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Native american religion and spirituality
Chapter 2 Native American Religions
Chapter 2 Native American Religions
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American Indians: The Native Way of Life Before our nation became known as America, an indigenous group of people were centered here. These people can be classified as either Native Americans or American Indians. Some of them are Christians while they mix their traditional beliefs into Christianity. ""Earth-divers"" would usually take place in the form of an animal who dives into a water covered planet and comes up through the soil to make life happen. Today, Native Americans reside in sovereign nations where they can conduct their traditional way of life. These individuals belong to various tribes and bands. For instance, Native Americans who reside in the Eastern Woodland regions belong to …show more content…
At a Powwow, you would get a seat around the sacred 4-sided circle. You would often come across vendors who would attempt to sell religious products, flutes, etc. The head singer conducts the dance (sets the pace of the song). The dancers try to listen for the lead, 2nd lead, 2nd chores, and honor beats. Honor beats serve as a remembrance of Native American ancestors. Evidently, Powwows' are for socialization, however, alcohol and drugs are prohibited at these traditional gatherings. Dancers practice traditional style and fancy style dances before the actual performance. One of the purposes for traditional dancing is to increase self-esteem. It is a way to "give" and "share" with others. Powwows kick off with the grand Entry, perhaps a prayer. Flags are brought out during the Grand Entry. The concept of a "giveaway" in American Indian Powwow context refers to the idea of sometimes dancing for others rather than ourselves. Their costumes are classified as regalia. The Master of ceremonies (MC) is in charge of keeping the performers as well as the occurring updated on what is occurring. Contests containing many cool prizes are also part of this event. In fact, most Powwows are considered sacred so that a person can't take videos or pictures. If you want to ask a question during the event, you are suppose to provide a patch of tobacco to the person you are asking. Also, most …show more content…
However, the Church's songs are distinguished from typical Navajo music. I think it's cool that these songs are actually prayers. Native American Church hymns can relate to Christian hymnody (Titon). The Church holds meeting on large Plains Indian Tepees (Titon). Church leaders go to places where their services are called for. The Church usually uses water drums. Fires are made by Cedar Chiefs for spiritual purposes. The Cedar Chief also brings peyote (cactus). When a person consumes peyote, they tend to obtain a "happy" sense of well-being and experience hallucinogens. Peyote is consumed as a sacrament because the religion sees Father Peyote as a deity (Titon). A crescent is placed west of the sacred fire and the peyote cactus is placed at the center of the crescent during the Peyote ceremony (Titon). The Peyote ceremony is considered to be a "Spiritualized spiritual Journey" and held all night. Also, the Church is respectful and open to other
The Pueblo culture contended many fragments to their culture that varied from the Spaniards Culture. The Native Americans were nature reliant they received all their necessities from the earth. They not only used the land but also thanked the earth. They included over three hundred spirit or gods that the pueblos prayed to for various different reasons, they called them Kachinas. Some of the spirits were Sun god, the rain god, star gods, the wind god and many other divinities. The Natives adore the Kachinas with praise for good crops, good health, family, homes, protection and various other things every day. Customs for the pueblos included rituals to heal problems such as disease in people who are sick, women who are not infertile and many other issues in the tribe. They contained Kivas; kivas were an underground compartment custom for secretive ceremonial practices. The purposes for Kivas were for the Pueblos to get closer to the spirit world. They thought that everything living came from the inferior part of the land. Pu...
The Ho-Chunk Nation members take part in the Native American Church, otherwise known as NAC to most tribal members. The NAC is a peyote based religion. This religion first came in contact with the tribe during the 1900s. Peyote is a hallucinogen that comes from the flower of a thornless cactus. Members of the NAC believe in the Great Spirit who controls the waterbird and thunderbird spirits. Taking peyote is believed to allow people to communicate with the Great Spirit for guidance and
Scientists have recently discovered links to the Kiowa and Aztec religions. For example both tribes worshiped a stone image, Taimay, and both tribes followed a pictographic calendar. The language that the Kiowa spoke can be traced back to the Uto-Aztecan language like Latin and English. The Kiowa languages also have connections to the Bannocks, Comanche’s, Paragons, Paiutes, Pima, Shoshones, and Utes. The Kiowa and Aztec preformed many dances of praise including the Sun Dance. However, the Kiowa also had many unique dances including the Scalp, Corning, Feather, and Ghost praising nature and life. Each dance was preformed to celebrate different achievements. For example, the scalp dance was preformed when men returned ...
The Powhatons were a ceremonious tribe who greeted important visitors formally with a large feast and festive dancing. However, it was not uncommon...
Going to the powwow I didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. After our performance, a few of us decided to come back, and we were surprised by many of the sights and sounds. When we arrived, there was a group of men known as bird singers who were chanting and singing traditional songs. Some of the older women were doing simple dances
... nature of the Native American societies—many Native American communities are not open to outsiders.
Many Native American tribes share different spiritual and cultural views on the aspect of life. Belief in God and the things he created depend on what tribe you belong to. Tribes like the Onondaga and the Modoc have several stories that inform us regarding their religious customs and beliefs. The origin myths were written to point out the beliefs among tribes. “The Earth on Turtle’s Back” and “When Grizzlies Walked Upright” provides us with examples of what the Onondaga and Modoc tribes believed in. Since September, we have been learning about the different views of God that tribes have and all the different customs that take place within their cultures. The origin myths that have been chosen along with the “Song of the Hiawatha” and the Part- Time Indian teach us the cultural aspect of the Native Americans.
The syncretism and hybridity of religion represents the fluidity and ease in which religion can adapt to change over time, setting, and location. In the case of Native Americans, the syncretism and hybridity is rather a means to assert agency as well as an opportunity to preserve Native American religion in the face of European forced religious imperialism. An integral part of many Native American rituals, peyote is a small, spineless cactus is often seen as an important medicine in communities which practice peyote worship. Peyote is derived from the Aztec word peyotl, and peyote ceremonies have been found in Native American tribes from Mexico all the way to the Plain Indians of the midwest. It must be taken into account that many Native American
First of all, the Navajo lifestyle is very similar to the concepts of Bless Me, Ultima. In the Navajos' daily life ceremonies and rituals are practiced. These ceremonies are performed to treat and heal physical and/or mental illnesses. There are more than 50 different kinds of ceremonies that the Navajo may use. Like how Ultima sings a song while she cures Uncle Lucas, the Navajo chant during their performances. Navajo performers also dance and sand-paint for the rituals. As Ultima and Tony heal Uncle Lucas, the two take many days to cure him. The Navajo also hold their ceremonies that may last from one to nine days, depending on how long it takes for the sick person to be revived. Color is also very symbolic, as there was different, separate meanings fo...
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
The marriage practices for the Navajo Indians are very unique. The bride must be bought with horses, sheep, or other valuable items. What many Navajo Indians used to use in the 40’s were love potions. These love potions include many plants and herbs in them, and were used to make someone fall in love with someone else. In many traditions for Navajo weddings they used a lot of plants and herbs. After the wedding ceremony they would have a big feast. The main food at the feast was always corn.
A pow-wow session begins with the Grand Entry and, in most cases, a prayer. The Eagle Staff leads the Grand Entry, followed by flags, then the dancers, while one of the host drums sings an opening song. This event is sacred in nature; some pow wows do not allow filming or photography during this time, though others allow
People have been living in America for countless years, even before Europeans had discovered and populated it. These people, named Native Americans or American Indians, have a unique and singular culture and lifestyle unlike any other. Native Americans were divided into several groups or tribes. Each one tribe developed an own language, housing, clothing, and other cultural aspects. As we take a look into their society’s customs we can learn additional information about the lives of these indigenous people of the United States.
Each and every group of Native American has its own diverse society. It was very different to Europeans because they all collectively follow one leader. Every nation though separate had it on distinct leader. They may have had different religions but at the end of the day they all heed to the king. It wasn’t like that for the Indians. They were separate in the same areas usually, had their own leaders different religious beliefs and hundreds of languages. “Indians
Their Sundance ceremony surrounds the story of the tai-me, “The Kiowas were hungry and there was no food. There was a man who heard his children cry from hunger, and he went out to look for food. He walked four days and became weak. On the fourth day he came to a great canyon. Suddenly there was thunder and lightning. A voice spoke to him and said, ‘Why are you following me? What do you want?’ The man was afraid. The thing standing before him had the feet of a deer, and its body was covered in feathers. The man answered that the Kiowas were hungry. ‘Take me with you,’ the voice said, ‘and I will give you whatever you want.’ From that day Tai-me has belonged to the Kiowas”(36). This story is used to tell how the tai-me came to be a part of the Kiowa tribe and why they worship it as a part of the sun dance ceremony. Momaday describes that the “great central figure of the kado, or sun dance, ceremony is the taime”(37). It was a small image representation of the tai-me on a dark-green stone. As a symbolic part of this ceremony, it is kept preserved in a rawhide box of which it is never exposed to be viewed other than during this