Small Scale Religions Sometimes referred to as primal

Small Scale Religions: • Sometimes referred to as “primal” because they came before the major religions in the world • Originated with indigenous peoples in a primordial (pre-history) state • Provide special insight into the mythic and ritual dimensions of religions

The Storytellers: • Generally traditions of non-literate people • Do not depend on scriptures or written teachings • Myths and stories are handed down from generation to generation

Tribal People: • Tend to be the traditions of tribal peoples • Usually live in small villages rather than cities • Exceptions would include the Yoruba and the Aztecs of Mesoamerica

Australian Aborigines • Native to Australia • Unaffected by outsiders until about 200 years ago • Early traditions remain in largely intact today

The Dreaming • The foundation of Aboriginal religion • Belief that the world was originally formless • Supernatural beings called Ancestors roamed the earth • Ancestors gave the world shape and created various forms of life

The Dreaming • Ancestors organized humans into tribes and gave language, territory, rules, and customs to the people. • Left behind symbols of their presence • Natural landmarks, rock paintings, etc…

The Dreaming • A mythic period of the Ancestors • Aborigines believe that the spiritual essence of the Ancestors continue to live today and the period continues to live on today. • Spiritual symbols are said to be filled with sacred power • Only certain people are allowed to visit the sacred sites

Sacred Sites • Approaching the sites the Aborigines re-enact mythic events of the Dreaming • Every notable landmark has great significance • Spiritual essence of the Ancestors is thought to live within each person • Unborn child receives the spirit of the Ancestor the mother contacts

Totem: • The natural form in which the Ancestor appeared in the Dreaming • May be an animal, a rock formation, or other landscape feature • Totemism: the system of belief and ritual based on totems

Three aspects of reality • Supernatural, human world, and world of nature all interrelated • Aborigines seek harmonious relationships between the three • Spiritual perfection

Aboriginal Religious Life • Recreating the mythic past of the Dreaming in order to receive sacred power • Ritual is essential; only through ritual that sacred power can be experienced • A myth behind every ritual

Taboo • Certain people are forbidden to participate in certain rituals • Violation of this principle sometimes results in the punishment of death • Men, women, maturity determine participation in rituals

Initiation: Symbolic Death, Spiritual Rebirth • Awaken the young to their spiritual identity and social position • Symbolic death of childhood • Boys and girls undergo initiation • Boys’ ritual is more elaborate than girls’

Male Initiation Rite • Takes place around 9 th birthday; lasted months • 2 lower teeth knocked out & buried • Circumcision with a stone knife • Wilyaru performed by the adult tribesmen • Struck w/ intent to form scars; symbolic death

Bull-roarer • Sacred instrument consisting of a piece of wood attached to a long string made from human hair • Recreates the sound of the deities and is forbidden for women to use

Initiation Rituals • The boy lived in the wilderness alone for months. • When the blood wore off his skin and wounds were healed he returned to the village • Much celebration…. . He became a man.

An African Tradition: The Yoruba • Representative of other African religions • Consists of about 10 million people • Yoruba is about 1000 years old

The Yoruba and Their Universe: • Live in the western regions of central Africa • Nigeria, Benin, Togo • Not a nation but a group with a common language and culture • Prefer living in cities • Ife center of Yoruba religion; Orisha-nla began to create the world

Yoruba Cosmology: • Reality is divided into 2 separate worlds: heaven and earth • Heaven: home to the deities and ancestors • Earth: home to human beings (descended from gods) and witches and sorcerers who must be controlled

Purpose of the Yoruba Religion: “…. to maintain the balance between the human beings of earth and the gods and ancestors of heaven, while guarding against the evil deeds of sorcerers and witches. ”

The Inhabitants of Heaven: • Supreme god: Olorun • Less powerful deities called orishas • Ancestors

Olorun, the High God: • Primary source of power • Original source of power • Does not become involved in human affairs • No shrines/rituals to him because he is a distant god

Orishas: • Lesser deities • Function as mediators between humans and Olorun • Hundreds exist • Can help or harm humans • Some worshipped by all; some by one family • Orisha-nal; Ogun

Esu • Dual nature both good and evil • Trickster figure: a mischievous supernatural being; disrupts the normal course of life • Mediates between heaven and earth • Has a place in every shrine and at every

Ancestors of the Living: • Deceased humans who have gained supernatural status • Have sacred power that can hurt or help • Worshipped like the orishas • Family and deified ancestors

Ritual Practitioners: • Mediate between gods and ancestors and humans • A specialist • Diviners: specialized priests who practice divination (one’s future) • Role passed from parent to child • Future is important