Animism
Animism (from Latin anima, "breath, spirit, life")[1][2] is the world's oldest religion according to which all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, even spoken words, buildings and other artifacts—are experienced as animate and alive. It is sometimes described as a religious belief that various objects, places, and creatures possess distinctive spiritual qualities.[3][4][5][6] Animism is the oldest known type of belief system in the world. It is still practiced in a variety of forms in many traditional societies.[7] Animism is used in the anthropology of religion as a term for the belief system of many indigenous tribal peoples,[8] especially in contrast to the relatively more recent development of organized religions.[9] Although each culture has its own different mythologies and rituals, "animism" is said to describe the most common, foundational thread of indigenous peoples' "spiritual" or "supernatural" perspecti