The concept of spiritual power in East Asian and Canadian Aboriginal thought

Abstract

A distinction is often made between animism, a belief that everything has a soul or spirit, and animatism, which refers to a belief in a generalized, impersonal power that permeates all of reality. Although the distinction seems to be useful, most traditional societies probably include elements of both. Some concepts, such as mana or kami, can be either animistic or animatistic, depending on whether one is focused on a specific object such as a sacred tree or on the essential oneness of the spiritual power that is found in everything. Moreover, the distance between animism and animatism is not that great; from the recognition that everything in the cosmos has a soul (as in animism) it is only a small leap to the position of animatism that everything in the cosmos shares the same spiritual power. These theoretical points are illustrated with ethnographic information provided by the three authors of this article.