Anthropology Exam#1 (Part 2)

Front 1

functionalism

Back 1

an approach that is based on the function or role that religion plays a society

Front 2

evolutionism

Back 2

an approach that focuses on the questions of when and how religion began and how it developed through time

Front 3

Marxism

Back 3

idea that religion is a construction of those in power, designed to divert people's attention from the miseries of their lives; in a way of getting people to go along with capitalist culture.

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psychosocial approach

Back 4

an approach to the study of religion that is concerned with the relationship between culture and psychology and between society and individual

Front 5

interpretive approach

Back 5

idea that cultural systems are understood by studying meaning; religion is a cluster of symbols that proves a charter for a culture's ideas, values, and way of life.

Front 6

what are myths?

Back 6

sacred story that proves the basis for religious beliefs and practices

Front 7

how are myths related to the worldview and religion?

Back 7

most religious stories are based off myths. worldview is how people view or perceive the world around them and myths shape those believes.

Front 8

compare and contrast Navaho and Judeo-Christian world-views?

Back 8

?

Front 9

what roles do myths play in society?

Back 9

myth is a socializing agent, model for behavior; justifies existing social order and moral values

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cautionary tale

Back 10

-tale told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a danger.
-3 parts are (taboo,narrative,ill faith)

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social charter

Back 11

a story that establishes the proper organization and rules of behavior of a society

Front 12

what are souls?

Back 12

the non-corporeal, spiritual component of an individual.

Front 13

How do believes in souls vary?

Back 13

-believes differ on where the soul resides (liver,chest,heart,brain,shadow)
-amount of souls per person(one from mother,one from father)
-acquisition of new souls

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Yanomamo Soul

Back 14

everyone has a nonshi, or animal which is born each time a human is born.

Front 15

Haitian Vodou Soul

Back 15

Three spiritual components
-1. met-tet/master of head-identity-discovered through divination.
-2. ti-bonanj/little angel-persons consciousness and ego
-3. gwo-bonanj/big angel-comes from ancestor sprits and returns to them after death, may be prayed to if good during life.

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Jivaro Souls

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three souls
-everyone has a Nekas/life force
-aruntam- has to be acquired through vision
-Miusak/avenging soul- if a persons aruntam is killed, the Miusak will avenge the death.

Front 17

Celtic Souls

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believed that during the Samhain the gates that normally separate the worlds of the living and the dead were opened, and the souls of those who had died during the past year could then move into the otherworld.

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Mexican Souls

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Dias de los Muertos- souls of children return first and then those of adults. The souls don't physically consume the food but are believed to absorb its essence.

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Chinese Souls-

Back 19

Hmong souls- believe that a person possesses a number of souls( maybe 30)

Front 20

how is death handled in different cultures?

Back 20

each culture handles the death in different ways.
-Murngin- rituals begin befor death
-Torajans-no show of sad emotions
Nuer- Quickly burry the body and obliterate the grave.
Dani-please spirit, then ask to leave.
Yanomamo- eat the dead
Egyptians- mummification

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liminality

Back 21

the state of ambiguous marginality that characterizes the transition phase of a rite of passage

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incorporation

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the final stage of a rite of passage in which the individual is reintroduced to the community in his or her new status

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communitas

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a state characterized by a sense of equality, community, and camaraderie

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circumcision

Back 24

a surgical procedure during which the foreskin is removed form the penis

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tattooing

Back 25

Mark (a person or a part of the body) with an indelible design by inserting pigment into punctures in the skin.

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scarification

Back 26

To create a design on (the skin) by means of shallow cuts that are sometimes rubbed with a colorant or irritant to enhance the resulting scar tissue.

Front 27

"betwixt and between"

Back 27

in a midway position : neither one thing nor the other

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pilgrimage

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journey to a sacred place or a sequence of sacred spaces at which rituals are performed

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taboo/tabu

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objects and person that are supernaturally prohibited . may also refer to certain behaviors that would bring about negative consequences through supernatural means

Front 30

ritual poverty

Back 30

???

Front 31

what is a symbol?

Back 31

shared understanding about the meaning of certain words, attributes, or objects; something that stands for something else

Front 32

what forms can symbols take?

Back 32

-religious symbols-(cross, yam-aka, Swastika,ying-yang,pentagram)
-music, art and dance
-language is symbolic in nature

Front 33

how does culture affect the interpretation of symbols?

Back 33

some cultures the swastika is represents darkness, misfortune, and suffering

and in one good and exist

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-how are they used in religious practices?
-how do symbols communicate complex messages?

Back 34

-religious rituals center on the manipulation of symbols.
-they explain religious beliefs, human origins

Front 35

how has the fish been used as a Christian symbol?

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used by early Christians as a secret Christian symbol[2] and now known colloquially as the "sign of the fish" or the "Jesus fish."[3]

Front 36

how is color used symbolically?

Back 36

expresses how we feel
and how cultures feels towards a certain subject
or item

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displacement

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the ability to use symbols to refer to things and activities that are remote from the user.

Front 38

openness

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a feature of symbols; the ability to create new symbols

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multi-vocal

Back 39

have many meanings

Front 40

swastika

Back 40

symbol formed by two lines crossing at right angles with their ends bent at right angles in a clockwise or counterclockwise position.

Front 41

whirling log

Back 41

an element of a story found in a creation myth
-type of dugout canoe built by the gods

Front 42

pentagram

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-a five sided figure
-five -pointed star

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cross

Back 43

an upright pole with a transverse piece in the middle or near the top. Used for execution by the Romans; now a symbol for the Christian religion.

Front 44

totem

Back 44

a symbol or emblem that stands for a social unit

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Dream Time

Back 45

the time of creation in the mythology of the Australian aborigines

Front 46

maya calendar

Back 46

The Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and in many modern communities in highland Guatemala[1] and in Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico

Front 47

ancestor veneration

Back 47

worship of ancestors, who may bring aid to their descendants or, of neglected , may bring misfortune.

Front 48

cult of the dead

Back 48

belief that the deceased, often family members have a continued existence and/or possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living

Front 49

burial

Back 49

-A ceremony at which someone's body is interred; a funeral.
-rite of passage

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zombie

Back 50

a corpse that has been raised from the grave and animated

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vampire

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a person who has died before his or her time and who brings about the death of friends and relatives until his or her corpse is killed

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cremation

Back 52

the incineration of a dead body.

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secondary burial

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-a human interment which was moved and re-buried aboriginally
-the reburial of human remains or the reburied remains

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mummification

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a technique of preserving a dead body involving drying and preservatives

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exposure

Back 55

The state of being exposed to contact with something.

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demons

Back 56

a spirit being usually evil

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ghosts

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An apparition of a dead person that is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image.

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spirits

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a supernatural being that is less powerful than a God and is usually more localized; often one of a collection of non-individualized supernatural beings that are not given specific names and identities.

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ancestor spirits

Back 59

The phrase 'ancestral spirits' may be used in two ways. It may refer to the spirits of your ancestors that in many traditions are an important part of traditional ritual, or may refer to the spirits that existed since before us and in which our ancestors believed already, as some spirits of Nature in animist traditions.

Front 60

jinn

Back 60

in the Islamic religion, a spirit being created of fire

Front 61

attribute God

Back 61

a God that rules over a narrowly defined form.

Front 62

polytheism

Back 62

The belief in or worship of more than one god.

Front 63

vision quest

Back 63

-rite of passage in some Native American cultures. The ceremony of the Vision Quest is one of the most universal and ancient means to find spiritual guidance and purpose.
-A Vision Quest can provide deep understanding of one's life purpose.

Front 64

calendrical rituals

Back 64

a ritual that is performed on a regular basis as part of a religious calendar

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occasional rituals

Back 65

a ritual that is performed when a particular need arises

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prescriptive rituals

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a ritual that a deity or religious authority requires to be performed

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situational rituals

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A ritual that arises as needed, frequently in times of crisis.

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rites of passage

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A ritual that occurs when an individual changes status, serving to legitimize the new status and to imprint it on the community's collective memory.

Front 69

rites of intensification

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rituals intended either to bolster a natural process necessary to survival or to reaffirm the society's commitment to a particular set of values and beliefs.

Front 70

Victor Turner

Back 70

-(May 28, 1920 – December 18, 1983) was a British -

-cultural anthropologist best known for his work on symbols, rituals and rites of passage.

Front 71

separation

Back 71

the first phase of a rite of passage in which an individual is removed from his or her former status.

Front 72

how do we categorize supernatural beings?

Back 72

-spirits,gods,goddesses

Front 73

what are the differences between gods/goddesses and spirits?

Back 73

-gods are more powerful, control major forces

-spirits less powerful, more localized, non specific names.

Front 74

-what is the relationship between god(s) and society?

-what theories try to explain this?

Back 74

-theorists have proposed that the nature of the Gods in a society mirrors important cultural elements, such as that group's social structure.

-karl marx theory- religion opium for the masses

Front 75

-what is a ritual?
-what are some common examples from our society?

Back 75

-a patterned, recurring sequence of behaviors
-funerals, weddings, bar-mitzvah and bah-mitzvah

Front 76

-what do rituals do for a society?
-How do they function?

Back 76

-they bring sense of belonging and explanations and celebrations for rites of passages

Front 77

how are rituals and myths related

Back 77

most rituals are based on some cultural and religious myths.

Front 78

what are some examples of rites of passage?

Back 78

-funeral, wedding, bar-mitvah, communion, conformation, baptism, priest hood, and absolution(last rights)

Front 79

3 phases of rites of passage and how they work

Back 79

1. separation-removed from his former status
2. transition-several activities take place that bring about the change in status
3. incorporation-conclusion of the transition phase

Front 80

what are some body alterations discussed in your books?
-what makes body alteration a ritual practice?

Back 80

-facial tattoos, piercing, stretched ear lobes, elongated head and neck
-body alterations are used during rituals to symbolize that an individual is in a liminal state; some alterations are permanent and indicate completion of some type of ritual, such as a rite of passage.

Front 81

how do pilgrimages function as a ritual act?

Back 81

can be seen as a rite of passage, such a journey may be a requirement of a religion , and a person returning from a pilgrimage may have achieved a new status or position in the community.