world religion world religion maps world religion symbols |
Encyclopedia of Religion entry forAnimal WorshipAncient or primitive peoples have regarded animals with awe and veneration, and attributed to them souls which survive like those of men and have power to bring good or evil. They have worshipped them in fear as possessing such qualities as strength and cunning in a high degree, or they have venerated them in gratitude as providing food. Thus, worship has been paid to whales (by the Kamchadahs), bears (ibid.), wolves (ibid.), fish (Tribes of Peru), monkeys (ibid.), sparrow-hawks (ibid.), tigers (ibid.), alligators (Philippine islanders). When the Ainos (of Yesso) slay a bear, they, as it were, apologize for doing so, doing obeisance and making fair speeches. Yet some-times an animal when dead is treated with a kind of mockery (North American Indians, Ostyaks of Siberia). The Yakuts of Siberia worship the bear as their " beloved uncle." In many cases deities are supposed to be embodied in animals. The animals therefore are propitiated with food and fed on sacrifices. Serpents, for instance, have been special objects of veneration (e.g., in Phoenicia, Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, Persia, India, China, Tibet, Ceylon, etc.). In other cases animals have been worshipped as representatives of tribal ancestors, or as totems. Of course, where a transmigration of souls is believed in, the animal may be thought to be a reincarnation of an ancestor, and may be worshipped as such. The worship of such animals as the bull Apis, the bird Ibis, the hawk, the crocodile, etc., by the ancient Egyptians is familiar to everyone. The sacred cow is still worshipped by the Hindus. They worship also the monkey Hanuman), the bull (Basava), the kite (the bird Garuda), snakes, fish, etc. (J. A. Dubois and H. K. Beau-champ; Monier-Williams). See E. B. Tylor, P.C., vol. J. M. Wheeler, Footsteps of the Past, 1895; E. Clodd, Animism, 1905; F. J. Gould, Concise Hist. of Religion, 1907. citations: Encyc. of Rel., Canney
article created 2006-04-12 , last updated 2006-04-12 |
|
|
|
||