Preview

Shamanism: The Five Major Characteristics Of Indigenous People

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
771 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Shamanism: The Five Major Characteristics Of Indigenous People
Many Indigenous cultures have a person in their community that is respected as a healer, and a religious leader. This person has special privileges in the community, or tribe. Most anthropologists and religious scholars define a shaman as an intermediary between the natural and spiritual world, who travels between worlds in a state of trance. Once in the spirit world, the shaman would commune with the spirits for assistance in healing, hunting or weather management. Ripinsky-Naxon describes shamans as, "People who have a strong interest in their surrounding environment and the society of which they are a part."

This belief in natural forces that protect, empower, and guide a person is characterized by five major characteristics. 1. The …show more content…
Indigenous people believe that everything, both animate (living) and inanimate (nonliving), is imbued with a personal supernatural essence or powers of nature. Shamanism refers to a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. There are many variations in way shamanism is used throughout the world. It is the responsibility of the shaman to educate his/her people and, yes to punish those who have vilated the spitits and the laws of the spirit world. though there are some beliefs that are shared by all forms of shamanism. www.shamanportal.org. “what is …show more content…
The Indigenous people used large statutes to represent the powerful spirits that only a shaman could talk to. Evidence from cave art, daring back at least 30,000 years, suggests caves were used for magical ritual purposes. In certain cases it must have been necessary to crawl for hours through the caves in order to reach the locale of the artwork and related artifacts. It may be that solitude inside such a cavern was an initiation technique used to explore the inner realms of being. Markings on antlers and bones indicate that people made notations of the phases of the moon as long as 30,000 years ago and suggest that the cave rituals and other cultural practices had a seasonal or periodical orientation. It has been suggested that prehistoric people may have been sensitive to different phases in the lunar cycle as special times for meditation. The monumental Stonehenge, built in prehistoric England, is oriented towards equinoxes, solstices and lunar eclipses during the equinox and suggests similar
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Shamanism In Vietnam
    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Shamanism In Vietnam

    some have converted to Christianity, most stick to traditional spiritual practices of Shamanism. Shamanism is a practice of a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to interact with the social world of benevolent and malevolent spirits. Performing rituals for sick people by connecting with the spirit world (trance) to see why they are sick. The ancient time, it was believed that humans and spirits lived with each other. The conflict between the two brought a sub-deity (a member of a pantheon of a polytheistic religious system). Blinded the worlds from interacting. Treatments include herbal remedies or offering of Joss papers (ghost money.) when the soul returns back to the body through a string tying rituals (sting-tying). Red, white, black or blue strings are tied to shield the person from evil spirits. The strings symbolize binding up and holding intact of the life souls. Animal sacrifice is another Shaman ritual to attempt illness with offerings to the spirits with the sacrifice of chickens, cows, pigs, or other animals. The soul of the sacrificed soul of animals is connected to human souls. Shamans use the animal soul to protect the sick person. Then that animal is eaten. When a Hmong person dies the soul must travel to the every place the person lived until it reaches the burial place of its placental. To be dressed in the “placenta jacket” it can travel to be reunited with ancestors and be reincarnated…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Great Sioux Nation Case Study
    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Great Sioux Nation Case Study

    The tribes were made up of sub-tribes, which then were divided into other clans and bands of Sioux Indians. Each tribe was assigned a chief, who was chosen by their successfulness in war and by their ability to gain the public’s acceptance. The issues were dealt by the council in the tribe, which was made up of the community and elders. The moral codes of these Natives Americans were immensely important. The single act of being morally right could elevate a man into higher position of leadership. In each village, there were a set of “holy people” often called medicine man or priests. There were two different kinds of holy man; one could heal, bring good weather, or make the days hunt prosperous. The others could communicate with the spirits, andforesee the future, called shamans. Unlike the chiefs (that were always men) shamans or healers could be women. (galafilm.com). Popular culture has affected the governance system of the Sioux by spreading out the idea of “holy man” and “shamans” as uncommon or unreal. This could be seen as bad, because they lose some their earliest governance beliefs that were once the foundation of the…

    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    REL 133 week 1 Common Practices in Religion
    • 787 Words
    • 3 Pages

    REL 133 week 1 Common Practices in Religion

    Religious belief and practices are deeply rooted in traditions and teachings from sacred scriptures and texts. Indigenous religions are specific to a tribe, region, and cultures that have had various influences in their core religion. Religion is a very personal issue for most people and therefore closely guarded. Studying religion is necessary to have an understanding of the connections and foundations that have been built throughout its history.…

    • 787 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Cultural Immersion Project
    • 2312 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Cultural Immersion Project

    Spirituality is evident throughout the Native American culture as they believe in the Creator. Bill stated that “all Indians honor the Creator regardless of their spiritual walk or religious preference” (B. Snell, personal communication, February 20, 2015). The Bible says that before the world there was the Word. Similarly, a common theme among the Native American culture is that the “spirit existed in the spirit world before it came into a physical body and will exist after the body dies” (Hays and Erford, 2014, pg. 358). Just like Jesus Christ, who existed in spirit, came to Earth in the form of a man, and returned to Heaven in…

    • 2312 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Native American Religion Research Paper
    • 143 Words
    • 1 Page

    Native American Religion Research Paper

    Second, the religion of the Native American is remarkable. The religious of Native American is syncretism. All tribes made their centre of life is spirituality to keep a connection to religious principles through verbally. Indians believed in a mysterious force in nature or the power of Gods. It is said that the Native American can't live without the Shamans who had close contacts with the spirits. They are religious people and can treat sick people by medicine method or plant while singing and dancing around the room. If Indians would like to have enough food and rain, they would hold many ceremonies such as harvest festivals and organised rain dances. Ceremonies may be performed by feasts, music, dances, and other activities. Animals also…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Native American Culture Research Paper
    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Native American Culture Research Paper

    Native Americans live in their own world and own community, owning casinos, private housing and just recently an amusement park in the makings. With approximately 2.1 million Native Americans in the United States, 566 nationally recognized and 10 separate cultures, we make up roughly 0.6 percent of the American population today. The 10 different cultures are the Arctic, the Subarctic, the Northeast, the Southeast, the Plains, the Southwest, the Great basin, California, the Northwest Coast and the Plateau. Although, there are different cultures that separate us, one aspect that binds us together is beliefs. Native Americans are deeply rooted from their past; therefore, they believe everything is sacred, from big to small. From the White Feather Navajo Medicine Man, he said “Native American isn’t blood; it is what is in the heart.…

    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Native American Indian Culture Research Paper
    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Native American Indian Culture Research Paper

    For instance, it is common knowledge that the Indians lived and traveled in clans, but also each individual clan was sometimes named for an animal or totem. Totems were viewed as the clans’ supernatural ancestors or spiritual guardians. Clan membership was the most important alliance in a Sothern Indian’s life (Brown and Owens 45). Woman were incredibly respected within the tribe. Some pioneer white woman who had lived among the Indians refused to go home due to the high recognition Indian woman received (46). Beliefs concerning spirits were strong throughout the Indian population. Medicine men, individuals who dealt with the spirit world for the Indians believed they had direct contact with the spirits, would lead tribal members in elaborate ceremonies and rituals designed to keep them in good relation with the spirit world…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Aboriginal Spirituality
    • 7876 Words
    • 32 Pages

    Aboriginal Spirituality

    All clans believed in an ancestral creative spirit who created all aspects of the world through his/her travels…

    • 7876 Words
    • 32 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Land On Which Indigenous Tribes Lived By Native Americans
    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Land On Which Indigenous Tribes Lived By Native Americans

    The land on which indigenous tribes lived are of great importance to them. At the center of most Native American belief systems is the idea that religion draws heavily upon sacred lands. They have a very reverent attitude towards nature, always being respectful of it. This is because their survival was dependent on the land. So rather than changing the environment in which they lived, they lived very closely to nature. To them, nature is spiritually alive. Everything in the cosmos is interrelated. The Supreme Being manifests itself in all of its creations, the trees, the grass, the rivers and mountains, and the animals. The land is a sacred living being.The indigenous people do not own anything except their own bodies for everything else is a gift from their god. Thus, the land should never be tamed, it is not an object. The tribes are to be heedful of nature and respect it.…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Aboriginal Spirituality - 1
    • 1474 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Aboriginal Spirituality - 1

    For some 40,000 years the framework for Australian Aboriginal spirituality is their belief that all objects are living and share the same soul or spirit that Aboriginals share. The basic Aboriginal spiritual belief is invariably about the land Aboriginal people live on. ‘This belief is ‘geosophical’ (earth-centered) and not ‘theosophical’ (God-centered)’ ("What is Aboriginal spirituality? - Creative Spirits", n.d., p.1). This means that Aboriginal spirituality is inextricably linked to the land on earth, they say “it’s like picking up a piece of dirt and saying this is where I started and this is where I’ll go”. (S knight, page 1 – www.creativespirits.com) The land is the means of everything, their food, their culture, their spirit and identity. They do not own the land of this earth, the land owns them. ‘The land is their mother, their mother is the land. Land is the starting point to where everything began’ . (S knight, page 1 – www.creativespirits.com) Aboriginal people make no distinction between the secular and spiritual life. Aboriginal spirituality is a total way of life, with their total regard and respect of the land as the centre point of their spiritual existence.…

    • 1474 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Paleolithic And Neolithic Eras
    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Paleolithic And Neolithic Eras

    They believed that anything and everything has a spirit, with the invisible connection between these sprits forming the perceptible products of war, weather, and well-being. Dependent on the world around them and wanting a positive outcome for any occasion, they relied on spirits such as the rain, animals, and various landforms to bring about a good outcome. Thus, an assortment of ritual dances and ceremonies attributed to particular spirits were performed according to the community’s need. Paleolithic art also reflects the importance of food and fertility in their culture, and were probably made to aid in controlling their environment. Shamans, people who could wield certain mystic powers, were also deemed valuable and fearful because of the impact their abilities could have on the community. Communities were ordered by the gradual ascendance of relationships. The establishment of social groups over time led to the formation of families, which became the base for clans, and these clans would combine with other clans. Hence, early tribes formed. A government formed with it. Within the tribe, chiefs were the head and the glue for the people, as well as religious…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Cultural Characteristics Of Native Americans
    • 1527 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Cultural Characteristics Of Native Americans

    1. The native Americans survived largely on the resources available in their immediate surroundings. The natives built complex civilizations of great variety that subsisted on hunting, gathering, and fishing. The varying geographical regions of North America produced many distinct Native American tribes. The cultural features varied enormously from one tribe to another.…

    • 1527 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Navajo
    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Navajo

    Since the Navajo believe so strongly in nature, the feel they are linked to Mother earth, Father sky and other elements such as man, animals, and insects. In essence they rely heavily on nature and everything nature has to offer them. Some in the tribe are considered the Holy People, who are worshiped in return of good lucks for the Navajo community. It is believed that through certain ceremonies the Holy People conduct that people are cleansed from bad spirit and good luck is brought upon the family. For example, the rituals are performed on pregnant women, young men going to the army, and sick people. Naturally speaking, the most intriguing part of their belief is the ceremonial concepts of healing people through the performance of these rituals.…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Native American Religion
    • 519 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Native American Religion

    The Native American’s where the first to inhabit the Americas. When we speak about religion in the America’s the first people we will look back to are the Native Americans. We will always look to our history to know where we come from and our backgrounds.…

    • 519 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Sacredness In Glastonbury
    • 1896 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Sacredness In Glastonbury

    Ancestor reverence lends credence to many scared activities at sites, the ancient fascination with astrological activity is self-evident at Stonehenge, and upon important astrological events, rituals are held at this sacred place. This legacy…

    • 1896 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics