Na'vi religion/spirituality question?

Started by trey94, February 27, 2015, 03:11:49 PM

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trey94

What religion, or spiritual path, most resembles the Na'vi religion? Of course, the most obvious to me would be Native American. Anyone else have any opinions or thoughts?

Personally, the entire concept of the Na'vi religion is essentially exactly what I believe. So, I was just curious to learn about any other existing religions, (aside from Native American beliefs), that resemble the Na'vi beliefs.

Vawmataw

Quote from: trey94 on February 27, 2015, 03:11:49 PM
What religion, or spiritual path, most resembles the Na'vi religion? Of course, the most obvious to me would be Native American. Anyone else have any opinions or thoughts?

Personally, the entire concept of the Na'vi religion is essentially exactly what I believe. So, I was just curious to learn about any other existing religions, (aside from Native American beliefs), that resemble the Na'vi beliefs.
The Na'vi have a spirituality, not a religion. It most resembles to the spiritualities of the arboriginal people in the world.
The other religions can have some resemblances with the spirituality, but I think they focus more on the human and the faith than on the environment around the person.

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Tìtstewan

As far as I understood the Na'vi "religion", it's rather like the shamanic religion of many tribes. But there are some differences, their "god" (I would not compare Eywa with a god) is real as the Na'vi can physically make connections to Eywa, which we - the humans - can't. Therefore, the Na'vi "religion" is not only a believe on something.


Mod note: this fit better in the Na'vi Customs and Culture because the Bible is for translating the Bible into Na'vi language. :)

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QuoteJake Sully: So who's this Eywa?
Norm Spellman: Who's Eywa? Only their deity! Their goddess, maker of all living things. Everything they know!
QuoteNeytiri: Our great mother Eywa does not take sides, Jake; only protects the balance of life.
I can imagine this being said about her:

QuoteThe great [Eywa] flows everywhere,
to the left and to the right,
All things depend on [her] to exist,
and [she] does not abandon them.
To [her] accomplishments [she] lays no claim.
[She] loves and nourishes all things,
but does not lord it over them.
That comes from Tao: The Watercourse Way by Alan Watts. (With some edits :P) If you find this interesting, another great book is Nature, Man and Woman, also by him.

Na'vi religion obviously has more than Eywa. They have spirit animals and dream hunts, commune with their ancestors via the Tree of Voices, among other things. These have similarities and parallels to indigenous religions all over the world.


The topic might be slightly different, but you might enjoy this discussion on the other board.
"Your work is to discover your world, and then with all your heart give yourself to it."

allrock123

#4
I am starting to feel that the "reflective symbolic" Na'vi "ethos" and  examples of Goddess  Eywa in the film contain both religious and spiritual aspects, I would not be surprised if Cameron did this on purpose to create a "bridge" between the two "perceptions"
That would enable audiences across many different cultural "ethos" viewpoints a person with a religious ethos would find something they could grasp and core relate to.
This builds footing of a bridge with other perspectives on the other side. 
Every person holds deep inside there core self, a central belief structure (or Ethos) pertaining to how they connect with and try to explain there big picture place in our world. and its deeper mystery's in a attempt to answer the core questions as to "who am I" where did I come from, where will I go when I die.   

If it comes from a religious perception of reality, this great mystery is given a "Name"
this "God" is a divine being "seen" on high usually above us, and passes judgment down upon our actions. so there is "some separation" A God or Goddess then "us" here down here on earth. there is often fear control structure here
and the abuse of religious control structure is a very common "seed" in our multi-generational global conflicts
 

If it comes from a spiritual perception of reality, Then there is no name is given to this greater force, and it simply
is a part of all living things, examples like the force in star wars, come to mind , but the biggest difference is
this shared bond to this unnamed creator is a core non seperate part of "who we are" there is no separation. no dualism.
In native world view this relation usually contains aspects of both the male and female, like father sky and mother earth. the female plays a very important part in there world view , males can not create , females look at things from a diffrent core "perspective" this is a critical part of there leadership and political strutures (This is reflected in JC Avatar with "mo'at's position in this case its like Polynesian culture struture in some ways.) 
and yes "some" native peoples defiantly give names to these relations , like Pachmama, or mother earth.
"once named" they become a deity not a mystery force. and then term native "religion" can "fit"  in this case.
but one must be careful as we are "seeing" this through our "ethos" and label this "religion" because that's how we "see" it, I do feel one needs to look deeper and out of respect try and "see" this relation through there eyes not 
our own "religious" relations.   
Most native Americans do not give a label name to "To the great mystery" or "Great spirit" though the name "creator" is sometimes used, The creator is a "thing or balancing essence".
The Lakota in there cultural "ethos" do call the creator "Wankan Tanka" "or "The Great spirit"
but I would need to talk face to face with one of there faith keepers to authenticly understand if this hold the intent in naming a "God"
     

Eywa's in Avatar , is said to be like the "container for the memorys of past Ancestors"
so there memorys and insights are a part of this named female deity "Eywa"
but one has to wonder if perception and label comes from how "humans" defined or saw the Na'vi peoples
relationship through there own "religious" lens and called her there deity
There are a people in central America called "The Kogi" and in there creation story they speak of a being
called "Aluna" The all mother, but formless and not centrally located , in there case the "Sea was the mother"
Aluna is (noun):
Pure thought, Memory, spirit (essence) , mind , soul , imagination

The entity out of which all things are born, in which everything is contained.

In Aluna there is the memory of the past and the potential for the future.

here is the key:

Aluna forms the "bridge" between the universe and the human spirit.

I will first link to an example of the Kogi creation story my only interest is to voice the story itself
not the music that comes after. up to the 1min mark very short. remember the music was not created
by the Kogi and is not an authentic source of there knowledge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB1DQ_C6Gig

"But" its here in this second example that comes from new science concept upon what has been come to be known of as "LUCA" or last universal common "Ancestor" seen by science as a "super organism"

(Noticed this example was deleted from youtube will try and find a new link)
 

Given Cameron's talk of the focus of Avatar 2 being on Pandora's oceans there may be a relation.
Is Eywa possibly a interconnected planet wide "super organism" ?

There is also talk of the symbology of "Another tree" in avatar that has not been found yet a very sacred na'vi song is related to it
(I do need to question if this wiki source below of information is from the true Avatar stable (Cameron's pen) , or fan fiction created extension of content here) 
"This is Called the "Star tree" and there is some Avatar related info here and I have never heard it spoken upon in any of the forums "yet" but here it is, and it is from this source: see sample of this text below.

http://avatarinitium.wikia.com/wiki/Eywa

Humans do not know when or how the Na'vi came to the conclusion of creating a deity, but some theorized as to why humanity have created religions; to explain events or to create a society under a unifying banner. However, the Na'vi all believe in Eywa with no one clan having a difference of opinion about Eywa. Dr. Grace Augustine also came to the conclusion that Eywa was partially formulated on the basis of something keeping a balance on Pandora to which no scientist have come to the conclusion as to why.

Upon the suggestion of the Na'vi song surrounding the Star Tree, it is believed that Eywa came to fruition from the Star Tree itself, an all beautiful (feminine) and a balanced tree that provided shelter for both clans that fought fiercely over.

Info on the "Star Tree" Taw'rina is the na'vi name for this.
http://avatarinitium.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Tree

please share opinions on these thoughts
Irayo

     

   
   
   

   
     

Toruk Makto

Hey folks, I restored this thread since a permissions problem in the new forum allowed the topic creator to delete the entire topic (which is not allowed on the forums).

-Markì

Lì'fyari leNa'vi 'Rrtamì, vay set 'almong a fra'u zera'u ta ngrrpongu
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Tirea Aean

No more deleted threads? :')  LN 2.0 just gets better and better.  :palulukan:

Vawmataw

Vawmataw the deletor is disappointed. ;D

*starts a Na'vi ritual to say on-topic.
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