#362 Manvir Singh: Shamanism, Witchcraft, Religion, and Music
RECORDED ON JULY 11th, 2020.
Dr. Manvir Singh just graduated with a PhD in human evolutionary biology from Harvard University, with a focus on cognitive and evolutionary anthropology. His research program aims to explain why societies develop complex, recurrent traditions such as shamanism, witchcraft, origin myths, property rights, sharing norms, lullabies, dance, music, and gods, as these have appeared in all types of societies across the globe, from nomadic hunter-gatherer bands to complex, industrial, mega-urbanized states.
In this episode, we start by talking about the Mentawai people from Indonesia, and the aspects of their sociality that Dr. Singh has focused his work the most on. One of those aspects refers to the fact that they have small, but moralizing, gods. Other topics include shamanism, witchcraft, sorcery, and religious self-denial. We also mention the role that self-interest plays in the design of social rules. Finally, we address the topic of music universals, the evolutionary bases of music, and infant-directed vocalizations.
Time Links:
The Mentawai people of Siberut Island, Indonesia
Small, but moralizing, gods
What is shamanism, and how did it evolve?
Witches and sorcerers
Religious self-denial
Credibility enhancing displays (CREDs)
What is the role that self-interest play in the design of social rules?
In what aspects is music similar, and how does it differ across societies?
In what ways do infant-directed vocalizations differ from adult-directed vocalizations?
The evolutionary bases of music
Follow Dr. Singh’s work!
Follow Dr. Singh’s work:
University page: https://bit.ly/35m5qwx
Personal website: https://www.manvir.org/
Publications: https://bit.ly/2OkOgb3
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/2WeXaKF
Pieces on Aeon: https://bit.ly/3iU3Ath
Twitter handle: @mnvrsngh