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Alaskan Natives have a special connection to the land around them, and a kinship with the animals with whom they share that land. Before the introduction of western culture and the religions that are now practiced in Alaska, there was a common spiritual connection made with the people to the land they occupied. The most common name for this connection is shamanism. Shamanism differs in every culture where it is practiced, in Alaska it is centered in the animals that are common in the area. Through the use of many myths, stories, and ceremonies these animals are personified and their spirits made tangible and in turn are deeply woven within the Native Alaskan people today. It was through the shaman that the spirit world was connected to the natural world. A shaman in Alaskan Native culture was a mediator, healer and the spirit worlds’ mouthpiece. Although shamanism is no longer popularly practiced, it was and continues, to be the heart of the Native Alaskan people. ==Aleuts== The religion of the former Aleuts was an offshoot of the prevailing shamanistic beliefs common to the northern Eskimo and to the tribes of northeastern Asia. They believed in the existence of a creator of everything visible and invisible, but did not connect him with the guidance of the world, and paid him no special worship. As rulers of their entire environment, they acknowledged two spirits, or kinds of spirits,who determined the fate of man in every respect.〔Ransom, Jay Ellis. "Aleut Religious Beliefs: Veniaminov's Account". 1945, p. 346〕 The earliest Aleuts worshiped light, the celestial bodies, and even the elements. They also believed that there were three worlds, to which they ascribed being and action. The first world, highest world, has no night or evening, and many people live there. The second, or middle world, is the earth. The third is subterranean and called lowest world. The aboriginal Aleuts had no temples or idols, but there were holy or forbidden localities known as ''awabayabax''. Here they made offerings to invisible spirits. Such holy places were found in every village, being usually a mound, or some prominent place or a crag, which women and young men were strictly prohibited from visiting, and especially from gathering the grasses for their basketry, or taking away stones. If any young person, either from audacity or curiosity, violated this restriction, such infraction was sure to be followed by terrible "wild" disease, speedy death, or at least insanity. Old men could visit these spots at certain times, but only for the purpose of making offerings. Among the past-tie Aleuts were both shamans and shamanism. They were considered to be the intermediaries between the visible and invisible worlds, between men and spirits, and the Aleuts believed they were acquainted with demonology and could foretell the future and aid sufferers. And though they were not professional obstetricians, yet as magicians their services were in request in cases of difficult childbirth. Shamans were the aboriginal specialists in dealing with the supernatural. They cured the sick, foretold the future, brought success in hunting and warfare, and performed other similar tasks.〔Ransom, Jay Ellis. "Aleut Religious Beliefs: Veniaminov's Account". 1945, p. 348〕 The old Aleuts related that long before the advent of the Russians, the shamans predicted that White men with strange customs would come to them from beyond the edge of the sea, and that subsequently all Aleuts would become like the new arrivals and live according to their habits. They also saw, looking far into the future, a brilliant redness in the sky like a great new world, called ''arialiyaiyam akxa'', containing many people resembling the newcomers. Aleuts believed that death stemmed from both natural and supernatural causes. The dead were treated in a range of ways, including mummification and cave burial of high-ranking men, women, and children, burial in special stone and wooden burial structures, and interment in small holes in the ground adjacent to habitations. Spirits of deceased individuals continued to "live", although details of any notion of an afterlife or of reincarnation are scanty.〔Veltre, Douglas. "Aleut." Encyclopedia.com. Web. April 14, 2011〕 Prior to contact, Aleut ceremonies were likely held in the winter. Through singing, dancing, drumming, and wearing masks, the people entertained themselves and honored deceased relatives. Social rank was likely bolstered through bestowal of gifts. Today, Aleut ceremonies are those of the Russian Orthodox Church. 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「Shamanism among Alaska Natives」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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