1 Either/or and both/and: belonging to land and ancestors
The following video invites further reflection on the relationship between religion and culture.
It is about indigenous people visiting London during the biennial ORIGINS: Festival of First Nations. It includes people talking about musical and other performances that are rooted in indigenous cultures (i.e. those of Native Americans, Māori, Aboriginal Australians and others).
Activity 1
As you watch the video, pay particular attention to what the performers say about their reasons for participating in the festival. Add your notes to the text box below.
Discussion
The flow between ritual and performance is an interesting example of a relationship between religion and culture. You might also be familiar with other examples. Music originally intended for religious ceremonies (such as Catholic Masses, Islamic Sufi dhikr, Hindu and Sikh kirtans) is performed in many musical concerts. It can be appreciated for its beauty rather than for more ‘religious’ purposes.
Similarly, people walk traditional pilgrimage routes, like the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, for reasons other than seeking redemption or specifically religious benefits. But music and pilgrimage routes are also carefully designed and presented for the benefit of religious people. In these and similar experiences, religion and culture inform each other.
OpenLearn - Exploring the boundaries between religion and culture
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