Sun Worship Research Articles

New dawn in Mughal India: longue durée Neoplatonism in the making of Akbar's sun project

AbstractIn this article, we explore the longue durée philosophical background of Mughal Emperor Akbar's sun worship. Although Akbar's sun project may have been triggered by contemporary Hindu and Zoroastrian ideas and practices, we argue that Akbar's Neoplatonic advisers reframed it as a universal cosmotheistic tradition that, at the start of the new millennium, served as the perfect all-inclusive imperial ideology of Akbar's new world order. The astonishing parallels with the much earlier Neoplatonic sun cult of Roman Emperor Julian demonstrate that, although having characteristic of its own, Akbar's sun project was not that unique and should be seen as a fascinating late example of a so-far completely forgotten ancient Neoplatonic legacy of seeing the philosopher king, via the Sun, via illumination, connected to the One.

Концепт «сонце» у збірці Ганни Гайворонської «Ключі від Сонця» як ознака ідіостилю письменниці

In Anna Hayvoronska’s collection «Keys from the Sun» of 2022, the multicultural concept «the sun», which is rooted in the mythopoetic worldview and has its roots in the folklore tradition, is used 70 times, therefore its research is in the work of a mystic who creates poetry where «the sun is in a hat», «where a clear moment smells of Dinets watercress», is extremely relevant. The article analyzes the multicultural ambivalent concept of «the sun» in the collection of Anna Gaivoronska’s «Keys to the Sun» and the poetry published in open sources (the writer’s Facebook page) in 2022–2024. The following research tasks were performed: the literary component of the concept «concept» was highlighted, the core of the meaning of the concept «sun» was systematized, the ambivalent concept «sun» in the poetry of H. Hayvoronska was characterized, the influence of sun worship on the idiostyle of mysticism was analyzed. He following research methods are used in the work: descriptive when analyzing the poems of the collection, mythopoetic for researching the content of the concept of the «sun» in culture, literature, and poets, comparative-historical for characterizing the concept in Ukrainian literature, comparativetypological for understanding the concept in the collection «Keys to of the sun». It has been found that the concept of «sun» in the text of Hanna Gaivoronska, which represents life, the Higher Power, creativity, light, victory, is a synthesis of the author’s understanding with the folklore mythopoetic tradition of national awareness through a universal, originally mythological picture of the world. The dominance of the «sun» concept in the idiostyle of Anna Hayvoronska testifies to her deep rootedness in the national soil, the presence in her artistic consciousness of the mythopoetic canon and mental features of the Ukrainian ethnos.

고구려의 <주몽> 서사시와 야쿠트족의 <에르 소고토흐> 서사시 비교연구

The Korean people and the Yakut people have many cultural commonalities, including shamanism, the idea of a heavenly god, sun worship, archery culture, and the belief in the crow as the messenger of God. These commonalities are also fused in the myths or epics of the heroes (national founders or founding founders) of the two peoples. In the founding or national origin myth (or epic), which explains how the progenitor of a nation or tribe (or nation) was born and formed a nation or tribe, the nation's worldview is strongly expressed, and along with it, historicity and literary value can be discovered.
 In this paper, through a study of Goguryeo's <Jumong> epic and the Yakut people's <Er Sogotokh> epic, we examine not only the worldviews of the two peoples, but also similarities and differences between the two myths by comparing and analyzing what elements are used to express the divinity of the hero, what thoughts they have about the origins of their peoples, and how the heroic feats of the protagonist are reproduced. Based on this, I think we can understand the characteristics of the nation.
 The two stories indicate a high degree of similarity in structure, with the following structure: birth-growth-deficiency-departure-trials, overcoming -arrival-fight, and victory-achievement-after-story. And the two heroes are similar in that they are both descendants of heavenly gods, have mysterious anecdotes related to their birth, and possess extraordinary archery skills. However, while the <Er Sogotoch> epic has a story structure that focuses on the protagonist defeating the antagonist, getting married, and starting a family; the <Jumong> epic focuses on the protagonist defeating the antagonist and securing territory to establish a nation. This seems to be due to the difference between the folk tale about the founder of a nation and the founder of a country. In addition, the Yakutian worldview is well illustrated in <Er Sogotoch>, where the protagonist and antagonist freely move between the heavenly world, the middle (terrestrial) world, and the lower world. It shows that these worlds are not disconnected and independent from each other, but are organically connected, and thus a complete world is formed. In contrast, <Jumong> shows communication with the gods by asking for help from heavenly gods and gods of river, but the connection between humans and gods is weakened in that the protagonist cannot move to the world of the gods. In addition, <Er Sogotoch> shows that the role of a sacred tree that tells the secret of birth, the water of life gifted by the sacred tree, and a horse with mysterious abilities appear as important elements in composing the story, indicating that the mythical concept is more strongly reflected than <Jumong>.
 This denotes that the epic <Er Sogotoch> was formed earlier than the epic <Jumong>. It is impossible to reveal the internalized unconscious form and culture of the two peoples through comparative analysis of only two hero narratives and has clear limitations. In the future, we hope that these limitations will be overcome through more extensive research of the heroic epics, legends, and myths of northern peoples.

Discussion about Sun Worship from Sanxingdui Bronze Sacred Tree

Based on the relationship between Sanxingdui bronze sacred tree and sun worship, this paper explores the relationship between sun worship and bird worship, and interprets the origin of ancient ancestors' original belief. This paper expounds the author's thoughts and opinions on the significance of archaeology by analyzing the ancient human belief in archaeological discoveries.

The Heavenly Field: A Reconsideration of Mother Earth in the Æcerbot Rite

The Heavenly Field: A Reconsideration of Mother Earth in the <i>Æcerbot</i> Rite

Interpretations of the term Fu Yao (扶揺) in the Zhuang Zi outer chapter Zaiyou (在宥) and Guo Xiang Zhu (郭象注): Issues concerning the commentator approach

The 10 suns bathing relates to sun worship. The story of the suns bathing and then emerging from the water has likely become one of a fish changing into a bird, becoming a winged sun, and then flying off from the tree branches. When icons and documents such as Chu Ci (楚辞), the Chu (楚) silk paintings, Shan Hai Jing (山海經), and the Mawangdui (馬王堆) silk paintings are brought together, this outline can be drawn. In doing so, the “ Fu Yao (扶揺)” is not the “wind” in Guo Xiang’s (郭象) annotation; it is best to understand the “ Fu Yao (扶揺)” in Xiaoyaoyou (逍遙遊) and the “ Fu Yao (扶揺) branches” in the Zaiyou (在宥) text to both be akin to “ Fusang (扶桑).”

Classicism and hero of the sun

Bu makalede Türk Edebiyatının XIII. ile XIX. yüzyılları arası için kullanılan adlandırmalardan “Klasik” sözcüğü üzerinde durulup bu dönem edebiyatımızın “klasik oluşuna” seçilen örnek beyitlerle yakından bakılacaktır. Bu beyitler, 18. Yüzyıl Divan şairi Yahya Nazîm’in Kırım Hânı I. Selim Giray adına kaleme aldığı şiirlere aittir. Klasik kavramı nedir, klasik eser neye denir, Türk Edebiyatının klasikleri var mıdır soruları hakkında değerlendirmeler yapılmış ancak hala tartışılmaya devam edeceği yönünde bir sonuca ulaşılmıştır. Bu çalışmada Klasisizme dair söylenenler kısaca hatırlanıp klasik doktrinin ve en önemli figürü “güneş kahramanı miti” nin oluşumu üzerinde durulacaktır. Klasisizmin oluşumu, klasik doktrinin bütün unsurlarını Neolitik çağa götüren sosyal antropolojik bağlamda bir yaklaşımla izaha çalışılacaktır. İnsanın yerleşik hayata intibakı esnasında anatanrıça tapımından, ataerkil/güneş tapımına geçilmiştir. Değişen “doğa imgesi” yle toprağa ve kadına dair bütün temsiller yerini güneş ve erile ait sembol ve anlamlara bırakmıştır. Bu süreçte anatanrıça kültüründen ataerkil kültüre geçişi sağlayan kişi ise güneş kahramanıdır. Anatanrıça semiyosferinden (işaretler evreni) ataerkil semiyosfere geçişte ayrıştırma, seçicilik, akılcılık, hiyerarşi, ulvîlik gibi değerler “kültür” ün icadına ve kentlerin, medeniyetlerin oluşumuna yol açmıştır. Kaostan kozmosa geçiş; düşünüşü, duyuşu, ilahî olanı kısaca işaretler evrenini değiştirmiştir. Bütün bu değişim ve dönüşümün merkezi, bereketli hilal adı verilen bölgedir. Bunu izah ederken dinler tarihi, arkeoloji, antropoloji, mitoloji gibi sahalara ait sonuç ve tespitlerden istifade edilmiştir.

The Saurasaṃhitā: The Earliest Surviving Tantra on Sun-Worship

The Saurasaṃhitā is the earliest surviving Tantra text on Sun worship available by far, and is preserved in a palm-leaf manuscript preserved in National Archives, Kathmandu, dated Nepal Samvat 69 (equivalent to 949 CE). The Saurasaṃhitā is a little-known but important text that identifies the Sun god with Śiva. What is special in the Saurasaṃhitā is the fact that the cult of Śiva-Sūrya has lost its independence existence in South Asia, whereas in Bali it has not only maintained its independent but also taken central stage.

The excavation of the Huahaizi No. 3 Site in Qinghe County, Xinjiang

AbstractThe main body of the site of Huahaizi No. 3 in Qinghe (Qinggil) County, Xinjiang, is a stone cairn surrounded by a stone circle with cross-shaped spokes. Around it, stone circles and stone cairns for sacrifices are located. In addition to two deer stones, shield-shaped stones, a simple wooden frame structure and fragments of human bones and sheep teeth used as sacrifices were found. The scientific data and the style of the deer stones show that this site was in use from around the 9th century BCE. The archaeological remains and artifacts show that this site and similar remains are for sacrificial activities, which might be related to the worship of sun, the moon and other celestial bodies or phenomena. The Sandaohaizi Site and similar remains found nearby as well as at the Arzhan kurgans in Tuva, Southern Siberia would have been left by the same people; Sandaohaizi was the summer ritual center of this early nomadic society and Arzhan was its royal necropolis.

The Worship of Sun God as described in the Paramara Inscriptions

Importance of Sun and Sun worship in contemporary period is available from contemplation of Paramara Inscriptions. The Sun was worshipped in different forms in ancient India. Inscriptions throw light on sun worship in the time of the Paramaras in the areas ruled by him. Bhilsa was one of the most famous seats of the Sun God. The different name of the sun-god, like Bhaillasvamin, Surya, Bhanu, Vikranta, Nimbaditya, Jagata-Svamin and Balakdeva are mentioned in the Paramara Inscriptions.

전통문화에 수용된 상상 동물의 도상해석학적 분석 - 사령수(四靈獸) 민화를 중심으로 -

The purpose of this study is to apply iconology to discover the symbolic system of imaginary animals focused on four representative auspicious animals in Korean folk paintings. Study methods included literature review of folk paintings, iconological analytics books, and articles. A total of 16 folk paintings of four auspicious animals in the Joseon Dynasty were analyzed using Panofsky`s iconology. The four auspicious animals were Yong(dragon), Bonghwang(the eastern version of the phoenix), Shingoo (divine turtle), and Kirin(one-horned combination of a dragon and horse). According to iconological analysis, Yong is a typical symbol of royal authority, a deity of water as an object of respect with a remarkable talent of transformation, and in iconographical interpretation, represents reverence for transcendent power. Bonhwang is the symbol of a king, sun worship, the emblem of nobility and integrity, and in iconographical interpretation, the psychic bing in the sky. Shingoo is fortune prophecy, longevity and immortality, an envoy of deity, and according to iconographical interpretation, the organic view of the world. Kirin is a divine benign creature, a symbol of talent and honor, mediator between sky and earth, and in iconographical interpretation, an expression of Confucian ideology. This study produced three results. First, the four auspicious animals projected the human hope to overcome human limitations through divine creatures with mythical abilities. Second, they reflected everyday common hopes and values of pursuing fortunes and happiness. Third, the four auspicious animals` iconology was not independent of each other; it seemed to be common to and combined with each other.

ШКОЛА ІСТОРИКІВ УНІВЕРСИТЕТУ СВ. ВОЛОДИМИРА: МИКОЛА ІВАНОВИЧ КОСТОМАРОВ

The article is honored the personality of famous Ukrainian and Russian historian, scientist, publicist, romantic poet, thinker and public figure, one of the leaders of Cyril and Methodius Society, an archeographer, professor of St. Volodymyr University Mykola Kostomarov (1817–1885). The urgency of the study is to honor Mykola Kostomarov through the researching the period of his formation as a university lecturer and a researcher during his work at St. Volodymyr University. It is considered his activities as a university lecturer and a researcher at St. Volodymyr University from August 1846 till March 1847 during Kyiv period (1844–1847) of his life. There were analyzed Mykola Kostomarov’s memories, which he wrote in his autobiography, asvaluable sources for the study of Mykola Kostomarov as a university lecturer and a researcher at St. Volodymyr University. He remembered his colleagues and students, described the atmosphere of the University in the whole. It is examined the contents and significance of ethnographic work “Slavyanskaya Mythology”, which became a part of the lectures which he taught at St. Volodymyr University during the second half of 1846. It is noted that scientist explored the poetic views of ancestors of ancient Slavs on the nature and their perception of the world and mythology in “Slavyanskaya Mythology”. Mykola Kostomarov depicted the contents of Slavs mythology in the first part of the work. He described holidays of the Slavs-pagans in the second part and presented his thoughts the about service of the Slavs-pagans in the third part. It is emphasized that Mykola Kostomarov wrote “Slavyanskaya Mythology” on fragments of antiquity, which were preserved in folk legends, legends, fairy tales, spells, songs, beliefs, and were researched by written sources. According to Mykola Kostomarov, Slavonic peoples already had in the pagan period of their life a well-developed system of higher mythology, considerable remnants of which were preserved in later folklore of Ukrainians and Russians. Mykola Kostomarov scientifically verified this thesis, outlining his task as a research of unified system of mythology of Slavic peoples, the basis of which he had seen in worship of Sun and stars. It is emphasized that Mykola Kostomarov scientific research was in keeping with the European ethnography and folklore of the end of 18th – the middle of 19th centuries. His interest in the Slavic mythology took place in an atmosphere of enlightenment and romantic attention to the folk life and folk poetry. “Slavyanskaya Mythology” became an important step in the study of mythology in Ukraine and Russia. It is emphasized that the significance of Mykola Kostomarov scientific heritage in the development of Ukrainian and Russian historiography is very important. Mykola Kostomarov was the first scientist in the Eastern Europe, who changed the approach to the work of historian drastically. Mykola Kostomarov put the history of people in its social cultural integrity and unity of different spheres of life as the main aim of historian’s work, instead of description of events and persons. Thus, Mykola Kostomarov founded a populist direction of historiography — the populist school, the main focus of which was aimed at highlighting the history of the masses as the leading driving force of social progress. It is noted the activity of Mykola Kostomarov in the Kyiv Archeographic Commission in preparation for the publication the Chronicle of Samiylo Velychko, the most monumental Ukrainian historical and memoir prose of XVII–XVIII centuries, which together with Chronicle of Samovydets, Chronicle of Gregory Hrabianka, and “History of Rus’” formed a complex of Cossack historiography. It is analyzed memories of Mykola Kostomarov from his autobiography about his colleagues, students, and the existing atmosphere at the University in that time. It is marked that Mykola Kostomarov’s scientific achievements were commended by St. Volodymyr University. It recognized him as a doctor of history in 1864 and chosen him as an honorary member in 1884. It is proved that Mykola Ivanovych Kostomarov occupies one of the most honorable places among the representatives of the School of historians of St. Volodymyr University. It is proved that his formation as a university lecturer and a researcher, and the direction of his whole life as a citizen, a historian and a scientist were formed during his work at St. Volodymyr University. Mykola Kostomarov considered himself the Kyiv period of his life and work at St. Volodymyr University as the happiest and brightest moments of his life.

Sun Worship Of The Bai People And Its Reflection In The Folk Art Zhima Of The Yunnan Province

The article is dedicated to the research of the Sun worship practiced by the Bai people, who live in the Yunnan Province in the south-west of China. Various forms of the Sun Cult taking place nowadays within the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture are examined. The author presents the texts of the Bai myths and legends associated with the solar deity Tai Yang Shen and describes the traditions of worshipping the Sun as a source of life, a protector of agriculture and a divine patron of Bai villages. The article also analyses the iconography of the solar deity in the Yunnan Province’s temple sculpture and folk woodprints zhima. The origin of diverse Tai Yang Shen’s iconographic types is traced back through the study of the local legends and Chinese art. Special attention is paid to the solar symbols that appear in the Yunnan zhimas. Key words: solar deity, Tai Yang Shen, solar symbols, legend, folk beliefs, mythology, folk art zhima, image of fire sphere.

Sūrya-Sevana: A Balinese Tantric Practice

&lt;p class="resume"&gt;Traces of Tantric elements in Balinese culture and religion have often been noted by Western scholars, but the prevailing opinion is that such are random and haphazard, rather than systematic. Tantric influences on the role of the &lt;em&gt;pedanda&lt;/em&gt;, the Brahmana or high priest, have been occasionally acknowledged, but rarely examined in detail. The daily rituals, &lt;em&gt;surya-sevana&lt;/em&gt;, performed by the&lt;em&gt; pedanda siwa&lt;/em&gt;, the Śaiva high priest, have been known to Western scholars for nearly fifty years through Hooykaas’ translation and commentary (1966). In this article I argue that when approached from the perspective of more recent understandings of Tantrism, the &lt;em&gt;surya-sevana&lt;/em&gt; rituals can be seen to incorporate classic Tantric philosophies, symbols and rituals forming a whole that strikingly resembles the &lt;em&gt;sādhanā&lt;/em&gt; of a Tantric adept as known in the South Asian literature. This places Tantric teachings and rituals at the very center of Balinese religious and spiritual authority, challenging the view that such influences are peripheral, consisting merely of scattered and unrelated elements. Once the Tantric elements are recognized for what they are, the &lt;em&gt;surya-sevana&lt;/em&gt; rituals emerge as having a clear structure and meaning which, although seemingly unique, are evidently and distinctively Tantric in nature.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="resume"&gt;Des traces d’éléments tantriques dans la culture balinaise ont été fréquemment relevées par des chercheurs occidentaux, l’opinion dominante étant toutefois que celles-ci sont fortuites et incohérentes, plutôt que systématiques. Les influences tantriques dans le rôle du &lt;em&gt;pedanda&lt;/em&gt;, Brahmana ou grand prêtre, ont été reconnues de manière occasionnelle, mais rarement examinées en détail. Les rituels quotidiens, &lt;em&gt;surya-sevana&lt;/em&gt;, accomplis par le &lt;em&gt;pedanda siwa&lt;/em&gt;, le grand prêtre sivaïte, sont connus des chercheurs étrangers depuis presque cinquante ans grâce à la traduction et au commentaire de Hooykaas (1966). Dans cet article, j’avance qu’en approchant les rituels &lt;em&gt;surya-sevana&lt;/em&gt; dans la perspective des connaissances récentes sur le tantrisme, ceux-ci dévoilent l’incorporation de philosophies tantriques classiques, symboles et rituels formant un tout qui ressemble fortement au &lt;em&gt;sādhanā&lt;/em&gt; de l’adepte du tantrisme tel qu’il est connu dans la littérature sud-asiatique. Ceci place les enseignements et rituels tantriques au coeur de l’autorité religieuse et spirituelle balinaise, remettant ainsi en cause l’idée selon laquelle de telles influences sont périphériques, consistant simplement en éléments épars et non reliés. Une fois que les éléments tantriques sont reconnus pour ce qu’ils sont, les rituels &lt;em&gt;surya-sevana &lt;/em&gt;montrent une structure et une signification claires qui, bien qu’apparemment uniques, sont à l’évidence et distinctement de nature tantrique.&lt;/p&gt;

The Influence of Religious and Cosmological Beliefs on the Solar Architecture of the Ancient World

In the earliest civilizations of the Ancient World, sun worship developed in parallel with an understanding of the movement of the stars. That was the origin of an architecture that expressed a number of religious and cosmological beliefs. Studies of ancient archaeological remains have revealed that astronomical orientations strongly influenced the construction of some of the most important ancient architectural monuments.Besides its religious role, the sun regulated the culture of the Ancient World in many of its more practical aspects. For instance, the observation of solar and lunar cycles allowed people to anticipate seasonal change. This provided man with a means of organizing and improving agricultural and livestock activities and, in turn, influenced the construction of the large civil and religious buildings.The complex relationships that developed between cosmology, sun worship, early mathematics, and the orientation of buildings with respect to the position of the sun, also decisively influenced the birth and development of what has come to be known as passive solar design.This article describes some of these influences dating from the megalithic period to the development of Mesopotamian and Egyptian architecture.

The China's figure‘circle’came to symbolize the sun through the Sun Worship

The China's figure‘circle’came to symbolize the sun through the Sun Worship

The scent of sun worship: basking experience alters scent mark composition in male lizards

Signals used in female choice should honestly advertise the benefits that males can provide, with direct benefits often argued as being more important than indirect benefits. However, the nature of direct benefits in species without paternal care or nuptial gifts is poorly understood. Previous studies on lizards suggest that females decide where to settle and assumedly who to mate with based on information contained in scent marks from territorial males. Access to high-quality thermal resources is crucial for female reproductive success. Females may therefore be able to detect and exploit thermal-induced variation in the chemical composition of male scent marks when assessing the quality of his territory. We show that the amount of time male wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) are allowed to bask significantly alters the chemical composition of their femoral secretions used in scent marking. The direction of the change is consistent with adaptive plasticity to maintain signalling efficacy under warm conditions that increase evaporation of femoral secretions. The compounds affected by basking experience included those previously associated with male quality or shown to mediate male–male competition in lizards. However, whilst female lizards could discriminate between scent marks of males that had experienced different basking conditions, they did not preferentially associate with the scent from males from high-quality thermal conditions. These results highlight the potential importance of a previously neglected environmental effect on chemical signalling. We suggest thermal effects may have significant consequences for scent-mark composition in variable environments, with potential repercussions on olfactory communication in lizards.

The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain

The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain

A Study on the Visual Expression of China with Respect to Sun Worship: Focused on Bird Images

A Study on the Visual Expression of China with Respect to Sun Worship: Focused on Bird Images

The Classical Age of Sun Worship in Ancient India

This paper delineates the classical facts on Sun worship in ancient India. It explores the evidences found from the Neolithic period to the Vedic era in Indian civilisation. It was found that the worship was known as “graffiti” in the Neolithic period. Swastika in Harappan culture and several terms and mantras were used for this act in the Vedic period.