Constructing Realities Flashcards
Worldview
An encompassing picture of reality based on shared cultural assumptions about how the world works
Ritual
A dramatic rendering or social portrayal of meanings shared by a specific body of people in a way that makes them seem correct and proper
Symbolic Action
The activities – including ritual, myth, art, dance, and music – that dramatically depict the meanings shared by a specific body of people
Totemism
The use of a symbol, generally an animal or plant, as a physical representation for a group, generally a clan
“Body Ritual among the Nacirema” - Horace Miner (1956)
“The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease… Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerful individuals in the society have several shrines in their houses… Most houses are of wattle and daub construction, but the shrine rooms of the more wealthy are walled with stone. Poorer families imitate the rich by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls.”
Metaphor
Figures of speech in which linguistic expressions are taken from one area of experience and applied to another.”
Domain of experience
An area of human experience (e.g. business, war, science, family life) from which people borrow meaning to apply to other areas.”
Key Metaphor
A term to identify metaphors that dominate the meanings that people in a specific culture attribute to their experience
Witchcraft:
refers to the belief that an individual (the witch) has the ability to cause harm to others through the manipulation of powerful substances
Magic
: refers to the manipulation of words or substances to influence spiritual beings for good or evil purposes
Key Scenarios
Dominant stories or myths that portray the values and beliefs of a specific society (Robbins et al., 2017)
The Way We Live
Our relationship to natural world determines our worldview and rituals
Normative practices are a result of worldview
What are your beliefs about consuming and/or using plants an animals?
These beliefs must be shared to constitute a worldview
Indigenous worldviews around the world
Often seek balance between humans and the rest of the physical world
Reciprocity between humans and physical world
Western/European/Settler worldviews
Often view humans as dominating and ruling over the physical world
Less reciprocity and balance
INDIGENOUS WORLD VIEW
Dene Tha of Northern Canada
Reciprocal giving between humans and plants and animals
Placing tobacco at the bottom of the tree or where the plant grew to show respect and thank the plant for its healing powers
