The Religions Book

18

O

ur early hunter-gatherer
ancestors considered the
natural world to have a
supernatural quality. For some,
this was expressed in a belief
that animals, plants, objects, and
forces of nature possess a spirit,
in the same way that people do.
In this animistic view of the world,
humans are seen as a part of
nature, not separate from it, and
to live in harmony with it, must
show respect to the spirits.
Many early peoples sought to
explain the world in terms of deities
associated with particular natural

phenomena. The rising of the

sun each day, for example, might be

seen as a release from the darkness

of the night, controlled by a sun

god; similarly, natural cycles such

as the phases of the moon and the

seasons—vital to these people’s

way of life—were assigned their

own deities. As well as creating

a cosmology to account for the

workings of the universe, most

cultures also incorporated some

form of creation story into their

belief system. Often this was in

the form of an analogy with human

reproduction, in which a mother

goddess gave birth to the world,

which was in some cases fathered

by another god. Sometimes these

parental deities were personified as

animals, or natural feature, such

as rivers or the sea, or in the form

of mother earth and father sky.

Rites and rituals

The belief systems of most primal

religions incorporated some form

of afterlife, one that was typically

related to the existence of a realm

separate from the physical world

—a place of gods and mythical

creatures—to which the spirits

INTRODUCTION

For the Dogon

people, every thing

contains the universe

in microcosm.

The Aztecs and

Mayans offered

human sacrifices to

satisfy their gods’

desire for blood.

Rituals to renew life

and sustain the world

were a central part

of the religion of

the Hupa.

By building miniature

versions of the cosmos,

the Pawnee created

sacred places.

Through their

bond with the gods,

the Warao believe

that everything

is connected.

The Quechua and

Aymara believed the

spirits of their dead

ancestors lived on

to guide them.

Primal religions—so-called because
they came first—were practiced by people
throughout the world and are key to the
development of all modern religions.
Some are still active today.