Essay on Native American Tradition and Religion

The Navajo live a much different lifestyle, rather than living in one community, the Navajo practice a more cowboy lifestyle meaning each family has a sizable piece of land in which they live. Unlike the Hopi, the Navajo are a matriarchal society. This means that women are the head of the house and are seen as more important socially and physically. An example of this is their most sacred religious practice, the Kinaalda. This practice isn't so much towards a particular spirit, but rather at the girl who has become a woman. The Kinaalda is a celebratory tradition in which the family and friends or anyone with a relationship with the girl celebrate her fertility. When a girl has her first period, it is seen as a gift that women share, the gift of being able to bare a child. In the Navajo people, there are no traditions for the men, but they are apart of this as the girl must make a corn cake as a token of gratitude and respect for the relationships she has with the people around her. Another important tradition of the Navajo are sand paintings. These are paintings made with sand in which a person sits in the middle after completion in hopes to drive out bad relationships, bad health, or some medical need, and are always performed inside the Hogan. Crafted by a singer's apprentice, the singer himself will conduct a ritual that connects the person in the center to the spirits that can help alleviate their pain. Early Navajo religion

2016). What I found after the research is that medicine men and woman, or spiritual leaders of the Native American tribes had the ability to assist in areas of healing, or called the spirits to offer good weather, etc. This is important because this indicates a leadership ability, and those that are wise, knowledgeable, and have experience were entitled to this position (Britanica). What I find fascinating about this aspect of their religion, is that it connects to many of the other aspects they share. In order for them to connect to nature, perform rituals, find a vision quest and connect to the spirit world, all these combinations are intertwined (Britanica). What I was able to find, is that the spirit world guided the Native Americans to become connected with their practices. Whether they wanted to have a better hunt, or prosperous crops, healthy tribe members, everything was connected through the spirits that guided them. Although they did not have many references to death and the afterlife, the spirit was mentioned many times as it still remained, as long as those that are living still remembered the dead. What I also found unique and interesting is that the basic religious functions are performed by every member of the group, meaning that there was not much distinction between the tribe in terms of who was able to perform what duties, as there was a little need for trained professional needed to perform these rituals (Hopfe et al. 2016). Despite their religious practices, when they were driven by the European man, slowly the population died off and converted to Native American

Aboriginal religion and spirituality, like many other religions of the world (both ancient and modern) retain the idea of the land and people having been created by a god, or gods during a certain period of creation at some point in time. A central concept that defines the uniqueness of the Aboriginal religion is the respected relationship between the land, animals and people. For people of non – indigenous religion, the land is seen more as something owned by them; a commodity to be bought and sold or an asset to make profit from. However, for Aboriginal people, the land is something much more powerful and ancient than simply just their own home. In their culture, they are owned by the land. They also retain a profoundly strong spiritual connection to the land. Aboriginal law and spirituality are intertwined with the land, people and creation, and this forms the basis of their culture and sovereignty.

In many cultures around the world, plants have a strong spiritual symbolism. The Huichol tribe of Mexico, for example, a plant called peyote has symbolic significance, as it produces spiritual experiences which allegedly allow its users to connect with their Gods and ancestors. Mescaline, the active ingredient in peyote, creates vivid dreamscapes and hallucinations. For the Huichol people, finding peyote is a laborious and sacred task so each year, they go on a pilgrimage to Wirikuta, also known as the “Path of Freedom.” During this pilgrimage, which occurs during the drought season after the maize harvest, the Huichol people undergo spiritual rituals and also stop at various religious sites along the way. Once they reach Wirikuta, the Huichol travelers gather peyote. Some are used immediately and the rest is brought back for the tribe. The Huichols believe they are always with Ancient ones and it is their responsibility to stay connected with them through this pilgrimage.

Through my own personal experiences and teachings from Native Americans, that have offered to enlighten me, I've gathered that there is a sacred nature rich in spirit and soul to them. The Native American lives religion as a way of life. Children of the tribe grow up in this world of spirituality and learn from example that religion can come as easily as taking a breath every day. This is no attempt to lead into the topic of religion, yet it needs to be known that the Native American sound instruments are used as a part of that religion or spirituality. There are many sound instruments used by Native Americans, but they vary accordingly from tribe to tribe. The Native American sound

While Hull spent her time in the Yaxbe Village, she observed their customs and religious practices, mainly the syncretism of Catholics and Mayas. Anthropologists have always been interested in the religious lives of non-Western people and have come to recognize that religions are valid symbolic systems that reflect the cultures and shape the value systems in the societies where they are found. (2004:88) Religion, in an anthropological perspective, is the beliefs of native people and their corresponding rituals. Religion adds supernatural beliefs, such as the origin of the universe, spirits and demons in nature, to explain the unexplainable world through symbols. (2004:88)

The three main counterparts that make up Indigenous Religion are human relationship with nature, framing of sacred time and space and the respect for origins, gods, and ancestors (Malloy, n.d.). Natives hold nature in high regard. They believe that all living creatures and non living items such as rocks, soil, trees, etc all carry spirits and are treated as sacred (Molloy, n.d.).

Gill’s article starts off with an explanation of what shamanism is. Gill stated, “North American shamans are individuals with extraordinary access to spiritual power” (8287). The article further explores the different characteristics of a shaman and the different functions of what a shaman does. The text also discusses how a member of a tribe gets shamanic powers (8288). Furthermore, into the article, Gill includes a “brief review” of tribes in North America that have shamanism or rituals that is like it. Gill’s brief description of the tribes, show the commonalities that the tribes share. In his research, he found that healing/curing is the most common use for the rituals (8288-8289). In most tribes’ males are the shamans, but in tribes around

There are a large number of tribes within the Native American culture and they all have slightly different beliefs. Some native groups were oriented more towards hunting and gathering and depended on the spirits to help them find what they were out to look for. Other groups were more agricultural and looked for spirits to provide good weather for cropping. Although, they had different beliefs all of them established an animistic worldview and they had many things in common. After the Europeans moved to the new world the population expanded over time but due to the illnesses and diseases many people died. Most Native Americans believed in God who was responsible for creating the world. They praised and worshiped him but they also believed that there were other spirits which were able

Indigenous "native", "oral", or "basic" religions are practiced by millions of people in our world, mainly in areas like North America, Africa and Australia. Indigenous religions rarely use sacred text. Their teaching have been communicated through word of mouth rather than written text. Indigenous people practice their beliefs through ritual traditions, dances, and costumes. These practices help them establish a connection with the world. The indigenous people use myths, storytelling, drama, and art to spread wisdom throughout their religion. Indigenous people are cosmological.

What stood up for me the most about indigenous religious expressions was their ability to tap into the spirit world. Their belief that there is a being (spirit) that has the ability of not only know what is a person’s ailment or problem, but also how to remedy it.

Each religious group possesses its’ own individual world- view. Two groups, which vary a great deal when reflecting upon their world-views are the Native Americans and the Puritans. While one group holds one set of standards and beliefs to be true, the other group abides by a completely opposite set of ideas. The Native American religion functions using its’ own world –view. Unlike in Western religions, the Native American religion does not have certain places in which they need to be more religious than others do. In the Native American religion there is no notion of essential monotheism. There is no one true god in their religion; therefore they are free to have open-ended worship. The Native American religion

Daily prayer rituals when practiced with specific objects, are believed to imbue "energy" into the object. Traditional healers and shamans may use these ritual objects as a totem of the connection to the ancestors or spirit worlds. This is not unlike the reverence that many Americans have for their grandmothers' recipe books or cast iron pan. Many years of preparing loving meals for family and friends condition the pan, imbuing it with love.

Indigenous spirituality primarily focuses on the sense of connectedness to the land, family, beliefs and traditional culture. Mudrooroo is an Aboriginal writer who explains that spirituality is a “oneness and an interconnectedness with all that lives and breathes, even with all that does not live or breathe.” This sense of oneness with the world is also known as Kanyini, which involves 4 key elements, connection to land, spirituality, beliefs (values) and family (Lai, 2013). A connectedness with land plays a crucial role in Indigenous spirituality. The land is often spoken of and referred to as “Mother Earth”, which all living things “have

Native American religions in the Midwest shaped the way for their tribes to grow their religions