- Tags:
- Show more
- Pages:
- 1
- Words:
- 275
Native Americans Beliefs and Practices Name Institution Date The historic religious beliefs and practices of the Cherokees The Cherokees believed in the existence of a Great Spirit and a Bad spirit. According to their understanding, the Great Spirit created the black, white, and red people and allocated them specific areas of residence and a particular way of life (Hartz, 2009). The white men (the Great Spirit`s favourite) were to be manufacturers; the Africans were to engage in agriculture, while the red people should be hunters the rest of their lives. Cherokees land was sacred, and they assumed that the Great Spirit would only listen to them if they prayed from their land (Hartz, 2009). The Cherokees worshipped the Great Spirit in small, tightly knit communities (Brown, 2015). They lived in small designated groups. Before killing any animal, they humbly went before the Great Spirit in prayers to ask for His permission. Failing to pray before slaughtering any animal was considered sinful. Individuals who consumed such meat would fall sick (Frazier et al., 2013). From Cherokees` standpoint, the eagle was the spirit messenger of the Great Spirit and special ceremonies such as the eagle dance were part of Cherokees religious life. Cherokees significant historical beliefs and the related social, cultural and theological practices. The Cherokee Indians sternly believed in their unity. As a consequence, they embraced unanimous decision-making as a community in case of a problem (Brown, 2015). Moreover, the people did occupy their ancestral land without dividing it among themselves, they knew every Cherokee had a right to the land. As a way to remain linked to their
Leave feedback