Chapter 2 - Indigenous Religions

The goddess Pele is associated with Answers: -childbirth. -volcanoes and fire. -Brazil. -the Haida.

African tribal masks influenced the art of Answers: -Pablo Picasso. -Claude Monet. -Ralph Vaughan Williams. -ethnomusicology.

Animism holds that Answers: -animal sacrifice is necessary for ritual purity. -mountains are often at the end of sacred paths. -animal nature must be subservient to human beings. -the life force exists in every part of the universe.

Hehaka Sapa, also known as Black Elk, saw the circle as Answers: -a form in which many elements of nature arrange themselves and show similar origin. -a special form of the calumet. -evidence that man must dominate nature. -taboo for the people of Easter Island.

Many African religions tell how the High God created the world and then Answers: -abandoned it. -went to Uluru. -became the mother of the Pueblo. -joined the spirits of the dead.

The sacrifice of an animal may occur Answers: -in order to placate a spirit after a taboo has been broken. -to celebrate the arrival of menarche. -as an alternative to polygamy. -as an essential part of the ritual using Amanita muscaria.

A special ability to know or even enter the spirit world is associated with Answers: -the shaman. -the Lakota Bible. -John Mbiti. -animism.

Divination is employed to Answers: -compensate for violation of a taboo. -restore a woman to the social order after childbirth. -read the past or look into the future. -ensure that peyote will be protected by the Supreme Court.

Christmas, though a Christian holy day, began as a celebration of Answers: -the old English goddess of dawn. -the winter solstice. -Samhain in Ireland. -the return of ancestral spirits to the world.

Maori religion is part of the cultural rebirth in Answers: -New Zealand. -New Mexico. -New Guinea. -Australia.

Until recently, oral religions were looked at as Answers: -too involved with symbolism. -primitive and undeveloped. -overly complex. -a peak of religious early insight.

Sacred space is often constituted by Answers: -a great mountain or tree. -the construction of a skyscraper. -the command of a ruler. -the veneration of a sacred book.

Important times in the development of the individual are often marked in indigenous religions by ceremonies. These are commonly called Answers: -initiatory ceremonies. -circumambulations. -scarification. -rites of passage.

Indigenous religions Answers: -frequently make little or no distinction between a god and an ancestor. -make clear distinctions between natural and supernatural. -frequently value androgyny. -almost always mark marriage with public religious ceremonies.

Joseph Campbell, in his books, has strongly recommended reading the myths of many religions. Doing this, he says, Answers: -gives us a sense of the great variety of creation stories. -makes us more tolerant of other religions. -sharpens our appreciation for storytelling and drama. -shows us the symbolic meaning that underlies religious stories.

The term Poro refers to Answers: -a mourning ritual performed at the death of a religious leader. -a secret initiation society for males. -the general name for the dried powders used for Navajo sand paintings. -a dance of the Lakota people.

Taboos Answers: -are quite similar in most societies. -are social rewards for good deeds. -often exist regarding sex, marriage, and birth. -are not found in some societies.

In many Native American religions Answers: -animals are believed to have been created after humans. -human beings have an antagonistic relationship with animals. -human beings and animals are often viewed as coming into existence together. -animal sacrifices are regularly performed.

A distinctive part of Navaho healing rituals are Answers: -woven rugs with geometric patterns. -silver and turquoise jewelry -traditional powwow dances. -sand paintings.

Pueblo peoples consider kachinas to be Answers: -gods -spirits of animals, people, or plants that can act as guardian spirits. -humans in full dance regalia. -powerful village shamans.