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The theory of myth
Native American religious beliefs and practices
Native american religious practice
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Analyzing a Native American Hopi Creation Myth
Q.2 Paden gives us four cross-cultural categories for the comparative study of religion : "myth" , "ritual" , "gods" and "systems of purity". Using these four categories, and to the best of your ability without necessarily doing outside research, analyze the Native American Hopi creation I have provided you.
Ans. Religion and religious beliefs are primarily based on great foundational forces that generate and govern the world. From Ancient Greek times "myth" has had started developing. It actually means anything delivered by mouth. Greek philosophers constructed myth to mean a fanciful tale as opposed to true, others took myth as the word that conveys an original, primal state of things, as opposed to merely superficial, human words. Myth can appear as either merely imaginary or as profoundly true. Although in western culture myth is often used in a negative sense. Anthropologies found within the settings of tribal life that these communities had clear distinctions between stories of entertainment and sacred stories that defined the normative precedents by which their behavior was guided and on which their universe was founded. American Hopi culture, according to the text, Hopi creation is a Native American mythology. It uses some themes, the Spider Woman, The Sun God Tawa, and the division of parents into new creative forms, and creation by thought. Spider woman is associated with the earth. The sun god Tawa is associated with the divine spirit that gives light and life on earth and father of all that shall ever come. And the other is the most common native American theme, creation by thought. Another theme is the creation by song, that involves Ansazi-Hopi ritual song- danc...
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...titious world and were incapable to distinguish between dangerous and the holy. Purity only exists with its opposite. The separation of impure and pure conduct can be imposed by threat of supernatural punishment. The Hopi tale depicts the fact that the earth is the womb from which people emerge, as childbirth. They grow up facing different opposite forces such as natural calamities and different other perils. But each stage they grow in knowledge. After birth people are bathed the sun gods power that pretty much depicts the idea of knowledge they earn from nature. Through different religions we can see the idea of systems of purity. The thematic investigation of pure and impure, right or wrong opens up large range of religious phenomena
Not revealed by other categories. Purity is not only a fear of pollution but also a function of integrity and unity in the world.
The Indigenous people of America are called Native Americans or often referred to as “Indians”. They make up about two percent of the population in the United States and some of them still live in reservations. They once lived freely in the wilderness without any sort of influence or exposure from the Europeans who later came in the year of 1492, and therefore their culture is very different from ours.. In the following essay we will discover some differences between the religious beliefs of the Native American Iroquois and Christianity to see if the culture and ways of living have an effect on the view of religion, but we will also get to know some similarities between them. I am going to be focusing on the Iroquois, which are the northeastern Native Americans who are historically important and powerful.
Miller-Thayer, Jennifer. “Religion and Belief Systems.”Class Lecture. Anthrology 3: Cultural Anthropology. Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga. 06 March. 2014
Many oral traditional stories have been told and passed down from person to person and family to family for thousands of years. Almost every story that has been told has either been altered or told in a different way so after 100 years of one story being told someone will decide to create their own version of it.
By analyzing the Kawaiisu, a Great Basin Native tribe, I want to explore cultural wonders and observe their society as I compare an aspect of interest with that of another culture in the world, the Chuuk. Comparing different societies of the world will allow me to successfully learn about the Kawaiisu people in a more detailed and open minded manner. Populations all around the world throughout time have had different views and traditions of beliefs. Through this project, I hope to unravel and gain an understanding of different perspectives and ways of life.
The Lakota Indians, are sometimes known as the Sioux, but they call themselves the Lakota, which is translated as ‘friend’ or ‘ally’ in their native tongue. Their description of themselves make sense when looking at their seven virtues that they live by, “These are Wóčhekiye (Prayer), Wóohola (Respect), Wówauŋšila (Compassion), Wówičakȟe (Honesty), Wówačhaŋtognaka (Generosity), Wówaȟwala (Humility) and Wóksape (Wisdom) (“Lakota Today”). A culture’s idea of the most importance qualities a good person should have gives a good idea of what kind of people they are. The Lakota’s virtues all revolve around a general concept of respect for everything, compassion, humility, and honesty. These things can either refer to their fellow man, or everything else in existence. This notion of universal respect comes from their creation story and how the Creator, is in everything.
The Hopi have a highly developed belief system which contains many gods and spirits. Ceremonies, rituals, dances, songs, and prayers are celebrated in year-round. The Hopi believed they were led to the arid southwestern region of America by their creator, because he knew they had the power to evoke rain with power and prayer. Consequently, the Hopi are connected to their land, its agricultural cycles and the constant quest for rainfall, in a religious way. The religious center of the community is the kiva, which is an underground room with a ladder protruding above the roof. The kiva is very important for several reasons. From the kiva, a connection is made with the center of the earth. Also, the kiva is symbolic for the emergence to this world. The room would represent the underworld and the ladder would represent the way to the upper world. In fact, a room is kept in the house to store ceremonial objects. A sacred ear of corn protects the room and symbolizes the ancestry of the family members. Kachinas are also a focal point of the religion. For a Hopi, they signify spirits of ancestors, dieties of the natural world, or intermediaries between man and gods. The Hopi believe that they are the earth's caretakers, and with the successful performance of their ceremonial cycle, the world will remain in balance, the gods will be happy and rain will come. Because they think of their crops as gifts, the Hopi Indians live in harmony with the environment.
Myths and religious doctrine are generally recognized as two entirely different things. Myths are usually referred to as a fictitious story or a half-truth; often they are stories shared between groups of people that are part of a cultural society. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, and purpose of the universe, and often containing an ethical code dictating appropriate human conduct. Although they differ in certain aspects, they still hold similarities. Comparable to parables within the Bible, myths have different versions which are both motivating, as well as entertaining. There are not only parallels to the idea of the stories but specific tales hold similar morals and equivalent characters.
Loftin, John D., and John D. Loftin. Religion and Hopi Life. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2003.
Every ancient society and civilization has creation myths that were passed down and keep alive throughout the passing of time by word of mouth. These myths are the world’s oldest stories and are vital to these cultures because they explain their beginnings and give purpose to their existence. By analyzing and interpreting different creation myths it becomes easier to understand different cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s).
One way of examining the values and traditions of a people is to look at their explanations for how the world came to be. These stories make such wonderful tools for analysis because all cultures have some sort of ‘creation’ story. Thus to compare groups of people we may start by looking at their creation mythology. It is important to note that the downfall of comparing mythologies is that in a way it is like comparing apples to oranges. This is because not every myth portrays and explains the same elements.
Myths – as they are known to most of the world – give insight into the pasts of various countries and religions as the people saw them. They have been used to explain phenomena in nature or describe the tales of courageous and important men and women throughout history. Creation myths in particular define how the Earth itself was created, along with the universe, heavens, hell, people, and creatures that exist today. Genesis of Christian mythology, for instance, tells the story of how the single deity God spoke and formed everything from day and night to man and woman. Various African creation myths, such as with the Yoruba, explain the creation of the Earth through at least a couple gods working together and all life sprouting from a seed.
distinguish a culture from another such as the roles of men and women, polytheism and religion.
The stories that reveal these eye-opening experiences are very extraordinary. The story of Wakjankaga the Winnebago trickster is a story not many people from modern time, and I would think also in historical times, would not reenact. First, a male is converted to a female in order to trick a chief’s son. Next, three males have sex with this recently converted female (trickster). Then, the female (trickster) has three babies with the chiefs son. Finally, when the youngest child is old enough to be on its own, the mother (trickster) leaves the tribe, when usually the children would leave the tribe. These aforementioned unusual circumstances cause the story to be unacceptable. Most of the trickster tales are taboo, possibly because of...
Their convictions were not comprehended and the intricacy of their religion was not seen. This was somewhat the aftereffect of not having a composed arrangement of rules. In the place of ministers and pastors were shaman and medicine men. These men were sometimes said to speak with the divine beings. They were astute and experienced and they delighted in a larger amount of status among their groups. They had essential parts in choices, functions, and customs. "The culture, values and traditions of native people amount to more than crafts and carvings. Their respect for the wisdom of their elders, their concept of family responsibilities extending beyond the nuclear family to embrace a whole village, their respect for the environment, their willingness to share - all of these values persist within their own culture even though they have been under unremitting pressure to abandon them(Berger, paragraph
The Maori myth is a Polynesian story about the creation of the universe which according to Rosenberg was different from other creation myths because it begins with nothing and then progresses through a process of “nonbeing to thought to the creation of the universe and human beings” (351). Even though it may be different because it goes from “nonbeing to thought” instead of nothingness to a spoken word or action, it has many similarities to other creation myths in how it explains the origins of the Gods and how each one represents a natural event or aspect of nature and humanity. The myth begins with an “idea” that “was remembered” and then “became conscious” and then “a wish to create”, all of which created a “power to live and to grow, even in emptiness” (352). At this point there was still no being, only thought and desire which gives the idea that what is being addressed are the human attributes of feeling, sensing, desire and thought, this is where this story is different from other creation myths.