TRADITION

1
TRADITION

• Traditional Meanings are
• METONYMIC
• The meaning of a PART comes from its relationship
  to the WHOLE

2
TRADITIONAL MEANING

• EXPERIENTIAL- The meaning of a particular part
  references the whole
• PARTICULAR- Meanings are constructed and derived
  with in the experience of particular people in
  particular times and places
• COMMUNAL- Meaning is grounded in shared
  experience over time

3
State of Mind Mental Activity
Object/Outcome
EPISTEME ABSTRACT THINKING NOESIS Meta-physics ARCHAI First Principles
EPISTEME ABSTRACT THINKING DIANOIA METHOD, LOGIC REASON MATHEMATIKA LEARNED CONCLUSIONS
DOXA Knowing from direct experience PISTIS Knowing direct experience ZOA Particular Things
DOXA Knowing from direct experience EIKASIA Imaging, Imagining EIKONES Symbols, arts (imitations)
4
TRADITION

• A LATIN WORD
• GREEK SIMILARS
• paradosis/ paradidomi to put, hand over,
  allow, grant, offer, share (alongside of)
• paratheke/ paratithemi to put, lay (upon, up,
  in), entrust, commit (maintain, preserve)

5
TRADITION

• LATIN trans-dare, tradere, traditio
• trans prefix across
• dare verb to give
• To give over or across (time or space)

6
TRADITION AS --

• A VARIETY OF WAYS THE WORD IS USED
• TRADITION AS
• LORE-
• Vestigial relics of a disappearing past as
  opposed to the contemporary or modern the enemy
  of progress

7
TRADITION AS--

• 2. CONTENT (MATTER)
• Accumulated material inherited from the past,
  usually accompanied by an attitude ( or -)
• What has been passed on in fixed form
• (birthday cake Christmas tree Thanksgiving
  turkey
• 3. PROCESS OF INHERITING/RECEIVING (ACT)
• The act (or acts) of inheriting, cultivating,
  transferring, practicing, performing
• (baking the cake, buying the tree, cooking the
  turkey)

8
TRADITION

• 4. THE MEANS OF PASSING ON (FORM)
• The techniques by which one passes on or receives
• (using Grandmas recipe, putting on the
  decorations)
• 5. CANON
• Recognized, authorized, normative, official
  content to be passed on or received
• Guaranteed by history, long practice
• Opposed to innovation, fashion, idiosyncrasy

9
TRADITION AS BODY

• 6. EMBODIMENT
• The Universe 16 Billion Years
• If 1 1 million years 1331 feet
• The Earth 4.5 Billion Years
• If 1 1 million years 375 feet

10
TRADITION AS BODY

• The material in our bodies is
• 16 billion years old
• The elements developed almost instantly
• The have been evolving ever since
• The are billions of galaxies
• The Universe continues to expand
• Completely replaced every 7 years

11
TRADITION AS--

• EXPERIENCE
• Ability to enter into and live in the experience
  of our ancestors
• sensation-perception-interpretation
• language-culture-art-history

12
INTERPRETIVE SQUARE

• FOUR KINDS OF QUESTION
• WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
• ON WHAT LAND DO THEY LIVE?
• WHAT POWERS OPERATE THERE?
• WHAT CEREMONIES EMBODY WHAT THE PEOPLE KNOW?

13
THE PEOPLE

• Who are the People? What do they call themselves?
  
• 2. What do others call them? What does the US
  Government call them? Are they
  recognized?
• What do archeologists and anthropologists say
  about their origin(s)?
• What do the People say about their origin(s)?
• How do the people organize themselves
  traditionally? What kind(s) of leaders do they
  have? How does leadership work traditionally?

14
THE PEOPLE

• 6. Do they have IRA leadership and/or government
  in addition to traditional leadership?
• 7. How are The People related to other Native
  groups?
• 8. What is the story of their particular
  experience with the European invaders? (What
  group(s)? When? Treaties?

15
THE LAND

• WHERE DID THE PEOPLE ORIGINATE?
• WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE TODAY? IS THIS THEIR
  ORIGINAL LAND? IF NOT, HOW DID THEY GET WHERE
  THEY ARE NOW? DO THE PEOPLE LIVE ON A TREATY
  RESERVATION?
• WAS THEIR LAND BASE AFFECTED BY ALLOTMENT?
• DESCRIBE THE TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE OF THE
  PEOPLE. DO THEY STILL LIVE THEIR TRADITIONAL LIFE
  WAYS? HOW HAVE THEY ADAPTED?

16
THE LAND

• 4. DESCRIBE THE ANNUAL CLIMATE OF THE PEOPLES
  LAND.
• 5. DESCRIBE THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE LAND THAT
  ARE SIGNIFICANT FOR THE PEOPLES WAY OF LIFE.
• 6. DESCRIBE THE MAIN STRATEGIES THE PEOPLE HAVE
  DEVELOPED TO LIVE IN THEIR PLACE?
• 7. DESCRIBE THE CURRENT ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND
  STATUS OF THE PEOPLE?

17
THE LAND

• 8. HOW DOES THIS LAND ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATION
  OF THE REGISTER FOR THE PEOPLES SYSTEM OF
  TRADITIONAL MEANING(S)?

18
THE POWERS

1. WHAT MAJOR HOLY POWERS DO THE PEOPLE RECOGNIZE?
2. HOW DO THESE POWERS SHAPE THE PEOPLES COSMOS?
3. HOW DO THESE POWERS SHAPE THE PEOPLES LIFE WAYS
   AND SOCIAL ORDER?
4. WHAT POWERS ARE CHAOS-CAUSING

19
WHAT IS HOLY POWER

• Hal, halig (Anglo-Saxon)
• English derivatives
• whole, holistic, wealth, weal, health, hale,
  hail, heal, well, wel(-fare)
• Other
• Heil, heilige (Ger.) salvus, salve, salud, santé

20
SOME KEY TERMS

• HOLY life-giving power, order-making
• EVIL death-dealing power, chaos-making
• SACRED set apart, cared for, treated with
  knowledge and care, something considered holy
• PROFANE outside the temple, i.e., outside
  human control

21
THE CEREMONIESThe eikones of the People

1. HOW DO THE PEOPLE IMAGINE AND EXPRESS IN WORD AND
   ACT THE ORDER OF THE COSMOS?
2. WHAT ICONIC ACTS ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO THE
   PEOPLE?
3. DESCRIBE HOW THESE ACTS ARE PERFORMED?
4. HOW DO THEY ACT AS FORMS OF TRADITION?
5. HOW DO THEY LINK THE PEOPLE, THE LAND AND THE
   POWERS?