Faiths & Beliefs of the native Americans

COURTESY: WIKIPEDIA

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as intact political communities. There has been a wide range of terms used to describe them and no consensus has been reached among indigenous members as to what they prefer to be called collectively. They have been known as American Indians, Amerindians, Amerinds, Aboriginal, Indians, Indigenous, Original Americans, Red Indians, or Red Men.

Religion

No particular religion or religious tradition is hegemonic among Native Americans in the United States. Most self-identifying and federally recognized Native Americans claim adherence to some form of Christianity, some of these being cultural and religious syntheses unique to the particular tribe. Traditional Native American spiritual rites and ceremonies are maintained by many Americans of both Native and non-Native identity. These spiritualities may accompany adherence to another faith, or can represent a person's primary religious identity. While much Native American spiritualism exists in a tribal-cultural continuum, and as such cannot be easily separated from tribal identity itself, certain other more clearly-defined movements have arisen within "Trad" Native American practitioners, these being identifiable as "religions" in the clinical sense. The Midewiwin Lodge is a traditional medicine society inspired by the oral traditions and prophesies of the Ojibwa (Chippewa) and related tribes. Traditional practices include the burning of sacred herbs (tobacco, sweetgrass, sage, etc.), the sweatlodge, fasting (paramount in "vision quests"), singing and drumming, and the smoking of natural tobacco in a pipe. A practitioner of Native American spiritualities and religions may incorporate all, some or none of these into their personal or tribal rituals.Another significant religious body among Native peoples is known as the Native American Church. It is a syncretistic church incorporating elements of native spiritual practice from a number of different tribes as well as symbolic elements from Christianity. Its main rite is the peyote ceremony. Prior to 1890, traditional religious beliefs included Wakan Tanka. In the American Southwest, especially New Mexico, a syncretism between the Catholicism brought by Spanish missionaries and the native religion is common; the religious drums, chants, and dances of the Pueblo people are regularly part of Masses at Santa Fe's Saint Francis Cathedral.[88] Native American-Catholic syncretism is also found elsewhere in the United States. (e.g., the National Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine in Fonda, New York and the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York).Native Americans are the only known ethnic group in the United States requiring a federal permit to practice their religion. The eagle feather law, (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations), stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. Native Americans and non-Native Americans frequently contest the value and validity of the eagle feather law, charging that the law is laden with discriminatory racial preferences and infringes on tribal sovereignty. The law does not allow Native Americans to give eagle feathers to non-Native Americans, a common modern and traditional practice. Many non-Native Americans have been adopted into Native American families, made tribal members and given eagle feathers.*)

Native American mythology

Like other religions, Native American belief systems include many sacred narratives. Such spiritual stories are deeply based in Nature and are rich with the symbolism of seasons, weather, plants, animals, earth, water, sky and fire. The idea of an all powerful Great Spirit, a connection to the Earth, diverse creation narratives and collective memories of ancient ancestors are common. Traditional worship practices are often a part of tribal gatherings with dance, rhythm, songs and trance. Actual practices vary.

Fifth World (Native American mythology)

The Fifth World is either the present world, or the next world, in several Native American beliefs which center around a cyclical understanding of time. According to both Native American Hopi mythology and Maya mythology, the current world we inhabit is the "Fourth World." In both belief systems, time is cyclical, and the end of one world is the beginning of the next. For the Hopi, the end of the fourth world is marked by the arrival of Pahana, or the lost "White Brother." The Maya calendar charts out this progression through astrology, concluding that the current, fourth world will end sometime near the December solstice in 2012 (dates vary based on interpretation).

The Aztecs held similar beliefs, but they believed we are currently in the fifth world, and that it is the sixth world that is to arrive next.The coming Fifth World (where our present World is presented as the Fourth) is said to arrive following a cycle in Nature affecting our entire Solar System, where our Earth births an Egg (Mystery Egg, Hidden Egg) and then moves "up" within our system to reach its crowning place. All of the Earth's life is then said to be "raised" to its perfected-eternal form. Some tribes refer to this period of change as "Purification Time." During this period of Purification, Time is said to change where we must choose between the natural Time we have now upon our Earth (meant for us) and an unnatural Time structure which removes us from Nature and our opportunity to reach the Fifth World. It is told that everyone will have to choose between the two Time frames-- one leading to the Fifth World with our Earth, and the other (which will be very alluring, deceiving many) which will remove us from our Earth, taking us to oblivion.

Crow mythology

Crow mythology is the belief system of the Crow tribe, Native Americans of the Great Plains area of the United States. The medicine people of the tribe are known as Akbaalia ("healer").

The Mannegishi, also called little people, are bald humanoids with large eyes and tiny bodies. They were tricksters and may be similar to fairies. They have supposedly been sighted in Massachusetts and are known there as Dover Demons.Baaxpee is a spiritual power that can cause a person to mature, as well as unusual events or circumstances that force maturation. After transformation, the changed are known as Xapaaliia. Andiciopec is a warrior hero who is invincible to bullets.

Ghost Dance

Noted in historical accounts as the Ghost Dance of 1890, the Ghost Dance was a religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. The traditional ritual used in the Ghost Dance, the circle dance, has been used by many Native Americans since prehistoric times, but was first performed in accordance with Jack Wilson's teachings among the Nevada Paiute in 1889. The practice swept throughout much of the American West, quickly reaching areas of California and Oklahoma. As the Ghost Dance spread from its original source, Native American tribes synthesized selective aspects of the ritual with their own beliefs, often creating change in both the society that integrated it and the ritual itself.

At the core of the movement was the prophet of peace Jack Wilson, known as Wovoka among the Paiute, who prophesied a peaceful end to white American expansion while preaching messages of clean living, an honest life, and cross-cultural cooperation. Perhaps the best known facet of the Ghost Dance movement is the role it reportedly played in instigating the Wounded Knee massacre in 1890, which resulted in the deaths of at least 153 Lakota Sioux. The Sioux variation on the Ghost Dance tended towards millenarianism, an innovation which distinguished the Sioux interpretation from Jack Wilson's original teachings.

Paiute background

The Northern Paiutes living in Mason Valley, in what is now the U.S. state of Nevada, at the time of settlement by white American homesteaders, were known collectively as the Tövusi-dökadö, (Tövusi- : Cyperus-bulb and dökadö : eaters). The Northern Paiute community thrived upon a subsistence pattern of foraging through this locally plentiful food source for a portion of the year, also augmenting their diets with fish, pine nuts, and the occasional clubbing of wild game.The Tövusi-dökadö lacked any permanent political organization or officials, instead operating within a less stratified social system of self-proclaimed spiritually blessed individuals organizing events or activities for the betterment of the group as a whole. Usually, community events centered on the observance of a ritual at a prescribed time of year or was intended to organize activities like harvests or hunting parties. One such extraordinary instance occurred in 1869 when Hawthorne Wodziwob, a Paiute man, organized a series of community dances to announce his vision. He spoke of a journey to the land of the dead and of promises made to him by the souls of the recently deceased. They promised to return to their loved ones within a period of 3-4 years. Wodziwob’s peers accepted this vision, probably due to his already reputable status as a healer, as he urged the populace to dance the common circle dance as was customary during a time of festival. He continued preaching this message for 3 years with the help of a local "weather doctor" named Tavibo, the father of Jack Wilson.[2]

Prior to Wodziwob’s religious movement, a devastating typhoid epidemic struck in 1867. This and other European diseases killed approximately one tenth of the total population,[3] resulting in widespread psychological and emotional trauma, which brought grave disorder to the economic system. Many families were prevented from continuing their nomadic lifestyle, following pine nut harvests and wild game herds. Left with few options, many families ended up in Virginia City seeking wage work.

Round dance precursors

The physical form of the ritual associated with the Ghost Dance religion did not originate with Jack Wilson, nor did it die with him. Referred to as the “round dance”, this ritual form characteristically includes a circular community dance held around an individual who leads the ceremony. Often accompanying the ritual are intermissions of trance, exhortations and prophesying.The term “prophet dances” was applied during an investigation of Native American rituals carried out by anthropologist Leslie Spier, a student of Franz Boas. He noted that versions of the round dance were present throughout much of the Pacific Northwest including the Columbia plateau (a region including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of western Montana). However, Spier’s study was conducted at a time when most of these rituals had already incorporated Christian elements, which further complicated the investigation of the round dance’s origin.European impact on native populations (often prior to actual physical exploration of the more remote regions of the continent) has made it difficult to acquire “pristine” data on North American societies during their “pre-historic” or “proto-historic” eras. Changes in Native American societies before physical contact with Europeans can be attributed to severe disease epidemics, an increased frequency and volume in trade caused by the introduction of European goods, from Europeans purchasing local resources and the introduction of the horse (which revolutionized the foraging lifestyle for some aboriginal societies).Enculturation and diffusion are not the only explanations for the common circle dance rituals. Anthropologist James Mooney was one of the first to study the circle dance. He observed striking similarities in many Native American rituals. However, he also claimed that “a hope and longing common to all humanity, manifests through behavior rooted in human physiology and common experience”; therefore, alluding to either the notion of universal imprints on the human mind, or to ubiquitous behaviors drawn from universal life courses that led to the ritual form.

Jack Wilson’s vision

Jack Wilson, the prophet formerly known as Wovoka until his adoption of an Anglo name, was believed to have experienced a vision during a solar eclipse on January 1, 1889. It was reportedly not his first time experiencing a vision directly from God; but as a young adult, he claimed that he was then better equipped, spiritually, to handle this message. Jack had received training from an experienced holy man under his parents’ guidance after they realized that he was having difficulty interpreting his previous visions. Jack was also training to be a “weather doctor”, following in his father’s footsteps, and was known throughout Mason Valley as a gifted and blessed young leader. He often presided over circle dances, which symbolizes the sun’s heavenly path across the sky, while preaching a message of universal love.Anthropologist James Mooney conducted an interview with this charismatic preacher in 1892. Mooney confirmed that his message matched that given to his fellow aboriginal Americans. This study compared letters between tribes and notes that Jack asked his pilgrims to take upon their arrival at Mason Valley. Jack told Mooney that he had stood before God in Heaven, and had seen many of his ancestors engaged in their favorite pastimes. God showed Jack a beautiful land filled with wild game, and instructed him to return home to tell his people that they must love each other, not fight, and live in peace with the whites. God also stated that Jack’s people must work, not steal or lie, and that they must not engage in the old practices of war or the traditional self-mutilation practices connected with mourning the dead. God said that if his people abided by these rules they would be united with their friends and family in the other world.In God’s presence, Jack proclaimed, there would be no sickness, disease, or old age. According to Jack, he was then given the Ghost Dance and commanded to take it back to his people. Jack preached that if this five-day dance was performed in the proper intervals, the performers would secure their happiness and hasten the reunion of the living and deceased. God purportedly gave Jack powers over weather and told him that he would be the deputy in charge of affairs in the Western United States, leaving current President Harrison as God’s deputy in the East. Jack claims that he was then told to return home and preach God’s message.Jack Wilson claimed to have left the presence of God convinced that if every Indian in the West danced the new dance to “hasten the event,” all evil in the world would be swept away leaving a renewed Earth filled with food, love, and faith. Quickly accepted by his Paiute brethren, the new religion was termed “Dance In A Circle”. Because the first European contact with the practice came by way of the Sioux, their expression Spirit Dance was adopted as a descriptive title for all such practices. This was subsequently translated as “Ghost Dance”.

Mixe

The Mixe or Mije (always pronounced ['mihe] ) is an indigenous group inhabiting the eastern highlands of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. They speak the Mixe languages which are classified in the Mixe-Zoque family, and are more culturally conservative than other indigenous groups of the region, maintaining their language to this day. A population figure of 90,000 speakers of Mixe were estimated by SIL international in 1993. The Mixe name for themselves is ayüükj'ä'äy meaning "people who speak the mountain language" The word "Mixe" itself is probably derived from the Nahuatl word for cloud: mīxtli.

Mixe religion is largely a syncretic blend of Roman Catholicism together with traditions informed by their indigenous Mesoamerican religious beliefs. For most Mixe there is no contradiction between the tenets of Catholicism and their adherence to native belief systems and ritual practices.In addition to and in modification of the Catholic system, the Mixe maintain a pantheon of gods representing certain aspects. These include:
  • Poj 'Enee ("Thunder wind"), a fertility and rain god who is also the protector of Mixe towns
  • Naaxwiiñ ("Earth Surface"), an earth and fertility goddess
  • Yuuk, the "owner of the animals" and the deity of wild animals and the hunt
  • Hɨgɨñ, a goddess of rivers and springs, venerated by fishermen
  • Mɨjku, a god of wealth, luck, hurricanes, death and the underworld, who is often equated with the Catholic devil.

The Mixe are among the few contemporary indigenous communities of Mesoamerica to still use the 260-day ritual calendar which was in use throughout Mesoamerica in pre-Columbian times. The Mixe use the ritual calendar for divination, planning of rituals and in order to determine the names given to children. Mixes have two names: a calendrical name in the Mixe language given at birth and a Spanish-Catholic name given at baptism.Nagualism also forms a part of Mixe religious beliefs: the Mixe believe that every person is born simultaneously with an animal which becomes their Ts'ok (Nahual/animal counterpart) - the animal carries part of the human's soul and the two beings will share a common destiny.

Tribal Spiritual Practices

  • Abenaki Native American tribe located in the falang northeastern United States. Religious ceremonies are led by shamans, called Medeoulin (Mdawinno).
  • Anishinaabe located primarily in the Great Lakes Aztec. Myths and legends of Mesoamerican culture, recognized many gods and supernatural creatures such as the Aztec.
  • Blackfoot tribe of Native Americans who currently live in Montana. They lived west of the Great Lakes and lived in Montana and Alberta and participated in Plains Indian culture.
  • Cherokee. Native American culture who mainly live in the southeastern United States and in Oklahoma.
  • Creek tribe of Native Americans from the southeastern Aztec United States. The shaman was called an Alektca.
  • Crow Aztec Native Americans live in the Great Plains area of the United States. The shaman of the tribe was known as an Akbaalia ("healer").
  • Guarani people of the south-central part of South America, especially the native peoples of Paraguay and parts of the surrounding areas of Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia.
  • Ho-Chunk and Winnebago are tribes of Native Americans, which were once a single tribe living in Wisconsin.
  • Hopi Aztec tribe of Native Americans located in the southwestern United States.
  • Incan South American Aztec culture, with myths and legends which survived amongst the native Aztec peoples.
  • Inuit similarities to the religions of other polar regions. Inuit traditional religious practices could be very briefly summarised as a form of shamanism based on animist principles.
  • Lakota Native American tribe, also known as the Sioux.
  • Lenape Native American tribe from the Delaware area
  • Mapuche, South American culture of native peoples of Chile and some regions of Argentina.
  • Maya, Mesoamerican culture with extensive polytheistic beliefs.
  • Miwok mythology, a Native American people in Northern California.
  • Navajo tribe of Native Americans who live in the southwestern United States.
  • Ohlone mythology, a Native American people in Northern California.
  • Pawnee tribe of Native Americans originally located in Nebraska, United States.
  • Pomo mythology, a Native American people in Northern California.
  • Seneca tribe was one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy from the northeastern United States.
  • Wyandot (sometimes formerly referred to as the Huron) are a First Nations/Native American people originally from Ontario, Canada, and surrounding areas.