Later Perspectives on Religion
Franz Boas, Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, Alfred Kroeber, Paul Radin = modern ethnological anthropologists; belittling terms such as "primitive" and "savage" are replaced with descriptions such as "small-scale societies," and "tribal" and "traditional" religion, Boas and his students emphasized the need for hands-on immersion in the culture to understand and interpret. They rejected unilineal evolution and replaced it with the theory of dispersion from a central older culture to explain why different cultures had similar symbols, rituals and myths.
Edward Sapir, student of Boas, linguistic structuralism, studied American languages
William Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites
Bronislaw Malinowski, British social anthropologist who forwarded ideas of psychological-functionalism
Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic,and Nuer Religion, began as a functionalist, became a humanist
Clifford Geertz, developed idea of "thick description" looking at all of the possible symbolic meanings and effects in the society in interpreting a particular sign
Marcel Mauss, The Gift, wrote about exchange of goods and sacrifice
Claude Levi-Strauss, French structural anthropologist, used linguistics and structuralism to organize and relate data
A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, advanced structural-functionalism
Marija Gimbutas, Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe
Joseph Campbell, Mythology
Early thought seperated religion as Primitive or Rational. Some early Romantics looked at the "Noble Savage" as being pure and unfettered by civilization unlike people following more advanced religions. Previous anthropological theories are criticized as being ethnocentric, subjective and based on unreliable information. Original, sound, ethnographic research by trained social scientists is encouraged by Boas and others. One needs to be deeply immersed in culture, language and history to succeed in understanding that culture and religious beliefs, symbols and rituals. Dispersion replaces evolution as a theory to explain similarities in different societies. While dispersion is logical in many social groups, some societies were seen to evolve such as the Greeks, Mesopotamians, Jews, Hindus and Persians. Functional theories still explored, but in different contexts, and structuralism and symbolic anthropology is advanced.
Today, anthropology of religion is quite diverse in its methodology and theories, using many angles to describe and analyze religious thought and action.
Definition of "advanced religion" included:
- Written scriptures present
- Doctrine of salvation (often a future deliverer)
- Can be applied universally and relevant to other peoples, other places
- Profane and sacred activities more clearly separated
Definition of "primal religion" included:
- Written scriptures not present, oral traditions
- Doctrine of "this world" is emphasized rather than looking to a future deliverer
- Limited to a single language or ethnic group
- Profane and sacred activities are inseparable, the religion permeates through all of life
From goddesses to god. Earth Mother Goddess seen in primal religions and Paleolithic.
See selected sacred sexual/fertility objects of
Legend, Folktale and Myth
A myth is a sacred story about the origin of the cosmos, the nature of a god, spirit or monster, the reasons for ritual practices, the reason for death and birth, and so forth. A myth can be performed or reenacted in a ritual, read, sung, or reproduced in art and drama.
Greek myths show the cultural change from the matriarchal order to the patriarchal in Greece as Zeus gives birth to Athene from his head without the aid of a woman.
Orpheus & Eurydice by Anselm Feuerbach, 1869
Orpheus and Eurydice
Orpheus and Eurydice--a Greek love story.
What is one taboo in this myth and what might it signify (there are many)?
The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice may show themes from the Titan Gods period (when females had more power), but the myth may have been changed by the influence of the Olympian Gods period (when females had no power and complete Patriarchy takes over). The myth probably originated in Thrace, an Indo-European neighbor to Greece.
What other myths have a similar taboo?
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Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden
What taboos did Adam and Eve break? Is this story a myth?
A piece of literature that might be interesting to you is from Milton's Paradise Lost, Book 5. Look at the red and blue text areas, particularly the blue as the angel describes a related topic of how Adam can remain happy in this world (too bad Cain didn't have Milton around to explain this). This is also relevant to the mythology and taboo topic above. See |
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Another interesting myth is the Greek myth of Prometheus. He is discussed by Freud as being a son-of-God or Christlike figure. Who would you compare him to? Prometheus, in the Greek, means prophetic thinking or foresight, and his brother, Epimetheus means rational logic or hindsight. What taboo does Prometheus break in order to receive that horrible punishment from Zeus? Why was this a taboo? Again, remember that Prometheus is a Titan, and Zeus is an Olympian. Lots of food for thought and discussion.
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Lot 's wife looking back--
And yet another topic on myth and taboo from the Bible: Lot and his family leaving Sodom and Gomorrah. Is the taboo that the people of these cities were homosexuals, or is it something else. See for a start. What taboo did Lot's wife break upon leaving and can this be compared to Orpheus and Eurydice? |
Jacob and Rachel
Are there any similarities to Rachel in the Bible taking the household gods with her as Jacob and his family leave her father's home (an example of matrilocal residence, by the way)?
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Haida
From the Northwest Coast, Haida myth creation of first men by Raven, a dual-natured trickster and creator-god. What taboos apply to these myths and why do they exist?
Haida sculpture by Bill Reid at Museum of Anthropology, UBC |
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Kwakiutl Transformation Mask by Richard Hunt
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Northwest Coast Native People ritual dancing with masks, carving of totem poles. See a description of a potlatch ceremony:
Potlatch:
Give-away ceremonies of Native Americans:
Native American language families:
California Native American language families:
Egyptian Mythology: Trinity of Isis, Osiris, Horus
Trinity of Osiris (God of the Dead), Isis (holds matriarchal authority for the throne and all pharoahs are considered her son), and son Horus, "He who is above," is the Falcon God (represents Holy Spirit?). Horus is associated with the Sun (Re), and each pharoah considers himself the embodiment of Horus. Story of Seth & Nephthys, Osiris & Isis, Horus and Anubis:
Abydos and modern Um Seti
Reading
Read chapters 5 and 6 prior to the next class
Terms to Know
Taboo = a Polynesian word for a social prohibition against a certain action
Magic = a means of influencing the outcome of an event, later replaced by rituals of developed religion
Animism = conscious life is attributed to natural phenomena, animate and inanimate objects
Fetishism = a charm which holds magical powers
Shaman = spiritual figure and healer, often self-appointed, with the ability to communicate with spirits and perhaps animals
Ritual = a formal set of symbols and practices performed at a set time and repeated for the same pupose
Legend = a human historical narrative with realistic details which may include miracles
Myth = sacred stories developed through time for a group to represent the creation, beginning of the group, or explain why things are done as they are by the group
Folklore = tales, fables, proverbs and superstitious narratives of a group
Matriarchy = authority through the females
Unilineal evolution = theory that religion in groups develops from simple social groups to complex civilizations
Dispersion = different societies with similar myths, symbols and rituals are dispersed from an older central culture
Rationalism = emphasis is away from emotion or tradition, as man becomes able to see order in his environment, he becomes able to reason about religon which is superior to and independent from emotional perceptions, scientific method is involved in religious development
Potlatch = a Chinook word for ceremonial feast including ritual dancing and celebrations among NW Coast Native Peoples in which gifts are distributed to attendees by the sponsor of the ceremony
Totemism = connection of a tribal group or clan with an animal that represents that people
Exogamy = marrying outside one's own tribe or clan
Ritual = performance of a religious ceremony or act
Functionalism = focus on how cultural sytems develop to fill individual needs and social needs
Cultural Relativism = beliefs make sense to the individual who is enculturated in those beliefs, cannot weigh beliefs cross-culturally
Thick Description = Geertz advanced a multi-layered, symbolic and contextual description of an event or social scene
Symbolic interpretation = focus on the meaning of symbols and the interrelationships between society, religious objects and rituals to understand the religion
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