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36-552: They are tutelary (i.e. guardian or patron) deities of locations and the human communities who inhabit it in Chinese folk religion , Buddhism , Confucianism , and Taoism . They are portrayed as old men with long beards. The definitive characteristic of Tudigongs is that they are limited to their specific geographical locations. The Tudigong of one location is not the Tudigong of another location They are considered to be among

72-554: A Tudigong A notable example in Nuannuan District has two Tudigong temples next to each other for different Tudigongs. Many temples house small shrines with the image of Tudigong, commonly located under the main altar, or below the house door. Many worshippers supplicate with the intention of gaining wealth or maintaining their physical health. They are also traditionally worshipped before the burial of deceased persons to thank him for using his land to return their bodies to

108-632: A Tudigong is that of a simply clothed, smiling, white-bearded man. His wife, the Grandmother of the Village, Tǔdìpó , looks like a normal old lady In later generations, they became associated with Wish trees . In the countryside, they are sometimes given wives, Tǔdìpó ( 土地婆 "Grandmother of the Soil and the Ground"), placed next to them on the altar. They may be seen as just and benevolent deities on

144-539: A healing ritual or to wish for good health. These should be material that can easily wither away. Such trees are known as "clootie trees" and are usually found growing beside holy wells (also called clootie wells ) or at sacred sites. They are most common in Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall. The Apple Wassail is a traditional form of wassailing practiced in the West Country , England. Singing wassailers visit

180-518: A kind of appointed position like an alderman , with different deities being appointed to different areas. Houtu is the overlord of all the Tudigongs ("Lord of Local Land"), Sheji ("the State"), Shan Shen ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and landlord gods worldwide. Tudigongs go by a variety of names, including Tudigong ( Chinese : 土地公 ; lit. 'Lord of

216-674: A man was his Genius , that of a woman her Juno . In the Imperial era , the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult . An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo . Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era , when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised

252-702: A runway collection inspired by Wish Trees called Wish Tree Dress that was presented on the catwalk of the Croatian Fashion Week in June 2015. Mandali also designed an interactive art installation called Mandala of Desires (Blue Lotus Wish Tree) made in peace silk and eco friendly textile ink, displayed at the China Art Museum in Shanghai in November 2015. Visitors were invited to place a wish on

288-402: Is a tree, usually distinguished by species, location or appearance, which is used as an object of wishes and offerings. Such trees are identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual value. Postulants make votive offerings in hopes of having a wish granted, or a prayer answered, from a nature spirit , saint or goddess , depending on the local tradition. One form of votive offering

324-521: Is imitative, formulaic, homogeneous". In 2019 the National Trust for Scotland said 'For many years people have hammered coins into tree stumps and trunks as some sort of votive offering to make a wish. On our woodland properties we could tolerate it as long as it was on a small-scale, but now it seems to have taken off as a ‘fashionable’ thing to do and is out of control.' Small strips of cloth, ribbons or prayer beads are tied to some trees as

360-500: Is patron of yogis and renunciants. City gods and goddesses include: Influenced by the religion of Islam , Indonesian people believe in jinn , particularly on the island of Java. Those jinn who adhere to the religion of Islam are generally benevolent, however, non-Muslim jinn are considered to be mischievous. Some of them guard graves. If a pilgrim approaching the grave has evil intentions, they would cause severe illness or even death. Spirits called shedim are mentioned twice in

396-565: Is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors. A similar concept in Christianity would be the patron saint example of archangels "Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, etc." or to a lesser extent, the guardian angel . In Hinduism , personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata , while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata . Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages or regions. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva

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432-475: Is the token offering of a coin. Coin trees are found in parts of Scotland , Northern England , and Wales . Folklorist Ceri Houlbrook observed actions at a coin tree in Aira Force , Cumbria , noting that a succession of at least twelve families passed by the site and decided to hammer coins into it using a piece of limestone lying around; she commented that this custom appeared to offer "little variation: it

468-612: The civitas of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims ), the tutelary was Mars Camulus . Tutelary deities were also attached to sites of a much smaller scale, such as storerooms, crossroads, and granaries. Each Roman home had a set of protective deities: the Lar or Lares of the household or familia , whose shrine was a lararium ;

504-1006: The genius loci or guardian spirit of the site, Hercules , Silvanus , Fortuna Conservatrix ("Fortuna the Preserver") and in the Greek East Aphrodite and Agathe Tyche . The Lares Compitales were the tutelary gods of a neighborhood ( vicus ) , each of which had a compitum (shrine) devoted to these. Their annual public festival was the Compitalia . During the Republic, the cult of local or neighborhood tutelaries sometimes became rallying points for political and social unrest. Chinese folk religion , both past and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan

540-516: The Hebrew Bible . In both of these instances ( Psalm 106 :37 and Deuteronomy 32:17) the shedim are associated with child sacrifice or animal sacrifice . The term " shedim " is believed by some to be a loan-word from the Akkadian shedu , which referred to a spirit which could be either protective or malevolent. In Korean shamanism , jangseung and sotdae were placed at

576-541: The Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii , and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the arx (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna , whose oracle was renowned. The Roman ritual of evocatio was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside

612-470: The Penates who guarded the storeroom (penus) of the innermost part of the house; Vesta , whose sacred site in each house was the hearth; and the Genius of the paterfamilias , the head of household. The poet Martial lists the tutelary deities who watch over various aspects of his farm. The architecture of a granary ( horreum ) featured niches for images of the tutelary deities, who might include

648-474: The Sheshen belief system Sheshen (社神), also known as Tudigongs, are Chinese deities associated with the soil. The character 社 is now primarily associated with Society, being present in such compounds as socialism ( 社会主义 ; Shèhuì zhǔyì ) and sociology (社会学, Shèhuì xué) and social media (社群媒體, Shè qún méitǐ). However, originally the character 社 meant soil, and had a connotation of divinity; see

684-531: The cider orchards , where they recite an incantation , leave wassail -soaked toast in the tree branches, and pour cider over the roots. The purpose of the ceremony is to bless the apple trees and to ensure a good yield and good luck for the harvest . In a related cultural tradition found in many locations, including the United States, supplicants will toss or hurl shoes into trees that are locally designated as wellsprings of good fortune. Since

720-554: The goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games ( ludi ) in her honor. Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus ). The Capitoline Triad of Juno , Jupiter , and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome. The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at

756-670: The 1990s the wish tree has played a significant part in many of Yoko Ono 's exhibitions . Ono's Wish Tree , installed in the Sculpture Garden of the Museum of Modern Art , New York in July 2010, has become very popular, with contributions from all over the world. Her Wish Tree for Washington, DC at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden was installed three years prior. Fashion Designer Mandali Mendrilla designed

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792-465: The Chinese lunar calendar. The second day of the second month is said to be Tudigong's birthday. Today these deities are associated with Ritual opera . Tudigong temples are common across China, Tibet, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong. In Chinese, Spirit houses are called 土地神屋 or Tudigong House, representing a link between the concept and the concept of a Tudigong temple dedicated to a landlord deity or

828-541: The Land';) or Tudishen ( 土地神 ; 'God of the Land'), also known simply as Tudi ( 土地 ; 'land', 'soil') and translated as Lord of the Earth , Other names of the god include: Extended titles of the god include: Commoners often call their local Tudigong "grandfather" ( yeye ), which reflects the close relationship with the common people. Tudigongs are believed to have originally developed out of

864-515: The city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the Magna Mater (Great Mother, or Cybele ) as " tower-crowned " represents their capacity to preserve the city. A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within

900-504: The concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion , one type of tutelary deity, the genius , functions as the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or daimonion : You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me … . This sign I have had ever since I

936-545: The diagram on the right for more info on its relationship with the Oracle bone script The character 社 alone historically referred to such deities. It is a combination of deity (示) and soil (土), meaning "god of the land" Sheshen are associated with soil and grain (shèjì, 社稷), with both sometimes being personified as husband and wife Tudigong means Tu (earth), Di , Gong (grandfather/duke) Sacrifices to Sheshen transitioned to sacrifices to Tudigong The earliest known sheshen

972-621: The earth It is reported that the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty was born in a Tudigong shrine. During the cultural revolution , many Tudigong shrines were destroyed. However, many were recently rebuilt. Tutelary deity A tutelary ( / ˈ tj uː t ə l ɛ r i / ; also tutelar ) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses

1008-642: The edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the Seonangdang . In Meitei mythology and religion ( Sanamahism ) of Manipur , there are various types of tutelary deities, among which Lam Lais are the most predominant ones. In Philippine animism , Diwata or Lambana are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians. In Shinto ,

1044-567: The highest land deity was the Houtu ("Queen of the Earth"). Ranked beneath City Gods , the Tudigongs have been very popular among villagers as the grassroot deities since the 14th century during the Ming dynasty . Some scholars speculate that this change came because of an imperial edict, because it is reported that the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty was born in a Tudigong shrine. The image of

1080-405: The lowest ranked divinities, just below City Gods ("God of Local City"), and above landlord gods . Often, a specific person who did a great service to their local community will be seen as becoming a Tudigong after their death. When people move from one location to another, they will say goodbye to their local Tudigong and worship the one of the new location The deities are considered to have

1116-473: The same rank as their husbands, or as grudging old women holding back their husband's benedictions, which explains why one does not always receive fair retribution for good behavior. Another story says that Tudipo is supposed to be a young lady. After Tudigong received a heavenly rank, he gave everything that the people asked for. When one of the Deities went down to Earth to do inspections, he saw that Tudigong

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1152-538: The spirits, or kami , which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped. Some tutelary deities are known to exist in Slavic Europe, a more prominent example being that of the Leshy . In Vietnamese folk religion , Thành hoàng are gods who protect and bring good things to the village. Wish tree A wish tree

1188-484: Was Gou Long  [ zh ] , a son of Gonggong who was appointed as a god of the soil by Zhuanxu . Tudigongs developed from land worship. Before Chenghuangshen ("City Gods") became more prominent in China, land worship had a hierarchy of deities conforming strictly to social structure, in which the emperor, kings, dukes, officials, and common people were allowed to worship only the land gods within their command;

1224-470: Was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this is what stands in the way of my being a politician. The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens . Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion . The tutelary deity of

1260-693: Was distributing blessings unnecessarily. Soon after that, the Deity went to the Celestial Palace and reported to the Jade Emperor . After the Jade Emperor knew this, he found out that there was a lady that was going to be killed, but she was not guilty. Thus, the Jade Emperor told a Deity to go down to Earth and bring the lady to heaven. When the lady was brought to the Celestial Palace, the Jade Emperor bestowed her to Tudigong as his wife. She

1296-400: Was ordered to look after how many blessings Tudigong distributes and that they not be unnecessarily distributed. This is why many people do not want to pay respect to Tudipo, because they are afraid that she will not let Tudigong give much wealth to them. In Taiwan, festivals dedicated to Tudigong typically take place on the second day of the second month and the 15th day of the eighth month on

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