Deck 2: Encountering Indigenous Religions: Ways to Tribal Life

Question 1

Manaism is preanimistic, because:

A)it does not connect power to spirits in individual natural things or species/groups of things.
B)its followers believe in offering animal sacrifice to deities.
C)it involves worshiping multiple deities.
D)it is based on a belief that spiritual powers originate from within a person rather than from an outside force.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which figure is known by different names in different tribes, the most common being holy man, medicine man, and healer?

A)spirit
B)deity
C)shaman
D)totem

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In the book Nature Religion in America, who argues that in America the term nature religion fits a whole range of American beliefs, from precolonial Native American religions to the contemporary "New Age" movement?

A)N.Scott Momaday
B)Mircea Eliade
C)Catherine Albanese
D)Gerald Vizenor

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A tribal member with special abilities and the authority to act as an intermediary between the people and the world of gods and spirits is called a:

A)guru.
B)Wakanpi.
C)yogi.
D)shaman.

Question 5

Which of the following is a key element of animism?

A)the belief in animal sacrifice
B)the appearance of the sacred in dreams and visions
C)the belief that individual spirits exist only in people
D)the existence of a shaman

Question 6

"Aboriginal" is the common term for indigenous peoples and their religion in:

A)Australia and the Philippines
B)The Philippines and China
C)New Zealand and the Philippines
D)New Zealand and Australia

Question 7

Which of the following poses a challenge to the study of indigenous religions?

A)Most of the indigenous tribes have not written down their stories, beliefs, or rituals.
B)Indigenous religions are restricted to North America and Africa.
C)Indigenous people typically lead a nomadic life.
D)Most of the indigenous tribes are monotheistic.

Question 8

The Latin word anima stands for:

A)soul, spirit.
B)high lord.
C)Sun God.
D)witch.

Question 9

A religion based on the idea that the spirit of one primary source in nature provides the basis for all life is called:

A)monotheism.
B)animism.
C)totemism.
D)paganism.

Question 10

Alice Kehoe, in her 2000 book Shamans and Religion, argues sharply that:

A)shamans are unique to each culture where they are found, and thus there is no such thing as "shamanism."
B)shamanism is a unique religion present in many places in the world today.
C)shamans are exclusive to manaism.
D)shamanism is the oldest of all religions.

Question 11

Karl is a follower of animism.He is most likely to believe that:

A)animals do not have souls.
B)individual spirits exist in all individual things in nature.
C)the dead are never reborn.
D)a shaman can talk to holy spirits.

Question 12

What animal is the totem of the tribe featured in the Twilight series?

A)bear
B)wolf
C)eagle
D)jaguar

Question 13

Twilight, a fantasy novel series, deals with what indigenous tribe?

A)Yoruba
B)Lakota
C)Maya
D)Quileute

Question 14

The members of a particular tribe believe that Ziu, one of its members, has the power to talk directly to celestial beings and can use his powers to heal the ailing.Ziu is most likely a:

A)noble savage.
B)shaman.
C)trickster.
D)Wakanpi.

Question 15

The term mana stands for:

A)soul, spirit.
B)high lord.
C)Sun God.
D)spiritual power.

Question 16

What is an informal term for indigenous religions suggesting that they have a stronger connection to the natural environment than do other religions?

A)supernatural religion
B)nature forum
C)nature religion
D)environmentalism

Question 17

Which of the following statements is true of totemism?

A)Its followers believe in a single God, and they donot believe in worshiping nature.
B)It has become extinct.
C)It is also referred to as animism.
D)It is found in the Native American tribes of the Northwest coast.

Question 18

Why is "traditional religion" an ambiguous term for the religions dealt with in this chapter?

A)Most people don't know what "traditional" means.
B)Not very many scholars use it today.
C)All religions are traditions because they are handed down from the past.
D)This term is used only of very old religions.

Question 19

Which of the following refers to a belief in an impersonal spiritual power and energy that permeates the world as a whole?

A)Totemism
B)Manaism
C)Animism
D)Buddhism

Question 20

Another word for "primitive religion" is:

A)primal religion.
B)traditional religion.
C)animism.
D)original religion.

Question 21

What is an example of Pan-Indianism?

A)greater unity in the nation of India
B)common action for Native Americans in the government of the United States
C)ingesting peyote as a religious experience
D)participating in an intertribal drumming festival

Question 22

Which of the following statements is true of the place to which a particular indigenous tribe belongs?

A)All indigenous tribes believe that they originate from Africa.
B)Indigenous peoples are deeply rooted in a place.
C)For indigenous tribes, their place of origin is a temporary location as they typically lead a nomadic life.
D)Indigenous tribes are restricted to central Africa.

Question 23

What is a common term for counteracting curses made by others?

A)witching
B)unwitching
C)counteraction
D)positive magic

Question 24

The purpose of most indigenous rituals is to:

A)invoke dangerous power.
B)control the power of the world.
C)worship humans who have attained sainthood.
D)bring about an imbalance in nature.

Question 25

Why did the Sioux people set up their camps in circles?

A)To signify the circular cosmic natural balance
B)To signify the circular path of life
C)To signify the cycle of rebirth
D)To signify the circular path to salvation

Question 26

Which of the following statements is true of the deities worshipped by indigenous groups?

A)Indigenous groups worship a single God.
B)The Lakota and Yoruban religions do not believe in high gods.
C)Indigenous groups worship deities or spirits in a detached way.
D)High deities seldom figure into everyday religious life of indigenous groups.

Question 27

In indigenous religions, deities or spirits are:

A)worshiped in a detached way.
B)ritually invoked and engaged as inhabitants of the world.
C)invoked through myths as celestial beings.
D)referred to as the founders of the tribes and worshiped every day.

Question 28

Indigenous traditions around the world are commonly in-group based.This implies that they:

A)follow monotheism.
B)follow polytheism.
C)do not typically seek converts.
D)are belief based.

Question 29

Which of the following is a common characteristic of indigenous religions?

A)The followers of indigenous religions promote monotheism.
B)They are oriented more toward belief rather than toward practice.
C)They are globally distributed.
D)They typically have written texts that document their origins.

Question 30

Why have Native Americans been such a highly-decorated group in the U.S.Armed Forces?

A)Native American life has made them very patriotic.
B)Native American life has given them outstanding combat skills.
C)Native American life has given them a heritage of bravery in battle.
D)There is no one particular reason why they are so highly-decorated.

Question 31

Native religions lay most emphasis on:

A)worshiping human figures.
B)worshiping gods.
C)rituals.
D)relationships.

Question 32

Who among the following is the most notable religious specialist of indigenous peoples who acts as an intermediary linking the human and spirit worlds?

A)a shaman
B)a deity
C)a trickster
D)a guru

Question 33

Indigenous peoples believe that:

A)each and every part of nature has a spiritual aspect that makes it live and gives direction to its life.
B)there exists only one true God who grants life and death to the people of this world and rules the universe.
C)one can attain salvation through atonement for one's sins.
D)one can be enlightened through the path of meditation.

Question 34

Compared with some other world religions, most indigenous groups are:

A)monotheistic.
B)polytheistic.
C)atheistic.
D)empiricistic.

Question 35

Which of the following statements is true of indigenous religions?

A)Some Native American and African tribes, along with their particular religions have become extinct.
B)Indigenous religions are restricted to North America and Africa.
C)Most indigenous communities have written documentation of their customs and rituals.
D)In general, more-traditional forms of indigenous religions with written records are found in northern Africa.

Question 36

For indigenous people, the term "place" has more than geographical significance.It is also significant because it:

A)is a matter of tribal and personal identity.
B)is a marker of wealth.
C)designates one's status in society.
D)indicates where a tribe moved from after its creation to its main, present place.

Question 37

In the context of raising children in indigenous religions, indigenous traditions are:

A)belief based.
B)based on formal "teachings."
C)practice based.
D)based on monotheism.

Question 38

What made horses important for the life of the Plains Indian tribes?

A)They could move their camps more easily
B)They could be more effective in battle with other tribes
C)They could more effectively hunt buffalo
D)They could have a lot of fun racing their horses

Question 39

What is the overall purpose of indigenous religions?

A)to maintain the balance of life so that the group as a whole can thrive
B)to enable individuals to reach their full potential in life
C)to develop good relations with other types of religions
D)to bring the group to a happy conclusion at the end of human history

Question 40

What is one weakness of Roussseau's description of indigenous peoples as "noble savages"?

A)It is easily misunderstood.
B)It is "lost in translation" from the French original.
C)It has no influence in popular culture today.
D)It is an idealized view of indigenous peoples.

Question 41

What is the term Jean-Jacques Rousseau used for indigenous peoples, who, he held, are naturally good?

A)Olorun
B)Wakanpi
C)noble savages
D)tricksters

Question 42

The Ojibwa tribes called the neighboring Lakota Nadouwesou, meaning:

A)poisonous snakes.
B)high gods.
C)all powerful.
D)strong ones.

Question 43

Which of the following elements is included in Yoruba rituals dealing with ancestry?

A)sacrifices
B)building pyramids
C)using hallucinatory drugs
D)mummification

Question 44

The belief that individual spirits exist not only in people but also in all individual things in nature is:

A)manaism.
B)animism.
C)polytheism.
D)monotheism.

Question 45

The gods of Vodou are called loas, meaning:

A)mysteries.
B)angels.
C)witches.
D)rulers.

Question 46

Anthropologists typically hold that the human race gradually spread from what area across much of the globe beginning more than 100,000 years ago?

A)Africa
B)Asia
C)Eurasia
D)Australia

Question 47

In Yoruban religion, at what point is one's destiny in life determined?

A)at birth
B)at reincarnation
C)at one year old
D)when one becomes an adult

Question 48

In the ghost dance movement, who are the "ghosts"?

A)dead Native American warriors
B)dead Native Americans of all types
C)dead European-American settlers who oppressed Native Americans
D)living Native American warriors who will gain supernatural, ghost-like powers

Question 49

The use of what mildly hallucinogenic but not physically addictive drug made from a cactus bud goes back for centuries among Native Americans in the Southwest?

A)marijuana
B)peyote
C)hemp
D)ketamine

Question 50

In the context of the treatment of the dead ancestors in Yoruban religion, which of the following statements is true?

A)The dead ancestors are not given much thought as Yoruban religion does not believe in the concept of life after death.
B)Some Yoruba groups believe that their dead ancestors become semidivine figures.
C)The Yorubas do not offer sacrifices to their dead ancestors.
D)Yoruba rituals for respecting the dead ancestors are purely religious and not cultural-traditional.

Question 51

Some Yoruba myths have a pair of gods as the gods who created the world, including Odudua and:

A)Orisha.
B)Orishala.
C)Orion.
D)Olorun.

Question 52

The Yoruba high god is usually known as the:

A)Holy One.
B)Omniscient One.
C)Ruler of the Sky.
D)Ruler of the Earth.

Question 53

The Lakota ritual of passage to adulthood is called:

A)shamanism.
B)a sun dance.
C)a vision quest.
D)assimilation.

Question 54

In indigenous societies, what type of rituals are employed to bring children to fully initiated membership in the group?

A)life-cycle rituals
B)cleansing rituals
C)trance rituals
D)bonding rituals

Question 55

In Yoruban religion, female priests are known as:

A)iyalawo.
B)babalawo.
C)Ifa.
D)Olorun.

Question 56

Yoruban main gods who control relations between the earth and the high god Olorun, and with whom humans have contact through myth and rituals are referred to as:

A)Wakan Tanka
B)orisha
C)babalawo
D)iyalawo

Question 57

Myths about creation that explain the origin of all existence are called:

A)semihistorical myths.
B)cosmogonic myths.
C)etiological myths.
D)grand myths.

Question 58

Which of the following is a similarity between Vodou and the Brazilian religions Candomblé and
Umbanda, Cuban Santería, or Jamaican Rastafarianism?

A)The followers of these religions believe in one God.
B)The followers of these religions believe in Olorun, the high god.
C)These religions are based on an African indigenous religion.
D)These religions originated in Australia.

Question 59

In Yoruban religion, male priests are known as:

A)iyalawo.
B)babalawo.
C)Ifa.
D)Olorun.

Question 60

Indigenous traditions around the world are commonly:

A)based on monotheism.
B)in-group based.
C)belief based.
D)cult based.

Question 61

Indigenous religions are ethnicity based.

Question 62

Vodou believers worship only Olorun.

Question 63

Many followers of Vodou worship in Christian churches on Sunday mornings.

Question 64

What is an etiological myth?

Question 65

In the context of Polynesian religion in Hawaii, what term refers to a man who is both a cultural and religious leader?

A)shaman
B)kapu
C)kahuna
D)orisha

Question 66

In Vodou religion, the "Lord of the Dead" is frequently represented by phallic symbols.

Question 67

A Native American "sacred pipe" is also correctly known as a "peace pipe."

Question 68

A spirit, god, animal, or human that behaves against convention for the good of others is called a(n):

A)aboriginal.
B)Wakanpi.
C)noble savage.
D)trickster.

Question 69

The cultures in which indigenous religions are based are not predominantly oral.

Question 70

Spell-workers are often called what in the southern United States?

A)hoodoo doctors
B)ancient healers
C)witches
D)wizards

Question 71

Yoruba is unimportant for the Western Hemisphere.

Question 72

A semi-historical myth is meant to explain how things have come to be as they are now.

Question 73

Followers of Vodou believe in the revival of the dead.

Question 74

Manaism is the belief in impersonal spiritual power and energy.

Question 75

What is a semihistorical myth?

Question 76

The Yoruba venerate their dead ancestors.

Question 77

In indigenous religions, belief takes precedence over practice.

Question 78

Totemism is the belief in one high god who rules over the entire universe.

Question 79

The use of history to study indigenous peoples is limited.

Question 80

What teerm refers to the act of portraying something in another culture as strange or exciting, and distorting it in the process?

A)ethnocentrism
B)exoticism
C)assimilation
D)misrepresentation