Original scientific paper
SOCIAL VALUES OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN RELIGIONS
Dragoslav Kočović
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade; Belgrade, Serbia
Abstract
American Indian religions are not technological. They are not the philosophy of civilization, but the philosophy of the society’s final revelation. Everything is created in a time that cannot be measured, all of creation is the final and perfect, order of things and relationships exists: the forces of the universe, the spirits of plants, animals, nature and people. Perfection is in the man’s respect for the laws of nature, i.e. the world of spirits and the universe which is finite in balance and harmony. This is the philosophy of the power of nature and the universe, helping a helpless man through gifts given to him: rain, sun, fruits, plants, animals and others, provided that he shows gratitude and respect. Here, man is not above nature, and based on this philosophy the world is not created in honor of a man or a man is over nature and everything in it. In the best case, man is equal to all forms in nature and must respect them and show gratitude, thus maintaining harmony and balance. For Indians, the world is not only a physical but also a spiritual space. In that duality, man is walking on a daily basis, shapes and directs hiws own life. Importance of this religious philosophy is undoubted, especially today when the world faces a series of consequences that are unsolvable because they are the result of gross and severe violation of natural laws. Unscrupulous race for profits visibly destroys the natural clock and the natural laws being adjusted for millions of years, resulting in endangered wildlife, endagered eco-systems, seriously questioning the survival of man and organized societies on the planet.
Keywords
Indians; tribe; Great Power; Great Spirit; Great Mistery; ghosts; universe; rituals; ceremonies; sacred places; sacred objects; sacrifice
Hrčak ID:
110935
URI
Publication date:
30.9.2013.
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