Campbell - Time and Primal Culture

One of the major themes that we've discussed in this class throughout the semester has been comparing and contrasting oral cultures with written cultures. There are many differences, including ritual practices, moral codes, and utilization of spaces. However, another major difference that we only briefly touched upon is the way in which primal and modern cultures differ in their dense of understanding time. In today's world, time is very linear. We consider there to be a beginning and an end, and have even become so technical as to mark the years, months, days, and even hours. We measure our lives in the passing of years and death is seen as a gateway to a new life or an eternal paradise. For primal cultures, however, life is entirely cyclical. When we die, our bodies serve as food for scavenging animals or as nutrients for the soil. Our energies are passed along to other members of the natural environment, so despite our deaths, we never stop contributing to the circle of life. There are many varying outlooks on time that were developed by primal cultures, but they all differ from the literate societies of the modern age.

One of the most interesting viewpoints that I have learned about regarding primal cultures' perceptions of time is that of indigenous African peoples. During the Medieval Philosophy course that I took my freshman year, we learned about the generalized religious beliefs of ancient African tribes. Dr. Jelinek taught us that many Africans believed we experienced two deaths: one when our physical body dies, and another when we are forgotten by our successive tribal members. It is therefore highly important for these people to remember and respect their ancestors, or else they'll be completely dead for all of eternity. Ancestral veneration is a major part of their religion, as is this unique understanding of time. People who die are in a sort of in-between world, wherein they are still capable of impacting events on Earth but are not tangible bodies. These spirits are capable of changing the fates of their progeny and therefore must always be kept in mind.

I really enjoy learning about the religious behaviors of other cultures, especially primal cultures, because their worlds were so different from ours. I think that the perceptions of time in different societies is particularly interesting, considering our existences so heavily rely on it. I think that the Westernized obsession with time can even be problematic, as we are so concerned with fulfilling the short span of our lives that we often waste it on superfluous things like wealth and material items. If we instead turned our attention towards enjoying our lives as they came and not worrying about death then we might not feel the need to live up to predetermined social expectations.