The Seminole people sustained a very simple, yet rich religion in the core of their culture. Their belief of a monotheistic creation made it feasible for Christianity to take root in their culture's modernization, albeit many Seminoles' reluctance to forget their past traditions. The Seminole belief was of a single creator that birthed everything into existence, including the eight clans that the people themselves organized into. The Green Corn Dance is at the heart of their religion, as it was the special event for purification and the Earth. A ritual stomping dance would take place that acted as both a tribute to the creator and a rite of passage to transform boys into men. Shamans acted as both healers and the leaders for this dance, however many of them died without passing on their knowledge to successors. The introduction of Christianity to the communities in the 1940's led to most of the population converting, resulting in the eventual loss of the old traditions. The Green Corn Dance still takes place as an important activity for the tribes to unite but is more of a social event held for the public as of today.
References
Countries and Their Cultures . N.D. "Seminole Indians - Religion - Native Americans in Olden Times for Kids." Seminole Indians - Religion - Native Americans in Olden Times for Kids. http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/southeast/seminole/religion.html accessed July 22, 2014.
Seminole Tribe of Florida . N.D. "Seminole Tribe of Florida - Culture, Green Corn Dance." Seminole Tribe of Florida - Culture, Green Corn Dance.
http://www.semtribe.com/Culture/GreenCornDance.aspx accessed July 22, 2014.
http://www.semtribe.com/Culture/GreenCornDance.aspx accessed July 22, 2014.
Seminole Tribe of Florida . N.D. "Seminole Tribe of Florida - Culture, Seminoles and Christianity." Seminole Tribe of Florida - Culture, Seminoles and Christianity. http://www.semtribe.com/Culture/SeminolesandChristianity.aspx accessed July 22, 2014.
Reflection:
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the Seminole peoples' religion is a tragedy. The loss of their culture in terms of their spirituality is terrible but it is expected. The introduction and spread of Christianity overtook their customs but also allowed it to expand in a way. This conversion is not surprising as the beliefs of the Seminole people are not so different from the creationism of Christianity. I find it sad that their important ritual has been reduced to a social event but at least it is still a part of their overall tradition.
Good, I think you are using an implicit culturally relativistic perspective. Why not say it explicitly. Say exactly the same thing you are saying, and then reflect on what it is, as a concept we learned in class. That is what I mean by utilizing course content. Also, we have talked about many different things regarding religion. When you talk about losing their culture, why not mention the film "We Still Live Here," with Jessie Little Doe, and the Wampanoag, and how they lost their language, where taken to boarding schools and all. I think you could do great if you included that kind of stuff there.
ReplyDeleteI also commented on Matt's reflection and the other members of your group mentioning the references. You are all kind of consistent, but none used the dates of publication. There is a way to write N.d. instead of a date when you cannot find it, so do that if no dates were found. Finally, where you write "accessed...." don't use parentheses. I already told the rest, what I want is consistency throughout, all of you very uniform when it comes to the refs. Good job Andrew, fix those little things and get ready for your presentation this weekend. Thanks
The film "We Still Live Here" applies greatly to the loss of culture to the Seminoles. Like the Wampanoag, the involvement of Christianity and converting to other customs have caused the Seminoles to lose the importance of their rituals and wisdom of their medicine men. Thus their culture is lost in the sands of time as it drifts away through generations.
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