REL 1000 : Religion - First Exam
Religion
9/13/2013 9:32:00 PM
Responses to European Colonization
Generalizations
~Colonization different in NA than Africa
• European diseases killed native Americans
o Europeans came to settle in Americas
• African diseases killed Europeans
o Europeans came to trade
~Some people adopted Christianity
~Some people joined revitalization movements
• seeks to reform and give new life to a particular tradition (old ways)
~Some developed Syncretic forms of religion
• combing beliefs and practices from different traditions
Xhosa Sacrifice (South Africa revitalization movement)
• Nongqawuse
o Xhosa woman, had prophetic vision in 1856 that the reason
Africans were being colonized was b/c they had fallen from
old ways
o Many killed all of their cattle as sacrifice and burned fields –
resulted in huge famine
Ghost Dance (North American revitalization movement)
• Wovoka
o Lakota – had a prophetic vision that he was taken by
ancestors to one supreme god and was instructed to go back
to a traditional life
• Circle dance and shuffling of feet/ chanting
• Dancers carried bows/ arrows and protective shirts
Wounded Knee
• Police arrested Sitting Bull 1890
o Followers fought back
o Military led dancers to Wounded Knee Creek (massacre after
disarm)
▪ 300+ Lakota killed, 25-40 military killed
Black Elk (Syncretic Response)
• Lakota born in 1863
• Had vision at 9 – became a healer
• Inspire to revitalize after witnessing Wounded Knee
• Converted to Catholicism in 1904
• 1932 – Black Elk Speaks published
• 1934 – affirmed his Catholic faith
o continued to pray to the Six Grandfathers while actively
converting people to Catholicism
Cargo Cults (Syncretic Response)
• Integrating aspects of modern culture
• Movement in south pacific (Fiji)
• Help explain war, commerce, and European success
o Cargo planes dropped supplies on native islands – cargo was
sent by ancestors and Europeans were intercepting it
• Importance placed on ancestors
o Devotion to deified service men
Exam 9/25
Wednesday 9/18
Mahabharata (Great sons of Bharata) most important Indian book
• One of the two sacred books
• Non betic – written by human beings
• Story of Rama, ~100,000 verses
• Known for the Bhagavad Gita
• 200BC – 300Ce
• Story about war
o Krishna (9th incarnation of Vishnu) refuses to fight
▪ Tells Arjuna he should fight (this discussion is the
Bhagavad Gita)
o Re-enforces Caste system, duties of caste are religious
o 3 ways to liberation (freed from the cycle of rebirth)
▪ fundamental problem in India – reincarnation a
negative thing, liberation is freedom
▪ 1 – the way of action – unselfish duty performed not for
hope of reward or fear of punishment
▪ 2 – the way of knowledge – through knowledge of
scripture one can achieve transforming wisdom
▪ 3 – the way of devotion – devotion to dieties who
provide amnesty for wrong doings
Three primary dietes
• Brahma
o The creator, receives little attention
• Shiva
o The destroyer
o Does not manifest himself
o Called a “Divine Paradox”
▪ Both a creator & destroyer
▪ God of disease/fertility
• The Goddess
o Shiva’s companion
o For others, she is supreme deity
o Has various names (Durga, Kali, Devi)
o Maternal figure, warrior
• Vishnu
o Associated with water, blue
o “all pervasive one” “the preserver”
o comes to earth if various avatars
o 1st appeared as a fish to save
primeval man
o 8 other incarnations, 9 total, 10th will
come at end of this cycle of creation
▪ Rama, Krishna, for many
Buddha
The Way of Knowledge
• 6 primary schools of Hindu philosophy
• Vedanta and Yoga
• Not unrelated to devotion
Document Summary
~colonization different in na than africa: european diseases killed native americans, europeans came to settle in americas, african diseases killed europeans, europeans came to trade. ~some people joined revitalization movements: seeks to reform and give new life to a particular tradition (old ways) ~some developed syncretic forms of religion: combing beliefs and practices from different traditions. Xhosa sacrifice (south africa revitalization movement: nongqawuse, xhosa woman, had prophetic vision in 1856 that the reason. Africans were being colonized was b/c they had fallen from old ways: many killed all of their cattle as sacrifice and burned fields resulted in huge famine. Wounded knee: police arrested sitting bull 1890, followers fought back, military led dancers to wounded knee creek (massacre after disarm, 300+ lakota killed, 25-40 military killed. The way of knowledge: 6 primary schools of hindu philosophy, vedanta and yoga, not unrelated to devotion, vedanta, philosophical school focused on monism one reality, based on upanishads, the bhagavad gita, and the brahma.
