Cultural Anthropology Exam 3

Witchcraft

Use of supernatural forces through internal powers, such as thought, emotion, or inherited ability; often cause harm unintentionally or without using physical tools

Imitative principle of magic

Magical acts imitate the desired result—e.g., using a doll or effigy to cause harm or success; reenacting rain to bring rainfall

Cultural cohesion/social solidarity

The degree to which members of a society feel connected, unified, and mutually responsible through shared beliefs, norms, rituals, and identities

• Anthropologists emphasize that rituals and collective symbols create solidarity and maintain order

Cannibal dance myths/mythos

Set of origin myths and ritual narratives among the Kwakwaka'wakw involving the Cannibal Spirit, who threatens humanity by consuming people

• Explain the dangers of uncontrolled human desires

• Justify the winter ceremonial cycle

• Structure the Hamatsa initiation ritual

Contagious principle of magic

A law of magic stating that things that were once in contact continue to influence each other

Sorcery

The deliberate manipulation of supernatural forces through rituals, spells, or materials

Mana

A spiritual force or sacred power found in Polynesian and Melanesian societies

Hamatsa

An elite secret society and ceremonial group known for the Hamatsa initiation ritual, involving controlled encounters with the Cannibal Spirit

Totem

A symbolic animal, plant, or entity that represents a group (usually a clan or lineage)

Anomie

A concept from Durkheim describing a state of normlessness, where social rules break down and individuals feel disconnected or lost

Ritual

A formal, repetitive, symbolic action performed in a set sequence and usually associated with religious or cultural meaning

• Rites of intensification strengthen group identity, especially during crises or important seasonal moments

• Rites of catharsis release emotional tension, stress, or conflict

• Rites of purification cleanse individuals or spaces from pollution, taboo, or spiritual impurity

Durkheim argued that

Religion is fundamentally about collective identity, group cohesion, and shared moral community and functions as a way for people to reaffirm who they are and what their group stands for

Fundamentalism: movement within a religion that seeks

A return to foundational principles or “origins”

Moral and doctrinal purity

Literal or strict interpretation of sacred texts

Clear boundaries between believers and non-believers

Strong authority structures and social control within the group

Social distance refers to how emotionally, socially, or culturally “close” or “far” one group feels toward another

Anthropologists aim to describe and understand religious practices as the people inside the culture understand them

• When social distance is high, people perceive a culturally different group as strange, inferior, exotic, or dangerous

• When social distance is low, people see others as similar, understandable, or relatable.

• In anthropology, social distance directly affects how people interpret religious practices and belief expressions in other cultures

Shallow connection

When observers try to relate to a religious practice but do so in an overly simplistic or inaccurate way

False distance

When observers exaggerate how different another group’s beliefs are—usually because of bias, stereotyping, or ethnocentrism

Early academic racism

Typological Model: Humans were divided into fixed “types” or “races”

Biological Determinism: Claimed that behavior, intelligence, morality, and culture were caused by biology/race

Scientific Racism: Misuse of evolutionary theory, craniometry, and measurements to rank races

Eugenics Model: A political and scientific movement promoting selective breeding to “improve the race”

Hijras

A recognized third-gender community in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh; often biologically male or intersex but take on feminine gender roles

Sāhdin

A group in northern India identified as a female-bodied third gender; usually adopt masculine clothing and roles but are not categorized simply as “men”

Nu: a vital, life-generating substance in Hua belief

Figapa: people who high levels of Nu, making them more “feminine” in Hua cultural terms

Kakora: people who have low levels of Nu, making them culturally “masculine”

Hua gender-sex model

A cultural system among the Hua people in which gender is based not on biology but on levels of Nu, a life-giving substance found in bodily fluids and food

Gender is fluid, not binary; individuals can change gender classification over their lifetime

Ethnogenesis

Process by which a new ethnic group forms, usually through historical events, migration, mixing, or political change

Ethnocide

Deliberate destruction of the cultural identity of a group without physically killing its members (banning language, religion, or customs, and forced assimilation)

Ethnic boundaries markers

Traits or behaviors used to signal membership in an ethnic group and differentiate it from others

A cline is

A gradual, continuous variation of a biological trait across geographic space

Clinal variation

No sharp boundaries between populations—traits like skin color or lactose tolerance shift gradually due to environmental pressures