RELS 131 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Bon Festival, Medicine Man, Prehistoric Religion
26 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Looking both ways from stonehenge: the stonehenge- structure erected between 3,500-4,000 years ago. Looking back from stonehenge: shared concepts which are fundamental to religion: 1. Spirits interacting with humans in the current world: they are so old no one really knows where and when they are from. Shamanism: this is a kind of priest (shaman, it is the person who acts as an intermediary between humans and the spirit world (medicine man, soul doctor, witchdoctor) Connecting to the cosmos: people of the neolithic (new rock) era created sacred areas like the stonehenge, motivation may have been political or for religious reasons. Discerning the cosmic cycles: important function of priests: track the seasons and determine the best time for seasonal activities like planting, the people of the neolithic era paid careful attention to the phases of the moon. Hilltop tombs: high places have been favoured as burial sites, ex. pyramids of egypt, stupas of asia.
