Exam 12: Religion and Aesthetics

How are spiritual beliefs incorporated into the everyday lives of horticulturalists and pastoralists? Support your answer with specific details from one of the sociocultural groups discussed in your text.

Totems are animals, spirits, or deities that have specific links to __________.

Which of the following would anthropologists consider to be a function of art and music in a society?

Totem poles indicated high social status and connections with ancestral deities. They were typically erected in front of the houses of Northwest Coast chiefs.

Discuss how cognitive anthropologists have changed our understanding of religion. How is their focus different from the interpretive anthropologists who came before them?

Most religious beliefs, whether they are derived from inductive or deductive logic, are based on scientific criteria.

The Yanomamö induce hallucinations in order to have direct contact with the spirit world through which of the following means?

Which of the following is part of the Inuit belief system?

How have anthropologists influenced understandings of art and music? How have these understandings then influenced the work that artists do in today's postindustrial societies? Illustrate your answer with specific examples.

How do the Inuit incorporate art and/or music into their religious practice?

On the Northwest Coast, respected shamans with great spiritual power often surpassed high-ranking chiefs in the accumulation of material wealth.

Ecclesiastical religions are limited to specific territories and are tied to a particular state organization, while universalistic religions espouse spiritual messages that apply to all of humanity.

What is the belief that spirits reside within all inorganic and organic materials called?

In ancient agricultural states, religion sanctified and legitimized the authority of political leaders.

Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism are considered __________ religions because their spiritual messages apply to all of humanity rather than to just their own cultural history and legacy.

Which of the following correctly characterizes the Elima ritual among the Mbuti?

Indian classical dance originated as a way to perform acts of devotion to Hindu deities.

What reason do the Yanomamö give for their practice of ingesting the bones and ashes of deceased family members?

Which of the following is associated with the way art forms found among foragers reflect the spiritual aspects of their culture?

Among the Azande of East Africa, to what were crop failures typically attributed?