Primitive societies in recent centuries

PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES IN RECENT CENTURIES

The hunter-gatherer stage, the stage of early settlement with the discovery of agriculture and more importantly the culture of the still widespread belief and fear of demons are all regarded as primitive stages. The hunter-gatherer level has been considered and there are only a few pockets of such people on earth today. Of more importance to us at the present time are the masses of people who must still be regarded as primitive mainly because of their religious outlook. The basis for regarding them as primitive is the fact that in their world outlook they still recognise and in some cases worship entities which indeed must appear strange to those of higher spiritual development and which are reminiscent of practices which must have been dominant many thousands of years ago. The way their society is organised and the way the natural environment is interpreted must reveal to the discerning eye that they have not the slightest idea of natural processes.

A huge percentage of the world population today are on this stage even though this figure will be disputed. One only need to consider: the fact that many of these peoples have adopted foreign beliefs does not indeed free them from their primitive nature. They may go to Church, they may go to Mosque but this does not remove the fact he is who he is. If a particular people has stopped on a particular stage on its ladder of development, and then abandons its former beliefs, allows itself to be baptised for example, this has not at the same time increased its knowledge about natural events nor has it widened its visions concerning life. Inwardly, he still stands at the level of the demon worshipper even though he always declares his beliefs and faith in the new religion. Because he has not naturally progressed beyond this stage, he still inwardly fears and believes in the harm demons can do to him.

This is indeed the case in many primitive tribes. They go to Church but most of the prayers said in Churches are said for protection against real or imagined enemies whom they belief can harm them with evil black power. In fact, most of the religious ceremonies have been adapted to local conditions and understanding. The fact that these people, even though they profess to be adherents of organized religions are still preoccupied with issues of demons and how they can be protected from them proves that they are really still on this level; this is what to them is reality; this is what they know and that in their declarations of faith in God, they have only replaced their former gods with Him. Most primitive peoples still, in spite of going to Church and declaring their faith in Jesus and in the Power of God still hold on to and practise their traditional beliefs regularly which is to prove that that is really their level and that they have never gone beyond this stage.

Before the advent of the white rule in Africa for example, most African Negroes were settled tribes, they had discovered agriculture and a good number had entered into the Iron age. They had settled villages and the people had occupied themselves with various occupations. Some even had monarchies and as such had devised their own system of rule. In general, it was a mixture of the hunter-gatherer existence and the settled one. Some tribes had settled while others had not. What was the cultural practice of those who had settled like? In the lowest stages of spiritual development, in the hunter-gatherer stage, we have mostly the worship and the fear of demons, whereas in the more settled societies we have not so much of the worship but the fear of demons and some of these tribes have been able to recognise some of the lower elemental beings. Then came foreign religion. We will reserve a deeper consideration of the lower cultures when we come to look at the spiritual stages and then also consider the consequences of foreign influence.

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