|
The Lamanites 〔("Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide" ), lds.org (retrieved 2012-02-25), IPA-ified from «lā´mun-īt»〕 are one of the people described in the Book of Mormon, a religious text published in 1830 by Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Book of Mormon portrays the Lamanites as usually dark-skinned, wicked rivals to the usually lighter-skinned, righteous Nephites, both of whom are portrayed as descendants of Israelites who traveled to the New World by boat circa 600 BC. (Other groups from the book include the Jaredites, and Mulekites.) Historically, Mormons have identified the Lamanites as the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Polynesians, or some part of their ancestors. However, in the 21st century, Mormon scholars who favor a limited geography model have been disclaiming any significant genetic connection between Lamanites and any modern people. Because only Mormons consider the Book of Mormon to have an ancient historical basis, Lamanites are not considered to be a valid category of people by mainstream scholars. According to the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites are descendants of Laman and Lemuel, two rebellious brothers of a family of Israelites who crossed the ocean in a ship around 600 BC. Their brother Nephi is portrayed as founding the rival Nephites. The book states that after the two groups separated from each other, the Lamanites received a curse of a "skin of blackness" so that they would "not be enticing" to the Nephites.〔Hugh Nibley, (''Lehi in the Desert'' ) (1950): 73-74.〕 After the two groups warred over a period of centuries, the book says that Jesus appeared and converted all the united Nephites and Lamanites to Christianity. However, after about two centuries, the book says that many of these Christians fell away and began to identify as Lamanites, leading some of the "true believers in Christ" to identify as Nephites. Ultimately, the book describes a series of great battles in which the Lamanites exterminated all the Nephites. Mormons beginning with Joseph Smith have historically identified Lamanites with indigenous Americans, and sometimes even Polynesians. Scholars outside Mormonism do not consider the term ''Lamanite'' as a category of real people, or accept the Book of Mormon as a valid source of ancient American history. Mormon scholars, representing a small minority view, have identified a few alternative locations in the ancient New World where they hypothesize Lamanites described in the Book of Mormon might have lived, the most popular of which is Mesoamerica. Traditionally, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) taught that Lamanites were "the principal ancestors of the American Indians." In 2007, the church changed this teaching to the belief that that Lamanites were "among" the ancestors of American Indians. ==Lamanites as described by the Book of Mormon== According to the Book of Mormon, the family of Lehi (a wealthy Hebrew prophet), the family of Ishmael, and Zoram traveled from the Middle East circa 600 BC to the Americas by boat. Some time after the death of Lehi (in the Americas), one of the sons of Lehi, Nephi, was concerned that his brothers were plotting to kill him; as a result, Nephi, his family, and his followers left and went into the wilderness. The followers of Nephi called themselves ''Nephites'' and referred to others as ''Lamanites'', after Lehi's oldest son, Laman. The Nephites later discovered another civilization living in America, and the combined group also called themselves Nephites. According to the Book of Mormon, there were many interactions between the Lamanites and the Nephites; intermittent war, trade, and proselytizing transpired with varying degrees of success. God initially marked the Lamanites with a darker skin color to identify them and their state of wickedness. The Nephites were initially righteous, though over time, individuals and sub-groups defected and joined the Lamanites. Likewise, some penitent Lamanites defected to the Nephites. Following the American visitation of the resurrected Jesus Christ, the Lamanites and Nephites coexisted for two centuries in peace (from circa AD 30 until 230); "There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God." Eighty-four years after the coming of Christ, "a small part of the people who had revolted from the church" started calling themselves Lamanites.〔 After four generations this period of peace and cooperation between the two suffered corruption and decline as social and economic classes resurfaced. In the year 231, "() true believers in Christ" started calling themselves Nephites.〔 The Lamanites eventually became a larger portion of the population. Ultimately, the Lamanites were successful in destroying the Nephites, in a series of wars from AD 326 to about 400. Zeniff describes them as: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lamanite」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|