Role of religious leaders 1-2

Role of religious functionaries

• Religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing those conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.
• Shaman. Contact with spirits for blessings or to counter their magic for good health, crops, prosperity. Use dancing singing meditation to contact. Preserve culture. Social control. Knowledge repository. Bhopa in Bhils. Sira in maria gonds. selected by heredity or traits like nagars prefer child inclind towards drums. 
• Priest. Pure religious functions with high social status. Usually full-time male specialist and officiates ceremonies and rituals. Gods are only for request and beyond ordinary person. Sound in societies with surplus food. Contain knowledge. Ritual preservation. Culture transmission. Social control. Interact with groups
• Sorcerer and witches. Usually Lo social economic status. People fear them. Sorcerer uses magic feather bones for malevolent activities. Witchcraft is supposed to be inform of emotion and thought so it is hard to prove. Witch hunting maybe e a way to take revenge property or eliminate competition.
• Medium. Only females. Sudden trance and possession by spirit. Mainly due to hysteria, Amnesia, Caesar and in France they are asked to heel and perform divine activities.