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31 March 2011

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Animism

 

 

Luciano Ghersi

 

WHEN

Probably all of our ancient ancestors practiced some form of animism. It pre-dates Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and all other current religions.

 

In Africa, it has been pushed aside to some extent by Islam progressing from the north and by Christianity introduced by missionaries.

 

WHERE

Animism is most widely practiced in Africa. It is also found in Australia, some Pacific Islands, South America, and Asia, in fact anywhere where traditional tribal lifestyles still exist.

 

FOLLOWERS

The textbooks say that animist beliefs are held by tribal and “primitive” peoples. One estimate says animists account for 1.9% of the world’s population, or about 114 million people. In Canada, outside of Aboriginal spirituality which is dealt with elsewhere, there seem to be very few animists.

 

BELIEFS

In true animism everything is alive with spirit. This includes objects that we might view as inanimate, such as rocks.

Stefanoka

 

For example, Ayers Rock (above) in Australia is sacred to several Aborigine tribes; they call the huge slab of sandstone Uluru.

 

Every individual is regarded as having not only a life-spirit but also a phantom, such as appears to others in dreams or visions. Both life and phantom are seen as separable from the body: the life can go away and leave the body dead, and the phantom can appear to people at a distance. The life-spirit and the phantom can combine to form a ghost-soul, which is able to possess animals, plants, and objects. The Melanesians of the South Pacific believe in what they call “mana,” a kind of “communicable energy.”

 

There is usually a belief in a Supreme Being, who goes by a variety of names - the Source of All Being, the One Who is Ever Present, the Great Providence Who Determines Destinies.

 

There are lesser gods that are more approachable by humans, often through a priest who interprets what the people want of their gods and what the gods want of their people. These lesser spirits have more effect on everyday life than the Supreme Being.

 

Many animist religions teach that humankind is doomed to pain and suffering. However, this can be stopped by following the correct rituals. These may involve the sacrificing of animals so that people can control their world.

 

Most animist traditions have a belief that a person’s spirit survives death and exists in a better place with abundant food. However, some animist cultures hold that the spirit remains on earth as a ghost that sometimes causes bad things to happen.

 

Funeral rituals are held and food and other offerings are made to accompany the deceased in the afterlife journey. In some cases, sacrifices of animals or even wives and slaves may be made. In male-dominated societies the honour of being sacrificed does not extend to husbands.

 

SACRED TEXTS

Animism is a mostly oral tradition passed by word of mouth in traditional story-telling.

 

Sources used in this series

Religions in Canada, Directorate of Human Rights and Diversity, Government of Canada.

The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Robert S. Ellwood (ed.) Facts on File, 1998.

Religion for Dummies, Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman, For Dummies Publishing, 2002.

Religious Tolerance, Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance

Religion, CBC Montreal

 

© Canada and the World, March 2011

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In Africa, there are

700 animist religions

roughly comparable to the continent's ethnic

language groups.

Animism

According to the anthropologist Tim Ingold, the traditional spirituality of Canada’s Inuit could best be described as animist.

The practice of shrinking heads (above), which was common among some South American tribes springs from the animist belief that an enemy killed in battle would try to avenge his death. By shrinking the head the spirit was trapped and could do no harm.