Transcript Document 7212800

Aboriginal Spirituality
HRT3M
World Religions – Unit 1
Aboriginal Populations - World
• Approximately
300 000 million
Aboriginal
Peoples
inhabit the
earth
• 1, 172,790
people identify
themselves as
Aboriginal in
Canada (2006
census)
World Distribution of Indigenous People
Asia 80%
S. America 7%
N. America 6%
Africa 4%
Australia/Oceania 3%
Europe 0.1%
Aboriginal Populations - World
• Aboriginal spirituality is most common in Asia. The
lowest population of aboriginal people is in Europe.
• The Inuit, located in Canada’s north (Nunavut) share
their culture and traditions with Alaska and Greenland.
• There are 100 000 Inuit, but a lot of that population
practices Christianity.
• There is a resurgence of Aboriginal culture throughout
the world.
Aboriginal People – World
Common Beliefs
• Animism: my adherents of Aboriginal spirituality believe
that everything in the world is alive. All things, human
and non-human, have spirits or souls, and that the
person or animal lives on after death through the
presence of that spirit.
• Some observers claim aboriginal spirituality is
polytheistic – many believe in a supreme Creator
however, power in the universe is also given to other
personified spirits who are less powerful. Examples: Inuit
“Sea Woman”; Iroquois “Sky Woman”; and the Algonquin
“Grandfather” (sky)
Aboriginal People – World
Common Beliefs and Practices
• Aboriginal people exercise their beliefs through
storytelling, prayer, art and ritual. These may consist of
drumming, chanting, carving, painting and dancing.
• Aboriginal Spirituality has no founder, or creator of the
religion. During a crisis, an elder or significant person will
rise and renew the faith.
• Canada declared June 21st to be National Aboriginal
Day, in 1996
Aboriginal Peoples – Americas Origins
• Indigenous People
believe they are the
original inhabitants of an
area “they came from
that ground”
• Archeological evidence
suggests the aboriginal
inhabitants of the
Americas migrated from
Asia to the Americas by
crossing a land bridge
over the Bering Strait
between 35 000 and
10 000 years ago.
Canada’s Aboriginal People
• Aboriginal Spirituality is
logical – a cultural
extension of survival
interaction with their
physical environment.
• The geographical
environment in which they
lived defined them
• Canada has 6 distinct
cultural groups
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Canada’s Aboriginal Cultural
Groups
6 cultural groups in
Canada –defined
by how they
developed in
response to their
distinct geography
Arctic
Subarctic
The Plateau
The Northwest
Pacific Coast
Great Plains
Northeast
Woodlands
Creation
• Most tribes have their
own unique creation
story
• Oral stories
• Turtle Island
• Raven and the
Clamshell
• Animals came from
humans- strong link
• Creator controls
humans, but not other
animals
Ceremonies
• The Potlatch Ceremony
- Give away things to gain
status
• The Sweat Lodge
- like a sauna--> made of
saplings
- led by an elder
- heals them spiritually and
physically
• The Shaking Tent
-used by many tribes
-goal is to communicate to
spirits
Totems
• Represent their
animal/spirit guide
• For a clan or individual
• Same totem= close
relatives
• Sometimes used to tell
stories about supernatural
• Carved for Potlatch
Ceremony
Rituals
• The Sun Dance
- circle = sun--> centre
of life
- cottonwood pole is
called “Tree of the
Universe”
- Piercing Dance
• Morning Dance
- dance to give thanks
- feast of fish and meat
Symbols/ Images
• Traditional symbols and images are an essential
part of the Aboriginal culture.
• Dream Catcher: If you hang a dream catcher over
your bed, your bad dreams will go through the web
and into the Universe and your good dreams will be
caught in the web.
• Eagle: Alerts the Aboriginals of what is to come.
• Fire: Symbolizes the heart of The People and is
used to cleanse the spirit.
Symbols/ Images Continued
• Inuksuk: Used for navigation, gives warnings for any
danger in open water, and it marks sacred space.
• Medicine Shield: Made by warriors as a symbol of
protection and strength when hunting and battling.
• Tree of Peace: In some Aboriginal religions, the tree
is believed to connect Earth to Heaven.
Number of Adherents in the World/
Influences in the 21st Century
• Just under 1.2 million Canadians reported having at least
some Aboriginal ancestry in 2006, representing 4.4 % of
the total population in Canada.
• Between 1996 and 2006, the Aboriginal population grew
by 45%.