HUM 400 Week 2, Part I: Indigenous Sacred Ways Slide # Slide 1 Topic Introduction Narration Welcome to Religion and

Philosophy. In this lesson, we will cover indigenous sacred ways around the globe. Please go to slide number two. When you complete this lesson, you will be able to: Become familiar with characteristics of indigenous religions; Have knowledge of some specific practices and beliefs of several indigenous religions; Be aware of the major obstacles in understanding indigenous religions; and Know the meaning of important terms related to indigenous religions. Please go to slide number three. Slide 3 Indigenous Spirituality Indigenous spirituality is a lifeway, a particular approach to all of life. It is not a separate experience but pervades all moments of day and night. In most native cultures, spiritual lifeways are shared orally. This characteristic helps to keep the sacred ways dynamic and flexible and also to keep the experience fresh in the present. The lifeways of many small-scale cultures are tied to the land and their life is meaningful only within the context of the land. The indigenous people generally respect the rights and beliefs of others and do not attempt to convert others. In recent times, traditional elders have been willing to share their spirituality and basic values. There are three reasons for this openness: Traditional elders are concerned about how industrial societies are destroying the earth. Other faiths are finally beginning to recognize the value and profundity of indigenous ways. And many people who have not grown up in native cultures are embracing indigenous spiritual ways because they realize their own traditions are lacking in certain qualities. However, some native people worry that their sacred ways may be sold, stolen, or ruined by the political system.

Slide 2

Objectives

Please go to slide number four. Slide 4 Cultural Diversity Even though we are discussing the faith-ways of indigenous peoples as a whole, there still exists cultural diversity in their religious beliefs and practices. Indigenous traditions have evolved within materially as well as religiously diverse cultures. For example, some Native American tribes have become materially successful in the economic enterprise of gambling. At the other extreme are those cultures, like the Australian aborigines, that still maintain a survival strategy of hunting and gathering. Some traditional people live in their ancestral enclaves, somewhat sheltered from the pressures of modern industrial life, though not untouched by the outside world. Other indigenous people visit their sacred sites and ancestral shrines but live in more urban settings because of job opportunities. Slide 5 Recurring Themes Circle of Harmony Please go to slide number five. Despite differences in historical and economic patterns, indigenous sacred ways have some recurring spiritual themes. The circle is the symbol of unity showing how everything in the cosmos is interrelated. The circle is sacred because it is infinite as it has no beginning and no end. Time is circular rather than linear, for it keeps coming back to the same place. Life revolves around the generational cycles of birth, youth, maturity, and death, the return of the seasons, the cyclical movement of the moon, sun, stars, and planets. This cyclical understanding of life as a complex of circles is thought to be the perfect framework for harmony. Please go to slide number six.

Slide 6

Relations With Spirit

Many indigenous traditions worship a Supreme Being who they believe created the cosmos. The Supreme Being is often referred to by male pronouns, but in some groups the Supreme Being is female. Often a high goddess is associated with womens reproductive cycles and the mystery of birth. In other traditional languages, there is no distinction between male and female pronouns, and some view the divine as androgynous, a force born from the interaction of male and female aspects of the universe. The indigenous concepts of a Supreme Being are often different from the Western monotheistic religions. For example, in the African traditional religions, emphasis is placed on the transcendent dimensions of everyday life and doing what is spiritually necessary to live a normal life. Unseen powers are perceived to be at work in the material world. These powers may include: Deities with human-like personalities; A nature spirit for special places, such as spirits of trees and mountains; Animal spirit helpers; Past ancestors; and Special beings Communication with the living deadsuch as ancestral spirits--is extremely important to traditional Africans. Food and drink are set out and failure to keep in touch with these ancestors may bring misfortunes to the family. In many indigenous cultures, divine spirits of life and nature are available to reverent seekers as: Helpers; Intermediaries between the people and the power; and Teachers. Knowledge of the spirits helps the people to understand how they should live together in society. Please go to slide number seven.

Slide 7

Kinship With All Creation

In addition to the unseen powers, all aspects of the visible world are imbued with spirits. All things are understood as spiritually connected and everything is experienced as family. In many indigenous cultures, all creatures may be perceived as kin and endowed with consciousness and the power of the Great Spirit. Rocks, bodies of water, and mountains are personified as living beings by indigenous peoples. If one cuts down a tree or kills an animal, one must offer an explanation and ask for forgiveness. Those who harm nature maybe harmed in return. Even native languages can be tied to the land and make it difficult to explain spiritual beliefs in other languages. In contrast to the industrial worlds attempts to use and dominate the earth, native people say they consider themselves caretakers of their mother, earth, and speak out against the destruction of the environment.

Slide 8

Power of the Spirit

Please go to slide number eight. Another recurring theme is developing a relationship with spiritual energy. At certain places the power of spirit is believed to be highly concentrated. The people of the Pacific islands call this mana. Mana is the vital force that makes it possible to act with unusual strength, insight, and effectiveness. Sacred sites are recognized by the power that believers feel there. Some concentrated power spots are even recognized today. An example is the belief of the healing powers of a waterfall in New Zealand. The power of spirit is believed to be highly concentrated as well in objects and in beings. The ritual objects of spiritually developed persons, such as clothing, may have concentrated power. Special stones and animal artifacts may carry power. To channel spiritual power properly, native people are taught that they must live within certain strict limits and use the power for the good of the people. Please go to slide number nine.

Slide 9

Spiritual Specialists

Although the spirit is invisible, it is considered part of the natural world and anyone can interact with it. However, as the world of spirit is perceived to be dangerous, there are specially trained people to act as intermediaries between the seen and unseen. These specialist roles may vary from one group to another, and the same person may play several roles. One common role is that of a storyteller. Because the traditions are oral and not written, these people must memorize long and complex stories and songs so that sacred traditions can be remembered and taught from generation to generation. Such stories are important clues for the people to understand the universe and ones place in it. Rituals and stories might connect one to an eternal Dream Timea timeless primordial time of creation in which the ancestors emerged from the earth and there was no male-female differentiation.

Slide 10 Shamans

Please go to slide number ten. The most distinctive spiritual specialists among indigenous peoples are the shamans. They are the mystical intermediaries between the physical and the non-physical world. The ways of becoming a shaman and practicing shamanic arts are similar around the world. Shamans are helpers to society, using their skills to benefit others. Their spiritual power is neutral and its use depends on the practitioner. Shamans may heal physical, psychological, and spiritual problems. Shamans must proceed through certain steps: They undergo a near death experience which is followed by a rebirth experience. They undergo rituals of purification, isolation, and bodily torment until they make contact with the spirit world. And lastly, They undergo lengthy training in shamanic techniques; learn the names and roles of the spirits; and secrets and myths of their tribe. Sometimes a spirit animal becomes the Shamans guardian spirit, giving him or her special powers.

Shamans also have the ability to enter parallel, spiritual realities at will in order to bring back knowledge, power, or help for those who need it. To accomplish this, a shaman must enter an altered state of consciousness using drumming, rattling, singing, dancing and sometimes hallucinogenic drugs. He or she then journeys to the point where human and spirit worlds meet which is referred to as the Upperworld or the Lowerworld. In either place spiritual beings are encountered and the Shaman may bring something back if it is needed by the client. Please go to slide number eleven. Slide 11 Rituals Indigenous ways are community-centered. The harmony of the universe is preserved through ritual observances. Rituals often take people out of everyday consciousness and into awareness of the presence of the sacred. Participants may experience a heightened group consciousness that binds them together as a community. Each group has its own ways of ritual dedication to the spirits of life, but they tend to follow certain patterns. Some rituals honor major events in the human life cycle, such as birth, puberty, marriage or death. Other rituals support the groups survival strategies, such as a ritual asking for rain or for insurance that the crops will growth. Ritual dramas about the beginnings and sacred history of the people engages performers and spectators on an emotional level through the use of special costumes, body paint, music, masks, and the sacred location. Groups also gather for ritual purification and spiritual renewal of members. Pilgrimages to sacred sites are often communal. Unfortunately, when indigenous groups are broken up by external forces, they lose the cohesive power of these group rituals. Please go to slide number twelve.

Slide 12 Spiritual Quests

It is considered important for each person to experience a personal connection with the spirits. The Shaman may have more spirit helpers and more power, but visionary experiences and opportunities for worship are available to all. Sometimes people in indigenous cultures undergo a vision quest. After spiritual purification, the person is sent alone to a sacred spot to ask the spirits to reveal something of their purpose in life and to help them in their journey through life. During this physically and emotionally stressful ordeal the individual is to ask the spirits how he or she can help the people and the earth itself. Please go to slide number thirteen

Slide 13 Contemporary Issues

Traditional spiritual wisdom has been largely obliterated in many parts of the world by those who wanted to take the indigenous peoples land or by thinking they could save their souls through the teachings of another religion. Examples of this are numerous: The American founder of the boarding school system for native children took them away from their families and changed their cultural identity by presenting the native ways as inferior and distancing them from normal participation in their traditional sacred life. In Zimbabwe, thousands of traditional self-sufficient people were displaced from their ancestral lands when the lands were flooded to create an artificial lake for irrigation use. Some indigenous people feel that their traditional sacred ways are essential for the future of the world and are seeking political expression to warn others about the dangers of a lifestyle that ignores the earth and the spiritual dimensions of life. Please go to slide number fourteen.

Slide 14 Summary

We have reached the end of this lesson. Lets briefly review what was covered. Indigenous people are often descendants of the original inhabitants of lands and now have little influence on the political systems that now govern these lands. We learned that traditional peoples have a sense of reverence for and kinship with the natural world and maintain a sacred way of life that is different from all other religions. Certain symbols and metaphors are repeated in the inspirational art and stories of many traditional cultures. One of these recurring themes is the circle, a symbol of unity, the infinite, or the cycles of life. Other widespread recurring themes include the idea of a Supreme Being who is believed to have created the cosmos, a feeling of kinship with all creation, inanimate and animate, a relationship with the spiritual energy or power, a need for trained spiritual specialists, and the use of communitycentered rituals. In indigenous religions, it is important for each person to have a personal connection with the spirits through visionary experiences and opportunities to worship. This concludes this lesson.