Many believe aboriginal culture is completely uniform throughout the world. Many believe they are savages or uncultured. Those people could not be more wrong. Aboriginal culture cannot be generalized into just one common loose statement nor are they uncivilized ruffians. Aboriginal culture is vast with similarities and differences. They have built very diverse and intricate societies. Many of their beliefs, in my opinion, is far better than our modern society. The traditions and cultures of aboriginals are amazing and impressive, and should not go unnoticed. They have distinct rituals, beliefs, and religious spirit.
For starters, aboriginal people have a wonderful spirituality. Most aboriginal people believe in some form of Great Spirit with many other lesser spirits governing different aspects of their life. For example the Sea Goddess watches over the see and the Sky Goddess watches over the skies. What's more impressive is that these stories are not written, but shared orally by elders and faith keepers. As settlers came to Canada, some tribes were exposed to the Catholic religion (among other things such as disease and death) but their natural spirituality never faltered. Even as they were taught new languages and new stories by the Jesuit priests, they still applied that to their spirituality. They prayed by rivers and forests. Nowadays, many Aboriginals converted to Christianity, but many are starting to convert back to their mother religion. Their faith have been preserved even after the hardships that happened through the centuries. The powerful connection Aboriginals have with the spirits is something to be admired by every culture.
The Aboriginal cultures have very diverse beliefs but there is often some common ground. Although people cannot generalize Aboriginal culture, they can say there are many similarities. For example many believe that land is not something to own and that the land must be shared among all the tribes. In contrast to our society where property is a symbol of wealth and often times is not shared. Another common ground is that many believe in a matriarchal society meaning women are the heads of the family or tribe. With the Wendat people, the females of the tribe assigns the roles within the tribe. In a Wendat tribe, the size and prestige of a longhouse is based on the amount of women are within it. When it is time for a Wendat woman is ready for marriage, the man is put through the test to see if he can provide for her. If he doesn't satisfy her, she can move on to the next man who wants her hand. Women are treated with more respect than with our mainstream society. This belief, in my opinion, is very impressive, possibly because I grew up in a patriarchal society.
