Anthropology Notes 2 - Anthrovpology Notes 2 The Herders of Mongun-Taiga(1989 They live in the Soviet Union in Tuva They only breed livestock they have

Anthrovpology Notes 2 The Herders of Mongun-Taiga (1989) • They live in the Soviet Union in Tuva • They only breed livestock, they have no agriculture • They used to have arranged marriages, but nowadays they let them choose for themselves • Horses are the most valuable thing in their culture • Only brave boys can break in a horse • The killing of the sheep must be done outside, they open the chest and grab the main artery and rupture it • The killing of the sheep is done to the left of the door • Women cannot kill an animal • Killing a sheep is greatly honored and respected • They tell fortunes with the shoulder blade when people are sick, when they want guidance with the future, when they have problems, or when cattle have gone astray • They look at the shoulder blade and then “tell the future” • They have “family teams” where they make a work plan and everybody has personal interest • They believe that women would fall under spells and begin a passionate affair with a male spirit • The dress little boys as girls and little girls as boys • They do this because they just do, there really isn’t a reason, it’s just tradition • The Arzhan water has healthful substances in it, it helps with pain problems • You put tea under the arzhan and the block absorbs the water and later when you brew the tea you brew a healthy drink • They used to not drink alcohol before the age of 40 • Older generations believe that the young know absolutely nothing • Llama- a Buddhist holy man Notes 10/11 • Reality- concrete, physical reality, our perception is accurate and that we are all perceiving the same thing • Very variable, changing all the time • Isn’t consistent, our own perception of life is very inconsistent • Reducing egotism (self importance) • Being concerned about what everyone else thinks of you • “Tail chewing” • Hesitant to undertake anything besides the self importance • Fear that it might work • The way that you have constructed reality is a construction that is not as solid as you may think

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• Doubt, what am I doing this for, I won’t benefit from this • Religious impulse- trapped, need to get out of here • This need that gives them the intent to change things • Intent- deep down force that really is where you’re at, what you really want underneath Notes ESOTERIC BELEIFS & MILERAPA 10/16 • Lots of belief systems that don’t agree with each other • Know these things only because of perception • All include ways to perceive things that aren’t in your normal daily perception • Some people don’t actually perceive the things that they said they perceived • Somebody you have faith in convinced you even if you did not perceive it yourself • Firmly believe that without these visions then they are “dead meat” • Experiential Religions- people’s direct perceptions effect their belief systems • Involve most of the people in the society to be in altered states •