A Summary of Native American Religions

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

" We should delete Native American for the time being as it is not a religion. It

is best we stick onto the major religions as they have more in common. i do not

feel comfortable with trying to portray Native American as a religion given the

fact that they have no Holy Scripture. Moreover, extremely few people follow

Native American spiritualism i.e., non-natives. Adding it will be a definite

liability, all the more if we are to attract the religious masses, many of whom

will regard and reject it as paganism. " (Jagbir)

 

 

Jagbir makes a good point that we stick to the major religions with regards to

the Religions Chart. We do have the 'Great Spirit Mother' site that caters for

Native American spirituality/beliefs and it is beautifully and comfortably

presented there: http://www.great-spirit-mother.org/

 

However, it is true that 99.99% of devout Christians (and maybe other major

religions, also) do regard Native American beliefs/spirituality as 'paganism'.

This would be a liability for us as Jagbir says, if we are to attract the

majority of the non-native religious masses to the Blossom Time message.

Therefore, we are better not to mix the two together in the Religions Chart. In

fact, the Religions Chart therefore becomes a 'Major Religions Chart'--the major

religions with their eschatology, which religions and messengers Shri Mataji

predominantly referred to in Her Talks.

 

Here is 'A Summary of Native American Religions' which is interesting and

informative and goes into some detail regarding the spirituality/beliefs of

Native Americans and how they compare/differ from Christianity (and other major

religions).

 

regards,

 

violet

 

 

 

A Summary of Native American Religions

 

by David Ruvolo

 

The history of American religions is dominated by the presence of Christianity

brought to the New World by European settlers. Columbus's discovery in 1492

marked the beginning of a massive " white " invasion that would consume the entire

continent of North America over the next four centuries. Although Christianity

manifested itself in countless denominations, it was, nevertheless, the umbrella

under which most Europeans in America gathered. It served as common ground on

which white settlers could stand together in the struggle for survival in the

wilderness of the New World. Whatever differences there were between

denominations were insignificant when compared to the differences between the

white European Christianity and their counterparts on the continent, the

resident Native Americans. This fact, along with the desire and need for land,

turned Native Americans into a convenient enemy for most groups of European

settlers.

 

In essence, time had run out for the indigenous race that populated the

continent of North America. Like the Israelites of the sixth century B.C.E.,

Native Americans were faced with an enemy that was more advanced. Ironically,

the invading whites are the religious descendants of those same Israelites who

were conquered by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.. Armed with technologically

advanced weapons, diseases which were foreign to the continent, and a concept

known as Manifest Destiny, European settlers began an assault on the North

American Continent the result of which was nothing short of genocide. Within

four hundred years of their first contact, the white man had succeeded in

stripping Native American civilizations of virtually all of their land and had

nearly wiped their cultures from the face of the earth.

 

Popular American history has traditionally viewed the past through white eyes.

Much of the history and culture of many Native American civilizations were lost

during the European invasion of the continent. The absence of a written language

among most tribes forced them to depend on oral traditions that were difficult

to maintain as their civilizations were being killed off and separated by the

dominant white culture. For this reason, it is often difficult to locate

information concerning the religious beliefs and rituals of the large variety of

Native American civilizations that flourished in North America before the time

of the European invasion. This project will provide some of this information by

taking a cross-section of certain Native American tribes from separate and

distinct geographic regions and comparing certain aspects of each of their

religious beliefs and rituals. I plan to show how each tribe's religion was

impacted by the environmental conditions that surrounded it, and in what ways

these religions were affected by the invasion of Christianity. The Iroquois

Nation of the eastern woodlands, the Dakota tribes of the central plains, and

the Apache tribes of the southwestern desert shall serve as the subjects of this

project.

 

The Iroquois Nation of the eastern woodlands was one of the most highly

organized civilizations that developed among Native American tribes in North

America. This particular " league " , as it is sometimes referred to, is surpassed

in greatness only by the advanced civilizations of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas

in the pre-discovered Western world. " They achieved for themselves a more

remarkable civil organization, and acquired a higher degree of influence, than

any other race of Indian lineage,...{in North America} " (Morgan 1954,3). The

league occupied most of the area that makes up the present day state of New

York, however, it's influence and territory extended into parts of Canada. Their

society was centered around the wilderness that surrounded them. The Iroquois

relied on agriculture, as well as hunting and gathering. Their environment

provided them with fertile soil, plentiful game, and streams that were full of

fish. The rich natural resources that surrounded the Iroquois were undoubtedly

their greatest strength and directly responsible for the success of the nation.

 

The relative ease with which the Iroquois Nation was able to provide for the

needs of its people allowed for the development of a systematic belief system

that was more developed than most other systems found among Native American

civilizations. According to Lewis H. Morgan, their religion is characterized by

a monotheistic belief in an all-powerful creator known as the " Great Spirit " , or

" Ha-wen-ne-yu. " " The Iroquois believed in the constant superintending care of

the Great Spirit. He ruled and administered the world, and the affairs of the

red race " (1954,146). The Iroquois failed to see the need for developing a

detailed conception of their creator. This knowledge was thought to be above and

beyond their capabilities to understand. His power was administered to the

material world through " a class of inferior spiritual existences, by whom he was

surrounded " (1954,147). While divine attributes concerning the Great Spirit

remained undeveloped, the Iroquois gave detailed descriptions of this lower

class of spirits that interacted with the material world. The were known as

" Invisible Agents " or " Ho-no-che-no-keh " (Morgan 1954). The power possessed by

these spirits was given to them by the Great Spirit and were the manifestations

of his unlimited power. Some of these spirits were given names, however, they

were often identified with the object or force that they presided over. For

example, He-no, one of the more important spirits, was given the thunderbolt and

controlled the weather. According to Morgan, he had the form of man and wore the

costume of a warrior (1954,147).

 

While the Iroquois belief system centered around the idea of a benevolent Great

Spirit, it did not ignore the existence of evil in the world. Evil is

represented by the brother of the Great Spirit, " Ha-ne-go-ate-geh " , or " the

Evil-minded " (1954,147). This evil spirit exists independently and controls its

own inferior spiritual beings. These agents of evil also exist in the material

world and are placed there in an attempt to bring about evil. According to

Morgan, the Great Spirit does not have any type of positive authority over the

Evil-minded, except for the power to overcome him when necessary (1954,148). The

red race is left to choose either obedience to the Great Spirit or submission to

the Evil-minded. It is important to note that the Iroquois developed the idea of

an immortal soul. This soul was judged by the Great Spirit upon the death of the

body. The threat of punishment in the afterlife increased morality concerns,

which aided in the success of the Iroquois Nation.

 

The ritual ceremonies practiced by the Iroquois tribes were systematic worship

services that occurred in accordance to certain seasonal periods throughout the

year. The rituals were handed down through the generations and remained

unchanged for centuries. Festivals most commonly occurred during important

agricultural periods. Worship and thanks were given to the Great Spirit for

protection and survival. One of the " Invisible Agents " were usually honored

depending on what time of year the ceremony was taking place. The ceremonies

were led by " Keepers of the Faith " , or " Ho-nun-den-ont " (Morgan 1953,177). They

were not an organized priesthood like one would imagine, but rather a loosely

organized council of qualified individuals who were assigned the task of

maintaining the ritual practices of the Iroquois people.

 

The Iroquois were first encountered by the white man around 1609 during the

height of Dutch exploration. The league spent the majority of the seventeenth

century at war with neighboring tribes as well as French invaders. Their

influence spread through the northeast and reached a culminating point around

the turn of the century. Within fifty years of this time, the power and

population of the once proud Iroquois Nation was cut in half. White settlers had

moved into their territory and forced the Iroquois to give up their homeland.

 

The belief system of the Iroquois was the closest a Native American civilization

had come to the complex theology of Christianity. One major difference between

the two religions is evident when looking at how each faith explains mankind's

participation in the workings of the universe. While most Christian

denominations sought to participate actively in the evolution of their world,

the Iroquois saw mankind as too insignificant to take part in the grand scheme

of the Great Spirit. For example, many Christian denominations, like the

Puritans of New England, believed that they were the chosen people of God and

were working toward the creation of a true " Kingdom of God " located in America.

The Iroquois, on the other hand, believed that the world was as it should be,

and there was nothing that could be done by mankind to change this fact. This

idea would eventually change somewhat as the Iroquois were influenced more and

more by European Christianity. Furthermore, their ideas concerning punishment in

the afterlife were also influenced by Christian concepts. According to Morgan,

the Christian concept of purgatory seems to have seeped into the Iroquois belief

system sometime during the white man's invasion (1954,163).

 

While the Iroquois Nation was the strongest Native American civilization east of

the Mississippi river, their integration into the dominant white culture went

relatively smooth compared to most other instances of integration among the

native tribes of North America. I think this was due to the similarities between

their belief systems which made it easier for the two races to find common

ground. The religion practiced by Iroquois descendants is remarkably similar to

the one practiced by their ancestors. The similarities between the two distinct

religions seem to have saved the weaker Native American system from extinction.

 

The Dakota, or Sioux as they are commonly called, inhabited the great plains and

prairies surrounding the modern states of North and South Dakota, as well as

Minnesota. This was their home until white mining interests forced them out of

their homeland during the mid-1800's. The Dakotas were less organized and more

spread out than their cousins in the east, the Iroquois. Their society was based

almost entirely on the hunting of buffalo, which provided them with virtually

all of their survival needs. Their territory consisted of seasonal hunting

grounds that forced the tribal units to live a nomadic lifestyle on the plains.

There was no need for permanent settlements due to the fact buffalo herds would

rarely stay in one place for a long period of time. The Dakota's existence

centered around the movements of the herds.

 

According to Raymond J. DeMallie, the Dakota world was " characterized by its

oneness, its unity. " (1987,27). There was no separation of the natural world

from the world of the supernatural. This unity in nature was thought to be

beyond the comprehension of mankind and could only be shared in through the

practice of rituals. The " animating force " that acted as the common denominator

of the universe was known as " Wakan Tanka. " (1987). " Wakan Tanka was an

amorphous category most precisely defined by incomprehensibility. " (Densmore

1918,85). The physical world was composed of the manifestations of this

animating force. In essence, they believed that every object was spirit, or

" wakan. " For this reason, the Dakota held a docetic view of the universe in

which nothing was real. Everything in the material world had only the appearance

of being real. Like the inferior spirits in the Iroquois belief system, Wakan

Tanka employed the use of " Wakan people " (DeMallie 1987) to interact with the

material world and control the lives of men. These characters were often the

objects of worship and praise.

 

According to DeMallie, Wakan Tanka was explained in relation to the Dakota by

" wicasa wakan " , or holy men. (DeMallie 1987). These men attempted to create some

type of order and understanding of this " Great Incomprehensibility. " (DeMallie

1987). They did not concentrate on strict religious doctrine or structure due to

the ambiguous nature of Wakan Tanka. Instead, they served as guides to assist

Dakota people in coming to their own personal understanding of their place in

the universe. It was believed that mankind is required to serve the Waken people

who administered and controlled the forces that surrounded them. White Buffalo

Woman was one of the most important Wakan people to the Dakota. Their myth

states that she gave the Dakota people the " Calf Pipe " (DeMallie 1987) through

which they could communicate with the invisible spirit world.

 

It is impossible to separate the Dakota people from the buffalo. A bond existed

between the two that was steeped in religious tradition and survival. For this

reason, the buffalo played an equally significant role in the Dakota's religious

belief system. A co-existence was achieved between these two life forms within

an interconnected universe governed by the collective forces of Wakan Tanka.

Most of the Dakota's rituals were centered around this relationship. According

to DeMallie, Dakota rituals were based on mystical experiences instead of

systematic worship. The most important aspect of ritual was the individual

personal experience. The experience was usually related in the form of an

interpretive dance inspired by a personal vision (DeMallie 1987). The Dakota

were encouraged to contribute to the understanding of Wakan Tanka through their

own individual relationship with the spirit world.

 

The religious beliefs and rituals of the Dakota people were not as compatible

with Christianity as the Iroquois' were. Their religious ties to their land

placed them at great odds with the invading white settlers. The unity and

balance demonstrated in the Dakota's world contrasted sharply with the

one-sided, monotheistic characteristics of Christianity. The Dakota people

attempted to retain their own religion in the face of cultural extinction,

however, few aspects of their culture were left unaffected by their interactions

with whites. One significant influence that Christianity had on the Dakota

belief system involved the personification of Wakan Tanka. (DeMallie 1987,28).

Before contact with European settlers, Wakan Tanka was without distinction. The

Dakota seem to have given anthropomorphic attributes to their creator fashioned

after the God of Christianity.

 

The Apache tribes of the southwestern desert region of the United States remain

as one of the more elusive civilizations in American history. Little is known

about this nomadic group of Native Americans that lived a somewhat isolated

existence in the harsh environment of the arid southwest. Their territory

encompassed the modern states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and extended into

parts of Mexico. They were generally nomadic gatherers who relied on scarce

resources found in their desert environment for survival. Survival under these

conditions was difficult and there was little time for speculating in detail on

matters of religion. For this reason, the belief system of the Apache tribes is

less developed than the other two tribes mentioned earlier. Apache religion did

not recognize a " large pantheon of gods and goddesses. " (Opler 1969,21) Instead,

their belief system concentrated on supernatural cultural figures that are

responsible for the Apache way of life. These " supernaturals " (Opler 1969)

interfered little in the daily activities of the people unless called upon to

help an individual.

 

The Apache lifestyle left little room for religious ritual. This

non-agricultural society had no reason to celebrate seasonal periods and rarely

celebrated any type of annual gathering. All time and energy was spent on

survival. Two illustrations of this point lie in the fact that the Apache lacked

formal ceremonies for both marriage and death; two events that traditionally

involve elaborate ceremonies in most civilizations. According to Opler, marriage

among the Apache " was less the founding of a new social unit than it was the

absorption of the couple into an on-going extended family " 1965,25). Death was

considered to be " the ultimate foe and its triumph was not to be celebrated "

(1969,25) Sickness and death were formidable problems for a society that needed

every individual's efforts for survival. More importantly, however, was the fact

that the Apache lacked an organized belief in an afterlife. This focused all

attention towards survival in this world. For this reason, curing rites were the

most common form of ceremony demonstrated by the Apache people.

 

The individual power quest was the foundation of Apache religion. The group, as

a whole, was too involved with issues of survival to spend time with religious

issues. Therefore, the Apache were encouraged to establish their own

relationship with the supernatural forces that surrounded them. According to

Opler, the Apache believed that the world was " suffused with supernatural

powers, eager to be associated with human affairs. " (1969,24) Mankind could

manipulate these powers to serve him for both good and evil reasons. Life for

the Apache was a struggle for survival governed by one's interactions with these

supernatural forces.

 

The Apache religion was loosely organized and headed by leaders known as

" shaman. " Their power rested in their ability to heal. This power, if used well,

could make the shaman an influential figure among Apache tribes. Opler describes

the Apache religion as a form of " devotional shamanism. " " It conceives of a

universe permeated with supernatural power which must realize itself through man

or not at all. " (1969,29) The shaman was the link that connected the Apache

people to the healing powers of the supernatural world.

 

The Apache tribes were invaded by white culture around 1850. The people and

their culture were quickly removed from the land to make way for the expanding

American population. There was little time for the Apache to be influenced by

Christianity due to the fact that the United States sent military forces to the

region before the Christian churches sent missionaries. In any case, I have a

difficult time thinking that the Apache would have had any need for the religion

of the white man.

 

The connection between environmental factors and the development of religious

systems among Native America cultures should be clear. In general terms, a

tribe's ability to develop extensive religious belief systems was directly

proportional to its ability to provide for the survival of its people. A large

supply of natural resources, as in the case of the Iroquois, provided more time

to develop religious ideas. The Apache, on the other hand, had little time to

spend on religious thought. They were unable to develop an extensive religious

theology due to the amount of time and energy they were forced to put towards

survival. Furthermore, the connection between the Dakota's belief system and

their environment is glaring. Their dependency on the buffalo gave rise to a

religious system of co-dependant survival within a world characterized by

oneness and unity.

 

While each tribe's unique environment impacted their belief systems in a

different way, all three demonstrate similarities in the way in which they view

their interaction with the natural world. There is little evidence of a

separation between the natural and the supernatural in any of the religions

discussed. It can be said that Native American cultures were characterized by an

intimate relationship with nature. This relationship was explained in terms of

the supernatural and was experienced at the subjective level. Deep religious

sentiment permeated most aspects of Native American life in the pre-discovered

North American continent even when systematic rituals were absent. Kahlil Gibran

once asked, " Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his

occupation? " 1994,77) It seems that Native Americans could not make this

distinction either.

 

http://are.as.wvu.edu/ruvolo.htm