Deck 11: Belief Systems: How Do We Explain the Unexplainable

Question 1

Sacred cattle in India are adaptive because they fulfill all of these ecological functions of supernatural beliefs EXCEPT this one:

A) Cattle provide meat protein in the diet.
B) Cattle dung becomes fuel for cooking.
C) Cattle supply cheap energy to pull plows.
D) Cattle dung becomes fertilizer for crops

Answer 1

Cattle provide meat protein in the diet.

Question 2

The cohesive and supportive functions of belief systems are best exemplified by

A) the singing during a molimo ceremony.
B) the Hindu prohibition against killing cattle.
C) the Dani cremation ceremony.
D) the Inuit story of Sedna.

Answer 2

the Dani cremation ceremony.

Question 3

Polytheistic belief systems can be defined as belief systems

A) consisting of one all-powerful god or goddess.
B) where special knowledge is held by shamans.
C) where both supernatural forces and beings are found.
D) consisting of multiple gods or goddesses.

Answer 3

consisting of multiple gods or goddesses.

Question 4

Which statement best describes the difference between magic and religion?

A) Religion contains many ceremonies, whereas magic does not.
B) Religion gives people a euphoric feeling, whereas magic does not.
C) Magic is the belief of aboriginal populations, whereas religion is the belief of advanced cultures.
D) Magic deals primarily with supernatural forces, whereas religion deals primarily with supernatural beings.

Question 5

A part-time practitioner who has special abilities for handling supernatural forces is called a

A) priest.
B) shaman.
C) mana.
D) churinga.

Question 6

The story of Sedna, the Inuit goddess, best fulfills which of the following functions of belief systems?

A) revitalization
B) euphoria
C) explanation
D) ecological

Question 7

Which of the following is a supernatural being with the potential to cause harm to the living?

A) ghost
B) soul
C) hobbit
D) fairy

Question 8

The term mana is best defined as

A) a member of a hierarchy of priests.
B) the implements used in magical ceremonies.
C) a supernatural impersonal force.
D) a ritual of intensification.

Question 9

Gods cross-culturally have all but one of these attributes: they are

A) more powerful than people.
B) are anthropomorphic.
C) forgiving.
D) often ancestral to people.

Question 10

Failure to obey one of the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments would bring negative sanctions from a group.This is a direct example of which supernatural function? The

A) cohesive function.
B) disciplining function.
C) revitalizing function.
D) supportive function.

Question 11

A group gathering for a marriage ceremony provides an example of which supernatural function?

A) the euphoric function
B) the revitalizing function
C) the supportive function
D) all of the above

Question 12

Anthropologists first began to explore the supernatural beliefs and practices of other cultures

A) before 1900.
B) in the 1920s.
C) the 1940s.
D) the 1950s.

Question 13

Objects considered important to a culture's supernatural beliefs and practices may include

A) incense.
B) trees.
C) rocks.
D) all of the above

Question 14

The Hindu religion's tradition of not eating beef is an example of which supernatural function? The

A) euphoric function.
B) supportive function.
C) ecological function.
D) explanatory function.

Question 15

An anthropologist might argue that the ruby slippers worn by Dorothy (Judy Garland) in the movie The Wizard of Oz would bring a high auction price because some North Americans believe the shoes

A) were used by a trickster.
B) are inhabited by a poltergeist.
C) have mana.
D) have imitative magic.

Question 16

Tricksters are distinguished by the fact that they

A) intend to hurt people.
B) play practical jokes.
C) become ghosts when they die.
D) are all-powerful.

Question 17

The socially disruptive behavior a person exhibits may be attributed to the action of a

A) trickster.
B) soul.
C) goddess.
D) demon.

Question 18

Anthropological research has demonstrated that supernatural beings and forces exist in what percentage of the world's cultures?

A) 50 percent
B) 80 percent
C) 95 percent
D) 100 percent

Question 19

The story of the Alaskan Inuit goddess Sedna fulfills the supernatural explanatory function of belief systems because

A) she is responsible for the moon cycles.
B) her story explains the origin of seals.
C) daughters will always have conflict with parents.
D) she explains why death occurs among humans.

Question 20

The Mbuti molimo ritual could best be compared to an American ritual associated with a

A) funeral.
B) wedding.
C) birthday party.
D) Fourth of July party in the United States.

Question 21

The quote from the Kasidah ("All faith is false, all faith is true.Truth is a shattered mirror strown in myriad bits, while each believes his little bit the whole to own.") illustrates the following anthropological position taken in the text:

A) holism.
B) cultural ethnocentrism.
C) cultural relativism.
D) cultural integration.

Question 22

It is often difficult to recognize supernatural beliefs and practices in other cultures because you are

A) using a holistic view.
B) being ethnocentric.
C) being culturally relativistic.
D) using an emic perspective.

Question 23

The term supernaturalism is used by the author in place of the term religion because the former term is

A) more ethnocentric.
B) used less frequently.
C) less culturally bound.
D) less diffused.

Question 24

Most definitions of religion are

A) ethnocentric.
B) culturally relativistic.
C) include references to gods.
D) culturally diffused.

Question 25

A rite of passage will usually involve what steps?

A) withdrawal, initiation, and incorporation.
B) separation, initiation, and incorporation.
C) separation, transition, and incorporation.
D) withdrawal, transition, and incorporation.

Question 26

A supernatural being that can have human form and is usually concerned with human welfare is called a

A) trickster.
B) ghost.
C) soul.
D) god.

Question 27

The Berawan of Borneo believe that a soul will linger around the living after death because it

A) was mistreated by the living.
B) must wait for the physical remains of the deceased to deteriorate.
C) must wait for a traveling companion.
D) must receive sufficient food from the living before journeying to the land of the dead.

Question 28

In most cultures around the world, a witch would likely

A) deny being a witch.
B) also be a ghost.
C) readily admit to being a witch.
D) change form to avoid detection.

Question 29

"Old Man Coyote" is an example of what category of supernatural being?

A) god
B) ghost
C) shaman
D) trickster

Question 30

If a Yanomamo anthropologist were to study from an etic view the religious beliefs and practices of a small North American community, she would refer to the person in the local Lutheran church who leads the Sunday service as a

A) pastor.
B) priest.
C) shaman.
D) deacon.

Question 31

Yanomamo shamans use which of the following methods to contact the spirit world?

A) prolonged and physically demanding dancing
B) listening to rhythmic music
C) dream interpretation
D) mind-altering drugs

Question 32

Introduced by Arnold Van Gennep, this term is used to describe the activities and rituals that mark important changes in individuals' social role and status:

A) rites of intensification
B) separation rites
C) rites of passage
D) reincorporating rites

Question 33

A man wants a woman to fall in love with him.He pays a shaman to use imitative magic to help him achieve his goal.Which of the following imitative magic techniques would the shaman use?

A) Give the man a rabbit's foot to carry.
B) Gather the man's family to petition the love god.
C) Make a clay figurine of the man and the woman together.
D) Have the man carry a locket of the woman's hair.

Question 34

The Ghost Dance religion in North America is an example of a

A) rite of passage.
B) revitalization movement.
C) rite of intensification.
D) separation rite.

Question 35

Melanesian cargo cults which function to bring scattered groups together into religious and political unity illustrates this concept:

A) reincorporating.
B) rites of passage.
C) rites of intensification.
D) revitalization movements.

Question 36

A major difference between a rite of passage and a rite of intensification is that

A) rites of passage are generally associated with religious beliefs; rites of intensification are not.
B) ceremonies associated with rites of passage last several days while those associated with rites of intensification last a week or more.
C) rites of passage involve the entire community; rites of intensification only involve the individual who is undergoing a social change in their status and social role.
D) rites of passage focus on the individual; rites of intensification focus on the group.

Question 37

Which of the following is a rite of intensification?

A) An American family celebrating the Fourth of July with a party.
B) A couple celebrating fifty years of marriage.
C) Your child's sixteenth birthday party.
D) The celebration of an employee's retirement.

Question 38

Saying grace-or any prayer-before every meal is an example of what supernatural function? The

A) supportive function.
B) educational function.
C) revitalizing function.
D) disciplining function.

Question 39

If a culture believes that a god wants a deceased person to join him in the afterlife, this would be an example of what supernatural function? The

A) explanatory function.
B) supportive function.
C) revitalizing function.
D) ecological function.

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT a function of supernatural belief systems:

A) cohesion
B) revitalization
C) education
D) magic

Question 41

The Yanomamo belief that stingy souls are sent to the place of fire and that generous souls will travel to the place of tranquility is an example of what supernatural function? The

A) cohesive function.
B) revitalizing function.
C) disciplining function.
D) ecological function.

Question 42

Describe three features of shamans.

Question 43

List the stages that a person goes through during a rite of passage.

Question 44

Describe one way that rites of passage and rites of intensification are similar.

Question 45

What are three ways that magic is similar to religion?

Question 46

How does a prophet differ from a shaman?

Question 47

Describe two common cross-cultural features of the soul.

Question 48

Discuss two functions of revitalization cults.

Question 49

Cite two ways that priests differ from shamans.

Question 50

Describe a specific example of the cohesive [or disciplining, or supportive, or educational, or revitalizing] function of the supernatural beliefs of the _________ (fill in a name of a cultural group from assigned readings).

Question 51

What is religion? Discuss the problems of defining religion cross-culturally.

Question 52

Detail the basic functions of supernaturalism.From your readings, cite specific examples of each function you discuss.

Question 53

Describe supernatural beings in North American culture.What are their characteristics? Who believes in them? What functions do they have?

Question 54

Explain the functions of revitalization movements (or cargo cults), and cite a specific example.

Question 55

Describe the Yanomamo concept of the soul.How does this differ from your own?

Question 56

Compare and evaluate the social, psychological, and ecological functions approach with the Durkheim-based approach to functional analysis of supernaturalism.

Question 57

Compare and evaluate the Berawan (Borneo) perceptions of a soul with another culture's (perhaps your own).Be sure to use the following concepts correctly: culture, cultural ethnocentrism and relativism, supernatural being, supernatural force, religion.