Anthro Final Exam

Liminality

-an individual is separated from the larger social group, left in a state of isolation for a time of reflection -Individual is suspended between 2 categories and is ambiguous (transitioning) -A period permeated with safeguards and taboos to protect them from harm -Involves a temporary suspension and reversal of social distinctions -Typically during this phase, all participants dress alike & must lay aside any clothing or other markers of social status distinctions -EX: The bride and groom can't see each other on the eve of their wedding. Or the groom can't see the wedding dress before ceremony bc considered unlucky. -This ambiguous state can generate into *communitas* (a feeling of abandoning one's individuality and merging into wholeness with others in a spirit of unity and equality) (*Victor Turner*) EX: EX: hippies movement in the 1960s

Syncretism

-are a cultural mix, including religious blends, that emerge when two or more cultural traditions come into contact -When one religion is blended in w/ one or more others -This happened when indigenous peoples colonized by western powers blended their earlier religion w/ whatever form of Christianity that was brought by the missionaries or colonist -EX: The Rastafarian religious movement in the Caribbean ---Combination of Christianity, African religions and Hinduism. -EX: voodoo, santeria, and candomblé

Ephemeral art

-artistic productions that are made to be destroyed -EX: Navajo sand paintings are intended to be destroyed after they have served their spiritual function in a curing ritual -In a post-industrial world it has no function but to exists as source of aesthetics interest or delight

Revitalization movements

-organized religious expressions of resistance, protest, or dissatisfaction with the status quo. -Attempts by members of a society trying to construct a more satisfying culture. -Movements like this take place during extreme social stress and cultural disruption -EX:The Ghost Dance: The most famous Native American revitalization movement (Began in 1889 among the Paiute Indians of the U.S. Great Basin) -Dedicated to a vision where bison were restored to the land in abundance & white people had vanished -Native Americans had songs & dances to express this vision which frightened Euro-American settlers -Led to government massacre of 200 Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1890 -EX: Fundamentalism -a form of a religion, especially Islam or Protestant Christianity, that upholds belief in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture

what are the "Rules" of Magic

-proposed by James Frazer in 1890 -*The Law of Sympathy* -*The Law of Similarity* -*The Law of Contagion*

Shamanism

-the most heavily researched subjects in modern anthropology -*Shamanism represents one of the simplest forms of religion found* ---By simple, we mean that there is no hierarchical structure ---Relatively few people are involved as religious specialists -*Shamans are associated with a type of religion called animism*

what are the 3 considerations for good and bad art

1) is it well made (or performed) 2) does it demonstrate originality at least to some extent 3) does it have some significance or meaning

what are the 5 myths of art

1)Art does not serve a practical function 2)The goal of art is to produce beauty 3)Artists are creative specialists. 4)Art is basically visual primarily painting & sculpture 5)All societies have high-status art (fine art) & low-status art (folk art, craft)

Shamans

*Shamanism is the oldest religion* -Part-time religious specialist who intercedes between humans and the supernatural world. -Unlike priests and other religious practitioners, they acquire their religious status directly through their own experiences and abilities in navigating the spiritual world. -Their legitimacy comes from being recognized by the community for their power to reach and influence supernatural beings and forces. -Usually, shamans are males, but women can become shamans too

Dance

-Body responding to music -2 types of dance: ---Social dancing: untrained people dance for their own entertainment ---Dancing performed by trained and paid people for the entertainment of an audience. -*exception: tribal ritual dances*

Similarities between shamans and faith leaders

-Both claim to intercede w/ the supernatural in an effort to cure an illness -They both achieve success through psychological mechanisms

Outsider art

-Cannot happen in small-scale, non-stratified societies -*Outsider artists are self-taught, many come from disadvantaged backgrounds* -Outside artists fail to conform to accepted conventions of productions (they antagonize them) -EX: *Graffiti*, some people see it has vandalism or visual littering, graffiti artists defend their work and say that it's an anti-establishment public statement and is a valid form of personal expression and social comment -Ephemeral art

Law of contagion (contagious magic)

-Contact makes things happen -Things that were once in contact continue to be in contact after the physical connection is severed -*Contagious Magic*

Transformations in religion

-Contemporary states have separated religion and state -Religions tend to branch out from one another -EX: Christianity and Islam developed out of an earlier monotheistic Judaism, then Christianity split into many different denominations.

Robert R Marrett on religion

-Disagreed with Tylor, he believed that the earliest expressions of religion were brought abt through human experiences of wonderment and awe in the face of what seemed extraordinary and powerful -To Marrett, prior to animism was a stage of *animatism*: a belief in a generalized, impersonal power over which people have some measure of control" -The belief that everything is pervaded with a life-force giving each inanimate object a consciousness or personality, but not a soul as in animism.

Symbolic expression of feelings(Durkheim)

-Durkheim focused on sacred feelings that religion creates in a community that strengthens solidarity -Durkheim said "Society worships itself" symbolically -Symbolic representations of the sacred are metaphors of those aspects of society that inspire feelings of respect, fear and awe

Emile Durkheim on religion

-Durkheim thought that if he studied the religion of a small and simple culture (for example, a culture organized as a band) that he could learn more about the early forms of human religion (He chose to study a group of Australian aborigines) -*Durkheim's religion definition: "a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things."* -Durkheim was using a communal definition of what is considered to be holy to define a religion -*Communal*: that these things are shared by the community & not just individual practices -*studied totemism*

Definition of Art: Selection and arrangement of elements

-EX: sonnets, Japanese Haiku -Elements that are not included are just as important as elements that are included.

Stratification of art

-Fine Art -Folk Art -Popular Art -Outsider Art *Cannot happen in small-scale, non-stratified societies*

significant art

-Good art depends on "significance" and meaning -It contains *"high truth"*& and *"high seriousness"* of purpose -Not trite, commonplace, or superficial -Art that is trite or superficial is devalued -For abstract (non-representational) art, it does not depict any concrete phenomena, so it is difficult to describe the perception of high truth or seriousness.

what are some ideas abt why religion is a cultural universe

-Help us cope with death (our own and others) -We are not the only animals to be disturbed by the death of others, but we are the only ones who contemplate and fear our own death.

Fine art

-High-status art produced elites and sometimes by elites and is mainly consumed by them -Art that is inaccessible to the majority of the population -Require knowledge of a foreign or extinct language, or requires extensive education, or requires knowledge of a subject matter that non-elites have no access to.

animistic worldview

-In animistic worldviews, everything in nature has a soul, animate & inanimate objects -There are no accidents -If illness or accidents happen, some spirit is angry -The shaman must negotiate this supernatural "parallel" world

Good art in non-industrial societies

-In contrast to U.S. standards, where art must be both well-made & original (unique), in non-industrial societies, *the goal is to make art correctly* -EX: Non-industrial examples in ancient Egypt and China -Creative originality was not the primary concern in art -The idea was that the ancestors got it right -A style preserved for thousands of years to show the stability, dignity, and divine origin of the state.

James Frazer on religion

-Influenced by Tylor, believed that magic came abt first in human development and that religion originated as people perceived that failure of magic. -Magic did not consistently bring rain, cure illness, or increase hunting success.

Magic vs. religion

-James Frazer considers magic to be an attempt to makes supernatural forces or beings act in certain ways, with a detached, utilitarian attitude. -He considered religion as an attempt to placate or please supernatural beings, with an attitude of reverence and humility. -Sometimes its hard to distinguish the two, bc they can seem the same -EX: sometimes magical spells are included in payer.

Magic

-Magic refers to *supernatural techniques intended to accomplish specific aims* -the ability to bring about change through supernatural action or supernatural influence. *EX: Baseball magic: A classic study (studied by George Gmelch)* -Professional baseball players in the United States of America -If they win three games without washing their socks, then their socks are never washed again -If a pitcher touched the bill of his cap before throwing a pitch the last time he struck out a batter, then he will keep touching the bill of his cap before throwing a pitch. -Ways in which a person can compel the supernatural to behave in certain ways -Athletes seek to control Unpredictable elements of the game with Rituals associated with winning -*The function of magic used in times of uncertainty*

Art views

-Most North American's don't consider art as being useful -Like religion, art is also less bounded and less limited in many societies other than our own -Based on the Dogon people of Mali, what they considered to be art was integrated into Dogon everyday life as was a shovel or a knife, and was considered just as useful. -What constitutes for art in one society may not qualify as art in another society. -What is considered acceptable or serious art can change rapidly

Brazilian Candomble

-Resistance to slavery took many forms. Many slaves sought solace in their African religion and culture, in their dance and song. The slaves were given perfunctory indoctrination into Catholicism. -Spiritual elements from many of the African tribes, such as the Yoruba, Bantu and Fon were preserved and made palatable to the slave masters with a façade of Catholic saints and ritual objects. -*Xango *- linked to St. John the Baptist, this is the "Orisha" of justice and represents rocks and mountains ----A traditional Yoruba god "disguised" as a Catholic saint during the period of colonial slavery in Brazil -Ogun - linked to St. George, this "orisha" is protector of people in the military and is usually evoked when someone wants to win some sort of battle or struggle

Religion and environmental regulation

-Rituals that had a material impact on the external environment -EX: sacrificing animals to ancestors, so some animals decrease in that area. -EX: Hindus worship cows, so they don't eat beef or kill cows, so cattle are numerous in their cities and wander freely

Sir Edward Tylor on religion

-Suggested that religion grew out of the human development of the concept of the soul -Helped explain puzzling observations -came up with *animism*

Dark side of shamanism

-The Dark side of shamanism is the power to harm, cause pain, illness or death. -Sorcery and witchcraft can be conducted wittingly or unwittingly by ordinary people -A sorcerer uses objects or substances to harm others -A witch uses thoughts and emotions to inflict harm (they even not be aware that they are doing it) -Contagious magic and Imitative magic ***Either of these two magics can still be used to help or cure a person.

Function of art

-The function of art is to set apart and distinguish specific activities and spaces (rituals) In the modern western world art: -It gives pleasure to its audiences -it serves as a form of expression. & communication for the artist & the community to which the artist belongs -It is a social status marker for art consumers. -It has an economic market function—big money auctions -In many societies, art is an integral element of a variety of activities and is important bc it enhances them. EX: music used in the background of many things, like events, commercials

historical backgrounds of shamans

-The word "shaman" comes from the Chukchee reindeer herders in Siberia where shamans were first discovered by Europeans -First shamans discovered by Europeans in Siberia but existed for hundreds of years prior to that -first shamans were women -The word shaman originally was a word meaning frenzy -The shaman gained her power by entering into an altered state of consciousness (tranced state) -Sometimes spontaneously experiencing a seizure was seen as evidence of having the gift to transcend the natural world

what type of places are shamans usually found

-They are found in *egalitarian societies* like the reindeer herders where no specialized work exists and religious knowledge is vital to survival. -Shamans are predominantly found in simple cultures resembling *bands or tribes*

basis of totemism

-Totemism uses nature as a model for society -Each descent group has a totem, which occupies a specific niche in nature -Social differences mirror the natural order of the environment -Unity of human social order enhanced by symbolic association with and imitation of natural order -In totemic societies, each descent group has an animal, plant, or geographical feature from which they claim descent -Totems are apical ancestors of clans -Members of clan did not kill or eat their totem, except once a year when the members of the clan gathered for ceremonies dedicated to the totem

shamanic trance

-Trances are created by a variety of means, including meditation, fasting, and on occasion the ingestion of a variety of substance -In a trance, shamans can petition the supernatural powers for the benefit of their people -The shaman visits spirits or is possessed by one -These trance states are reached by rhythmic drums, rattles, and vigorous physical activity like dancing. -In some cultures, shamans use drugs to reach a trance state

5 Kinds of Art

-Visual -Verbal (myths, legends, stories, even children's riddles, jokes, proverbs) -Drama -Dance -Music

Sigmund Freud on religion

-Wrote that religion as an adult projection of childhood anxieties and need. -In times of stress and uncertainty, people often revert to their childhood feelings, so they construct supernatural beings who will take care of their needs. -Religion is then a human quest for a powerful parental figure -Freud saw religion as a generalized neurosis -Neurotic people usually engage in compulsive, obsessive behavior, strikingly similar to repetitive religious rituals. -To Freud, the root for both neurosis and religion is human anxiety and fear.

Rituals

a pattern of behavioral enactment of belief -Rituals play an important role in creating and maintaining group solidarity (idea associated with Durkheim) -Arnold Van Gennep analyzed the power of ritual

Imitative magic (sympathetic magic)

actions undertaken on an object that represents a person can have an effect on that person -EX: voodoo practice, sticking pins into a doll representing a person.

Curanderas/os

traditional healers in the Mexican American communities along the US-Mexico border. -They combine the functions for herbalists, shamans, and practical (self-taught doctors)

Legend

stories of important historical events that involve a culture hero (either they are partly supernatural or have supernatural protectors)

Tales

stories that are known by everyone in the group, but no one believes them to be actually true. Usually features a clever old man/animal

what are the kinds of religions

*Shamanic religions* -shamans are part-time religious intermediaries who may act as curers -these religions are most characteristic of foragers *Communal religions* -have shamans, community rituals, multiple nature gods, and are more characteristic of food producers/ horticulturalists than foragers

Definition of Art: Intellectual or affective response

-Art is usually created for others -The intention is to have an effect on the audience. ----Some are intended to please and some are intended to enrage the audience.

Definition of Art: Skill

-Art requires skill, some societies believe that it could be a gift, while other societies believe that anyone can be trained. -In some societies, only one sex produces art. EX: Native American women made baskets

Visual art

(both 2D and 3D) EX: painting, sculpture, tattoos

Drama

(both comedy and tragedy) -A special variety of verbal art -EX: plays, movies, and TV shows

Music

(both vocal and instrumental) -Production of sounds, vocal and/or instrumental -A culturally recognized arrangement -Out of all arts mentions, music is the most abstract and the least ties to a specific representation of concrete reality -Most music has specific significance, conventional connection between words and meaning in language -How music affects people can different depending on the culture

Verbal art

(including poetry and prose) -Requires no special equipment (vocal tract and brain lol) -EX: anthropologist, folklorists, -Myth, legend, tale -*A great deal of verbal art is poetry*

what are the 3 stages of Rites of Passage

*1) Separation* -separation of the individual from the previous status -participant(s) withdraws from group and begins moving from one place to another *2)Liminality*(most important) -period between states, during which the participant(s) has left one place but has not yet entered the next *3)Re-Incorporation* -integration of the individual into his/her new status or social state

Religion can characterized by a set of.....

*Beliefs abt the supernatural*: -*Tenets*: prescriptive statement of belief -When all integrated it expresses a people's worldview and most basic values abt what is right or wrong (morality) *Mythology*: -Covers account abt how the universe was created and how natural and supernatural forces came to be. *Rituals*: -Both mythology and rituals are full of symbols that anthropologist analyzes to uncover the deeper meanings of people's religious lives and thought. *Taboos (prohibition)*: -Prescribed avoidances or prohibition -Usually covers food restrictions and contact with certain people, places or object to guard against danger or impurity.

The Law of Similarity

*Imitative Magic* (Magic that is based on the Law of Similarity) -produce any effect he desires merely by imitating it -EX: Homecoming rituals using enemy team mascots *Image Magic* -A form of magic in which an image represents a living person or animal, which can be killed or injured through doing things to the image

what are the two kinds of magic

*Imitative/sympathetic magic* *Contagious magic* -studied by Sir James G Frazer

what are the kinds of religious rituals that anthropologists study

*Rites of Passage* -The attainment of a new stage of spiritual progress often associated with major life events like adolescence, marriage, etc -customs associated with a transition from one stage of life to another (birth, puberty, marriage, death)

What do shamans do?

*They are like indigenous medical practitioners* -Shamans are part-time religious intermediaries who may act as curers -Shamans are part-time and called upon only in times of crisis -Shamans are part-time religious practitioners -A person who enters an altered state of consciousness—at will—to contact and utilize an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power, and to help others. -Shamans are usually paid for their services (but they are usually not wealthy) -They mostly focus on healing the sick -They can determine the cause of sickness (ex: offending a spirit) -They recommend ritual action for a cure, along with patient's diet and behavior. -Healing profession using knowledge and practices outside the field of biomedicine. -Although shamans can't cure most patients they do help relieve a lot of stress which has positive effects on health and can help illness recovery -Shamans are very effective in treating patients with psychological disorders ----They usually have intimate knowledge of the patients personal and social life, so they can help reduce social and interpersonal tensions

Communitas (Victor Turner)

*a feeling of abandoning one's individuality and merging into wholeness with others in a spirit of unity and equality* -collective liminality, characterized by enhanced feelings of social solidarity and minimized distinctions -The entire experience of the three stages of a rite of passage helps to promote communitas (a sense of solidarity with a community).

mana

*force or special power* -A charismatic person or skilled warrior has mana, objects can have mana too. -The modern world expresses a belief in mana too. -EX: people take vitamins with the expectation that it will exert a powerful effect on health and well being. -EX: soaps and detergents are used to of their "cleaning power"

How does religion move us

*the power of rituals* -The main reason why there is a magnetic force that ties a person to religions is *ritual* (set of prescribed, ceremonial acts) -It speaks to us more poignantly and more movingly than mere words -Religious ritual moves us bc it provides a vehicle that can generate communitas

Totemism (Durkheim views)

*the ritual worship of an animal, plant, or natural object that is considered the mythological ancestor of a clan or other kinship grouping* -To Durkheim, believed that religion was expressed in totemism, is a society worshipping itself. Individuals feel the power of the social group they identify most closely identify. -Social solidarity was expressed by early humans through the clan totem -*In this way, religion serves society bc it enhances solidary and gives cohesion to social groups*

Beauty and Art

-Art was considered the human-created vehicle for beauty -Beauty is the ultimate production of correct performance in art and can be tied up with supernatural relationships -Some artists feel that beauty can distract the audience form the significance of the work itself. -EX: Rite of spring, intentionally ugly performance is now considered a modern classic and is beautiful in its own way

Folk art

-Artwork that derives from peasant tradition -Recently the term is being applied to any item or performance that is ethnically or culturally distinctive communities by artists who have been trained locally, outside academies and art schools -Cannot happen in small-scale, non-stratified societies

The Law of Sympathy

Magic depends on the apparent association or agreement between things "Like produces like" -It states that the more similar two objects are the greater the sympathetic link. The greater the sympathetic link, the more easily they influence each other.

Orishas

-*An Orisha is a spirit that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare (God) in the Yoruba religious system.* These spiritual lineages are practiced throughout areas of Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, Mexico and Venezuela. -There could be more than 100 million adherents of this spiritual tradition worldwide

Popular art

-*Not universal* -It exists only in stratified societies -Popular art offers diversion and satisfaction w/ less investment in knowledge -*Simply constructed and easy to follow* -*Provides a sense of group solidarity* -Cannot happen in small-scale, non-stratified societies

Animism

-*belief abt the soul* -attribution of souls to natural phenomena -the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls -the belief that natural objects have souls that may exist apart from their material bodies. -*Tylor said animism was the earliest form of religion* -the belief that natural objects, phenomena, and the universe itself have desires and intentions -He said religion began with a belief in souls -A belief in souls that derived from the first attempt to explain dreams and like phenomena

Religion as Resistance

-According to Karl Marx, oppressed people need the illusion of religion to mask the pain of the reality of their oppressed conditions -Religion is also useful for the oppressors, bc it keeps the masses quietly low "on opium" and unlikely to present any serious challenge to their fate -Some religions began as a protest against undesirable conditions and often against some other prior established religion. -EX:Buddhism formed as a protest against Hindu hierarchy -EX:Protestantism began as a protest against catholic corruptions

Definition of Art: Specific cultural conventions

-All cultural systems have their own conventions (agreed-upon notions abt what is appropriate for art) -Conventions include how art should be rendered and what should be rendered in art, and also dictates the purpose of art.

what part of religion are anthropologist interested in

-Anthropologists are interested in how religion affects people and people's lives. -anthropologists approach religion from a perspective of practice -Anthropology is interested in the origin of religion, cultural similarities, and variations in religious beliefs and practices, and how religion intersects with other aspects of culture

Art

-Art is also a cultural universal -Art originated from ancestors of modern homo sapiens -Anthropology explores how art operates in a variety of different cultural systems, both now and int the past. -Culturally patterned forms of the group & individual expression

Definition of Art: Intention

-Art is not produced by chance or mistake -To qualify art, someone must have had the intention of producing it

Definition of Art

Art is the skilled selection and arrangement of elements in response to specific cultural conventions with the intention of producing an intellectual or affective response in the expected audience.

Good vs Bad art

For art to be considered good or bad in metropolitan societies depends on 3 considerations -The general public is mostly conservative and like art that people can recognize -Some art styles just don't change

Good Art in the US and industrial societies

Good art depends on: -Is it well made or performed -Does it show originality -Does it have significance or meaning?

How is religion a cultural universal

It is in an element in every human culture on earth, so must have existed in early human societies -There is evidence that Neanderthals had religious beliefs and practices -*We are not completely sure why religion is a cultural universe*

Magic, science & religion

Magic, science, and religion are similar in that all: -attempt to provide an understanding of the world as it is conceptualized within a cultural system

Frans De Waal

Proposed that one basis for religion (morality) has its roots in our evolutionary past -Monkeys in cages example in textbook (pg 223)

How do shamans work w/ biomedicine

They offer their treatments to patients in addition to over-the-counter medicine, doctors and hospitals

Contagious magic

based on the principle that things or persons once in contact can influence each other after the contact is broken. -once an object comes in contact with a person it continues to affect that person -accomplished through contact -Magic that is based on the Law of Contagion, utilizing things that once were in physical contact with an individual -EX: For example, one's fingernail clippings, hair, belly button lint, etc. are all items which are commonly used in spells to have control over another individual -EX: taking a person's hair or nail and whatever you do to the hair or nail you can inflict harm on that person *example from the baseball magic study* -When Gmelch studied professional baseball players they often showed a belief in contagious magic in their rituals to ensure success. -For example, they touched the bill of their lucky cap every time they were up to bat to "rub the good luck off" on their hands.

how are shamans characterized

by: -elaborate costumes and masks. -Use symbols of flight, like feathers to indicate soul traveling to the supernatural world and return safely -Ability to communicate effectively w/ spirits (achieved through trance or an altered state of consciousness) -They receive their powers directly from the supernatural -they are "chosen" for their position -In some cultures, a person can choose to become a shaman while in other a person is chosen by the spirits to become a shaman

Myth

false or erroneous belief

communal religions

have shamans, community rituals, multiple nature gods, and are more characteristic of food producers/ horticulturalists than foragers

Contemporary rites of passage

include confirmations, baptisms, bar and bat mitzvahs, initiations, weddings

imitative (sympathetic) magic

magic based on the principle that like produces like; sometimes called sympathetic magic. -Magic that is based on the Law of Similarity -EX: voodoo dolls