RELI 1009 Midterm

Geomythological

myths that account for geologic events and phenomena, indigenous religions are geomythological in that they are shaped by the natural environment around them

Polycentric

there is no single, central focus in indigenous religions

Syncretic

Combining disparate elements in one system, especially as in forms of religious observance, philosophical systems, or artistic creations.

Earth-diver

there is a primordial body of water and someone (likely an animal) dives down to retrieve earth

Emergence

progenitors pass through a series of worlds and metamorphoses to reach the present world

Who was the founder of the Haudenosaunee Confederation?

Degandawida

Who was the spokesperson for the founder of the Haudenosaunee Confederation?

Hiawatha

What are the two oldest continuous representative democracies?

Haudenosaunee confederation and Iceland

Which continent is home to the most indigenous cultures?

Africa

Culture hero

mythological hero who changes the world through invention or discovery, often depart and promise to return

Demiurge

a powerful creative force or personality

Yocahu

Taino supreme god, giver of Yucca, sun in the sky

Atabeyra

Taino supreme goddess, moon, fertility, moving waters

Quetzalcoatl

Culture hero of Toltecs, adopted by Aztecs, promised to return in the year 1 Reed which coincided with the arrival of Cortes.

Tenochtitlan

Capital of Aztec Empire

What did the Aztecs call themselves?

Tenocha

Where does the name “Aztecs” come from?

The Spanish called them this because they said they hailed from Atzlan.

Where was Atzlan likely located?

The American southwest

What happened from 1000-1400 CE?

Massive migrations in N. America

What language family does Cherokee belong to?

Iroquoian

What is the southernmost outpost of the Iroquoian language family?

Cherokee

Which groups migrated from Canada to the American southwest?

Navajo and Apache

What was the Popul Vuh?

A Mayan counsel book which was consulted whenever a decision needed to be made.

What is guanine?

sacred Taino substance, gold alloyed with copper (24k gold)

What is a cemi/zemi?

rounded triangular Taino stones with a face carved in one end, image, embodiment, and dwelling place for a deity, abundant, shape comes from yucca mounds and volcanic islands

Ganioda’yo

Handsome Lake in English, had visions that combined Haudenosaunee practices with Christianity to make the Longhouse religion

Cacique

Spanish word for Taino chieftans at the village level

Where do indigenous Africans situate the future and why?

Behind them, because it can not be seen

What is an etiological myth?

A myth that explains the origin of something or how it came to be, ex. corn mother or thunder and the ukten’

What things can tell us the most about a culture?

Their stories and practices surrounding death. dying, and the afterlife

What are creation myths really about?

The creation of a certain culture/identity, not actually the creation of the world.

What are the three parts of creation myths?

Creation of the world, creation of the people, creation of the culture

What is orenda and what is the Cherokee equivalent?

spiritual energy that pervades everything, can be lost from bad living and gained from good living, chiefs possess orenda of their people, and when they gather to meet for the Haudenosaunee confederacy they possess the orenda of the whole confederacy. cherokee equivalent is kituwah?

Where do indigenous monster myths likely come from?

Encounters with dinosaur fossils (ex. the ukten’ or how all cultures have dragons)

What does ani yv’ wiya mean?

Principle people in Cherokee

Western cultures think:

linearly and temporally

Indigenous cultures think:

spatially and cyclically

For Iroquoian groups the source of disease is:

Animals who feared that people were too numerous

For Iroquoian groups the source of remedies is:

Plants who overheard the animal council

Epizootic

Epidemic in animals, ie bird flu

Who are ani-kutani?

Priests from when the Cherokee were a theocracy

Tenochtitlan is modern day:

Mexico City

After trying and failing to chase them off, the Toltecs hired the Aztecs as

mercenaries

Who is the Aztec supreme being?

Huitzilopochtli

What is required to help (44) break free from the underworld in the morning?

Human sacrifice

Why do many myths center children?

To keep children’s attention, the stories are told to them to teach them morals and about their culture.

What is a wendigo?

A cannibal forest creature of the Ojibwe people which eats or bites those who wander into the woods alone in winter. Its bite turns the victim into a cannibal.

Who is the (culture) dog that guides recently deceased to the afterlife?

EDIT

What is a cosmic egg myth?

myth where an egg hatches to bring forth cosmos