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185-536: Historical records reveal the names of various deities who were worshiped in Voodoo. Prominent among them were Blanc Dani, the Grand Zombi, and Papa Lébat. These were venerated at altars, where sacrifices were made to them. Spirits of the dead also played a prominent role in historical Voodoo, with some contemporary practitioners regarding the religion as a form of ancestor worship . Historical accounts suggest that in

370-404: A Berakah is said also at evil tidings. Hence, although the experience of God is like none other, the occasions for experiencing Him, for having a consciousness of Him, are manifold, even if we consider only those that call for Berakot. Whereas Jewish philosophers often debate whether God is immanent or transcendent , and whether people have free will or their lives are determined, halakha

555-714: A cemetery with many companions and early caliphs. Many other mausoleums are major architectural, political, and cultural sites, including the National Mausoleum in Pakistan and the Taj Mahal in India. However, the religious movement of Wahhabism disputes the concept of saint veneration. Followers of this movement have destroyed many gravesite shrines, including in Saudi Arabia and in territory controlled by

740-413: A spiritual cockfight . Ancestor veneration is one of the most unifying aspects of Vietnamese culture , as practically all Vietnamese have an ancestor altar in their home or business. In Vietnam, traditionally people did not celebrate birthdays (before Western influence), but the death anniversary of one's loved one was always an important occasion. Besides an essential gathering of family members for

925-402: A 'self'. In the animistic indigenous religions of the precolonial Philippines , ancestor spirits were one of the two major types of spirits ( anito ) with whom shamans communicate. Ancestor spirits were known as umalagad (lit. "guardian" or "caretaker"). They can be the spirits of actual ancestors or generalized guardian spirits of a family. Ancient Filipinos believed that upon death,

1110-608: A Spiritual church in New Orleans by Mother Catherine Seals in the early to mid-twentieth century. Communal festivals were also part of Mississippi River Voodoo. A common gathering in Louisiana Voodoo was on the night of the 23 or 24 June, St John's Eve , with big celebrations on this date has taken place on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain during the 19th century. Some 21st-century Voodoo congregations continue to celebrate on St John's Eve; others, such as Osbey, reject

1295-536: A Voodoo dance ceremony in Marais Street. Repression of Voodoo intensified following the Civil War; the 1870s onward saw white writers display an increased concern that Voodoo rituals were facilitating the interaction between black men and white women. That decade saw large gatherings at Lake Pontchartrain on St John's Eve, including many onlookers and reporters; these declined after 1876. In the 1880s and 1890s,

1480-544: A Voodoo revival took place, the practitioners of which often drew heavily on other African diasporic religions such as Haitian Vodou and Cuban Santería . Although originating among African diasporic communities in New Orleans, Louisiana Voodoo has included white participants since at least the 19th century, and some contemporary Voodoo groups have a majority-white membership. The religion has long faced opposition from non-practitioners, who have characterized it as witchcraft and devil-worship, and many sensationalist portrayals of

1665-468: A Voodoo ritual, all identifiable by the song being sung: preparation, invocation, possession, and farewell. The songs are used to open the gate between the deities and the human world and invite the spirits to possess someone. The rituals of Louisiana Voodoo are based on African traditions that have absorbed various Christian, and especially Roman Catholic, influences. Reflecting this Roman Catholic influence, some recorded ceremonies have for instance begun with

1850-429: A banquet in memory of the deceased, incense sticks are burned along with hell notes , and great platters of food are made as offerings on the ancestor altar, which usually has pictures or plaques with the names of the deceased. In the case of missing persons, believed to be dead by their family, a Wind tomb is made. These offerings and practices are done frequently during important traditional or religious celebrations,

2035-615: A centralized authority that would dictate an exact religious dogma. Because of this, many different variations on the basic beliefs are considered within the scope of Judaism. Even so, all Jewish religious movements are, to a greater or lesser extent, based on the principles of the Hebrew Bible or various commentaries such as the Talmud and Midrash . Judaism also universally recognizes the Biblical Covenant between God and

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2220-403: A circle swirling the chickens in his hand, and killed them by taking off their heads, and Hurston continued to beat the ground with a stick in order to produce a rhythmic sound in sync with Turner's dancing. Where the ritual took place Four Thieves Vinegar was poured onto the ground. In some African American Spiritual churches , the sacrifice of live chickens to heal church members was practiced in

2405-483: A client who wanted her brother in-law to leave her alone. Turner sat at his snake altar and meditated on his clients situation, and afterwards told Hurston to purchase nine black chickens and some Four Thieves Vinegar . Turner and Hurston performed a ritual including the nine black chickens and Four Thieves Vinegar at night to ask the spirits and the spirits of the chickens sacrificed for his clients brother in-law to stop bothering her. The ritual included Turner dancing in

2590-598: A core background element of Early Christianity . Within Judaism, there are a variety of religious movements , most of which emerged from Rabbinic Judaism , which holds that God revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of both the Written and Oral Torah. Historically, all or part of this assertion was challenged by various groups such as the Sadducees and Hellenistic Judaism during

2775-435: A dead person is called a Pitr , which is venerated. When a person dies, the family observes a thirteen-day mourning period, generally called śrāddha . A year thence, they observe the ritual of tarpana , in which the family makes offerings to the deceased. During these rituals, the family prepares the food items that the deceased liked and offers food to the deceased. They offer this food to crows as well on certain days as it

2960-425: A divine being. In other cultures, the purpose of ancestor veneration is not to ask for favors but to do one's filial duty. Some cultures believe that their ancestors actually need to be provided for by their descendants, and their practices include offerings of food and other provisions. Others do not believe that the ancestors are even aware of what their descendants do for them, but that the expression of filial piety

3145-487: A festive atmosphere. Residents of surrounding villages are often invited to attend the party, where food and rum are typically served and a hiragasy troupe or other musical entertainment is commonly present. Veneration of ancestors is also demonstrated through adherence to fady , taboos that are respected during and after the lifetime of the person who establishes them. It is widely believed that by showing respect for ancestors in these ways, they may intervene on behalf of

3330-595: A form of ancestor worship called kule aradhane. In Indonesia ancestor worship has been a tradition of some of the indigenous people. Podom of the Toba Batak , Waruga of the Minahasans and the coffins of the Karo people (Indonesia) are a few examples of the forms the veneration takes. Before the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, ancestor worship and funerary rites were not common, especially for non-elites. In

3515-492: A fully developed African-derived religion with its own deities and priests. They thus often regarded Voodoo as an exotic and primitive superstition. The Anglo-American influx also brought new influences to Voodoo as well as increased attention, including a surge in 19th and early 20th-century newspaper coverage. The start of the 19th centuries also saw the Haitian Revolution , whereby African-descended populations in

3700-633: A grave site is visited, a small pebble is placed on the headstone . While there is no clear answer as to why, this custom of leaving pebbles may date back to biblical days when individuals were buried under piles of stones. Today, they are left as tokens that people have been there to visit and to remember. Americans of various religions and cultures may build a shrine in their home dedicated to loved ones who have died, with pictures of their ancestors, flowers and mementos. Increasingly, many roadside shrines may be seen for deceased relatives who died in car accidents or were killed on that spot, sometimes financed by

3885-464: A means of experiencing God". Reflecting on the contribution of the Amoraim and Tanaim to contemporary Judaism, Professor Jacob Neusner observed: The rabbi's logical and rational inquiry is not mere logic-chopping. It is a most serious and substantive effort to locate in trivialities the fundamental principles of the revealed will of God to guide and sanctify the most specific and concrete actions in

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4070-580: A means to learn the contents of God's revelation, but an end in itself. According to the Talmud: These are the things for which a person enjoys the dividends in this world while the principal remains for the person to enjoy in the world to come; they are: honoring parents, loving deeds of kindness, and making peace between one person and another. But the study of the Torah is equal to them all. (Talmud Shabbat 127a). In Judaism, "the study of Torah can be

4255-462: A misunderstanding of the nkisi nkondi of Bakongo religion. Healing plays a prominent role in 21st century Louisiana Voodoo. Various shops, called botanicas, exist in New Orleans to sell herbs and other material for use in these preparations. Glassman has produced her own New Orleans Voodoo Tarot , a tarot card set for use in divination. Animal sacrifice is a traditional practice in Africa. It

4440-523: A parallel oral tradition, illustrating the assumption that the reader is already familiar with the details from other, i.e., oral, sources. Halakha , the rabbinic Jewish way of life, then, is based on a combined reading of the Torah, and the oral tradition—the Mishnah, the halakhic Midrash, the Talmud and its commentaries. The halakha has developed slowly, through a precedent-based system. The literature of questions to rabbis, and their considered answers,

4625-523: A permanent king, and Samuel appointed Saul the king. When the people pressured Saul into going against a command conveyed to him by Samuel, God told Samuel to appoint David in his stead. Rabbinic tradition holds that the details and interpretation of the Law, called the Oral Torah or "Oral Law," were originally unwritten traditions based on the Law given to Moses at Sinai. However, as the persecutions of

4810-477: A person on special days such as death day of person, event anniversaries, festivals, auspicious days in Kartika, Shravana or Bhadrapada months of Hindu calendar . These memorials are washed with milk and water on these days. They are smeared with sindoor or kumkuma and flowers are scattered over it. The earthen lamp is lighted near it with sesame oil. Sometimes a flag is erected over it. Tuluvas practice

4995-555: A positive commandment is to be fulfilled: The ordinary, familiar, everyday things and occurrences we have, constitute occasions for the experience of God. Such things as one's daily sustenance, the very day itself, are felt as manifestations of God's loving-kindness, calling for the Berakhot . Kedushah , holiness, which is nothing else than the imitation of God, is concerned with daily conduct, with being gracious and merciful, with keeping oneself from defilement by idolatry, adultery, and

5180-498: A range of laws regulating when and where black people could gather. Practiced secretly, it spread up the Mississippi River to Missouri . During the 19th century, practitioners such as Marie Laveau , attracted considerable attention. By the early 20th century, the public practice of Voodoo had heavily declined. After the 1960s, the New Orleans tourist industry increasingly used references to Voodoo to attract visitors, while

5365-737: A relatively high amount of influence, particularly those who were spiritual leaders. Among the fifteen "voodoo queens" in neighborhoods scattered around 19th-century New Orleans, Marie Laveau was known as "the Voodoo Queen", the most eminent and powerful of them all. Her religious rite on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain on St. John's Eve in 1874 attracted some 12,000 black and white New Orleanians. Although her help seemed non-discriminatory, she may have favored enslaved servants: Her most "influential, affluent customers...runaway slaves...credited their successful escapes to Laveau's powerful charms". Both her mother and grandmother had practiced Voodoo; she

5550-701: A reward for his act of faith in one God, he was promised that Isaac , his second son, would inherit the Land of Israel (then called Canaan ). Later, the descendants of Isaac's son Jacob were enslaved in Egypt , and God commanded Moses to lead the Exodus from Egypt. The Law was given at Sinai —the Torah , or five books of Moses. These books, together with the Nevi'im and Ketuvim , are known as Torah Shebikhtav , as opposed to

5735-612: A rootworker sacrificed a chicken to leave a blood offering to the spirits to remove a spiritual work (spell). An African American man in North Carolina sacrificed a chicken at a crossroads "asking salvation from an epidemic" from a disease that killed off his farm animals. Zora Neale Hurston recorded in her book Mules and Men an animal sacrifice of nine black chickens in the twentieth century. A Hoodoo man named Turner in New Orleans, Louisiana performed an animal sacrifice for

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5920-570: A slave cabin. West-Central African people were illegally imported into Florida after 1814 by plantation owner Kingsley. The African people imported were Angolan, Igbo , Senegambian and from Zanzibar . The spiritual cultures of these enslaved Africans fused into one Voodoo culture on the plantation. Archeologists found inside a slave cabin in the northeast section an intact sacrificed chicken and other charms (blue beads and red clay brick) for rituals to conjure spirits for protection. In 1883 in Alabama,

6105-469: A slave rebellion, in 1817 the Municipal issued an ordinance preventing slaves from dancing on days other than on Sundays and in locations other than those specifically designated for that purpose. The main location permitted was New Orleans' Congo Square . Voodoo dance rituals nevertheless continued clandestinely at other locations. In the early part of the 19th century, newspapers articles began denouncing

6290-534: A victim's doorstep. To counter these hexes, some people cleaned their doorstep or sprinkled it with powdered brick. Despite its name, the idea of the Voodoo doll has little to do with either Louisiana Voodoo or Haitian Vodou; it derives from the European tradition of poppets . It is possible that the act of inserting pins into a human-shaped doll to cause harm was erroneously linked to African-derived traditions due to

6475-545: A year by the royal family, during the Burmese New Year ( Thingyan ), at the beginning and at the end of Vassa . The images were stored in the treasury and worshiped at the Zetawunzaung ( ဇေတဝန်ဆောင် , "Hall of Ancestors"), along with a book of odes. Some scholars attribute the disappearance of ancestor worship to the influence of Buddhist doctrines of anicca and anatta , impermanence and rejection of

6660-483: Is Maimonides ' thirteen principles of faith , developed in the 12th century. According to Maimonides, any Jew who rejects even one of these principles would be considered an apostate and a heretic. Jewish scholars have held points of view diverging in various ways from Maimonides' principles. Thus, within Reform Judaism only the first five principles are endorsed. In Maimonides' time, his list of tenets

6845-487: Is a system through which any Jew acts to bring God into the world. Ethical monotheism is central in all sacred or normative texts of Judaism. However, monotheism has not always been followed in practice. The Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh ) records and repeatedly condemns the widespread worship of other gods in ancient Israel . In the Greco-Roman era, many different interpretations of monotheism existed in Judaism, including

7030-527: Is a time when many Cambodians pay their respects to deceased relatives of up to seven generations. Monks chant the suttas in Pali language overnight (continuously, without sleeping) in prelude to the gates of hell opening, an event that is presumed to occur once a year, and is linked to the cosmology of King Yama originating in the Pali Canon . During this period, the gates of hell are opened and ghosts of

7215-589: Is a tradition not to speak to non-adherents about Voodoo. Louisiana Voodoo has not remained static, but has adapted and changed over time; in its original form, it probably survived into the early 20th century. Voodoo is a largely oral tradition. It has no formal creed, not a specific sacred text, and has no unifying organized structure or hierarchy. Practitioners will often adapt Voodoo to suit their specific requirements, in doing so often mixing it with other religious traditions. Throughout its history, many Voodoo practitioners have also practiced Roman Catholicism. While in

7400-570: Is also common practice among veterans to memorialize fallen service members on the dates of their death. This practice is also common in other countries when remembering Americans who died in battles to liberate their towns in the World Wars . One example of this is on 16 August (1944) Colonel Griffith , died of wounds from enemy action sustained in Lèves , the same day he is credited with saving Chartres Cathedral from destruction. In Judaism, when

7585-597: Is also the source of the Hebrew term for Judaism, יַהֲדוּת Yahaḏuṯ . The term Ἰουδαϊσμός first appears in the Koine Greek book of 2 Maccabees in the 2nd century BCE (i.e. 2 Maccabees 2:21, 8:1 and 14:38) . In the context of the age and period it meant "seeking or forming part of a cultural entity". It resembled its antonym hellenismos , a word signifying people's submission to Hellenistic cultural norms. The conflict between iudaismos and hellenismos lay behind

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7770-550: Is an esoteric tradition in Judaism in Kabbalah , Rabbinic scholar Max Kadushin has characterized normative Judaism as "normal mysticism", because it involves everyday personal experiences of God through ways or modes that are common to all Jews. This is played out through the observance of the halakha , or Jewish law, and given verbal expression in the Birkat Ha-Mizvot , the short blessings that are spoken every time

7955-484: Is believed that the soul comes in the form of a bird to taste it. They are also obliged to offer śrāddha , a small feast of specific preparations, to eligible Brahmins . Only after these rituals are the family members allowed to eat. It is believed that this reminds the ancestors's spirits that they are not forgotten and are loved, so it brings them peace. On śrāddha days, people pray that the souls of ancestors be appeased, forget any animosity and find peace. Each year, on

8140-684: Is called the Jerusalem Talmud . It was compiled sometime during the 4th century in Palestine. According to critical scholars , the Torah consists of inconsistent texts edited together in a way that calls attention to divergent accounts. Several of these scholars, such as Professor Martin Rose and John Bright , suggest that during the First Temple period the people of Israel believed that each nation had its own god, but that their god

8325-648: Is common for volunteers to place small American flags at each grave. Memorial Day is traditionally observed on the last Monday in May, allotting for a 3-day weekend in which many memorial services and parades take place not only across the country, but in 26 American cemeteries on foreign soil (in France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Panama, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, and Tunisia). It

8510-689: Is considered one of the earliest monotheistic religions in the world. Jewish religious doctrine encompasses a wide body of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Among Judaism's core texts is the Torah , the first five books of the Hebrew Bible , a collection of ancient Hebrew scriptures. The Tanakh, known in English as the Hebrew Bible, has the same contents as the Old Testament in Christianity . In addition to

8695-571: Is done as an offering to the spirits, and also to ask a spirit to provide protection, healing, and other requests. When Africans were enslaved in the United States the practice continued in Voodoo and Hoodoo. The animals that are sacrificed are chickens. In West Africa among the Yoruba , blood sacrifices are left for Eshu-Elegba at the crossroads. The crossroads is a spiritual door way to the spiritual realm where Eshu-Elegba resides. This practice

8880-410: Is great respect or reverence caused by the dignity, wisdom, or dedication of a person. Although there is no generally accepted theory concerning the origins of ancestor veneration, this social phenomenon appears in some form in all human cultures documented so far. David-Barrett and Carney claim that ancestor veneration might have served a group coordination role during human evolution , and thus it

9065-463: Is heavily associated with and most often thought of as Orthodox Judaism . 13 Principles of Faith: — Maimonides In the strict sense, in Judaism, unlike Christianity and Islam, there are no fixed universally binding articles of faith, due to their incorporation into the liturgy. Scholars throughout Jewish history have proposed numerous formulations of Judaism's core tenets, all of which have met with criticism. The most popular formulation

9250-520: Is largely confined to some ethnic minority communities, but mainstream remnants of it still exist, such as worship of Bo Bo Gyi (literally "great grandfather"), as well as of other guardian spirits such as nats , all of which may be vestiges of historic ancestor worship. Ancestor worship was present in the royal court in pre-colonial Burma. During the Konbaung dynasty , solid gold images of deceased kings and their consorts were worshipped three times

9435-570: Is marked by the recounting of ghost stories , bonfires , wearing costumes , carving jack-o'-lanterns , and " trick-or-treating " (going door to door and begging for candy). In Cornwall and Wales , the autumn ancestor festivals occur around November 1. In Cornwall the festival is known as Kalan Gwav , and in Wales as Calan Gaeaf . Modern-day Halloween is derived from these festivals. During Samhain , November 1 in Ireland and Scotland,

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9620-718: Is often a part of rituals in Louisiana Voodoo. Many historical Voodoo rituals involved the presence of a snake; Marie Laveau was for instance described as communing with a snake during her ceremonies. This practice largely died out by the end of the 19th century, although some Voodoo revivalists have incorporated snake dances into their practices. In the 21st century, the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple has had its own "temple snake." Charms, created to either harm or help, are called gris-gris . This term derives from West Africa, where related words are widespread among many ethnic and linguistic groups. In

9805-440: Is often associated with snakes in both West Africa and in his Haitian form, Damballa . Another recorded name, Dambarra Soutons, may be an additional name for Blanc Dani. A similar figure, Grandfather Rattlesnake, appeared in the 19th-century folklore of African-American Missourians and may also be a development of the same West African character. It is also possible that Blanc Dani was ultimately equated with another deity, known as

9990-726: Is premundane and has no peer or associate; (3) the whole universe is created; (4) God called Moses and the other Prophets of the Biblical canon; (5) the Law of Moses alone is true; (6) to know the language of the Bible is a religious duty; (7) the Temple at Jerusalem is the palace of the world's Ruler; (8) belief in Resurrection contemporaneous with the advent of the Messiah; (9) final judgment; (10) retribution. In modern times, Judaism lacks

10175-573: Is probable that he derives from Dan or Da, a deity venerated by the Fon and Ewe people whose worship centred largely around Ouidah. In West Africa, Dan is associated with the color white and this may explain suggestions from the Louisiana material that Blanc Dani was perceived as a white man. Although there are no specific references to Blanc Dani being a serpent, the prominence of snakes within Louisiana Voodoo might have been an allusion to Blanc Dani, for Dan

10360-606: Is referred to as responsa (Hebrew Sheelot U-Teshuvot ). Over time, as practices develop, codes of halakha are written that are based on the responsa; the most important code, the Shulchan Aruch , largely determines Orthodox religious practice today. Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. Major Jewish philosophers include Philo of Alexandria , Solomon ibn Gabirol , Saadia Gaon , Judah Halevi , Maimonides , and Gersonides . Major changes occurred in response to

10545-600: Is regarded as the first Jewish diaspora . Later, many of them returned to their homeland after the subsequent conquest of Babylon by the Persian Achaemenid Empire seventy years later, an event known as the Return to Zion . A Second Temple was constructed and old religious practices were resumed. During the early years of the Second Temple, the highest religious authority was a council known as

10730-418: Is that halakha should be viewed as a set of general guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews. Historically, special courts enforced halakha ; today, these courts still exist but the practice of Judaism is mostly voluntary. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, but in the sacred texts and

10915-632: Is what is important. Most cultures who practice ancestor veneration do not call it "ancestor worship". In English, the word worship usually but not always refers to the reverent love and devotion accorded a deity (god) or God . However, in other cultures, this act of worship does not confer any belief that the departed ancestors have become some kind of deity. Rather, the act is a way to express filial duty, devotion and respect and look after ancestors in their afterlives as well as seek their guidance for their living descendants. In this regard, many cultures and religions have similar practices. Some may visit

11100-720: The Anglican Church in England ), November 1 ( All Saints' Day ), became known and is still known as the day to specifically venerate those who have died, and who have been deemed official saints by the Church. November 2, ( All Souls Day ), or "The Day of the Dead", is the day when all of the faithful dead are remembered. On that day, families go to cemeteries to light candles for their dead relatives, leave them flowers, and often to picnic. They also celebrate Suffrage Masses to shorten

11285-655: The Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy ), 2 Macc. ii. 21: "Those that behaved themselves manfully to their honour for Iudaisme." At its core, the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh is an account of the Israelites ' relationship with God from their earliest history until the building of the Second Temple ( c.  535 BCE ). Abraham is hailed as the first Hebrew and the father of the Jewish people. As

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11470-401: The Catholic Church , one's local parish church often offers prayers for the dead on their death anniversary or All Souls' Day. In the United States, Memorial Day is a Federal holiday for remembering the deceased men and women who served in the nation's military, particularly those who died in war or during active service. In the 147 National Cemeteries , like Arlington and Gettysburg , it

11655-529: The Celtic nations and the diaspora . Lights in the window to guide the dead home are left burning all night. On the Isle of Man the festival is known as "old Sauin" or Hop-tu-Naa . In the United States and Canada, flowers, wreaths, grave decorations and sometimes candles, food, small pebbles, or items the dead valued in life are put on graves year-round as a way to honor the dead. These traditions originate in

11840-659: The Cordillerans ; tonong among the Maguindanao and Maranao ; umboh among the Sama-Bajau ; ninunò among Tagalogs ; and nono among Bicolanos . Ancestor spirits are usually represented by carved figures called taotao . These were carved by the community upon a person's death. Every household had a taotao stored in a shelf in the corner of the house. The predominantly Roman Catholic Filipino people still hold ancestors in particular esteem—though without

12025-595: The Eastern Orthodox Churches , Anglican Church , and Catholic Church venerate saints as intercessors with God ; the latter also believes in prayer for departed souls in Purgatory . Other religious groups, however, consider veneration of the dead to be idolatry and a sin . In European , Asian , Oceanian , African and Afro-diasporic cultures (which includes but should be distinguished from multiple cultures and Indigenous populations in

12210-716: The Enlightenment (late 18th to early 19th century) leading to the post-Enlightenment Jewish philosophers. Modern Jewish philosophy consists of both Orthodox and non-Orthodox oriented philosophy. Notable among Orthodox Jewish philosophers are Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler , Joseph B. Soloveitchik , and Yitzchok Hutner . Well-known non-Orthodox Jewish philosophers include Martin Buber , Franz Rosenzweig , Mordecai Kaplan , Abraham Joshua Heschel , Will Herberg , and Emmanuel Lévinas . 13 Principles of Hermeneutics: — R. Ishmael Orthodox and many other Jews do not believe that

12395-487: The Great Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE), the Romans sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple. Later, Roman emperor Hadrian built a pagan idol on the Temple Mount and prohibited circumcision; these acts of ethnocide provoked the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–136 CE), after which the Romans banned the study of the Torah and the celebration of Jewish holidays, and forcibly removed virtually all Jews from Judea. In 200 CE, however, Jews were granted Roman citizenship and Judaism

12580-441: The Islamic State . Judaism Judaism ( Hebrew : יַהֲדוּת ‎ , romanized :  Yahăḏūṯ ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people . Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of observing the Mosaic covenant , which was established between God and the Israelites , their ancestors. The religion

12765-413: The Kohanim and Leviyim (members of the tribe of Levi ), some only to farmers within the Land of Israel. Many laws were only applicable when the Temple in Jerusalem existed, and only 369 of these commandments are still applicable today. While there have been Jewish groups whose beliefs were based on the written text of the Torah alone (e.g., the Sadducees , and the Karaites ), most Jews believe in

12950-622: The Maccabean Revolt and hence the invention of the term iudaismos . Shaye J. D. Cohen writes in his book The Beginnings of Jewishness : We are tempted, of course, to translate [ Ioudaïsmós ] as "Judaism," but this translation is too narrow, because in this first occurrence of the term, Ioudaïsmós has not yet been reduced to the designation of a religion. It means rather "the aggregate of all those characteristics that makes Judaeans Judaean (or Jews Jewish)." Among these characteristics, to be sure, are practices and beliefs that we would today call "religious," but these practices and beliefs are not

13135-433: The Oxford English Dictionary the earliest citation in English where the term was used to mean "the profession or practice of the Jewish religion; the religious system or polity of the Jews" is Robert Fabyan's The newe cronycles of Englande and of Fraunce (1516). "Judaism" as a direct translation of the Latin Iudaismus first occurred in a 1611 English translation of the Biblical apocrypha (the Deuterocanonical books in

13320-698: The Patriarch Abraham as well as the additional aspects of the Covenant revealed to Moses , who is considered Judaism's greatest prophet . In the Mishnah , a core text of Rabbinic Judaism , acceptance of the Divine origins of this covenant is considered an essential aspect of Judaism and those who reject the Covenant forfeit their share in the World to Come . Establishing the core tenets of Judaism in

13505-567: The Second Temple period ; the Karaites during the early and later medieval period; and among segments of the modern non-Orthodox denominations. Some modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be considered secular or nontheistic . Today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism ( Haredi and Modern Orthodox ), Conservative Judaism , and Reform Judaism . Major sources of difference between these groups are their approaches to halakha (Jewish law),

13690-459: The anniversary of a family member's death is called charye (차례). It is still practised today. The majority of Catholics, Buddhists and nonbelievers practise ancestral rites, although Protestants do not. The Catholic ban on ancestral rituals was lifted in 1939, when the Catholic Church formally recognised ancestral rites as a civil practice. Ancestral rites are typically divided into three categories: Ancestor worship in modern-day Myanmar

13875-561: The family lineage . Ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity, and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times. Ancestor reverence is not the same as the worship of a deity or deities. In some Afro-diasporic cultures, ancestors are seen as being able to intercede on behalf of the living, often as messengers between humans and God. As spirits who were once human themselves, they are seen as being better able to understand human needs than would

14060-504: The halakha whereas its ultimate goal is to bring the holiness down to the world. Mordecai Kaplan , the founder of the Reconstructionist Judaism , abandons the idea of religion for the sake of identifying Judaism with civilization and by means of the latter term and secular translation of the core ideas, he tries to embrace as many Jewish denominations as possible. In turn, Solomon Schechter 's Conservative Judaism

14245-535: The oral law . These oral traditions were transmitted by the Pharisee school of thought of ancient Judaism and were later recorded in written form and expanded upon by the rabbis. According to Rabbinical Jewish tradition, God gave both the Written Law (the Torah ) and the Oral Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai . The Oral law is the oral tradition as relayed by God to Moses and from him, transmitted and taught to

14430-465: The rabbis and scholars who interpret them. Jews are an ethnoreligious group including those born Jewish, in addition to converts to Judaism . In 2021, the world Jewish population was estimated at 15.2 million, or roughly 0.195% of the total world population, although religious observance varies from strict to none. In 2021, about 45.6% of all Jews resided in Israel and another 42.1% resided in

14615-428: The razana (ancestors). The veneration of ancestors has led to the widespread tradition of tomb building, as well as the highlands practice of the famadihana , whereby a deceased family member's remains may be exhumed to be periodically re-wrapped in fresh silk shrouds before being replaced in the tomb. The famadihana is an occasion to celebrate the beloved ancestor's memory, reunite with family and community, and enjoy

14800-743: The 1730s, when Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz wrote about the use of gris-gris. In 1803, the United States took control of Louisiana through the Louisiana Purchase . This resulted in a large influx of Anglo-Americans into the region. These Anglo-Americans often had some familiarity with African-derived traditions, such as the John Canoe festivities on the Atlantic coast and the Pinkster celebrations in New York, but were unaccustomed to

14985-531: The 1930s and 1940s suggested that, as it existed in the closing three decades of the 19th century, Voodoo primarily entailed supplications to the saints for assistance. Among the most popular was Saint Anthony of Padua ; this figure is also the patron saint of the Kongo, a likely link to the heavily Kongo-descended population of New Orleans. Rejecting the centrality of the saints for her 21st-century practice, Osbey has described these saints as "servants and messengers of

15170-521: The 19th century, the saints played a prominent role, although amid the 20th-century revival, the veneration of deities from other African diasporic religions became common. The production of charms, which are known as gris-gris , plays an important part. From the early 18th century, enslaved West Africans—the majority of them Bambara and Kongo —were brought to the French colony of Louisiana. There, their traditional religions would have syncretized with

15355-621: The 21st century, Voodoo practitioners have for instance combined Voodoo with elements of Judaism and the Kabbalah , or with Hinduism . Louisiana Voodoo had no formal theology, although displayed its own spiritual hierarchy. Many practitioners of Voodoo have not seen their religion as being in intrinsic conflict with the Roman Catholicism that was dominant along the Mississippi River. The names of Louisiana Voodoo's deities were recorded in various 19th-century sources. These deities seem to derive predominantly from spirits venerated around

15540-614: The Africans were held in large groups relatively isolated from interaction with whites, their preservation of African indigenous practices and culture was enabled. In northern Louisiana and other European colonies in the American South, enslaved families were usually divided; large numbers of African slaves who were once closely related by family or community were sent to different plantations. However, in southern Louisiana, families, cultures, and languages were kept more intact than in

15725-538: The All Souls' Day period. In Sri Lanka, making offerings to one's ancestors is conducted on the sixth day after death as a part of traditional Sri Lankan funeral rites. In rural northern Thailand , a religious ceremony honoring ancestral spirits known as Faun Phii ( Thai : ฟ้อนผี , lit. "spirit dance" or "ghost dance") takes place. It includes offerings for ancestors with spirit mediums sword fighting, spirit-possessed dancing, and spirit mediums cock fighting in

15910-523: The Americas who were never influenced by the African Diaspora), the goal of ancestor veneration is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living, and sometimes to ask for special favours or assistance. The social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration is to cultivate kinship values, such as filial piety , family loyalty, and continuity of

16095-613: The Ancestors." She related that, unlike in Haitian Vodou and Cuban Santería, the Roman Catholic saints retained their distinct identities rather than being equated with specific West African deities. Writing in the 2010s, the Voodoo practitioner and poet Brenda Marie Osbey described a belief in "a somewhat distant but single deity" being part of the religion, while Rory O'Neill Schmitt and Rosary Hartel O'Neill expressed

16280-535: The Bight of Benin. In contrast to Haitian Vodou, there is no evidence that these were divided into groups known as nanchon (nations). Tout, tout, pays blanc — Danié qui commandé Danié qui commandé ça! Danié qui commandé — A song used among Louisiana field hands, recorded in 1885, that probably related to Blanc Dani One of the most important deities was Blanc Dani, also known as Daniel Blanc or Monsieur Danny. The earliest records of him date from 1880, and it

16465-593: The Conservative movement. The following is a basic, structured list of the central works of Jewish practice and thought: The basis of halakha and tradition is the Torah (also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses). According to rabbinic tradition, there are 613 commandments in the Torah. Some of these laws are directed only to men or to women, some only to the ancient priestly groups,

16650-733: The French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue overthrew the French colonial government and established an independent republic, Haiti. As a result of the upheaval, between 15,000 and 20,000 Francophone migrants from Saint-Domingue arrived in the Mississippi River Valley as a result of the Revolution, including those of African, European, and mixed descent. Many would have been familiar with Haitian Vodou and their arrival in continental North America likely reinforced and influenced Louisiana Voodoo. According to legend,

16835-475: The Grand Zombi, whose name meant "Great God" or "Great Spirit;" the term Zombi derives from the Kongo Bantu term nzambi (god). Another prominent deity was Papa Lébat, also called Liba, LaBas, or Laba Limba, and he was seen as a trickster as well as a doorkeeper; he is the only one of these New Orleans deities with an unequivocally Yoruba origin. Monsieur Assonquer, also known as Onzancaire and On Sa Tier,

17020-550: The Great Assembly, led by Ezra the Scribe . Among other accomplishments of the Great Assembly, the last books of the Bible were written at this time and the canon sealed . Hellenistic Judaism spread to Ptolemaic Egypt from the 3rd century BCE, and its creation sparked widespread controversy in Jewish communities, starting "conflicts within Jewish communities about accommodating the cultures of occupying powers." During

17205-645: The Heian Period, abandonment was a common method of disposing of the dead. Following the advent of Buddhism, rituals were sometimes performed at the gravesite after burial or cremation. In Korea , ancestor veneration is referred to by the generic term jerye ( Korean :  제례 ; Hanja :  祭 禮 ) or jesa ( 제사 ; 祭 祀 ). Notable examples of jerye include Munmyo jerye and Jongmyo jerye , which are performed periodically each year for venerated Neo-Confucian scholars and kings of ancient times, respectively. The ceremony held on

17390-568: The Jews increased and the details were in danger of being forgotten, these oral laws were recorded by Judah ha-Nasi in the Mishnah , redacted c.  200 CE . The Talmud was a compilation of the Mishnah and Gemara , rabbinic commentaries redacted over the next three centuries. The Gemara originated in two major centers of Jewish scholarship, Palestine and Babylonia ( Lower Mesopotamia ). Correspondingly, two bodies of analysis developed, and two works of Talmud were created. The older compilation

17575-583: The Mississippi River Valley, references to gris-gris first date from the 1750s. The term Zinzin , sometimes referring to positive charms, derives from the Bamana language. Another term, Wanga , was more commonly used for harmful charms in Voodoo and probably derives from West Central Africa, where the terms oganga and nganga were used for priests in Kikongo. A common charm for protection or luck would consist of material wrapped up in red flannel and worn around

17760-464: The Mississippi", entailing the use of charms and spells that made little reference to deities; in this it differs from the specific religion characterized by the term Voodoo . Louisiana Voodoo is a secretive religion; in 1972, for instance, the historian Blake Touchstone noted that Louisiana Voodoo was then largely being practiced outside the public eye. Among some contemporary practitioners there

17945-452: The New Orleans authorities again clamped down on Voodoo. Voodoo was used as evidence to bolster the white elite's claim that Africans were inferior to Europeans and thus bolster their belief in the necessity of legalized segregation. Various practitioners set up shops selling paraphernalia and charms, they also began exploiting the commercial opportunities of the religion by staging ceremonies which charged entry. Free women of color dominated

18130-609: The Oral Torah, which refers to the Mishnah and the Talmud . Eventually, God led them to the land of Israel where the tabernacle was planted in the city of Shiloh for over 300 years to rally the nation against attacking enemies. As time passed, the nation's spiritual level declined to the point that God allowed the Philistines to capture the tabernacle. The people of Israel then told Samuel that they needed to be governed by

18315-546: The Rada and the Petwo. Glassman's New Orleans temple for instance has separate altars to the Rada and Petwo lwa. Each of these is associated with particular items, colors, numbers, foodstuff, and drinks. They are often considered to be intermediaries of God, who in Haitian Vodou is usually termed Le Bon Dieu . The spirits of the dead played a prominent role in Louisiana Voodoo during the 19th century. The prominence of these spirits of

18500-545: The Roman Catholic Church waging "anti-superstition campaigns" against the religion in Louisiana. All of the West African groups contributed to the development of Louisiana Voodoo. Their knowledge of herbs, poisons, and the ritual creation of charms and amulets , intended to protect oneself or harm others, became key elements of Louisiana Voodoo. During the French colonial period, around 80 percent of

18685-411: The Roman Catholic beliefs of the French. This continued as Louisiana came under Spanish control and was then purchased by the United States in 1803. In the early 19th century, many migrants fleeing the Haitian Revolution arrived in Louisiana, bringing with them Haitian Vodou, which contributed to the formation of Louisiana Voodoo. Although the religion was never banned, its practice was restricted through

18870-409: The Torah is a term and a set of teachings that are explicitly self-positioned as encompassing at least seventy, and potentially infinite, facets and interpretations. Judaism's texts, traditions, and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity and Islam . Hebraism , like Hellenism , played a seminal role in the formation of Western civilization through its impact as

19055-637: The United States and Canada, with most of the remainder living in Europe, and other groups spread throughout Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The term Judaism derives from Iudaismus , a Latinized form of the Ancient Greek Ioudaismos ( Koinē Greek : Ἰουδαϊσμός , from the verb ἰουδαΐζειν , "to side with or imitate the [Judeans]"). Its ultimate source was Hebrew : יהודה , romanized :  Yehudah Judah ", which

19240-520: The Voodoo priestess Ava Kay Jones performed a rite to drive harmful spirits away from the New Orleans Saints football team in the hope of improving their performance. Historical records describe the altars created by famous 19th-century Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau in her home; Long noted that these descriptions resemble those of altars used in Haitian Vodou. Many contemporary practitioners have their own personal altars, often located in

19425-402: The adoption of Catholic practices into Louisiana Voodoo. Another element brought from West Africa was the veneration of ancestors and the subsequent emphasis on respect for elders. For this reason, the rate of survival among elderly enslaved peoples was high, further "Africanizing Louisiana Creole culture." Records of African traditional religious practices being practiced in Louisiana go back to

19610-504: The authority of the rabbinic tradition , and the significance of the State of Israel . Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and halakha are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, and that they should be strictly followed. Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditionalist interpretation of Judaism's requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position

19795-483: The basis of the Talmud. According to Abraham ben David , the Mishnah was compiled by Rabbi Judah haNasi after the destruction of Jerusalem, in anno mundi 3949, which corresponds to 189 CE. Over the next four centuries, the Mishnah underwent discussion and debate in both of the world's major Jewish communities (in Israel and Babylonia ). The commentaries from each of these communities were eventually compiled into

19980-471: The belief that God is one and is concerned with the actions of mankind. According to the Hebrew Bible, God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation. Many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God; that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate God's concern for the world. He also commanded the Jewish people to love one another; that is, Jews are to imitate God's love for people. Thus, although there

20165-414: The belief that contemporary Voodoo was monotheistic . In its early 21st century form, Louisiana Voodoo accords particular respect to elders. Various commentators have described Louisiana Voodoo as matriarchal because of the dominant role priestesses have played in it. Osbey described the religion as being "entirely within the sphere of women, whom we call Mothers." The feminist theorist Tara Green defined

20350-487: The carcass. It is nevertheless not a universal practice in Louisiana Voodoo; Glassman's group prohibits animal sacrifice in its rites. Although there is little proof that human sacrifice took place in Louisiana Voodoo, persistent rumors claimed that white children were being abducted and killed during some of its rites. Plates of food may be left out, encircled in a ring of coins. Libations may be poured. Laveau used to hold weekly services, which were called parterres . Music

20535-432: The ceremonies. In China , ancestor veneration (敬祖, pinyin : jìngzǔ ) and ancestor worship (拜祖, pinyin : bàizǔ ) seek to honour and recollect the actions of the deceased; they represent the ultimate homage to the dead. The importance of paying respect to parents (and elders) lies with the fact that all physical bodily aspects of one's being were created by one's parents, who continued to tend to one's well-being until one

20720-466: The colony in 1719. In 1763 the Spanish Empire took control and remained in power until 1803. The religions of the West African slaves combined with elements of the folk Catholicism practiced by the dominant French and Spanish colonists to provide the origins of Louisiana Voodoo. Under the French and Spanish colonial governments, Voodoo did not experience strong persecution; there are no records of

20905-418: The continent. Furthermore, the large Indian population in places such as Fiji and Guyana has resulted in these practices spreading beyond their Asian homeland. The Ahom religion is based on ancestor-worship. The Ahoms believe that a person after his death remains as ‘Dam’(ancestor) only for a few days and soon he becomes ‘Phi’ (God). They also believe that the soul of a person which is immortal unites with

21090-540: The crossroads as an offering to the crossroad spirit and to ask the spirit or spirits for a request. At Stagville Plantation located in Durham County, North Carolina, enslaved Africans performed animal sacrifice to call forth spirits for assistance in the slave community . At the Kingsley Plantation at Fort George Island, Florida, archeologists found evidence of West African animal sacrifice inside

21275-428: The dead and the loving duty toward one's ancestors ( pietas ) were fundamental aspects of ancient Roman culture. A clear manifestation of this is Roman Republican era portrait busts which may have originated in the practice of making death masks of ancestors which were displayed in the home and during funerary rites and on the anniversary of the ancestor’s death. In Catholic countries in Europe (continued later with

21460-442: The dead ( preta ) are presumed to be especially active. In order to combat this, food-offerings are made to benefit them, some of these ghosts having the opportunity to end their period of purgation, whereas others are imagined to leave hell temporarily, to then return to endure more suffering; without much explanation, relatives who are not in hell (who are in heaven or otherwise reincarnated) are also generally imagined to benefit from

21645-408: The dead are thought to return to the world of the living, and offerings of food and light are left for them. On the festival day, ancient people would extinguish the hearth fires in their homes, participate in a community bonfire festival, and then carry a flame home from the communal fire and use it to light their home fires anew. This custom has continued to some extent into modern times, in both

21830-403: The dead can manifest as apparitions or ghosts ( mantiw ) and cause harm to living people. Paganito can be used to appease or banish them. Ancestor spirits also figured prominently during illness or death, as they were believed to be the ones who call the soul to the underworld, guide the soul (a psychopomp ), or meet the soul upon arrival. Ancestor spirits are also known as kalading among

22015-555: The dead finds its greatest expression in the Philippines is the Hallowmas season between 31 October and 2 November, variously called Undás (based on the word for "[the] first", the Spanish andas or possibly honra ), Todos los Santos (literally " All Saints "), and sometimes Áraw ng mga Patáy (lit. "Day of the Dead"), which refers to the following solemnity of All Souls' Day . Filipinos traditionally observe this day by visiting

22200-634: The dead may owe something to the fact that New Orleans' African American population was heavily descended from enslaved Kongolese, whose traditional religions placed emphasis on such spirits. In the 21st century, Louisiana Voodoo has been characterized as a system of ancestor worship. Communicating with the ancestors is an important part of its practice, with these ancestral spirits often invoked during ceremonies. As Africans arrived in Louisiana, they adopted from Roman Catholicism and so various West African deities became associated with specific Roman Catholic saints. Interviews with elderly New Orleanians conducted in

22385-744: The dead, is celebrated by the Ahom people on 31 January every year in memory of the departed. It is the manifestation of the concept of ancestor worship that the Ahoms share with other peoples originating from the Tai-Shan stock. It is a festival to show respect to the departed ancestors and remember their contribution to society. On the day of Me-Dam Me Phi worship is offered only to Chaufi and Dam Chaufi because they are regarded as gods of heaven. At Rakhigarhi , an Indus Valley civilization (IVC) site in Haryana ,

22570-516: The dead, which one academic referred to as "ghost riders". A ghost who came to possess a person would be honored with a dedicated grave monument or sanctuary, where locals would make offerings and swear oaths. Those who swore false oaths may be punished by the ghost in residence. This ghost was considered both powerful and something for others to fear. These ghosts are not necessarily saints (in fact, those who hold these beliefs believe very holy persons never possess others in this way, as they are always in

22755-609: The deceased in the Spring , Autumn , and Ghost Festivals . Due to the hardships of the late 19th- and 20th-century China, when meat and poultry were difficult to come by, sumptuous feasts are still offered in some Asian countries as a practice to the spirits or ancestors. However, in the orthodox Taoist and Buddhist rituals, only vegetarian food would suffice. For those with deceased in the afterlife or hell , elaborate or even creative offerings, such as servants , refrigerators , houses , car , paper money and shoes are provided so that

22940-444: The deceased will be able to have these items after they have died. Often, paper versions of these objects are burned for the same purpose. Originally, real-life objects were buried with the dead. In time these goods were replaced by full size clay models which in turn were replaced by scale models, and in time today's paper offerings (including paper servants). Ancestors are widely revered, honoured, and venerated in India. The spirit of

23125-432: The diverse cultural backgrounds of the current populations of both countries. In the United States, many people honor deceased loved ones who were in the military on Memorial Day . Days with religious and spiritual significance like Easter , Christmas , Candlemas , and All Souls' Day , Day of the Dead , or Samhain are also times when relatives and friends of the deceased may gather at the graves of their loved ones. In

23310-616: The enslaved Africans brought to Louisiana were from the Bambara people of the Senegal River basin. Most of the other 20 percent were Kongolese, with a few from Dahomey. After the Spanish took control, increasing numbers of slaves were imported from the Kongo, ensuring a "Kongolization of New Orleans's African American community". The enslaved community quickly outnumbered white European colonists who emigrated there. The French colony

23495-462: The establishment of the authority of rabbis who acted as teachers and leaders of individual communities. Unlike other ancient Near Eastern gods, the Hebrew God is portrayed as unitary and solitary; consequently, the Hebrew God's principal relationships are not with other gods, but with the world, and more specifically, with the people he created. Judaism thus begins with ethical monotheism :

23680-608: The family dead, cleaning and repairing their tombs. Common offerings are prayers, flowers, candles, and even food, while many also spend the remainder of the day and ensuing night holding reunions at the graveyard, playing games and music or singing. Chinese Filipinos , meanwhile, have the most apparent and distinct customs related to ancestor veneration, carried over from traditional Chinese religion and most often melded with their current Catholic faith. Many still burn incense and kim at family tombs and before photos at home, while they incorporate Chinese practises into Masses held during

23865-574: The first meeting place of the Voodoo practitioners in New Orleans was at an abandoned brickyard in Dumaine Street . Those meetings here faced police disruption and so future meetings took place largely in Bayou St. John and along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain . The religion probably appealed to members of the African diaspora, whether enslaved or free, who lacked recourse to retribution for

24050-468: The form of poe divination , or to confirm whether the ancestors consent on the messages requested by the divinator. In traditional Chinese culture, sacrifices are sometimes made to altars as food for the deceased. This falls under the modes of communication with the Chinese spiritual world concepts . Some of the veneration includes visiting the deceased at their graves, and making or buying offerings for

24235-414: The formality common to their neighbours—despite having been Christianised since coming into contact with Spanish missionaries in 1521. In the present day, ancestor veneration is expressed in having photographs of the dead by the home altar, a common fixture in many Filipino Christian homes. Candles are often kept burning before the photographs, which are sometimes decorated with garlands of fresh sampaguita ,

24420-481: The graves of their parents or other ancestors, leave flowers and pray to them in order to honor and remember them, while also asking their ancestors to continue to look after them. However, this would not be considered as worshipping them since the term worship may not always convey such meaning in the exclusive and narrow context of certain Western European Christian traditions. In that sense

24605-502: The harm of others was a key aspect to early Louisiana Voodoo. The Ouanga , a charm used to poison an enemy, contained the toxic roots of the figuier maudit tree, brought from Africa and preserved in Louisiana. The ground-up root was combined with other elements, such as bones, nails, roots, holy water, holy candles, holy incense, holy bread, or crucifixes. The administrator of the ritual frequently evoked protection from Jehovah and Jesus Christ . This openness of African belief allowed for

24790-407: The idea that St John's Eve is important in Louisiana Voodoo. Various contemporary practitioners celebrate All Saints Day (1 November) which they, following Haitian Vodou, link with the lwa Gede . Much mystery surrounds the origins of Louisiana Voodoo, with its history often being embellished with legend. French settlers arrived in Louisiana in 1699, with the first enslaved Africans being brought to

24975-476: The interpretations that gave rise to Christianity. Moreover, some have argued that Judaism is a non-creedal religion that does not require one to believe in God. For some, observance of halakha is more important than belief in God per se . The debate about whether one can speak of authentic or normative Judaism is not only a debate among religious Jews but also among historians. In continental Europe , Judaism

25160-409: The kitchen or living room. These altars are understood as assisting communication with ancestors, with food and drink being offered to the ancestors at them. Sacrifice was a recurring element of Louisiana Voodoo as it was historically practiced, as it continues to be in Haitian Vodou. Some 21st-century practitioners of Louisiana Voodoo do sacrifice animals in their rites, subsequently cooking and eating

25345-673: The later adopted religions of Christianity (as in Nigeria among the Igbo people ), and Islam (among the different Mandé peoples and the Bamum and the Bakossi people) in much of the continent. In orthodox Serer religion , the pangool is venerated by the Serer people . The Seereer people of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania who adhere to the tenets of A ƭat Roog (Seereer religion) believe in

25530-489: The leadership of Voodoo in New Orleans during the 19th century. They made a living through the selling and administering of amulets, or "gris-gris" charms, and magical powers, as well as spells and charms that guaranteed to "cure ailments, grant desires, and confound or destroy one's enemies". As in other French colonial communities, a class of free people of color developed who were given specific rights and, in New Orleans, acquired property and education. Free women of color had

25715-442: The living. Conversely, misfortunes are often attributed to ancestors whose memory or wishes have been neglected. The sacrifice of zebu is a traditional method used to appease or honor the ancestors. Small, everyday gestures of respect include throwing the first capful of a newly opened bottle of rum into the northeast corner of the room to give the ancestors their due share. In Egypt, a form of adorcism entwined with veneration of

25900-413: The lover's skeletons of a man between 35 and 40 years old and women in early 20s were found who were likely married to each other and buried together, their grave contained pots which likely carried food and water as offering to the dead. The Paliya memorial stones are associated with ancestral worship in western India. These memorials are worshipped by people of associated community or descendants of

26085-504: The modern era is even more difficult, given the number and diversity of the contemporary Jewish denominations . Even if to restrict the problem to the most influential intellectual trends of the nineteenth and twentieth century, the matter remains complicated. Thus, for instance, Joseph Soloveitchik's (associated with the Modern Orthodox movement ) answer to modernity is constituted upon the identification of Judaism with following

26270-428: The national flower. Ancestors, particularly dead parents, are still regarded as psychopomps, as a dying person is said to be brought to the afterlife ( Tagalog : sundô , "fetch") by the spirits of dead relatives. It is said that when the dying call out the names of deceased loved ones, they can see the spirits of those particular people waiting at the foot of the deathbed. Filipino Catholic and Aglipayan veneration of

26455-581: The neck. Touchstone believed that gris-gris that caused actual harm did so either through the power of suggestion or by the fact that they contained poisons to which the victim was exposed. One example of a Voodoo curse was to place an object inside the pillow of the victim. Another involves placing a coffin (sometimes a small model; sometimes much larger) inscribed with the victim's name on their doorstep. In other instances, Voodoo practitioners sought to hex others by placing black crosses, salt, or mixtures incorporating mustard, lizards, bones, oil, and grave dust on

26640-489: The next few centuries. Later, two poetic restatements of these principles (" Ani Ma'amin " and " Yigdal ") became integrated into many Jewish liturgies, leading to their eventual near-universal acceptance. The oldest non-Rabbinic instance of articles of faith were formulated, under Islamic influence, by the 12th century Karaite figure Judah ben Elijah Hadassi : (1) God is the Creator of all created beings; (2) He

26825-415: The north. This allowed the cultural traditions, languages, and religious practices of the enslaved to continue there. Under the French code and the influence of Catholicism, officials nominally recognized family groups, prohibiting the sale of slave children away from their families if younger than age fourteen. They promoted the man-made legend of wake tuko of the enslaved population. The high mortality of

27010-486: The original written scripture, the supplemental Oral Torah is represented by later texts, such as the Midrash and the Talmud . The Hebrew-language word torah can mean "teaching", "law", or "instruction", although "Torah" can also be used as a general term that refers to any Jewish text that expands or elaborates on the original Five Books of Moses . Representing the core of the Jewish spiritual and religious tradition,

27195-614: The particular date (as per the Hindu calendar ) when the person had died, the family members repeat this ritual. This period falls just before the Navaratri or Durga Puja falling in the month of Ashvin . Mahalaya marks the end of the fortnight-long tarpana to the ancestors. Indian and Chinese practices of ancestor-worship are prevalent throughout Asia as a result of the large Indian and Chinese populations in countries such as Singapore , Malaysia , Indonesia , and elsewhere across

27380-413: The phrase ancestor veneration may but from the limited perspective of certain Western European Christian traditions, convey a more accurate sense of what practitioners, such as the Chinese and other Buddhist-influenced and Confucian-influenced societies, as well as the African and European cultures see themselves as doing. This is consistent with the meaning of the word veneration in English, that

27565-455: The poor treatment they received through other means. Voodoo probably spread out from Louisiana and into African American communities throughout the Mississippi River Valley, as there are 19th-century references to Voodoo rituals in both St. Louis and St. Joseph in Missouri . Voodoo was never explicitly banned in Louisiana. However, amid establishment fears that Voodoo may be used to foment

27750-535: The presence of God), but like saints, they function as intermediaries with God. In some cases these may be family shrines, which are not frequented by outsiders, but some (usually older shrines) are frequented by many. When asking for aid from one of these spirits, one may often pledge an animal sacrifice upon aid being rendered, which is also done with saints. During Pchum Ben and the Cambodian New Year people make offerings to their ancestors. Pchum Ben

27935-598: The recitation of the Apostles Creed and prayers to the Virgin Mary . In the 21st century, various Voodoo groups wear white clothing for their ceremonies. Influenced by Haitian Vodou, those assembled may dance around a central post, the poto mitan . Patterned flags, called drapos , may be brought out, while songs are sung in Haitian Kreyol. Drawings, called vèvè , may be made on the floor to invoke

28120-436: The religion being lost and not recoverable. In the late 20th century there was a revival of Louisiana Voodoo, creating a tradition that "more closely resembles" Haitian Vodou and Cuban Santería than the 19th-century Louisiana Voodoo that is described in historical accounts. Some 21st-century practitioners have also sought instruction from West African traditions, for instance, being initiated into West African Vodun . Although

28305-413: The religion have featured in popular culture. Louisiana Voodoo was a religion, one more specifically characterized as an African American religion or a creole religion. Louisiana Voodoo has also been referred to as New Orleans Voodoo, and—in some older texts—Voodooism. The scholar Ina J. Fandrich described it as the "Afro-Creole counterculture religion of southern Louisiana". It was influenced heavily by

28490-585: The religion. In August 1850, about fifty women, several of whom were white, were arrested at a Voodoo dance ceremony; they were subsequently fined. In 1855 a mob attempted to seize a practitioner, Elizabeth Sutherland, who they accused of putting spells on people; the local police gave her shelter at the station. During the American Civil War , the Union Army occupied New Orleans and sought to suppress Voodoo. In 1863, forty women were arrested at

28675-455: The revealed Torah consists solely of its written contents, but of its interpretations as well. The study of Torah (in its widest sense, to include both poetry, narrative, and law, and both the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud) is in Judaism itself a sacred act of central importance. For the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud, and for their successors today, the study of Torah was therefore not merely

28860-431: The sages ( rabbinic leaders) of each subsequent generation. For centuries, the Torah appeared only as a written text transmitted in parallel with the oral tradition. Fearing that the oral teachings might be forgotten, Rabbi Judah haNasi undertook the mission of consolidating the various opinions into one body of law which became known as the Mishnah . The Mishnah consists of 63 tractates codifying halakha , which are

29045-419: The shedding of blood. The Birkat Ha-Mitzwot evokes the consciousness of holiness at a rabbinic rite, but the objects employed in the majority of these rites are non-holy and of general character, while the several holy objects are non-theurgic. And not only do ordinary things and occurrences bring with them the experience of God. Everything that happens to a man evokes that experience, evil as well as good, for

29230-426: The slave trade brought its survivors together with a sense of solidarity and initiation. The absence of fragmentation in the enslaved community, along with the kinship system produced by the bond created by the difficulties of slavery, resulted in a "coherent, functional, well-integrated, autonomous, and self-confident enslaved community." The practice of making and wearing charms and amulets for protection, healing, or

29415-637: The sole content of the term. Thus Ioudaïsmós should be translated not as "Judaism" but as Judaeanness. Daniel R. Schwartz, however, argues that "Judaism", especially in the context of the Book of Maccabees, refers to the religion, as opposed to the culture and politics of the Judean state. He believes it reflected the ideological divide between the Pharisees and Sadducees and, implicitly, anti-Hasmonean and pro-Hasmonean factions in Judean society. According to

29600-424: The soul of a person travels (usually by boat) to a spirit world . There can be multiple locations in the spirit world, varying in different ethnic groups. Which place souls end up in depends on how they died, the age at death, or conduct of the person when they were alive. Souls reunite with deceased relatives in the underworld and lead normal lives in the underworld as they did in the material world. In some cases,

29785-432: The souls of evil people undergo penance and cleansing before they are granted entrance into a particular spirit realm. Souls would eventually reincarnate after a period of time in the spirit world. Souls in the spirit world still retain a degree of influence in the material world, and vice versa. Paganito rituals may be used to invoke good ancestor spirits for protection, intercession, or advice. Vengeful spirits of

29970-570: The spelling Voodoo is now the most popular term for this tradition, variant spellings have been used over the years; alternatives have included Voudou and Vaudou . The spelling Voodoo is sometimes used for the Louisiana practice to distinguish it from Haitian Vodou . In some sources, practitioners are referred to as Voodoos themselves, and elsewhere as Voodooists . A related term is hoodoo , which may originally have been largely synonymous with Voodoo . Over time, hoodoo came to describe "the brand of African American supernaturalism found along

30155-610: The spirits. Offerings will be given to the spirits. Contemporary Voodoo rites often entail calling spirits to enter the body of a practitioner, through which they can heal or confer blessings. The possessed individual will be called the "horse". Practitioners sometimes performed rituals to deal with specific issues; in August 1995, Voodoo practitioners held a ritual in the Bywater area of New Orleans to try to drive away crack cocaine abuse, burglaries, prostitution, and assaults, while in 2001

30340-506: The starting of a new business, or even when a family member needs guidance or counsel and is a hallmark of the emphasis Vietnamese culture places on filial duty. A significant distinguishing feature of Vietnamese ancestor veneration is that women have traditionally been allowed to participate and co-officiate ancestral rites, unlike in Chinese Confucian doctrine, which allows only male descendants to perform such rites. Care of

30525-650: The state or province as these markers serve as potent reminders to drive cautiously in hazardous areas. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is particularly known for the leaving of offerings to the deceased; items left are collected by the National Park Service and archived. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints perform posthumous baptisms and other rituals for their dead ancestors, along with those of other families. Native Americans were not heavily concerned with

30710-409: The supreme soul, possesses the qualities of a spiritual being and always blesses the family. So every Ahom family in order to worship the dead establish a pillar on the opposite side of the kitchen (Barghar) which is called ‘Damkhuta’ where they worship the dead with various offerings like homemade wine, mah-prasad, rice with various items of meat and fish. Me-Dam-Me-Phi, a ritual centred on commemorating

30895-411: The term "Voodoo Feminism" to describe instances whereby African American women drew upon both Louisiana Voodoo and conjure to resist racial and gender oppression that they experienced. Michelle Gordon believed that the fact that free women of color dominated Voodoo in the 19th century represented a direct threat to the ideological foundations of " white supremacy and patriarchy." There are four phases to

31080-409: The time that souls need to leave Purgatory and the enter in Paradise . The evening before All Saints'—"All Hallows Eve" or "Hallowe'en"—is unofficially the Catholic day to remember the realities of Hell, to mourn the souls lost to evil, and to remember ways to avoid Hell . It is commonly celebrated in the United States and parts of the United Kingdom in a spirit of light-hearted horror and fear, which

31265-428: The traditional African religions brought to the region, predominantly from West Central Africa and Senegambia , before later also being influenced by the Haitian Vodou . The religion emerged along the Mississippi River valley, and especially in the city of New Orleans, in the 18th and early 19th century before fading out in the early 20th century. The historical record for Voodoo is fragmentary, with much knowledge of

31450-443: The two Talmuds, the Jerusalem Talmud ( Talmud Yerushalmi ) and the Babylonian Talmud ( Talmud Bavli ). These have been further expounded by commentaries of various Torah scholars during the ages. In the text of the Torah, many words are left undefined, and many procedures are mentioned without explanation or instructions. Such phenomena are sometimes offered to validate the viewpoint that the Written Law has always been transmitted with

31635-413: The veneration of the pangool (ancient Seereer saints and/or ancestral spirits). There are various types of pangool (singular: fangol ), each with its own means of veneration. Veneration of ancestors is prevalent throughout the island of Madagascar . Approximately half of the country's population of 20 million currently practice traditional religion, which tends to emphasize links between the living and

31820-446: The veneration of the dead, though they were known to bury the dead with clothes and tools as well as occasionally leave food and drink at the gravesite; Pueblo Indians supported a cult of the dead which worshipped or petitioned the dead through ritualistic dances. Islam has a complex and mixed view on the idea of grave shrines and ancestor worship. The graves of many early Islamic figures are holy sites for Muslims, including Ali , and

32005-422: Was also a deity called Samunga, called upon by practitioners in Missouri when they were collecting mud. The Voodoo revival of the late 20th century has drawn many of its deities from Haitian Vodou, where these divinities are called lwa [ 43 ] . Among the lwa commonly venerated are Erzulie Freda Ezili la Flambo, Ogoun, Mara, and Papa Legba. These can be divided into separate nanchon (nations), such as

32190-465: Was also baptized a Roman Catholic and attended mass throughout her life. Ancestor veneration The veneration of the dead , including one's ancestors , is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence , and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Some groups venerate their direct, familial ancestors. Certain religious groups, in particular

32375-422: Was associated with good fortune, while Monsieur Agoussou or Vert Agoussou was associated with love. Vériquité was a spirit associated with the causing of illness, while Monsieur d'Embarass was linked to death. Charlo was a child deity. The names of several other deities are recorded, but with little known about their associations, including Jean Macouloumba, who was also known as Colomba; Maman You; and Yon Sue. There

32560-499: Was brought to the United States during the transatlantic slave trade, and African Americans into the twentieth century performed animal blood sacrifices at the crossroads. Eshu-Elegba became the crossroads spirit or the man of the crossroads in Voodoo. Animal sacrifice has become a rare practice in the African American community. However, animal sacrifice was documented well into the late nineteenth century and into mid-twentieth century. For example, animal sacrifices are sometimes done at

32745-432: Was centered on a pantheon of gods much like in Greek mythology . According to the Hebrew Bible , a United Monarchy was established under Saul and continued under King David and Solomon with its capital in Jerusalem . After Solomon's reign, the nation split into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel (in the north) and the Kingdom of Judah (in the south). The Kingdom of Israel was destroyed around 720 BCE, when it

32930-454: Was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire ; many people were taken captive from the capital Samaria to Media and the Khabur River valley. The Kingdom of Judah continued as an independent state until it was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple , which was at the center of ancient Jewish worship. The Judeans were exiled to Babylon , in what

33115-546: Was criticized by Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo . Albo and the Raavad argued that Maimonides' principles contained too many items that, while true, were not fundamentals of the faith Along these lines, the ancient historian Josephus emphasized practices and observances rather than religious beliefs, associating apostasy with a failure to observe halakha and maintaining that the requirements for conversion to Judaism included circumcision and adherence to traditional customs. Maimonides' principles were largely ignored over

33300-402: Was identical with the tradition understood as the interpretation of Torah, in itself being the history of the constant updates and adjustment of the Law performed by means of the creative interpretation. Finally, David Philipson draws the outlines of the Reform movement in Judaism by opposing it to the strict and traditional rabbinical approach and thus comes to the conclusions similar to that of

33485-423: Was not a stable society when the enslaved sub-Saharan Africans arrived, and the newly arrived sub-Saharan Africans dominated the slave community. According to a census of 1731–1732, the ratio of enslaved sub-Saharan Africans to European settlers was more than two to one. A relatively small number of colonists were planters and slaveholders, owners of sugar plantations with work that required large labor forces. Because

33670-447: Was on firm footing. The respect and homage to parents is to return this gracious deed to them in life and after. The shi (尸; "corpse, personator") was a Zhou dynasty (1045–256  BCE ) sacrificial representative of a dead relative. During a shi ceremony, the ancestral spirit supposedly would enter the personator, who would eat and drink sacrificial offerings and convey spiritual messages. Spiritual messages usually were conveyed in

33855-410: Was recognized as a religio licita ("legitimate religion") until the rise of Gnosticism and Early Christianity in the fourth century. Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the expulsion of the Jews, Jewish worship stopped being centrally organized around the Temple, prayer took the place of sacrifice, and worship was rebuilt around the community (represented by a minimum of ten adult men) and

34040-501: Was superior to other gods. Some suggest that strict monotheism developed during the Babylonian Exile, perhaps in reaction to Zoroastrian dualism. In this view, it was only by the Hellenistic period that most Jews came to believe that their god was the only god and that the notion of a bounded Jewish nation identical with the Jewish religion formed. John Day argues that the origins of biblical Yahweh , El , Asherah , and Ba'al , may be rooted in earlier Canaanite religion , which

34225-444: Was the mechanism that led to religious representation fostering group cohesion . Ancestor veneration is prevalent throughout Africa, and serves as the basis of many religions. It is often augmented by a belief in a supreme being, but prayers and/or sacrifices are usually offered to the ancestors who may ascend to becoming a kind of minor deities themselves. Ancestor veneration remains among many Africans, sometimes practiced alongside

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