The Anthropology of Religion, Magic and Witchcraft
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Third Edition The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft Rebecca L. Stein Los Angeles Valley College Philip L. Stein Los Angeles Pierce College ROUTLEDGE Routledge Taylor & Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2011, 2008, 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2011, 2008, 2005 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. $SFEJUTBOEBDLOPXMFEHNFOUTCPSSPXFEGSPNPUIFSTPVSDFTBOESFQSPEVDFE XJUI QFSNJTTJPO JOUIJTUFYUCPPLBQQFBSPOQBHF 270. ISBN: 9780250 718115 (pb k) Cover Designer: Bruce Kenselaar Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stein, Rebecca L. The anthropology of religion, magic, and witchcraft / Rebecca L. Stein, Philip L. Stein.—3rd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-205-71811-5 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-205-71811-6 (alk. paper) 1. Religion. 2. Anthropology of religion. 3. Religion and culture. I. Stein, Philip L. II. Title. GN470.S73 2011 306.6—dc22 2010030260 For Elijah Inuit Yup‘ik Haida Kwakwaka‘wakw Cheyenne Paiute Navaho Cahuilla Zuni Huichol Aztecs Maya Yanomamo Pirahã Jivaro iv Tungus Yakut Tuva Egyptians Okinawa Hofriyati Hmong Ifugao Yoruba Nuer Beng Azande Fon Bunyoro Kongo Tana Toraja Dani Asmat Fore Bushongo Trobriand Murngin Islands San Swazi Maori 0 1500 3000 Miles 0 1500 3000 Kilometers v CONTENTS Preface xiii Chapter 1 THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF RELIGION 1 The Anthropological Perspective 1 The Holistic Approach 2 The Study of Human Societies 3 The Fore of New Guinea: An Ethnographic Example 6 Two Ways of Viewing Culture 9 Cultural Relativism 10 í Box 1.1: Karen McCarthy Brown and Vodou 11 The Concept of Culture 13 The Study of Religion 14 Attempts at Defining Religion 14 The Domain of Religion 16 Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Religion 17 í Box 1.2: Malinowski and the Trobriand Islands 19 í Box 1.3: Evans-Pritchard and the Azande 21 The Biological Basis of Religious Behavior 22 Conclusion 25 Summary 25 • Suggested Readings 26 • Suggested Websites 27 • Study Questions 27 • Endnotes 27 Chapter 2 MYTHOLOGY 29 The Nature of Myths 29 Worldview 29 Stories of the Supernatural 30 The Nature of Oral Texts 32 í Box 2.1: Genesis 34 í Box 2.2: The Gender-Neutral Christian Bible 37 Understanding Myths 38 Approaches to Analysis of Myths 38 í Box 2.3: The Gururumba Creation Story 42 Common Themes in Myths 43 í Box 2.4: The Navaho Creation Story: Diné Bahanè 45 í Box 2.5: The Raven Steals the Light 49 í Box 2.6: Joseph Campbell 51 vi Contents vii Conclusion 52 Summary 53 • Suggested Readings 54 • Suggested Websites 54 • Study Questions 55 • Endnotes 55 Chapter 3 RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS 56 What Is a Symbol? 56 Religious Symbols 57 í Box 3.1: Religious Toys and Games 61 Sacred Art 62 The Sarcophagus of Lord Pakal 62 The Meaning of Color 64 Sacred Time and Sacred Space 65 The Meaning of Time 65 í Box 3.2: The End of Time 67 Sacred Time and Space in Australia 68 The Symbolism of Music and Dance 70 The Symbolism of Music 70 The Symbolism of Dance 72 Conclusion 73 Summary 75 • Suggested Readings 75 • Suggested Websites 76 • Study Questions 76 • Endnotes 76 Chapter 4 RITUAL 77 The Basics of Ritual Performance 77 Prescriptive and Situational Rituals 78 Periodic and Occasional Rituals 78 A Classification of Rituals 79 A Survey of Rituals 80 Technological Rituals 80 Social Rites of Intensification 82 Therapy Rituals and Healing 84 Salvation Rituals 86 Revitalization Rituals 86 Rites of Passage 87 Alterations of the Human Body 91 Pilgrimages 94 í Box 4.1: The Hajj 96 The Huichol Pilgrimage 96 viii Contents Religious Obligations 97 Tabu 97 Jewish Food Laws 98 í Box 4.2: Menstrual Tabus 99 Conclusion 100 Summary 100 • Suggested Readings 101 • Suggested Websites 101 • Study Questions 101 • Endnotes 102 Chapter 5 ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS 103 The Nature of Altered States of Consciousness 103 Entering an Altered State of Consciousness 104 The Biological Basis of Altered States of Consciousness 108 í Box 5.1: Altered States in Upper Paleolithic Art 109 Drug-Induced Altered States 110 í Box 5.2: The Native American Church 111 Ethnographic Examples of Altered States of Consciousness 111 The Holiness Churches 112 San Healing Rituals 112 The Sun Dance of the Cheyenne 113 Religious Use of Drugs in South America 114 Rastafarians 115 Conclusion 116 Summary 117 • Suggested Readings 117 • Suggested Websites 117 • Study Questions 118 • Endnotes 118 Chapter 6 RELIGIOUS SPECIALISTS 119 Shamans 120 Defining Shamanism 120 Siberian Shamanism 122 Korean Shamanism 123 Pentecostal Healers as Shamans 124 Neoshamanism 124 í Box 6.1: Clown Doctors as Shamans 125 Priests 126 Zuni Priests 128 Okinawan Priestesses 128 Eastern Orthodox Priests 130 Other Specialists 130 Healers and Diviners 130 í Box 6.2: African Healers Meet Western Medicine 131 Prophets 132 Contents ix Conclusion 133 Summary 134 • Suggested Readings 134 • Suggested Websites 134 • Study Questions 135 • Endnotes 135 Chapter 7 MAGIC AND DIVINATION 136 The World of Magic 136 Magic and Religion 136 Magic and Science 137 Rules of Magic 138 The Function of Magic 140 Why Magic Works 140 Magic in Society 142 Magic in the Trobriand Islands 142 í Box 7.1: Trobriand Island Magic 144 Magic among the Azande 145 Sorcery among the Fore 146 Wiccan Magic 147 Divination 147 Forms of Divination 148 Divination Techniques 149 í Box 7.2: I Ching: The Book of Changes 152 Fore Divination 153 Oracles of the Azande 154 Divination in Ancient Greece: The Oracle at Delphi 155 Astrology 156 Conclusion 157 Summary 158 • Suggested Readings 159 • Suggested Websites 159 • Study Questions 159 • Endnotes 160 Chapter 8 SOULS, GHOSTS, AND DEATH 161 Souls and Ancestors 161 Variation in the Concept of the Soul 162 Souls, Death, and the Afterlife 163 Examples of Concepts of the Soul 163 í Box 8.1: How Do You Get to Heaven? 164 Ancestors 168 í Box 8.2: Determining Death 170 Bodies and Souls 172 Ghosts 172 The Living Dead: Vampires and Zombies 174 x Contents Death Rituals 177 Funeral Rituals 177 Disposal of the Body 178 U.S. Death Rituals in the Nineteenth Century 181 U.S. Funeral Rituals Today 182 Days of Death 183 í Box 8.3: Roadside Memorials 184 Conclusion 185 Summary 186 • Suggested Readings 187 • Suggested Websites 187 • Study Questions 188 • Endnotes 188 Chapter 9 GODS AND SPIRITS 189 Spirits 189 The Dani View of the Supernatural 190 Guardian Spirits and the Native American Vision Quest 191 Jinn 192 Christian Angels and Demons 193 Gods 194 í Box 9.1: Christian Demonic Exorcism in the United States 194 Types of Gods 196 Gods and Society 198 í Box 9.2: Games and Gods 199 The Gods of the Yoruba 200 The Gods of the Ifugao 200 Goddesses 202 Monotheism: Conceptions of God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam 206 Atheism 209 Conclusion 210 Summary 210 • Suggested Readings 211 • Suggested Websites 211 • Study Questions 212 • Endnotes 212 Chapter 10 WITCHCRAFT 213 The Concept of Witchcraft in Small-Scale Societies 214 Witchcraft among the Azande 214 Witchcraft among the Navaho 217 Witchcraft Reflects Human Culture 217 Sorcery, Witchcraft, and AIDS 218 Euro-American Witchcraft Beliefs 219 The Connection with Pagan Religions 219 Contents xi The Witchcraze in Europe 220 The Witchcraze in England and the United States 222 í Box 10.1: The Evil Eye 224 Modern-Day Witch Hunts 225 í Box 10.2: Satanism 226 Conclusion 227 Summary 228 • Suggested Readings 228 • Suggested Websites 229 • Study Questions 229 • Endnotes 229 Chapter 11 THE SEARCH FOR NEW MEANING 230 Adaptation and Change 230 Mechanisms of Culture Change 231 Haitian Vodou 232 Santeria 235 Revitalization Movements 235 The Origins of Revitalization Movements 236 Types of Revitalization Movements 237 Cargo Cults 237 í Box 11.1: The John Frum Cult 239 The Ghost Dance of 1890 239 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism) 240 Neo-Paganism and Revival 241 The Wiccan Movement 241 New Religious Movements 244 The “Cult” Question 244 Characteristics of High Demand Religions 245 Examples of New Religious Movements 246 UFO Religions 249 Fundamentalism 251 Characteristics of Fundamentalist Groups 251 í Box 11.2: Religious Violence and Terrorism 252 Conclusion 255 Summary 256 • Suggested Readings 256 • Suggested Websites 257 • Study Questions 257 • Endnotes 258 Glossary 259 Index 266 Credits 270 5IJTQBHFJOUFOUJPOBMMZMFGUCMBOL PREFACE Although courses in the anthropology of religion are usually upper-division courses taught at four-year institutions to anthropology majors, the course is increasingly being taught at the lower-division level, especially at community colleges. Here the emphasis is not on the training of majors, of whom there are few, but on meeting a general education requirement in the social sciences or humanities. Most significantly, this course is probably the only anthropology course that such students will take. Therefore the instructor has the obligation not only to discuss the topics of religion, but also to teach the student about the nature of anthropology and to present its basic principles. We had great difficulty in finding a textbook that is appropriate for this type of course.