Primate Spirituality

August 12, 2008

My friends over at The Arcus Foundation yesterday sent their annual report, which was quite a compelling read. The foundation's Great Ape Program shells out millions of dollars to assist non-profits like Save the Chimps, Greenpeace, The Orangutan Conservatory and more.

Included in the report is a statement by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall concerning primate spirituality. Since chimpanzees are so closely related to us, she is often asked if they show signs of religious behavior. Goodall believes that chimpanzee elemental displays are the precursors of religious ritual.

(Credit: Aaron Logan)


"Sometimes as a chimpanzee—most often an adult male—approaches a spectacular waterfall deep in the forest, his hair bristles, a sign of heightened arousal. As he gets closer, and the roar of falling water gets louder, his pace quickens, and upon reaching the stream he performs a magnificent display that can last more than ten minutes," she says.

Goodall goes on to explain that the chimp will do a "dance," swaying rhythmically, stamping in the water, tossing rocks and swinging on vines out into the spray. (The origins of Gene Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain" too?) Chimps will also "dance" just before storms, when wind patterns begin to change, according to Goodall.

She's also observed chimps just sitting on rocks staring out into moving water, as if they are contemplating the great unknown. I went to a fishing pier last weekend and saw plenty of people doing the very same thing.

"Is it not possible that these (chimp dance and meditation) performances are stimulated by feelings akin to wonder and awe?" asks Goodall. "And if the chimpanzees could discuss these feelings among themselves, might not this lead to an animistic worship of the elements?"

After spending day after day alone in the wilderness, Goodall says she became "more attuned to the great Spiritual Power that I felt around me—the Power that is worshiped as God, Allah, Tao, Brahma, the Great Spirit, the Creator and so on."

"I came to believe that all living things possess a spark of that Spiritual Power," she concludes. "We humans call that spark, in ourselves, a 'soul.' And if this is so it is surely true for other animals..."

Goodall provided the introduction for the video from which the below clip was taken. This is the sort of thing I'd love to show you in person, to discuss what you think, as I'm very curious as to your views. The blog format will have to suffice for now.