Separate Rituals: Cultural Appropriation, Interconnection…
I have been participating in Sweat Lodges since about the age of 8 or 9 years old. My mother, though not by blood of the First Nations, has been recognized by Indigenous elders as an “honorary member” of tribes based on her extensive healing work and embodiment of indigenous spirituality and traditions. Despite this, I still feel a certain hesitancy in “admitting” my deep connection and involvement in Indigenous ceremony. The question of who is “authentic” , who has the “right” to practice certain traditions is a slippery slope.
I have certainly been around enough gatherings that I have found offensive in the use and amalgamation of sacred symbolism and rituals. For the most part my frustration has been in relation to earth based traditions being converted into excuses to escape our bodies and the physical plane. The imposition of hierarchical language structures onto spiritual traditions aimed at non-duality plagues many new age circles. People are encouraged to take their consciousness out into space, to the cosmos, without any attempt at rooting and recognizing the importance of grounding in the body.
I’ve also had many conversations with other people whose backgrounds include a history of colonization about the feeling that the use of ancient culturally linked spiritual traditions is the last and ultimate form of robbery. As if , having displaced and oppressed these people for so long, now they are attempting to subvert the one last cultural stronghold left intact.
But aren’t all mystical spiritual traditions ultimately the same? Aren’t all these rituals linked , despite different colours being associated to different directions, or prayers being said in different languages…? I find this a conundrum.
How do we maintain a sense of cultural sensitivity while at the same time acknowledging that ritual and ceremony is something that comes from within? That sharing and shifting spiritual practices is necessary for both global and personal (r)evolution.
For if we cannot share ways of appreciating and connecting to the earth and all that is, how can we expect to create any semblance of peace between cultures and people? If the use of certain gestures or symbols to recognize Gaia or spirit is considered one culture’s territory…
Borders and political affiliations seem superficial in comparison to the ways in which we choose to celebrate and value life…or choose to degrade and escape it. Yet they are also part of the fabric that has been created to maintain the illusion of separateness.
Tags: ceremony, culture, gaia, new ageism, ritual, spirituality, sweat lodge
May 17, 2009
rather than the last stab of colonization, i think it’s more like”… first they hate you, then they ignore you , then you win…” of course , i’m thinking that as a white male of european descent.
Aug 05, 2009
All we have to do is understand that no matter who we are, we all come from the same source. We are undeniably linked together (and proven by our DNA). Our religion and or the way we practice our devotion to that source no matter what we call it is linked to our culture and the way we were brought up. Just as cultures are different, our ways of practicing are different. If we are to be true to ourselves and each other we will show tolerance of each others ways of practicing because in the end it’s all the same. We are all practicing communication with the same source.
Sep 15, 2009
I have to struggle with this myself and I think the “it’s all the same” line is the problem. The fact is that it is not all the same. We don’t have the same histories or worldviews and as individuals we are all unique. Unity through integration, integration through diversity. I think you should be allowed to do as you wish while inherently knowing that the very act of what your doing as simple self expression will be offensive to someone in someway. There are some traditions that perhaps shouldn’t be open to everyone simply because they can never be fully appreciated or understood by outsiders… You can not separate religion and culture, for example, I have a close friend who always invites everyone he knows to shabat (a Jewish mealsharing ceremony related to genesis), when another Jewish friend heard of non-jews going to shabat she was offended. In truth no individual identity can claim a cultural artifact as theirs, but if they do, well that’s something if you’re not of that culture you should respect.
Sep 20, 2009
Сайт очень качественный. Награду бы Вам за него или просто орден почета. =)