Kosmiczny wymiar inicjacji kalifornijskich

Abstract

The World appeared to the mind of the Californian Indians as a community of a cosmic House. The sky was imagined – on the base of the architectonical symbolism – as a vast tent over the earth, with one central and four side columns which were believed to support the dome of the sky. The cosmic dimension of the Californian initiations was expressed in the ritualism of cosmic numbers as well as in the parallelism of the macro- and microcosmic references. The initiatory house represented the Universe. It was transformed into a Cosmos through a symbolic installation of a central pole assimilated to the cosmic axis (i.e. where the World came into existence and was spread out toward the cardinal directions) and by projecting of the cardinal points. The domically domed initiation house with four (or its multiple eight) supporting side poles was thus assimilated to the sky that was conceived as a vast tent over the earth with four supporting columns. The candidates were introduced to the initiatory house and thus – on the base of the macro- and microcosmic homology – were integrated to the cosmic House. On the other hand, the World appeared to the Indians’ eyes as a community of the cosmic life. Life was one, which functioned both in human beings and at all levels of reality, and which united all things into one living and conscious cosmic body. It was Life the Californian religion centered upon and which constituted the source of the continuous, daily religious experience of the Indians. The vision seeking was a religious quest for Life in its Totality, the quest for the communion with the Universe where youth consciously and essentially desired to integrate himself into as the active participant and responsible member. The Californian Indian felt an extraordinary sense of his unity and communion with the Cosmos conceived dynamically as a living and conscious being, and as Totality in which all the beings were united and solidary among themselves as members. It was the religious desire of integration into the Cosmic Totality that pushed the youth to the search of vision or the other forms of initiation. Through the initiatory experience the youth received his religious experience, the revelation of the sacredness of Cosmos as well as his life vocation. The ceremony of the death and resurrection constituted the rite of the communion of the youth with the Cosmos. If we take in consideration that the Californian Indian existed, functioned and viewed himself primarily and essentially as the integral member of the Cosmos, we can understand the particular significance of the initiations, their cosmic dimension consisting in the integration of the youth into the Cosmos; it means that he was „situated” in the Whole at just his proper place and with his personal and responsible function in the Cosmic Totality.