neptunesdolphins | MAGIC: A TIMELINE (PART 2): 1940S-1970S (Reply)

Studying the Navaho in 1949, Clyde Kluckholn (1905-1960, American) saw the same role that magic had in society as Evans-Pritchard (in Part 1). Magic resolved tensions among people by channeling their anxieties. In the Navaho culture, witchcraft, separate from magic, influenced events by anti-social means.

In 1957, cultural anthropologist Victor Turner (1920-1983, British) wrote “Schism and Continuity in an African Society: A Study of Ndembu Village Life.” In studying rituals, Turner defined “liminality,” as the “transitional phrase of betwixt and between of individuals in society.” He also coined “communitas,” which is “when all members of a community were equal in sharing a ritual.” According to Turner, magic and religion were “social dramas” used to resolve conflicts. For him, magic was a ritual performance with a specific end.

In “Religion among the Primitives (1951),” William Goode (1917-2003, American) presented the eleven characteristics (Note 1) of how magic differs from religion. This sociologist noted that magic focused on individual needs. Moreover, it was more concrete and specific in its goals.

Beginning in the 1960s, many anthropologists regarded the academic approaches to magic as inadequate. Studying Asian societies, Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah (1929-2014, Sri Lankan) explained that the Western idea of separating magic from religion was in error. Magic, religion, and science have their own “qualities of rationality.” They were all systems for people to gain mastery over their situations.

The anthropologists, Murray Wax (1922-2012, American) and his wife Rosalie Wax (1911-1998, American) realized that Western intellectuals were hostile to magic. Echoing Tambiah, the Waxes maintained that magic was a part of a society’s worldview. In the 1970s, they wrote that magic was indeed an ordinary part of society.

In 1977, Jeanne Favret-Saada (1934-, French) wrote “Deadly Words: Witchcraft in the Bocage.” Studying magic in France, Favret-Saada theorized that witchcraft gained its power by speech. In Europe, as elsewhere, magic was a part of daily life. Moreover, she observed that in Europe, witchcraft was used to gain power, and not knowledge.

Meanwhile, social anthropologist Mary Douglas (1921-2007, British) studied ritual purity and pollution. For her, the traditional concept of magic was useless. Writing in the 1970s, Douglas said that there was little difference between the rituals of Europeans and “primitive” societies. According to her, Eurocentric concepts of magic were wrong. However, she did view witchcraft a disruption to the structure of society since the witch was either an outsider or an internal enemy.

Notes:

Note 1. His rules were: 1. Concrete specificity of a goal, 2. Manipulation, 3. Professional-client relationship, 4. Focus on an individual’s ends, 5. Practiced only by individuals, 6. Technique can be changed, 7. Lesser emotional involvement, 8. Evading the nature of the universe, 9. Bending the rules of the universe, 10. No accepting the universe as it is, 11. Instrumental use for the attainment of specific goals.

Works Used:

Bowie, Fiona, “The Anthropology of Religion: An Introduction.” 2008. PDF. https://www.academia.edu/331603/Anthropology_of_Religion.

Davis, Owen, ed. “The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft & Magic.” Oxford University Press: Oxford. 2017.

Dobler, Gregor, “Fatal Words: Restudying Jeanne-Favret-Saada.” Anthropology of This Century, Issue 13, May 2015. http://aotcpress.com/articles/fatal-words-restudying-jeanne-favretsaada/.

Greer, John Michael, “The Occult Book.” Sterling: NY. 2017.

Hutton, Ronald, “The Witch.” Yale University Press: New Haven. 2017.

—, “A Framework for the Study of European Magic.” Grey School of Wizardry Class Materials. Dell.Urgano, Ombra, “The Development of European Magic.”

Moro, Pamela, “Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Magic.” International Library of Anthropology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1915.

Seligmann, Kurt, “The Mirror of Magic.” 1948. Inner Tradition: Rochester (VT)