Native American Heritage Month: Jesus as Sun Dancer

Sundancer Christ by Fr. John Giuliani

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, I am reposting parts of an Easter-themed article by Rich Avery titled "Good Friday – Jesus the Greatest Sun Dancer."  The article (and the accompanying video by Pastor Larry Salway) offer an interesting contextualized view of Jesus and the Sun Dance, a ritual ceremony performed by Native American Plains Nations.  Avery writes:

Most Native North American people groups have a story of how their people were created, and this story has been passed down orally for hundreds or thousands of years. 

And many have a story of a Messiah-like figure who will sacrifice himself in order to deliver or bring greater enlightenment to their people. But few make the connection to Jesus Christ as both their Creator and Messiah. 

The Lakota, and other nations of the Plains, have a ritual called the Sun Dance, where men will punish or sacrifice themselves by piercing their body or tearing their flesh in order to hopefully bring about a closer connection to Creator – not only for themselves but for their entire community.

Father John Giuliani, Painter of Native American Icons

Lakota Victory Christ by Father John Giuliani

Father John Battista Giuliani (b. 1932), the son of Italian immigrants, grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut.   He was an artistic child whose parents and teachers encouraged him to pursue his artistic interests, which propelled him as an adult to obtain an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts at New York's Pratt Institute.  Yet, in 1960 he gave up his pursuit of art to become a Catholic priest, a position in which he still serves today.  

Diwali 2012

Today marks the beginning of the 5-day Northern Indian Hindu festival of Diwali, or the Festival of Lights (in South India it is called Deepavali).  Like Dashain in Nepal and Navratri in India, Diwali celebrates to victory of the Good over the Evil and Light over Darkness.  On the first day of Diwali, part of the festivities include drawing designs called rangolis on the ground in front of the entrance to one's home, as a form of welcome to the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity, Lakshmi.  This brought to mind another painting of mine...

November is Native American Heritage Month; New Book by Richard Twiss

Native american youth wearing a mixture of contemporary and traditional clothes.
Photo by thaths, 2011.

In case you didn't know, November is Native American Heritage Month:

Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges (ncai.org).

And on that note, it's also great to mention here for those of us interested in Christian missions and indigenous communities, that Richard Twiss of Wiconi International has written a new book titled Rescuing Theology from the Cowboys: An Emerging Indigenous Expression of the Jesus Way in North America.  Twiss, the author of One Church, Many Tribes: Following Jesus the Way God Made You, says that the new book was the basis for his Doctor of Missiology Degree dissertation for Asbury Theological Seminary.  He is self-publishing it (for now at least) and making it available online for $20.

I haven't read it yet, so if any of you read it before I get a chance, please let me know what you think.  I'm sure it will be an eye-opening and heart-searching book.  Here is Twiss' description:

My new book, Rescuing Theology from the Cowboys, is based on my reflections, research and experiences over the past 24 years as a Lakota learning to walk on the Good Red Road as a follower of Jesus. It is also the story of many of us Native leaders who have been walking this Jesus Road together in community since the late 1980s.  

It is a close examination of the inter-connectedness between European colonialism and Christian missions among the tribal nations in North America. It is a redemptive look toward a preferred future, informed and inspired by the good, bad and ugly of the past... 

I believe you will find it educational, helpful, challenging and hopefully inspiring. I truly hope it empowers you to discover what it means to be more fully human as a lover of our Creator, our relatives in Creation, yourself and your neighbors in the spirit of Jesus as we all work and live for the well-being of Seven Generations!

One reviewer at goodreads.com writes that the book "is an excellent codification of important movements of the Holy Spirit both in the Americas and globally over the past 20yrs."

Resources for EthnoArts and World Missions

Through a series of fortunate links, I came across a webpage explaining EthnoArts at Ethnê, a global network focused on serving the 28% of the world's people without access to the Good News of Jesus the Savior.  Ethnê gives a introductory history about how the EthnoArts movement began during preparations for the Ethnê 09 event in Bogota, Colombia.  It then goes on to mention two EthnoArts Strategy Groups, one in Southeast Asia and one based in Latin America.

A Visually Contextualized Reflection on a Hindu Festival

Last week I posted about the 2012 Dashain Prayer Book produced by Cody C. Lorance, which used a rangoli painting of mine on the cover.  As I looked into the Hindu festival of Dashain, I read that it is focused on the goddess Durga.  I confess that I've only lightly researched Dashain, and a related festival in India called Durga Puja, the "largest outdoor art festival on earth" (October 20-24).  Durga Puja takes place during the last several days of Navratri, another Hindu festival.

In any case, I think that the main point of each Durga festival is the celebration of the victory of Good over Evil, in the form of the Durga's victory over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura.  Unfortunately, this celebration of Good conquering Evil is ironic because it is spiritually a very dark and oppressive time when idols are fervently worshipped and the Giver of Life is unknown or ignored.

Seeing this image of Durga slaying the buffalo demon reminded me of another Hindu-style painting I once did called Jesus' Work on the Cross:

Jesus' Work on the Cross

I have no idea how this painting would be interpreted by Hindus, but my intent was to show the purpose of Jesus' sacrifice for our sins without simply showing him nailed to the cross.  And besides, the image of Jesus kicking Satan's tail has always been a favorite subject of mine!  Here Jesus spears Satan through the neck, effectively "crushing his head," while Satan "strikes" Jesus in the heel (Genesis 3:15).  Jesus wears a crown that symbolizes his divine kingship over heaven and earth.  The flaming halo around his head symbolizes the presence of the Holy Spirit upon him.

This image depicts the ultimate triumph of Good over Evil through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is motivated by his love for a lost world.  He didn't simply slay a demon; he defeated the King of the demons!  Of course, I suppose that it is Jesus' resurrection that confirmed his victory over Satan and Death, but that will have to wait for another painting.

2012 Dashain Prayer Book

Cody C. Lorance, the Senior Pastor and Church Planting Leader for Trinity International Baptist Mission, has posted a 2012 Dashain Prayer Book.  Cody's book encourages Nepalese and other Christians to "ask God to fill our lives with his Holy Spirit and to produce the Spirit's fruit in us."  He writes:

Dashain is the greatest festival of Nepal. In this time we Bhutanese-Nepali devotees offer prayer during nine days. Every family should pray that the Holy Spirit would come into their homes. What do we need in life? All people need the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit. This small book will guide you during the Dashain-Navaratri prayer season. In this way, you may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because when we pray in the name of Lord Jesus, God the Father will hear us!

In addition, Cody used one of my paintings for the cover!  The painting is a cross-shaped design called a rangoli, which is a decorative design "made on the floors of living rooms and courtyards during Hindu festivals. [A rangoli is] meant to be sacred welcoming [area] for the Hindu deities" (Wikipedia).  This one shows the pierced feet of Jesus in the middle, welcoming Him into one's home.  Cody uses rangolis in some of his contextualized church rituals.