Indigenous People's Spirituality
Beatriz Schulthess
Indigenous
Peoples traditional way of life is deeply rooted in their
spirituality. Indigenous spirituality is the source of traditional
knowledge and regulates social organisation systems. Prayers
or worship are concepts that do not exist in our cultures,
instead different kind of practices are taking place. These
practices are ceremonies and rituals that each culture performs
with a certain particularity. The ceremonies and ritual also
vary depending the time, for what purpose and under which
circumstances it takes place.
Central
to indigenous spirituality is a divine entity that has in
each language a different name and that is recognised whenever
a ceremony takes place. Likewise, Mother Earth, the Sun, the
ancestors present will always be recognised as well as other
sacred elements. Ceremonies take place for different purposes.
For example, to celebrate the New Year, birth, and weddings,
to request good crops and harvest or protection, to perform
cleansings and healings, or to initiate successfully a new
activity among others.
Offerings
of different kinds are important during the ceremonies as
well as various forms of cleansing either with incense or
with special herbs. To prepare an important activity, a series
of ceremonies will need to take place beforehand. Their purpose
will be to determine when and where the planed activity should
take place, open the path for success, and eliminate physical
and spiritual obstacles. Ceremonies can take place around
a fire, under a tree, by a river, in a ceremonial house or
by an identified sacred place.
Those
entitled to perform such ceremonies are men and women that
either belong to a certain family lineage, or that are being
chosen by nature, birth or by the ancestors. These individuals
are prepared over many years. Even when they are ready to
graduate as a spiritual guide or leaders, they will have to
continue with their preparation to reach higher levels during
the rest of their lives. Most of the time, but not always,
spiritual leaders are chosen to become authority figures among
our people or are given also other leadership responsibility
in addition of the spiritual ones.
Among
spiritual leaders, there is a recognition and respect for
the leaders that have reached higher levels. But the fact
that there is recognition of different levels of leadership
cannot be compared with the western hierarchy concept. During
gatherings of spiritual leaders, it happens that the activity
will start in silence and only when everyone present is aware
of the position of the others the leader of highest level
will start speaking.
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