Diffusion Theory: Native American's Connection To The Environment
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Native Americans were believed to have a deep connection to the environment along with a rich history behind them. Form their religious beliefs to how they secured food, the origin of the Native Americans is quite interesting as to how many theories have been created due to the fact that no one knows where they have come from and how they got there. Along with the civilizations that emerged prior to the European invasion of America.
A theory that some scholars believe in, is called the Diffusion Theory. This theory is to believe that Native Americans actually weren’t native to their country, forty thousand years ago, and that they were forced to cross the Bering Strait followed by a herd of animals. A Bering Strait is a strip of land that…show more content… And because of this, the nomads began to worship the trees and mountains. The nomads believed that when you eat a certain animal, you obtain their “spiritual” properties. Meaning they inherit their animal “power”. These people are called shamans. Shamans are people who claim to have the ability to talk to the spirit of animals in the celestial world. They believed animals are animal guardians, same as an Angel Guardian, and that each animal have specific powers. This is the reason why Native Americans wear skin coatings of an animal depending on their animal guardian, in which they believe they are born with, protecting and guiding them and allowing them to use their animal qualities. Now because of these animal worshipping, Native Americans began to dabble in artwork, thus creating animal totems. With these totems that they have created, they would perform a soul binding ritual to create a guardian figure. Back then the Native Americans believed that the animals soul comes from the animals blood, therefore, they would bathe the totems with the its rightful animal blood, and chant prayers to trap or “bind” the animal’s soul into the totem, thus tapping into their power, making it a true guardian figure. The same thing was done to a land that the Natives want to settle on. They would build shrines of an Animal guardian and ‘spell bind” the territory with its animal spirit, thus protecting and evading intruders. Native Americans also believed in shape shifters, as did the