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15 pages in length. The writer discusses rituals, neoevolution, feminist anthropology, Marxist perspective and postmodernism. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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15 pages (~225 words per page)
File: LM1_TLC3AnthQs.rtf
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of true meaning is precisely what symbolic anthropology opposes, choosing instead to perceive culture as symbols and mental terms. Rappaport, by contrast, seeks a much more finite view of rituals from
his neomaterialistic perspective, which he achieves by virtue of studying the kaiko ritual of the Tsembaga. From this experience, Rappaport learned how religious ceremonies are inextricably intertwined with that
given culture as well as the immediate environment in which that particular society lives. The Tsembaga slaughter pigs - a most prevalent food source - to symbolize their quest
to feed their people, while at the same time draw associations with the pig as a source of cultural existence. As such, Rappaport claims that "Tsembaga territory and the
biotic community existing upon it may be conveniently viewed as an ecosystem" (McGee et al, 2004, p. 317). By comparison, Blochs interpretation of the importance of ritual is the manner
by which it upholds its character and importance in a given society when that culture is under siege of political change. Bloch further asserted that maintaining ritual existence in
the face of such tremendous adversity as political transformation can also indicate the growth of tradition as a legitimizing impact upon said change (McGee et al, 2004).
Characteristic of humanitys constant quest for the concept of meaning, the journey of understanding has come to represent myriad things to myriad people, ultimately rendering any
universal explanation virtually impossible. The problem with meaning as it relates to rituals is attempting to successfully pinpoint a single yet comprehensive connotation to its concept; however, this cannot
be achieved as long as any two cultures harbor decidedly different interpretations. Clearly, there exist myriad philosophies by which cultures address their respective ceremonial rites, which help maintain order
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