"Sioux" religion and the concept of Wankan-tanka

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   paarsurreyposted 12 years ago

   One of our posters here WD Curry 111 has informed while commenting on my hub “Denial of the Creator is a made up delusion of the Skeptics”:
   
   
   “The Sioux religion was outlawed in this land of freedom of religion. The name Siuox means "human being". Their oral tradition insists that God created them to live on the Great Plains of the American west. They believe they are a remnant that will survive and flourish again. They can be formidable enemies. They have no fear of death. They see it as a door to a better place. They never knew of Mohammed or Jesus of Nazareth. They only knew the "Great Spirit", creator of the universe. I think you know Wankan-tanka as Allah.
   On "Proof Positive of Noah's Flood" (you know where to find it) there is a link for Native American lore, if you want to go to the trouble. I have it set on the Pima tribe, so you will have to look for the Sioux.”
   
   Any Sioux or believer of Wankan-Tanka here.

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      A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Actually, it's "Wakan Tanka"
      
      Considering that Lakota spirituality is NOT monotheistic but refers to an 'organization of sacred entities', you don't really have an argument.

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2. 52

   paarsurreyposted 12 years ago

   @WD Curry 111
   
   Thanks for the information; this is first time I had learnt it. I would have been more happy if a written Word, in pristine form and in the orginal language, whatever, with a translation of it would have been availabe.
   
   I think  Sioux  believe in ONE Creator God by the name Wakan-Tanka.
   
   The Sioux  believe, as WD Curry 111, informs us that humans have soul which is different from the body though within it.
   
   The Sioux   believe in hereafter.
   
   The Sioux  believe that Word from Wakan-Tanka was relieved on some righteous person.
   
   So it is about the same as Islam

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      Greek Oneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      yes, it is the exact same religion as Islam
      
      In fact, the Sioux were known for the mosques they built

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         habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         But they were portable. Had to follow the buffalo.

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            MelissaBarrettposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            +1

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      kerrygposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not an expert by any means, but I'm pretty sure the Sioux religion is not monotheistic, nor (in my understanding) do they have a concept equivalent to the "Word." 
      
      I've also heard it claimed (though I can't vouch for the accuracy, not being Sioux myself) that Wakan Tanka does not refer to a single entity at all, but rather to the collective holiness ("wakan") that is found in everything - animate and inanimate alike.

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         Greek Oneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         You gotta do your research...
         
         Jesus traveled to America shortly after he left India.

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            SomewayOuttaHereposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            ....yes, but directly to Van. Island because that's where the really, really, really good folks are...
            
            ...mornin' GO...guess you're gonna have to move to lala land...and get out of the centre of the universe......

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               Greek Oneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               why is that?  Has hell frozen over??

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                  SomewayOuttaHereposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  ...no.............not for awhile....a few years anyway....
                  
                  

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                     Greek Oneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     ah yes.. the Toronto Sun... never given to exaggeration to sell a few papers

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            kerrygposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Don't the Mormons think the native tribes of America are descended from the 10 lost tribes of Israel?

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               Greek Oneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               yes.. Mormons are clearly a branch of Islam

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               habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Yes, through Joseph and Manasseh. Some researchers claim DNA connections between the Cherokee and Jews.

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                  kerrygposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Interesting! Do you know if they've accounted for the possibility of inter-marriage between the Cherokee and early Jewish settlers to the US? (They're widely overlooked, but there were some.)
                  
                  I've heard a claim (though I don't know how accurate) that the European Basque language is unrelated to every other known language in existence... except for one spoken by a Pacific Northwest Indian tribe. The implications of that would be awfully interesting if it's true.

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                     habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     I don't know, Kerry, but it is food for thought! Think I'll do some more research. That would make a good hub.

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      couturepopcafeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting subject.  It's probably safe to say that all of the original native north americans followed the thinking that there is one great spirit. 
      
      When the trappers and traders came and began to invade their territory, many tribes, including Sioux, began to steal horses from the white hunters.  I won't get into who started what, but this is how the Plains Indians came about.  They were not a tribe at all but a conglomerate of tribes, all of whom met in the plains, all the fighters and renegades.  They were able to do this because of the horses.  Those who were not fighters had to go along or be destroyed, either by savagery or through lack of agrarian resources, which were also destroyed, not by the whites but by savage natives.  They weren't called red savages for no reason.
      
      The Sioux were among the most savage of tribes.  They were scalpers and thieves and were notorious for invading, killing and stealing from other tribes.  Hmmm...brings to mind another group of terrorists.
      
      And don't bring up the argument that America started the colonialism.  There was no America then.  The early white hunters were French and Dutch.

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         DoubleScorpionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         
         
         Sounds like the Israelites of the bible as well. And sounds like the Catholic church of the 11th-13th century as well.

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            couturepopcafeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Any terrorists will do.  I guess the point was all is not always as it seems in the world of IT

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               DoubleScorpionposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Ain't that the truth.

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   paarsurreyposted 12 years ago

   I did know about them until WD Curry 111  wrote on my hub.

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      paarsurreyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I am an open mind; I thought I should start a thread so that we know about the Sioux from somebody who is a  Sioux himself.
      
      Is there any?

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         A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Could you show us that sometime, please, I for one have never seen it.

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   Greek Oneposted 12 years ago

   Religious wars in native America...
   
   Sioux attack first portable mosque built by Jesus after he told them to wear Mormon underwear
   
   
   

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5. 52

   paarsurreyposted 12 years ago

   In the Sioux way of life, Wakan Tanka (Standard Lakota Orthography: Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka) is the term for "the sacred" or "the divine". This is usually translated as "The Great Spirit". However, according to Russell Means, its meaning is closer to "Great Mystery" as Lakota spirituality is not monotheistic.
   
   Before the attempted conversion to Christianity, Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka was used to refer to an organization of sacred entities whose ways were mysterious; thus, "The Great Mystery". It is typically understood as the power or the sacredness which resides in everything, similar to many animistic and pantheistic beliefs. This term describes every creature and object as wakȟáŋ ("holy") or having aspects that are wakȟáŋ.[1]
   
   Wakan Tanka was supposed to have placed the stones and minerals in the ground. They were also supposed to change the seasons and weather, and plants were supposed to have come out of the ground by their hand
   
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakan-tanka

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      kerrygposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      "It is typically understood as the power or the sacredness which resides in everything, similar to many animistic and pantheistic beliefs. This term describes every creature and object as wakȟáŋ ("holy") or having aspects that are wakȟáŋ."
      
      Yeah, that sounds about like what I've heard, but I've also heard Wakan Tanka described as a single entity and even a creator god, so I'm not sure what's right. It's possible the beliefs vary among the different branches of the Sioux - there are at least three major divisions: the Lakota or Teton Sioux, the Yankton or Western Dakota Sioux, and the Santee or Eastern Dakota Sioux, not to mention many smaller groups within each of the main divisions, such as the Oglala and Hunkpapa of the Lakota, the Mdewakanton of the Santee, etc.

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