Essay on Anthropology of Religion

Anthropology 199
Prompt Three
October 2nd, 2013

Question:
In reference to the article "The Sorcerer and His Magic" by Levi-Strauss, provide an overview of the roles of these practitioners of magic. Do you see these examples as illustrative of sorcery or shamanism? What kinds of rituals does the author discuss here as referenced in Ch. 4 of Angrosino? What element of the magic healing ritual does Levi-Strauss maintain is the most important in order for the sorcerer or shaman to retain their high status role in the community?
Answer:
The article by Levi-Strauss went over several roles of practitioners of magic. The first one being the role of a sorcerer. The sorcerer of a band or group has a role to maintain as the healer or magic practitioner of the band or group. The sorcerer can be seen as positive or negative depending on the patient’s reactions. Levi-Strauss provides a good example of two cases. The first, a sorcerer who joined his small band with another, needed to have a reason for his disappearance. According to Levi-Strauss, “…while his two young wives and his son wept noisily in mourning for their dead husband and father, the other natives discussed the tragic consequences foreshadowed by the disappearance of their sorcerer” (pg.25). The sorcerer had disappeared and was later found, he claimed to have been kidnapped by thunder, stripped of his belongings and left back where he had originally been taken from. The natives believed him, but later some questioned it. The other example of sorcery that Levi-Strauss gives is one of a young boy, who by touching the hand of a young girl caused her to have a seizure. He was then accused of sorcery and made up a story to compensate and try to save his own life when he was not a sorcerer. He convinced the people but then tried to escape and was caught, his story then changed to one of witchcraft to convince the people to believe in him again, he was successful this time and convinced them. As Levi-Strauss explains, “Thus, we see him, with a mixture of cunning and good faith, progressively construct the impersonation which is thrust upon him-chiefly by drawing on his knowledge and memories, improvising somewhat, but above all living his role and seeking, through his manipulations and ritual he builds from bits and pieces, the experience of a calling, which is, at least theoretically, open to all” (pg. 30). The third example Levi-Strauss details is one of two shamans, one who can produce a tangible version of a sickness taken from a person and another who produces nothing tangible. The elder shaman begs the other for information about how he produces a tangible sickness, the other shaman gives no answer. The elder shaman later goes mad and dies, while the younger continues to “cure” the sick. People believe more when they can see something that was impacting their lives in this case. These examples to me are illustrative of sorcery and not shamanism. As Angrosino explains, “Shamans are makers of magic who are distinguished from ordinary sorcerers by primarily by the fact that they enter into a state of trance or possession when they are conducting rituals. Sorcerers are usually part-time specialists, who while not conducting magical rituals, do the ordinary things other adults in their community do” (pg.103). All of these cases were of ordinary people within a group who did not enter a trance like state when they performed their duties. To the people being cured, it seemed like magic, but in reality it was in a sense a hoax. In the case with the boy who caused the girl to have a seizure, if anything, the girl would have been considered one of power by Angrosino’s terms. The types of rituals in this article in reference to Angrosino’s text would be therapeutic ritual for the sorcerer who would produce a tangible illness, an ideological ritual for the sorcerer who disappeared, and for the boy who apparently caused a

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