Regional Deities and Issues of Appropriation

[Taliesyn]

Re: Regional Deities and Issues of Appropriation

i don't really connect to any "local dieties" - unless you count calling god Grandfather- it was the way my grandfather addressed God. But I do address the good people of This land. spirits of the wood and home are present in every culture. and I don't dare call them by celtic names, honestly, i don't call them by any names save the ones they them selves give me- but i find reaching out to them- in their places, not mine - to be very rewarding, if done with deference and respect.

[Peri_Dot]

Re: Regional Deities and Issues of Appropriation

Even if I was more of a polytheistic bent, I don't think I could do it. The tribe that lived in this area was completely wiped out by a people I'm much more closely related to. I can't articulate exactly why, but it just seems wrong for me to ask their deities for anything.

[Jembru]

Re: Regional Deities and Issues of Appropriation

Even if I was more of a polytheistic bent, I don't think I could do it. The tribe that lived in this area was completely wiped out by a people I'm much more closely related to. I can't articulate exactly why, but it just seems wrong for me to ask their deities for anything.

I think I would struggle with similar feelings too. Oddly, this is why I don't think I could see myself ever being drawn to Heathenism. Again, I'm very likely related to these very people who brought these religions to this island, and the Celts were by no means native (although many deities are), but I'd feel like I was working with a system forced on my land at the cost of the cultures that had previously dominated.

Having said that, surely just about all of caucasian Americans are decended from European peoples. Is it the fact that these Heathen invaders brought their gods with them no matter where they settled, that makes Heathenism/asatru/Odinism whatever, so popular in the States? I've been wondering for a while and this would make pretty logical sense. Of course, other deities travel with their people too it's just as possible that I just happen to live in a part of the UK where these paths is rare. For all I know, they could dominate the Pagan scene elsewhere.

[turningtides]

Re: Regional Deities and Issues of Appropriation

I wondered about which deities and who to turn to when I first began searching out paganism. Being Asian-American born and raised in the U.S., I didn't have the 'connection' to any of the Celtic, Greek, Egyptian or Roman gods that the first pagan books told me to seek. My only connection to Europe would be from the Spanish colonizers who mingled with the native populations in the Philippines. As far as reaching back toward my ancestral deities? I found only different types of Christian. The Philippines is a Christianized country--only the very poor or the very remote tribes still continue to practice native spirituality. Most Filipinos are generally Catholic, with some ceremonies and beliefs absorbed into their spirituality. Also, WHICH deities? Do I choose my mother's ancestral ethnic group or my father's ancestral ethnic group deities? There's a ton more groups with their own gods and goddesses...

That said, I have felt pulled to interact with different deities here and there. When I lived in Japan I made limited contact with the local deities. The most I could understand were the Seven Lucky Gods. I often spied snakes when I was going to have a very challenging and momentous day; I got the feeling that it was one of the Seven's (Benzaiten?) way of saying hello.

More recently I have only connected once with Artemis, and another time with Yemaya. I have also discovered a kind of ritual that I feel puts me in touch with my ancestors long ago; shaking out my rice with a woven basket. It lets the lighter stuff float away while keeping the grain I will eat. I've tried feeling out the local spirits in my area (Pacific Northwest/Seattle), but I think I have more work to do.