ANTHROP 1AB3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Heir Apparent, Medicine Man

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANTHROP 1AB3
• Professor: Karen Mc Garry

Document Summary

Similarities and differences (continued): religious practices are often done at speci c predetermined times (ramadan), while magic is usually performed when the need arises (hardship) Some magic rituals, however, need to be performed during speci c reasons, on speci c days, and at speci c times (solstice: religions usually have more formalized positions of leadership, while magic can often be performed by the general population. Again, voodoo blurs these lines with their specials priests and priestesses: in western society we often view magic as inherently evil, however, in those groups that practice magic, it is neither inherently good or evil. If used for positive purposes then it is good and if used for negative ones then it is bad: anthropologists and other scholars have used two terms to separate the use of magic in non- Witchcraft is an inborn, involuntary, and often unconscious capacity to cause harm to other people.