Bahá'í Universalism and Native Prophets

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.