Ghosts, Spirits & the Afterlife in Native American Folklore and Religion

Ghosts, Spirits & the Afterlife in Native American Folklore and Religion PDF

Author: writer Gary R. Varner

Publisher:

Published: 2010-07-02

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780557480104

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Death. We deny it. We fear it. Some of us welcome it. No matter what age we live in we keep the traditional feelings for our departed. We try to ease the soul into the afterworld as best we can. "Celebrations of life" provide a time for friends and loved ones to gather, share food and stories and grieve. Some who pass on are cremated to free the soul. Some are buried believing that the body will not become corrupted but will survive until the final judgment day. "Grave goods" are still commonly buried or are cremated as well with the body. While we believe we are more "advanced" than those who lived before us, we actually do the same things they did to honor and to provide for our deceased loved ones. We are not so very different after all. This book provides a brief survey of how America's first people reacted to death, how they disposed of their dead, their thoughts about the spirit world and the possibilities of being reborn.

Ghosts, Spirits, and the Afterlife in Native American Indian Mythology And Folklore

Ghosts, Spirits, and the Afterlife in Native American Indian Mythology And Folklore PDF

Author: G.W. Mullins

Publisher: Light Of The Moon Publishing

Published: 2018-02-05

Total Pages: 141

ISBN-13:

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Native American history is filled with stories about animals, creation of the Earth and man, life lessons and of course ghosts... Ghosts, spirits, and the “walking dead” were often known to pay visits to their family and those left behind. Many of these stories revolved around lost loves and attempts to reclaim the person taken from them. Other stories spun tales of revenge and payback for those who wronged them. In any case death was looked at as a doorway to the afterlife and not to be feared. In this book, you will be given many opportunities to relive the past cultures of many tribes and their beliefs in ghosts, spirits and the afterlife. You will be presented with stories of individuals who transcended the plane of death to interact with the living and other spirits who have remained earthbound and troubled who have to work through a life lesson to successfully move on. As is traditional, these stories are here for you to share and pass on to the next generation. Included in this collection are the stories: Ghost of the White Deer, The Story of a Poor Man, The Resuscitation of the only Daughter, The Spirit Bride, Heavy Collar and the Ghost Woman, Bluejay finds a Wife, Two Ghostly Lovers, Origin of the Medicine Man, The Medicine Grizzly Bear, A Little Brave and the Medicine Woman, The Man Who Was Afraid of Nothing, The Ghosts' Buffalo, The Land of the Dead, Blue Jay Visits Ghost Town, The Spirit Land, The Skin Shifting Old Woman, and many, more.

Native American Spirit Beings

Native American Spirit Beings PDF

Author: Jeanne Nagle

Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica

Published: 2014-07-15

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 162275400X

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This book discusses Native American spirituality and provides readers with in-depth information about numerous Native American spirit beings. Detailed material on Native American religious traditions, beliefs by culture area, and a complete chapter on nature worship are also included.

Teaching Spirits

Teaching Spirits PDF

Author: Joseph Epes Brown

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-03-12

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 0199890048

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Teaching Spirits offers a thematic approach to Native American religious traditions. Through years of living with and learning about Native traditions across the continent, Joseph Epes Brown learned firsthand of the great diversity of the North American Indian cultures. Yet within this great multiplicity, he also noticed certain common themes that resonate within many Native traditions. These themes include a shared sense of time as cyclical rather than linear, a belief that landscapes are inhabited by spirits, a rich oral tradition, visual arts that emphasize the process of creation, a reciprocal relationship with the natural world, and the rituals that tie these themes together. Brown illustrates each of these themes with in-depth explorations of specific native cultures including Lakota, Navajo, Apache, Koyukon, and Ojibwe. Brown was one of the first scholars to recognize that Native religions-rather than being relics of the past-are vital traditions that tribal members shape and adapt to meet both timeless and contemporary needs. Teaching Spirits reflects this view, using examples from the present as well as the past. For instance, when writing about Plains rituals, he describes not only building an impromptu sweat lodge in a Denver hotel room with Black Elk in the 1940s, but also the struggles of present-day Crow tribal members to balance Sun Dances and vision quests with nine-to-five jobs. In this groundbreaking work, Brown suggests that Native American traditions demonstrate how all components of a culture can be interconnected-how the presence of the sacred can permeate all lifeways to such a degree that what we call religion is integrated into all of life's activities. Throughout the book, Brown draws on his extensive personal experience with Black Elk, who came to symbolize for many the richness of the imperiled native cultures. This volume brings to life the themes that resonate at the heart of Native American religious traditions.

American Indian Myths and Legends

American Indian Myths and Legends PDF

Author: Richard Erdoes

Publisher: Pantheon

Published: 2013-12-04

Total Pages: 546

ISBN-13: 080415175X

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More than 160 tales from eighty tribal groups present a rich and lively panorama of the Native American mythic heritage. From across the continent comes tales of creation and love; heroes and war; animals, tricksters, and the end of the world. “This fine, valuable new gathering of ... tales is truly alive, mysterious, and wonderful—overflowing, that is, with wonder, mystery and life" (National Book Award Winner Peter Matthiessen). In addition to mining the best folkloric sources of the nineteenth century, the editors have also included a broad selection of contemporary Native American voices.

Walking With Spirits Native American Myths, Legends, And Folklore

Walking With Spirits Native American Myths, Legends, And Folklore PDF

Author: G.W. Mullins

Publisher: Light Of The Moon Publishing

Published: 2018-02-06

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13:

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Before the time of books, computers, tablets and recording devices, the history of many cultures was passed down, from person to person, by word of mouth. The rich histories of so many people were told in songs, chants, poems and stories. This was the way of Native American tribes. Each in its own way enriching their stories with their own experiences. By reliving these stories and songs, we have the opportunity to bring life back to the ancient spirits that created them. We have a chance to walk with the spirits of the past.  Being there were so many different tribes with countless beliefs and customs, the only way to understand their ways is through understanding their stories. In this book you will understand the Native American people a little better and see where they have come from and what they can offer the world. By exploring these stories offered you will get a glimpse into an often forgotten past. These stories are given to you, to carry forward for younger generations to explore and learn. Included in Volume One are the stories: Origin of the Pleiades, The Woman Who Fell from the Sky, Grandmother Spider Steals the Fire, White Bead Woman, The Origin of Corn, The Hunter and Selu, Myth of the White Buffalo Woman, The Origin of Eternal Death, How Coyote Stole Fire, The Lame Warrior, The Story of Hungry Wolf, Origin of the Sweat Lodge, The Legend of the Cherokee Rose, Contents of the Medicine Bag, Raven's Medicine, The First Fire, Origin Of Disease And Medicine, The Daughter Of The Sun, The Journey To The Sunrise, Why The Mole Lives Underground, The Terrapin's Escape From The Wolves, Origin Of The Groundhog Dance, The Haunted Whirlpool, The Man In The Stump, The Mother Bear's Song and many, many more. You are invited to go Walking With Spirits.

Walking with Spirits Native American Myths, Legends, and Folklore Second Edition

Walking with Spirits Native American Myths, Legends, and Folklore Second Edition PDF

Author: G. W. Mullins

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2016-11-24

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 9781540627452

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Before the time of books, computers, tablets and recording devices, the history of many cultures was passed down, from person to person, by word of mouth. The rich histories of so many people were told in songs, chants, poems and stories. This was the way of Native American tribes. Each in its own way enriching their stories with their own experiences. By reliving these stories and songs, we have the opportunity to bring life back to the ancient spirits that created them. We have a chance to walk with the spirits of the past. Being there were so many different tribes with countless beliefs and customs, the only way to understand their ways is through understanding their stories. In this book I have endeavored to show a wide landscape of different tribes and hopefully present a true look at their beliefs. With this book you will understand the Native American people a little better and understand where they have come from and what they can offer the world. By exploring these stories offered you will get a glimpse into an often forgotten past. These stories are given to you, to carry forward for younger generations to explore and learn. Included in Volume One are the stories: Origin of the Pleiades, The Woman Who Fell from the Sky, Grandmother Spider Steals the Fire, White Bead Woman, The Origin of Corn, The Hunter and Selu, Myth of the White Buffalo Woman, The Origin of Eternal Death, How Coyote Stole Fire, The Lame Warrior, The Story of Hungry Wolf, Origin of the Sweat Lodge, The Legend of the Cherokee Rose, Contents of the Medicine Bag, Raven's Medicine, The First Fire, Origin Of Disease And Medicine, The Daughter Of The Sun, The Journey To The Sunrise, Why The Mole Lives Underground, The Terrapin's Escape From The Wolves, Origin Of The Groundhog Dance, The Haunted Whirlpool, The Man In The Stump, The Mother Bear's Song and many, many more. You are invited to go Walking With Spirits.

Dancing Ghosts

Dancing Ghosts PDF

Author: Mark Thomas Hoyer

Publisher: Western Literature and Fiction

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

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How did an Illinois Methodist homesteader in the West come to create one of the most significant cosmological syntheses in American literature? In this study, Hoyer draws on his own knowledge of biblical religion and Native American cultures to explore Austin's creation of the "mythology of the American continent" she so valued. Austin lived in and wrote about "the land of little rain," semiarid and arid parts of California and Nevada that were home to the Northern Paiute, Shoshone, Interior Chumash, and Yokut peoples. Hoyer makes new and provocative connections between Austin and spiritual figures like Wovoka, the prophet of the Ghost Dance religion, and writers like Zitkala-sa and Mourning Dove, and he provides a particularly fine reading of Cogowea.

Reincarnation Beliefs of North American Indians

Reincarnation Beliefs of North American Indians PDF

Author: Warren Jefferson

Publisher: Native Voices Books

Published: 2009-03-25

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1570679843

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Here is an in-depth look at spiritual experiences about which very little has been written. Belief in reincarnation exists not only in India but in most small tribal societies throughout the world, including many Indian groups in North America. The reader is offered a rich tapestry of stories from a number of North American tribes about death, dying, and returning to this life. Included are stories from the Inuit of the polar regions; the Northwest Coast people, such as the Kwakiutl, the Gitxsan, the Tlingit, and the Suquamish; the Hopi and the Cochiti of the Southwest; the Winnebago of the Great Lakes region; the Cherokee of the Southeast,; and the Sioux people of the Plains area. Readers will learn about a Winnebago shaman's initiation, the Cherokee's Orpheus myth, the Hopi story of A Journey to the Skeleton House, the Inuit man who lived the lives of all animals, the Ghost Dance, and other extraordinary accounts. The ethnological record indicates reincarnation beliefs are found among the indigenous peoples on all continents of this earth as well as in most of the world's major religions. This book makes a valuable contribution towards having a deeper understanding of North American Indian spiritual beliefs.

Walking With Spirits Volume 4 Native American Myths, Legends, And Folklore

Walking With Spirits Volume 4 Native American Myths, Legends, And Folklore PDF

Author: G. W. Mullins

Publisher: Light of the Moon Publishing

Published: 2019-11-19

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 9781647133108

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Walking With Spirits Volume Four is a huge collection of Native American history. Following on the heels of the highly successful first three volumes, this fourth set offers many more wonderful and entertaining stories. This volume will leave you ready and awaiting the fifth. Through storytelling, the rich history of the Native American tribes is alive and well today. It has been shared and preserved and still pays tribute to fallen heroes of the past. Often, Native Americans have been misrepresented as violent people. It is through the glimpses into the past, and these stories much like the ones that are contained in this book, that you can see what a proud heritage they possess and how in tune with the Earth Native Americans really are. Being there were so many different tribes with countless beliefs and customs, the only way to understand their ways is through understanding their stories. In this book I have endeavored to show a wide landscape of different tribes and hopefully present a true look at their beliefs. With this book I hope you understand the Native American people a little better and understand where they have come from and what they can offer the world. By exploring these stories I hope to offer you a glimpse into an often forgotten past. The past of my people. I was born Cherokee and as a child heard many of these stories. These stories were passed to me in the old traditional way by my grandfather. And now I give these stories to you, to carry forward for younger generations to explore and learn. You are invited again to go Walking With Spirits. Among the stories included in this volume are: The Sun Snarer, Creation of First Man and First Woman, The Fatal Swing, Song of the Ghost Dance, Paiute Medicine Song, Origin of Clear Lake, The Great Fire, The Medicine Grizzly Bear, The Girl Who Was the Ring, How the Rattlesnake Learned to Bite, The White Trail in the Sky, The Cloud People, Crossing the Red Sea, The Eye Juggler, The Rolling Head, The Tower of Babel, The Jealous Father, The False Bride Groom, The Alligator That Stole a Man, and many, many more.