Quiz on Module 2

Shamanism, Sorcery, and Witchcraft

1. What are differences between a shaman and a priest?

There are many differences between a shaman and priest, a shaman is a religious specialist who
uses magic to help his society for the benefit of his or her society mainly for healing and prediction.
The differences between are a shaman would assist individuals, help them one of one with any
problems they have. and heal them. A priest is someone who advices a group of people he leads
congregations. A shaman works part time usually from home, a priests works full time from mainly
temples or churches. Another difference is that a shaman relies on spirit helpers, meaning they look
within themselves to help individuals with their problems. whereas a priest relies on years of rituals
that they have been going on from other generations. Shamans work with simple societies whereas
priest work with complex societies. Shamans also has personal charisma and priests have
institutional charisma and heredity. There are just a few differences between shamans and priests.

2. What are differences between a sorcerer and witch?

A person who tries to harm others, mainly their enemies by the use of magic is called a sorcerer,
the techniques they use must be learned. Whereas a witch is a person who has the powers built
within herself to harm others, those powers are there usually by heredity. That power is also
obtained sometimes by infection, meaning if there is someone else who has these same powers
then other person will mostly likely will get it if they spend too much time with the other person
or support them in their ideas. In some societies this power is also attributed to mangu. The
witch also blames gets blamed for everything that goes wrong, for example if there is a disease
that spreads through the town, that the people are unaware of the so called “witch” would get
blamed and get burned to death. Both the witches and sorcerers are dangerous, one major
difference between the who is witches uses psychic powers, the sorcerer use’s ritual magic.

3. What are the benefits of shamanism for human society in general, according to Michael Harner?

According to Michael Harner, training in core shamanism includes teaches students to alter their
consciousness though classic shamanic non-drug techniques such as sonic driving, especially in
the form of the repetitive drumming, so they can discover their own hidden spiritual resources,
transform their lives, and learn how to help others. Core shamanism does not focus on
ceremonies such as those native American medicine.it helps the society have faith and hope
that whatever problems they are going through are being cured slowly by the method the
shaman use. Such as the drumming and the touching of the head with a feather like the
shamans in Nepal’s did.
4. What is divination? Give some examples.
Divination is a way people form of religious communication in which the supernatural powers
give, or are pressed to give Direct information. People all around world practice the same
methods but under different names or methods. Some of those methods are augury and
geomancy, astrology, palmistry, scapulamancy, ordeals and dreaming. It does not matter how a
person shows they use divination it is all for the same purpose. When someone uses augury for
divination they are foreseeing in to the future, they want to know what will happen in future to
themselves or others. Geomancy is a form of divination where people patterns formed by
tossed handfuls soils, sand and rocks. Astrology is using numbers and stars to see the
future, palmistry is reading the lines on someone’s hand / palm and determine what the
person’s future has stored for them. Scapulamancy is where people use shoulder blades as
a form of divination. Ordeals and dreaming are painful and horrific ways of divination.

5. A cross cultural comparison reveals two basic types of magic, first discussed by Sir James George
Frazer. What are these two types of magic and what is logic behind them?

The two types of magic Sir James George Frazer are homeopathic or sympathetic magic
and contagious magic. Homeopathic/sympathetic magic is the law of similarity, that
presupposes a “like produces like” and it also effects the resembles cause, the
application of this principle is called homeopathic/sympathetic magic.

Contagious magic is when you come in contact or contagion implies that things
which have once been in contact continue to act upon each other. Basically meaning
when a person takes possession of their enemy.

The logic behind them is that religion and magic do not work separately they work hand
in hand. He feels he can control nature such beliefs and actions Frazer cannot possibly
be equates with religion.