Although Wiccans often refer to the Lord and Lady by Celtic names, it must be known that the Celtic culture is a relatively new development in the history of human kind. Anthropologists tell us that the human race first evolved in Africa and began to slowly spread across the world. Just as humanity began in Africa, so did religion and spirituality. The most ancient of gods and goddesses are found in the cradle of humanity. As people migrated, different cultures developed, different languages developed, and new names for the gods and goddesses were found. No ethnic group is entirely unique and different from the rest of human kind. Each ethnic group carries the heritage of their ancestors, who ultimately are traced back to a common origin. The migration of the human race out of Africa is estimated to have occurred about 70,000 years ago. The first step out of Africa wa into Asia Minor, then to India, Australasia, the far East, and North America. Only 30,000 years ago did humans begin migration into Europe. 10,000 years ago humans spread further north, following the Arctic circle, and into South America.
Today most of Africa is subject to either Islam or Christianity. But the old ways can still be found, preserved throughout the generations. The Ewe people of southern Ghana worship a duality of god and goddess. They call the goddess Mawu, who is soft spoken and gentle. They call the god Lisa, who is wise and stern. The Ewe believe that when Lisa punishes, Mawu may grant forgiveness. This belief in a complimentary male and female partnership is common among traditional African religions. Among the Fon of West Africa and Benin, the god and goddess are combined into one androgynous being called Vondu.
West African religious practices generally manifest themselves in communal ceremonies and/or divinatory rites in which members of the community, overcome by a spiritual 'force', are excited to the point of going into meditative trance in response to rhythmic/mantric drumming and/or singing. In this state, depending upon the types of drumming or instrumental rhythms played by respected musicians (each of which is unique to a given deity/ancestor), participants embody a deity/ancestor, energy and/or state of mind by performing distinct ritual movements/dances that further enhance their elevated consciousness.
Sometimes I hear young Wiccans claim "pagans don't perform animal sacrifices" which is absurd in its naivity. To this day many pagan people practice animal sacrifices to the old gods. To claim otherwise is simply ignorant. This is not to argue for or against the ethics of animal sacrifice, which is a decision that each individual must make for themselves. The Wiccan religion demands that you figure this out for yourself.
The Egyptians worshipped many forms of the divine, believing that a single deity could have several different manifestations and multiple mythological roles. The depictions of the gods in art were not meant as literal representations of how the gods might appear if they were visible, as the gods' true natures were believed to be mysterious. Instead, these depictions gave recognizable forms to the abstract deities by using symbolic imagery to indicate each god's role in nature.
The relationships between deities could also be expressed in the process of syncretism, in which two or more different gods were linked to form a composite deity. This process was a recognition of the presence of one god "in" another when the second god took on a role belonging to the first. These links between deities were fluid, and did not represent the permanent merging of two gods into one; therefore, some gods could develop multiple syncretic connections. Sometimes syncretism combined deities with very similar characteristics. At other times it joined gods with very different natures, as when Amun, the god of hidden power, was linked with Ra, the god of the sun. The resulting god, Amun-Ra, thus united the power that lay behind all things with the greatest and most visible force in nature.
Egyptian myths were metaphorical stories intended to illustrate and explain the gods' actions and roles in nature. The details of the events they recounted could change to convey different symbolic perspectives on the mysterious divine events they described, so many myths exist in different and conflicting versions. The most important of all Egyptian myths was the myth of Osiris and Isis. Osiris' death and rebirth were related to the Egyptian agricultural cycle, in which crops grew in the wake of the Nile inundation, and provided a template for the resurrection of human souls after death. The realm of the dead was a lush and pleasant underworld, ruled over by Osiris. Every day as the sun set in the West, it entered the underworld to meet Osiris. The sun was renewed by Osiris so that it could rise again in the morning.
The Egyptians used oracles to ask the gods for knowledge or guidance. The most common means of consulting an oracle was to pose a question to the divine image while it was being carried in a festival procession, and interpret an answer from the barque's movements. Other methods included interpreting the behavior of cult animals, drawing lots, or consulting priests who interpreted the god's message. Egyptians frequently donated goods to be offered to the temple deity and objects inscribed with prayers to be placed in temple courts. In addition to temples, the populace also used separate local chapels, smaller but more accessible than the formal temples. Households, too, often had their own small shrines for offering to gods or deceased relatives. Magic ("heka") was seen primarily as a way for humans to prevent or overcome negative events. Magic was closely associated with the priesthood. Because temple libraries contained numerous magical texts, great magical knowledge was ascribed to the lector priests who studied these texts. These priests often worked outside their temples, hiring out their magical services to laymen.
In the 1st millenium BCE, Isis grew more popular as a goddess of protection, magic, and personal salvation, and became the most important goddess in Egypt. The cult of Isis appealed even to Greeks and Romans outside Egypt, and in Hellenized form it spread across the empire. In the 4th century BCE, cross-cultural syncretism produced Serapis, a god who combined Osiris and Apis with characteristics of Greek deities, and who became very popular among the Greek population. Serapis was patronised by Greek settlers in Egypt. The cult of Serapis involved initiation rites like the Eleusinian Mysteries. In the 2nd century BCE, the island of Delos was a cult centre for the Egyptian Serapis and Isis. The Roman cults of Isis and Serapis gained in popularity late in the 1st century thanks to their role in the miracles that the imperial usurper Vespasian experienced in the city of Alexandria. Serapis sometimes appeared on imperial coinage with the reigning emperor. The great cult survived until 385 CE, when a Christian mob destroyed the Serapeum of Alexandria, and subsequently the cult was forbidden by the Theodosian decree.
Today most of Africa is subject to either Islam or Christianity. But the old ways can still be found, preserved throughout the generations. The Ewe people of southern Ghana worship a duality of god and goddess. They call the goddess Mawu, who is soft spoken and gentle. They call the god Lisa, who is wise and stern. The Ewe believe that when Lisa punishes, Mawu may grant forgiveness. This belief in a complimentary male and female partnership is common among traditional African religions. Among the Fon of West Africa and Benin, the god and goddess are combined into one androgynous being called Vondu.
West African religious practices generally manifest themselves in communal ceremonies and/or divinatory rites in which members of the community, overcome by a spiritual 'force', are excited to the point of going into meditative trance in response to rhythmic/mantric drumming and/or singing. In this state, depending upon the types of drumming or instrumental rhythms played by respected musicians (each of which is unique to a given deity/ancestor), participants embody a deity/ancestor, energy and/or state of mind by performing distinct ritual movements/dances that further enhance their elevated consciousness.
Sometimes I hear young Wiccans claim "pagans don't perform animal sacrifices" which is absurd in its naivity. To this day many pagan people practice animal sacrifices to the old gods. To claim otherwise is simply ignorant. This is not to argue for or against the ethics of animal sacrifice, which is a decision that each individual must make for themselves. The Wiccan religion demands that you figure this out for yourself.
The Egyptians worshipped many forms of the divine, believing that a single deity could have several different manifestations and multiple mythological roles. The depictions of the gods in art were not meant as literal representations of how the gods might appear if they were visible, as the gods' true natures were believed to be mysterious. Instead, these depictions gave recognizable forms to the abstract deities by using symbolic imagery to indicate each god's role in nature.
The relationships between deities could also be expressed in the process of syncretism, in which two or more different gods were linked to form a composite deity. This process was a recognition of the presence of one god "in" another when the second god took on a role belonging to the first. These links between deities were fluid, and did not represent the permanent merging of two gods into one; therefore, some gods could develop multiple syncretic connections. Sometimes syncretism combined deities with very similar characteristics. At other times it joined gods with very different natures, as when Amun, the god of hidden power, was linked with Ra, the god of the sun. The resulting god, Amun-Ra, thus united the power that lay behind all things with the greatest and most visible force in nature.
Egyptian myths were metaphorical stories intended to illustrate and explain the gods' actions and roles in nature. The details of the events they recounted could change to convey different symbolic perspectives on the mysterious divine events they described, so many myths exist in different and conflicting versions. The most important of all Egyptian myths was the myth of Osiris and Isis. Osiris' death and rebirth were related to the Egyptian agricultural cycle, in which crops grew in the wake of the Nile inundation, and provided a template for the resurrection of human souls after death. The realm of the dead was a lush and pleasant underworld, ruled over by Osiris. Every day as the sun set in the West, it entered the underworld to meet Osiris. The sun was renewed by Osiris so that it could rise again in the morning.
The Egyptians used oracles to ask the gods for knowledge or guidance. The most common means of consulting an oracle was to pose a question to the divine image while it was being carried in a festival procession, and interpret an answer from the barque's movements. Other methods included interpreting the behavior of cult animals, drawing lots, or consulting priests who interpreted the god's message. Egyptians frequently donated goods to be offered to the temple deity and objects inscribed with prayers to be placed in temple courts. In addition to temples, the populace also used separate local chapels, smaller but more accessible than the formal temples. Households, too, often had their own small shrines for offering to gods or deceased relatives. Magic ("heka") was seen primarily as a way for humans to prevent or overcome negative events. Magic was closely associated with the priesthood. Because temple libraries contained numerous magical texts, great magical knowledge was ascribed to the lector priests who studied these texts. These priests often worked outside their temples, hiring out their magical services to laymen.
In the 1st millenium BCE, Isis grew more popular as a goddess of protection, magic, and personal salvation, and became the most important goddess in Egypt. The cult of Isis appealed even to Greeks and Romans outside Egypt, and in Hellenized form it spread across the empire. In the 4th century BCE, cross-cultural syncretism produced Serapis, a god who combined Osiris and Apis with characteristics of Greek deities, and who became very popular among the Greek population. Serapis was patronised by Greek settlers in Egypt. The cult of Serapis involved initiation rites like the Eleusinian Mysteries. In the 2nd century BCE, the island of Delos was a cult centre for the Egyptian Serapis and Isis. The Roman cults of Isis and Serapis gained in popularity late in the 1st century thanks to their role in the miracles that the imperial usurper Vespasian experienced in the city of Alexandria. Serapis sometimes appeared on imperial coinage with the reigning emperor. The great cult survived until 385 CE, when a Christian mob destroyed the Serapeum of Alexandria, and subsequently the cult was forbidden by the Theodosian decree.
(Roman depictions of Isis and Serapis)
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Can we please use this picture of Mawu Lida for a school project? We need permission to put it in our website for a contest.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Nikoline and Abigail at
International Community School of Abidjan
West Africa
Care of Kim Piot, Instructor