Catherine BornscheuerIntro to World Religions Midterm Study GuideTypical Indigenous African Cosmology: how to relate to elements beyond physical world; tripartide (3 layers) Top layer: deity/high god Middle layer: lesser deities Bottom: humans Supreme deity: apart from human; rules over life/death, creatorNuer Tribe: in Sudan; supreme deity Kwoth Nhial, used to be close to humans, lived in sky used rope to come down toearth, a lesser deity went down and fell in love with human and wouldn’t leave, Kwoth severed rope and is now distantfrom humans; lesser deities are different versions of Kwoth Nhial and are called kwothsYoruba Tribe: in Nigeria; supreme deity, Olodumare, responsible for creation but did not create himself, delegatedcreation to lesser gods (called Orishas – all with different personalities) Oshun: female god of fertility vindictive Ogun: male god of war and machinery, conflict and iron work Eshu: trickster deity Ashe: spiritual power; orishas have ashe but do not have unlimited ashe, grows as humans worship them;orishas interact with humans via spirit possession, women are more susceptible Other spirit possessions include wearing masks and acting in a way a deity would; receive words of adviceand solutions during this timeRites of Passage: ritual performance; 1) separated from the familiar, 2) liminality (between life stages), 3) reintegration Sacrifice: ritual performance; spilling of blood (goats, chickens) to nourish the gods and to ask for assistance from thegodsWitchcraft: used to explain bad luck and the evil and suffering in the world; witches were thought to be souls outside oftheir bodies that would attack other beings; performed ritual healings (shamans- spiritual doctors); can be either all menor all womenRole of slave trade: made religious syncretism between Christianity and the African traditions including vodou, served asa way to copeAfrican Indigenous Traditions and Western Scholarship: caused a “crisis of confidence” doubting their religions; somedecide they should convert because their gods aren’t working, convert to Christianity; some convert to oppressors,convert to Islam; some wanted to sustain their traditions and build back up the communityOrigin Species: written by Darwin; evolutionary model of world religions; completely conflicted with religion- scholars tryto apply it to world religions- ranked from most primitive religions to most evolved- protestant Christianity rankedhighest and Africans ranked last- racist- shows the origin of religion, like a window into the past- this model is assumingthat religions are static – Evolutionary Model of World Religions Xhosa Cattle Killing Movement: Nongqawuse had a vision where her ancestors told her that the military defeats herpeople had at the hands of Europeans were their punishment for practicing witchcraft; demanded that the peopledestroy the rest of the cattle so the Europeans would disappear- this led to a devastating famine1Catherine BornscheuerAfrican Diaspora: slave societies developed new syncretic religions that combined African (especially Yoruba) and NativeAmerican traditions with elements of ChristianitySlave Christianity: “official”- exercised by plantation owners, slaves had no choice, used Christianity as a way to oppressslaves, “invisible”- practiced outside knowledge of slave owners; African traditions brought into Christianity traditionsVodou: blending of French Catholicism with African traditions; Bondye (supreme being) for responsible for origin of life Lwa: focus of ceremonies, offerings, possessions- three nations Rada: 1st nation; kind hearted, tricksters; ex: Papa Legba: associated with crossroads of life and death Gede: 2nd nation; associated with death; ex: Baron Samedi- feared, escort to underworld Petwo: 3rd nation; most powerful and volatile/vindictive; ex: Elizi Dantor- motherhood, beauty, protectivemother figureMisconceptions of Vodou: part of the reason behind the negative stereotypes attached to vodou was the terror thatslave owners throughout the Americas felt on learning that Haitian rebels had used ritual means to organize andstrengthen their resolveSyncretism: blending of religious ideasMyth of the Noble Savage: stereotype dehumanizes NAs by describing them “not like us” seen as a justification tomistreat NAs (even if portrayed positively)Other Challenges when studying Native Americans: oral culture; no firsthand documents or personal documents,commonly known facts are from European point of view; 90% of NA communities died off after Euro conquestHolistic Culture: known for animism (animals, plants, inanimate objects have souls); sacredity in things earth bound;Manitou (best described as an abstract spiritual force who is all around us and can be tapped into)Roger Williams: author of The Algonquin Bible, translated parts of New Testament into Algonquin language; mostlyworked with Narrangansett and Algonquin tribesKinship Culture: tribal kinship; based on relationships rather than geography; even euros can be integrated throughmarriage; can regard certain animals as part of their community, speak to animals like friends or enemies, connectthemselves to their spiritIndigenous Culture: cosmogonic myth (creation myth) starts with idea that everything began as water, god or animaldives into water to get the dirt and create the land (water diver myth); land has spiritual power; cardinal directions areimportant; no linear progression, cyclical calendar marked by seasons; Mary Jemison: euro woman kidnapped by Seneca tribe, recorded her life, wrote about 5 feasts of the Seneca that narkplanting, harvesting, seasons, etc. Oral/Ritual Culture: spoken word is sacred, takes on “Manitou”; ex. sweathouse ritual: Sweathouse ritual: small dome like a sauna to cleanse body of toxins to cleanly access spirits; funeral rituals showeddiversity within tribesEarly European Perceptions of the Americas: thought God had destined for them to fine the new world; God’sprovidence = God’s plan; Euros wanted to create a perfect world (utopia) because of God’s plan; motivations: gold,goods2Catherine BornscheuerEarly European Perceptions of Native Americans: Euros superiority complex (better weapons, writing, politically,religiously); euros denied NA religion altogether; source of morality is from religion according to
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