Today’s theme will be syncretism. Syncretism is something many have never even heard of, but the irony is it exists around us everywhere.
The simplest explanation of syncretism is that it is the adoption of others’ beliefs into your own as your own. This is true of myth, tale and religion – they are all a mixture of influences. Samson’s battle with the lion is very similar to the battle of Hercules and the Nemean lion (in Disney’s version, Scar makes a cameo appearance as a fur rug after the fact; unconnected, but funny in a slightly disturbing way 🙂 ). The mother and child concept of Christianity has its roots in preceding Ancient Egyptian beliefs (Isis and Horus). Arthurian tales are widely spread through France and Britain, and they have in them many preceding concepts of Bretonic or Celtic origin. The list could go on forever, probably with many examples I don’t even know, but I hope this illustrates the basics.
Local legends, even when they are created for the purpose of one-upping the neighbours (as in creating myth that makes YOUR village better, or a festival based on that myth that makes YOUR festival the more interesting one – Gavin Flood is one author that visits this concept immensely well in his discussion of festival in India, a book that I really recommend even to the non-anthropological readers), may also end up being so prevalent that they become, in a sense, a syncretic part of an overall perception of myth, tale and religion. In time, separating what is what can become almost impossible, something we very much face in the case of interpretation of all ancient texts and material culture. This can mean that a false impression of homogeneity is built that often fails to take into account the highly likelihood of variation – the Greek pantheon, for instance, is very much subject to that precise problem.
Behaviour, too, can be syncretic. In fluid societies (so where acceptance is high and prejudice low), adopting behaviours isn’t difficult, and it does not obscure the roots of it. For example – I may be a perfect example of a Western woman, but I eat sushi, Chinese, Thai… My dress concepts may include ideas from all over the world, as they appeal to me, without the wish to fit to a specific traditional or religious scheme.
In rigid societies, however, where acceptance is low, the adoption of behaviours seems impossible, unless they are slotted in invisibly, without the roots recognisable, and preferably with the aid of a confirmation myth – a story designed to claim all rights to the concept. Example – bread came to Japan with the Portuguese. It was then shall we say syncretised into the culture. Today, many aspects of the Japanese bread remain similar (the word for bread, the shape and style and flavour) and at the same time, it has gained a place of its own in the adoptive culture.
For anthropologists, syncretism is interesting because it allows us to study how human beings perceive themselves and their environment, how they react to one another within specific concepts. For those interested in protection of human rights, syncretism is a must know concept, as it can often be at the core of warfare and hate of those who would lay claim to an idea (and no, it’s not very easy to figure out who got the idea first very often, before you ask) and would eliminate all others with a concept similar to theirs. That’s when anthropology becomes really useful, not just as an interesting science, but as a way to avert conflict and prevent bloodshed over what are really trivial matters that could unite people rather than cause strife.