One of the first known religions was animism. Known to be practiced in most – if not all – ‘primitive’ tribes, it was based on the idea that, running parallel to the physical world, was a world of spirits.
These spirits were reflections of the physical world. Hence, every animal, river, mountain, and even storm, had a supernatural element. Today we dismiss this belief as superstition.
We now know better. The world is purely physical, with the supernatural a quaint little anomaly born from unintelligent people. But is this really the case?
I would agree that the ‘supernatural’ cannot be proved, and in a rational world, it must be discounted. But if we place psychology on this ancient tribal belief, it is not so easy to discount.
For instance, it is well known that suggestion can cause the person to hallucinate forms that he expects to see. In a less rational society, it is all too easy to see how the belief materialized, with the proverbial witch doctor suggesting entities to his tribe. Yet in one sense, we can see this as more than mere superstition.
Such beliefs tied the members of the tribe to each other, giving them culture and direction. We could do with a bit of that today in a modern, fragmented society. The idea that animism bonded the tribe together as a society can be extended. Most of the ‘spirits’ they believed in were inherently connected to nature. Indeed, they worshipped natural forms.
Such a belief system tied the tribe directly to their environment. In later, known, tribal forms, we can see this connection in action. Indeed, it continues in eastern practices such as Feng Shui, which is all about harmonizing our habitats to the pulses of nature.
Again, we could do with some of this attitude to tackle our own environmental problems. These belief systems came to an end with the rise of Monotheism, which led, in Europe, to Christianity. Animism based belief in the local, which split loyalty away from Christianity, which was universal, or Catholic.
To do so, ancient tribal practices became known as ‘evil’, and the work of the Devil. The practices themselves – or, at least, advances of them – survive in the Occult and Witchcraft, where the incorrect belief in making a pact with the Devil is a remembrance of the pact a tribe made with nature.
Bearing in mind the obvious psychological ‘demons’ that can arise if an amateur attempts such practices, it is worth remembering that the ancients had a ‘supernatural’ system that bonded man to his society, and that society to the environment.
It makes you wonder who is the most stupid – them, or us?
© Anthony North, Feb 2007
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