anthropology chapter 13

rite of purification

act performed by an individual or a group to cleanse someone who has become unclean

rite of passage

act when members of a society move from one social stage in life to another

rite of intensification

act that takes serves to bind individuals together during a crisis

worldview

group of ideas that members of a culture share concerning the shape, substance of reality

religion

system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or the supernatural

spirituality

concern with the sacred, as distinguished from material matters

myth

narrative that explains the fundamentals of human existence

monotheism

belief in only one supremely powerful divinity as creator and master of the universe

animism

belief that nature is enlivened or energized by distinct personalized beings separable from bodies

animatism

belief that nature is enlivened or energized by an impersonal supernatural force or energy

priest or priestess

person formally recognized for his or her role in guiding religious practices

spiritual lineage

principle of leadership in which divine authority is passed down from founding figure to successors

shaman

person who enters altered states of consciousness to contact and utilize an ordinarily hidden reality

ritual

procedure designed to guide members of a community through personal and collective transitions

taboo

culturally prescribed avoidances involving ritual prohibitions, which, if not observed, lead to supernatural punishment

magic

formula or action used to compel supernatural powers to act in certain ways

imitative magic

act or formula based on the principle that like produces like in a supernatural sense

contagious magic

practice based on principle that things in contact can influence each other after contact ends

divination

procedure or act designed to discern what is not knowable by ordinary means

witchcraft

ritual intended to cause misfortune or inflict harm

pilgrimage

traveling, often on foot, to a sacred or holy site to reach for englightenment

descration

violation of a sacred site intended to inflict harm, if only symbolically, on people

revitalization movements

radical cultural reform in response to widespread social disruption and collective feelings stress and despair

syncretism

blending of indigenous and foreign beliefs and practices into new cultural forms

secularization

process of cultural change in which a population tends toward a nonreligious worldview

polytheism

belief in multiple gods and/or goddesses

pantheon

collective of gods and goddesses worshipped in a society