ANT 101: Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology

Fall 2005, M,W,F 9:30 10:20, Chambers 1027 Prof. Eriberto P. Lozada Jr. Office: Chambers B12 Telephone: 704-894-2035 Office Hours: M, W, F 10:30 11:30 am T, Th 10:00 11:15 am or by appointment Email: erlozada@davidson.edu Web: http://www.davidson.edu/personal/erlozada Lecture Notes, 31 October 2005 Evans-Pritchard, The Notion of Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events the concept of witchcraft provides [the Azande] with a natural philosophy by which the relations between men and unfortunate events are explained and a ready and stereotyped means of reacting to such events (p. 18) witchcraft as a religious system and the issue of theodicy witchcraft is also part of the everyday Zande world; there is nothing remarkable about a witch you may be one yourself, and certainly many of your closes neighbors are witches (p. 19); not people with pointed hats problem of translation: people, including Evans-Pritchard, have translated this kind of cultural practices as witchcraft in English but the implications are very different the example of the boy who knocked his foot against a stump of wood; the stump was not caused by witchcraft, what was caused was why he struck his foot against that particular stump on that particular occasion, and why the sore festered after that particular incident as opposed to other incidents the example of the granary: Zande people know that granaries collapse, because the wooden supports are eaten away by termites; they also know that people sit under the granaries to get into the shade: Evans-Pritchard says We have no explanation of why the two chains of causation intersected at a certain time and in a certain place, for there is no interdependence between them. (p. 23) perhaps EP is wrong we would call it bad luck, fate, improper adherence to OSHA standards; but for the Zande, they would call it witchcraft witchcraft then can be seen as a theory of causation; we refer to science as explaining causality, and science is developed as a body of knowledge through empirical observation; Zande also empirically observe events, and recognize a plurality of causes (natural) what witchcraft provides is a social explanation

Theoretical Interlude religion as a system of knowledge is often compared with two other systems: magic and science; witchcraft was normally assigned to the realm of magic in the early 20th century; Evans-Pritchard and other anthropologists contribution was to move witchcraft and other similar practices of non-Western societies into the realm of religion science: rational mastery of the universe science as explaining the workings of the universe, in a way that is referred to as rational, using experimental techniques; Bronislaw Malinowski, anthropologist of the early 20th century, saw magic as the way

that primitive people attain a kind of rational mastery of their surroundings, or what others have called natural science understanding of magic and science as manipulating nature; magic is used to do things, as is science (and technology) magic and science focus in on the how question; religion seeks to explain things, focuses on the why question magic among as a natural science is then a cultural method of systematizing knowledge; religion was also seen as a pre-modern way of systematizing knowledge Levi-Strauss: science of the concrete vs. science of the abstract: science of the concrete: myth, ritual practices, taboo serve as a system of knowledge gained from experience; myth, ritual, taboo, religion perpetuates that body of knowledge through time for a particular society; modern science fall under the realm of science of the abstract primitive humans acted as bricoleur an arranger of things, re-arranged based on experience; the structures of mythical thought are built upon through fitting together events, or rather the remains of events modern science is built upon hypotheses and theories; from Leviticus (7:19-27): Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. All who are clean may eat flesh, but the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the Lords peace offerings while an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people. And if any one touches an unclean thing, whether the uncleanness of man or an unclean beast or any unclean abomination, and then eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the Lords peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people. The Lord said to Moses, Say to the people of Israel, You shall eat no fat, of ox, or sheep, or goat. The fat of an animal that dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beasts, may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it. For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which an offering by fire is made to the Lord shall be cut off from his people. Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwellings. Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people. from Leviticus (15: 2-7): Say to the people of Israel, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. And this is the law of his uncleanness for a discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped from discharge, it is uncleanness in him. Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean; and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. And any one who touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. And whoever sits on anything on which he who has the discharge has sat

shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. And whoever touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. from US Lacrosse, Womens Rules 2002: Rule 7F: Players may not wear jewelry on the field of play except for Medic-alert jewelry with information visible, which must be taped securely to the player. Barrettes are legal as long as they do not endanger other players. The umpire has the power to rule any decoration as dangerous to other players, to remove it from the field of play, and to penalize it as a minor foul. If there is blood on any part of a players uniform/personal equipment, medical personnel should determine whether the blood has saturated the uniform/equipment enough to require a change. In the absence of medical personnel, the umpire(s) will make this determination. A uniform is considered saturated when blood has soaked through the uniform to the players skin or is capable of being transferred to another player. The same saturation criteria should be applied to a players personal equipment (stick, gloves, knee brace, etc.). If a uniform shirt is changed, the players new number must be recorded in the score book before she re-enters the game.

Thinking about Magic, Science, and Religion is there one system of thought that can be considered rationality ; (from the Enlightenment, Western culture has a legacy of considering one overriding rationality); what are the criteria that make one way of thinking more rational than others? the issue of rationality and common sense for the Azande, how does one compare their common sense with Western scientific common sense; how does luck, fate, probability fit into our own common sense?