Chapter 10

Religion

 What is religion and what are the basic

features of religions?
How do world religions illustrate globalization
and localization?
What are some important aspects of religious
change in contemporary times?

Cultural Anthropology and Religion

The study of religion was an early focus of
cultural anthropologists
In the 19th century, focus was on primitive/nonwestern religions
Current research looks at religion in all societies,
including modern states

Part 1.

Religion in Comparative Perspective

Coming up:
What is religion?
Theories of the origin of religion
Religious beliefs
Beliefs about supernatural forces and beings
Ritual practices
Religious Specialists

Defining Religion
As in all of anthropology, the challenge is to
find a definition that is broad enough to fit all
cultures
Current definition states religion is: beliefs and
behavior related to supernatural beings and
forces
Beliefs relate to the thinking (ideas, views, knowledge, etc.)
Behavior relates to the doing (attendance, rituals, ceremonies,
etc.)

As far as we know, only humans have it

Origins and Evolution

E.B. Tylor religion may have developed from the
dream phenomena and the need to explain a
difference between the living and the dead
Spiritual beliefs have evolved and changed over
time
Hunter/Gatherers animism/spirits in nature, no anthropomorphism, no
dichotomy between spiritual & secular world

Horticulturalists hierarchy of spirits related to survival (water, crops, etc.), still

no real dichotomy

Early civilization deities (animals/humans), polytheism

Modern civilization monotheism, dichotomy

Do you know the difference between religion & worldview?

Religion Versus Magic

19th century thinkers supported a cultural evolution model

that said magic came first, replaced by religion, and
religion replaced by science

Magic defined as: peoples attempts to compel

supernatural forces and beings to act in certain ways,
often to harm enemies - Not the type of magic we associate with pulling rabbits
from a hat or card tricks!

Magic can be:

Imitative/sympathetic like produces like; Ex. Voodoo dolls
Contagious objects once in contact can influence one another after
separation

Will strong belief in the power to make things happen

Repetitive doing the same act can produce the same result: think of
superstitious ball

players who wear lucky socks, hats, charms, etc.

Varieties of Religious Beliefs

Cross-culturally, people express their religious
beliefs in many ways
Cultural anthropologists classify these
expressions into Myths & Doctrine
Myths:
Convey messages about supernaturals through the story itself
Indirect messages
Usually part of the oral (verbal) tradition

Doctrine:

Direct statements about religious beliefs

Written and formal
Associated with state-level religions
Doctrine can and does change
Example: Islamic doctrine as expressed in the Quran, debated among
contemporary Muslims regarding issues such as polygyny, divorce,
womens work roles, womens clothing

Three Anthropological Theories about

Myths: All Are Functional
Malinowski: myths are a charter for society,
they provide a rationale for the group
Lvi-Strauss: myths express the underlying
beliefs of a society and help people resolve
deep contradictions between life and death and
other binary oppositions
Cultural materialists: myths store knowledge
about livelihood for cultural survival

Beliefs about Supernaturals

Concepts of otherworldly beings
Animatism (supernatural force in the world, but not a being)
Zoomorphic supernaturals (animal appearance)
Anthropomorphic supernaturals (human
appearance)

Pantheons (Collection of Gods/goddesses)

Ancestors (former beings now represented as spirits)

Eye on the Environment: Eagle Protection,

National Parks, and the Preservation of Hopi
Culture
Importance of golden eagles among the Hopi of
Arizona:
They are the link to the spiritual world where the
ancestors live
Their ritual use (and sacrifice) is essential to the
continuity of Hopi culture

In 1962 Congress protected golden eagles

along with bald eagles
The Yellowstone Model: parks without people
Pres. Clinton established a repository for golden
eagle feathers and remains
The Hopi have a permit for an annual take of 40
golden eagles but their hunting grounds are
limited because of a national park

Hopi Reservation in Arizona

Beliefs about Sacred Space

Natural sites such as mountains,
streams, stone outcroppings
Culturally constructed sites that make a
natural place sacred

Ritual Practices
Life-cycle rituals (coming of age, baptism, wedding,
birth, death, etc.) Usually involves three stages

Separation, transition, reintegration

Pilgrimage (purpose is to deepen belief and commitment)

example: the Hajj to Mecca for Muslims

Rituals of inversion (temporary role reversal)

example: Carnival in Bosa, Sardegna (Sardinia)

Sacrifice
Animals, humans, or symbolic

Pilgrimage: Hindu boy who has been on a

pilgrimage with his parents to a temple in Kashmir,
the Himalayas, to thank the goddess for him: the
red cloth around his head is the goddess blessing

Sacrifice: Aztec Cannibalism

Thousands of sacrificial victims, of whom many
were then eaten by the local people
Belief: Aztec gods ate human hearts and
drank human blood
Victims were usually prisoners of war or slaves
Once victims were sacrificed, the body was
prepared for cooking
Debate as to why among anthropologists:
A way of showing political strength and feeding the poor
(cultural materialism)
To satisfy the gods, based on Aztec religious logic
(interpretivism)

Religious Specialists
All human societies include individuals who guide
and supplement the religious practices of others.
They
are highly skilled at contacting/influencing supernatural
beings and manipulating supernatural forces
have undergone special training
may display certain distinctive personality traits that
make them particularly well suited to perform these
tasks

Specialists include:
Priest/priestess
Diviner
Prophet
Others

Shaman/shamanka

Shaman/Shamanka
Religious specialist with direct association with
the supernaturals
Most associated with non-state societies
Classic area is Siberia (origin of the terms
shaman/shamanka) but found in many parts of
the world
Part-time profession which one is called to

Priest/Priestess

Associated with states

Full-time religious specialists
Formal training may be lengthy
Priestly lineage
Perform wider range of rituals than
shamans/shamankas
May have substantial secular (worldly) power

Part 2.

World Religions and Local Variations

World religions are considered textbased with many followers that cross
country borders

Hinduism
Buddhism
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
African religions: not text based

Population Distribution of Major World

Religions (Judaism is in other)

Hinduism

Most Hindus live in India

Core texts: the 4 Vedas
Incorporates diversity of ways to be Hindu
Rich polytheism
Unity in diversity
Sacred sites range from a pile of stones under a
tree to monumental temples

Buddhism

Founding figure: Siddhartha Gautama

Started in northern India
Many texts; no accepted single text
First arose as protest against social inequality
of Hinduism
Goal is to achieve nirvana
Strong tradition of monasticism

Buddhist temple in Japan: Buddhism originated in

India and spread throughout eastern and
southeastern Asia; now global

Judaism

Origins about 500 BCE

Theme of exile and return
Key text: Pentateuch, or Torah
Monotheistic
Words, both spoken and written, are important
Contemporary varieties from conservative to
reform

Jerusalem is the
holiest city of
Judaism, and also
the third holiest
city of Islam and
holy to many
Christians as well

Christianity
Largest of the world religions (most adherents)
This includes all the denominations

Basic text is the Bible

Teachings of Jesus as model for behavior
Many, many branches and denominations
worldwide (Catholicism, Baptist, Lutheran, Episcopalian,
Protestant, LDS, etc.)

The Vatican, in Rome, is the center of Roman

Catholicism and also a popular tourist site

Islam

Youngest of the world religions

Second largest world religion
Based on the teachings of Muhammad
Basic text is the Qu'ran
Sunni and Shia are the two major
branches
Local variations in ritual practices

The largest mosque

in the world is in
Casablanca,
Morocco. It has
space for 25,000
worshippers

Culturama: Hui Muslims of Xian,

China
The Hui are one of Chinas largest designated
minorities (around 10 million)
The state classifies them as backward and
feudal
The Hui of Xian construct a modern and
civilized lifestyle by choosing aspects of Muslim
and Western culture
Their diet sets them apart from the Han culture
Particularly pork and alcohol

Example of
local variation
in Islamic
practices in
Xian, China

Culturama, contd
Many Hui make a living in the restaurant
business
Although alcohol boosts business many Hui
object to it and a movement was begun to
ban it from the Hui quarter of Xian
An urban development project was
launched in 2003 in the Old Muslim Quarter

African Religions
Myths about a split between creator deity and
humans
A pantheon of supernaturals
Elaborate initiation rituals and sacrifices
Altars within shrines
Close links with healing
New forms emerging especially in the Western
Hemisphere (Umbanda, Rastafarianism)

Looking at World Religions from a

Local Perspective
The anthropological way!
What is the impact of a world religion in a new,
local context?
How do local cultures reshape world religions?
Key concepts:
Religious pluralism
Religious syncretism

Directions of Change
Revitalization movements
seek to bring about positive change by
reconstructing parts of religion threatened by
outside forces

Contested sacred sites

example: Jerusalem

Religious freedom as a human right

Tibetan Buddhist refugees
Muslims in post9/11 United States

Functions of Religion
Religion provides explanations for the
unanswerable, universal human problems
life, death, illness, and misfortune
Where did we come from? Where do we go when we die?

It fulfills both psychological & social needs

Provides a model of the universe

Sanctions a range of conduct for people
Relieves the burden of decision making
Maintains social solidarity
Educational purposes; to pass on belief system

Connections
Keep in mind the many links between
religion andeconomic systems,
reproduction, kinship, social groups,
politics, language
and, migration & international
development, which are coming next week!

 What is religion and what are the basic features of

religions?
How do world religions illustrate globalization and
localization?
What are some important aspects of religious
change in contemporary times?

Chapter 9
Communication

 How do humans communicate?

How does communication relate to
cultural diversity and inequality?
How does language change?

Linguistic and Cultural Anthropology

Material comes from both fields of these
field of anthropology about human
communication
This field has many connections to
biological anthropology - especially
nonhuman primate communication, and
archaeology regarding communication in
past cultures

Part 1. The Varieties of Human

Communication
Language and verbal communication
Nonverbal language and embodied
communication
Communicating with media and
technology

Basic Concepts
Communication: conveying
meaningful messages from one
person, animal, or insect to
another
Language: communication that
is based on a systematic set of
learned and shared symbols and
signs

Communication through Language is a

Human Universal
Great variation across and within
cultures, however, in forms of
communication in general and
language more specifically

Two Distinctive Features of Human

Language
Productivity: ability to create an infinite range
of understandable messages efficiently
Due to rich variety of symbols
Allows for greater efficiency than nonhuman
primate call systems
We are able to invent new messages, words, etc.

Displacement: ability to refer to events in the

past and future (displaced domains)
Think: can animals communicate past or future events? Can a dog tell
another dog about its plans for tomorrow, or what happened yesterday?
Can a chimp?

The Case of Language among the

Pirah of Brazil
Little evidence of productivity and
displacement in Pirah language
So is their language somehow deficient?
Answer: linguist Daniel Everett says no
their language is entirely adequate and
emphasizes prosody (stress and intonation)
to convey meaning

Location of the Pirah in Brazil

Formal Properties of Verbal Language

Three ways of formally analyzing
language:
Sounds
Study of phonemes and phonetics

Vocabulary
Ethnosemantics

Grammar or syntax

Verbal Languages around the World Use

Different Sounds to Convey Meaning: Tongue
Positions for Dental (Left) and Retroflex
(Right) Sounds, as Used in Hindi and Other
Languages

Ethnosemantics: Example of Saami

Focal Vocabulary about Snow

Summary Points on Human

Language
Key Characteristics

Formal Properties

Productivity

Sounds

Displacement

Grammar
Vocabulary

Nonverbal Language and Embodied

Communication
Sign language: uses mainly hand
gestures to communicate; culturally
variable
Gestures
example: mens gestures in South Africa

Silence
example: the Western Apache of Arizona

Body language including dress, hair

styles, postures, eye contact

Media and Information Technology

Media anthropology and critical
media anthropology
The politics of journalism
Culture an advertising
Communication technology and
inequality

Culture and Mass Media

Media anthropologists
study the media
process and content,
the audience response
and the social effects
of media
presentations

Critical media
anthropologists ask
to what degree
access to media
messages is
liberating or
controlling, and
whose interests the
media serve

Part 2. Communication, Diversity,

and Inequality
Language and culture: two theories
Critical discourse analysis

Language, Thought, and Society: Two

Theories
Sapir-Whorf
language
determines how we
see the world and
behavior
people who speak
different languages
inhabit different
thought worlds

Sociolinguistics
social position
determines the
content, meaning
and form of
language

Critical Discourse Analysis

Focus is on the relations of power

and inequality in language
Gender codes
Gay language
AAE: African American English

Gender Codes
Key differences in words, intonation,
meaning, and grammar related to
gender
Conversational styles and meaning
among White couples in the U.S.
Can lead to misunderstanding

Gender and politeness in Japanese

Gender-coded words for men and women

In Japanese, Men and Women Use

Different Endings for Words

Gay Language in Indonesia

Variety of Bahasa, the national language of
Indonesia
Bahasa Gay highly standardized
throughout the country
Distinct vocabulary plays humorously on
mainstream language
Some Bahasa gay moving into mainstream
Bahasa to convey agency and freedom

African American English (AAE)

Linguistic
conservatives support
teaching of standard
American English in
schools to African
American children and
no attention to AAE as
they believe it is a
substandard language

AAE supporters say it

is a language in its own
right
AAE child speakers
face becoming
bilingual in school
Teachers need to
recognize this and
build on AAE strengths
while also teaching
standard English

Part 3. Language Change

Origins and history of language

Historical linguistics
The origin and spread of writing
The effects of colonialism, nationalism and
globalization
Endangered languages and language
revitalization

Origins and History of Language

Spoken language developed between
100,000 and 50,000 years ago
Writing systems developed in the fourth
millennium BCE

Historical Linguistics
Study of language change through time
Concept of language families
Example: the Indo-European Language Family

Role of migration in spreading language

The Indo-European Language Family

Two possible
locations for the
origins of ProtoIndo-European:
north or south of
the Black Sea

Language
change through
migration: The
spread of Bantu
languages in
Africa from the
2nd to 1st
millennium BCE

Writing
Evidence of earliest writing from
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China
Logographs: signs that convey meaning

Writing and the rise of the state

An empire without writing:
khipu among the Inca

Effects of Colonialism
Major and varied effects on change in
communication and language
Pidgins
Usually limited to functional domains, for
example, trade
Many have developed into creoles and even
national languages

Spread of English and other colonial

languages
Widespread linguistic pluralism and
language borrowing

Example of Linguistic Pluralism in

Morocco

Effects of Nationalism
Nationalist policies of ethnic
assimilation through language policies
Soviet Union promotion of Russian
language and suppression of local,
indigenous languages
English-only movement in the U.S.

Globalization and Language Change

Language decay
Language extinction
The power of global languages
Language revitalization

Culturama:
The Saami of Sapmi, or Lapland
Indigenous fourth world people who live
in the northernmost stretches of Norway,
Sweden, Finland, and western Russia
Herding domesticated reindeer was the
economic mainstay
Reindeer pastoralism has declined to about
10% of the population
Now are farmers or work in trade, smallscale industry, handicrafts, services

Example of
linguistic
assimilation and
loss followed by
current
revitalization
efforts among the
Saami of Spmi,
or Lapland

Culturama, contd
Saami have experienced discrimination,
exclusion, loss of territorial rights, and
cultural and linguistic repression
Language is of central cultural value to the
Saami, and efforts to maintain it have been
underway since the 1960s
The yoik, a traditional song form, is of
particular value why?

Effects of Globalization
Continued borrowing of words, phrases
Increased growth and spread of
world/global languages
Continued decline of indigenous and small
languages through loss of speakers; many
languages going extinct

Borrowing: the
importance of loan
words in North
American English

Critical Thinking: Should Dying

Languages Be Revived?
Language preservation and revitalization
A sign of a culturally healthy planet
Language is an intrinsic part of culture
Dying cultures and dying languages are
treasures lost forever

A Darwinian view
Languages, like species, live in a world of
competition
Dying languages are part of a past that no longer
exists

Critical Thinking, contd

Have you read or heard of an endangered
biological species in the media recently?
What was the species?
Have you read or heard of an endangered
language in the media lately? What was the
language?
Where to you stand on biological species
preservation and on language preservation,
and why?
*MAKE SURE TO VISIT THE WEBSITES ASSIGNED THIS
WEEK TO GAIN BROADER INSIGHTS INTO THE ISSUE OF
LANGUAGE PRESERVATION

Some Approaches to Saving Dying

Languages
Formal classroom instruction in the
language
Master-apprentice system in one-on-one
situation
Web-based tools and services for language
learning and preservation

 How do humans communicate?

How does communication relate to
cultural diversity and inequality?
How does language change?

Chapter 8
Political and Legal Systems

 What does political anthropology cover?

What is the scope of legal anthropology?
How are political and legal systems
changing?

Part 1. Politics, Political Organization,

and Leadership
Political anthropology is the crosscultural study of power and related
concepts such as influence and authority
Political anthropologists define key
concepts differently than political
scientists do which is a reflection of
anthropologys cross-cultural focus

The Scope of Political Anthropology

Political anthropologists study

Who has power and who does not

Degrees of power
Bases of power
Abuses of power
Political organization and government
Political leadership roles
Relationships between political and religious
power
Change in political organization and power
relationships through globalization and media

Do All Cultures Have Politics?

Is political behavior innate and inevitable
among all human people and groups, or is it
learned behavior and variable?
Cultural anthropologys answer:
There is evidence of leadership, dominance, and
power roles as learned behaviorso if there is
an innate political tendency it does not explain
everything

Three Aspects of Political

Leadership
Power: the ability to bring about results,
often through the possession or use of
forceful means
Authority: the right to take certain forms of
action
Influence: the ability to achieve a desired
end by exerting social or moral pressure on
someone or some group

Part 2. Political Organization and

Leadership
Band Leader

Bands

Headman/Headwoman

Tribes
Chiefdoms
States

Chief
King/Queen/
President

Anthropologists recognize that cross-cultural political organization

is best understood within four major categories, that are connected
to the modes of livelihood. These categories are Bands, Tribes,
Chiefdoms, and States.

Modes of Political Organization,

Conflict, and Social Control

Bands
Foraging groups
Between 20 200+ people; everyone
knows one another and are kin
Membership is flexible
Leader is first among equals
Leader may exert influence, perhaps
authority, but not power
Highly egalitarian

Do Bands Have Politics?

Not in any kind of formal sense, since group
membership is flexible, leadership roles are
not formalized, no marks of political
membership exist, and power roles do not
exist
But bands can and do make decisions as a
group about matters such as when to migrate
and how to deal with internal and external
threats

Tribes
Associated with horticulture and pastoralism
Comprise several bands, each with similar lifestyle,
language, and territory; members often know each
other and are related
Leadership combines both achieved and ascribed
status
Achieved is through personal skills, ability, wealth,
personality, etc.
Ascribed is through lineage or birthright

Leader (headman or headwoman) resolves

conflict
Leader relies on influence and authority, and
sometimes power

Big-Man/Big-Woman Leadership
Category of political organization found
within tribes (and leading up to chiefdoms)
Personality, favor-based political groupings
Heavy responsibilities in regulating internal
and external affairs
Leadership is mainly achieved
Common in Melanesia, the South Pacific

Region of Melanesia in the South

Pacific

Making Moka
Moka is the term for large public feast, with political
motives, in highland Papua New Guinea
They are a key part of big-man politics throughout
Melanesia
Leaders plan for years, sometimes, about how
many pigs and other valuables they will give away
at the moka
Mokas depend on followers support and reinforce
and build a leaders status
Remember the film, Ongkas Big Moka from Week 2? Apply
what you learned about Ongka as a tribal leader to this
discussion.

Big-Woman Politics
Less common than big-man politics but
examples do exist in Melanesia
Island of Vanatinai, big-woman leaders:
lead sailing expeditions
sponsor mortuary feasts
are more commonly recognized as sorcerers,
healers and successful gardeners

Chiefdoms
Permanently allied tribes and villages under one
leader
More centralized and socially complex
Heritable systems of social rank and economic
stratification
Chiefship is an office that must be filled at all
times (leadership is no longer a part-time role)
Achievement is measured in terms of personal
leadership skills, charisma and accumulated wealth
Confederacies are formed when chiefdoms are
joined

States
The state is a centralized political unit
encompassing many communities, a
bureaucratic structure, and leaders who
possess coercive power
States are secondary social organizations in
the sense that no members know all other
members on a face-to-face basis; kinship is
not the primary basis of membership

State Powers and Roles

Engage in international relations
Monopolize the use of force and maintain law and
order
Maintain standing armies
Define citizenship, rights, and responsibilities
Keep track of citizens (census)
Taxation, in-kind or cash
Control and manipulate information
Provide social services

Symbols and State Power

May connect leaders to deities
Leaders may have special dress, housing,
food, modes of transportation, or other
designations that distinguish them from
the general populace (compare with the
complete lack of such symbols in bands)

Gender and Leadership in States

Most contemporary states are hierarchical
and patriarchal, to different degrees
While some states are less male dominated, are
any states female dominated?

Highest rates of womens political

participation in the Nordic states why these
states?

Womens political roles often indirect or tied

to kinship these leadership roles may be passed
down, a wife may assume the role of her deceased husband,
etc. In essence her high status is achieved due to her
relationship in some way to a male.

Part 2. Social Order and Social Conflict

Social control is the process by which
people maintain orderly life in groups
Culturally defined rules and ways to ensure
that people follow the rules
All cultures have some form of social
control; but variation in formality

Two Major Instruments of Social

Control
All cultures have norms; some also
have laws, especially states
Norm: accepted
standard for
behavior, usually
unwritten think of
norms as social
pressure to do the
right thing

Law: a binding rule

about behavior
these are
enforceable to
varying degrees

Social Control and Scale of Society

Systems of social control vary depending
on social scale
In small-scale, face-to-face groups, social
control is less formal and more likely to be
based only on norms
In large-scale societies, norms regulate
daily life but so do laws; punishment for
violation of laws can be serious including
death

Social Control in
Small-Scale Societies
In foraging groups, norms are the main
and typically the only instrument for
establishing proper behavior
Remember, these groups are quite small, so
enforcement of norms through social
pressure can be relatively easy and effective
if one chooses to not abide, they could
simply be ousted and left to fend for
themselves not a desirous outcome! See
Punishment slide next.

Punishment for Norm Violation in

Small-Scale Societies
Often through ridicule and shaming; goal is
to restore normal social relations
Ostracism for serious offenders
Punishment is often legitimized through
belief in supernatural forces (there is no
dichotomy of worldview for small scale societies
the secular & spiritual world are connected)

Capital punishment is extremely rare

Social Control in States

Increased specialization of roles
involved in social control
Formal trials and courts
Power-enforced forms of punishment,
such as prisons and the death penalty

Specialization of Social Control

Roles in States
Police
Lawyers, para-legal
professionals
Criminal justice
specialists
Judges
Others

Policing
A form of social control that includes
surveillance and the threat of punishment
Police discover, report, and investigate
crimes
They are associated with states

Study of Policing in Japan

Low crime ratewhy?
Due to excellent
policing? Some factors:
Neighborhood police
boxes and foot patrol
Volunteer crime
prevention groups
High expectations of
no false arrests
High rate of
confession: police
have more power
than suspects

Trials and Courts

Trial by ordeal: a way of judging guilt or
innocence by putting the accused person
through a test that is often painful
Court system used in many contemporary
societies
Goal is to ensure justice and fairness
Biases (such as racial, ethnic, gender) affect the
achievement of the goal

Prisons and Death Penalty

The prison, as a place where people are
forcibly detained as a form of punishment,
has a long history
The U.S. imprisons more people than any
other country in the world, followed by
China
Critical Thinking? What does this say about our
culture? Too many criminals? Too many
laws? Does this mean we are effective or
ineffective?

Executions communicate a political

message to the general populace about the
states power and strength

Social Inequality and the Law

Critical legal anthropologists examine the

role of law in maintaining power
relationships through discrimination.

Case Study of Racial/Ethnic

Discrimination in Australia
Comparison of treatment of youth who are
White and youth who are indigenous
Australian
Tracking what happened to youth in each
category following apprehension
At each step of the way, indigenous youth
experienced a harsher process which took
them to a less favorable outcome

Comparison of Outcomes for

Aboriginal and White Youth in the
Australian Judicial System

How Does This Happen?

Perhaps not conscious discrimination at
each stage
Cultural factors related to the life conditions
of the youths and the perceptions of the law
enforcement professionals shape the
decisions at each stage: Aboriginal youths
home address is not good, they are
unemployed, they appear to be shiftless and
undependable, etc.

Critical Thinking:
Yanomami: The Fierce People?
Horticultural people of
the Amazonian
rainforest
Napoleon Chagnon
has studied them since
the 1960s
Chagnons writings
and films have
promoted a view of the
Yanomami as
extremely violent

Yanomami Cultural System

According to Chagnon
RAID TO CAPTURE
WOMEN

FIERCE MALES
FAVORED

The Waiteri
Complex
SHORTAGE OF
FEMALES

FEMALE
INFANTICIDE

Critical Thinking, contd

Two other theoretical perspectives on
Yanomami violence and warfare:
Cultural materialist perspective: protein
scarcity and population dynamics are the
underlying cause of Yanomami warfare
Historical view: intensified Western
presence during the preceding 100 years
caused the high levels of violence

Critical Thinking, contd

Ethical questions raised by a journalist,
Patrick Tierney:
Chagnon and other U.S. researchers may have
contributed to causing the high levels of violence
indirectly by their presence, by giving many trade
goods, by asking people to stage violence for
their films
A task force of the American Anthropological
Association (AAA) dismissed charges that
Chagnon triggered or staged the violence

Critical Thinking, contd

Which theoretical perspective (Darwinian,
cultural materialist, or historical) on
Yanomami violence appears most
persuasive to you and why?
What relevance does this case have to the
theory that violence is a universal human
trait?
Do you think it is possible that
anthropological research could have
negative effects such as increased violence
among the study population? (Think about gift
giving and establishing rapport as a reseracher)

Social Conflict and Violence

All societies experience conflict with
other groups and societies, though to
different degrees
Varieties of conflict include:
Ethnic conflict
Warfare

Ethnic Conflict
May occur as a result of ethnic pluralism in
many parts of the world. Ethnicity,
language, and religion are often the sources
of conflict
Ethnic identities commit people to a cause
Deeper issues often exist such as claims to
material resources
Water
Oil, gas

Warfare
War: Organized group action directed
against another group and involving lethal
force
Cultural variation in war-like conflicts, from
those involving mainly symbolic conflict to
those in which mass death is the goal
Do bands exhibit war? Why or why not?

Part 3. Change in Political and Legal

Systems
Emerging nations and transnational nations
Democratization
The United Nations and International
Peacekeeping

Emerging and Transnational Nations

What is a nation? Different definitions
exist:
A group of people who share a language,
culture, territorial base, political organization,
and history
U.S. would not be considered a nation under
this definition

Nations and other groups constitute a

political threat to state stability and control:
Kurds, Maya, Tamils, Tibetans

Example of a
transnational
nation:
Puerto Rico, of
which half the
nation lives off
the island but
maintains ties with
it

Culturama: The Kurds of

the Middle East

Ethnic group of 20 30 million people

Most speak a dialect of Kurdish
Majority are Sunni Muslim
Strongly patrilineal
Home region, Kurdistan, extends from Turkey into
Iran, Iraq, and Syria
Before WWI many Kurds were full-time pastoralists,
herding sheep and goats
After WWI and the creation of new countries (Iraq,
Syria, and Kuwait) Kurdish herders were unable to
follow traditional grazing because of the new
borders

Kurdish Region in the Middle East

Culturama, contd
Kurds are now employed in many
occupations
Their attempts to establish an independent
state have met harsh treatment from
government forces
The Turkish state refuses to recognize them
as a legitimate minority group
Many are united by the shared goal of
statehood

Democratization
Process of transformation from an
authoritarian regime to a democratic regime

End of torture
Liberation of political prisoners
Lifting of censorship
Toleration of some opposition

This transition is difficult when the change

is from highly authoritarian socialist
regimes

Anthropology of the United Nations

Some anthropologists are studying up
and doing research on large-scale
institutions such as the UN
In terms of its past role in international
peacekeeping, one pessimistic view is from
Robert Carneiro who sees warfare as having
no logical end within the world system of
states
Any room for hope? Can anthropological
research on/in the UN help?

 What does political anthropology cover?

What is the scope of legal anthropology?
How are political and legal systems
changing?

Chapter 6
Kinship and Domestic Life

TheBIGQuestions
How do cultures create kinship?
What are cross-cultural patterns of
households and domestic life?
How are kinship and households
changing?

What is Kinship?
Sense of being related to another
person(s)
Set by cultural rules (sometimes laws)
Often taken for granted as being natural
rather than cultural
Links with all aspects of culture
Not all cultures define kinship on the basis
of blood

Example of Culture
and Kinship: Tory
Island, Ireland
--everyone is related to
everyone else so
friends are necessarily
also kin

Formal Study of Kinship: Typologies and

Naming Systems
Anthropologists collected data on kinship
terms and relationships around the world
Created categories, or types of kinship
systems with similar features, named after a
particular culture, such as Eskimo kinship
Kinship diagrams are used as a descriptive
and analytical tool

Formal Study of Kinship: Symbols for

Individuals in a Kinship Diagram
female
male
deceased female
deceased male
female ego of the diagram
male ego of the diagram

Symbols for Kinship Relationships

is married to
is cohabiting with
is divorced from
is separated from
adopted-in female
adopted-in male
is descended from
is the sibling of

Two Kinship Naming Systems

There are 6 basic types here are 2 examples

Kinship in Action:
Three Ways of Being Kin
Descent
Sharing
Marriage

Modes of Livelihood, Kinship, and

Household Structure

Descent
Kinship through birth into a
particular group
Two major types:
Unilineal (traced through one side)
Bilineal (traced through both sides)

Unilineal Descent
Basis of kinship in 60 percent of the
worlds cultures
Most associated with pastoralism,
horticulture, and agricultural modes of
livelihood
Two major types of unilineal descent:
Patrilineal (through the male line)
Matrilineal (through the female line)

Patrilineal Descent
Found among 45% of
all cultures
Kinship is traced
through the male line
Males dominate
status, power, and
property
Strongest versions
found in South Asia
(India, Pakistan) and
East Asia

Everyday Anthropology: Whats in a Name?

(example of patrilineal culture)
Village of Ha Tsuen located in n/west Hong Kong
Strong system of patrilineal kinship:
Women do not own property and have no control
of the household economy
Womens primary role is in reproduction
especially sons
Personal naming system reflects importance and
power of males
All babies are given a ming
A boys ming is distinctive and flattering
Girls mings often have negative connotations

contd
Ritual importance: a 30-day ceremony is
held for all babies, but the ceremony for a
boy is as elaborate as the family can afford.
A man is given or chooses tzu (marriage
name) and has a wai hao (public nickname)
When a woman marries, her ming ceases to
exist
Husband refers to her as nei jen (inner person)
May also be referred to by teknonyms (names for

someone based on their relationship to someone else, as

in wife of so and so)

Matrilineal Descent
Found among 15% of all
cultures
Kinship is traced through
the female line
Women control land and
products
Found in Southeast Asia,
the South Pacific, and in
some parts of Europe and
North America
Example: the
Minangkabau of Indonesia

Culturama: The Minangkabau of Indonesia

(example of matrilineal culture)
Worlds largest matrilineal culture
Economy based mainly on rice farming
Some men and women work in cities and
then return home
Women hold power through control of
lineage land
Sub-matrilineage groups of adult women
and girls live together in a lineage house
Men and older boys often live separately
In the household, the senior woman controls the
power and makes all decisions

Minangkabau Region in Indonesia

contd
Water buffaloes important to the rice
economy and symbolically
Roofline of a traditional house has upward
curves that echo the shape of the horns
Same shape as womens/girls festive
headdresses

Religion: Islam blended with earlier local

beliefs and elements of Hinduism
Longstanding traditions of music, martial
arts, weaving, wood carving, jewelry-making

Bilineal Descent
Descent is traced equally from both
parents
Married couples live away from their
parents (neolocal residence)
Inheritance is allocated equally among all
children regardless of their gender
Found in foraging and industrial/
informatic cultures
Examples: Euro-Americans, Ju/hoansi,
Innu (Inuit)

Kinship Through Sharing

In many cultures
people create
kinship through
sharing
Food
sharing

Adoption and
fostering
Godparents

Kinship through Marriage

What is marriage?
Anthropologists have had a major
problem defining marriage since so
many varieties exist cross-culturally

Criteria for Defining Marriage

Numbers of people involved
Gender/sexual orientation of people
involved
Functions of the relationshipsexual
intercourse, legitimacy of children,
shared property, co-residence?

A Working Definition
Marriage is a more or less stable union, usually
between two people who may or may not be coresidential, sexually involved with each other, and
procreative with each other
This is a broader more inclusive definition from the
previous 1951 definition which stated Marriage is a union
between a man and a woman such that children born to
the woman are the recognized legitimate offspring of both
parents.
This definition excludes many marriages worldwide that are between
same gendered individuals. It also assumes children born outside a
marriage are not legitimate. Again, many cultures are relaxed about
sexual practices outside of marriage and children born from those
unions are no more/less legitimate than those born within a
marriage. Therefore, this 1951 definition is antiquated in its
anthropological applications.

Rules for Finding a Marriage Partner

Rules of exclusion
Preference rules
Features such as age, height, looks,
wealth, education
Cousin marriage in some cultures
Romantic love in some cultures
Marriage gifts

Exclusion Rule: The Incest Taboo

All cultures have some form of incest taboo
An incest taboo forbids sexual intercourse
and/or marriage between certain kin
However, there is cultural variation in which kin
are excluded

Lvi-Strauss linked the incest taboo with the

origin of exchange among humans

Cousin Marriage
Forbidden in some cultures
Preferred in some cultures
There are various definitions of what is a
cousin
Various patterns of preference exist for
cousins on which side of the family
cross-cousins (mothers brothers children or fathers
sisters children)
parallel cousins (mothers sisters children or fathers
brothers children)

Two Forms of Cousin Marriage

Endogamy and Exogamy as General

Preference Rules
Endogamy: marriage within a
particular region or social category
Exogamy: marriage outside a
particular region or social category

The Range of Cultural Preferences for

Spouse/Partner Selection

Kinship
Location
Ethnicity
Status/economic position
Looks (beauty, height, FGC)
Physical ability
Romantic love

Status Considerations in Partner

Selection (Heterosexual Pairing)

Getting Married
Often involves a series of gift/monetary
exchanges between the brides and grooms
family
The wedding: range from very simple to
highly elaborate and expensive
weddings crystallize and highlight cultural
meanings of the marital relationship and gender
roles

Major Types of Marriage Exchanges

Forms of Marriage
Monogamy:
marriage between
two people
Most common form
of marriage crossculturally

Polygamy: marriage
with multiple
spouses
Polygyny: one man
and more than one
woman
Polyandry: one
woman and more
than one man

What Is a Household versus a Family?

A family is a group of people who
consider themselves related by kinship
A household is a person or persons who
live together and may or may not be
related by kinship
Both terms are important in anthropology

Nuclear Household
Common worldwide but not universally the
preferred form
Found among foragers and
industrial/informatic groups
Classic Nacirema household type, though
declining as single-person households
increase

Extended Household
More common among horticulturalists,
pastoralists, and agriculturalists
Related to fixed economic base such as land,
business
May be extended vertically through parents
and sons/daughters or horizontally through
siblings
Provides safety net for child care and old age
support

Intrahousehold Dynamics
Spouse/partner relationships
Marital satisfaction differs in love
matches and arranged marriages

Sibling relationships
Example of brother-sister relationship
in Beirut, Lebanon

Domestic Life
What happens inside the household:
Work
Reproduction
Care, love
Leisure, fun
Other.not such good news

Domestic Violence
Found in most but not all cultures and in
differing degrees:
Child abuse
Honor killings
Wife/partner abuse: male violence against
females
More common where men control
wealth/property and women are dependent on
them

Anthropology Works: Preventing Wife

Abuse in Rural Kentucky
Highest rate of reported domestic violence
in U.S.
Ethnographic study revealed cultural
factors
Physical isolation
Social isolation
Institutional isolation

Food for Thought:

How do conditions in Kentucky differ from
or resemble those in another cultural
context where wife beating is frequent?

Kentucky: A
predominantly rural
state with much
poverty

Change in Descent
Role of European colonialism
Decline of matrilineal descent worldwide

Among the Minangkabau

Dutch colonialism promoted male household
headship
Islamic teachings promote men as household
heads and women as wives
Indonesian state policy favors male household
headship

Change in Marriage
New forms of courtship due to new forms of
technology: love letters in Nepal, the
Internet
Age at first marriage
Rising worldwide

Wedding style
Globalization of the Western white wedding
Some counter trends toward ethnic or
traditional styles
Wedding pluralism/syncretism

Changing Households
Globalization of nuclear households
Example of the Kelabit of Malaysia
Effects of international migration
Shrinking households in the U.S.
Intergenerational households and
boomerang kids in the U.S.

Kelabit region
in Malaysia:
Trend toward
nuclear households
in the highlands