Nico Carlucci
dwell on a classic of anthropology, The Golden Bough by James Frazer as it gives less and less space than "literature" on the science culture. Yes, let's review, from time to time in this blog "indie", some of the most prestigious of Anthropology and no matter where they are more or less "resolved." The mine is an attempt to redesign a piece "minimum" of this story by one of his books that are mentioned, I do no hypocrisy whatsoever. I start with just The Golden Bough Frazer of which was published in 1890 and then expanded to its final form in 1915. In it, the anthropologist deals with the so-called primitive cultures on the basis of evolutionary theory in vogue in the late nineteenth century: "... what color will have the spider web that fate is now weaving on the loom of time? It will be white or red? We do not know. A pale, trembling light illuminates the parts already hatched. The rest is shrouded in darkness, in the fog ". The title comes from two very different narratives: the story of Sybil to Aeneas who advised to obtain a line of gold, before descending into Hades to allow him to return from the Underworld, the ritual killing King of the woods of Nemi. Frazer analyze it The Golden Bough the origins of the uses, customs, rituals, considering the religious practices and magic, superstitions, myths current ancient and present in different parts of the world. The work can be divided into two main sections: the first is titled "King of the Wizards and about to die." Here the student describes the various events of the sacred king, eliminated by sacrificial rites. He also proposes a theory about the structure of magic, the worship of nature and trees, the origin and spread of taboo, as the discovery of numerous classic characters, such as Osiris, Adonis, Demeter, Dionysus. The second part of the book presents, instead, more of folk themes. Frazer, in fact, deepens the character and sense of sacrificial rites, the expulsion of evil and the scapegoat to whom he dedicates today, many pages of his studies René Ginard. Anthropologist comparativism using the method of using even second-hand information obtained from travelers, this thing trying challenged by Franz Boas, vice versa, to fight with its famous motto: "everyone on the field." Of course some limits de The Golden Bough are obvious. I'm not sure the first one to write it. The Anthropology walked a lot and has overcome many of the things in which Frazer believed: evolution, first of all, that inspired the his scientific and talked about stages of development of cultures, primitive ones (without the first stage) and the "complex". But the classics are revisited in order to continue to question and make the history of anthropology. Frazer also develops a model to explain the principles of magic, governed by some basic laws, such as the similarity and contagion. The first is based on the concept of similar generating similar, however, the magic of "contagious" is based on the law of contact that provides for the continuation of the effects triggered by a contact, even at a distance. Both belong to the magical currents broad category of sympathetic magic, as involve an interaction at a distance. But the contemporary critical anthropology the concept of magic in itself says nothing on the contrary, it would be appropriate to include everything, including magic, in the phenomenology of the Sacred that you are dedicated to several historians of religions . Some scholars could take care of just such a reconciliation is inappropriate that Frazer between magic and religion. And from here to rethink, in a new key, the weather, rain, wind, drought, the changing seasons, phases of the moon, the sun's daily journey and journal. finally touch the "soul" How does the author in the last part of the book, the soul understood as concrete entities, store them in a "container" and able to ensure, therefore, the health and lives of human beings that hosts it. The field is wide open.
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