Vision quest

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The vision quest (Engl. Vision Quest or Vision Quest ) even dream fasting or guardian spirit looking is in ethnological sense, a spiritual practice of some ethnic religions in America for obtaining supernatural power through ritualized looking for a personal guardian spirit . It occurred with the Eskimos and the Indians of northeast, central and western North America as well as with isolated tribes of South America and played a special role in the personal development of young people; in most cases by men, but also by women in some tribes.

The seekers went alone to remote places in order to achieve the desired visions through days of fasting , sleep deprivation and other forms of self- martial. The altered state of consciousness created in this way led to hallucinations that were experienced as contact with a guardian spirit from the hereafter . A pact was then concluded with him in various ways. The deep belief in this pact strengthened the self-confidence of young people, so that young men, for example, were successful in love, in trade or in battle.

The impressions of supernatural appearances are similar to the shamanic soul journey . Both the type of vision search and the mental experiences reflected the cultural expectations of the respective people. Thus bravery and steadfastness were high ideals among all races that conducted vision searches ; and if, for example, an individual totemism with the idea of ​​soul-mate animals was part of the culture, then the protective spirit appeared in the form of an animal. After the decline of the North American Indians at the end of the 19th century, the search for visions lost much of its importance. However, it became part of the Christian syncretistic peyote religion

According to Anthony Wallace , the search for visions is one of the "individualistic religious cults ", since as a rule neither shamans nor priests are necessary for its implementation. Only in exceptional cases (such as in the masculinity ritual of the Shuar Ecuador or the Toloache cult of Southern California ) is it or was carried out as part of collective initiation rites and with the use of psychotropic drugs .

In the esoteric scene there is a form of the vision search adapted to the west .

procedure

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Preparation is required to achieve a vision. A place in the wilderness is chosen where the seeker - sometimes together with other seekers - can be undisturbed. Often hills and heights are chosen for a vision search, in order to leave everyday life behind and to be particularly close to the "sky". In some cultures the place where the vision is to be received is shown by a medicine man or in a dream .

The ritual goes through three clearly distinguishable phases: separation (preparation), threshold time (solo) and reincarnation (integration).

The actual ritual begins with a cleansing of the body and clothes. During the search for a vision, which, depending on the people, can take a few hours or days to weeks, the candidate abstains from all food and in many cases also refuses to drink water. He spends the day and night with prayers and meditations, he listens to the wind, the animals, the grass, the stones and tries for messages of the elements and perceived clues and symbols that could be related to his concern , to open. The longed-for vision - a trance-like experience - usually only reveals itself suddenly and unexpectedly after a few days and in individually different forms, e.g. B. as a surprising insight, seeing images and processes or as messages communicated by ghosts , animals and other allies.

In many tribes, a so-called medicine bag was then filled with sacred objects, which then had the function of a talisman , which should bring the vision to mind at all times.

A vision seeker who returns home with a vision celebrates the event with his relatives and friends. The vision received is seen as a gift to be incorporated into life and which brings with it the obligation to act according to the new insights.

Examples

For the Lakota Indians, the search for a vision is one of the seven rites that, according to tradition, were given to the people by the white buffalo calf woman . While the vision was made public with them and interpreted by the community, the Ojibwa Indians and other Algonquians kept the result a secret.

With the Absarokee (Crow) it happened that the young men cut off a piece of the fourth finger of the left hand when the vision would otherwise not appear. Young Crow was already implied as a toddler what effect a vision will have and what can happen in it. This expectation led to the fact that in their search for a vision “actually” a buffalo, a snake, a common buzzard, a thunderbird, a dwarf or a mysterious stranger appeared who adopted him as a protégé. Although the search for a vision is an individualistic ritual, according to Robert Lowie's research , the common cultural ideas of the tribe usually lead to the following five similarities:

  1. Entry of the vision at the end of the fourth day
  2. Trees and rocks turned into enemies, but they could not harm the emerging spirit
  3. Adoption by the friendly guardian spirit
  4. Revelation of future exploits
  5. Acquisition of a sacred song
This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Vision searches were undertaken by adults in order to heal a relative, to find the solution to personal questions or problems, to end a phase of life or to begin a new one, or to see the world and their life with new eyes and different perspectives learn.

In Mesoamerica, a guardian spirit can be called a nagual , and the practice of searching for a guardian spirit can be called nagualism .

Similar practices in other religions

The Bible also reports that, for example, Jesus went into the desert fasting for 40 days and nights. It is reported of Moses or the prophet Elijah that they went into the desert fasting. Acts of the Apostles tells of believers fasting before making decisions. --Acts 13: 3; 14: 23. Whether in Moses 'encounter with God on the Holy Mountain or during Jesus' fight with the demons in the desert - the three taboos that are still given to those seeking meaning on their way today were always adhered to: no food, no human contact, no / minimal protection from the forces of nature.

In Islam , the so-called istichāra ( istiḫāra ) is a method of attaining visions. Here a Muslim says a certain supplication before going to sleep. He is then to receive divine guidance while he sleeps. Many Muslims use this method when making important life decisions, such as choosing a spouse or choosing a career.

Today's search for a vision in Western society

Today's vision search offered in western esotericism was developed in the 1970s by the psychologist Steven Foster and his wife Meredith Little. It is not an imitation of a specific Indian ritual. Rather, Foster and Little took three elements from indigenous practices in order to create a new form of vision search:

  1. The methods of food deprivation, solitude, exposure to the wild, and sleep deprivation
  2. The participant finds knowledge through his introspection in the depth of his own psyche, he consecrates himself
  3. The universal basic structure “detachment - threshold time - reintegration” of old rites of passage .

In contrast to the Indians, western society is not tied to tradition. The ritual knowledge of our ancestors has therefore largely been lost. In order to adapt the vision search to the needs of western society, Foster and Little introduced three innovations:

  1. During the preparation time, the ritual knowledge necessary for self-initiation is imparted.
  2. The content of the event is independent of traditions, denominations or ideologies.
  3. A high security standard.

The vision search for men and women enables u. a.

  • an inventory of previous life,
  • a reorientation by finding insights into existentially important questions,
  • an integration of the new in a more mature phase of life.

On the vision search offered in western society, men and women go into the wilderness for four days and four nights alone, without food but with enough water. With preparation and follow-up, the event typically lasts twelve days.

literature

  • Black Deer: The Sacred Pipe. The Indian wisdom book of the seven secret rites. 1st edition. Lamuv Verlag, Bornheim 1982, ISBN 3-921521-68-8
  • Steven Foster, Meredith Little: Vision Quest. The murmur of the holy river. Search for meaning and self-healing in the wild. 3. Edition. Arun, Engerda 2002, ISBN 3-935581-09-2 .
  • Sylvia Koch-Weser, Geseko von Lüpke: Vision quest. Alone in the wilderness on the way to oneself. = Vision search (= Knaur 87261 Mens sana ). Revised paperback edition. Knaur-Taschenbuch, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-426-87264-1 .
  • Evelin L. Rosenfeld: What is really important to you. The workbook for personal empowerment. Junfermann, Paderborn 2004, ISBN 3-87387-587-X .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dieter Haller u. Bernd Rodekohr: dtv-Atlas Ethnology. 2nd completely revised and corrected edition 2010, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-423-03259-9 . P. 253.
  2. ^ A b c d e Walter Hirschberg (founder), Wolfgang Müller (editor): Dictionary of Ethnology. New edition, 2nd edition, Reimer, Berlin 2005. pp. 398–399.
  3. ↑ Anita Weinberger: The Indians of North America. Native American Art, Traditions, and Wisdom. National Geographic 2009, ISBN 978-3-86690-120-9 . P. 91.
  4. ^ A b c d Marvin Harris: Cultural Anthropology - A Textbook. From the American by Sylvia M. Schomburg-Scherff, Campus, Frankfurt / New York 1989, ISBN 3-593-33976-5 . Pp. 288-289.
  5. ↑ Black Deer: The Holy Pipe. The Indian wisdom book of the seven secret rites.
  6. ↑ Christian F. Feest : Animated Worlds - The religions of the Indians of North America. In: Small Library of Religions , Vol. 9, Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-451-23849-7 . P. 118.
  7. ↑ See Elizabeth Sirriyeh: Dreams and Visions in the World of Islam. A History of Muslim Dreaming and Foreknowing. IB Tauris, London, 2015. pp. 176f.
  8. ^ Arnold van Gennep : Rites of passage. = (Les rites de passage). 3rd, expanded edition. Campus-Verlag et al., Frankfurt am Main et al. 2005, ISBN 3-593-37836-1 .