Cult Practices Research Articles

Ethnogenesis and Stranger-Kings in Old Scandinavian Literature

Ethnogenesis and Stranger-Kings in Old Scandinavian Literature

Children of Kubaba: Serious Games, Ritual Toys, and Divination at Iron Age Carchemish

This paper presents an analysis of a ritual event memorialised on stone reliefs at the ancient city of Carchemish around 800 BC. It is argued that the reliefs represent a ceremony of investiture, in which boys of royal lineage are handed out toys as oracular instruments to elicit favourable omens for the heir apparent. The inclusion of boys and their toys in the visual commemoration of a political ritual has bearings on three levels of meaning. First, it testifies to a hitherto unrecognised cult practice, involving grouping boys in age classes and harnessing their ludic practices for ritual purposes. Second, it reflects local political preoccupations connected with dynastic controversies, in an attempt to silence counternarratives through the emphatic staging of children. Finally, the chosen imagery conveys complex philosophical ideas about life, education, and individual destiny, connecting with issues of material religion and childhood studies. The study integrates interpretive perspectives from visual semiotics, architectural analysis, and ancient studies to show how, upon specific occasions, marginal groups and everyday material items, such as children and their toys, may play critical roles in collective ritual events.

Schulübungen oder Kalenderblätter? Zur Interpretation einer Gruppe spätantiker Kulthymnen in der Appendix Claudianea

Abstract Until now, the short cult hymns to Liber, Mars and Juno in the Appendix Claudianea have mostly been seen as rhetorical school exercises. Yet a philological-historical analysis shows that they could be remains of occasional poetry from everyday life. The hymns are structured according to the Roman festival calendar and, on the basis of language and content, should probably be dated to the final phase of public non-Christian cult practice in the fourth century. The anonymous poet was familiar with classical Greek and Latin poetry, but reveals weaknesses in Latin prosody and metre. It can therefore be supposed that he should be identified as one of the many Graeco-Egyptian ‘wandering poets’, but probably not as Claudian himself.

Plant Motifs and Sacred Rituals of the Thracians in Connection with the God Hypnos

The idea of the plant world of the Thracians as part of the cult practice is relatively less studied. In fact, the whole philosophy of Orphism and Hermeticism is imbued with practical agriculture. Therefore, it should not be viewed in isolation from the sacred rituals dedicated to the gods. The cult of grapes and wine and their connection with the Dionysian holidays is well known. But the secrets of the Bacchic ceremonies lie in the composition of the so-called. "Soma", which is probably a type of hallucinogenic substance. An ecstatic elixir known in Vedic rituals was made from a plant with white aromatic flowers. Soma is the name of the liquid prepared, but also the name of a deity. The Aryans describe this ritual as related to agriculture. In this regard, we can find artifacts in Bulgaria from the Thracian culture, which were not illuminated due to the inability to connect with the cult of the minor deity Hypnos. During the Eleusinian Mysteries, where a ritual with wheat and barley was performed, a drink was used, which contained the so-called "honeydew" or an extract of an intoxicating plant agent. The purpose of Soma rituals was to achieve immortality. The vertical culture of the Thracians, which is dedicated to the connection with the gods and their perfect world, turns every agricultural activity into a special sacred space.

Clay Miniature Altars from Olbia

Аrulae bearing four standard relief scenes on their sides are discussed in the paper and mapped on the area of their spread in Pontic region. Their origin is being discussed for almost a century. According to number of finds, Southern Italy was believed to be the place of their production, while according to the analogies on mouldmade pottery it was Athens. However, a find of such item made of imported clay in Athens, as well as quantitative prevailing of them in the Black Sea region allow presuming the additional centres of their production. Most of published here terracottas from Olbia were found in a botros at the Central temenos where a coroplast’s workshop had functioned. No mould for arulae production was discovered there, but their significant number, the variations in décor and size of the upper part, finds of smaller size arulae of the next generation of mould, as well as manufactural techniques peculiar for Olbian coroplastics of the 2nd century BC allow presuming the local production of these items. It is revealed that the height of the area above the denticule between the palmettes depended on processing by hand and varied significantly. It means that such an indicator as size of the altars should not be considered as decisive in determining of their origin. The publication of Olbian finds brings corrections also into the discussion on the interpretation of relief scenes on the altars. There are various versions of attributing the kitharode and a god with a trident, as well as their companions. Temples of Zeus an Apollo functioned at the temenos where the published items were found. Relief scenes on analyzed arulae at least for habitants of Olbia depicted the gods worshipped here. The god with a trident was Zeus for them, not Poseidon, while the god with a kithara was Apollo, not Orpheus. Accordingly, the order of personages on such thymiateria for Olbian worshippers was as following: Zeus, Nike, Dionysus and Apollo. Images of various gods on a single item could reflect the need to worship many gods at once during the cultic practices at home. The arulae could be produced within the sacral precinct for the needs of family cults, as they are often found in houses. Probably the very scenes as a set of main cults were the reason of rapid spread of such arulae in the Greek world.

IMAGE OF THE SHAMAN IN ETHNOGRAPHIC CINEMA (ON THE MATERIAL OF THE FILM “OLD MAN PETER”)

The article considers ethnographic cinema as a form of visual representation of religious phenomena (manifestations of shamanism) among the Ob Ugrians. The authors argue that ethnographic films are of particular value for the study of indigenous shamanism. They demonstrate not only ritual practice and rites, but the ordinary, non-ritual side of the life of shamans as well as combine research and cinematic approaches. As a case study, the documentary "Old Man Peter", shot by filmmaker I. A. Golovnev in 2004-2008 in the Ob North, in the places of residence of the Kazym Khanty, is considered. Based on the experience gained during the filmmaking in the place of the Kazym River, the diary of the author of the film and scientific literature, the authors reconstruct the cult practices of the Kazym Khanty (veneration of nature spirits, Bear cult, Bear Festival) that exist in modern Khanty culture as rudiments. The main themes and plots related to the formation of the cinematic image of the Khanty shaman Petr Sengepov, the leader of the local community is considered. Authors came to the conclusion that modern ethnographic films that represent shamanism not as splendiferous, but as a personal phenomenon, are an effective tool for the "cultural revitalization" of local communities. Visualization of shamanism in ethnographic cinema allows to capture the characteristics of the worldview of indigenous peoples.

‘Mark them with my Mark’: Human Branding in Egypt

This paper analyzes the Aramaic and Egyptian textual evidence for the practice of marking enslaved persons in Late Period Egypt, concluding that the terminology of the period refers to branding, not tattooing, as previously suggested. Both branding and tattooing existed as forms of body mutilation, but these practices inhabited different spheres of social power; branding marked one as property, whereas tattooing was religious and decorative. Bearing in mind the use of branding as an indication of ownership, the evidence of tattooing as a cultic (and particularly feminine) practice, and the etymology and usage of the Aramaic terms, this paper proposes that the body mutilation practiced in this period on enslaved persons was branding, not tattooing. The identification of these marks as brands emphasizes the dehumanization of these enslaved persons and implies that their status was on par with other property such as cattle.

THE SO-CALLED VILLA DIONYSOS AT KNOSSOS

The excavated part of the building known as the Villa Dionysos consists of a peristyle court with rooms on three sides. The rooms have fine mosaic floors, found in a remarkable state of preservation. The excavator, Michael Gough, believed that the building was an isolated structure intended for the practice of Dionysiac cult, and he interpreted his finds in the light of this conviction. After his last season of work in 1971, his views were expressed in a short report (Catling 1972, 21–2). Gough died in 1973 having published no further details of his four seasons of work on the site and, except for some diaries and photographs, many of the records are lost. The pottery from his excavations was, however, fully published in 1983 by John Hayes, and the mosaics were published by Rebecca Sweetman in 2013. Further study of the site, together with the pottery evidence, indicates that the peristyle and its associated rooms were the public reception area of an elaborately decorated Roman domus of the second century AD, and that adjacent buildings to the south may have been the private quarters of this house. A large cistern, connected to the aqueduct, provided a copious water supply. The Dionysiac imagery of the mosaics, together with the extraordinary range of imported wine amphorae found on the premises, suggest that the owner may have prospered through the wine trade.

VENERATION OF THE HOLY STONE VOLAS: HISTORICAL EVIDENCE AND MODERN PRACTICES

The paper is about the tradition of worshiping the cult stone Volas near the village of Kryzhovka, Minsk region. All known published and unpublished information about the cult stone is analyzed. Based on the author’s observations and polls, the modern cult of this boulder is characterized. The worship of the Volas stone is not associated with pre-сhristian times. The cult arose in the end of the 19th – early 20th century.
 The case of the Volas stone is interesting and peculiar because of combining various rather rare and archaic elements of traditional cult practices. Such an atypical combination may call into question the reliability of known information about the Volas stone. However, as it was shown in the article, the name, topography, motive of the legend, the function of treating animals, donations (towels, wool, horns, tails) and skulls hung on the trees around boulder, find their correspondences both in the Belarusian tradition and among other peoples.
 It is assumed that originally the boulder was not a place of religious worship of a deity, but was used in ritual and magical folk practices in order to save animals from diseases and protect them from harmful effects. The process of new mythologization, the emergence and evolution of a new custom of worship in the mainstream of modern paganism is clearly traced on the example of the stone Volas. Today this place is considered as the sanctuary of Veles/Volos. The formation of the modern tradition of veneration, as we can see, was influenced by the literary reconstructions of the Veles/Volos cult. Some of the new forms of worship do not contradict popular traditions. This can be explained by the good knowledge of special literature by modern pagans. At the same time, it’s not mechanical reconstruction, but natural worship with the appearance of new meanings.

Вынужденность трансформации: религиозные организации и государство в условиях пандемии COVID-19

Confessions take the introduced anti-epidemiological measures, although this often requires adjusting ritual actions and interpreting dogmatic precepts. In such conditions, they were forced to reconsider the forms of their activities, which marked the beginning of discussions, embarrassment and discontent among the clergy and parishioners. Their main topic was the resolution of the contradiction that lies both in the plane of state-administrative relations and in the field of theology: can a sacred place of worship also be a place for transmission of the COVID-19 virus. The purpose of the article is to study the variable reaction of confessions to the relevant prohibitions on the part of state bodies: from understanding, accepting and assisting the authorities to manifesting disobedience and deliberate violation of the quarantine regime. As research methods, general scientific and particular scientific methods of cognition such as: analysis, synthesis, comparative studies and other formal-logical scientific methods, and the method of political and legal analysis proposed by Y. Nisnevich. were used. As a result of the research, the following conclusions were made: the spread of the COVID-19 virus prompted religious organizations to large-scale implementation of new forms of communication with their own followers, as well as a forced transformation in state-confessional relations. The so-called «accelerated digitalization» is becoming a trend today - increasing communication with believers through online technologies, which, of course, will prompt religious organizations to rethink their usual, traditional forms of cult practice in the future. Current pandemic has also shown the readiness of religious organizations for more active social work and has presented confessions with a difficult dilemma - to facilitate ongoing sanitary measures or remain faithful to established traditions.

Topical Issues in the Field of Religious Tourism. Current Challenges

The number of political and cultural shifts in Ukraine during the last years have caused the rise of the interest in Ukraine as a place of attraction for religious tourists. As a result of Ukraine's rapid withdrawal from the religious and ideological milieu of the Moscow Patriarchate, getting a Tomos and the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula (where a fairly high percentage of Muslim believers (Tatars) live and are persecuted), the gradual integration of (mostly) Orthodox Ukraine into the European Union (where most countries profess Catholicism and Protestantism) attract the attention of the European community to Ukraine more than ever in the religious sphere. Today this can become a favorable environment for the world’s getting acquainted with the Ukrainian religious culture, with the promotion of its spiritual heritage, which has been created for thousands of years, for creating a general image of the country as a tourist one. According to the World Tourism Organization, at least 200 million people go pilgrimage annually. Pilgrimage is also gaining popularity in Ukraine every year. The specificity of pilgrimage is determined by the features of the religious consciousness of believers, which in turn is associated with the nature of religious doctrine and cult practices of specific regional destinations. Thus, in the context of the development of modern state tourism policy, once lost traditions of pilgrimage are gaining significant growth in the country.

FEATURES OF THE VETLUGA MARI’s IDENTITY: ETHNIC ISOLATION IN A MULTICULTURAL REGION

This article is devoted to the problem of identity of the Mari population living in the multicultural region of the Vetluga river (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast). Based on the field material, the author explores representation of the North-Western Mari people’s identity as “isolated” from the Mari population of other regions. The author pays special attention to folklore characters as an ethnosymbolic aspect of the local identity, linguistic and religious factors of the ethnic self-perception of the Vetluga Mari. According to field materials and earlier studies, the modern Mari population of the Nizhny Novgorod region uses the Mari language less often than the Mari people of other regions. The Russian language is widespread in most spheres of public life. Currently, the cult practices of the Mari traditional religion have practically not been preserved in the analyzed region. At the same time, the Mari aspect of local culture (Mari holidays, crafts) is actualized thanks to ethno-cultural activism.

Continuïteit in het heiligdom van Asklepios in Epidauros

Continuity at the sanctuary of Asklepios in Epidauros. Exploring ideas of decline after 146 BC After Rome defeated the Achaean League in 146 BC, Rome’s interactions in Greece changed, with more direct contact with Greek poleis and their sanctuaries. For Epidauros, a polis in the Argolid with a famous sanctuary to Asklepios, it has been argued that this was a period of decline. The sanctuary was in decay, according to some scholars, until the second century AD, when it was saved from decline with the intervention of the emperor Hadrian. This article argues for continuity in cult practice and significant activity in the first centuries BC and AD, without ignoring the evidence commonly presented for decline. It thereby offers a more nuanced picture of the Epidaurian Asklepieion in this period.

Mithraism under the microscope: new revelations about rituals through micromorphology, histotaphonomy and zooarchaeology

This paper is the first to use an innovative multi-proxy approach to obtain insights into hitherto unknown Mithraic cult practices. Using soil micromorphology, zooarchaeology and histotaphonomy, we investigated two mithraea (Biesheim FR, Kempraten CH) and one cult cave (Zillis CH). This was also the first study to include micromorphological and histotaphonomic approaches within the context of Mithraic research. The systematic evaluation of thermal alteration and bioerosion (in particular bacterial attack) on the animal bones, in combination with zooarchaeological results, allows a differentiation between various (cult) practices involving animals. Thanks to the micromorphological investigations, it was possible to demonstrate that repeatedly spreading combustion residues and renewing the floor were important parts of the cult practices of Mithraism. Our results suggest that a cult practice consisting of several stages was carried out on all three sites. Our study highlights that multiple floor constructions as well as the related sediments and (micro-) artefacts of cultic indoor features are important sources of information.

Historical Books: Joshua–2 Kings

Historical BooksJoshua–2 Kings Christopher T. Begg, Brian J. Meldrum, Fred W. Guyette, and Thomas Hieke Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Brian J. Meldrum Catholic University of America Fred W. Guyette Erskine College and Seminary Thomas Hieke Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz 438. [The Use of the "Exodus Verbs" ʿlh and yṣʾ in Dtr] Peter Dubovský, "Remembering Exodus: A Development of Formulas Containing the Verbs and in the Deuteronomistic History," Collective Memory and Collective Identity, 149-75 [see #801]. D. contends that the exodus event represents the cornerstone of Israel's collective memory. In his article, he examines how the collective memory of the exodus developed and gradually became the central component of Israelite religion. This development can, D. argues, be traced through changes in the vocabulary the scribes used to refer to the exodus when these are studied from a historical-critical perspective. Based on his terminological analysis, D. proposes a possible literary stratification for the various "exodus layers" that he distinguishes within the Hebrew Bible. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 439. [Dtr; Use of the Past to Shape Present and Future in Deuteronomy; Judges 17–18; and 1 Samuel 28] Diana Edelman, "Using the Past to Mold New Attitudes in the Present and Future: Examples from the Books of Deuteronomy, Judges (17–18), and 1 Samuel (28)," Collective Memory and Collective Identity, 47-84 [see #801]. E.'s essay discusses how in the Deuteronomistic History (Dtr) certain key ideas expressed programmatically in the Book of Deuteronomy are explored in more depth in the succeeding books of the History. Thus, e.g., Micah's creation of an ʾēpōd and tĕrāpîm for use in his household shrine as well as the later addition of an image of Yhwh in Judges 17–18 and Saul's consultation of the dead prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 28 relate to the prohibition of consulting the dead in Deut 18:11 and 26:14. Judges 17–18 also addresses the requirement for aniconic representation of both Yhwh and other deities cited in Deut [End Page 145] 4:10-19 and 5:7-10. E. uses both the above narratives to focus on how authors or subsequent redactors of Judges and Samuel created stories and set them within the imagined communal past in order to condemn what they no longer considered acceptable religious beliefs and practices. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 440. [Dtr] Gary N. Knoppers, "From Israel to Judah in the Deuteronomistic Writing: A History of Calamities?" Prophets, Priests, and Promises, 28-56 [see #791]. In this essay, K. explores the question of why the editors of the Deuteronomistic History (Dtr) use portions of Deuteronomy in their evaluation of the monarchy, why they relate the history of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, and whether Dtr is to be viewed as a catalog of accomplishments or calamities. In response to these questions, K. suggests that for the editors of Dtr, Deuteronomy should not be read apart from Joshua through 2 Kings; each interprets the other. At the same time, Dtr redefines Israel's historical identity in terms of the Lord, the people, the land, and the land's institutions even more so than does Deuteronomy. The editors of Dtr include a great deal of material concerning the North in their history since they ultimately view Israel and Judah as sharing the same ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage, despite their different cultic practices. For K., the dedication of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem becomes such a significant positive milestone in Israel's history that the Dtr editors evaluate history differently before that event than they do after it. Not even the failure of people to keep the land and its central sanctuary should, in the eyes of the Deuteronomists, diminish the privilege given to Jerusalem and its temple as the place where the Lord chose to dwell.—B.J.M. Google Scholar 441. [Moses's Prophecies and the Scope of Dtr] Dominik Markl, "The Efficacy of Moses' Prophecies and the Scope of Deuteronomistic Historiography," Collective Memory and Collective Identity, 121-47 [see...

РОСЛИННА ОБРАЗНІСТЬ В ЕСТЕТИЦІ КУЛЬТОВИХ ПРАКТИК ВІРМЕНСЬКОЇ АПОСТОЛЬСЬКОЇ ЦЕРКВИ

The article is devoted to the study of plant imagery as an important aesthetic-semantic component of the cult practices of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Armenian Apostolic Church is not only a unique, ancient institution among the circle of Christian churches, but also represents an original cultural world, manifested in a cult rich in its theological content and artistic form, that's why it deserves to be present in the religious studies, aesthetic, cultural, historical research discourses. Using textological, semiotic and phenomenological methods, the authors analyze the implicit content of individual plant images of the cult space of the church. Various elements of the Armenian sacred art were used to reveal the foundations of the dogma, which ensured the formation of an original the-aesthetics. Armenian sacral art formed the aesthetic world of imagery of the Christian religion. The organic inclusion of plant imagery in the general Christian picture of the world, reflected in the artistic representations of the art of sacral sculpture and church poetry, the inspiration of which was the biblical and early Christian imagery, which symbolic interpretations deepened the understanding of the evangelical truths and constituted the original aesthetic world of the Armenian national culture was proved. In the article, the authors pay attention to the study of plant imagery in cult practices, in particular with the example of monumental khachkars, liturgical texts of the shakarans dedicated to the Holy Virgin and the Christian saints, which are especially popular among the Armenian people, first of all St. Gregory the Illuminator. Thus, the plant imagery occupies an important place in the temple cult practices of the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as in the aesthetic sphere of the Armenian national culture and ethno-consciousness.

Официальная религиозная жизнь православного Прикамья в документах фонда уполномоченного по делам религий

The author proposes to reconstruct the religious life of the Orthodox Kama region in the period after the Great Patriotic War through the prism of documents contained in the fund of the regional commissioner for religious affairs. To analyze the information, the method of historical criticism of sources is used. Reconstruction of the realities of local Orthodoxy is carried out taking into account the political context of the post-war period, government decrees of that time and the specifics of the profession and worldview of those who compiled the documents. The features of drawing up documents for official use are taken into account. The reconstruction was based on annual information reports, service notes and materials of participant observations in the temples of the region from 1948 to 1990, which made it possible to trace the dynamics of quantitative changes in participation in cult practice. The object of the research was the official ritual activities during the daily period and holidays. The main research issue of the article is to identify the specifics of the religious life of the local Orthodox community under constant pressure from atheistic ideology. This presupposes the identification of the most popular forms of participation of believers in ritual activities and the establishment of strategies for religious behavior that would make it possible to realize the faith under pressure from the state. To verify the data obtained, both the interview data contained in the fund and the author's modern research materials, characterizing the current situation in Orthodoxy, were used. The study revealed trends in the extinction of traditional ritual activities against the background of changes in the behavior of believers and the formation of new principles of attitudes towards religion and the church. The main factors influencing the transformation of religious behavior of believers have been identified. The available statistical data on the participation of Orthodox citizens in official religious practice are analyzed. The special status of Orthodoxy in late Soviet society as a position of the synthesis of religious and Soviet behavior for believers is determined. Two trends in the culture of the population of the region are highlighted: the success of the policy of atheization of citizens and the strengthening of cult activity at the level of individual forms of religious behavior.

Serbian medieval poetry: 20th-century literary-historical and theoretical interpretations

This paper examines how national literary histories written in the twentieth century define medieval Serbian poetry. Grounded in the canon of Byzantine liturgical poetry and dedicated to cult practice, hymnography often did not conform to modern poetic principles, originality, and metrical form. Formalist approaches to poetry shaped the anthologies of Serbian medieval literature published in Yugoslavia in the 1960s. The editors transformed sequences from narrative prose into poetic texts, thus creating medieval poems. These cases draw attention to the importance of textual criticism and the social context in defining medieval literary genres. Exploring hymnography as a linguistic and liturgical event - a poem sung to an engaged audience - introduces new perspectives on its interpretation.

Ciklus Svetog Dimitrija u Pećkoj patrijaršiji - III

Ciklus Svetog Dimitrija u Pećkoj patrijaršiji - III

Μινωικές αποθέσεις θεμελίωσης: τυπολογία - μορφολογία, περιεχόμενο και λειτουργία

The article draws upon Minoan 'foundation deposits', focusing on issues such as typology, content, context and interpretation. As Hunt (2006: 128) points out... «foundation rituals were not isolated cult practices but belonged to a cultic koine that existed throughout the ancient Mediterranean». It seems that ‘foundation’ ceremonies are connected with the “initiation” and “consecration” of a building’s life, usually through “religious” as well as “magical” practices including the ritual burial and integration of sacrificial offerings into the “corps” of the building for its everlasting protection and prosperity