Title: First Peoples
Course: REL 201 RTZ > Section: Week 2 - Indigenous Relgions

What is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of primal religions?  Tribal people dancing wildly with painted bodies.  Maybe images of sorcery or witchcraft.  How about illiterate people who do not interact with modern societies.

To begin with we must look at the language we choose to use to reflect cultures differently than modern cultures. Houston Smith uses the word primal religion where the word primal is a replacement for primitive.  I think that we spend so much time trying to figure out what to call cultures that are very different from ours that we get entangled with negative language.

Using either of the terms primal or primitive denotes a sense of crudity or lower being than technologically advanced cultures.  At one time these cultures were called illiterate civilizations. As we discussed in the last module there is no difference between oral or written cultures. One does not surpass the other.   In our culture, we see illiterate people as being lesser than the average person who can read and/or write.  Illiterate people are looked down upon because they cannot read.  However, the ability to read or write does not enhance a person’s intelligence nor does should it lead to supremacy or pity on those cultures who do not ready or write.  Therefore, like the words primal and primitive the use of the world illiterate is a derogatory term that should be avoided.

Okay, so what is left?  I have heard the terms Aboriginal, Indigenous and Native to reference these cultures.  These terms are more acceptable to some cultures than others.  If you reference the first peoples of Australia they refer to themselves at Aborigines and find the terms aboriginal and native to be offensive.  Likewise, the first peoples of North and South America have preferences for the terms that recognizes their cultures.  I believe that when we refer to the first peoples we simply refer to them by their chosen names and identification and not branded by the European models.

There is no one common thread that can categorize all the first peoples’ religious beliefs and/or spirituality into one category. Due to the vast amount of these religions it is impossible to discuss them all in a survey course.  Therefore, this course is limiting the discussion to Australian Aborigine and the Torres Strait Islanders in this module and the next Module will have a discussion about Native Americans (again limited and selective populations will be discussed).