American Indian

Despite the intrinsically problematic nature of making generalizations about such

a broad variety of different peoples, we can, nevertheless, discuss afterlife beliefs
that are found in many - not necessarily all - American Indian cultures. We can,
for example, assert with confidence that most traditional Native Americans
believed in some sort of survival after death. In all areas of traditional North
America except the Southwest, we can also assert that there were beliefs about
the human being having more than one "soul" - a "free" soul that can detach itself
from the physical body, still maintain its individuality, and survive death; and a
vital soul, often identified with the breath, that animates the body and does not
survive death.

Locations of the abode of the deceased vary widely, from quite nearby to great
distances. The realm of the dead is also characterized quite differently among
Native American societies. In many cultures, the otherworld is a lively copy of the
present world. Giving rise to the Anglo stereotype of the American Indian afterlife
as a "happy hunting ground," many traditional Plains Indian societies imagined
the deceased as "existing on a rolling prairie, successfully hunting buffalo, living
in tipis, feasting and dancing". In other Native American societies, the afterlife is
a pale, gloomy realm, not unlike Hades or She'ol (the Hebrew abode of the
dead). Yet other traditional North American cultures, such as the Eskimo, accept
the notion of reincarnation as their primary concept of what occurs after death.

The aboriginal peoples of the Americas were influenced by the complex of ideas
and practices known as shamanism, a fairly specific set of ideas and practices
that revolve around religious figures known as shamans. Characteristically,
shamans are healers, psychopomps (someone who guides the souls of the dead
to their home in the afterlife), and, more generally, mediators between their
community and the world of spirits - who are most often animal spirits and the
spirits of the forces of nature, but are sometimes also the spirits of the dead.
Shamans also have different helping spirits, which may take different forms, from
animals to personified forces of nature to the spirits of the dead. The religious
specialists of traditional American Indian societies that people sometimes refer to
as medicine men are examples of shamans.

As a system, shamanism frequently emphasizes contact and communication with

spirits in the otherworld, healing practices in which the shamans search for lost
souls of the living, and rituals in which shamans guide the spirits of the deceased
to the realm of the dead. As a consequence, certain afterlife beliefs of American
Indian societies naturally reflect shamanistic themes. For example, the notion
that after death the departed must undertake a more or less arduous journey to
the land of the dead is widespread in both North and South America, and reflects
the shamanic practice of undertaking special rituals to guide souls to the
otherworld.

The deceased require assistance when either they cannot find their way to the
realm of the dead or they want to remain around the family for some reason, and
as a consequence do not even begin the journey. When a lingering spirit begins
to bother the living, the shaman is called in. Entering a trance state, the shaman
convinces the deceased to leave the living alone, and then conducts the spirit to
the city of the dead. Often the Milky Way is viewed as the path souls take during
this journey.

The motif of a human being descending while yet alive to the underworld is
widespread in world culture. In certain kinds of shamanic healing, the sick person
is diagnosed as having lost his or her soul. The attending shaman then performs
a ritual in which he or she enters a trance state in order to seek out the lost soul,
which has often wandered off to the realm of the dead (often an underworld). If
the rite is successful, the wandering spirit is persuaded to return and the ill
person recovers.

Shamanic healing, as well as the shaman's role as psychopomp, appears to

provide the backdrop of ideas for what Ake Hultkrantz has referred to as the
North American Orpheus tale, a mythological motif that derives its name from
ancient Greek myths associated with Orpheus. Orpheus was the legendary
musician who journeyed to the underworld in a vain attempt to bring his
deceased wife, Eurydice, back to the land of the living. He was allowed to lead
Eurydice out of the underworld on the condition that he not look back at her until
after they had emerged entirely from the realm of death. As they approached the
entranceway, however, Orpheus could no longer restrain himself, and he glanced
back at his wife. She immediately disappeared back to Hades, and Orpheus
found the back back to the underworld blocked.

Similarly, in story after story found among traditional Native Americans, a living
person seeks out a departed relative. Successful completion of the quest often
entails Orphic-like prohibitions, such as neither touching nor looking at the
deceased. When there conditions are violated - as they always are - the quest
has permanently failed, in the sense that, as for Orpheus, there are no second
chances. Such stories thus carry the message that death is inevitable.

The Pawnee story of the man who originated the whistle dance is a good
example of an American Indian Orpheus tale. In the Pawnee tale, a man whose
young wife has passed away encounters an elderly woman living in a tipi covered
with fox skins, eagle feathers, and sage. She provides him with four balls of mud
and tells him that he can use the mud balls to attract his wife's attention in the
realm of the dead. With the help of the wind, he travels to the land of the dead,
successfully attracts his wife's attention, and then returns her to the land of the
living.

On their way back, they encounter the old woman, who provides the man with
various items and teaches him the whistle dance (also called the elk dance) to
help people remain aware that in the future they will eventually reside in the
realm of the dead. With the help of the old woman's magic, the man becomes a
great warrior, and he soon takes a second wife. One day, while visiting his new
wife, he speaks harshly about his old wife. Returning home, the man finds that all
that remains of his first wife are her bones. Despite various efforts to
communicate with her, she does not respond, indicating that she is forever lost to
him.

Aleuts

Religious Beliefs and Practices. Aleuts, with very few

exceptions, are members of the Russian Orthodox church.
Services are conducted in Aleut, Chukchee, Slavonic, and
English. The resident clergy are, for the most part, Aleut. In
communities where there is no resident priest, services are
conducted by lay readers, all Aleut. The greatest church
festival is Easter, closely followed by Christmas (celebrated
according to the Orthodox calendar on 7 January) and
Orthodox New Year. At Christmas, young men representing
their families bring Christmas stars into the church to be
blessed before the families visit individual houses with their
stars. "Starring," also called in
Alaska slavig or selavig, adopted from the Russians, is a
widespread custom, transcending the social and religious
boundaries. Between the Orthodox Christmas and New Year,
masking takes place. Masking, sometimes associated with a
dance or a ball, is usually followed by ritual cleansing in a
steam bath before going to church and communion. As of
old, commencement of any new enterprise (such as the
building of a modern harbor on the island of St. George, to
cite but one example) requires formal blessing by the bishop.
New houses are blessed either by the priest or by the church
reader.

The use of the Aleut language today is largely confined to

church services, except in more remote or larger
communities, such as St. Paul and St. George villages in the
Pribylovs, where the language is still maintained by a
segment of the population in everyday life.

Arts. Aleut men traditionally excelled in ivory-, bone-, and

wood-carving arts, whereas the women worked in basketry
and created exquisite garments of fur and bird skin adorned
with gut-on-gut appliqué work and hair embroidery. Of these
crafts, only the basketry, justly world-famous, survives. Aleut
interest in the traditional arts persists, and several young
artists are engaging in carving in various media. Their efforts
are supported by the Aleut Corporation: the offices display
their work as well as examples of traditional Aleut arts,
which the corporation acquires. An Aleut Foundation has
been established which, in the words of its president and
chairman of the board of the corporation, Alice Petrivelli,
"will continue to grow and become a significant part of the
effort to teach and inform our young people, and instill pride
in our Aleut heritage."

Eskimo-Aleut beliefs reflect the hunting culture upon which Eskimo-Aleut survival
depends. All animals are believed to possess a soul, which meant that the Eskimo-Aleut
sought to treat all animals with respect. When an animal had been hunted and killed a
ritual would sometimes be performed to enable the animal to return to the place from
which it had come. Certain taboos governed hunting practices. Land and sea animals
were kept separate from one another. Women, who were ritually impure through birth or
menstruation, were not allowed access to game.
The life cycle was governed by a number of rites of passage. At birth a child would often
be given the name of a person who had recently died in the belief that the deceased
person would live on in the child. When a boy killed his first seal would be celebrated by
a ritual distribution of the seal's meat. At death the soul would go to live in a land in the
sky or in the sea.
In some Eskimo-Aleut traditions the shaman was of great importance. Shamans would go
into a trance and receive messages from spirits or deities or control them in order to
ensure successful hunting. Shamans were also healers and could identify sorcerers who
used their powers for evil ends.
Among the more prominent deities were Sea Woman (also called Sedna), who controlled
the sea animals; Aningaaq, the sun; and Sila, the air. Sedna is the subject of a number of
origin myths. In one she is presented as a girl who was thrown off a boat and, while
trying to cling on, had her fingers cut off. Her fingers became the sea animals and she
became Sea Woman with the power to withold sea animals if certain taboos were broken.
History According to archaeological studies the ancestors of the Eskimo-
Aleut crossed the Bering Straits between 8-10,000 years ago. As they spread across the
north as far east the Eskimo-Aleut evolved into distinct language groups.
The life of the Eskimo-Aleut of Alaska was transformed in 1741 with the arrival of
Russian explorers and the subsequent establishment of trading stations. The Eskimo-
Aleut were exploited by the Russian traders for the otter-hunting skills. So badly were the
Eskimo-Aleut treated that they rebelled in the 1760s only to be crushed by the fire power
of the Russians. Oppression and the introduction of new diseases depleted the Eskimo-
Aleut population to the extent that by 1799 Eskimo-Aleut numbers were reduced to one
eighth of their pre-contact size. Those who survived effectively became vassals to the
russian American Company which had monopoly trading rights in the area.
A further consequence of the presence of Europeans in the area was the process of
converting the indigenous peoples to Christianity. Over time many Eskimo-Aleut
abandoned their traditional beliefs as they came to accept Russian Orthodox Christianity.
In 1867 Alaska was sold to the United States for $7,200,000. With the Americans came
renewed impact of European culture on the native peoples of the region. The opening of
the first canning factory in 1883 provided seasonal work to native Alaskans that removed
the need for a traditional lifestyle. The presence of Moravian Brethren missionaries
brought more into the Christian fold. In the 1930s the last masked dances were
performed. However, attempts are being made to revive traditional religion.
Symbols Amulets often made of bones would be used to enhance the
possibility of a successful hunt. Masks were often used in religious rituals, particularly
during the 19th century. These masks represent the spiritis of animals, deities or natural
phenomena. The eskimos also had a distinctive form of engraving style. A number of
relics have been found which contain circle and dot motifs. Later eskimo art is
representational consisting of drawings of beavers or bears.

Religious Beliefs. The traditional religion was animistic.

Everything was believed to be imbued with a spirit. There
was, in addition, an array of spirits that were not associated
with any specific material form. Some of these spirits looked
kindly on humans, but most of them had to be placated in
order for human activities to proceed without difficulty.
Harmony with the spirit world was maintained through the
wearing of amulets, the observance of a vast number of
taboos, and participation in a number of ceremonies relating
primarily to the hunt, food, birth, death, the life cycle, and
the seasonal round. In the 1890s a few natives from
Southwest Alaska who had been converted by Swedish
missionaries began evangelical work in the Kotzebue Sound
area. About the same time, Episcopal and Presbyterian
missionaries from the continental United States began work
in Point Hope and Barrow, followed by members of the
California Annual Meeting of Friends in the Kotzebue Sound
area. After some difficulties, the Friends were successful in
converting a large number of people, and these converts laid
the foundation for widespread conversions to Christianity
throughout North Alaska. Today, practically every Christian
denomination and faith is represented in the region.

Religious Practitioners. In traditional times, shamans

interceded between the human and spirit worlds. They
divined the concerns of the spirits and advised their fellow
humans of the modes of behavior required to placate them.
They also healed the sick, foretold the future results of a
particular course of action, made spirit flights to the sun and
the moon, and attempted to intercede with the spirits when
ordinary means proved ineffective. Around 1900, the
shamans were replaced by American missionaries. Most of
them, in turn, have been replaced by natives ordained as
ministers or priests in the Christian faiths to which they
adhere.

Ceremonies. The traditional ceremonial cycle consisted of

a series of rituals and festivals related primarily to ensuring
success in the hunt. Such events were most numerous and
most elaborate in the societies in which whaling was of major
importance, but they occurred to some degree throughout
the region. Intersocietal trading festivals were also
important. The traditional cycle has been replaced by the
contemporary American sequence of political and Christian
holidays.

Arts. Traditional arts consisted primarily of the following:

(1) making essentially utilitarian objects (such as tools,
weapons, and clothes) in a particularly elegant fashion; (2)
storytelling; and (3) song and dance. Since the advent of
store-bought products and television, all the traditional art
forms have declined considerably.

Medicine. There were two forms of traditional medicine.

One, which involved divination and intercession with the
spirits, was conducted by shamans. The second involved the
massage and/or manipulation of various body parts,
particularly the internal organs. The former has given way to
Western clinical medicine. The latter, after several decades of
being practiced in secret, has recently experienced a
revival. Death and Afterlife. Life and death were believed
to be a perpetual cycle through which a given individual
passed. When a person died, his or her personal possessions
were placed on the grave for use in the afterlife, although it
was understood that, in due course, the soul of everyone who
died would be reanimated in the form of a newborn infant.
The traditional beliefs about death and the afterworld have
been replaced by an array of Christian beliefs. Whereas
funerals were not well defined or important rituals in
traditional times—the observance of special taboos was
much more important—they have in recent decades become
elaborate events in which hundreds of people from several
villages often participate, particularly when the death of an
elder is involved.