ABORIGINAL SPIRITUALITY

A Canadian Balance Tradition

Balance Traditions Overview

●The religions and faiths that fall into this category are categorized by a desire to stay in balance with their surroundings. ●Specifically they work to maintain balance within themselves, their communities and the natural world●Eastern balance traditions include: Confucianism, Shinto and Taoism. For this course we will look at Native/Aboriginal Canadian balance traditions

● Consider the lyrics from the song "Colours of the Wind" from Disney's Pocahontas (next slide). How do these lyrics reflect the definition of a Balance tradition?

Colors of the WindYou think I'm ignorant savage You been so many place, I guess it must be so But still I can not see if the savage one is me How can there be so much that you don't know, You don't know

You think you own whatever land you land onThe earth is just a dead thing you can claimBut I know every rock and tree and creatureHas a life, has a spirit, has a name

You think the only people who are peopleAre the people who look and think like youBut if you walk the footsteps of a strangerYou'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moonOr asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forestCome taste the sun-sweet berries of the earthCome roll in all the riches all around youAnd for once, never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothersThe heron and the otter are my friendsAnd we are all connected to each other, In a circle, in a hoop that never ends

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moonOr let the eagle tell you where he's beenCan you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the windCan you paint with all the colors of the wind

How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never knowAnd you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moonFor whether we are white or copper-skinnedWe need to sing with all the voices of the mountainNeed to paint with all the colors of the windYou can own the earth and stillAll you'll own is earth untilYou can paint with all colors of the wind

● Now, consider the lyrics from the song "Mine, Mine, Mine" from Disney's Pocahontas (next slide). How do these lyrics reflect the way in which settlers/explorers to North America often viewed their relationship to the land? Do we still see this attitude today?

Mine, Mine, MineRatcliffe: The gold of Cortes, The jewels of PizarroWill seem like mere trinkets, By this time tomorrowThe gold we find here, Will dwarf them by farOh, with all ya got in ya, boys, Dig up Virginia, boys

Mine, boys, mine ev'ry mountainAnd dig, boys, dig 'til ya drop, Grab a pick, boys, Quick, boysShove in a shovel, Uncover those lovelyPebbles that sparkle and shineIt's gold and it's mine, mine, mineEnglish SettlersDig and dig and dig and diggety ...Dig and dig and dig and diggety ...Wiggins: Hey nonny nonny, Ho nonny nonnyRatcliffe: Oh, how I love it! Riches for Cheap!Wiggins: There'll be heaps of it ...Ratcliffe: And I'll be on top of the heap!

My rivals back home, It's not that I'm bitterBut think how they'll squirm, When they see how I glitter! The ladies at court, Will be all a-twitterThe king will reward me. He'll knight me ... no, lord me!

It's mine, mine, mine, For the taking. It's mine, boys, Mine me that gold! With those nuggets dug ...

It's glory they'll gimme, My dear friend, King JimmyWill probably build me a shrine, When all of the gold is mine

English Settlers: Dig and dig and dig and diggetyDig and dig and dig and diggety-dig!Smith:All of my life, I have searched for a landLike this oneA wilder, more challenging countryI couldn't designHundreds of dangers await, And I don't plan to miss oneIn a land I can claim, A land I can tameThe greatest adventure is mine!

Ratcliffe: Keep on working, lands, Don't be shirking, lands. Mine, boys, mind, Mine me that gold, Beautiful goldEnglish Settlers: Mine, Find a mother lode, Then find another load! Dig! Dig! and diggety, Dig! Dig! for that goldAll: Make this island, My land!Ratcliffe: Make the mounds big, boys, I'd help you to dig, boysBut I've got this crick in me spineSmith: This land we behold ...Ratcliffe: This beauty untold ...Smith: A man can be bold! It all can be sold!

Ratcliffe: And the gold Is ... Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!English Settlers: So go for the gold, We know which is here. All the riches here, From this minuteThis land and what's in it is Mine!Ratcliffe: Dig and dig and diggety-dig!Hey nonny nonny nonny it's mine!

“We know that we all are related and are one with all earth… May we

be continually aware of this relationship which exists between the four-leggeds, the two-leggeds

and the wingeds…”- Black Elk

Origins and History

●Many indigenous peoples, believe that they “came out of this ground”●Other Aboriginal groups around the world have similar beliefs regarding their origins. ●They understand that they came from the land and that all life is thus connected both physically and spiritually.

Origins and History

●Scholars say that they begin to appear in Canada approximately 15,000 years ago. ●Most scholars agree that these Native peoples crossed a land bridge over the Bering Strait that connected the western tip of Alaska to Russia.

Origins and History●In the 16th century French explorer Jacques Cartier arrived in north America and made contact with the Aboriginal peoples. European contact had a variety of cultural/religious impacts:●As early as 1701 treaties were signed to define promises and obligations relating to land, hunting and fishing rights.●Missionaries worked to convert aboriginals to Christianity and attempts were made to assimilate aboriginal peoples into European culture.●Reserves were created●The Indian Act (1876) allowed for the establishment of residential schools run by Christian Churches.●In 1885 the Potlatch was banned. In 1895 Aboriginal ceremonies, dances and festivals were banned.

Origins and History●Righting Past Wrongs:●1951 – Ban on Aboriginal ceremonies is lifted.●1982 – The Canadian charter of rights and freedom guarantees the rights of aboriginal peoples.●1998 – the government of Canada apologizes for its past treatment of aboriginal peoples.●1999 – Nunavut is established.●2008 – Prime Minister Harper and the churches involved apologize for the residential school system and a commission is established to investigate the legacy of that system.

Origins and History●At the time of European contact each of the Aboriginal nations had its own language, spiritual beliefs and practices. Today there are more than 60 Aboriginal languages in Canada = great diversity.●Until recently Aboriginal cultures have been oral (they have relied on memory and memory keepers).●Today some sacred ceremonies and teachings are still considered too important to pass on in written form.

15000 – 13000 BCE

Migration from Asia to North America.

604 – 479 BCELao Tzu (604 – 532)

Confucius (551 – 479)Early signs of Shinto

371 - 289 BCEMencius (390 – 305)

Chuang Tzu (369 – 286)Hsun Tzu (298 – 238).

200 CEShinto – Chinese

religions appear in Japan.

456 – 536 CETaoism assembling of the 3

caverns (3 truths of Taoism, Confucianism and

Buddhism).

142 CETaoism

emerges.

1000 CEFirst known contact between Europeans

and N.A. Aboriginals.

1130 – 1200 CEConfucianism’s 4

Books.

1945 CEState Shinto Abolished

1800 - 1869 CECode of Handsome Lake

Creation of Residential SchoolsState Shinto Founded

BALANCE TRADITIONS: CREED/BELIEFS

Aboriginal Beliefs

●Cosmocentric - (unit one)●Cyclical - (i.e. Hindu understanding of time/universe)●4 Widely Held Beliefs:

●Animism – All things have a spirit●Creation Stories – Origins tied to nature●Death and the Afterlife - Reincarnation●Totems – Links to ancestry

Cherokee Creation MythLong ago, before there were any people, the world was young and water covered everything. The earth was a great island floating above the seas, suspended by four rawhide ropes representing the four sacred directions. It hung down from the crystal sky. There were no people, but the animals lived in a home above the rainbow. Needing space, they sent Water Beetle to search for room under the seas. Water Beetle dove deep and brought up mud that spread quickly, turning into land that was flat and too soft and wet for the animals to live on. Grandfather Buzzard was sent to see if the land had hardened. When he flew over the earth, he found the mud had become solid; he flapped in for a closer look. The wind from his wings created valleys and mountains, and that is why the Cherokee territory has so many mountains today. As the earth stiffened, the animals came down from the rainbow. It was still dark. They needed light, so they pulled the sun out from behind the rainbow, but it was too bright and hot. A solution was urgently needed. The shamans were told to place the sun higher in the sky. A path was made for it to travel--from east to west--so that all inhabitants could share in the light. The plants were placed upon the earth. The Creator told the plants and animals to stay awake for seven days and seven nights. Only a few animals managed to do so, including the owls and mountain lions, and they were rewarded with the power to see in the dark. Among the plants, only the cedars, spruces, and pines remained awake. The Creator told these plants that they would keep their hair during the winter, while the other plants would lose theirs. People were created last. The women were able to have babies every seven days. They reproduced so quickly that the Creator feared the world would soon become too crowded. So after that the women could have only one child per year, and it has been that way ever since.

For other creation myths see Appendix

Totems: A totem is a being, object, or symbol representing an animal or plant that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe, reminding them of their ancestry (or mythic past).In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem. Normally this belief is accompanied by a totemic myth. They have been around for many years. They are usually in the shape of an animal, and every animal has a curtain personality, e.g Owl:The Owl - Wisdom, silent and swift and wise.

BALANCE TRADITIONS – CODE

Sacred Writings and Ethics

Aboriginal Code●Aboriginal traditions are mostly oral in nature (i.e. do not have a written language)●This means that they have a very rich and complex story telling tradition●However this make it difficult to study Aboriginal sacred texts

●Read The Code of Handsome Lake in the textbook on page 46

Handsome Lake

● Handsome Lake, a great leader and prophet, played a major role in reviving traditional religion among the Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse), or Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. He preached a message that combined traditional Haudenosaunee religious beliefs with a revised code meant to revive traditional consciousness to the Haudenosaunee after a long period of cultural disintegration following colonization. This message was eventually published as the "Code of Handsome Lake" and is still practiced today.

● For more information and to read the Code of Handsome Lake see appendix.

Core Ethics (Code)●Do not Interfere

● Modeling behaviour and leading by example are valued. Ordering, giving advice or interfering with behaviour in a demanding way is not.

●The Community is Important● As a member you are expected to do your job

(and do it well) for the community.●Everything is Shared

● One takes only what is needed from the environment to survive, ensuring there is enough left over for others. Similarly everyone gets enough.

BALANCE TRADITIONS – CULT

Practices, Rituals and Symbols

Prayer (Cult)●Prayer is used to recognize God’s greatness and to express thanks for all of the Creator’s gifts.●Individuals, families and groups celebrate with a variety of sung and spoken prayers, usually spontaneously and from the heart.●Occasionally prayers involve offering a gift or sacrifice.●A prayer of thanks is used to communicate with the creator before and after waking, sleeping, hunting, planting, etc..●In earlier periods time was also set aside to pray, fast and make sacrifices to charm evil spirits that played havoc with daily life.

Aboriginal Milestones (Cult)

●Birth and Naming Rituals● To learn the right name for a child, the

name giver (grandparent or an elder) enters into a period of fasting, meditation, prayer or dreaming. The name revealed by the spirit is given to the child in a special ceremony.

● As a person matures their name may change as it expresses their relation to the spirit power.

Aboriginal Milestones (Cult)●Death

● Rituals vary among Aboriginal peoples.

● Generally believed that those who have died need to relearn what it is to be a spirit.

● Tradition requires a waiting period of one year to allow for this transition. At that time some form of Death Feast is held for the spirit of the person who has left.

● Most Aboriginals believe the spirit lives on in some form, either with the family or in a different realm (one that can be contacted).

Aboriginal Milestones●The Vision Quest

● Read the account of a vision quest of Oliver Pahdopony (appendix iii)

● What is a Vision Quest?● Why is it important to Aboriginal peoples as

a milestone from childhood to adulthood?● What are the 3 elements of the Vision

Quest?

Aboriginal Rituals Chart

Copy the following chart into your notes and, using the internet and your own research, fill it out to the best of your ability.

ABORIGINAL RITUALS CHARTCeremony Tribe or Area

and WhenWhat is

involved?Ceremonial or ritual aspects

The Powwow

The Sun Dance

The Potlatch Ceremony

The Sweat Lodge

Smudging

Sacred Pipe Ceremony

The Sun Dance

The Potlatch Ceremony

The Sweat Lodge

The Shaking Tent

Aboriginal Symbols - Assignment