Magico-religious practitioner types and socioeconomic conditions

Cross-Cultural Research • Vol/Iss. 20(1-4) • Sage • • Published In • Pages: 17-46 •
By Winkelman, Michael James

Hypothesis

"All of the Shamans were in nomadic or seminomadic societies, which generally has hunting and gathering economies" (36)..."However, all of the Shaman/Healers were found in societies with agriculture, and almost all of the Healers were found in societies with political integration beyond the local level" (36)

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
CorrelationSupportedmultiple p-valuesNANA

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
AgricultureIndependentAgriculture
Political IntegrationIndependentCommunity Structure
Subsistence EconomyIndependentFood Quest
Magico-Religious practitioner typeDependentMagicians And Diviners, Religious And Educational Structures, Shamans And Psychotherapists
Nomadic lifestyleIndependentSettlement Patterns

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Winkelman, Michael James"Priest practitioners were present only in sedentary societies with a major reliance upon agriculture or pastoralism"(37)
Winkelman, Michael James"Mediums occurred in societies with agricultural or pastoral economies, and, with one exception, they occurred only in societies with political integration beyond the local level" (36)
Winkelman, Michael JamesThe presence of priests will be positively associated with political integration and the presence of agriculture (345).
Winkelman, Michael James"Societies with a single practitioner type were generally hunting and gathering societies; while those with two practitioner types always had agriculture as a major mode of subsistence. The societies with three practitioner types present had agricultural or pastoral economies and, with one exception, political integration beyond the local level. Those societies with four practitioner types present had agriculture and political integration beyond the local level and, with one exception, the p...
Winkelman, Michael JamesThe presence of shamans will be positively associated with nomadic residency patterns and negatively associated with political integration beyond the local community (319).