What Science Says About Face Reading: From 19th-Century Criminal Physiognomy to Modern Research
How does science view face reading? From 19th-century criminal anthropology to modern psychology, plus the misconceptions to avoid.
Results for "anthropology"
The Property Palace in Zi Wei Dou Shu: Meaning and Interpretation
The Property Palace in Zi Wei Dou Shu covers more than real estate. It also reflects family ties, ancestry and deep psychological states.
Is Astrology Science or Superstition: The Wrong Question, and the Question Worth Asking Instead
Astrology is not science in the modern empirical sense, yet calling it pure superstition ignores its roots in Yin-Yang, the Five Elements and the I Ching.
The House of Servants (Friendship) in Zi Wei Dou Shu: Meaning and Interpretation
The House of Servants in Zi Wei Dou Shu mirrors your social integration and leadership, and helps analyze annual fortune when major stars shift.
Where Does Physiognomy Come From: The History of Eastern Face Reading and Its Place in Vietnamese Culture
Explore the origins of Eastern physiognomy, its facial and palm feature systems, and the place of face reading in Vietnamese culture through The Tale of Kieu.
Why some people 'must go to the field': spirit roots (căn đồng) through practitioners' accounts and how anthropologists read them
Practitioners describe căn đồng as a spirit root that forces the trình đồng rite, while anthropologists read it as rebuilding self and social position.
Drawing lots, tossing poe blocks, and pulling omikuji: Ways of "asking the gods" in Taiwan, Japan, and Vietnam seen from anthropology
How anthropology compares asking the gods via poe blocks, divination lots, and omikuji in Taiwan, Japan, and Vietnam, noting gaps in the evidence.
Worshipping the Wrongly Dead After War: How an Anthropologist Reads the Offering to Wandering Souls in Central Vietnam
Heonik Kwon's ethnography shows how offerings to wandering souls in Quảng Nam and Quảng Ngãi help communities live with wartime memory.
What Is Trùng Tang, and Why Do Vietnamese Choose the Hour of Coffining and Avoid Certain Burial Days: Funerals Seen from Anthropology
Trùng tang, the hour of coffining and avoided burial days are folk beliefs from Bắc Kỳ; anthropology reads them as easing unease when someone dies.
Does modernisation make Vietnamese people less likely to believe in spirits? Why temples, shrines and festivals grew busier after Đổi Mới
Anthropology finds modernisation does not erase spirit belief in Vietnam. Temples and festivals grew busier after Đổi Mới for several overlapping reasons.
Choosing departure dates, blessing a new vehicle, hanging safety amulets: how do Vietnamese seek road safety through spirituality?
Vietnamese travellers use departure dates, vehicle blessings and safety amulets to manage risk on uncertain roads, an anthropologist finds.
Why traders go to Bà Chúa Xứ to 'borrow fortune': an anthropological view of Sam Mountain pilgrimage
Philip Taylor links the Sam Mountain pilgrimage boom to the Đổi Mới market economy, where traders borrow fortune from Bà Chúa Xứ as sacred capital.
What Feng Shui Is in the Eyes of Anthropologists and Historians: From the Compass to Lineage Power
Anthropologists describe feng shui as a symbolic system for reading landscapes and a social tool within lineages. In the West, it became a home decor product.
The Destiny Palace in Zi Wei Dou Shu: Meaning and Interpretation
The Destiny Palace is the root of a Zi Wei Dou Shu chart, reflecting character, inner self and potential life direction.
Do People Turn to Divination More When They Feel Anxious? Research on Stress, Control and Ritual
Anxiety and ritual seeking track together in observational data, but experiments that induced lost control have not replicated.
Star-Offering Rituals for Averting Misfortune: Why Do Hanoians Attend, and What Do They Believe?
Hanoi field research shows sao giai han attendees span many ages and jobs, drawn by belief in inauspicious stars and peace of mind.
Western Astrology: Personality Prediction or Just a Reference Trend?
Western astrology is not a science, yet it stays popular by meeting the need for self-explanation. Use it for self-reflection, not as a definitive prediction.
Who Is the Tiền Chủ, and Why Do Many Houses Have a Shrine at the Cây Hương in the Yard?
Custom books explain the Tiền Chủ as the first owner's spirit, why many homes keep a cây hương altar in the yard, and how offerings are made.
Belief, Superstition, and Pseudoscience Are Three Different Things, but They Are Often Lumped Together
Folk belief, harmful superstition and pseudoscience differ in nature. Definitions and examples show how to tell cultural faith from fraud.
How Korean Mudang and Vietnamese Spirit Mediumship Differ and Overlap
Comparing the kut rite of Korean mudang with Vietnamese hau dong: practitioners, clients, music, dress, and how both adapted to the market economy.
Cúng Đất in Huế: Which Months, What the Three Offering Trays Hold and Why the Land Deity Is Thanked
Cúng đất in Huế is held in the second and eighth lunar months, with three offering trays to thank the land deity and remember the former Chăm owners.
The Hmong 'Bride Pulling' Custom: Origins, Cultural Significance, and Adjustments to Preserve a Traditional Beauty
The Hmong 'kéo vợ' custom began to legitimize marriages facing family opposition, yet is often confused with kidnapping or child marriage.
Shrines in the Middle of Hanoi Streets: Why Are Some Shrines Not Relocated When Roads Are Built?
The shrine of Princess Hoàng Phương on Vũ Trọng Phụng Street stayed after negotiation between community, authorities and a business.
The God of Wealth in a Market Economy: Why the God of Wealth Day Keeps Drawing Bigger Crowds
Worship of Thần Tài has Chinese roots but surged with Vietnam's market economy. Researchers show traders are the main group seeking gods of fortune.
Why We Avoid the Belongings of the Dead and Seek New Year's Luck: Contagious Magic in the Modern Mind
Contagious magic rests on two laws: contact transfers properties, and similarity means shared essence. Rozin's 1986 experiments show they still shape us.
What is the Then practice of the Tày, Nùng and Thái peoples: Then masters, cầu an and giải hạn ceremonies, and the đàn tính lute according to the UNESCO dossier
Under Vietnam's 2019 UNESCO dossier, Then is a Tày, Nùng and Thái ritual led by Then masters, with cầu an and giải hạn rites, songs and the đàn tính lute.
The Khơ Mú People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs, and Main Festivals
The Khơ Mú speak a Mon-Khmer language and live in Yên Bái, Sơn La, Lai Châu, Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An, worshipping five spirits.
The Cong Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
Vietnam's Cong people live mainly in Lai Châu, speak a Tibeto-Burman language and keep ancestor worship and their own festivals.
Physiognomy: Understanding and Downloading Physiognomy Books
Physiognomy explained: its scientific basis, beginner books, and where to download physiognomy books legally, with a detailed and objective analysis.
Where Does Burned Joss Paper Go: The Logic of Exchange with Spirits and Why Paper Offerings Grow with Income
Joss paper is a symbolic exchange between the living and ancestors or spirits, covering its origins, len dong rituals and Buddhist critiques.