Religion and Healing in Human Culture Functions of Religion Types of Supernatural Forces Religious Practitioners Revitalization Movements Medical Anthropology Different Causes of Illnesses Variation in Illness across Culture Boundaries Culture-Bound Syndromes Medical Pluralism What is Religion? • Belief and ritual concerned with supernatural beings, powers, and forces. – Probably existed since Neanderthal times, according to archaeological evidence. 2 • Religions fill many social and psychological functions and needs: – to explain death – to give hope – to explain the natural realm and help cope with it – to offer enlightenment – as a survival function – as a boundary maintenance mechanism 3 Communication with the Divine • Prayer – to ask a supernatural for something. • Magic – to compel a supernatural to do something. – Sorcerers / witches 4 • People communicate with the supernatural in many ways, – Spontaneous or rehearsed – Aloud or thought – Possession? – Divination • Seeking specific advice from the supernatural – Trance • physical trauma, hallucinogens and music • Over 90% of all cultures trance in worship. 5 Types of Supernatural Forces • Anthropologists group these forces into four major categories: – – – – deities ancestral spirits animatism animism 6 Deities • Always great, often remote beings who control the universe & its creation. • Few religions are monotheistic (one deity) in nature – Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all with similar roots. – Sikhism 7 • Most deity religions are polytheistic (more than one god): – Hinduism, Shinto, Haitian vodoun, many ancient state religions, etc. • Some pantheons have overarching, all-important gods: – Zeus /Jupiter (Greco-Roman) – Ometeotl (Aztec) – Brahman (ब्रह्मन ्, Hindu) – Dryghten (complementary Goddess and God, Wicca) ANTH 101 8 Ancestral Spirits • Souls of the deceased who intercede in human affairs • They may be prone to our problems – In some African religions, ancestral spirits can die a second time. – In China, the living must provide for the dead 9 • We must not offend them – Ex.: the Zuni katsinas (provide rain) • Not all ancestors are worshiped – Ex.: Catholic saints. 10 Animism • Nature – and everything in it – is inhabited by all sorts of spirits. – The most widespread of all belief systems – Prevalent in foraging societies. • The spirits are less remote than deities – Good, bad, neutral. 11 • Some familiar examples: – the Irish bean sidhe (banshee) – the English Lady of the Lake – faeries, gnomes, trolls, etc. – ghosts (esp. those of animals and things) 12 Animatism • Belief in impersonal, overarching energies / forces (luck, fate, karma and dharma, “The Force”) 13 Ex.: Māna and Tapu in the Pacific • Melanesians and Polynesians believe in māna, a “power just beyond the senses.” – Objects accumulate māna over time, becoming holier and more powerful. • Tapu (taboo) is a negative type of māna. 14 • Different supernatural forces can intermingle in the same religion, such as: – Roman religion – gods (Jupiter), ancestral spirits (lares) – Vodoun – combination of Catholic monotheism & ancestor devotion (saints), Yoruba polytheism & animatism, and Taíno animism – Christianity – God, saints, holy relics ANTH 101 15 Life After Death? • Different religious systems have different beliefs about an afterlife. – Christian/Muslim concept of Heaven and Hell – Lugbara ancestors – Zuni katsinas – Hindu reincarnation – Chamula Maya blend Catholic and Maya beliefs • The dead go to the Underworld to live like they did before 16 Religious Practitioners • Anthropologists recognize four major groups of religions practitioners: – Shamans – Sorcerers / Witches – Mediums – Priests • Any of these positions can be ascribed or achieved, depending on the society. 17 Shamans • Part-time religious figures who are healers – Can use magic for good or bad • Christian evangelical faith healers may use elements of shamanism. 18 Mediums • Enter trance states to heal or to relate supernatural messages • Similar to shamans 19 Sorcery and Witchcraft • Sometimes low-status magic practitioners that are sometimes of low status in their culture – Use magic, not prayer; can use magic for good or harm • NB: A Wicca religious practitioner is a priest and not a witch. 20 Priests • Full-time religious practitioners who officiate at public events. • Have a high status in their society. – Often consulted as teachers. 21 Revitalization Movements • Bursts of radical change mixed with resistance to change are revitalization movements – Serve as boundary maintenance mechanisms, to “purify” a religion or unify a culture. – Ex.: the Ghost Dance movement of the Great Plains 22 Religion and Medicine • Many cultures use supernatural forces to heal. – Chinese chi, !Kung n/um • Even in industrial societies, the two sometimes mix. 23 Ethnomedicine • Study of a culture’s beliefs about medicine and how to practice it. – Is an important goal of medical anthropology. – Hot vs. cold forces, wet vs. dry forces, witchcraft or magic as causes of illness? – Plants used by indigenous peoples share many properties similar to Western chemicals. 24 Illness across Culture Boundaries • Different cultures recognize different illnesses and symptoms – They treat them in different ways. • In stratified societies, the wealthy have access to the best medicine and health conditions, and are in the best health. 25 Different Causes of Illness • Cultures recognize any of three main causes of illness – Naturalistic forces – Emotionalistic forces – Personalistic forces • Naturalistic forces cause illness impersonally (bacteria, viruses, genes, chemicals) – Body over mind/society – Ex. Western medicine • Emotionalistic forces cause illness through emotion – Ex. susto, induced by fright 26 • Personalistic forces cause illness through supernatural means (sorcery, witchcraft, ghosts, animatism) – Most societies attribute some illness to personalistic forces. • Includes illness caused by an imbalance of forces in the body (more hot or cold, more wet or dry); to cure is to rebalance those forces. 27 Medical Anthropology • The study of sickness and medicine in their cultural contexts. • Is applied anthropology. • Includes: – community health – medical / nursing education – medical care for different populations – International demographics, epidemiology, etc.) 28 Worldwide Epidemics: AIDS • Anthropologists study different worldwide epidemics • Ex.: AIDS is among the most widely studied – Prevalent in much of the world, epidemic in Africa and India. • Different causes may be more prevalent in different regions. – US / Europe – IV drug use, male-to-male sexual contact are most common causes – Africa & Asia – male-to-female sexual contact, unsanitary health conditions are most common causes • 2001 - roughly 75 to 80% of all cases of HIV / AIDS worldwide caused by male-to-female sexual contact. 29 Example: Recent AIDS Statistics http://www.avert.org/worldstats.htm ANTH 101 30 • Different cultures have different attitudes toward diseases, such as AIDS • Ex.: Farmer & Kleinman’s “AIDS as Human Suffering” – US - "Robert" - gay man about to die from AIDS • Doctors try to “fix” him – Haiti - "Anita" - young woman who got the disease from her husband • Dies very quickly, surrounded by family 31 Culture-Bound Syndromes • Diseases that exist in a specific cultural context – Are real diseases, but don’t exist outside of certain cultures • Exs.: – Anorexia (starvation) and bulimia (regular purging) – Susto (loss of the spirit due to fright) – Windigo (fear that you are becoming the legendary Canadian windigo monster) 32 Medical Pluralism • The coexistence of two or more medical systems • Exists in many societies, especially non-Western societies that have come into contact with Western medicine. – In China, both traditional and Western medicine are prevalent. • Many Westerners use nonWestern medicine – – – – holistic medicine acupuncture chiropractics yoga / meditation 33 Medicine and Ritual • Rituals are followed in all medical systems • Ex.: Pearl Katz’s observation of "Ritual in the Operating Room” – Many rituals served specific functions, but some no longer seemed to – Each is integral to OR procedure – if broken, you must begin it all over again. – Also controls joking in an operation (when is it taboo) 34