Cul. Anthro - Quiz 3 Study

Kinship ideology

powerful but has limits because it is culturally- specific; cannot explain many aspects of traditional societies anthropologists study when distinct from anthropologist’s own

Social Parent principle

going very strong worldwide (legal expression of current theories of biological descent)

clans and totems

pyramidal structure with apex ancestor

Totem poles of Native North America (Pacific Northwest) or cluster of lineages; exact genealogical connections between all members cannot be traced – totem

totems

pyramidal structure with apex ancestor

totem poles are visual representations of several clans who have aligned themselves ; clan totems shared ancestor for back in time,no more human names, aspects and attributes of natural world

corporate group

group which posessess a recognized identity

clans

-groups of lineages that share a common ancestor

-Usually unilineal; has attributes of political unit (rules of leadership, governance, etc.)

– Clan totems

• Shared ancestor far back in time, no more human names

• Aspects & attributes of the natural world (e.g. “wolf clan” Smithsonian story)

compadrazgo

in Latin America but can be found elsewhere; system of “ritual kinship” or "co-parenthood" (e.g godparents as social parents)

Tribes

political unit larger than clan but smaller than a nation

– membership by descent; exists within modern

nations

– Can be cluster of clans BUT not all tribes have

clan totems (e.g Africa doesn’t) but all have

lineages

– Popular usage of “tribal” – limits, misconceptions

Social structure in South Asia

– Caste concept in South Asia linked to religious belief then to political/economic systems after colonialism and the state

– (see ENCY entry below) varna as opposed to jati

• degrees of spiritual purity

• membership by birth

Social structure in Europe

– Class concept in Europe linked to feudalism then rise of capitalism and private property in relation to the state

• Membership based on what you own (Your labor? Means of production?)

• “Cultural capital” (Bourdieu)

Varna vs. Jati

Varna = ideal model/design for society (the 4 are brahmans, kshatriya, vaishya, shudra and are ranked in the same order by hindus everywhere) scheme has lost its social and legal authority

Jati = actual social groups with which ppl identify themselves ; many in number and internally segmented, vary from one religion to another and have changed identities over time, continue to maintain active existence among indians

ama Bose / ama Bakar

bose is traditional Dou Donggo name, Bose’s father is called ‘ama Bose’ a year before Bose was sent to school in the rigorously Muslim lowlands, his father announced that Bose would be known as Bakar (a common muslim name) and ama Bose’s name got changed to ama Bakar asw

5 key attributes of ethnicity

1) Descent (biological or adaptive)

2) Territoriality (co-residence, actual or ideological “homeland”, diaspora)

3) Language (heritage or acquired)

4) shared cultural or socio-structural experiences

-(informal→ co-residence: lifestyle, frienships, leisure, etc)

-(formal→ education: “great books” pantheon; revolution: nation; conversion: religious community)

5) self-ascription (how you identify, what you call yourself)

census vs. survey

census - Conducted by national governments, gather data important to the running of the country

• Countries invest in this, expensive, every 10 yrs in US

• seek info on as close to 100% of inhabitants as possible

• Health data – track outbreaks of disease

survey - Info from a subset or sample of an entire population

Nanuu Maria case

Her co-essential being/kiti nuvi was a coati that got hit by lightning → that’s why she felt sick

Body Cosmology notions

Mesoamerican (accidents of birth, plural entities/shared destiny, humans w humans, humans w animals)

Am/Eur nations (autonomous individual/entity, body & soul)

South & East (reincarnation)

Southeast (Teduray twin souls, flesh + soul + breath)

Ethnography begins with ______ and transitions into _______

situated listening ; natural conversations and ‘fieldwork funnel’ (fieldwork funnel can be dangerous bc it can be jarring and disrupt everyday situations/encounters, typically will occur in final days of fieldwork where ethnographer has been accepted)

Illness vs. Disease

illness: culture bound syndromes; both biological as well as cultural → culture as filter for interpretation and/or action

disease: what we understand as the biological/mechanistic afflictions of the body

(e.g circumcision)