Deck 7: Witchcraft, Sorcery, Divination, and Magic

Question 1

Witches and sorcerers are

A)terms that are used interchangeably in anthropology to refer to those who manipulate supernatural forces to do harm to others.
B) essentially the same except that witches tend to be female, while sorcery is an exclusively male profession; therefore, both roles are often represented in preliterate societies.
C) increasingly being differentiated in the field of anthropology on the basis of the source of their power and their physical and social associations.
D) universally understood as harbingers of misfortune and evil.

Answer 1

increasingly being differentiated in the field of anthropology on the basis of the source of their power and their physical and social associations.

Question 2

In Thomas's article, Witchcraft is a popular explanation for HIV due to

A) rapid and often unpredictable socio-economic change
B) high rate of illness and death in persons of prime working age
C) traditional regional attribution of misfortune to witchcraft
D) All of the above

Answer 2

All of the above

Question 3

The linkage of witchcraft to HIV/AIDS in Namibia has __________ incidence of HIV/AIDS testing and diagnosis.

A) dramatically decreased
B) decreased
C) maintained
D) increased

Answer 3

increased

Question 4

The linkage of witchcraft to HIV/AIDS in Namibia has __________ enrolment in HIV/AIDS antiretroviral treatment.

A) dramatically decreased
B) decreased
C) maintained
D) increased

Question 5

In Namibia, a witchcraft accusation can result in

A) increased isolation and severing of social ties for the accused and their family
B) increased isolation and severing of social ties for the victim and their family
C) Both of the above
D) Neither of the above

Question 6

All of the following factor into whether a person id diagnosed with witchcraft versus HIV/AIDS EXCEPT:

A) Gender
B) T-Cell count
C) Financial status
D) Age and social status/community connection

Question 7

The "labeling theory of deviance"asserts that

A) once members of society have been labeled as deviants, they become the lowest common denominator socially and, thereby, are assigned only partial personhood in the society.
B) the designation of deviance is entirely dependent upon the world-view and customs of a particular society.
C) the designation of behavior as deviant focuses on the reaction of those involved instead of on the act itself.
D) there at least four different levels of deviance in any society ranging from mild impropriety to social pariahs.

Question 8

When a person is sanctioned as having been deviant among the Kabana,

A) the individual must enter into a period of forced isolation in order to purify herself to prevent polluting the rest of the group.
B) one of the only socially sanctioned roles available to him in the community is the role of sorcerer.
C) the individual is privately summoned by the village magistrate in order to work out her punishment.
D) the aim of the sanction is to provide the culprit with the opportunity for expiation and rectification of behavior.

Question 9

Among the Kabana, the decision to sorcerize and the execution of that decision

A) is a personal matter negotiated in secrecy.
B) should result from corporate deliberation and follow certain procedural rules.
C) is only made by the head of a family clan, although he can often be persuaded when enough of his
extended family is in favor.
D) is made outside the village so that sorcerers in the village who are related to the intended victim cannot sense the intent to attack.

Question 10

"Breaking the talk" is how the Kabana refer to

A) cutting through the conjecture and gossip about why a person has been sorcerized and by whom.
B) the failure of negotiations between conflicting parties culminating in physical violence.
C) the escalation of "pre-sorcery" sanctions and the final decision to sorcerize.
D) breaches of moral and social obligations.

Question 11

Luhrmann, a witch herself, traces the modern revival of witchcraft to

A) ancient Pagan magico-religious cults rediscovered in Celtic texts and artifacts.
B) the anthropological dissemination of ancient (pre-Christian) Sumerian goddess rites previously unknown in the Western world.
C) the fictitious ethnographies and other writings produced by Gerald Gardner in the 1940s.
D) a modern reexamination of the goddess cults and festivals held in Ancient Greece in honor of Aphrodite.

Question 12

In the participant's point of view, witchcraft is

A) a relatively new neo-Pagan tradition collectively generated in the post-modern era.
B) a re-emergence and continuation of the most ancient of religious traditions: earth worship through the figure of the Goddess.
C) an old tradition traceable to the Nordic Volva religion that flourished in Europe in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries.
D) an invented religion based on the tales of King Arthur and Guinevere, among other European folk tales.

Question 13

When Luhrmann discusses the "duality" of religious understandings of the Goddess, she is referring to the fact that

A) the Goddess is perceived as being dominantly feminine, but actually displays a significant emphasis on male themes like virility.
B) the Goddess is both exclusively in the world and, at the same time, exclusively out of this world.
C) the Goddess paradoxically represents both transformation and the conservation and maintenance of unchanging traditions.
D) the Goddess is on one hand an entity one can relate to and talk with personally, and on the other hand, the Goddess merely personifies the natural world in myth and imagery.

Question 14

According to Luhrmann, feminist covens

A) rely the most heavily on historical documents like ancient Sumerian and Egyptian texts associated with Goddess worship.
B) emphasize collectivity and creativity more than other types of modern witchcraft.
C) are relatively rare in the United States but very popular in England.

Question 15

The title of Luhrmann's article, "The Goat and the Gazelle," refers to

A) two distinct ancient rituals marking the decay of nature in the fall and its subsequent rebirth in the spring.
B) the coupling of romantic spiritual intensity with the paunchy flaws of the flesh.
C) the inherent complementarity and integration of female and male images and symbols in the practice of witchcraft.
D) the two distinct branches of witchcraft: those who allow male members and those who do not.

Question 16

In his investigation into baseball magic, Gmelch defines ritual as

A) a prescribed behavior in which there is no empirical connection between the means and the desired end.
B) a behavior that is done in a methodical and routinized way.
C) a prescribed behavior that supports the core beliefs of a system.
D) a symbolic assertion of control over the uncontrollable.

Question 17

Most rituals performed by baseball players come from

A) myths of baseball culture.
B) childhood mentors such as fathers and coaches.
C) really good personal performances.
D) Christian folk traditions.

Question 18

According to Gmelch, when players are in a slump they

A) abide by their rituals stringently in an effort to turn their luck around.
B) usually make a deliberate effort to change their rituals in an attempt to shake off bad luck.
C) will add elements to their preexisting ritual, but they will hardly ever remove behavior from their rituals.
D) tend to do the exact opposite of their former ritual, as all behavior associated with it has now become taboo.

Question 19

Mentioning a "no-hitter" while one is in progress is an example of a

A) ritual of baseball culture as old as the game itself.
B) fetish.
C) personal and idiosyncratic taboo.
D) taboo grounded in baseball culture.

Question 20

Gmelch concludes that fielding in baseball is very similar to

A) open sea fishing among the Trobriand because of its lack of associated magic.
B) open sea fishing among the Trobriand because of all the magic and ritual associated with the practice.
C) inner lagoon fishing among the Trobriand because of the lack of associated magic and ritual.
D) inner lagoon fishing among the Trobriand because of all the magic and ritual associated with the practice.

Question 21

In many preliterate societies, witchcraft serves as an everyday, socially acceptable way of managing tension, explaining the otherwise unexplainable, leveling disparities in wealth and status, and resolving social conflict.

Question 22

Historically, in Namibia, men who have access to financial assets have been ascribed powers of witchcraft through purchase, but because of rapid changes in economics the demographics of who has powers of witchcraft is changing.

Question 23

In Namibia, in Thomas's research, when an individual is accused of witchcraft and there are serious ramifications of extreme illness or death there is a prescribed, long, difficult process by which all charges and accusations will be absolved.

Question 24

Education level is a determining factor in cultural beliefs about witchcraft.

Question 25

Among the Kabana of West New Britain, the sorcerer's threat inhibits deviance and mediates conflict so successfully that no one is actually ever sorcerized.

Question 26

Victims of sorcery among the Kabana are assumed to have violated social mores and values, thereby infringing on the rights of others.

Question 27

Kabana sorcerers may sometimes leave "calling cards" to announce the impending intent to sorcerize the victim.

Question 28

"Esbats"are seasonal ritual meetings.

Question 29

Most covens hold their meetings in the nude.

Question 30

Modern witchcraft is a religious movement that is almost entirely made up of disenchanted "thirty-something"intellectuals.

Question 31

Gmelch asserts that while there is a great deal of ritual surrounding pitching and fielding, there is relatively little concerned with hitting.

Question 32

Non-rational beliefs form the basis of baseball taboos and fetishes

Question 33

B. F. Skinner used pigeons to demonstrate how and why personal rituals are established in the first place.