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lecture1oldworldamc_africanreligion11.pptAgenda
Primal Religions
Definitions
Characteristics
Culture Clash
Primal Religions
The oldest religions in the world
Kumeyaay Tribe
In-class assignment
What is the worldview of the people who made this structure? Write two or three *analytical* sentences that describe their worldview.
In-class assignment, cont.
What is the worldview of the people who made this structure? Write two or three *analytical* sentences that describe their worldview.
Primal Religions
Definitions :
First Religions
Original Religions
Luiseño Tribe
Characteristics of Primal Religions
nature-based
animistic
life is whole
oral
shamans
symbolic world -- visions and dreams
time is cyclical, endless
Diegueño of Santa Ysabel
Primal Mind, TV 2006V; In the Light of Reverence, DVD 6069
*
Native American Diversity
550 different societies
6 language groups
organized or loosely knit
patrilineal or matrilineal
Iroquois
North Eastern region of N. America
Part of 6 tribes known to French as the Iroquois League or Confederacy
Matrilineal kinship and ownership of homes
Women nominate the chief & invest him with office
Why a confederacy?
Developed to make peace between fighting tribes
Fighting over expansion for cultivation lands to support population growth
Tribes gained spokesmen/representation
Politically cohesive until the American Revolution
Two tribes sided with colonist
Wampum
wampum or wampumpeag beads = money and written script
No writing system – oral tradition with beads as memory stimulants. They use shell beads that are polished and bored with a hand drill.
Each bead represents a significant events.
Religion
Great Spirit vs. Evil Spirit
Lesser deities
Address prayers to Great Spirit through tobacco smoke and lesser deities not directly
Dreams communicate the will of the spirits
Sacred directions each guarded by a tribe + plus up and down
Religious Specialists
Part time appointed specialists as needed
Six rituals associated with farming, healing, and giving thanks for the animals and plants
Afterlife of the soul
The False Face Society
Medicinal men/women of the Iroquois,
Masks are used in rituals which invoke the spirit of an old hunch-backed man who heals.
Those cured by the society become members.
Sweat Lodge
Ceremonial bath/purification ceremony
Powhatan Peoples – Virginia region
Algonquian speakers
Ruled by a mamanatowick (Big Chief)
Hunters/fishing/gatherers/agriculture
Moving fields – slash and burn
30 groups under control by 17th century
Group that meets the British in Virginia
*
Religion
God Okee – deity of suffering/warrior God
God Ahone – good deity – creator God
*
Kwiocosk
shamans - most important men in Powhatan society.
Chiefs sought approval from kwiocosuk before engaging in most important activities
Medicine – rattling, sucking, herbs
Divination – finding thieves, locating animals
Religion
Sacrifices of food and animal blood, tobacco, beads
Human sacrifice of war prisoners – only men sacrifices
Rite of passage yearly for young boys reaching adulthood
At death chiefs were skinned, dried over a fire, sewn together with stuffing
The Cherokees of the
Southeastern Woodlands
Despite being influenced by the whites, the Cherokee maintained a unique conceptual system.
Sequoyah designed and perfected an ingenious syllabary of 86 symbols and the traditions were set down in the Cherokee’s own language
The Cherokees of the
Southeastern Woodlands
The Cherokee conceptual system does not begin with the story of creation of the cosmos.
It is concerned with the order of things and begins with
The shaping of the world
The sacred ordering of space
Categories of space
The Cherokees of the
Southeastern Woodlands
Other Cherokee myths and traditions
Kinship with animals
Dimensions of the 3 world
The sun and the moon
Priests, witches, medicine and conjury
Rites of passage
Rites of intensification and renewal
Myths concerning food sources
The Cherokees of the
Southeastern Woodlands
The Green Corn Ceremony
Includes all of the major elements of the Cherokee world view
Took place at the first ripening of the new corn
Length varied from 3 to 8 days
Hopi
SW Pueblo People
Kivas
Kachinas (500 types)
Ritual dancers
Teachers
*
Early Mesoamerican societies in Latin America, 1200 B.C.E.-1100 C.E.
*
Meso/South America Commonalities
Connection between events in this world and heavens
Mutual dependency
Polytheistic
Each city had a patron deity
Borrowing
Need to maintain balance
Rituals necessary
*
Origins of Mesoamerican Societies
Migration across Bering land bridge?
Probably 13,000 BCE, perhaps earlier
By sea from Asia?
By 9500 BCE reached southernmost part of South America
Hunter/Gatherer societies
evolve into agricultural societies
*
Olmecs 1200-100 B.C.E
Evidence of Religion
Ceremonial Centers
Olmec Heads
Up to 10 ft tall, 20 tons
Transported by dragging, rolling on logs
1000/workers per head
*
Mysterious Decline of Olmecs
Ceremonial centers destroyed
No evidence of warfare
Revolution?
Civil war?
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Maya 900 B.c.e.-900 C.E.
*
Mayan Religion
Popol Vuh: Mayan creation myth
Importance of bloodletting rituals
Human sacrifices follow after removal of fingers, piercing to allow blood flow
Self-mutilation of penises, earlobes
*
Mayan Ritual Calendar
Complex math
Invention of “Zero”
Calendar of 365.242 days (17 seconds off)
Solar calendar of 365 days
Ritual calendar of 260 days
Management of calendar lends authority to priesthood
Timing of auspicious moments for agriculture
*
The Maya Ball Game
Ritual form of ball game
High-ranking captives, prisoners of war contestants
Execution of losers immediately follows the match
Bloodletting ritual for the gods
*
The Mexica -- Aztec
One of several groups of migrants, mid 13th c. CE
Tradition of kidnapping women, seizing cultivated lands
Settled c. 1375 CE in Tenochtitlan (later becomes Mexico City)
Dredged soil from lake bottom to create fertile plots of land
Chinampas, up to 7 crops per year
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The Aztec Empire
Mexica develop tributary empire by 15th century
Itzcóatl (1428-1440), Motecuzouma I (Montezuma, 1440-1469)
Joined with Texcoco and Tlacopan to create Aztec Empire
*
The Toltec and Aztec empires, 950-1520 C.E.
*
Mexica Society: The Aztecs
Hierarchical social structure
High stature for soldiers
Mainly drawn from aristocratic class
Land grants, food privileges
Sumptuary privileges, personal adornment
*
Priests
Masters of complex agricultural/ritual calendars
Ritual functions
Read omens, advised rulers
Occasionally became rulers as well
*
Aztec Religion
Influenced by indigenous traditions from earlier groups
Ritual ball game
Solar calendar (365 days) and ritual calendar (260 days)
Not as elaborate as Maya calendar
*
Aztec Gods
Tezcatlipoca (“smoking mirror”)
Powerful god of life and death
Patron god of warriors
Quetzalcóatl
Arts, crafts, agriculture
Huitzilopochtli
14th century popularity, patron of Aztec
Emphasis on blood sacrifices
*
Ritual Bloodletting
More emphasis on human sacrifice than predecessor cultures
Sacrificial victims had tips of fingers torn off before death, ritual wounds
Victims: Mexica criminals, captured enemy soldiers
Personal rituals: piercing of penis, earlobes
*
Aztec Human Sacrifice
*
Peoples and Societies of the North
Pueblo and Navajo Societies
American southwest
Maize farming 80% of diet
By 700 CE, construction of permanent stone or adobe dwellings, 125 sites discovered
Iroquois Peoples
Settled communities in woodlands east of Mississippi
Mound-building peoples
Ceremonial platforms, homes, burial grounds
Cahokia large mound near east St. Louis, 900-1250 CE
*
States and Empires in South America
No writing before arrival of Spaniards, 16th century CE
Unlike Mesoamerican cultures, writing from 5th c. CE
Archaeological evidence reveals Andean society from 1st millennium BCE
Development of cities 1000-1500 CE
*
Andean Societies
Migration into South America c. 12000 BCE
Climate improves c. 8000 BCE
Largely independent from Mesoamerica
Highly individualized due to geography
*
Chavin Cult
New religion in central Andes, 900-300 BCE
South America, contemporary Peru
Little known about particulars of religion
Intricate stone carvings
*
Nazca 100 B.C. – 800 C.E.
*
Gods of the Nazca
Agriculture and fertility.
Powerful nature gods: killer whale, the harvesters, the spotted cat, the serpentine creature, and the anthropomorphic mythical being.
Shamans = hallucinogenic drugs, such as extractions from the San Pedro cactus, to induce visions.
Religious events and ceremonies took place in Cahuachi.
*
Headhunting
"Trophy Heads” - trophies of war or objects of ritual.
All have a hole in the forehead through which a rope could be affixed so that the severed head can be displayed or carried
Head Jars - ceramic vessel containing bones with a human head painted on it, along with trees and plants sprouting from the head.
*
Mummification in South America
The oldest known deliberate mummy is a child, one of the Chinchorro mummies found in Chile (5050 BCE)
Early on dead naturally dried or frozen
Later, some surgical preparation
Removal or organs & special postures/wrapping
memorialization, immortalization, and religious offerings.
*
Chinchorro
*
Mummies
*
The Inca empire, 1471-1532 C.E.
*
The Inca Empire
From valley of Cuzco
Refers to people who spoke Quecha language
Settlement around Lake Titicaca mid 13th century
Ruler Pachacuti (r. 1438-1471) expands territory
Modern Peru, parts of Equador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina
Population 11.5 million
*
Incan Society and Religion
Social elites dominated by infallible king
Descended from Sun God
Priests
Celibacy, ascetic
Worship of ancestors
Remains preserved in mummified form
Regularly consulted
Sacrifices offered
Paraded on festive occasions
*
Inca Religion
Inti sun god
Viracocha creator god
Temples as pilgrimage sites
Peasant sacrifices usually produce, animals (not humans)
Sin understood as disruption of divine order
*
What happened to Aztec and Inca and Maya?
Conquest
*
Portuguese Exploration: Beginning in 13th Century
Originally for fishing
Land hunger
Discovery of Azores, Madeiras Islands by 14th century
Acquisition of land to plant sugarcane
Huge demand in Europe
*
The Lure of Trade
Maritime routes to Asia
Spices, silk, porcelain
Silk roads more dangerous since spread of Bubonic Plague & Collapse of Mongol Emp.
Prices, profits increase
Indian pepper, Chinese ginger increasingly essential to diet of European wealthy classes
African gold, ivory, slaves
*
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
Believed Earth was smaller
Estimated Japan approximately 2,500 miles west of Canaries (actually 10,000 miles)
Portuguese kings do not fund proposed westward trip
Fernando and Isabel of Spain underwrite voyage
Discovers Bahamas, Cuba, San Salvador
Taino – Native inhabitants
*
The Spanish Caribbean
Spanish mariners meet indigenous Tainos (Arawaks)
Originally from Orinoco River valley in South America, settled in Caribbean in late centuries BCE through 900 CE
Columbus uses Hispaniola (Haiti-Dominican Republic) as base for trading with Tainos
Disappointed that Tainos had no spices, silks
Recruit locals to mine gold instead
Encomienda: Forced labor
*
From Mining to Plantation Agriculture
Tainos occasionally rebel, but outgunned by Spanish military technology
Smallpox epidemics begin 1518
Spaniards launch raids to kidnap and replace workers, spread disease further
Taino society disappears by middle of 16th century
Exploiting Caribbean for sugarcane production
Requires massive importation of slaves
*
Conquest of Mexico and Peru
Spanish conquerors (conquistadores) explore other territories
Hernán Cortés and 450 men bring down Aztec empire in Mexico (1519-1521)
Smallpox destroys besieged Tenochtitlan
Francisco Pizarro and 600 men bring down Inca empire in Peru (1532-1533)
Calls conference of warring Inca rulers, massacres them all
*
Spanish Colonial Administration
Conquests of Mexico, Peru not the result of imperial policy, but inspired greater efforts to expand Spanish empire
Spanish administration based in New Spain (Mexico) and New Castile (Peru), extended to Florida and Buenos Aires
Mexico city built atop Tenochtitlan, founded Lima in Peru
Viceroys rule, but supervised by local courts called audiencias designed to prevent buildup of local power bases
Considerable dispute with Spanish homeland
*
Missionary Efforts
Franciscan, Dominican, Jesuit missionaries arrive with Spanish and Portuguese
Reconquista Catholicism
Churches as landowners & employers
Indoctrination
Syncretism & Accommodation
*
Portuguese Brazil
1494 Treaty of Tordesillas divides entire (non-Christian) world between Spain and Portugal
Portugal claims Brazil
Little interest at first, but increases as other imperial powers take notice
Exploited for sugarcane production
*
Hemispheric Links
By early 16th century, several powers follow
English, Spanish, French, Dutch
Realization of value of newly discovered Americas
*
The Columbian Exchange
Named for Christopher Columbus
Global diffusion:
Plants and crops
Animals
Human populations
Disease pathogens
Links between previously independent biological zones
Permanently alters human geography, natural environment
*
Epidemic Diseases and Population Decline
Smallpox
Also measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, influenza
No prior exposure to these diseases in western hemisphere or Oceania
No inherited, acquired immunities
1519 smallpox in Aztec Empire
Population declines 90% within 100 years (17 million to 1.3 million)
*
Food Crops and Animals
Columbian exchange also increases overall food supply
Introduction to European animals to Americas
Horses, cattle, pigs, chickens, etc.
Introduction of American foods to Europe, Asia, Africa
Maize, potatoes, beans, etc.
*
Increased slavery
High demand crops
Disdain for manual labor
Depleted native populations
Increased reliance upon enslaved Africans
To South America, North America, Caribbean
Primal Religions of Africa
Similar characteristics
Primal Religions of West Africa
nature-based
oral
shamans
animistic
life is whole
symbolic world -- visions and dreams
time is cyclical, endless
Yoruba
Oba (chief) conducts village level rituals
High God Olorum assigned each a fate that has been forgotten
Sacrifices to ancestors
Many religious specialists
Elegun – possession
Oloogun – medicine
Egungun – masked dancers
Special festivals for female ancestors, female witches, mothers, and goddess Oshun
*
Orisha
Intermediary spirits/gods
Possession
Syncretism in Caribbean and Mexico – Santaria, Voodoo, Candomble
Yoruba Head Mask with Crown
Yoruba : A Major World Religion TODAY!
Kongo: West Central Africa – Angola, Congo
Ancestor veneration
High God Nzambi a Mpungu creator God
Animistic powers of nature
Magic use – charms can capture spirits
Transformed to Voodoo in Haiti
Igbo (Ibo) of Nigeria
High God Chukwu
Spirits serve God
Ancestor veneration
Theocratic state
Divination
reincarnation
Taboos: no killing pythons, twins are taboo
Brought to N. America – still practiced in Africa
Dibia: Mediator/Diviner
Islam in Africa
7th century N. Africa
9th Century Sub-Saharan region
Spreads and blends with native beliefs in many areas of Sub-Sahara
Probably, poor est. at best, 1000of Muslims were enslaved and send to the Americas
See. Michael Gomez, Allan Austinm Philip Curtin, Paul Lovejoy
Christianity in Africa
N. Africa early conversions via Roman world
West Coast: Catholics arrive with Portuguese and Spanish
*
The Kingdom of Kongo
Relations with Portuguese beginning 1483
King Nzinga Mbemba (Alfonso I, r. 1506-1542) converts to Christianity
Useful connection with Portuguese interests
But zealous convert, attempts to convert population at large
*
The King of Kongo and European Ambassadors
*
Slave Raiding in Kongo
Initial Portuguese attempts at slave raiding
Soon discovered it is easier to trade weapons for slaves provided by African traders
Dealt with several authorities besides Kongo
Kongo kings appeal without success to slow, but not eliminate, slave trade
Relations deteriorate, Portuguese attack Kongo and decapitate king in 1665
Improved slave market develops in the south
*
The Kingdom of Ndongo (Angola)
Wealth and independence from Kongo by means of Portuguese slave trade
Portuguese resisted by Queen Nzinga (r. 1623-1663)
Posed as male King, with male concubines in female dress attending her
Temporary alliance with Dutch in unsuccessful attempt to expel Portuguese
Decline of Ndongo power after her death
*
The Early Slave Trade
Portuguese raid west African coast in 1441
Met with stiff resistance, African dealers ready to provide slaves
1460: 500 slaves per year sold to work as miners, porters, domestic servants in Spain and Portugal
1520: 2,000 per year to work in sugarcane plantations in the Americas
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/slavery.htm
http://www.american.edu/TED/slave.htm
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/index.php
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Slaves at Work in a Mine
*
The Triangular Trade
1. European manufactured goods (especially firearms) sent to Africa
2. African slaves purchased and sent to Americas
3. Cash crops purchased in Americas and returned to Europe
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The Atlantic slave trade, 1500-1800
*
The Middle Passage (Africa-Americas)
African slaves captured by raiding parties, force-marched to holding pens at coast
Middle passage under horrific conditions
4-6 weeks
Mortality initially high, often over 50%, eventually declined to 5%
Total slave traffic, 15th-18th c.: 12 million
Approximately 4 million killed before arrival
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html
*
African Slave Export per Year
*
Impact on African Regions
Rwanda, Bugunda, Masai, Turkana resist slave trade
Benefit from distance from slave ports on western coast
Other societies benefit from slave trade profit
Asante, Dahomey, Oyo peoples
*
Social Effects of Slave trade
Total African population expands due to importation of American crops
Yet millions of captured Africans removed from society, deplete regional populations
Distorted sex ratios result
2/3 of slaves male, 14-35 years of age
Encouraged polygamy, women acting in traditionally male roles
*
Political Effects of Slave Trade
Introduction of firearms increases violence of pre-existing conflicts
More weapons, more slaves; more slaves, more weapons
Dahomey people create army dedicated to slave trade
*
African Slaves in Plantation Societies
Most slaves in tropical and subtropical regions
First plantation established in Hispaniola (Haiti, Dominican Republic) 1516
Later Mexico, Brazil, Caribbean and Americas
Sugar major cash crop
Later: tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton, coffee
Plantations heavily dependent on slave labor
Racial divisions of labor
*
Destinations of African Slaves
*
Regional Differences
Caribbean, South America: African population unable to maintain numbers through natural means
Malaria, yellow fever
Brutal working conditions, sanitation, nutrition
Gender imbalance
Constant importation of slaves
North America: less disease, more normal sex ratio
Slave families encouraged as prices rise in 18th century
*
Resistance to Slavery
Half-hearted work effort
Sabotage
Flight (Maroon populations)
Revolts
Suicide
Cultural
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4210636
*
Slave Revolts
Only one successful revolt
French-controlled St.-Domingue (1793)
Renamed Haiti
Elsewhere, revolts outgunned by Euro-American firepower
*
African-American Culture
Diversity of African cultures concentrated in slave population
Blend of cultures
African languages when numbers permit, otherwise European language adapted with African influences
Creole languages
Christianity adapted to incorporate African traditions
Religion changes in the clash
Goes underground
Re-invents itself
Re-emerges in Christian forms
Re-emerges in traditional forms
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
16th c. 17th c. 18th c.
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
16th c. 17th c. 18th c.
50
33
12
5
Caribbean Brazil Central, South America North America
50
33
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5
Caribbean
Brazil
Central, South America
North America
