A Divinely Way to Philosophy, Vol. 2 E-Book

Timo Schmitz

• Herausgeber: Graf Berthold Verlag
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Seitenzahl: 1542

Beschreibung

This book contains selected articles in English language by Timo Schmitz, which were reviewed and (if necessary) updated for this edition. They include mainly political and philosophical topics, but also display his seek for God and understanding the Creation. In the second volume, he presents his insights on Judaism and indigenous religions. Besides his series "The Key to the Gate of Religion", the articles included in this selection are among others: "Rights and duties as basis for laws - Forgiving as man's strength" (2019), "The interaction of Judaism and Buddhism into Judeo-Buddhism" (2019), "Understanding the Jewish Revolution of the 18th century - the Rise of Chassidism" (2019), "A dream reality or a real dream?" (2020), "A dialogue about true friendship" (2020), "The aim for reaching the paradise - a tricky quest" (2020), "The establishment of the Jewish denominations in the dawn of the Neuzeit" (2020) and "Good and bad reshaped: A harmonious society as balance between collective requirements and individuality" (2021).

Leseprobe

Caodaism (2019)

Etseg Din (Ossetian Paganism) (2019)

Korean Shamanism (2019)

Moism (Zhuang Shigongism) (2019)

Crow belief (2019)

Nung beliefs (2019)

Rights and duties as basis for laws – Forgiving as man’s strength (2019) – Updated: 2021

Chassidic Ontology and Chassidism (2019)

The interaction of Judaism and Buddhism into Judeo-Buddhism (2019)

Understanding the Jewish Revolution of the 18th century – the Rise of Chassidism (2019)

Ben Adam ma leha nirdam (2019)

Be Zohri al Mishkavi (2019)

Elohenu v-Elohe Avotenu (Our God and God of our fathers) (2019)

The Key to the Gate of Religion. Part 1: The Beginning (2019) – Edited: 2022

My view on God and how it developed (2020)

A dream reality or a real dream? (2020)

Plato’s nature of the soul (2020)

Plato's Analogy of the Sun (507d-509c) and Analogy of the Divided Line (509d-511e) briefly explained (2020)

The philosopher king in Plato's Republic (472e-502c) briefly explained (2020)

A dialogue about true friendship (2020)

The Key to the Gate of Religion. Part 2: Good and Evil (I): Mesopotamia – Ancient Egypt – India – Biblical and Talmudic Judaism – Ancient Greece from the Early Phase to Plato (2020)

Analysis on the recent situation in North Korea – 2020 (2020) – Edited: 2021

The development of North Korea between 2008 and 2018 – Analysis of one decade (2020) – Edited: 2021

Are there really no cases of COVID-19 in North Korea? Assumptions of an outbreak and countermeasures conducted in the DPRK as of 24 April 2020 (2020) – Edited: 2021

The Key to the Gate of Religion. Part 3: Good and Evil (II): Ancient Greece from Aristotle, Rome and the Christians (2020)

North Korea: Information Policy and the novel Coronavirus – And what about the rumors around Kim Jong-un’s health? (2020) – Edited: 2021

"There’s always something to celebrate in the DPRK!" – Analysing Kim Jong un’s reappearance (2020) – Edited: 2021

North Korea under the Kim-Duo in 2020: Development, Difficulties and Chances of the Isolated Country (2020) – Edited: 2021

Loyalty and the Good: Why we shall work on our relationships and improve them (2020)

The aim for reaching the paradise – a tricky quest (2020)

North Korea fears a second Corona wave – How the country performed in the crisis so far and why things are worsening (2020)

The Key to the Gate of Religion. Part 4: Good and Evil (III): Jewish and Christian mysticism (2020)

The establishment of the Jewish denominations in the dawn of the Neuzeit (2020)

“The Va girl ideal” (bonkrih vax) – The model of human-beings (2020)

God and the community, the key for a harmonious life (2020)

Law and the individual – Finding a balance and forgiving others (2020)

Ontological positions proposed by the Sefer Yetzira and the possibility to see Class Logic as actual reality based on its view (2020)

The abyss between Prior and Posterior knowledge – Not really an abyss but two important factors which work together (2020)

Good and bad reshaped: A harmonious society as balance between collective requirements and individuality (2021)

Culture as “absorbed nature”? – The difference between the Western and Chinese meaning in regards to the term “culture” (2021)

Exchanging values is important for creating harmony (2021)

Is God immanent or transcendent and which role might quantum bits play? (2021)

Knowledge, Laws and Forgiveness (2021)

The Key to the Gate of Religion. Part 5: Good and Evil (IV): Christianity and Islam in the Middle Ages (2021)

An analysis of North Korea – February 2021 (2021)

The ten sefirot and parallel views in other religions (2021)

The impact of knowledge on our truths (2021)

Education is always subjective – An essay on reason, feelings and our biased reality (2021)

An analysis of North Korea – March 2021 (2021)

What does Hegel mean, when he talks of belief? (2021)

Unity of philosophy and theology in terms of religious philosophy for Hegel (2021)

Hegelian philosophy: The term which understands itself (2021)

The term “God” in Hegel’s philosophy (2021)

Hegelian philosophy: God as a general concept that wants to be understood (2021)

The Key to the Gate of Religion. Part 6: Good and Evil (V): Judaism in the Middle Ages (2021)

Mind as Indication for a Creator (2021)

Science and Faith In the Battleground of Exploring Nature (2021)

An analysis of North Korea – April 2021 (2021)

Summary of the first four chapters of Aristotle’s First Book on Physics (2021)

The role of revelation and reason in finding εὐδαιμονία (2021)

An analysis of North Korea – June 2021 (2021)

Why is the Theory of Forms still accurate? (2021)

A glimpse into North Korean geography (2021)

The Key to the Gate of Religion. Part 7: Good and Evil (VI): The Awakening of the Renaissance (2021)

How the Ancients perceived the world and why we should renew our understanding of science (2021)

The Key to the Gate of Religion. Part 8: Good and Evil (VII): An Overview of Good an Evil of the previous articles and the understanding of Good and Evil in Chinese Philosophy (2021)

[Commentary] Why might and powerful positions are not always good for the soul (2021)

The Key to the Gate of Religion. Part 9: The Ending, Part 1: The Revelation to John, Chapters 1-6 (2021)

Temples and Sacred Sites in North Korea (2022)

Caodaism

An essential problem of Imperialism on the side of the oppressed was the question why the Imperialist’s view ought to be the right one, while the Colonized ought to be wrong. In such a context, it is an essential question, why the Western view of religion shall be above the local belief. What makes the imported belief so much better than the already existing one? As such, the Vietnamese who were colonized as part of French Indochina turned it around and asked the question why the Western religion shall be the original one. Is there not the possibility that it was actually clockwise and the Eastern God is the true one who sent down the prophets in the West to actually advertise their Eastern God? Through this reasoning, Caodaism was founded. It is a monotheist religion which takes Cao Đài as God, who shares Christian attributes like being almighty and acting according to His will. At the same time, one should be careful to call it Christian-borrowed, since Confucianism also knows the ‘divine will’. 1 As such, Caodaists might claim that the Christians actually borrowed the attribute from their God and not vice versa. However, even in the Eastern context, Caodaism is not really that originally as it mostly took its element from Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and Vietnamese folk religion. Caodaism for instance took the threefold revelation of Buddhism, as in Buddhism, it is reported that there are three stages of the revelation: the Earliest (through Dipankara Buddha), the Recent (by Gautama Buddha), and the One to Come (by Maitreya who will become a Buddha). 2 In addition, Laozi and Confucius are emphasised as important sages who have received divine power. Being established in the 1920s, it also venerates prominent people that can not be found traditionally in East Asian belief, such as Jesus, Lenin and Shakespeare 3. They are seen as missionaries in the West who actually promoted the one and only God of Caodai. In this sense, not the Eastern people are seen as heathen but the Western ones for not understanding that God was actually Asian. Thus, it was a total turn around of Imperialism – not just a defense of local belief but an upgrade. Furthermore, Caodaism is hierarchical and also incorporates the principle of yin and yang, where the creator is seen to be male, and the mother of humanity is female. 4 Hoskins argues that “Caodai religious teachings provided a response to these Orientalist binaries, initially through a simple inversion of their terms, in which the Taoist Jade Emperor was recognized as the Supreme Being who had sent all other religious teachers (Buddha, Confucius and Lao Tse), and was also the father of Jesus. Through the image of the Left Eye of God, Caodaism created a masculine monotheism, activist and dynamic, which would absorb Christian teachings into a more encompassing Asian pantheon, and within which the Vietnamese people would be given the spiritual mission to spread this message and unite the nation.The radicalism of this religious vision was initially played down in presentations of its doctrine in French, where the symbolism of the left eye as ‘yang’ (dương) --- forceful, positive and expansive--- was not revealed. Instead, messages to the French government stressed the concern of elite groups that ‘traditional values’ had become corrupted, and a return to moral standards was in order.” 5

Jammes points out the quick spread in the first ten years after the introduction of Caodaism. 6 Of course, this new religious movement was an important part of decolonization and its spirit focused on an Awakening of Vietnamese nationalism. As such, “Caodaism gradually gained substance and momentum to the point where it was able to postulate a society in which the syncretistic ideology of the religious movement would be considered, according to Caodaists, as a ‘State religion’ (quốc đạo). Caodaism is well known for having created a strict hierarchical organization and a unique disciplinary framework in the hands of a group of mediums; hence transforming the religion into either a potential rival or an ally of anti-colonial nationalist forces.” 7 Therefore, it is no surprise that the roots probably lie in secret societies that were formed much earlier. 8 Jammes thus argues that “it is the direct product of Chinese or Chinese–Vietnamese religious sectarianism, called Minh (ming meaning “light” in Chinese). […] After the 17th century, when the Chinese Ming dynasty saw its power in decline, a large number of small Minh societies started to emerge in Cochinchina […]” but “the Chinese authorities (guilds) seemed to take little interest in these Minh associations, which in any case, at least until the early 20th century, limited their activities to their respective temples. […] They were self-ruling and their political activity was largely clandestine under the French colonial regime. Indeed, their esoteric interpretations of old sutras or new oracles were strongly linked to an embryonic Vietnamese nationalism pitted against the colonial domination.” 9 Smith clarifies that Western writers have often misunderstood Caodaism, especially Christian writers were suspect about it and drew it in one line with “Eastern spiritualism”. 10 Probably this ignorance was wanted, because Caodaists had deliberative positions against the colonial rule in the beginning and as such, they needed a facade to be allowed to practice. 11 The building of sects was kept secret and as such they shut down to all outsiders and only insiders had knowledge about their teaching. Literature in foreign languages was hardly available before 1950. 12 And as such, Caodaism still remains a mystery to many people in the Western world.

Until today, it is difficult to say what happens in the inside, whether they are a free thought religion or a strictly sectarian teaching, but officially, Cao Dai gives itself the mission to bring religions into harmony. 13 However, contrary of Farid’s view, it is clearly known that Caodaism is very hierarchical and as evolving out of secrecy, it has strict esoterical beliefs that come through master-student structures and spirit-mediumship, as I suppose. Jammes points out that there were five secret movements in Vietnam: “Minh Sư (“The Enlightened Master”), Minh Lý (“Enlightened Reason”), Minh Đường (“The Temple of Light”), Minh Thiện (“The Foreseeable Kindness”) and Minh Tân (“The New Light”).” 14 He sees Minh Lý to be a crucial root of Caodaism. 15 Farid proposes that Caodaism as such has evolved out of socio-political reason and its struggle with the West. 16 Jammes in contrast stresses that (despite the anti-colonial mood), an important root might be pious Buddhists who saw the canon to be outdated and targeted the need of a radical reform. 17 According to this theory, it adopted Daoist and Confucian values later on. This would be no surprise as a society transforms every hundred years and especially colonized lands had to struggle between their own views and the views which were enforced on them and as such a reformist movement necessarily must evolve as countermovement to back-then contemporary society. 18

Schaeffer starts his essay stating: “The bright, eclectic, and optimistic artwork that adorns the interior of the Tay Ninh Temple in southern Vietnam offers little evidence of Caodaism’s militant roots. But in truth, this now peaceful religion has a history shadowed with nationalism, resistance, and military involvement.” 19 Here, Schaeffer actually sums up the core of the whole Cao Dai spirit. Their temples are often brightly designed and give an optimism, their teaching is said to be harmonious and peaceful, but however, it might be no surprise that Caodaism is almost exclusive to Vietnam, as it is in the national spirit. Caodaism focusses on the Vietnamese nation and the military resistance against foreign occupants. Several anti-colonial activities that were conducted in secrecy were already mentioned in detail. That this secrecy was even kept up after Caodaism went to the public in 1924 was mentioned as well. But what is more interesting is the question of who was actually targeted by this religion? “Many of these nationalist Cao Dai were previously employed within the French administrative system and witnessed firsthand the injustices of French rule in Vietnam. Their individual experiences collectively politicized the Cao Dai religion. Resistance developed in the shadow of its primary function as a religion. Later, the Japanese who supplanted the French in Vietnam during World War II provided weapons and training. The resistance that had developed in the shadow of the Cao Dai religion emerged as an actual military force during the Second World War.” 20 This again is no surprise, since secret societies always were subject to intellectual circles. We can see this in the whole turn of history. People who were educated enough to serve for the French colonials also had the knowledge and strategic power to undermine the system and take part in the resistance. In addition, as was shown before, nationalist counter-movements existed since the annexation of Vietnam in 1884 and even back until the Ming-Dynasty one can find intellectual streams that were trying to keep their nation in tact and to reason about societal questions in some way. The difference between Caodaism and the secret societies was its publicness. Though it was still closed in itself, it was publicly known and advertised to the colonials as peaceful new religion. It can be seen as a way of legalizing oneself in public thus decreasing the danger of being an object of crackdowns. Anyways, whether this plan functioned can be disputed, especially as Caodaism was not recognized at first and members were watched carefully. While Jammes showed that secret societies were an important root to the development of Caodaism and played a crucial role, Schaeffer rather argues that “Secretive and politically active, Caodaism had loose connections to these secret societies. For example, religious tracts entitled ‘Propogande de la Doctrine du Tiers-Ordre Bouddique,’ meaning ‘Propaganda of the Doctrine of the Third Buddhist Order’ were found among items used by one of these secret societies. ‘Doctrine of the Third Buddhist Order’ likely referred to the ‘Third Salvation’ of Caodaism indicating an early connection between the Cao Dai and anti-imperialist secret societies.” with reference to R.B. Smith’s Pre-Communist Indochina 21. So Schaeffer seemingly regards this connections to be more loosely, as they were secretive. Being a nationalist movement, Caodaists also stood in opposition with the Communists in the 1930s and tried to “to revitalize traditional hierarchical relationships between landlords and tenants in southern Vietnam” 22. As such, Caodaism has to be regarded as anti-progressive, its hierarchical structures clearly object the idea of human equality and it seems to have highly monarchical qualities. As such, one shall not romanticize this religion as it is sometimes done in Western sources. Indeed, Caodaism has an important impact on Vietnamese history and furthermore Caodaism is still important today. However, it remains a minor religion: only 2-4 million out of 80 million Vietnamese are adherents of this religion. Most Vietnamese belief in Folk religion or Buddhism. Furthermore, Caodaism is not the only indigenous religion native to Vietnam. The Coconut religion (Dau Dua) and Hoahaoism (an esoterical prophetical religion that developed out of Buddhism) are typical of Vietnam, though not being as popular as the Caodai. Therefore, Caodaism remains one of several native religious beliefs, somewhere between reviving old values and creating a new religion. The founding of new religions was not uncommon in war-torn Asia. In the end of the Imperial era of Korea, several new religious movements started to grow (most notably Chondoism). Chondoism, same as Caodaism, evolved out of folk belief in combination with the three teachings. Though being spiritual in the beginning, they both later took elements of Christianity and both became political in the national question. However, Chondoism was rather spread in the peasantry as reply to the suppression from above, while Caodaism rather mingled with the foreign occupation rather with hierarchical society. Sometimes, the seat of Caodaism is compared to the Vatican. It is an enormous temple almost state-like which had own schools and administration in the past. Later on, Caodaism became a strong opponent of the spread of Communism in Vietnam and served as anti-Communist bastion. But as the politics of Vietnam are changing, also Caodaism might be subject to changings, but in which way the religion will develop and whether it will reclaim royalist positions has to be shown by the future.

Literature

[1] Timo Schmitz: Brief overview on Vietnamese folk religion and its influence on other religions in Vietnam (10 September 2016). In: Timo Schmitz: Collected Online Articles in English Language 2013-2016, Berlin: epubli, 2017.

[2] ibid.

[3] Janet Alison Hoskins: The Divine Eye and the Diaspora – Vietnamese Syncretism Becomes Transpacific Caodaism. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2015, pp. 83-85.

[4] Schmitz, 2016/ 2017.

[5] Janet Alison Hoskins: “God’s Chosen People” – Race, Religion and Anti-Colonial Struggle in French Indochina. Singapore: Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore, 2012, p. 3.

 [6] Jérémy Jammes: Divination and Politics in Southern Vietnam: Roots of Caodaism. Social Compass 57(3), 2010, pp. 357–371.

[7] Jammes, 2010: 358.

[8] R.B. Smith: An Introduction to Caodaism, 1. Origins and early history. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 33(2), 1970, pp. 335–349.

[9] Jammes, 2010: 358.

[10] Smith, 1970: 335.

[11] ibid.

[12] cp. Ibid.

[13] Md Shaikh Farid: Caodaism: A Syncretistic Religion of Vietnam. The CDR Journal 1 (1), 2006, pp. 53-57.

[14] Jammes, 2010: 359.

[15] ibid.

[16] Farid, 2006: 54.

[17] Jammes, 2010: 359.

[18] Timo Schmitz: The necessity of Cultural Revolutions (25 December 2014). In: Timo Schmitz: Collected Online Articles in English Language 2013-2016, Berlin: epubli, 2017.

[19] Joy Schaeffer: Religious Resistance: Imperialism of the Cao Dai, 1924-1954. United States Military Academy, no date.

[20] ibid.

[21] ibid.

[22] ibid.

Published on 1 September 2019.

Etseg Din (Ossetian Paganism)

Etseg Din – or in Ossetian Ætsæg Din (ÆцæгДин) – is the native religion of the Ossetians. As a pagan tradition, it has a highly developed theology, but was not canonized as such. 1 Instead, it took its roots from the Nart Saga being common to the whole Caucasus as well as its Iranian roots. The Ossetian word “ætsæg” means “exact” or “right”, the word “din” can either be translated with “faith” or “religion” and is borrowed from Persian which probably took it from Arabic. Alongside with the Tat, Ossetian is one of only a few Iranian peoples in the Caucasian mountains.

Etseg Din is a monotheistic religion, with Xwytsau (Хуыцау) as god and creator. The word also equals the meaning for “heaven” or “sky”. 2 Therefore, God equals the sky. In Digorian, God is called Xutsau (Хуцау). Also note that the term seems to have a similarity with Kurdish “Xua” and “Xuat”, such as in the common sentence “Xuat legal” meaning “May God be with you” in Sorani Kurdish. There are several respectful forms to call God. One is Yštyr Xwytsau (ЫштырХуыцау) which includes the Persian Goddess Ishtar in its name. Common forms of this name are also Æstyrtæ (Æстыртæ) and Æstyr (Æстыр). Such names probably come from a time when the religion was still polytheistic. These polytheistic roots still can be seen as there are several mediums or spirits in Etseg Din that might have been own deities in the past. Also Christian saints were incorporated and given special status, such as Uastyrdži (Уастырджи) who represents Saint George (the patron of Ossetia) and who is also worshipped with altars. Thus, Etseg Din is a reformed version of the old Ossetian paganism and folklore making Xwytsau the God of gods (Duneskænæg, Meskænæg Xwytsau, etc.) 3.

According to Ossetian belief, God can be found in each person and serves as our conscience that prevents bad or unworthy actions as it is guided by God. 4 Despite Iranian roots, Etseg Din shares a lot of commonalities with other Caucasian religions. For instance, beer plays an important role in rituals which can be found in Georgian traditions as well, such as for the Pshavi. 5 This might be no surprise in two ways. At first, Pshavi is very close to South Ossetia and therefore, it is very likely that they all share traditions together. Second, Ossetians and Georgians are of the very few Caucasian peoples that were rather Christianized and only have a very small minority of Muslims. It is not uncommon that pagan rituals survived within Christianity, as can be observed in Europe and the Americas as well, such as Christmas and Easter which are actually pagan festivals. Besides that, Ossetian religion and costumes share communalities with Abkhazian and Circassian ones, such as Chaudhri points out: “While on the chase Ossetic hunters used a secret hunting-language, examples of which can be found in the above hymn to Æfsati. They would refer to their weapons and to the beasts they hoped to shoot by special names, with the aim of deceiving the game and its divine shepherd (Dirr 1915:9–11; 1925:146–7; Kaloev 1971:250). Such names might be descriptive euphemisms, such as the ‘big ones with wornout horns’ (Ossetic: ikhsyd soertoej se’styrtoej), which appears to be a reference to stags or rams with horns damaged from continuous combat with rivals. The ‘four-eyed, the five-legged’ (tsyppoerdzoestyg fondzk’akhygon) appear to be supernatural epithets applied to Æfsati’s animals by the hunters (Salagaeva 1961:II, 655). Such hunting languages are thought to have existed in the past among several other Caucasian peoples, notably the Abkhaz and the Circassians (Dirr 1915:10–11; 1925:146–7; Kaloev 1971:250). The Ossetic hunting-divinity is often portrayed as old, bearded, and blind or one-eyed. […] Æfsati was known to Caucasian peoples other than the Ossetes; in Svanetia he was known as Apsat’, and, among the Balkars and Karachai, as Absaty or Apsaty. Typically close to Æfsati was the Abkhaz divinity of the hunt, Azhweypshaa.” 6 Shnirelman points out that though the 1980s led to a rise of Neo-Paganism, the pagan traditions never really disappeared and “there was no need to invent too much by reference to books, as almost all the resources were intact there” 7. In the same way, there are two ways in which Paganism evolves nowadays. Especially in the countryside, one finds an unbroken tradition of pagan knowledge, while the second source is the intellectualization of Paganism. Knowledge about Paganism is collected and becomes ‘bookish’, thus canonized-like 8, which however is typical of its development stage 9. Therefore, it is no surprise that institutionalization is taking place. In 1993, a Committee for Ossetian religion was set up. 10 In the late 2000s, Etseg Din started to become a formalized church and in 2010, an official website called „Assdin“ went online to represent the church, called Atsætæ (Ацæтæ). Asthewebsitepointsout: “Эта религия проявляется в обычаях, традициях, молитвенных обрядах и устном народном творчестве осетин. Многие осетины, независимо от принятых ими, под влиянием обстоятельств, религиозных ценностей, делают три пирога, ставят на стол мясо жертвенного животного, и поднимают бокал специально приготовленного пива, сопровождая его молитвой, и при этом не осознают, что ее содержание священно, а сама она отличается древностью. Этот молитвенный обряд - наследие религии, естественно вошедшей в сознание каждого осетина настолько, что большинство даже не осознает его как нечто религиозное, как обращение к богу, считая его просто культурной ценностью и даже пустой формальностью. Осетины до сих пор «...держатся религии своих предков, согласно которой верят в Единого Бога, Творца Мира, в существование души и загробного мира, и в мир духов подчиненных Богу. Эта религия не знает ни храмов, ни идолов, ни священнического сословия, ни священных книг. Взамен священных книг она имеет мифологию, полную безыскусственной поэзии, возбуждающей ту святую искру, которая поднимает человека, освещает и греет его душу, заставляет его стремиться к добру и свету, дает ему мужество и силы безбоязненно бороться со злом и пороком, вдохновляет его к самопожертвованию на благо ближних. Взамен искусственного храма ей служит храмом Вселенная, прекрасная и необъятная, призывающая человека ввысь к прекрасному и бесконечному. Вот почему, осетины совершают свои религиозные празднества на лоне природы, на горе или в роще, под открытым небом.” 11 The above mentioned ritual indeed is very prominent in Ossetia and typical of Ossetian tradition. Ossetians put three round cakes with cheese and Ossetian beer which was made after a purity tradition on a table and gather around it to honor Xwytsau. The ceremony is done at special holidays, such as the Day of the Cross (Dzwary Bon) and led by a prayer master (Dzwary læg) who has to meet certain prescriptions. 12 The website Assdin sees a danger in its formalization, as people do the ritual because they are used to conduct it, but they do not understand the backgrounds properly anymore. In the same way, this church tends to be against a canonization (as cited above) and sees the practical tradition given to the next generations according to their community tradition as more important than a standardized theoretical knowledge.

However, as I think, in times of globalization, it is important to save knowledge by writing it down as religion is not seen to be an important matter for many people anymore. Rituals lose their backgrounds and are rather conducted as chances to meet with dear people, family or the community and to have a good time with them. In the same way, the life conditions change a lot and people live in a different way, making several saints less important, which causes the danger that they will be forgotten after some generations. For this reason, written accounts can be a great help in defending the religion in digital global times. Finally, however, it is worth to mention that unlike other pagan religions in the area, Etseg Din is well established with at around 30 percent of North Ossetians being adherents.

Literature

[1] Timo Schmitz: The Different Forms of Religion (2017). In: Timo Schmitz: Selected English Articles, 2014-2017. Berlin: epubli, 2020a.

[2] Timo Schmitz: Etseg Din – Caucasian paganism from Ossetia (2015). In: Timo Schmitz: Timo Schmitz: Selected English Articles, 2014-2017. Berlin: epubli, 2020b.

[3] ibid.

[4] ibid.

[5] Timo Schmitz: Uncovering Georgian mythology in a Caucasian context (2017). In: Timo Schmitz: Collected Online Articles in English Language, 2017-2018. Berlin: epubli, 2019; William Dunbar: Beer and blood sacrifices – Meet the Caucasus pagans who worship ancient deities. The Independent, 14 August 2015. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/beer-and-blood-sacrifices-meet-the-caucasus-pagans-who-worship-ancient-deities-10451756.html (retrieved on 24 June 2017).

[6] Anna Chaudhri: The Caucasian Hunting-divinity, male and female: Tracing of the Hunting Goddess in Ossetic Foklore. In: Billington, Sandra; Green, Miranda (eds.): The Concept of the Goddess. London/ New York: Routledge, 2002, pp. 166-177.

[7] Victor A. Shnirelman: “Christians! Go home”: A Revival of Neo-Paganism between the Baltic Sea and Transcaucasia (An Overview). Journal of Contemporary Religion 17 (2), 2002, pp. 197-211.

[8] Shnirelman, 2002: 207.

[9] Schmitz, 2017/2020.

[10] Shnirelman, 2002: 205.

[11] ___: Иронад?мыуырнындзинад. Ацаты дин. Религия асов.Assdin, 22 March 2010. http://assdin.ru/about/1-iron-admy-uyrnyndzinad.-acaty-din.-religiya-asov..html (retrieved on 4 July 2019).

[12] Schmitz, 2015/ 2020.

Published on 3 September 2019.

Korean Shamanism

Korean Shamanism has a pantheon with a Highest God called Hanŭllim (하늘님). The name comes from the Korean term for ‘one’, so literally it means “the One”, but during history, the term also became the meaning for ‘sky’ or ‘heaven’ and Hanŭllim was set in a Confucian-styled Heavenly Emperor state. He appears as lord of Heaven Hwanin (환인) who had a son Hwanung (환웅) who then brought forth Tangun (단군), being the first ruler of the world according to Korean claims, though there is no such historical evidence. 1 In the same way, it is believed that the Korean people are descendants from Heaven (천손) which led to a cult of superiority among the Korean nation which is kept up until today and is probably one of the sources of racism and xenophobia in both Koreas. Like in many other mythological sources, the Korean worshipped the sun as ultimate source and the light as its manifestation, but additionally, they saw the Korean states to be governed by Heaven as well and as such, the rulers were seen as divine beings. 2 Ri Sang-ŏk (Lee Sang-oak) describes in his book: “Hwanung, the son of Hwanin, the god of heaven, loved the world of men so much that he transcended to Mt. Taebaeksan and there established a sacred city. He brought with him 3,000 retainers, and there he ruled over all the affairs of men. At this time a tiger and a bear came to him and pleaded for him to make them human. Hwanung told them to stay in a cave for 100 days and gave them garlic and mugwort to eat. The tiger could not stand being in the cave and came out, but the bear endured to the end and was transformed into a woman. This bear-woman (ungnyeo) then married Hwanung and gave birth to Dangun, who founded old Joseon”. 3

Though there is a kind of Highest God like “the One” who has monotheist qualities, Korean Shamanism is by far not strictly monotheist and knows a lot of gods and spirits. Therefore, Hanŭllim can be imagined like Zeus for the Greeks and Shangdi for the Chinese. The shaman is the medium between the spirit world and this world. Most shamans are women which are known as mu (무) or mudang (무당). And actually this is the reason why Korean Shamanism is called “Muism” in the West. Their male counterparts are called paksu (박수). Shamans coming into office through nomination are called sessŭmu (세습무), while shamans who are introduced through a ceremony are called kangsinmu (강신무) 4. Some paksu wear female clothes in the beginning of their ritual and only change their clothes later to represent the male god. The great majority of shamans remain women. 5 However, before any woman becomes a shaman, she must be chosen by the spirits. The spirit chooses the person and gets into her causing an obsession. This obsession, which is described as loss of self-control is called Sinbyŏng (신병) and is described as a painful torture. As a result, one has to communicate with the spirit and receive him to get rid of all this pain. 6 The possession is “a very powerful thing to witness: the possessed shaman talks and moves completely differently, she presents completely different personalities — sometimes speaking in regional dialects that the shaman herself does not know how to speak — and assumes a position of authority” 7. This behavior appears because “the spirit[…] ha[s] taken over that person’s mind” 8. And since the spirit is already in the body and the possessed will act through the spirit, there is no necessary formal instruction of the shaman. 9

One of the most important kind of spirits are the kasin (가신), the house spirits. Closely related seem to be the sŏngju (성주) which are translated as a kind of household spirits by Grayson 10 and construction spirits by Lee 11. Despite the importance of rituals for the household spirits, the worship of ancestors plays an important role in Korea. 12 There are two kinds of spirits, the benevolent ones and the bad ones. The latter ones might result of abnormal deaths, such as accidents and suicides. 13 Especially the latter category shall not be underestimated in modern Korea, as South Korea has an extremely high suicide rate, which reflects the societal disharmony in contemporary society. The idea that abrupt deaths cause the birth of evil spirits and haunting souls is very prominent, especially in animist traditions (cp. Laotian and Thai animism) but also appears in Confucianism. Rituals for the spirits are called kut (굿). Every region has its own kinds of rituals and shamans stand in different traditions performing different kuts. It is a very vivid experience. However, offerings do not only appear in rituals in which the shaman is engaged, but there are also rituals done within the family. For instance, every family keeps a pot filled with rice being accompanied by other potteries. 14 Like in most shamanic traditions, water represents purity and burning an unwritten piece of paper in the beginning of the ceremony appears as well (cp. Mongur rituals in Chinese Qinghai).

Though shamanism and its rituals are steadily a growing influence since the early 2000s, Korea’s shamanism had a tough time. In South Korea, the anti-superstition policies from the last military dictatorships fought shamanism, and same did the regime in North Korea. 15 In both Koreas, shamanism is becoming more and more popular now and in the North it is probably the most common religion, especially among commoners and the rather uneducated people. The regime in the North sees a chance in using these widespread beliefs for their own interest. In 1997, the Red Banner movements took traditional shamanism and natural symbols and combined them with the worship of the Kim family who are venerated as heavenly leaders. “Mythical figures, such as the Chollima or Mount Paektu with its Heavenly Lake [as the mirror of heaven] became part of worship as well as Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-suk (Kim Jong-il’s mother) who were venerated and the government could informally claim the heavenly mandate. Although the government of the DPRK saw Korean religious movements and Korean traditions as superstitions, as well as the social hierarchy of Confucianism as outdated, it would take no less than until the 1970s that the DPRK government de facto went back to the old monarchical system and implemented the Kim dynasty. Kim Il-sung even emphasized on the Korean national features and wanted Korea to go its own way – a mixed path of modernity and history. The government even spent money on finding Dangun’s burial site (though some believe it is not really Dangun’s), historical monuments and temples are restored.” 16 The emphasis lies on the importance of the Korean nation, and as such, the traditionally well-established spiritual ideals of Korean society were connected to the national political guideline, even though they were officially illegal and prohibited under the act against superstition. Another advantage of the formalization of state-sponsored DPRK Shamanism seems to be its state integrity. It is easier to control and to keep people on the state line as even high officials seek shamans for consulting. DPRK sources even invented the myth that Kim Jong-il was born on Mount Paektu (and thus came directly from heaven) as this mountain is very holy and was even used by the Chinese Qing-Dynasty to claim their heavenly origin by stating that Manchurians derived from it. “[In DPRK media] A legend was founded that a bright star appeared on the sky on the evening when Kim Jong-il was born, postulating the message that a ruler chosen by God’s grace has come. Before that, Kim Il-sung was called ‘bright star’ as a reference to both, the Communist Red Star, and the mythological meaning. However, it is no coincidence that the legend of Kim Jong-il’s birth shows so many parallels to the birth of Jesus Christ. Though he was not born in the peasant’s barn hay, he was born in a refugee camp for revolutionaries and the star guided the people the way to the new ‘messias’.” 17 Such symbolism was already given in the 1960s concerning Kim Il-sung making the revolutionary case a holy event. “In the 1966 movie ‘Saebyŏl’ (새별) which means ‘Bright Star’, a song with the same name written by Choi Ro-sa (최로사; 1932-2011) and performed by Chŏn Hye-yŏng (전혜영) is played which is of major importance since the song is still often aired on KCTV.” 18 Another example appears in the music video of the song <영원히한길을가리라>, where the snowy mountains known from revolutionary stories are shown, which are holy for believers in shamanism, since souls gather there. At 1’44, a holy site is shown with a description of the ‘dear leader’. On the other hand, “The Red Banner movement as a religious movement is almost unknown to the outside, which is no surprise since it addresses the less and least educated people who have a strong belief in shamanism and Confucian veneration, and therefore the political line is taught as religious doctrine to them to assure their loyalty. Since these people have no access to television or common DPRK media, this movement is never mentioned or openly addressed, since the higher privileged people who have access to television are rather agnostic or atheist.” 19 The nationalisation and revitalisation of pre-revolutionary thought appears in many aspects, including the approach of making old values modern again. As such, Voice of Korea reported about the so-called “Koryo medicine” as national heritage: “Die Koryo-Medizin, die die Koreaner von alters her breit angewandt haben, ist sehr hochwirksam, hat keine Nebenwirkungen und ist für Konstitutionen der Koreaner geeignet. Dank der volksverbundenen Gesundheitspolitik wurden in den letzten Jahren viele Koryo-Medizin-Fabriken in der DVRK rekonstruiert und die heilkräftigen Koryo-Medizinen in grossen Mengen hergestellt, die zur Gesundheitspflege der Bevölkerung aktiv beitragen.” 20 None of the claims can be proved, but the concept seems to be a copy of the idea of Chinese Traditional Medicine, as an alternative medicine for the Korean people. It should also be noted that not everything which is spread in North Korean media is propaganda per se, there are also useful reports which show information about history and traditions.

Nonetheless, while Shamanism is now freely spread in South Korea, it seems that only state-sanctioned Red Banner traditions are encouraged in North Korea, while those who believe in classical shamanism or who do not join state-sponsored shamanism but conduct rituals in secrecy are classified as unreliable citizens. Within the 51 songbuns, shamans appear in category 29 21. But even in South Korea doubts might remain as the social status of shamans is rather low. A Korean shaman reports for instance that her husband divorced her when he saw her riding on a knife while being possessed. 22 The source however is from the 1980s, and thus, too outdated to be called “contemporary”. On the other hand, Yang already reported about three shamans who came originally from Hwanghae Province and went to South Korea during the Korean War who also had students. The report that he gives spans the time from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. “Woo Oekjoo […] was born in 1925 on November 17, according to the lunar calendar, in Ongjin in Hwanghae Province. When she was twenty years old, she had an initiation ritual (naerim kut) which was performed by Kim Keebaek, a male mansin, and Choi Illee. She now lives in Tong Jak Ku, Sangdo Dong, in Seoul and has about fifty students. Her specialty is the Taerak Kut, which is the largest kut in Hwanghae Province.” 23 Actually, fifty students is a large amount as this report comes from a time where Shamanism had an extremely bad reputation and was still fought. The New Community Spirit campaign by dictator Park caused the damage of shrines, holy sites and caused the arrest of shamans. 24 In the same way, Song Soonboek (sic!) who was born in 1905 had initiated fifty to sixty students. 25 However, it is not further explained in which time span this happened and how much students she had once at a time. Yang’s descriptions show that though heavy oppression must be assumed, shamanism never phased away and there are authentic lineages. A shaman either is instructed without special training as the spirit is mature enough, and as the spirit acts through the person, everything appears naturally. On the other hand, there are many accounts of shamans who were taught in their specialty. This appears either through a practicing shaman or through a practicing family. Many authentic rituals come from North Korea where shamanism is very widespread and are imported through the South, either by defectors or pre-War immigrants that went to South Korea. As such, North Korean shamanic rituals can also be found in South Korea.

To put it in a nutshell, Korean shamanism is an authentic form of shamanism which first went through an animist stage and then developed into its shamanic stage, developing a theology through mythology. Although Korean Shamanism was suppressed in the past, it is evolving now and more popular than ever before. It is an important heritage of Korea’s 5,000 year old history.

Literature

[1] Cp. also Park Kwansoo: Religious Culture of Korea in the Early History. Wonkwang University, no date, p . 32 & 37 [http://wocw.wku.ac.kr/files/content/kscosmos/002972/05_01/Editedcw-lect05-Religious%20Culture%20in%20the%20Early%20History%20of%20Korea-short.pdf, retrieved on 9 July 2019].

[2] 단군학회: 한국종교와단군인식. 단군학회,1999년.

[3] Lee Sang-oak: Korean Language and Culture/ 한국어와한국문화. Seoul: Sotong, 2008.

[4] Timo Schmitz: Sketching the basic concept of Korean Shamanism – Theology, Rituals, Societal value. Journal of Ethnophilosophical Questions and Global Ethics, Vol. 1 (1), 2017, pp. 19-21.

[5] Clark W. Sorensen: The Myth of Princess Pari and the Self Image of Korean Women. Anthropos, Vol. 83 (4/6), 1988, pp. 403-419.

[6] Timo Schmitz: The Different Forms of Religion (2017). In: Timo Schmitz: Selected English Articles, 2014-2017. Berlin: epubli, 2020a.

[7] Karen Frances Eng: In 21st-century Korea, shamanism is not only thriving — but evolving. TED Fellows, 1 March 2018. https://fellowsblog.ted.com/in-21st-century-korea-shamanism-is-not-only-thriving-but-evolving-f1a8862a7bc8, retrieved on 9 July 2019.

[8] Yang Jongsung: Korean Shamanism – The Training Process of Charismatic ‘Mudang’. Folklore Forum, Vol. 21 (1), 1988, pp. 20-40.

[9] ibid.

[10] James Huntley Grayson: Korea - A Religious History. New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002, p. 224.

[11] Lee Joung Young: Korean Shamanistic Rituals. The Hague/ Paris/ New York: Mouton, 1981, pp. 99.

[12] Lee Kwang Kyu: The Concept of Ancestors and Ancestor Worship in Korea. Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 43 (2), 1984, pp. 199-214.

[13] Lee, 1984: 199.

[14] see Schmitz, 2017: 20.

[15] ibid.

[16] Timo Schmitz: The Red Banner philosophy as religious legitimation of the DPRK political apparatus in civil life (2017). In: Timo Schmitz: Selected English Articles, 2014-2017. Berlin: epubli, 2020b.

[17] ibid.

[18] Timo Schmitz: The religious symbolism of the Red Banner movements in DPRK media (2017). In: Timo Schmitz: Selected English Articles, 2014-2017. Berlin: epubli, 2020c.

[19] ibid.

[20] Deutsche Redaktion der Stimme Koreas: Mehr Koryo-Medizin für die Bevölkerung. Stimme Koreas, 2012.

[21] Robert Collins: Marked for Life – SONGBUN: North Korea’s Social Classification System. Washington DC: The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, 2012, pp. 79 ff.

[22] Alan Carter Covell: Ecstasy: Shamanism in Korea. Seoul: Hollym, 1983, p. 10.

[23] Yang, 1988: 25.

[24] Laurel Kendall: Shamans, Nostalgias, and the IMF: South Korean Popular Religion in Motion. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2010, p. 10.

[25] Yang, 1988: 26.

Published on 6 September 2019.

Moism (Zhuang Shigongism)

The Zhuang ethnicity is the largest ethnic minority in the People’s Republic of China, including 16 million people. The religion of the Zhuang is known as ‘Zhuang Shigongism’ (壮族师公教, Zhungzu Shigongjiao) or simply ‘Moism’ (摩教, Mojiao). The Zhuang believe that the spirits are everywhere, in living and non-living-beings (such as flowers), in mountains and water – really everywhere. As such, it can be categorised within animism 1. There is a Supreme God (Buluotuo), as well as the ‘Flower Mother’ (who is the wife of the Supreme God and creator of human life). Her name derives from the belief that she has a garden with golden and silver flowers – though it is believed that she herself was born out of a flower. The golden flowers in her garden represent men, the silver flower represent women 2. There are good flowers and bad flowers, and thus people who live according to the rules receive good flowers, while the others receive bad flowers. This means that parents who behaved well receive good children, while those who were immoral receive bad children. In the same way, boys are seen as a higher fate than girls which is represented through the idea that boys derive from the golden flowers while girls only derive from the silver flowers. 3 Furthermore, the Zhuang “believe that the universe is tripartite, with all things being composed of three elements; heaven, earth, and water. People are believed to have three souls after they have died; one that goes to Heaven, one that goes to the cemetery, and one that comes back to protect the deceased’s family. A complete family is seen to have three parts: the descendants, the clan graveyard, and the spirits of the ancestors. With all these ancestral spirits flying around, three is never a crowd for the Zhuang! […] [T]his means that the souls of the dead can enter the netherworld but can continue to assist the living. The ancestral spirits are believed to protect the family but also have the capacity to punish them, so most Zhuang families will have an ancestral shrine at the centre of their home where they can worship their ancestors as well as other deities.” 4

The special thing in Zhuang religion is that despite being mainly on an animistic stage in belief, it already developed shamanic elements. Li argues that the Zhuang took their shamanic elements from Yue-Shamanism and also incorporated strong features from Daoism and Buddhism.5 Cave paintings reveal that the shamans originally had a high rank in society, however later on, they lost their strong social status. 6 The animist structures of Zhuang religion are worth to mention, because such a faith is typical of Tai peoples, as it can also be observed in Laos and Thailand (Satsana Phi). As Li points out concerning the Zhuang: “Alle religiösen Bräuche gehen in Kontakt mit den seelischen Kräften einher. Es basiert auf drei grundlegenden Vorstellungen: Erstens bestehen die Seelen oder die Geister überall und repräsentieren sich in jeder Sache. Als ‚Samen‘ ist der Geist die Voraussetzung für die Existenz aller Welt inklusive der Menschen, der Pflanzen und der Tiere. Zweitens geniest der Geist die Unvergänglichkeit. Er hat ein unabhängiges Dasein und auch wenn die Lebewesen gestorben oder die Sachen verschwunden sind, stirb [sic!] ihr Geist nicht mit, sondern er zieht weg, von einer Person zu der anderen oder von dem Gestorbenen zu dem Lebenden. Drittens haben die Geister auch alle Gemütsempfindungen der Menschen und bringen je nach ihrer Laune entweder Glück oder Unglück. Umgekehrt kann man die Geister auch durch manche Art und Weise, wie Gebet oder Drohung, entzücken und beherrschen.”7 The emphasis that really everything is souled can be found in Laotian Animism as well and inherits a strong diversity in divination. The shamanic component was added quite early as well and was originally introduced solely through women. “Die alten Yue schenkten dem Schamanismus große Verehrung, was schon in der Han-Dynastie bekannt war. Aber laut der archäologischen Forschung stammt der Schamanismus der Yue aus noch viel früherer Zeit und am Anfang haben nur Frauen daran teilgenommen. Die heutigen Zhuang haben die Tradition des Schamanismus bewahrt und die meisten Beteiligten sind auch Frauen. Sie werden Bergfrauen (Shanpo 山婆) genannt. Die meisten Schamaninnen behaupten, dass sie von Gott erwählt werden und sie diese Tätigkeit aufnehmen müssen, auch wenn sie das nicht gerne wollen. […] Allgemein gesprochen führt die Schamanin ihre Tätigkeit allein aus. Die meisten Besucher sind auch Frauen, bei denen zu Hause etwas ‚Unnatürliches‘ passiert ist, z. B. ist ein Familienmitglied erkrankt oder ein Vieh ist verloren gegangen. Sie sind gekommen, um Hilfe zu bekommen.” 8 As such, the shaman has the function as a healer as she is the medium between the worlds. It is not unlikely that animism and shamanism existed for themselves in the earliest times and later on developed in a common folk religion, which is spelled “moz” in nowadays Standard Zhuang. Note that the letter ‘z’ only indicates the tone and the word is pronounced as ‘mo’. Engaging in a traditional ritual is regarded to be supersitition by the Zhuang, however, the word has no negative connotation for them, unlike the Han-Chinese. As Kao emphasizes: “The first time I went to China (in the winter of 1998) and observed rituals carried out among the Zhuang people in Jingxi, Guangxi, I was told, ‘We are doing superstition.’ I soon discovered – through conversations in Mandarin with Zhuang people – that in China carrying out rituals is generally translated as ‘performing’ or ‘conducting superstition’ (搞迷信, gao mixin). A few years later, I asked a Zhuang female ritual practitioner, ‘What is superstition?’ She replied, ‘Any activities that involve burning incense are superstition.’ This term has a negative connotation in China, where those associated with it are considered ‘backwards’ or ‘uneducated’. I was therefore puzzled by the open (although perhaps ironic) and unembarrassed use of the term to describe practices now openly performed in Jingxi”. 9

Interestingly, the religion of the Zhuang developed ritual books, which is quite uncommon for animist and shamanic traditions. Animist religions often have a folklore which was orally told (and probably later written down) and shamans often taught the theology from master-student relationship among the shamans and through revelations of the shaman to the population. Despite animist worship and shamans, the Mo religion already developed several pagan features, such as the establishment of a priest, who has a three year training and has to memorize all the ritual books. 10 This gives Mo religion a wide range. On the one hand, it has clear traces of animist origins in its theology, such as the conception that everything consists of souls and souls are in everything, thus everything might be object of divination. It contains ancestor worship as an animist-shamanic transformation, in which the family spirits might be guides and come back to help, but also might be evil or bothersome if not treated well. Women brought in the shamanism and it remained a mainly all-female matter. The shaman in Zhuang religion now has a healer function. Note, healer does not necessarily refer to sickness, but means ‘restoring harmony’ in Shamanic religions. Something happened and causes disharmony and the Shaman tries to repair it. She also has a consulting function. Furthermore, Mo religion already consists of the paganic notion that it has ritual priests who are well trained in rituals and theology and have a full overview of ceremonies and religious life, such as prayers, festivals, etc. And even a book religion element appears which is the local canonization. As such, the religion of the Zhuang inherits all stages of religious development, but none of them is fully established. The animist elements are rather traces left in the religion and the book religion element is not fully established as it only consists of local canons. Though one can argue whether it is really necessary that a standard canon exists, as Daoism developed into a book religion, but the Dao Canon is not standardized at all and very affluent according to its time. The shamanic element however does not include the whole society, but mainly addresses women and female gatherings. The priests have a hierarchical order based on experience. They have to do their service free of charge and are not allowed to deny their service to anyone 11. Finally, the Zhuang also incorporated elements from the Daoism of the Han-Chinese, which spread among the Zhuang during Song Dynasty and left its traces. 12 This caused that the Zhuang religion was mistakenly regarded to be a localized folk Daoism for most of its history. However, since the 1970s, the Zhuang religion is recognized as such and also becomes subject of research. The Zhuang religion is well preserved and most Zhuang are adherents until today. In addition, the religion is protected by the government and local festivals are encouraged.

Literature

[1] For the six categories of religion, see Timo Schmitz: The Different Forms of Religion (2017). In: Timo Schmitz: Selected English Articles, 2014-2017. Berlin: epubli, 2020.

[2] Li Jingfeng: Das Epos der Zhuang-Nationalität in China – Genese, Überlieferung und Religion. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Bonn, 2012 (Download:http://hss.ulb.uni-bonn.de/2012/2832/2832.pdf).

[3] Timo Schmitz: Brief overview on Vietnamese folk religion and its influence on other religions in Vietnam (2016). In: Timo Schmitz: Collected Online Articles in English Language 2013-2016. Berlin: epubli, 2017.

[4] ____: The Spirituality of Zhuang Ethnic Minority. China & Asia Cultural Travel, no date. https://www.asiaculturaltravel.co.uk/the-spirituality-of-zhuang-ethnic-minority/, retrieved on 27 July 2019.

[5] Li, 2012: 7.

[6] Li, 2012: 27.

[7] Li, 2012: 64.

[8] Li, 2012: 68.

[9] Kao, Ya-ning: Religious Revival among the Zhuang People in China: Practising “Superstition” and Standardizing a Zhuang Religion. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, Vol. 43 (2), pp. 107-144.

[10] cp. Li, 2012: 70.

[11] on the duties of a priest, cp. ibid.

[12] cp. Li, 2012: 71.

Published on 7 September 2019.

Crow belief

Native Americans have a strong believe in nature and its interaction. 1 As they believe that there are souls within everything, including animals, plants, rivers, rocks, stones, etc. their religion can be placed in the animistic spectrum though many developed further into a shamanism, and thus he umbrella term “Native American Shamanism” is often used to refer to the many different religions of the peoples. [*]

From time to time, the religion of the Crow turned into a monotheist religion with one God (Akbotetdie). 2 Also the Crow belief developed further from an animistic stage into a shamanic tradition, even with pagan elements (the highest stage before a canonized book religion in religious evolution). However, it is noteworthy to mention that all monotheist religions evolved out of polytheistic traditions. 3 The Crow creation myth reports that God originally was an Old-Man-Coyote equalling the sun. However, nowadays, it is disputed whether both are really the same or whether the sun exists as something distinct. 4Though He created everything, the universe consists of three worlds: the physical world, the spirit world, and the world where God resides. The spirits are empowered by God, as they have a divine power that God gave them. As such, they work as intermediates as the spirit world is in between both worlds. 5 Furthermore, it seems that spirits might dwell in places or the object belongs to the spirits, but the objects are not sacred themselves, so to say, the object does not equal the spirit, and therefore, their religion does not seem to contain totemisms. 6 All unexplainable, mysterious things are called maxpé in the Crow language, meaning ‘medicine’. 7 Hook & Pegler define it as a “manifestation of spiritual power“ being equivalent to the Sioux ‘wakan’ 8. So maxpé can be seen as a power transcending the ordinary and thus a supernatural attribute. 9 Such a maxpé might appear itself, or might be demanded in a vision quest, where the seeker asks for receiving a vision in form of a maxpé.

Furthermore, humans have a strong connection to buffaloes, as they are regarded to be powerful mediums giving a sacred power. As such, a sacred relationship between humans and buffaloes are a form of maxpé and the buffalo is a powerful medicine father (ilapshe/ iilápxe). 10 The healer (akbaalia) has a shaman-like quality and might be enforced by an iilápxe who resides within him. 11 As such, the akbaalia can use a xapáaliia meaning ‘medicine’ (cp. Hidatsa ‘xupari’) which is derived from the word for ‘holy’ (baaxpáa) and also has a similar meaning in Pre-Mandan. 12 It is the physical manifestation of a maxpé and the akbaalia never uses it to injure anyone, which is part of his code of honor as a trusted person. 13 He might interprete dreams and visions, which means that the vision is already given and he is the interpreter and medium of the transcendent. 14

Finally, it is important to note that the practitioner must have a real attitude towards his faith. Practising the religion must come from the heart and not from societal following. As such, the believer will only have any benefits from performing a ritual if he does it with rightful belief.

Literature

[1] Timo Schmitz: The liveliness of the universe from a philosophical perspective (2017). In: Timo Schmitz: Selected English Articles, 2014-2017. Berlin: epubli, 2020a.

[2] Robert H. Lowie: The Religion of the Crow Indians. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of National History Vol. XXV Part II. New York: The American Museum of National History, 1922, p. 319.

[3] Timo Schmitz: Ist der Monotheismus wirklich aus dem Polytheismus entstanden? – Eine Nachzeichnung Humes an biblischen Stellen (2019). In: Timo Schmitz: Ausgewählte Artikel in deutscher Sprache, 2019-2020. Berlin: epubli, 2021.

[4] Lowie, 1922: 318 f.

[5] Timo Schmitz: The Different Forms of Religion (2017). In: Timo Schmitz: Selected English Articles, 2014-2017. Berlin: epubli, 2020b.

[6] A totemic religion is a stage, where the spirit is not in an object, so to say the object is possessed by the spirit, but the object itself equals the spirit, see Schmitz 2017/ 2020b. For the claim that the spirits dwell within the objects, see Lowie, 1922: 316.

[7] Lowie, 1922: 316 f.

[8] Jason Hook & Martin Pegler: To Live and Die in the West: The American Indian Wars, 1860-90. London/ Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001, p. 99.

[9] Lowie, 1922: 317.

[10] John A. Grim: Indigenous Embodied Knowing: A Study in Crow/ Apsalookee – Space, Nature and the Sacred. In: S. Bergmann, P.M. Scott, M. Jansdotter Samuelsson, H. Bedford-Strohm: Nature, Space and the Sacred: Transdisciplinary Perspectives. New York/ London: Routledge, 2016, p. 210.

[11] Rodney Frey: The World of the Crow Indians: As Driftwood Lodges. Norman/ London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993, p. 133.

[12] Robert L. Rankin et al. (eds): Comparative Siouan Dictionary. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 2015, p. 78.

[13] Frey, 1993: 133.

[14] ibid.

[*] Shamanism is one of the six types of religion. These six types are: book religion, paganism, shamanism, animism, totemism, and magic. See Schmitz, 2017/2020b

Published on 9 September 2019.

Nung beliefs