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Religion and Sociey P2 > Magic abd Society > Flashcards

Magic abd Society Flashcards

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1
Q

what vs. illusion

A

illusion: magicians specialize in illusion

- trickery and deception

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2
Q

what is magic

A

Magic: the ways in which a person can compel the supernatural to behave in certain ways

  • rituals are important in order to get the supernatural to do their bidding
  • magic can be used for Good or Bad
  • the person who uses magic for bad is called a sorcerer and is considered anti social
  • magic will always work
  • it is something that is learned - but it can also be passed down
  • religious specialists may use magic in their various activities (ex. healers may use magic to heal and individual)
  • divination is closely related to magic (trying to gain information about the unknown)
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3
Q

is magic separate from religion: E.B. Tylor

A
  • magic is separate from religion
  • magic is a “primitive science”
  • magic is not religion because no spirits are involved
  • no correlation between the action and the outcome
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4
Q

is magic separate from religion: James Frazer

A
  • magic is a “primitive science”

- evolutionary perspective - magic was there before religion

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5
Q

is magic separate from religion: Emile Durkheim

A
  • agreed that magic can be distinguished from religion, but focused on social context
  • magic focuses on “individual need” vs religion focuses on “collective need”
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6
Q

is magic separate from religion: Bronislaw Malinowski

A
  • purpose of magic vs religion: purpose of magic different than purpose of religion
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7
Q

operant definition of magic

A
  • broad enough to study magic as religion
  • magic has a clear aim and the outcome is guaranteed when performed correctly
  • magic is the “manipulation” of “supernatural forces”
  • in religion, you can ask but may not receive
  • religion is the “persuasion” of supernatural beings”
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8
Q

magic and science

A

science is based on empirical observations (using human senses)

  • this means that for something to be scientific, it must be observable, repeatable, and testable
  • sciences use hypothesis and theories

magic, like science, helps people to make sense of their world and have some element of control over things
- ex. farming

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9
Q

rules of magic (Frazer, 1890)

A

law of sympathy
- magic depends on the apparent association of agreement between things

Two parts:

1) law of similarity: things that are alike, are the same
- gives ruse to homeopathic/imitative magic
2) law of contagion: things that were once in contact continue to be, even after connection is severed
- gives rise to contagious magic

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10
Q

imitative magic

A
  • assumes a causal relationship between things that appear to be similar (similarity can be physical or behavioural)
  • imagine magic is a type of imitative magic: characterized by making an image to represent a living person/animal and the desired end
    example: cave paintings, throwing darts at a picture of someone, vision boards
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11
Q

homeopathic magic (imitative magic)

A

homeopathic medicine or alternate medicine

  • uses law of similarity
  • doctrine of signature: belief that physical structures found in nature, potential use in healing (or overall health)
    example: walnuts for the brain, carrots for the eyes, kidney beans for the kidneys
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12
Q

homeopathic magic: Beng women of the Ivory Coast, West Africa

A

pregnant women:

  • cannot eat meat of the bushbuck antelope or her child will be born with stripes
  • enemas using slippery leaves from a vine depict an easy childbirth
  • carful of behaviours so as to not pass onto child
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13
Q

contagious magic

A
  • magic that is based on the law of contagion, utilizing things that were once in physical contact with an individual
  • the more personal the item, the more the connection
    example: the Fore thinking Kuru was black magic against them, voodoo dolls (personal items sown into it), black magic in Mexico video
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14
Q

magic in society Azande (S. Sudan, Congo)

A

E.E Evans Pritchard (1920s and 30s)

  • Zande magic involves objects made of plant material which are transformed into “medicines “ after ritual
  • these “medicines” contain supernatural power
  • doctrines of signature
  • the medicine is used in ritual
  • the medicine is more important than the spell, which simply wakes up the power in the medicine

functions: protection, control nature, revenge, curing diseases
- bad magic vs legally sanctioned magic

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15
Q

magic in society: the Fore

A
  • the fore believed that Kuru was caused by sorcery
  • sorcerer would use contagious magic to cause illness
  • makes a bundle with leaves and the hair, nails, or excrement of the victim
  • bury along with leaves in the muddy cold ground
  • bets the bundle with a stick and calls the victims name
    casting the spell: “I break the bones of your arm … and finally I make you die”
  • in Fore society people go out of their way to hide possible remnants
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16
Q

divination

A
  • techniques used to reveal the unknown and predict outcomes
  • like magic, divination is another way for people to deal with uncertainty - being able to anticipate what’s ahead (make decision accordingly)
  • magical rituals used to manipulate the supernatural world to provide information
  • divination is the product of magic
  • forms of divination are based on the idea that everything is interconnected (magic also acts on the premise that things are connected - imitation magic and contagious magic)
  • magic is based on the “manipulation of these connections”
  • divination is based on “observing these connections”
17
Q

inspirational divination

A
  • involves a “spiritual experience” such as direct contact with a supernatural being through an ASC
  • also referred to as natural or emotion divination
  • ex. medium, possession
18
Q

noninspirational divination

A
  • types of divination that are performed without the direct involvement of supernatural beings
  • also referred to as artificial divination
  • this form uses elements of magic
  • it is interpretive, reading natural events
  • ex. oracles (device used for divination)
19
Q

fortuitous divination

A
  • occurs without any conscious effort

- ex. omens

20
Q

deliberate divination

A
  • someone sets out to do it

- ex. tarot readings q

21
Q

four categories of divination

A

1) fortuitous noninspirational (omens)
2) deliberate noninspirational (tarot, astrology)
3) fortuitous inspirational (necromancy, possessions)
4) deliberate inspirational (medium, possession)

22
Q

divination techniques: dreams

A
  • dreams connect us with the supernatural world
  • visits from spirits/guides or visions of journeys taken by ones soul
  • dreams are sources of information that that require interpreting
23
Q

divination techniques: oneiromancy

A
  • interpreting dreams (fortuitous inspirational)
  • different cultures will interpret dreams differently
  • interpretation is dependant on ones own cultural context
    examples, dreaming of…:
  • monkey = lies, deceit, dishonesty, malicious intent
  • being toothless = failure (real or imagined)
  • flying = detachment , happiness, freedom
  • water = unconscious or emotions
24
Q

divination techniques: ordeals

A
  • painful and often life threatening tests that a person who is suspected of guilt is forced to undergo
    example: sticking hands in boiling oil in Togo
25
Q

divination: African religious traditions

A
  • involves communication with gods/spirits/ancestors
  • often part time religious specialists
  • chosen by the spirit world
  • receives training in local divination techniques
  • identify cause of illness or hardship
26
Q

divination: Yoruba Ifa divination

A
  • Ifa, or Orunmila, is the god of divination and wisdom and is called upon in the divination ceremony
  • religious specialist: priests and priestesses (representing various Orisa/gods)
  • the Ifa divination tray represents the image of the original world order (imitative magic)
  • modernity: divination associations
  • video
27
Q

why magic works

A

coincidence or cause and effect?

  • Tylor: people believe in magic because it doesn’t appear to ever fail
  • magic is used to bring out events that will happen eventually (rain magic)
  • want to believe: people like to feel that they have some control over their environment
  • people are stubborn - resistant to changing preexisting beliefs
  • people don’t use magic for the impossible - magic has limits
  • if magic doesn’t work its because the magician made an error in the ritual or someone is doing counter magic
  • selective memory: only remember successes

Religion and Sociey P2 (3 decks)

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