The Importance of Divination in History - Term Paper Example

Hunter-gatherer societies shared several common characteristics. They were typically small and widely dispersed populations and were at least partially nomadic. They were often dependent on migratory species and shared a close relationship with the environment. While they did learn to plant crops in order to obtain higher quantities of food staples, they also learned that the land could not be taken for granted. Their dependence upon it forced them to pay close attention to its behaviors and cycles, knowing when various types of animals would be available for hunting and when to plant various types of food crops. However, they also were forced to realize that the land could not be abused. They realized that overuse of the land one year would result in fewer yields the following year. This suggested to these people supernatural powers, leading to the development of concepts of gods or goddesses, the idea that luck could be obtained by learning how best to appease the deities that ruled over these forces. These ideas are reflected in shamanism as the people found it more advantageous to have an authority on the various ways in which the spirits could be appeased. By appointing a single individual as the spiritual advisor, the other members of the group were free to focus their attention on other important concepts, like how to increase the amount of food available for the group or how to improve hunting techniques or develop more effective weapons. The connection with the land was a deeply personal connection, so spiritual concepts had to be deeply personal and close as well. This connective spirit was not limited to the humans, but extended to the plants and animals as well and even further, into the very rocks of the earth and the breath of the sky. Other aspects of shamanism that are reflected in this early culture are the ideas of rituals and the concept that each individual has some responsibility to communicate on a personal level with the spirit world. Western writers had a very poor understanding of shamanism from their earliest encounters with it. During the medieval period, reports such as the Historia Norwegiae, Eiriks Saga and the writings of Giovanni da Pian del Carpine and Marco Polo depicted the spiritual beliefs of ‘others’ as strangely primitive and relate them to the beliefs of the peasants within more sophisticated societies. Among the practices they find interesting, odd or unusual are the use of singing and dancing as a means of inducing trances or attracting animal spirits and the belief in out-of-body experiences and animal transformations as a means of divination. With the rise of the Christian powers, though, in the 1300s, such practices were viewed as threatening and peasants still practicing ‘savage’ religions were often tortured and killed unless they agreed to convert. Thus, the practices typically associated with shamanism began to be associated with demon worship and evil. Specific cases that make this connection include the trial of Anne Marie de Georgel and the trial of Toffolo the Benandante in Italy. While these were unsuccessful in eradicating such practices altogether among the peasantry, it reveals the approach taken by explorers when they came across ‘primitive’ peoples through the reports of Gabriel Sagard in 1632 or Johan Scheffer in 1673. From diabolical to disdainful to relativistic, the ‘sophisticated’ societies slowly changed their opinions regarding the shamanic traditions. No longer feeling threatened by the terrible ‘redskins’ and other terrifyingly unknown cultures and believing themselves to be far more advanced because of their technologies and perceived wealth, the West took a generally disdainful attitude toward the shamanic traditions, feeling these people simply couldn’t be expected to understand anything more complicated than their simplistic spiritual ideas. With the beginning of the 20th century, though, a new approach was emerging that acknowledged the native peoples might have a valid religious concept, albeit much different from what the West has understood. The basic tenets of the shamanic cosmology include ideas of the soul, mana, luck, word and image magic and initiation. The shamanic tradition held that each individual had a soul and that individuals could be such diverse beings as a human, an animal, a plant, a rock or a mountain or river. The soul was the conscious element of this being and could, through specific practices, be separated from this being for specific periods of time or permanently, as in the case of physical death. Mana is a term generally used to refer to the concept of an energy force that is shared throughout the universe and transferable between various beings. In its spiritual structure, it is closely connected to the concept of the soul and suggests that all things have some sort of inherent power and serves as the common point of connection between all things. Luck, on the other hand, is considered to be the deliberate occurrence of events that are either advantageous or disadvantageous to the individual. Because life depended so completely on whether one is successful in the hunt or not, there is a strong life or death element involved while the concept of mana suggests that luck is a limited entity that must be shared among living creatures. The idea of word or image magic suggests that one can gain control over another being through the use of their name or a symbol, either of which could be used to control the individual’s mana. Finally, there was the concept of a necessary initiation ceremony in which there is a ritual passing from one role into another, as in the passing from childhood to adult responsibilities carried out in numerous cultures throughout the world. In these initiations, everyone has a strong idea of what is expected, who should do what and roles are usually delineated based upon gender and age divisions. In observing these beliefs, the shaman’s role is to help interpret signs and visions, explain the good and the bad occurrences in life, adapt beliefs to changing circumstances and maintain the rituals and practices that brought about the necessary spiritual knowledge for the next generation to preserve their beliefs. There were many ways in which it was believed that shamans received their callings and a variety of ways in which shamans were created. The community could often have a good deal of influence here. For instance, it was often expected that shaman tendencies and abilities would follow along family lines. However, it was considered more important that an individual have a strong sensitivity to the feelings or sounds occurring around them in such a way that they are able to accurately assess what was happening. Children with shamanistic tendencies were often relatively solitary children, prone to thoughtful reflection and with a tendency to be afraid of the dark because they were able to recognize the spirits in the dark. While tendencies were recognized and expected at least once in generation, children were permitted to find their own pathway, only becoming shaman when they found their way to it. The first step in the process to becoming shaman was the spirit quest that occurred at adolescence. Every child underwent this journey in which the goal is for the individual to make contact with the spirit that will guide them through the remainder of their life. This animal spirit was not always revealed through what is found, but instead through changes in behavior as the individual identifies to an increasing degree with the animal. When this experience is coupled with a crisis situation, such as serious illness, intentional mortification or loss of family, the likelihood that the individual will become a shaman increases dramatically. The call to shamanism is then understood to proceed through a process of communication with their spirit guide. They would experience an initial malaise characterized by various physical reactions often diagnosed as depression in the west followed by an awareness of the spirits eventually acknowledging them and opening communication with them. It is at this point that the individual makes the decision whether or not to become a shaman. There are also a number of spirit helpers found in shamanic traditions. Many of these take the form of different animals based primarily upon common characteristics or upon archetypal characters, such as the spirit wife. The roles these spirit helpers play are typically one of two types. Tutelary spirit helpers could be described as a spiritual best friend. They share an affectionate interdependent relationship with the individual and helps to manage relationships built with other spirits. In this sort of relationship, the spirit is interested in the human community for its own purposes that the shaman can be used to help bring about, but it has a greater share of authority and needs to be managed correctly. These types of spirit helpers are typically in the form of humans – women healers, guides or in the form of dead shamans from the society’s past. The other type of spiritual helper is called a familiar. The familiar is easily controlled by the shaman who is able to use it to run errands, find information and carry out specific tasks for the shaman’s own purposes. These types of spirit helpers are usually in animal form and, perhaps because of the type of works they may be asked to perform, are usually in the form of a strong predator – mammals such as tigers, lions, wolves or bears. The key element in the choice of form is that the spirit should be strong and not easily overpowered, not necessarily that it is aggressive or easily vicious. Bears were considered desirable because they were a stronger predator than humans, were more capable of living in the cold and had built-in weapons on their paws. Owls were also considered important, though, associated with the supernatural because of their ability to see in the dark and maintain their effectiveness. However, depending upon the shaman, these animals could be selected for their cleverness, their unique abilities, their power, their productive qualities or even their simple connection to the earth. One of the most significant roles of the shaman is the practice of divination. Intuitive or natural divination refers to divination that is carried out as the individual discovers knowledge through a spiritual experience. Examples of this type of divination include the Navajo hand-trembling ceremony, the Oracle of Delphi and the Cote d’Ivoire or trance ceremony. Another form of divination is the inductive, oionistic or omens form of divination. Practicing this form of divination, the diviner connects several elements of external events such as the number of birds in a flock flying overhead at a pivotal point in time or the appearance of a particular animal, and makes judgments regarding these appearances in relation to societal beliefs regarding what this means for the future. Interpretive divination uses these same sorts of symbols and cultural beliefs, but combines this with intuitive insights brought on by the assistance of mystical devices. These devices have taken a variety of forms as well, such as tarot cards, Roman Haruspex (or the examination of animal entrails), dice-throwing, recitation, drum reading, and rune stones. Divination was a significant tool within the shaman tradition as it provided assistance to the shaman in making important or difficult decisions. By opening up the discussion to the spirit world and providing a common tool of communication in the form of dice or cards or other tools, the shaman was able to gain a higher degree of authority within the tribe which he or she could then use to effect change. Divination was also helpful in finding medicinal cures for disease as the shaman determined whether a particular type of food was necessary or if an animal sacrifice was required to restore balance. The goal of the ritual of divination was to discover and the practice of divination could often provide the shaman with the necessary time to adequately consider the question and discover a plausible answer. Read More