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Native American Religions |
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A long-standing problem with this section (and several others at this site relating to traditional peoples' spiritual beliefs) has been the lack of authoritative information. We are in the process of expanding this section by scanning public domain ethnographic accounts on specific Native American religious and spiritual practices. We are fortunate that there is a wealth of such material available, which makes it so much more puzzling why more of it is not on the Internet yet. The study of Native Americans by anthropologists has had its share of bad science and ethical problems. However, the texts we are in the process of scanning were written by 19th and 20th Century ethnographers who were known for their careful and respectful approach to the people they studied. These were scholars who lived for years with the people they studied, and obtained permission to transcribe their oral sacred literature. In addition, there are several texts in preparation which are based on written documents by native shamans. Hopefully this will balance out some of the other texts which are second or third hand accounts and not as reliable.
This index has several sub-indices:
Aztec Religion
Native Californian Religion
Cherokee Religion
Hopi Religion
Inca Religion
Iroquois Religion
Navajo Religion
Zui Religion Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson [1929]
The classic cross-cultural Native American folklore study.
Walam Olum 44,810 bytes, 165K graphics. excerpt from The Lenp and Their Legends, by Samuel G. Brinton. Brinton's Library of Aboriginal Literature number V. Phildelphia [1885]. This is one of the only indigenous pre-contact written texts available from North America. Long controversial as to its authenticity, but a key document nevertheless. With pictographs, Delaware and English translation. Note: it may take awhile to load this document (several minutes) over a slow connection, because of the number of graphics.
Rig Veda Americanus (Aztec Hymns) by D. Brinton, Brinton's Library of Aboriginal Literature number VIII. Philadelphia, [1890] This relatively short document is one of the few public domain translations of an Aztec religious manuscript.
The Popul Vuh excerpt from The Mythic and Heroic Sagas of the Kichs of Central America, by Lewis Spence; London [1908] 79,023 bytes
The Myths of Mexico and Peru by Lewis Spence [1913]
The Soul of the Indian by Charles Eastman [1911] 100,801 bytes
Indian Why Stories by Frank Linderman [1915] 163,221 bytes
Old Indian Legends by Zitkala-Sa [1901] 105,552 bytes
Many Swans: Sun Myth of the North American Indians by Amy Lowell [1920] 47,377 bytes
Myths and Legends of the Sioux by Marie L. McLaughlin [1916] 241,776 bytes
http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/
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