Cultural Anthropology Exam 3 Flashcards
Marriage
Occurs in all societies, but how a society defines marriage (who can and cannot get married, for example) varies greatly.
Marriage is interconnected with the culturally defined idea of family, another universal
Anthropologists view marriage as a social contract/culturally defined bond. In many societies that bond is between not just the spouses but between their extended families and can be detailed as to responsibilities.
Marriage functions
Marriage in the eyes of that society officially creates new families or adds to existing families.
Marriage legitimizes births and determines paternity. In many societies, social and material inheritance is through the father’s line, and marriage officially identifies who the father of a child is, regardless of biological identity
Marriage ties together different social & kinship groups in a society with obligations. This helps keep non-stratified societies together, as people typically are obliged to marry outside of their family and kin group.
Bridewealth
An exchange of valuables given from a man’s family to the family of his new wife.
Bride Service
Labor obligations of the husband, who will work for the family of bride, perhaps for years.
An example is the Yanomamo. Men are obligated to work for their wife’s family in preparing gardens and in going on raids.
Dowry
Consist of goods provided by bride’s family for the husband’s family or for the new couple.
Leverite
A widow marries her dead husband’s ‘brother.’
The brother is not necessarily a biological brother, but perhaps a cousin that is classified as a brother by that society.
Sororate
A widower (male widow) marries his dead wife’s ‘sister. Again, the sister may not be a biological sibling.
What are the advantages of arranged marriages?
In many societies that have arranged marriages, if a spouse dies early in the marriage, the family then supplies a replacement so that the new family continues, and obligations do not need to be repaid.
Who are the Nuer, and how is it that women can marry other women and male ghosts in that society?
The Nuer are a society in South Sudan. This can be done through two concepts: Ghost Fathering and Ghost Marriages.
Ghost Fathering
Sometimes when a man dies early in the marriage, the widow remains married to his ghost, rather than a levirate substitute. In actuality, she has lovers, but the recognized father of her children is her late husband’s ghost. The children inherit through him.
Ghost Marriages
A related idea is Ghost Marriage. The bride’s arranged groom is already dead. An older man may seek to have grandchildren to inherit his cattle and may be forced to negotiate an arranged marriage with his dead son. The woman’s children are officially those of the ghost.
Families of Orientation
The families in which they were raised.
Families of Procreation
A new household for raising children.
Monogamy
Having only one wife at a time
Polygyny
Some men have more than one wife at the same time. The co-wives have children, and their husband officially is the father.
Endogamy
The custom of marrying only within the limits of a local community, clan, or tribe.
Exogamy
The custom of marrying outside a community, clan, or tribe.
Polyandry
In which a woman has more than one husband.
Sororal polygyny
The marriage of one man to several sisters.
Fraternal polyandry
Involves the marriage of a woman to a group of brothers.
What are the possible reasons why a society would prefer polygyny?
So that the man has enough sons to inherit his cattle, incase he or another son dies.
Who are the Nayar, and how do they construct marriage and family?
They are a society in India that a used to practice duolocal.
Nayar men tended to become soldiers in various Indian states. The society evolved to adapt to men being away for long periods. A Nayar girl would get married in a ritual marking her becoming an adult. She would not live with her husband. Instead, she would live with her sisters and take lovers.
Nuclear families
Monogamous pair of spouses with dependent, unmarried children.
This is most common in industrial and hunter-gatherer societies.
Small families are flexible (go to where resources are)
Family does not need or cannot support large number of workers
Nuclear families tend to be common in societies in which there is less gender inequality
Extended families
These are larger groups, perhaps representing multiple generations or polygamy.
These are more common in non-industrial food-producing societies
Large families are tied to land (herds, crop fields, etc.) and cannot be mobile
family often needs a large team of workers
Extended families tend to be common in societies in which there is more gender inequality
Possible reasons for incest taboo
An explanation for the taboo is that it is due to an instinctual, inborn aversion that would lower the adverse genetic effects of inbreeding such as a higher incidence of congenital birth defects
Know the major post-wedding residence patterns: neolocal, patrilocal, and matrilocal.
Neolocal: This refers to a new location. The married couple set up a household of their own, instead of moving in with other relatives.
Patrilocal: Refers to preferred residence with the husband’s family (patri- is a prefix that refers to a father).
Matrilocal: refers to preferred residence with the wives’ family (matri- being a prefix meaning mother).
If a society has much internal warfare, which residence pattern is most common?
Patrillocal pattern
Bilateral
‘Ego’ considers both his/her father’s family and his/her mother’s family as equally related to him (a kindred). Kinship terms remain consistent on both sides of the family.
Patrilineal descent
Established by tracing descent exclusively through males from a founding male ancestor.
Matrilineal descent
Established by tracing descent exclusively through females from a founding female ancestor.
Consanguineal kin
Relatives related “by blood”, meaning those people with whom you share known common ancestors, however distant.
Affinal kin
Relatives by marriage or your in-laws; if the marriage ends, they are no longer affines.
Clans
Consist of much larger numbers of people claiming descent from a relatively ancient and less specific ancestor (supernatural being, etc.).
What is the difference between a unilineal descent group and bilateral descent?
With unilineal descent, there is only one direct ancestor in each generation. However, with bilateral descent, there is a doubling of ancestors with each generation further back in time.
Rituals
Important patterned activities that often combine religious belief and social identity. For example, many rituals mark a change in an individual’s social status (marriage or a graduation ceremony, for example).
Rites of Passage
These mark a person’s passage from one important status to another and are found in all societies.
Marriages, births, funerals, becoming an adult, etc.
What are the functions/adaptive values of religion?
- Religion tends to reassure humans about forces over which they have no natural, physical control.
- Those forces could be something profound—protection from disease, natural disasters, etc.
- Religion explains the world and its origins with Myths.
- Religion validates a society’s identity and customs.
- Religion integrates a society. People share common religious experiences and perspectives.
Animism
Belief in individualized supernatural beings, such as souls, ghosts, demons, and gods.
Animatism
Belief in impersonal forces or powers, such as mana. Impersonal means that the force is something akin to energy—a power but lacking intelligence or individual identity.
Is the belief in souls universal?
It’s a very common idea among cultures. But they vary with their complexity.
What is ‘mana’ and how can one gain control of it?
A supernatural force or power that may be ascribed to persons, spirits, or inanimate objects. Mana may be either good or evil, beneficial or dangerous. They are usually gained through sexual acts or violence.
Souls
A supernatural double. Varies greatly in complexity. They can be human and/or animal
Ghosts
The souls of the dead which still inhabit and impact the natural world. Some fear ghosts while others welcome them.
Spirits
(Also can be called monsters or demons) are lesser beings, which may be perceived as threats to or guardians of humans.
Demons
(Gods, goddesses) are greater supernatural beings, which are responsible for operation of the world.
Supernatural possession
Many societies believe that spirits or deities can possess a person, perhaps against their will. Possession implies that the supernatural being takes control of the human body, speaking through the human medium.
In some societies this is considered a benefit. The possessing being can help people or answer questions.
Guardian spirits
Many societies believe in Guardian spirts. A person seeks to find a supernatural being who will protect or guide them.
Monothesim
The belief in only one god
Polytheism
The belief in multiple gods
Yoruba
A major tribal system in Western Africa that believes in several hundreds dieties.
Shawman
Part time, and they are not formally taught. They focus on healing rituals, using a supernatural gift. They have lives like other people and use their abilities when needed by the community.
Priests
Full time specialists. They are formally trained (ordained) by other priests. They are not seen as having actual power, but rather direct rituals and provide guidance.
Witch
Men and women who are labeled by others as supernaturally dangerous people.
Others perceive the so-called witches as having innate (inborn, natural) power to harm others by having negative emotions (anger, jealousy).
Mediums
Part time and not officially trained. They are similar to shamans as they have a gift of being able to be possessed by supernatural beings at will. It is thought that the being, acting or speaking through the Medium, will be able to help people.
Sorcerers
Men or women who are thought to have learned magic rituals to obtain specific ends, such as curing or harming another person. They may be performing these rituals, or they may be falsely blamed by others as scape goats.
Shawmans among the Yanomamo
They try to enter trances by not sleeping and taking psychoactive drugs. They seek to find and control invisible spirits called hekura or xapiri.
The Yanomamo traditionally think that illness is caused by enemy shaman sending their hekura to attack souls. Shamans then try to call up their own hekura to drive off the supernatural invaders.
Imitative magic
In some societies, people believe in magic because it ritually imitates what they want to happen in real life.
Example: Voodoo dolls
Contagious magic
The ritual uses objects that have been in close contact to the intended victim—possessions, clothing, even hair and fingernail trimmings. The magic is thought to then transfer to the person through those objects.
Assimilation
The process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society’s majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.
World system (core-semiperiphery-periphery)
Core countries are dominant capitalist countries that exploit peripheral countries for labor and raw materials. Peripheral countries are dependent on core countries for capital and have underdeveloped industry. Semi-peripheral countries share characteristics of both core and peripheral countries.
Revitalization movements
These can occur when a population feels individual and cultural stress (e.g., assimilation, loss of autonomy, loss of territory).
The movement, often a religious one, seeks to revitalize or restore the society.
Requires a prophet, who carries the message of new rituals and beliefs, but based on established way of life.
Melanesian cargo cults
Revitalization movements in which colonized people seek to obtain the technology and wealth of others through the logic of magic.
Ghost Dance
A movement in 1800s among Native Americans that started due to U.S expansion, small pox, etc. Involved rituals that included circle dances. The prophet was named Wovoka. The movement faded after 1890.
Globalization
The rapid transformation of local cultures around the world in response to the economic and other influences of a dominant culture.
Transnational migration
Increasing numbers of people living significant portions of their lives in another society.
Multiculturalism
The presence of, or support for the presence of, several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society.
What is happening to the Massai?
The processes of Globalization are pressuring them to interact with the modern world and adapt to the changing environment, both socially and literally.
