(Originally written February 27, 2007 in Book 14)
Pocket Guide To World Religions
Win Corduan
Chapter 15 - Traditional and Tribal Religions
Name
Many people around the world follow religious customs that do not have an official name or even an identity.
Tribal religions vary greatly, but embody patterns that are deeply ingrained in the human psyche.
Numbers and Distribution
Estimates say 150 million people practice some traditional religion in a pure form.
This number is rapidly dwindling because of modernization and other religions' missionary efforts.
Symbols
Symbols are crucial in a traditional culture. "Symbols are signs that stand for some deeper reality, but often the symbol itself becomes the reality" (Corduan, 137).
History
There are debates on this because this is the very question of the origin of religion.
Scriptures
Most traditional religions do not have scriptures and most is passed down orally.
Major Beliefs
Most traditional religions worship various spirits.
Most traditional religions practice some type of ancestor veneration.
Spirits are limited beings and need to be offered things to be maintained and happy.
Almost all traditional religions believe in a Creator. The Creator is usually all-powerful and all-knowing. But the Creator is not readily worshipped.
Worship is done in a ritualistic fashion.
Magic is often practiced in traditional religions.
A shaman is someone who is possessed by spirits regularly and speaks the sports' messages to the people.
Negative magic is often referred to as witchcraft.
Some African cultures believe that when people die it is because they have been cursed by a witch.
Fortune telling and divination is important in many traditional religions.
Subgroups
Each tribal religion is locally bound so there are no subgroups.
Some tribes have totems or groups. A man from one totem must marry a woman from another totem to avoid inbreeding.
Worship Practices
Most tribal religions distinguish between worship of the Creator and veneration of spirits.
Religious Buildings
Normally there is a building for religious practices; but, these are not like churches, mosques or temples.
Home Practices
Traditional cultures are not as individualistic as modern cultures. Home practices are more a responsibility to the given culture.
Clothing
Ornamentation can sometimes indicate a person's social standing.
Diet
It varies greatly from culture to culture, but the idea of taboo is prevalent.
Taboo foods cannot be ingested under any circumstances without dire consequences.
Some cultures view food as a fight from the Creator. The Algonquin tribes of North America believed that whenever one kills a living being, even accidentally, one must give thanks to the Creator for it and eat it.
Calendar
There is no beginning or end to time in traditional cultures. There are no truly unique historical events.
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