 |  Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, 6/e Arthur Lehmann,
California State University -- Chico
Pamela Moro,
Willamette University
James Myers,
California State University -- Chico
Witchcraft, Sorcery, Divination, and Magic
Chapter Outline
Introduction
Explaining the Unexplainable
-supernatural forces and causation
-witchcraft, sorcery, divination, and magic
-among preliterate non-Western societies
Witchcraft
-distinguishing characteristics
-positive and negative functions
-differentiated from sorcery
-modern Western associations vs. preliterate realities
Other Forces of Evil
-evil eye
-supernatural specialists, etc.
-scapegoat for misfortunes
Demons, Spirits, Ancestors, and Gods
-good and evil counterbalanced
-demons
-"adorcism"
-possession
-exorcism
-divination and the unseen order
Magic
-false/misleading dichotomy with religion
-imitative
-contagious
-sympathetic
Assigning Supernatural Cause
-Western assumptions and blinding ethnocentrism
-the "great questions"
-universality of religion
-articles included in the chapter
Article: An Anthropological Perspective on the Witchcraze by James L. Brain
Attitudes Towards Gender
-historical and contemporary
-insights from a cross-cultural look at witchcraft
The Image of the Witch
-representation of people's fears
-reversal of 'normal' behavior
-"black mass"
-subverting divinely ordained patriarchal authority
The Authority Issue
-feminist insights
-the authority/ manipulation of power connection
-applied to Renaissance Europe and the reign of misogyny
-women in patrilineal/ patrilocal societies
-the 'manipulative bitch' and the Malleus Maleficarum
-female inferiority experts in history
Ritual Pollution
-"proving" inferiority
-insight into accusations of midwives
-making connections: from pollution to the Devil
-the penis, semen, and brainpower
-women and binary opposites
-pre and post association of witchcraft with heresy
-enduring misogyny and gynophobia
Mobility as a Factor
-hunter-gatherer societies and witchcraft
-pattern of descent, property, and hierarchy of authority
-nomadic pastoral peoples
-sedentary peoples of the non-industrial world
-socio-political organization and acuity of fears
-insights into the rise and fall of the witchcraze?
-education level as a factor?
The European Witchcraze
-the skeptics
-the cause a subject of debate
-mobility
-a mass of contradictions and tensions
-change in the structure of society
-parallels with contemporary African societies
Article: Sorcery and Concepts of the Deviance among the Kabana, West New Britain by Naomi M. McPherson
Deviance in Pacific Societies
-Malinowski's work in the Trobriands
-'quasi-legal' and 'quasi-criminal'
-labeling theory of deviance
-methodology of the article
Kabana Morality
-background information
-deviant behavior determined by reaction of relevant others
-hierarchy of responses
-'self-regulation', 'self-help', and personal autonomy
Deviance among the Kabana
-labeling of behavior not individuals
-opportunities for expiation/ no permanent stigma
-sorcery as a regulatory device
Lower Levels of Social Control
-positive criticism, shaming, gossip, and ridicule
-rectification
-more serious sanctions
-the life and death of moral obligations
Sorcery as Social Sanction and as Deviance
-mode of self-help/ deterrent
-assumptions about victims
-corporate deliberation and procedural rules
-contradiction between autonomy and control
-"bad death"--a moral issue
A Case of Sorcery
-Jean's story
-heightened awareness of social relations
-elevation of crisis
-the three accused men
Breaking the Talk
-cutting through the conjecture and gossip
-public scrutiny, negotiation, and confrontation
-the meeting about Jean's illness
-a less than successful moot
Conclusion
-labeling theory applied cross-culturally
-rules and situational reactions
-deviance is highly negotiated and complex
-transgressions forgiven but not forgotten
Afterword
-data timeline
-later developments
Article: The Goat and the Gazelle: Witchcraft by T.M. Luhrmann
Setting the Scene
-coven meeting 1984
-ambiance and ritual paraphernalia
-activities
Modern Witchcraft
-Gerald Gardener in the 1940's
-'ancient magico-religious cult'
The Invention of Tradition
-ambivalent attitudes towards history
-the vision, be it myth or legend:
--secrecy, martyrdom, and hidden powers
Witchcraft as a Revival
-the most ancient of religions
-earth worship of historical incarnations of the Great Goddess
-the works of Frazer and Neumann
-'feeling of early humanity'/'connection' with the world
-a simple exercise
The Goddess
-personification of nature
-individual and composite understandings
-cyclicity and transformation
-in contrast to the Judaeo-Christian God
-'duality' of religious understanding
The Practice of the Craft
-Gardner began initiating
-further subdivisions
Common Core Practices
-celestially marked meeting days
-membership and initiation
-rich in symbolic items
-nudity
Luhrmann's Initiation and Coven
-Gardner's own
-membership demographic
-'The Book of Shadows': ritual text
-'drawing down the moon'
-spells and the 'cone of power'
-the 'Witches Rune'
A Feminist Coven
-feminist appeal of witchcraft
-emphasis on creativity and collectivity
-an example: Halloween 1985
--texts from Starhawk and Z Budapest
'Solo' Witches
-uninitiated
-Mick
The Feel of Witchcraft
-humor and enthusiasm
-the ideal and the mundane
-'the goat and the gazelle'
-mirth and reverence
Article: Consulting the Poison Oracle among the Azande by E.E. Evans-Pritchard
Poison Oracle Consultation
-secrecy
-'speaks through fowls'
-a Zande household
-desirable fowls for consultation
Participation
-male domain
-cost
-observance of taboos
-power and control of the oracle
A Mechanism of Male Control
-image of women
-social and spiritual life regulated by the oracle
Conducting a Séance
-experience needed and recognized
-avoiding pollution
-"owner", "questioner", and "operator"
-special care for the poison
The Oracle
-source of justice
-secretive and personal
-administering the poison
-the progression of the séance
-making a verdict
The Questioner
-speaking with the poison
-the marshalling of arguments
Proper Séance Behavior
-reverence
-a serious matter with important observances
Article: Rational Mastery by Man of His Surroundings by Bronislaw Malinowski
The Problem of Primitive Knowledge
-new investigations: Lévy-Bruhl
-confused superstition and a decided aversion to reasoning?
-dissenting voices: Myers and Goldenweiser
Resolving the Problem with Questions
-savage mastery of surroundings?
-is primitive knowledge a crude science?
-investigating the profane for empirical reason and logic
-native differentiation of domains?
The Data
-Malinowski's own work in the Trobriand Islands
-gardening methods and knowledge
-intimate association of ritual and practical work
-native point of view
-separable?
Natural and Supernatural Causes and Conditions
-reason applied to a well-known set of conditions
-magic and the domain of the unaccountable
-division in social setting of work
-garden magic
-other examples: canoe building, fishing, and warfare
Duality of Natural and Supernatural
-health and death among the Melanesians
-"natural death" versus death by sorcery
-subject to personal perspective
Drawing Conclusions
-other approaches and similar conclusions
-mental schemes and physical contrivances
-the epistemological question of "science"
-primitive man scholar types
Article: Baseball Magic by George Gmelch
Dennis Grossini's Ritual
-pitching day preparations
-similarities with Trobriand fishing magic
Trobriand Island Fishing
-inner lagoon versus open sea
-danger and uncertain yield
-use of magic
Baseball
-players behaving like fishermen
-earning a living and the element of chance
--pitching
--hitting
Risk and Uncertainty
-affects on the players?
-author's own experience
-routines and rituals
Rituals
-personal, unemotional, and varied
-examples
-linked with good performance
-starting pitchers
-reducing anxiety
-changing rituals
Taboo
-opposite of rituals
-examples on and off the field
-connected with poor performances
-the culture of baseball: "no-hitter"
Fetishes
-embodying supernatural power
-examples
-WW II soldiers
-uniform numbers and clothing
-streaks
-change due to loss or passage of time
Uncertainty and Magic
-uneven application and controlling chance
-lack of, in fielding and lagoon fishing
-B.F. Skinner, personal rituals, and pigeons
-reward and prior behavior
-rituals, superstitions, confidence and a sense of control
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2005 McGraw-Hill Higher Education