Religion of the North American Plains Indians Tribal Traditions

Why Study Primal Religions? We study “primal” traditions for 2 reasons: Primal religions provide insight into the mythic and ritual dimension of religion Primal religions are the source from which all the world’s religions have sprung. Groups we will look at Plains Indians of North America, & Aztecs

What characterizes a Primal Religion? Primal religions today are generally practiced by people of oral (non-literate) cultures. Non-literate people means that they do not depend on scriptures or written teachings What they lack in written texts, they make up for in oral material- myths or stories that are passed down from generation to generation

Primal religions tend to be traditions practiced by Tribal peoples who live in villages BUT, they are also practiced by city dwellers such as Modern Yoruba Ancient Aztecs

First humans in America Human came to North America 20,000 yrs. ago Migrated from Asia by crossing over the Bering Strait (situated between Russia and Alaska) Under water now These first humans formed many tribes Domestic horses enabled the Plains Indians to become great hunters of buffalo and other game

The Lakota The Lakota is the largest and most influential tribe Aka Western Sioux Inhabited western Montana and Wyoming, eastern regions of the Dakotas and parts of Nebraska In 1890 more than 200 Lakota were massacred as the result of the war between Indians and whites Today about 100,000 Lakota live on reservations in Montana and North and South Dakota The Lakota

Ultimate reality The Lakota name for the supreme reality is Wakan Tanka Sometimes translated as Great Spirit/Great Mysterious Literally meaning: most sacred Wakan Tanka refers to 16 separate deities The # 16 is derived from the number 4- 4X4 4-most sacred # Refers to the compass directions: north, south, east, and west

Supernatural beings Inktomi Name means “Spider” Mediator between the supernatural and human worlds. Taught 1st humans their ways and customs Trickster figure Offers moral lessons from experience Do not behave as Inktomi

Destiny: Next life Belief in Death/Afterlife Believe that four souls depart from a person at death First soul journeys to the “spirit path” of the Milky Way Meets an old woman who judges it and either allows it to continue on to the world of the ancestors or it goes back to earth as a ghost The other souls enter unborn children to be reborn

Rituals Initiation rites Purpose To be transformed To become full members of the tribe And determined their role To be able to be married Require a symbolic death Dying to the old self It will very from tribe to tribe: Some tribes require the initiates to be circumcised etc. Totem Poles Are usually made after initiation rituals Represent their vision quest/vision received Remind them of their experience Represent an ancestor

Two main rituals wkst The Vision Quest The Sun Dance

Vision Quest: (Initiation Rite) Purpose: To gain spiritual power and knowledge of one’s role in society For success in hunting, warfare, and curing the ill Experienced by young women and men (more frequently) Carried out by a spiritual leader: medicine woman or medicine man- they issue specific instructions beforehand, and interpret the content of the vision afterward. Expresses 3 dimensions of religion Ritual: sweat lodge prior to going out on one’s own Experiential: Receiving the vision or guardian spirit Mythic: meaning of the guardian spirit

VISION QUEST: Ritual Ritual of purification in the sweat lodge Procedure A dark/airtight hut made of saplings and covered with animal skins Represents the universe Heated stones placed in the center and water is poured over them by the medicine man The resulting hot steam causes the participant to sweat profusely Steam room Both physical and spiritual purification

Vision Quest: Experiential & Mythical After purification, the person goes off alone without food, water or shelter for a set # of days The vision comes to the person in the form of an animal, other object, or force of nature Once the person returns to camp, a medicine man/woman interprets the vision, to determine their role for the rest of his/her life

2nd Major Lakota Ritual: Sun Dance Procedure: Construct a lodge Cottonwood tree is selected This tree becomes the Axis Mundi: the axis or center of the universe. The tree represents the supreme being Connects heaven & earth The lodge is constructed of 28 poles around the tree: representing the 28 days of lunar month The finished lodge is representative of the universe with its four compass directions. Begin Dance Purpose: Benefits all (community ritual) Occurs at the beginning of summer as new year celebration to prepare for the annual buffalo hunt Leader: A medicine man or woman

The Sun Dance: Practice The Sun Dance features long periods of dancing Dancers dance facing the sun for life- giving powers Music and drumbeats accompany the dancing Dancers skewer the flesh of their chests and attach themselves to the tree with leather thongs Dancers dance pulling back until the skin tears Purpose of bodily mutilation: The body is only thing humans can really call their own Therefore, the body is the best sacrifice to offer to the Supreme Being

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vioh7ML7 5Cg