Bibliography: BIB28609

Key	BIB28609
Reference type	Book Section
Title	Bahá'í Universalism and Native Prophets
Book title	Reason & Revelation : New Directions in Bahá'í Thought
Series title	Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions
Author	Buck, Christopher
Editor	Fazel, Seena and Danesh, John
Year	2002
Publisher	Kalimát Press
Place published	Los Angeles, CA
Abstract	There has been a revival of interest in native spirituality. This essay explores the possibility of accepting prophets from indigenous cultures in the Bahá'í doctrine, reflecting a development that has already taken place in popular Bahá'í belief in North America. A hitherto understudied Persian text by 'Abdu'l-Bahá establishes this principle in such a way that its explicit enunciation is now possible. The prophetic credentials of Iroquois culture hero and statesman Deganawida are examined as a text case. The legend of Deganawida has a kernel of historicity overlaid by hagiography. Nonetheless, if the Bahá'í principle of progressive revelation can assimilate the Amerindian spiritual legacy, then it might be possible to accord Deganawida a theoretical status within Bahá'í prophetology, and affirm Bahá'u'lláh's unifying role in world history, as oral cultures take their place alongside the more familiar "literate" traditions.
Language	English
Keywords	INDIGENOUS PEOPLES; MANIFESTATIONS; NORTH AMERICA; DEGANAWIDA
Pages	173–201
Section	7.
Series volume	v.13