Unit 2 - World Religions key terms

Indigenous

Native to a particular land or region with its own traditions and culture.

Primitive religion

An outdated term for traditional Indigenous religions.

Primal religion

A traditional religion that developed within a culture.

Folk religion

Religious beliefs and practices connected to a local culture.

Missionary religion

A religion that spreads its beliefs to other people.

Nonhuman person

A nonhuman being believed to have a spirit or personal qualities.

Immanent

The sacred exists within the natural world.

Animism

The belief that nature and objects can have spirits.

Mana

A supernatural or spiritual power.

Manitou

A spiritual power or being in some Native North American traditions.

Taboo

Something forbidden because it is sacred or dangerous.

Shaman

A religious specialist who communicates with spirits.

Ecstatic trance

An altered state believed to allow contact with the spirit world.

Spirit medium

A person believed to communicate with spirits.

Witch

A person believed to use supernatural powers.

Witchcraft

The use or belief in supernatural powers.

Vodun/Vodou (Voodoo)

African-based religious traditions involving spirits, ancestors, and rituals.

Zangbeto

Spiritual guardians in some West African Vodun traditions.

Kongo

A Central African people and their traditional religious traditions.

Nkisi

A sacred object believed to contain spiritual power.

Ng’anga

A traditional healer or spiritual specialist.

Kalunga Line

A boundary between the living world and the world of the dead.

Yoruba

A West African people with traditional religious beliefs.

Orisha

Powerful spiritual beings in Yoruba religion.

Eyo Festival

A traditional Yoruba festival in Lagos, Nigeria.

Zulu

A major Indigenous people of southern Africa.

Sangoma

A traditional Southern African healer or diviner.

N’anga

A traditional healer or spiritual specialist.

Great Zimbabwe

An ancient stone city in present-day Zimbabwe.

Senoi

An Indigenous people of the Malay Peninsula.

Kondh

An Indigenous people of eastern India.

Bura

A religious concept associated with Senoi traditions.

Tari

A spiritual concept associated with Senoi traditions.

Ritual purity

Being spiritually clean for a religious ritual.

Ritual pollution

Being spiritually unclean or impure.

Seer

A person believed to have special spiritual insight.

Meriah

A historical sacrificial ritual associated with the Kondh.

Aboriginal

The Indigenous peoples of Australia.

Ancestors

Spiritual predecessors believed to influence the living and the world.

Songlines

Songs that preserve knowledge about land, ancestors, and culture.

The Dreaming

Sacred reality involving ancestral beings, creation, and laws.

Men’s business

Sacred knowledge or practices reserved for men.

Women’s business

Sacred knowledge or practices reserved for women.

Keeping up country

Caring for and maintaining the land.

Great Spirit

A powerful or supreme spiritual presence.

Circle

A symbol of unity, balance, and the cycles of life.

Divided circle

A circle separated into sections representing different parts of existence.

Thunderbird

A powerful supernatural being connected with thunder and storms.

Plains Indians

A historical term for Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains.

Inuit

Indigenous peoples of the Arctic regions of North America.

Triangle on circle

A symbol used in some Indigenous traditions with spiritual meanings.

Mohawk

An Indigenous nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Thunderbeing

A supernatural being associated with thunder and storms.

Sioux

A historical name for several related Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains.

Four powers

Spiritual forces connected with the four directions.

Quartered circle

A circle divided into four parts, often representing four directions or powers.

Ojibwe

An Indigenous people of North America with traditional spiritual beliefs.

Seven Grandfathers

Seven Ojibwe teachings about living a good and balanced life.

Wakan

A Lakota/Dakota term meaning sacred, powerful, or mysterious.

Primordial past

The sacred ancient time when the world and traditions were established.

Cultural hero

A legendary figure who teaches important cultural knowledge or practices.

Baniwa

An Indigenous people of the Amazon region.

Guardian spirit

A spirit believed to protect or guide someone.

Auxiliary spirit

A spirit that assists a shaman.

Ritual exchange

Giving something to spirits in exchange for help or benefits.