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Spirituality and Witchcraft
30
Anthropology
Undergraduate 1
11/22/2011

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Term
worldview
Definition
the collective body of ideas that members of a culture generally share concerning the ultimate shape and substance of their reality
Term
religion
Definition
an organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or the supernatural, along with associated ceremonial practices by which people try to interpret and/or influence aspects of the universe otherwise beyond their control
Term
spirituality
Definition
concern with the sacred, as distinguished from material matters. In contrast to religion, spirituality of often individual rather than collective and does not require a distinctive format or traditional organization
Term
polytheism
Definition
belief in several gods and/or goddesses (as contrasted with monotheism - belief in one god or goddess)
Term
pantheon
Definition
the several gods and goddesses of a people
Term
animism
Definition
a belief that nature is animated (enlivened or energized) by distinct personalized spirits beings separable from bodies
Term
animatism
Definition
a belief that nature is enlivened or energized by an impersonal spiritual power or supernatural potency
Term
priest(ess)
Definition
a full-time religious specialist formally recognzed for his or her role in guiding the religious practices of others and for contacting and influencing supernatural powers
Term
shaman
Definition
a person who enters an alterd state of consciosness at well - to contact and utilize an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power and to help others
Term
taboo
Definition
a prohibition, which if no observed, leads to a penalty inflicted by magic, spiritual force, or religion
Term
rite of passage
Definition
a ritual that marks an important stage in an individual's life cycle, such as birth, marriage, and death
Term
separation
Definition
in a rite of passage, the ritual removal of the individual from society
Term
transition
Definition
in a rite of passage, isolation of the individual following separation and prior to incorporation into society
Term
rite of intensification
Definition
a ritual that takes place during a crisis in the life of the group and serves to bind individuals together
Term
imitative magic
Definition
magic based on the principle that produces like; sometimes called sympathetic magic
Term
contagious magic
Definition
magic based on the principle that things or persons once in contact can influence each other after the contact is broken
Term
witchcraft
Definition
an explanation of events based on the belief that certain individuals possess an innate psychic power capable of causing harm, including sickness and death
Term
divination
Definition
a magical procedure or spiritual ritual designed to find out what is not knowable by ordinary means, such as foretelling the future by interpreting omens
Term
revitalization movement
Definition
a movement for radical cultural reform in response to widespread social disruption and collective feelings of great stress and despair
Term
cargo cult
Definition
a spiritual movement (especially noted in Melanesia) in reaction to disruptive contact with Western capitalism, promsing resuurection of deceased relatives, destruction or enslavement of white foreigners, and the magical arrival of Utopian riches
Term
art
Definition
creative use of the human imagination to aesthetically interpret, express, and engage life, modifying experienced reality in the process
Term
iconic images
Definition
culturally specific people, animals, and monsters seen in the deepest stage of trance
Term
folklore
Definition
a term coined by 19th-century scholars studying the unwritten stories and other artistic traditions of rural people to distinguish between "folk art" and the "fine art" of the literate elite
Term
myth
Definition
a sacred narrative that explains the fundamentals of human existence - where we and everything in our world came from, why we are here, and where we are going
Term
legend
Definition
a story about a memorable event or figure handed down by tradition and told as true but without historical evidence
Term
epic
Definition
a long, dramatic narrative recounting the celebrated deeds of a historic or legendary hero - often sung or recited in poetic language
Term
tale
Definition
a creative narrative that is recognized as fiction for entertainment but may also draw a moral or teach a practical lesson
Term
motif
Definition
a story situation in a tale
Term
ethnomusicology
Definition
the study of a society's music in terms of its cultural setting
Term
tonality
Definition
in music, scale systems and their modifications
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