Analysis Of The Vision Quest Of Native American Lakota
RLGN 1320 A01 Introduction to World Religions
The Quest: Journey into Nature
Adapted from John Suler (1999) and David Creamer.
This assignment will examine two different ways in which humans have used contact with nature as a way of finding meaning and direction. The first part of the essay will analyze the Vision Quest of the Native American Lakota tradition from the perspective of Van Gennep’s theory of a rite of passage. The second part of the assignment will look at a modern interpretation of the Quest using John Suler’s categories of: Wandering, The Sign and Individuation
In earlier societies, the Vision Quest was a way of attaining psychological and spiritual insights. Typically, a person would embark on a Quest as a rite of passage into adulthood (the “Walkabout” of the Aborigines of Australia, and the Vision Quest of the Lakota honour the tradition of adolescents going off into the wilderness to search for added meaning in their lives and for assistance in the struggle through the transitional stage of growing into adulthood), to find a solution to a crisis confronting the individual or group, or to attain truth about oneself and one’s world.
The Quest: Journey into Nature
Adapted from John Suler (1999) and David Creamer.
This assignment will examine two different ways in which humans have used contact with nature as a way of finding meaning and direction. The first part of the essay will analyze the Vision Quest of the Native American Lakota tradition from the perspective of Van Gennep’s theory of a rite of passage. The second part of the assignment will look at a modern interpretation of the Quest using John Suler’s categories of: Wandering, The Sign and Individuation
In earlier societies, the Vision Quest was a way of attaining psychological and spiritual insights. Typically, a person would embark on a Quest as a rite of passage into adulthood (the “Walkabout” of the Aborigines of Australia, and the Vision Quest of the Lakota honour the tradition of adolescents going off into the wilderness to search for added meaning in their lives and for assistance in the struggle through the transitional stage of growing into adulthood), to find a solution to a crisis confronting the individual or group, or to attain truth about oneself and one’s world.