World Religions

Introduction to World Religions Study Guide An example would be a dance that invites rain. While individuals participate in the ceremony, the individual has a symbiotic relationship with the community and they are one in the same. Native Americans locate their sacred powers spatially, not in terms of time like the Christian world. The Christian world tends to relegate worship to an hour on Sunday mornings whereas the Native American looks to the place of in terms of spatial configuration. One example is that Native Americans identify the places of a spiritual power. These places are “alive” with the spirits. These are manifestations of what Native Americans call the “Sacred Mystery” or “Sacred Power”. The Sacred Mystery is also referred to as the “Great Spirit”. This is also the “Great Unknown”, which manifests itself to humans in the form of occurrences and shapes. The occurrences can be a constellation, solar eclipse, or in an artifact like a feather from a bird. All of the world is seen as “alive”; this applies to humans and animals, even extending to mountains, rivers, rocks, and trees. 2.1 Iroquois Nation The Iroquois nation was situated in the eastern woodlands of North America (the present-day state of New York) and their territory extended into Canada. Their religious practices centered on the land that surrounded them and the rituals they performed for their agriculture, hunting, and gathering. With fertile land and abundant resources, the Iroquois Nation flourished. The Iroquois believed in the “Great Spirit” (Ha-wen-ne-yu”), who provided their abundance. The Iroquois did not elaborate on details of the Great Spirit, but instead described some of the “lower spirits” that surrounded him. One of the lower spirits was He-no, who was depicted as a man in a warrior costume. He-no controlled the weather and owned the thunder. The Iroquois also had an evil spirit, who was the brother of the Great Spirit. The evil spirit was named “Ha-ne-go-ate-geh”, which translates to “evil-minded”. This evil spirit also had inferior spirits he controlled. The Iroquois people believed in the afterlife. When they died, they believed the Great Spirit would judge them and determine if they needed punishment in the afterlife. Scholars believe this belief in the afterlife contributed to the success of the Iroquois Nation. 2.2 Inuit The term Inuit means “caters of raw flesh”. Today, the Inuit are known as Eskimos, although they do not embrace that term. Their culture is very similar to others found in Northern Russia and some Northern Scandinavian Countries. Inuits believe that Anua (souls) exit in all people and animals. Their religious practices center on a complex system a hunter has to follow in order to hunt and harvest so that the animals will continue making themselves present to the hunters. They perform many rituals prior to embarking on a hunting trip. The keeper of the sea mammals is Sedna, or ©2018 Achieve Page 13 of 96