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In the native Sierras of Nevada lived a young man known as Wovoka. This young man had a dream that impacted his community members. In the reverie, he claimed to have been taken up into heaven where he came across persons that had perished. A message of neighborly love was presented to him by the almighty. The information was to be passed to the people and they were to avoid vices such as theft, clashes or lies. He was issued with a dance to present to the people. This dance, known as ghost dance, was home-grown to the native America. The introduction of this new faith brought new challenges to the people. The resulting brutality caused by the dance is well known but the originator is less familiar to many. The man is known as Wovoka a Paiute rancher.
Wovoka was born during slavery time where his people were used as slaves. After the death of his father, Wovoka had to be raised in a white rancher’s home. It was at this family setting that he got sturdy spiritual teachings. He developed two distinct ideas of spiritual practice. As he developed in his faith, he saw numerous beliefs being practiced. This however did not distract the young Wovoka. In a rather peculiar twist, Wovoka followed a man known as David Wilson. They lived together and it led to Wovoka’s renaming. He got the name Jack Wilson.
The people had lots of chitchat suggesting that Wovoka was the son of Wilson. His being light skinned did not help much but only fuel more rumors. This contributed to Wovoka’s declaration that he would be a savior to his indigenous people. His father was virtually ignored as a diviner; the experiences of his people coupled with his faith conceptions had a toll on him. All these led to his uprising as a Paiute ‘messiah’.
It was at this point that Wovoka had a dream. In the trance he talked to God who gave him a fresh earth specifically for the natives. There would be renewed life without perceived enemies. This is a fact in the Bible as it teaches the final solution that God promised his people. This concept can be supported using theology especially the Christian teachings. Nevertheless, people around Wovoka did not recognize these teachings from the Bible. The Christian faith had not been preached expansively among the natives in Wovoka’s land. This became an opportunity for Wovoka to put a twist on to his message. He adopted a Bible message and alleged that the natives would receive God’s act of kindness. This is a fact that God would return kindness but it was not to the natives only. He created a perception in the minds of his people using these teachings. Owing to lack of a specified time frame to this Bible prophesy, Wovoka again alleged that Jesus was physically present in the world. He could even claim to be the messiah himself (Toledo, 2009).
In Christian teachings there are specific conditions that are written on the coming of a new earth. This is a Biblical fact that Wovoka turned around and replaced the stipulations with the ghost dance ritual. This was his opinion which created a perception in the mind of the natives. Wovoka had an opinion that it is through the ghost dance that God will grant back the natives their land. A following was created with Wokova as the leader. The faith grew into a large group with members from outside the original natives. Membership was drawn from outside the borders and foreigners came to Paiute land (Toledo, 2009).
Tragedy stuck as a result of a false teaching accompanied by the ritual ghost dance. One teaching was trusting that certain ghost garments could divert bullets from enemies. The dance was also perceived as warring in nature by those who saw its performance. Wokova used the ghost dance as a bargaining chip for resources from the capital city (Toledo, 2009). The ghost dance led to upheavals and confrontations among groups. The predictions peddled by Wokova can be considered as void. Since most of what he forecasted did not materialize, the ghost dance faded away. People were hurting instead of benefiting from the rituals. Just as the ghost dance appeared it consequently disappeared.
All in all, a perception created by Wovoka in the minds of his people and those who came to him was that of a savior. They saw liberation from the oppression by the settlers. The fact was that Wovoka had little knowledge of spiritual teachings from both tradition and Christianity. He used this information to influence his fellow natives. In their opinion the natives perceived Wovoka as the one who will liberate them from the bondage of the white settlers. Application of the teachings and subsequent following of Wovoka led to much heart ache and pain. His mysticism and way of life were later disregarded by the defense force and the colonizer alike. They instead took up the teachings of Christ and wiped out the indigenous system. The people Wovoka intended to help ended up in disappointment. He cannot be considered the ‘messiah’.
Reference
Toledo, A.R. (2009) The Paiute Messiah. Web.
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