Tohono O'odham Religion and Rituals
Tohono O 'odham Religion and Rituals
December 02, 2013
Tohono O 'odham Religion and Rituals
Himdag is a Tohono O 'odham word that translates to "way of life". The eight elements of religion are found throughout the Tohono O 'odham past and present cultural beliefs.
The Tohono O 'odham believe that they were created by a God named I 'itoi. I 'itoi once created a people whom were known as the Hohokam or the ancient ones. The Hohokam turned on I 'itoi and attempted to kill him four times. After the fourth attempt on I 'itoi 's life he found refuge in the underworld. From the underworld he brought forth the wuskam, roughly translated as the ones who came out. The wuskam were the Tohono O 'odham brought to this world to eradicate the Hohokam and inhabit their land.
The Tohono O 'odham like many Native American tribes were converted to some sort of Christianity. The denomination adopted by the Tohono O 'odham was Catholicism. The catholic faith was brought to the O 'odham first by the Jesuit missionaries and further enhanced by the Franciscan missionaries. The catholic religion has since been integrated with the Tohono O 'odham himdag. The Tohono O 'odham have found a comfortable middle between religion and spirituality. There are many aspects in O 'odham himdag that coincide with the catholic religion. Author Donald Bahr speaks about the similarity of the creation stories of the O 'odham and the Christian biblical stories. He dissects the myth of a flood in both creation stories, as well as a parting of a body of water such as that of the story of Moses parting the red sea. Mr. Bahr also makes a connection to the killing of a creator or messiah and their resurrection. (Bahr, Smith, Allison, & Hayden, 1994)
Most Tohono O 'odham are brought up with the catholic faith. However, within the past 50 years different denominations have found its place in the lives of the Tohono O 'odham; but the catholic religion remains the dominant religion in the Tohono O 'odham
December 02, 2013
Tohono O 'odham Religion and Rituals
Himdag is a Tohono O 'odham word that translates to "way of life". The eight elements of religion are found throughout the Tohono O 'odham past and present cultural beliefs.
The Tohono O 'odham believe that they were created by a God named I 'itoi. I 'itoi once created a people whom were known as the Hohokam or the ancient ones. The Hohokam turned on I 'itoi and attempted to kill him four times. After the fourth attempt on I 'itoi 's life he found refuge in the underworld. From the underworld he brought forth the wuskam, roughly translated as the ones who came out. The wuskam were the Tohono O 'odham brought to this world to eradicate the Hohokam and inhabit their land.
The Tohono O 'odham like many Native American tribes were converted to some sort of Christianity. The denomination adopted by the Tohono O 'odham was Catholicism. The catholic faith was brought to the O 'odham first by the Jesuit missionaries and further enhanced by the Franciscan missionaries. The catholic religion has since been integrated with the Tohono O 'odham himdag. The Tohono O 'odham have found a comfortable middle between religion and spirituality. There are many aspects in O 'odham himdag that coincide with the catholic religion. Author Donald Bahr speaks about the similarity of the creation stories of the O 'odham and the Christian biblical stories. He dissects the myth of a flood in both creation stories, as well as a parting of a body of water such as that of the story of Moses parting the red sea. Mr. Bahr also makes a connection to the killing of a creator or messiah and their resurrection. (Bahr, Smith, Allison, & Hayden, 1994)
Most Tohono O 'odham are brought up with the catholic faith. However, within the past 50 years different denominations have found its place in the lives of the Tohono O 'odham; but the catholic religion remains the dominant religion in the Tohono O 'odham
References: Bahr, D., Smith, J., Allison, W. S., & Hayden, J. (1994). The Short Swift Time of Gods on Earth. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. Underhill, R. M., Bahr, D., Lopez, B., Pancho, J., & Lopez, D. (1979). Rainhouse and Ocean. Flagstaff, AZ: Museum of Northern Arizona Press.