Mini-paper on Tribal and Ancient Religions by Rose Prescott

Rose Prescott
World Religions
Mini Paper #1
February 19, 2007



The origins of religion stretch back to a time before there were any written records of history. In these prehistoric civilizations, events and ways of life were passed on orally. These prehistoric people are also referred to as tribal. “Tribal refers to the form of social organization used by these peoples: small groups of hunters and gatherers in an extended family or clan” (Carmody and Brink, page 27). These tribal people placed a great emphasis on such things as fertility, death, nature, and food. Their main concern was survival. This concern was reflected in their relationship with the world around them. To these tribal people, there was no distinction between the ‘human world’ and nature; there was a strong sense of co-existence. Because of this great sense of connection to the world around them, “Much of the religion of early humanity, much of its worship, probably focused on generative powers and the Great Mother” (Carmody and Brink, page 28). The Great Mother was often depicted as a pregnant woman, showing the great concern of life and fertility of these early people. The Great Mother was the beginning of the concept of a female deity.
Tribal religion also incorporated the ideas of the sacred and the profane, the belief that some things in life were holy and more significant than ordinary elements of life and that there were also things opposite the sacred. We see this attitude repeated in our time as well, a religious building might be considered sacred where an ordinary building may not. Most communities practicing tribal religion believed that all things have a soul, including plants and animals as well as humans. This belief is known as animism.
Another important figure in the lives of these tribal people was that of a Master of the Animals. The very survival of these people depended on the success of the hunt. The Master of the Animals was looked to as a deity that watched over the animals, and had the power to decide whether the hunt was going to be successful or not. Many sacrifices were made to this deity, in attempts to please him and to ensure a fruitful hunt.
Due to the fact that modern society is no longer made up of hunting and gathering groups, this is no longer a sensible form of religion. In this day and age, this intimate connection with nature does not, to a great extent, exist, and our survival is not dependant on hunting therefore there is no longer any need to please the deities of earth and animals.
The structure of early religion would change considerably with the shift from hunting and gathering to an agricultural society. These two ways of life would come together to form a newer set of beliefs. As contact with other peoples and cultures became more prevalent, traditions and beliefs were intermingled. Many of the values of earlier hunter-gatherer tribal religions were incorporated into agricultural societies. “Many of the agricultural societies of the Mediterranean and Middle East had Great Mother goddesses who governed the fertility cycle of plants and domesticated animals” (Carmody and Brink, page 61). As stronger societies began to conquer and take control of smaller, weaker communities, an increase in powerful masculine deities was seen. With the introduction of kings and rulers within these societies came the rise of human kings to divine status. These deities all worked together in an ordered manner.
Like the beliefs of hunting and gathering peoples, there is little room for this type of religion in modern America. One of the most obvious reasons would be the fact that we are no longer concerned with conquering our neighbors. We also do not have a king whom we consider a god. We look to the President of the United States and other government officials to make important decisions concerning our well being, but we understand that they have no supernatural powers.
The Hellenistic religions of Greece and Rome have much in common with the early religions of tribal peoples. Similar to the Great Mother deity who concerned herself with nature and fertility, we see the tradition of a goddess linked to fertility and the rule of animals. There were also earth spirits who were linked to fertility and the rule of the dead (Carmody and Brink, page 202). There were powerful male gods of war and of creation and goddesses of the hunt and of love. These deities parallel the common concerns of all these early societies. Throughout all of these religions, themes of survival such as fertility, death, agriculture and nature can be seen.
While these religious traditions worked well for the people of these civilizations, they are not practically applicable in modern day society. The challenges that we face today are very different from past experience. We no longer depend on hunting and gathering or agriculture, the nutrition that we depend on can be found in a local grocery store. While we still respect the environment and the world around us, there is no longer that strong sense of connectedness and dependence on nature. Personally, I cannot see myself placing faith in any of these beliefs. The deities that these people placed their trust in do not stand for anything that holds meaning or directly effects my life.