Tribal Lifestyle Vs. Civilization

I just watched the following video about the life of an Inuit shaman. This video really touched me due to the honest purity of the shaman's words, mindset, the way they see the world and their place in it, etc. If you had a choice to live a tribal lifestyle or continue living within civilization as we know it, which would you choose and why?



[edit on 29-11-2009 by gazerstar]

Oh! If you decide to watch the video, pay particular attention to what he described as his spirit helpers, the Avva, who helped him see in other dimensions. Have you heard of them?

reply to post by gazerstar


If you like that you should check out "Black Elk Speaks"
Site to find his story
pay attention to his Visions... to we Native people we treat them as prophecy

That's an interesting question.

Given the way things are Right this moment, the first answer that comes to mind is Tribal

But as I see it the real problem isn't modern society, it's the industrial ear and system of controls we employed to build it in the first place.

If, we could say maybe 50-100 years further down the road, I'd have to say modern society, when this barbaric period is over and we get past this.

But this moment in time vs Tribal is a very hard call... Tribal was not so great, you usually died young, but you were Free

But as I see things getting worse before it gets better atm, Tribal still might well be the better option if by modern society you are referring to today.

If I had total choice... i'd like to op about 150 years forward actually to a time when we are embarking on colonization.

My ultimate dream would be to explore and help found a new world entirely with the benefits of modern technology

reply to post by gazerstar

Tribes vary according to our romanticized notions of what "tribal" should be. I'm all for Survival International and land rights and so forth.
The stereotyping of the "Bushmen" (San) has resulted in a mixed bag. Some of these tribes did get land-rights by focusing on their hunter-gatherer image (although the discovery of mineral rights may undermine this once again). But many others were ignored by charities for this very reason. Western Anthropologists and film-makers had a stake in representing the Kalahari as going back in time. It was almost demanded that Bushmen should be dressed in animal skins, and children denied education. Meanwhile since WW 2 the hunting grounds were shrinking and becoming war-zones. So Bushmen were put in the unenviable position where they could no longer follow their traditions, nor enjoy the benefits of modernization.
And in Botswana one tribe (the Batswana) are still oppresing the Masarwa (Bushmen). Tribalism can be plain nasty and horrible. In that respect "civilization" is "tribalism" on a larger scale.
What I've learnt is that although some tribal people do care for the land, many choose our "easier" lifestyle and they are often not the natural ecologists we expect them to be.
The ancient techniques of shamanism are definately worth exploring!

reply to post by gazerstar


There is a group of anthropologists who put forth the theory that Civilization was actually a huge mistake for humanity. They claim that the traditional lifestyle of the hunter-gatherers resulted in healthier, happier people while keeping human poplulation growth in check. In contrast they point to the many problems visited on Man by the civilized lifestyle; things like starvation, slavery, war, poverty, all kinds of mental illness, the destruction of closeknit societies, and so on.

I must admit that I have a lot of sympathy for the argument and even have elaborated on it in my own way. You see, I have been a student of Religion for over 30 years now and, it seems to me, that another detrimental repercussion of Civilization is the birth of organized Religion.

reply to post by gazerstar

If you had a choice to live a tribal lifestyle or continue living within civilization as we know it

I'm not certain what you mean. Go to any high school, church, business office or major sports event and you'll see how very "tribal" our society still is.

If it's technology you're objecting to, then I'll stick with modern society over sticks and stones, thank you.

why?

Again...technology or tribalism? Lock a christian and an athiest in a room together and you'll see how modern tribes interact. Or a democrat and a republican. Or a 911 truther and someone who believes the official story. We have tribalism right here, now, today. What would be gained by throwing away cars and houses in favor of horses and huts?

I see nothing particularly to be gained by throwing away technology. Oh, sure...I might prefer that we use it differently. But knowledge and power and not bad things. Turning back the clock is not the answer.

Wow, great find! That's IMO the best explanation of the belief system of Inuit people, IMO most native belief systems are similar. Just recently I found out that my great-grandmother was a full blood Inuit so that was a bonus to see that vid for me anyway. Oh and to answer the question I would be in a native style: nothing goes to waste, give back to the earth and other 'spirits', follow instincts etc.

S&F OP!

reply to post by godless

Perhaps one could say that (for argument's sake) I follow a Hegelian view of history that focuses on materialism that eventually led to Marxism ie. tribalism leads to feudalism, which leads to capitalism, which (ideally) leads to socialism. In that sense tribalism eventually and inevitably leads to capitalist "civilization".
The only condition is nature: plants suitable for crops to feed an urban population, and the protein and muscle power of domesticated animals. This was present in the fertile crescent, and a few other spots on earth. With those tools tribes rapidly move to "civilization". After all, tribalism is not unique to any race or region, less than ten thousand-years-ago we were all tribal.
Tribalism certainly had wars, environmental impact, starvation (regional cannibalism) and slavery. These woes did not start with civilization, as even the European fossil record indicates. Western people today have almost everything, while most "tribes" live below Third-World standards. Perhaps only in an environmental, spiritual sense do they even have relevance.
There are of course popular and unpopular ways of speaking about tribes. I suppose the minorities of eg. Native Americans are easier to romanticize than say, the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda.

Ancient man was so much smarter and healthier than modern man. I would have loved to live in the time of hunter gatherers before the earth was spoiled.

Originally posted by gazerstar
Oh! If you decide to watch the video, pay particular attention to what he described as his spirit helpers, the Avva, who helped him see in other dimensions. Have you heard of them?

Yes, sounds like power animals, in Sweden they used to call them fylgja.
I think there's some connection between the norse seers of old and the indigenous sami peoples shamans.

Just a year ago when I was meditating I saw an animal passing over my body through my eyelids.
Another time I saw it again, I quickly opened my eyes to see that the real cat in the room was chasing something invisible in the same direction I saw the ethereal cat moving in.
Yet another time I could feel the paws of an animal giving me energy/chi/prana/orgone.

I actually am related to a sami shaman(noaidi) a few generations back, sadly they're not really around anymore, I would love to meet a genuine shaman.

As for answering the question.. yeah, I probably would choose tribal society.
I think of it as "pure" in a way.

reply to post by JJay55

Interestingly, the Western world's fascination with "tribal" documentary began mainly with "Nanook of the North". Not surprisingly, much of the film was staged, and the protagonist died two years later of starvation, or TB. See en.wikipedia.org...
Most Western (or northern) society has a specific interpretation of tribalism. It views it as racially distinct primitavism set in a "pristine" landscape. What they mean is hunter-gatherers frozen in time. The relationship between people and the elements in film/photography was crucial in defining this view of the tribal.
Here in Africa "tribalism" can have a very negative connotation - as in people chopping each other up with machetes simply because they come from a foreign tribe. In fact the world stood by and did nothing about the genocide in Rwanda, because it was first dismissed as an age-old tribal squabble.
Strangely, most supporters of tribalism also support animal rights and environmental causes. So it was quite interesting to see how quickly they turned on the Makah people (Washington State) when they planned to revive a sustainable whale-hunt. Suddenly protesters had posters against the tribe: "Save a whale; kill a Makah". Nice!
Outside their own fantasies, few people care about real tribal peoples at all.



[edit on 29-11-2009 by halfoldman]

Originally posted by DaddyBare
reply to post by gazerstar

 

If you like that you should check out "Black Elk Speaks"
Site to find his story
pay attention to his Visions... to we Native people we treat them as prophecy

Thank you so much! I just finished reading The Offering Of The Pipe. It was beautiful. I look forward to reading the rest.

[edit on 29-11-2009 by gazerstar]

reply to post by gazerstar

For some good tribal reading I suggest "Basic Call To Consciousness" (original 1978, edited by Akwesasne Notes). I received that book by mail as a boy and it changed my life.

Added: for a review see: www.peace4turtleisland.org...


[edit on 30-11-2009 by halfoldman]

I can only say.

"It takes maturity to understand simplicity"

Originally posted by halfoldman
reply to post by gazerstar

 

For some good tribal reading I suggest "Basic Call To Consciousness" (original 1978, edited by Akwesasne Notes). I received that book by mail as a boy and it changed my life.



[edit on 29-11-2009 by halfoldman]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll see if I can find it at Amazon. I love reading books like that.

According to Clif High at www.halfpasthuman.com and his Asemitrical Language Trend Analysis reports in 4 years everyone left on the planet after 2012 will be living in rural,tribal groups spending 80% of their time growing ,harvesting their own food in order to survive...

The curious can google "Jay Weidner/webbots/youtube" and watch a 9 minute video of THIS information...

Clif High has a devoted following based on his "HIT" rate of predictions over the past 10 years...

If the stock market starts crashing tomorrow [ 11-30-09] you might want to look into www.halfpasthuman.com .

Did anyone else notice that their word for "joy" sounds like "Adonai," which is one of the sacred names for God in Judaism/Kabbalah?

Originally posted by bsbray11
Did anyone else notice that their word for "joy" sounds like "Adonai," which is one of the sacred names for God in Judaism/Kabbalah?

I just went back and listened to that part again, and it really does sound similar to 'Adonai'. I hadn't noticed that before you mentioned it. Does anyone know the Inuit word for 'joy'? I searched but can't seem to find an English to Inuit translator on Google. Good catch!

[edit on 1-12-2009 by gazerstar]

reply to post by gazerstar

I was on this beautiful site a few nights back. And what threads do I see now? "Ausralia declares War", and other sites on tribal-on-white violence. I don't mean to down-play gangs and crime, or even the fact that whites should also be tribal and proud where-ever they are.
The fact is however that the general feeling is turning against tribal minorities, and I think some extremists have achieved this by pointing to the "politically correct" media/academia.
I think we need a carefully considered response to all this.