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1. The conceptThe term infertility is defined as a state without fertility, that is, as its opposite. Infertility has had negative connotations in all cultures and all historical eras. In the case of living creatures, it denotes the inability to inseminate and procreate. In the case of the earth, the term indicates the sterility of the soil or other problems that interfere with the germination and growth of plants [2. 1314 f.]. In a figurative sense, we speak, for example, of infertile ideas [3]. As a result of cooling during the Little Ice Age, there were many infertil…

Fertility rites are ritual actions of many different kinds that aim to improve the fertility of plants, animals, or people. They are attested in many periods and a great many different regions, and their universal distribution is explained by the immense importance to human existence of fertility in plants and other living things. They played a key role in the preindustrial agrarian societies of the early modern period, particularly when climate change at the onset of the so-called Little Ice Ag…

Reciprocity in the sense of “mutuality” (from Latin  reciprocare, “turn back”) is closely related to the concept of a gift. In all periods, we find the expectation that a gift requires a gift in return. But reciprocity need not mean a gift of objectively equal value. The value of the reciprocated gift is culturally relative and can also be defined differently in different historical periods. Reciprocity relationships of other cultures or periods therefore often appear asymmetrical but can definitely be…

1. Terminology and urban subdivisionIn contemporary usage, the term segregation (from Latin  segregare, “segregate,” “separate”) denotes primarily the spatial and social isolation or separation of specific groups from society as a whole (Society [community]) (see Exclusion). In the English-speaking world, segregation frequently means separation of races, which also includes the political separation of social groups [8]. In the spatial layout of early modern cities and towns, tendencies toward segregation are clearly evident. Many urban districts…

In its lexical meaning and as a legal term, frontier worker denotes a person living in a border region whose workplace is across the border. In a broader sense, the term refers to those who cross boundaries between different spheres - between disciplines, artistic genres, and most of all, between cultures. In this sense, the generally neutral tone of frontier worker shades toward that of the primarily negatively connoted  renegade. In the military context, renegades were associated with desertion, and thus with treason. Cultural renegades and frontier runners …

Through all ages and cultures, human hair - particularly that on the head - has played an important role in social and religious or cultic spheres. As a derivative of skin, threadlike and sensitive to touch, hair is attached to its owner but can be styled, dyed, or colored in many different ways. When separated from the body, hair survives for centuries, and can be worked into wigs or decorations. As an outwardly visible sign, hair can define its wearer through its cut, color, style, etcetera, as a member of a particular age group, social grouping, or religious or political affiliation.During…

1. Definition The word ritual is derived from Latin  ritus (cultic/religious practice). It denotes a sequence of actions generally performed in a fixed order. In present-day usage,  ritual and  rite frequently overlap semantically, but they are not identical. While  ritual refers to a complex sequence of actions, a rite can include either several ritual actions or just a single one. In the Christian churches, furthermore,  ritual also means the order for the performance of an act of worship, for example, the  Rituale Romanum published in 1614 at the behest of the Counc…

1. Term and background The term cannibalism, which Columbus coined in 1492 on his first American voyage, is the early modern equivalent to the older word ‘anthropophagy’ (from Greek ánthrōpos, ‘person’, and phageín, ‘to eat’). In the early modern period, both denoted the consumption of human flesh. The scholarly literature distinguishes between endocannibalism and exocannibalism, the former being the eating of members of one’s own group, the latter of other groups. Authenticated cases of endocannibalism in recent indigenous so…

1. ConceptThe word “mentality” comes from the French  mentalité, in turn derived from the Latin mens (“mind”, “way of thinking”). As a scholarly term, mentality denotes the ensemble of dispositions, attitudes, and ways of thinking that underlie the normal, habitual actions and behaviors of a collective at a particular time [7. 476]; [8. XXI]; [1. 18]. Mentalities are invariably time-bound and subject to historical change. These are thus not closed systems, but complexes of elements interacting with other mentalities, intellectual trends, etc. [22. 73].Mentalities are always …

1. Concept and introductionThe concept of the supernatural world arises as the counterpart to the “natural” world, that is, the visible and materially accessible world, in which ordinary human life proceeds. Ideas of a supernatural world existing alongside this one are found in most cultures throughout history. Invariably closely related to the particular belief system, the supernatural world is conceived as the dwelling-place of deities and ghosts, and associated with the afterlife or such concept…

The word  gift has two meanings. In the figurative sense, it denotes a skill based on a natural aptitude, such as the gift of eloquence. In the literal sense, it means something that is given. In the latter sense, gifts are a cross-cultural phenomenon. In the religious sphere, a gift in the form of a sacrifice is directed toward the sphere of the divine and is generally understood as a response to a gift already bestowed on the believers. A gift may be unconditional or may imply and require reciprocity (this distinction is reflected in German usage, where Schenkung is an unconditional donat…

1. ConceptThe word “shaman” is derived from  saman, which Russian travelers borrowed from the Tunguz (Evenks) of Siberia in the 17th century. Of unknown origin, the Tunguz word denoted a person who could control spirits, meaning the helper spirits with whom shamans came into contact during their ritual ecstasy [10. 431]. Missionaries and travelers of the early modern period frequently equated the concept with devil worship, sorcery, or charlatanry (Missionary report 3.), and the meaning of the word steadily eroded in the 20th century as a …

1. GeneralThe concept of initiation is common to all eras and cultures. Derived from the Latin verb initiare (“introduce,” “induct”), it denotes induction into an office or admission to a social status or a group. It denotes both an initiation ritual and the totality of initiation rites (Ritual). It is often used as a synonym for rites of passage, but the terms overlap only partially.Since the late 19th century, the initiation rites of indigenous and non-European peoples have especially interested scholars. Research has therefore concentrated on initiatio…

The word  “alterity” denotes otherness, usually understood as cultural otherness and/or foreignness. As a term of art, alterity appeared only recently in     anthropological and historical discussion; it has taken on increased importance since the 1980s, although the process began in philosophy as early as the 1960s. The term plays a central role in postmodern theory, where it is understood as radical otherness and is discussed especially as a problem of the perception and representation of the Other. As the cou…

The term “ethnography” (from the Greek  éthnos, “people”; gráphein, “to write”) denotes the description of a certain, primarily foreign culture. In a scholarly context, ethnography is a subdiscipline of ethnology, providing the empirical data for ethnological interpretation. The basis for scholarly descriptions of a culture is information obtained in stationary field research, primarily through interviews and participatory observation [2].The roots of ethnography go back to Antiquity. The father of the discipline was the Greek historian Herodotus. O…

1. Introduction Spontaneous coalitions of men are attested in all cultures and all historical periods since antiquity. A men’s association  might contain all the men in a particular society or be open only to a selected few as a secret society. During the Middle Ages and early modern period, those forming leagues and associations included religious and chivalric orders (Knight), religious fraternities, guilds, and occupational and interest groups, such as craftsmen or students and university members (Deposition [ac…

1. General remarksThe term purity is used universally, but its semantic field is culture-specific. Depending on the context, the word denotes diverse forms of purity. In the literal sense, it means cleanness – of apparel or objects, for instance. In the context of modern notions of hygiene, which emerged increasingly in the 19th century (see Bathing), purity means sterility. In the metaphorical sense, the term plays an important role in most religions as ritual or spiritual purity; therefore, purifi…