What is animism in history. Primitive religion, animism, magic, totemism, fetishism
What is Animism
Animism - This a concept of belief that assumes that all living things or certain objects have a soul.
The role of Animism in the formation of modern religions.
This concept plays vital role in many "primitive" spiritual practices such as shamanism. It should be understood that animism is the root of most modern religions. Christianity is no exception, since the concept of having immortal soul, which in turn is directed higher power, is central to the very concept of belief.
Most "true" animists assume the presence of a soul in all natural objects. For example, mountains or rivers contain the souls of various deities. These beliefs are reflected in many ancient legends, where various elements or natural phenomena were interpreted as expressions of the will of the gods.
Many animistic beliefs include the idea that the soul is not attached to the body. In accordance with these beliefs, the possibility of transmigration of the soul in one form or another is assumed. Some shamans claim that during rituals their spirit leaves the physical body and travels to other places.
In cultures that practice animism, there are a huge number of holidays and celebrations dedicated to satisfying the will of spirits. The best example is the various pagan holidays of our ancestors.
The history of the development of religion has gone through a long and difficult path. In their primitive consciousness, the most ancient people deified various natural phenomena. This is exactly how the first forms of religious ideas appeared. Let's consider what animism is, what its specifics are and its role in the development of religious ideas.
The Birth of Religion
It will probably never be possible to find out what exactly caused the emergence in the primitive consciousness of the desire to believe in the existence of higher - divine powers. Most likely, faced with powerful forces of nature - thunderstorms, snowfalls, hurricanes, downpours - and being unable to explain their nature, our distant ancestors began to believe that each phenomenon was controlled by its own spirit. So, there is the spirit of the wind, the spirit of the sun, the spirit of the earth and so on. To appease these invisible but omnipotent creatures, people began to perform various rituals and make sacrifices to them. This is how the first religious ideas appeared.
Spirits have not yet had any material embodiment. Later, when a person learns to build cities and engages in agriculture, cattle breeding, and crafts, his dependence on the forces of nature will decrease. Therefore, the gods who replaced the spirits will take on a human form.
So, the first religious beliefs - animism, totemism, fetishism - appeared in the era of the primitive communal system, when people were engaged in hunting and gathering, lived in caves or primitive dugouts, and were already creating primitive weapons and tools for themselves. Most likely, they did not yet know fire at that time.
Types of proto-religions
Religious researchers and historians identify 4 proto-religions:
- Animism.
- Fetishism.
- Totemism.
- Magic.
We are unlikely to ever know which of them appeared earlier; scientists believe that they arose at approximately the same time, while the beliefs of individual ancient tribes intricately intertwined the features of various proto-religions. Let's consider what animism is and how it differs from other forms of ancient religious ideas.
Definition
In scientific literature, the term “animism” is usually understood as the deification of the forces of nature, belief in the soul and immaterial spirits that exists in most ancient beliefs. This proto-religion is very important, since it is within its framework that such a complex idea as belief in an immaterial component, the soul, is formed, and it is on this basis that the doctrine of the immortal soul will later be created.
The term itself was first used by the German explorer Georg Stahl in 1708 and comes from the Latin word anima - soul.
Features of belief
What features were inherent in this ancient belief?
- Belief in spirits of natural phenomena.
- Spirits of ancestors.
- The presence of protective entities.
It was within the framework of animism that the funeral cult appeared. Even in the times of the Cro-Magnons, a tradition arose of burying the dead in the best jewelry, with weapons, and household items. The more noble and respected the deceased was, the more tools and weapons were placed in his grave. It would seem, why do this, it would be much more reasonable to transfer these things to the living, to use them in hunting or in war. But the ancient people already had some idea that after the death of the physical shell, his spirit would continue on its way. And such ritual ceremonies emphasized tribute to the deceased.
Another example is the cult of ancestors. For example, in Western New Guinea, primitive peoples previously had a tradition of keeping a korvar, the skull of an ancestor, in their house, which was in a place of honor. The skull was later replaced with an image of an ancestor. It was believed that it protects the home and brings good luck to members of the clan.
Both cults say that our ancestors believed in afterlife, and their ideas about the world were not limited only to material ones.
Forms
Let us consider the forms of animism, the oldest of which was the belief that behind every natural phenomenon there is its own spirit. Unable to understand the essence of this or that natural disaster, ancient people began to spiritualize the forces of nature, believing that each of them was controlled by a spirit.
Gradually the spirits become intelligent, endowed with an external appearance, characteristic features character, myths and a whole system of mythology appear, within the framework of which man sought to explain the world around him. Animism, gradually developing, turned into polytheism, characteristic Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Slavic countries and many others.
The most important feature of animism is the division of the world into material and spiritual. Therefore, another form of belief is the belief in the existence of some kind of afterlife, where the human soul ends up after the death of the body. It is interesting that similar ideas appear among ancient peoples who were geographically separated from each other.
Totemism
Another proto-religion, the remnants of which can be found today in the peculiarities of the religious beliefs of backward tribes, is totemism. Let's consider the definition, features of this idea and compare totemism and animism. The following distinctive features can be distinguished:
- Ancient people believed that every person (as well as tribe, clan) has a certain ancestor - an animal or plant, which is called a totem.
- Most often, the totem became the representative of the flora or fauna that lived in the territory where the tribe lived.
- There was a mystical connection between the tribe and the totem animal.
- The totem provided protection to its tribe.
- The presence of a system of taboos - prohibitions. Thus, the totem animal could not be killed while hunting or eaten.
The emergence of this proto-religion, as researchers believe, was due to the fact that in the life of ancient people animals and plants were very important, they served as the main source of food, without them the very existence of humanity would have been impossible.
Difference from animism
Speaking about what animism is and how it differs from totemism, it should be noted that in the first case there were many spirits, each of which was responsible for its own natural phenomenon or element. And the properties of a totem were endowed with one specific animal or plant. In some tribes, for example, among the Indians, both beliefs are intertwined: many tribes have their own totems, and they believe in the existence of nature spirits.
In proto-religions, one can also note a commonality - if the religion of animism involved rituals to appease spirits (both natural and ancestors), then totemism implied the appeasement of totemic creatures.
Fetishism
Another proto-religion is fetishism, that is, the belief that an object in the material world acts as a carrier of a higher magical power. Absolutely any object to which the primitive consciousness assigned magical functions could become a fetish. Thus, a boulder stone that somehow attracted ancient man could become an object of worship.
Most often this belief is pure form can be found among African tribes who worship figurines of gods, bones, and plants.
What are the differences between fetishism and animism? These forms of belief rather complement each other. Thus, a fetish could become the material embodiment of a certain spirit; by worshiping it, primitive man hoped to appease the spirit itself. Most often, there were several fetishes, like the spirits themselves; they were asked for help, rituals were performed in their honor, and they were thanked for good luck in the hunt.
It is interesting that the remnants of fetishism can be traced even in the world's leading religions. Worship of holy relics, icons, statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary - this is what this has grown into ancient belief. In Buddhism there are sacred stupas, the worship of which is close to the veneration of a fetish. Fetishism also survived as a belief in amulets and talismans.
Magic
Another ancient proto-religion is magic, and it often organically intertwines the features of the three previous ones. Let's compare magic and animism:
- Magic implies belief in a higher power, just like animism.
- A person endowed with a special gift - a magician, a sorcerer - could come into contact with them and even make sure that these forces provided protection in a hunt or war. Nothing like this was observed in animism; they tried to appease the spirits, but people could not influence them in any way.
Gradually, many tribes had their own magicians, who were engaged only in conducting special rituals, they were respected, and even the bravest warriors were often afraid of them.
Magic has been preserved in our time; many people believe that with the help of special rituals one can attract good luck in business and achieve the favor of the chosen one. Sometimes modern black sorcerers use their abilities with malicious intent, sending curses. Some people are skeptical about magic, but since this belief has existed for many thousands of years, its significance should not be completely denied.
Shamanism
No less interesting is the phenomenon of shamanism, which, despite its antiquity, is still practiced to this day. Shamans perform their rituals, during which they fall into a trance and communicate with the world of spirits. The purposes of such rituals are quite varied:
- Bringing good luck on the hunt.
- Healing the sick.
- Helping the tribe in a difficult situation.
- Prediction of the future.
Let's consider the features of animism and shamanism. Both religious beliefs are associated with the world of spirits, but if the first implies belief in their existence and direct participation in human destinies, then shamans, plunging into a trance, communicated with these immaterial beings, asked them for advice, and asked for help.
That is why shamans were often assigned the functions of a priest; they were respected and revered.
Animism in the modern world
We looked at what animism is and how it is related to other proto-religions. It is interesting that this ancient religious concept has survived to this day; It is precisely through the observation of primitive peoples living at a distance from civilization that it helps researchers fill in the problems in the study of the history of religions. Similar beliefs can be found among indigenous African peoples, the Sami, and the Papuans of Oceania.
The most ancient proto-religions indicate that the consciousness of primitive man was not so primitive; he understood that, in addition to the material world, there was also a spiritual sphere. And using the means within his power he tried to explain incomprehensible objects and phenomena.
There are many different religions and beliefs in the world. Some of them are understandable to most people, while others remain obscure and closed to many. In this article I would like to talk about why, when and why animism arose, as well as what it essentially is.
Designation of the concept
To begin to understand any topic, it is necessary to identify its concepts. After all, it is often enough just to find out the meaning of the main word in order to understand what will be discussed. So, in this version, a similar term is such a concept as “animism”. Translated from Latin it sounds like “animus”, which means “spirit, soul”. Now we can easily conclude that animism is the belief in various immaterial beings, such as spirits or souls, which can be found in a wide variety of things, phenomena or objects, according to the nuances of the beliefs of certain tribes or societies.
The main thing in Taylor's theory
This concept was introduced into science by the philosopher F. Taylor at the end of the 19th century. The very term “animism” was coined by the German scientist G.E. Stahl. Taylor considered this form of belief to be too simple, inherent only to the most ancient tribes. And although this is one of the archaic forms of religion, there was a lot of injustice. According to him, the beliefs of ancient peoples developed in two directions. First: this is the desire to reflect on dreams, the processes of birth and death, reasoning after various trance states (which were entered thanks to various hallucinogens). Thanks to this, primitive people formed certain thoughts about the existence of souls, which somewhat later developed into thoughts about their relocation, etc. The second direction was due to the fact that ancient people were ready to animate everything around them, to animate it. So, they believed that trees, the sky, everyday objects - all of this also has a soul, wants something and thinks about something, all of this has its own emotions and thoughts. Later, according to Taylor, these beliefs developed into polytheism - belief in the forces of nature, the power of deceased ancestors, and then even into monotheism. The conclusion from Taylor's theory can be drawn as follows: in his opinion, animism is the minimum of religion. And this idea was often taken as a basis by many scientists of various directions. However, for the sake of truth, it must be said that his theory also has weaknesses, as evidenced by ethnographic data (the first religions do not always include animistic beliefs). Modern scientists say that animism is the basis of most existing beliefs and religions today, and elements of animism are inherent in many people.
About perfume
Knowing that animism is a belief in spirits, it is worth taking a closer look at what Taylor himself said about this. Thus, he believed that this belief is largely based on the sensations that a person experiences during sleep or a special trance. Today this can be compared with those sensations that are inherent in a person, for example, on his deathbed. Man himself exists in two units that are different in nature: the body, the material part, and the soul, the immaterial part. It is the soul that can leave the shell of the body, move from one state to another, migrate, that is, exist after the death of its body. According to Taylor's theory of animism, the soul can do much more than just go to the land of the dead or afterworld. If desired, she can control living relatives, contact them through certain individuals (for example, shamans) in order to convey messages, participate in various holidays dedicated to dead ancestors, and so on.
Fetishism
It is also worth saying that fetishism, totemism, animism are religions similar in nature, which sometimes arose from each other. Thus, animism could often flow into fetishism. What does it mean? Ancient people also believed that the spirit did not have to move into the same body after the death of the body; it could move into any surrounding object. Fetishism at its core is a belief in the power of surrounding objects (all or certain ones, for example, statues) endowed with a soul. Very often, fetishism flowed from the general belief that everything around is animate into a narrower direction. An example would be the shrines of ancestors or family tablets of the Chinese, which were worshiped for a long time, believing in their strength and power. Very often, shamans also used fetishes, choosing a special object for this. It was believed that the soul of a shaman moves there when he offers his body to communicate with the spirits of the dead.
Multi-spiritedness
Having already learned that animism is a belief in spirits, it is also worth saying that some tribes also believed that a person can have several souls that have different purposes and live in different parts of the body: in the top of the head, legs or arms. As for the viability of these souls, it could be varied. Some of them could remain in the grave with the deceased person, others went to the afterlife for further residence there. And some simply moved into the child in order to animate him. An example is the Yakuts, who believe that a man has eight souls, and a woman has seven. In some beliefs, at the birth of a child, parents gave him part of their soul, which again can indicate multi-spiritedness.
Totemism
Totemism is similar in nature to animism. People tended to endow with souls not only the objects around them, but also the animals that lived nearby. However, some tribes believed that all animals have a soul, while others believed that only some, the so-called totem animals, which the given tribe worshiped. As for the souls of animals, it was believed that they also know how to move. An interesting fact was that many believed: the souls of dead people could move not only into a new person, but also into a totem animal. And vice versa. Very often, the totem animal acted as the guardian spirit of a given tribe.
Animatism
Knowing that animism is a belief in the power of spirits, it is necessary to say a few words about such a belief as animatism. This is a belief in a huge faceless force that gives life to everything around us. This could be productivity, human luck, livestock fertility. We can say with confidence that these beliefs were inherent not only to ancient people, they are still alive today. For example, in India they believe that there are many different spirits that live in the mountains, forests, and fields. Bongs can be both good and evil. And in order to calm them down or appease them, even now they bring them various gifts and arrange sacrifice ceremonies.
About nature
Animism is a religion that gives souls to everything around it. For example, residents believed that natural phenomena and nature itself (sun, sea, wind, moon) had enormous power. However, according to their opinions, such spirits were most often evil and always tried to injure a person. For example, the forest spirit Erem-chaugal is capable of injuring a person or even killing him with invisible arrows, and the evil and ferocious spirit of the sea can strike his person with an incurable disease. However, at the same time, nature spirits were also considered the patrons of individual tribes. So, some considered the sun their patron, others - the wind, etc. But other spirits also needed to be respected and worshiped, although for a particular village they could be less significant.
In conclusion
It is interesting that, according to fans of animism, the entire world around humans is completely populated by souls that can live in various objects, as well as all living beings - animals, plants. The human soul itself is generally of enormous value in comparison with the body.
It is also important that everything that is dangerous or intangible for a person was also customary to animate. It was often believed that volcanoes and rocky mountains were the abode of various spirits, and, for example, eruptions were caused by anger or dissatisfaction with the actions of people. It is worth saying that the world of animists was also inhabited by various monsters and dangerous creatures, for example windigos among the Indians, but also by positive creatures - fairies, elves. However, no matter how simply Taylor and his followers treat animism, this religion is not primitive. It has its own special logic, consistency, it is an original system of beliefs. As for modernity, today it is unlikely that it will be possible to find a society that is completely animistic, however, elements of this phenomenon remain relevant for many today, despite the fact that a person is essentially a Christian or a follower of some other modern religion.
Having introduced the concept of animism into science, he also understood it as the initial stage of the development of religion in general. On the other hand, he also tried to trace the further development of animistic ideas in the worldview of highly cultural peoples. This term was first used by the German scientist G. E. Stahl. In the essay " Theoria medica"() he called animism his doctrine of the soul as a certain impersonal life principle underlying all life processes.
Tylor believed that animism is the “minimum of religion,” that is, in his opinion, any religion from primitive to the most highly developed comes from animistic views.
However, the accumulated data gave rise to a number of new, so-called pre-animistic, or pre-animistic directions, according to which the era of animism was preceded by the age of magic (J. Frazer), the era of animatism, animation of all nature (R. Marett, L. Ya. Sternberg), and primitive pre-logical mysticism (L. Lévy-Bruhl).
Animists
From Taylor's (E. Taylor) understanding of animism as the earliest form of religion comes the designation animists. This category includes the indigenous inhabitants of Africa, North America, South America, Oceania - adherents of traditional local religions; Also, animism is relatively influential in Asia, in particular Shinto is a developed form of (Japanese) animism.
On the territory of Russia, in the majority, animists include:
- Nanais living in the Far East in the Amur basin and Sakhalin;
- Negidals living in the Far East, in the lower reaches of the Amgun and Amur rivers;
- Orochi, Far East, Khabarovsk Territory;
- Sami, Kola Peninsula;
- Tofalar, north of Mongolia, along the upper Yenisei River;
- Udege people, Far East between the Amur River and the Sea of Japan;
- Ulchi, Ulchinsky district of the Far East;
- Khakassy, Republic of Khakassia;
- Khanty, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug;
- Shors living in the south of the Kemerovo region and along the spurs of the Kuznetsk Alatau;
- Evenki (Tungus), Evenki Autonomous Okrug, Siberia;
- Yukaghirs living in North-Eastern Siberia, in the lower reaches of the Kolyma, in the lower reaches of the Yana and Indigirka;
- Yakuts, Yakutia;
- Buryats (partially, most Buryats adhere to Buddhism) Buryatia, Lake Baikal region;
- chum salmon, Siberia, taiga part of the Yenisei river basin;
- Koryaks, Kamchatka Territory, Kamchatka Peninsula;
- Mansi (Voguls), Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug.
- Nenets living in northwestern Siberia and the Taimyr Peninsula;
- Nivkhs living in the Far East and Sakhalin Island.
Animism of the Scandinavian Sami
The original religion of the Sami is characterized by three characteristics: magic, fetishism, and animism.
The point of emphasizing animism in beliefs is that it is not complicated by mythology, not covered by philosophy, but appears in all its primitive simplicity.
Indian Aboriginal Animism
Adivasi tribes are a minority in modern India, maintaining ethnic isolation, social organization (in particular, division into clans), mythological and religious beliefs, and rituals. According to the 2001 Census, 8.1% of India's population is classified as tribal.
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Notes
Literature
Directories- / B. I. Sharevskaya // Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia 1969-1978
- // Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary / Ch. editor: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1983. - P. 25. - 840 p.
- / O. B. Khristoforova // A - Questioning. - M. : Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2005. - P. 754. - (Great Russian Encyclopedia: [in 35 volumes] / chief ed. Yu. S. Osipov; 2004-, vol. 1). - ISBN 5-85270-329-X.
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
- Krasnikov A. N.// New Philosophical Encyclopedia / ; National social-scientific fund; Pred. scientific-ed. Council V. S. Stepin, deputy chairmen: A. A. Guseinov, G. Yu. Semigin, academician. secret A. P. Ogurtsov. - 2nd ed., rev. and additional - M.: Thought, 2010. - ISBN 978-5-244-01115-9.
- Taylor E./ per. from English. - 1871.
Links
- from the archives of MAE RAS. 1947
An excerpt characterizing Animism
“Robberies continue in the city, despite orders to stop them. Order has not yet been restored, and there is not a single merchant conducting trade in a legal manner. Only sutlers allow themselves to sell, and only looted things.”“La partie de mon arrondissement continue a etre en proie au pillage des soldats du 3 corps, qui, non contents d"arracher aux malheureux refugies dans des souterrains le peu qui leur reste, ont meme la ferocite de les blesser a coups de sabre, comme j"en ai vu plusieurs exemples".
“Rien de nouveau outre que les soldats se permettent de voler et de piller. Le 9 October.”
“Le vol et le pillage continuent.” Il y a une bande de voleurs dans notre district qu"il faudra faire arreter par de fortes gardes. Le 11 October."
[“Part of my district continues to be plundered by the soldiers of the 3rd Corps, who are not content with taking away the meager property of the unfortunate inhabitants who hid in the basements, but also cruelly inflict wounds on them with sabers, as I myself have seen many times.”
“Nothing new, just that soldiers allow themselves to rob and steal. October 9."
“Theft and robbery continue. There is a gang of thieves in our area that will need to be stopped with strong measures. October 11".]
“The Emperor is extremely dissatisfied that, despite strict orders to stop the robbery, only detachments of Guards marauders are visible returning to the Kremlin. In the old guard, riots and looting resumed more than ever yesterday, last night and today. The emperor sees with condolences that the selected soldiers appointed to guard his person, who should set an example of subordination, are disobedient to such an extent that they destroy the cellars and stores prepared for the army. Others humiliated themselves to the point of not listening to the sentries and guard officers, cursing them and beating them.”
“Le grand marechal du palais se plaint vivement,” the governor wrote, “que malgre les defenses reiterees, les soldats continuent a faire leurs besoins dans toutes les cours et meme jusque sous les fenetres de l’Empereur.”
[“The chief master of ceremonies of the palace complains strongly that, despite all the prohibitions, soldiers continue to march for an hour in all the courtyards and even under the windows of the emperor.”]
This army, like a disorganized herd, trampling underfoot the food that could have saved it from starvation, disintegrated and died with every day of extra stay in Moscow.
But it didn't move.
It ran only when it was suddenly seized by panic caused by the interceptions of convoys along the Smolensk road and the Tarutino battle. This same news about the Battle of Tarutino, which Napoleon unexpectedly received at the review, aroused in him a desire to punish the Russians, as Thiers says, and he gave the order to march, which the entire army demanded.
Fleeing from Moscow, the people of this army took with them everything that was looted. Napoleon also took with him his own tresor [treasure]. Seeing the convoy cluttering the army. Napoleon was horrified (as Thiers says). But he, with his war experience, did not order to burn all the extra carts, as he did with the marshal’s carts, approaching Moscow, but he looked at these carriages and carriages in which the soldiers were riding, and said that it was very good that These crews will be used for provisions, sick and wounded.
The position of the entire army was like that of a wounded animal, feeling its death and not knowing what it was doing. Studying the skillful maneuvers of Napoleon and his army and his goals from the time of his entry into Moscow until the destruction of this army is like studying the meaning of the dying leaps and convulsions of a mortally wounded animal. Very often, a wounded animal, hearing a rustle, rushes to shoot at the hunter, runs forward, backward and itself speeds up its end. Napoleon did the same under pressure from his entire army. The rustle of the Tarutino battle scared the beast, and he rushed forward to the shot, ran to the hunter, came back, forward again, back again, and finally, like any animal, he ran back, along the most unfavorable, dangerous path, but along a familiar, old trail.
Napoleon, who seems to us to be the leader of this entire movement (how wild the figure carved on the bow of the ship seemed to be, with the power guiding the ship), Napoleon during all this time of his activity was like a child who, holding on to the ribbons tied inside the carriage, imagines that he ed.
On October 6, early in the morning, Pierre left the booth and, returning back, stopped at the door, playing with a long purple dog on short crooked legs that was spinning around him. This little dog lived in their booth, spending the night with Karataev, but sometimes she went somewhere in the city and returned again. It had probably never belonged to anyone, and now it was owned and had no name. The French called her Azor, the soldier storyteller called her Femgalka, Karataev and others called her Gray, sometimes Visly. The fact that she didn’t belong to anyone and that she didn’t have a name or even a breed, or even a specific color, didn’t seem to make things difficult for the purple little dog. Her furry tail stood firmly and roundly up, her crooked legs served her so well that often she, as if neglecting the use of all four legs, gracefully raised one hind leg and very deftly and quickly ran on three legs. Everything was a matter of pleasure for her. Now, squealing with joy, she lay on her back, now she was basking in the sun with a thoughtful and significant look, now she was frolicking, playing with a sliver of wood or a straw.
Pierre's attire now consisted of a dirty, torn shirt, the only remnant of his previous dress, soldier's trousers, tied with strings at the ankles for warmth on Karataev's advice, a caftan and a peasant's hat. Pierre changed a lot physically during this time. He no longer seemed fat, although he still had the same appearance of size and strength that was hereditary in their breed. A beard and mustache have grown over the lower part of the face; the overgrown, tangled hair on his head, filled with lice, now curled up like a cap. The expression in the eyes was firm, calm and animatedly ready, such as Pierre’s gaze had never had before. His former licentiousness, which was also expressed in his gaze, was now replaced by an energetic, ready for activity and rebuff - selectedness. His feet were bare.
From the most distant archaic depths, when people were just beginning to understand the universe, animism arose as an early form of religion. Nature is alive and everything contains a spirit or soul: an object, a stone, an animal, a person. This is what ancient people believed in all corners of planet Earth.
Animism - what is it?
The English ethnographer E. Tyler assumed that all religions existing today emerged from the animistic views of man. Translated from Latin, animism is “anima”, “animus” - soul or spirit. Belief in a spiritual origin or a supernatural double in all living and nonliving things in nature. Soul and spirit are substances invisible to the human eye, and if the soul is connected with the material substance in which it is located, then the spirit is an independent energy, free to stay anywhere and anytime.
When and why did animism arise?
When animism arose, it is difficult for historians to trace this process, but more likely it happened during the transitional stage of the development of Neanderthals into Homo sapiens, about 40 thousand years ago. The early predecessors of animism were magic, animatism and totemism. People knew little about nature, and could not explain many of the phenomena that existed in it, so everyone endowed and believed in kinship with the totem animal of their community.
Animism, which replaced totemism, was based on centuries of observational experience:
- dreams (the spirit travels through the worlds);
- for the condition during the ritual use of psychotropic plants;
- funeral rites (the soul left the body).
Animism in philosophy
Philosophical schools that arose in Ancient Greece, were divergent in their thinking, values and teachings. The school of animism, led by the mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras, preached a doctrine aimed at careful interaction with nature, in which the spirit is imprinted everywhere you touch. Animism in philosophy is the knowledge of the immortality of the soul of any creature: be it a plant, animal or human. Everything contains souls of the same order of fire and air, and in subsequent incarnations the soul invariably follows the new body given to it.
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Animism in psychology
Psychology as an independent discipline was formed relatively recently and the origin of its prerequisites can be considered to be the entire world's centuries-old experience of people in understanding their souls. Animism in psychology is a picture of the world in which everything existing reality“spiritualized” and has . The psychology of animism is clearly expressed in the phenomenon of children's thinking, discovered by the Swiss psychologist-philosopher J. Piaget. The child believes that if he feels, then everything around him has feelings. Children's animism - features:
- Children's evaluation of inanimate objects as animate.
- A moving object enhances the child's animistic idea, while a lying object can be perceived as inanimate.
- The peak of animistic thinking occurs at 5 years of age (extinction by 7 years of age).
Animism as a religion
In fear of powerful and incomprehensible natural phenomena, ancient people began to deify them. Animism is the belief in the existence of souls and spirits that permeate everything in the world. Lightning and thunder, sun and moon, rain, snow and hail - a person, so small and defenseless against the elements, begins to appease powerful spirits and make sacrifices to them in an attempt to appease.
Observing birth and death, a person assumed that during the birth of a child the soul enters into him, and at the time of death it leaves the body along with the breath. The ancients believed that the spirit of the deceased remains to exist in an ethereal shell and does not leave the clan of fellow tribesmen. The cult of remembrance and honor of souls pursued the goal of making the spirit of a fellow tribesman a protector and patron from evil otherworldly forces.
Animism in the myths of Ancient Greece helps historians study the thinking of people of that period. Vivid images of gods, formed over time from an understanding of the nature and functions of natural phenomena:
- Zeus controls thunder and lightning and rains on the earth.
- Gaia (earth) – gives birth to huge stone giants (earthquakes, rockfalls).
- Hades (Thanatos) - lord underground kingdom, taking souls.
Animism in the modern world
In different parts of the Earth, there are tribes that remain adherents of animism - these are small peoples with an ancient way of life. In the North and Siberia these are the Evenks, Khanty, Nanais, and Udeges. Modern animism is based on remnants of ancient beliefs:
- traditions and rituals of honoring and commemorating ancestors;
- appeasing the Brownie (the essence of the house);
- shamanic techniques for returning the soul to the body (for mental illnesses).
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Animism - interesting facts
Animism - belief in spirits and entities like ancient religion left a huge cultural mark on the history of mankind. The ancient myths of Scandinavia, Greece, and Egypt are the world's treasury of knowledge of the world's human heritage. Animism, which grew out of man’s primitive ideas about the soul, flowed into more advanced forms of beliefs, but in some of its aspects has been preserved to this day in pagan holidays.
Interesting facts related to animism:
- The great mathematician Pythagoras, the first vegetarian, forbade his students to eat animals, due to the fact that they have a soul exactly the same as that of a person.
- A small child, in his early animistic ideas, thinks that when he walks, the moon “runs” after him.
- The Koryaks (the indigenous people of Kamchatka), having killed a wolf or bear while hunting, put the skin on one of the hunters, dance around him and sing a song in which they assure that they are not to blame for the death of the animal, but the fault is “some Russian” . The purpose of the ritual is to redirect the anger of the soul of the killed animal.
- The peoples of the island of Fiji believe that the souls of broken tools (axes, knives) fly off to the gods for further service.