![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Some people like to whine about cultural appropriation, how anglo western culture has stolen or wiped out indigenous religions wherever it goes. Well, it is true: the western Christian behemoth has eliminated or appropriated the cultures of every people it has come into contact with - starting with the Romans! How many Christian holidays are swiped from pre-christian indigenous religions? Lots!
Let's start with Christmas. Lambing season in Palestine isn't in December, but the heathen festival of Yule sure was. The tree, the presents, the candles? Yep, all cultural appropriation. Easter, has many of the spring fertility rites of the prechristian Europeans grafted on to it, many not even barely disguised, plus stealing a chunk from Passover itself. Lots of "saints" used to be indigenous deities - like Brigid, for example.
I could dig up more examples.
So, when I get accused of "cultural appropriation" by people who celebrate things like Christmas and Easter (mostly stolen holidays and wholesale cultural appropriation), I have to laugh. My bloodlines are European, AFAIK, so if anything I should be screaming about "How dare you take my holidays and rituals and practice them!! They're only for people of *my* bloodline!!" - I'm entitled by blood to celebrate Yule, and other German, Danish, French, Welsh, and Irish indigenous holidays - and arguably new world "natives" *aren't*, regardless of how they're dressed up as "Christian".
Now, I don't approve of wholesale cultural appropriation from indigenous people. After all, my people were the victims of it first, as well as being the first to suffer the missionaries and the political or forced conversions. Don't believe me? Do a little research on the Christianization of Denmark and Ireland. I really am insulted by people who assume that since I'm not new world indigenous, I'm a tool of the Christian machine. Just because Europeans got borged first doesn't mean we like it (if we become aware of how much has been lost.) Some of us feel that we've lost so much we have to reinvent our religion out of whole cloth for the modern era, adding back in the little pieces of our past that we can find. At least it's honest in its newness, and it makes no claim on blood and bone.
But I have to ask: which is the greater loss -
a) a few idiots misappropriating a few rituals, but the general culture and religion surviving mostly intact by respectful sharing and documentation that says "we do it this way, and this is why, this is how you respect our land", or
b) what happened in europe, the indigenous religions being stolen wholesale, mangled beyond casual recognition, or slaughtered, demonized and forgotten, leaving its descendents to try to piece it back together from archaeological finds and distorted accounts by outsiders?
I would say to native americans, whatever else you do, make a history now! Record your verbal knowledge, language and rituals for your descendents. Yes, some doofus will probably get ahold of it and cherry pick a little. But the corpus of knowledge and culture will be preserved for those who come thousands of years after you. It's better to have things recorded/written in your words, from your perspective, than as the observations of an outsider who is clueless about the real meaning. As someone whose "native" religion is buried under centuries of distortion, elimination and misappropriation by the domianant culture, I beg you to not condemn your descendents to the same thing.
BTW, I consider that the Christian behemoth's generification of so much of Europe and elimination of knowledge of our indigenous gods and culture is part and parcel of the social malaise that simmers under the surface of our society.
Yes, people will get annoyed with this, but it's my journal and I'll call it like I see it. Hypocrisy is hypocrisy, regardless of how politically correct it is. If you don't want teenage fluffies stealing your deities and rites, don't be a hypocrite and celebrate Christmas, Yule, or Easter (unless you have european blood).
Let's start with Christmas. Lambing season in Palestine isn't in December, but the heathen festival of Yule sure was. The tree, the presents, the candles? Yep, all cultural appropriation. Easter, has many of the spring fertility rites of the prechristian Europeans grafted on to it, many not even barely disguised, plus stealing a chunk from Passover itself. Lots of "saints" used to be indigenous deities - like Brigid, for example.
I could dig up more examples.
So, when I get accused of "cultural appropriation" by people who celebrate things like Christmas and Easter (mostly stolen holidays and wholesale cultural appropriation), I have to laugh. My bloodlines are European, AFAIK, so if anything I should be screaming about "How dare you take my holidays and rituals and practice them!! They're only for people of *my* bloodline!!" - I'm entitled by blood to celebrate Yule, and other German, Danish, French, Welsh, and Irish indigenous holidays - and arguably new world "natives" *aren't*, regardless of how they're dressed up as "Christian".
Now, I don't approve of wholesale cultural appropriation from indigenous people. After all, my people were the victims of it first, as well as being the first to suffer the missionaries and the political or forced conversions. Don't believe me? Do a little research on the Christianization of Denmark and Ireland. I really am insulted by people who assume that since I'm not new world indigenous, I'm a tool of the Christian machine. Just because Europeans got borged first doesn't mean we like it (if we become aware of how much has been lost.) Some of us feel that we've lost so much we have to reinvent our religion out of whole cloth for the modern era, adding back in the little pieces of our past that we can find. At least it's honest in its newness, and it makes no claim on blood and bone.
But I have to ask: which is the greater loss -
a) a few idiots misappropriating a few rituals, but the general culture and religion surviving mostly intact by respectful sharing and documentation that says "we do it this way, and this is why, this is how you respect our land", or
b) what happened in europe, the indigenous religions being stolen wholesale, mangled beyond casual recognition, or slaughtered, demonized and forgotten, leaving its descendents to try to piece it back together from archaeological finds and distorted accounts by outsiders?
I would say to native americans, whatever else you do, make a history now! Record your verbal knowledge, language and rituals for your descendents. Yes, some doofus will probably get ahold of it and cherry pick a little. But the corpus of knowledge and culture will be preserved for those who come thousands of years after you. It's better to have things recorded/written in your words, from your perspective, than as the observations of an outsider who is clueless about the real meaning. As someone whose "native" religion is buried under centuries of distortion, elimination and misappropriation by the domianant culture, I beg you to not condemn your descendents to the same thing.
BTW, I consider that the Christian behemoth's generification of so much of Europe and elimination of knowledge of our indigenous gods and culture is part and parcel of the social malaise that simmers under the surface of our society.
Yes, people will get annoyed with this, but it's my journal and I'll call it like I see it. Hypocrisy is hypocrisy, regardless of how politically correct it is. If you don't want teenage fluffies stealing your deities and rites, don't be a hypocrite and celebrate Christmas, Yule, or Easter (unless you have european blood).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
I see a lot of demands for respect coming *from* the NA community, but I see primarily insults and derision aimed at the people trying to rebuild the pre-christian religions of Europe - "Wiccan/Pagan/Ecclectic/SilverravenWolf" used as a broad brush insult.
How is it mean to call tribalists on their hypocrisy? How is it mean to encourage native peoples to write it down, and preserve their own ways and history in their own words before it dies or is absorbed? Is it mean to tell the truth? Is it mean to ask tribalists (ie people who want their culture "reserved" only for their own blood kin) to practice what they preach?
Did you know that there are tribalist heathens, too? People who take the (IMO racist) opinion that unless you have the blood of the people where your religion comes from (i.e. Germany, Scandenavia, Ireland), you aren't allowed to practice that religion? That if you're not Danish, you can't be allowed to practice the rituals of Danish heathenry? How is the NA view *not* racist, when the other is? It's the same thing!!
This diatribe isn't aimed at you, because at least you are willing to think and explain you own viewpoint, and you have not been hypocritical. That's why I made the post public - because I didn't think that