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 – 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)

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

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

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%.