Agudar ('Creator'[1]) is the creator god in Aleutian mythology. The name is also alternately rendered as Agurur, Agûģuq, Agugux, Agu'gux or Agu'gux'.
Agudar is a universal force, similar to the concept of Great Spirit in other Native American religions.[2] They are believed to be the creator of the universe,[3][4] a hunting deity who watches over animals and hunters,[5] a reincarnation deity and a solar deity.[6][7]
There is not much documented information about Agudar.[8]
Worship and rituals
The worship of Agudar by men and women were performed separately, in sacred places such as caves.[9] Only adult males were allowed in sacred ceremonies.[3] When someone dies, commoners and slaves are cremated, and children and the upper class are mummified by stuffing the body with grass and oil and wrapped in fur before burial.[3][5]
Ioannin Veniaminov, a member of the Russian Orthodoxy, noted a ritual where at dawn everyone would face the sun, open their mouths, and swallow the light because daylight represents life.[4] Stepan Cherepanov noted that when hunting with the Aleut people, they would say a prayer asking for aid.[10]
After the introduction and influence of Russian Orthodoxy,[11] Agudar was also used to refer to the Christian God.[1][12]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 University of Alaska, Fairbanks (December 1954). Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska. University of Alaska. https://books.google.com/books?id=T_SNM5G15DMC.
- ↑ Utter, Jack (2001). American Indians: Answers to Today's Questions. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-8061-3309-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=yh9j9Dd5uoAC&pg=PA145.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mitchell, Bruce M.; Salsbury, Robert E. (2000). Multicultural Education in the U.S.: A Guide to Policies and Programs in the 50 States. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-313-30859-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=Oc8ECZUlW38C&pg=PA11.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Atkins, Sean (2008-03-24). "Spiritual and Secular Transculturation in Russian America, 1821-1867". Past Imperfect (University of Alberta Libraries) 13. doi:10.21971/p77p4w. ISSN 1718-4487.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Werness, Hope B. (1 January 2006). Continuum Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism in World Art. A&C Black. pp. 270–271. ISBN 978-0-8264-1913-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=iBSDddO-9PoC&pg=PA271.
- ↑ B. J. Harrington, ed (1881). The Canadian Naturalist and Quarterly Journal of Science with the Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Montreal. p. 208. https://books.google.com/books?id=0F4oAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA208.
- ↑ Lantis, Margaret (1984). "Aleut". in William C. Sturtevant. Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 5: Arctic. 5. Smithsonian. pp. 161–184. ISBN 978-0-16-004580-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=paOEtwEACAAJ.
- ↑ Jochelson, Waldemar (2018-11-12) (in en). The Yukaghir and the Yukaghirized Tungus. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-942883-90-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=-mV5DwAAQBAJ.
- ↑ Peterson, Barbara Bennett (10 March 2015). Steven L. Danver. ed. Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-46399-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=Tv4TBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1166.
- ↑ III, Shepard Krech (2008) (in en). Indians, Animals, and the Fur Trade: A Critique of Keepers of the Game. University of Georgia Press. pp. 135. ISBN 978-0-8203-3150-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=WlvbkLz-wOcC.
- ↑ Jordan, Michael (14 May 2014). Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses. Infobase Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4381-0985-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=aqDC5bwx4_wC&pg=PA7.
- ↑ Geoghegan, Richard Henry (1944). Fredericka I. Martin. ed. The Aleut language: the elements of Aleut grammar with a dictionary in two parts containing basic vocabularies of Aleut and English. Dept. of the Interior. p. 18. https://books.google.com/books?id=48MUFZCU7HwC.
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