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Comment by u9rptDjqLl0Pdcz | Hacker News Reader

Also of interest is the Mari Native Religion which is practiced in the Mari El Republic of Russia[0]. I believe this is the only example of an indigenous religion surviving with continued practice into the modern day. RT made a documentary about it[1].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_Native_Religion

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ_2kpTJvj0

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Perhaps in Europe, but globally, I can think of plenty of others off the top of my head: the various religions of Native Americans/First Nations peoples, the beliefs of Aboriginal people in Australia, even Japanese Shinto probably qualifies.

Shinto is an offshoot if Buddhism.

not true. Shinto predates Buddhism.

Shinto was in Japan before Buddhism. Zen took on a little bit of Shinto when it came over as Cha’an from China. In most Zen temples, there are a few statues of Shinto deities, but neither is an offshoot of the other.

Maybe shamanism in Korea and Siberia as well.

Yes, I meant to say in Europe.

What about the Sami? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sámi_shamanism

Pretty sure they are indigenous and I would think their religion would qualify as an “indigenous religion”?

Has that been continuously practiced? Other wikipedia pages [0][1] on the Sami suggest that they were all converted to Christianity by the end of the 18th century. There are people who practice Norse paganism today but that is a reconstructed faith based on old writings rather than a surviving religion.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianization_of_the_S%C3%A...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A1mi_people#Religion

It's unclear to me. The wikipedia article doesn't say, but it seems to refer to it in the present tense as though it is still practiced. I would hope if it died out and was then reconstructed, the entry would mention as much. Here's an article linked to in the entry, which I don't have time to read, but sounds promising:

The Decline of the Sámi People’s Indigenous Religion http://www.laits.utexas.edu/sami/diehtu/siida/christian/decl...

The Sami Religion was influenced by but not identical with Norse mythology. It appears to have been extinct for the last couple hundred yeats after facing a significant ongoing persecution and conversion.

Hinduism? Seems like a pretty big one to forget :)

Is Hinduism indigenous? Wasn’t that a product of Aryan migrations from the north? (genuine question: what constitutes “indigenous”? if one native american tribe drives out another in a particular region, is the conquering tribe still indigenous? What about cases where people mix to become a new people? Is it correct to say that the Irish, British, Germans, Italians, etc are indigenous Europeans?)

> Wasn’t that a product of Aryan migrations from the north?

I know this isn't a great answer, but "yes and no" -- it is certainly true that the Proto-Indo-Europeans brought with them Rigvedic religion. But that religion itself was syncretized with other beliefs across Central Asia and South Asia over quite a long period of time. While it is often dramatized as a "violent" invasion (no doubt reminiscent of later "violent" "Aryan" invasions), the truth is more bland, which is that the nomadic Indo-Aryans and their ancestors had a rich level of cultural exchange with more settled civilizations. Some of it by the sword, but some of it otherwise.

Yeah, which I guess beckons my other question: what makes something indigenous considering how frequently changes are produced gradually by cultural exchange, gradual migrations, etc?

It's a great question, and I'm inclined to ask the same one. My answer is that indigeneity is somewhat of a red herring. Empires have existed for as long as changes have been produced gradually by cultural exchange and gradual migrations as you point out, so the boundary between indigenous and not seems porous to me.

I meant to specify within Europe but it seems I missed typing it when I posted my comment.

what about judaism or christianism, aren't they "indigenous" ? what do you mean exactly by indigenous?

Uh.. how about Judaism in Israel?

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