UU150 Study Guide - Final Guide: Syncretism
Syncretism can be defined as “the combination of old
beliefs or religions and new ones that are often
introduced during colonization” (Robbins, Cummings, and
McGarry 2017, 118). As noted by Omohundro, “the
anthropological perspective recognizes that cultures flow
out of the past and into the future, changing through
time” (2008, 169). Syncretization then helps refocus
perceptions of today to incorporate a deeper and longer
horizon. In so doing, one can investigate the legacy of
past events and relationships among various individuals
and groups on today. Unpacking the role of past peoples
and events in history affords anthropologists a critical
understanding of the present, in a way that demonstrates
the way voices, for example, can be marginalized over
time, how a particular group has been able to capitalize
on past events, or, how various factors culminated in a
particular event. It is important to note here that it is not
the role of the anthropologist to predict how past events
may dictate the future; Instead, this historical knowledge
is best used to contextualize ethnographic observations
and data collected in the field in order to better
understand the role of the past on the present. In
addition to culture then, anthropologists are particularly
interested in learning more about the idea of change and
its impact on people.
How exactly do anthropologists do that? That is, how do
they ask the temporal question “to get at cultural
precursors (the prior forms, the forerunners) and the
processes by which the precursors became the current
form” (Omohundro 2008, 172)? When interested in an
event, a practice, or a community of individuals, it is
standard practice for anthropologists to broaden their
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