Chapter 2: Primal Religious Traditions

ABORIGINAL SPIRITUALITY

The Nature of Primal Religions-since prehistoric times small groups of people practiced unique religions

-we refer to these religions that continue to be practiced by some people in Australia, Africa, and the America, as primal because they came before the other religions we will study in the rest of the course.

Special focus on the mythic and ritual dimensions of religion

All religions stem in someway from primal beginnings

Religions based in oral material- stories and myths passed down from generation to generation

*IMPORTANT!Primal religions are vastly diverse- we can’t possibly study all of them and we have to be careful not to make sweeping generalizations about the religions!

Why study primal religions?

We will look at two religious traditions:

Religion of the Australian Aborigines (p.23-26)

Religion of the North American Plains Indians (p.28-32)

Two religious traditions

Who are ABORIGINALS? A person of native ancestry inhabiting or

existing in a land from the earliest times and before colonists.

Aboriginals can be found world round

ABORIGINALS

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINALS

The Aborigines are the native people of Australia

Some traditions of the Aborigines that began thousands of years ago are still practiced today in Australia.

Religion of the Australian Aborigines

Foundation of the Aborigines religion is the concept of the Dreaming.

The Dreaming is a mythic period of time when a group of supernatural beings called Ancestors roamed and shaped the earth.

The ancestors formed the landscape, organized people into tribes, created customs and languages etc.

When the Ancestors left, they left behind symbols of their presence in the form of natural landmarks.

The Dreaming: The Eternal Time of the Ancestors

Ayers Rock

Found in the geography of Australia- in many notable landmarks

i.e. caves, body of water

Imagine if everything around you had sacred significance?

How would that change the way we interacted with earth?

Power of the Ancestors

Also found in each individual.High importance on ritual as the religion is based

on recreating the mythic past of the Dreaming in order to tap in its sacred power.

Also focuses on maintaining structure of society as it was set up by Ancestors.

Ritual example: An unborn child becomes animated by a particular Ancestor when the mother or another relative makes contact with a sacred site.

P. 25 “B”: List as many rituals as you can- how are they reenactments?

Power of the Ancestors

Dreamtime of the Aborigines- Ancient Civiliations

Video Clip

An individual will always be identified in certain ways with their Ancestors.

How are people in our families or in society seen as representatives of a predecessor?

i.e. “You’re the spitting image of your grandma Ethel!”

How do your family members identify with earlier generations?

i.e. passed down recipes

Totemism

A natural entity, such as an animal or feature of the landscape, that symbolizes an individual or group and that has special significance for the religious life of that individual or group

What is a totem?

Each Aborigine is a living representation of an Ancestor.

This relationship is symbolized by a totem- the natural form in which the Ancestor appeared in the Dreaming.

Could be an animal, a rock formation, or

another feature of the landscape.

Totemism

Not all rituals are open to all people.The concept of taboo dictates that certain

things and activities are set aside for specific members of the group and are forbidden to others due to their sacred nature.

Some rituals only open to men; others only to women. Restrictions also based on maturity or religious traditions.

Taboo

Think about restrictions from childhood or rules that were placed on you.

As a young child, how would you describes these rules?

From your present perspective, how do you describe them?

If you were a parent, would you place similar restrictions on your children?

Taboo

Think about restrictions in social and religious context.

How do you describe these restrictions? (respectful, elitist, protective etc)

Who, if anyone benefits from these restrictions?

If one benefits, should all?Do those who do not directly benefit from the

restrictions receive any benefits at all?

Restrictions in social and religious context

The Native American 10 Commandments

Watch the video clip, and fill in your handout

Think about which commandments you live out daily; which are harder for you to live out daily?

Aboriginal Spirituality Day 2

Ritual/Cult: The Sundance•Celebrated by peoples of the Prairies in June or July, during the full moon•Its purpose is renewal of dedication to the Great Spirit.•Music and dancing around axis mundi- veneration of the sun•Four days before the ceremony, dancers purify themselves, and they fast during the four days of the sun dance.•Final stage of the rite involves piercing the body and tearing away from the piercing to symbolize a renewal of the quest for the spirit

Central Beliefs• ANIMISM: • All things, human and non-human, have spirits or souls,

and the person or animal lives on after death through the presence of that spirit.

• Aboriginal peoples believe all power comes from a common origin, so the same energy inhabits all things.

– Siouan peoples call this energy Wakan; Wakan Tanka or Wakonda is the Great Spirit

• Some things have a greater quantity of this spirit or energy; other things have less.

• Learning the power of each thing is central to Aboriginal life.• All living things are interconnected

The Great Spirit• The Great Spirit inhabits all things—rocks, land, water,

plants, animals, and people.• Most Aboriginal peoples believe the spirit is fluid, and that

it is there at specific moments.– For example, it is there when an eagle flies, but not

when it is asleep.• It is often addressed as the Creator.• This Spirit reveals itself in many ways in nature; these are

“the spirits.”– In vision quests, they encounter these powers when

they find their spirit helpers.

The Trickster•This figure plays an important role in creation, but is not the Creator.•Can be both mean and generous, is impulsive, a bungler, a joker or buffoon, a troublemaker•For example, Nanabush is the Ojibwa Trickster.

– He stole fire for humans, calmed dangerous winds, and invented strategies for hunting.

– At times he has great power, somewhere between human and divine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNo2hFTMay4

Various beliefsCould believe in ghosts, afterlife, reincarnation, etc.Sometimes a combination of beliefs

Afterlife

Nothing is written downBeliefs are handed down orally, so can change

as a result of a dream or vision

Sacred Texts

Sweat Lodge

Ritual of purification, spiritual renewal, and healing

Sweat lodge made of saplings covered with hides (blankets, furs, etc.)

Deep hole is filled with hot rocks, upon which water is thrown to create steam

Steam purifies the body

Sweat Lodge

Sweat lodge: when you are seeking the help of the Creator & spirits

Helping spirits are called into the sweat lodge by prayers, songs, drums, or shakers

Drum is an important item of the ceremony

Songs and prayers are offered during the ceremony

Vision Quest

A period of fasting, meditation, and physical challenge

Undertaken by young boys at puberty

Enter into wilderness (isolation) with goal of attaining vision to guide development.

Can acquire guardian spirit

Family Guy episode: The son also drawsDoes the depiction of

the vision quest in this episode in any way relate to the vision quest described in your text?

What is Peter’s totem/vision?

What are the lessons Peter learns?

p.40 Answer Q. 40 in your notes