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107-614: Winti is based on three principles: the belief in the supreme creator called Anana Kedyaman Kedyanpon ; the belief in a pantheon of spirits called Winti ; and the veneration of the ancestors . There is also a belief in Ampuku (also known as Apuku ) which are anthropomorphic forest spirits. An Ampuku can possess people (both men and women) and can also pass itself off as another spirit. Ampuku can also be water spirits, and are known in such cases as Watra Ampuku . C. Wooding described Winti in 1972 as: "...an Afro American religion, within which

214-714: 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

321-413: 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

428-402: 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,

535-429: 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,

642-435: 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

749-487: 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

856-748: A flame, love itself cleanses it from the residue of sin." In his 2007 encyclical Spe salvi , Pope Benedict XVI, referring to the words of Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 3:12–15 about a fire that both burns and saves, spoke of the opinion that "the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves. All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in

963-595: 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

1070-434: A gradual and probably painful process. It can be advanced during life by voluntary self-mortification and penance and by deeds of generosity that show love of God rather than of creatures. If not completed before death, it can still be needed for entering the divine presence. A person seeking purification from sinful tendencies is not alone. Because of the communion of saints : "the holiness of one profits others, well beyond

1177-633: 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

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1284-509: A group coordination role during human evolution , and thus it 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

1391-477: 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

1498-545: 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

1605-527: 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

1712-570: 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

1819-522: Is believed that a human being has three spiritual aspects, the Dyodyo , Kra , and Yorka . Through these aspects human beings are integrated into the supernatural world. The Dyodyo are the supernatural parents who protect their children and may be higher or lower spirits. They received the pure soul, the Kra , from Anana and give that to a child. The Kra and Dyodyo determine your reason and mentality, while

1926-484: 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

2033-471: Is clear that we cannot calculate the 'duration' of this transforming burning in terms of the chronological measurements of this world. The transforming 'moment' of this encounter eludes earthly time-reckoning – it is the heart's time, it is the time of 'passage' to communion with God in the Body of Christ." The popular conceptions of Purgatory that, especially in late medieval times, were common among Catholics of

2140-648: 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

2247-520: 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

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2354-570: 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,

2461-454: Is not accepted by them as scripture. The Catholic Church holds that "all who die in God's grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified" undergo a process of purification after death, which the church calls purgatory, "so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven ". Though in popular imagination Purgatory is pictured as a place rather than a process of purification,

2568-637: 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 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

2675-481: Is not, as Tertullian thought, some kind of supra-worldly concentration camp where man is forced to undergo punishment in a more or less arbitrary fashion. Rather it is the inwardly necessary process of transformation in which a person becomes capable of Christ, capable of God, and thus capable of unity with the whole communion of saints". This purification from our sinful tendencies has been compared to rehabilitation of someone who needs to be cleansed of any addiction,

2782-438: Is purgatory: an inner fire." He further said that: "'The soul', Catherine says, 'presents itself to God still bound to the desires and suffering that derive from sin and this makes it impossible for it to enjoy the beatific vision of God'.…The soul is aware of the immense love and perfect justice of God and consequently suffers for having failed to respond in a correct and perfect way to this love; and love for God itself becomes

2889-543: Is temporary. The noun "Purgatory" (in Latin purgatorium , a place of cleansing, from the verb purgo , "to clean, cleanse" ) appeared perhaps only between 1160 and 1180, which encouraged speaking of Purgatory as a place. Purgatory pre-dates the specific Catholic tradition of purgatory as a transitional state or condition; it has a history that dates back before Christ, to related beliefs also in Judaism, that prayer for

2996-399: Is very often no increase in piety, be excluded from popular discourses to uneducated people. Likewise, let them not permit uncertain matters, or those that have the appearance of falsehood, to be brought out and discussed publicly. Those matters on the contrary, which tend to a certain curiosity or superstition, or that savor of filthy lucre, let them prohibit as scandals and stumbling blocks to

3103-720: 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

3210-683: The Catechism of the Catholic Church , published in 1992, which also speaks of purgatory in sections 1472−1473. The prayers of the saints in Heaven and the good deeds, works of mercy , prayers, and indulgences of the living have a twofold effect: they help the souls in purgatory atone for their sins and they make the souls' own prayers for the living effective, since the merits of the saints in Heaven, on Earth, and in Purgatory are part of

3317-528: 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

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3424-529: 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

3531-659: 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

3638-577: The Islamic State . Purgatory Purgatory ( Latin : purgatorium , borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French ) is a passing intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul. A common analogy is dross being removed from gold in a furnace. In Catholic doctrine , purgatory refers to the final cleansing of those who died in the State of Grace, and leaves in them only "the holiness necessary to enter

3745-780: The Latin Church have not necessarily found acceptance in the Eastern Catholic Churches , of which there are 23 in full communion with the Pope. Some have explicitly rejected the notions of punishment by fire in a particular place that are prominent in the popular picture of Purgatory. The representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church at the Council of Florence (1431–1449) argued against these notions, while declaring that they do hold that there

3852-622: The Second Council of Lyon in 1274, when the Catholic Church defined, for the first time, its teaching on purgatory, the Eastern Orthodox Church did not adopt the doctrine. The council made no mention of purgatory as a third place or as containing fire, which are absent also in the declarations by the Councils of Florence (1431–1449) and of Trent (1545–1563). Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have written that

3959-459: 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

4066-428: 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

4173-457: The treasury of merit . Whenever the Eucharist is celebrated, souls in Purgatory are purified – i.e., they receive a full remission of sin and punishment – and go to Heaven. According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, those who die in God's grace and friendship imperfectly purified, although they are assured of their eternal salvation, undergo a purification after death, so as to achieve

4280-594: The African and European cultures see themselves as doing. This is consistent with the meaning of the word veneration in English, that 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

4387-538: 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

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4494-580: The Catholic doctrine of purgatory." Sacred Tradition , by reference to certain texts of scripture , speaks of the process as involving a cleansing fire. According to Jacques Le Goff , in Western Europe toward the end of the twelfth century Purgatory started to be represented as a physical place, Le Goff states that the concept involves the idea of a purgatorial fire, which he suggests "is expiatory and purifying not punitive like hell fire". At

4601-630: The Catholic formulation. Several other religions have concepts resembling Purgatory: Gehenna in Judaism , al-A'raf or the upper most layer of hell in Islam , Naraka in Hinduism . The word "purgatory" has come to refer to a wide range of historical and modern conceptions of postmortem suffering short of everlasting damnation. English-speakers also use the word analogously to mean any place or condition of suffering or torment, especially one that

4708-508: The East biblical canons but regarded as apocryphal by Protestants and major branches of Judaism. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church , praying for the dead was adopted by Christians from the beginning, a practice that presupposes that the dead are thereby assisted between death and their entry into their final abode. The New American Bible Revised Edition , authorized by

4815-549: The Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins". On the cusp of the Reformation, St Catherine of Genoa (1447–1510) re-framed the theology of purgatory as voluntary, loving and even joyful: "As for paradise, God has placed no doors there. Whoever wishes to enter, does so. An all-merciful God stands there with His arms open, waiting to receive us into His glory. I also see, however, that

4922-645: 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

5029-486: The United States Catholic bishops, says in a note to the 2 Maccabees passage: "This is the earliest statement of the doctrine that prayers and sacrifices for the dead are efficacious. …The author…uses the story to demonstrate belief in the resurrection of the just, and in the possibility of expiation for the sins of otherwise good people who have died. This belief is similar to, but not quite the same as,

5136-428: The ancestors are even aware of what their descendants do for them, but that the expression of filial piety 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

5243-419: The belief in personified supernatural beings occupies a central position. These personified supernatural beings can take possession of a human person, switch off their consciousness, as it were, and thereby reveal things concerning the past, present and future as well as cause and/or heal illnesses of a supernatural nature." H.J.M. Stephen described Winti as: "...primarily a religion, which means that respect for

5350-474: The biological parents provide blood and the physical body. Yorka , the other spiritual part, absorbs the life experiences. After the death of the physical body, the Kra goes back to the Dyodyo and the Yorka goes to the realm of the dead. There are four pantheons or groups. Certain groups of maroons also distinguish a fifth pantheon, the realm of the death. Ancestor veneration The veneration of

5457-432: 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

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5564-418: 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

5671-481: 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

5778-485: The dead contributes to their afterlife purification. The same practice appears in other traditions, such as the medieval Chinese Buddhist practice of making offerings on behalf of the dead, who are said to suffer numerous trials. The Catholic church found specific Old Testament support in after-life purification in 2 Maccabees 12:42–45, part of the Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , Oriental Orthodox and Church of

5885-442: 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

5992-538: 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 the Eastern Orthodox Churches , Anglican Church , and Catholic Church venerate saints as intercessors with God ;

6099-482: The dead , knowing it to be efficacious. The Reformed Churches teach that the departed are delivered from their sins through the process of glorification . Rabbinical Judaism also believes in the possibility of after-death purification and may even use the word "purgatory" to describe the similar rabbinical concept of Gehenna , though Gehenna is also sometimes described as more similar to hell or Hades . Some Christians, typically Roman Catholics , recognize

6206-408: 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

6313-403: 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

6420-555: 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

6527-744: 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 ,

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6634-516: 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

6741-609: 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

6848-444: 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

6955-559: 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 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

7062-432: 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

7169-512: The divine presence is so pure and light-filled – much more than we can imagine – that the soul that has but the slightest imperfection would rather throw itself into a thousand hells than appear thus before the divine presence." So purgatory is a state of both joy and voluntary pain: Again the soul perceives the grievousness of being held back from seeing the divine light; the soul’s instinct too, being drawn by that uniting look, craves to be unhindered” Pope Benedict XVI recommended to theologians

7276-444: The divine, worship and prayer are central. In addition, it has a strong magical aspect, which often has been emphasized too one-sidedly and unfairly. Magic involves the influence of earthly events by supernatural means." During slavery , members of various West African tribes were brought to Suriname . They came from kingdoms that had certain religious aspects in common, like the belief in a supreme creator God, who lives far away from

7383-431: The doctrine of purgatory. The Eastern Orthodox are less likely to use the term, although they acknowledge an intermediate state after death and before final judgment, and consequentially offer prayers for the dead. Protestants usually do not recognize purgatory as such: following their doctrine of sola scriptura , they claim Jesus is not recorded mentioning or otherwise endorsing it, and the old-covenant work 2 Maccabees

7490-611: The faithful. Catholic doctrine on purgatory is presented as composed of the same two points in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church , first published in 2005, which is a summary in dialogue form of the Catechism of the Catholic Church . It deals with purgatory in the following exchange: 210. What is purgatory? 211. How can we help the souls being purified in purgatory? These two questions and answers summarize information in sections 1030–1032 and 1054 of

7597-608: 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

7704-517: The first two Winti marriage officials were appointed. Winti priests were appointed informally already, but still without legal status. In 2014 Dorenia Babel became the first person officially recognized as Winti priest, appointed by the government in order to develop winti in the public realm. In 2019 psychiatrist Glenn Helberg made a public call to the Suriname-based Christian denominations to consider Winti as an equal religion. It

7811-468: 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

7918-414: 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 ,

8025-576: 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 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

8132-417: The harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin". The Catholic Church states that, through the granting of indulgences for manifestations of devotion, penance and charity by the living, it opens for individuals "the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from

8239-413: The holiness necessary to enter the joy of God . Unless "redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness", mortal sin , whose object is grave matter and is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent, "causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back." Such sin "makes us incapable of eternal life,

8346-429: The idea as ultimately joyful. It has been portrayed in art as an unpleasant (voluntary but not optional) "punishment" for unregretted minor sins and imperfect contrition (fiery purgatory) or as a joyful or marvelous final relinquishment of worldly attachments (non-fiery purgatory). The Eastern Orthodox churches have somewhat different formulations of an intermediate state. Most Protestant denominations do not endorse

8453-507: The idea of Purgatory as a physical place is not part of the church's doctrine. However, the church's understanding has typically been that purgatory has a temporal (temporary, terminating, non-eternal) component with only God being outside of time. Fire, another important element of the Purgatory of popular imagination, is also absent in the Catholic Church's doctrine. Purgatory and indulgences are defined (i.e. official Catholic) doctrines, unlike limbo . Catholicism bases its teaching also on

8560-474: The joy of heaven"; it is entirely different from the punishment of the damned and is not related to the forgiveness of sins for salvation. A forgiven person can be freed from his "unhealthy attachment to creatures" by fervent charity in this world, and otherwise by the non-vindictive "temporal (i.e. non-eternal) punishment" of purgatory. In late medieval times, metaphors of time, place and fire were frequently adopted. Catherine of Genoa (fl. 1500) re-framed

8667-673: 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

8774-585: 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 the Americas who were never influenced by the African Diaspora),

8881-442: 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

8988-413: 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

9095-428: 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

9202-468: The offerings of the living faithful are of advantage to these, namely, the sacrifices of Masses, prayers, alms , and other duties of piety, which have customarily been performed by the faithful for the other faithful according to the regulations of the Church. A century and a half later, the Council of Florence repeated the same two points in practically the same words, again excluding certain elements of

9309-506: The pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation 'as through fire'. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God. The pain of love becomes our salvation and our joy. In his 2007 encyclical Spe salvi , Pope Benedict XVI teaches: It

9416-614: 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

9523-526: The people, leaving the world to less-powerful gods or spirits, and the belief in an immortal human soul and the related ancestor worship. After the abolition of slavery in 1863, a ten-year period of economic slavery followed known as "De Periode van Staatstoezicht" (The Period of State Supervision). It ended in 1873 and was followed by a very long period of mental and cultural slavery. The former slaves and their descendants were forced to convert to Christianity, and for nearly 100 years (1874–1971), practicing Winti

9630-587: The practice of praying for the dead, in use within the church ever since the church began, and mentioned in the deuterocanonical book 2 Maccabees 12:46 . At the Second Council of Lyon in 1274, the Catholic Church defined, for the first time, its teaching on purgatory, in summary two points: The council declared: [I]f they die truly repentant in charity before they have made satisfaction by worthy fruits of penance for (sins) committed and omitted, their souls are cleansed after death by purgatorical or purifying punishments, … And to relieve punishments of this kind,

9737-535: 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

9844-401: The presentation of purgatory by Catherine of Genoa, for whom purgatory is not an external but an inner fire: "In her day it was depicted mainly using images linked to space: a certain space was conceived of in which Purgatory was supposed to be located. Catherine, however, did not see purgatory as a scene in the bowels of the earth: for her it is not an exterior but rather an interior fire. This

9951-514: The privation of which is called the 'eternal punishment' of sin". Venial sin , while not depriving the sinner of friendship with God or the eternal happiness of heaven, "weakens charity, manifests a disordered affection for created goods, and impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment", for "every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in

10058-478: The purgatory of popular imagination, in particular fire and place, against which representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church spoke at the council. The Council of Trent repeated the same two points and moreover in its 4 December 1563 Decree Concerning Purgatory recommended avoidance of speculations and non-essential questions: Let the more difficult and subtle "questions", however, and those which do not make for "edification" (cf. 1Tm 1,4), and from which there

10165-424: 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,

10272-432: 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

10379-506: 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

10486-469: The state called purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the 'temporal punishment' of sin". "These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain." Joseph Ratzinger has paraphrased this as: "Purgatory

10593-650: 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

10700-409: 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

10807-510: The term worship may not always convey such meaning in the exclusive and narrow context of certain Western European Christian traditions. In that sense 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

10914-603: The term does not indicate a place, but a condition of existence. The Church of England , mother church of the Anglican Communion , officially denounces what it calls "the Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory", but the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches , and elements of the Anglican , Lutheran , and Methodist traditions hold that for some there is cleansing after death and pray for

11021-464: 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

11128-413: 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

11235-446: 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

11342-519: Was forbidden by law. They were also forced to speak Dutch ; education in their own language, Sranan Tongo , was forbidden; and children were not allowed to speak Sranan Tongo in schools. After the turn of the millennium, Winti gained momentum. In 2006, the Surinamese government incorporated the Winti interest foundation Tata Kwasi ku Tata Tinsensi into the database of religious organisations. In 2011

11449-447: 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

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