To the Shawnee religion and science were the same. There is no distinction. To them there is one giver of life called “The Great Spirit”. The Shawnee did not believe in forcing their religion upon others. So, they did not believe in other cultures trying to impose their religions upon them.
Gerardo Montemarano Mr. Powers World Religions 1/13/15 Chapter 2 Review Questions The indigenous religions studied in this chapter do not have a written text that is worshipped, and they use oral tradition to pass down their beliefs through generations (Brodd 21). The ancestors shaped the landscape of the world during the period of dreaming. It is during this time that the ancestors began to divide humans into certain tribes and villages.
In the same way the Delaware Indians demonstrated their astonishing commitment to their town, they once again demonstrate their passion towards their religion; the Delaware Indians sang hymns till they died-praising their God with their last breath. In the vast growing world, there are an abundant amount of different cultures, but one thing that unites all the unique people with different backgrounds is religion. For instance, the pilgrims that traveled to the newfound land all had a common religion: Christianity. Similarly, the Native Americans that were indigenous to the Americas also believed in their own gods.
However, many aspects of their religion were altered to include the arrival of the Europeans. For example, Natives used storytelling to explain creation. The believed in Mother Earth and Father Sky as the creators of the Native peoples. These Creation Stories were revised to say that Mother Earth had also created different colored people rather than just those native to America. This revision was a precursor of what was to come when it came to Native American religion.
Native Americans’ Creation Myths Each culture has its own story about world’s creation. They have several major similarities, like the basic influence of a strong supernatural force, that intruded to a total chaos and created the land, animals, humans and other parts of the environment. But the set of differences makes each myth almost unique. It happens even with people that shared the same continent like Native Americans. This essay will focus on two tribes – Abenaki and Papago.
- Religion has long played an important role in society. Native Americans had they’re own religion, more of a part of their lives in a non social way. It was applied in gathering, hunting and ceremony's. They often used tools or natural objects to perform rituals. Sacrifices were often too, in some tribes.
Native Americans had influenced many areas of American living. They wanted to bring cultures together with peace. They made music to heal pain and reduce tension between cultures. Many religious violence have a cultural and political component. Factors the perpetrate cycles of religious violence is punishment for those who were to be evil, those who showed acts of violence that are religious, and problems between religious
In Religions of Mesoamerica by David Carrasco, the traditions of both Maya and Aztec cultures are looked into in a deeper manner – especially their religion. As is true with most religions and societal codes, they are adapted from ideas before them to better fit the beliefs of the people practicing. Most of the Mesoamerican religions appear to have several similarities, stemming from an idea Carrasco describes as means for world-making, centering, and renewal. The interpretation of this metatheory is also taken very different between the two religions as well. Establishing in the areas of Mexico and Guatamala around 200CE (Carrasco: 116), the Maya people were one of the first (along with the Olmec) to create the key characteristics of religion that will continue on throughout other Mesoamerican societies - including the Aztecs.
One popular ritual practiced by the Cherokees that came from this is called "going to water. " This practice is used to "acknowledge the spiritual significance of their local rivers, streams, and ponds" (Dembling n.p.). It cleanses the body of any bad scenes and releases it to the underworld. This practice came about as a way to clear the mind and guide people on a more spiritual level, as well as guide them in the direction of the spiritual world of the protective spirits (Dembling
Religion was not a separate aspect of the culture for many of the Native American tribes. Their belief being due to a
I, personally, went to both the dances and churches while I was growing up", said Kathy Van Buskirk who is a Cherokee from Oklahoma (Buskirk). Because the Cherokees live so close to the earth, each native tribe with the Cherokee tribe are very religious. This is why most all of them recognize the belief system as an integral part of the day to day
Incorporating native drum in church music, initially having holly mass held in Wigwams, reading bible in native language just as I read in this article from MPR news. http://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/11/13/arts/native-spirituality-christianity. On Bigger scale bigger fusion happened between Christianity and native American through Native American Church and Ghost dance. Both of these incorporate both, native American tradition and protestant believes. It generated in Oklahoma in 19th centurie and is also known as a peyote religion.
Native Americans have a really diverse culture and one report is not enough to talk about all of their cultures. They have fourteen tribes so it is obvious that they will have a lot of different cultures and traditions between all fourteen tribes. It is impossible to have fourteen tribes with different people and expect them to all believe in the same things so some of them have different beliefs and different traditions. They worshipped a lot of gods and even some of the gods had dolls made for them. Some tribes worshipped the sun or fire or some serpents.
In the early years, Native Americans did not have scientific explanations to explain natural phenomenon so they developed myths and legends that are known as "Oral Traditions". Their legends/myths reveal their faith in Nature and their bond to it. Various tribes had their own versions of how the earth started such as The Iroquois Creation Story by the Iroquois tribe. In spite of the tragic events that took place after the Europeans entered, their pride for their heritage and love for nature still remained.
Their beliefs were rejected by the white-american culture which made it difficult to assimilate or control the tribes by the United States. The U.S. was trying to convert the plains tribes from hunter-gatherers to farmers in the the European-American tradition. Native Americans tends to focus around nature. Their religion includes a number of practices,ceremonies and traditions. Their religion ceremonies included feasts, music, dances, and other performances.
