ANTH Religion, Ritual, and Belief Systems 2

Question 1

In anthropology, 'mana' (from Melanesian and Polynesian cultures) is best described as:

Accepted Answer

An impersonal supernatural force that inheres in people, objects, and places

Answer

Mana is a diffuse, transferable supernatural power — having it brings success and efficacy, while losing it brings failure, making it a key concept in Pacific anthropology of religion.

Question 2

James George Frazer's 'The Golden Bough' (1890) is best known for arguing that:

Accepted Answer

Magic, religion, and science represent successive evolutionary stages of thought

Answer

Frazer proposed an evolutionary sequence in which humans first rely on magic, then religion when magic fails, and finally science — a framework later criticized as ethnocentric.

Question 3

E.E. Evans-Pritchard's classic study of the Azande of Central Africa (1937) was groundbreaking because it demonstrated that:

Accepted Answer

Witchcraft, oracles, and magic form a coherent, internally logical explanatory system

Answer

Evans-Pritchard showed that Zande witchcraft beliefs are internally consistent and answer the question 'why did this happen to me now?' — a different but equally rational explanatory framework.

Question 4

In anthropology, a 'revitalization movement' (Anthony Wallace, 1956) is defined as:

Accepted Answer

A deliberate, organized effort by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture, often with religious innovation

Answer

Wallace described revitalization movements as responses to cultural stress and disorganization — including ghost dances, cargo cults, and messianic movements — that seek to revive or transform a society.

Question 5

Durkheim's concept of 'collective effervescence' refers to:

Accepted Answer

The intense emotional energy and social solidarity generated when people gather for communal rituals

Answer

Durkheim observed that group rituals create a heightened emotional state that binds participants together and reinforces their sense of shared identity and moral community.

ANTH (Anthropology) Practice Test

ANTH (Anthropology) Practice Test

ANTH Religion, Ritual, and Belief Systems 2