ANTH 1150 Chapter 16: Chapter 16.docx
10 Apr 2012
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Document Summary
The belief that humans share the world with a population of extraordinary, mostly invisible beings. Members of every society believe that inside the ordinary, visible, tangible body of a human or other life form, there is a normally invisible, normally intangible being, the soul. Originated from the experience of dreaming in which a phantom version appears sleep, fainting, madness and death all lead to the notion of a world of spirits who enter and leave human bodies at will. If a belief recurred again and again in virtually all times and places, it could not be a product of mere fantasy. Ancient egyptians had two and so do many west african cultures (souls) one from the mothers ancestors and one from the fathers. The dahomey say that women have three souls and men have four both sexes have an ancestor soul, a personal soul and a mawn soul (god), the extra man soul guides men to positions of leadership.
