Hello there! I have a question that might start a bit of a discussion, haha. I'm interested to see what others think about it.
BEFORE YOU GET ANGRY: I am completely okay with anyone practicing whatever they want to practice, as long as they research it well and are respectful. I just wanted to start a conversation about a topic I am a little conflicted by.
So, paganism as a literal definition would mean any religion that is not one of the main leading religions in the world(e.g. Christianity and Islam). Paganism as a cultural and historical definition, however, are the religions, traditions and practices predating Christianity. Neopaganism obviously, is the revival of these traditions.
I have come across alot of people that have told me or others that the term 'Smudging' should not be used by any non-Native american, as it is one of their practices. Instead, you should just call it cleansing, or whatever you wish to call it. Calling it smudging, or doing anything that is inherently Native(like wearing a feathered headdress) is deemed cultural appropriation.
I understand the problems with cultural appropriation, taking something from a culture that you do not belong to and that you know nothing about is problematic, especially if these people were opressed in any way at some point in time. They probably had to fight to prevent their beliefs from being eradicated and just taking it like that is disrespectful to their struggle. However, I feel that cultural appreciation should be considered too, as some people take the blaming of cultural appropriation too far. If a person extensively researches something and is respectful towards the culture, why would they not be allowed to do something from a different culture?
Having said all of this, there are a lot of people that are still very agressive about cultural appropriation. Most of the ones I've come across were American. Within the Pagan and Witchcraft community, these agressive gatekeepers exist too. My conflict happens here: if we take the cultural and historical definition, Paganism originates from Europe. Wouldn't Americans taking things from old European religions be considered cultural appropriation?
You could argue that the ancestors of the American people came from Europe. But the European people that took the land overseas from the Natives, the people who are the ancestors of the American people that are alive today, were very much Christian. Near none of the original settlers of the American population were pagan in the slightest.
You could claim that there was witchcraft, with the Salem Witch Trials and all, but
1. Usually, someone would accuse another of 'witchcraft' to blame them for something that was unexplainable then, like drought, a failed harvest or a sickness. In other cases, the accused were women in power, or women with a strong opinion that someone didn't like. Which means they usually weren't even witches.
2. Most of these 'witches' and their descendents were killed by hanging or otherwise.
3. Witchcraft =/= paganism.
How is Americans worshipping Celtic/Norse/Egyptian gods, for example, NOT cultural appropriation? I can't help but find it a little hypocritical.
On the other hand, I am all for everyone practicing whatever they want! I have no actual problem with an American worshipping a Celtic god or whatever... I am just a little conflicted over them being so incredibly agressive over a Native practice and then being totally okay with someone practicing something that is inherently not part of their culture or history.
Curious about your thoughts on this!
Please be respectful and kind to one another, I tried to be as respectful as I could. Also, correct me if I made any historical mistakes! I'm not a historian, haha.
Also, with Americans I obviously mean the people that are autochthonous, not descendant from migrants of colonists of Pagan-European descent. If you are someone who has an actual pagan descendant that they know of, good for you!
BEFORE YOU GET ANGRY: I am completely okay with anyone practicing whatever they want to practice, as long as they research it well and are respectful. I just wanted to start a conversation about a topic I am a little conflicted by.
So, paganism as a literal definition would mean any religion that is not one of the main leading religions in the world(e.g. Christianity and Islam). Paganism as a cultural and historical definition, however, are the religions, traditions and practices predating Christianity. Neopaganism obviously, is the revival of these traditions.
I have come across alot of people that have told me or others that the term 'Smudging' should not be used by any non-Native american, as it is one of their practices. Instead, you should just call it cleansing, or whatever you wish to call it. Calling it smudging, or doing anything that is inherently Native(like wearing a feathered headdress) is deemed cultural appropriation.
I understand the problems with cultural appropriation, taking something from a culture that you do not belong to and that you know nothing about is problematic, especially if these people were opressed in any way at some point in time. They probably had to fight to prevent their beliefs from being eradicated and just taking it like that is disrespectful to their struggle. However, I feel that cultural appreciation should be considered too, as some people take the blaming of cultural appropriation too far. If a person extensively researches something and is respectful towards the culture, why would they not be allowed to do something from a different culture?
Having said all of this, there are a lot of people that are still very agressive about cultural appropriation. Most of the ones I've come across were American. Within the Pagan and Witchcraft community, these agressive gatekeepers exist too. My conflict happens here: if we take the cultural and historical definition, Paganism originates from Europe. Wouldn't Americans taking things from old European religions be considered cultural appropriation?
You could argue that the ancestors of the American people came from Europe. But the European people that took the land overseas from the Natives, the people who are the ancestors of the American people that are alive today, were very much Christian. Near none of the original settlers of the American population were pagan in the slightest.
You could claim that there was witchcraft, with the Salem Witch Trials and all, but
1. Usually, someone would accuse another of 'witchcraft' to blame them for something that was unexplainable then, like drought, a failed harvest or a sickness. In other cases, the accused were women in power, or women with a strong opinion that someone didn't like. Which means they usually weren't even witches.
2. Most of these 'witches' and their descendents were killed by hanging or otherwise.
3. Witchcraft =/= paganism.
How is Americans worshipping Celtic/Norse/Egyptian gods, for example, NOT cultural appropriation? I can't help but find it a little hypocritical.
On the other hand, I am all for everyone practicing whatever they want! I have no actual problem with an American worshipping a Celtic god or whatever... I am just a little conflicted over them being so incredibly agressive over a Native practice and then being totally okay with someone practicing something that is inherently not part of their culture or history.
Curious about your thoughts on this!
Please be respectful and kind to one another, I tried to be as respectful as I could. Also, correct me if I made any historical mistakes! I'm not a historian, haha.
Also, with Americans I obviously mean the people that are autochthonous, not descendant from migrants of colonists of Pagan-European descent. If you are someone who has an actual pagan descendant that they know of, good for you!
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