Huichol Religion Essay

The Huichol Indians are an indigenous group that lives “in the Sierra Madre Mountains of northwestern Mexico” (Woolcott). The Huichol religion is an animistic religion. According to Dr. Pamela Lindell, animistic religions are “religions that believe that all of nature – humans, animals, plants, rocks, the ocean, etc. - is animated by spirits and souls” (“Professor’s Notes 2” 3). To better understand the Huichol Indians and their religion, this paper examines Huichol myth, symbolism, rituals, religious specialists, and deities from various anthropological perspectives.

The piece reflects the human sacrifices that took place 18 times a year in the Aztec culture. On the sculpture of the Goddess hangs a necklace of hands, hearts, and a dangling skull. She also represents the women who die in childbirth, and for Earth that provides everything but also consumes everything that lives. With two serpents, the eyes are her eyes, and replace her head that was cut off which represent gushing blood, as she bore Huitzilopochtli full grown and armored. The sculpture of a god reflect their beliefs within their cultures, in which they strongly worshipped gods, and built temples, as well as statues in their honor.

The religious movement, a break of religion all over the where the main control of the catholic church broke. The ides of marriage were altered , “by which all that is the husband's is also the wife's” to show separation from the main part of religion (Luther document 4). Where people would not just give in to the christian way , “cannot submit [their] faith either to the Pope or to the Councils... frequently erred and contradicted eachother” because of these contradictions happening between the church's ranks (Luther document 8). The monks became vile , “breaking the vows of the church by having concubines and illegitimate children” their celibacy was now non existent (Bosch document 7). Also The added religions that formed at this time , “[They] ought not, by way of custom, to speak of predestination...they become negligent in the works” which all have changed their ways of how things happen which anger other. While people break the main religion religions produce like wildfire, however the were other thing affected at this period which made life in Europe drastically different, the social and political changes. The social and

The Native American Church is a continuation of the ancient Peyote Religion combined with some teachings of traditional Christianity. Native American Church practices centre around the religious use of peyote, a small cactus which when eaten gives people a feeling of hallucinations. Indians use peyote in religious ceremonies only. Peyote induces abnormal mental states or hallucinations when chewed; giving the user a sense of direct contact with God. It is eaten or consumed as a tea in religious rituals. Like tobacco, peyote is a sacred herb to many Indian tribes and they use it for prayer--not recreation.

The women and men of the group believed wind would ultimately find their fate. This is why they did what they did in the rituals. The wind developed life into the rituals and ceremonies. The corn cultivated and would be profound and full of life.

The works are arranged thematically. Certain objects of the same category were placed fairly close to each other and the works overall in the exhibition were placed in a spherical rotation. The collection shows the Native North American’s legacy well. For instance, Shamans wore protective or spiritually charged pendants such as the object “unrecorded Tlingit Artist, Shaman’s amulet, 1820-40, Antler, abalone shell”. To display their belief in the complex mythology surrounding the energy of the erratic desert landscape and mainly the life-giving power of rainwater and mountains, the people of the American Southwest hand built pottery that features imagery reflecting their deep spirituality, such as

Along with food dishes, herbs, and various berries found around their territory medicine men would perform healing rituals and pray to their gods to help fight off sickness, injuries, and battle wounds. Lakota Medicine men would often communicate or have visions of the gods they believed in and these visions would assist them with advising their tribe or healing their people. Nature and the world around them had a large part in forming these spirits. As stated by (Lakota Indians, 2017) “The Lakota have strong ties to nature and the spirit and belief in many different gods. A popular element in the Lakota religion has been the use of vision quest to pray to the Gods and as a rite of passage into adulthood.” Found in many Native American cultures is the belief in the father sun and the mother earth, which is echoed in the myths of the Lakota. Many religious figures were found in the stories passed on through the Lakota tribe and other Native

Huitzilopochtli (hummingbird of the left or of the south) was the Sun and War god. We were instructed to leave our home and depart on an expedition to find the promise land. Our god spoke prophecy to us and told us about his vision. He told us when we saw an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a snake that we would reach our new home, the place we would build our powerful empire. After a centuries voyage, in 1325, we reached the Lake of Texcoco, in the middle of it there was an island and on this island low and behold Huitzilopochtli prophecy that was spoken over us was fulfilled. There was an eagle on a cactus eating a snake. We had finally reached our promise land where we ended our vigorous pilgrimage and found our resting place and home of our new dominant kingdom. We called it Tenochtitlan, place of the prickly pear.

A diminutive tribe called the Aztecs strolled around northwestern Mexico up until AD 1116. As claimed by one legend, the Aztec god of the sun and war, Huitzilopochtli, ordered their people to advance south until they found a new everlasting home. He said that their new home would be marked with a discernible indication. The sign was an eagle on a cactus with a snake in his mouth. It took the tribe more than a hundred years of searching. Finally, a priest found the sign in the Valley of Mexico. However, other people already lived there. They didn't want to allocate their domain with the Aztecs. So, the Aztecs were stuck with the swamp-like area surrounding Lake Texcoco.

Totemism was practiced by the Northwest Indian. They believe of having a natural object or aminate being, such as a bird or animal, as the emblem of a family, clan, or tribe. An shaman was a spiritual leader and a healer who believed that within the Shamanism creed that the shaman communicated with spirits in other worlds. They used dances, gestures and sounds as the symbolic powers of Shamanism to enter the spirit world. They would wear ceremonial clothes and would carry objects like rattles and drums to incarnate the spirits of nature and amplify their

Huitzilopochtli, also known as the god of sun and warfare, is one of the principle deities of the Aztec religion as well as the rituals associated with this god. Human sacrifice was a significant religious ritual and was used to pay homage to their deity. The Aztecs believed that Huitzilopochtli needed daily nourishment in the form of human sacrifice, as the “people of the sun” were required to provide the god with blood and hearts for strength. (Britannica). This was seen as an ultimate gift to their deity so their lives and community would be sustained. Moreover, the role of human sacrifice was an important ritual for the Aztec civilization for both religious and political circumstances. The sacrificial victims at Templo Major were in relation

Most of this group’s people spoke Shoshonean or Uto-Aztecan dialects (bommok, Paiute and Ute are some examples) and they forged for nuts, roots and seeds. They also were said to have hunted for small mammals, lizards and snakes to consume them in diet and use them for skin. These people were frequently on the move so they lived in easy to build compact wikups made of willow saplings, poles, brushes and leaves. Their social gathering were believed to be informal with small groups and settlement being impernant and with communal

For the Mexica society has the most information than any other people of the pre-Columbian Americas. Women played almost no role in political affairs. Priests received a special education in calendrical and ritual lore. On a few occasions, priests even became supreme rulers of the Aztec Empire. Skilled artisans enjoyed prestige in Mexica society. In Mexica Religion there are two principal gods, Tezcatlipoca, “the Smoking Mirror,” and Quetzalcoatl, the “Feathered Serpent”. Tezcatlipoca was a powerful figure known to be the giver and taker of life and the patron deity of warriors. Quetzalcoatl had a reputation for supporting agriculture, art, and craft. For sacrifice there was ritual bloodletting. Mexica enthusiasm for sacrifice followed their devotion to the god Huitzilopochtli. The Pueblo and Navajo peoples tapped river waters to irrigate crops of maize. By about 700 C.E. the Pueblo and Navajo began to construct permanent stone and adobe buildings. The most impressive structures of the woodlands were enormous earthen mounds. Woodlands peoples used those mounds sometimes as stages for ceremonies and rituals. The largest surviving structure is a mound at Cahokia.

People in America today seem to be only concerned with them. They are always looking out for number one. That is a saying that has been taught to us for years. Along with another popular precept: you can't please everyone all of the time. These are just a couple of examples of how Americans are taught to be selfish. Sure, mom and dad always teach generosity to their young children, but in this society, those lessons diminish with age. We learn that life isn't always fair and people don't always have to share if they don't want to. In this so-called free country, the rich get everything and the poor get nothing. This type of environment has caused a rat race among the people. He who has the most wins. In America it is for the most money,

On the theme of spirituality, all four ethnic groups have varying belief systems and are connected to the spiritual side of their cultures in different ways. The Amharas are Christians who subscribe to some local beliefs, monotheists believing in the Christian interpretation of God and going to church in a mountain cave over 150 days per year both to solidify their connections with God and to connect with the rest of their communities. The head of their religion is a local priest who acts not only as an intermediary between the Amharas and their spiritual realm, they are also community leaders, acting as guides that the Amharas consult for all their problems. The Lolos Noirs do not subscribe any organized religion, practicing instead ancestral and spirit worship. This belief system is entrenched by the local shaman, a village elder who is entrusted to protect the Lolos Noirs most sacred possession, 2 bronze drums that have been passed on for generations and that are used in religious ceremonies, specifically during funerals and mourning times (not too often for fear of disturbing the revered ancestors). Thus, spirituality not only connects the Lolos Noirs with the spirits and ancestors they worship, it also helps bring them, an already close community, even closer together, bonded over the collective protection of items they regard as sacred. The belief system that the Nyangatoms ascribe to remains unclear, the only system of beliefs or rites of passage mentioned being that