1. The Anthropology of Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion
It’s Magic!

2. In the Pantheon of Anthropology…
Bronislav Malinowski
Franz Boas

3. on the Trobriand Islands
Bronislav Malinowski
Studied physics and math
Interest in psychology
Focused on the individual in culture
Malinowski
on the Trobriand Islands
(1918)

8. The Sorcerers of Dobu Based on Fieldwork Carried Out in the 1920s by
Reo F. Fortune

9. Background an island east of New Guinea participants in the kula ring
primarily horticulturalists – primarily yams
acephalic society
status achieved by success in different ventures
feared by members of neighboring islands
cannibals
deadliest witchcraft

10. Social Organization based on matrilineal families
called suso = “mother’s milk
ca. 25 people per village (late 1920s)
villages are exogamous (but sexual relations are allowed)
villages joined into localities
localities are endogamous
ambilocal residence

11. World View inside the suso outside the suso trust fear mistrust
jealousy
suspicion

12. World View jealousy of possessions adultery is a measure of prestige
mother’s advice to daughters: fidelity in marriage results from a woman keeping her husband sexually exhausted
poisoning of food and drink is common
sharing food, drink, cigarettes is a sign of the greatest trust

13. World View no concept of accident all misfortunes result from
witchcraft
sorcery
attack
each has a supernatural cause
world is controlled by competing forces

14. kasa sona
on earth approximately 5 generations (= time of creation) before Fortune’s field work
born with the sun, the moon, and the earth
used magical formulae to make things happen
gave many of these formulae to people
must follow the will of those who know a formula most accurately

15. Magical Formulae the basis of all wealth and success on Dobu
not even brothers will share them
learned from mother’s brother
(avuncular inheritance)

16. Magical Formulae
every member of the village in which Fortune lived possessed 1-5 formulae for causing illness
since introduction of money, formulae could be purchased (1 formula = 4 months wages)

17. Sorcery Sorcerers = ♂ ♂ claim to be able to cause particular illness
occurs by day
leaves behind a physical record

18. Witchcraft Witches = ♀ ♀ say nothing about the magic they can produce
occurs at night
leaves no trace
can also produce wind and rain (good for kula)
as a result, ♀ are not allowed on kula expeditions

19. Two Magical Principles
Law of Similarity
Law of Contagion
“imitative” or
“homeopathic” magic
“like produces like”
“exuvial” magic
“part affects the whole”

20. Magic practiced by all adults
the most compelling magic is produced when the formulae are spoken correctly
a formula’s potency can be increased
chew ginger root
drink salt water

21. Death
when the cause is unclear, it is often considered the result of witchcraft
when it results from a clearly identifiable illness, usually attributed to sorcery
when the cause of death (or the source of a disease) cannot be determined, a diviner from another locality may be brought in

22. Sex & Marriage
after a boy turns (puberty), he must find the hut of an unmarried girl to sleep in
must leave before the girl’s parents awaken
if the mother catches a boy with her daughter, then marriage preparations will begin

23. Love Magic the cause of all sexual desire
formulae for love magic are possessed by both ♂ & ♀
formulae are primarily used against married persons
Fortune was able to learn many magical formulae, but none for love magic

24. Gardens yam seeds are inherited matrilineally
♂ & ♀ have separate gardens and seeds
people and yams are related
tomot refers to both (but not to Europeans)
♀ & yams are both considered the property of ♂
(according to the ♂)

25. Yams since they are related to people, they have similar lives
yams enjoy early period of freedom (like Dobuan children)
young yams are able to wander at night, but must be back in their own garden before daybreak

26. Yam Magic similar to love magic
as the yams grow older, people will sing songs of seduction (= magic) to a few of their yams
the other yams become upset because they were excluded and grow more vigorously in protest

27. Yam Magic
seduction is also used to coax yams from other people’s gardens
illness-causing magical formulae (known as tabu) are used to protect gardens against this
size of a person’s crop reflects the potency of their magic (yields are not made public)

28. Functions of Magic serves in place of a legal system
♂ have a general alibi, for death could be due to any ♀
♀ have an individual alibi, for each illness is due to a particular ♂, and counter-magic can be learned

29. Functions of Magic diviners and others usually know
if a ♂ has claimed to be able to cause a particular disease
if a ♀ has had a conflict with someone
if one person has crossed another

30. Functions of Magic also serves as a leveling mechanism wabuwabu
during marriage arrangements
during kula trade
Dobuans as cannibals?