Exam 3 - Confucianism, Yoruba, & Navajo

Religions of the World - 12/03

Confucius

the key figure in classical Confucianism; credited as the author of the Analects and later divinized

ren

the key confucian virtue of humaneness or benevolence

li

confucian virtue of ritual property; also a ‘principle‘ or ‘pattern’ of social etiquette

filial piety

respect for and deference to one’s parents

problem (confucianism)

social chaos

solution (confucianism)

social harmony

analects

collections of sayings and actions of Confucius

ancestor worship

the confucian practice of venerating one’s deceased relatives, often by leaving offerings and prayers at a shrine

Tomb Sweeping Day

a popular East-Asian holiday where families gather to clean their relatives’ graves and leave offerings

junzi

a profound person; exemplar emphasized by classical Confucianism

sage

(shengren) - wise person; exemplar emphasized by Neo-Confucians

ori

“head“, a person’s spiritual head or soul in Yoruba religion

Iwa Pele

“gentle character“ - an ethical virtue cultivated in Yoruba religion

Shango

the Yoruba orisha of thunder and lightning; an ancient king of the Oyo Empire

problem (Yoruba Religion)

disconnection from sacred power, the orishas, family, community, nature, and one’s destiny

solution (Yoruba Religion)

connection to all things, with the goal of flourishing in this life and fulfilling one's’ destiny

Obatala

the orisha of creativity; closely associated with the color white

Ogun

orisha of iron, war, and technology; said to have been the first kind of Ile-Ife in his earthly life

Yemoja

mother of orishas and orisha of maternity; associated with Nigeria’s Ogun river and the ocean in Brazil and Cuba

Oduduwa

a creator orisha who founded the Yoruba people

Olodumare

the Supreme Being in Yoruba religion and a primordial orisha

Eshu

a trickster orisha of thresholds who facilitates or frustrates communication between humans and orishas

Oshun

the most powerful female orisha; orisha of love, maternity, and the river

animism

the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence

orisha

a supernatural being and the object of devotion in Yoruba religion, often understood to be a divinized ancestor and/or a force of nature

ashe

sacred energy, the power to make things happen in Yoruba religion

Isese

“original tradition“; the Yoruba word for traditional religious practices

diffuse monotheism

wherein a supreme being is worshipped in the form of many subordinate deities or avatars; examples include Hinduism and Yoruba religion

Ile-Ife

an ancient city in the southwest of modern-day Nigeria and the historic hub of Yoruba religion

Santeria

orisha-based and Roman Catholic influenced Afro-Cuban religion

Candomblé

orisha-based and Roman Catholic Afro-Brazilian religion

Hoodoo

a Yoruba-derived religion that began with the transatlantic slave trade; it blends Christianity, divination, and ancestor worship practices

Ifa

divination technique linked to a vast oral corpus of Yoruba stories

spirit possession

Yoruba practice where an orisha or ancestor enters the body of a medium ton convey messages, offer blessing and curses, and to act in the physical world

babalawo

Ifa priest and expert in divination

iyalawo

Ifa priestess and expert in divination

Diné

the Navajo-language name for the Navajo people

The Long Walk

the forced relocation of the Navajo from their native land to an internment camp in 1864

hocho

the central probelm facing humanity in Navajo religion; ugliness, disharmony, chaos, and illness

hozho

the solution that Navajo religion seeks; beauty, harmony, and the central value in Navajo life

Earth Surface People

human beings, named so because they were created and live on the sruface of the earth

Sa’a Naghai Bik’e Hozho (SNBH)

Navajo goal of life, often expressed in stories, songs, prayers, and everyday conversations; translations include “walking in beauty“

First Man and First Woman

first male/female pair; they planned, modeled, and brought into being the Earth Surface World after emerging from the lower worlds

corn

staple food of the Holy People; crucial element (as pollen or cornmeal) in ceremomnies; symbol of fertility; and repository of the powers of creation

Father Sky and Mother Earth

embodiments of masculine and feminine energy and of the gender complementarity that makes beauty and harmony possible

sand painting

Navajo practice of using sand and minerals to create images or portals used by Holy People during religious ceremonies

hogan

domestic and religious structure that opens to the east and is used for Navajo ceremonies

peyotism

pan-tribal religious tradition that uses the mildly hallucinogenic cactus peyote in its meetings

singer

also known as a chanter, medicine man, or medicine woman; this is a Navajo religious expert

Changing Woman

the epitome of goodness in the Navajo way, she embodies the cycle from birth to puberty to maturity to happy old age

Kinaalda

a coming-of-age ritual for Navajo girls, where they learn the responsibilities of adulthood and are inhabited by the spirit of Changing Woman

Holy People

superbeings who are the subjects of Navajo stories and the recipients of prayer and ceremonies

Holy Wind

Nilchi; animating life force and a source of movement for all living things; associated with breath, speech, thought, and action

one-sung-over

the patient in a Navajo ceremony

Blessingway

the most popular and important Navajo ceremony; a preventative ritual that aims at health, good fortune, and long life

Coyote

a dangerously entertaining wanderer in Diné stories, known for stirring up chaos through his lies, lust, greed, gluttony, and impatience