Religion of The Hopi, Ojibwe and Apache Tribes Essay Example
Religion is a common component that is explored when conducting research on the various cultures found on eHRAF. It’s rare, if not impossible, to find at least one culture in the past that didn’t uphold any religious beliefs. Religion is an essential part of many cultures and has an immense impact on their way of life. To truly understand religion and its impact, I will be discussing three different cultures: the Hopi, Ojibwe, and Apache tribes. Rituals in these tribes were very common because they believed it was an essential way to please their Gods. Although each of these cultures share similar worship practices, they each contain various aspects that are unique to them and play a major role in their societies. So, how important were religious practices in these tribes?
The Hopi tribe is known for having a very complex religion. As members of the Hopi tribe, people are expected to maintain a specific way of life, promoting goodwill and peace. Culture for them is a balance of masculine and feminine. Earth being more feminine, while the sun, rain, and lighting are more masculine. Using these principals; the Hopi tribe have gods and goddesses that align with their beliefs. The importance of these elements is shown in their daily lives through multiple forms of religious practices. People believe that in order to have a peaceful life they must uphold their religious values. A culture that focuses mostly on agriculture tends to wanna ensure the success of their crops, the Hopi do exactly that. By performing ceremonies/rituals to their God’s, the members of the tribe believe their crops will grow. On the contrary people who have a “bad heart” could cause the opposite. These people will endanger the crops and animals. In order to attain a bad heart you must bargain away your heart for personal desires/gain.
Ceremonies are very important in the Hopi religion, as they believe that without performing them, the equilibrium that they strive for will be disrupted. Therefore, the Hopi’s follow a strict ceremonial schedule. The ceremonies are believed to bring rain, which is highly valuable to the tribe because of their agricultural living. Rituals are also a very common practice in the tribe. A ritual should be performed frequently without any mishaps. The overall purpose of these practices is to bring good fortune. Not performing rituals could cause “bad spirits” to harm you or your crops. “Niman Kachina Ritual Dance” and “Snake Dance Ritual” are commonly performed. These ceremonies are supposed to help bring good weather for their crops to grow. .
It’s wise to ensure these religious practices are completed in order to live a peaceful life.
So, clearly a religion can impact a culture's way of life severely. In the Hopi tribe, we see how important worship and rituals really mean to them. Their continuous amounts of time and effort put into ceremonies is an essential way of showing their appreciation towards their religious values. Since the tribe focuses more on agriculture, their God’s play a significant role in the development of their flourishing culture. When a culture is vastly based on religious beliefs there is a sense of responsibility that each member holds. If one person were to not follow the religious customs, then they would be a liability to the rest of the tribe. In a sense one person’s wrong doings would cost the tribe poor crop growth.
As a very religious group of people, the Hopi seemed to be very intertwined with their way of life. Their beliefs meant everything to them therefore, religion is what their culture was made up of.
The Ojibwe tribe is comparable to the likes of the Hopi, when considering religious beliefs. Similarities include believing in elements and spirits. Ojibwe saw spirits as guardians or protectors. Since they were being constantly guarded, the Ojibwe wanted a way to honor those spirits. The tribe would pray and create food offerings to show gratuity to their spirits. On the contrary, there were also bad spirits. These bad spirits would have a negative effect on the member’s daily lives, therefore it was very important to have a guardian spirit. Similar to the Hopi, elements such as the sun, moon, stars, rocks, rivers, and lakes are what gave their religion a deeper meaning. Their beliefs influenced every part of their culture.
Dreams were another important aspect of Ojibwe culture. The Ojibwe believed that dreams were often prophetic and contained visions of the future. One person was elected by the tribe to become a “dreamer”-aka visionary- in order to foretell the future and warn of any possible good fortune or danger. Ceremonies were put in place to ensure protection over the whole tribe. A very meaningful ritual to the people was in fact a fasting visual quest. Members of the tribe would fast in order to attain some visual dreams that could bring positive outcomes in the near future.
A ceremony called “The dream dance “ was used to discuss extraneous ideas throughout their community. Social cohesion would need to occur for such a sacred ceremonial practice. The historic value of the dance also enhances the importance of its fundamental principles. “The dream dance” originated from a tale that depicts a young girl who was able to talk to “The Great Spirit ”. In the Ojibwe tribe, “The Great Spirit” is considered their God. As is the case with many religions, the ability to connect with a higher power is something that is highly valued, making this story of great importance. Due to the significance of this urban tale, Ojibwe people decided to make it a tradition in their religion.
The religious practices performed by the tribe would be of interest to their daily lives. Without the Ojibwe’s beliefs there would be no law and order. The need to constantly have ceremonies in order to please their God is what constantly gave them peace. These ceremonies brought everyone closer together, therefore their community relied on it. The people were indeed very quintessential because of their religion.
The Apache tribe and their religious practices are a necessity to their way of life. Similar to the other two tribes, the Apache also believe in supernatural forces, and have a balance of good and evil in their culture. The religion consists of one Omnipotent creator, Useen, as well as their lesser spirits which hold significant value as well. Mountain spirits are one of the most important spirits to the Apache due to their supernatural healing abilities. Oftentimes, the ill would visit these “Mountain spirits” in an attempt to gain a cure for their sickness. The process of being healed by the mountain spirit involves a specific dance called the “Masked Dance”, which could not only be used to cure, but could also be used as a way to control the weather. The Apache people relied on the protection of these spirits, and since dancing was one of the few ways to communicate and connect to the spirits, it was of great importance to participate in dance rituals, such as the “Masked Dance”.
There were many things the Apache people held sacred, rituals being one of them. Dances were used in a ritualistic manner to bring rain, harvest, and to heal all of the ill. Through the belief of these ceremonies, the tribe thought very highly of their religious practices. Participating in the religious activities, the Apache were able to start harnessing their own power. However, in order to receive power one must be chosen and if they were to seek it out on their own, one would only bring misfortune to themselves and those around them. Power in the Apache tribe allows certain members to be able to utilize the abilities of spirits, these powers they attained had healing properties.
As mentioned before power could be given.
