Kosmospfade

The study here present deals with the diverse myths and rituals of South America from the lowlands to the Andes. Common to all traditions is the certainty that there is a connection between this world and the other world, people and deities, and that the various cosmic areas are connected. A common prejudice by some western observers assumes that religious beliefs of stratified, state-building societies are more complicated than that of tribal societies with simple material culture. However, the complexity of religious ideas is independent of the social fabric. Societies that appear ‘primitive’ because of their simple material culture often have more elaborate worldviews than societies that impress by the splendor of their temples. Most of the traditions of this area have neither been overlaid by Christian teachings nor marginalized, they are alive and directly present.