Priests

1
Priests

• Full-time religious specialists associated with
  formalized religious institutions
• A link between the community and a deity/deities.
• Responsible for performing Rites of Passage,
  Prescribed, Periodic and Crisis rituals.
• Priests skill comes from his/her ability to
  recite sacred narratives, learning of ritual
  knowledge and performing rituals for the
  community.
• Rituals can deal with anything from social rights
  of intensification to establishing the
  communitys ethical code, legitimizing a child as
  a member of the community.
• Rituals usually occur in specially designed,
  sacred buildings or locations.
• Are ideal people in the eyes of a society.
  Held to higher moral standards. Why is this?
• Why so much more shocking of Pedophilia amongst
  Catholic Church clergy than of other members of
  the public?
• Like Shamans, a priest may get a call in the
  form of a dream/vision/trance, or as the result
  of an illness. Also, may have no choice in the
  matter if entering the Priesthood is a matter of
  inheritance or necessity.
• Ex Some agricultural societies, third son was
  destined for a life of devotion.
• Ex 19th century Europe if not upper class, only
  way to a good education was through the
  Priesthood.

2
Ethnographic Examples

• Aztec Priests
• High rank in society. Main role was to ensure
  the survival of the sun by offering human
  sacrifices.
• Priests would fast and make food, cloth and
  incense offerings before the ritual.
• Ritual sacrificees called in ixiptla in teteo
  or deity impersonators. Upon sacrifice, it was
  believed the deceased was to transform into a
  god. The heart was offered to the sun as
  nourishment.
• Can read about all the fun gory details in the
  book. Anybody see Apocalypto?
• Zuni Priests
• Pueblo Native Americans (American SW culture
  area).
• Kiva Unlike the Tewa Pueblo group we met in Ch.
  3, the Zuni kiva is above ground and forms a
  ceremonial group into which young priests are
  inducted.
• Main role of the priests is the correct
  performance of rituals, including ritual objects
  and the recitation of prayers.
• Okinawan Priestesses
• World is occupied by supernatural beings called
  kami. Pleasing the kami through rituals avoids
  misfortune and encourages blessings.
• Kaminchu do very little during rituals. They are
  analogous to and represent the kami, so they emit
  good spiritual energy. There presence is often
  requested at weddings, housewarmings, etc.
• Yuta the Shamans. These individuals mediate
  between the community and the supernatural. They
  practice divination and healing. The Yuta
  communicates with the kami while the kaminchu are
  supposed to be the kami.

3
Healers

• A religious specialist who concentrates on
  healing
• Can refer to either a Priest or a Shaman
• Herbalist
• Specialist in plant-derived cures. May provide
  or prescribe medicines. Intimately familiar with
  uses of local plant life.
• Ex http//www.youtube.com/watch?vRbxT2-jAQzEfea
  turerelated (Healer/Shaman, Paraguay)
• Diviner
• A religious specialist who specializes in
  Divination (a series of techniques and activities
  that are used to obtain information about things
  that are not normally knowable.)
• The future, the present at a distance, revealing
  the identity of supernatural elements in the
  natural world.
• Reading natural phenomena, cards. Entering an
  Altered State of Consciousness and retrieving the
  info there.
• Ex The Tarot, astrology, necromancy

4
Prophets

• Someone who communicates the words and will of
  the gods to his or her community, acting as an
  intermediary between the people and the gods.
• Ex Moses, Mohammad
• Ex Wavoka (Pauite Native American) 1856-1932,
  the Ghost Dance and the Massacre at Wounded Knee
• Ex Handsome Lake (Seneca Tribe)
• Near death experiences and visions with Christian
  overtones. He preached a revitalization of
  traditional seasonal ceremonies, strengthening
  the family and a prohibition against alcohol.
  After his death in 1815, his teachings became the
  foundation of the Longhouse religion.
• Ex Ngundeng Bong (Nuer, Eastern Sudan)
  1830s-1906
• No written records of his life. Instead,
  stories Born when his mother was passed
  menopause after a 12-month pregnancy. Born with
  the power to contact the supernatural. As a
  young man he would often enter Altered States of
  Consciousness through fasting and seizures. He
  was possessed by the god Deng who would make
  prophecies through him. The Nuer believe
  prophets are chosen by a god an are able to
  predict the future, cure the sick and ensure
  fertility.