NRMS continued, syncretisms

Ghost Dance

Revitalization: 1. Code Wovoka/Jack Wilson Syncretic religious background – Paiute spiritual practices and Protestant Christianity Vision – “mazeway resynthesis” – Clean and honest life – Dance and prayer – Rebirth and revival

2. Communication Travelers from the Paiute Pilgrims to Wilson ’ s community – Railroads, postal service – Ochre, feather etc. tokens delivered across the West – Visitors to tribes who took up the dance

3. Organization No church Voluntaristic Flexible…

Adaptation Greatest challenge when adopted by Plains Indians, e.g. Sioux Wounded Knee massacre ends it among Plains peoples – But not in other parts of the US

Transformation? Incorporated into religious life of many tribes Native American religion not completely destroyed or lost

New code? Among Plains Indians… Nick Black Elk – Also from a syncretic background – Catholic and Sioux healer/spiritual leader – Wisdom incorporated into a book “ Black Elk Speaks ”

Communication In 1950s and 1960s … Native American culture at low point Inspiration of civil rights – Return to reservation…. Black Elk writings + traditional knowledge of holy men

AIM American Indian Movement – Mixed success as a political movement – Over time, has been seen as revitalizing Native American identity Language revival/autonomy of reservations etc. – Native American culture, while altered, remains distinct

Contact and colonization Colonial encounters – Unequal relations of native people and colonizers – Colonizers endorse competitive, complex religious institutions – New political relationships – New technology

Gods and invaders Seeing white people as deities or spirits Not simple acceptance of “superiority” but attempt to fit newcomers into an existing system of belief and practice – Outcomes may be very different

Myth, belief and contact Cortes and Quetzelcoatl

Capt Cook and Lono

In these cases… Indigenous system is obliterated in Mexico Is Virgin of Guadalupe conceivable as a kind of NRM? In Polynesia – Ideas of rank and power continue Often, new religion is adopted and modified – Syncretisms (like Santeria, Vodou/Voodoo, Rastafari)

Adapting to modernity Old religions face new times

Sharia and the state Islam and its adaptations over time Recent colonial experience – Restriction of Islam to private sphere – Political domination – Discrimination/poverty

Islamic Fundamentalism Modern states in the Middle East – Come into being 1950s/60s – Strive for modernity in education/family life/state and work institutions – Anti-western, anti-colonial – Civil “religion” of secular heroes and places – Militaristic, autocratic

Ideological crisis States do not – Alleviate social inequality, poverty – Offer fairness and expression through political means – Engender trust; corruption is rampant

Meanwhile…. Islam continues as living tradition in private sphere New leaders emerge – Offer welfare services that state does not – Gain positions and power in the judiciary – Resist corruption and graft

Goals? Not so much to turn back the clock (although the “good old days” often used as justification) Instead – To take over state machinery – Forcibly re-Islamicize family life, education, social services, foreign policy – Replace civil codes by Islamic law – Social “engineering”

Not all Islam is the same Different strands emphasize different components – Puritanical versions versus devotional, tolerant ones – Sectarian difference – Shia v. Sunni – Quranic interpretation and jurisprudence is not static