| Ainu
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A Caucasoid group in northern Japan, especially Hokkaido, known for its animistic beliefs that spirits or spiritual powers are causative in natural events.
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| animism
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A worldview common among oral religions that sees all elements of nature as being filled with spirit or spirits.
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| Black Elk
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A visionary of the Oglala Sioux who, in his dictated autobiography, claims that there is no strong distinction between the human and animal worlds but rather a sense of kinship.
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| calumet
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A long-stemmed sacred pipe used primarily by many native peoples of North America; it is smoked as a token of peace.
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| Distant Time
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The name given by the Koyukon people of the Arctic to the holy ancient past in which the gods lived and worked.
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| divination
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A foretelling of the fortune or a discovery of the unknown by magical means.
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| elima
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Temporary place of seclusion set up by the BaMbuti for girls who reach menarche.
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| holistic
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Organic, integrated; indicating a complete system, greater than the sum of its parts; here, refers to a culture whose various elements may all have religious meaning.
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| Inuit
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The so-called Eskimo culture of Canada.
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| kapu
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Hawaiian term meaning "taboo" or "forbidden."
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| kupuna
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In Hawaiian culture, an esteemed elder who passes what he or she know (e.g., chants) to worthy disciples.
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| libation
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The act of pouring a liquid as an offering to a god.
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| Makahiki
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The traditional Hawaiian observance of the four-month winter period.
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| Maori
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A native or oral tradition in New Zealand.
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| Pele
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In Hawaii, the goddess of fire, whose place of veneration is the volcano.
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| shaman
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A human being who contacts and attempts to manipulate the power of spirits for the tribe or group.
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| taboo
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A strong social prohibition.
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| totem
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Animal (or image of animals) that is considered to be related by blood to a family or clan and is its guardian symbol.
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| Yoruba
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A native or oral tradition in Africa.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education