How Social Organization Affects Religious Life - Essay Example

Analysis of Different Ethnographies That Depict How Social Organization Affects Religious Life Introduction The world is full of different cultures that deal with spiritual and social aspects in vast ways. This means that different people handle different spirituality, cosmology and culture in different ways, which eventually determine the way they respond to community gatherings, religion and medicine. For instance, the western individuals have their unique culture where they exercise it by visiting places of worship for spiritual intervention and reflection, visiting the doctor when they are ill and at times seeking a group gathering when they are looking for a sense of community. However, these cultural practices differ from vast people in other parts of the world as depicted by four ethnographies derived from diverse parts of the world. Analysis The fact that different individuals in the world have their own practices is depicted by Richard Katz in his ethnography “The Kung - Boiling energy”. In the book, the author outlines the cultural and spiritual way of life practiced by the Kung people in the Kalahari desert in South Africa. One major captivating aspect that the book reveals concerning culture and spirituality is Kung’s unique dance that seems to provide the focal point because anthropologists consider it as a primary ritual that encompasses and expresses cosmology, medicine and religion in a simultaneous manner. The healing dance as it is commonly known is practiced at specific periods of the time of the year and amazingly, everyone in the community participates because these people believe that each one of them has a “sickness” on one way or the other (Katz 332). In this regard, the Kung people believe that illnesses could be physical, emotional or even spiritual and the healing dance simultaneously heals all illnesses irrespective of the sickness nature. Therefore, the healing dance contains much more than just healing because it helps individuals release tension and energy that eventually transform people’s inner feelings. On a general perspective, the healing dance represents the spirituality of the Kung people because after the dance these individuals feel nourished, rejuvenated and reborn just like an individual from the west would feel after seeking spiritual intervention from a church (Katz 332). Therefore, the healing dance greatly affects the religious life of the people of Kung. Another ethnography depicting a different social organization is Barbara G. Myerhoff in her book “Peyote Hunt”. The ethnography is a story of a Native American ethnic group from western central Mexico, whose culture and spirituality is signified by its ancient practices. Though the book encompasses vast research findings from other sources, the author brings out the Huichol’s religion and culture through personal experience. Ideally, the Huichol people practices vast rituals that involve weeping, singing and contacting the ancestral spirits. Among its numerous practices, the Huichol’s practice a ritual of deer hunting because they believe that deer meat is a source of nourishment due to the magic power that the meat contains. Prior to the magical meat granted by the deer, the hunting experience provides a deep spiritual connection and fulfillment because it brings together people and all creatures (Myerhoff 16). In addition, the Huichol people also adore the maize because they believe that it fosters morality and emotions in their own way of understanding. Though the interrelationship between the Huichol’s and the maize is weird they claim that maize is their life and they greatly interconnect. Generally, the deer-maize-peyote complex is the way of life that determines Huichol’s cultural and religious life because it helps them refresh their inner personality emotionally, physically and spiritually by hunting the Peyote, eating its meat and exercising the maize ritual (Myerhoff 16). On a different perspective, Ian Hogbin chips in with his ethnography “Island of Menstruating Men”, an article that study the ritual, cultural and spiritual way of life of the Wogeo people in the south pacific island. Unlike the usual ethnography that reflect on the cultural and spiritual beliefs, Ian Hogbin lays out a social practice that runs deep into the Wogeo people to the extent that it has become a culture. This is the case because the ethnography digs up the issue of gender cultural construction in the Wogeo Island where men “menstruate” or release bad blood (Hogbin Xiii). The author claims that the women have a natural way of menstruating monthly, an aspect that releases the bad blood in them , while the men on the other side have no natural way of doing it ; hence, have to find an alternative ways of releasing whatever bad is inside them. In this regard, the Island exercises a unique culture where both the men and women are granted the freedom of social equality through beliefs, rights and dogmas. This cultural practice ensures that each gender respects the equality rights of the other and lack of compliance leads to punishments that include artificial menstruation, ear piercing and other weird punishments (Hogbin Xiii). The rituals are usually introduced to the individual’s early lives and are expected to carry on or utilize the rituals for the rest of their lives. Ideally, this weird cultural practice governs the social lives of the Wogeo people who have intensely embraced the practice as a religion because the practice has principles that determine how these people live. Sherry Ortner is another author who digs up the social organization of the Tibet people referred to as the Sherpas, through her ethnography “Sherpas through the rituals”. Given that Buddhism rejects the world, Sherry Ortner decided to find out the reasons behind the perception by critically reviewing the practice of Buddhism in Tibet. The article goes further to dig up how Sherpa’s Buddhism and other aspects like culture and rituals in the Sherpas society (Ortner 30). These individuals are usually engulfed in village life that is accompanied by different rituals believed to protect and guide them through the help of the gods. This means that the lives of the Sherpas are controlled by rituals that must be practiced at specific times of the year. The ritual practice is deeply rooted to the extent that the Sherpas have their own calendar of ritual events. The events are usually accompanied by offerings, rituals and festivals. For instance, February is the Sherpas New Year and the festival is accompanied by offerings, April ushers in the great Damji festival where exorcism takes place, May has the Nyungne ritual event and the respective months follow suit (Ortner 32). Therefore, the lives of the Sherpas dependently rely on the vast rituals as part of their culture, religion and way of life. Conclusion According to the analysis of different social organizations depicted by the four ethnographies, it is evident that different people in the world respond to their surrounding environment in vast ways because most individuals in the diverse world depend on the seasons of the year, while others depend on vast symbols presented by nature to perform spiritual rituals or to perform a social event. Unlike the people from the west, who have embraced a totally different way of living due to technology advancement and general development, other individuals from the interior parts of the world still practice ancient and weird cultural and spiritual practices that intertwine them with aspects provided by nature and beliefs. Ideally, these social organizations that foster ancient spiritual activities affect these individuals’ religious life. Though religious groups like Christians have invaded such regions with an aim of spreading alternative spiritual aspects, their efforts have not yielded much fruits because the cultural and spiritual practices intended to be eradicated are deeply rooted in the practicing societies. More so, the alternative exposure procedures enhanced by religious groups like the Christians have not had the needed impact because most of the society practicing the weird and ancient practices believe and embrace their cultural and spiritual rituals as part of their life; hence, leading them to believe that there is no other alternative way of living. Work cited Hogbin, Herbert I. The Island of Menstruating Men: Religion in Wogeo, New Guinea. Prospect Heights, Ill: Waveland Press, 1996. Print. (Amazon.com) Katz, Richard. Boiling Energy: Community Healing Among the Kalahari Kung. Cambridge, Mass. u.a: Harvard Univ. Pr, 1982. Print. Myerhoff, Barbara G. Peyote Hunt: The Sacred Journey of the Huichol Indians. Ithaca [N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1976. Print. Ortner, Sherry B. Sherpas Through Their Rituals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978. Print. Read More