Traditions
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Traditions form a core element of any religion. In connection with these, many of the tribes share similar views, but in some cases there are huge differences. The faiths of the Native Americans are localized to such a degree that they cannot be considered and treated as one religion. Each of them, which mean more than 500, is unique and localized to fit the needs of the tribe. For instance, there is a basic belief in spirits who guide human beings and every natural creation.
However, there is a crucial debate in the question: how many spirits guide us? For example, Iroquois longhouse elders attribute the whole world and all of its livings to the “Creator’s‘Original Instructions’”. They believe that this male not only created everything alive, but also “goodness, wisdom and perfection”. On the other hand, according to the Koyukon universe, no single spirit is solemnly responsible for everything. Raven, the one who created human beings, is only one of the many spirits in their complex religion (Britannica).
The annual ceremonies were one of the things that showed great similarities. Every tribe has rituals connected to the major turning points of life: birth, growing up, choosing a mate, growing old and death. Further similarities are the social, economic, nature renewing (spring) and balance recovering ceremonies. As Barsh puts it, “…ceremonies associated with birth, maturity, marriage and death reaffirm relations between living families and the spirit world” (American Indian Quarterly, 14).