Before the entrance of European prospectors into the new world, the Wampanoag people celebrated their religion within the peace and harmony of their tribal lifestyle. Like many other North American peoples, the primary interests of their religion, referred to as “Spiritualism” by the English language, was to praise Mother Earth for giving their people the ability to provide for themselves from the living things available to them in plenty. Within Spiritualism, each Wampanoag tribe has certain head positions to help facilitate the worship of Mother Earth and other Wampanoag Legends as well as provide spiritual healing for the people within their tribe. This position of the Medicine Man is still held in high regard in modern Wampanoag societies to this day in order to continue the knowledge of Spiritualism.
Major Figures in Spiritualism
There are many mythological figures whose stories are told and are actively worshiped within Wampanoag Spiritualism. Some figures tend to mimic Western religions and are carried on to personify Christian mythological figures. The primary being in Spiritualism is known as “Kehtannit” or “Great Spirit” in the Wampanoag language. This being is known to be the creator of all without any human personification. In contrast, “Hobbomock”, or “Spirit of Death” in the Wampanoag language, is the being attributed to the death of all Wampanoag people and is often personified as an evil being. In addition to these two primary characters of the major facets of any religion, life and death, Wampanoag Spiritualism has many additional figures and mythological creatures that help contribute to their tribal society by representing their cultural identity and the mysteries of the far expanses of the Americas.
The Route to Christianity
In the midst of the death and destruction of many native peoples upon the arrival of European settlers and their accumulation of native peoples' lands, many tribes in the Bostonian area as well as others had to make the tough decision to accumulate to some degree into European society. Among assuming patriarchal structure (whereas the Wampanoag peoples were traditionally matriarchal), donning European clothing, and learning how to speak English, European missionaries actively forced Native American peoples such as the Wampanoag to reject their traditional beliefs in order to accept Christianity. Due to the rise of a multitude of issues within their society such as alcoholism and the small pox epidemic, the people of the Wampanoag (especially the women) had no choice but to follow these missionaries' demands and leave Spiritualism behind. Because of this process of conversion, many legends and religious customs remain shrouded in the modern Wampanoag lifestyle.
Eck, Diana. "Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) Center Profile." The Pluralism Project at Harvard University. Harvard College, 1 Jan. 1997. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. .
"Wampanoag Religion." TeacherWeb. TeacherWeb, Inc., 19 May 2009. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. .
Redish, Laura. "Native Languages of the Americas: Massachusett/Wampanoag Indian Legends." Native Languages of the Americas. Native Languages of the Americas, 1 Jan. 1998. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. .
Religion has always been a tough subject to me, but I find that traditionally, the Wampanoag have approached their religious background in a very natural, environmentally-driven way. Much of this is due to the fact that their lifestyle requires them to rely so much on the land and resources around them, but I think that there is another, much greater facet that is the cause of this holistic belief of Spiritualism. It seems that the Wampanoag people valued their quality of life and peaceful nature much more than Westernized civilizations have ever been known to. Much like pagan beliefs, the focus is not as much on a determination between good and bad and what riches one will receive as an individual but is more towards the harmonious cycle that life requires in order to be sustainable and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSure, the Wampanoag did believe is some sort of good and bad, much like Western monotheistic religions, within “Kehtannit” (as the righteous creator) and “Hobbomock” (as the evil spirit of death), but these aspects of their religious were much less emphasized than the celebration of Mother Earth. In fact, one of the other most worshiped figure in Spiritualism is “Moshup” with his wife “Squannit” who are the cultural representatives of the Wampanoag people.
Though I surely won't be swayed towards one or the other, it is a shame that much of the pure naturalistic approach of Spiritualism has been lost to the introduction of Christianity in the Americas. Thankfully, the Gay Head Wampanoags have been gaining momentum in the current state of affairs by becoming federally recognized, recovering tribal lands in the Bostonian area, and centralizing their tribal affairs within the past few decades. This might make for a recovery of many Wampanoag customs and beliefs within the upcoming years.
Insightful comment, and very interesting ethnographic post. It shows you researched this online. A couple of things, which also related to your group members' posts: 1. The Reflexive comment needs to be really reflexive. When you start saying how tough this subject is to you, is exactly where you should start saying why. Who are you in this context of religion, your history, your background, how do you relate to all this, and how biased you can be in your comments; meaning, we have to consider how ethnocentric we might be when we comment about this topic. Our power in being able to write online, and make it public, ethically. All that should be part of your reflexive comment. So you are on the right track, but needs to be reflexive. The references, need to be consistent with the rest of your group members. Grace, Gabbie, and Serena, are kind of getting there. I assume your sources are online sources. You all need to look at the AAA Style Guide, page 14, under the heading INTERNET DOCUMENTS. Just use that formatting for your sources. Like I said, Grace, Gabbie, and Serena, kind of got it, but in different order. When you do not have a year, just write N.d. instead. Thanks for the research and work you put on this Cooper.
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