The two groups shared cultural similarities as well. Each was an indigenous people. Each had fought lengthy battles, stretching over centuries, both against one another and against English speaking invaders. Each had achieved partial, but by no means complete, success in fending off the invasions. As indigenous peoples, their social structures reflected numerous similarities. Each viewed land as essentially a communal resource, not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit Each identified itself by bands or clans, and since chiefdom descended through lineage, each devised a system flexible enough to allow selection of the best person for the job. (The British monarchy found itself much more restricted in this regard.) Some anthropologists have found parallels between the fall Indian Green Corn dances and the Highland Beltane fires and harvest ceremonies. Since the cultures were primarily oral, each group accorded the bard or orator a position of great significance. The ballads, songs, folklore, and stories passed on to the children contained the distilled wisdom of their people.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 22:32:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015