What is Human
What is human? What puts us apart
from the other animals, or, are we in fact just one of the millions of speices
ofanimals on Earth, no more, no less? This might be, but the human animal is
still an animal apart, and this by a combination of attributes found in
singularity among several other lifeforms, but which we, the humans, the naked
ape, are alone in that we make use of them all.
What I speak of is of course the
ability of abstract thinking, our ability to transfer information, to a very
high level, through our many ways of communication, and our ability, or rather
our ambition, to transcend this world and experience other worlds and interact
between these.
Exit Africa
When our ancestors, by then still
furclad and hardly bipedal, left the security of the trees and descended to
start a life as a savannah-living primate, mechanisms were put in motion that
we still function by, and in a way we still are prone to obey.
The man-apes, who would become the
ape-man, and later just man, and, to avoid any provocation in the use of this
term, man is here used in its initial meaning as human, regardless of sex or
genus, turned out to be successful, in spite of its often lacking physique, it
made up for this shortcomings by sheer intelligence. We, because this is we,
learned to survive on the plants and seeds we found. Very quick we also
discovered the proteinboost available in the scattered carrion on the savannah…
The former wholly herbivore
proto-human evolved into an omnivore, capable of sustaining itself on both
vegetarian and animal protein, and as meat proved to be such a rich source of
nourishment, the early man turned into hunters. In this process our ability to
communicate took a great leap, from language on a very basic level, to a level
advanced enough to plan and perform hunting operations of a previous
unmanagable scale. We needed an advanced language to be able to hunt more
effective, and so, early language was born out of necissity. But, language was
still bound to the material actions performed, as was the human mind. We only
knew what we saw, heard, smelled or felt. Our senses were absolute, and our
only source of knowledge and information. This was about to change, radically…
The psychedelic mushroom
We can not tell exactly where or
when it began, but as humanity had spread from the plains of Africa into
Eurasia, and had started to multiply, it is most possible that it happenned in
many places over a course of several thousand years.
So, to put a process that probably
stretched over tenths of thousands of years into a few sentences, this is how
it happened: The small communities, familybased groups of humans, followed the
great herds of animals that provided them with food, skin, horn and so on. As
anyone familiar with any bovine farming knows, cows leave an extent of
droppings, and, of course, so did the animals our ancestors preyed upon. In
these droppings, several forms of fungi grew, including many types of
mushrooms, of different qualities. Most of these were unedible, some were
highly poisonous, but yet some had an enourmous effect on these pre-historical
huntertribes.
The mushrooms contended psilocybin,
a very powerful hallucinogenic substance. By consuming these mushrooms, the
boundaries between the physical world, in which we live and act, and the other
worlds in what we can call the multiverse, are opened.
By eating psychedelics, our
ancestors experienced things, places and even beings which could not be
percieved without the ”mushroom support”. We (again, yes, we) became aware of
other things, of different patterns in nature, of an existence aside from the
common awareness and the physical world. We established contact with intelligences
unhooked from humanity, whom our ancestors interpreted as spirits and gods.
It was by this stage of human
evolution that the concept of religion became consolidated in our minds, and
the abstract principles of a multiplanar universe a part of our conscience.
Thus it began…
The change of reality
It was at this stage of human
evolution that our minds started to work abstractly of a never before reached
level. The meat and psychedelics helped in a physical transformation of our
brains, which had an evolving effect on our experience of reality. It was at
this stage that the humans started to see the world as a more complex
construct, a notion that is still dominant in our minds and our cultures.
Because of this, the intelligence
of mankind involves not only the physical world, but also the metaphysical.
Almost all humans have a strong, almost pre-natal notion of the otherworldly, a
notion that has always been cultivated by people of learning and wisdom, except
for the last 250 years, when a small group of scientists contradict this most
natural and human of traits, and try to build a world bereaved of anything but
the measurable and calculable…
But let’s not dwelve on the ideas
of these dull, blunt scientists, but instead look out on the icy plains, into
the deep forests and jungles, into the deserts and up to the mountains, and for
a brief moment see something that we all once were part of.
Primitive religion, a short
introduction
Although most of humanity has
reached such civilizational and technological heights as layered society,
industrialized food production and exposed sexual practices on the internet,
there are still small groups living as we all did ten thousands years ago. Most
wrongly dubbed ”primitives”, scattered among the most desolate areas on the
globe these people keep the ancient lifestyle, and by that, also the ancient
religion. To call these people primitive is
demeaning and unjust, as their language, culture and not least their
religion is in most ways extensively more superior and more advanced than those
found in the civilized world. As focus
soon will be on the australian aboriginal people, there is of importance to understand
the religious views of all these ”primitives”, which is why a short, general,
and very shallow presentation of these religious system is in order.
Although living under very
different environmental conditions, there are som clear similarities in the
religious beliefs and practices among all the peoples in this category. A
common factor is their animism, which implies their conviction that everything,
humans, animals, plants and all natures features, have a soul, a spirit. This
soul or spirit may vary in power and influence, hence, the soul of a small bush
is in no way as mighty as the soul of, say, a mountain or a big lake.
Further, the world is considered to
be consistent of several different planes of existence, almost like a layered
cake. We live in the central world, but there are several (The exact number
varies, but usually between three or up to thirty. For some reason is nine
world a common amount.) more, populated by both benevolent and malevolent
beings, much depending on which world. The many worlds are separated from each
other most of the time, and only trained individuals can travel between them.
These are the shamans, whom I will not present further here, but will on a
later occasion.
Gods and spirits are worshiped, as
well as ancestors. All these are connected to a specific area of responsibility,
and are venerated accordingly. Thus, a people which lives as fishermen close to
the sea will most certainly have different seadeities and weathergods as main
objects of worship, just as huntertribes probably highly praises the spirit of
their prime foodsource, be it reindeer or buffalo.
The ancestors, that is dead
relatives, are considered to play an active role in the lives of the living,
and must therefore be speaked of with respect. Communication with the dead is
frequent, and they may, if treated right, be of great service to the living,
just as the can, if angered, cause trouble of various degrees.
So, from this short wrap of
”primitive” religion, lets, in our minds, travel south, to the other side of
the world, to the land Down Under, to Australia…
The first Australians
The Australian continent was slowly
ripped from the Antarctic around 45 million years ago, and started to drift
northward. A scientifical debate is still kept about the arrival of mankind,
which most findings suggests occurred 40 thousand years ago, but some as early
as 80 thousand years before that. What we know, or at least think we know, is
that the first australians came from Asia, and travelled sothward on the
then-existing land ridges which connected Asia with Australia, as a result of
much lower oceanlevels.
At this stage, the question of
terminology arises. What should we call this people (or rather these). The most
common term is aboriginals, an english word just meaning something like ”the
first”, or ”earliest known”, and in many ways is considered degrading or even
racist. The first australians are divided in many tribes, and all with their
distinct name. Hence, names like koorie,
nunga, wangai or anangu are all,
among severeal others, the names the different tribes used for themselves. No
common term were used, since no common unity were existing. Therefore, although
it might be, as stated above, inapropriate, the colonial word aboriginal will
be used anyway. Sorry.
All the different tribes adapted to
their environment, from the steaming swamps of northern Australia to the barren
deserts in the center of the continent. As hunter-gatherers, their knowledge of
the flora and fauna became refined, and their survivalskills of the most
prominent level.
As nomads, the larger tribes were
divided into smaller groups, often no more than a few families, that roamed
over vast distances in pursuit of food and water. Althoug harsh, this lifestyle
proved a successful one, which only changed when the Brittish colonisation
started during the 18th century (sad story…).
Aboriginal religion
The aboriginies don’t have a word
for religion in the same sense as europeans, meaning a certain metaphysical
structure and order in the universe. Instead, the aboriginies use the word Dreamtime, which meaning differs some
from our concept of religion.
The Dreamtime means basically the
creation of the world, when mighty beings shaped the features of the land, and
introduced the different natural processes. It is a time apart from earthly
time, and, as such, can be said to still be in effect. Normal humans can get
glimpses of the Dreamtime during sleep,
small pieces of information from the time of creation. As europeans, and thus
subject under a linear experience of time, this, to us, loose time continuum
may be confusing, but to the aboriginies it is perfectly understandable.
Although, as stated above, most humans
only get glimpses from the Dreamtime, mostly without context or meaning for the
human reason, some skilled individuals has learned to interpret their dreams
and by that draw information from the creation that can be of use in human
daily life.
Religious structure
Similar to most primitive
religions, the aboriginies share a polytheistic structure. The tribes all
worship several gods or spirits, some who are common across the continent, some
who are local, much depending on the type of environment that is a special
tribes habitat. As stated above, most primitive people are animists, believing
that everything possesses an individual soul. This is a belief not shared by
the aboriginies though. Animals, plants and natural features seldom posesses a
soul of their own, but they may keep some of the power from the creationbeing
that was their source during the Dreamtime. In other words, Ayers Rock, for
example, a sacred place to the aboriginies, doesn´t hav a soul, but some of the
raw energy from the creatorbeing who shaped it during the Dreamtime still
lingers in its mass, which might prove beneficial to the tribes in that area.
Althoug it is hard and often
contradictive, it is possible to categorize the supernatural actors in the
aboriginal religion, the Dreamtime, into two groups:
First is the creationbeings, who,
as the name states, are connected to the very creation of the world and all
that is in it during the Dreamtime. From our point of view, these are the
beings most similar to our concept of gods. Several of these are known, and
they are represented both as female and as males, in both human, animal and
sometimes in other forms. These are the beings
credited with the creation of the world, the heavens, weather, animals,
humans and plants. There are many tales about them, often explaining how
different things were created (penises were originally created from mushrooms,
and the rainbow is the great serpent Dhakhan, travelling between the waterholes
that are his home). Althoug all creationbeings are revered by all the tribes,
some are mostly considered to have a stronger connection to a specific tribe,
and by that are regarded with more respect and awe.
The second group are the ancestors.
These are the direct, physical, matriarchs and patriarchs of the tribes, which
claim a straight lineage from these beings from the Dreamtime. The ancestors
taught the humans how to hunt, how to make tools and how society was to be
structured. Albeit that their descendants are all human doesen’t necessary mean
that the ancestors themselves always were antropomorph. Many ancestors were animal
or plant, and by that possessed characteristics similar to that special animal
or plant, often a trait passed through the generations to its now living
relatives. When aboriginies die, it is believed that the dead persons spirit
returns to its birthplace (in the Dreamtime?), to later be reborn. At rebirth,
it is not certain to be human again, one might as well be born in the same
shape as one’s particular ancestor . Sometimes, when animals or plants show
human traits, they are considered to show traces of a former human life.
Rites and ceremonies
As well as the time of creation,
the Dreamtime also is an abstract establishment
for consolidating rules and norms, not only to humans, but also animals,
plants and the whole nature. As the aboriginal culture lack writing, the
keeping of these rules over generations is made possible by an oral tradition.
The origin of the rules, as well as their meaining and how to fulfill them are
incorporated in stories, sometimes told, sometimes sung, and yet sometimes
acted as part of a ceremony. The aboriginies learn the first rules as children,
and their learning continues progressively at special rites of initiation
during their life. Hence, only a few elders knows all the rules, and are by
that regarded with immense respect bordering on veneration.
The aboriginal culture is in many
ways built upon the different rituals and ceremonies it contains, all
considered of high importance for the prevailing of society, and even life
itself. Different forms of passagerites or initiationrites marks the lifes of
both men and women. Some of these are shared between the sexes, some are kapt
separated from members of the opposite sex, partly because the knowledge
transferred to the initiate is considered unsuitable for the other sex, partly
because the initioation is of such importance that the energies from a
different sex or might disturb the initiation, or the energies might even be
dangerous, even fatal. Examples of these initiations or passagerites goul be
when children reaches puberty, when a boy becomes a hunter, when a woman
reaches menopause or, of course, when someone dies. The exact ritual and
ceremonial progression might of course differ vastly, depending on which tribe
one studies, but singing, dancing and painting of the bodies of the
participants are widespread and common.
Ceremonies are sometimes held at
the groups campsite, but some rituals must be held at special places, most
commonly connected in some way to a specific creationbeing or ancestor. These
sites has often been used for generations, which is proven by scientists who
have been conducting tests on particular paintfragments from certain
ceremonialgrounds. These tests have proved that some places of ceremony have
been in continous use for thousands of years, a fact that marks them as
globally unique. No other people has kept an unbroken religious tradition for
as long as the australian aboriginies, something that has been just recently
discovered and considered.
Alas, the last couple of centuries
has been disastrous for the aboriginies, who have suffered greatly at the hands
of the Brittish empire. A successful genocide is still in progress, and the
aboriginal people and their culture has diminished rapidly. Only recently has
the Australian government taken measures for the preservation of this ancient
culture, but in many ways is it still too late. A great deal of knowledge is
gone, and since there are no written sources, what is lost is lost.
In many ways, the Dreamtime… Is
over.
