Discovering Indigenous Religions
Indigenous Religions are scattered throughout the world, making their orgins differ between one another. Religious teachings have been passed down through word of mouth rather than through written text.
Past Obstacles
Due to the fact that many of these religions were passed down orally, scholars had a hard time learning more about them. Many found it easier to study religions that had actual texts. Also, there was a bias toward text based religions because researchers believed them to be more complex. However, such notions were disproved by things such as the Navajo sand paintings that can be seen to the right. These paintings were used in ceremonies and took about two nights to complete only to be destroyed in the end.
source: http://navajopeople.org/navajo-sand-painting.htm . Source: http://research.amnh.org/anthropology/database/nae_sub
OriginsOrigin stories of indigenous religions vary from tribe to tribe. They usually involve a god like figure creating the world. To the right is a video explaining the creation story of the Chumash tribe.
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Source: http://kids.britannica.com/elementary/art-87546/A-Navajo-man-creates-a-sand-painting
RecoveryThe fact that we are now allowed to study these ancient religions can be credited to anthropologist such as Franz Boas who first studied the Eskimos in Canada from 1883 to 1884. He was one of the first pioneers to observe indigenous religions. The inventions of photography and sound recording also helped because it allowed the documentation of native traditions. One of Boas pictures of a tribe called Kwakiutl can be seen to the left.
source: http://anthropology.columbia.edu/department-history/franz-boas Source: https://youtu.be/w0iyd68oBok
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Reference
Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. Sixth ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2012. Print.
http://kids.britannica.com/elementary/art-87546/A-Navajo-man-creates-a-sand-painting
http://research.amnh.org/anthropology/database/nae_sub
https://youtu.be/w0iyd68oBok