Malinowski's Myth and Magic

Bronislaw Malinowski draws upon his own fieldwork experience to draw conclusions on native magic and myth. Malinowski views myths as stories that dictate morals, religious practices, and social standings. They give a people group a precedent from which to base their practices and refer to for the purpose of solving quarrels, creating a tight-knit community whose values are all based on the same traditions. When I think of myth, I think of a story that explains why something exists or how something functions, such as how the sun and moon came into being, or how rain falls. I do not tend to think of a myth as something that governs my everyday way of life, as Malinowski does. Malinowski defines magic as a tool to be used when man does not feel that he has the ability to control the outcome of the concerned process or situation, leading him to resort to chants, ceremonial acts, and the use of an officiating minister to reduce the role of chance in his situation. I tend to think of magic as a more taboo force in literature or film, or as something that primitive peoples use to attempt to control their environment or other people around them. In some movies, magic is portrayed as a way out of a tight predicament for the characters involved, or a way to gain an advantage over an opponent. At the root, I agree with Malinowski’s thinking regarding magic: people resort to magic when they feel the need to rely on some sort of power greater than themselves in order to achieve their goals.

Cultural Anthropology, here I come!

Here I am, writing a blog for my intro. to cultural anthropology class to enhance my learning experience. Over the course of the past year, I have posted on and perused many blogs, and now I am starting one. This should be interesting. I am very excited to see what comes about as a result of this blog, and am intrigued to see what I learn as I embark on this new blogging adventure.

This is Gabrielle Wong, signing off for "Searching for Culture."