Ch 1: Original Manyness: Tradition and Change among Native Americans
Terms in this set (182)
a central feature of American history was the_of American religions
religious pluralism (definition and when was present)
-separate religion exists side by side and maintain their differences
-it was present with the aboriginal inhabitants
-religions consciously or unconsciously borrow from one another and blend ideas and practices
what was the original religion distribution in America?
Native Americans were organized in separated nations, and each nation possessed its distinctive religion
How the different Native American religions were related to each other?
they shared many basic ideas and ceremonial practices
what religions added to maniness in America as they immigrated? (4) what they added? how they related to each other?
-They brought not only external differences with one another but, besides, internal divisions within each group because of the different ways they lived out their given religions
-they were influenced by one another's beliefs and practices, and they grew more alike as time passed
what other religion also added to the complexity with religious constructions of their own?
what were the first human inhabitants of the Americas? How they developed at the beginning? When this started to change? When external influences came? (who?)
-For centuries, in separate nations, they developed their own cultures without serious interruption by Europeans or others
-By late 15th century that situation began to change, and by the 17th century Europeans have arrived to stay
what happened in the 16th century? (who arrived?)
-The Spanish Catholics and their missionaries arrived to Florida and New Mexico
What happened in the 17th century? (4)
-French Jesuit missionaries arrived to south of the St. Lawrence River
-Meanwhile, Jews of mostly Portuguese origin were settled in Brazil until wartime circumstances force them to flee in 1654 to New york
-By this time, English Protestants of broadly Puritan leanings had dug in on the Eastern seaboard
-African Americans were supplying forced labor to Atlantic Coast English masters
what were the 5 religious groups of the origin in United States? at what century?
which groups had the greatest differences?
-among native americans, english protestants, and african americans
_(who?) was a famed holy man among _(religion), who are probably now the best known of the _nations of the _(location)
-Nicholar Black Elk
Describe what Nicholar Black Elk did (3)
-holy man among the Oglala
-His words and descriptions of Oglala religous ceremony and his role in preserving it came to public attention though the writings of others
-He had been a leader in bringing religious innovations to Oglala
Nicholas Black Elk became convinced that the _would save his people as whites were encroaching at the end of the _century. (describe where it came)
-the ghost dance had come from Paiute nation much further to the west
describe all religions of Nicholas Black Elk
-he was endorsing both his own native religion and a blended religion that took its roots from another Indian nation
-Besides these, though, Nicholas Black Elk was a Roman Catholic, and a Roman Catholic catechist teaching others at that
what is not usual about Nicholas Black Elk?
Nicholas Black Elk was not usual in his willingness to use different religious practices at the same time
what is a major characteristic of Native Americans when it comes to religion?
Native Americans have been adept to preserving their difference and borrowing form others as needed or desired
describe Native Americans today
-Enjoy to demonstrate that their cultures have endured and grown in the face of the dominant Euro-American mainstream
-Native Americans have signaled militancy
-Central to these manifestations of cultural strength has been Native American religious life
-American Indians are reclaiming sacred places and practices and they are also expressing their solidarity with an international network of indigenous rights activism allied to essentially religious claims
-Meanwhile, record number of them are Christians and charting new paths for what it means to be native and Christian
describe religion of Native Americans (4)
-The resiliency of Native American religious traditions in the midst of the political battles of our times
-Ordinary religion (the cultural religion within boundaries (culture)) and extraordinary religion (the clear attempt to reach beyond them) have been fused
-They do not separate the ordinary details of living from their sacred ceremonies (reason no word for religion)
-They saw their beliefs and activities as part of the same whole
About _different Indian societies and distinct languages have been identified in North America, and even perhaps a half century ago, about_Native American languages were still being used _(location)
-north of the Rio Grande River
what are the 5 major groups of Indian languages?
What is the 6th language family?
from Alaska, the Eskimo-Aleut
Having these 5 major group languages tells us about_of the Indians
describe in major terms the cultural characteristics that brought diversity to Indians (7)
-Hunter-gathered while other agriculturalists
-highly organized societies vs loosely knit
-absorb elements form neighbor cultures vs remain isolated
-Prominence to women in kinship organization and responsibility vs patrilineal (taking their rights from the man's side of family) or patrilocal (living after marriage in man's household)
-importance or not of basketry, pottery, weaving
-shelters of various styles, sizes, and materials
-warlike vs fight with great reluctance (as slaughter of another human being considered as pollution)
the indian diversity can be described as_
How the Euro-American ways of seeing the religion different from the Indian?
-Native Americans fused the ordinary and the extraordinary, so that culture was tradition was religion
-One of the strongest points of cultural collision between Indians and whites was in their understanding of what whites called religion
-Indians thought that every people had its own sacred stories and rituals on which its world was based
-Euro-American Christians argued that their religion was the universal truth for all
-Even though in mission practice they spread the values of European culture along with Christinanity, in theory at least, they thought Christianity went beyond culture
-Indians would hardly ride a country circuit to win converts whom they could not adopt wholesale into their communities
-Euro-Americans saw converting the "heathen" (paganos) as one of the reasons they should settle the N. American continent
As part of common characteristics in Indian religions, describe the relationships Native Americans posses
-Strong sense of relationship with what they hold sacred
-They have seen their sacred realities as very closely linked to their daily existence
-Native Americans were thought themselves to be bound by ties of kinship
-The world has been a huge extended family network, with Indians existing as younger, less gifted brothers and sisters among their more venerable relations
How Euro-Americans have relationships? (in contrast with native americans)
-3 level universe with God, human beings, and nature on different levels
shamans (definition and part of what common characteristic found in Native American religion)
-holy people who, as sacred healers, mystics, and magicians in one, were said to fly like birds and talk to animals
-part of strong familiar relationships
As part of common characteristics in Indian religions, describe dimension of time
-Indians have seen themselves as connected to sacred events that occurred before the coming of the present world
-These events, shrouded (enveloped) for them in mystery, were acts of creation tht had caused the world and themselves to be
-These events have been enduring models on which life should be based
-All events have been of a piece, and history have been considered sacred
Give an example of how indians see dimension of time
-Edmund nequatewa, Hopi, attempted to describe Hopi truth for outsiders
-he began with Birdmen in the original Hopi underworld and included the 20th century founding of the village of Hotevilla
-Traditional account and recent event were collapsed because, just as Indian space existed as one whole, so, too, did Indian time
As part of common characteristics in Indian religions, describe how native americans consider the material world (include how see the food)
-the material world was holy
-Native Americans have expressed in many ways their sense of sacredness of matter
-Indians have seen awesome and mysterious power at work in every portion of nature
-Personal power, and the forces of the universe could be named as relatives. But it has never or hardly ever been abstract power that was separated from nature
-Sacred being have been conceived as animal and plant guardians who, in pacts long ago, pledged the bodies of their species as food for Indian peoples
-Thus, Native Americans evolved elaborated rules of courtesy for hunting or planting, apologizing to the spirits of the life froms they took, offering first "fruits"to these spirits, and being careful to use every portion of what they killed
How euro-americans differentiate with native americans and how they saw the material world
-they tend to separate material from spiritual things and to exalt the spiritual
-distinction between natural and supernatural worlds
As part of common characteristics in Indian religions, describe the personal world as seen by native americans (provide 4 examples)
-they though of their personal inner worlds as sacred
-For them, dreams have revealed holy, hidden things that often would not be known in other ways
-Iriquois interpreted personal dreams
-On the plains, leaders of the hunt were made who prayed for months and had dreams they believed were significant
-the free soul traveled in dreams to distant places to learn
-other times dreams brought visions from guardian spirits
As part of common characteristics in Indian religions, describe the inner and outer relation
-they bridging the space between inner and outer, the name pf an indian person should indicate his or her kindship with the natural world and also tell something of inner essence
-names were changed as significant deeds and happenings etched new marks in their character
-4 directions had its color and brought with certain qualities
As part of common characteristics in Indian religions, transitions (include how compares with Europeans)
-Transformation was in European terms a law
-Indian traditions has been filled with accounts of animal-human changes
Trickster figures (3 animals)
-Include Hare, raven or coyote
-they were shapeshifters who could assume any form they chose in the midst of their adventures
-they have been seen as beings of creative power who helped to put the present world in order
-At the same time, they seem to embody a principle of disorder that continually disturbs the regular workings of society
explain the Winnebago Trickster cycle
2. violated the 1st rule of warrior: that he must keep himself away from women, who possessed and alien power capable of interfering with the warrior's power
-He could change from world maker (creator) to world breaker (violator) and back again
-he could also shift from sly (intelligent) who could outwit Bear or Coyote to the fool who fought himself because his right arm did not know that thy belonged to each other and who burned his own anus to punish it for not standing guard while he slept
-He was male and became female
As a male, he carried his penis around in a box with him and did not quite know how to treat it
-Yet when the Chipnumk managed to graw most of it up, Trickster used the pieces to make potatoes, artichokes, and ground beans and rice for the people
As part of common characteristics in Indian religions, explain how they deal with boundaries (explain how similar ot trickster)
-Tricksters seemed to live without boundaires, and yet hid creative work put boundaries in place
-Continuity and discontinuity, identity and transformation were statements about boundaries
-Indians seemed to be saying that the frameworks that bound them together were all-important. At the same time, they were admitting how fragile, and indeed, fictive those frameworks were
-Belief in transformation implied a world that is made of one substance and also implied forms that were always disappearing
-They highlighted the importance of transformation in ceremonies by using clowns. By turning the standing order inside out, they pointed to the fragility of boundaries and the necessity to destroy them
Explain how native americans highlighted the importance of transformation in their rituals
-They had clowns
-scared clowns that were funny and frightening, who did foolish things
-They embarrass others by sexual joking or mimicking vs. they were serious figures like Sioux clown (heyoka), who assumed the calling because of his sense of visionary power that came from a Thunder Being
-They brought retribution to the people: fool dancers of Kwakitul (threw stones), False faces of Iriquois (sprayed hot cindres)
-By turning the standing order inside out, they pointed to the fagility of boundaries and the necessity, sometimes felt, to destroy them
Clowns were to_what Tricksters were to_
-cycles of traditional story
describe some Native American ceremonies (5)
-masked dancers carried transformation further still as they impersonated different Gods and guardian spirits. In the course of the dance, they felt they became the figure they impersonated
-Shamans (in hunter societies) changed diseases into material objects that could be sucked out of the body
-Special dreams became ceremonies by being acted out
-Sacred story became history, and history was changed into sacred stories
-Native American religions proclaimed misleading of appareance
For Native Americans, _world touched another, and_was never far away
Living in such a world, Native Americans believed their task was to bring themselves into_
harmony with it
How Native Americans bring themselves into harmony?
-Harmony conferred power in the hunt, in the field, or in government
-The solemn recitation of origin narratives became one characteristic way to come into harmony with beginnings
-Other rituals: sweat lodge, sun dance, or a sacred game of ball
-it included the preocupation with directional points: 4 (4 directions), was a privileged number that appeared frequently in story, legend, and ceremony. 5: was a privileged number because it added the center to the four corners. 7: added a vertical dimension (highest point, lowest point, and center where the person stood)
what shape was of meaningful meaning to indians? represented with what number?
-standing in the middle with 6 direction at equal points, because it described a 3D circle
explain the meaning of the circle in Native American beleif
-Circles were sacred for Indians because they reflected and imitated shapes that they saw in the natural world
-To be in harmony meant to live as part of the circle of this world
-In their religion, this referred to the ancient idea of "correspondence"
-Their societies were understood to be a small scale replicas of the larger reality that surrounded them
-Because they saw themselves as made of the same stuff as the natural and sacred world, the boundaries could always be easily crossed. Yet because the natural world and the sacred world was seen as one of centers, circumferences, and directions, Native Americans would take their place in the middle (ordinary world)
Explain the Euro-American view
-God had caused the world to be and his law governed its movements
-He could be said to dwell within but he also far transcended it
-His human creatures had increased the separation between God and the world by their fall in the Garden of Eden
-Sin entered the world and affected both humans and all of nature
-world seen as 3-level affair: God tried to control human being and human beings tried to control nature
what Native American traditions have in common? (list them) (10)
-Strong kinships and have family network with the world
-Dimension of time is determined by previous sacred events that define them (Traditional and event collapsed into one)
-Material world is holy
-Personal inner worlds is sacred (dreams)
-Name should bridge the space between inner (inner essence) and outer (kinship with natural world)
-Live within and out of boundaries (to have them or destroy them)
-Live in harmony with world
-Circle was sacred
Contrast Oglala and Hopi in general terms
-Oglala= Sioux hunter-gatherer society of the Plains
-Hopi=Agricultural Pueblo culture form the Southwest
Oglala were victims of_(event in US)
United States military in the Wound Knee Massacre in 1890
Oglala was one of the_(#) or so Indian nations who in the _century roamed the _(location) of N. American between _and_, _(2 doing what in these places?)
-one of the 31
-setting up temporary camps and moving them as the seasons changed and they pursued the buffalo
Oglala belogned to the_divison of the _(the what of what family)
-Teton division of the 7 Fireplaces of the Sioux family
Oglala dwelled in the _portion of Sioux territory and, along with other nations of the Teton Sioux, spoke_
where the Oglala originted?
form the state of Minessota
How did the Oglala culture was afected by the euro-american?
-The beginning and the end of the flowering of their culture were linked ot Euro-Americans
-The horses had come from whites, from Spanish of the Southwest from whom the animals had strayed or been stolen or traded.
-They come onto Plaints, where they obtained horses, an even that change their fortunes and led to their wealth and fame as buffalo hunters
-With horses they do not longer had to travel and hunt on foot, carrying their belongings on their backs or with their dog travoys
the religion of the Oglala reflected the centrality of_and taught the values of the Native American_ (activity). Like American Indian regions in general, it blended _
-ordinary with extraordinary
what is the traditional story about the origin of the Oglala?
-The emergence from earth, in this case through the intrigues of a trickster figure, Inktomi the Spider
-Through a world, Inktomi wooed the people with food and clothing until a few came to the upper world to investigate its virtues
-Here, Inktomi plied them with more gifts and promised them youth, so that they returned to the people in the world below with glowing tales
-Although an old chief and an old women warned of cold wind and the need for hunting, some still came to the upper world
-The results were not what they hoped but, instead pain and misery
-The children cried for food while Inktomi laughed
-Yet all was not lost, for they met Old Man and Old Woman, who taught them to hunt, clothe themselves, and make tipis
what is the meaning of the Oglala beginning story?
-It is about specific people, not about the world in general
-Meaning of the existence in the world as the Oglala knew it
-We are people of the earth, the story is saying, and although creation was a kind of trick that was played on us (we did not really know what it meant to be born; we did not really have any choice), still we have learned to take care of ourselves. Our life goes on
rituals acted out the meaning of_
being an Oglala
what is the story of the origin of the Oglala rituals?
-the story of the gift of a sacred pipe by White Buffalo Calf Woman (sacred woman in white bucksin with a bundle of her back) to the Oglala
-She approached 2 warriors with her gift, but only one survived (the other had wrong thoughts)
-Later, she entered the Oglala camp and presented the pipe to the chief, and she said "With this sacred pipe, you will walk upon Earth; for the Earth is your Grandmother and Mother and She is sacred"
-Since before the beginning of the 19th century, the pipe has figured the rituals of the Oglala
what does the sacred pipe in the rituals represent? According to the ritual, the pipe accompanied the_
-the sign of their felt bond to one another and to the earth
-gift of ritual
what the mysterious women (White Buffalo Calf women) offered additionally?
-a round stone containing seven inscribed circles, each of the circles representing a rite that they would receive
why the women was called white buffalo calf women? what was the first ritual that she taught the Oglala to perform?
-After she had taught them the first--a ceremony meant to keep spirits of dead--she walked away, turning into a buffalo calf
list the rites of the oglala? what is it based on? (7)
-at its center is the sacred pipe
1. Ghost keeping
2. sweat lodge ceremony
3. vision quest
4. sun dance
5. making of relatives
6. girl's puberty ritual
7. sacred ball game
describe the ritual ghost keeping
-deal more easily with death
-The soul of a deceased person was beleived could be kept for a period of time ranging from 6 months to 2 or more years
-Elaborated ceremonies to keep a ghost bundle by using a lock of hair from the dead person
-included taboos and a dwelling for the bundle
-When the day arrived on which they intended to release the spirit, the ceremonies were equally elaborate
all of the rituals have been characterized by minute prescriptions for word and gesture, hinging always on the use of_. Each ritual _
-the directional points
-locates the Oglala in a world of meaning by a centering process with regard to space
describe the ritual sweat lodge ritual
-rules governed the construction of the lodge, the use of space within it, and the roles that those who participated played
-The leader had to move sunwise as he entered the lodge
-There were 7 heated stones, at first, and prayers had to be offered over them before more stones could be added
-Later, after the door was sealed, the ritual went forward with attention to the 4 directions as various gestures and actions were performed
describe the ritual vision quest
-performed alone on a sacred hill away from the camp, usually for the first time in adolescence
-men and sometimes women, sought a vision in which guardian spirits would reveal their relationship to the seeker and bestow the knowledge/power desired
-Conducted under guidance of holy person
-involved smoking the sacred pipe, preliminary purification in the sweat lodge, fasting, and prayer
-Once the seeker reached the sacred hill, 4 spring saplings formed poles at the 4 directions, and the seeker traced a cross by returning to the center from each of the 4
How the vision quest, even if the seeker started alone, is considered to have began in community?
-The holy person who guided the quest embodied the spiritual wisdom of the Oglala as people
-When at last the seeker believed that the vision had been granted and returned, he or she related the experience in the presence of others and listened as the holy person and guide interpreted its meaning
-If there was a place for the individual in Oglala religion, it was a place that was very carefully circumscribed
The rite of the 7 rites was conceived as a _to _
the communal character of Oglala religion was especially evident in_ (ritual)
-the sun dance
describe the sun dance ritual (description, why special, what celebrated, what people included, duration)
-only ritual that occurred at a special time of year, the sun dance took place in the early summer after buffalo "harvest"
-intertribial affair (many people came together)
-the ritual extended over 4 days, and each day has its own proper ritual tasks, its formal and necessary ceremonies
-In a dance that followed, warriors in their finest attire circled the pole, running to each of the directions to flatten the ground and symbolically "killing"the images of a man and a buffalo at the pole
-But the culmination was the actual dance around the pole. The dancers were literally bound to the sacred center. attached by thongs to the pole
-They performed either gazing at the sun from morning until night or with skewers digging into their flesh
-Under their leaders they danced themselves into an ectasy of sacrifice until they fell exhausted or the flesh was pulled from their bodies and they were released
-They fasted for the duration of the dance, demonstrating in this hunting version of a first fruits festival that in return for the gift of life they acknowledged, they would offer themselves
what was needed for the sun dance?
-lodge was constructed
-a cottonwood tree selected and trimmed according to prescription to form the sacred pole at the center, and the pole painted and decorated with symbolic offerings, among them reminders of the buffalo
describe the ritual making of relatives
-was designed to unite 2 people to each other in a bond considered closer than that between relatives, committing them to die for each other, if necessary
describe the puberty ritual for girls (other name, describe it)
-also called buffalo ceremony
-was performed at first menstruation with the intention of placing young women in the care of the sacred buffalo and of securing for them a relationship with White Buffalo Calf Woman
-At their menstruation periods thereafter, women lived temporarily alone, a practice common among Native Americans, who believed that women possessed a power that, if it came into contact with that of the hunter-warriors, could damage it
describe the sacred ball game ritual (it shows the sacredness of what symbol_
-the religious power of women figure
-It symbolized the game of life
-a young girl threw out a ball to people standing at the four directions
-The ball stood for knowledge, and the people trying to catch it were struggling to free themselves from ignorance
what means wakan? who possesses it? (5)
-wakan was a quality thought to be possessed by the elements such as thunder and lighting, by the animals and plants, sometimes by human beings, and even by objects
List some wakan objects? (4)
-the ball of the game
-the sacred pipe
-and many objects used in the rituals
for the Oglala, wakan was the_(what caused?)
-dimension of reality that caused transformation
-It was a mysterious force that surrounded them in the world the sacred buffalo had given
what is Wakantanka?
-It is like the god of Oglala
How native americans tend to see sacredness vs euro-americans?
-Native Americans tend to see sacredness as a quality suffusing all things to personify their God ambiguosly so that at the same time they were both are and are not separate from natural world
-Euro-Americans tend toward more precision and separation in their concept of the supernatural
what being was wakan among the Oglala?
why the buffalo was so important for the Oglala?
-Sacred story and ritual together demonstrated how central the buffalo traditionally was
-Oglala religion and life revolved around the being from which, they drew all of their sustenance (economic, buffalo meat, hide, and even teeth, but even more spiritual)
The buffalo gave the Oglala a center and identity
How the Oglala find themselves in today days?
-Despite the advances of Euro-American culture that threatened to take away their lands and livelihood, the Oglala have maintained their identity
-No longer depending for their survival on hunters and warriors
-present-day Oglala survive as people because of their religion
-The pipe is still an Oglala means of prayer addressed to Wakantanka
-Sweat lodge, vision quest, and sun dance all continue, and in the contemporary Oglala community there is a strong reawakening of religious traditionalism
reclamation movement (what it is and what is it linked to?)
-for the return of lands and artifacts and the remain of their ancestors
-Linked to the resurgence of tradition, and so is a new indigenous rights activism
how Oglala have been influenced by other native americans?
-the peyote religion
-Uses the plant as sacred power person
what kind of religion Oglala have today?
-Contemporary Oglala belong to one or an other Christian denomination
-No conflict between Christian adherence and the older ways
Hopi are numbered among the_Indians of the American_. why?
-peueblo or village
-So called because they have dwelled together in adobe and stone apartment villages
where Hopi and other Pueblo people settled along? (state)
-along the Rio Grande (New Mexico)
In what state is found the Hopi?
what the desert life provided to Hopi regarding their religion? (think about other religions)
-Life in the desert proved to favor cultural continuity, for, with greater isolation from Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo-American conquerors than their eastern cousins, the Hopi for most of their history remained largely untouched by Christianity
what is the origin of Hopi?
-They are a mystery
what are 2 scholar theories of the origin of Hopi?
1. ancestors came into Southeast over 2000 years ago. They dug up pits of caves to store their food and eventually began to live in pit houses in the caves or out in the open
2. Hopi came from California desert to their present-day land from about 500 to 700
what is the Hopi theory of where they came from? (2)
-Hopi themselves tell of crossing the ocean on rafts or emerging from the earth
when Hopi culture reached its heights? what it is characterized for? (4)
-900 to 1300, their culture reached its heights
-cliff dwelling, carved into the sides of mountains at places that were easy to defend, and of apartment terraces, villages that are still characteristic of the Pueblo peoples
what means "Oraibi"?
-the ancient ceremonial village of the Hopi
what were the activities the Hopi performed to live?
-At the beginning, they combined farming with hunting and gathering
-But hunting and gathering gradually declined, and Hopi continued to be farmers of corn, beans and squash
Hopi considered tilling the soil a _, but social organization revolved around_, with communities organized in_
the ritual life was centered on_
-sacred pit houses
-place where various clans conducted rituals from which they excluded women
describe women role in religion in Hopi religion
-Hopi tradition reflected the prominence of female symbolism
sacred origin stories named women as creators
-In one from Oraibi, 2 Hard Being Women (deities of hard objects such as shells, corals, turquoise, and beads) created birds, animals, a women, and a men
what is a story of origin in Hopi religion (how kiva applies to this story)
-The Hopi had emerged from the womb of Mother Earth
-The kiva itself essentially a large hole in the earth. was a forceful reminder
tell the story of origin of the Hopi
-The people enjoyed a good life in the world below until evil entered into their hearts, sexual excess grew, and so did hatred and quarreling
-In their plight the chiefs tried to find an escape, and they fashioned a Pawaokaya bird, singing over him to give him life
-Meanwhile, the chiefs planted a pine tree and a reed beside to it to reach the hole into the upper world
-The bird flew in circles around 2 "ladders," found the opening but nothing else. and returned exhausted
-The chiefs made a hummingbird and then a hawk, who repeated search and came back unsuccessfully
-Finally, the chiefs created Motsni, who flew through to upper world, found the site of present-day Oraibi, and also encountered skeleton, who explained that the was living in poverty but that the people were welcome to join him
-So they came, emerging from their plant ladders to the world above
how the Hopi, in their stories, explain how they created the sun and moon?
-with the aid of Spider Women, they fashioned a symbol that turned into a moon and another that became the sun
what gift was given to the Hopi that gave them their identity?
they were also given the gift of corn, and small thought the gift was, with it the Hopi were also given an identity
-To help them remember, in each sacred Kiva of the Hopi was a sipapu
-sipapu is a hole intended as an opening to the world below
-Most times covered by stone, it was opened at the initiation ceremonies at the end of the year with the belief that the dead could leave the womb of Earth to participate
the Hopi narrative fused_
history with interpretation
explain why there is a matrilineal organization in Hopi
-In the beginning the Hard Being Women (deities) had created a woman first and then a man
-This order of creation was a model for customs in Hopi society by which women owned their houses and household goods and, in a sense, their children, who derived their clan kindship from their mothers -
How the stories of the Oglala are similar to the Hopi?
-As the Oglala, the truth of Hopi tradition did not depend on historical memory
-Its statment of identity made their account true, for in telling who they were, the Hopi were also telling what meaning and significance they attached to their lives
-Like the Oglala, the Hopi were saying that they were people of the earth
Hopi clearly were saying through their religion that they were_
While the Oglala possessed only one calendric ritual in the sun dance, for the Hopi rite depended_
-on the cycle of the seasons
how Hopi tried to Harmonize with nature?
-it was expressed in ritual harmony with its changing seasons: transformation
-Here meant following the movements of the natural world through cyclic time
the motivation force behind the calendar of rites in Hopi was_
the ever-present need for water to make crops grow in the desert region
As the buffalo was central for the Oglala, _was primary for Hopi
In both cases of Oglala and Hopi, what _and_were traditionally fused. explain (on base on boundaries)
-ordinary religion and extraordinary religion
-Rituals were ways for maintaining the boundaries so that life could be lived within the safe fences of economic and social organization
-Rituals were also ways to cross over these boundaries and experience what these Native Americans felt as the power of the sacred
explain the rites of the Hopi at the most basic level (include specific techniques (7))
-each clan had its specific area of religious responsibility and thus its particular religious lesson and action to teach
-All utilized similar ritual techniques: offering of prayer sticks, the building of an altar of sacred objects, the sprinkling of corn as medicine to lead to the transformation of nature that the people desired, recitation of story, verbal forms of prayer, attention to 4 directions, and song and dance
what is the main reason of the Hopi ceremonies?
all ceremonies aimed at the production of rain for fertility and growth
what was the similar time pattern that all Hopi ceremonies followed? (days)
-8 days of preparation and 8 days of secret rites culminating in public dance on the 9th day
With a full calendar of annual ceremonies, the Hopi spent roughly _of the year in the work of ritual
1/3 to 1/2
How the Hopi ceremones divide in the year? (2)
-Kachinas rituals: December to July
-Non-kachinas rituals= august to november
Kachina (spiritual meaning)
-Inner and invisible forms, they are understood to give a spiritual dimension to outer and physical existence
-They are not gods but have been honored as spirits
-spirits of the dead, minerals, plants, animals and planets
-intermediaries from the sacred world
When the Kachinas visit the Hopi?
-during the first half when the Kachina rituals have been held
how many Kachinas are known?
-Over 250 in number (as many as 600 have been known)
-New ones have been appearing as old ones were forgotten, so that the catalog of Kachina spirits was fluid and variable
How the Hopi saw the Kachinas?
-the Kachinas were traditionally never worshiped but rather looked upon as friends and endowed with a variety of human qualities
-They have varied personalities ranging from benevolent to inspire fear by their punishing offenders in Hopi society
Kachinas (human meaning)
-they are male dancers that impersonate both male and female Kachinas
-they are thought to confer sacred powers
-they dance in a state they felt that they became the Kachinas they impersonated
Kachinas (physical representation)
-Kachinas are exquisitely carved dolls that kachina dancers give to Hopi children during ceremonies to teach them about kachinas beings
-They are made of cottonwood roots
-They are not toys neither sacred objects, they have perhaps been "show" objects in the Hopi home reminding all of the spirit kachina dolls represent
describe Kachina ceremonies
-within them, kachina dancers impersonated the spirit of Kachinas, and the spirit Kachinas were believed to manifest themselves
why the calendar Hopi was divided in such way?
-The Hopi thought tha tthe dual clandar (Kachina/Non-kachina) was necessary because tha, in the world below this one, life corresponded to arrangement in Hopi society.
-Thus, whatever rituals occurred during the first part of the year above were replicated during the second half in the world below
-The kachinas had to be elsewhere in the summer and fall; this was why they could not dance in the village plaza with the Hopi
describe Hopi tradition in today days
-Kachina rituals continue
-But earlier, with greater contacts with whites and Christian ways, erosion in the ceremonial life of the villages began to occur
-At the same time, witchcraft grew with spread of anxiety because beliefs in negative form of witchcraft and sorcery had long been par of the Hopi life
-As time passed, witches and sorceres seemed to multiply everywhere, and fear and dissension struck in the heart of the Hopi society
-Old prophecies came to be associated with the contemporary presence of whites and the beginning of a time of purification
what religion became was the most successful missionaries to the Hopi?
How Hopi reacted to the other religions?
-As the Oglala, it was not necessary to abandon Hopi tradition and ceremony in order to embrace Mormonism or to follow other Christian denominations
-A Hopi could participate in traditional religion and new (Christian) religion at the same time
How religious and cultural compartments became a continuing feature of Hopi life?
-with the blocks of thinking and acting that remained traditionally Hopi and other blocks that accommodated the alien culture and its Christian religion
How the religion of Oglala is similar to Hopi? (what sought?)
-Like the religion of the Oglala, the Hopi religion has sought to persevere and protect the ordinary and even as it has linked believers to the extraordinary
New Hopi prophecies predicted the_
How the Hopi see the religious future?
-Like the Oglala, the Hopi see the religious future in terms of present change and also through the lens of their own particular past
give a summary statement of how all Native American acts
each Native American nation has traditions of origin, its ceremonial cycle, and its identity as "the people" cherished by sacred powers allied to nature and cherishing them in return
The Oglala and Hopi _ and yet_, and so did other Native Americans. Even a return to tradition has had new_
-maintained traditional ways
-new meaning as Indians have used their religious past to support their identity in contemporary times
what was a new policy that applied to Native Americans?
Native American Graves and Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
Explain Native American Graves and Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
-Law providing a legal framework for the repartition of human remains and some cultural artifacts from certain institutions receiving federal support
-Native Americans needed to show "cultural affiliation" or "lineal descent" in order to repatriate what they desired. Or base their claims on the authority of "traditional religious leaders"
What the Cheyenne acted to the NAGPRA law?
-They wanted the human remains to stay at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC instead of being repatriated
what was the uppermost concern in the dispute? where this concerns apply? where to indians represent themselves? explain how
-they apply to the National Museum of the American Indian within the Smithsonian. Here Native American people represent themselves, and objects are treated with regard for their layers of spirituality meaning that go beyond historical or aesthetic considerations
claims of sovereignity in land disputes have relied in a_
number of cases on traditional religious practice and belief regarding particular tracts of land
what is the 3 general Native american responses to new cultural forces? How this is called in general?
1. Native Americans might keep up the practices of their traditional religions but add to them elements derived from Christianity
2. Native Americans might turn to a variety of new religious practices and movements
3. Native Americans might be converted to various denominations from Christianity, either working to maintain their traditional religion alongside the new or renouncing old, at least on the surface, in favor of the new
-in all cases, forms of "religious combination" either clear or subtle, ruled the day
-Indian people used elements at hand to create religious responses that filed their contemporary needs
Clear forms of religious combination occurred in those regions that were missionized by _
Spanish Catholic priests, that is, in the Southwest and California
In the Rio Grande Pueblos of New Mexico, after the initial period of encounter, there was _. Thus, Pueblos for a period of 150 years were_. The result was_
-little or no contact with Catholic priest
-free to modify Catholic rituals to serve Native American ends
-ceremonial calendars in the various pueblos that for the most part were based on traditional Native American beliefs and practices. But added to them were Catholic ceremonies meant to satisfy Pueblo needs
describe what believes the Native Americans adopted and which ones not as much from catholic religion.
-Little interest in Jesus or Virgin, in heaven and hell, or in Christian understanding of God
-Yet saint's day became an occasion for festivity, and Holy week and Christmas, while not historical commemorations of events in the life of Jesus, were times for prayer
-Roman Catholic All Souls' Day provided an opportunity to honor departed ancestors with gifts
what new religion practice arose? who introduced it? (include his other name) where it arose?
-Jack Wilson, also called Wovoka
-It swept the Plains in the late 19th century
When the old religions seemed to fail as the whites pushed the Indians out of their lands, what arose? what they stated? included who?
-new religious prophets arose to proclaim rites and ceremonies that would bring the power to end white ascendancy and to restore the Indians to harmony with the earth and themselves
-Among these was the Paiute Indian Jack Wilson
What Jack Wilson claimed? what he predicted?
-He claimed to have died twice and to have seen God
-He began to predict that the earth and whites would be destroyed by flood and that the Indians should perform the ceremony of their ancient round (ghost dance) so that the flood would wash under them and they would survive
-Earth would spring to life in a new creation, and the Indians would be reunited with their dead ancestors and dwell together in plenty
what the Indians that practice the Ghost dance claimed?
-they claimed to be reunited with deceased relatives and to feel empowered by tokens (piece of meat or feather) they received form the spirit world
what was the repercussion of the Ghost dance among the Oglala? (who encouraged them to do so?)
-with Nicholar Black Elk's encouragement
-they reshaped the dance to suit themselves
-They began to wear ghost shirts as they danced (with red decoration garments and eagle feathers) they believed were bullet proof
-The conviction contributed to their deaths at Wounded Knee
-The Oglala wearing their ghost shirts thought they could not be harmed by the bullets of the US 7th Calvary
describe the code of handsome lake (who created it, what it said, what the code combined?)
-Religious movements among American Indians
-Seneca religion led by the prophet Handsome Lake resulted in the enduring organizaiton fo Gaiwiio, the Old Way of Handsome Lake
-Based on claims of visions, Handsome Lake preached the imminent destruction of the world, the reality of sin and a need for salvation
-Later he added an emphasis on moral reform
-The code combined a traditional account for the late prophet's visionary experience and teaching with both ritual prescriptions for a longhouse church (traiditional Iroquois structure) and moral guidance that underscored the sacredness of the family
-Iroquois reservations still follow the Code of Handsome Lake
Describe the Peyote religion (where and when flourished, who spread it, it is considered to be the most_)
-Flourished in the Native American church
-It grew beginning of the 2nd half of the 19th century by Native americans who lived in Oklahoma reservations
-It is the most widespread among contemporary Indian religions
Describe the Peyote way (what it consists of in general)
-Centers on communion ritual in which believers eat some from the peyote cactus in a ceremony usually lasting all night
-There are prayer, song, meditation, sacramental consumption of peyote, and (when the communication was said to be favored by the spirit power of the plant) extraordinary visual and auditory experiences
Communicants of the Peyote way say_(benefits)and they are aware of their_(influence of other religion and how they have used this religion)
-peyote heals and gives knowledge
-of the Christian elements in their religion
-they have actively used Chrisitanity to express their own religious vision, and so in their combinatory religion they have strongly bent Christianity material to Native American beliefs and values
The_element in peyote religion point to the fact that the new religious practices and movements all contain __
what makes the new religious practices with Christian elements different form the combination style of the earlier Pueblo?
-is the presence of a new vision, even if shaped from older materials
-It is a vision borne by the authority of a strong leader or leaders who proclaim distinctive teaching that transforms foreign material more thoroughly in native directions
-introduction of a ceremony that use elements from traditional Indian rituals while integrating the new or borrowed elements
Explain the Denominational Christianity
-It is when Native Americans have turned in a more direct way toward Christianity--> Christian Indians
-it sprang up in various forms with the presence of Euro-American Christians who sought to convert the Indians to Christianity
what indians turned to other religion? what religions tried to change them? (5)
-they accepted Christian missionary work, presbyterians, baptists, methodists, and congregationalists
when the federal government forced most of the Cherokee nation to resettle _, a small remnant escaped the deportation to remain in the East. Many of them were_(2), and eventually the_(what religion)won the most adherents among the Eastern Cherokee. In keeping with the mid-20th century Baptist message throughout the South, it was _that the Eastern Cherokee were taught. what themes the Cherokees were taught?
-west of Mississippi
-baptists and methodists
-Predominating themes were human sinfulness and the need to believe in salvation through Jesus to escape the torments of hell
why the adherence of Cherokee to Christianity was not difficult? (2)
-they related to the Christian message of kinship and love because, in their clans and extended family, they already felt they experienced both
-They could related to the message of guilt and the need for atonement because in their traditional religion the quest for a rebalancing through purity had been an important theme
why the adherence of Cherokee to Baptism was not difficult?
The ritual of Baptism for the cherokee it echoed their traditional cold baths in streams, the ceremony they knew as "going to water "
what was the real religion of the Cherokee? why this was figured out?
-Due Cherokees at death kept their traditional pre-Christian funeral ceremony
-Cherokee Christianity has actually been a blending of Christianity and traditional themes
-They turn to Christianity in terms of prior beliefs and practices that make the new religion plausible
-shape Christianity to their own requirements
Kateri Tekakwitha conferences
-smaller are called kateri circles
-Named for Blessed Kateri Tekakawitha, a 17th century Mohawk convert to Catholicism who is now a candidate for sainthood in Catholic church
-The kateri conferences and movements signal the strength of Catholicism in native circles
-the inclusion of native symbols or rituals in official church services
why the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was put on action? (3)
-Native American religions have not always enjoyed such acceptance and respect
-The story of the Ghost Dance tells that
-So does the history of repression of Native American ceremonies by the federal government until very recently
what is the American Indian Religious Freedom Act? (who put it on action, what it said)
-put by congress
-it shall be the policy of the US to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise their traditional religions
what court case after American Indian Religious Freedom Act appeared? (they argued about_, what native americans believed, what the americans wanted to do, what indians were the main affected, who won)
-Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association
-they argued about land
-Native Americans saw the sites associated with traditional religious beliefs and ceremonies
-The US forest service proposed to build a paved road between Gaston and Orleans, California. This road was to cross land in 6 rivers national forest and sacred land of Yurok, Karok and Tolowa Indians
-The indians won their case in the district court, but the supreme court reversed the decision
what the native americans argued in the court case Lyng v. Northwest Inidan Cemetery Protective Association?
-they argued that centrally important ceremonies required that religious leaders have access to the high country and that proposed road would violate the undisturbed sacredness of the space
what is another native american vs US case?
the Oregon v smith
describe Oregon v smith
-it was about practice of indian peyotism
-2 members of Native American Church in Douglas County, Oregon, ad been discharged form their substance abuse counseling position because of their peyotism
-Alfred Smith and Galen Black were subsequently denied unemployment benefits by the state of Oregon
-They appealed at the state level and won their cases in light on free exercise
-They have been eaten peyote sacramentally; they ought not to have been refused unemployment compensation for misconduct, said the Oregon Supreme Court
-On the 2nd appealing on the US supreme court, the second appeal was Oregon v smith
-the court held valid and neutral state law could be enforced even if that law conflicted with the practice of the religion
-The free excercise right of an individual did not, according to the Court, exempt the person from general law
what was the policy passed by congress due to the strike back to the oregon v smith case?
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Describe what the religious freedom restoration act
-a law that insisted on compelling government interest before the state could intrude on religious activity
-the law must find the least restrictive means to its own ends when those ends came into conflict with religion
what happened later on to religious freedom restoration act?
-The supreme court struck down the religious freedom restoration act because congress had exceeded its powers
what are the things that all Native Americans have in common in their traditions? (5)
-sense of continuity with the sacred world has been expressed inn beliefs regarding kinship with natuere and in traditional sacred stories that reflect no break between the events of creation and the ordinary history of people
-The outer, material world has been holy and so has the inner world of dreams
-Moving between worlds has meant that boundaries can be breached and transformation are important
-Holy beings have been seen as shapeshifters, able to assume new form or change the world around them
-Living in harmony with the natural world has been the great religious requirement
Oglala are from_, and the Hopi are from_
-North American Plains
Both Oglala and Hopi _ (what they did with their religions)
collapsed ordinary religion with extraordinary religion
Oglala was a _society and Hopi was a _society
Euro-American influenced Native American religions that lead to the creation of_ (3)
-religious combinations, elements from European Christianity blended with Native American beliefs and practices
-new religions arose
-Native americans became converts to various Christian denominations
what the native american court cases showed?
-Despite the loses of Native Americans continued to challange the Euro-American views of religion and to insist on the seriousness of Indian sacred ways
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