Secret Societies, Power, and Ritual among Hunter-Gatherers in California

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Kin, Clan, and House: Social Relatedness in the Archaeology of North American Societies" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Secret societies are groups of individuals that possess esoteric knowledge that is not available to non-members, and therefore are by definition exclusive. Many such societies are associated with administering ritual ceremonies. The Chumash Indians of southern California had a secret society known as the ‘antap, a political and religious organization whose primary purpose was to access and manage supernatural powers necessary for the maintenance of balance in the universe. High-ranked individuals were members of the ‘antap society, and included chiefs, their family members, and religious specialists who performed dances and rituals at public ceremonies. Members were baptized into the ‘antap as children, with relatively large quantities of shell-bead money paid by their parents as a type of membership fee. All chiefs and their immediate family members were required to be initiated into this prestigious group. Members learned sacred dances and songs, and communicated with one another through an esoteric language. Ethnographic data indicate that only members of the ‘antap society possessed and used large deer-tibia whistles, which appear in the archaeological record about a thousand years ago. Certain members of the ‘antap society used coercion and intimidation to maintain their power and concentrate wealth.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Kin, Clan, and House: Social Relatedness in the Archaeology of North American Societies   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23501