As part of the Algonkian family of tribes, the Beothuk were likely to believe in a multiplicity of animal beings. this meant that they considered every conspicuous object in nature (ex: Sun, Moon, animals, plants) as being alive and had its own spirit that had to be treated with respect. However, this belief varied in different Beothuk groups, but all groups believed that they came from and arrow stuck to the ground.
According the Shanawdithit, the last known Beothuk, her people believed in a "Spirit World" which included a "Great Spirit", a "Powerful Monster" from the sea, and Aich-mud-yim, also called "The Black Man." She also claimed that the first white men to arrive on, what is now Newfoundland, came from the god spirit, while later arrivals, including the Mi-kmaq, came from the bad spirit. An invariable (never changing) principle that all Beothuk groups shared, demanded that those Beothuk who made peace with either of these groups (European and Mi-kmaq) would be sacrificed to the spirits of their slain kin.
In terms of the spirit of animals, the Beothuk most likely observed rituals in the context of hunting, such as rituals before hunting and rules in killing animals, similar to other native tribes. Northern Algonkian big game hunters particularly honoured the caribou spirit with a ritual feast called mokoshan. It involved the crushing and boiling of caribou longbones to extract the marrows which was consumed by all member of the community. Considerable amounts of bone mash , residue left from extracted bone marrow, have been found on several Beothuk campsites.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beothuk_people
http://www.mun.ca/rels/native/beothuk/beo_religion.html
According the Shanawdithit, the last known Beothuk, her people believed in a "Spirit World" which included a "Great Spirit", a "Powerful Monster" from the sea, and Aich-mud-yim, also called "The Black Man." She also claimed that the first white men to arrive on, what is now Newfoundland, came from the god spirit, while later arrivals, including the Mi-kmaq, came from the bad spirit. An invariable (never changing) principle that all Beothuk groups shared, demanded that those Beothuk who made peace with either of these groups (European and Mi-kmaq) would be sacrificed to the spirits of their slain kin.
In terms of the spirit of animals, the Beothuk most likely observed rituals in the context of hunting, such as rituals before hunting and rules in killing animals, similar to other native tribes. Northern Algonkian big game hunters particularly honoured the caribou spirit with a ritual feast called mokoshan. It involved the crushing and boiling of caribou longbones to extract the marrows which was consumed by all member of the community. Considerable amounts of bone mash , residue left from extracted bone marrow, have been found on several Beothuk campsites.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beothuk_people
http://www.mun.ca/rels/native/beothuk/beo_religion.html