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AFTERLIFE
Warrior cultures are based on certain common principles, chief among which is that of the afterlife. Basically, one's conduct in this life - of which war is the crucible and finest test - has ramifications beyond this life. Hence one can say that the afterlife is determined by our conduct here on earth. From this basic principle derives the extraordinary heroism that typifies so many Native American traditions - warriors accomplishing remarkable feats of heroism, facing battle with bravery and equanimity.
Miraculous events are attested to by all the Native American traditions, all of which have their shamans or medicine men or priests, and all of which acknowledge the priority of the realms of soul and spirit over the physical. It is on this priority that the traditional American Indian View of warfare is solidly based.
Many American Indian tribes hold that the dead ought to be furnished with certain symbolic goods that will accompany him/her into the next life. At the very least, this entails, for instance, a medicine bag, or other symbolic artifacts of the clan.
One of the seven holy rites of the Sioux (as described by Black Elk in
The Sacred Pipe
) is to "keep a soul" in order to allow its purification after death, so that
it can return directly to the Great Spirit rather than wandering in other
afterlife states. A "keeper of a soul" must be an extremely holy man; and the
rites he keeps are for the good of all the people, as well as the individual
soul.
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