Anthropology Midterm 1

Zoroastrianism

"the first motheistic religion" -still many followers today

Akhenaten

(1352 BC - 1338 BC) Egyptian -abandoned traditional polytheism -worshipped one God; Aten (God of the Sun) -Removed the words "Gods to God"

Navacho:

- believe in witchcraft but do not like to discuss it -Witchery way: people strive to become witches, are initiated -Witchcraft accusations: If you do not care for your parents, they will become witches Witches are thought to rob graves Witches pair up to make someone sick/heal for money

Hinduism

-3rd largest religion on Earth today -called "the world's oldest religion" -polytheistic -no known creater

What are some famous polytheistic religions?

-Ancient Greek -Ancient Rome -Ancient Egyptians

Priests

-Are granted authority by religious institution -Acts as a representative of a deity for the community -Perform prescribed rituals for the good community -Usually must memorize vast amounts of knowledge (through schooling/training) -Full time job -Usually exist in large scale society, religion and secular are defined and seperated

"Mangu"

-Azande practice -something physically inside the person...often unknown -passed down to child of the same sex -acted upon physically, sometimes accidentally

Mary Douglas

-British Anthropologists -noticed people love cleanliness -clean and dirty=good and bad -humans project their reality -when we strive to control our environments, we try to control projections of our life

Zoroastrianism Core beliefs

-Dualism -human participation in struggle between "good and evil"

Moses

-Hebrew prophet -lived under Akhenaten

Buddhism 4 Noble Truths

-Human life is suffering -We suffer because we cling -Only by not clinging can we stop suffering -There are 8 ways to stop clinging (Eight Fold Path)

Buddhism and Christianity

-Jesus and Buddha born within 500 years apart -Jesus and Buddha both were peaceful during unpeaceful times -both births heralded by angels -both started spiritual journey at age 30 -mothers gave birth during journey -spent time with "sinners/whores"

When is magic real?

-Magic is real to the people who believe in magic

Wicca core beliefs:

-Nature is a manifestation of the divine -Manipulation of magic/spells

Max Weber

-Protestent Work Ethic -studied the rise of protestism and capitalism in the world-believed they were codependent 1)religions used to value poverty 2)all work as a "calling" 3)rich=religious value

Hindu Core beliefs

-Reincarnation -Samsara: cycle of birth, death, and rebirth -Moksha: freedom and liberation -Dharma: ethics/duties -Renunciation, selfless service, meditation

Wicca rituals

-Ritual festivals (Lunar to celebrate the Goddess and Solar to celebrate God) -Rituals begin by creating a circle -Usually recognize the cardinal directions (N,S,E,W) -Rituals frequently include symbols, singing, chanting, meals

Euro/American witchcraft culture:

-Salem witch trials: believed that women became witches by having sex with Satan -Satan became more prominent during Apocalyptic Period -European/American society: being a witch is making a deal with the devil (evil)

How do religions spread/change?

-The Comparative Approach/Diffusionism -The evolutionary approach

Hindu Important Texts

-The Vedas (Rigveda) -Bhagavad Gita -The Upanishads

Shaman

-Usually receives power directly from the spirit world -Acquires status and power through direct connection with the supernatural -Culturally specific word from Siberia for their religious healer -Broad sense: refers to any person who lives in a small scale community and is able to communicate with the supernatural -Sometimes marginalised -Will usually have a side job, being a shaman does not have its own income -Usually exist where the religious realm and the secular realm are not defined

Gwari

-Witches are both men and women -The community practices rituals that rid the entire community of witches -divination reveals the witches -both men and women are victims

Nupe

-Witches are only women; controlled by men -Some rituals exist that can prevent damage by witches

aninism

-a belief in spirit beings -does not work universally -coined by Edward B. Tylor---> believed in cultural evolution (1908)

Wicca

-a contemporary new religious movement -Revivalist traditions dating back to 20th century England -Also call Neo-Paganism -Practitioners of petitionary effort including spells and magic -Polytheistic (Gods/Goddesses) -Emphasis on human equality, of particular appeal to women and all feminists

4 anthropology subfields

-archaeology -Linguistics -Physical anthropology -Cultural anthropology

Durkheim (sociologist)

-argued religion keeps society together by teaching people how to behave

enchanted worldview

-belief in powers or worlds that are not perceived by humans

Judaism and Christianity

-both believe Jesus was Jewish -follow the Zoroastrian trend of good and evil

Karl Marx

-called religion "opiate of the people" -when you sell your time, you lose your power and someone takes it -says religion makes people feel comforted in today's world

ritual

-ceremonial actions that are performed according to a prescribed order

Edward B. Tylor

-coined "aninism" -argued religion evolved in a linear manner

Franz Boaz

-coined the idea of cultural relativism -founding scholar of cultural anthropology -German born (1858) -conducted fieldwork in North America, studied languages and cultures of Native Americans

Birth of anthropology

-colonial governments would hire anthropologists to study the people that they wanted to control -early anthropologists create much propoganda

Maladaptation:

-created by Robert Edgerton -use sparingly -if the practice is contradicting the person, then it can be called a maladaptation

The Enuma Elish

-creation story- one supreme god, humans created to serve the gods (Mesopotamian)

Myths provide insight into:

-cultural practices -values and ethical codes -Hierarchy of humans and animals -relationships between humans and nature

Anthropologists must overcome their ______________________ to understand others ______________________.

-culturally-specific logic -culturally-specific logic

religion

-definition is hard to come up with because religion varies with culture -religious diversity is so extreme for one definition

Why did Basso produce great work?

-described local environment/geography in great detail because he knew the importance of the land to the people -includes many stories "word for word" -does formal/informal research -highlights what he doesn't understand -does not assume people will employ his "common sense"

Islam Core beliefs

-faith -prayer -Alms-giving -fasting -pilgrimige

Mesopotamians/Sumerians

-first people to develop written language in 3200 BCE

Bronislaw Malinowski

-he codified methods of fieldwork that anthropologists should follow

early anthropologists were encouraged to build:

-hierarchy of culture/human achievements

Where was anthropology created?

-in European universities with European views

Place-making:

-recalls history -builds community -explore ethical questions -memories of Earth's original appearance -physical manifestation of change

What is the result of colonialism?

-result is always treating humans like objects (slavery) -caused of death for many native tribes

Malinowski (religion)

-said religion comforts -comforts you when your life is out of control

Christianity

-spread along trade routes -Jesus was born into Jewish society -at time Jews were living under Roman rule and looking for a savior

Methods of field work

-stay for an extended period of time -learn the local language -"Get off the Veranda" (participate in the culture) -explore the mundane imponderabilia...."make the strange normal and the normal strange"

Divination

-supernatural techniques for obtaining information about things unknown, including events that will occur in the future - Usually the divination is magical - Magical rituals used to manipulate the supernatural realm in order to gain information

Clifford Geertz

-symbolic anthropologists -believes religion is a system of symbols that are presented as fact and are so strong that they make a person think their religious nature has always been inside them

E.E. Evans-Pritchard argued:

-that Azande used witchcraft to explain misfortune (helps prevent anti-social behavior)

Apache

-the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans that spoke Alaskan

Who are the oldest people we can study?

-the first people to invent language

cultural relativism

-the idea that different cultures are equal

Witchcraft

-the innate ability to cause harm -Not reliant on rituals -Can be unintentional

Christianity Core beliefs

-the messiah needed to be human to remain monotheistic

Malinowski uses what type of language?

-vivid and descriptive

Colonialism

-when a foreign power imposes its power on a weaker power and takes over the land for wealth and power

witchcraft accusations

-witches have personal characteristics that are the antithesis of those that characterize a good, moral person. -Witchcraft becomes a way of objectifying antisocial behavioral traits

The Epic of Gilgamesh

2100 BCE Flood story

Hindu Core legend

Arjuna and Krisha (The Gita)

Prophets

Considered to be a mouthpiece for the divine. Their role is to communicate the words and will of gods to her or his community

Threefold law

Good will return to you threefold

Persian culture/society=

Iran

Scholars believe ancient Mesopotamians influenced what greatly?

Judaism

Where did Abraham (father of judaism) live?

Mesopotamia

Islam core legend

Mohammad recites the Qur'an

Healer

Usually a priest or shaman when they are asked to cure illness or injury

Myth

a SACRED story that informs a people's worldview

operant definition

a definition in which we define our terms so that they are observable

Religious specialist

a person who devotes herself or himself to a particular belief of religion or a religious system

Experts

a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge or skill in a particular area

origin myths

answer basic questions that humans have: -Who are we? -Why are we here?

meaning

attempts to create order and control of the natural world in the face of uncertainty

Middleway (Buddhism)

belief that with balance, someone can achieve peace

Humans have selective memory when it comes to:

causation and coincidence

Your worldview is:

culturally specific

Tenfold law

evil will return to you tenfold

Death ritual

funerary practices intended to mark the passage of a person -final rite of passage -vary across the globe

Emic

insider view of culture/practices

Etic

outsider view of culture/practices

Magic

petitionary efforts intended to change an individual or communitys fate/situation: can be compared to superstition

Every relationship between people is a:

power imbalance

Capitalism=

profit (encourages profit only)

Diviner

someone who practices divination to gain knowledge of the future, supernatural, etc. usually focusing on practical question

Herbalist

specialist in the use the plant and other materials as cures

Islam

strictly monotheistic tradition, built on the idea that Mohammad is the last prophet --> worship same God as Jews and Christians

archaeology

study of artifacts

Physical anthropology

study of evolution/diversity

Linguistics

study of language

Cultural anthropology

study of society

ethnocentrism

the practice of comparing culture against your own logic

Culturation

the process by which someone learns their culture

enculturation

the process of learning culture

Anthropology

the study of humanity -strive to take holistic approach

Wiccan Law of Return

whatever good you do will return to you, whatever evil you do will return to you

Gate keeping

who defines religious practices

Deal with the devil:

witches make deals for power, take action to achieve their goals