How do you define religion? Is it a belief system based on supernatural beings? Or is it something as foolish as the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? According to Geertz in Religion As a Cultural System religion can be broken down into five parts. Geertz writes that religion is a system of symbols (1) which acts to establish moods and motivations in men (2) by formulating conceptions of organizations of existence (3) and covering those conceptions by making them seem factual, (4) while simultaneously making the moods and motivations realistic (5)(Geertz, 90). This extended definition of religion, can be hard to comprehend without an illustration to follow. Since this is the case, Black Elk Speaks will be utilized to highlight Geertz’s
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it is now seen as but the partial form of a wider reality which corrects and completes it” (Geertz, 122). For example, before Black Elk had use his vision to help, he was scared of thunder and animals. Nonetheless, once he shared his vision and performed the horse dance, “... the fear that was on me [Black Elk] so long was gone, and when thunder clouds appeared I was always glad to see them, for they came as relatives now to visit me” (Neihardt, 109). After Black Elk returned from the “really real” world, he view of the common-sense world shifted. Everything that happened in the latter, was part of something much bigger, controlled by other beings; this brings comprehension to life and a way to cope with it. This is why once they were confined to a small piece of land and food became scarce, a sacred man said that the Great Spirits had told him that a new earth was coming, the Wasichus would disappear and the bison will be back in big numbers.
In conclusion, Black Elk Speaks can be used to exemplify Geertz’s definition of religion. Geertz interpretation, can be seen not only in the Oglala Sioux’s religion, but it can also be applied to world religions. The use of this interpretation, can help fathom religion more deeply. Next time a religion book is read such as Black Elk Speaks or a religion is analyzed, “models of” and “models for,” moods and motivations, explicable suffering, the acceptance of authority by rituals, and finally, the way individuals shift in and out of the real and the really real should be taken into
it is now seen as but the partial form of a wider reality which corrects and completes it” (Geertz, 122). For example, before Black Elk had use his vision to help, he was scared of thunder and animals. Nonetheless, once he shared his vision and performed the horse dance, “... the fear that was on me [Black Elk] so long was gone, and when thunder clouds appeared I was always glad to see them, for they came as relatives now to visit me” (Neihardt, 109). After Black Elk returned from the “really real” world, he view of the common-sense world shifted. Everything that happened in the latter, was part of something much bigger, controlled by other beings; this brings comprehension to life and a way to cope with it. This is why once they were confined to a small piece of land and food became scarce, a sacred man said that the Great Spirits had told him that a new earth was coming, the Wasichus would disappear and the bison will be back in big numbers.
In conclusion, Black Elk Speaks can be used to exemplify Geertz’s definition of religion. Geertz interpretation, can be seen not only in the Oglala Sioux’s religion, but it can also be applied to world religions. The use of this interpretation, can help fathom religion more deeply. Next time a religion book is read such as Black Elk Speaks or a religion is analyzed, “models of” and “models for,” moods and motivations, explicable suffering, the acceptance of authority by rituals, and finally, the way individuals shift in and out of the real and the really real should be taken into