World Religions - Indigenous Religions

Orality

The absence of written scripture, allowing for alterations to suit the audience while retaining important information.

Sacred Space

A physical location or area that is considered holy or divine.

Sacred Time

Time that is set apart, ordered, controlled, and has a special purpose. It moves cyclically while moving forward and corresponds to the rhythms of nature.

Animism

The belief that there is a life force in all things.

Aborigine

Indigenous people of Australia.

Ancestors

Supernatural beings who emerged during the time of the dreaming, giving shape to the landscape and creating various forms of life.

Dreaming

The mythic period of the ancestors.

The Foundation

The belief that the world was formless until the ancestors came and gave shape to the landscape and created all forms of life. They left symbols of their presence such as natural landmarks and rock paintings.

Eternal Time

A concept of time that is infinite and without beginning or end.

Rainbow Serpent

A mythological creature or deity associated with creation and fertility.

Reenactment of Myth

The performance or recreation of a mythological story or event.

Dance

A form of artistic expression involving rhythmic movements of the body.

Painting

The act of creating visual art using various materials and techniques.

Taboo

The belief that certain things and activities are sacred and set aside for specific members of the group, forbidden to others.

Totem

A natural entity, such as an animal or a feature of the landscape, that symbolizes an individual or group and has special significance for their religious life.

Diviners

Ritual practitioners who specialize in the art of divination.

Divination

The use of various techniques to gain knowledge about an individual's future or the cause of a personal problem.

Family Ancestors

Ancestors who gained supernatural status by earning a good reputation and living to old age, now only worshipped by their own families.

Deified Ancestors

Important human figures known throughout Yoruba society, now worshipped by large numbers of people.

Olurun

The Supreme God and the original source of power in the universe, though hardly worshipped due to being distant.

Oshun

The goddess of divinity, femininity, fertility, beauty, and love. Connected to destiny and divination.

Orisha

Deities who created the earth.

Oshun-Osogbo/Sacred Grove

A sacred forest in Nigeria dedicated to the worship of the goddess Oshun.

Axis Mundi

An entity, such as a mountain, tree, or pole, believed to connect the heavens and the earth and regarded as the center of the world.

Ghost Dance

A religious movement among Native American tribes in the late 19th century, seeking spiritual renewal and the return of ancestral lands.

Lakota/Plains People

A Native American tribe primarily inhabiting the Great Plains region of North America.

Sun Dance

A ritual of the Lakota and other tribes of the North American plains that celebrates the new year and prepares the tribe for the annual bison hunt.

Iroquois

A Native American tribe primarily located in the Pennsylvania area.

Anishinaabeg (Ojibwa)

A Native American tribe primarily located in the Great Lake Area.

Dakota (Lakota)

A Native American tribe primarily located in the Dakota Area/Midwest.

Cherokee

A Native American tribe primarily located in Oklahoma to Tennessee.

Apache, Pueblo, Hopi

Native American tribes primarily located from lower California to half of Texas.

Inuit, Aleut

Native American tribes primarily located in Alaska.

Wampanoag

A Native American tribe primarily located in Massachusetts.

Vision Quest

A means of seeking spiritual power through an encounter with a guardian spirit or other medium, usually in the form of an animal or natural entity, following a period of fasting and self-denial.

Wakan Tanka

Lakota name for the supreme reality, often referring collectively to sixteen separate deities.