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Understanding the Conundrum of Rebirth Experience of the Beaver, Gitxsan, and Witsuwit'en
Author(s) -
Mills Antonia
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
anthropology and humanism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.153
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1548-1409
pISSN - 1559-9167
DOI - 10.1111/j.1548-1409.2010.01065.x
Subject(s) - reincarnation , beaver , embodied cognition , sociology , aesthetics , fish <actinopterygii> , spirituality , ethnology , history , art , philosophy , theology , epistemology , ecology , fishery , biology , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
SUMMARY The First Nations people of British Columbia experience reincarnation as a revitalization of their culture. This article documents the perseverance of reincarnation experiences among the Beaver, Witsuwit'en, and Gitxsan peoples of British Columbia, as well as my own growth in understanding such experiences. It recounts examples of rebirth cases. It explains what rebirth experiences mean to the First Nations people. It describes how these experiences are embedded in their perception of this world and embodied in their beliefs of spiritual realms, which include the interconnected and parallel worlds of fish and land animals, on this world and in spiritual dimensions. While the rebirth worldview contrasts with that of the Western scientific world, this is a worldview I have come to endorse.