Aboriginal Spirituality

1
Aboriginal Spirituality

• HRT3M
• World Religions Unit 1

2
Aboriginal Populations - World

• Approximately 300 000 million Aboriginal Peoples
  inhabit the earth
• 1, 172,790 people identify themselves as
  Aboriginal in Canada (2006 census)

3
Aboriginal Populations - World

• Aboriginal spirituality is most common in Asia.
  The lowest population of aboriginal people is in
  Europe.
• The Inuit, located in Canadas 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.

4
Aboriginal People WorldCommon 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)

5
Aboriginal People WorldCommon 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

6
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.

7
Canadas 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

8
Canadas 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

9
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

10
Ceremonies

• The Potlatch Ceremony
• - Give away things to gain status
• The Sweat Lodge
• - like a sauna--gt 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

11
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

12
Rituals

• The Sun Dance
• - circle sun--gt centre of life
• - cottonwood pole is called Tree of the
  Universe
• - Piercing Dance
• Morning Dance
• - dance to give thanks
• - feast of fish and meat

13
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.

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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.

15
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.