ancestor worship, ritualized propitiation and invocation of dead kin. Ancestor worship is based on the belief that the spirits of the dead continue to dwell in the natural world and have the power to influence the fortune and fate of the living. Ancestor worship has been found in various parts of the world and in diverse cultures. It was a minor cult among the Romans (see manes manes , in Roman religion, spirits of the dead. Originally, they were called di manes, a collective divinity of the dead. Manes could also refer to the realm of the dead and, later, to the individual souls of the dead.
..... Click the link for more information. ). The practice reached its highest elaboration in W Africa and in the ancient Chinese veneration of ancestors. It is also well developed in the Japanese Shinto Shinto , ancient native religion of Japan still practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism. In its present form Shinto is characterized less by religious doctrine or belief than by the observance of popular festivals and traditional
..... Click the link for more information. cult and among the peoples of Melanesia. See apotheosis apotheosis , the act of raising a person who has died to the rank of a god. Historically, it was most important during the later Roman Empire. In an emperor's lifetime his genius was worshiped, but after he died he was often solemnly enrolled as one of the gods to be
..... Click the link for more information. ; totem totem , an object, usually an animal or plant (or all animals or plants of that species), that is revered by members of a particular social group because of a mystical or ritual relationship that exists with that group.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See J. G. Frazer, The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead (3 vol., 1913–24, repr. 1968).

ancestor worship

Religious beliefs or practices that involve addressing prayers or offerings to the spirits of dead relatives. It existed among the ancient Greeks, other Mediterranean peoples, and the ancient Europeans; it also plays a major role in traditional African religions. The dead are related to the family, clan, tribe, or village; mythical ancestors may be included. They may be friendly, or they may be displeased and require propitiation. Commemorative ceremonies are sometimes held at graves or monuments and may include prayers, offerings, sacrifices, and festivals of honor. Worship of individual ancestors is common; it may be combined with communal forms of worship, as in the case of the Roman emperor cult. An ancestor whose deeds are heroic may attain the status of a god. In China and Japan, ancestor worship (more accurately, ancestor reverence) has declined with the decline in the size and importance of kinship groups.

Ancestor Worship

an early form of religion, in which the souls of deceased ancestors are venerated, the power to influence the lives of their descendants is ascribed to them, and sacrifices are made to them. Ancestor worship is known in certain matriarchal clan societies (Melanesia and Micronesia) and became especially developed in patriarchal clan societies, when the submission rendered to the authority of family heads and clan elders during their lifetime passed into deification upon their death (family and clan ancestor worship).

During the breakup of primitive societies there arose a tribal and national form of ancestor worship of leaders and princes. For many peoples the leaders were already deified during their own lifetime, and the leaders’ ancestors were considered particularly powerful (as in Polynesia, South Asia, and Central Africa). At the same time, family and clan ancestor worship continued in force and often even passed over into class-differentiated society. This type of ancestor worship played a prominent role in the polytheistic religions of the ancient Greeks, Romans, Slavs, and many other peoples; in China it formed the basis for Confucianism.

In scholarly literature ancestor worship is often interpreted broadly to include care for the dead, belief in totems, and the cult of family and tribal patron gods who were not considered ancestors. In reality, these are more ancient concepts and cults, which later merged with ancestor worship.

REFERENCE

Tokarev, S. A. Religiia v istorii narodov mira, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1965.

A. I. PERSHITS

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Ancestor Worship (redirected from Ancestralism)

Bibliography

ancestor worship

REFERENCE

Ancestor Worship
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