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Role Name Affiliation National Coordinator Subject Coordinator Role Name Affiliation National Coordinator Subject Coordinator Prof Sujata Patel Dept. Of Sociology, University of Hyderabad Paper Coordinator Prof. Edward Rodrigues Centre for the Study of Social Systems Jawaharlal Nehru University Content Writer Meghna Arora Research Fellow Content Reviewer Prof.Edward Rodrigues Centre for the Study of Social Systems Jawaharlal Nehru University Language Editor Prof.Edward Rodrigues Centre for the Study of Social Systems Jawaharlal Nehru University Technical Conversion Module Structure Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Ritual In this module, we look at some of the key ideas and Belief in Non-Western Societies and debates that emerged on the topic of anthropological approaches to ritual and belief in non-Western societies. It has been widely noted, that the location of the anthropological author has shaped the literature and themes of the field. It is certainly shaped by the imbalances of power that are rooted both in the history of the discipline and the world. The concept of non-Western society is reflected in the language of several theorists, especially evolutionary anthropologists. So what is today called pre-industrial or small-scale or 'indigenous' was then called 'primitive' or 'savage' as opposed to 'advanced' and 'modern'. I have retained the terms as used by the thinkers. Besides the evolutionary approach I also look at the psychological approach and its critique. Among the anthropologists whose works are studied here I look at Edward Tylor, James Frazer, Evans Pritchard, Levi Bruhl, Emile Durkheim and Max Gluckman. Description of the Module Items Description of the Module Subject Name Sociology Paper Name Religion and Society Module Name/Title Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Ritual and Belief in Non-Western Societies Module Id Module no.3 Pre Requisites An understanding of theory in the discipline of cultural anthropology. Objectives To understand the various theoretical approaches within the anthropology which deal with the subject of religion. To look at how the field view of religion offers a distinctly different understanding of rituals in human society. Key words Ritual, Survivals, Pre-Industrial, Savage, Sacred, Profane Religion and Society Module 3: Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Ritual and Belief in Non-Western Societies Below we look at some of the key ideas and debates that emerged on the topic of anthropological approaches to ritual and belief in non-Western societies. It has been widely noted, including in auto- critiques of the discipline, that the location of the anthropological author has shaped the literature and themes of the field. It is certainly shaped by the imbalances of power that are rooted both in the history of the discipline and the world. To begin with, a stereotypical understanding that grew from practices in the discipline was that 'Non-Western' society implied pre-literate or small-scale societies in contrast to the Euro-American West, from which the anthropologists usually hailed. This baggage is reflected in the language of several theorists, especially evolutionary anthropologists who believed that cultures passed through stages of evolution with modern western society as the most advanced stage. So what is today called pre-industrial or small-scale or 'indigenous' was then called 'primitive' or 'savage' as opposed to 'advanced' and 'modern'. I have retained the terms as used by the thinkers. A. Evolutionary Anthropologists' 'Intellectualist' Understanding of Belief Edward Burnett Tylor on Beliefs as Mistaken Inferences in 'Primitive' Culture A leading figure of nineteenth-century evolutionary anthropology, Edward Tylor, in Primitive Culture (1871), argues that the study of culture and civilization allows for the understanding of the general laws of human thought and action. Just as one finds uniform laws in the realm of nature, one can apply the same principle to civilizations. According to Tylor, the job of the student of culture is to find general principles of human action. One can embark on this study by analyzing “survivals”, those elements in the present that are carried over from the past, reflecting beliefs, customs and conditions of an older time. Survivals include traditional games, popular sayings, customs, and 'superstitious belief'. According to Tylor, many parallels have been observed between ancient human tribes and the existing savage tribes and hence, by studying the present-day 'savage-tribes', one could learn about this story of civilization. He discusses several aspects of primitive culture, including language, mythology, proverbs, poems, and magical powers, as well as the “origins” and development of religion ideas in primitive societies. We can look his discussion on magic and animism, especially because this leads to an important, long- running debate in anthropological literature: whether non-literate (largely 'Non-Western') societies are marked by rationality of beliefs. Tylor emphasized that nothing was arbitrary and that a reasonable (rational) explanation must be sought for things that seem strange among the “educated” in advanced societies. However, he asserts that primitive people mistook association for causation, falsely positing a causal relationship between natural events with had some resemblance or continuity. He gives an instance of this: “...the modern clairvoyant professes to feel sympathetically the sensations of a distant person, if communication be made through a lock of his hair or any object that has been in contact with him...In Orissa, the Jeypore witch lets down a ball of thread through her enemy's roof to reach his body, that by putting the other end in her own mouth, she may suck his blood.” (1920: 117) He applies similar reasoning while looking at the “origins” of religious ideas in the form of animism. The “belief in spiritual beings,” or the idea of a soul, developed from trying to make sense of the two different states of the body, living and dead, as well as the mystery of human shapes in dreams. “Looking at these two groups of phenomena, the ancient savage philosophers probably made their first step by the obvious inference that that every man has two things belonging to him, namely, a life and a phantom.” (1920: 428) Tylor didn't take these beliefs to be 'real'; in fact, he saw them as erroneous, and his explanation of rationality takes fallacy into account. Even though, according to his evolutionary scheme, advanced societies will have less erroneous reasoning than primitive ones, he admits that 'revivals' of older beliefs may take place even in modern societies; this admission underscores the fact that Tylor viewed beliefs as mental processes that were essentially the same across time and space. Sir James Frazer on the difference between Magical Beliefs and Religious Beliefs In his two-volume work The Golden Bough (1890), James Frazer attempts to construct a theory of the development of magic, religion and science. Unlike Tylor, Frazer makes a stark distinction between magic and religion. Compared to Tylor, he gives a much more schematic explanation of the logic of magic. He says, “If my analysis of the magician’s logic is correct, its two great principles turn out to be merely two different misapplications of the association of ideas.” (1922: 20a) Frazer emphasizes that magical logic errs by drawing a mystical link between two things that are merely associated with each other. The belief in magic, however, persists because magic is not entirely 'unreal'. More precisely, magic tries to bring about processes that actually do occur in nature; for example, a magician may try to bring rain to his village. Thus, for Frazer, the ability to observe causal sequences in nature is part of the working of magic. In this, there is a similarity between magic and science. They both view events of nature as occurring in an coherent and constant order without the role of any personal agent. Science differs from magic only in terms of the validity of the concepts it applies and in the degree of its effectiveness. In the religious domain, by contrast, spirits exert control over natural forces. This is a “plastic and variable nature,” as opposed to the immutable laws of both magic and science. Frazer says, “In so far as religion assumes the world to be directed by conscious agents who may be turned from their purpose by persuasion, it stands in fundamental antagonism to magic as well as to science.” (19--: 130) He then asserts that magical beliefs are foundational for the human race. One can draw this conclusion, he says, from data that shows how the essence of magical beliefs are basically the same anywhere they are observed, whereas religious beliefs take multitudinous forms in different societies. Frazer's emphasis on magic has implications for how we view religion in contrast to modern-day science, which has emerged from a pre-existing, non-religious way of thinking. Critique of the Psychological and Intellectualist Interpretation of Belief by E.E. Evans Pritchard In his book Theories of Primitive Religion (1965) E.E. Evans-Pritchard critiques the theories of evolutionary anthropologists. The way both Tylor and Frazer argue is a form of a priori speculation. It proceeds by imagining oneself in place of a person living in primitive conditions and recreating the logic that would lead one to uphold primitive beliefs. “A logical construction of the scholar's mind is posited on the primitive man, and put forward as an explanation of his beliefs.” (1965: 24-25) It is possible that this is how 'primitive' beliefs came about, but there is no way to verify it. Evans-Pritchard also criticizes Frazers's assertion that the scientist and the magician perform their duties with the same psychological certainty. He says Frazer makes a mistake when he compares modern science with primitive religion. Instead, methodologically, a more sound analysis would involve comparing empirical and magical practices and techniques in the same cultural conditions.
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