THEORIES OF RELIGION
ANIMISM
Animism (from Latin anima ‘soul, life’) is Tylor’s theory on primitive religion. It explains the concept of origin of the idea of soul.
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings. Animism encompasses the belief that there is no separation between the spiritual and physical (or material) world, and souls or spirits exist, not only in humans but also in all other animals, plants, rocks, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment.
According to this theory, primitive man formed the idea of soul based on two biological problems. The first is the phenomenon of sleepiness and death, and the second is the dream and vision. In this biological condition, when a man is in a state of sleep, his life is isolated from his body for the time being. Sometimes, even dead persons appear in the dream. Thus, they developed a concept of continuance of soul after death. The Todas observe two death ceremonies – one a few days after death (also known as the green ceremony) and the other after a certain period has lapsed (known as the dry ceremony).
It is a tribal belief that there is a supernatural power at the back of all powerful natural phenomena, and they, in order to please the power, worship it in different ways. Sometimes these powers and phenomena are worshipped namelessly. Santhal and Oraon, worship their ancestor, which the Santhal worship family Deities and village Deities. The Kornana tribe worships their goddess of crop; some tribes try to please these powers by offering humans, animals and even birds sacrifices to different gods and goddesses.
Hence, they reached the concept of pure souls and pure spirits. The spirits may have their effects on individual bodies. Based on good and bad categories, good spirits are beneficial and bad spirits are harmful.
So, Tylor believed that an attitude of awe and reverence towards these intangible and non-material spiritual beings forms the core of the earliest form of religion, and ancestor worship was the earliest form of religion, and ancestors worship was the earliest form of worship and tombs are earliest temples. The beliefs in multiple spiritual beings lead to polytheism.
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