anthro ch. 11

Animatism: a religious system organized around a belief in an impersonal supernatural force. Animism: a religious system organized around a belief that plants, animals, inanimate objects, or natural phenomena have a spiritual or supernatural element. Anthropomorphic: an object or being that has human characteristics. Cargo cult: a term sometimes used to describe rituals that seek to attract material prosperity. The term is generally not preferred by anthropologists. Collective effervescence: the passion or energy that arises when groups of people share the same thoughts and emotions. Cosmology: an explanation for the origin or history of the world. Cultural appropriation: the act of copying an idea from another culture and in the process distorting its meaning. Filial piety: a tradition requiring that the young provide care for the elderly and in some cases ancestral spirits. 300 PERSPECTIVES: AN OPEN INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Magic: practices intended to bring supernatural forces under one’s personal control. Millenarians: people who believe that major transformations of the world are imminent. Monotheistic: religious systems that recognize a single supreme God. Polytheistic: religious systems that recognize several gods. Priests: full-time religious practitioners. Profane: objects or ideas are ordinary and can be treated with disregard or contempt. Prophet: a person who claims to have direct communication with the supernatural realm and who can communicate divine messages to others. Reincarnation: the idea that a living being can begin another life in a new body after death. Religion: the extension of human society and culture to include the supernatural. Revitalization rituals: attempts to resolve serious problems, such as war, famine or poverty through a spiritual or supernatural intervention. Rite of intensification: actions designed to bring a community together, often following a period of crisis. Rite of passage: a ceremony designed to transition individuals between life stages. Sacred: objects or ideas are set apart from the ordinary and treated with great respect or care. Shaman: a part time religious practitioner who carries out religious rituals when needed, but also participates in the normal work of the community. Sorcerer: an individual who seeks to use magic for his or her own purposes. Supernatural: describes entities or forces not governed by natural laws. Zoomorphic: an object or being that has animal characteristics.