REL S 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Wakan Tanka, Anthropomorphism, Docetism
Document Summary
Migraion across bering land bridge 13,000 bce. By 9500 bce reached southernmost part of south america. Hunter/gatherer socieies: evolve into agricultural socieies. Common features of north america: the absolute. Humans and animals share kinship: problem of misfortune. Trickster igure = disorder *coyote: soluion: ritual and healings. Rituals and symbols: feathers, placenta and umbilical cord, menstrual blood, funerals and mourning: reincarnaion, transmigraion, pleasant huning grounds, ancestor veneraion. Huning bufalo was the key to survival; they were a nomadic people. Wakan tanka animaing spirit oiose. Doceic: this world is not real, people are tools via which the universal spirit interacts with world. Wakan people: lower gods who are worshiped. White bufalo woman: wakan spirit; calf pipe, personal experience over doctrine; post-contact: wakan tanka=personal god & anthromorphic, white. Angakoks (shaman) use charms and feathers to control the spirits. Masks and ratles were important ritual items. Shamans (angakoks) performed many of their healing rituals in kashims.
