The Religions Book

19

of the dead would travel. In some
religions, it was thought possible to
communicate with this other realm
and contact the ancestral spirits for
guidance. A particular class of holy
person—the shaman or medicine
man—was able to journey there
and derive mystical healing powers
from contact with, and sometimes
possession by, the spirits.
Early peoples also marked life’s
rites of passage; these, along with
the changing of the seasons,
developed into rituals associated
with the spirits and the deities.
The idea of pleasing the gods to

ensure good fortune in hunting or

farming inspired rituals of worship,

and, in some cultures, sacrifices

to offer life to the gods in return for

the life they had given to humans.

Symbolism also played a key

role in the religious practices of

early cultures. Masks, charms,

idols, and amulets were used

in ceremonies, and spirits were

believed to occupy them. Certain

areas were thought to have

religious significance, and some

communities set aside holy places

and sacred burial grounds, while

others made buildings or villages

in the image of the cosmos. A few

of these primal religions survive to

the present day among dwindling

numbers of tribespeople around

the world untouched by Western

civilization. Some attempts have

been made to revive them by

indigenous peoples who are

trying to reestablish lost cultures.

Although their belief systems

may seem at first glance to be

primitive to modern eyes, traces

of them can still be seen in the

major religions that have evolved

in the modern world, or in the

New Age search for spirituality. ■

PRIMAL BELIEFS

The natural and

supernatural worlds are

intertwined in the religion

of the San bushmen.

In the Dreaming,

Aboriginal Australians

see the creation as

ever-present.

In the ritual

Work of the Gods,

the Tikopians fulfilled

their obligation to

serve the gods.

The Chewong believe

that our purpose is to

lead good lives and

live in harmony.

The Maori and

Polynesian people

explain the origin

of death.

The Sami people

believed their shamans

had the power to visit

other worlds.

According to the Baiga,

the gods created us to

act as guardians of

the earth.

For the Ainu,

everything, even a rock,

has a spirit.