Review for Midterm of 7 18 Pages 29 39 Introduction Described as primitive but now described as tribal Yoruba West Africa has approximately 20 million followers Indigenous Religion a type of tradition created by a particular group for whom that tradition is part of what defines them as a distinct community Syncretism is common wherever different religions have interacted over a long period of time Southeast Asia Malaysia and Indonesia have been influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism Islam by Christianity Indigenous religious clusters generally developed in isolation until the 19th Century Indigenous Religions and Western Scholarship Key terms used in the comparative study of religion were derived from indigenous religions or languages Religions developed in stages beginning at the primitive level and rising until they either reached their highest form monotheism or withered away into atheirsm Indigenous religions were a synonym for Paleolithic or Neolithic Every indigenous religion has its own history of which some have experienced more changes over time such as deities rituals ethics and social organization Many early accounts of indigenous religions were written by explorers and traders Oral traditions narratives legions fables proverbs riddles o Unfortunately they may be unreliable because they depend on memory Valuable insight ritual sites tombs images of gods or ancestors paintings carvings The study of indigenous religions required a multi faceted approach based on written and oral text field research and archaeological evidence First humans came from Africa first religions originated from there Early humans valued their dead and may have linked their passage out of life to the setting of the sun while the personal items suggest a belief in some form of afterlife Graves at the end of the Paleolithic Age contain animal bones Saharan and southern African rock paintings depicted people hunting various animals o Some scenes included images with rays coming out of figures heads as if there was a free circulating spiritual power Today the sub Saharan region is home to the worlds largest concentrations of indigenous practitioners of perhaps as many as 200 million The first Europeans to visit Africa were Portuguese Africa o They described brutal rituals that made the idea of slavery more palatable o Some claimed that Africans had no religion Edward Tylor saw Africans as animists believing that there were souls in all things The matters that are controlled by the supreme being are the most critical ones birth and death as well as water Yoruba Olodumare allows the spirit of an ancestor seeking rebirth to enter a woman and assigns the unborn infant a fate that determines the outlines of their life In regions where rainfall is scarce the supreme being withholds rain depending on the community s ethical conduct and fulfillment of ritual obligations Lesser spirits have distinct personalities There are 401 orishas that have a unique personality and history o They can possess their devotees Ogun the god of iron and war has come associated with the protection of metal workers car mechanics and chauffeurs Eshu is a trickster deity the messenger who summons the other orishas to attend all major rituals Pages 50 53 North and Central America The most powerful deity was the Sun god Those who pledged to perform the dance itself offered their bodies to the sung god in hope of receiving extraordinary powers or gratitude for the powers that they already have Sun dance vary from people to people Lakota o To purify participants a sweat lodge would be constructed of branches and animal skins Stones were heated and the dry heat would cleanse the bodies of participants Four gods created partners for themselves Inyan created Wakinyan the Thunderbirth who controls rain and storms while Wi created Hanwi the moon Pages 273 292 Hinduism is derived from a region of the river Sindu Indus o The term was coined by British colonizers to whom this meant the religion of those Indians who were not Muslims or any other few smaller groups o Hinduism as a term didn t catch on until the 19th century Hinduism encompasses an amazing plurality of traditions and no single holy book dogma or religious leader Dharma means righteousness justice faith duty a religious and social obligation Some believe that the origins of Hinduism came about from a fusion of the indigenous religion of the Indus Valley with the faith of the Aryans Scholars believe that goddess worship is indicative of a society in which women enjoyed high status The Indo Europeans Scholars use the term Indo European to refer to a family of languages of which Sanskrit is one People from Central Asia began migrating to widely distant regions at some time between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE o Some headed south or east and settled in the region of Iran where they called themselves Aryans a name that acquired the connotation noble ones Scholars believe that the Indo Europeans originated in Central Asia According to the Rig Veda the Sarasvati had 5 Aryan tribe living on its banks but the river run dry by the time the Aryans were supposed to have settled therefore their dates must be pushed back to the time of the Harappan civilization Indo Europeans composed many poems and manuals on rituals and philosophy o They committed these traditions to memory using mnemonic devices to ensure correct pronunciation rhythm and intonation passed from generation to generation The earliest surviving Indo European composition are the Vedas aka shruti The Vedas were composed 1500 BCE 600 BCE o There are four collections Rig Sama Yajur and Atharva Each consists of four sections Samhitas Brahmanas Aranyakas and Upanishads o The earliest section contains 1028 hymns o Each Veda has its own Upanishas philosophical work o
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