Libation

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Libation

A libation (spondee in Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
) is a ritual

Ritual

A ritual is a set of repeated actions, often thought to have symbolic value, the performance of which is usually prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community by religious or political laws because of the perceived efficacy of those actions....
pouring of a drink as an offering to a god

Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
. It was common in the religion

Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
s of antiquity

Ancient history

Ancient history is the history from the History of writing until the Early Middle Ages in Europe, the Qin Dynasty in China, the Chola Empire in India, and some less defined point in the rest of the world ....
, including Judaism

Judaism

Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts....
:

"And Jacob set up a Pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a Pillar of Stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it".

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Words symbolize in a libation

What are the specific words of a west african libation ritual?

Encyclopedia

A libation (spondee in Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
) is a ritual

Ritual

Deity

Religion

Ancient history

Judaism

Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts....
:

"And Jacob set up a Pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a Pillar of Stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it". (Genesis

Genesis

Genesis or Breishit is the first book of the Bible used by Judaism and Christianity, and the first of five books of the Pentateuch or Torah....
35:14)

Isaiah

Isaiah is the main figure in the Biblical Book of Isaiah, and is traditionally considered to be its author. He was an 8th-century Before Christ Judean prophet who declared that all the world belonged to God and that God will destroy it....
uses libation as a metaphor

Metaphor

Metaphor is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. It is a figure of speech that compares two or more things without using the words "like" or "as." More generally, a metaphor describes a first subject as being or equal to a second object in some way....
when describing the end of the Suffering Servant figure who: "poured out his life unto death". (53:12) Christians see Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
Christ

Christ

Christ is the English language term for the Greek meaning "the anointing", which is a title given to the Reigning Messiah in the given age of the Zodiac....
as fulfilling this prophecy

Prophecy

Prophecy, generally, describes the disclosing of information that is not known to the prophet by any ordinary means. In religion, this is thought to be a divinely inspired revelation or interpretation....
. The liquid that was used in libations varied; most commonly it was wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage often made of fermentation grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients....
or olive oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. The wild olive tree originated in Anatolia and spread from there as far as southern Africa, Australia, Japan and China....
, and in India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, ghee

Ghee

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in the Indian subcontinent, and is important in South Asian cuisine and Middle Eastern cuisine ....
. The vessels used in the ritual, including the patera

Patera

Patera may refer to:*A patera was a broad, shallow dish used for drinking, primarily in a ritual context such as a libation*Patera is used in astrogeology to refer to shallow Impact craters with irregular, sometimes scallop rims...
, often had a significant form which differentiated them from secular vessels. The liquid was poured onto something of religious significance. The libation was very often poured on the ground itself, as an offering to the Earth.

In Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
the term "spondee" (libation) is meant type of sacrifice. The term includes all offers to the gods, with discharge on to an altar, various nutritious or precious liquids, as perfumes, wine, honey, milk, oil, juices of fruits.

The libations that include wine are said oinosponda, all other nefalies. The later are offered in celestial deities as in the Muses, the Sun

Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
, Selana, Io

Io or io may refer to:*Io , daughter of Inachus in Greek mythology*Io , a moon of Jupiter*IO , a German band*Io , an English experimental band...
, Venus

Venus

Venus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus , the Roman mythology goddess of love....
, Urany, as well as to Earth deities and the ancestral spirits.

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greece

Euripides

Euripides was the last of the three great tragedy of classical Athens . Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written ninety-five plays, although four of those were probably written by Critias....
describes the dire consequences of failure to include certain gods in libations in The Bacchae

The Bacchae

The Bacchae is an Classical Greece tragedy by the Classical Athens playwright Euripides. It premiered posthumously at the Theatre of Dionysus in 405 BCE as part of a tetralogy that also included Iphigeneia at Aulis, and which Euripides' son or nephew probably directed....
, a theme common to many Greek tragedies. The use of a libation composed of barley, wine, honey and water to summon shades in Hades

Hades

Hades refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the god; the genitive case , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades"....
is also referred to in the Odyssey

Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Hellenic civilization epic poetrys attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer....
.

In his Pneumatica, Hero of Alexandria

Hero of Alexandria

Hero of Alexandria . was an ancient Greek mathematics who was a resident of a Roman province ; he was also an engineer who was active in his hometown of Alexandria....
described a mechanism for automating the process by using altar fires to force oil from the cups of two statues.

In Shinto

Shinto

is the former state religion of Japan and remains the most common name for the nation's non-Buddhist ethnic religion practices. It was formed from disparate local mythologies, beginning with the Kojiki of 712, into an imperial cult called State Shinto that solidified in the Meiji period....
, the practice of libation and the drink offered is called Miki, lit. "Liquor of the Gods". At a ceremony at a Shinto shrine, it is usually done with sake

Sake

Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice.This beverage is called sake in English, but in Japanese language, sake or Honorific speech in Japanese refers to alcoholic drinks in general....
, but at a household shrine, one may substitute fresh water

Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
which can be changed every morning. It is served in a white porcelain or metal cup without any decoration.

In the Quechua

Quechua

Quechua is a Native American language of South America. It was already widely spoken across the Central Andes long before the time of the Inca Empire, who established it as the official language of administration for their Empire, and is still spoken today in various regional forms by some 10 million people through much of South America, in...
and Aymara

Aymara

The Aymara or Aimara are a native ethnic group in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America; about 2 million live in Bolivia, Peru and Norte Grande, Chile....
cultures of the South American Andes

Andes

The Andes form the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The range is over 7,000 km long, 200-700 km wide , and of an average height of about 4,000 m ....
, it is common to pour a small amount of one's beverage on the ground before drinking as an offering to the Pachamama

Pachamama

Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes. Pachamama is usually translated as "Mother Earth" but a more literal translation would be "Mother Universe" ...
, or Mother Earth. This especially holds true when drinking Chicha

Chicha

Chicha is a term used in some regions of Latin America for several varieties of fermentation, particularly those derived from maize, but which also describes similar non-alcoholic beverage beverages....
, an alcoholic beverage unique to this part of the world. The libation ritual is commonly called challa and is performed quite often, usually before meals and during celebrations.

In Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is a country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba , the island of Isla de la Juventud, and several adjacent small islands....
a widespread custom is to spill a drop or two of rum

Rûm

R?m, also Roum or Rhum , is a very indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world to refer to the Balkans and Anatolia generally, and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of R?m in Asia Minor, and for Greeks inhabiting Ottoman Empire or modern Turkey territory as well as for Greek Cypriots....
from one's glass while saying "para los santos" (for the Saints

Orisha

An Orisha is a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare in the Yoruba mythology spiritual or religion . This religion has found its way throughout the world and is now expressed in several varieties which include Anago, Adefunmi, Candombl?, Lucum?, and the Orisa religion of Trinidad, as well as some aspects o...
).

In hip-hop culture, libation has taken the form of pouring a small amount of liquor onto the ground in remembrance of ancestors or friends who have died. The liquid is poured onto the ground before the first sip is taken. Hence, the famous quote: "This is for my (dead) homies".

Libation is also commonly recognized as the break within the famous performance of Agbekor

Agbekor

Agbekor is a style of dance by the West African peoples of Ewe people and Foh. It is an ancient dance once known as Atamga, Ga meaning 'great', Atam meaning 'oath'....
, a ritual dance performed in some West African cultures.

Shamanism

Shamanism

Shamanism is a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. A practitioner of shamanism is known as a shaman, , noun ....
shows great diversity, even if we consider only shamanism among Siberian peoples. Among several peoples near the Altai Mountains, the new drum of a shaman must go through a special ritual. This is regarded as “enlivening the drum”: the tree and the deer who gave their wood and skin for the new drum narrate their whole lives and promise to the shaman that they will serve him. The ritual itself is a libation: beer is poured onto the skin and wood of the drum, and these materials “come to life” and speak with the voice of the shaman in the name of the tree and the deer. Among the Tubalar, moreover, the shaman imitates the voice of the animal

Sound mimesis in shamanhood

Shamanism in various cultures shows great diversity. In some cultures, the music or songs related to shamanistic beliefs or practice may Sound mimesis in various cultures, sometimes with onomatopoiea....
, and its behaviour as well.

In some African cultures, especially in West and Central Africa, the libation ritual of pouring a drink or water to the “Gods of our forefathers” is an essential religious and ceremonial tradition. The ritual is generally performed, as part of a ceremony or prayer, by an elder in the village or gathering. The drink is poured out of a native drinking cup owned by the elder or fore-parent, and the cup is made of some traditional artifact such as a gourd, animal horn, wood carving or other material. Although water may be used, the drink is usually some traditional wine (e.g. palm wine), and the libation ritual is accompanied by some traditional incantation or invocation of spirits.

The Celts (at least the Druids of Britain) used libations as offerings to their gods as well.

Libation

See also