Animals in Religion

Devotion, Symbol and Ritual

Barbara Allen

• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781780235691
• eBook ISBN: 9781780236056
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Animals in Religion explores the role of animals within a wide range of religious traditions. Exploring countless stories and myths passed down orally and in many religious texts, Barbara Allen—herself a practicing minister—offers a fascinating history of the ways animals have figured in our spiritual lives, whether they have been Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or any number of lesser-known religions. Some of the figures here will be familiar, such as St. Francis of Assisi, famous for his accord with animals, or that beloved remover of obstacles, Ganesha, the popular elephant god in the Hindu pantheon. Delving deeper, Allen highlights the numerous ways that our religious practices have honored and relied upon our animal brethren. She examines the principle of ahimsa, or nonviolence, which has Jains sweeping the pathways before them so as not to kill any insects, as well as the similar principle in Judaism of ts'ar ba'alei chayim and the notion in some sects of Islam that all living creatures are Muslim. From ancient Egypt to the Druids to the indigenous cultures of North America and Australia, Allen tells story after story that emphasizes the same message: all species are spiritually connected.

References

Introduction

1 Walt Whitman, ‘Song of Myself’, The Complete Poems (Harmondsworth, 1975), p. 94.

2 Jay McDaniel, ‘Practicing the Presence of God: A Christian Approach to Animals’, in A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science and Ethics, ed. Paul Waldau and Kimberley Patton (New York, 2006), p. 142.

3 The oldest-known cave art is located in Cueva de El Castillo, the ‘Cave of the Castle’, in Cantabria, Spain. It is 40,800 years old. Chauvet’s cave art covers two distinct periods, the Aurignacian (30,000–32,000 BP), and the Gravettian (28,000–23,000 BP). These dates are based on radiocarbon dating. At Lascaux, in southwest France, some of the best-known Upper Palaeolithic cave art can be found. Over 2,000 figures have been found, with more than 900 of them identifiable as animals. These paintings are 17,000 years old.

4 Kimberley Patton, ‘Caught with Ourselves in the Net of Life and Time’, in A Communion of Subjects, ed. Waldau and Patton, p. 29.

5 The oldest shrine, in Switzerland, is thought to be that of a bear.

6 Alistair Moffat, The Wildwood, in Graeme Gibson, The Bedside Book of Beasts: A Wildlife Miscellany (London, 2009), p. 316.

7 Susan Chernak McElroy, Animals as Teachers and Healers (London, 1996), p. 15.

8 Susan Chernak McElroy, Heart in the Wild (New York, 2002), p. xix.

9 A term we need to exercise with caution when using, for no one can really ‘own’ another living creature. I prefer the terms ‘animal companion’ and ‘guardian’. Figures from 2011 for rates of pet ownership: New Zealand: 68 per cent of households had a pet; Australia: 63 per cent; United States: 62 per cent (in 2013 statistics from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, the United States had increased pet ownership from 62 per cent to 63 per cent); and Britain: 48 per cent. ‘Pet Ownership in Australia – 2013’, at www.animalmedicinesaustralia.org.au.

10 ‘The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”’ (Numbers 22:28).

11 It is interesting to note that there are only two instances of an animal speaking (and being understood by humans) in the Bible: Balaam’s donkey and the serpent in Genesis.

12 Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals (Walpole, NH, 1990), p. 140.

ONE: Animals in Tribal and First Peoples’ Religions

1 Chief Letakots-Lesa of the Pawnee Tribe, to Natalie Curtis, c. 1904, in Natalie Curtis, The Indians’ Book: An Offering by the American Indians of Indian Lore, Musical and Narrative, to Form a Record of the Songs and Legends of Their Race (New York, 1907), p. 96; cited in Joseph Campbell, Historical Atlas of World Mythology, vol. I: The Way of the Animal Powers (London, 1984), p. 8.

2 Hubert Howe Bancroft, ‘The Native Races’, Myths and Legends, vol. III (San Francisco, CA, 1883), p. 305, cited in Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz, American Indian Myths and Legends (New York, 1984), p. xiii.

3 N. Scott Momaday, ‘Foreword’, in Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac, The Native Stories from Keepers of the Earth (Saskatoon, SK, 1991).

4 Irving Hexham, Concise Dictionary of Religion (Downers Grove, IL, 1993), p. 187.

5 Warren Pohatu, Māori Animal Myths (Auckland, 2001), p. 22.

6 ‘First Peoples’ refers to indigenous peoples (the first people to live in a region). First Nation is a term used for Aboriginal peoples in Canada (who are neither Inuit nor Metis). A more recent trend is for First Peoples/Nations to refer to themselves by their tribal or national identity, for example, ‘I am Haida.’ Tribal identity is usually based upon cultural regions, geography and linguistics. Within this work I usually use the term ‘First Peoples’, which encompasses tribal/indigenous peoples of Africa, the Americas, the Arctic, Asia and Oceania. Occasionally I use the term ‘Native American’. I acknowledge that the terms used will be inadequate, and will date in time. This does not set out to be an exhaustive account, and the subject matter cannot be contained within the limits of one chapter. This chapter, given its scope, is more of an overview. If readers want to learn more, then the footnotes and Bibliography will guide them to additional information. The majority of this chapter will address the First Peoples/Nations of North America, but references will be made to other First Peoples/Nations.

7 Boria Sax, The Serpent and the Swan: The Animal Bride in Folklore and Literature (Blacksburg, VA, 1998), p. 220.

8 Evan T. Pritchard, Native American Stories of the Sacred (Woodstock, VT, 2005), p. xviii.

9 Ella E. Clark, Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest (1953) (Los Angeles, CA, 2003), p. 8.

10 Ibid.

11 Northwest tribes include the Salish, the Chinook, the Tlingit and the Haida.

12 The Plains tribes include Blackfoot, North Cheyenne, Pawnee and Lakota (Sioux).

13 Southwest/Pueblo tribes include the West Apache, Hopi, Navajo and Apache.

14 Southeast and Woodlands tribes include the Cherokee, Shawnee, Iroquois and Huron.

15 Roy Willis, ed., World Mythology: The Illustrated Guide (London, 1993), p. 221.

16 William Bright, cited in David M. Guss, ed., The Language of Birds: Tales, Texts and Poems of Inters...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• ONE Animals in Tribal and First Peoples’ Religions
• TWO Animals in Ancient Egyptian Religion and Mythology
• THREE Animals in Celtic and Viking Myth and Ritual
• FOUR Animals in Judaism
• FIVE Animals in Christianity
• SIX Animals in Islam
• SEVEN Animals in Hinduism
• EIGHT Animals in Jainism
• NINE Animals in Buddhism
• TEN Animals in Religion in China and Japan
• Conclusion
• REFERENCES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• INDEX