The Encyclopedia of World Religions

356 S primal religion

is able to “open” or “close” the forest, making the game easy or impossible to find, was invoked. This being favors hunters who approach the quarry with reverence, thank the animal for giving himself to them, and use every part of the kill. Gathering, often the province of women, is no less important and in fact in many primal societies gathering produced a much higher proportion of sustenance than hunting. The gatherers had spe cial knowledge of the earth spirit, who provided these “gifts” out of her bounty. AGRICULTURAL RELIGION It may have been women also who first “discov ered” agriculture, if it was they who first noticed that discarded seeds from gathered crops could produce the same near to home and who may in time have learned to domesticate animals as well. (Early agricultural societies are called Neolithic, or “New Stone Age.”) Nonetheless, in mythol ogy, agriculture is often seen as a kind of forbid den knowledge, stolen by a human or divine rebel against the primal gods, perhaps by killing a deity and taking agricultural crops out of the divine body. Agriculture brought hardships as well as ben efits to societies. It can be more monotonous and labor intensive than hunting or gathering and, moreover, seems to involve the grim principle of life for life. It was in connection with early agricul ture that extensive CANNIBALISM , human and animal SACRIFICE , and headhunting came into use, basically in the belief that they would increase the harvest. For example, sometimes parts of a sacrificial vic tim would be placed around a field or, like the shrunken heads made by the Jivaro of the upper Amazon, “danced” through the fields so that life energy could flow from them into the crops. In agricultural religion, often the Sky was a male god, perhaps of the Sun ( see S UN AND RELI GION ) or of the Moon ( see M OON AND RELIGION ), and the earth was a mother goddess. Many great god desses of antiquity, such as I SIS , Demeter, Ishtar, K ALI or A MATERASU ( see GODDESSES ), seem to be of this background. Because in agriculture the sea sons of planting and harvest are so important,

children they were first fed only soft food, but soon they were recognized as full-fledged men of the tribe. However, in some such societies further ini tiations were possible, like higher degrees, which gave members greater and greater status and pre pared them for encounters with the gods at DEATH . In some examples, the initiation was more individual, like that of the Native American Paw nee youth, who went on a “vision quest”: He was expected to remain alone in the wilderness until he had received a dream or vision of his guardian spirit. Initiation for girls often occurs individually rather than in a group as with boys, taking place at the onset of puberty. It may entail such practices as isolating the young woman in a special lodge, singing over her by other women of the tribe, and making marks such as tattoos. Sometimes the rite is part of a series that leads directly up to marriage, the wedding ceremony being the culminating ini tiation for a woman. Female initiation is just as important and common as male. SHAMANISM Some initiations are special to certain people. The most important is typically that of the shaman, an individual believed to have a special call from the gods enabling him or her to experience SPIRIT POSSESSION or to travel in spirit to the realm of the gods or ancestors. The shaman is therefore like a mediator between this world and the divine ( see SHAMANISM ). Among the first humans, and in some societies today, food and other necessities are obtained through hunting and gathering. (These are called Paleolithic, or “Old Stone Age,” societies. See PRE HISTORIC RELIGION .) Inevitably this quest involves a religious dimension, for it is essential to life itself. It is necessary to prepare spiritually for a hunt. Some hunters would prepare by FASTING or observ ing a special diet ( see DIET AND RELIGION ) and by remaining silent while leaving for the field. Some times a “master of animals,” a divine spirit who RELIGION OF HUNTING AND GATHERING SOCIETIES