1) Kung people of the Kalahari, are a very primitive group of nomads that travel in groups throughout the Dobe desert in Southern Africa (Kinsley 1996:39). There are several groups of Kalahari throughout this region, they are hunters and gatherers, which migrate to different watering holes during dry periods. The fact that they live so freely, openly, and untouched by modern society is amazing. Kinsley (1996:39-40) says, regardless of their primitive culture, they are a fairly healthy group of individuals, which work together, sharing what they have with everyone in the group. Kung healers can be anyone within the group that wants to learn or are given healing powers from Gods, ancestors, or severe illnesses they have overcome giving them the …show more content…
During this dance those that have been given the power to heal go into a trance, the healing power inside of them is lite and boils. This fire inside is called num, once this occurs then and only then can the healer enter kia. Kia is an altered state of reality that allows the healer to see illnesses within others and “pull out” what is causing this illness. There are several different types of dances Kung healers can perform. Kinsley (1996:41-42) describes the most popular and extravagant of the Kung dances is the “Giraffe dance”. This is a very elaborate dance that can include many different Kung groups that surround a particular watering hole. Because the majority of Kung healers are male, the females usually sing and clap for the healers to stir-up their num and enter kia, at which time the healing begins. The person may not feel sick or ill but the healer can see the beginning of an illness and prevent it from taking over the person. Kinsley (1996:44), says that the Kung’s illnesses and injuries are usually caused by spirits of their family members and ancestors that want the living to join then in the spirit …show more content…
The healers that dedicate themselves to the practice of fighting spirits and demons are called ojas and shokas. I found this very interesting because when I think of the dead I think about ancestors and spirits that want to help not hurt others. After reading about the beliefs and ritual of the Hindus I understand the spiritual realm a little better. There are both good and bad spirits, I was always taught that good spirits protected you from those that wanted to hurt or cause harm. The Hindu believe that these spirits, ghost, and demons are evil, can cause a woman to be barren, cause severe illnesses in those that have wronged them, or take over their mind and bodies making them do things that they would never even consider doing. These spirits are called prets and bhuts, they are stuck on earth, for some reason these spirits could not or do not want to pass into the spirit realm. Most of the time these spirits are those of a person that died during a tragedy or terrible accident. Kinsley (1996:61) gives an example of a mother who dies during child birth, she may hang around and make her husband’s next wife barren or any woman she finds offensive to
Along with the belief in a Higher Power comes the belief in the continued existence of the soul after physical death. Many Root-Workers start out working with spirits of the dead in the form of the Ancestors, the spirits of the dead connected to them by blood. It is believed that the dead don’t die, but rather ascend to another level of being, from which they can look on and assist us. From this higher level, the Ancestors can guide us in our daily lives, intercede with the Godhead on our behalf and protect us in times of
Marjorie Shostak, an anthropologist who had written this book had studies the !Kung tribe for two years. Shostak had spent the two years interviewing the women in the society. The !Kung tribe resided n the Dobe area of Northwest Botswana, that’s infused with a series of clicks, represented on paper by exclamation points and slashes. Shostak had studied that the people of the tribe relied mostly on nuts of the mongongo, which is from an indigenous tree that’s part of their diet.
Although we have yet to discover complete equality among the sexes in any pre-existing or presently existing society, the !Kung people are among the closest to reach such equality. The !Kung are an egalitarian society, meaning everyone has access to the valued resources. While the amount of access does vary, just the fact that everyone is includedat least on some levelwhen it comes to meeting the essential needs of living is significant.
Of Water and the Spirit is more than simply an account of Malidoma's life and initiation, it is a detailed description of the worldview of a Dagara man, who is forcibly subjected to traditional Western thought for fifteen years and then returns to his home physically, at first, but spiritually only once he goes through initiation, or what the Dagara call the Baar. Malidoma's recount of his story, being very similar to the storytelling of an African Griot, uses amazing imagery that allows the listener to sincerely experience his thoughts and actions and the things he sees, hears, and feels throughout his early life up to now.
Many religions and philosophies attempt to answer the question, what happens after a person dies? Some religions such as Christianity and Islam believe there is an afterlife. They believe that good and moral people enter Heaven or paradise and that bad and immoral people go to Hell. Other religions and cultures believe that death is final, and that nothing happens after a person dies. Buddhism and Hinduism have a different idea about death. Both of these religions originated in India. Buddhists and Hindus believe that death is not final. They believe that a person comes back after he or she dies. This process is known as reincarnation, and it provides opportunities for people to enter the world multiple times in different forms. Buddhists and Hindus want to reenter the world as humans, and they want to improve their status through reincarnation. In ancient India, many members of lower casts wanted to come back as members of higher casts. While this is an important goal of reincarnation, the main goal is to reach either moksha (Hinduism) or nirvana (Buddhism). In other words, the goal is to reach a point of spiritual enlightenment that removes the person from the reincarnation process. Geoff Childs, an anthropologist examines the views of the Buddhist religion by studying the lives of the people in Tibetan villages. He looks at issues that adversely affect these people such as infant mortality. He carefully looks at the lives of people who have been left behind by deceased loved ones, and he pays careful attention to customs and traditions surrounding death. Tibetan Buddhists view death as a means of reaching spiritual perfection, and they seek to reach this level of spiritual perfection through living spiritually meaningful lives....
The roots of the practice of acupuncture can be traced back to about 2000 years in Chinese medicine where it was used as a major traditional healing method (Cherry & Jacob, 2017). It is classified as an alternative medical system that involves the use of imperceptible networks/channels all through the body. Along with acupuncture, other forms of alternative medical systems include Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, and traditional Chinese medicine. These networks are referred to as meridians, by which energy streams through the body (Cherry & Jacob, 2017). The energy is referred to as Qi (pronounced “chee”). It is believed in traditional Chinese culture that Qi holds a dynamic life force, and when there an imbalance of this energy; illness as well as symptoms cultivates.
Ethnographically, people like the !Kung bushmen are very specialized. In actuality, any and all of the remaining societies that have survived outside of mainstream culture must be very specialized. There are few places in the world untouched by civilized man (perhaps none at all), and the only places that have managed to elude him thus far are the regions that are generally unwanted. These places, like the Kalahari, Arctic Circle, and South American Jungle, are the only locations containing native people living in their traditional ways. All of the people living in these places have to live in a very specific way, or they simply cannot survive on what the land gives them. Of, course all of the ethnographic records we have show highly specialized people, we killed all the ones that lived where they could be more generalized and still survive.
Judith Lynne Hanna is a professor at the University of Maryland who focuses on anthropology, sociology and dance. She combines these topics to analyze how dance can help heal a person and help improve health. In a broader context, dance therapy is a recent form of movement that does not require any form of previous dance experience and focuses on “movement behavior as it emerges in the therapeutic relationship.” (ADTA) Judith Hanna focuses in on broader concept of dance therapy by concentrating on expressive behavior that relieves stress, disabling conditions, tension, and chronic fatigue.
“Rituals and Traditions; It Takes a Tribe,” written by David Berreby and “Indians: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History” written by Jane Tompkins, both exemplify a typical controversial topic in the United States of America today. The US prides there self on the basis of freedom, and how Americans are made up of individuals with backgrounds from all around the world. Many consider the US to be a “melting pot”, a society where cultures are just blended together and not recognized fully on their own, where as others consider the US to be a “salad bowl”, where people of international cultures hold fast to their traditions and practices and coexist with the cultures around them. Both authors of the readings propose that generally speaking,
The rituals and traditions of the Indians evince their beliefs in spirits and afterlife. Indians believed that there would be a better life for them after they die, because many of them did not see a way out, but people were still fighting for their lives.
as an illustration of a lifestyle unknown to many people. Over the past few years there has
Although I had always considered medicine a potential career from hearing my mother’s frequent inspirational recounts as a dentist, it was my volunteer work that awakened my sense of responsibility to the world and my desire to help patients heal. As a volunteer at the UCSF Medical Center, I dashed through corridors with a patient rushing to find his wife in the maternity ward, minutes before she delivered. Witnessing the newborn with the family was a heartening experience, and fostering trust with patients at UCSF Medical has enriched my life immeasurably. Such interactions enhanced my ability to build strong interpersonal bonds, and I was awarded the HEARTS Award from UCSF for exemplary patient care. The hospital became my second home and I realized that I might enjoy working in a health care setting.
Native American Ritual Dancing “It has often been said that the North American Indians ‘dance out’ their religions” (Vecsey 51). There were two very important dances for the Sioux tribe, the Sun Dance and the Ghost Dance. Both dances show the nature of Native American spirituality. The Ghost Dance and the Sun Dance were two very different dances, however both promote a sense of community.
With the Bala removed the afflicted can go back to their normal self and continue to play their culturally appropriate role. From an etic perspective, there are several cultural reasons for why demon possession is a rationale for illness in North India. Firstly, there is a general cultural consensus that demon possession truly exists and occurs. This subconscious understanding of illness through a supernatural force, provides several benefits to believer of this system, as well as helps perpetuate this conception of illness as legitimate. First, the belief in demon possession provides a decreased sense of fragility to the body, as well as the psyche. In other words, it is not a malfunction of the physical, but rather an uncontrollable spiritual force that causes illness, and thus the afflicted is always a victim of the Balas. Observers do not hold the afflicted person responsible for their behaviors. Because the person themself in not acting out, but rather the Bala is acting out through them using their body as a vessel. Balas are the manifestation of repressed unconscious desires. Balas act as a protective mechanism for those who suffer from culturally impure thoughts. Those afflicted, can place these unacceptable desires onto the Bala and rationalize that it is not their thoughts and actions, but rather the Balas. This is exemplified by the fact that Balas prefer the
“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” According to Buddha, everyone needs some form of spirituality to define his or her life and existence. Webster Dictionary defines spiritualism as “a system of beliefs or religious practices based on supposed communication with the spirits of the dead, often times through mediums.” Though this is one general definition of spiritualism, this concept is one that does not hold a conclusive meaning. Each and every single person has the ability and right to create and practice their own idea of spiritualism. From ancient times to present day, the term and practice of spirituality has transformed, particularly from region to region. Despite the discrepancies in practices and overall understanding of this idea, spirituality has had an effect and impact upon all of humanity since the creation of time. This religion that is believed to have been established in the early eighteen hundreds, after two little girls claimed to have the ability to talk to spirits, sparked interest in this spiritual movement, allowing it to spread rather rapidly over many geographical locations. Aside from being recognized as a religion, spiritualism is also believed to be a form of philosophy and a science in which spiritualists believe that there is life after death and try to demonstrate this through the ability of attempting to communicate with those that have passed on. Spiritualism was socially different from other religions in existence at the time because it presented followers with a more tolerant belief system that assimilated the principles and facts from a selection the world's religions. Spiritualism also made it acceptable for women to play a disti...