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Messages: 5 - 8 (12 total)
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stevegraywolf
10/4/2005 5:28 PM
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5 out of 12 |
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Skippy!
There is such a thing.Those who are concider it proprietary information.You might post about this on the Native American Spirituality board and see if you have any takers.Many tribes have them.Your host,Stevegraywolf.
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Skippy_The_Heretic
10/4/2005 7:08 PM
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6 out of 12 |
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Alright I will give it a try over there, hopefully I can get the prospective of the people who know this the best.
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Sue-bee
10/5/2005 12:41 AM
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7 out of 12 |
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tehuti88 wrote:
>Do you mind me asking for a further clarification? You mention beliefs in individual spirits, and a power which permeates everything (Wakan Tanka).... Is there a belief, in addition, in an actual "God" who rules over all, or is Wakan Tanka the closest it comes to that?
When I say "God," I do not necessarily mean the Christian conception of God, but rather the Creator who...well, created everything. :P I'm a panentheist myself and the Christian concept of God is very limiting to me; the explanation you gave of Wakan Tanka sounds like PART of how I view God (though not entirely). For example, I view God as permeating everything, similar to how you described Wakan Tanka.
Or did that just answer my question and Wakan Tanka IS what could be viewed as "God" and we're just using different vocabularies...?
Well, I would not call Wakan Tanka a god as much as a sacredness of everything, like the collective sacredness of the universe. I don't think this is as much a use of different terms as much as a totally different view of the sacred.
I do know a few people who follow the Lakota ways who also call Wakan Tanka "Creator" but I beleive this is a more recent practice which came with the introduction of Christian ideas into the Lakota belief system; Especially in the light of the old Lakota creation myth not even mensioning Wakan Tanka. But you can get different answers from different Lakota people, so don't be too surprised if someone contradicts this. There is no Pope to decide what all Lakota should beleive in, there are different traditions in the different families and different teachings.
>I'm also curious as to whether all the individual spirits are seen as being entirely individual, or part of/contained in what you view as the greatest power/Creator. I ask because I'm confused sometimes as to whether natives believe in actual individual spirits, or if they see them as merely symbolic aspects of the Creator. Another question I didn't get to ask. :/
In my tiospaye folks see the spirits as unique individual spirits, not as symbolic aspects of a creator. Again the spirits would share the mystery of sacredness with Wakan Tanka, but would not be meerly facettes of one god. In Lakota ceremonies it is important to send the prayers to the four directions to all the spirits, as well as Unci Maka (Grandmother Earth) and Wakan Tanka. I think if everything was only aspects of one god it would not be nessecary to make sure to send the prayers to the four directions, Unci Maka and all the spirits. ~ SueBee
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Q8Ket
11/22/2005 4:07 AM
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8 out of 12 |
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Very interesting! Steve, thanks for asking the question, and Sue-bee, thanks for the explanation-description.
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