Native American Society

Introduction:

It was from the time of the Stone Age and until the meeting with Europeans, the original settlers in North America lived mainly as hunters and gatherers. During the earliest times, i.e. the Stone Age, the North American settlers had the same culture as did other people living in the north. However, after some time, ecological changes led to cultural changes as well, when around 20,000 years ago, groups of people moved to lower areas of North America and settled there. These groups started sharing distinct cultures which were in line with their environment and surroundings. As culture evolved and ways of life changed, the traditional religious practices were still followed. The different Native American communities all had their own separate worldview, distinct myths, conducted its own rituals, and acted according to its basic values.

When the religious beliefs of North American settlers were being documented, a number of key observations were made: these natives were very interested in the cycles of nature; they believed that all beings were alive; they thought they could control cosmic powers, they relied a lot on shamans who were religious specialists and they believed that religion and economics could be looked at in the same light. ("The Pages of Shades Ð'- Native Americans")

Religion:

Native American religion is very unlike conventional religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam in the sense that it has no single founder. It is not a story of people with a strong religious background. It is not ancient and adaptable to today's contemporary times. Precisely speaking, there is not even a single religious expression which is the same for all the 250 prominent Native American communities present today. These people have no idea how their ancestors practiced religion in historic times. War ravage and destruction broke the chain, and today, Native Americans who want to know their religious background often have to resort to anthropologists for information (Native American Religion, 2004).

In this paper, we attempt to look at some facets of Native American religion as could be found through various sources. Special emphasis is laid on the role of women in Native American society and its religious practices.

Union with the Spirit:

Traditional Native Americans drew no boundary between the non-spiritual and the spiritual. For them, every act was sacred and had connection with Spirit. If for example, hunters are hunting down animals, this is a form of dialogue that the hunter is carrying out with the spirit of the animal. Similarly, agriculture is a means of revering the spirits of the plants and the fruitfulness of the earth. Hence, every act is an act of spirituality, with every act being given the status of a spiritual ritual.

This can be explained by the fact that Native Americans considered that the world of spirit and the world of physical appearances closely exist, and connect at many points, having very little distance between them. For them, whatever happens in this world has an impact on the spirit world and vice versa. The Hopi community practices rituals like the Niman Kachina, where men adorn wooden likenesses of the spirit-kachinas and play out their return to their homeland, causing the land to bask in the good fortune and rain they bring with them. For these dancers, performing dance rituals like the above are ways to walk in both worlds at the same time.

Dance is very similar to everyday life in the sense that the sacred and the non-spiritual frequently overlap. There is no distinction. Religion and life are believed to be one thing. The hunter who apologizes to the spirit of the deer he just hunted, the Southeastern peoples Ð''going to water' are all ways to climb the line between the two worlds. For the Native Americans, any act they do can become a variation of a spirit dance between the person and the object acted upon (Ruvolo, 2004; Native American Religion, 2004).

Sacred Stories and History:

Whenever the religious stories of these people are read, it is observed that there is mention of two kinds of time: one is a time before time when things are not as they are here, and the other is historical time, which is about the same as modern life. In mythic time, there is no boundary between the spirit and physical worlds. There is regular spiritual interaction with humans who are visited by spirits daily. These spirits can both help as well as harm. Humans who wanted to explore their spirituality more are called shamans and they frequently visit spirit realms. A number of stories are part of this time, such as the Native American creation stories, migration narratives, and stories of the heroes in Native American culture.

Story telling is a common activity for Native Americans for whom it dissolves boundaries and removes distances. When they enact these stories time and again, they become a way to overlap the spiritual and non-spiritual world. When they smoke the Lakota pipe, they believe that the spirit of its giver (White Buffalo Calf Woman) has joined them, and engulfed them in a connection with nature. The Iroquois people believe that the ritual of wearing a mask with the likeness of the Great Defender is beneficial for healing the sick, and brings the healing power of the humpbacked one into the sickroom.

Female figures have a strong presence in Native American narratives which often become the basis for rituals as ones mentioned above. There exist stories in which women are the key actors in the creation of the earth and the people. These female figures come to the world, albeit in different forms, with the purpose of inventing the life that the people will live, and these stories include women as main players in the formation of the people. The creation of the people has a well-defined relationship with native women.

The Native Americans of the Southwest and the Plains are instructed by female powers on how to live properly, how to co-exist peacefully and how to treat nature. How the people are supposed to behave in sacred rituals and ceremonies as according to ancient mythology is also explained by powerful female figures. Characters like the White Buffalo Woman (who gifted the Lakota with the sacred pipe standing for the essence of life) are common. The White Buffalo Woman is an especially revered religious personality as she instructed the people on how they should treat all human beings with respect (Native American Spirituality, 2004).

The female figures might be present in the stories and rituals as powerful figures, but this power has been incorporated in the daily lives of the Native