The ability to create new symbols is termed:
a. arbitrariness
b. openness
c. displacement
d. none of the above
When a Yanomam girl begins to menstruate for the first time, she is isolated in a small
room built alone one side of the house. During the time of isolation, she must speak in
whispers, not scratch herself, and is taught who to behave as a mature woman. The
phase of a rite of passage is known as:
a. transition
b. separation
c. peripheralization
d. incorporation
Death rituals or funerals serve many purposes among which is (are):
a. channeling the expressions of grief
b. determining the fate of the soul
c. protecting the community of ghosts
d. all of the above
In the Navaho Creation Story, First Man and First Woman were created by the:
a. Holy People
b. Air-Spirit People
c. People Who Live in Upright Houses
d. sacred twins
The Navaho phrase to “walk in beauty” and the Euro-American phrase “Thou makest
him to have dominion of the works of thy hands” point out major differences in:
a. the supernatural
b. subsistence activities
c. worldview
d. the sacred
Witchcraft among the Azande functions to:
a. cause seriously disruptive suspicions and accusations between individuals
b. reinforce and sanction accepted morality
c. provide a means of curbing the power of the ruling class
d. none of the above
The Islamic calendar is:
a. lunar
b. solar
c. seasonal
d. a 260 day cycle
Among the Yoruba, the orisha are distinguished by several symbols including color.
The orisha are:
a. a series of shrines
b. military regiments representing certain villages
c. spiritual beings
d. the many Yoruba chiefs
In the story of Snow White, the queen’s looking glass is an example of:
a. magic
b. divination
c. witchcraft
d. a worldview
The spread of AIDS in small-scale societies is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery
because:
a. AIDS is a poorly understood disease of which there is no clear cause in the minds of
the people
b. modern medicine is relatively ineffective in treating AIDS
c. AIDS appears to strike random, especially among the poor
d. all of the above
The idea that supernatural beings reflect human behavior and provide a model for
humans was developed by:
a. Guy Swanson
b. Sigmund Freud
c. John Roberts
d. Robin Horton
In Buddhism, rebirth is seen not as the transmission of a distinct personality, but as a
transmission of:
a. consciousness
b. karma
c. lineage
d. thoughts
Which of the following is true about benge, the poison oracle?
a. poison may be given directly to the accused witch
b. poison is given to young pigs who either die or survive
c. sticks are dipped in poison and then placed in termite mounds
d. the poison is seldom strong enough to actually kill an animal
The term synesthesia refers to:
a. hypersuggestibility
b. fear of losing self-control
c. one form of sensory experience is translated into another
d. distortion of time
Possession by jinn in Hofriyat usually involves:
a. women of childbearing age
b. politically prominent men
c. village priests
d. elder men and women
The African Burial Ground is a Yoruba cemetery located in what is today Nigeria.
A deliberate attempt to bring about change in a culture characterizes:
a. rites of passage
b. revitalization movements
c. rites of intensification
d. Neo-Pagan movements
Edward Tyler did not consider magic to be a part of religion because magic:
a. did not involve the performance of rituals
b. was not performed by religious specialists
c. did not involve gods and spirits
d. is used primarily to achieve evil ends
Culture consists of:
a. innate behavioral patterns that humans share with the apes
b. an appreciation of the fine arts and literature
c. nutrients upon which bacteria can grow
d. learned and traditional patterns of behavior
Defining terms so they are observable and measurable is called a(n):
a. analytic definition
b. functional definition
c. anthropological definition
d. operant definition
Examples of pilgrimages includes the:
a. Islamic hajj
b. Catholic journey to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
c. Huichol journey to Wirikuta
d. all of the above
Ethnographic fieldwork among the Trobriand Islanders was carried out by:
a. E. E. Evans-Pritchard
b. Bronislaw Malinowski
c. Karen McCarthy Brown
d. Alfred R. Radcliffe-Brown
Myths:
a. are regarded as fact by those who accept this on faith
b. include a great many sacred, supernatural elements
c. take place in the past
d. all of the above
The origins of Astrology appear to have been in:
a. Egypt
b. India
c. Babylonia
d. Iran
The Beng of West Africa believe that during the first several years of a baby’s life:
a. the baby’s soul is transitioning from the afterlife to this world
b. animals must be sacrificed so that one of the animal souls becomes the baby’s
c. the egungun dancers must drum the baby’s soul into its body
d. the baby has no soul and is therefore not talked to
The Jewish Yom Kippur and the Islamic Ramadan are both characterized by:
a. fasting
b. ingestion of wine
c. spirit possession states
d. meditation
The orisha are the gods of the:
a. Yoruba
b. Ifugao
c. Dani
d. Shoshoni
The term secondary burial refers to:
a. a separate burial for specific body parts (e.g., the head and hands)
b. any burial for those lower in the social stratification
c. a later burial during which the remains are dug up, processed, and reburied
d. a burial for a person who dies out of grief after the passing of their spouse
The Celtic revival in Ireland is an example of a:
a. revivalistic movement
b. millenarian movement
c. nativistic movement
d. messianic movement
A shaman finds a new kind of bush whose leaves, made into a tea, soothes a stomach
ache. This is an example of:
a. diffusion
b. syncretism
c. a discovery
d. an invention
Hildegard of Bingen, who lived in the twelfth century, is known for her:
a. descriptions of her mystical experiences
b. paintings of the saints
c. medicines and medical practices
d. high political position
In eastern European folk belief (not Hollywood folk belief) a vampire is:
a. an evil spirit that sucks blood from its victims
b. a person who, having died before his time, returns to life to bring death to his friends
and neighbors
c. a dead person brought back to life by a sorcerer
d. a person who turns into an animal upon death
Generally speaking, all of the following are true about gods except:
a. they are individualized supernatural entities
b. they are anthropomorphic entities
c. they are human in origin
d. they are associated with a community or a segment of a community
Early Judaism:
a. shared many of the same religious beliefs as other religions of the time
b. may have implicitly accepted the existence of other gods
c. used many different names for God
d. all of the above
A solution to a particular problem that is found through the application of technology is
a(n):
a. discovery
b. creation
c. invention
d. diffusion
In the Zulu male puberty ceremony the boy is taken to the river and bathed. His old
cloths are destroyed and he puts on new clothes and is presented to the community. This
phase of a rite of passage is known as separation.
The Witchcraze was a Neo-Pagan movement in 19th century Europe that attempted to
rehabilitate healers and midwives.
Foragers practice simple farming with hand tools, are seminomadic, and lack full-time
specialists.
The attainment of a guardian spirit and supernatural power among the Ojibwa and
Shoshoni is accomplished through the vision quest.
Religious texts often change through time because they are often transmitted orally or
subject to new translations.
The distinction between a soul and a ghost is not always a clear one.
From at etic perspective, Mary can be classified as a goddess in the Roman Catholic
Religion.
The psychoduct found in Lord Pakal’s tomb connected the tomb to the temple on top of
the pyramid.
Okinawa is the only known society in which women lead a mainstream, official,
publicly funded religion that is practiced by both sexes.
Fundamentalism is found in a number of different religions, including Islam,
Christianity, and Judaism.
Human universals refer to biological characteristics of human beings that reflect a
common biology.
Claude Levi-Strauss analyzed the structure of myths and pointed out tat humans tend to
categorize the world in terms of binary opposites.
The Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 was an aftermath of the breakup of the Ghost
Dance by the U.S. government.
Divination is a technique for finding out information about the unknown.
Edward Tylor did not include magic in his definition of religion.
A presentiment is a feeling that something is about to happen.
Zuni society recognizes many different priesthoods.
In the Navaho Creation Story, the first humans were created by the two Holy People.
The story of crocodiles living in the sewers of New York is an example of a myth.