An Animist perspective, by Suvi
Animism is a reclaimed anthropological term used by indigenous communities and neopagans (Druidry included) to define their beliefs. Stemming from the Latin word anima meaning life. The definition was first developed by scientist Georg E. Stahl in 1708 as animismus; a now defunct biological theory that stated souls were vital to life and disease had spiritual causes. In 1869 Edward Taylor; an early anthropologist when reading Stahl’s theory coined the word Animism to denote, as he viewed them; unsophisticated nature based tribal religions. Unsurprisingly the term was dropped from the anthropological lexicon in the early 20thcentury as a patronising colonial slur. It wasn’t until the 1990s that the term was reinstated when Nurit Bird-David argued that animism as a label was now self-determined to denote native belief systems and Tim Ingold’s extensive research revealed that countless communities throughout the world see themselves as religiously animist giving the reasoning that they and their beliefs are not separate from the environments in which they live.
The most widespread understanding of Animism today is from the work of Stewart Guthrie published in 2000 and that is that souls and/or spirits inhabit natural phenomena. This leads those interested Druidry to revel in the diversity of rich ecosystems such as woodlands. As the more varied life is in one area, the more life affirming it is to spend time in such places. Animists understand that all living things are interconnected with lifeforce. Each animist community has its own descriptive term for this energy which is impersonal and not worshiped. In Druidry we call it Awen. Therefore, within Druidry there is the perception that all things; animals, plants, fungi, trees, rock outcrops, seashores, rivers, oceans, lakes, marshlands, our planet, the universe, and even words and sounds through bardic expression, are all alive with Awen.
All life is understood to have a personhood due to being alive, interconnected and in communication through interaction with other beings. This means animism and Druidry as a form of it is a community-based belief system, with that community not only including humans, their pets and livestock but also including all life within their landscape and local environs. As individuals we only have meaning in the context of the communities we live within and serve. Education in Druidry is concerned with respectful interaction within our own landscapes. Stemming from the practices of older animist traditions who through cautionary stories and demonstration educated each new generation in how to interact as a group safely and successfully within the environments which a community was linked in order to survive.
Animists in general practice particularism. Which is to say that each community is tied to their own landscape and each will have their own definition of deity, own oral tradition and own practices. An animist from the Sahara Desert would be considered uneducated if they travelled to live with a community in the Arctic and vice versa. Likewise, a Druidry animist wouldn’t last very long if parachuted alone into the Amazon rainforest. Therefore, there is no consensus at present to whether animism is a naturally occurring world religion or an umbrella term for a vast group of differing separate spiritualities. And, it is for this reason that Druidry open rituals are non-prescriptive with every participant bringing their own understanding to these events from their own landscapes.
So what concerns Druidry animists? Firstly, like all animists we are concerned about where our food comes from. How do we eat animals in order to survive? When animals are considered non-human people, and are thought to have their own kinship and belief systems. As a result, many Druidry animists are very careful how they source their food, grow much of it, eat foods only in season and look carefully at animal welfare if they eat meat. In Britain, alternative protein sources are available meaning many Druidry animists are vegetarian or vegan unlike in other animist communities living in environments where meat is eaten out of necessity, with the procurement of animal products done with careful respect to the animals involved. Likewise, many animists view plants and fungi as people and interact accordingly by greeting politely while gathering respectfully so not to abuse a resource. In Druidry this respect is extended to trees, from which fallen bark, sap, leaves, blossom and nuts are removed with an offering of mead, ale, a drop of blood or some saliva left behind in their place. Secondly like all animists; Druidry animists are concerned that their environments are sustainably used and not abused. In line with indigenous environmental campaigns and projects aboard; UK and Irish Druidry animists are engaged in raising awareness regarding pollution, fracking, unchecked mining, harmful industrial farming, lack of flood defences, the need to establish nature reserves in disused quarries and numerous other environmental causes.
Maintenance of the natural balance is key to Druidry. Though Druidry animists are a pragmatic people who live in the here and now, we are very conscious of cause and effect and how hostile our environs and the planet will become if humans are not held accountable for their environmental actions. A western world that runs out of food due to soil exhaustion in the US and Europe for example will be a very violent world for future generations. In animism time is cylindrical; what goes around literally comes around. In Druidry we embrace the annual cycle by marking the seasons and lunar months. Instead of blocking out the night which balances the day; our days begin at dusk and darkness is celebrated as much as light. We try to prevent extremes that would unbalance our worldview and do not prescribe to constructed notions of good and evil with their rewards or consequences which police other religions. Likewise, Druidry has no concept of sin; we are as we treat others, we are responsible for what we do, and we try to do what is right over what is easy, which plays back into our positions within our communities and our interactions with non-human beings. Druidry animists do not practice social censure as secular law courts and prisons exist in our countries. In animist areas without these there is next to no crime as social censure; banishment means lack of group support and non-survival. In petty disputes not of our making the Druidry animist simply walks away. One belief about social censure we do share with other animists however, is if a deceased person’s actions in life, leave those who knew them only with negative memories, without positives to remember them by their soul becomes extinct.
So, what’s new? Animism was recognised in 1996 by cultural ecological philosopher David Abram as a phenomenological experience; that’s to say a sensory experience. Any Druidry animist who has encountered tree murmur or wind song; a smell and taste carried on the wind during seasonal change with be aware of sensory stimuli which are not easy to explain. Mr Abram argues that unseen animist phenomenon previously thought to be supernatural are interactions between natural occurrences and one or more of the 15 human senses other than sight. Then in 2006, Alf Hornborg published data from anthropologists who were starting to explore the theory that animism is a basic human psychological need. They theorize that all societies animate their environs; whether the society identifies as animist or not. All people they argue create personal caring relationships with non-humans such as cars and other vehicles to whom they give a gender, pets who are rightly viewed as family members and children who project positive personalities onto their toys. In FAQ on this site it is asked; Is Druidry Animistic? and the answer is of course yes. If the above research which is still ongoing turns out to be true, then all humans are to some degree animist and that is a relief for the planet to savour. We may not be on course to kill her after all.
Sources
Abram, David (1996) The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World. Pantheon Books, page 303
Abram, David (2010) Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology. Pantheon Books
Bird-David, Nurit (1999) “Animism” Revisited: Personhood, Environment and Relational Epistemology. Current Anthropology 40 (S1); S68 and Current Anthropology 41 (S1); 67-91
Guthrie, Stewart (2000) “On Animism”. Current Anthropology 41 (1): 106-107
Harvey, Graham (2005) Animism: Respecting the Living World. Columbia University Press. Pages xi-xiii, 3, 5-6, 20, 100-109
Haught, John F (1990) What is Religion? A Introduction. Paulist Press, page 19
Hiebert, Paul. Shaw, Daniel. and Tieneu, Tite (1999) Understanding Folk Religions. Baker Books. Pages 55-56, 157
Hornborg, Alf (2006) “Animism, Fetishism and Objectivism as strategies for knowing (or not knowing) the World. Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology 71, pages 21-32
Quinn, Daniel (2012) “Q and A #400” Ishmael.org archived from the original on 23/09/2011
Stringer, Martin D (1999) “Rethinking Animism: Thoughts from the Infancy of our Discipline” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 5, pages 541-556
Tylor, Sir Edward Burnett (1871) Primitive Culture Researches into the development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Art and Custom. Published by J Murray. Page 260 – please note this research is now discredited
Willerslev, Rane (2007) Soul Hunters; Hunting, Animism and Personhood among the Siberian Yukaghirs. Berkeley: University of California Press, page 24
