TRADITION

Traditional Meanings are

METONYMICThe meaning of a PART comes from its

relationship to the WHOLE

TRADITIONAL MEANING

• EXPERIENTIAL- The meaning of a particular part references the whole

• PARTICULAR- Meanings are constructed and derived with in the experience of particular people in particular times and places

• COMMUNAL- Meaning is grounded in shared experience over time

State of Mind Mental Activity Object/Outcome

EPISTEMEABSTRACT THINKING

NOESISMeta-physics

ARCHAIFirst Principles

DIANOIAMETHOD, LOGIC

REASON

MATHEMATIKA

LEARNED CONCLUSIONS

DOXAKnowing from direct experience

PISTISKnowing direct

experience

ZOAParticular Things

EIKASIAImaging, Imagining

EIKONESSymbols, arts

(imitations)

“TRADITION”

• A LATIN WORD• GREEK SIMILARS:

– paradosis/ paradidomi : “to put, hand over, allow, grant, offer, share” (alongside of)

– paratheke/ paratithemi: “to put, lay (upon, up, in), entrust, commit (maintain, preserve)”

“TRADITION”

LATIN: trans-dare, tradere, traditiotrans: prefix “across”dare: verb “to give”

“To give over or across” (time or space)

“TRADITION AS --”

A VARIETY OF WAYS THE WORD IS USEDTRADITION AS—

1.LORE-– Vestigial relics of a disappearing past as opposed

to the contemporary or modern; the enemy of progress

“TRADITION AS--”

2. CONTENT (MATTER) – Accumulated material inherited from the past, usually

accompanied by an attitude (+ or -); – What has been passed on in fixed form

(birthday cake; Christmas tree; Thanksgiving turkey

3. PROCESS OF INHERITING/RECEIVING (ACT)– The act (or acts) of inheriting, cultivating, transferring,

practicing, performing(baking the cake, buying the tree, cooking the turkey)

“TRADITION”

4. THE MEANS OF PASSING ON (FORM)– The techniques by which one passes on or

receives(using Grandma’s recipe, putting on the

decorations)5. CANON

– Recognized, authorized, normative, official content to be passed on or received

– Guaranteed by history, long practice– Opposed to innovation, fashion, idiosyncrasy

“TRADITION AS BODY”

6. EMBODIMENT• The Universe: 16 Billion Years

– If 1” = 1 million years: 1331 feet

• The Earth: 4.5 Billion Years

– If 1” = 1 million years: 375 feet

“TRADITION AS BODY”

The material in our bodies is

– 16 billion years old– The elements developed almost instantly– The have been evolving ever since– The are billions of galaxies– The Universe continues to expand– Completely replaced every 7 years

“TRADITION AS--”

EXPERIENCEAbility to enter into and live in the

experience of our ancestors

sensation-perception-interpretation

language-culture-art-history

INTERPRETIVE SQUARE

FOUR KINDS OF QUESTION• WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?• ON WHAT LAND DO THEY LIVE?• WHAT POWERS OPERATE THERE?• WHAT CEREMONIES EMBODY

WHAT THE PEOPLE KNOW?

THE PEOPLE

1. Who are the People? What do they call themselves?

2. What do others call them? What does the US Government call them? Are they ‘recognized’?

3. What do archeologists and anthropologists say about their origin(s)?

4. What do the People say about their origin(s)?5. How do the people organize themselves

traditionally? What kind(s) of leaders do they have? How does leadership work traditionally?

THE PEOPLE6. Do they have IRA leadership and/or

government in addition to traditional leadership?

7. How are The People related to other Native groups?

8. What is the story of their particular experience with the European invaders? (What group(s)? When? Treaties?

THE LAND

1. WHERE DID THE PEOPLE ORIGINATE?2. WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE TODAY? IS THIS THEIR

ORIGINAL LAND? IF NOT, HOW DID THEY GET WHERE THEY ARE NOW? DO THE PEOPLE LIVE ON A TREATY RESERVATION?

3. WAS THEIR LAND BASE AFFECTED BY ALLOTMENT?

4. DESCRIBE THE TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE OF THE PEOPLE. DO THEY STILL LIVE THEIR TRADITIONAL LIFE WAYS? HOW HAVE THEY ADAPTED?

THE LAND

4. DESCRIBE THE ANNUAL CLIMATE OF THE PEOPLE’S LAND.

5. DESCRIBE THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE LAND THAT ARE SIGNIFICANT FOR THE PEOPLE’S WAY OF LIFE.

6. DESCRIBE THE MAIN STRATEGIES THE PEOPLE HAVE DEVELOPED TO LIVE IN THEIR PLACE?

7. DESCRIBE THE CURRENT ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND STATUS OF THE PEOPLE?

THE LAND

8. HOW DOES THIS LAND ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATION OF THE REGISTER FOR THE PEOPLE’S SYSTEM OF TRADITIONAL MEANING(S)?

THE POWERS

1. WHAT MAJOR HOLY POWERS DO THE PEOPLE RECOGNIZE?

2. HOW DO THESE POWERS SHAPE THE PEOPLE’S COSMOS?

3. HOW DO THESE POWERS SHAPE THE PEOPLE’S LIFE WAYS AND SOCIAL ORDER?

4. WHAT POWERS ARE CHAOS-CAUSING

WHAT IS ‘HOLY’ POWER

Hal, halig (Anglo-Saxon) English derivatives:

whole, holistic, wealth, weal, health, hale, hail, heal, well, wel(-fare)

Other:Heil, heilige (Ger.); salvus, salve, salud, santé

SOME KEY TERMS

• HOLY= “life-giving power,” order-making• EVIL= “death-dealing power,” chaos-making

• SACRED= “set apart,” “cared for,” “treated with knowledge and care,” something ‘considered’ holy

• PROFANE= “outside the temple,” i.e., outside human control

THE CEREMONIES:The eikones of the People

1. HOW DO THE PEOPLE IMAGINE AND EXPRESS IN WORD AND ACT THE ORDER OF THE COSMOS?

2. WHAT ICONIC ACTS ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO THE PEOPLE?

3. DESCRIBE HOW THESE ACTS ARE PERFORMED?4. HOW DO THEY ACT AS FORMS OF TRADITION?5. HOW DO THEY LINK THE PEOPLE, THE LAND

AND THE POWERS?