ANTH100 Lecture Notes - James George Frazer, Polytheism

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANTH100
• Professor: Jennifer Liu

Document Summary

Magic was way for people to compel supernatural forces. Religion was way to please gods and supernatural beings. Imitative magic [something stands in for something else. Basis for use of voodoo dolls] like produces like vs. contagious magic [something that was part of you before, now separated, is still connected to you which can do harm to you. Be careful of clothes/teeth/fingernails you leave behind] ongoing relationship with things left behind . Sports players use symbols to manage anxiety in unpredictable situations. Immigrant groups religion can provide a community for immigrant groups. Afterlives our beliefs about the afterlife shapes how we behave now. Calling someone"s religion a cult is delegitimizing it. Pilgrimage travel to sacred places for purpose of religious devotion or rituals ex. Rituals behaviors in which there is no connections between the means and desired ends. Rituals of inversion a ritual which normal social roles/orders are temporarily reversed.