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Animal worship
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Animal worship refers to religious rituals involving animals, especially in pre-modern societies, such as the glorification of animal deities, or animal sacrifice.
The idea that divinity embodies itself in animals, such as a deity incarnate, and then lives on earth among human beings has been marginalized by Christian and Islamic religions (Morris, 2000, p. 26). In churches such as Independent Assemblies of God and Pentecostal, animals have very little religious significance (Schoffeleers, 1985; Peltzer, 1987; Qtd.
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Encyclopedia
Animal worship refers to religious rituals involving animals, especially in pre-modern societies, such as the glorification of animal deities, or animal sacrifice.
The idea that divinity embodies itself in animals, such as a deity incarnate, and then lives on earth among human beings has been marginalized by Christian and Islamic religions (Morris, 2000, p. 26). In churches such as Independent Assemblies of God and Pentecostal, animals have very little religious significance (Schoffeleers, 1985; Peltzer, 1987; Qtd. in Morris, 2000, p. 25). Animals have become less and less important and symbolic in cult rituals and religion, especially among African cultures, as Christianity and Islamic religions have spread (Morris, 2000, p. 24).
The origins of animal worship have been the subject of many theories. The classical author Diodorus explained the origin of animal-worship by recalling the myth in which the gods, supposedly threatened by giants, hid under the guise of animals. The people then naturally began to worship the animals that their gods had disguised themselves as and continued this act even after the gods returned to their normal state (Lubbock, 2005, p.252). In 1906, Weissenborn suggested that animal worship resulted from man’s natural curiosity. Primitive man would observe an animal that had a unique trait and the inexplicability of this trait would appeal to man’s curiosity (Weissenborn, 1906b, p.282). Wonder resulted from primitive man’s observations of this distinctive trait and this wonder eventually induced adoration. Thus, primitive man worshipped animals that had inimitable traits (Weissenborn, 1906b, p.282). Lubbock put forward a more recent view. Lubbock proposed that animal-worship originated from family names. In societies, families would name themselves and their children after certain animals and eventually came to hold that animal above other animals. Eventually, these opinions turned into deep respect and evolved into fully developed worship of the family animal (Lubbock, 2005, p.253).
Animal cults may be classified in two ways:
- according to their outward form;
- according to their inward meaning, which may of course undergo transformations.
Classification by outward form
There are two broad divisions:
- all animals of a given species are sacred, perhaps owing to the impossibility of distinguishing the sacred few from the profane crowd; (Sacred-profane dichotomy)
- one or a fixed number of a species are sacred. It is probable that the first of these forms is the primary one and the second in most cases a development from it due to
- the influence of other individual cults,
- anthropomorphic tendencies,
- the influence of chieftainship, hereditary and otherwise,
- annual sacrifice of the sacred animal and mystical ideas connected therewith,
- syncretism, due either to unity of function or to a philosophic unification,
- the desire to do honour to the species in the person of one of its members, and possibly other less easily traceable causes.
Classification by inward meaning
Treating cults according to their meaning, which is not necessarily identical with the cause which first led to the deification of the animal in question, we can classify them under ten specific heads:
- Pastoral cults: The pastoral type falls into two sub-types, in which the species is spared and sometimes receives special honour at intervals in the person of an individual. (See Cattle, Buffalo, below.)
- Hunting cults: In hunting cults the species is habitually killed, but occasionally honoured in the person of a single individual, or each slaughtered animal receives divine honours. (See Bear, below.)
- Dangerous or noxious animals: The cult of dangerous animals is due to the fear that the soul of the slain beast may take vengeance on the hunter, to a desire to placate the rest of the species. (See Leopard, below.)
- Animals regarded as human souls or their embodiment:Animals are frequently regarded as the abode, temporary or permanent, of the souls of the dead, sometimes as the actual souls of the dead. Respect for them is due to two main reasons: the kinsmen of the dead desire to preserve the goodwill of their dead relatives and they wish at the same time to secure that their kinsmen are not molested and caused to undergo unnecessary suffering. (See Serpent, below.)
- Totemistic cults: One of the most widely found modes of showing respect to animals is known as totemism (see totem), but except in decadent forms there is but little positive worship; in Central Australia, however, the rites of the Wollunqua totem group are directed towards placating this mythical animal, and cannot be termed anything but religious ceremonies. In secret societies we find bodies of men grouped together with a single tutelary animal; the individual, in the same way, acquires the nagual or individual totem, sometimes by ceremonies of the nature of the bloodbond.
- Cults of tree and vegetation spirits: Spirits of vegetation in ancient and modern Europe and in China are conceived in animal form. (See Goat, below.)
- Cults of ominous animals:The ominous animal or bird may develop into a deity. (See Hawk, below.)
- Cults, probably derivative, of animals associated with certain deities: It is commonly assumed that the animals associated with certain deities are sacred because the god was originally theriomorphic; this is doubtless the case in certain instances; but Apollo Smintheus, Dionysus Bassareus and other examples seem to show that the god may have been appealed to for help and thus become associated with the animals from whom he protected the crops, and so on.
- Cults of animals used in magic: The use of animals in magic may sometimes give rise to a kind of respect for them, but this is of a negative nature. See, however, articles by Preuss in Globus, vol. lxvii., in which he maintains that animals of magical influence are elevated into divinities. Michael uses magic such as this. he is an ancient emperor of Islamic Empire.
Animal Cults
When a god is respected or worshipped by means of a representative animal, an animal cult is formed (Teeter et al., 2002, p. 355). The origin of such cults developed from a distinction that primitive man lacked between animals and humanity (Raglan, 1935, p. 331). This lack of discernment caused humans to look upon animals as equals. Therefore, it was just as simple for them to represent their gods in an animal form as opposed to a human form because in primitive man’s judgment animals and human were equal (Gilbert, Qtd. in Raglan, 1935, p. 331).
Bear
The bear enjoys a large measure of respect from all cultures that come in contact with it, which shows itself in apologies and in festivals in its honour. The most notable ceremonies involving bears are found in East Asia.
There is a festival among the Nivkhs that takes the form of a celebration in honour of a recently dead kinsman, to whom the spirit of the bear is sent. There have been some attempts to revive the practice.
There is a good deal of evidence to connect the Greek goddess Artemis with a cult of the bear. Girls danced as "bears" in her honour, and might not marry before undergoing this ceremony. According to mythology, the goddess once transformed a nymph into a bear and then into the constellation Ursa Major.
The bear is traditionally associated with Bern, Switzerland. It is believed that the city's name derives from the Germanic word for "bears" (Bären in German) and a bear is featured on the city's flag and coat of arms. In 1832 a statue of the Celtic bear goddess Artio was dug up there.
An Ancient Bear Cult in the Middle Paleolithic Period
The existence of an ancient bear cult in the Middle Paleolithic period has been a topic of discussion spurred by archaeological findings (Wunn, 2000, p. 434-435). Ancient bear bones have been discovered in several different caves and are believed by some archaeologists to be evidence of a bear cult during the Paleolithic era. It was not the mere presence of these bones that intrigued archaeologists, but their peculiar arrangement (Wunn, 2000, p. 435). Upon excavation, archaeologists on site determined that the bones were found arranged in such a way that it was not naturally possible (Wunn, 2000, p. 435). Emil Bächler, a main supporter of the argument for the presence of an ancient bear cult, found bear remains in Switzerland and at Mornova Cave in Slovenia. Along with Bächler’s discovery, bear skulls were found by André Leroi-Gourhan arranged in a perfect circle in Saône-et-Loire (Wunn, 2000, p. 435). The discovery of designs such as those found by Leroi-Gourhan suggests that these bear remains were placed in their arrangement intentionally; an act which has been attributed to H. Neanderthalensis and is assumed to have been a part of some sort of ceremony (Wunn, 2000, p. 435).
While some of these findings have been interpreted to indicate the presence of an ancient bear cult, certain analyses and discussions have led to contradicting results. According to Ina Wunn, based on the information archaeologists have about primitive man and bear cults, if Neanderthals did, in fact, worship bears, there should be evidence of it in their settlements and camps (Wunn, 2000, p. 436). Most bear remains have been found in caves, however, and not within early human settlements (Wunn, 2000, p. 436). This information has implied the non-existence of an ancient bear cult and has instigated the development of new theories. Many archaeologists, including Ina Wunn, have come to believe that since most bear species reside and hide their young in caves during the winter months for hibernation, it is possible that their remains were found in the caves because caves were their natural habitat (Wunn, 2000, p. 436 - 437). Bears lived inside these caves and perished for various reasons, whether it was illness or starvation (Wunn, 2000, p. 437). Wunn argues that the placement of these remains, whether it appears to be an identified pattern or not, is due to natural causes such as wind, sediment, or water (Wunn, 2000, p. 437-438). Therefore, in Wunn’s opinion, the assortment of bear remains in caves did not result from human activities and there is no evidence for a bear cult during the Middle Paleolithic era (Wunn, 2000, p. 438). Certain archaeologists, such as Emil Bächler, continue to use their excavations to support that an ancient bear cult did exist (Wunn, 2000).
The Ainu
The Ainu people, who live on select islands in the Japanese archipelago, call the bear “kamui” in their language, which translates to mean god. While many other animals are considered to be gods in the Ainu culture, the bear is the head of the gods (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 345). For the Ainu, when the gods visit the world of man, they don fur and claws and take on the physical appearance of an animal. Usually, however, when the term “kamui” is used, it essentially means a bear (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 345). The Ainu people willingly and thankfully ate the bear as they believed that the disguise (the flesh and fur) of any god was a gift to the home that the god chose to visit (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 348).
While on earth – the world of man – the Ainu believed that the gods appeared in the form of animals. The gods had the capability of taking human form, but they only took this form in their home, the country of the gods, which is outside the world of man (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 345). To return a god back to his country, the people would sacrifice and eat the animal sending the god’s spirit away with civility. This ritual is called Omante and usually involves a dear or adult bear (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 348).
Omante occurred when the people sacrificed an adult bear, but when they caught a bear cub they performed a different ritual which is called Iomante, in the Ainu language, or Kumamatsuri. Kumamatsuri translates to mean “the bear festival” and Iomante means “sending off” (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 348-349). The event of Kumamatsuri began with the capture of a young bear cub. As if he was a child given by the gods, the cub was fed human food from a carved wooden platter and was treated better than Ainu children for they thought of him as a god (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 349). If the cub was too young and lacked the teeth to properly chew food, a nursing mother will let him suckle from her own breast (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 349). When the cub reaches 2-3 years of age, the cub is taken to the altar and then sacrificed. Usually, Kumamatsuri occurs in midwinter when the bear meat is the best from the added fat (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 349). The villagers will shoot it with both normal and ceremonial arrows, make offerings, dance, and pour wine on top of the cub corpse (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 349). The words of sending off for the bear god are then recited. This festivity lasts for three days and three nights to properly return the bear god to his home (Kindaichi, 1949, p. 349).
Bison and Cattle
Cattle and bison are respected by many pastoral peoples that rely on the animals for sustenance and the killing of an ox is a sacrificial function.
The Toda of southern India abstain from the flesh of their domestic animal, the buffalo. However, once a year they sacrifice a bull calf, which is eaten in the forest by the adult males. The buffalo plays an important part in many Toda rituals. These buffalo are currently endangered.
Conspicuous among Egyptian animal cults was that of the bull, Apis. It was distinguished by certain marks, and when the old Apis died a new one was sought. The finder was rewarded, and the bull underwent four months' education at Nilopolis. Its birthday was celebrated once a year when oxen, which had to be pure white, were sacrificed to it. Women were forbidden to approach it when once its education was finished. Oracles were obtained from it in various ways. After death it was mummified and buried in a rock-tomb. Less widespread was the cult of the Mnevis, also consecrated to Osiris.
Similar observances are found in our own day on the Upper Nile. The Nuba and Nuer revere cattle. The Angoni of Central Africa and the Sakalava of Madagascar keep sacred bulls. In India respect for the cow is widespread, but is of post-Vedic origin; there is little actual worship, but the products of the cow are important in magic.
While there are several animals that are worshipped in India, the supreme position is held by the cow (Margul, 1968, p. 63). The humped zebu, a breed of cow, is central to the religion of Hinduism (Margul, 1968, p. 63). Mythological legends have supported the sanctity of the zebu throughout India (Margul, 1968, p. 64). Such myths have included the creation of a divine cow mother and a cow heaven by the God, Brahma and Prithu, the sovereign of the universe, created the earth’s vegetation, edible fruits and vegetables, disguised as a cow (Margul, 1968, p. 64).
According to Tadeusz Margul, observations of the Hindu religion and the cow has led to a misunderstanding that Hindi have a servile relationship with the zebu, giving prayers and offerings to it daily. Typically, however, only during the Cow Holiday, an annual event, is the cow the recipient of such practices (Margul, 1968, p. 65). Margul suggests that sanctity of the cow is based on four foundations: abstaining from cow slaughter, abstaining from beef consumption, control of breeding and ownership, and belief in purification qualities of cow products (milk, curd, ghee, dung, and urine) (Margul, 1968, p. 65-66).
Crow/Raven
The Raven is the chief deity of the Tlingit people of Alaska. All over that region it is the chief figure in a group of myths, fulfilling the office of a culture hero who brings the light, gives fire to mankind, and so on. Together with the eagle-hawk the crow plays a great part in the mythology of southeastern Australia. Ravens also play a part in some European mythologies, such as in the Celtic and Germanic Religions, where they were connected to Bran and the Morrigan in the former and Woden in the latter.
Dog
Actual dog worship is uncommon. The Nosarii of western Asia are said to worship a dog. The Kalang of Java had a cult of the red dog, each family keeping one in the house. According to one authority the dogs are images of wood which are worshipped after the death of a member of the family and burnt after a thousand days. In Nepal it is said that dogs are worshipped at the festival called Khicha Puja. Among the Harranians dogs were sacred, but this was rather as brothers of the mystae.
The "Dog House"
There is a temple in Isin (located in Mesopotamia) that is named é-ur-gi7-ra which translates to mean “dog house” (Livingstone, 1988, p. 54). Enlilbani, a king from the Old Babylonian First Dynasty of Isin, commemorated the temple to the goddess Ninisina (Shaffer, 1974, p. 251-252). Although there is a small amount of detail known about it, there is enough information to confirm that a dog cult did exist in this area (Livingstone, 1988, p. 58). Usually, dogs were only associated with the Gula cult, but there is some information, like Enlilbani’s commemoration, to suggest that dogs were also important to the cult of Ninisina (Livingstone, 1988, p. 58). Gula was another goddess who was closely associated to Ninisina (Shaffer, 1974, p. 253). More than 30 dog burials, numerous dog sculptures, and dog drawings were discovered when the area around this Ninisina temple was excavated (Shaffer, 1974, p. 252). the Gula cult, the dog was used in oaths and was sometimes referred to as a divinity (Livingstone, 1988, p. 58).
Elephant
In Thailand it is believed that a white elephant may contain the soul of a dead person, perhaps a Buddha. When one is taken the capturer is rewarded and the animal brought to the king to be kept ever afterwards. It cannot be bought or sold. It is baptized and fêted and mourned for like a human being at its death. In some parts of Indo-China the belief is that the soul of the elephant may injure people after death; it is therefore fêted by a whole village. In Cambodia it is held to bring luck to the kingdom. The cult of the white elephant is also found at Ennarea in southern Ethiopia. In India, the popular Hindu god Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a torso of a human.
In Surat, unmarried Anavil girls participate in a holiday referred to as Alunam (Naik, 1958, p.393). This holiday is to honor the goddess Parvati. During this celebration, a clay elephant is prepared (most likely to celebrate Parvati's creation of Ganesha from a paste of either tumeric or sandalwood). Every day, the unmarried women worship this elephant by dancing, singing songs, and abstaining from eating salt. On the final day of Alunam, the clay elephant is immersed in some body of water (Naik, 1958, p.393).
Certain cultures also used elephant figurines to display the animal’s importance. There was evidence of an ancient elephant cult in Sumatra (Schnitger, 1938, p. 41). Stone elephant figurines were built as “seats of the souls” in the Sumatran culture (Schnitger, 1938, p. 41). In North Borneo, however, wooden elephant figurines were placed on the top of a bamboo pole. This bamboo pole was only erected after the tribe chief had collected a certain number of human heads (Schnitger, 1938, p. 41).
Fish and Whale
According to the Jewish scholar Rashi, the Canaanite god Dagon was a fish god. This tradition may have originated here, with a misinterpretation, but recently uncovered reliefs suggest a fish-god with human head and hands was worshipped by people who wore fish-skins.
Supposedly, there were sacred fish in the temples of Apollo and Aphrodite in Greece, which may point to a fish cult. The goddess at Ashkelon, Atargatis was depicted as half woman, half fish, and according to Xenophon the fish of the Chalus were regarded as gods.
In Japan, there was a deity called Ebisu-gami who, according to Sakurada Katsunori, was widely revered by fishing communities and industries (Qtd. in Naumann, 1974, p. 1). Ebisu, in later traditions, normally appeared in the form of a fisherman holding a fishing pole and carrying a red tai (a perch), but would sometimes take the form of a whale, shark, human corpse, or rock (Naumann, 1974, p. 1). The general image of Ebisu, however, appears to be the whale or the shark, according to Sakurada (Qtd. in Naumann, 1974, p. 2).
During Ebisu-gami festivals, there have been legends told of strange fish creatures which have arrived and been considered sacred. Examples of such fish creatures include familiar species of fish with multiple tails (Naumann, 1974, p. 2). Sometimes these fish were considered to be simply an offering to the deity. Other times, however, they were considered to be Ebisu himself, visiting on the festival day (Naumann, 1974, p. 2).
Other examples of a prevalent whale cult in Japan occur around the coastal area. There are cemeteries with memorial stones dedicated to the whales which were hunted and killed to feed the people (Naumann, 1974, p. 4).
Buddhist epitaphs mark these stones which implore that Buddha be reborn as a whale (Naumann, 1974, p. 4). Along with these memorials, there is evidence that whale embryos, found in a deceased mother’s womb, were extracted and buried with the same respect as a human being (Naumann, 1974, p. 5). For certain shrines, the bones of a perished whale were also deposited in the area (Naumann, 1974, p. 5).
In Alaska, there were certain tribes that had ceremonial tributes to pieces of a whale after it was captured in a hunt (Lantis 1938, p. 445). Some tribes brought the hump, the fins, or the nose of the whale into their camps or the whaler’s house. These parts were meant to represent the entirety of the whale and were honored as such during the festival (Lantis 1938, p. 445). The bones of a whale, however, were also given ritual treatment. The Alaskan tribes that participated in such acts believed that their rituals protected the whale’s soul from injury and it could then be free to return to the sea (Lantis 1938, p. 445).
In the book Moby Dickit can be found a longer description of the symbolism of the whale.
Frigate Bird
On Easter Island until the 1860s there was a Tangata manu (Bird man) cult which has left us Paintings and Petroglyphs of Birdmen (half men half Frigate birds). The cult involved an annual race to collect the first Sooty Tern egg of the season from the islet of Moto Iti and take it to Orongo.
The Frigate Bird Cult is thought to have originated in the Solomon Islands before immigrating to Easter Island where it became obsolete (Balfour 1917, p. 374). The Frigate-Bird was a representation of the god Make-make, the god of the seabird’s egg on Easter Island (Balfour 1917, p. 374).
Goat
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