Hinduism Review

1.Moksha is a release from the confines of the reality and an entrance into the realm of the divine.

2.The doctrine that says all reality is ultimately one is called Monism. An analogy would be all rivers, lakes, and streams all flow into one ocean. Rivers, ponds, lakes and oceans appear to be quite distinctive, yet the share a common essence; they are all made up of water.

3.Brahman is a belief in which all things that make up the invisible and visible reality have something in common and are connected to the universe. Atman is the ultimate reality within the self. These two are related because the universe is connected with the eternal self and the eternal self is connected to the universe. These two terms are the same.

4. The General Function of Hinduism’s many deities is to serve as a connection between reality and the divine reality sense it is beyond the reach of mere humans.

5. The Doctrine of Samsara states that an individual is reincarnated from one life form to another until the individual can reach Moksha.

6.The name of Hinduism's most popular sacred text is the Bhagavad-Gita.

7.In Hinduism the two principles that connect the divine world to this world are karma and dharma. Karma is a moral law that states every action produces response which justifies the action committed. Dharma is a set of moral rules of life which must be achieved to reach Moksha.

8.The four caste systems are the Brahmin which are the priest, the Kshatriya which are warriors and administrators, the Vaishya which are the farmers, merchants, and artisans, and the Shurdra which are servants and laborers.

9.Krishna encourages Arjuna to engage in war because it is Arjuna’s sacred duty to engage in war. Arjuna was born to battle as a warrior because it is a part of her dharma.

10.The first stage is that of a student in which one does intensive study if the Vedas and other sacred literature. This stage last until marriage. The second stage is Householder and in this stage a person pursues a career and raises a family. The third stage is the forest dweller (The stage ensues after the birth of a grandchild) and in this stage a man takes retreat to fully engage in a spiritual quest. The fourth stage is sannyasin and in this stage the forest dweller is ready to come back to society however he is completely detached from the material things this world ensues.

11.The first goal of life is sensual pleasure (Karma) and this is a legitimate aim to pursuit pleasures in one’s life. The second goal is Artha and this is an attempt to reach material success, social power and prestige that accompanies it. The third goal is Dharma and this is when a person tries to achieve living a moral and ethical life. The fourth goal is Moksha and in this the goal is to achieve the infinite being, awareness and bliss of liberation.

12.The three paths to liberation are the path of works, the path of knowledge and the path of devotion. People who are engaged into day-to-day task of earning a living and raising a family prefer the path of the works. People who have a talent for philosophical reflection and reasoning should follow the path of knowledge. People who get emotionally attached easily are best perceived to follow the path of devotion.

13.The three most important schools in Hinduism philosophy are Vendanta, Sankhya and Yoga. The basic task that concerns all three is that the attainment of knowledge is needed to rid oneself of the ignorance that binds the self to Samsara.

14.Three important gods and goddesses are Vishnu who is the preserver of the world, Shiva who is the god known for destruction, and Kali who is known for being a violent destroyer to her enemies.

15.Avatars are incarnations or living embodiment of a deity. Two important Hindi avatars are Kirshnu and Rama.

16.The text that is most closely associated with Bhakti Marga is the Bhagavad-Gita.

17.The three aspects of Hindu devotional life are household and village rituals, pilgrimage to holy places and veneration of cows.

18.Mahatma Gandhi influenced Hinduism by stating that all wisdom lights the way to the divine.

19.The significant changes that took place in the caste system in the 20th century were the Indian government forbade the discrimination of any outcast and the government also instituted affirmative action plans that promote economic and social rights of the outcasts.

20.A sati is the suicidal burning of a widow because her death is seen as a sign of virtue for her love of her husband. Since 1829 sati has been forbidden however it still rarely occurs in some places in India.

21.The significant development that occurred between Hindus and Muslims in 1947 was that the Muslim community created the country of Pakistan during the partition of India so that way Muslims could have a homeland in which they could live in without the fear of being discriminated against by the Hindus. This caused a bloody civil war and many followers of both religions were killed because most were forced to move out of their homes.

Primal Religions Packet

1.      Forms of religion are considered primal because they existed prior to the universal or formal religions such as Christianity or Hinduism. Primal religions exhibits the basic feature found in all religions. Some characteristics of primal religions originated first,  they are usually traditions of non-literate people, they tend to be used by small groups of people, and they are very diverse because not all primal religions will be the same.

2.      During the period of dreaming the Ancestors created landscapes, various forms of life, and the first humans. They organized humans into tribes and gave them each specific languages, social rules, and customs.

3.      The spiritual essence of the Ancestors remains in the various symbols they left behind.

4.       A totem is a natural entity that symbolizes an individual or group and has special significance to the religious life of a group or individual. Taboo is the prohibition of certain behaviors or objects for fear of dangerous contact with spiritual powers.

5.      For Aborigines, ritual is essential if life is to have meaning because it is only through ritual that Dreaming can be accessed and experienced.

6.      The rituals originated from the Ancestors who created the world during dreaming and each ritual is a reenactment of a myth of the certain actions an Ancestor did during Dreaming.

7.      Initiation rituals awaken young people to the spiritual identity and redefine their social identify in a tribe.

8.      Two acts of the Dieri initiation ritual that symbolize death are the initiates two lower middle teeth were knocked out and buried in the ground, and the initiate is circumcised.

9.      The Yoruba live in the western regions of Africa including Nigeria, Benin, and Togo.

10.   The city of Ife has always been the center of Yoruba religion because the Yoruba believe that the god Orish-nla first began to create the world in Ife.

11.  Yoruba cosmological view of the world depicts reality being divided into two separate worlds which were heaven and earth. Human beings are descended from gods and earth is also populated by deviant forms of human beings call witches and sorcerers who can cause chaos. The purpose of this religion is to maintain balance between the gods and humans and also to keep the sorcerers and witches from doing evil deeds.

12.   Olorun is the supreme god of Yoruba religion and is the primary original source of power in the universe.    

13.  Orishas are lesser deities than the supreme Olorun however they can harm or help human beings depending on how a ritual is carried out. Orishas function as a mediator between Olorun and human beings.

14.  One Orisha is Orish-nla and Yoruba believe that he created the earth. Another one is Ogun, the god of war and iron who was once a human but then died and became a god.

15.  A trickster figure is a type of supernatural being who tends to disrupt the normal course of life.

16.  Family ancestors gained supernatural status by earning a good reputation and living to an old age. They are worshipped by their own families.  Diefied ancestors were important human figures in Yoruba society who are now worshiped in large numbers.

17.  The role of ritual practitioners is to mediate between the gods and ancestors in heaven, and human beings on earth.

18.  Divination is the use of various techniques for gaining knowledge about an individual’s future or about the cause of a problem. Divination is important because knowledge of one’s future is essential for determining how to proceed in one’s life.

19.  According to scholars human being came to North America either 20,000 or 30,000 years ago by migrating from Asia to the Bering Strait. They gradually spread out and inhibited both North and South America.

20.  The religion of the plains Indians is of vital interest among native peoples because their religion represents Native American religion in general.

21.  Wakan Tanka is the Lakota name for supreme reality and means most sacred. Wakan Tanka represents sixteen separate deities.

22.  Inktomi is means spider and is the Lakota trickster figure taught the first human beings their ways and customs.

23.  The Lakota believe that when someone dies one of their four souls goes on a journey along the spirit path of the Milky Way. The soul is judged and either becomes an ancestor or a ghost on earth. The remaining parts of the soul are reborn into new bodies.

24.  The primary goal of a vision quest is for an individual to gain spiritual power to ensure greater success in hunting and warfare.

25.  A sweat lodge is a dark hut made of saplings and covered in animal skins. The Lakota built it to represent the universe and they believe the sweating leads to purification.

26.  The vision arrives in the form of an animal, an object, or a force nature. A message is often communicated in these visions and the individual tells the medicine man who then explains the vision.

27.  In the Blackfeet tribe a woman with outstanding moral character presides over the Sun Dance.

28.  An axis mundi is an entity such as a tree or mountain that connects the heavens and earth. The axis mundi in the Sun Dance is the cottonwood tree.

29.  The participants of the Sun Dance believe that their bodies is the only true thing they own so body mutilation is the only suitable sacrifice one can offer to the supreme being

30.  The Aztec Traditions defy the description of a primal religion because they were highly developed and populated civilization with a population of about fifteen million. However the Aztecs were like other primal religions because they emphasized the interrelationship between myths and rituals.

31.  The geographical area of Mesopotamia included most of present day Mexico and extended south ward to present day Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

32.  The Aztec god who created and ordered the world was Quetzalcoatl. The ancient city Teotihuacan is said to be the origin of the entire cosmos.

33.  Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl is the god’s earthy devotee and he ruled as a priest-king. Quetzalcoatl is significant to the Aztecs because they believed he presided over the golden age of Aztec cultural brilliance and he provided the Aztecs a perfect role model for their own authority figures. 

34.  The Aztecs called their present age the Age of the Fifth Sun and they anticipated that their sun would be destroyed like the other four suns.

35.  The Aztecs understood the special world as having four quadrants extending outward from the center of the universe, which connected the earthly realm to the heavenly and underworld realm.

36.  Aztecs regarded each human being as a sort of axis mundi because the head and the heart are regarded as potent for the nourishment for the sun and the cosmos. This potency creates a link between the earthly and heavenly realms.

37.  The “Knower of Things” could communicate with the gods and make offerings through language which provided an alternative to sacrifice.

38.  The historical coincidence that contributed to the fall of Tenochtitlan was that in 1519 the Aztec king Quetzalcoatl was supposed to return. The general of the Spanish army Hernan Cortez arrived that same year in a feathered helmet and the Tenochtitlan believed that Cortez was the return of Quetzalcoatl. However they were severely disappointed when Cortex began to conquer them.

39.  The day of the dead shows the survival of Aztec religious culture because during this celebration modern day Aztecs set aside time each year to perform similar rituals devoted the same basic principle the ancient Aztecs used to practice.

40.  Three themes that are shared by the primal religions studied in this chapter are boundaries between the supernatural and human worlds are thin and easily crossed, religion is encompassing in every aspect the primal religions society, and lastly primal religions are always changing.

The Yoruba

Major Rituals
A newborn infant is sprinkled with water to make it cry. No word may be spoken until the infant cries. Also, no one younger than the mother should be present at the birth. The infant then is taken to the backyard. The umbilical cord is bound tightly with thread and then cut. The placenta is buried in the backyard. On the placenta burial spot, the child is bathed with a loofah sponge and rubbed with palm oil. The child is held by the feet and given three shakes to make it strong and brave. After a specified number of days, a naming ceremony is held. Relatives attend and bring small amounts of money. Male and female circumcision are usually performed in the first month.

Marriages are arranged. A man must negotiate with the girl's father. If he is approved he must bring the family a payment called a bride wealth, paid in three installments. Wedding ceremonies begin at the bride's house after dark. There is a feast to which the groom contributes yams. The bride then is taken to the groom's house. There she is washed from foot to knee with an herbal mixture meant to bring her many children. For the first eight days after marriage she divides her time between her husband's and in her parents' compounds. On the ninth day she moves to her husband's home.

Burials are performed by the adult men who are not close relatives but belong to the clan of the deceased. The grave is dug in the floor of the room where the deceased lived. After the burial there is a period of feasting. Many of the rituals associated with burial are intended to insure that the deceased will be reborn again.

Location

The Yoruba homeland is located in west Africa. It stretches from a savanna (grassland) region in the north to a region of tropical rain forests in the south. Most Yoruba live in Nigeria. However there are also some scattered groups in Benin and Togo, small countries to the west of Nigeria. The occupations and living conditions of the Yoruba in the north and south differ sharply.
Current census figures are difficult to obtain. The Yoruba population is estimated to be 5.3 million.

Primary Cosmology
According to a Yoruba creation myth, the deities (gods) originally lived in the sky with only water below them. Olorun, the Sky God, gave to Orishala, the God of Whiteness, a chain, a bit of earth in a snail shell, and a five-toed chicken. He told Orishala to go down and create the earth. Orishala approached the gate of heaven. He saw some deities having a party and he stopped to greet them. They offered him palm wine and he drank too much and fell asleep. Odua, his younger brother, saw Orishala sleeping. He took the materials and went to the edge of heaven, accompanied by Chameleon. He let down the chain and they climbed down it. Odua threw the piece of earth on the water and placed the five-toed chicken upon it. The chicken began to scratch the earth, spreading it in all directions. After Chameleon had tested the firmness of the earth, Odua stepped down. A sacred grove is there today.

Tabus


Sacred Symbols


Totems/Fetishes


Sacred sites/Locations

The dense forest of the Osun Sacred Grove, on the outskirts of the city of Osogbo, is one of the last remnants of primary high forest in southern Nigeria. Regarded as the abode of the goddess of fertility Osun, one of the pantheon of Yoruba gods, the landscape of the grove and its meandering river is dotted with sanctuaries and shrines, sculptures and art works in honour of Osun and other deities. The sacred grove, which is now seen as a symbol of identity for all Yoruba people, is probably the last in Yoruba culture. It testifies to the once widespread practice of establishing sacred groves outside all settlements.


Religion-Good, bad, trickster gods?
As many as 20 percent of the Yoruba still practice the traditional religions of their ancestors.
The practice of traditional religion varies from community to community. For example, a deity (god) may be male in one village and female in another. Yoruba traditional religion holds that there is one supreme being and hundreds of orisha, or minor deities. The worshipers of a deity are referred to as his "children."

There are three gods who are available to all. Olorun (Sky God) is the high god, the Creator. One may call on him with prayers or by pouring water on kola nuts on the ground. Eshu (also called Legba by some) is the divine messenger who delivers sacrifices to Olorun after they are placed at his shrine. Everyone prays frequently to this deity. Ifa is the God of Divination, who interprets the wishes of Olorun to mankind. Believers in the Yoruba religion turn to Ifa in times of trouble. Another god, Ogun (god of war, the hunt, and metalworking), is considered one of the most important. In Yoruba courts, people who follow traditional beliefs swear to give truthful testimony by kissing a machete sacred to Ogun. 

Shango (also spelled Sango and Sagoe) is the deity that creates thunder. The Yoruba believe that when thunder and lightning strike, Shango has thrown a thunderstone to earth. After a thunderstorm, Yoruba religious leaders search the ground for the thunderstone, which is believed to have special powers. The stones are housed in shrines dedicated to Shango. Shango has four wives, each representing a river in Nigeria.
The Yoruba who practice other religious are divided about evenly between Muslims (followers of Islam) and Christians. Nearly all Yoruba still observe annual festivals and other traditional religious practices.

Role of Shamin


Images that reflect art of the people 

 

 

Vocabulary

1. Axis Mundi- turning point of the world : line through the earth's center around which the universe revolves

2. Taboo- A custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.

3. Totem- A natural object or animal believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance and adopted by it as an emblem.

4. Trickster- a cunning or deceptive character appearing in various forms in the folklore of many cultures.

5. Vision Quest- an ongoing search for the meaning and purpose of life.

6. Divination- the act of obtaining secret knowledge, especially that which relates to the future, by means within the reach almost exclusively of special classes of men. 

7. Pantheism- A doctrine that identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.

8. Polytheism- the belief or worship in more than one god

9. Monotheism- The belief in only one God

10. Transcendence- extending or lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience

11. Empathy- most often defined by the metaphors of 'standing in someone else's shoes' or 'seeing through someone else's eyes'.

12. What does Revelation have to do with religion?

"usually used to indicate the supernatural origin of a set of beliefs or sacred texts.(Victor Gunasekara)"