ANTH V02-Cultural Anthropology

Belief and the Supernatural

Religion is a Cultural Universal

All religions have 2 components:

A cosmology: statements or assumptions of nature & reality

A mythology: sacred Narratives

•Have a sacred power

•Validate

•

The Supernatural

Beyond the forces of nature

The “unexplained” by science

Addressing the Supernatural

sacred↔profane

•Rituals:

–magic

–sacrifice

–prayer

–meditation

–performance

–fasting & feasting

–

Belief

•Knowing something is true

•Based on:

–experience

–cultural knowledge

a society’s “religion”

•NOT a

–a summative notion

–with one single unifying, coherent set of rituals and beliefs

–which all members follow equally

•but RATHER

–a loosely related group of cult institutions

–plus other, less well-organized special practices and beliefs

types of cult institutions

•individualistic

•shamanic

•communal

•formal (ecclesiastical)

•Olympian

•Monotheistic

individualistic cult institutions

•not performed by specialists

•each person enters into his or her own relationship with supernatural entities

•no intermediaries

•examples:

–vision quests

–hunting magic

–Animism

–“luck”

shamanic cult institutions

•involve part-time practitioners

•involves simplest expression of religious division of labor

•examples:

–shamans

–diviners

–medicine men

–palm readers

–astrologers

communal cult institutions

•led by groups of laity

–are organized via a bureaucratic structure

–are not full-time specialists

•examples:

–puberty rituals

–ancestor ceremonies

–political functions (U.S.)

ecclesiastical cult institutions

•most complex type

•professional clergy

–undergo formal training

–formally elected or appointed

–full-time religious specialists

–responsible for performing certain rituals

–may claim authority over laity

Olympian

Polytheistic

recognize a hierarchy of supernatural entities, with more or less independent characters

Monotheistic

all supernatural entities are:

•Either subordinate to,

•or simply manifestations of one Supreme Being

Folk Belief (superstition)…if time permits

• Unofficial belief VS.

•Official belief:

–sanctioned

–prestigious

“Baseball Magic”

Reducing chance & uncertainty

Associate success with prior behaviors

Mana: a powerful force!

•Daily rituals

•Observe taboos

•Amulets/Fetishes

Amulets/Fetishes/Talismans

Lucky Charm

•Magical Properties

•Protection

–BAD LUCK

–EVIL SPIRITS

The Evil Eye: Il Malocchio/ Mal de ojo

Envy

Image of Limited Good- traditional societies

The Evil Eye

•Protect against attack of evil spirit

• Times of Joy

–marriage

–childbirth (infants, males)

Voodoo or Vodou?...if time permits

•Vodou:

–Overcoming hardships

–Ancestor worship

–Divine guidance

• Voodoo:

–Zombies (tetrodotoxin poisoning)

–Malevolent sorcery

 Syncretism

•Merging elements of two or more religious traditions

•Result is new religion

 Haitian Vodou

• World is interconnected whole

•Spirits animate world (Iwa or Loa)

•Supreme being: removed form human affairs (Bondie’)

•Goal: keep reciprocal relationship with world of spirits

•How?

•Ritual

–Offerings

–Sacrifice

–Performance

• (music & dance)

–Ceremonies

•Priesthood of men and women

–Healing practices

Haitian Vodou Flags

•Saints disguise Afro-Caribbean spirits

•Adaptive strategies pray to saint= honor Loa/Iwa

  The Iwa/Loa

•Major forces of the universe

–Good, evil, reproduction, health, aspects of daily life

The Supernatural in Art

The Drapo

Haitian Vodou Flags

Ritual & Festivals

Rite/Ritual

•Supernatural connection

•A celebration

•Symbols & Meanings

Turner’s Phases of Ritual

Separation

Liminality

Re-incorporation

What is a festival?

•periodically recurrent

•can take many forms

•a community with religious, historical, ethnic, and/or linguistic bonds

Individual function: “a festive feeling”

Group function: rites of intensification

Promote a sense of group:

–solidarity

–identity

rituals & festivals in societies function as:

1. to provide temporary liberation of the social order

2. to reveal social conflicts

- “hidden transcripts”

3. a form of “adult play”

Example of carnival and others from lecture and videos

 Rites of Passage

•Transition from one social role to another

•Public

•Validate gender

  Life Crises:

Arnold van Gennap

•Birth

•Puberty (Initiation)

•Marriage

•Death

 Initiation Rituals

Mark the passage from childhood to adulthood…examples from the Maasai…

Male and Female initiation rituals…

Rites of Intensification

A ritual designed to promote group:

•Solidarity

•Identity

•Social values