Religion:Ceremonial pole
A ceremonial pole is a stake or post utilised or venerated as part of a ceremony or religious ritual. Ceremonial poles may symbolize a variety of concepts in different ceremonies and rituals practiced by a variety of cultures around the world.
In many cultures, ceremonial poles represent memorials and gravemarkers. In The Evolution of the Idea of God, Grant Allen notes that Samoyeds of Siberia, and Damara of South Africa plant stakes at the graves of ancestors.[1] Ceremonial poles may also be raised during celebrations and festivals, as with Gudi Padwa in Indian State of Maharashtra and the maypole dance in Europe. In some cultures they may represent sacred trees or tools wielded by deities. They may also symbolise the axis mundi or world tree. In religious ceremonies, they may be venerated as idols or representations of tutelary deities.
Asia
Middle East
Levant
An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother-goddess Asherah, consort of El.[2][lower-alpha 1] The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate.[3][lower-alpha 2]
Mesopotamia
According to Zelia Nuttall in The Fundamental Principles Of Old and New World Civilizations, tree and pole reverence to Anu in ancient Babylonia-Assyria may have evolved from the fire drill and beam of the oil press, stating that it was extremely probable that the primitive employment of a fire-stick by the priesthood, for the production of "celestial fire," may have played an important role in causing the stick, and thence the pole and tree, to become the symbol of Anu.[4]
Central Asia
The Buryats and Yakuts of Siberia place hitching posts called serge at the entrances to yurts or houses to indicate ownership and for shamanistic practices.
East Asia
China
The Miao people in southwestern China raise ceremonial "flower poles" (花杆) during the Huashan (花山) festival.[5][better source needed]
Korea
South Asia
Presently in the Indian subcontinent central poles are features of temple settings such as Hinglaj Mata (Sindh), Khambadev (Maharashtra),[6] Nimad (Madhya Pradesh), Gogaji (Rajasthan), and Khambeshvari (Odisha).[7] Ceremonial poles are also prominient in festivals, ceremonial dances, and celebrations such as Gudi Padwa, Kathi Kawadi,[6] Jatara Kathi, and Nandi Dhwaja.[8]
According to the Adi Parva, part of the Mahabharata, a bamboo festival named Shakrotsava was celebrated in the Chedi Kingdom.[9][full citation needed] Uparichara Vasu was a king of Chedi belonging to the Puru dynasty, and he was known as the friend of Indra. During his reign, his kingdom introduced the Shakrotsava festival, which involved planting of a bamboo pole every year in honour of Indra, after which the king prayed for the expansion of his cities and kingdom. After erecting the pole, the celebrants decorated it with golden cloth, scents, garlands, and various ornaments.[9]
Southeast Asia
Myanmar
Kay Htoe Boe is a Karenni ritual dance and prayer festival, held by the men in the Kayan community in Myanmar (Burma). In the Kayan creation story, the Eugenia tree is the first tree in the world. Kay Htoe Boe poles are usually made from the Eugenia tree.[10][better source needed]
Kay Htoe Boe poles have four levels, named for the stars, sun and moon, and the fourth level is a ladder made with a long white cotton cloth.[10]
Throughout Myanmar, Buddhist monasteries and temples erect ceremonial poles known as tagundaing to celebrate the submission of nats (local animistic spirits) to Buddhist teachings.[11]
Europe
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place.
The festivals may occur on May Day or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer. In some cases the maypole is a permanent feature that is only utilised during the festival, although in other cases it is erected specifically for the purpose before being taken down again.
Primarily found within the nations of Germanic Europe and the neighbouring areas which they have influenced, its origins remain unknown, although it has been speculated that it originally had some importance in the Germanic paganism[12] of Iron Age and early Medieval cultures, and that the tradition survived Christianisation, albeit losing any original meaning that it had. It has been a recorded practice in many parts of Europe throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods, although became less popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, the tradition is still observed in some parts of Europe and among European communities in North America.[13][better source needed]
The fact that they were found primarily in areas of Germanic Europe, where, prior to Christianisation, Germanic paganism was followed in various forms, has led to speculation that the maypoles were in some way a continuation of a Germanic pagan tradition.[12] One theory holds that they were a remnant of the Germanic reverence for sacred trees, as there is evidence for various sacred trees and wooden pillars that were venerated by the pagans across much of Germanic Europe, including Thor's Oak and the Irminsul.[14][15] It is also known that, in Norse paganism, cosmological views held that the universe was a world tree, known as Yggdrasil.[16][17][18][19][20]
The floor of the Mære Church, Norway , was excavated in 1969 and found to contain the remains of a pagan cult structure. The nature of that structure was not clear. Lidén felt this represented the remains of a building,[21] but a critique by Olsen in the same work suggested this may have been a site for pole-related rituals.[22] A recent review of the evidence by Walaker concluded that this site was similar to the site in Hove (Åsen, also in Nord-Trøndelag) and was therefore likely the site of a ceremonial pole.[23]
Oceania
In New Zealand Māori mythology, Rongo – the god of cultivated food, especially the kūmara (sweet potato), a vital food crop – is represented by a god stick called whakapakoko atua.[24]
In the Cook Islands Cult figures called staff-gods or atua rakau from Rarotonga, apparently combine images of gods with their human descendants. They range in length between 28 inches (71 cm) and 18 feet (5.5 m) and were carried and displayed horizontally.[25]
See also
Notes
- ↑ A book-length scholarly treatment is Reed (1949); the connection of the pillar figurines with Asherah was made by Patai (1967).
- ↑ Summarized and sharply criticized in Kletter (1996); Kletter gives a catalogue of material remains but his conclusions were not well received in the scholarly press.[citation needed]
References
- ↑ Allen (1996), p. 42.
- ↑ Johnston (2004), p. 418.
- ↑ Kletter (1996).
- ↑ Nuttall (1901), pp. 362, 504.
- ↑ "Huashan Festival of the Miao Minority". People's Daily Online. 30 July 2011. http://en.people.cn/100668/102822/102827/102830/7455871.html.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Deore (2013), p. 142.
- ↑ Ray (2005), p. 1–3.
- ↑ Bhatt & Bhargava (2006), p. 488.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Adi Parva 1.63". Mahabharata (Critical ed.).
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Yu, Khon Pay. "Karenni Festival". Huay Pu Keng. http://www.huaypukeng.com/KTBfestival.htm.
- ↑ "Tagundaing". Burma Collections. Center for Burma Studies, Northern Illinois University. http://www.niu.edu/burma/collections/art/sculptures/sculpture_38.shtml. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Russel (2005), p. 243.
- ↑ Cannon, Kelly (May 21, 2015). "Good Neighbor: Former teacher continues tradition of Maypole dance". From the Good Neighbors series. The Herald Journal's Staff writer (The Herald Journal, 75 West 300 North Logan, UT) (May 21, 2015). http://news.hjnews.com/news/good-neighbor-former-teacher-continues-tradition-of-maypole-dance/article_43e9b2fb-2f30-54b6-aeb3-34398c645005.html.
- ↑ Jones & Pennick (1997), p. 119.
- ↑ Frazer (1922), ch. 10, "Relics of Tree Worship in Modern Europe".
- ↑ Foster (1863), p. 117.
- ↑ Fort (1881), p. 361.
- ↑ Washburn (1929), p. 16.
- ↑ Dowden (2000), p. 119.
- ↑ Colarusso (2002), p. 102.
- ↑ Lidén (1969), p. 3–32.
- ↑ Lidén (1969), p. 26.
- ↑ Nordeide (2011), pp. 107-113.
- ↑ Royal (2013), p. 5.
- ↑ Honour & Fleming (2005).
Works cited
- Ahituv, Shmuel (2006). "Did God have a wife?". Biblical Archaeology Review.
- Allen, Grant (1996). The Evolution of the Idea of God. Pomeroy, WA: Health Research Books. ISBN 978-0-7873-0022-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=7Phor3HbvIcC&pg=PA42.
- Bhatt, S. C.; Bhargava, Gopal K. (2006). Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories. 13. Delhi: Kalpaz Publications. p. 488. ISBN 81-7835-369-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=Zo5lvtslcEUC. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- Colarusso, John (2002). Nart Sagas from the Caucasus: myths and legends from the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, and Ubykhs. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-6528-4. OCLC 1017612059.
- Chongsuh, Kim (2013). "Contemporary religious conflicts and religious education in the Republic of Korea". in Jackson, Robert. Peace Education and Religious Plurality: International Perspectives. ISBN 9781317969389.
- Day, John (1986). "Asherah in the Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitic Literature". Journal of Biblical Literature 105 (3): 385–408. doi:10.2307/3260509.
- Deore, Sudhir Rajaram (30 May 2013) (in Marathi). Mumbai, India: Granthali. pp. 142. ISBN 9789382161967. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16500315W/Ahirani_Lok_Parampara. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- Dever, W.G. (1984). "Asherah, Consort of Yahweh? New Evidence from Kuntillet ʿAjrûd". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (255): 21–37. doi:10.2307/1357073.
- Dever, William G. (2005). Did God have a wife?: Archaeology and folk religion in ancient Israel.
- Dowden, Ken (2000). European Paganism: the realities of cult from antiquity to the Middle Ages. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-17029-6. OCLC 49414959.
- Fort, George Franklin (1881). The Early History and Antiquities of Freemasonry: As Connected with Ancient Norse Guilds, and the Oriental and Mediæval Building Fraternities.
- Foster, Theodore, ed. (1863), The London Quarterly Review, Volumes 113-114
- Frazer, James George (1922). The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. p. Chapter 10: Relics of Tree Worship in Modern Europe. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Golden_Bough. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- Freedman, D.N. (1987). "Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah". The Biblical Archaeologist 50 (4): 241–249. doi:10.2307/3210051.
- Hadley, J.M. (1987). "The Khirbet el-Qom Inscription". Vetus Testamentum 37 (1–4): 50–62. doi:10.1163/156853387X00068.
- Honour, Hugh; Fleming, John (2005). A World History of Art. London: Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85669-451-3. OCLC 30663969.
- Jones, Prudence; Pennick, Nigel (1997). A History of Pagan Europe. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09136-5. OCLC 30663969.
- Johnston, Sarah Iles, ed (2004). Religions of the Ancient World. Harvard: Belnap Press.
- Kletter, Raz (1996). The Judean Pillar-Figurines and the Archaeology of Asherah. Oxford: Tempus Reparatum.
- Lidén, Hans-Emil (1969). "From Pagan Sanctuary to Christian Church, the Excavation of Mære Church in Trøndelag". Norwegian Archaeological Review 2: 3–32. doi:10.1080/00293652.1969.9965090.
- Nordeide, Sæbjørg Walaker (2011). The Viking Age As a Period of Religious Transformation: The Christianization of Norway from AD 560 to 1150/1200. Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN 978-2-503-53480-0. OCLC 781500769.
- Nuttall, Zelia (1901). The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations (E-Book ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32066/32066-h/32066-h.html. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- Patai, Raphael (1967). The Hebrew Goddess.
- Ray, Bidyut Lata (2005). "The Concept of the Goddess Khambhesvari in The Culture of the Orissan Tribes". Orissa Review (September–October 2005): 1–3. http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/sept-oct-2005/engpdf/The%20Concept%20of%20the%20Goddess%20Khambhesvari.pdf. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- Reed, W.L. (1949). The Asherah in the Old Testament. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press.
- Royal, Te Ahukaramū Charles (8 July 2013). "Kaitiakitanga – guardianship and conservation - Key concepts". Te Ara–the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Whakapakoko atua (photograph). http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/11598/whakapakoko-atua. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- Russel, Jefferry Burton (22 February 2005). Medieval Civilisation. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 1-59752-103-5.
- Smith, Morton (1987). "God Male and Female in the Old Testament: Yahweh and his Asherah". Theological Studies 48 (2): 333–340. doi:10.1177/004056398704800206.
- Washburn, Hopkins Edward (1929). The History of Religions. MacMillan.
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