Outside Source - Primitive Dance

Each and every culture provides its own reasons as to why people dance, and these reasons deserve reflection. Reflection can enable African Americans to embrace and revive the positive while enduring adversity during the slave trade. Who knows, it may have been during this era when blacks’ dancing skills skyrocketed past the whites and never looked back.
I think the majority would agree with me in using the African American culture as a platform – a undeniable basis for good dancing. I think everyone should shake what their mama gave them because it is an energetic and creative way to express yourself, learn about one's own culture, maintain a cultural connection, or learn about a different culture. Dancing is not only an opportunity to learn, but also to feel the history and culture of a people. We should all learn to dance because dance, good or bad, makes people happy.

Ward, Sheila A. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. Reston: May/Jun 2007. Vol. 78, Iss. 5; pg. 3, 5 pgs

Outside Source - Primitive music

I love music. It’s one thing in life that can trigger my emotions at any time. As a result, researching the origins of music was highly enjoyable. After examination, I have found that prior study of primitive music has unearthed a great number and variety of styles that are present in today’s seciety—when compared with Western culture, numerous similarities are found relating modern music to primitive. In general, every primitive tribe has its own musical style. Sharing of a style by different tribes may be due to an original unity of the groups in question, or to intensive culture contacts between them either ancient or recent (George, 24).
What I think is fascinating is how primitive musical styles show a fairly significant lack of complexity or elaboration. As a result, many think they may represent some early stage of musical development, or may even give is insight into the ultimate origins of music.
I high school show choir, we often sang a capella primitive songs during concerts. They were incredible powerful. Despite the variety of styles created my primitive peoples, some general characteristics either are common to all primitive music or at least occur very frequently. Such music is primarily vocal. Intruments are mostly rhythmic in character and function’ they are often limited to accompanying the voice.

Herzog, George. General Characteristics of Primitive Music
Bulletin of the American Musicological Society, No. 7. (Oct., 1943), pp. 23-26. Stable http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1544708%28194310%290%3A7%3C23%3AGCOPM

Outside Souce - Primal vs. Science

People in today’s Western culture often try to make Christianity fit within a sound nineteenth-century "scientific" understanding of religious evolution as a natural progression moving from the more primitive to the civilized, from immoral to moral, from seclusive/tribal to universal, from primal religion to contempory Christianity. I personally don’t think it is necessary to be able to undeniably be able to connect Christianity and science to one another. In my opinion, God created humans. Humans think they have invented science, but if God created man then something tells me he has this whole concept of science pretty well figured out.

Kirby, Jon P. International Bulletin of Missionary Research. New Haven:
Apr 1999. Vol. 23, Iss. 2; pg. 87, 2 pgs

Outside Source - Drums

Drums are a huge part of today’s culture. Turn on MTV and your bound to see America’s most popular band rockin out – all bands containing a drummer because they are essential. People love feeling the beat of a song pumping out of 12 foot stack bass amp at a life concert, or the quiet, soulful sound of a snare and a symbol accompanying a live jazz band.
More primitively, though, cultures played percussion instruments such as the fish-skin drum. "It looks very primitive and uncommon both in design and material as it remains primitive from the old times when the Hezhe people relied on fishing and hunting," said Liu.
Liu hypothesized that the sound of the drum was similar to that of ethnic groups such as shamanism in Northeast China – because the sound of drums from this particular society often resembles and symbolizes thunder. More recently, the drums at Shaman sacrificial rites and rituals have been gradually becoming more complicated, made to resemble "boats" or "horses."

CAO MIN,China Daily staff. China Daily. (North American ed.). New York, N.Y.: Jun 18, 2003. pg. 9

Free Write - Rituals

I believe rituals and rites of passage are performed to resemble that of something similar to the original creative act. Creation, therefore, is not a chronological event that took place "back then," but an ever-presentness. Ritual enactment keeps one in touch with that presentness as an eternal reality. When I was in high school, felt as if I were conducting in a ritual process every time I would go on a run. I didn’t worry about anything else, I just focused on the present task. One breath at a time, one step at a time – if I thought too far ahead, I’d lose focus and cramp up or lose my pace.

In conducting further research, I would like to gain a more full understanding of the religious significance of the mask in primal consciousness and ritual practice. Why does simply putting a mask over one’s face enhance the ritualistic experience?

Free Write - Orality

There is something powerful about the tool of orality. When I used to ask my grandfather to tell me a story, I always know I was in for an exciting treat. In telling the story, one is able to decide where the setting will take place, who will be involved, the overriding moral.. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. Whoever said “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me” did not know what he was talking about. Words have life and breath. Stories may change and evolve, but they are almost always relevant to personal events.

Texts, on the other hand, completely preserve story, tradition, information, etc. as a constant. But how often do we go read them? I would much rather hear a story straight from my grandfather than from a book – even if there were slight variations with each time he told it to me. To be honest, I would be content simply to know the stories that matter to me are written down for records sake – that’s it. In examining primal consciousness, I found myself asking, “what is the main difference between ‘textuality’ and ‘orality?’ and is one honestly better than the other?

Free Write - Primal Time

I think the true concept of time is better thought of as "timelessness." In today’s American society, time is linear. We have been taught that time and history are "going somewhere." For example, the past keeps falling further back the timeline while we look forward to fulfilling a destiny or long-term goal. For example, I was always taught in history class to not let history repeat itself – in otherwords, don’t let negative happenings that have already occurred on life’s timeline occur on the future end of the timeline.. if that makes sense.

Primal time, on the other hand, is not linear, but eternal. "Eternal" in this situation does not mean "forever." The idea of forever is in itself linear (forever implies time going on and on). Instead, eternity simply "is." This "isness" is the constant, unchanging setting within which the gods and ancestors simply "are." They are not moving along an ever-evolving timeline, but merely existing. This world is encountered in any number of ways, such as dreams, shamanic ecstasy, mask performance, etc. Primal people may speak of "the Past," but this understanding is not of time-line form, but as a whole.

Free Write - The Drum Circle

The drum circle, in relation to concept of primal religions, was a unique experience and something I'll never forget. Upon arrival, we were instructed to remove our shoes, get in a circle, and refrain from speaking. I initially felt a bit uncomfortable and hesitant about the activity. It was something that I had never experienced before, so I had no idea what was about to take place. As we began playing our percussion instruments, though, I began to understand why I was there. I was able to understand why people of primitive religions conducted drum circles – the consistent rhythm of the drms helped me to gain spiritual and mental composure - I was able to block out any and all distractions and simply focus on the activity before me. While the majority of us were probably not “musically inclined”, I sensed that we were all connected somehow – the rhythms being created were so peaceful to me.
I don’t know anyone else’s motives for playing – or who they were playing for – but I was out there worshipping the God of the universe. The same God that has been around long before primitive religion. I know that everyone has their own reality, their own explanation of creation, life and it’s purpose - I put my hope in Christ. He’s the reason I live, the reason I am able to love, He’s the reason I am able to fail miserably at life and get back up and try again. He’s my purpose. Funny enough, while I was out there I was imagining that everyone else was playing for Jesus, too. Though I know that wasn’t the case, I like to think that it will be some day.

In Class - Black Robe

The movie Black Robe did a geat job of interpreting how a real life situation would be if two polar-opposite cultures were forced into one society – especially if one came with the motive of influencing an entire society with unknown information; life-altering “hearsay”. This film reminded me of the movie End of the Spear. This is the story of Mincayani, a Waodani tribesman from the jungles of Ecuador. Much like Black Robe, five young missionaries are speared to death by the Waodani in 1956, a series of events unfold to change the lives of not only the slain missionaries' families, but also Mincayani and his people.
Unlike the situation in End of the Spear, I felt like the Jesuits were more or less forcing their religious beliefs on the Algonquins. This is why the tribal people acted to negatively towards the Jesuits. Maybe if the preacher in the boy had earned the right to be heard – through gaining their truest and respect – their response to the message of Jesus would have been presently more clearly. Each side was blind to the perspective of the others. Coming from a completely different place and culture, each group’s concept of life is going to significantly differ. Especially as ignorant Americans, we often just assume everyone else thinks and lives just like us – which is clearly not the case.

In Class - The Dreamtime

A major part of what our class examined was the process and significance of religious paintings in primal cultures. We watched a film, Australia Twighlight Dreamtime, which predominately focused on the act of painting and how that connected their culture to the dreamtime. These primal people had a ritualistic way painted on cave walls and spent a significant amount of time attempting to connect with the dreamtime through this act.
The primal cultures valued the act of painting more than the outcome. In the film, there was an old man who, obviously with years of experience, gathered the natural supplies for his art ritual. Strands we’re sliced with precision to make a paint brush, a large portion of bark was removed from a tree for a canvas with excellence, and paint was prepared to perfection.
The man immaculately spread the paint onto the canvas – forming the ever so detailed image of an animal. I find it so amazing how he is able to connect with the sacred by the mere act of painting. I know that I am often impatient with the process and what to get to the end result, but that is the opposite of his train of thought. By focusing on the present instead of the future and end results, this culture of people have shown me that one can be given the opportunity to connect with the Divine.

Free Write - Space vs. Place

I remember being asked in a course titled Wilderness as Sacred Place, “What is the difference between ‘space’ and ‘place?’” These primitive concepts are so difficult for me to fully wrap my mind around. It often helps me to take such dense terms and simplify them as much as possible without removing all substance. For example, when I put “place” in most simple terms, I define the concept space (which is never ending) with a spatially limited circle drawn around it. Place is simply a select space – that which holds unique significance to each individual. The primal consciousness is identified in this particular place because its what we’re familiar with. In other words, one's physical place is one's spiritual base. One question that I can’t seem to find an answer to is: Which is more significant – space or place? Both have held significance in my life, but I can’t determine which more than the other.