Primal or Local Religions Study Guide

When the woman (the Buffalo Maiden) gives the chief the pipe, what does she say?

"Behold!" she said. "With this you shall multiply and be a good nation. Nothing but good shall come from it. Only the hands of the good shall take care of it and the bad shall not even see it."

What items in more complex, modern societies may have fetish-like status?

A lucky rabbit's foot, a four-leafed clover, a lucky horseshoe, or various other objects appear to function in a manner similar to fetishes.

What was Crazy Horse's fetish, and what did it do for him?

A sacred stone,which brought him good fortune in battle.

What characterizes a "High God"?

A single Supreme Being, typically thought to be responsible for the creation of the world.

What was the purpose of the New Year Apo ritual?

An eight-day feast that takes just prior to the New Year. During the ritual, everyone is granted equal status. Everyone has the privilege of speaking one's mind to those who are usually one's superiors. People are able to tell their leaders and bosses what they really think without fear of retribution. This sacred rite of the Ashanti purifies the soul and allows one to begin the new year in a renewed condition.

What was the significance of performing the Sun Dance in the Moon of Making Fat?

Because that is the time when the sun is highest and the growing power of the world is strongest.

What does a "diviner" or "doctor to the bewitched" do?

Determines the causes of present misfortune, prescribes curative actions, and peers into the future.

If one were to impose totemism on the United States, TCC, and the University of Florida, what would their totems be?

Eagle, Eagle, and a Alligator.

In the academic study of religion what are common characteristics of myths?

Firstly, myths are ahistorical ("non-historical"). Myths, that is, generally relate action and characters that take audiences outside the normal bounds of tangible history. Myths deal with extraordinary time rather than ordinary time. Secondly, myths typically contain a bizarre element. Thirdly, myths deal with exemplary time, space,and characters. Lastly, but most perhaps most importantly, myths intend to convey important truths.

How does Sword's description of Wakan Tanka exemplify panentheism?

For Sword, everything is or has waken, and wakan is spirit. Wakan comes from Wakan beings (gods or spirit beings), and Wakan Tanka refers to all the spirit beings which are the same as one.

What are common taboos or prohibitions against the divine king or Kyungu of the Malawi?

He must not fall ill, or suffer a wound, or even scratch himself and bleed a little, for his ill health, or his blood falling on the earth would bring sickness to the whole country.

What was the message of the myth of the Ghost Dance?

It proclaimed the end of white oppression, the restoration of Indian glory, the revival of Indian values, the return of Indian autonomy and the resurrection of those Indians who had died in the struggle against the "white man."

What is animism?

Latin for "soul" or "sprit,"

What characterizes Lebid's experience of becoming a shaman?

Lebid, sick for a long time, dies. Howling wolves gather at a place where his wrapped body lay at the far end of the village. The tribe hears him singing among the wolves and knows he has become a shaman. The tribe purifies itself and gather in Lebid's house. So, Lebid arrives, announces his cure and announces that he has come with healing power.

What did it mean to devote one's whole body to Wanka Tanka or the Great Spirit at the time of the Sun Dance?

One would be hung by leather thongs that, in turn, were attached though fresh piercings in one's body.

To what does fetishism refer?

Power objects, objects believed to possess a super-ordinary energy (sometimes referred to as mana) which can be controlled for the purpose of protection, bringing good fortune,or perhaps even causing harm to others. A fetish is infused with magical religious power that transcends the object in which it inheres.

To what does "shaman" refer?

Regarded as a gifted individual who has the ability to enter the spirit world through dance, vision, trance,and, often times, sickness. After visiting the spirit world, the shaman returns with messages or powers (e.g., healing or foreseeing) that can be utilized for the benefit of the tribe.

How does the Pueblo hunting ritual demonstrate sympathetic or imitative magic?

Rituals must be performed to appeal to the powers of the hunt and seek their blessings. In this case by producing images of their prey and symbolically killing them, hunters believed they could gain power over the real animals. By carrying out the ritual the Pueblo appeal to the "Mother of the Game" or the "Earth Mother,the source of all live things," that she may bless the hunters' efforts.

Referring to the words of Wintu and the hunting ritual of the Pygmies, how may animism promote a more reverential attitude toward nature?

Since all of nature is alive and capable of influencing one's existence, one should respect all of nature.

How may ancestral spirits, according to Native African religion, affect one's life?

The ancestors are a great "cloud of witnesses" watching the spectacle of life unfold and also communicating, often in the form of dreams, and intervening.

To what does polytheism refer?

The belief in many deities.

To what does "anima" refer?

The belief that all things (people, animals, trees, rocks,rivers,etc.) are inhabited, enlivened, or animated by spirits or souls.

To what does "spiritism" refer?

The belief that people who die continue to exist in a spirit world that interacts with the ordinary, earthly world. The dead, in other words, are in some sense still alive and capable of influencing the lives of those who have not yet tasted death.

Why were Native Americans reluctant to surrender their homelands to European settlers?

The continued existence of ancestral spirits is the reason why Native Americans were reluctant to surrender their homelands to European settlers.

Why did Pu-eng-yii suffer a serious accident?

The diviner indicated that his ancestors were extremely angry with him and caused the accident themselves.

What work, according to the Yoruba, did the five-toed hen perform at the creation of the world?

The hen then scratched the dirt until the surface of the earth was formed with its mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes.

How were strips of rawhide attached to the dancers, and for how long did the participants dance?

The holy men would cut a place in his back or chest, so that a strip of rawhide, fastened to the top of the tree, could be pushed through the flesh and tied. Then the man would get up and dance to the drums, leaning on the rawhide strip as long as he could stand the pain or until the flesh tore loose.

To what does "panentheism" refer?

The notion that all things participate in God or sacred reality and, conversely, that God or the sacred reality participates in all things.

What powers did Black Elk believe he received in his Great Vision?

The power to heal his people and make them thrive once more, as they thrived before the arrival of the "white man."

To what does totemism refer?

The practice of identifying oneself,one's tribe,or one's family with an animal, plant, object, or event which is regarded as a supernatural benefactor or protector.

How would you describe the Congo nail fetish?

The sculpture exudes an aggressive, fierce, forbidding, eerie intensity which suggests the presence of a vital life force.

Why did the High God of the Ashanti become a Sky God who remains aloof from everyday human affairs?

The sky or high god, Onyankopon, originally dwelt with humanity on earth. While mashing yams, however, an old woman repeatedly struck Onyankopon with her pestle. Annoyed, Onyankopon took himself up into the sky where the people no longer had direct access to him. The woman then told people do build a tower to the sky which eventually collapsed killing them all and leaving them alienated from the sky god.

From what, according to the Yoruba, did the clay image of man receive life?

The supreme deity Olorun breathed life into the image.

What did a Vision Quest provide for a young Native American?

The vision would put the child into contact with the sacred spirits, make him/her aware of his/her life's purpose, and unfold any special powers that he/she had been given.

What spiritual status may leaders or rulers obtain in local or primal religions?

They are often looked upon as having special powers. At the very least, they have a special relationship to the sacred realm, but they may be regarded as links to the world of ancestral spirits or even gods and as goddesses in themselves.

How are the Navaho alienated or estranged from the sacred powers of the world?

They are out of harmony with the rhythms of nature's sacred forces. They die, but they do not return to life. They are alienated from the sacred powers of regeneration.

With what kind of time are eschatological myths concerned?

They deal with post-history, a time beyond or at the end of normal time.

What do myths concerning the origin of alienation or estrangement explain?

They explain the origin of pain,suffering,or death, relating how humanity became estranged or alienated from the perfection of God or the gods

Why may young men be reluctant to become the divine king in a Native African tribe like the Malawi?

They were reluctant because of his link to the spirit world, if a ruler becomes sick, the sickness was interpreted as a sign that the ruler has offended the spirits or deities. If the people were not quick to act, by killing or sacrificing the offending ruler, they or their land could become sick.

What were the purposes of the Sun Dance?

To show appreciation and dedication to the Great Spirit in return for some sacred gift, such as protection, bravery,or victory in battle. The performance of the ritual enabled the Sioux to tap into the sacred power, strength, and endurance of the sun.

For what occasions would the pipe be smoked, and what did the rising smoke symbolize?

When people gathered to talk of peace, war, the hunt, and it was smoked by medicine men during healing ceremonies. Tobacco smoke, as a form of incense to the gods, created a link with the spirit world. The rising smoke symbolize prayers going out to the Great Spirit.

What events destroyed the hopes of the Ghost Dance?

When the Sioux Chief, Sitting Bull, was killed by Indian agency police during his arrest and when, just two weeks later, two-to-three hundred other Sioux were killed at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

What was believed about whoever was first to touch the holy tree in the center of the Sun Dance?

Whoever was the first could not be killed in war that year.

How might totemism, fetishism, and polytheism all emerge out of animism?

World is filled with spirits overtime the spirits will acquire prominence over other

What are the most commonly recognized, feared, and interactive sacred realities in Native African religion?

ancestral spirits

What are the Native African equivalents of a shaman?

diviners or witch doctors

When Crazy Horse revisited the world of his vision, what power did he acquire?

he could go through anything and not be hurt. He also held a special relationship to the spirit world. The spirit world supplied him with power and guidance to help his people.

What is the Native American equivalent of a shaman?

medicine men or women

Of what, exactly, does sexual wounding consist for boys and girls among some primal or local religions?

often a belated circumcision in the case of males and vaginal wounds in the case of females.

What are some examples of primal or local religions?

the native expressions of Africa, America, Australia, Malaysia, Melanesia, Polynesia,

What was the common procedure for securing rain in a time of drought among the Malawi?

they would thus build a hut and make an offering in the grove of the Kyungu

By what other designations or names may primal or local religions be known?

tribal, basic, cosmic, folk, primitive, prehistoric, preliterate or simple ethnic religions.