Religion as Exchange

The Gift Economy

Indigenous Body

• The meaning of the body is connected to its locality– Aymara or Sherpa

• Body is not self-made but the material expression of a place– Intersection of vital forces

• Materiality of religion– We are not philosophically bodies but material

bodies

Body and Ancestors

• We exist because of the activities of others• Bodies are a reflection of those before us• Ancestors are present in the body– Meaningless for modern people but significant

fact in Indigenous religions• My high cholesterol– Genetic, meaning that it’s not my fault and not

much to do about it

Are we in charge of our bodies?

• If the ancestors are important factors in our bodies then what does this imply– We learn about them, their lives, ideas, history

• Indigenous Peoples have ceremonies for the dead– Health is dependent on the degree to which there

is a connection with the ancestors– Not superstition

Shaman

• Siberian term for a ceremonial specialist• Intermediary between human beings and

spiritual beings• Not a priest but a person (male or female)

who has knowledge• Directs exchanges between living and dead– Often times these are sporting events

Religious Dimensions of food

• Diet is local and identifies a person in particular ways

• Agricultural season is the ceremonial cycle– Hierophanies of natural world time rituals– Ceremonies are “thanksgivings” for gifts of food

• Eating requires that something die– Gifts are given to compensate– Range from expressions of thanks to sacrifice

The Body of Food

• We all grow and exist because of food• Food is a gift from the living cosmos which

fosters human life• Eating implies that we are all in constant

exchange with the cosmos– Breathing too

• Ceremonies are a “gift exchange economy” of living relationships

Ceremonial Exchanges

• Religion as exchange• Focal point of all religions• Catholic Mass– What is it?– How is it an exchange?

Myth

• Mistakenly thought of as ‘false’ or ‘untrue’ statement or story

• In religion myth is true– Model of/for reality– Reflections of the “really real” world upon which

the material world depends• Revealed to human beings not made up– Re-enacted in ceremonies

Creation Myths

• Foundational stories of how the world came to be the way it is– Particularly important for Indigenous Peoples

• Creation is an ancient story and happening in the present and future

• Source of contemporary ceremonies including sporting events– Ceremonies transact something between beings– Myths are models for that transaction

Mythic Exchanges

• Sharing the account of Creation is a ceremony– Creates community, identity– Oral tradition, no written texts

• Ritual is a collaboration between beings in order to promote life– Everyone and everything is involved; everyone is

materially connected

Ceremonial Gift Economies

• Rites of passage– What are these?– Gifts involved

• Ceremonies are gift exchanges– Ensure the future well-being of the community;

healthy working of a society• Only real gift is one’s life, the vitality of one’s

body• Not sentimental but material

Medium of Ceremonial Exchanges

• Shells, stones, seeds, etc.– Not money but

something with a living presence

– Embodies a spiritual presence

• “Wampum” for Haudenosaunee– Purple and white

beads made of quahog shell

Mesoamerican Ballgame

• Aztec and Maya civilizations– Urban city

dwellers

• Cities all had ball courts at their centers

• East-West orientation– Followed the

path of the Sun

Ulama

• Played for tourists in the Yucatan• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_o1LjX18

84&mode=related&search=

• Amazing Games for ESPN• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGUgq3gq

ii4

• Making a comeback

Resurgence of the game

• Between soccer (futbol), rugby, basketball

Maya Game

• Popol Vuh• Game first played by

Creator Twins in the underworld against Lords of the Dead– Tricked the gods and

brought back maize– Creation story

recreated in the game

Community Game

• Entire city was involved• Either the winner or

loser was the sacrificial gift

• Human sacrifice was called “debt payment” by the Aztecs

Ballgame as Ceremonial Exchange

• Cosmic map of city• Cardinal directions• Ceremonial

responsibility of human beings

• Ceremonial Center• Indigenous

Religion

Religion, Sports and Money

Charles H. Long

• ”(Religion) . . . will mean orientation--orientation in the ultimate sense, that is, how one comes to terms with the ultimate significance of one's place in the world. . . . . The religion of any people is more than a structure of thought; it is experience, expression, motivations, intentions, behaviors, styles, and rhythms.” Significations, vii

Money as Religion

• “Total fact” of modern existence– Of “ultimate concern” according to Tillich

• Symbolic, mythic, “faith based,”– No intrinsic worth

• Materiality of our current existence– Determines the value of everything in life

What is Religion?

• Exchange system between human beings and the sacred

• Indigenous traditions challenge conventional (i.e., Constitutional) understandings of religion

• Not strictly ideological--material

Theology of Money

• Symbolic value– Faith-based system– Tied to power and

prestige of its country of origin

– Pure exchange value

Value of Money

• Commodity– Tied to human

labor (Marx)

• “use-value”– Anthrocentric

(human centered)

• All life valued by money

God of Money

• Otiosus—obscured and removed from the material world

• Human beings are the most important beings– The Self is the “axis mundi” (center of the world,

or ‘world axis’) of the monetary world– All things flow toward the Self

Gifts and Monetary Economies

• Gift economy– Human life is totally dependent on living cosmos

• Monetary, profit economy– Human Self is the only living being that matters

• Diametrically oppose to one another

How does money corrupt human society?

• Age old theme in religion– Relationship with the sacred (gift economy) is

corrupted by an over confidence in the Self (monetary economy)

Money and Sports

• Confusing gift and monetary economies are evident in sports– SU men’s Basketball

team controversy ’11

• Sports reflects colliding economies most dramatically

D.C. Nationals Stadium controversy

The Gift in Sports

• Sports is an exchange of gifts– Gifts against gifts– Book cover

• ESPN series ‘life without sports’– http://espn.go.com/withoutsports/index.html

• The Hoyts– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnrLv6z-mM&feat

ure=related

• Marathon Monks of Japan’s Mt. Hiei– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S06oMxdt40A

Money in Sports

• Sports is completely surrounded by money• But it cannot interfere with the event or it’s

considered cheating• Money cannot develop athletes– But it does motivate them at a certain stage

• Indicates the power and prestige of a game– Super Bowl!!—homework – commercials

Exam #1 review

• Your test on February 7 will be twenty true/false, multiple choice or fill in the blank questions. These questions will require you to understand the following terms, names and concepts. This is only a study guide; the test may include anything from class and class readings. If you have any questions email or visit one of the course TAs; we are here to help!

Exam #1 Terms and NamesBe able to identify & describe these terms and names as used in class and class readings:

Onondaga Nation Territory • Cornell West• gift exchange• Haudenosaunee• hierophanies • Charles Long• Axis Mundi • World Parliament of Religions• Materiality• religare• habitation • Promise Keepers• myth

• Tim Tebow• ancestors • Evangelical Christianity• shaman • Devil’s Tower• rites of passage • History of Religions• Ulama • Deyhontsigwachs• Lacrosse • commodity• use value• Onward Christian Athletes

Exam #1 ConceptsBe able to analyze, compare and contrast and apply these concepts as used in class and class readings:

• The academic study of religion• Popular perceptions of religion (i.e. the media)• Descriptions of religion from Marx, Freud, Durkheim, Gandhi, Long,

West, Whitehead, Vivekananda & Bell/Douglas• Sports to promote and/or evangelize for religion• Sports as religion.• Sacred sites & opposing views• Lacrosse as the Creator’s Game• Religion as habitation vs. religion as belief.• Indigenous Religions.

– How are materiality, habitation, land, creation, exchange and thanksgiving part of Indigenous religions?

• Consumerist culture, sports and religion • money economy vs. gift economy