ANTH 208 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Manifest Destiny
Anth. 208 Week Five Lecture Notes
● Frazer looked synchronically rather than diachronically, around in what was present in
the world rather than backwards in history of same place (?)
○ Looks back in time for analogy not causation
● Significant to us for looking at patterns in culture and gods of vegetation still found
tangentially todays
○ Ideas of manifest destiny or mandate of heaven similar
● Can see actions like children in masks running around, ‘trick or treat’ in cultures all over,
still remains today with halloween
● Mistletoe pops up in many religions, and is the plant believed to kill Balder in the Norse
myth, Frazer believes it’s truly mistletoe that is the golden bough
○ Mistletoe believed to be magical as it grew only on trees in the winter
○ It’s the passage of time that helps contribute to the power of mistletoe in a lot of
cultures, especially as over time mistletoe turns a golden color
Document Summary
Frazer looked synchronically rather than diachronically, around in what was present in the world rather than backwards in history of same place (?) Looks back in time for analogy not causation. Significant to us for looking at patterns in culture and gods of vegetation still found tangentially todays. Ideas of manifest destiny or mandate of heaven similar. Can see actions like children in masks running around, trick or treat" in cultures all over, still remains today with halloween. Mistletoe pops up in many religions, and is the plant believed to kill balder in the norse myth, frazer believes it"s truly mistletoe that is the golden bough. Mistletoe believed to be magical as it grew only on trees in the winter.
