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Animism, (from the latin ''animus'', or ''anima'', meaning [[mind]] or soul), generally refers to the belief of [[spiritual beings]].  Additionally, it is extended to include the belief that personalized, [[supernatural]] beings (or souls) endowed with [[reason]], [[intelligence (trait)|intelligence]] and [[volition]] inhabit ordinary objects as well as animate beings, and govern their existence. More simply, the belief is that "[[everything]] is [[alive]]", "everything is [[conscious]]" or else that "everything has a soul"The term has been further extended to refer to a belief that the world is a community of living personas, only some of whom are human. "Animism" has also been used in academia to refer to the types of cultures in which (or philsophies by which) these animists live, including the wider community of "persons" (human, rock, plant, animal, bird, ancestral, etc.) with whom they live.
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'''Animism''' (from the Latin: ''animus'' or ''anima,'' meaning mind or [[soul]]) refers to a [[belief]] in numerous personalized, supernatural beings endowed with [[reason]], [[intelligence]] and/or volition, that inhabit both objects and living beings and govern their existences. More simply, it is the belief that "everything is conscious" or that "everything has a soul." The term has been further extended to refer to a belief that the natural world is a community of living personas, only some of whom are human. As a term, "animism" has also been used in academic circles to refer to the types of cultures in which these animists live.
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While the term "animism" refers to a broad range of spiritual beliefs (many of which are still extant within [[human being|human]] cultures today), it does not denote any particular religious creed or doctrine. The most common feature of animist religions is their attention to particulars, as evidenced by the number and variety of spirits they recognize. This can be strongly contrasted with the all-inclusive universalism of [[monotheism|monotheistic]], [[pantheism|pantheistic]] and [[panentheism|panentheistic]] traditions. Furthermore, animist spirituality is more focused on addressing practical exigencies (such as health, nourishment and safety needs) than on solving abstract metaphysical quandaries. Animism recognizes that the universe is alive with spirits and that humans are interrelated with them.
  
 
==Animism as a Category of Religion==
 
==Animism as a Category of Religion==
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The term "animism" first entered academic discourse through [[anthropology|anthropologist]] Sir [[Edward Burnett Tylor]]'s 1871 book, ''Primitive Culture.'' In it, Tylor used the term to refer to any belief in mystical, supernatural, or non-empirical spirit beings. Animist thought, Tylor proposed, was religion in its most inchoate form, serving as a starting point for human religious development. Thus, so-called "primitive" cultures (such as [[hunter-gatherer]]s upholding these beliefs) were merely expressing a reduced form of religiosity compatible with their supposedly low level of technological and spiritual development. In this [[evolution|evolutionary]] model, these societies relied on animism to explain the occurrence of certain events and processes. However, he argued that as a people's technological thought progressed, so too did their explanations for events in the physical world. As societies advanced from "savagery" to stages of "[[barbarian|barbarism]]" and eventually to modern civilization, Tylor believed that they subsequently inherited (or developed) more complex beliefs, such as [[polytheism]], eventually culminating in the supposed pinnacle of religious thought, [[monotheism]].
  
"Animism" was first introduced to academic discourse by [[anthropology|anthropologist]], Sir [[Edward Burnett Tylor]] in his [[1871]] book, ''[[Primitive Culture]]''.  Tylor used the term to mean a 'belief in spirits' (i.e. mystical, supernatural, non-empirical or imagined entities). Animist thought, he proposed, served as a starting point for human religious development [[religion]]. That is, so-called "uncivilized" cultures such as the remaining hunter-gatherers upheld this superstitious belief that everything had a soul, reflecting their supposedly low level of technological development.  As technological thought progressed and societies proceeded and societies advanced to stages of barbarism and eventually modern civilization, Tylor believed that they subsequently inherited more complex beliefs, such as polytheism and finally monotheism or else atheism.  Tylor's use of the term animism was indubitably pejorative, and has since been widely criticized along with his overall theory of religious evolution. Today the term is used with more respect and sensitivity to the obvious viability of tribal peoples and their spiritual beliefs.
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At the time that Tylor wrote, his theory was politically radical because it made the claim that non-Western peoples (that is, non-Christian "heathens") do in fact have religion. Despite this progressive conclusion, Tylor's use of the term "animism" was indubitably pejorative, as it referred to what he conceived to be an inferior form of [[religion]]. As a result, his usage of the term has since been widely rejected. Today, the term animism is used with more respect and sensitivity to the obvious viability of tribal peoples and their spiritual beliefs. It is now commonly accepted that religious beliefs function emotionally and socially, rather than purely for the purpose of intellectual explanation—an assumption that is far more illustrative of Tylor's Western biases than of any truths concerning the tribal peoples he studied.
  
Tylor argued that non-Western societies relied on animism to explain why things happen. He further argued that animism is the earliest form of religion, and reveals that humans developed religions in order to explain things.  At the time that Tylor wrote, this theory was politically radical because it made the claim that non-Western peoples and in particular, non-Christian "heathens", in fact do have religion. However, since the publication of ''Primitive Culture'', Tylor's theories have come under criticism from three quarters. First, some have questioned whether the beliefs of diverse peoples living in different parts of the world and not communicating with one another can be lumped together as one kind of religion. Second, some have questioned whether the basic function of religion really is to "explain" the universe (critics like Marrett and [[Emil Durkheim]] argued that religious beliefs have emotional and social, rather than intellectual, functions).  Finally, many now see Tylor's theories as [[ethnocentric]]. Not only was he imposing a contemporary and Western view of religion (that it explains the inexplicable) on non-Western cultures, he was also telling the story of a progression from religion (which provides poor explanations) to [[science]] (which provides good explanations) (see [[cultural evolution]]).
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Still, many thinkers do not categorize animism as a form of religion at all. They argue that animism is, in the first instance, an explanation of phenomena rather than an attitude of mind toward the cause of those phenomena. Thus, animistic thought is more philosophical than strictly religious. For these thinkers, the term is most conveniently used to describe a quasi-religious practice in which people endeavor to set up relations between themselves and the unseen powers, conceived as spirits, but differing in many particulars from the gods of [[polytheism]]. While "full-fledged" religion implies a sense of humility within humans before the gods, anthropologist Sir [[James G. Frazer]] claimed that animism involved an attempt to gain temporary ascendancy over spiritual forces through the use of magic. Animism could hardly be categorized as religion, then, since it was primarily a utilitarian act for personal and societal gain. Further, unlike the polytheistic gods, animistic spiritual entities were seen to be more general and functional in their character, as they generally lack a deeply developed mythology. Thinkers holding that animism is not a religion claim that with the belief in more "departmental" gods comes the development of polytheism, and henceforth what is considered to be full-fledged religious thought. For these theorists, polytheist beliefs supercede the elemental spirits of the animist worldview.  
  
[[Tylor]], makes the foundation of all religion animistic, but they don't recognizes the non-human character of polytheistic gods. Although ancestor-worship, or, more broadly, the [[cult]] of the dead, has in many cases overshadowed other cults or even extinguished them, while we have no warrant, even in these cases, for asserting its priority, tofu but rather the reverse. In the majority of cases the pantheon is made up by a multitude of spirits in human, sometimes in animal form, which bear no signs of ever having been incarnate. [[Sun god]]s and [[moon goddess]]es, gods of fire, wind and water, gods of the sea, and above all gods of the sky, show no signs of having been ghost hobosgods at any period in their history. They may, it is true, be associated will with ghost gods. In Australia it cannot even be asserted that the take gods are spirits at all, much less that they are the spirits of dead over men. They are simply magnified magicians, super-men who have never the died. We have no ground, therefore, for regarding the cult of world. the dead as the origin of religion in this area. This conclusion is the more probable, as ancestor-worship and the cult of the dead generally cannot be said to exist in Australia.
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In contrast, those who argue that animism ''is'' a religion focus upon the fact that, even in [[Magic|magical]] rites, a form of worship is directed toward the spirits identified by the animist. Even after the acceptance of polytheist religious beliefs, the elemental spirits that were the focus of magic rites are often reinterpreted as "lesser gods." Their help and intervention is sought, sacrifices are made, and their instructions (often received through divination) are obeyed. Thus, these thinkers proceed to claim that animism embodies the ritualistic features of religion, and so should be considered as such. Also, many argue that utilitarian and ritualistic elements are present in ''most'' forms of religion (especially in prayers or supplications), a fact that does much to negate the argument posited above.
 
 
The more general view that polytheistic and other [[gods]] are the elemental and other spirits of the later stages of animistic creeds, is equally inapplicable to Australia, where the belief seems to be neither animistic nor even animatistic in character. But we are hardly justified in arguing from the case of Australia to a general conclusion as to the origin of religious ideas in all other parts of the world. It is perhaps safest to say that the science of religions has no data on which to go, in formulating conclusions as to the original form of the objects of religious emotion. It must be remembered that not only is it very difficult to get precise information of the subject of the religious ideas of people of some other cultures, perhaps for the simple reason that the ideas themselves are far from precise, but also that, as has been pointed out above, the conception of spiritual often approximates very closely to that of material. Where the soul is regarded as no more than a finer sort of matter, it will obviously be far from easy to decide whether the gods are spiritual or material. Even, therefore, if we can say that at the present day the gods are entirely spiritual, it is clearly possible to maintain that they have been spiritualized ''pari passu'' with the increasing importance of the animistic view of nature and of the greater prominence of [[Eschatology|eschatological]] beliefs. The animistic origin of religion is therefore not proven.
 
 
 
Many thinkers do not categorize animism as a form of religion at all.  They argue that Animism is in the first instance an explanation of phenomena rather than an attitude of mind toward the cause of them, a [[philosophy]] rather than a religion. The term may, however, be conveniently used to describe a form of religion in which people endeavour to set up relations between themselves and the unseen powers, conceived as spirits, but differing in many particulars from the gods of [[polytheism]]. As an example of this stage in one of its aspects may be taken the European belief in the corn spirit, which is, however, the object of magical rather than religious rites.  Sir James G. Frazer, in ''The Golden Bough'', has thus defined the character of the animistic pantheon:
 
 
 
:''they are restricted in their operations to definite departments of nature; their names are general, not proper; their attributes are generic rather than individual; in other words, there is an indefinite number of spirits of each class, and the individuals of a class are much alike; they have no definitely marked individuality; no accepted traditions are current as to their origin, life and character.''
 
 
 
This stage of religion is well illustrated by the [[Native American (U.S.)|Native American]] custom of offering sacrifice to certain rocks, or whirlpools, or to the indwelling spirits connected with them. The rite is only performed in the neighbourhood of the object, it is an incident of a [[canoe]] or other voyage, and is not intended to secure any benefits beyond a safe passage past the object in question. The spirit to be propitiated has a purely local sphere of influence, and powers of a very limited nature. Animistic in many of their features too are the temporary gods of [[fetishism]], naguals or familiars, [[Genie|genii]] and even the dead who receive a cult. With the belief in departmental gods comes the practice of polytheism. The belief in [[elemental spirits]] may still persist, but they fall into the background and receive no cult. 
 
 
 
Those who argue that animism is a religion see that worship is directed toward these spirits, that are commonly called "lesser gods."  Their help and intervention is sought, sacrifices are made, and their instructions received through divination are obeyed.
 
  
 
==Common Features of Animism==
 
==Common Features of Animism==
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===Existence of Souls or Spirits===
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The cornerstone of animistic thought is the affirmation of the existence of some kind of metaphysical entities (such as souls or spirits) that are seen as the life-source (or life-force) of [[human being]]s, [[animal|animals]], [[plant|plants]] and even non-living objects and phenomena. For animistic cultures, the existence of these entities (with their respective operational and volitional qualities) provides explanations for the innumerable changes witnessed in both the natural world and the human world.
  
===Humans Imbedded in Nature===
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In animistic thought, the human spirit or soul is often identified with the shadow or the breath. This identification between the soul and the shadow can be seen in [[Tasmania]], [[North America|North]] and [[South America]], as well as classical [[Europe]]. Similarly, the Basutus of [[Lesotho]] hold that a man walking by the brink of a river may lose his life if his shadow falls on the water, since a crocodile may seize his soul and draw him into the current.  
In some animistic worldviews found in [[hunter-gatherer]] cultures, the human being is often regarded as on a roughly equal footing with animals, plants, and natural forces. Therefore, it is morally imperative to treat these agents with respect. In this worldview, humans are considered a denizen, or part, of nature, rather than superior to or separate from it. In such societies, ritual is considered essential for survival as it wins the favor of the spirits of one's source of food, shelter, and fertility and wards off malevolent spirits. In more elaborate animistic religions, such as [[Shinto]], there is a greater sense of a special character to humans that sets them apart from the general run of animals and objects, while retaining the necessity of ritual to ensure good luck, favorable harvests, and so on.  Despite the equality of humans with regard to spirituality, some rise above the others. Rituals in animistic cultures are often performed by [[shaman]]s, [[priest]]s, or some other designated holy person who are typically seen as possessing spiritual powers greater than or external to the normal human experience.
 
 
 
It is not surprising to find that many peoples respect and even worship animals (see ''[[totem]]'' or ''[[animal worship]]''), often regarding them as relatives. It is clear that widespread respect was paid to animals as the abode of dead ancestors, and much of the [[cult]]s to dangerous animals is traceable to this principle; though we need not attribute an animistic origin to it. With the rise of [[species]], [[deities]] and the cult of individual animals, the path towards [[anthropomorphization]] and [[polytheism]] is opened and the respect paid to animals tended to be reduced or lost entirely, especially in its strict animistic character.
 
 
 
But apart from considerations of this sort, it is probable that animals were regarded as possessing souls, early in the history of animistic beliefs. We may assume that man attributed a soul to the beasts of the field almost as soon as he claimed one for himself. The animist may attribute to animals the same sorts of ideas, the same soul, the same mental processes as himself, which may also be associated with greater power, cunning, or magical abilities.  Dead animals are sometimes credited with a knowledge of how their remains are treated, potentially with the power to take vengeance on the hunter if he is disrespectful.
 
 
 
Just as human souls are assigned to animals, so too are [[tree]]s and [[plant]]s often credited with souls, both human and animal in form. All over the world [[agricultural]] peoples practise elaborate ceremonies explicable, as [[Wilhelm Mannhardt]] has shown, on animistic principles.
 
 
 
In Europe the [[John Barleycorn|corn spirit]] sometimes [[immanent]] in the crop, sometimes a presiding [[deity]] whose life does not depend on that of the growing corn, is conceived in some districts in the form of an [[ox]], [[hare]] or [[cock]], in others as an old man or woman. In the [[East Indies]] and Americas the [[rice]] or [[maize mother]] is a corresponding figure; in [[classical Europe]] and the [[Eastern world|East]] we have in [[Ceres]] and [[Demeter]], [[Adonis]] and [[Dionysus]], and other deities, vegetation gods whose origin we can readily trace back to the rustic corn spirit.  Here we see an example where Tylor's theory seems plausible, as animistic thought progresses, in this case, to polytheism.
 
 
 
[[Forest]] [[tree]]s, no less than [[cereal]]s,  may have their indwelling spirits.  The [[faun]]s and [[satyr]]s of classical literature were [[goat]]-footed; in [[Russia]], the [[tree spirit]] of the Russian peasantry takes the form of a [[goat]]. In [[Bengal]] and the [[East Indies]] woodcutters endeavour to propitiate the spirit of the tree which they cut down. In many parts of the world trees are regarded as the abode of the spirits of the dead. Just as a process of [[syncretism]] has given rise to cults of animal gods, tree spirits tend to become detached from the trees, which are thenceforward only their abodes. Here again animism has begun to pass into [[polytheism]].
 
  
Some cultures do not make a distinction between [[animate]] and inanimate objects.  Natural phenomenon, [[geographic]] features, everyday objects, and manufactured articles may also be attributed with souls. In the north of Europe, in [[ancient Greece]], in [[China]], the water or river spirit is [[horse]] or [[Cattle|bull]]-shaped. The water monster in serpent shape is even more widely found, but it is less strictly the spirit of the water. The spirit of syncretism manifests itself in this department of animism too, turning the immanent spirit into the presiding [[djinn]] or [[local god]] of later times.
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More familiar to Europeans is the connection between the soul and the breath. This identification is found both in Indo-European and within the linguistic roots of the words in Semitic languages: In [[Latin]], breath is ''spiritus'', in [[Greek language|Greek]] ''pneuma'', in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''ruach'', and in [[Sanskrit]] ''prana'', all words which also have spiritual connotations. This idea extends to many other cultures in [[Australia]], America and [[Asia]]. Other common conceptions identify the [[soul]] with the liver, the heart, the blood or even with the reflected figure outwardly visible in the pupil of the eye.  
  
===Existence of Souls or Spirits===
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As the soul is often understood as a metaphysical, indwelling presence, it is not surprising that, for many animist cultures, unconsciousness is explained as being due to the absence of the soul. In South Australia, ''wilyamarraba'', a term that refers to the state of being without a soul, is also the term used for that which cannot be perceived with the senses. Similarly, the auto-hypnotic trance of the magician or ''[[shamanism|shaman]]'' is causally attributed to their visit to distant regions of the netherworld: they are in a senseless trance because their souls are literally ''elsewhere''. Similarly, sickness is often explained as occurring due to the absence of the soul, requiring a healer to take measures to lure back this vagrant spirit. In [[China|Chinese]] tradition, when a person is at the point of death, their soul is believed to have left their body. Typically, the dying individual's coat is held up on a long [[bamboo]] pole while a [[priest]] endeavors to bring the departed spirit back into the coat by means of [[incantation]]s. If the bamboo begins to turn round in the hands of the relative who is responsible for holding it, it is regarded as a sign that the soul of the patient has returned.
Early ideas on the subject of the soul, and at the same time the origin of them, can be illustrated by analysis of the terms applied to them. Readers of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] know the idea that the dead have no shadows. This was no invention of the poet's but a piece of traditional lore. [[Folk psychology]] posited a spirit in a person to account, amongst other things, for their actions. A natural explanation of the changes in the external world would be that they are due to the operations and volitions of spirits.
 
  
Among the [[Basutoland|Basutus]] it is held that a man walking by the brink of a river may lose his life if his shadow falls on the water, for a [[crocodile]] may seize it and draw him in. In [[Tasmania]], [[North America|North]] and [[South America]] and classical Europe is found the conception that the soul — σκιά, ''umbra'' — is identical with the shadow of a person. More familiar to Europeans is the connection between the soul and the breath. This identification is found both in [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] and [[Semitic languages]]. In Latin we have ''spiritus'', in Greek ''pneuma'', in Hebrew ''ruach''. The idea is found extending other planes of culture in Australia, America and Asia.
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More common than these aforementioned phenomena is the importance placed upon the daily period of sleep in animistic traditions. The frequent images included within dreams are interpreted in many cultures to illustrate the fact that the soul journeys while the body rests. [[Dream|Dreams]] and [[hallucination|hallucinations]] were likely central to the development of animistic theory in general. Seeing the phantasmic figures of friends and other chimaeric, night-time apparitions may have led people to the dualistic separation of soul and body that is common within animistic traditions. Of course, hallucinatory figures, both in dreams and waking life, are not necessarily those of the living. From the reappearance of friends or enemies, dead or living alike, primitive man was likely led to the belief that there existed an incorporeal part of man, which existed apart from the body. Furthermore, if the phenomena of dreams were of such great importance for the development of a theory of human souls, this belief was also expanded into an overall [[philosophy]] of [[nature]]. Not only human beings but animals and objects are seen in dreams, and therefore it is possible that animists concluded that these entities also had souls.
  
Most animistic belief systems hold that the spirit survives physical death. In some systems, the spirit is believed to pass to an easier world of abundant game or ever-ripe crops, while in other systems (''e.g.'', the [[Navajo Nation|Navajo]] religion), the spirit remains on earth as a [[ghost]], often malignant. Still other systems combine these two beliefs, holding that the soul must journey to the spirit world without becoming lost and thus wandering as a ghost. [[Funeral]], [[mourning]] rituals, and [[ancestor worship]] performed by those surviving the deceased are often considered necessary for the successful completion of this journey.
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====Souls or Spirits in the Natural Realm====
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In many animistic cultures, peoples respect and even worship animals (see ''[[Totemism]]''), often regarding them as relatives. In some cases, animals were seen as the spiritual abodes of dead ancestors. It is probable that animals were regarded as possessing souls early in the history of animistic beliefs. The animist may attribute to animals the same sorts of ideas and the same mental processes as himself or they may also be associated with even greater power, cunning, or [[Magic|magical]] abilities. Dead animals are sometimes credited with knowledge of how their remains are treated, and potentially with the power to take vengeance on the hunter if he is disrespectful. Among the Inuit people of Northern [[Canada]], for example, various precautions are taken in all stages of a hunt so as not to offend the hunted animal. Such an offense could lead to bad luck in the future of the hunter who carried out the improprietous kill, furthering the notion that—at least in some animistic cultures—animals may possess spirits independent of their bodies, comparable to those attributed to humans.  
  
For some of the [[Native Americans (U.S.)|Native Americans]] and [[First Nations]] the [[Roman religion|Roman]] custom of receiving the breath of a dying man was no mere pious duty but a means of ensuring that his soul was transferred to a new body. Other familiar conceptions identify the [[soul]] with the [[liver]] (see [[omen]]) or the [[heart]], with the reflected figure seen in the [[pupil]] of the [[eye]], and with the [[blood]].  
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Just as souls are assigned to animals, so too are [[tree|trees]] and plants often credited with souls, both human and animal in form. All over the world, agricultural peoples practice elaborate ceremonies explicable within the framework of animistic principles. In [[Middle Ages|medieval]] Europe, for example, the corn spirit was sometimes viewed as immanent within a crop, while other times seen as a presiding [[deity]] whose life did not depend on that of the growing corn. Further, this spirit was often conceived in some districts as taking the form of an ox, hare or cock, while in others taking that of an old man or woman. In the East Indies and Americas, the rice or maize mother is a corresponding figure; in classical [[Europe]] and the East we have in [[Ceres]] and [[Demeter]], [[Adonis]] and [[Dionysus]], and other deities linked to vegetation whose origin is most likely similar to that of the corn spirit. Forest trees, no less than cereals, were also seen, by some cultures, as having their own indwelling spirits. In Bengal and the East Indies woodcutters endeavor to propitiate the spirit of any tree which they have cut down. As well, in many parts of the world trees are regarded as the abode of the spirits of the dead. Just as a process of syncretism has given rise to cults of animal gods, tree spirits tend to become detached from the trees, which are thenceforth only considered to be their abodes. Here again it is evident that animism has begun to pass into forms of [[polytheism]].
  
Although the soul is often distinguished from the vital principle, there are many cases in which a state of unconsciousness is explained as due to the absence of the soul. In [[South Australia]] ''wilyamarraba'' (without soul) is the word used for insensible.  So too the [[autohypnosis|autohypnotic]] [[altered state of consciousness|trance]] of the [[magician]] or ''[[shaman]]'' is regarded as due to their visit to distant regions or the [[netherworld]], of which they bring back an account.
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Some cultures do not make a distinction between animate and inanimate objects. Natural phenomenon, geographic features, everyday objects, and manufactured articles may also be seen as possessing souls. In the north of [[Europe]], in [[ancient Greece]], and in [[China]], the water or river spirit is horse or bull-shaped. The water monster in serpent shape is an even more pervasive image of the spirit of the water. The spirit of syncretism manifests itself in this department of animism too, turning the spirit immanent within natural forces into the presiding ''djinn'' or [[local god]]s which arose at later times.
  
Sickness is often explained as due to the absence of the soul and means are sometimes taken to lure back the [[wandering soul]].  In [[China|Chinese]] tradition, when a person is at the point of death and their soul believed to have left their body, the patient's coat is held up on a long bamboo pole while a priest endeavours to bring the departed spirit back into the coat by means of [[incantation]]s. If the bamboo begins to turn round in the hands of the relative who is deputed to hold it, it is regarded as a sign that the soul of the [[moribund]] has returned (see [[automatism]]).
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===The Spirit World===
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Beside the doctrine of separable souls with which we have so far been concerned, there also exists the animist belief in a great host of unattached [[spirit]]s. These are not transient souls that have become detached from their abodes; they are, instead, concrete realities with their own independent existences. These spirits are often considered malevolent, and, in this fashion, take on monstrous or animalistic forms. For example, among the [[Ojibwa]] people of [[Minnesota]] and [[Ontario]], the spirit world was populated with a great number of evil spirits that existed among the esteemed ones: monsters, [[ghost|ghosts]], and most notably the [[Wendigo]], an [[ogre]] which consumed human flesh and was said to cause [[psychosis]]. Typically, spirits of these types manifested themselves in the phenomena of possession, disease, and so forth. Along with such conceptions of spiritual evil we also find the idea that spirits of the deceased can also be hostile beings, at least at first. After extended durations of time, the spirits of dead kinsmen are no longer seen as unfriendly. As [[fetish]]es, naguals, familiar spirits, [[god|gods]] or [[demi-gods]], they may even come to enter into relations with man. The fear of evil spirits has given rise to ceremonies of expulsion of evils, designed to banish these entities from the community.
  
More important perhaps than all these phenomena, because more regular and normal, was the daily period of [[sleep]] with its frequent fitful and incoherent ideas and images. The conclusion must have been irresistible that in sleep something journeyed forth, which was not the body (see [[astral travel]]). In a minor degree, revival of [[memory]] during sleep and similar phenomena of the sub-conscious life may have contributed to the same result. [[Dreams]] are sometimes explained in animist cultures as journeys performed by the sleeper, sometimes as visits paid by other persons, by animals or objects to the sleeper. [[Hallucinations]], possibly more frequent in the lower stages of culture, must have contributed to fortify this interpretation, and the animistic theory in general. Seeing the [[phantasm]]ic figures of friends at the moment when they were, whether at the point of death or in good health, many miles distant, may have led people to the [[dualistic theory]]. But hallucinatory figures, both in dreams and waking life, are not necessarily those of the living. From the reappearance of dead friends or enemies, primitive man was led to the belief that there existed an incorporeal part of man, which survived the dissolution of the body. The soul was conceived to be a facsimile of the body, sometimes no less material, sometimes more subtle but yet material, sometimes altogether impalpable and intangible. If the phenomena of dreams were of such great importance for the development of animism, the belief expanded into a general [[philosophy]] of [[nature]]. Not only human beings but animals and objects are seen in dreams and the conclusion would be that they too have souls. The same conclusion may have been reached by another line of argument.
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===Shamanism===
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Because of the often-malevolent nature of such spirits, as well as the various ills that can befall the individual soul or the community at large, the animist community almost always develops a system of spiritual technology—[[Shamanism]]. Shamanism refers to a range of traditional beliefs and practices that are united around a common method: the use and control of spirits. While shamanism is often seen as a healing tradition, in some societies, shamanic teachings also include the ability to inflict suffering on others. Shamans have been credited with the ability to heal illnesses, control the weather, curse enemies, divine the future, interpret dreams, and project themselves astrally (including the ability to travel to upper and lower spiritual worlds). Regardless, [[shamanism]] and animism are intimately inter-related: animism provides the religio-philosophical framework and shamanism provides the techniques and technology for controlling (or at least harnessing) these forces.
  
 
===Survival of the Dead===
 
===Survival of the Dead===
In many parts of the world it is held that the human body is the seat of more than one soul. On the island of [[Nias]] four are distinguished: the shadow and the intelligence, which die with the body, a [[tutelary]] spirit, termed ''begoe'', and a second spirit, which is carried on the head. Similar ideas are found among the [[Euahlayi]] of southeast Australia, the [[Dakota]]s and many other tribes. Just as in Europe the [[ghost]] of a dead person is held to haunt the churchyard or the place of death, so do other cultures assign different abodes to the multiple souls with which they credit man. Of the four souls of a Dakota, one is held to stay with the corpse, another in the village, a third goes into the air, while the fourth goes to the land of souls, where its lot may depend on its rank in this life, its [[sex]], mode of death or sepulture, on the due observance of [[funeral]] ritual, or many other points.
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Most animistic belief systems hold that this spirit survives physical death. In some instances, the spirit is believed to pass into a more leisurely world of abundant game and ever-ripe crops, while in other systems, such as that of the [[Navajo Nation|Navajo]] religion, the spirit remains on earth as a [[ghost]], often becoming malignant in the process. Still other systems combine these two beliefs, holding that the afterlife involves a journey to the spirit world upon which the soul must not become lost. This journey entails much wandering as a ghost. The correct performance of funerary rites, mourning rituals, and [[ancestor worship]] were often considered necessary for expediting the deceased soul's completion of this journey.  
  
From the belief in the survival of the dead arose the practice of offering food, lighting fires, etc., at the grave, at first, maybe, as an act of friendship or filial piety, later as an act of [[ancestor worship]]. The simple offering of food or shedding of blood at the grave develops into an elaborate system of [[sacrifice]]. Even where ancestor worship is not found, the desire to provide the dead with comforts in the future life may lead to the sacrifice of wives, slaves, animals, and so on, to the breaking or burning of objects at the grave or to the provision of the [[Charon (mythology)|ferryman's]] toll: a coin put in the mouth of the corpse to pay the traveling expenses of the soul. But all is not finished with the passage of the soul to the land of the dead. The soul may return to avenge its death by helping to discover the murderer, or to wreak vengeance for itself. There is a widespread belief that those who die a violent death become malignant spirits and endanger the lives of those who come near the haunted spot. The woman who dies in childbirth becomes a [[pontianak]], and threatens the life of human beings. People resort to magical or religious means of repelling their spiritual dangers.
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Further, in many parts of the world it is held that the human body is the seat of more than one soul, some of which allow a person to survive after death. Among the peoples of the island of Nias, for example, four are distinguished: 1) the shadow and 2) the intelligence, (each of which die with the body), as well as 3) a tutelary spirit, termed ''begoe'', and 4) a spirit which is carried on the head. These latter spirits survive even after death. Similar ideas are found among the Euahlayi of southeast Australia, the [[Dakota]]s of North America, as well as many other tribes. Just as in Europe the [[ghost]] of a dead person is held to haunt the churchyard or the place of death, other cultures also assign different abodes to some of the multiple souls. Of the four souls of a Dakota, one is held to stay with the corpse after death and another in the village, while a third goes into the air and the fourth goes to the land of souls. In the land of souls, the fourth spirit's subsistence may depend on its social rank in its worldly life, its sex, or its mode of death or sepulture. Numerous other factors from its worldly life, such as whether or not its funerary rite was properly observed, also affect its status in the spirit realm.
  
===Evil Spirits===
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From the belief in the survival of the dead arose the practice of graveside rituals such as the offering of food or lighting of fires in honor of the dead. While this may have occurred at first as an act of friendship or filial piety, it later became an act of full-fledged [[ancestor worship]]. Even where ancestor worship is not found, the desire to provide the dead with comforts in the future life may have lead to the sacrifice of wives, slaves, animals, or other living beings, as well as the breaking or burning of objects at the grave or even to such provisions as the ferryman's toll, where a coin or coins are put in the mouth or eyes of a corpse to pay the traveling expenses of the soul. In animist societies, the reverence for the dead is not finished with the successful passage of the soul to the land of the dead. On the contrary, the soul may return to avenge its death by helping to uncover injustices or identify murderers, or simply to wreak vengeance for itself. There is a widespread belief that those who died a violent death become malignant spirits and endanger the lives of those who come near the spot where they died. For example, in the [[Malaysia|Malaysian]] culture, the stillborn child or the woman who dies in childbirth becomes a ''pontianak'', a spirit who threatens the life of human beings. As a result of such spiritual threats, people resort to magical or religious precautions in order to repel their spiritual dangers. In the case of the ''pontianak'', Malaysians put glass beads in corpse's mouths, precluding the baneful cries of their spirit.
Side by side with the doctrine of separable souls with which we have so far been concerned, exists the belief in a great host of unattached spirits. These are not immanent souls that have become detached from their abodes, but have instead every appearance of independent spirits. These spirits are at first mainly malevolent. Side by side with them we find the spirits of the dead as hostile beings. At a higher stage the spirits of dead kinsmen are no longer unfriendly, nor yet all non-human spirits. As [[fetish]]es, [[nagual]]s (see [[totem]]), [[familiar spirit]]s, gods or [[demi-gods]] (see also [[demonology]]), they enter into relations with man. On the other hand there still subsists a belief in innumerable evil spirits, which manifest themselves in the phenomena of [[possession]], [[lycanthropy]], disease, and so on. The fear of evil spirits has given rise to ceremonies of expulsion of evils (see [[exorcism]]), designed to banish them from the community.
 
 
 
==Examples of Animism in Human Culture==
 
  
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==Contemporary Examples of Animism in Human Culture==
 
===Tribal Animism===
 
===Tribal Animism===
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The number of cultures that have upheld animist beliefs is almost impossible to report accurately, as the belief system has been held in its various iterations by innumerable cultures throughout history. Despite Tylor's description of animism as a mere "stage" that all religious belief must pass through, numerous cultures have held on to animist beliefs and practices, often for many thousands of years and despite considerable technological advances. Numerous tribal and [[hunter-gatherer]] cultures maintaining ancient lifestyles have also maintained animistic beliefs, and many still exist in the contemporary world. Today, animists still live in significant numbers among tribal peoples in countries such as [[Zambia]], the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Gabon]], the [[Republic of Guinea Bissau]], [[Indonesia]], [[Laos]], [[Myanmar]], [[Papua New Guinea]], the [[Philippines]], [[Russia]], [[Sweden]], and [[Thailand]], as well as the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. Although the religious beliefs vary immensely between each of these cultures, they all hold to the basic tenet of animism—that there is a plurality of souls, spirits or consciousnesses.
  
The amount of cultures which have upheld animist beliefs is almost impossible to report accurately, as the belief system has been held in its various iterations throughout innumberable cultures throughout history. Numerous tribale and hunter gatherer cultures maintaining ancient lifestyles have also maintained animistic beliefs. Today Animists live in significant numbers among tribal peoples in countries such as [[Zambia]], the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Gabon]], the [[Republic of Guinea Bissau]], [[Indonesia]], [[Laos]], [[Myanmar]], [[Papua New Guinea]], the [[Philippines]], [[Russia]], [[Sweden]], [[Thailand]], and the [[United States]].
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===Modern Neopaganism===
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Modern [[Neopaganism|Neopagans]], especially Eco-Pagans, sometimes describe themselves as animists, meaning that they respect the diverse community of living beings with whom humans share the cosmos. Modern Neopagans are commonly concerned with the relationship between human beings and the environment, as is typical in animistic cultures. Not only is the relationship with nature a part of their spiritual awareness, but Neopagan activist groups often also take action in the political sphere in order to uphold environmentalism. Many Neopagans combine this social activism with their ritual magic in an attempt to put their environmental goals into action. There are currently many Neopgagan activist groups around the world, dedicated to various causes.  
  
===Modern Neopaganism===
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More generally, [[Neopaganism|Neopagan]] ritual shares many features with the shamanistic rites of the classic animist cultures. For example, rites of passage, like most forms of Neopagan ritual, take place within a sacred circle. While different variations on circle casting exist, most circles are oriented with the cardinal directions that are commonly associated with forces of nature: fire, water, air, and earth. Some Neopagans address the specific spiritual powers of a particular direction, while others address animistic forces such as the "winds." Much like the contacts made between the shaman and the many spirits, Neopagans commonly invoke specific gods and goddesses, who are invited to be present in the circle or else embodied within participants. During the ritual, participants are often led on an "astral journey," during which they visualize another realm of existence, not unlike the spirit realm discussed within numerous animist cultures. The presence of deities, journeys through other worlds, and the resulting shifts in consciousness all contribute to participants' experience of the rite.  
Modern [[Neopaganism|Neopagans]], especially Eco-Pagans, sometimes describe themselves as animists, meaning that they respect the diverse community of living beings with whom humans share the world/cosmos. Some, however, use the term to refer to the idea that the [[Mother Goddess]] and [[Horned God]] consist of everything that exists. This [[Pantheism]] in which [[God]] is equated with [[existence]] is different from animism because it imputes value to individual living beings and/or objects because they might reveal a larger reality or divinity behind everything. Animists respect beings for their own sake - whether because they have or are souls (as in the original definition of the word) or because they are persons (the new definition).  
 
  
===The new animism===
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===The New Animism===
In an article entitled "Animism Revisited", Nurit Bird-David builds on the work of Irving Hallowell by discussing the animist worldview and lifeway of the Nayaka of India. Hallowell had learnt from the Ojibwa of southern central Canada that the humans are only one kind of 'person' among many. There are also 'rock persons', 'eagle persons' and so on. Hallowell and Bird-David discuss the ways in which particular indigenous cultures know how to relate to particular persons (individuals or groups). There is no need to talk of metaphysics or impute non-empirical 'beliefs' in discussing animism. What is required is an openness to consider that humans are neither separate from the world nor distinct from other kinds of being in most significant ways. The new animism also makes considerably more sense of attempts to understand 'totemism' as an understanding that humans are not only closely related to other humans but also to particular animals, plants, etc. It also helps by providing a term for the communities among whom shamans work: they are animists not 'shamanists'. Shamans are employed among animist communities to engage or mediate with other-than-human persons in situations that would be fraught or dangerous for un-initiated, untrained or non-skillful people. The -ism of 'animism' should not suggest an overly systematic approach (but this is true of the lived reality of most religious people), but it is preferable to the term ''[[shamanism]]'' which has led many commentators to construct an elaborate system out of the everyday practices of animists and those they employ to engage with other-than-human persons.
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Animist thought has also been philosophically developed in modern times by animistic thinkers in order to promote its continued survival. In an article entitled "Animism Revisited," Nurit Bird-David builds on the work of [[Irving Hallowell]] by discussing the animist worldview and lifeways of the Nayaka people of [[India]]. Hallowell had learnt from the Ojibwa of southern central Canada that the humans are only one kind of 'person' among many, as there are also 'rock persons,' 'eagle persons' and so forth. Hallowell and Bird-David discuss the ways in which particular indigenous cultures know how to relate to particular persons in nature. There is no need to talk of metaphysics or to impute non-empirical 'beliefs' in discussing animism, they claim. Rather, what is required is an openness to consider that humans are neither separate from the world nor distinct from other kinds of being in most significant ways. The new animism also makes considerably more sense of attempts to comprehend [[totemism]] as an understanding that humans are not only closely related to other humans but also to particular animals, plants, and inanimate objects. It also helps by providing a term for the communities among whom shamans work. That is, they are now considered to be animists rather than shamanists. Shamans are employed among animist communities to engage or mediate with other-than-human persons in situations which could potentially prove dangerous for un-initiated or untrained people. The highly academic classification of "animism" should not suggest an overly systematic approach. Rather, it is preferable to the term [[shamanism]] which has led many commentators to hastily construct an elaborate system out of the everyday practices employed by animists to engage with other-than-human persons.
The new animism is most fully discussed in a recent book by Graham Harvey, ''Animism: Respecting the Living World''. But it is also significant in the 'animist realist' novels now being written among many indigenous communities worldwide. The term 'animist realism' was coined by Harry Garuba, a Nigerian scholar of literature, in comparison with 'magical realism' that describes works such as Marquez's ''[[One Hundred Years of Solitude]]''.
 
  
 
==Significance of Animism==
 
==Significance of Animism==
 
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Animism is an important category of religious classification. Not only has the term helped in the understanding of human cultures, but also provides insights into the current world. While animism is present in tribal cultures of Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas, it is also subtly a part of the greater span of human consciousness. Although the belief that invisible spirits—such as demons, fairies and fates—animate nature has largely subsided in modernity, religious and philosophical systems that attribute powers of responsiveness to the surrounding world have not disappeared. In fact, the core beliefs of animism outlined above persist in decidedly non-animistic religions today. Even monotheist religions such as [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]], among others, proclaim the existence of human souls as well as spirits (in the case of angels). Virtually all religions believe in some sort of survival of the dead beyond earthly life, whether it be the judgment so important in the doctrines of the [[Abrahamic]] religions, or the doctrine of reincarnation so popular in the east. That said, the honor provided for the dead found in all faiths no doubt also arose out of animism. Finally, the sense of human relatedness with nature is becoming increasingly popular in contemporary religion as the importance of ecology becomes more and more of a political and spiritual issue. Thus, the tenets of animism can be said to have, at least in part, formed the bedrock of religion as we know it today.  
Animism is an immensely important modality of thought as well as a category of religious classification. Not only has the academic construct of animism helped us to understand many aspects of human culture as it has developed through history, but can also provide insights today: not only is animism representative of one of the oldest forms of religion, but it is still in existence today. While animism is present in tribal cultures of Ghana, Gabon, and even Native American religion, it is also subtly a part of the greater span of human consciousness. For example, the folk psychology which plays such an important part in animist cultures still has affects in our modern positivist psychology. Phenomena such as "emotions", "motivations," and "intentions," just to name a few, are all folk psychological terms which were arguably synthesized out of animist notions of the soul before they came to be tested scientifically. Further, animist thinking often finds its way into our everyday lives each time we blame, for instance, fallible technology for "willfully" breaking down.  Thus, a natural affinity for animism does perhaps exist in humans, which we still see in our everyday life.
 
 
 
==References==
 
* Bird-David, Nurit. 1991. "Animism Revisited: Personhood, environment, and relational epistemology", ''Current Anthropology'' 40, pp. 67-91. Reprinted in Graham Harvey (ed.) 2002. ''Readings in Indigenous Religions'' (London and New York: Continuum) pp.72-105.
 
* Hallowell, A. Irving. "Ojibwa ontology, behavior, and world view" in Stanley Diamond (ed.) 1960. ''Culture in History'' (New York: Columbia University Press). Reprinted in Graham Harvey (ed.) 2002. ''Readings in Indigenous Religions'' (London and New York: Continuum) pp.17-49.
 
* Harvey, Graham. ''Animism: Respecting the Living World'' London: Hurst and co.; New York: Columbia University Press; Adelaide: Wakefield Press, 2005
 
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
* [[hylozoism]]
 
* [[Midewiwin]]
 
 
* [[Monism]]
 
* [[Monism]]
 
* [[Panentheism]]
 
* [[Panentheism]]
 
* [[panpsychism]]
 
* [[panpsychism]]
 
* [[Pantheism]]
 
* [[Pantheism]]
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==References==
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* Bird-David, Nurit. 1991. "Animism Revisited: Personhood, environment, and relational epistemology", ''Current Anthropology'' 40, pp. 67-91. Reprinted in Harvey Graham (ed.). 2002. ''Readings in Indigenous Religions'' (London and New York: Continuum) pp. 72-105.
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* Hallowell, A. Irving. "Ojibwa ontology, behavior, and world view" in Stanley Diamond (ed.). 1960. ''Culture in History'' (New York: Columbia University Press). Reprinted in Harvey Graham (ed.) 2002. ''Readings in Indigenous Religions''. London and New York: Continuum. pp. 17-49.
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* Harvey, Graham. 2005. ''Animism: Respecting the Living World'' London: Hurst and co.; New York: Columbia University Press; Adelaide: Wakefield Press.
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* "Systems of Religious and Spiritual Belief." ''The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Volume 26 Macropaedia.'' Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2002. 530-577.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
* [http://www.starstuffs.com/animal_totems/ Animism and Totem Spirit Animals: Discovering Animal Totems, Dictionaries, Feathers]
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All links retrieved June 20, 2021.
*[http://www.ishmael.org/interaction/qanda/qanda.cfm Ishmael.org FAQ] A database which includes many questions and answers regarding animism (and which conflicts greatly with the definition of the 'old' animism above while illustrating one version of the 'new' animism quite well) on the website of [[Daniel Quinn]], author of My Ishmael. Choose ''Animism'' from ''Topic''.
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* [http://www.starstuffs.com/animal_totems/ Animal Totems]
*[http://www.animism.org.uk] is a new website devoted to the discussion of the new animism. It arises from the work of Graham Harvey whose book ''Animism: Respecting the Living World'' discusses the whole topic, its benefits and problems, in considerable detail.
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*[http://people.freenet.de/ishmael/animism.html] A personal view of animism
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*[http://www.actionintl.org/action/content/view/223/212/] Animism in Zambia
 
  
[[Category:Philosophy and religion]][[Category:religion]]
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[[Category:Philosophy and religion]]
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[[Category:religion]]
  
 
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Revision as of 07:31, 20 June 2021

Animism (from the Latin: animus or anima, meaning mind or soul) refers to a belief in numerous personalized, supernatural beings endowed with reason, intelligence and/or volition, that inhabit both objects and living beings and govern their existences. More simply, it is the belief that "everything is conscious" or that "everything has a soul." The term has been further extended to refer to a belief that the natural world is a community of living personas, only some of whom are human. As a term, "animism" has also been used in academic circles to refer to the types of cultures in which these animists live.

While the term "animism" refers to a broad range of spiritual beliefs (many of which are still extant within human cultures today), it does not denote any particular religious creed or doctrine. The most common feature of animist religions is their attention to particulars, as evidenced by the number and variety of spirits they recognize. This can be strongly contrasted with the all-inclusive universalism of monotheistic, pantheistic and panentheistic traditions. Furthermore, animist spirituality is more focused on addressing practical exigencies (such as health, nourishment and safety needs) than on solving abstract metaphysical quandaries. Animism recognizes that the universe is alive with spirits and that humans are interrelated with them.

Animism as a Category of Religion

The term "animism" first entered academic discourse through anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Tylor's 1871 book, Primitive Culture. In it, Tylor used the term to refer to any belief in mystical, supernatural, or non-empirical spirit beings. Animist thought, Tylor proposed, was religion in its most inchoate form, serving as a starting point for human religious development. Thus, so-called "primitive" cultures (such as hunter-gatherers upholding these beliefs) were merely expressing a reduced form of religiosity compatible with their supposedly low level of technological and spiritual development. In this evolutionary model, these societies relied on animism to explain the occurrence of certain events and processes. However, he argued that as a people's technological thought progressed, so too did their explanations for events in the physical world. As societies advanced from "savagery" to stages of "barbarism" and eventually to modern civilization, Tylor believed that they subsequently inherited (or developed) more complex beliefs, such as polytheism, eventually culminating in the supposed pinnacle of religious thought, monotheism.

At the time that Tylor wrote, his theory was politically radical because it made the claim that non-Western peoples (that is, non-Christian "heathens") do in fact have religion. Despite this progressive conclusion, Tylor's use of the term "animism" was indubitably pejorative, as it referred to what he conceived to be an inferior form of religion. As a result, his usage of the term has since been widely rejected. Today, the term animism is used with more respect and sensitivity to the obvious viability of tribal peoples and their spiritual beliefs. It is now commonly accepted that religious beliefs function emotionally and socially, rather than purely for the purpose of intellectual explanation—an assumption that is far more illustrative of Tylor's Western biases than of any truths concerning the tribal peoples he studied.

Still, many thinkers do not categorize animism as a form of religion at all. They argue that animism is, in the first instance, an explanation of phenomena rather than an attitude of mind toward the cause of those phenomena. Thus, animistic thought is more philosophical than strictly religious. For these thinkers, the term is most conveniently used to describe a quasi-religious practice in which people endeavor to set up relations between themselves and the unseen powers, conceived as spirits, but differing in many particulars from the gods of polytheism. While "full-fledged" religion implies a sense of humility within humans before the gods, anthropologist Sir James G. Frazer claimed that animism involved an attempt to gain temporary ascendancy over spiritual forces through the use of magic. Animism could hardly be categorized as religion, then, since it was primarily a utilitarian act for personal and societal gain. Further, unlike the polytheistic gods, animistic spiritual entities were seen to be more general and functional in their character, as they generally lack a deeply developed mythology. Thinkers holding that animism is not a religion claim that with the belief in more "departmental" gods comes the development of polytheism, and henceforth what is considered to be full-fledged religious thought. For these theorists, polytheist beliefs supercede the elemental spirits of the animist worldview.

In contrast, those who argue that animism is a religion focus upon the fact that, even in magical rites, a form of worship is directed toward the spirits identified by the animist. Even after the acceptance of polytheist religious beliefs, the elemental spirits that were the focus of magic rites are often reinterpreted as "lesser gods." Their help and intervention is sought, sacrifices are made, and their instructions (often received through divination) are obeyed. Thus, these thinkers proceed to claim that animism embodies the ritualistic features of religion, and so should be considered as such. Also, many argue that utilitarian and ritualistic elements are present in most forms of religion (especially in prayers or supplications), a fact that does much to negate the argument posited above.

Common Features of Animism

Existence of Souls or Spirits

The cornerstone of animistic thought is the affirmation of the existence of some kind of metaphysical entities (such as souls or spirits) that are seen as the life-source (or life-force) of human beings, animals, plants and even non-living objects and phenomena. For animistic cultures, the existence of these entities (with their respective operational and volitional qualities) provides explanations for the innumerable changes witnessed in both the natural world and the human world.

In animistic thought, the human spirit or soul is often identified with the shadow or the breath. This identification between the soul and the shadow can be seen in Tasmania, North and South America, as well as classical Europe. Similarly, the Basutus of Lesotho hold that a man walking by the brink of a river may lose his life if his shadow falls on the water, since a crocodile may seize his soul and draw him into the current.

More familiar to Europeans is the connection between the soul and the breath. This identification is found both in Indo-European and within the linguistic roots of the words in Semitic languages: In Latin, breath is spiritus, in Greek pneuma, in Hebrew ruach, and in Sanskrit prana, all words which also have spiritual connotations. This idea extends to many other cultures in Australia, America and Asia. Other common conceptions identify the soul with the liver, the heart, the blood or even with the reflected figure outwardly visible in the pupil of the eye.

As the soul is often understood as a metaphysical, indwelling presence, it is not surprising that, for many animist cultures, unconsciousness is explained as being due to the absence of the soul. In South Australia, wilyamarraba, a term that refers to the state of being without a soul, is also the term used for that which cannot be perceived with the senses. Similarly, the auto-hypnotic trance of the magician or shaman is causally attributed to their visit to distant regions of the netherworld: they are in a senseless trance because their souls are literally elsewhere. Similarly, sickness is often explained as occurring due to the absence of the soul, requiring a healer to take measures to lure back this vagrant spirit. In Chinese tradition, when a person is at the point of death, their soul is believed to have left their body. Typically, the dying individual's coat is held up on a long bamboo pole while a priest endeavors to bring the departed spirit back into the coat by means of incantations. If the bamboo begins to turn round in the hands of the relative who is responsible for holding it, it is regarded as a sign that the soul of the patient has returned.

More common than these aforementioned phenomena is the importance placed upon the daily period of sleep in animistic traditions. The frequent images included within dreams are interpreted in many cultures to illustrate the fact that the soul journeys while the body rests. Dreams and hallucinations were likely central to the development of animistic theory in general. Seeing the phantasmic figures of friends and other chimaeric, night-time apparitions may have led people to the dualistic separation of soul and body that is common within animistic traditions. Of course, hallucinatory figures, both in dreams and waking life, are not necessarily those of the living. From the reappearance of friends or enemies, dead or living alike, primitive man was likely led to the belief that there existed an incorporeal part of man, which existed apart from the body. Furthermore, if the phenomena of dreams were of such great importance for the development of a theory of human souls, this belief was also expanded into an overall philosophy of nature. Not only human beings but animals and objects are seen in dreams, and therefore it is possible that animists concluded that these entities also had souls.

Souls or Spirits in the Natural Realm

In many animistic cultures, peoples respect and even worship animals (see Totemism), often regarding them as relatives. In some cases, animals were seen as the spiritual abodes of dead ancestors. It is probable that animals were regarded as possessing souls early in the history of animistic beliefs. The animist may attribute to animals the same sorts of ideas and the same mental processes as himself or they may also be associated with even greater power, cunning, or magical abilities. Dead animals are sometimes credited with knowledge of how their remains are treated, and potentially with the power to take vengeance on the hunter if he is disrespectful. Among the Inuit people of Northern Canada, for example, various precautions are taken in all stages of a hunt so as not to offend the hunted animal. Such an offense could lead to bad luck in the future of the hunter who carried out the improprietous kill, furthering the notion that—at least in some animistic cultures—animals may possess spirits independent of their bodies, comparable to those attributed to humans.

Just as souls are assigned to animals, so too are trees and plants often credited with souls, both human and animal in form. All over the world, agricultural peoples practice elaborate ceremonies explicable within the framework of animistic principles. In medieval Europe, for example, the corn spirit was sometimes viewed as immanent within a crop, while other times seen as a presiding deity whose life did not depend on that of the growing corn. Further, this spirit was often conceived in some districts as taking the form of an ox, hare or cock, while in others taking that of an old man or woman. In the East Indies and Americas, the rice or maize mother is a corresponding figure; in classical Europe and the East we have in Ceres and Demeter, Adonis and Dionysus, and other deities linked to vegetation whose origin is most likely similar to that of the corn spirit. Forest trees, no less than cereals, were also seen, by some cultures, as having their own indwelling spirits. In Bengal and the East Indies woodcutters endeavor to propitiate the spirit of any tree which they have cut down. As well, in many parts of the world trees are regarded as the abode of the spirits of the dead. Just as a process of syncretism has given rise to cults of animal gods, tree spirits tend to become detached from the trees, which are thenceforth only considered to be their abodes. Here again it is evident that animism has begun to pass into forms of polytheism.

Some cultures do not make a distinction between animate and inanimate objects. Natural phenomenon, geographic features, everyday objects, and manufactured articles may also be seen as possessing souls. In the north of Europe, in ancient Greece, and in China, the water or river spirit is horse or bull-shaped. The water monster in serpent shape is an even more pervasive image of the spirit of the water. The spirit of syncretism manifests itself in this department of animism too, turning the spirit immanent within natural forces into the presiding djinn or local gods which arose at later times.

The Spirit World

Beside the doctrine of separable souls with which we have so far been concerned, there also exists the animist belief in a great host of unattached spirits. These are not transient souls that have become detached from their abodes; they are, instead, concrete realities with their own independent existences. These spirits are often considered malevolent, and, in this fashion, take on monstrous or animalistic forms. For example, among the Ojibwa people of Minnesota and Ontario, the spirit world was populated with a great number of evil spirits that existed among the esteemed ones: monsters, ghosts, and most notably the Wendigo, an ogre which consumed human flesh and was said to cause psychosis. Typically, spirits of these types manifested themselves in the phenomena of possession, disease, and so forth. Along with such conceptions of spiritual evil we also find the idea that spirits of the deceased can also be hostile beings, at least at first. After extended durations of time, the spirits of dead kinsmen are no longer seen as unfriendly. As fetishes, naguals, familiar spirits, gods or demi-gods, they may even come to enter into relations with man. The fear of evil spirits has given rise to ceremonies of expulsion of evils, designed to banish these entities from the community.

Shamanism

Because of the often-malevolent nature of such spirits, as well as the various ills that can befall the individual soul or the community at large, the animist community almost always develops a system of spiritual technology—Shamanism. Shamanism refers to a range of traditional beliefs and practices that are united around a common method: the use and control of spirits. While shamanism is often seen as a healing tradition, in some societies, shamanic teachings also include the ability to inflict suffering on others. Shamans have been credited with the ability to heal illnesses, control the weather, curse enemies, divine the future, interpret dreams, and project themselves astrally (including the ability to travel to upper and lower spiritual worlds). Regardless, shamanism and animism are intimately inter-related: animism provides the religio-philosophical framework and shamanism provides the techniques and technology for controlling (or at least harnessing) these forces.

Survival of the Dead

Most animistic belief systems hold that this spirit survives physical death. In some instances, the spirit is believed to pass into a more leisurely world of abundant game and ever-ripe crops, while in other systems, such as that of the Navajo religion, the spirit remains on earth as a ghost, often becoming malignant in the process. Still other systems combine these two beliefs, holding that the afterlife involves a journey to the spirit world upon which the soul must not become lost. This journey entails much wandering as a ghost. The correct performance of funerary rites, mourning rituals, and ancestor worship were often considered necessary for expediting the deceased soul's completion of this journey.

Further, in many parts of the world it is held that the human body is the seat of more than one soul, some of which allow a person to survive after death. Among the peoples of the island of Nias, for example, four are distinguished: 1) the shadow and 2) the intelligence, (each of which die with the body), as well as 3) a tutelary spirit, termed begoe, and 4) a spirit which is carried on the head. These latter spirits survive even after death. Similar ideas are found among the Euahlayi of southeast Australia, the Dakotas of North America, as well as many other tribes. Just as in Europe the ghost of a dead person is held to haunt the churchyard or the place of death, other cultures also assign different abodes to some of the multiple souls. Of the four souls of a Dakota, one is held to stay with the corpse after death and another in the village, while a third goes into the air and the fourth goes to the land of souls. In the land of souls, the fourth spirit's subsistence may depend on its social rank in its worldly life, its sex, or its mode of death or sepulture. Numerous other factors from its worldly life, such as whether or not its funerary rite was properly observed, also affect its status in the spirit realm.

From the belief in the survival of the dead arose the practice of graveside rituals such as the offering of food or lighting of fires in honor of the dead. While this may have occurred at first as an act of friendship or filial piety, it later became an act of full-fledged ancestor worship. Even where ancestor worship is not found, the desire to provide the dead with comforts in the future life may have lead to the sacrifice of wives, slaves, animals, or other living beings, as well as the breaking or burning of objects at the grave or even to such provisions as the ferryman's toll, where a coin or coins are put in the mouth or eyes of a corpse to pay the traveling expenses of the soul. In animist societies, the reverence for the dead is not finished with the successful passage of the soul to the land of the dead. On the contrary, the soul may return to avenge its death by helping to uncover injustices or identify murderers, or simply to wreak vengeance for itself. There is a widespread belief that those who died a violent death become malignant spirits and endanger the lives of those who come near the spot where they died. For example, in the Malaysian culture, the stillborn child or the woman who dies in childbirth becomes a pontianak, a spirit who threatens the life of human beings. As a result of such spiritual threats, people resort to magical or religious precautions in order to repel their spiritual dangers. In the case of the pontianak, Malaysians put glass beads in corpse's mouths, precluding the baneful cries of their spirit.

Contemporary Examples of Animism in Human Culture

Tribal Animism

The number of cultures that have upheld animist beliefs is almost impossible to report accurately, as the belief system has been held in its various iterations by innumerable cultures throughout history. Despite Tylor's description of animism as a mere "stage" that all religious belief must pass through, numerous cultures have held on to animist beliefs and practices, often for many thousands of years and despite considerable technological advances. Numerous tribal and hunter-gatherer cultures maintaining ancient lifestyles have also maintained animistic beliefs, and many still exist in the contemporary world. Today, animists still live in significant numbers among tribal peoples in countries such as Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, the Republic of Guinea Bissau, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Russia, Sweden, and Thailand, as well as the United States and Canada. Although the religious beliefs vary immensely between each of these cultures, they all hold to the basic tenet of animism—that there is a plurality of souls, spirits or consciousnesses.

Modern Neopaganism

Modern Neopagans, especially Eco-Pagans, sometimes describe themselves as animists, meaning that they respect the diverse community of living beings with whom humans share the cosmos. Modern Neopagans are commonly concerned with the relationship between human beings and the environment, as is typical in animistic cultures. Not only is the relationship with nature a part of their spiritual awareness, but Neopagan activist groups often also take action in the political sphere in order to uphold environmentalism. Many Neopagans combine this social activism with their ritual magic in an attempt to put their environmental goals into action. There are currently many Neopgagan activist groups around the world, dedicated to various causes.

More generally, Neopagan ritual shares many features with the shamanistic rites of the classic animist cultures. For example, rites of passage, like most forms of Neopagan ritual, take place within a sacred circle. While different variations on circle casting exist, most circles are oriented with the cardinal directions that are commonly associated with forces of nature: fire, water, air, and earth. Some Neopagans address the specific spiritual powers of a particular direction, while others address animistic forces such as the "winds." Much like the contacts made between the shaman and the many spirits, Neopagans commonly invoke specific gods and goddesses, who are invited to be present in the circle or else embodied within participants. During the ritual, participants are often led on an "astral journey," during which they visualize another realm of existence, not unlike the spirit realm discussed within numerous animist cultures. The presence of deities, journeys through other worlds, and the resulting shifts in consciousness all contribute to participants' experience of the rite.

The New Animism

Animist thought has also been philosophically developed in modern times by animistic thinkers in order to promote its continued survival. In an article entitled "Animism Revisited," Nurit Bird-David builds on the work of Irving Hallowell by discussing the animist worldview and lifeways of the Nayaka people of India. Hallowell had learnt from the Ojibwa of southern central Canada that the humans are only one kind of 'person' among many, as there are also 'rock persons,' 'eagle persons' and so forth. Hallowell and Bird-David discuss the ways in which particular indigenous cultures know how to relate to particular persons in nature. There is no need to talk of metaphysics or to impute non-empirical 'beliefs' in discussing animism, they claim. Rather, what is required is an openness to consider that humans are neither separate from the world nor distinct from other kinds of being in most significant ways. The new animism also makes considerably more sense of attempts to comprehend totemism as an understanding that humans are not only closely related to other humans but also to particular animals, plants, and inanimate objects. It also helps by providing a term for the communities among whom shamans work. That is, they are now considered to be animists rather than shamanists. Shamans are employed among animist communities to engage or mediate with other-than-human persons in situations which could potentially prove dangerous for un-initiated or untrained people. The highly academic classification of "animism" should not suggest an overly systematic approach. Rather, it is preferable to the term shamanism which has led many commentators to hastily construct an elaborate system out of the everyday practices employed by animists to engage with other-than-human persons.

Significance of Animism

Animism is an important category of religious classification. Not only has the term helped in the understanding of human cultures, but also provides insights into the current world. While animism is present in tribal cultures of Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas, it is also subtly a part of the greater span of human consciousness. Although the belief that invisible spirits—such as demons, fairies and fates—animate nature has largely subsided in modernity, religious and philosophical systems that attribute powers of responsiveness to the surrounding world have not disappeared. In fact, the core beliefs of animism outlined above persist in decidedly non-animistic religions today. Even monotheist religions such as Christianity and Islam, among others, proclaim the existence of human souls as well as spirits (in the case of angels). Virtually all religions believe in some sort of survival of the dead beyond earthly life, whether it be the judgment so important in the doctrines of the Abrahamic religions, or the doctrine of reincarnation so popular in the east. That said, the honor provided for the dead found in all faiths no doubt also arose out of animism. Finally, the sense of human relatedness with nature is becoming increasingly popular in contemporary religion as the importance of ecology becomes more and more of a political and spiritual issue. Thus, the tenets of animism can be said to have, at least in part, formed the bedrock of religion as we know it today.

See also

References
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  • Bird-David, Nurit. 1991. "Animism Revisited: Personhood, environment, and relational epistemology", Current Anthropology 40, pp. 67-91. Reprinted in Harvey Graham (ed.). 2002. Readings in Indigenous Religions (London and New York: Continuum) pp. 72-105.
  • Hallowell, A. Irving. "Ojibwa ontology, behavior, and world view" in Stanley Diamond (ed.). 1960. Culture in History (New York: Columbia University Press). Reprinted in Harvey Graham (ed.) 2002. Readings in Indigenous Religions. London and New York: Continuum. pp. 17-49.
  • Harvey, Graham. 2005. Animism: Respecting the Living World London: Hurst and co.; New York: Columbia University Press; Adelaide: Wakefield Press.
  • "Systems of Religious and Spiritual Belief." The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Volume 26 Macropaedia. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2002. 530-577.

External links

All links retrieved June 20, 2021.

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