Pope Innocent VIII issued a Papal Bull in 1484. It’s inclusion made it appear that the whole book enjoyed papal sanction

46. Swearing allegiance to the Devil, by trampling the Cross... And kissing his behind

47. Swearing allegiance to the Devil, by trampling the Cross... And kissing his behind

48. “He must not be too quick to subject a witch to examination, but must pay attention to certain signs which will follow. And he must not be too quick for this reason: unless God, through a holy Angel, compels the devil to withold his help from the witch, she will be so insensible to the pains of torture that she will sooner be torn limb from limb than confess any of the truth.” -- Kramer and Sprenger, the Malleus Maleficarum

49. One 'foolproof' way to establish whether a suspect was a witch was ducking. With right thumb bound to left toe, the accused was plunged into a convenient pond. If she floated it proved an association with the black arts, with the body rejecting the baptismal water. If the victim drowned they were innocent. Given the position of the prisoner, it was more likely they would float

50. Matthew Hopkins, England's Witch-Finder General, explains how to identify witches and their familiars In England, torture was not allowed against witches because witches were not believed to be conspirators. Torture by sleeplessness, (Tormentum insomniae) was allowable perhaps because it did not seem to be a real torture. Matthew Hopkins used it for his advantage in Essex. In one instance, John Lowe, 70-year-old vicar of Brandeston, was "swum in the moat," kept awake for three days and nights, and then forced to walk without rest until his feet were blistered.

51. Some statistics:  Between c.1450 and c.1650, about 60,000 to 100,000 people were executed by legal authorities for witchcraft in Europe.  75%-90% of those accused were female.  The majority of those accused were over the age of 50.  When torture was used to extract confessions, 95% of suspects were convicted.  When torture was not used, only 50% were convicted.

52. “What else is a woman …but a foe to friendship, an unescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic danger, a delectable detriment, and an evil of nature painted with fair colors [she is, furthermore ]by her nature quicker to waiver in her faith which is the root of witchcraft.” Kramer and Sprenger, the Malleus Maleficarum Who were the witches?

53. “While this tradition of blaming unexpected misfortunes on black magic is found throughout rural Africa, in few places has it taken more victims than in South Africa's rural Northern Province. More than 500 people, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft and killed by mobs here between 1990 and 1995. Even more lost their homes and their possessions when they were either run out of town or had their homes torched.” Christian Science Monitor Dec. 6, 2000

54. Sabrina Bewitched Practical Magic Worst witch ever Charmed

56. Ritual

57. Ritual Bathing in the Ganges on the ghats of Varanasi (formerly Banaras) Hindu pilgrims, standing waist high in the water, pray to cleanse their souls as they face the rising sun to ensure a good rebirth

59. When people bathe in the holy Ganges, they scoop the water and pour it into the river as an offering.

60. “a ritual is a stereotyped sequence of activities involving gestures, words, or objects, performed in a sequestered place and designed to influence preternatural [magical] entities or forces on behalf of the actor’s goals or interests” Victor Turner

61. Sometimes ritual reenact myths and stories. sometimes involve particular kind of attire, or a specific location. They could be the reliving of an important event. a patterned form of behavior, generally communal and consisting of prescribed actions and words usually deeply meaningful for us Rituals Tibetan Llamas

62. 1.They are by definition religious –involve magic, the supernatural 2.They are highly formalized or structured patterns of behaviour 3.rituals are belief in action 4.Out of the ordinary actions i.e. sacred 5.usually performed in a sequestered place 6.They have a goal or aim 7.They serve a function for the people concerned 8.They serve to provide a sense of solidarity 9.symbolic 10.multivocalic Ten characteristics of rituals

63. Types of Rituals concerned with the natural world seasonal should guarantee success and wealth raindance Rites of transition or passage, life cycle concerned with the social world changes in the individual’s status, role or position Critical or life-crisis rites Curing and magic Concerned with the individual Ritual For Group Welfare 1. Mass 2. Communion 3. Feast Days Calendrical rites

64. w Contact the Ultimate Reality w Communicate with the Ultimate Reality w Communicate to others (public vs. private) w Help to develop relationship with the Ultimate Reality w Effect human transformation Role and Function of Rituals

65. Solomon Grundy, Born on Monday, Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday, Took ill on Thursday, Worse on Friday, Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday: This is the end Of Solomon Grundy Solomon Grundy What is a rite of passage?

66. Rites of passage are the mileposts or landmarks that guide travelers through the life cycle.

68. Quinceanera

70.  Throughout our lives there are periods when not much seems to happen  Then there are times when our lives undergo dramatic change  After which nothing is quite the same as it was before.  These transitions are often marked by rituals

72. Arnold van Gennep (1873 - 1957) The Rites of Passage (1908) 1.separation - Preliminal –purification rites –rituals symbolize cutting or separating eg. removal of hair –seclusion 2.Transition - liminal –person symbolically placed “outside” society –observes certain taboos or restrictions –normal rules of the society suspended –rite may be seen as a symbolic death, leading to a rebirth 3.incorporation - postliminal –Symbolically reborn –completes transition to a new status –lifting of restrictions –wear new clothes and insignia

73. Photo by Ludo Kuipers © OzOutback Internet Services Young boys from Numbulwar with small spears; they will try to hit the men, who will then have to dance for them at their circumcision ceremony.

74. Young initiates are carried to their elders on the ceremonial ground and will stay with them during the all-night "Mandiwala" dance before their circumcision. Photo by Ludo Kuipers © OzOutback Internet Services

75. Initiates during their ceremony in Borroloola; they are looking at a long line of dancers that will dance closely around them and take them to the ceremony ground. Photo by Ludo Kuipers © OzOutback Internet Services

76. A boy is painted with red ochre for his "Mandiwala" initiation ceremony. He wears a belt of human hair that was put on him at the start of his initiation. Photo by Ludo Kuipers © OzOutback Internet Services

78. Boys are painted up for their "Mandiwala" initiation cermony, where the whole night the men will dance for them; their circumcision takes place early in the morning. Photo by Ludo Kuipers © OzOutback Internet Services

79. " Daru" initiates in Borroloola. They are carrying small bark boomerangs with which they try to hit men who should later dance for them in their "Mandiwala" ceremony. Photo by Ludo Kuipers © OzOutback Internet Services

80. Young initiates during a "Djapi" circumcision ceremony in Numbulwar, south eastern Arnhem Land, in which the boys are painted with their clan totemic designs. Photo by Ludo Kuipers © OzOutback Internet Services

81. An initiate during a southern Arnhem Land circumcision ceremony; the boy is decorated with white clay and strings of feathers. Photo by Ludo Kuipers © OzOutback Internet Services

82. A man's dance during an initiation ceremony in the early morning in Beswick, in the southern part of Arnhem Land. Photo by Ludo Kuipers © OzOutback Internet Services

83. Liminal period  Initiate separated from normal life and secluded is in an ambiguous condition  Initiate has nothing – no status, property, rank or kinship position - sacred poverty state  initiates may be seen as sexless or bisexual, or considered unclean or polluting  treated as an embryo or a newborn infant, or thought of as “dead” (by and to his parents and community)  a suspension of normative obligations  stress on servility to absolute authority of the ritual elders  secret, esoteric knowledge – the sacra = the “crux of liminality”

84.  unstructured and egalitarian bonds between people  Typical of the Liminal stage of a rite of passage  A communal bond that results from social leveling and shared experience of liminality  Among neophytes there is often complete equality  comradeship transcends distinctions of rank, age, kinship position  Communitas transgresses or dissolves norms that govern institutionalized relationships  Communitas emerges where structure is not  Communitas has an aspect of potentiality Communitas

85. Myth The word myth often has three meanings. 1. “something widely accepted but is really false.” 2. Stories in early societies which tell of heroic actions or forces of nature or gods or goddesses. usually sacred, 3. Primitive belief about nature and the universe. “Pre-scientific” Usually a traditional story of ostensible historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon; parable, allegory; an ill-founded belief held uncritically especially by an interested group.” Webster's

86. w Myths are considered true sacred stories that occurred in the remote past and have non-humans (gods, monsters) as the principal characters. “presents in the form of a narrative the basic world view of a society.” (Ellwood) w Subjects of myth Creation of world and humans Cosmic catastrophes Origins of institutions Phenomena of birth and death Relations of the gods with each other and mortals

87.  Gives meaning to life by answering questions like: 'Who made the world? How will it end? Who was the first man? Where do souls go after death?'..  Gives validity to and explains certain ideas and principles eg. incest taboos, food taboos  teaches morality and social behavior - what types of things should and shouldn’t be done and the consequences for those wrong doings  validates the existing social order (e.g Trobriand myth)  enshrines conservative social values, raising tradition on a pedestal.  It expresses and confirms, rather than explains or questions, the sources of cultural attitudes and values. Functions of Myth

88. 1 The first is the mystical function...realizing what a wonder the universe is, and what a wonder you are, and experiencing awe before this mystery... 2 The second is a cosmological dimension, the dimension with which science is concerned--showing you what the shape of the universe is, but showing it in such a way that the mystery again comes through... 3 The third function is the sociological one--supporting and validating a certain social order...It is this sociological function of myth that has taken over in our world--and it is out of date... The Four Functions of MYTH 4 But there is a fourth function of myth, and this is the one that I think everyone must try today to relate to--and that is the pedagogical function, of how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances. Myths can teach you that. Joseph Campbell: The Power of Myth, page 31.

89. FORM BELIEFTIMEPLACE ATTITUDE PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS Myth Fact Remote Past Different world: other or earlier Sacred Non-human (often gods) Legend Fact Recent Past World of today Secular or sacred Human (heroes) Folktale FictionAny Time Any Place Secular (non- sacred) Human or non-human

90. Priests versus Shamans Religion and Power

91.  authority comes from his service in a sacred tradition  must have competence in conducting ritual -  Symbols of a rite are sensorial perceptible to a congregation and have a permanence in that they are culturally transmissible  The priest is an actor in a culturally scripted drama  efforts are individual and occasional  deals with spirits and lesser deities  tends to dominate in food- gathering societies  most frequently performs a curing rite institutional functionaries  power inherited or derived from the body of codified and standardized – from society Inspirational functionaries  Authority from supernatural  powers come from divine stroke and personal ability

93. A shaman of the Sitka- Qwan Indians (Alaska), wearing a ritual mask, is doing a healing.

94. an hamatsa (shaman) who has become possessed by supernatural madness after spending many days in the woods as part of the hamatsa initiation ceremony. Source of power comes from Belief in magic which has three aspects 1.The sorcerers belief in the effectiveness of his techniques 2.The patient’s or victim’s belief in the sorcerer’s power 3.The faith and expectations of the group, The shamanistic complex

95. The Ghost Dance Revitalization Movements deliberate and organized attempts by some members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture by rapid acceptance of a pattern of multiple innovations

96. Wovoka (Jack Wilson )

97. A wickiup January 1889

98. A wickiup

99. The Ghost Dance

101. Ghost Dance Shirt

102. Wounded Knee Massacre South Dakota Dec 29 th 1890

103.  NATIVISTIC: rejection of alien values and customs  REVIVALISTIC: return to (presumed) ancient ways  VITALISTIC: emphasis on importing alien elements (e.g. Singer sewing machines, Gordon’s gin)  MILLENARIAN: apocalyptic transformation of the world, involving overturning of present social system, predicted to occur in near future  MESSIANIC: spiritual savior will appear, or is already present, to transform the world through his personalized power Revitalization Movements

104. Wicca: What is it? w Witchcraft also called Wicca or the Craft w a neo-pagan, nature-centered religion w It worships a Goddess and usually a God w uses magic as a tool of personal and global transformation.

105. Gerald Gardner 1884-1964 High Magic's Aid 1949 a fictional account of witches 1951 England repealed the witchcraft laws Witchcraft Today 1954 a non-fictional account of modern witchcraft The Meaning of Witchcraft 1959 A history of Wicca in Northern Europe. These books formed the basis of modern Wicca

107. Central law of Wicca: An It Harm None, Do What Ye Will" I.e. as long as you don't do anything that will hurt anyone (including yourself) it is allowed. Second rule: Everything you put out comes back to you Three fold. Good or bad, good spells or bad spells

108. Sabbats  Samhain (Halloween)  Yule (Winter Soltice)  Candlemas (Feb 2)  Ostara (Spring Equinox)  Beltane (May day)  Midsummer (Summer Soltice)  Lammas (July 31)  Mabon (Autumn Equinox )

109. Rituals & Beliefs Most rituals take place in a circular formation Symbolizes boundary between outside world and the world of the goddesses Earth religion: primary beliefs revolve around environment Rituals also honor birth, death and reincarnation. Beliefs expressed through music, dancing and/or meditation as a way for members to experience their own power and connectedness.

110. The pentagram – five pointed star pentacle--pentagram inscribed in a circle Spirit - symbolizes spiritual love Air - the mind Water - the cycle of life Earth - the Mother element Fire - passion

111. 1. How does consultation of oracles assist the Azande to cope with social and cognitive uncertainty? 2. Does oracle consultation help Azande society function more smoothly? In what ways? 3. Why did the oracle “work” in the case of the adultery? 4. How have Christian beliefs and values been incorporated in the Azande system? 5. How can witchcraft be seen as a form of social control? Witchcraft Among the Azande

112. What is the purpose of divination among the Azande? What is Witchcraft and what do witches do Who are the Witches What do witches epitomize? Who do you accuse of being a witch? If you are accused of being a witch what’s the first thing you’re going to do? Who is the real victim in witchcraft accusations? How do you prevent being accused of witchcraft How are accusations of witchcraft a form of social control What would happen if the benge either killed or spared the chicken every time. Witchcraft Among the Azande