aberle, david f. - religio-magical phenomena and power, prediction and control

8/9/2019 Aberle, David F. - Religio-Magical Phenomena and Power, Prediction and Control

1/11

Religio-Magical Phenomena and Power, Prediction, and Control

Author(s): David F. AberleSource: Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Autumn, 1966), pp. 221-230Published by: University of New MexicoStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3629371.

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2/11

SOUTHWESTERN

JOURNAL

OF ANTHROPOLOGY

VOLUME 22 *

NUMBER

3

*

AUTUMN *

1966

RELIGIO-MAGICAL HENOMENA AND

POWER,

PREDICTION,

AND

CONTROL

DAVID F. ABERLE

M

NY

APPARENTLY

DIVERSE

TOPICS

seem

o

be

united

y

the

fact

hat

hey

elateo

unpredictability

nd

uncontrollability,

nd

o

efforts

to

cope

with

npredictability

nd

uncontrollability.'

hese

opics

nclude

agic,

religion,

harisma, ana,

nd

divination.

suggest

hat

t

is

through

heun-

predictable

nduncontrollable

hatman

most

xperiences

ower,

hether

n

the

world

f

naturerof

man,

hat

e endows ith

ower

hatwhich

r

those

ho

help

im

ope

with

he

helplessness

hat esultsromhese

xperiences,

ndthat

due onsiderationf mountsndkinds funpredictabilitynduncontrollability

may elp

o

order

variety

f

beliefsndacts

elating

o

supernatural

ower.2

This

paper

will

egin

with

magic

nd

religion,

eal

with

harisman

more e-

tail,

nd

turn

riefly

o other

opics

uch s mana

nd

divination.

The

relationship

etween

he

use of

magic

nd the

unpredictable

nd un-

controllable

as etforth

y

Malinowski,

n hisfamous

xample

f

agoon

nd

deep

ea

fishingMalinowski

948:

sp.

13-14;

f. also Parsons

949:57).

or

present

urposes

e

will

ollow

evy

n

definingagic

s the

se f

non-empirical

1 Thispapers a revisionfoneread t theAmericannthropologicalssociationnnual

Meetings

n

Detroit, ovember,

964. am

grateful

o Kathleen

ough

Aberle nd

Ray

Hyman

or

elpful

iscussions.

2

Although

his

aper

oesnot

ake

position

ully

ongruent

ith wanson

1960),

t

was

stimulated

y

Swanson's

oncern

ith

he

experiencing

f

purpose

n

social

ife,

y

his

treatmentfmana

nd

pirits,

nd

by

his

onception

f

primordial

ndconstitutionaltructures

(Swanson

960:

sp.1-31,

1-64,

20-221).

wanson

ppears

o

consider

hat

ll

experiencing

f

supernature

erivesrom

ocial

xperience

Swanson

960:

sp.

17-18),

whereas allow

or

he

possibility

hat

xperience

ith

he

natural

world-specifically

ith

humanlyignificant

n-

controllability

nd

unpredictability-may

lso

generate

onceptions

f

supernature.

ike

Swan-

son,

acknowledge

n

extensivendebtedness

o Durkheim

1947).

This

paper

lso

echoes

ad-

cliffe-Brown

1952)

on

dependence.

221

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3/11

222

SOUTHWESTERN

JOURNAL

OF

ANTHROPOLOGY

means

oward

mpirical

nds

Levy

952:243-244),

nd

will ollow

alinowski,

Parsons,

nd

Levy

n

the

ssumption

hat

magic

ends o

be used

where

mpirical

knowledgerovides

nadequate

echniques

f

prediction

nd

ontrol,

ith

espect

tosignificanteaturesfhumanife. hat s,not verynpredictablendun-

controllableventwillbe

enveloped

n

magical

ction,

ecause,

arying

rom

cultureo

culture,

he utcomef

ome vents

ay

ave

minimal

ignificance

or

human

ffairs.3

The

relationship

etween

eligious

ction nd the

unpredictable

nd

uncon-

trollable

s

not

o

mmediately

vident.

e

will

se

Levy's

efinition

f

religious

action s action

mmediately

riented

o

ultimate

nds,

which

s

to

say

to ends

requiring

o

ustification

ut

held o

be

good

n

and

f

themselves,

ike

harmony,

salvation,

he

good

ife,

nd Nirvana

Levy1952:244).

Often

n

general

r

specific

nalyses

f

religious

itual e aretold hat tunderscoreshemorality

of

the

ociety

r

ffirmshe

olidarity

fthe

roup.

uch

tatements

ay

well e

correct,

ut

slight

ephrasing

f

Levy's

efinition

rings

ut ome

ommonalities

between

agic

s

defined

nd

religion

s defined.

eligious

itual

ealswithhe

discrepancy

etween

he

ormative

nd he ctual. ot

only

oes t

require

ffort

to ive

p

tothe

moral

ode

f

ny ociety,

ut here

s no

society

n

which

iola-

tions

f

the

moral

ode

renot

ound

romime o time

see

Parsons

937:298,

396,

67, 19,

nd

sp.

09-450,

n

the ole f

effort).

hese

iolations,

oo,

all

into

he ealm fwhat

s

unpredictable

nd

uncontrollable.

hus

religious

ction

attempts

o

cope

withhe

ap

betweenhe xistentialndnormativenthe ealm

of

themoral

ode,

whereas

agic

ttempts,

or

hemost

art,

o

cope

withhis

gap

n

the

ealm

f

nature.

his

distinction,

f

course,

s

not

bsolutely

harp.

Most

magic

ealswith

fforts

o attain

ood

weather,

ood

rops,

ealth,

ood

catchesf

fish,

afety

n

he

eas,

nd o on.Black

magic,

n

ts

ttempts

o

njure

or

kill

eople,

till

allswithinhe rea

f

nature.here

s,however,

ome

magic

that

ttempts

o nfluencehebehaviorf other uman

eings-to

make hem

fall

n ove ndto make hem

enerous

n

trading

r

reckless

n

gambling,

or

example.

nd ome

eligious

itual

oes

not

o

much

ttempt

o

close he

gapbetweenhenormativendthe ctualnhuman

ffairs,

s to

explain

t

away-

as,

for

xample,

y

xplaining

he

vil

f the

world

y

referenceo the

decrees

of

n

nscrutable

od.

To returno

the

ommon

eatures

f

religion

nd

magic,

t

s

not o much

that n

ancestor

ult

underscores

he

anctity

f

the

ncestors,

he

mportance

of

worshipping

hem,

nd he

olidarity

fmembers

f

the

kinship

nit,

s it s

3 The

outstanding

pplication

f

Malinowski's

heory

f

magic

s

that

f

Vogt

nd

Hyman

(1959).

t

may

well e the

ole

ffortt

empirical

upport

or

Malinowski's

heory

s

well. t

is an

extraordinary

iece

fwork.



4/11

RELIGIO-MAGICAL

PHENOMENA 223

that

he ult

ttempts

o

cope

with he

erpetual

onflicts,

mall nd

arge,

hat

inevitably

eature

ifewithinhe

upposedly

olidary

nd monolithic

inship

unit. ike

magic,

hen,

eligion

eals

withwhats

uncertain

nduncontrollable.

We next xamineherealmfcharismarom hepoint f view funpre-

dictability

nd

uncontrollability.

or

present

urposes,

e

will

define

harisma,

in itsmost

eneral

ense,

s

a

special

ift

f

occupants

f

offices

r of other

persons

hat

s notbased

olely

n

training

r

experience.'Of

course,

t is a

special

ift

romhe

oint

f

view f the ctors

n the

ystem

ndnot

neces-

sarily

romhe

oint

f

view

f

the

bserver.)

henever

ersons

re

regarded

as

having

upernatural

ower,

hen,

hey

re to be

regarded

s endowed

ith

charisma,

lthough

herere ther

tyles

fcharismas well. n

the ther

and,

if

the

upernatural

ower

nheres

olely

n the

rocedures

hey

se ndcould

e

equallyffectiveor ny newhoearnedhose rocedures,hepractitionerso

not

have harisma.

n

more

eneral

erms,

o the

degree

hat

he

power

esides

in

the

echniques,

harisma

s

diminished;

o

the

egree

hat t resides

n the

er-

son

orthe

ccupant

f

an

office,

harisma

s

magnified.

ut

t

s not

nly

hose

who

rebelieved

o

possess

upernatural

ower

ho

have harisma.

hosere-

garded

s

having pecial

kills

hat

hey

annot ommunicate

o others

ho

lack

the

gift

re,

tautologically,

ut

mportantly,

ndowed

ith harisma:

champion

thletes,

hampion

hess

layers,

hose

ho now

he

mysteries

f

cer-

tain

rafts,

hose

apable

f

special

mental

tates,

eaders

f mass

movements,

andmanythers ithpecialndowments.

Let us

begin

with

he

harismaticeader s

delineated

y

Weber nd move

to

charisma

f

office.

he charismaticeader

s an

anti-traditionalist,

rising

n-

der

risisonditions.

is

authority

s,

n Weber's

hrase,

foreign

o

all

rules

(Weber

947:361).

n one

ense,herefore,

e

s a

source

f

unpredictability

nd

uncontrollability

o his

followers.

n

another,owever,

e is

the reducerf

ambiguity,

he

wellspring

f action

n

situations

f

unpredictability,

he larifier

of

ims,

nd

o

on.

He

reduces

mbiguity

n

everal

enses.ure

harismaticead-

ers risewhereld nterpretationsave ost heir italitynd where ew nes

either

avenot

emerged

r have

notbeen

nunciatedo

disturbed

eople

n

meaningful

erms. he charismatic

eader,

n

touchwith

he

higher

ealities,

knowing

he

will f

the

upernatural

r

the

rift f

history,

ivifies

nd

clarifies

4

Cf.

Weber

946:245, 947:358-359;

963:2.

My

phrasings,

n

many

espects,

imilar

to

all

of

these,

nd closesto Weber

1947):

The

termcharisma'

ill

be

applied

o

a

certain

quality

f an

individual

ersonalityy

virtue

f

which

e is set

part

rom

rdinary

en

nd

treateds

endowed ith

upernatural,

uperhuman,

r

at least

pecifically

xceptional

owers

r

qualities.

he other

efinitions

mphasize

ore he

reatment

f

the

harismatically

ndowed

s

deriving

heir

ifts

rom

upernatural

orces.



5/11

224

SOUTHWESTERN

JOURNAL

OF

ANTHROPOLOGY

existing

ew

nterpretations

f

the

ituation

r

puts

orth

is

wn

ovel

nterpre-

tations. ore

mportant,

n

ituations

here

mpirical

nowledge

oes ot

rovide

criteria

o

tell

whether

ction

eeds

obe

taken r

not,

whether

t will

ucceedr

fail,whentshould eundertaken,owmany eople,nd whichnes,hould

act-in

these

ituationshe

harismatic

eader

educes

ncertaintyy

being

will-

ing

o

declare or

cting

r

waiting,y

etting

date,

nd

by

ssuing

rders.

As

Weber

epeatedlyointed

ut,

he

eadermust

ucceed

part

f the ime

to

retain

harisma.

o

restate,

pure

harismatic

eader

perates

n

a

rule-less

situation.t

is

not

o

much hat t

s

rule-less

ecause

e

s

charismatic,

s

that

he s

charismatic

ecause

t

s

rule-less.

e

is the

ource f

unpredictability

nd

uncontrollability

ndthe

educerf both

or is

followers,

ho

erceive

im

s

a

power

n this

ccount-so

ong

s

he

s

at least

artly

uccessful.

Although eber'samescommonlyssociatedithhe onceptfthe ure

charismatic

eader,

e

also

hought

fcharismas an

aspect

f

all

authority

nd

not

merely

s a

special ype

f

authority.

hus

Parsons

inds

hat or

Weber,

all

uthority

as

charismatic

asisn ome orm

Parsons

nWeber

947:76).

We

will

ollowhis

lement

n

Weber's

hought

nd

maintain

hat

harisma,

s

defined

ere,

s

attributed

o

persons

olding

ffices;

nd,

pecifically,

e will

argue

hat

he

ess

he

ffice-holders

bound

y

rules,

he

arger

he

cope

f his

arbitrary

ecisions,

he

reater

he

harisma.

he

charisma

f

office-holders

ith

authoritypproaches

ero

when

here

s

a

clearlypecified

ule or

very

ituation

thatmay onfronthedecision aker-whenhe nly ecisionsemustmake

are hose

hat

esult

n

lassifying

ndividuals,

ctions,

r

ituations

s

falling

nto

one

of

a setof

categories,

ith

ules

s well s

to what

e

must

o

after

he

classification

as

beenmade. ince

n fact

t s

impossible

o

devise

perfect

ule

book,

here

s

some

nherent

rbitrariness,

nd hence

harisma,

n

every

ffice

where

here

s

power

ver ther

ersons,

ut t often

eacheshe

anishingoint.

Thisnotionfthe

elationship

fcharismao rbitrarinessnwhat

Weber

would

call

rational-legal

nd

raditionaltructureseads o the

xpectation

hat-as

x-

amples-the

abaka

f

Uganda

n the

arly

9th

entury

ould avemore

charismahan lizabeth ofEnglandnthe ate16th entury,ndthat he

charisma

f he

resident

f

small

niversity

ith

o tandardized

rocedures

f

operation

ould e

greater

han hat fthe

resident

f

large

nd

well-bureau-

cratized

niversity,

llowing

n both

xamples

or

modicumf

success

n

the

5

When hehero

f F. Scott

itzgerald's

he

Last

Tycoon

as

sked o

explain

he

role

of the

eader,

e

responded,

n

effect,

y

aying

hat he eader

was

the ne whowould

make

a

decision

hen here

were

o rational

rounds

or

hoosing

etweenlternatives

Fitzgerald

1941:19, 21).

6 That

s

not o

say

hat

ny

ne

can

become charismaticeadern a rule-less

ituation,

butthat risisituations

equiring

ew ules lso

require

harismatic

eaders.



6/11

RELIGIO-MAGICAL

HENOMENA

225

operations

f the

kingdoms

nd universities

n

question.

he

testing

f

this

hypothesis

as

ts

omplications.

or

ffices

ithimilar

mounts

f

authority,

e

expect

hoseeast ound

y

ules

o have

he

reatest

harisma

ttached

o

their

occupants.

On

the

ther

and,

f the

cope

f

arbitrariness

pplies

o

relativelyetty

affairs,

e

expect

elatively

ittle harisma:

harisma

aries ith he mount

f

authority

s

well

s with he mountf

arbitrariness.

robably,

owever,

ro-

vided

hat

uperordinates

ave ome

egree

f control

ver

he

abor, ncome,

and

property

f

ubordinates,

he

ariability

s

greatery

reason f

arbitrariness

than

y

reason f

cope

f

authority.

e

might

herefore

xpect

hat he

heads

of

some hiefdoms

nd

imple

tates

might

ave

more

harismahan he

heads

of

some

laborated

tates,

nd

that he

heads f

relatively

ew

ystems

ight

havemore han heheads frelativelyraditionalizedr bureaucratizedystems.

It

is

nteresting

hatWeber

peaks

f

mana,

nsofar

s

it nheres

n

persons,

as

nothing

ore or

ess han

harisma,

n

his

definition

f

both

erms.

hether

or not

Weber

ntendedharismaticffice-holderso be

possessors

f

mana,7

t

will e

argued

ere hat

mana--disembodied

nd

mpersonalupernaturalower

-when

attachedo

persons

r

offices,

s

charisma,

ndoffice-holders

elievedo

hold

upernaturalower

ave

mana nd re

charismatic.he

greater

he

uper-

natural

ower,y

definition,

he

reater

he

harisma.

It

should e noted hat

in

some ases

he

harismatically

ignificant

ffice-holder

s the

ymbol

f the

state, hereashe xecutiveowersreactuallyestedna council. hiscom-

plicates

ut

doesnot

adically

lter

he

ropositions

dvanced ere.

f

the

ym-

bolic

igure

s

regarded

y

his

rdinary

ollowerss

the

riginator

f he

ecisions,

we

would

xpect

is harisma

o

be

correspondinglyreat.

f

he s

seen s

symbol,

and

the

ouncil

s the

ctual

riginator,

is

harisma

hould e

correspondingly

diminished.)lthough

eber's

iscussion

f

pure

harisma

mphasizes

ts

uper-

natural

alidation,

y

efinitionoes

not.

ossessors

f

supernaturalower

re,

by

definition,

harismatic,

ut harisma

s

alsofoundn

positions

nd n

cultural

traditionshere

upernaturalower

n

any

usual ense s weak

r

absent:n

modern,

ighly

eculartructures.would

refer

orestricthe ermmana o

instances

nvolvingupernaturalower.

7

.

.

.

Not

every

tone

an

serve s

a

.

.

source f

magical

ower.

or

does

every

person

ave

he

apacity

o achieve

he cstatic

tates hich

re

viewed

.

.

as

the

reconditions

for

producing

ertainffectsn

meteorology,

ealing,

ivination,

nd

telepathy.

t

is

primarily

-

...

these

xtraordinary

owers

hat

have

been

designated

y

such

pecial

erms s

'mana,'

'orenda,'

ndthe ranian

maga'.

..

We

shall enceforth

mploy

he erm

charisma'

or

uch

extraordinary

owers Weber

963:2).

t is not learwhether eber lso

viewedhe

harisma

of

office-holders

s

identical ith

mana,

ut

his

comments

n

Polynesian

charismatic

rinces

at east

uggest

his iew

Weber

963:38).



7/11

226 SOUTHWESTERN

JOURNAL

OF ANTHROPOLOGY

Examples

re

again

appropriate.

ahlins

1958)

has shown

hat,

with

minor

xceptions,

hemana-taboo

omplex

fchiefsaries

irectly

ith he

ower

of the hief.

is

analysis

f

Polynesianower

lso

clearly

ndicates

hat

he

chief's

ower

s

likely

o bemanifestedn

arbitrary

ndoften udden

ctions,

ratherhan

n

elaborateodes

nd bureaucratized

rocedures.

he

arbitrary

actionsfthe ast

African

ings

ave

ften een

matterfcomment

or

arly

European

bservers

nd

for

nthropologists,

nd

these

ame

kings

re

clearly

imbued

ith n

elaborate ana-taboo

omplex.

In

secular,

odem

ystems,

he harismaticffice-holder

s

not,

n

any

iteral

sense,

ndowed

ithmana r

mana-taboo

omplex,

lthough

ertain

nalogues

canbe found:n

some

ases,

nd n some

ontexts,

voidance

f

physical

on-

tactwithhe ffice-holder;nothers,ffortstphysicalontact;ouvenir-hunt-

ing;

nd

conophilia.

ore

mportant,

owever,

he harisma

f office

ppears

in

attributionsf

near-perfect

isdom,ove,

majesty,

tc.,

o

these

igures.

t

should

e

noted

hat

harismas

only

n

part

product

f

the

amount f

arbitrary

ecision-makingrovided

or n

particularolitical

tructures.

t inheres

in

part

n

the

ituationshat hese

tructures

onfront.ther

hingseing qual,

systems

hat

ace

table nd familiarituationso not

requirennovating

eci-

sions othe

egree

hats

required

or

ystems

hat

onfrontituations

f

change.

Hence,

ven ffice-holdersn

highly

ureaucratizedr raditionalized

ystems

ay

findcope orudgmentnddecisionsotbound yrulesnsofars theymust

cope

with

ew

ituations.n

this

way

hey

may

ncreaseheir

harisma,

f

they

seize he ccasion.

Weber nsistedhat harisma as a value-free

erm.

am

using

t

as

a

neutralne.We

may

peak

f

positive

harisma

hen

he harismatic

erson

r

office-holder

s valued

y

those

who

ndow

im

with

harisma,

nd

negative

charisma hen e is

disvalued.

hus,

harismatic

eads f

modem

tates re

positively

alued

y

many

ersons

ithinhe

tate,

ut

negatively

alued

y

somelienatedeople ithinhe tate ndbymembersfanothertatewho eel

threatened

y

he irsttate. uch

negatively

alued

igure

ay

e

described,

metaphorically

r

iterally,

y

hose

ho

ppose

im,

n

quasi-religious

erms:

s

a

living

mbodiment

f the

nti-Christ,

evilish,

heDevil

himself,

r as a

pre-

ternaturally

lever,

r

diabolically

lever,

nemy.

itler

s a case n

point,

ut

8

Although

air

ays

pecifically,

In the

field

f

public

itual,

he

Gandaking

ppears

almost

s a

secularmonarch

esponsible

or

he

upkeep

f

an establishedhurch

1962:221),

she

also

comments,

,a

propos

he

growth

f secular

overnment,

it is also

nteresting,

hough

not

perhaps

urprising,

hat he

ritual f

kingship

s

more,

ot

ess,

laborate

here he

king

is the ead

f state

1962:232).



8/11

RELIGIO-MAGICAL HENOMENA 227

there

re

many

ther

nstances.

nterestingly

nd

parenthetically,

t s

as

difficult

to

persuade

he

pponents

f uch man

hat e acks

egative

harisma,

hat

e

is

reallytupid

nd

blundering,

ot

fiendishlylever,

s

it is to

persuade

is

proponents

hat e acks

ositive

harisma,

hat e s

really

ishonestnd hort-

sighted,

ot aithful

nd

wise.9

The

following

ropositions

merge

rom his

onsideration

f

charisma

f

office.

1) By

definition,

harisma

s

associated

ith

ny

ffice

ot

wholly

ound

by

ules,

nd

no

office

an

be

wholly

ound

y

rules.

2)

The

variation,

owever,

is from

lmost o

charismao a

great

eal.

3)

Charismaaries

irectly

ith

unpredictability

nd

directly

ith

power.

Office-holders

re,

within

ertain

limits,

ncontrollable

ecause

hey

ave

power. 4)

Because

many

hiefdoms

andproto-ndprimitivetates ave rather ide ange f arbitrarinessortheir

eads,

heres

oftenmore

harismanvestedn

such

officeshan n the

similar

fficesf more

raditionalized

ndbureaucratized

rdersn

arger

tates.

(5)

This,

ather

han

he

endency

f

upernatural

ower

o

compensate

or ela-

tiveweaknessf

natural

ower, ay

ccountor he

laboration

f

upernatural

power

n

chiefdoms,

roto-states,

rimitive

tates,

nd,

or hat

matter,

ome

f

he

great

grarianmpires.

6)

Variation

n the ituationhat onfronts

system

also

operates

o

create ariationn

the harisma

f

office-holders.

7)

Insofar

s

charismas viewed

s

supernaturally

ased,

t s identical

ithmana nsofar

s

mananheresnpersons.8) As nthe ase freligionndmagic,harismaakes

us

nto he

ealm

f

uncertainty

nd

uncertainty

eduction.

We

turn

ow

o

a

different

opic:

he

use

of

what s

really npredictable

and

uncontrollable,

ut

trival,

o

cope

with

what s

really

npredictable

nd

uncontrollable,

ut

mportant.

his s

particularly

rue n

therealm

f divina-

tion,

hethert

nvolves

finding

ut

what

as

happened

ut

was

unwitnessed

(e.g.,

he

inding

f

ost

bjects),

r

the

oretelling

f

future

vents.

mens re

of

this

haracter:irds

lying,

hunder,

lack

ats,

nd

many

ther

hings

re

trivial

nd

unpredictable,

ut

hey

rovide

rave

ortent

f

events

o

come.

t is

of nterest,owever,hat ot nlyhe xternalndunpredictablenduncontrol-

lable,

ut he nternal

nd

unpredictable

nd

uncontrollable

vent

s

used o

this

end.

Sneezes,

iccups,

ar

noises,

ven

latulence,ructation,

nd erectionre

used

s

omens

n

various

ultures.

o

are

dreams,its,

nd

rances,

he

atter

n-

predictable

nd

uncontrollableor he

ordinary

an,

whetherr not

they

re

for

he

virtuoso.he

various

rug

tates

hathavebeen

usedfor

divinatory

purposes

hare

he

haracteristic

hat he

drug

xperience

s

not

predictable,

s

users

f

daturand

peyote

ill

estify.

suggest

hat

heres a

power

n

these

9

I

am

ndebtedo

Albert

.

Spaulding

or

iscussionsn

this oint.



9/11

228

SOUTHWESTERN

JOURNAL

OF

ANTHROPOLOGY

things

ecause

hey

annot e

constrained-that

npredictability

nduncontrol-

lability

re

power.

We

find

hem,

n

culturefter

ulture,

ertainly

n our

own

culturexceptor yper-rationaleings,sed ogive s clues bout ther, ore

important,

ut

nknown

vents:

hy

m

sick,

who

s

bewitching

e,

what

will

happen

n

mymilitary

ampaign,

ill he tockmarket

o up

or

down?

In this

onnectione

might

ote

hat

n

many

ultureshe

very

ucky

ake

on

a

positive

harisma,

nd

he

ery

nlucky

negative

harisma.

If

we returno

divination,

t

might

e

expected

hat hose

whodivine

ill

be

charismaticecause

hey

educe

ncertaintyymanipulating

ncertainty.

t

is

not hat

imple.

o

the

egree

hat he

manipulation

s a

gift

f the

person,

as in

the

ase

of

trance

r

vision,

r

the

nterpretation

f

complexatterns-of

dreams,ntrails,racksnscapulae,ndso on,to thatdegreehese ersons

have

harisma,

y

definition.

here

he

manipulation

f

uncertainty

nheres

n

the

ventr

technique,

s

n

throwing

ice,

oisoning

hickens,

tc.,

he ser oes

not

have

harisma.

ndeed,

ometimeshe

user eed

notbe a

specialist

t

all

if

the

echnique

rovides

ufficient

npredictability

nd

the

nterpretation

s

suffi-

ciently

imple,

s

in the

Azande

oisoned

owl

racle

Evans-Pritchard

937).

And whereearned

echniques

re efficacious

n

thehands

f whoever

earns

them,

s

in

some ormsfweather

agic,gricultural

agic,

nd

curing agic,

theuser ven

hough specialist,

s

not

harismatic.

But f t sthe echniquelone hatsefficacious,henmanamay e attached

to

t.That

s the

asefor heAzande

oison

racle

nd

rubbing

oard,

nd

to

a

very

onsiderable

xtent

or he

pparatus

nd

words f

Navajo

hants ather

than he hanter.

hus,

heuncertainventssed

or

ivination,

he

echniques

of

divination,

nd the

echniques

f

magic-all

nvolving

npredictability

nd

uncontrollability,

r

reduction

n

unpredictability

nd

uncontrollability,

r

both-

also nvolve ana.

inally,

he

gods

may

e

mplored.

f

so,

the

ower

nheres

in

the

gods, lthough

ometimes

powerful

echnique

r

a charismatic

igure

must e

used

o reach he

ods.

Thispaperwill ot ttempto tate he onditionsnder hichowernheres

in

the

erson,

he

echnique,

he

vent,

r the

upernatural

eing,

or,

everting

to our earlier iscussionf

charisma,

he conditions

nderwhichwe

find

charismatic

igures

ith

upernaturalower

r

merely

ecularharismatic

igures.

This

paper uggests,

hen,

hat

ower

s

experienced

hrough

ontact

ith

whats

unpredictable

nd

uncontrollable,

nd

hrough

ontact

ith hat

whichr

those ho

eem o

cope

with hat

s

unpredictable

nduncontrollable.

agic

s

a

technique

sed

o

try

o achieve

mpirical

nds

when

mpiricalechniquesro-

vide nadequateredictionndcontrol;eligions actionhatdealswith he



10/11

RELIGIO-MAGICAL HENOMENA

229

inevitable,

npredictable,

nduncontrollable

ap

betweenhe

normativend

the

existential

rder;

harismatic

igures

re

unpredictable,

o

things

ther

eople

cannot

o,

nd

force

ecisions

n

spite

f

ackof

nformation;

ivinatory

ech-

niquesse he npredictableopredicthe npredictable.ower,rediction,nd

controlre nvolved

n

all of

these.

ust

s

Vogt

nd

Hyman 1959)

showed

that

requency

f

water-witching

aries

with

he

uncertainty

f

striking

ater

at

a

given

evel,

t should

e

possible

o

show hat

variations

n

amount

f

charisma

r n

use

of

magic

recorrelative

ith mountsndkinds

f

unpre-

dictability

nd

uncontrollability.

t is in suchvariationhat he

proof

f the

propositions

dvancedere hould

e

ought.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DURKHEIM,

MILE

1947 The

Elementary

ormsftheReligiousife trans.yJoseph ard

Swain).

lencoe,

ll.:TheFree ress.

EVANS-PRITCHARD,

. E.

1937

Witchcraft,

racles

nd

Magic

mong

he

Azande.

xford:

he

Claren-

don

ress.

FITZGERALD,

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COTT

1941

The

Last

Tycoon

ed.by

Edmund

ilson).

ew

York:Charles

crib-

ner's

ons.

LEVY,

MARION

.,

R.

1952 TheStructure

f

Society.

rinceton,

.J.:

Princeton

niversity

ress.

MAIR,Lucy

1962

Primitiveovernment.

armondsworth,

iddlesex:

enguin

ooks

td.

MALINOWSKI,

RONISLAW

1948

Magic,

cience

nd

Religion

nd

Other

ssays.

oston:eacon ress.

PARSONS,

ALCOTT

1937 The

Structure

f

SocialAction.

ew

York: McGraw-Hill

ook Com-

pany,

nc.

1949

The Theoretical

evelopment

f the

Sociology

f

Religion,

n

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ure and

Applied,

pp.

52-66.

Glencoe,

ll.:

The

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pp.

153-177.ondon:

ohennd

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SAHLINS,

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tratification

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he American

thnological

ociety.

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niversity

f

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ress.

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GUY

E.

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AND

RAY HYMAN

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A.

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MAX

1946 From

Max

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ssays

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and C.

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UNIVERSITY OF

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EUGENE,

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aberle, david f. - religio-magical phenomena and power, prediction and control

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