Friday, March 5, 2010

GLOSSARY

Glossary of Anthropological Terms that Appear at Just Genesis

Ambilineal Descent: A form of cognatic descent in which individuals can select to trace descent either matrilineally or patrilineally. The decision may be made each generation based on the relative wealth and/or importance of the father's and the mother's family lines. Illustrated in this diagram:

Apical Maternal Ancestors: Women founders of clans or tribes though they may not be biological ancestors to all the people in the clan/tribe. Sarah and Oholibamah are examples. See A Coptic Monk Reflects on Genesis

Binary Oppositions: (also called “binary distinctions” or “supplementary opposites”) These are perceived in the order of nature and are inseparable and complementary, such as heaven/earth, east/west, life/death, male/female, night/day, hot/cold, etc. See The Importance of Binary Distinctions

Binary Worldview: The worldview of the Afro-Arabians and therefore of Abraham's people is binary. They perceive in the order of nature binary oppositions which are inseparable and complementary, such as heaven/earth, life/death, male/female, etc. See Levi-Strauss and Jacques Derrida on Binary Oppositions

Blood anxiety: Anthropologists have found in every primitive society that has been studied the belief that here is power in blood and this power is potentially dangerous. This anxiety about shed blood is universal (widely diffused), evidence that it is very old and one explanation for the development of the office of priest. See The Origins of the Priesthood

Caste System: Strict social stratification made it impossible to change one’s status in the ancient world. We see this in one of the oldest established religions, Hinduism. Castes were viewed as having been established by God in the beginning. In the Bhagavad Gita, a first century A.D. Hindu text, Krishna declares that he has become incarnate yet he was being in the beginning because he also declares “The four castes were created by me.” In the Rig Veda, dating to about 3000 years ago, four castes are mentioned. The most prestigious are the Brahmans (priestly and intellectual class); then the Kshatriyas (ruler and warrior class); then the Vaisyas (farmers and artisans) and the lowest caste are the Sudras (the “untouchables” whose ancestors came from Sudan.) In the Laws of Manu (about 250 B.C.) these castes are elaborated as the primeval divine creation. Many sub-castes exist under these, making it difficult to know who is one’s equal or one superior.

Circumcision: Removal of flesh from the foremost part of the penis or from the clitoris. Female circumcision parallels male circumcision and emphasizes the binary distinction between females and males. The practice reflects the binary worldview of the Afro-Asiatics and originated in west central Africa before the time of Abraham. Circumcision is seen as an enhancement of the woman’s femininity by the removal of what appears to be a male organ. It is also believed to enhance female fertility and purity. Likewise, male circumcision is believed to enhance maleness by removing the soft folding tissues that appear like the female organ. It is also believed to enhance male fertility and purity. The complement to the circumcised male is the circumcised female. See Circumcision and Binary Distinctions

Concubine: A royal consort whose firstborn son could under some circumstances ascend to the throne of his ruler father. Concubinage historically pertains to African Afro-Arabian and Asian rulers. It was common in China under the Zhou Dynasty. This practice, and castration of husbands guilty of adultery, may have been introduced there by the Afro-Asiatics who introduced the use of iron tools.

Cousin Bride’s Naming Prerogative: The ruler-priests of Abraham’s people married 2 wives. One was a cousin. The cousin bride often named her first-born son after her father. So we find Lamech the Elder (Gen. 4), father of Naamah, and Lamech the Younger (Gen.5), son of Naamah. The cousin bride’s naming prerogative makes it possible for us to trace descent through the maternal line. See Methuselah's Wife

Diffusion: The process by which a cultural trait, material object, idea, or behavior pattern is spread from one society to another, often traceable to a central point. A principle of anthropology states that the wider the diffusion of a culture trait, the older the trait.

Egalitarianism: Affirming, promoting, or characterized by belief in equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people. The ancient world of the women we are studying was decidedly NOT egalitarian. It was characterized by a caste system. The highest social caste consisted of rulers and their priests. Most of the women we read about in the Bible are the daughters or wives of rulers or priests and are therefore women of high social standing.

Endogamous Marriage: Marriage to people within one’s family or clan structure. This practice is characteristic of castes such as the Horite ruler-priest caste. Almost without exception, the women named in the Bible married according to this pattern. See The Marriage and Ascendancy Pattern of Abraham's People

Empiricism: The view that experience, especially experience of the senses, is the only source of knowledge. Unless something can be verified by sight, hearing, taste, smell or touch, it can’t be said to have real existence. The realm of the “unseen” is not real, but imaginary. Many empiricists are atheists or agnostics.

Exogamous Marriage: Marriage to people outside one’s clan structure. Exogamous marriage is extremely rare among the people mentioned in the Bible.

Feminism: A modern ideology that views social structures with suspicion of male dominance and which employs female language for God and the Holy Trinity. Feminism is ideologically opposed to Holy Tradition. See Ideologies Opposed to Holy Tradition

Feminist Hermeneutic: How Feminists interpret texts, information and the world in general. Feminist interpretations generally assume that men are responsible for the abuse and oppression of women worldwide. See The Paradox of Feminism

Fictive Bond: The type of bond between persons who are neither related by blood nor marriage, but whose relationship is arranged. Concubines were not regarded as wives. Their bond to their masters was fictive and therefore more easily broken, as in the case of Hagar.

Henotheism: Belief in one supreme creator with lesser assisting authorities or powers (baals). This "divine council" was reflected in the hierarchy of ruler-priests with the king or pharaoh as the supreme representative of God on earth. See Why Does Genesis Speak of Gods?

Holy Tradition: The dogma received from the Elders and faithfully passed from generation to generation concerning Jesus Christ as the fullness (Pleroma) of all things in heaven and on earth, both invisible and visible. This dogma can’t be changed because it represents Reality centered in the divine person of Jesus Christ. Scripture and Holy Tradition agree that nothing exists outside of Christ. See What is Holy Tradition?

Horites: Abraham's people were a Horite caste of ruler-priests. they originated in the Nile Valley. The Horites were devotees of Horus, who was called "Son of God". Their totem was the falcon so their altars were built in the shape of the falcon. These altars have been found wherever the Sudra (Sudanese) established themselves. Images of Horus show him with the body of a man and the head of a falcon. The falcon was a symbol of divine kingship. Horus or Har is called "lord of the sky". "Har" in Egyptian probably means "the one on high". The name appears on Egyptian hieroglyphs at the beginning of dynastic civilization (c. 3000 BC).

Isomorphism: An isomorphism is a mapping that shows a relationship between two properties, objects, or operations. If there exists an isomorphism between two structures, we call the two structures isomorphic. Isomorphic structures are structurally identical, if you ignore fine-grained differences that may arise from how they are defined.

Levirate marriage: A type of marriage in which a woman is required to marry her deceased husband's brother in order to produce an heir for her dead husband. Levirate marriage is practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage (marriage to people outside the clan) is forbidden.

Marginalization: The social process of becoming marginal to a group or being relegated to an unimportant or powerless position within a society. In the ancient world the caste system meant that most people had a sense of belonging and empowerment, at least within their caste. Most marginalized people were diseased (lepers), poor foreigners, or the mentally ill.

Matriarchy: A social organization in which a female is the family or clan head with final say about family matters. In a true matriarchy, line of descent and rights of inheritance also must be traced through the female line. No true matriarchies are known to exist.

Matrilineal Descent: Line of descent traced through mothers.

Matrimonial Moeity: Exclusive marriage between two lines of descent, such as between the royal lines of Ham and Shem.

Matronym: A matronym is a component of a personal name that indicates maternal lineage. An exaxmple is Jesus son of Mary. In Hebrew this is Y'shua ben Miriam, and in Arabic it is `Isa ibn Maryam. Another example is the matronymic name Hor, son of the virgin Hat-hor in Horite mythology.

Moiety: Referring to each of two social or ritual groups into which a people is divided, especially among Australian Aborigines, some American Indians, and the ancient red and black Nubians.

Moral Absolutism: The view that some actions are always morally wrong when judged against moral standards that are universally accepted. Universally, murder is regarded as morally wrong.

Moral Relativism: The claim that there are not universal standards whereby one can judge right and wrong, but instead one's judgment of right and wrong is relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances.

Necromancy: The occult practice of consulting the spirits of the dead through a medium. King Saul tragically consulted the medium at Endor to communicate with the spirit of the deceased prophet Samuel. See Anglicanism and Spiritualism.

Onomastics: The study of names, involving three areas of investigation: toponyms or place names; anthroponyms or personal names and titles, and ethnonyms or names of ethnic groups, clans or tribes.

Panmictic: Refers to unstructured (random-mating) populations.

Paternal Ancestors: Men regarded as the founders of clans or tribes even though they may not be biological ancestors to all the people in the clan/ tribe. Noah and Abraham are examples.

Patronym: A patronymis a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or a male ancestor. An example, found in Genesis 22:24, is the name of Nahor's son G-Ham (Gaham). The G prefix indicates that this name is patronymic, meaning "a descendant of Ham."

Patriarchy: A social organization in which a ruling male is the family or clan head with final say about family matters. In a true patriarchy, line of descent and inheritance also must also be traced through the male line. Many patriarchies are known to exist.

Patrilineal Descent: Line of descent traced through fathers.

Patrilineal Parallel Cousin: First cousins who have related parents of the same sex; in other words, their mothers are sisters or their fathers are brothers. The rulers among Abraham’s people had two wives. One was a patrilineal parallel cousin and the other was commonly a half-sister. Keturah was Abraham's patrilineal cousin bride.

Phatic function: A phatic expression in linguistics is one whose only function is to perform a social task, as opposed to conveying information. The term was coined by anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski in 1900s. An example from the Bible is Ruth 2:6 where Boaz greets his workers with this phatic expression: "The Lord be with you." The expression formalizes priest-initiated prayer in the Latin liturgy with the celebrant saying "The Lord be with you." The phatic response of the congregants is traditionally "And with your spirit" to which the celebrant responds, "Let us pray."

Platonism: The philosophical view that abstract concepts exist independent of their names. The philosophy attributed to Plato that asserts ideal forms as an absolute and eternal reality of which earthly entities are mere reflections. Plato may have borrowed this idea from the ancient Egyptians. See Plato's Debt to Ancient Egypt

Polygyny: The practice of having more than one wife, originally the prerogative of rulers only. Later, men who aspired to high rank took more than one wife to show that they were wealthy, since only the wealthy could afford multiple wives. The ruler-priests we meet in the Bible married only 2 wives. One was a half-sister and the other was a cousin. Sarah was Abraham's half-sister and Keturah was his cousin.

Sororate marriage: A custom in which a man marries his wife's sister(s).