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Native Spirituality Introduction. Introduction. Native Spirituality. It is impossible to identify a single founder of Aboriginal spirituality Aboriginal inhabitants of a region are known as indigenous peoples
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Native SpiritualityIntroduction Introduction Native Spirituality
It is impossible to identify a single founder of Aboriginal spirituality • Aboriginal inhabitants of a region are known as indigenous peoples • Some Aboriginals believe they “came out of the ground”, meaning their origins are ancient • Some evidence exists that supports the theory that Aboriginal peoples crossed over the Bering Strait (between Alaska and Russia) to North and South America over 35000 years ago ORIGINS
Canada has six cultural groups of Aboriginal peoples, defined by geographical environment and each culture contains many nations: • 1. The Subarctic – The Innu, James Bay Cree, Montaignais • 2. The Arctic – Mackenzie, Labrador, Caribou • 3. The Plateau • 4. The Great Plains – Sioux, Cree, Siksika, Blackfoot • 5. The Northwest Pacific Coast – Haida, Tlingit, Salish, Nisga’a • 6. Northeast Woodlands – Iroquois, Algonquin • As a group they have similar aspects of belief, although different practices of form represent those beliefs Aboriginal Peoples in Canada
aNIMISM • All things, human and non-human, have spirits or souls, and that spirit/soul lives on after death • All living things live in close connection with one another and move in cycles • Power is recognized around them: in heavens, in human ghosts and spirits, animals and plants, and in the weather
Aboriginal spirituality is a polytheistic faith, but most believe in a supreme Creator • Other “gods” (spirits) include “Sea Woman” (Inuit title for the sea), “Sky Woman” (Iroquois title for the sky) and “Grandfather” (Algonquin title for sky) • Aboriginal spirituality turns to many spirits for many needs (e.g. fisherman turns to spirit of the sea, or farmer turns to spirit of the rain or the sun) POLYTHEISM VS. MONOTHEISM
Belief that spirits live in humans, animals and plants. • Sometimes the spirit of the objects are worshipped, or the objects may simply be the symbols of the power, which is truly worshipped. • Often, totems link Aboriginal peoples to their mythical ancestors and are protective entities of a clan or individual (plant, animal, or mythological being totemism
Utilizing the powers of the spiritual world Shaman: a person who has special contact with the spirit world. A shaman possesses special powers and is capable of having visions that convey the spirit world to humans. shamanism
Duties of the Shaman: - curing illness - foretelling the future - finding lost articles or missing persons - reviving the dead - controlling the weather
Many believe in reincarnation or rebirth, based on various myths and legends For example, Northeast Woodlands: spirits can enter man-made objects when they are reincarnated afterlife