God Of Fire Research Articles

Tradisi Pembakaran Mayat atau Ngaben (Studi Fenomenologi Anggota Keluarga Etnik Bali)

The aim of this research is to find out and analyze the experiences of family members who are prevented from carrying out the Ngaben tradition of their family members in Mataram Udik Village through motifs. This research uses a type of qualitative research using the phenomenological method. Data collection techniques were carried out by means of field observation, interviews with informants and documentation of research results. This research aims to find out more in-depth awareness and analyze the experience of one family member who is hampered by carrying out the Ngaben tradition of his family members. The research results showed that the Balinese ethnic experience regarding the Ngaben tradition in Mataram Udik Village resulted in positive perceptions, because informants were able to carry out mass Ngaben processions after being hampered by economic factors. Informants who were hampered from carrying out the Ngaben carried out the Mekingsan Ring Geni procession, which is a form of cremation ceremony where the spirits are entrusted temporarily to the God of Brahma or the God of Fire before undergoing the next ceremony, namely the Mass Ngaben, so that they can unite with Ida Sang Hyang Widi Wasa/God Almighty. In conclusion, the meaning obtained by the Balinese ethnic group is that the material body or body is nothing but a combination of 5 material elements or Panca Mahabhuta (earth, water, fire, air and ether). Fire has a special status among the Panca Mahabhuta as the purest among the pure, so Fire is used to free the mortal body back to its origin to become the Panca Mahabhuta. Keywords: Balinese Ethnicity, Phenomenology, Ngaben, Experience

Liaogan: A Folk Religious Practice in Northwest China

As the concluding activity of the Spring Festival in Northwest China, Liaogan is a distinctive local folk religious practice. This article, taking Qingyang City, Gansu Province, as a case study, employs anthropological fieldwork methods to present the entire process of the Liaogan ritual, trace its historical development and folk cultural connotations, and analysis the role of Liaogan in shaping social cohesion and the daily lives of Northwest people. The paper posits that Liaogan originates from humanity's shared belief in fire and the god of fire, representing a remnant of primitive religious beliefs. The purpose of Liaogan is to ward off evil, eliminate diseases and disasters, and fulfill people's hopes for a bountiful harvest. In this beautiful prayer process, a daily social function of purifying the soul and maintaining social relationships manifests itself in seemingly unconscious activities and continues to serve a symbolic social function in modern society.

The Composition and Chronicle of the Agni Purāṇa: A Brief Study

The Purāṇas have obtained an incomparable status in Indian religious literature. As a category of religious literature, the Purāṇas are concerned with the Indian ancient philosophy, sociology, history, politics, religion, and geography. Besides, the Purāṇas have delivered valuable materials for the study of miscellaneous knowledge and ancient wisdom. The Purāṇas are considered to be the post-Vedic literature. Among that Purāṇasthe Agni Purāṇa is a vital purāṇa. The Purāṇa has included an eighth place in the list of the Mahāpurāṇa. The Purāṇa is called TāmasikaPurāṇa. The narrator of this Purāṇa is Agni or the fire god himself. KṛṣnadvaipāyaṇaVedavyāsa wrote this Purāṇa. The god Agni delivered the summary of the Purāṇa to the sage Vasistha, who passed on the knowledge to Vedavyāsa. Śuta, the disciple of Vedavyāsa learnt about this Purāṇa from his teacher. There are 383 chapters and about fifteen and half thousand verses in the Agni Purāṇa. In this article, I have discussedbriefly about the composition and chronicle of the Agni Purāṇa

The Imaginary Beast-the Phoenix Sign as the Bearer of the Chinese Bestial Cultural Code: the Evolution of Meanings

The article considers the formation and development of meanings of the Phoenix as an imaginary beast-sign, a bearer of the bestiary code of Chinese culture. The methodology of highlighting the stages of evolution of the image of the beast-sign and analysis of its meanings is based on the ideas of Russian semioticians V.N. Toporov and A.E. Makhov concerning the historical typology of beast-signs from totem to zoomorphic images, then bestiary images and images-embodies. As a result of the study it was found that the imaginary totemic image-sign Phoenix was formed on the basis of domestic birds: chicken, pheasant, peacock and other animals, the zoomorphic image of the Phoenix symbolised the Sun God, Fire God (female image), Wind God (male image) of the polytheistic pantheon of ancient Chinese Gods, The phoenix became an emblem of imperial power and its female bearers (empresses, princesses, concubines), and finally, in the course of cultural history the image lost its religious and political significance, the phoenix became an emblem of love, femininity, happiness and harmony. Understanding the changing meanings of the phoenix as one of the beast-signs, the carriers of the Chinese cultural code, will enable a better understanding of the aims and values of Chinese culture at different stages of development, as well as the mechanisms of cultural continuity and cultural development in China, making possible endless renewals on the traditional cultural ground.

A Study of the relationship between the myth of two islands and traditional residence space: focusing on the myth of fire god and kitchen space in Jeju and Okinawa Island

A Study of the relationship between the myth of two islands and traditional residence space: focusing on the myth of fire god and kitchen space in Jeju and Okinawa Island - Jeju Island;Okinawa;resentment culture;kitchen god;fire god

The ‘Fire Ritual’ in Buddhist Uyghurs: Homa (in the Evidence of Tantric Turkish Buddhism Texts)

Homa, a fire ritual of Vedic origin, is a popular religious practice adapted from Hinduism to Esoteric Buddhism. Homa, seen in meditation and yoga practices in Tibetan Buddhism, is a ritual that aims to reach wisdom and enlightenment, which is represented in Buddhist Tantras in particular, Agni, the god of fire. The homa ritual is also known as a performance that involves the building of a fire at an altar and the burning of offerings over it. Predominantly in Tibetan Buddhism, the practice of homa, visualized with a maṇḍala, takes place under the guidance of masters of teaching called Guru or Ācārya. In the practice of homa, offerings thrown into the fire symbolically mean removing spiritual barriers. The practice of homa, which usually has functions such as protection, prolonging life, destroying evil and evil beings, is a ritual of purification and renewal. This ritual is a popular practice in all Buddhist regions of Central Asia, not just the Indian and Tibetan region. In this respect, the present study deals with the narratives of the fire ritual among the Uyghurs, who adopted Tibetan Buddhism in the Old Turkish religious life. This practice, which is seen with the term hom(a) ~ hoom in Old Uyghur, is also seen in written materials, especially in Buddhist Uyghurs, where ritual-based narratives are abundant.

Interactive Ritual Chains and the Image of a Great Nation: an Analysis of the Effect of Foreign Netizen Reaction Videos on Young People’s Sense of National Identity

From the rapid development of China's high-speed railway to the construction of Huoshenshan(Fire God Mountain) Hospital and Leishenshan(Thunder God Mountain) Hospital in a few days, the image of China's "infrastructure maniac" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of people throughout the world. Many young people have watched infrastructure videos and are eager to share and learn about the views of others, which is why reaction videos on infrastructure have become so popular. The reaction videos on Chinese infrastructure by foreign users have had an impact on the sense of national identity of Chinese youth. This study used questionnaires and in-depth interviews to investigate this phenomenon. The study found that the sense of national identity of Chinese youths who responded to the videos was not related to the nationality of the video recorder; the higher the sense of national identity of the youth audience, the stronger the willingness to participate in the interaction of the reaction videos.

Characteristics and Prognosis of Antibody Non-responders With Coronavirus Disease 2019.

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been spreading globally. Information regarding the characteristics and prognosis of antibody non-responders to COVID-19 is limited.MethodsIn this retrospective, single-center study, we included all patients with confirmed COVID-19 using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) admitted to the Fire God Mountain hospital from February 3, 2020, to April 14, 2020. A total of 1,921 patients were divided into the antibody-negative (n = 94) and antibody-positive (n = 1,827) groups, and 1:1 propensity score matching was used to match the two groups.ResultsIn the antibody-negative group, 40 patients (42.6%) were men, and 49 (52.1%) were older than 65 years. Cough was the most common symptom in the antibody negative group. White blood cell counts, neutrophils, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, interleukin-6, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme, urea nitrogen, and creatinine were significantly higher in the antibody-negative patients than in the antibody-positive group (P < 0.005). The number of days of nucleic acid-negative conversion in the antibody-negative group was shorter than that in the antibody-positive group (P < 0.001). The hospitalization time of the antibody-negative patients was shorter than that of the antibody-positive patients (P < 0.001).ConclusionSome COVID-19 patients without specific antibodies had mild symptoms; however, the inflammatory reaction caused by innate clinical immunity was more intense than those associated with antibodies. Non-specific immune responses played an essential role in virus clearance. There was no direct correlation between excessive inflammatory response and adverse outcomes in patients. The risk of reinfection and vaccination strategies for antibody-negative patients need to be further explored.

A Proposal upon the Figure of Hermes as an Ancient God of Fire (According to the Homeric Hymn to Hermes)

The origin and meaning of Hermes, whose figure is full of different and even contradictory aspects, has never been clarified. Now, starting from a passage from the Homeric Hymn dedicated to him – in which Hermes is considered the one “who first invented fire-sticks and fire” – as well as on the fact that he is often associated with Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, we propose here that he was originally a god of fire. This immediately explains his attributions, the meaning of his name and even the shape of the caduceus. Moreover, the Hermes-Hestia couple corresponds to the conception of the two fires in the Vedic world: one is the quadrangular “male fire” of the sky, while the other is the round “female fire” of the earth. This original dimension of Hermes as a god of fire also links him to lightning, that produces forest fires and is considered a divine omen, which explains his function as the messenger of the gods. At this point, it is even possible to identify the original counterpart of Hermes in the Roman world: he was not Mercury, but the ancient god Terminus, whose original dimension linked to fire gradually faded over the centuries, as it happened also for Hermes. Keywords: Hermes, Hestia, Homeric Hymns, Terminus

A REVIEW ARTICLE ON VARIOUS DHOOPANA YOGA’S MENTIONED IN AYURVEDIC LITERATURE

Dhoopana means fumigation. Fumigation/dhupana is done with the help of dhupana dravyas vis-à-vis fumigants. Fumigants are the materials that fumigate the area with smoke having a characteristic odour when ignited. When Varthi is ignited with fire, the active phytochemical compounds burn to give out its essential therapeutic action based on the dravya's used. Agni-Devata (fire god) is considered the primary source or deity of Dhoopa, and the betterment of entire mankind is the main purpose of its materialization. In Ayurveda literature, we have many references to dhupana dravyas which are of both plant &amp; animal origin. A detailed description of their mode of collection, preparation, usage of dhupana yogas, preservation, and storage is mentioned. So, exploring and understanding these fundamental concepts of dhupana and its practical utility in the day-to-day clinical practice of extracting their medicinal properties is the need of the hour.

조왕신앙 측면에서의 불 상징 고찰

Fire has been an object of great reverence and been sacred in human history because it is regarded as having purification to burn wickedness, injustice, and corruption and cleansing filthy things. This study explores fire god and fire symbol shown in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese faith in Jowang (God of kitchen), and examines fire symbolism appeared in sandtray in the perspective of analytical psychology. Jowang, or fire god, has a different name, and house guardian deities have a different place in Korea, Japan, and China. Jowang has long been served as a house guardian deity who is closest to people in everyday life, taking care of family

‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ in the shades of green: the genus Trichoderma in the spotlight

The ascomycetous filamentous fungal genus Trichoderma has at least two faces, like Agni, the God of fire in Hindu mythology. Or maybe even three? The ‘Good’, the ‘Bad’ and the ‘Ugly’? In fact, Trichoderma species can be considered: (1) ‘Good’—as plant-beneficial microorganisms in agriculture due to a plethora of antagonistic mechanisms acting against plant pathogens, e.g., inhibiting them through the production of antimicrobial metabolites or by direct parasitism, or indirectly, promoting the growth of crop plants and inducing their immune system; (2) ‘Bad’ —as devastating agents of green mould diseases in the cultivation of mushrooms viz. champignon, oyster mushroom, shiitake, etc., destroying crops and thereby causing serious economic damage world-wide; and (3) ‘Ugly’—as opportunistic pathogens of mainly immunocompromised humans. Do biocontrol Trichoderma strains represent a risk to mushroom production or human health? Is the agricultural application of Trichoderma strains safe or rather risky? The aim of this review is to address these important questions.

Modelling and assessing the effects of medical resources on transmission of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019), a newly emerging disease in China, posed a public health emergency of China. Wuhan is the most serious affected city. Some measures have been taken to control the transmission of COVID-19. From Jan. 23rd, 2020, gradually increasing medical resources (such as health workforce, protective clothing, essential medicines) were sent to Wuhan from other provinces, and the government has established the hospitals to quarantine and treat infected individuals. Under the condition of sufficient medical resources in Wuhan, late-stage of epidemic showed a downward trend. Assessing the effectiveness of medical resources is of great significance for the future response to similar disease. Based on the transmission mechanisms of COVID-19 and epidemic characteristics of Wuhan, by using time-dependent rates for some parameters, we establish a dynamical model to reflect the changes of medical resources on transmission of COVID-19 in Wuhan. Our model is applied to simulate the reported data on cumulative and new confirmed cases in Wuhan from Jan. 23rd to Mar. 6th, 2020. We estimate the basic reproduction number R0 = 2.71, which determines whether the disease will eventually die out or not under the absence of effective control measures. Moreover, we calculate the effective daily reproduction ratio Re(t), which is used to measure the 'daily reproduction number'. We obtain that Re(t) drops less than 1 since Feb. 8th. Our results show that delayed opening the 'Fire God Hill' hospital will greatly increase the magnitude of the outbreak. This shows that the government's timely establishment of hospitals and effective quarantine via quick detection prevent a larger outbreak.

Arqueología del amor: la representación de Afrodita y de Eros en el pensamiento antiguo

&lt;p&gt;Conocida es la figura de Afrodita (Venus entre los latinos), diosa griega del amor y la belleza, una de las doce grandes deidades del panteón olímpico. Ella encarna la fuerza y la omnipotencia creadora del deseo amoroso, al cual se hallan sometidos todos los seres vivos sin distinción: humanos, animales e, incluso, los mismos dioses. Seductora, en ocasiones temible, es una de las fuerzas fundamentales del mundo, como apunta la tradición más conocida relacionada con su nacimiento: según Hesíodo, Afrodita nació de Urano, cuando su hijo Cronos, después de mutilarlo, arrojó al mar sus genitales. La simiente del dios castrado fecundó la espuma de las olas y en ellas engendró a esta diosa de radiante belleza, a cuyo paso nacían las flores. Dicha historia explica el significado de su nombre pues aphros significa ‘la espuma’. Mantuvo relaciones amorosas con muchos dioses y también con mortales, aunque su esposo, elegido por Zeus, era Hefestos, el dios del fuego. De sus amores con Ares (el Marte de los romanos), dios de la guerra, nació Eros, el dios del amor.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Eros (Cupido entre los romanos), que simboliza el deseo sensual, es el dios griego responsable de la atracción sexual, el amor y el sexo, venerado también como un dios de la fertilidad. Según Hesíodo, es una de las fuerzas primordiales que nace del Caos. Según otras versiones, como señalamos antes, es hijo de Ares y de Afrodita. De acuerdo con el mito que ofrece El banquete de Platón, Eros fue concebido por Poros (el Recurso) y Penía (la Pobreza) en el cumpleaños de Afrodita. A partir de la tradición iniciada por Eratóstenes, Eros rige fundamentalmente el amor entre hombres, mientras que Afrodita lo hace sobre el amor entre hombres y mujeres. En imágenes tardías, se lo representa como un niño travieso, muchas veces con los ojos vendados, equipado con un arco y flechas con las que atraviesa los corazones de los enamorados.&lt;br /&gt;En este trabajo nos ocuparemos de rastrear –aunque sin pretensión de exhaustividad– las figuras de Afrodita y de Eros en los episodios míticos más conocidos o relevantes de la literatura clásica, en atención a dos líneas principales de interpretación de ambos dioses: las referidas al discurso amoroso y/o erótico que surge en torno a ellos y sus acciones y las vinculadas con el cuerpo y sus características.&lt;/p&gt;

The Inheritance and Change of the Contemporary Daur Shaman

The Daur people are a minority living in Northeast China. They have adhered to a form of shamanism since ancient times. They believe that all things are spiritual. The Daur call an intermediary or messenger between the human world and the spirit worlds jad’ən (shaman). In addition, there are also different types of priests and healers, such as baɡʧi (healer and priest), barʃ (bone-setter), ʊtʊʃi (healer of child) and baræʧen (midwife), but only the jad’ən is a real shaman. The Daur’s system of deities is huge, complex, and diverse, mainly including təŋɡər (God of Heaven), xʊʤʊr barkən (ancestral spirit), njaŋnjaŋ barkən (Niang Niang Goddess), aʊləi barkən (spirit of mountain), nuʤir barkən (spirit of snake), ɡali barkən (God of Fire), etc. Among them, ancestral spirit is the most noble and important deity of the Daur, called xʊʤʊr barkən (spirit of ancestors). In the past, the social structure of the Daurs was based on the equal clan xal and its branches mokun. Xʊʤʊr barkən is the ancestral spirit of the mokun family. The shaman with xʊʤʊr barkən as the main patron is called xʊʤʊr jad’ən, that is, mokun shaman. The inheritance of the Daur shaman is very complicated. The xʊʤʊr jad’ən is strictly inherited along the patrilineal line, while the ordinary jad’ən can also inherit according to the maternal lineage. The inheritance rites of other types of shamans are also based mainly on the patrilineal lineage and occasionally the maternal lineage. The complexity of the Daur shaman inheritance is first and foremost related to the variety of the gods and spirits, secondly to their belief of polytheism, and finally to the constant split of the traditional clans and families, namely, the xal-mokun social structure.

Continental Creatures: Animals and History in Contemporary Europe

In Norse mythology Fenrir, a wolf God born of the God of fire, possessed so much power that he horrified the other gods. Restrained by a chain forged from elements of the earth – such as the breath of fish and the roots of mountains – his power was held in check so that it could not be unleashed across the realms of gods and men. The chains of his captivity appeared to be fragile but were in fact supernaturally robust, though his eventual catastrophic escape was foretold by oracles of the age.

KOMUNIKASI SIMBOLIK DALAM UPACARA AGNIHOTRA DI ASHRAM VEDA POSHANA DESA PAKRAMAN SADING KECAMATAN MENGWI KABUPATEN BADUNG

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bhakti yoga is one of ways to realize the power of God. Bhakti yoga implementation can be done through Yajna, with intention on moksa and creat jagadhita based on dharma. Yajna is a form of Veda implamantatiion. One of the form of Yajna is Agnihotra ritual as Yajna for the god of fire (Agni Dev) in kunda. This ritual is a legacy as the highest Yajna and has done by Rshi. Based on those background, the problems of this research were: (1) How is the form of symbolic communication used in Agnihotra ritual at Ashram Veda Poshana?, (2) What are the functions of symbolic communication in Agnihotra ritual at Ashram Veda Poshana?, (3) What are the meaning of symbolic communication in Agnihotra ritual at Ashram Veda Poshana in Sading villange, Mengwi subdistrict, Badung Regency?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Specifically, the purposes of this research were: (1) To describe the symbolic communication in Agnihotra ritual, (2) to describe the function of symbolic communication in Agnihotra ritual, (3) and to explore the symbolic communication meaning in Agnihotra ritual. This research used theory of structural functional and symbolic interactionism. The data were collected through literature review, documentation, observation, and interview. And the data were analyzed by qualitative descriptive technique, and presented narratively. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Based on the data analysis of this research entitled Symbolic Communication in Agnihotra Ritual at Ashram Veda Poshana, the verbal and non-verbal communication includes the ritual means preparation, Agnihotra ritual execution, praying etiquette, and time and place of the Agnihotra ritual execution. The function of symbolic communication in Agnihotra ritual involves purification function, as Yajna essence, as communication means between prayers and God, as energy source, as homatheraphy. The meaning of symbolic communication in Agnihotra ritual at Ashram Veda Poshana is: Philosophical meaning gives understanding about symbols in the Agnihotra ritual means, Spiritual meaning improves concentration and jnana, and Harmony meaning builds harmonious relationship between people and God, between people, and between people and environment.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Vulnerable to Violence: Jeff Donaldson’s Ala Shango and the Erasure of Diasporic Difference

This article examines AfriCOBRA cofounder Jeff Donaldson’s painting Ala Shango (1969) in relation to the 1968 Chicago riots and the militaristic and Pan-Africanist rhetoric of the Black Nationalist movement. Specifically, I discuss the artist’s appropriation and incorporation of a double-headed axe of Shango, the Yoruba god of fire, lightning, and thunder. The axe, wielded by the composition’s central figure, shatters the pictorial plane of the canvas, which Donaldson variously labeled Glass, Sheet, and Made in USA. I argue that, through his appropriation of African art, as well as in his channeling and innovating upon iconographic references to the riot—namely, the initial shattering of glass that directly precedes looting—Donaldson articulates an abstracted blackness where black identity, internationally, is always vulnerable to violence and requires an armed response, regardless of geographic locale.

On “Parents” and “Children” in Vedic Tradition

In the symbolic language of Vedic tradition, parental relationships are among the ways used by poets to articulate relationships between the one and the many, the parts and the whole. Mythological figures, and the principles they represent, are named as offspring to indicate that they are made manifest by an originator or “parent.” In some cases, what is named is the inter-relationship of principles through a cyclical process of “reverse” parenting. Prajapati, or Sacrifice, for example, is the father of his son, the fire god Agní and yet Agní, in turn, gives birth to him. There is also a well-known pattern of creation by an original “parent” or “one,” who gives birth to a “second,” and from these two “parents” arises the manifest world of the many. This paper will examine ideas of creation and re-creation through a study of parental relationships in Vedic tradition.

The Kitchen God of Chinese Lore

This article discusses the origins and mythology of China’s Kitchen God, which include the evolution of this deity over the centuries from Fire God in prehistoric times to his present role as the protector of the home. Also discussed are the many legends that surround this beloved being, as well as historical and current sources for who the Kitchen God might once have been, how he changed over the years, and how he is worshipped in modern times. Mainly ancient Chinese resources are cited in the original, with English translations in the copious endnotes. Illustrations by the author, Carolyn Phillips.