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TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Anthropology > Applying the concept of magic to ethnographies

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Contents 1 Trobrianders 2 Yanomamo 3 Gopalpur 4 Comments

Trobrianders

• For unmarried young people, each decorative element is carefully chosen to catch the eye of a possible lover, as each use of magic is calculated to "make someone want to sleep with you".
• Missionaries tried to persuade villagers that magic and sorcery had no basis in rational thought.
• Almost every death that occurs is believed to be the result of sorcery effected by a specialist who chants magic spells into the victim"s betel nut or tobacco.
• People known to possess powerful magic, including sorcery, are buried face-down to prevent their dreaded malevolent spirits from escaping the grave, as this spirit can being illness and death to survivors. The spirit can only linger for a few days, so the grave must be guarded by someone who also possess powerful magic.
• Adults and children alike fear little in their daily activities except sorcery. The most powerful magic spells for sorcery are known by only a handful of men. Many, but by no means all, are chiefs. Others must seek out one of these men and ask him to perform his craft. - A few women also learn the spells.
• Some women (and a few men) are thought to be "flying witches", individuals who have the ability to leave their bodies while asleep. In an invisible state they attack someone by destroying a vital organ, and only another flying witch can recite spells that will counter the attack and cure the patient. Therefore, a flying witch can be good or evil, and villagers take great care when they associate with anyone believed to have these powers.
• Even the strongest traditional sorcery works slowly; the deadly poisons believed to be in betel or tobacco can be countered if an afflicted person gains the help of a curing specialist.
• Important chiefs must demonstrate that they know formidable kinds of magic spells that successfully give them control over villager"s lives and the growing cycle of yams.
• The spells that are most talked about because they are the most dangerous are those for sorcery and those that control the weather. These traditional spells are the property of certain matrilineages and known only by a few men. Not all chiefs own sorcery spells, but since they usually have more wealth than ordinary men, they pay those who know the magic to accomplish their wishes.
• Although chiefs walk with the authority that control over sorcery gives them, they themselves are not immune to its effects.

Yanomamo

• In some villages a variety of magical plants are cultivated. Most are associated with casting spells on others, spells that are often non-malevolent as in the case of "female charms". Tiny packets of dusty powder, wrapped in leaves, are used by men to "seduce" young women. The charm is forced against the woman"s nose and mouth. When she breathes the charm, she swoons and has an insatiable desire for sex- so say both the men and the women. The women also cultivate magical plants in some villages that allegedly cause the men to become tranquil and sedate.
• In some villages, people allegedly cultivate an especially malevolent plant that can be blown on enemies at a great distance, or sprinkled on unwary male visitors while they sleep. A particularly feared class of these is called "oka" and is said to be blown through tubes at enemies, causing them to sicken and die.
• All Yanomamo groups are convinced that unaccountable deaths in their own village are the result of the use of harmful magic and charms directed at them by enemy groups.
• Almost all deaths other than those obviously caused by human or animal intervention are attributed to harmful magic. The Yanomamo suffer a high infant mortality rate, and they attribute this to sent harmful spirits who steal their souls. Thus, in every village, the shamans spend many hours attempting to cure sick children and sick adults, driving out the malevolent forces that have caused their illnesses, and in turn, sending their own spirits and charms against the children in distant villages for revenge.

Gopalpur

• The villagers believe that gods and goddesses are responsible for protecting villages, arranging successful, fertile marriages etc and that everything that happens to a person is determined by behaviour in a former life as well as behaviour in the present.

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