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THE WORSHIP OF NATURE
MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited
LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA • MADRAS
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK • BOSTON » CHICAGO
DALLAS . SAN FRANCISCO
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA. Ltd.
TORONTO
THE
WORSHIP OF NATURE
BY
Sir JAMES GEORGE FRAZER
O.M., F.R.S., F.B.A.
FEt-LOW OF TRINITV COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
VOLUME I
MAX^MILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, XONDON
1 926
COPYRIGHT
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
This volume contains the whole of tl^, Giftbrd Lectures
delivered by me before the University of Edinburgh in
the years 1924 and 1925, together with much additional
matter which could not be compressed within the limits
of twenty lectures. In the sequel I propose to complete
the survey of the Worship of the Sun and to deal with the
personification and worship of other aspects of nature, both
inanimate and animate.
J. G. FRAZER.
22nd December 1925.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Author’s Note ...... v
Table of Contents ...... vii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The search for the real ...... I
The imaginary real world behind the sensible world . . 2
The materialistic and the spiritualistic theory ... 3
Need for simplification and unification of phenomena . . 3
Modern simplifications in physics and biology ... 4
The apparent simplifications of science probably illusory . . 4
Similar simplifications in the history of religion ... 5
Primitive animism, the multitude of spirits . . . 5-8
The passing of the gods ...... 8
Animism replaced by polytheism . , . . . 9
Polytheism replaced by monotheism . . , . lO
Both materialism and spiritualism profess to explain the ultra-sensible
reality ....... 10- ii
The present analysis of matter probably not final . . . 1 1
Incapacity of the human mind to grasp the infinities . . 12
The aim of the Gifford lectures . . . . . 13
The present lectures deal with the religion of backward peoples . 13-iS
The religions of civilized antiquity also to be considered . . 15-16
Exceptional position of the religion of Israel . . . 16
Two forms of natural religion, the worship of nature and the worship
of the dead . , . . . . .16-17
The worship of nature based on the personification of natural
phenomena . . . . . . .17-18
The worship of the dead assumes the immortality of the soul , 18
vii
THE WORSHIP OF NA PURE
viii
CHAPTER II
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG THE ARYAN PEOPLES
OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worski/) of the Sky in general
PACK
Universality and impressiveness of the sky . . . . 19
Professor Pettazzoni on the worship of the sky ... 20
§ 2. The IVof'ship of the Sky among the Vedic Indians
Professor Macdonell on Vedic mythology .... 20-22
Two Vedic Sky-gods, Dyaus and Varuna . . . . 22
Father Heaven {Dyai/s pitar) and Mother Earth . . . 22-27
The other Vedic Sky-god Varuna ..... 27-31
Vanina equivalent to the Greek Uranus . . . . 27
Moral character of Varuna ..... 29
Relation of Varuna to Mitra ..... 30
Dyaus perhaps older than V^aruna . . . . . 31
§ 3. 'The \Vo 7 ‘ship of the Sky among the ancient Iranians
Herodotus on the religion of the ancient Persians
Theory that Ahura Mazda was a personification of the sky .
This theory rejected by some scholars . . . ,
32
32-34
34-35
§ 4. The Worship of the Sky among the ancie^it Greeks
Two Greek Sky-gods, Zeus and Uranus
Uranus mutilated by his son Cronus
Cronus deposed by Zeus .
Cronus an obscure figure in Greek mythology
His mutilation perhaps a myth of the separation of earth and sky
The marriage of Sky and ICarth in Greek poetry
Sky and Earth invoked in oaths
Zeus as a Sky-god
Zeus as god of rain
Ceremony to avert hail-clouds at Cleonae
Aristophanes on the divinity of clouds
Zeus the god of thunder and lightning
Zeus as a god of cool breezes in Ceos
Tendency of Zeus to absorb the other gods
Aeschylus on the universality of Zeus
Zeus identified with the ether or the air
Hymn of Cleanthes to Zeus
Aratus on the omnipresence and beneficence of Zeus
The providential character and fatherhood of Zeus .
35- 36
36- 37
37- 38
39
40
41- 42
42
42- 43
43- 45
45
46
47
48
48- 49
49
49 - 51
51- 52
52- 53
53- 54
CONTENTS ix
lAGB
The universal divinity of Zeus ..... 54*55
The Zeus of Phidias . . . . , *55-56
Zeus and Uranus compared to Dyaus and Varuna . . . 56-57
§ 5. The Worship of the Sky among the ancient Romans
The Sky-god Jupiter, head of the Roman pantheon . . . 57-58
Jupiter as the god of rain ..... 58-59
Jupiter as the god of thunder and lightning . . . 59-60
Jupiter Best and Greatest . ..... 60-61
CHAPTER III
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG NON-ARYAN PEOPLES
OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worship of the Sky among the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians
The Sumerians in Babylonia ..... 62-63
The Assyrians and their literary documents . . . 63-64
The great Babylonian gods personifications of natural powers . 64-65
The Babylonian trinity, Anu, Bel, and Ea . . . 65-66
Anu the Sky-god ...... 66-67
The Sky-god Anu and the Thunder-god Adad . . . 68-69
Antn or Antum, the wife of Anu ..... 70
§ 2. The Worship of the Sky among the ancient Egyptians
The Sky-goddess Nut married to the Earth-god Seb or Keb . 70-71
The separation of Sky and Earth by Shu . . , , 71 --7 2
Nut the Mother of the Gods . . . , . 72
The sky conceived as a heavenly cow .... 73
CHAPTER IV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG THE CIVILIZED
PEOPLES OF THE FAR EAST
§ I. The Worship of the Sky in China
Heaven or the Sky the Supreme God in the Chinese pantheon , 74-75
The worship of Heaven the religion of the State rather than of the
people ....... 75-76
The great sacrifice to Heaven at the winter solstice . . . 76-78
The great altar of Heaven at Peking . . . . 77
The Emperor’s remonstrances with Heaven in time of drought . 79-80
The worship of the Sky among the Lo-lo p’o . . . 80-82
§ 2. The Worship of the Sky in Corea
Siang-tiei, the Supreme God, identified with the Sky , . 82
Sacrifices to the Supreme Being or the Sky in time of drought . 83-84
X
THE WORSHIP OF NATURE
§ 3. The Worship of the Sky in Annam
The Sky personified as a wise and beneficent deity .
The Emperor of Jade and his two secretaries
The descent of the Sky-god’s daughter to earth
CHAPTER V
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
§ I. The Worship of the Sky in Western Africa
The worship of the Sky well developed in Africa
The worship of the Sky in Upper Senegal ....
The worship of the Sky in the interior of the Ivory Coast
The worship of the Sky in the interior of the Gold Coast
The Tshi-, Ewe-, and Yoru ha-speaking peoples
The Sky-god Onyame or ’Nyami among the Ashantis
Miss Kingsley and Sir A. B. Ellis on the Sky-god in West Africa
Stone celts as the Sky-god’s axes .....
Altars of the Sky-god and offerings to him ....
Oaths by^ the Sky and Earth .....
The West African Sky-god not borrowed from Europeans
The Ashantis prefer polytheism to monotheism
The worship of ancestral spirits the main part of Ashanti religion
R. S. Rattray on Ashanti and English land laws
Tshi story of the Origin of Death : the Two Messengers, the sheep
and the goat ......
The Sky-god Maw'u of the Ewe-speaking peoples
Why Mawu retired from earth to heaven ....
Mawu thought to control the rain .....
Mawu too high and mighty to trouble about human affairs .
The worship of Mawu ......
Story of the Origin of Death : Mawu and the spider
Uwolowu, the Sky-god of the Akposos in Togo
Story of the Origin of Death : the Two Messengers, the dog and
the frCg .......
Story of the origin of the sun and moon ....
The Yoruba-speaking peoples of the Slave Coast
Olorun, the Sky-god of the Yorubas ....
The northern tribes of Nigeria .....
Their belief in a great Sky-god, often identified with the Sun
The power of rain-making shared with the Sky-god by the divine king
The divine king formerly killed after seven years
Osa, the Sky-god of the Edo-speaking people of Benin
Abassi or Obumo, the Supreme God of the Ibibios .
Human sacrifices offered to Abas§i Obumo ....
PAGE
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CONTENTS
The Supreme God Abassi among the people of Calabar
The Sky-god Abassi or Osowa in the Obubura Hill district .
The Sky-god Obassi Osaw and the Earth-god Obassi Nsi among
the Ekoi .......
Story of the Origin of Death : the Two Messengers, the frog and
the duck .......
How fire was stolen from -the house of Obassi Osaw
The Supreme God Obashi among the Ekoi of Cameroons
Nzame or Nsambe, the Supreme God of the Fan
Story of the Origin of Death : the Two Messengers, the chameleon
• and the lizard ......
Zainbi or Nsambi, the Supreme God of the Bafioti in Loango
Why Nsambi retired from earth to heaven ....
The Good God and the Bad God .....
Nsambi indifferent to human affairs and seldom appealed to .
§ 2. The Worship of the Sky in the Valley of the Congo
Belief of the Congo peoples in a Supreme God Nzambi
The conception of Nzambi of native origin ....
Various names for the Supreme Being in the valley of the Congo
The name Nzambi applied to whatever is mysterious
Belief of the Upotos in a Sky-god Libanza ....
The earthly origin and adventures of Libanza
The ascent of Libanza to heaven .....
The souls of the dead with Libanza in heaven
Story of the Origin of Death ; Libanza, the Moon people and the
Earth people ......
Efile Mokulu, the Supreme God of the Basonge
§ 3. 7 yie Worship of the Sky in Southern Africa
Ndyambi or Ndyambi Karunga, the great god of the Ilerero
The ancestral souls worshipped rather than Ndyambi Karunga .
Kalunga, the god of the Ovambo, the Bapindji and the Badjok
§ 4. The Worship of the Sky in Eastern Africa
Belief in a great Sky-god widely diffused in Africa .
Belief of the Thonga in a great power Tilo, identified with the Sky .
Twins closely associated with heaven (Tilo) and rain
Belief of the Ba-ila in a great Sky-god I.eza
Leza associated with thunder, lightning, wind, and rain
Leza conceived as a moral being, a lawgiver
The worship of Leza distinct from the worship of ancestral ghosts
Prayers to I^eza .......
Story of the Origin of Death : I.eza, his mother, and his
mother-in-law ......
The mourning for Mwana Leza, the son of the Sky-god
VOL. I
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b
THE WORSHIP OF NA PURE
Story of the Origin of Death : the Two Messengers, the chameleon
and the hare ......
Belief of the Ba-Kaonde in a great Sky-god I^esa
Story of the Origin of Death : Lesa and the honey-guide bird
Belief of the Alunda in a Creator-god Nzainbi
Story of the Origin of Death : Nzambi, men, and the moon .
Leza (Lesa) the general name for the Sky-god in South-Central Africa
Belief of the Barotse in a great god Niambe, personified by the Sun ,
Worship of dead kings among the Barotse ....
Belief of the Louyi in a Sky-god Nyambe ....
Ascent of Nyambe to the sky on a spider’s web
Story of the Origin of Death : Nyambe, his dog, and his mother-in-law
Story of the Origin of Death : the Two Messengers, the chameleon
and the hare ......
An African Tower of Babel . .
Nyambe identified with the Sun by the Louyi
Belief of the Soubiya in a Sky-god Leza ....
An African Tower of Babel .....
Sacred trees in the worship of Leza ....
Story of the Origin of Death : a man, his dog, and his mother-in-law
Story of the Origin of Death : the Two Messengers, the chameleon
and the lizard ......
The Nyanja or Manganja .....
Mulungu and other names for God among the Nyanja
Prayers of the Nyanja for rain .
Belief of the Yaos in a Creator-god Mulungu
The word mulungu also means any human soul after death .
Worship of the dead among the Yaos ....
Ambiguity of the double use of the word mulungu .
Belief of the Angoni in a Supreme God whose worship is eclipsed by
that of the ancestral spirits .....
Chiwuta, the Creator-god of the Tunibuka
Leza, the Supreme God of the tribes of Northern Rhodesia .
Story of the Origin of Death : the two bundles
Leza thought to stand aloof from the affairs of this lower world
Prayers and sacrifices offered to the ancestral spirits, not to Leza
Belief of the Konde in a great god Mbamba or Kiara (Kyala)
Belief of the Konde in a devil Mbassi (Mbasi)
Anything great of its kind called by the name of God (Kyala)
Sacred groves and grottos of Kiara ; offerings to him
Story of the Origin of Death : the two Messengers, the sheep and
the dog .......
Belief of the Wakulwe in a Creator-god Nguluwi (Ngulwi) .
Mwawa, an African^Satan .....
Nguluwi and the great flood .....
An African Tower of Babel .....
Story of the Origin of Death ; the sheep and the dog
The Supreme God identified with the Sun as Katema or Ilanzi
165
166- 168
167- 168
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185
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187- 192
188
189
190-192
192- 193
193- 196
194
194- 195
19s
195- 196
197
CONTENTS
The souls of the dead worshipped rather than the Supreme God
Story of the Origin of Death and the immortality of serpents
Belief of the Wahehe in a Supreme God Nguruhi .
Belief of the Wapare in a Creator-god Kyumbi (Kiumbe) identified
with the Sun ......
An African Tower of Babel .....
Mount Kilimanjaro, the African Olympus ....
The Wachagga of Mount Kilimanjaro ....
Ruwa, the great god of the Wachagga, either the Sky or the Sim
Ruwa, the Creator of man
Motal character of Ruwa ......
The dead worshipped more than Ruwa ....
Sacrifices and prayers to Ruwa .....
Story of the Origin of Death ; the forbidden fruit .
Another story of the Origin of Death : the cast skin and the naughty
grandchild .......
Other Chagga versions of the Origin of Death : the cast skin, the
two pots : the moon and .he perverted message : the forbidden
fruit and the serpent ......
Resemblances of Chagga myths to Biblical story of the Fall of Man .
Suggested link between the Hebrew and the Chagga story .
African stories of the mortality of man contrasted with the immortality
of serpents .......
The Biblical story of the Fall of Man perhaps derived from Africa
Belief of the Warundi (Barundi) and Banyarunda in a Supreme God
Imana .......
The real religion of the Warundi the worship of the dead
Belief in a Supreme Being Rugaba among the natives of Kiziba
The Baganda : their national gods dead men : their worship of dead
kings .......
Belief of the Baganda in a Supreme Being Katonda
The Bahuma or Banyankolc .....
Belief of the Bahuma in a Sky-god Ruhanga
The religion of the Bahuma mainly a worship of the dead
The Bambwa acknowledge but do not worship a Creator
The Banyoro and their country .....
Belief of the Banyoro in a Creator-god Ruhanga
Prayers and sacrifices to Ruhanga for rain ....
Story of the Origin of Death : the woman and the dog
Story of the Origin of Death : the woman, the chameleon, and the
moon .......
The Basoga .......
Belief of the Basoga in a Supreme Being Katonda or Mukama
The Supreme Being incarnate in children born with their teeth cut .
Among the Basoga the worship of the Creator overshadowed by the
worship of the dead ......
Mount Elgon, its scenery and its caves ....
The Bagesu of Mount Elgon, their cannibalism
xiii
PAGB
197-198
199
199- 200
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THE WORSH/P OF NA PURE
PAGE
Belief of the Bagesu in a Creator called Weri Kubumba
Offerings to the Creator and ceremonies at the circumcision of boys
Sacrifices offered by the Bagesu to the Creator in sickness
Belief of the Wawanga in a god Were
The Akamba of Kenya and their country .
Belief of the Akamba in a Sky-god Mulungu or Engai
Prayer and sacrifice offered to Mulungu or Engai (or rain
Shrines and sacred trees of Mulungu or Engai
Sacrifice to Engai after capturing cattle
Prayer of the dead to Engai for rebirth
Blood brotherhood sanctioned by Engai
Prayer and sacrifice to Engai in sickness
Engai associated with rain, shooting stars, and eclipses
Engai associated with sacred fig-trees
Story of the Origin of Death : the Two Messengers, the bird and the
chameleon .....
Another version of the same story of the Origin of Death
The Akikuyu and their country
Belief of the Akikuyu in a great god Engai or Mulungu
The wild fig-tree sacred to Engai .
Sacrifices offered by the Akikuyu to Engai at the sacred trees
The sacred places of Engai sanctuaries for criminals and foes
Sacrifices offered by the Akikuyu to the ancestral spirits
Primitive tribes on the slopes of Mount Kenya, their country and
customs ......
Vague belief of the tribes in a Creator called Engai
Story of the Origin of Death : the sun, the mole, and the hyena
Belief in a Supreme Being among the Nilotic or Ilamitic tribes of
East Africa .....
The Masai, their character and military organization
Belief of the Masai in a high god Engai or Ngai
The fervent prayers of the Masai to Engai .
Belief of the Masai that Engai gave them all the cattle in the world
Belief of the Masai in a Black God and a Red God
Masai prayers to Engai on various occasions
Story of the Origin of Death : God, man, and the moon
The primary idea in Engai is the rain
Resemblance of Engai to Zeus
The two races of Kavirondo, the Bantu and the Nilotic
Their belief in a Creator called Nyasaye
The Kavirondo worship the Sun, the Moon, and the dead
The Nandi, a Hamitic or Nilotic tribe
Belief of the Nandi in a Supreme God Asis or Asista, the Sun
Belief of the Nandi in two Thunder-gods, a good and a bad
Prayers of the Nandi to Asista (the Sun)
A. C. Hollis on the religion of the Nandi .
Story of the Origin of Death : the dog and the moon
The Suk and their country ....
241
241-243
243- 244
244- 245
245
246- 247
247- 251
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CONTENTS
Belief of the Suk in a Supreme God called Tororut (Sky) or Hat (Rain)
Belief of the Alur in a Supreme God Rubanga
The Lango and their country . . •
Belief of the Lango in a high god Jok .
Jok consulted oracularly in sacred trees ....
Min Jok, the Mother of God, consulted oracularly by a prophetess
under a sacred tree ......
Annual prayers for rain to the Mother of God
Jok, the patron of souls both human and animal
Oracular ghosts .......
Exorcism of a troublesome ghost .....
How to lay the ghost of a rhinoceros ....
The inspired prophet called a Jok-man (Man of God)
Epileptics regarded as inspired . . . . .
The House of Exorcism ......
Oracles delivered by epileptics in fits . . . .
How the deity (Jok) can be outwitted . . . .
J. H. Driberg on the religion ot the Lango
The Dinka, a Nilotic tribe of the White Nile
The Dinka worship ancestral spirits {jok) and a high god Dengdit
Shrines of Dengdit and sacrifices to him ....
Dinka worship of the dead .....
Oaths by Dengdit ......
Rainmakers among the Dinka inspired by Lerpiii
Sacrifices for rain among the Dinka . , . .
The Shilluk, a Nilotic tribe of the White Nile .
Belief of the Shilluk in a high god Juok and a great ancestral spirit
Nyakang .....
The Shilluk conception of Juok
Story of the creation of men by Juok
Juok compared with the Jok of the Lango and Dinka
Names of African Sky-gods meaning Sun, Sky, or Rain
XV
PAGE
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300
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308
309
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310- 311
311
312- 313
313- 314
314
315
CHAPTER VI
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE ARYAN PEOPLES
OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worship of Earth among the Vedic Indians
Prithivi, the Earth-goddess, wife of Dyaus . . . . 316
Hymn to the Earth-goddess in the Atharva-veda . . . 316-317
Mother Earth lakes the dead to her bosom . . . 318
§ 2. The Worship of Earth among the ancient Greeks
The Earth-goddess Gaia or Ge in Greek mythology . . 318-319
Homeric Hymn to Mother Earth ..... 320
xvi THE WORSHIP OF NA TURE
Antiquity of the worship of Earth in Greece
Oracle of Earth at Delphi
Altars and sanctuaries of Earth in Greece .
Mode of worship of Earth in Greece
Titles of the Earth-goddess
Earth invoked in oaths ....
§ 3 . I'he Worship of Earth among the ancient Romans
Scanty evidence of the worship of Earth (Tellus or Terra) . . 327
Pregnant sows sacrificed to Earth 328
Earth coupled with the Sky and Jupiter .... 328-329
Sacrifices offered by the pontiffs to Earth and Tellumo . . 329
Sacrifices to PJarth and Ceres jointly at the sowing festival . . 330
The subordinate deities of agriculture .... 33^*332
Sacrifice of pregnant cows to Earth at the Fordicidia . . 332
Sacrifice of a horse in October ..... 333
Pregnant sows the regular victims offered to Earth . . . 333 "334
Sacrifice of a sow to Earth and Ceres at harvest . . . 334-335
Sacrifices perhaps offered to Earth after an earthquake . . 335-33^
The temple of hearth on the Esquiline .... 33^*33^
The worship of Earth in the provinces .... 339-340
Custom of devoting an enemy’s army to Earth and the dead . . 340-343
PAGE
. 320-321
. 321-322
. 322-323
• 323-324
. 324-325
. 325-327
CHATTER VII
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG NON-ARYAN PEOPLES
OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worship of Earth among the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians
Enlil, the Babylonian Earth-god : his temple at Nippur . . 344*347
Images and titles of Enlil ..... 347
Enlil and the tablets of destiny ..... 347-34^
Enlil’s wife Ninlil ...... 34^
Lmlil’s place beside Anu and Ea in the pantheon . . . 348
Enlil in a treaty between Lagash and Umma . . . 34^-349
Prayers and offerings of kings to Enlil at Nippur . . . 350*352
The titles of Enlil afterwards assumed by Marduk at Babylon . 352*353
§ 2. The Worship of Earth among the ancient Egyptians
The Egyptian Earth-god Seb or Keb
Seb reckoned the fourth king of Egypt
The connexion of Seb with the worship of the dead .
Seb identified by the Greeks with Cronus .
353- 354
354
354- 355
355- 356
CONTENTS
CHAPTER VIII
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
The conception of Mother Earth comparatively late in China
Older belief in a hierarchy of particular Earth-gods .
Earth-gods of families ......
Earth-gods of parishes, counties, provinces, and kingdoms .
Th^e two Earth-gods of the Chinese Emperor
The altars of the Earth -god .....
Treatment of the altar of an Earth-god of a conquered dynasty
A sacred tree essential to the altar of an Earth-god .
Of old the Earth-god was represented by a whole wood
The shrine of the Earth-god required a sacred stone as well as a tree
Why men worshipped the Earth-god ....
Relation of the Earth -god to the Ilarvest-god
The two great cosmic principles, the and the j'm
The sacred volume Kf AVa/;^ .....
The Earth-god held responsible for solar eclipses
The Earth-god held responsible for excessive rain and drought •
Recalcitrant Earth-gods cashiered .....
The Earth-god presides at death and executions
The Earth-god and his counterpart the Ancestral Temple
Persistence of the worship of the Earth-god in China
CHAPTER IX
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA .
§ I. T/ie PVorshi/y of Earth aniojtg the Hindoos
Worship of Mother Earth {Dharti Mata) in the Punjab and Bengal .
Worship of Mother Earth in the Bombay Presidency
Worship of Mother P^arth on Dasara day ....
Worship of Mother hearth at sowing, harvest, threshing, and ploughing
§ 2. The Worship of Earth among the Dravidians
Worship of Mother Earth among the Oraons
Marriage of the Earth-goddess to the Sun-god
Worship of Mother Earth at sowing in Hoshangabad
Worship of Mother Earth among the jungle tribes of Mirzapur
Human sacrifices offered to the Earth-goddess by the Khonds
The Earth-goddess Tari Pennu . , . . .
Animals now substituted for human victims
Motives for offering human sacrifices . . . .
xvii
357
357 - 358
358 - 359
359 - 360
360
360 - 361
361 - 363
364-365
365
366 - 367
367
367 - 368
368
368- 369
369- 370
370- 371
371
371- 372
372 - 374
374-375
376 - 377
377 - 378
378
378 - 379
379
380-381
382 - 383
383 - 384
384 - 395
385
386
386-387
xviii THE WORSHIP OF NATURE
The human victims (Meriahs)
Modes of consummating the sacrifice
Ritual observed over the remains of the victims
Prayer to the Earth -goddess Tari Pennu
Flesh of the victims buried in the fields
Human sacrifices abhorred by a section of the Khonds
Animals substituted for human victims . . -
CHAPTER X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
Earth ranked higher than Sky as a deity in parts of West Africa
Worship of Earth among the Bobos ....
Religious chief called Chief of the Earth ....
Dislike of the Earth-goddess to see bloodshed
The communal houses of the Bobos ....
Sacrifices to Earth at sowing and harvest .
Earth worshipped by all tribes of the Mossi-Gurunsi country
Oaths by the Earth ......
Sacrifices to the Earth at clearing land for cultivation
Sacrifices to the Earth for rain .....
Worship of Earth among the Kassunas-Buras
Worship of Earth in Yatenga .....
The Earth-goddess the great champion of morality and justice
Oaths by the Earth ......
The Chief of the Earth in Yatenga ....
Earth worshipped by tribes in the interior of the Ivory Coast
The seventh day a Sabbath : prayers to the Earth .
Sacrifices to the Earth-goddess among the Kulangos
Religious functions of the Chief of the Earth among the Gagus
Worship of Earth among the Guros ....
Religious duties of the Chief of the Earth among the Guros ,
Crimes atoned for by sacrifices to the Earth
Moral influence of belief in an Earth-deity ....
Worship of the Earth-goddess among the Ashantis .
Earth-gods worshipped in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast
Earth-god propitiated after bloodshed and incest
Soothsaying by stones said to have fallen from heaven
Earth-goddess worshipped by the Ewe-speaking people of Togo
Oaths by the Earth ......
Wife’s prayer to the Earth-goddess for a child
Offerings to the Earth-goddess for the crops and rain
Offerings and prayers to the Earth-goddess for other purposes
Earth-god Mkissi nssi or Bunssi worshipped by the Bafioti of Loango
Sanctuaries of the Earth-god in Loango ....
PAGE
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389-392
392 - 393
393
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395
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417
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CONTENTS xix
PAGE
Priest of the Earth-god ...... 420
Prayers to the Earth -god for rain ..... 420
Penance and purification of sinners at the sanctuary of the Earth-god . 421-422
Reason for the gravity of sexual crimes .... 422
Offerings of hunters to the Earth-god .... 422-423
Earth-god Kitaka worshipped by the Baganda . . . 423
Earthquake gods worshipped by the Baganda and other tribes . 423-426
Irungu, an Earth-spirit in Kiziba ..... 426
CHAPTER XI
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA
Earth personified as Mother by American Indians . . . 427
Belief of the Delawares and Iroquois that their ancestors came forth
from the earth ...... 427-428
Belief of the Ottawas in Earth, the Great-grandmother of All . 428
Belief of the Winnebagos in Earth the Grandmother . . 429
Prayers of the Winnebagos to the Earth-goddess . . . 429-430
Worship of Earth among the Cheyenne Indians . . . 430-431
Earth personified by the Klamath Indians . . . . 431
The hearth Mother worshipped by the Zufiis of New Mexico . 431
The Earth-goddess invoked by the Ilopi Indians . . . 431-432
Worship of Earth among the Caribs of the Antilles . . . 432
Worship of Mother Earth among the Indians of Peru . . 432-433
Worship of the Mother of the Gods or the Heart of the Earth among
the ancient Mexicans ..... 434-439
The goddess personated by a woman who was slain in the divine
character ....... 434-436
Ritual use of the skin of the slain woman .... 436-439
Why human representatives of the gods were slain . . . 439-440
CHAPTER XII
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN AMONG THE ARYAN PEOPLES
OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worship of the Sun ht general
The worship of the Sun not so widespread as is commonly supposed . 44 1
Adolf Bastian on Sun-worship ..... 442
§ 2. The Worship of the Sun among the Vedic Indians
The Sun worshipped as Surya and Savitri or Savitar . . 443
Surya the more concrete of the two solar deities . . . 443
XX
THE WORSHIP OF NA TURE
Relation of Surya to Dyaus and the Dawn (Ushas) .
Hymn to Surya . , . . .
Prayer to the Sun for the cure of jaundice .
Another hymn to Surya ....
Savitri or Savitar, the other Vedic Sun -god
Other Vedic Sun-gods, Mitra, Pushan, and Vishnu .
Ushas, the Dawn, her relation to the Sun and Night
Hymn to the Dawn ....
§ 3. The Worship of the Sun among the ancient Persians
Herodotus on the Persian worship of the Sun
Xenophon on the Persian worship of the Sun
Horses sacrificed to the Sun by the Persians and Massagetae
The Sun invoked in the Zend-Avesta
Hymn to the Sun in the Zend-Avesta
Daily prayer to the Sun prescribed in the Zend-A 7 >esta
§ 4. The Wo 7 'ship of the Stm among the ancient Greeks
Greek worship of Helios, the Sun .....
Homeric hymn to the Sun .....
The horses and chariot of the Sun in literature and art
The Sun invoked as a witness .....
The Sun personified as a righteous deity in Greek tragedy
The golden goblet of the Sun .....
The cows and sheep of the Sun in the Odyssey
The cows and sheep of the Sun interpreted as the days and nights of
a lunar year .......
Cows and sheep dedicated to the Sun in Sicily and Laconia .
Flock of sheep sacred to the Sun at Apollonia in Epirus
Suggested explanation of the sacred cattle of the Sun
The wife or wives of the Sun .....
The children of the Sun, their discreditable careers .
Sacrifices to the Sun in Homer .....
Plato on the custom of worshipping the Sun
Plutarch on the universal worship of the Sun
Local cults of the Sun in Greece .....
Horses sacrificed to the Sun by the Spartans on Mount Taygetus
Images of the Sun and Moon at Elis ....
Temple and altars of the Sun in Argolis ....
Worship of the Sun at Corinth .....
Worship of the Sun at Athens .....
Sober (wineless) sacrifices and altars to the sun
Altars to the Sun in Cos, Cyprus, and Pergamum
Worship of the Sun in Rhodes .....
Myths of Rhodes and the Sun .....
PAGE
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446
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481
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481- 482
CONTENTS
Halieia, the festival of the Sun at Rhodes ....
Chariot and horses annually sacrificed to the Sun by the Rhodians
The Sun and the Rose, the badges of Rhodes
The colossal image of the Sun-god at Rhodes
Apollo identified with the Sun by philosophers and late Greek writers
Opinions of modern scholars divided on the question
§ 5. The Worship of the Sun among the ancient Romans
Liy:le evidence of Sun-worship in ancient Rome
Sacrifice to the Sun on the Quirinal on August 9th .
Worship of the Sun in the family of the Aurelii
The Sun reckoned by Varro among the farmer’s gods
Temples of the Sim in Rome .....
Obelisks of the Sun brought from Egypt to Rome
Worship of the Sun introduced into the Roman Empire from the East
Worship of Elagabalus, identified with the Sun, at Emesa
Worship of the Syrian Sun-god introduced at Rome by the Emperor
Elagabalus .......
Aurelian’s attempt to establish Sun-worship at Rome
Spread of a solar religion in the Roman Empire
The Persian god Mithra identified with the Unconquered Sun
Spread of the worship of Mithra westward ....
The worship of Mithra among the Cilician pirates
Statius and his scholiast on the worship of Mithra .
Diffusion of the worship of Mithra by soldiers, merchants, and slaves
The worship of Mithra favoured by Commodus and later Emperors .
Popular identification of Mithra with the Sun
Mithra and the Sun on the monuments ....
The scene of the banquet on the monuments
The mystic hierarchy ......
The ascension of Mithra to heaven in the chariot of the Sun
The two torchbearers, Cautes and Cautopates, on the monuments
The triple Mithra . . . . ’ .
The sacrifice of the bull on the Mithraic monuments
The slaughter of the primeval ox in Avestan cosmogony
Mazdean doctrine of the Saviour, the resurrection of the dead, and
the Last Judgment ......
Mithra as the Saviour, the supreme sacrifice of the bull
The baptism of bull’s blood for the birth to life eternal
The similarities between Mithraism and Christianity noted by the
Christian Fathers ......
Tertullian on the Soldier’s Crown .....
The Mithraic rites of l^aptism and the eucharist
The Mithraic rite of the resurrection ....
The date of Christ’s nativity shifted to coincide with the Birthday of
the Sun .......
Julian’s last stand for the worship of the Sun
xxi
PAGE
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484
485
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487-489
489-490
490
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517- 519
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523.528
524- 525
525
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526- 528
528
XXll
THE WORSHIP OE NATURE
CHAPTER XIII
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN AMONG THE NON-ARYAN PEOPLES
OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worship of the Sun among the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians
PAGE
The worship of the Sun (Shamash) in Babylonia . . . 529
The two great seats of Sun-worship at Larsa and Sippar . .
Long popularity of Sun-worship in Babylonia . . « 53°
Inferiority of the Sun-god to the Moon-god . . . 53^
Aia or Ai, the wife of the Sun-god . . . . 53 ^
The chariot of the Sun-god . . . . . 53*
Representations of the Sun-god in ait . . . * 53 *"532
Hymns to Shamash, the Sun-god ..... 532-533
Shamash gracious to sufi*eiers ..... 533"534
Shamash the supreme judge and lawgiver .... 534-535
Moral character of Shamash recognized in Assyria . . . 535
Sun-worship prominent under later Assyrian kings . . . 535"53^
The temple of Shamash at Sippar restored by Nebuchadnezzar II. . 536
Shamash the god of oracles and patron of diviners . . . 537
The oracle of Shamash consulted by kings of Assyria . . 537'540
History of the temples of Shamash at Larsa and Sippar . . 540-542
Prayer of Nabonidus to Shamash, the Sun-god . . . 542
Offerings to Shamash, the Sun-god .... 543-545
Wealth of the temple of Shamash at Sippar . . . 545
Ritual of the worship of Shamash at Sippar . . . 545"54^
Shamash, the Sun-god, invoked in exorcisms . . . 548"549
Prayer to Shamash before felling a sacred tree . . . 549*55®
Prayer to Shamash on behalf of persons bewitched . . . 55®'55*
The grove of Shamash and Tammuz at Eridu . . . 551
Attempt of Shamash to recall Islitar from the Land of the Head . 55 *"552
Dialogue between Shamash and Ishtar . . . . 552
§ 2 . The Worship of the Sun among other ancient Semites
Worship of the Sun among the ancient Arabs . . . 552-553
Worship of the Sun in Palmyra ..... 553
No good evidence of Sun-worship in early Israel . . . 553*554
Worship of the Sun at Jerusalem under King Manasseh . . 554
Jeremiah on the worship of the Sun and Moon . . . 555
The chariots and horses of the Sun at Jerusalem . . . 555*55^
Worshippers of the Sun at the gate of the temple . . . 55^
§ 3 , The Worship of the Sun among the ancient Egyptians
Prevalence of Sun-worship in ancient Egypt . . . 55^*557
The Sun-god Ra worshipped especially at Heliopolis . . 557
CONTENTS
Ra identified with Atuin (Turn) and Khepera (Khepri), the scarab beetle
Egyptian Sun-worship perhaps imposed on a basis of toteniisni
The Sun-god supposed to cross the sky in a«boat
Nocturnal passage of the Sun through the underworld
Heliopolis (An, On) the great seat of Sun-worship .
The spring of the Sun at Heliopolis ....
Visit of the Ethiopian king Piankhi to the temple of the Sun
The temple of the Sun called Hat Benben, ** House of the Obelisk ”
Plan of the temples of the Sun .....
The Sun-god Ra represented as a man with the head of a hawk
Hofus the Sun-god and Horus the son of Oibis
Different forms of Horus the Sun-god ....
The great Sphinx : tVie dream of Thothmes
The Golden Horus ......
The Sun-god Turn or Atum of Heliopolis ....
The Sun-god Ra identified with the local ram-god of Thebes
Annual sacrifice of a ram at Thebes ....
The Sun-god identified with Cimuiii (Chnuphis), the ram-god of
Elephantine .......
Hymn to Amon-Ra, the composite Sun-god
Amon-Ra represented in art as a man with ram’s horns
Mut, the wife of Amon-Ra .....
Rise of the priesthood of Amon-Ra at Thebes
Benefactions of Rameses III. to the temple of Amon-Ra at Thebes .
Usurpation of kingly power by the High Priests of Amon-Ra at Thebes
The female pope, the wife of Amon-Ra ....
The Queen of Egypt the wife of the Sun-god
The Kings of Egypt thought to be sons of the Sun-god
Devotion of Amenophis IV. to the worship of the Sun
His attempt to establish solar monotheism ....
His hostility to the worship of Amon-Ra ....
Transference of the capital from Thebes to Tcll-el-Amarna .
Failure of the attempt at religious reformation
Hymns to the reformed Sun-god Aton ....
The Queen’s prayer to the Sun . . * . .
The steward’s prayer to the Setting Sun ....
The sculptor’s prayer to the disk of the Sun
The Sun-god Ra deemed the first king of Egypt
Myths of the origin of the Sun-god ....
The Sun-god Ra sends forth Hathor to slay mankind, but repents and
arrests the slaughter ......
The old Sun-god retires from earth to heaven
How Horus the Sparrow-hawk, in the likeness of a winged disk,
destroyed the foes of the Sun-god ....
The image of the winged disk of the Sun ....
Contest of the Sun-god wdth the great dragon Apepi
Magical ceremony for the destruction of the dragon performed daily .
Survival of primitive magic in Egypt ....
xxiii
PAGE
558
558
559
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561- 562
562- 563
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598
XXIV
THE WORSHIP OF NA TURE
CHAPTER XIV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA
§ I. The Worship of the Sun amon^ the Hindoos iage
The Sun worshipped both by Aryans and aborigines from antiquity . 599-600
Sun-worship in India during the Middle Ages . . . 600
Sun-worship favoured by the Moghul emperors . . . 600-601
Temples of the Sun in India ..... 601-602
Sect of Sun-worshippers ...... 602
Suraj Narayan, the Sun-god ..... 602-604
Sun-worship in the Punjab ..... 603
Sun-worship among the Rajputs ..... 603-606
Sun-worship in the Bombay Presidency .... 604-605
The Sun worshipped daily hy Brahmans .... 605-606
The Sun worshipped by women for the sake of offspring . . 606-607
The Sun attested in documents and oaths .... 608
The Sun heals diseases of the eyes .... 608
The Sun and the swastika ..... 608-609
Sun-worship in Bengal ...... 609-611
Great annual festival of the Sun . . . . . 610
§ 2. The Worship of the Sun among the non- Aryan peoples of modern India
The Sun worshipped by many aborigines of India, especially the
Dravidians . . . , . . .611
Sun-worship among the Baigas, sacrifice of pigs . . . 61 1
Sun-worship among the Cionds, sacrifice of pigs . , , 611-612
The Sun-clan of the Bhainas mourns at a solar eclipse . . 612
Sun-worship among the Bhunjias, Gadbas, and Kawars . . 613
The Kols, Mundas, or Hos ..... 613-614
Sing-bonga, head of the Munda pantheon, identified with the Sun . 614-615
Sun and Moon worshipped by the Korkus , . . .615-616
Sun-worship among the Nahals and Savars . . . 616
Sun-worship among the Bhuiyas and Kisans . . . 616-617
Sun-worship among the Bhumij and Juangs . . . 617
Sun-worship among the Kharias and Korwas , , . 618-619
The Birhors of Chota Nagpur ..... 619-621
Sing-bonga, head of the Birhor pantheon, identified with the Sun . 62 1
Sacrifices and prayers of the Birhors to Sing-bonga . . . 621-622
Birhor theory of solar and lunar eclipses .... 622
How Sing-bonga created men out of clay .... 623
How Sing-bonga punished the first smelters of iron : story told by
Birhors, Mundas, and Oraons .... 624-627
Birhor story of the separation of sky and earth . . . 627
Sun-worship among the Males and Mai Paharias . . . 627-628
The Oraons and their country ..... 628-630
CONTENTS
Dharmesh, the Supreme God of the Oraons, identified with the Sun .
The Santals and their country . * .
Sing-bonga, the Sun-god, worshipped by the Santals
Sun-worship absent or little developed among the hill-tribes of Assam
Approach to Sun-w^orship among the Aos of Assam .
Traces of Sun-worship among the Kachins and I^alaungs of Burma
Sun-worship among the Todas of the Neilgherry Hills
CHAPTER XV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN
Shinto, the ancient religion of Japan, a worship of nature
The Sun-goddess the most eminent of Japanese deities
Japanese names of the Sun-goddess ....
The sacred mirror, the symbol of the Sun-goddess .
The “eight-hand crow’’ of the Sun-goddess
Royal princess; dedicated to the service of the Sun-goddess
The Food-goddess, Uka Mochi .....
Pilgrimages to the shrine of the Sun-goddess at Ise .
Pilgrimages to worship the Sun on mountain-tops .
Blessings expected of the Sun-goddess ....
Japanese deification of the physical Sun ....
Mythical origin of the Sun-goddess ....
The dead Izanami sought by her husband Izanagi in the Land of
the Dead .......
The Sun-goddess born from the left eye of Izanagi .
Outrage committed by the Impetuous Male Deity on the Sun-goddess
The Sun-goddess retires into a cave, leaving the world in darkness
Plow the Sun-goddess was lured from the cave
Why the Sun and Moon do not shine together
Sun-worship among the Ainos of Japan ....
CHAPTER XVI
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA
General absence of Sun-worship in Indonesia
The White Divinity of the Malays ....
The Sun personified by the Semangs and the Bataks
Worship of the Sun in Timor and adjoining islands .
Worship of spirits {nitti) in the Indian Archipelago .
Worship of Lord Sun and Lady Earth in Timor
Sacrifices of the Timoreese to the two deities
Some chiefs in Timor called “ Sons of the Sun”
XXV
l>AOB
630- 63 I
631- 632
632- 634
634
635 - 636
636 - 637
637 - 638
639
640
640 - 641
641- 642
642
642
642- 643
643
643- 644
644- 645
645- 646
646- 649
648
649
649-651
651
.651-653
653
654
655
65s
655- 656
656
656- 657
657- 659
657-658
658
xxvi THE WORSHIP OF NATURE
PAGE
Sacrifices for fine weather or rain in Timor .... 658-659
Sun-worship absent in Sumba and doubtful in Rotti . . 659-660
Worship of the Sun and Moon in Solor .... 660
Worship of the Sun in Leti, Sermata, Babar, and Timorlaut . 660-663
Marriage of the Sun and Earth at a great festival . . . 661-662
Woman’s prayer to the Sun-god for a child . . . 662-663
Worship of the Sun-god and Moon-goddess in the Kei Archipelago . 663-666
Offerings to the Sun-god before a battle .... 663-664
Women’s prayer to the Sun-god for the men in battle , . 665
Sun and Moon invoked as witnesses to oaths . . . 665
Sun-god invoked to cast out the devils of sickness . . . 665-666
Worship of the Sun and Moon in the Aru and Watubela Islands . 666-667
APPENDIX
The Story of the Fall of Man : another African version . . 669-672
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The mind of man refuses to acquiesce in the phenomena of
sense. By an instinctive, a.i irresistible impulse it is driven
to seek for something beyond, something which it assumes to
be more real and abiding than the shifting phantasmagoria
of this sensible world. This search and this assumption are
not peculiar to philosophers ; they are shared in varying
degrees by every man and woman born into the world.
Take, for example, a ploughman. He wakes at cock-crow
and prepares to begin the familiar round of labour. He
sees his wife lighting the cottage fire and preparing his
morning meal, his children gathering expectant round the
table : he hears the crackling of the fire on the hearth, the
lowing of cows, the distant bleating of sheep and barking of
dogs. And with these sights before his eyes and these
sounds in his ears he has more or less consciously in his
mind the scene that awaits him in the fields and on the way
to it. He has a vision, for a vision it is, of the village
church and churchyard with its solemn yews and its grassy
mounds sleeping in the morning sunshine ; of the turn in the
road where he catches a glimpse of a winding river and of far
blue hills ; of the gate opening into the field where he is to
toil till evening, pacing behind the plough drawn by the
patient horses up and down the long furrows of upturned
brown earth. He does not reflect on these things, still less
does he question their reality. He assumes that they exist
somewhere outside and independently of him, and that other
eyes will see the old familiar scenes and that other ears
VOL. I , B
The search
for the real.
2
INTRODUCTION
CHAP.
will hear the old familiar sounds when his own are stopped
for ever in the churchyard mould.
A supposed In the same way every one of us is perpetually, every
constructed implicitly constructing a purely imaginary
byimag- world behind the immediate sensations of light and colour,
behMthe touch, of sound, and of scent which ^are all that we truly
immediate apprehend ; and oddly enough it is this visionary world, the
sense. Creation of thought, which we dub the real world in contra-
distinction to the fleeting data of sense. Thus viewed, the
mind of man may be likened to a wizard who, by the help
of spirits or the waving of his magic wand, summons up
scenes of enchantment which, deceived by the very perfection
of his art, he mistakes for realities. Only by deliberate
reflection is it possible to perceive how unsubstantial, in the
last resort, is the seemingly solid structure of what we call
the material universe. In the literal acceptation of the
word, it consists of such stuff as dreams are made of. The
only difference between the dreams of sleep and the dreams
which we call our waking life is the greater orderliness
which distinguishes the latter. Their succession is so
regular that to a great extent we can predict it with con-
fidence, and experience daily and hourly confirms the
prediction. We anticipate, for example, the sights that will
meet us when we pass into the garden or the neighbouring
street, and the anticipation is invariably fulfilled. This
fulfilment, countless times repeated, of our expectation is
perhaps the principal cause, as certainly it is the best
justification, of our instinctive belief in the reality of an
external world. It is this regularity in the succession of
phenomena which breeds in our mind the conception of a
cause ; in the last analysis cause is simply invariable
sequence. The observation of such sequences is essential
to the conduct, nay to the existence, of life, not only in men
Two but in animals ; with its help we are able to foresee the
philosophic future and to adapt ourselves to it ; without it we must
theories . , ^ .
of the perish prematurely.
ultimate
reality, the
material-
istic and
the spirit-
ualistic.
But while mankind in general tacitly assumes that
behind the phenomena of sense there is a real world of a
more substantial and abiding nature, there are men who
occupy themselves by predilection with the investigation of
I
INTRODUCTION
3
that assumed external world. They ask, is there really
such a world hidden behind the veil of sensible phenomena?
and if so, what are its origin and nature ? and what laws, if
any, does it obey ? The men who ask these questions as to
the ultimate reality of the world are philosophers in the
widest sense of the word, and, roughly speaking, their answers
fall into one of two classes according as they find the
ultimate reality of the world in matter or in mind. On the
one view, the ultimate reality is dead, unconscious, inhuman ;
on the other view, it is living, conscious, and more or less
analogous to human feeling and intelligence ; according to
the one, things existed first and mind was developed out of
them afterwards ; according to the other, mind existed first
and created, or at all events set in order, the realm of things.
On the one view, the world is essentially material ; on the
other, it is essentially spiritual. Broadly speaking, science
accepts the former view, at least as a working hypothesis ;
religion unhesitatingly embraces the latter.
Whichever hypothesis be adopted, the mind, in obedience Need for
to a fundamental law, seeks to form a conception which will cation^'
simplify, and if possible unify, the multitudinous and seem- and
ingly heterogeneous phenomena of nature. Thus, to deal first of pheno-
with the materialistic hypothesis, ancient Greek philosophers
attempted to reduce the apparent multitude and diversity of
things to a single element, whether it was water, or fire, or philosophy
what not. Others, less ambitious, were content to postulate ^Q^simp^hfy
the existence of four distinct and irreducible elements, fire, phenomena
air, earth, and water. For a long time modern chemistry [{fem^to^one
continued to multiply the apparently ultimate and irredu- or a few
cible elements of which the material universe was believed
to be composed, till the number of elements had reached
some eighty-eight. But, as has been observed by an eminent
philosopher of our time,^ science could not rest content with
the theory that the universe was built up out of just eighty-
eight different sorts of things, neither more nor less ; to limit
the kind of atoms to eighty-eight seemed as arbitrary as to
limit the number of fundamental religious truths to thirty-
nine. In both cases the mind naturally craves for either
more or less ; and for the sake of unity and simplicity it
* Bertrand Russell, 7 ^he A B C of Atoms {Ltondiow, 1923), p. 19.
4
INTRODUCTION
CHAP.
Modern
scientific
simplifi-
cations
in physics
and
biology.
'J'he
apparent
simplifi-
cations
of science
are
probably
illusory,
concealing
inner com-
plexities
which the
progress
of know-
ledge will
later reveal.
prefers less rather than more. In the case of science that
craving has in recent years been satisfied by the more or
less probable reduction of all the old chemical elements to
the single element of hydrogen, of which the rest would
appear to be only multiples.^ Similarly in biology the
theory of evolution reduces the innumerable species of
plants and animals to unity by deriving them all from a
single simple type of living organism.^
Thus alike in regard to the organic and the inorganic
world the science of to-day has attained to that unity and
simplicity of conception which the human intellect imperiously
demands if it is to comprehend in some measure the infinite
complexity of the universe, or rather of its shadows reflected
on the illumined screen of the mind. Yet, as that complexity
is infinite, so the search for the ultimate unity is probably
endless also. For we may suspect that the finality, which
seems to crown the vast generalizations of science, is after
all only illusory, and that the tempting unity and simplicity
which they offer to the weary mind are not the goal but
only halting-places in the unending march. The fair-seeming
fruit of knowledge too often turns out to be apples of Sodom.
A clo.ser inspection of the apparently simple result may
reveal within it a fresh and as yet undreamed-of complexity,
which in its turn may prove to be the starting-point of
another quest, longer and more arduous than that which had
yielded to the mind a brief and transient repose. For the
1 “ Physicists now believe that all
of the elements are compounded of
hydrogen atoms, bound together by
negative electrons. Thus helium is
made up of four hydrogen atoms, yet
the atomic weight of helium (4) is less
than four times that of hydrogen ( i -008).
The difference may represent the mass
of the electrical energy released when
the transmutation occurred” (G. E.
Hale, The New Heavens^ New York
and London, 1922, p. 80). At present
the number of multiples of hydrogen,
and consequently the number of the
elements, postulated by physicists
appears to be ninety-two, but of the.se
several remain to be discovered, their
existence being rendered probable by
gaps in the series of atomic numbers,
which begins wdth hydrogen at one
and ends with uranium at ninety-two.
See Sir William Bragg, Concerning the
Nature of Things (London, 1925), pp.
36 sq. In this passage Sir W. Bragg
is speaking of the difference between
the elements as consisting, not in the
different multiples of hydrogen, but in
the different number of electrons which
they can normally attract or hold as
satellites. But apparently the number
of multiples of hydrogen in an element
is identical with the number of its
electrons, and both of them with its
atomic number.
^ For a full and clear statement of
the evidence, see A. Dendy, Outlines
of Evolutionary Biology ^ Third Edition
(London, 1923).
I
INTRODUCTION
5
thinker there is no permanent place of rest. He must move
for ever forwards, a pilgrim of the night eternally pressing
towards the faint and glimmering illumination that eternally
retreats before him. With Ulysses he may say that —
All experience is an arch wherethro^
Gleams that untravelTd worlds whose margin fades
For ever and for ever whe7i I move ^
A gradual process of simplification and unification, like A like
that which marks the progress of science or the materialistic simptffica-
interpretation of the world, may be traced in the history and
of religion or the spiritualistic interpretation of the world, may be
Savages explain the phenomena of nature and of human
1-r 1 . 1 . /. , . , ^ , the history
life by supposing the existence of a multitude of spiritual of religion.
beings, whether gods or ghosts, who people the sky, the savages
air, the sea, the woods, the springs, the rivers, and by their assume the
• . existence of
actions bring about all the varied effects which a materialistic a multitude
philosophy refers to the agency of impersonal forces. Such, spirits.
for example, was the theory of the Polynesians before, for
their misfortune, a European flag ever floated in the Pacific.
“ By their rude mythology, each lovely island was made a
sort of fairy-land, and the spells of enchantment were thrown
over its varied scenes. The sentiment of the poet that —
‘ Milliofis of spiritual creatures walk the earthy
Unseefi, both when we wake and when we sleep,^
was one familiar to their minds ; and it is impossible not to
feel interested in a people who were accustomed to consider
themselves surrounded by invisible intelligences, and who
recognized in the rising sun — the mild and silver moon — the
shooting star — the meteor’s transient flame — the ocean’s roar
— the tempest’s blast, or the evening breeze — the movements
of mighty spirits. The mountain’s summit, and the fleecy
mists that hang upon its brows — the rocky defile — the foam-
ing cataract — and the lonely dell — were all regarded as the
abode or resort of these invisible beings.” ^
The same theory long persisted among peoples at a far a like
higher level of culture than the rude islanders of the Pacific.
the ancient
^ Tennyson, Ulysses. Second Edition (London, 1832-1836), Greeks.
2 W. Ellis, Polynesian Researches, i, 331.
6
INTRODUCTION
CHAP.
‘‘ The lively Grecian^ in a land of hills ^
Rivers and fertile plains^ and soutiding shores ^ —
Under a cope of sky more variable^
Could find commodious place for every God,
• . . . . The traveller slaked
His thirst from rill or gushing founts and thanked
The Naiad, Sunbeams upon distant hills
Gliding apace ^ with shadows in their train ^
Mighty with small help from fancy ^ be transfor7ned
hito fleet Oreads sportmg visibly.
The Zephyrs^ fanning,, as they passed^ their zoingSy
Lacked noty for lovey fair objects whom they wooed
With gentle whisperJ^ ^
Primitive When man began seriously to reflect on the nature of
UieTheory it was almost inevitable that he should explain them
thiiig^is^*^^ on the analogy of what he knew best, that is, by his own
animated thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Accordingly he tended to
^pirhuai ^^^^^t)ute to everything, not only to animals, but to plants
principle and inanimate objects, a principle of life like that of which he
°^was himself conscious, and which, for want of a better name,
we are accustomed to call a soul. This primitive philosophy
is commonly known as animism. It is a childlike interpreta-
tion of the universe in terms of man. Whether or not it was
man’s earliest attempt at solving the riddle of the world, we
cannot say. The history of man on earth is long ; the
evidence of geology and archaeology appears to be con-
tinually stretching the life of the species farther and farther
into the past. It may be that the animistic hypothesis is
only one of many guesses at truth which man has successively
formed and rejected as unsatisfactory. All we know is
that it has found favour with many backward races down to
our own time. To illustrate it by a concrete example I will
quote a dialogue between a missionary and his native pupil
which was published in the present year of grace (192^1),
and which sets in the clearest light the antithesis between the
savage and the civilized interpretation of physical phenomena.
The contrast is all the more striking because the materialistic
hypothesis of phenomena is here advocated by a Christian
missionary, who would doubtless apply to the universe in
general that spiritualistic theory which he scouts as absurd
1 Wordsworth, The Excursion, Book IV. 11. 718-721, 871-879.
I
INTRODUCTION
7
in particular cases. The scene of the dialogue is in British
New Guinea or Papua, as it is now called. The missionary
writes as follows :
‘‘ I knew the natives believed that when a tree was felled Dialogue
its soul was dispossessed and had to seek an abiding-place n^slionary
in another tree. Its preference was for a tree of the species and his
from which it had been expelled, but failing it there were
alternative species in which it could dwell temporarily. As animism,
an ^illustration I was told that when an aravea tree was felled
its soul entered a latira, a species of the acacia group, and
remained there until it could re-establish itself in another
aravea tree. I saw in this belief an opportunity to question
the other belief in the presence of a soul in everything that
exists. Assuming that timber had no soul because when the
tree was felled from which it came its soul was expelled,
I took as an object likely to help me to prove my case an
old table standing on the verandah of our house.’' On the
subject of this table the missionary thereupon engaged in
an edifying conversation with a native Papuan lad who
had come to lay the cloth for dinner. As recorded by the
missionary, the conversation ran thus :
I began something in this way. ‘ Your people say that The soul of
everything has its own soul, but they also say that when
a tree is felled its soul is expelled.’ He replied, ‘That is
so.’ ‘ Well, then,’ I asked, ‘ how can this table have a soul,
seeing that when the tree was felled from which its timber
was sawed, the tree soul fled to another tree habitat ? ’ I can
recall the image of that lad’s face as I write ; it beamed with
amused interest as he put this question, ‘ How could it
be here as a table if it had not a soul inside it to hold it
together ? ’ I did not regard that as a poser, and replied,
‘ It is here as a table because skilled men sawed the timber
from a felled tree, cut it into lengths, shaped them into legs
and top, nailed and glued the parts together, and it is held
together by glue and nails, not by a soul.’ A Papuan does
not contradict any one whom he regards as a chief. He could
not even seem to confuse me, or in any way to suggest that
my ignorance was palpable to him. He stooped down, got
under the table, drew his finger-tips along the planks, came
from under the table, stood up, drew quite near to me, held
8
INTRODUCTION
CHAP.
the finger-tips so that I could see them plainly and said,
‘ Those tiny pellets you can see under my finger-nails came
from the table, others will fall from it like them, and so the
table will go on wasting until it will crumble away altogether ;
then, and not till then, its soul will flee away and it will
no longer be a table/ It was my turn, but I had nothing to
say ; only much to think about, to marvel about. He had
The soul of not done, however, until he had given me what he considered
sawdust. most conclusive evidence of the presence of souf in
things. Again he stretched his right hand towards me and
said, * Each of those little pellets between my finger-nails
has its soul ; if it had not we could not see it, it could
not be.’ Such were his views of the omnipresence of
soul.” ^
Tendency Thus while the savage stoutly maintained the spiritualistic
toempfy^^ theory of natural phenomena, the missionary as stoutly main-
iheexternai tained the materialistic theory and rejected the spiritualistic
spiritual interpretation as childish and absurd. In doing so he
contents by undoubtedly followed the general trend of civilized thought,
ing un- which for centuries has been gradually emptying the external
conscious ^orld of all spiritual contents and reducing it to a welter of
forces for . °
spirits. unconscious forces.
The passing
of the
gods.
Unhe^vusst tier Freuden^ die sie schcNkef^
Nie aitzuckt von Hirer I ferrlichkeit^
Nie gewahr des Geistes^ dcr sie lenkci^
SePger nie dtirch 7neine Scligkeit^
Fiihllos selbst fur ihres Kilnstle^'s FJire^
Gleich dem toten Schlag der Pendeluhr^
Dient sie knechtisch dem Gesetz der Schwere^
Die entgotterte Natur,
“ Morgen wieder neu sic/i zu entbinden^
Wiihlt sie heute sick ihr eigenes Grab^
Und an ewig gleicher Spindel winden
Sick von selbst die Monde auf und ab,
M iissig kehrten zu dein Dickterlande
Heim die Goiter^ unnitiz einer Weli^
Die^ entwachsen ikreni Gdngelbande^
Sick durch eignes Sclnveben hiiltP ^
^ J. H. Ilolme.s, In Primitive New equivalent. Mr. Holmes defines
Guinea (London, 1924), pp. 154 sq. imunu as “soul, living principle”
In quoting the text I have substituted “the soul of things”, p. 150.
for the native word imunu the English
word “ soul ”, which is its nearest 2 Schiller, Die Goiter Griechenlands.
I
INTRODUCTION
9
Yes, the gods of Greece are gone, and only poets are left
to mourn their departure :
“ Great God! Pd rather be
A Pagafi suckled in a creed oulworn ;
So might /, standing on this pleasant lea^
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn ;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the scaj
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed hornP
• This process of despiritualizing the universe, if I may tik^
be allowed to coin the phrase, has been a very slow and
gradual one, lasting for ages. After men had peopled with indwelling
a multitude of individual spirits ever/ rock and hill, every griuiuaHy
tree and flower, every brook and river, every breeze
blew, and every cloud that flecked with silvery white the pjuuiieon
blue expanse of heaven, they began, in virtue of what we
may call the economy of thought, to limit the number of the control the
spiritual beings of whom their imagination at first had been
so prodigal. Instead of a separate spirit for every individual of nature-
tree, they came to conceive of a god of the woods in general,
a Silvanus or what not ; instead of personifying all the winds i)y i)oiy-
as gods, each with his distinct character and features, they
imagined a single god of the winds, an Aeolus, for example,
who kept them shut up in bags and could let them out at
pleasure to lash the sea into fury. To put it otherwise, the
innumerable multitude of spirits or demons was generalized
and reduced to a comparatively small number of deities ;
animism was replaced by polytheism. ^ The world was
now believed to be governed by a pantheon of gods and
goddesses, each with his or her individual character, powers,
and functions, in virtue of which they were entrusted with
the control of particular departments of nature or of human
life. By this generalization the in.stinctive craving of the
mind after simplification and unification of its ideas received
a certain measure of satisfaction ; but the satisfaction was
only partial and temporary. The intelligence could not
finally acquiesce in the conception of a number of separate
and more or less independent deities, whose inclinations and
activities constantly conflicted with each other.
The same process of abstraction and generalization,
the same desire for simplification and unification, which
In time
the many
gods are
deposed in
favour of
one : poly-
theism
passes into
mono-
theism.
Both
theories,
the
material-
istic and the
spiritual-
istic, aim at
explaining
the reality
of a world
beyond the
immediate
data of
sense.
lo INTRODUCTION chap.
had evolved polytheism out of animism, now educed
monotheism out of polytheism ; the many gods, who had
long divided among them the sway of the world, were
deposed in favour of one solitary deity, the maker and
controller of all things. At first this one God was conceived,
for example, by the Jews, as regulating the whole course of
nature by a series of arbitrary acts of will and as liable to
be deflected from his purposes by judicious appeals to his
passions or his interests. But as time went on, and the
uniformity of nature and the immutability of natural law
were gradually recognized and firmly established by every
advance of science, it was found necessary, or advisable, to
relieve the deity of his multifarious duties as the immediate
agent of every event in the natural world, and to promote
him, if I may say so, to a higher sphere in the supernatural
world, as the creator or architect of the universe ; while the
management of affairs in this sublunary region was com-
mitted to his subordinate agents, the purely physical forces
of attraction and repulsion, which modern science, if I
apprehend it aright, appears to resolve into gravitation and
electricity, or possibly into electricity alone. Thus the
spiritualistic theory of the world has undergone a process of
simplification and unification analogous to that undergone
by the materialistic theory: as the materialistic hypothesis
has reduced the multitudinous forms of matter to one
substance, hydrogen, so the spiritualistic hypothesis has
reduced the multitude of spirits to one God.
Both theories aim at ascertaining and defining the
ultimate reality ; the one discovers it in hydrogen and
electricity, the other in a deity. How far the two supple-
ment or conflict with each other, is a nice question which
might suitably be discussed by a Gifford lecturer ; but an
adequate discussion of it would require a combination of
philosophic and scientific attainments to which I can lay no
claim. All that I desire to point out is that both hypotheses
aim at explaining and justifying our instinctive belief in the
reality of a world beyond the immediate data of sense.
This is no less true of the materialistic than of the
spiritualistic hypothesis ; for we must constantly bear in
mind that the atoms and electrons into which modern
I
INTRODUCTION
II
science resolves the material world are as truly beyond the
reach of our senses as are gnomes and fairies, and any other
spiritual beings. It is true that we may have much better
reasons for believing in the existence of atoms and electrons
than of ghosts and hobgoblins ; but in themselves atoms
and electrons, ghosts and hobgoblins are equally hypothetical
and therefore, in the strict sense of the word, imaginary,
beings, invented to account for sensible phenomena. The
supposed effects of both we can perceive, but not the things
themselves. We can see, for example, the grassy ring
which is said to be made by the feet of fairies dancing their
rounds by moonlight on the greensward, but the fairies them-
selves we cannot see. We can perceive the bright line which
is said to be the luminous trail left behind by an atom of
helium shooting athwart a darkened chamber but the atom
itself escapes our purblind vision as completely as do the fairies.
Even if, through some as yet undreamed-of refinement of riie
our scientific instruments, atoms and electrons should be ^
brought within the ken of our senses, can we doubt that matter into
science would at once proceed to analyse the now perceptible ekcuonris
atoms and electrons into some minuter and imperceptible probably
particles of matter, and so on to infinity? Already science
assumes that every atonf is, as it were, a little sun
with planets in the form of electrons revolving about it.“
May it not be that each of these tiny suns comprises
within itself a still tinier sun, or rather an incalculable
number of such suns in the shape of atoms, and that in
every one of these atoms of an atom a solar system, nay a
whole starry universe, a miniature copy of ours, with all its
wealth of vegetable and animal life, is, like our own, in
process of evolution or decay? Conversely, we may imagine
that this universe of ours which seems to us so inconceivably
vast, is no more than an atom vibrating in a vaster universe ;
and so on to infinity.^
^ Sir William Bragg, Concerning the
Nature of Things y pp. 25 sqq.
2 Sir William Bragg, Concerning the
Nature of Things y p. 29 ; F. Soddy,
Matter and Energy (London, 1920),
pp. 186 sq,
2 The thought of the two infinities,
the infinitely great and the infinitely
little, which c(|ually evade the utmost
span of man’s puny intellect, was long
ago eloquently enforced by Pascal in a
famous passage. See Pascal, Penshs
sur la VMtd de la Religion ChritiennOy
par J. Chevalier (Paris, 1925), i. 43
sqq. In modern times the same idea
has been set forth by Ernest Kenan in
12
INTRODUCTION
CHAP.
Incapacity
of the
human
mind to
apprehend
the
infinities
between
which it is
poised.
Thus it is that thought perpetually outstrips sense in the
infinitely little as in the infinitely great ; however far we ex-
tend the field of vision, ‘whether to stars of unimaginable
distance, or to corpuscles of unimaginable minuteness, thought
still passes beyond them in the endless search after the real,
the invisible, the eternal. We stand as it were at a point
between two infinities neither of which we can ever hope to
reach, yet both of which, by the pressure of some force un-
known, we are perpetually urged to pursue. Thought is poised
on a knife-edge between two abysses, into the unfathomable
depths of which she is for ever peering, till her sight grows
dim and her brain reels in the effort to pierce the thick
gloom that closes the vista on either hand. Yet we under-
state the mystery that compasses about our little life when
we speak of it as if it were only twofold, the mystery of the
infinitely great and the infinitely small in space ; for is
there not also the twofold mystery of time, the mystery of
the infinite past and the mystery of the infinite future?
Thus our metaphor of thought poised between two abysses
needs to be corrected and expanded : not two, but four
infinities, four gulfs, four bottomless chasms )’awn at her
feet ; and down into them some Tempter — or is it some
bright angel ? — whispering at her ear, perpetually lures her
to plunge, only, it would seem, to beat and flutter her
ineffectual wings in the impenetrable darkness. Yet even
here, unappalled by the apparently insoluble nature of the
enigma, the human mind refuses to acquiesce in these
manifold antitheses. Of late, if I apprehend it aright,
philosophy or science (for on fundamental questions these
two sisters, after following the circle of human knowledge in
opposite directions, tend to meet and kiss at last), philosophy
or science has recently been at work to simplify the ultimate
problems by reducing the seemingly irreducible principles of
space and time to a single reality.^ It is not for me to
what we may call his confession of pp. 58 sqq. In speaking so glibly of
philosophic faith written towards the infinities, as I have clone in the text,
end of his life. See K. Renan, “ Ex- I should mention that at the present
amen de Conscience philosophiqiie ”, time several scientific gentlemen are
Fettilles lUtachies (I’aris, 1892), pp. engaged in reconstructing the universe
407 sqq. on a new and improved pattern of
^ Compare Bertrand Russell, The finite dimensions. Indeed, two of these
A B C of Relativity (London, 1925), reconstructions are now complete and
I
INTRODUCTION
13
pronounce an opinion on this bold generalization. I refer
to it only as perhaps the latest effort of the philosophic
or scientific mind to unify and harmonize the apparently
heterogeneous and discordant constituents of the universe.
The Gifford lectures were founded to stimulate and TheOifford
advance the study of natural theology. By natural theology
I understand the conception which man, without the aid of promote
revelation, has formed to himself of the existence and oJ'nuurai
nature of a God or gods. The theme is a vast one, theology,
exceeding the capacity of any single man to treat of
adequately in a course of twenty lectures. Accordingly
your lecturers have naturally and rightly chosen to deal
with those particular sides or aspects of the subject with
which their own special studies had made them in some
measure acquainted. I propose to follow their example. As
you are perhaps aware, my attention has been given almost
exclusively to the early history, I may almost say to the
embryology, of natural religion ; I mean, to the ideas which
the ancients and the backward races of mankind formed of
the divine nature and its relations to the world. Accordingly rhesuhjcct
in the lectures which I have the honour to deliver in this p[.^IJent
place I purpose to take certain of these ideas as my subject, com so
to describe the conceptions themselves and the practical leiigLi of
consequences which have been deduced from them, whether •»ncu*ni
in the shape of ritual or of rules for the guidance of life, ma-s.
I am aware that the description of beliefs and customs
which the enlightened portion of mankind has long agreed
to dismiss as false and absurd, if not as monstrous, vicious,
and cruel, is apt to be somewhat tedious and repellent ;
certainly it lacks the vivid interest which would naturally
ready for delivery. But as the two Russell, is that, whereas in Kinstcin’s
differ fundamentally from each other, universe it is only space that is queer,
and the value of both seems dubious, in I)e Sitter’s universe both sp.ace and
the unscientific laity may perhaps be time have gone mad, so that only a
pardoned for temporarily acquiescing hatter would be in a position to under-
in the old-fashioned infinities and in stand them. Even Einstein, it ajipears,
the antiquated notion of a radical after ejecting absolute space and time
distinction between space and time. by the front door, has smuggled them in
See Bertrand Russell, The ABC of by the back — a melancholy backsliding
Relativity y 164. sq^. : “Twosome- which deals a staggering blow to the
what different finite universes have reconstructed universe and encourages
been constructed, one by Einstein, the the profane to indulge in a chimerical
other by De Sitter ”, etc. The differ- hope of the continued existence and
ence between the two, according to Mr. sanity of both space and time.
14
INTRODUCTION
CHAP.
attach to a discussion such as I have indicated of the
relations between the latest advances of science and the
latest advances, or retreats, of theology. Still I trust that
an account even of crude theories and preposterous practices
may not be wholly destitute of interest and instruction, if
it enables us to picture to ourselves something of the
effort which it has cost our predecessors to grope their way
through the mists of ignorance and superstition to what
passes with us of this generation for the light of know-
ledge and wisdom. They were the pioneers who hewed
their way through a jungle that might well have seemed
impenetrable to man : they made the paths smooth for those
who were to come after : we walk in their footsteps, and
reap at our ease the harvest which they sowed with labour
and anguish. The gratitude we owe them for the inestimable
service which they have rendered us should temper the
harsh judgments which we are too apt to pass on their errors,
on what a hasty verdict stigmatizes as their follies and their
crimes ; and the lesson which we draw from the contempla-
tion of their long wanderings and manifold aberrations in
the search for the true and the good should be one rather
of humility than of pride ; it should teach us how weak
and frail is human nature, and by what a slender thread
hangs the very existence of our species, like a speck or mote
suspended in the inconceivable infinities of the universe,
jhe Accordingly the natural theology of which I propose to
theology to treat is the theology of simple folk, not the theology of the
discussed schools, where the doctrine of the divine nature has been
is that of elaborated and refined by age-long discussion and the suc-
Simplefolk, . -i . r • r 1 i i 1 itn
not that of ccssivc Contributions of generations of subtle thinkers. Who
theschoois. simple folk whose theological notions we are
about to study together? The great bulk of them may be
Under described as savages, by which I mean the races of lower
simple folk culture, SO far as their customs and beliefs have not been
included modified by contact with civilization. Under simple folk I
savages include also the uneducated classes in civilized countries,
and the
uneducated and especially the peasantry, among whom ancient modes
civfhzccr thought and of practice commonly linger long after they
countries, have disappeared among the more enlightened members of
the community. The beliefs and customs handed down by
I
INTRODUCTION
15
tradition from time immemorial among the unlearned are
commonly comprised under the general term of folk-lore ;
as the great bulk of them probably originated in a very
remote antiquity, they furnish valuable evidence as to
the habits and ideas which may be presumed to have
prevailed generally in former times, before the advance of
knowledge, and with it of civilization, gradually ousted
them from polite society and drove them into holes and
corhers, where they subsist like bats and owls in the dark-
ness of ignorance and superstition. Accordingly I shall
sometimes appeal to folk-lore for evidence of ancient modes of
thought and practice, which, however strange and barbarous
they may seem to civilized eyes, often shed a flood of light
on the religion of our primitive forefathers.
Lastly, I shall draw not a few of my illustrations from The
the ancient religions of India, of Egypt, of Babylon, of
Greece, and of Rome. As society in these countries at the niuions of
finticjuity
epochs to which I shall refer was not only civilized, but had will also Ixj
recorded its civilization in copious and elaborate literatures, considered,
it might be objected that I have no right to include these hk-sc
peoples among the simple folks from whom I profess to
derive the materials of these lectures. It is true no doubt popular
that in many respects the theology and ritual of ancient creations.
India and classical antiquity had been modified and refined,
even in very early days, by the influence of a higher thought
and a purer morality than can be expected of an ignorant
and unenlightened multitude. Yet after making every
allowance for such improvements, gradually and no doubt
for the most part silently effected by the intellectual and
moral progress of the leaders, we must still regard the
national religions of these civilized peoples as essentially
popular creations, and as bearing on their face the indelible
imprint of their origin. In other words, they were not, like
the great historical religions. Buddhism, Christianity, and
Islam, created each at a blow by the genius of a single
founder, who was raised far above his fellows by the lofti-
ness or the energy of his personal character, by the force of
his moral enthusiasm or of his worldly ambition, and by the
breadth of his intellectual outlook. On the contrary, all the
evidence points to the conclusion that the national religions
i6
INTRODUCTION
CHAP.
of ancient India and the Mediterranean basin were in general
the fruit of a long, gradual, and so to say natural evolution,
which lasted for many ages and was effected rather by the
tacit and almost unconscious co-operation of the many than by
the purposeful intervention of a few outstanding individuals.
There- To this general rule perhaps the only exception is the
isS °un- ancient Israel, which undoubtedly bears the
like the clearest marks of having been profoundly and repeatedly
rcif^ons of modified not only by the deliberate action of able and Yar-
ciassicai seeing legislators, but by the moral enthusiasm of the
bears \'he prophets. Yet even these men, who have exerted on the
imprint of history of humanity an influence which it would hardly be
forniation possible to exaggerate, even they did not create the religion
instituted Qf their people ; the substance of it had no doubt been
individual handed down, generation after generation, from times beyond
the memory of man : all that the great lawgivers and
prophets, prophcts did was to reform the ancient faith by purging it
of its grosser elements and adapting it in some measure
to their own high ideals of religion and ethics. But
these reformations were not complete ; indeed they could
not be .so ; the weaknesses and imperfections of human
nature alike in reformers and reformed forbade, as they
will always forbid, the realization of the fairest dreams.
Hence it came about that even after the reformers had
done their work, the national religion of Israel retained not
a few crudities that had been bequeathed to it from ruder
age.s, relics of ignorance and barbarism which neither legis-
lators nor prophets had been able to efface from the book of
the law and the hearts of the people. Such relics are folk-
lore, and to some of them I may allow myself to refer in the
course of these lectures without, I trust, incurring the suspicion
of trespassing on the forbidden ground of revelation.
'Fhe Such, then, are the sources from which I propose to
formso^f most of the facts illustrative of that department of
natural natural theology which I have taken as the subject of my
Useariier” Icctures. Before closing this general introduction to the
stages. course, it remains to indicate briefly the principal forms
which natural religion is commonly found to assume in its
earlier stages, with which alone we are here concerned.
As I have already pointed out, the natural religion to
I
INTRODUCTION
17
which I purpose to confine my attention is that of simple The
folk, or in other words of primitive peoples, if I may be of
allowed to use the ambiguous word primitive in a relative, simple folk
not an absolute sense, to denote a level of culture much below
that which has been reached by educated persons in modern branches,
civilized society. If then, we survey the natural religion of of nature ^
primitive peoples in all parts of the world, we shall probably
discover that it everywhere assumes one of two forms, which, the dead,
far Vrom being incompatible with each other, are usually
found to be embraced simultaneously and with equal con-
fidence by the worshippers. One of them is the worship of
nature, the other is the worship of the dead. I must say a
few words about each.
First, in regard to the worship of nature, I mean by tha t The
the v vorship of natural phenom ena conceived as animated ,
con scious, and endowed with both the power and the wif i bj’S’t^ti on
t o benefit or iniiire mankind . Conceived as such they arc personi-
naturally objects of human awe and fear. Their life and
consciousness are supposed to be strictly analogous to those pheno-
of men ; they are thought to be subject to the same passions
and emotions, and to possess powers which, while they
resemble those of man in kind, often far exceed them in
degree. Thus to the mind of primitive man these natural
phenomena assume the character of formidable and dangerous
spirits whose anger it is his wish to avoid, and whose
favour it is his interest to conciliate. To attain these desirable
ends he resorts to the same means of conciliation which
he employs towards human beings on whose goodwill he
happens to be dependent ; he proffers requests to them, and
he makes them presents ; in other words, he prays and
sacrifices to them ; in short, he worships them. Thus what
we may call the worship of nature is based on the personifica-
tion of natural phenomena. Whether he acts deliberately in
pursuance of a theory, or, as is more probable, instinctively
in obedience to an impulse of his nature, primitive man at a
certain stage, not necessarily the earliest, of his mental
evolution attributes a personality akin to his own to all, or
at all events to the most striking, of the natural objects,
whether animate or inanimate, by which he is surrounded.
This process of personification appears to be the principal,
VOL. I
The
worship of
the dead
rests on
the
assumption
of their
existence
and of
their
power to
influence
the living
for good
or evil.
Both
courses of
lectures to
be devoted
to the
worship of
nature.
1 8 INTRODUCTION chap, i
though it is probably not the only source of the worship of
nature among simple folk. The worship of nature will form
the subject of my Gifford lectures.
The other form of natural religion to which I have
referred is the worship of the dead. While it differs from the
worship of nature in itself and in the presuppositions on which
it rests, it is perhaps equally diffused among men ^ and has
probably exerted at least an equal influence on their thought
and institutions. The assumptions on which the worship of
the dead is founded are mainly two : first, that the dead
retain their consciousness and personality, and second, that
they can powerfully influence the fortunes of the living for
good or evil. To put it otherwise, the human soul is
supposed to survive the death of the body and in its dis-
embodied state to be capable of benefiting or injuring the
survivors. Thus a belief in immortality, or at all events in
the survival of consciousness and personality for an indefinite
time after death, is the keystone of that propitiation or
worship of the dead which has played a most ‘important part
in history and has been fraught with the most momentous
consequences for good or evil to humanity.
When I undertook to deliver these lectures, rny intention
was to devote my first course to the worship of nature, and
my second course to the worship of the dead, thus rounding
off, in outline at least, the whole sphere of natural religion
among simple folks. But when I addressed myself to the
writing of the lectures, I found the materials for the study
of the worship of nature far too copious to be compressed
into a course of ten lectures. They overflowed the pre-
scribed limits and promised to furnish ample materials for
a second course. Accordingly, instead of attempting to deal
more or less cursorily with the two forms of natural religion,
the worship of nature, and the worship of the dead, I have
decided that it will be better to give both courses to a more
thorough investigation of the worship of nature alone. In
my next lecture I will open the subject with some account
of the worship of the sky in Aryan antiquity.
* Compare Max Muller, departed is p'erhaps the most widely
to the Science of Religion, p. 2ii : spread form of natural superstition all
The worship of the spirits of the over the world.”
CHAPTER II
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG THE ARYAN PEOPLES
OF ANTIQUITY
§ I . The Worship of the Sky in general
In my last lecture I said that the natural religion of simple The
folk comprises two main branches, the worship of nature and ^he
the worship of the dead, and I indicated that I propose the worship
to take the former of these two worships for the theme
my Gifford lectures. On that subject we enter to-day.
I pointed out that the worship of nature is based on
the assumption that natural phenomena, whether animate
or inanimate, are living personal beings analogous to man
in their nature, though often far superior to him in power.
In short, the worship of nature is based on the personification
of nature. This general thesis I intend to illustrate -in
these lectures by taking some of the principal phenomena
of nature and showing how they have been personified and
deified by various races of men.
Of all the phenomena of nature the most universal is The
perhaps the sky. It is the great canopy which covers, or
appears to cover, all the races of men in every part of the
world. Even the earth on which we stand is less universal,
since to the mariner out of sight of land it disappears and
is replaced by a great expanse of water. No wonder that
a phenomenon so universal and so impressive should at an
early date have inspired men with wonder and awe and
found a place in their religion. Accordingly I shall begin
our survey of natural religion with the worship of the
sky. The subject has recently been treated by Professor
19
20
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The Pettazzoni of Rome in an elaborate work, in which he
ProfesLf describes and discusses the belief in sky -gods among
Pettazzoni primitive peoples all over the world. ^ To his very learned
gods^^ book I must refer those of my hearers who desire to study
the subject in detail. The scope of these lectures precludes
me from dealing with more than a small part of the evidence
accumulated by Professor Pettazzoni. And whereas in this'
volume the Italian scholar limits his survey to the celestial
beings or sky -gods of primitive or uncivilized races, I
propose to begin mine with the sky-gods of our Aryan
forefathers, partly on the ground of the superior antiquity
of the documents, partly on the ground of the higher interest
which * attaches to a form of religion which was long held
by our own ancestors, and which has perhaps not been
without its influence in moulding the religious thought of
much later ages.
The hymns
of the
Rig Veda.
Professor
Macdonell
on Vedic
mythology
as a
personi-
fication of
natural
phenomena.
§ 2. The Worship of the Sky ainong the Vedic Indians''^
The oldest literary documents in the Aryan or Indo-
European languages are the Sanscrit hymns of the Rig Veda,
which were composed in north-western India probably
between 1500 and 1200 P.C.^ “Vedic mythology”, says
Professor Macdonell, “ occupies a very important position
in the study of the history of religions. Its oldest source
presents to us an earlier stage in the evolution of beliefs
based on the personification and worship of natural pheno-
mena, than any other literary monument of the world. To
this oldest phase can be traced by uninterrupted develop-
ment the germs of the religious beliefs of the great majority
* R. Pettazzoni, Dio : Formazione e
sviltippo del Motioteismo nelia Sloria
delle Religioni^ vol. i. I' Essere celeste
nelle Ci'edenze dei Popoli Prirnitivi
(Roma, 1922).
2 The worship of the great Sky-god
among all the peoples of the Aryan
family has been treated elaborately in a
learned monograph by the late Leopold
von Schroeder {Arische Religion, I.
Einleiltnig. Der altarische IJimmels-
gott. Leipzig, 1923). But while he
holds that the Supreme God of the
Aryan pantheon was a Sky-god, he
denies (pp. 345 sq.) that this Supreme
God was a personification of the
physical sky.
^ F. Max Muller, “Lecture on the
Vedas ”, Selected Essays on Language,
Mythology, and Religion (London,
1881), ii. 119 (as to the date); W.
Crook e, in The Imperial Gazetteer of
India, New Edition, vol. i. (Oxford,
1909) p. 403 (as to the place of
composition).
II WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 21
of the modem Indians, the only branch of the Indo-European
race in which its original nature worship has not been
entirely supplanted many centuries ago by a foreign mono-
theistic faith. The earliest stage of Vedic mythology is
not so primitive as was at one time supposed, but it is
sufficiently primitive to enable us to see clearly enough
the process of personification by which natural phenomena
developed into gods, a process not apparent in other
literatures. The mythology, no less than the language, is
still transparent enough in many cases to show the con-
nexion both of the god and his name with a physical
basis; nay, in several instances the anthropomorphism is only
incipient. Thus usas, the dawn, is also a goddess wearing
but a thin veil of personification ; and when a^m\ fire,
designates the god, the personality of the deity is thoroughly
interpenetrated by the physical element.
“ The foundation on which Vedic mythology rests is Vedic
still the belief, surviving from a remote antiquity, that all
the objects and phenomena of nature with which man is primitive
surrounded are animate and divine. Everything that im-
pressed the soul with awe or was regarded as capable of
exercising a good or evil influence on man, might in the
Vedic age still become a direct object not only of adoration
but of prayer. Heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, plants
might be supplicated as divine powers ; the horse, the cow,
the bird of omen, and other animals might be invoked ;
even objects fashioned by the hand of man, weapons, the
war-car, the drum, the plough, as well as ritual implements,
such as the pressing-stones and the sacrificial post, might
be adored.
“ This lower form of worship, however, occupies but a The Vedic
small space in Vedic religion. The true gods of the Veda
are glorified human beings, inspired with human motives morphic
and passions, born like men, but immortal. They are almost
without exception the deified representatives of the pheno- natural
mena or agencies of nature. The degree of anthropomorphism
to which they have attained, however, varies considerably.
When the name of the god is the same as that of his natural
basis, the personification has not advanced beyond the
rudimentary stage. Such is the case with Dyaus, Heaven,
22
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
General
evolution
of deities
of nature.
Two Vedic
sky- gods,
Dyaus and
Varuna.
Dyaus the
counter-
part of
Zeus and
Jupiter.
Father
Heaven
[dyaus
pitar) and
Mother
Earth
pyithivi
matar).
Prthivi, Earth, Surya, Sun, Usas, Dawn, whose names
represent the double character of natural phenomena and
of the persons presiding over them. Similarly in the case
of the two great ritual deities, Agni and Soma, the personi-
fying imagination is held in check by the visible and tangible
character of the element of fire and the sacrificial draught,
called by the same names, of which they are the divine
embodiments. When the name of the deity is different
from that of the physical substrate, he tends to become
dissociated from the latter, the anthropomorphism being
then more developed. Thus the Maruts or Storm-gods are
farther removed from their origin than Vayu, Wind, though
the Vedic poets are still conscious of the connexion.’*^
This lucid exposition of the development of Vedic
mythology and theology, which I have quoted from Professor
Macdonell, would probably apply, viutatis mutandis^ to the
evolution of all religions, which, starting with the personifi-
cation of natural phenomena, have ended in a pantheon
of anthropomorphic deities whose original connexion with
nature has been more or less obscured and forgotten.
Vedic mythology appears to have included two distinct
sky-gods, Dyaus and Varuna. Of the two, the celestial
nature of Dyaus is the more transparent ; indeed no possible
doubt can subsist on this point, for in the Rig Veda the
name dyaus occurs at least five hundred times as a designa-
tion of the physical sky, without any mythical implication.^
The name is derived from a root div, meaning “bright*',
“ shining ", which appears again in the names of the kindred
deities Zeus and Jupiter, the sky-gods of ancient Greece
and Rome.^ Thus Dyaus signifies the Bright or Shining
One, an eminently appropriate name for a sky-god.
Personified as the god of heaven, Dyaus is generally
' A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology
(Strassburg, 1897), p. 2 [Grundriss der
indo ‘arise hen Philologie und Alter ‘
tumskunde^ herausgegeben von G.
Bilhler, vol. iii. Part I. A). Compare
A. Barth, The Religions of India
(London, 1882), pp. 7 sq.
2 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology^
p. 21 ; E. W. Hopkins, The Religions
of India (London, 1896), p. 58.
^ O. Schrader, Reallexikon der indo-
gernianischen Altertiimskunde (Strass-
burg, 1901), p. 670; H. Hirt, Die
Indogermanen (Strassburg, 1905 -
1907), ii. 506; L. von Schroeder,
Arische Religion^ I. Einleitung. Der
altarische Himmelsgott (Leipzig, 1923),
pp. 300 sqq. and 309 sqq. (as to the
paternity of Dyaus) ; H. D. Griswold,
The Religion of the Rigveda (London,
etc., 1923), p. 14.
II WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 23
coupled with PrithivI, Earth, the pair being regarded as the
universal parents. In their marriage the sky-god Dyaus is
the divine father, and the earth-goddess PrithivI is the
divine mother. Thus in a hymn of the Rig Veda the poet
invokes Father Heaven {dyaus pitar) along with Mother
Earth {prthivi mdtar) ; ^ and in many other passages of the
hymns his paternity is either expressly stated or implied by
association with the Earth Goddess. Indeed, so closely
were P'ather Heaven and Mother Earth associated in the
minds of their worshippers that their names are generally
linked together in the dual compound dydvdprthivi}
But in some passages of the hymns the Heaven is Father
separately styled father, and the Earth mother.^ The two
were regarded as the parents not only of men, but of the Earth the
gods, as appears from various texts where they are designated
by the epithet devaputre, ‘‘having gods for their children’*.^
Thus the goddess of Dawn (Ushas) is repeatedly called the
daughter of Dyaus ; and the Fire-god (Agni), the Sun-god
(Surya), and the Storm-gods (Maruts) are described as his
sons or children.^ In one passage he is spoken of as the
father of the great god Indra.® But apart from the con-
ception of paternity there is little to show that in Vedic
mythology the sky-god Dyaus was invested with personal
attributes. In a few passages he is spoken of as a bull, and Dyaus
in one as a bull that bellows. The point of the comparison
is probably the generative power of the animal, which is
implicitly likened to the rain of heaven falling on and
fertilizing the barren earth. The bellowing of the bull may
signify the peal of thunder which accompanies heavy rain.^
Elsewhere, with reference to his prolific virtue, Dyaus is
spoken of as “rich in seed”.® In one passage he is
^ Riir Veda, vi. 51. 5 (vol. ii. p. 394 p. 21 ; Rigveda^ iv. 17. 4 (vol. ii. p.
of Griffith’s translation); A. A. Mac- 119, Griffith’s translation),
donell, Vedic Mythology^ p. 22. ^ A. A. Macdonell, V'edic Mythology ^
2 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, pp. 21, 22. In Rig Veda, v. 58. 6,
pp. 21, 22; H. D. Griswold, The to which Professor Macdonell refers,
Religion of the Rigveda, pp. 98 sq, the bellowinj^ of the bull is understood
2 J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, by Mr. R. T. H. Griffith to signify
V. (London, 1884) pp. 22 sq, thunder; for he translates, “Let Dyaus
* J. Muir, op. cit. v. 23. the red steer send his thunder down-
^ A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, ward (vol. ii. p. 269).
p. 21. * A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,
® A. A. Macdonell, P^edic Mythology, p. 21.
24
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Epithets
applied to
Dyaus and
Prithivi
( Heaven
and Earth).
Moral
attributes
ascribed to
them.
Prayers to
Heaven
and Earth.
compared to a dark horse decked with pearls, in allusion to
the star-spangled sky of night.^
As personifications of the sky and the earth, Dyaus and
Prithivi are characterized in the hymns by a profusion of
epithets suggestive of the physical phenomena of which they
were the mythical embodiments, such as vastness, breadth,
profundity, productiveness, unchangeableness. Yet the two
were not conceived of merely as nature powers, as simple
personifications of physical objects ; the poets ascribe to
them attributes of a moral or spiritual order by speaking of
them as beneficent, wise, and promoters of righteousness.^
Thus in one hymn we read :
the festivals I worship 7 vith offerings^ and celebrate the praises
of Heaven and Earthy the promoters of righteousness^ the great ^ the ivise^
the energetic^ who^ having gods for their offsprings thus lavish^ 7 vith
the godss the choicest blessings^ in consequence of our hymn.
With my invocations I adore the thought of the beneficent Fathers
and that mighty inherent power of the Mother. The p 7 ‘olific Parents
have made all creature Ss and through their favours have conferred wide
immortality on their offspruig.^^ ^
And again :
“ O Heaven atid Earths 7 vith one accord promotiftg
with high protections as of queenSs our welfares
F'ar-reachings universals holys guard us. May ivCs
car-borne s through songs be victors ever.
To both of yoUs O Heaven and Earths 7 ve bring
our lofty song of praises
Pure ones / to glorify you both.
Ye sanctify each othePs fornis by your 07 vn proper might ye rules
And from of old observe the Lcnvl^ ^
And again :
filled full offatnesSs compassing all things that bcs
widcs spaciouSs dropping meaths beautiful in their fornis
The Heaven and the Earth by Varunds decrees unwastings
rich in germSs stand parted each from each.
The everlasting pairs 'coith full streams s rich in milks
in their pure rule pour fatness for the pious man.
' Rig Veday x. 69. ii (vol. iv. p. 239 ^ Rig VedUy i. 159. i sq. ; J. Muir,
Griffith’s translation) ; A. A. Mac- Original Sanskrit 'Texts y v. 21.
donell, Vedic Mythology y p. 22. ^ Rig VedOy iv. 56. 4-6 ; The
Hymns of the Rigveday translated with
* J. Muir, Original Sanskrit I'extSy a popular commentary by Ralph T. H.
V. 22. Griffith (Benares, 1889-1892), ii. 180.
II WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 25
Ye who are regents of this worlds O Earth and Heaven^
pour into us the genial flow that prospers men.
Whoso, for righteous life, pours -ofle rings to you, O Heaven
and Earth, ye hemispheres, that jnan succeeds, , , ,
May Heaven and Earth make food swell plenteously for us,
all-knowing father, mother, wondrous in their works.
Pouring out bounties, may, in uniofi, both the worlds,
all-beneficial, send us gain, and power, and wealth! ^
Once more we read :
“ As priest with solemn rites and adorations I worship
Heaven and Earth, the high and holy.
To them, great parents of the gods, have sages
of ancient time, singing assigned precedence.
With mwest hymns set in the seat of Order
those the tivo pareftts, born before all others,
Cotne, Heaven and Earth, with the celestial people,
hither to us, for strong is your protection.
Yea, Heaven and Earth, ye hold m your possession
full many a treasure for the liberal giver.
Grant us that wealth which comes in free abundance,
Preserve us evermore, ye gods, with blessings, ^
Yet there is a passage in the Rig Veda which proves Heaven
that by one solitary thinker at least Heaven and Earth jlreated^^by
were conceived of, not as existing from all eternity, but as a divine
having themselves been created by the hand of a divine
artificer. We read :
“ These Heaven and Earth, bestow prosperity on all,
sustainers of the region, holy ones and wise.
Two bowls of noble kind : between these goddesses
the god, the fulgent Sun, travels by fixed decree.
Widely-capacious pair, mighty, that never fail,
the Father and the Mother keep all creatures safe.
The two world-halves, the spirited, the beautiful, because
the Father hath clothed them m goodly forms. . . .
A mong the skilful gods most skilled is he, who made
the two world-halves which bring prosperity to all ;
Who with great wisdom measured both the 7 'egions out,
and established them with pillars that shall nder decay . ^
' Rig Veda, vi. 70. I -3, 6 (Griffith’s translation, see H. D. Griswold, The
translation, vol. ii. pp. 423 sq.). Religion of the Rigveda, pp. 98 sq.
^ Rig Veda, vii. 53 (Griffith’s trans- Compare J. Muir, Original Sanskrit
lation, vol. iii. p. 68), For another Texts, v. 22. In this hymn it will be
translation, see H. D. Griswold, The observed that Heaven and Earth are
Religion of the Rigveda, p. 98. spoken of as two goddesses. The
3 Rig Veda, i. 160 (Griffith’s trans- explanation is that in about twenty
lation, vol. i. p. 273). For another passages of the hymns dyaus (heaven),
26 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG. ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Myth of the It IS a comiTion belief of primitive peoples that sky and
of^Heav^n carth Were originally joined together, the sky either lying
and Earth, flat on the earth or being raised so little above it that there
was not room between them for people to walk upright.
Where such beliefs prevail, the present '-elevation of the sky
above the earth is often ascribed to the might of some god or
hero, who gave the firmament such a shove that it shot up
and has remained up above ever since. In some parts of Poly-
nesia this exploit is attributed to the famous hero Maui ; in
Micronesia it is said to have been the work of various
deities.^ A similar story of the original conjunction and
subsequent separation of sky and earth meets us in Vedic
mythology. We read that “ these two worlds (heaven and
earth) were once joined. Subsequently they separated.
After their separation there fell neither rain, nor was there
sunshine. The five classes of beings (gods, men, etc.) then
did not keep peace with one another. Thereupon the gods
brought about a reconciliation of both these worlds. Both
contracted with one another a marriage according to the
rites observed by the gods.’'^
The But in this passage the union, separation, and final
toiion of niarriage of the two great natural powers savours almost
Dyau.s and as much of a cosmogouical speculation as of a mythical
Prithivi rt . . A tr
vague and personification of the two powers in question. And of
shadowy. Dyaus and Prithivi generally we may say that their
personification is still vague and shadowy ; they hover, so
to say, on the border betweeen the physical and the divine.
They do not appear to have been the object of a highly
developed worship ; on the whole, we may say that they
occupied a subordinate place in Vedic religion. Certainly
there is nothing to show that Dyau.s, the Indian Sky-god,
was the Supreme Deity of the Vedic pantheon, as Zeus
curiously enough, is feminine even As to the Polynesian legend, see Sir
when heaven is personified. See A. A. George Grey, Polynesian Mythology
Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, p. 22. (London, 1855), pp. i ; The Belief
Moreover, instead of “father and in Immortality and the Worship of the
mother”, Heaven and Earth are often Dead, ii. 226, 275 ; as to the Micro*
spoken of as “the two mothers”. Sec nesian legend, see The Belief in Im-
E. W. Hopkins, The Religions of mortality and the Worship of the Dead,
India, p. 59. iii. 58, 59 sq.
^ E. B. Tylor, Primitive Culture, ^ Aitarey a Brahmana,\\,
i. 322 sqq. ; Andrew Lang, Custom and translated by J. Muir, Original
and Myth (London, 1884), pp. ^^sqq, Sanskrit Texts, v. 23.
II WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 27
and Jupiter, the Greek and Roman Sky-gods, were unques-
tionably the Supreme Deities of their respective pantheons/
Yet his identity in name and nature with these two great
gods seems to prove beyond question that the Sky-god,
if not the principal, was certainly one of the oldest of
the Aryan deities, and that his worship dates from
the time when the forefathers of the Aryan or Indo-
European peoples still lived together before the dispersion
which scattered their descendants from the Ganges to
Ireland/
The other great Sky-god of the Vedic pantheon is The other
Varuna, whose name appears to be etymologically identical
with the Greek ouranos (ovpavos;), which was the name both Varima,the
of the physical sky and of the old mythical sky or Sky-god,
Uranus/ The name appears to be derived from a root Greek
vary “to cover'’, so that Varuna means “the Encompasser
with reference to the overarching vault of heaven/ But in
Varuna the old physical basis of the god is far less trans-
parent than in Dyaus ; the process of personification has
been carried much farther, and in particular the moral
character of the deity has been more fully developed. Side
by side with Indra he is the greatest of the gods of the
Rig Veda/ He is described as king of all, both gods and He is the
. kiiig of
' Compare H. Oldenberg, Die A. Barth, The Religions of Indiay p. t^e gods.
Religion des Veda, p. 240 ; E. W. 16 ; E. \V. Hopkins, The Religions His great
Hopkins, 'The Religions of Jndia, pp. of India, pp. 63 , 66 , 70 ; A. A. powers.
58 S(j. ; A. A. Macdonell, Yedie Macdonell, Yedie Mythology, pp. 27
Mythology, p. 22; H. D. Griswold, sq.\ id., “Vedic Mythology”, in
Ihe Religion of the Rigveda, pp. J. Hastings’s Encyclopaedia of Religion
^ Compare L. von Schroeder,^rw//<? and Ethics, xii. (Edinburgh, 1921)
Religion, I. Einleitung, J'>er altarische p. 603 ; L. von Schroeder, Arische
Ilimmelsgott, pp. 309 sqq. Religion, I. Einleitung. Der altarische
2 The identity of Varuna with Himmelsgott, p. 322 ; H. D. Gris-
ovpav 6 s (Uranus) in name and nature wold, The Religion of the Rigveda, pp.
appears to be generally, though not 112 sq. Professor Meillet proposes
universally, accepted by scholars. See to derive the name Varuna from the
F. Max M idler, Lectures on the Science Sanscrit vrata, “ordinance”. See
of Language^, ii. 454, 475 ; id.. Intro--
duction to the Science of Religion
(London, 1873), p. 231 ; id., “Com-
parative Mythology ”, Selected Essays
on Language, Mythology, and Religion
(London, 1881), i. 370 sq.\ J. Darm-
steter, Ormazd et Ahriman (Paris,
1877), p. 53 ; A. Kaegi, Der Rigveda'^
(Leipzig, 1881), pp. 85, 200 sq. ; J.
J. H. Moulton, Early Zoroastrianism
(London, 1913), p. 64.
* A. Kaegi, Der Rigveda 2, p. 200 ;
A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology^,
p. 28 ; L. von Schroeder, of. cit. p.
322 ; H. D. Griswold, The Religion
of the Rigveda, pp. 112 sq.
^ A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mytholo^,
Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, v. 76 ; pp. 22 sq.
28 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
men, of the whole world, of all that exists.^ He is the
upholder both of the physical and of the moral order. He is
the great lord of the laws of nature. He established heaven
and earth : he supports them : he dwells in all the worlds :
he set the sun in the sky : he opened a-broad path for him :
he made him to shine like a golden swing in heaven : the
wind which whistles through the air is his breath : by his
ordinances the moon moves on in splendour through the
night, and the stars are fixed in their places aloft : he
measured the earth with the sun as with a measuring-rod :
he caused the rivers to flow, and in obedience to his com-
mand they stream for ever : he clothes himself in the waters,
he moves in their midst, his golden house is there, his house
with a thousand doors : men pray to him for rain, and he
bestows it on them : he tilts his casks, and they pour water
on heaven and earth and air, they moisten the parched
ground, they bedew the pastures with oil and the regions of
the world with honey : he causes the mountains to be veiled
in clouds : the gods themselves obey his ordinances : neither
the birds as they fly nor the rivers as they flow can reach
the limit of his dominion, his might, and his wrath : man
cannot escape from him, though he should flee far beyond
the sky : he knows all things — the flight of the birds in the
sky, the path of ships in the sea, the course of the far-
travelling wind : he beholds all the secret things^ that have
been or shall be done : he witnesseth men’s truth and false-
hood : the very winkings of their eyes are all numbered by
him, and whatever they do, or think, or devise, he knows
it all.-
' A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, 6i sqq,\ II. Oldenberg, Die Relig^ion
p. 24. des Veda^ pp. 1 85 sqq. ; L. von Schroeder,
2 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, Arische Religion, I. Einleittmg. Dei'
pp. 24-26, with the references to the altar ische Himmehgott, pp. 321 sqq.\
Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda. II. D. Griswold, The Religion of the
To the passages cited by Professor Rigveda, pp. 111-149. Oldenberg
Macdonell I have added, “ he measured argued that Varuna was originally a
the earth with the sun as with a mcasur- moon-god, borrowed from the Semites
ing rod ” {Rig Veda, v. 85. 5). As to or Accadians. But his views on this
the character and power of Varuna, point appear not to have met with
see further A. Kaegi, Der Rigveda^, acceptance. See E. W. Hopkins, The
pp. 85 sqq.‘, J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Religions of India, p. 571 note; A. A.
Texts, v. 58 sqq. ; A. Barth, The Re- Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, p. 28 ;
ligions of India, pp. 16 sqq, ; E. W. P\ Cumont, Textes et Monuments
Hopkins, The Religions of India, pp. figures relatifs aux Mystlres de Mithra
II WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 29
As a moral governor of the world Varuna stands far The moral
above all the other Vedic gods. His wrath is roused
sin, the breach of his ordinances, and he punishes it severely :
he binds sinners with threefold and sevenfold fetters, which
ensnare the liar but pass by him who speaks the truth. But
he is gracious to the penitent : he unties the bonds of sin
and sets the sinner free : he pardons men their sins and the
sins of their fathers : he spares the suppliant who has trans-
gressed his laws, and he is gracious to such as have broken
them through thoughtlessness. There is indeed no hymn to
Varuna in which the suppliant does rot pray for forgiveness
of guilt, just as in hymns to other gods he prays for worldly
prosperity. Varuna is on a footing of friendship with his
worshipper, who communes with him in his heavenly mansion
and sometimes beholds him with the eye of faith.^
One hymn may serve as a specimen of the prayers which Prayer to
his worshippers addressed to Varuna : Varuna.
‘‘ Lei me not yet ^ king Varuna^ enter into the house of clay :
Have mercy ^ spare vie^ mighty lord I
WheUy thunderer ! I move along tremulous like a wind-blown skin^
Have mercy ^ spare me^ mighty lord!
0 bright and powerful god^ through watit of strength I erred and went
astray :
Have mercy ^ spare me^ mighty lord !
Thirst found thy worshipper though he stood in the midst oj water-
floods ;
Have mercy ^ spare 7 ne^ mighty lord !
O Varuna, whatever the offetice may be which we as men conunit
against the heavetily host,
When through our want of thought we violate thy laws, punish us not,
O god, for that iniquity T 2
A god so high and holy is clearly far from being a The divine
simple personification of the blue vault of heaven. I*"* var^na.^^
(Bruxelles, 1896-1899), i. 224 note^; wold, The Religion of the Kigveda^
C. P. Tide, Geschichte der Religion im pp. 121 sqq,
Alteritun (Gotha, 1896-1903), ii. 70 ; 2 Veda, vii. 89 (Griffith’s trans-
it. von Schroeder, Arische Religion, lation, vol. iii. p. 1 10). The hymn has
\, Einleitung. Der altarische Himmeh- also been translated by F. Max Miiller
gott, pp. 430 sqq.\ n. D. Griswold, (“ Lecture on the Vedas,” Selected
The Religion of the Rigveda, pp. 147- Essays on Language, Mythology, and
149. Religion, ii. 148 sq,), by J. Muir
1 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, {Original Sanskrit Texts, v. 67), and
pp. 26 sq. On the ethical character by H. D. Griswold {The Religion of
of Varuna, see especially II. D. Gris- the Rigveda, p. 123).
30 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The
relation of
Varuna to
Mitra.
Great
antiquity
of the
worship of
Varuna.
regard to no other deity of the Vedic pantheon is the sense
of the divine majesty and of the absolute dependence of the
creature expressed with the same force and dignity : we
must turn to Job and the Psalms to find similar accents of
heartfelt adoration and humble supplication.^
Yet his old physical nature as a Sky-god pure and
simple may be said to peep out here and there under the
gorgeous drapery which religious poetry has thrown over his
august figure. Thus he is very often coupled with another god
Mitra, and some good scholars are of opinion that in origin
Mitra was a sun-god like his Iranian counterpart and name-
sake Mithra.^ Nothing could well be more natural than to
associate a sky-god with a sun-god. The Vedic poets speak
of the sun as the eye both of Varuna and Mitra;® and if
Varuna was indeed originally the sky, the comparison of the
sun to his eye is apt and appropriate ; though on the other
hand, if Mitra was originally the sun, the sun could hardly
be spoken of as his eye until his original conception had
been obscured and absorbed in that of the Sky-god, with
whom he was constantly associated.^ The abode of the
two gods is described as golden and situated in heaven.® In
a passage of the Satapatha Brahinana the god Varuna alone,
conceived as the lord of the Universe, is stationed in the
midst of heaven, from which he surveys the places of
punishment situated all around him.®
The Sky-god Varuna appears to date from the time
when the ancestors of the Iranians and of the Aryan Indians
still lived together and worshipped the same deities ; for the
* A. Barth, The Religions of India^
p. 1 8. In his excellent work on the
Rig Veda (second edition, pp. 85 sgq,)
the German scholar A. Kaegi illustrates
the references of the Vedic poets to
Varuna by apt quotations from Job, the
F^salms, and the prophetic books of the
Old Testament.
2 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology^
pp. 7, 22 sq,, 27, 29 sq ; E. W. Hop-
kins, The Religions 0/ India^ ST sq.
As to the equivalence of Mitra and
Mithra, and the solar nature of both,
compare H. Oldenberg, Die Religion
des Veda, pp. 189 sqq. However, the
original solar character both of Mitra
and Mithra is denied by other scholars,
whose opinion carries weight. See
L. von Schroeder, Arische Religion^
1 . E inlei lung. Der altari sc he Himmcls-
golly pp. 361 sq.y 381 sqq.y 43 1 ; and
below, pp. 461, 503, 509
3 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mylhology^
P- 23 -
^ A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mylhology^
p. 27.
® A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mylhology^
p. 23, referring to Rig Veda, i. 136.
2, V. 67. 2.
® A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mylhology,
p. 23, referring to Satapalha Brdhmana,
xi. 6. I.
II WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 31
great Iranian deity Ahura Mazda, who figures in the Avesta^
agrees with Varuna in character, though not in name/
Further, the similarity in name and nature between Varuna
and the old Greek sky-god Uranus suggests that the
worship of this personification of the firmament goes back
to a still remoter period, when the Aryan ancestors of
Greeks, Indians, and Iranians still formed one people, dwell-
ing in the same land and united in the worship of the same
divinities.
Thus it appears that the Indians of the Vedic age of the two
and their Aryan forefathers worshipped two separate per- god^Dyaus
sonifications of the physical sky, which they distinguished perhaps
by different names. In Vedic mythology one of these
personifications is Dyaus, and the other is Varuna. Of the
two, if we may hazard a conjecture on so obscure a question,
Dyaus is perhaps the older. For his name as the appella-
tion of a deity is much more widely diffused than that of
Varuna, since it meets us in the Old High German Zio, the
Anglo-Saxon Tiw, and the Eddie Tyr^ as well as in the
Greek Zeus and the Latin Jupiter? Moreover, the old
physical basis of the deity remains much clearer in Dyaus
than in Varuna, in whom it has been largely overgrown
and concealed by a rich vein of religious and moral re-
flection ; and this greater simplicity and transparency of
Dyaus as compared to Varuna may be thought to plead in
favour of his higher antiquity. The association of the
Earth-goddess Prithivi with Dyaus but not with Varuna
points in the same direction ; for the conception of Sky and
Earth as a pair of wedded deities appears to be exceedingly
ancient, if we may judge by its frequent occurrence among
savages, whose mental condition on the whole represents
an earlier stage in the evolution of thought than that which
^ i\. A. Vedic Mythology y given as Tins or 7 Vwo, or again as
pp. 8, 28 ; J. Muir, Original Sanskrii Thvaz or Tiwz. In any case the old
Texts^ V. 72 ; J. Darmsteter, Ormazd German and Norse god who corre-
et Ahriman (Paris, 1877), PP- 44-57 ; sponds to Dyaus, Zeus, and Jupiter
L. von Schroeder, Arische Religion^ was not a Sky-god but a War-god.
\. Einleitung, Dcr altarische Himmcls- See R. M. Meyer, Altgermanische
gott^ pp. 334 sqq. Religionsgeschickte (Leipzig, 1910),
pp. 178 sq.\ L. von Schroeder, Arische
2 F. Max Muller, Lectures on the Religion,!, Einleitung. Der altarische
Science of Language^, ii. 468. The Himmelsgott, pp. 301, 485, 490 sq,,
old German form of the name is now 492.
32 WORSHIP OK SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Herodotus
on the
religion of
the ancient
Persians.
Some
scholars
think
that the
Supreme
God of the
Iranians,
Ahura
Mazda, was
originally a
personi-
fication of
the sky.
meets us in the most ancient literature of the Aryan race.
To some of these savage ideas concerning the marriage of
Sky and Earth I shall presently invite your attention.
§ 3. The Worship of the Sky among the ancient Iranians
That a people of the Iranian stock adored a great Sky-
god we know from the testimony of Herodotus, who tells us
that the ancient Persians deemed it unlawful to set up images
and temples and altars, and that they reckoned men fools
who did so ; for they did not conceive the gods to be of like
nature with men, as the Greeks conceived them. Hence,
instead of employing the work of men’s hands as the symbols
and instruments of worship, it was the wont of the Persians
to ascend to the tops of the mountains and there offer
sacrifices to Zeu.s, giving the name of Zeus to the whole
circle of the sky.^ It is highly probable that in this passage
Herodotus has recorded, with a slight variation, the native
name of the ancient Aryan Sky-god in the Persian language;
for the Old Persian form of the name would be Diyaus, and
this, as was well observed by the late Professor J. H.
Moulton, would inevitably suggest its Greek cognate and
synonym Zeus to the ear of a Greek traveller.*^ Elsewhere
Herodotus informs us that the Scythians worshipped Zeus
and the Earth, whom they regarded as the wife of Zeus.®
It is highly probable, that by Zeus the historian here
designates a Scythian sky-god ; and if the Scythians were
Iranians, as there is some reason to suppose, it will follow
that the Vedic myth of the marriage of Heaven and hearth
had its counterpart in Iranian mythology.^
Some scholars of high authority have held that Ahura
Mazda himself, the Supreme God of the Iranian.s, whose
^ Herodotus, i. 131. Compare
Strabo, xv. 3. 13, p. 732, who seems
to be simply copying Herodotus.
2 J. H. Early Zoroastrian-
ism (London, 1913), pp. 391 sq.\ com-
pare id.^ “Iranians”, in J. Hastings’s
Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics^
vii. 418 sq.\ L. von Schroeder, Arische
Religion^ I. Einleitung, Der altarische
Himmelsgotty pp. 337 sqq. (who doubts
whether Herodotus here meant to give
the Persian name of the god).
3 Herodotus, iv. 59.
^ So J. C. F. Paehr in his com-
mentary on Herodotus, iv. 59.
^ J. H. Moulton, “ Iranians ”, in
J. Hastings’s Encyclopaedia of Religion
and Ethics y vii. 419. As to the
evidence for the Iranian origin of
the Scythians, see E. H. Minns,
“ Scythians ”, in J. Hasting.s’s Encyclo-
paedia of Religion and Ethic Sy xi. 2 7 8 sq . ;
id., in The Cambridge Ancient History y
iii. 1^2 sqq.
II WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT IRANIANS 33
name signifies ‘‘Wise Lord ”, was originally a personification
of the sky and therefore substantially identical with the
Vedic Dyaus and the Greek Zeus, both of whom were sky
gods and the heads of their respective pantheons. The
great antiquity of Ahura Mazda is attested by the oldest
^unciform inscriptions of the Achaemenian dynasty, in
which, under the name of Auramazda, he is invoked as the
Creator of heaven, earth, and mankind, as the protector
of the kings and the source of their dominion. Thus Darius
acknowledges that it was Auramazda who made him king
and helped him, along with the rest of the gods.^ In
support of the view that Ahura Mazda was originally a
personification of the sky, the eminent Iranian scholar,
James Darmesteter, quoted the following passage of the
Zend-Avesta :
“Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying:
Do thou proclaim, O pure Zarathushtra! the vigour and
strength, the glory, the help and the joy that are in the
Fravashis of the faithful, the awful and overpowering
Fravashis ; do thou tell how they come to help me, the
awful Fravashis of the faithful. Through their brightness
and glory, O Zarathushtra, I maintain that sky, there above.
* James Darmesteter, Ormazd et
Ahfdman (Paris, 1877), p. 25; F.
Cumont, s.v, “ Oromasdcs ”, in W.
H. Roscher’s Ausjuh liches Lexikon
der g)iechisc hen und romischen Mytho-
logies iii. 1051. As to the interpreta-
tion of Ahura Mazda as “ the Wise
Lord”, see Fr. Spiegel, Erdnische
Alteythnmskiinde{\E\\> 7 \gs\Z'] 1-1878),
ii. 21, note ^ ; A. V. Williams Jackson,
“Die iranische Religion,” in W.
Geiger und E. Kuhn, G^'undriss der
iranische Philologies ii. (Strassbiirg,
1896-1904), p. 632; J. H. Moulton,
Early Zoroastrianism (London, 1913),
p. 447 ; J. Darmesteter, Ormazd et
Arhiman, pp. 28 s ^. ; L, von Schroeder,
Arische Religions 1 . Einleitung, Der
'"altarische HimmRsgotts p. 282.
The Fravashis appear to have
been originally worshipful ancestral
spirits, but in later times the conception
was extended so as to cover the spiiits
or doubles of the living as well as of
VOL. I
the dead. We are told that they
corresponded to the Latin genius as
well as to the Latin manes. Some
would limit them to the spirits of the
good. In any case they appear to
have been regarded as purely beneficent
beings, a sort of guardian angels, and
were accordingly worshipped with
sacrifice. They were especially associ-
ated with the stars ; but during the
intercalary days at the end of every
year they were supposed to descend to
earth and tarry there for ten nights
during which they received offerings of
food and clothes from their worshippers.
See Fr. Spiegel, Erdnische Alter -
thumskundes ii. 91-98; A. V. Williams
Jackson, “Die iranische Religion”,
in W. Geiger und E. Kuhn, Grundriss
der iranischen Philologies ii. 643 ;
J. H. Moulton, s.v. “Fravashi”, in
J. Hastings’s Encycloptedia of Religion
and Ethics s vi. 116-118; id.s Early
Zoroastrianisnis pp. 254 sqq.
D
34
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
shining and seen afar, and encompassing this earth all
around. It looks like a palace that stands built of a
heavenly substance, firmly established, with ends that lie
afar, shining in its body of ruby over the three-thirds of the
earth ; it is like a garment inlaid with stars, made of a
heavenly substance, that Mazda puts on.^
However, it may be observed that in this passage the
sky is said to be maintained by Ahura Mazda ; it is not
identified with him, though it is compared to a star-spangled
garment which the deity puts on. But again in another
passage of the Zend-Avesta the sun is called the eye of
Ahura Mazda, and Ahura Mazda himself is described as
** the radiant, the glorious On this Darmesteter remarks
that “ a radiant and glorious god who has the sun for his
eye can be nothing but the Sky-god or the Sun-god, whether
he be Zeus, or Varuna, or Indra, or Odin Again, in
support of the original identity of Ahura Mazda with the sky,
the French scholar notes that the Fire (Afar) is called his
son, and that the Waters (ApS) are called his wives. Both
these mythical relationships, he thinks, are naturally ex-
plicable on the view that the Sky-god weds the Rain-clouds
and begets on them the lightning.^ On the whole, Dar-
mesteter concludes that Ahura Mazda was originally a god
of the sky, especially of the bright sky, and he thinks
that this view harmonizes with, and is supported by, the
testimony of Herodotus cited above.^ To this opinion the
eminent historian of Mithraicism, Franz Cumont, has briefly
signified his assent.^ Professor Williams Jackson also sees
in Ahura Mazda certain “ mythical traits which point to a
connexion between him and the old idea of a Sky-god
But this On the other hand the opinion that Ahura Mazda
re^^t'ed by Originally a sky-god has been decidedly rejected by
other 1 7"^^ Zend-Avesta, translated by ntan, pp. 33
scholars. James Darmesteter, Part 11 . (Oxford, ^ J. Darmesteter, Ormazd et Ahri-
1883) pp. 180 sq. {Sacred Books of man, pp. 35 - 37 .
the East, \o\. y.x\\\.). ® F. Cumont, s.v. “ Oromasdes ”,
2 The Zend-Avesta, Part III. trans- in W. H. Roscher’s Ansfuhrliches
lated by L. II. Mills (Oxford, 1887), I.exikon der ^riechisrhen and rd?nische 7 i
p. 199 [Sacred Books of the East, vol. Mythologie, iii. 1052.
xxxi.). ^ A. V Williams Jackson, “Die
3 J. Darmesteter, Ormazd ct Ahri- iranische Religion”, in W. Geiger und
man, p 32. K. Kuhn, Grundriss der iranischen
J. Darmesteter, Ormazd ct AhrU Phfhhgie, ii. 633.
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 35
some Iranian scholars who speak with authority. Thus,
summing up the result of his investigation of the character
of Ahura Mazda, the veteran German scholar, Fr. Spiegel,
observes : ‘‘ We have found two things : first, that Ahura
Mazda is conceived of as a thoroughly spiritual being ;
second, that he stands infinitely high above all other beings,
even those of the world of light, all of which, collectively
and individually, are viewed as his creatures. This unique
position which Ahura Mazda occupies in the Iranian religion
is very noteworthy. Among his features no single one
reminds us of an Aryan or even an Indian god, and I
therefore entirely share the opinion of Windischmann, that
Ahura Mazda does not date from the Aryan period but
is a creation of the Iranian genius.’^ ^ To the same effect
J. H. Moulton held that when in the doctrine of Zara-
thushtra the great god Ahura Mazda took his place at
the centre of the Iranian religion, he had lost, if he ever
possessed, all real traits of an elemental deity and was
conceived of as essentially a moral and a spiritual God.^
Another eminent scholar, the late L. von Schroeder, also
denied that Ahura Mazda was a personification of the sky
or indeed of any natural phenomenon ; like Spiegel and
Moulton, he held that Ahura Mazda was a purely spiritual
deity, but unlike Spiegel he would practically identify Ahura
Mazda with Varuna and refer him, or at all events the
original on whom he was modelled by Zarathushtra, back
to the pantheon of the still undivided Aryans.^
On the respective validity of these conflicting opinions
I am not competent to pronounce an opinion ; I am content
to record the two views without attempting either to judge
or to reconcile them.
§ 4. The Worship of the Sky among the ancient Greeks
The ancient Greeks personified and deified the sky under Two
two different names, Zeus and Uranus ; and, as we have seen,
’ ^ ^ Greek sky-
gods, Zeus
* Fr. Spiegel, Erdnische Alter- ^ L. von Schroeder, Arische Reli- and Uranus.
thiimskuude, ii. 25. I. Euikitiing. Der altarische
J. II. Early Zoroastrian- Himmelsgott^ pp. 281 sq.^ 321, 326
ism, pp. 60 sq„ 94 sqq, sq„ 334 sq,, 339, 341 sqq.
36 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
these two sky-gods corresponded in name and origin to the
two Vedic sky-gods, Dyaus and Varuna.^ But the history
of the two Greek gods, like that of their Indian counterparts,
was very different. For whereas Uranus, a transparent
personification of the sky, the namo^ of which he bore,^
always remained a dim, remote figure of mythology, to whoip
no temples were built, no sacrifices offered, no prayers
addressed, Zeus on the contrary occupied from the earliest
times of which we have record a position of acknowledged
supremacy over all the other gods, and as time went on his
old physical basis in the vault of heaven tended to fall more
and more into the background, obscured by the glory of the
ethical and spiritual attributes with which a purer morality
and a higher flight of religious thought gradually invested
his majestic figure.
The myth But though the old sky-god Uranus was never admitted
hovv^hT^^ to a share of Greek worship, he played a not unimportant
marnedthe part in Greek mythology. In the beginning of time he is
goddess said to have married the Earth-goddess, and by her to have
th^TT^^ become the father of Ocean, Rhea, Cronus, and other ancient
* divinities known as the Titans.'^ But Uranus was a cruel
father, and as fast as his wife bore him children he hid them
away in a secret den of the earth and would not suffer them
to come up to the light of day, and, lost to all paternal
feelings, he even chuckled over the wicked deed. But the
Earth-goddess was straitened by reason of the monstrous
brood thus crammed into her entrails, and she plotted against
How her unfeeling husband. She made a great sickle of adamant
mrniiate'd^ or flint, and offering it to her imprisoned offspring urged
and them to attack the author of their being with this formidable
hts^own weapon. They shrank appalled at the impiety and danger
sonCronus. of the task ; Cronus alone, the youngest of them, plucked
up courage, and undertook to do the deed. So his mother
placed the sickle in his hands and put him in ambush. And
when night fell, and Uranus went to bed and embraced his
1 The Greek sky-god in his double bridge, 1914- 1925).
form is discussed by L. von Schroeder, 2 (Jranus is the Latinized form of
Arische Religion^ 1 . Einleitttng, Der onra/tos {ovpav 6 s)y which was, and still
altarische I/immelsgoR^ pp. 445 sqq. is, the ordinary name for sky ” in
Zeus is the subject of a monumental Greek.
monograph by Mr. A. B. Cook, still in- ^ Hesiod, 'Pheogony^ 132 - 138 ;
complete {Zeus^ vols. i. and ii.. Cam- Apollodorus, i. T. 1-3.
11
WORSH/P OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 37
spouse the Earth-goddess, Cronus stretched forth his hand,
and shore off his father’s genital member, and cast it away
behind him. The drops of blood all fell on the bosom of
the Earth-goddess, and quickened by them she in due time
gave birth to the Furies and the Giants. But as for his
father’s severed member, Cronus threw it into the sea.
Tossed to and fro on the billows, the salt-sea foam gathered
round it, and from the foam issued Aphrodite, goddess of
love.^ Not content with mutilating his father, the unnatural
son Cronus deposed him, and with the help and assent of his
brethren was himself elevated to the vacant throne of hcaven.“
But ill deeds do not prosper, and the punishment which
he had inflicted on his father was in time to recoil on his own
head at the hands of his offspring. For Cronus married his
sister Rhea and had by her the goddesses Hestia, Demeter,
and Hera, and the gods Pluto, Poseidon, and Zeus. But an
oracle of Earth and Sky warned him that he should in time
be dethroned by his own son, and to prevent the fulfilment
of the prophecy the unnatural father adopted the precaution
of swallowing his progeny as soon as they were born. P'ive
of the family had thus perished ; but when the mother was
about to give birth to Zeus, the youngest, she besought her
parents the Sky-god (Uranus) and the Earth-goddess to
help her to conceal the babe. So they sent her to Crete ;
and when the infant Zeus was born, the Earth-goddess hid
him in a cave, and wrapping up a stone in swaddling bands,
she gave it to Cronus to swallow instead of the child. The
trick was successful. Deceived by the baby linen, the divine
father bolted the stone without a qualm or a scruple, and
congratulated himself on having thus effectually disposed,
as he fancied, of the last pretender to the throne of heaven.
Little did he suspect that his latest-born son Zeus survived
and would yet conquer him, drive him from the throne, and
reign over the immortal gods, even as he himself had deposed
his father and reigned in his stead.®
Now Zeus was a very fine child, and when he had grown
up to manhood, or rather to godhead, he called in the help
^ Hesiod, Theogony^ I 54 - 192 ; Apollodorus, i. i. 5-7. According to
Apollodorus, i. i. 2-4. Apollodorus, it was Rhea, not the
^ Apollodorus, i. 1.4. Earth-goddess, who gave the stone to
® Hesiod, Theogony^ 453-491; Cronus.
How
Cronus
married his
sister Rhea
and
swallowed
liis
offspring
by her, lest
he should
be deposed
by one of
his sons.
How Zeus,
his
youngest-
born,
escaped his
father’s
How Zeus
and his
brothers
and sisters
made war
on their
father
Cronus and
deposed
him.
38 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
of Metis (“ Cunning ”), daughter of Ocean, and she gave
Cronus a dose. No sooner had he gulped it down, than he
was seized with a fit of vomiting, when up came, first of all,
the stone, which must have lain heavy on his stomach, and
after it the divine infants Pluto, Ppseidon, and the rest,
whom he had swallowed. With the aid of these, his brothers
and sisters, Zeus waged war on his father Cronus and the
whole brood of the Titans. The war lasted ten years. The
Cyclopes supplied the three gods with arms. To Zeus they
gave thunder and lightning, to Pluto a helmet, and to
Poseidon a trident. Armed with these weapons, the gods
conquered the Titans and shut them up in the gloomy
depths of Tartarus, a dank and mouldy dungeon in a gulf
so deep that a man would be a whole year in falling from
top to bottom, tossed about upon the wings of grievous
whirlwinds. P'rom that dismal place there is no escape ;
for the roots of earth and sea compose the massy roof ; and
round about there runs a wall of brass, and brazen gates,
wrought by Poseidon's hand, are shut upon the prisoners ;
and on the walls and at the gates monsters with hundred
hands keep watch and ward.^ Having thrust the fallen
How Zeus, Titans down into this dolorous abyss, the three brother
a,?d^Piu“o gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Pluto, cast lots for the now
divided the vacant sovereignty. To Zeus fell the dominion of the sky,
kingdom, ^o Poseidon the dominion of the sea, and to Pluto the
dominion of the infernal regions.^
How Zeus Afterwards Zeus, now established on the throne of
hTs^w^fe^"^ heaven, married Metis, the daughter of Ocean, who had
Metis that helped him to the throne by administering the emetic to his
not^'e^^^ father Cronus. Now Metis, whose name means Craft or
her son^ Cunning, was wiser than gods and mortal men ; but Sky
and Earth warned Zeus, as they had warned his father
before him, that his wife would give birth to a son who
should prove more mighty than his sire and should reign as
king over gods and men. To prevent this catastrophe Zeus
had recourse to the same simple expedient as his father
Cronus ; but instead of awaiting the birth of a son and then
^ Apollodorus, i. 2. i ; Hesiod, earth and the unvintaged sea”.
Theogony^ 492-506, 617-745. Accord-
ing to Homer {Iliads xiv. 203 sq.\ Apollodorus, i. 2. i ; Homer,
Zeus shut up Cronus “beneath the fliad^ xv. 187-193.
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 39
swallowing him, Zeus preferred to take time by the forelock
by swallowing his wife before she could give birth to the
heir apparent. This accordingly h*e did/ and the stratagem
would seem to have been perfectly successful ; for henceforth
Zeus remained the undisputed lord of heaven and head of
J;he Greek pantheon until he was finally deposed by the
Christian god.^
Such, in brief, is the barbarous legend of the three Greek Cronus an
Sky-gods, father, son, and grandson, who reigned successively
after each other, and of whom the first two were deposed Greek
and cruelly ill-treated by their offspring. That the first and
third of the triad were sky-gods, is certain ; there is more
doubt about the middle one, Cronus, whose figure remains
among the darkest and most mysterious in the Greek
pantheon. No satisfactory derivation of his name has been
suggested. He may be, as many have thought, a foreign
deity, perhaps the god of an aboriginal race which the Greek
invaders found in possession of the land and conquered,
annexing some of their gods as well as part of their territory.
The story of how Cronus swallowed his children has often been
compared to the Semitic practice of sacrificing children to the Comparison
gods, in particular to the Carthaginian practice of placing
children on the sloping hands of a brazen image from which Semitic
they rolled into a pit of fire. The Carthaginian god to whom
these human sacrifices were offered was identified by the children to
Greeks with Cronus,^ and this identification lends colour to
the theory that in the story of Cronus and his children we
have a reminiscence of a cruel ritual rather than a cosmo-
gonical myth of physical phenomena.® Yet whatever may
have been his original meaning and attributes, when we find
him interpolated in a mythical story between two undoubted
sky-gods, as the son of the one and the father of the other, we
can hardly doubt that in the mind of the story-teller Cronus
^ llesiodf T/ieogony^ S 86 -ggOf ^ As to Cronus, see M. Mayer,
929 (ed. H. G. Evelyn - Wliite) ; “ Kronos,” in W. H. Roscher’s
Apollodorus, i. 3. 6; Scholiast on Plato, der griechischen und romischen Myth-
Timaetis^ P* 23 d. ologie^ ii. 1452 sqq. ; L. Pieller,
^ Diodorus Siculus, xx. 14. See Griechische Mythologie^^ bearbeitet
further llie Golden Bought Part IV., von C. Robert, i. 43 sqq. ; O. Gruppe,
The Dying God, pp. 74 sq., 166 sqq.\ Griechische Mythologie, pp. 1 1 04 sq. ;
A. B. Cook, Zetis, i. (Cambridge, L. R. P'arnell, Cults of the Greek
1914) pp. 721 sq. States, i. 23 sqq.
40 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Orphic
story of the
mutilation
of Cronus,
The story
of the muti-
lation of
Uranus is
perhaps a
myth of the
separation
of earth
and sky.
was at least temporarily invested with the character of a
sky-god. If we cut out the episode of Cronus as a later
interpolation, due to the contact of the Greeks with an alien
race, we shall be left with the two unquestionable sky-gods,
Uranus and Zeus, as father and son, instead of grandfather
and grandson, and shall be driven to regard Zeus instead oj[
Cronus as the unfilial mutilator of his own father.^ Indeed,
according to one tradition, which was adopted by the Orphic
theology, Zeus made his father Cronus drunk with honey-
wine, bound him fast, and castrated him, even as Cronus had
castrated his own father, Uranus.^
Be that as it may, the savage tale of the mutilation of
Uranus by his own offspring is most plausibly explained as
a myth of the separation of earth and sky,® which were
supposed by the ancestors of the Greeks, as by many other
primitive peoples, to have been originally joined together,
or, in mythical language, locked firmly together in a
nuptial embrace. A reminiscence of the time when the sky
was supposed to lie flat on the earth, involving it in total
darkness, seems to linger in the statement of the story-teller
that Uranus hid away his children in a secret place of the
earth and would not suffer them to see the light.'^ Indeed,
the belief that sky and earth were of old inseparate is
recorded by Euripides in some verses which he puts in the
mouth of the heroine, Melanippe :
Not 7nine the tale — / learned it fro7n 7ny mother —
That heave Ji and earth were 07ice a single %vhole ;
But when they parted^ each froin each asunder^
They bfvught forth all thiiigs a/td produced the 771 to the light —
Trees^ winged things^ beasts and the creatures of the brifie
A7id race of 77iort(ils'‘\^
1 L. von Schroeder conjectured that
in the original myth Uianus was the
father, not the grandfather, of Zeus,
and 4 that Cronus was a Cretan or
Carian god interpolated at a later date
in the story. See L. von Schroeder,
Arische Reliction ^ I. Emkiitmg. Der
alta 7 ‘ische Hi 7 nmelsgott^ pp. 463 note‘s,
466 note 1. The conjecture is plausible.
2 Porphyry, De ant 7 ‘o 7 iy 77 tpharuf 7 t,
16. Compare Dio Chrysostom, Or.
xi. vol. i. p. 210 ed. L. Dindorf ;
Aristides, Or. iii. vol. i. p.
G. Dindorf; Scholiast on Apollonius
Rhodius, Arg 072 auticay iv. 983.
^ Andrew Lang, Custom and Myth
(London, 1884), pp. 45 sqq. ; id.^
Myth^ Ritual a 7 id Religion (London,
1887), i. 295 sqq.
^ Hesiod, Theog. 155-159. In the
corresponding passage of Apollodorus
(i. I. 2) it is said that Uranus cast his
offspring “into Tartarus, a gloomy
place in Hades”, which seems a less
primitive version of the story.
^ Euripides, Frag. 484, in Tragi'
n
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 41
However, we cannot be sure that Euripides is here
reporting a genuine popular tradition ; for Diodorus Siculus,
who quotes the passage, reminds us that the poet was a
disciple of the philosopher Anaxagoras, and it may well
be that in these lines the tragedian is merely stating a
^cosmogonical speculation of his master or possibly a deduc-
tion of his own. Certainly, it was a tenet of Anaxagoras
that formerly “ all things were together, infinite in number
and in minuteness ; and when all things were together, it
was impossible, on account of their minuteness, to distinguish
anything”.^ From such a cosmogonical theory, which
reminds us of the nebular hypothesis of Laplace,'^’ it would
have been an easy inference that sky and earth were once
intermingled and indistinguishable.
Elsewhere, however, Euripides has described in un- Euripides
doubtedly mythical language the mythical marriage of Sky
and Earth. In a passage descriptive of the power of of sky and
Aphrodite, the goddess of love, he tells us that : Earth.
“ The Earth doth love the rain^ what time the parched ground^
Barren with droughty doth crave a shower.
The solemn Sky^ too., full of rain., doth love
To fall upon the Earth, when Aphrodite pf'ompts.
Then when the two are joined in love's embrace.
They make all things to grow for us, and feed them too.
Whereby the race of mortals lives and thrives
In writing thus Euripides may well have had in mind Aeschylus
similar lines of his great predecessor, Aeschylus, on the
nuptials of Heaven and Earth. The passage runs thus : Heaven
and Earth.
“ The holy Heaven doth live to wed the ground,
And Earth conceives a love of marriage.
The rain that falls from husband Heaven
Impregnates Earth ; and she for mortal men gives birth
To pastoral herbage afid to Ceres^ corn
conun Graccorum Fragmenia, ed. A.
Nauck 2, p. 5 1 1 . The passage is quoted
by Dionysius Halicarnasensis, Ars
Rhetorica, ii, vol. v. p. 355 cd.
Reiske (incompletely) ; Diodorus
Siculus, i. 7. 7 (except the first line) ;
Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica, i.
7. 8 .
^ Anaxagoras, F 7 'ag. i, in Die F'rag-
mente der Vorsokratiker, griechisch
lutd deutsch von II. Diels‘S, i. (Berlin,
1906), p. 313-
2 ComimreJ. II. Jeans, 7 'he Nebular
Hypothesis and Modern Cosmogony
(Oxford, 1923).
3 Athenaeus, xiii. 73, pp. 599F-
600B; Euripides, Frag. 898, in
F'ragnienta Tragiconim Graecorum,
ed. Nauck 2, p. 648.
^ Athenaeus, xiii. 73, p. 600 B ;
42
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
In these passages from the tragedians the word for sky
or heaven is, as usual, ouranos^ or, in its Latinized form
uranus. Thus the identity of the mythical Uranus with the
physical sky is manifest and indubitable. If there could
remain any doubt on this point, it would be resolved by a
passage in an Homeric hymn addressed to “ Earth, Mother
of All Things,” in which the poet says, “ Hail, Mother of the
gods, wife of starry Uranus ! ” ^
Sky Lastly, Earth and Sky (under his proper name of Uranus)
Lnd'p’arlh Were personified and coupled together as witnesses to oaths,
invoked in with the implication that as deities they would punish
perjury. This appeal to the deified powers of nature is as
old as Homer. Thus in the Iliad Hera swears by Earth
and Sky and the dripping water of Styx, and in the Odyssey
Calypso calls the same three powers to witness that she will
do no harm to Ulysses.'^
The other So much for the old Sky-god Uranus. We must now
god^*zeur ^ \itt\e to the other Greek Sky-god Zeus who,
was always through the splendours of Greek poetry and art, cast his
ancient rival and mythical grandfather into deep shadow.
In Zeus the process of personification was carried much
farther than in Uranus ; his physical basis in the sky is
overgrown and obscured by a luxuriant growth of mythology.
Indeed, it appears that the name Zeus never occurs in Greek
as a simple designation of the sky ; it is always the name
of a personal being, a mighty god, who stands in some
relation, near or remote, to the vault of heaven. Yet that
Zeus, like his Vedic namesake Dyaus, was in origin a sky-
god, there can be no reasonable doubt.^ His epithets and
commonty^ attributes combine unmistakeably to prove it. He was
derived addressed as Heavenly (oura^nos) Zeus,^ and as Heavenly Zeus
conceived
as a
personal
being,
closely
associated
with the
vault of
heaven.
His
celestial
phenomena,
clouds, rain,
thunder, and
lightning.
Aeschylus, Prajf. 44, in Tragicorum
Graec'ot'uni Fragmcnta, ed. Nauck 2,
p. 44. In this passage I read rpuxrai
and iKvae with the MSS. instead of
TrX^crat and with some editors.
* Homeric Hymns, xxx. 17.
^ Homer, Iliads xv. 36, Odyssey, v.
184. Compare Homeric Hymn to the
Pythian Apollo, 156 (334).
® On Zeus as a sky-god, see L.
Preller, Griechische Mythologie^, bear-
beitet von C. Robert, i. 1 1 5 sqq. ; O.
Gruppe, Griechische Mythologie, pp.
I TOO sq. ; A. B. Cook, Zens, i. (Cam-
bridge, 1914), pp. I sqq. I formerly
argued lhat Zeus was primarily a god
of the oak, and only secondarily a
god of the thundering sky. But this
view I now believe to be erroneous,
and I have long retracted it. See
The Golden Bough, Part VII., Balder
the Beautiful, vol. i. Preface, pp. ix sq.
^ Callimachus, Hymn, i. 54, Epigr.
liii. 3.
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 43
he was worshipped at Sparta, where one of the two kings regu-
larly ofificiated as his priest.^ But commonly his epithets and
attributes refer to celestial phenomena, such as clouds, rain,
thunder and lightning, rather than to the actual vault of
heaven. Thus Homer speaks of Zeus gathering clouds, wrapt
in black clouds, wielding the lightning, delighting in the
thunderbolt, and so on.^ In one passage he says that “ Zeus
rained continuously ; ” ® and elsewhere he speaks repeatedly
of the rain of Zeus.* He declares that Zeus set fast Zeus as the
the rainbow in the clouds to be a sign to mortal men.^
A Greek expression for rain-water is “ water from Zeus.” ^
On the acropolis of Athens there was an image of Earth
praying to Zeus for rain.^ And in time of drought the
Athenians themselves prayed, saying, “ Rain, rain, O
dear Zeus, on the cornland of the Athenians and on
the plains An altar of Showery Zeus stood on Mount
Hymettus, and there were altars of Rainy Zeus in various
parts of Greece.^ One of them was in the island of Cos,
and the members of a religious society used to go in pro-
cession and offer sacrifices on the altar when the thirsty
land stood in need of refreshing showers.^^^ On the ridge of
Mount Tmolus, near Sardes, there was a spot called the
Birthplace of Rainy Zeus, probably because omens of rain
were drawn from clouds resting upon it.^^ On Mount Fames
there was an altar on which people sacrificed to Zeus,
invoking him either as the Showery god or as the Averter
of Ills.^^ The climate of eastern ArgoHs is dry, and the
rugged mountains are little better than a stony waterless
^ Herodotus, vi. 56.
For the epithets and the refer-
ences to the passages, sec II. Ebeling,
Lexicon Homericnm (Leipzig, 1880-
1885), i. 521.
^ Iliady xii. 25
^ Iliady V. 91, xi. 493, xii. 286.
^ Iliady xi. 27 sq.
^ Herodotus, ii. 13; Apollonius
Rhodius, Argonaut, ii. 1120; Plutarch,
Quaestiones NaturaleSy ii. 4 ; Ditten-
berger, Sylloge Inscriptionuni Grae-
camm^y No. 93, vol. i. p. 123.
^ Pausanias, i. 24. 7.
® Marcus Antoninus, v. 7.
® Pausanias, ii. 19. 8, ix. 39. 4.
Paton and Hicks, The Inscriptions
op Cos (Oxford, 1891), No. 382, pp.
269 sqq, ; Dittenberger, Sylloge In-
scriptionum Graecartivi^y No. 1107,
vol. iii. pp. 266 sq.\ M. P. Nilsson,
Griechische Feste von religioser Bedeu-
timg mit Ausschluss der Attischen
(Leipzig, 1906), p. 4, According to
Professor Nilsson, the worshippers
mentioned in the inscription were not
a religious association but the whole
community (t6 kolv6v),
Joannes Lydus, Demensibusy iv. 48,
ed. Bekker.
Pausanias, i. 32. 2.
44
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
wilderness. On one of them named Mount Arachnaeiis, or
the Spider Mountain, stood altars of Zeus and Hera, and
when rain was wanted, the people sacrificed there to the god
'I'he prayei ' and goddess.^ It is said that once, when all Greece was
toZeu^^ parched with drought, envoys assembled in Aegina from
for rain, every quarter and besought Aeacus, the king of the island
to intercede with his father Zeus for rain.^ The king com-
plied with the petition, and by sacrifices and prayers he
wrung the needed showers from his sire Zeus, the sky-god.
“ Complying with their petition, Aeacus ascended the
Hellenic mountain, and stretching out pure hands to heaven
he called on the common god, and prayed him to take pity
on afflicted Greece. And even while he prayed a loud clap
of thunder pealed, and all the surrounding sky was overcast,
and furious and continuous showers of rain burst out and
flooded the whole land. Thus was exuberant fertility
procured for the fruits of the earth by the prayers of
Aeacus.’'® In gratitude for this timely answer to his
prayers, Aeacus built a sanctuary of Zeus on Mount Pan-
hellenius in Aegina.^ No place could well be more
appropriate for a temple of the sky and the rain ; for the
sharp peak of Mount Panhellenius, cutting the sky-line like
a blue horn, is a conspicuous landmark viewed from all the
neighbouring coasts of the Saronic gulf, and in antiquity a
cloud settling on the mountain was regarded as a sign of
rain.^
Zens As a god of the sky and the rain, Zeus was naturally
associated with mountains, whose tops seem to touch the
mountain- sky, and are often veiled in rain-clouds. The god was said
nmking^'" to have been reared on Mount Lycaeus in Arcadia, where
ceremony there is a spring which was reported, like the Danube, to flow
on Mounf with an equal body of water winter and summer. If there
Lycaeus. a long drought, and the seeds in the earth and the
^ Paiisanias, ii. 25. lo. As to the
climate and scenery of these barren
mountains, see A. Philippson, Der
Peloponnes (Berlin, 1891), pp. 43 sq.^
65.
Isocrates, Ei’agoras, 14; Diodorus
Siculus, iv. 61. I sq. ; Pausanias, ii.
29. 7 sq. ; Apollodorus, iii. I2. 6 ;
Clement of Alexandria, Strom, vi. 3.
28, p. 753 ed. Potter ; Scholiast on
Pindar, Nem. v. 9 (17). Aeacus uas
said to be the son of Zeus by Aegina,
daughter of Asopus (Apollodoius, l.c.).
3 Clement of Alexandria, Lc.
Pausanias, ii. 30. 4.
^ Theophrastus, De signis iempestat,
i. 24.
I
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 45
leaves of the trees were withering, the priest of Lycaean Zeus
used to look to the water and pray ; and having prayed and
offered the sacrifices enjoined by custom, he let down an oak
branch to the surface of the spring, but not deep into it ; and
the water being stirred, there rose a mist-like vapour, and in
a little the vapour became a cloud, and gathering other
clouds to itself it caused rain to fall on the land of Arcadia.'
In these ceremonies the sacrifices and prayers for rain were
reinforced by the magical rite of dipping an oak-bough in
the water. As the oak-tree was sacred to Zeus,^ it was
natural to suppose that the damping of the oak-leaves would
induce or compel the reluctant or forgetful deity to send the
wished-for showers.
At Cleonae in Argolis watchmen were maintained at Ceremonies
the public expense to look out for hail-storms. When
they saw a hail-cloud approaching they made a signal, at cieonne
whereupon the farmers or vinedressers turned out and ^’'*5°''®-
sacrificed lambs or fowls. People who were too poor to
offer lambs or fowls pricked their fingers and offered their
own blood to the clouds to induce them to go away some-
where else. We are told, and may readily believe, that the
obliging hail-cloud turned aside quite as readily from a field in
which a few drops of human blood had been offered to the
cloud as from one in which it had been propitiated with more
costly sacrifices. But if the hail-storm obstinately refused to
accept the sacrifices, and to hearken to the spells of -the
magicians, and the crops suffered in consequence, the watch-
men were brought to the bar of justice and punished for
neglect of duty.® From Plutarch we learn that the men
thus set to look out for hail-storms made use particularly of
mole’s blood and menstruous rags for the purpose of averting The
the clouds.' ficatmn of
In these quaint rites for getting rid of hail-clouds there the clouds
is no mention of Zeus, and we need not suppose that he
entered for a moment into the minds of the farmers when monies
they slaughtered their lambs or scratched their fingers ; it a 'more
was the clouds which were personified as divine beings who primitive
^ stratum ot
^ Pausanias, viii. 38. 2-4.
2 The Golden Bought Part I. The
Magic Arty ii. 358 S(/.
^ Seneca, Quaesl tones NaturaleSy iv.
6 ; Clement of Alexandria, Sfrovi, vi. religious
3. 31, p. 754 ed. Potter. belief than
^ Plutarch, Qnaesi tones Convivialesy the worship
46 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Aristo-
phanes
on the
divinity
clouds.
could be appeased with blood or moved to compassion, and
so induced to comply with the wishes and prayers of men.
Here, therefore, we touch a deeper stratum, a more primitive
form, of religious belief than in the worship of the great
sky>god Zeus ; for whereas in that worship the sky, the
clouds, the rain, the thunder, the lightning have been, so to
say, gathered up and generalized in a single comprehensive
conception, the personification of the clouds lags behind at
that old stage of thought known as animism, which, in-
capable of rising to large general ideas, is content to attribute
to every object in nature its own individual spirit. The
persistence of such a primitive worship of the clouds among
peasants long after the great sky-god Zeus had been en-
shrined in stately temples and adored with pompous rites, is
very instructive ; it reminds us of the old truth, which we are
too apt to forget, that contemporaries in time are often very
far from being contemporaries in mental evolution. The
philosopher and the savage rub shoulders in civilized society
to-day as they did in Greece of old ; for when farmers and
vinedressers were offering their blood to the clouds at
Cleonae, Seneca was philosophizing at Rome, and Jesus had
already preached and died in Judea. If in discussing the
nature of Zeus as a sky-god I have noticed the quaint rustic
rites of Cleonae, it is because they exhibit in an elementary
and perfectly transparent form that personification of celestial
phenomena which attained its highest manifestation in Zeus.
In his amusing parody of the Socratic method and
doctrine, Aristophanes represents the philosopher as dis-
crediting the existence of Zeus, but treating the Clouds as
great goddesses, who are the real causes of rain, thunder,
and lightning.^ Doubtless the poet himself regarded the
idea as manifestly absurd ; but we may suppose that many
of his rustic hearers, who had flocked into the city to
witness the Dionysiac festival or to escape the prowling
bands of the enemy in the open fields, saw nothing to laugh
at in the divinity of clouds, and their faith in the aerial
deities may have been strengthened if, while they sat in
the open air on the benches of the theatre, which still
rise, tier above tier, on the sunny side of the Acropolis,
^ Aristophanes, Clouds^ 252-41 1.
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 47
a heavy bank of clouds, drifting up from Mount Fames,
blotted out the blue Attic sky and, bursting with a peal
of thunder overhead, drove the spectators, drenched and
dripping, to their homes. As they scurried away to seek
shelter, the pious Athenians may have thought to themselves.
This is what comes of poking fun at the Clouds and
denying the existence of Zeus ! **
As a sky-god Zeus was supposed to wield the thunder Zeus as th^
and lightning ; a multitude of epithets lavished upon him umnderand
deal with that formidable side of his nature.^ It is said
that when Zeus released the Cyclopes, whom their father
Uranus had imprisoned, they rewarded their deliverer by
fashioning for him the lightning, the thunder, and the
thunderbolt. Armed with these weapons Zeus then over-
threw the Titans, and trusting in the power of the celestial
artillery he thenceforth ruled over gods and men.’^ In
Homer he thunders and hurls the thunder-bolt with deadly
aim and fatal effect ; ^ moreover, he gives omens to men
by the flash of lightning and the crash of thunder/ At
Olympia and elsewhere he was worshipped under the sur-
name of Thunderbolt ; ^ and at Athens there was a sacrificial
hearth of Lightning Zeus on the city wall, where some
priestly officials watched for lightning over Mount Fames at
certain seasons of the year.® Further, spots which had been
struck by lightning were regularly fenced in and dedicated
to Zeus the Descender, that is, to the god who came .down
in the flash from heaven. Altars were set up within these
enclosures and sacrifices offered on them. Several such
places are known from inscriptions to have existed in
Athens.*^
1 Griechische Mythologies 232; Joannes Malalas, Chronographias
p. Ill note^. viii. p. 199, ed. L. Dindorf.
2 Hesiod, Thcog. 501-506 ; Apollo- „ II, p. 404.
donis, i. 2. I.
^ Homer, Iliads xiv. 417, xv. 1 17, ^ Pollux, ix. 41 ; Hesychius, s.v.
xxi. 198 sq.s 401 ; Odysseys xii. 415 r}\v(riop ; Etyfnologicum Magnum s p.
sqq.'s Homeric Hymn to Aphrodites 2^%. 34 ** ^ Artemidorus, Omrocfnt.
^ Homer, Iliads viii. 170 sq.s ix. ii. 9; Pausanias, v. 14. 10 ; Ditten-
236 sq.s XV. 377 sq. ; Odysseys xx. 102 berger, Sylloge Inscriptionum Grae-
sqq.s 413 sqq. carum\ No. 992, vol. iii. p. 123,
^ Pausanias, v. 14. 7 ; Hl Roehl, with the references to other inscrip-
Inscriptiones Graecae antiqiiissimae tions ; Ch. Michel, Recueil d"" Inscrip-
(Berlin, 1882), No. 10 ; Friinkcl, tions grecques (Brussels, 1900), Nos.
Inscriptiones von Pergamous i. No. 747 i 74 ^, P- 634.
48 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Zeus
worshipped
as a god
of cool
breezes in
the island
of Ceos.
With ‘the
progress of
thought the
conception
of Zeus, the
Sky-god,
tended to
absorb and
obscure
that of all
the other
gods.
As a god of the sky and the upper air Zeus could send
cool winds to temper the burning heat of a Greek summer.
Once upon a time, we are told, in the Aegean island of
Ceos, the blaze of the midsummer sun about the rising of
the Dogstar had parched the fields and spread a wasting
sickness among men and beasts. In their distress the
people summoned Aristaeus, son of Apollo, to their aid, that
he might end the drought and stay the pestilence. He
came and built an altar to Zeus under the title of Icmaeus
or Icmius, that is, God of Moisture. On that altar in the
mountains he offered sacrifices to Sirius or the Dogstar and
to Zeus. The god accepted the sacrifice and sent the
Etesian winds to blow and cool the earth for forty days.
Thereafter in the island of Ceos the priests continued every
year to offer sacrifices on the mountains to the Dogstar and
to pray to Zeus that he would send cool breezes, and every
year Zeus hearkened to the prayer and sent the cool Etesian
wind for forty days. In gratitude for this service Aristaeus
was numbered among the gods ; according to the learned
poet Callimachus, he even took the title of Zeus Aristaeus.^
A sober Greek historian, Heraclides Ponticus, recorded that
every year the people of Ceos were wont to observe care-
fully the rising of the Dogstar, and from the appearance of
the splendid star, whether shining brilliantly in a serene sky
or looming dim through mist and cloud, they prognosticated
the weather of the coming year, and with it the salubrity or
unwholesomeness of the seasons.- It is thus that religion
may develop, or degenerate, into science, and an altar make
room for an observatory.
But Greek thinkers could not rest content with the con-
ception of a world parcelled out between a trinity of brother
gods — the god of the sky, the god of the sea, and the god
of the nether regions. The idea of a tripartite divinity
furnished them with no permanent halting-place on the long
march from polytheism to monotheism. Urged by that
imperious craving after simplicity and unity which is a
1 Apolloniu-s Rhodiu.s, ii. 14; M. p. Nilsson, Gruchische Peste
516-527; Callimachus, Aitia, iii. i. vonreligi^ser BedetUungmit Ausschhtss
32-37, p. 208 c(l. Mair ; Hyginus, der Attischen (Leipzig, 1906), pp. 6-8.
Asironomica^ ii. 4, pp. 37 sq.^ cd.
Bunte ; Probus, on Virgil, Georg, i. 2 CicQXOt De dtvtnaiioneF^> ST- 13O'
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 49
fundamental impulse of human nature and essential to
the conduct of human understanding, they tended more
and more to resolve the trinity into unity, to fuse the three
gods into one ; and on this one great god they bestowed
the name of Zeus. Thus the Sky-god finally absorbed
aj;id extinguished his brother deities : they were lost in
his radiant glory, like stars that vanish before the rising
sun.
To this thought of the essential unity of the divine Aeschylus
nature the deeply religious genius of Aeschylus gave universality
powerful expression in the fifth century before our era. of Zeus.
He said :
“ Zeus is the ether ^ Zeus the Earthy and Zeus the sky.
In truths Zeus is all things and what there is beyond them
Euripides identified Zeus with the all-embracing ether. In Zeusidenti-
verses of a lost play, verses often quoted by the ancients c^her by^^*^
and translated by Cicero, he says : Euripides.
“ Seesl thou yon infinite ether aloft
That clasps the earth in moist embf'ace ?
That ether deem thou Zeus^ esteem it God
In another passage of a lost play he introduces a speaker
who affirms that the ether is what men name Zeus.^
Elsewhere he couples the ether of Zeus and the Earth
as the universal parents :
Earth the mighty and the ether of Zeus.,
He is the begetter of fnen and gods ;
A?td she., when she has caught the raids moist drops.,
Gives birth to mortals,
Gives birth to pasture and the beasts after their kinds.
Whence not tmjustly
She is deemed another of all things.
* Aeschylus, Frag. 70, in Frag-
nienta T^agicorum Graecorum, ed.
Nauck p. 70; Clement of Alexandria,
Strom. V. 14. 1 1 5, p. 718 ed. Potter;
Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica, xiii.
13, vol. ii. p. 272, ed. Ileinichen.
^ Euripides, Frag. 941, in Frag-
ment a Tragicorum Graecorum, ed.
Nauck 2, p. 663 ; Lucian, fupiter
Tragoedus, 41 ; Clement of Alexandria,
VOL. I
Strom. V. 14. 1 1 5, p. 717 ed. Potter;
ICusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica, xiii.
13, vol. ii. p. 272, ed. fieinichen ;
Plutarch, De exilio, 5 (omitting the
last impious verse). For Cicero’s
versified translation of the lines, see
De natiira deorum, ii. 25. 65.
3 pAtripides, Frag. 877, in Frag-
menta Tragicorum Graecorum, ed.
Nauck 2, p, 642.
E
50 W0RSr~[IP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The
Supremo
God identi
fied with
the air by
Anaxi-
menes.
But that which has been born of earth
To earth returns;
A nd that which sprouted from ether ial seed
To heaven's vault goes back.
So nothing dies of all that into being comes ^
But each from each is parted
And so takes another form
But we can hardly doubt that for the poet the name
of Zeus was merely a cloak, a threadbare cloak, to hide
a profound religious scepticism, which elsewhere he hardly
takes the trouble to conceal. In one passage he says
plainly, Zeus, whoever Zeus may be, for I know him not
except in speech ” ; ^ and elsewhere he passionately asserts
that there are no gods in heaven, and that nobody but a fool
would believe such an old wives’ tale.^ No doubt all these
sayings are put in the mouth of fictitious personages created
by the poet to suit the exigencies of the drama ; but in them
we seem to catch a ring of personal conviction which it
is hardly possible to mistake ; they probably reflect the real
belief of the dramatist.^ In identifying Zeus with the ether
he appears to have accepted the doctrine of the early philo-
sopher Anaximenes, who taught that the infinite air was the
original matter out of which all things were produced in the
past, are produced in the present, and will be produced in
the future, the processes of evolution and dissolution going
on perpetually and to all appearance simultaneously. This
air, infinite in extent and for ever in motion, he identified
with God or the Supreme God ; for according to one
account he supposed the popular gods to participate in
the universal process of generation and decay.^
^ Euripides, Frag. 830, in Frag-
vienta Tragicorum Graecoriim, ed.
Nauck 2 , p. 633 ; Sextus Empiricus,
p. 751, lines 21 S(](j. ed. Bekker
(ciuoting the first .seven lines without
the author’s name) ; Clement of
Alexandria, Strom, vi. 2. 24, p. 750
(quoting the last three lines from the
Chrysippus of Euripides).
2 Euripides, Frag. 480, in Frag-
ment a Tragicorum Graecorum.^ ed.
Nauck 2, p. 510; Lucian, Jupiter
Tragoedus^ 41.
^ Euripides, Frag. 286, in Frag-
menta T'agicortim Craeco 7 ‘n 7 n^ ed.
Nauck 2, p. 445.
The religious scepticism of Euri-
pides was rightly emphasized by A. W.
Verrall in his book Euripides the
Raiiofialist (Cambridge, 1895).
® Hippolytus, Refutatio 077 iinu 7 n
Haere 5 iu 77 t^ i. 7 ; Plutarch, De placitis
philosophoru 7 n^ i. 3. 6 ; Cicero, De
7 iatu 7 -a deotmm^ i. 10. 26 ; id.^
Academica^ ii. 37. 118; Lactantius,
Divin. Inst Hut. i. 5. See further
II. Diels, Die Fra^mente der Vor-
sok 7 ‘atiker^y i. 17 sqq.'; E. Zeller, Die
Philosophic der Grierhen, i.* 219 sqq.
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 51
About a century later than Euripides the comic poet Zeusidenti-
Philemon again gave expression to the view that Zeus was ^ir by the
the air ; but in his verses, as in those of his great predecessor, comic poet
1 Philemon.
the name of the deity appears little more than a mask to
cover a materialistic philosophy. He introduces the god
tymself speaking as follows :
“ Whom no one^ neither god nor man, can e'er deceive.
In what he does, or shall do, or has done in former days,
That being, I am he.
To wit, the air, and you may also name me Zeus.
The function of a god is mine in this, that I am everywhere.
Here in Athens, in Patrae, i?t Sicily,
In all the cities, and in every house.
And in you all. There is no place
Where air is not; and he who everywhere e.xists
Must needs in virtue of his omnipresence be omtnscient"
A far more deeply religious spirit breathes in the famous Hymn to
Hymn to Zeus composed in the third centuiy before our era the Stoic
by Cleanthes, one of the founders of the Stoic school. He philosopher
addresses the god in terms of serious, indeed enthusiastic
adoration :
“ Most glorious of the Inwiortals, thou of many names, onifiipotent for
aye,
O Zeus, founder of nahire, who dost govern all things by law.
All hail ! For mortals all enjoy the right to call upon thee.
Since 7ve are thine offspring, the lot having fallen on tts to be thine
echo.
We alone, all mortal things that live and creep on earth.
Therefore will I hymn thee and sing thy might for ei-fer.
All yonder world that wheels about the earth
Obeys thee, wheresoe'er thou leadest, and 'ivillingly is swayed by thee.
Such minister hast thou in thuie unconquej'cd hatuis.
The two-edged, fiery, ever-living thunderbolt.
For at its stroke all nature quakes.
By it thou dost direct the universal reason, which through all things
Runs, mingled with the lights both great and small.
So great art thou, a king supreme for ever.
Without thee, power divine, there is naught done on earth
Nor in heaven's holy vatdt, nor in the deep.
Save what bad men in their own folly perpetrate.
But thou dost know how best to make the une'ven even.
To order the disorderly, and make the loveless loving.
^ Stobaeus, Eclogae, i. 2. 32 (vol. i. p. 17 ed. Meineke).
52
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
So hast thou har7noni2ed in one all good things 7vith the bad
That they should form the Reasofi of the Eternal Uftiverse^
Which evil ifien^ fleemg^ abandon^
Mortals ill-starred^ who^ coveting the gam of fancied good^
Do neither see nor hear God^s universal hnv^
That law^ to which obedience yielding they might lead a life of se7tse
and virtue.
But they,^ strangers to good7tess, seek their various ends :
So 7716 on the feverish quest of glory all agogy
Others mtent 07i lucre^s sorry gai7iy
Othersy voluptuous y all 07i ease and pleasure bcnty
Wander this way and thaty 7tor ever reach the goal.
But ihouy O ZeuSy all-bou7iteouSy wrapt m dusky cloudSy lord of the
thimderbolt^
O save 7nen fro7)i their baneful ignorancey
Disperse ity Fathery fro 771 their soul afar ; graft t that %ve do attain
That wisdo7ny wherein trusting thou dost rule all things ifi justicey
To the C7td that wey ho7ioured by theey fuay thee requite with honoury
Hy77ining thy works for ever77iorey as doth bccotne
A 77iortal i7ta7i ; for sure nor 7ne7i nor gods ca7i wift a guerdon greater
Tlum to hy 77171 the U7tiversal law ifi righteoustiess for aye’\'^
Through this hymn, which I have rendered very im-
perfectly, there runs a tone of religious fervour, which
bespeaks the sincerity of the poet. In the concluding
address to the deity there is something of the organ swell
with which Milton ends his lines At a Solemn Music'.
“ O 777 ay we sooti agaitt 7'e7iew that so7tgy
A7id keep ifi tune with heavetiy till God ere lofig
To his celestial cofisort us unitCy
To live with ///;;/, afid siftg in endless ftiorn of light
Certainly no contrast could well be greater than that
between the Mephistophelean sneer of Euripides at Zeus and
the ecstatic hymn of Cleanthes, between the conception of
a world moved by cold, impersonal, unconscious forces alone,
and that of a universe fashioned and guided by a being of
supreme wisdom, supreme power, and supreme goodness,
whose praises it will be the highest bliss of mortals to sing
in a rapture of music for ever.
Contemporary with the philosopher Cleanthes was the
poet Aratus, who introduced his astronomical poem with an
exordium addressed to Zeus, which enjoys the distinction of
^ Cleanthes, quoted hy Stobaeus, Eclogae^ i. 2. 12, vol. i. pp. 8 sq. cd.
Meineke.
Aratus on
the onnii-
presence
and bene-
ficence of
Zeus.
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 53
being the one solitary passage of pagan literature quoted in
the Bible. The lines run somewhat as follows :
“ From Zens let us begin; him nearer do we men pass by
In silence. Full of Zeus are all the streets,^
And all the market-places of men ; full is the sea,
A nd full the havens ; sure at every turn we all have need of Zeus,
P'or we too are his offspring; and he^ out of his kindness, gives to men
Auspicious omens, and doth wake the world to work.
Reminding men to ear 71 their bread. He tells what time the clods are
best
For ox a7id mattock; tells ivhen the btixoni season most invites
To plant the shoots and cast the seeds of every sort.
For himself it was who set the sig)ts in heavcft.
Marked out the constellations, and for the year contrived
What stars should best the heralds be
Of seasons to mankifid, that so all things should grow unfailingly.
Wherefore men do reverence to hitn ever, first and last.
Hail, Father, tnighty 7 narvel, niighty blessing
Unto 77 ta 7 tkind^\^
In these verses, as in the hymn of Clcanthes, the gracious The
and providential character of Zeus is strongly marked. In
both he is the wise and mighty Father of mankind, who has hither-
ordained all things for the good of his children. This
thought of the fatherhood of Zeus is very ancient, for in
Homer he is commonly addressed as Father both by gods
and men,^ and in ancient India, as we saw, his namesake
Dyaus was regularly accorded the same endearing epithet by
his worshippers. But while Aratus conceives Zeus as a deity
chiefly concerned in ministering to the material well-being and
comfort of mankind, the thought of the Stoic Clcanthes takes
a much higher flight, dwelling mainly on the moral aspect
of the deity as the source of that universal reason and
universal law to which not mankind alone but all living
beings must conform at their peril. For the philosopher is
clearly at pains to solve the ancient, the perennial problem
of reconciling the existence of evil in the world with the
supposition of an all-wise, all-powerful, and all-good Creator.
1 Aratus, Phaenoinetia, 1-15. The occurs in the hymn of Cleanthes to
expression “For we too are his off- Zeus. .See above, p. 51.
spring” {rod yiip Kal yivos eifiev, line - Ytev wdrep, Homer, Iliad, ii. 37 H
5) is quoted by St. Paul (Acts of the v. 757, 762, viii. 236, xiii. 631,
Apostles, xvii. 28). A very similar Odyssey, iv. 341, vii. 31 1, xvii. 132,
expression (eV aou ydp yGo% iafilv) xviii. 235, xx. 201, xxiv. 376.
54 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The
pseudo-
Aristotle
on the
universal
divinity of
Zeus.
On that knotty point he appears to take refuge in the
popular solution of the freedom of the will ; if men go
wrong, as unquestionably they do, it is all the fault of their
own blind folly, for which the Creator cannot justly be held
responsible. Let them only conform to the order of nature
and the moral law established by the deity, and all will go
well with them.
But perhaps the most complete expression of the uni-
versal divinity of Zeus is to be found in a treatise on the
universe which passes under the name of Aristotle and is
included in his works, though no doubt it is the composition
of a much later age. The passage runs as follows :
There is one being of many names, who is designated
by all the attributes of which he is himself the author. We
call him Zen and ZenSy using the words to signify ‘ He by
whom we live ’ {zdmeti). He is said to be the son of
Cronus and of Time {chronos)^ because he endures from
eternity to eternity. He is called He of the Lightning, He
of the Thunder, He of the Thunderbolt, Bright, Etherial,
Rainy, after the rain, the thunderbolts, and all the rest.
Moreover, he is named Fruitful after the fruits, and Civic
after the cities ; from his social relations he is called the
Family. God, He of the Courtyard, He of the Kinsfolk, the
Paternal God ; also the God of P'ellowship, the Friendly
One, the Hospitable, the Soldier God, Holder of Trophies,
Purifier, Avenger, and the Gracious One, as poets say, the
Saviour, the Deliverer in truth, and, in a word, the Heavenly
and the Earthly God, who takes his names from the whole
range of nature and of fortune, since he is himself the cause
of all. Hence in the Orphic poems it is not ill said :
‘ Zeus was the first and Zeus the last^ god of the flashing thunderbolt :
Zeus is the heady and Zeus the nnddley for of Zeus 'ivere all things
made,
Zeus is the foundation of the earth and of the starry sky.
Zeus was a 77ialey Zeus was a nymph divine,
Zeus is the breath of all things y Zeus the rush of the unwearied fire.
Zeus is the root of OceaUy Zeus the lord of ally god of the flashing
thunderbolt ’
^ Aristotle, De mundo ad Alexan- variations, as from Aristotle by
druniy 7, p. 401 ed. Bekkcr. The Stobaeus, EclogaCy i. 2. 3, vol. i. pp.
passage is quoted, with some trifling 22 ed. Meineke. Stobaeus also quotes
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 55
Finally, the stoical deification of the whole universe Arius
under the name of Zeus is summed up in a few words by a
certain Arius Didymus, a writer oT unknown date : “ The idenu-
whole universe, with all its parts, they call God. They say [heu,Xerse
that it is one alone, and finite, and living, and a god, for in with Zeus.
it are contained all bodies, and there is no vacuum in it. . . .
]?or these reasons we must deem that the god who directs
the whole takes thought for men, seeing that he is benefi-
cent, and good, and kind, and just, and possessed of all the
virtues. Wherefore the universe is also called Zeus, since
to us he is the cause of life {sen)}
Thus from a simple childlike personification of the sky,
Greek thought advanced step by step to the conception of
a Supreme God, a Heavenly Father, the beneficent Creator
and Preserver of the universe.
If in Greek philosophy the idea of Zeus, the Sky-god, i he ideal
reached its culminating point somewhat late, after the genius
of the nation had passed its meridian and was declining by Phidias
towards its still splendid sunset, it was otherwise in Greek o^nhe^god^
art. At the very moment when that genius touched its atoiympia.
zenith, the great sculptor Phidias embodied the ideal of
Zeus in that famous image at Olympia, which, if we may
judge of it by the praises lavished on it by antiquity, must
have been one of the greatest glories of the ancient world,
one of the most marvellous creations of the human hand.^
The Roman general, Aemilius Paulus, the conqueror of
Macedonia, was deeply moved by the sight of the image ;
he felt as if he were in the presence of the god himself, and
declared that Phidias alone had succeeded in embodying
the Homeric conception of Zeus.^ Cicero says that Phidias
the Orphic poem at much greater
length {Eclogae^ i. 2. 23, vol. i. pp.
10 sq. ed. Meineke). Most of the
epithets applied to Zeus in this passage
are enumerated and explained by Dio
Chrysostom {Or. xii. vol. i. pp. 237 j-y.,
ed. L. Dindorf).
1 Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica,
XV. 15, vol. ii. pp. 401 sq., ed. Hein-
ichen. As to the Stoical conception of
Zeus, see further E. Zeller, Die Philo-
Sophie der Giiechen, Dritter Theil,
Erste Abtheilung^ (Leipzig, 1880), pp.
324 sq.
2 The passages of ancient writers
referring to the statue are collected
and printed in full by J. Overbeck,
Die antihen Schri/tquellen zur Ge-
schichte dcr Kiinste bei den Griechen
(Leipzig, 1868), pp. 125-136. Com-
pare id., Griechische Kiinstmythologie,
Besonderer Theil, i. (Leipzig, 1871),
pp. 34 sqq. ; Paiisanias, v. ii., i, with
my commentary, vol. iii. pp. 530 sqq.
^ Idvy, xlv. 28 ; Plutarch, Aemilius
Paulus, 28 ; Polybius, quoted by
Suidas. s.v.
56 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The Greek
Sky-gods
Zeus and
Uranus
compared
tothe Vedic
Sky-gods
Dyaiis and
Varuna.
fashioned the image, not after any living model, but after
that ideal beauty which he saw with the inward eye alone.'
Quintilian asserts that the beauty of the image served to
deepen the popular religion, the majesty of the image
equalling the majesty of the god.^ A poet declared that
either the god must have come from heaven to earth to
show Phidias his image, or Phidias must have gone to heaven
to behold the deity in person.® The statue was reckoned
one of the seven wonders of the world, ^ and to die without
having seen it was deemed a misfortune.® The Greek
rhetorician, Dio Chrysostom, a man of fine taste, extolled it
in one of his speeches. He calls it the most beautiful image
on earth, and the dearest to the gods.® He represents
Phidias speaking of his “peaceful and everywhere gentle
Zeus, the overseer, as it were, of united and harmonious
Greece, whom, with the help of my art and in consultation
with the wise and good city of Elis I set up, mild and
august in an unconstrained attitude, the giver of life and
breath and all good things, the common father and saviour
and guardian of mankind, so far as it was possible for mortal
man to conceive and imitate the divine and infinite nature”.
And elsewhere he says : “ Methinks that if one who is heavy
laden in mind, who has drained the cup of misfortune and
sorrow, and whom sweet sleep visits no more, were to
stand before this image, he would forget all the griefs and
troubles that are incident to the life of man.” ®
So far did the Sky-god Zeus outrun his mythical pre-
decessor, the Sky-god Uranus, in the race of glory. By a
curious antithesis the careers of the two Greek Sky-gods
were almost exactly the reverse of those of their two Indian
namesakes. P'or whereas the Indian Dyaus always remained
true to his simple origin as a personification of the sky, and
as such was regularly coupled with his wife, the Earth-
goddess, his Greek namesake Zeus never wedded the Earth-
' Cicero, Orator^ ii. 8. Compare
the passage of Plotinus {Ennead. v. 8)
quoted by J. Overbeck, Die antiken
Schriftquellen^ p. 131, No. 716.
2 Quintilian, Instit. Oral. xii. lo. 9.
3 Antholog^ia Palatinay Appendix
Planudea^ iv. 81.
^ Hyginus, Fab, 223.
^ Ejiictetus, Dissert, i. 6. 23.
Dio Chrysostom, Or at. xii. vol. i.
p. 220, ed. L. Dindorf.
" Dio Chiysostorn, Orat. xii. vol. i.
pp. 236 sq., ed. L. Dindorf.
® Dio Chrysostom, Orat. xii. vol. i.
pp. 229 sq., ed. L. Dindorf.
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 57
goddess, and lost more and more the traces of his connexion
with the merely physical heaven, overshadowed as it were
and obscured in the transcendent glory of his elevation to
the position of Supreme God. On the other hand, while
the Greek Uranus remained to the last a transparent per-
sonification of the sky, his Indian namesake, Varuna, soon
shed that character and underwent a transformation
analogous to that of the Greek Zeus. Thus, whereas in
name Uranus corresponds to Varuna, and Zeus to Dyaus,
in their mythical or divine character it is Uranus who
answers to Dyaus, and Zeus to Varuna. If we are asked
why two pairs of sky-gods, with names originally identical,
ran opposite courses, we can only surmise that in each case
the god who bore the ordinary name for the sky naturally
kept the closer to his original nature ; in Sanscrit he was
Dyaus and in Greek Uranus ; whereas the god who bore a
name which was no longer the ordinary name for the sky
was more easily divorced from the physical heaven, and thus
lent himself more readily to the play of mythical fancy : in
Sanscrit he was Varuna and in Greek Zeus.
§5. The Worship of the Sky among the ancient Romans
In Roman religion we meet with the same old sky-god The Sky-
as in Vedic and Greek mythology. His name is Jupiter,
which is etymologically identical with the Vedic Dyaus the head of
and the Greek Zens pater^ the latter part of his name {-piter) pantheon,
being only a slightly altered form of patci% “ father ”, while
the first part {Jti-') is contracted from Diov^ as appears from
the forms of the divine name lovis and Diovis which occur
in Old Latin and Oscan. A rare alternative form of Jupiter
is Diespitet\ in which the original form of the first part of
the name is more clearly preserved.^ The sky-god Jupiter
was always the head of the Roman pantheon, just as his
^ G. Wissowa, Religion und Kiiltiis
der Romer‘^ (Munich, 1912), p. 113;
Aust, Jupiter ”, in W. H. Roscher’s
Lexikon der griechisclmi und romischeii
Mythologies ii. 619 sqq, ; O. Schrader,
Reallexikon der indogermaniseken A Iter-
(Strassburg, 1901), p. 670 ;
id.s “Aryan Religion”, in J. Hastings’s
Encyclopaedia of Religion and EthicSs
i. 33; IL Hirt, Die Indogennauen
(Strassburg, 1905 -1907), ii. 505 sq.
As to the forms Diovis and DiespiteCs
see Varro, De lingua Latina, v. 66 ;
Aulus Gellius, v. 12. 5 ^q- > Macrobius
Saturn, i. 15. 14; Servius on Virgil,
Aeft. ix. 567.
58 WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Jupiter as
the god of
rain.
namesake the sky-god Zeus was always the head of the
Greek pantheon ; but unlike Zeus the process of personifica-
tion was never carried so far in Jupiter as to obscure his
original connexion with the sky. The Latin poets not
uncommonly use his name as equivalent to sky,^ and Ennius
in a verse which is often quoted says : ^
“Behold yon shining firmament which all name Jove.”^
In another passage the same poet declares that Jupiter “is
what the Greeks call the air, which is the wind and the clouds,
afterwards the rain, and the cold which follows rain In
quoting this latter passage the learned Roman antiquary Varro
says plainly that Jupiter and Juno are the deified Sky and
Earth ; ^ and many centuries afterwards the learned Christian
Father, St. Augustine, declared that the identity of Jupiter
with the sky was affirmed by a multitude of witnesses.^
As a sky-god Jupiter was naturally associated with the
rain, the thunder, and the lightning, of all of which he was
supposed to be the author. One of his epithets was Rainy,^
and another was Serene, with reference to a cloudless sky,’^
because by his look he was believed to clear the cloudy
heaven and still the storm.® In time of drought prayers
were put up to Jupiter for rain. At Rome the women used
to go in procession with bare feet and streaming hair up the
slope to the Capitol, and implore the deity to send the
needed showers ; whereupon, we are told, the rain used
immediately to fall in bucketsful, and they all returned
home as wet as drowned rats. But nowadays, says the
writer who records these good old times when rain was to
be had of Jupiter for the asking, nobody believes that the
sky is the sky, nobody fasts, nobody cares a brass button for
^ Thus the expression sub Jove^
“under Jupiter”, means “under the
open sky”. See Horace, Odes^ i. i.
25 ; Ovid, Fastis ii. 138, 299, iii.
527, iv. 505 ; id.y Ars Amat. i. 726,
ii. 623; id., Metam. iv. 260; Claudian,
Panegyric on the Consuls Probinus and
Olybrius, 36 sq. For other cases of
Jupiter used as equivalent to “ sky ”,
see Horace, Odes, i. 22. 19 sq., iii. 10.
7 sq., Epodes, xiii. i sq. ; Virgil, Eel.
vii. 60, Geoi‘gics, i. 418, ii. 419.
2 Cicero, De natura deorum, ii. 2.
4, ii. 25. 65, iii. 4. 10 ; Festus, s.v.
“ Sublimem ”, p. 400, ed. Lindsay.
^ Ennius, quoted by Varro, De
lingua Latina, v. 65.
^ Varro, loc. cit.
^ Augustine, De civitate Dei, vii. 19.
® Tibullus, i. 7. 26 {Pluviojovi) ;
H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Selectae, No. 3043 {Join pluviali).
7 H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Selectae, No. 3042.
® Virgil, Aen. i. 255.
II
WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 59
Jupiter, and that is the reason why farming is now in so
bad a way.^ Speaking of these prayers for rain, the Christian
Father, Tertullian, says contemptuously, “You sacrifice to
Jupiter for rain, you command the people to go barefoot,
you seek the sky on the Capitol, and you expect clouds
from the ceiling”.^ In his capacity of a deity from whom
rain could be elicited by prayer, like water from a barrel by
turning a tap, Jupiter had an altar on the Aventine which
was said to have been dedicated by the pious King Numa.^
But of all the celestial phenomena none were so fre- Jupiter as
quently ascribed to the direct agency of Jupiter as thunder
and lightning. Many epithets derived from thunder and and
lightning were applied to him ; ^ indeed the very names ^‘^htning.
for lightning and thunderbolt were coupled with his name as
if he were identical with these phenomena.^ In the Field
of Mars at Rome there was a shrine of Lightning Jupiter/’
In a familiar passage Horace speaks of Jupiter sending
snow and hail on the earth, and hurling lightning from his
red right hand, as if the flash of the lightning spread a ruddy
glow over his uplifted arm/ Augustus founded a temple 'i he temple
of Thundering Jupiter on the Capitol in gratitude for a
narrow escape which he had had of being killed by lightning, on the
For once, when he was marching by night in Spain, it
chanced that a flash of lightning grazed his litter and struck
dead the slave who was carrying a torch in front of him.
^ Petronius, Satyr. 44, ceremony of aqnaelicia mentioned by
2 Tertullian, Apologeticus, 40. Tertullian {Apolog. 40) speaks strongly
^ Varro, De lingua Latina^ vi. 9"; ; in favour of this interpretation.
Livy, i. 20. 7, Ad ea elicienda ex ^ 11 . Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
mentibus divinis Jovi Elicio aram in Seleclae^ Nos. 3044, 3045, 3046, 3047,
Aventino dicavit'\ As to Jupiter 3048, 3051 ; Festus, s.v. Provorsum^
Elicius, compare Livy, i. 31. 8 ; Ovid, p. 254, ed, Lindsay.
Easti^ iii. 327 sq. ; Pliny, Nat. Hist. ^ 11 . Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
ii. 140 ; Arnohius, Adversus Nationes^ Selectae^ Nos. 3052, 3053 ; G. Wissowa,
V. I. The ancients apparently associ- Religion und Kultus der Rd 7 ner'^, p.
ated Jupiter Elicius rather with lightning 1 21.
than with rain (Livy, Ovid, Arnobius, ® Vitruvius, i. 2. 5. Vitruvius does
ll.cc.'y Plutarch, Nunia, 15); but not mention the place of the shrine,
modern scholars are probably right in but that is determined by an inscription,
regarding Jupiter Elicius as primarily See G. Henzen, Acta Frat^'um Ar-
a rain-god. See A ust, j.iy. “ Jupiter ”, z^alhun (Berlin, 1874), p. ccxxxviii ;
in W. H. Roscher’s Txxikon der grie- Aust,.9.z/.“Jupiter”, inW. II. Roscher’s
chischen und r'omischen Mythologie, ii. Lexikon der griechischenund rdmischen
656-658 ; G. Wissowa, Religion und Mythologies ii. 656.
Kultus der Rdmer'^s P* 12 1. The ^ Horace, Odes^ i. 2. 1-4.
6o WORSHIP OF SKY AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
This Temple of Thundering Jupiter on the Capitol the devout
emperor used often to visit. Once he dreamed that Capitoline
Jupiter appeared to him and complained of the loss of
his worshippers, who were drawn away from him by the
attractions of the new temple. The emperor endeavoured
to pacify the irate deity by assuring him that he had only
planted the Thunderer there in order to serve as doorkeeper
to the genuine and original Jupiter in his ancient temple
hard by ; and to lend an air of plausibility to the excuse he
caused bells to be hung from the gable of the Thunderer’s
temple, so that visitors to the temple might ring a bell to
advertise the god of their approach and to ascertain whether
he was at home, just as Roman gentlemen did when they
called on their friends.^ The story is instructive as illustrat-
ing the extreme jealousy of the divine nature ; for in this
case Capitoline Jupiter was clearly very jealous of Thunder-
ing Jupiter, though in point of fact the Thunderer was only
himself under another name. The anecdote shows, too,
how easy it is to multiply gods by the simple process of
multiplying their names ; for no doubt many simple-minded
people would take the two Jupiters for two distinct and
even rival deities, who competed against each other for the
custom of their worshippers. In this or some such way
Roman mythology might have developed a god of thunder
different from and independent of the god of the sky. Else-
where such a differentiation of divine functions has actually
taken place. We shall see presently, for example, that the
Babylonian pantheon included a Thunder-god as well as a
Sky-god, the two deities being distinct in both name and
nature.
Jupiter The supreme place which Jupiter occupied in the Roman
Greatest^ pantlicon is Sufficiently indicated by the titles Best and
{^piimus Greatest {Optimus Maximus) which were commonly bestowed
Maximus). which belonged especially to Capitoline Jupiter
at Rome.^ When Cicero, on his return from exile, appealed
^ Suetonius, xxix. 1 and 3, 3001, 3002, 3003, 3004, 3005, 3007,
xci. 2. Compare Monumentuni Ancy~ 3008, 3009 ; E. Aust, Die Religion dev
ranutn^ ch. 29, p. 91, ed. Hardy. Rdmer (Miinster-i.-W., 1899), p. 122;
2 Cicero, De natnra deontm^ ii. 25. L. Preller, Romische Mythologie'^, i.
64 ; II. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinat 205 sqq. ; G. Wissowa, Religion und
Nos. 2996, 2997, 2999, 3000, Kultns der Romer'^^ pp. 125 sqq. \
II
WORSHIP OF S/CV AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 6t
to the pontiffs for the restoration of his house, which in his
absence had been pulled down by his enemy, the ruffian
Clodius, he concluded his speech with a peroration in which
he solemnly invoked the protection of the Roman Gods,
beginning with Capitoline Jupiter under his titles of Best
^nd Greatest, and explaining that the Roman people gave
the name of Best to Jupiter on account of his benefits,
and the name of Greatest on account of his power.^ When
Anthony addressed Caesar as king and attempted to place
a crown on his head, Caesar refused it and sent the
crown to Jupiter, Best and Greatest, on the Capitol, saying
that Jupiter alone was king of the Romans.'^ Down to the
end of paganism this worship of Jupiter Best and Greatest
on the Capitol remained the heart of Roman religion : in
a late dedication the deity is styled the chief of the gods,
the governor of all things, the ruler of heaven and earth.®
He was indeed the divine embodiment of the Roman
empire ; and when the emperor Constantine abandoned the
old for a new religion, it was fitting that he also abandoned
the ancient capital for a new seat of empire nearer to the
birthplace of the Oriental faith which he had borrowed from
Judaea.
L. von Schroeder, Arische Religion, I.
Einkitung. Per altarische Ilimmeh-
golt, p. 470.
^ Cicero, Pro domo su.i, Ivii. 144.
Suetonius, Divus Julius, Ixxix. 2 ;
Dio Cassius, xliv. 1 1.
Corpus Insiripliomim Latinarum,
vol. viii. Supplernentum, Pars II.
(Berlin, 1894), p. 1748, No. 18219;
II. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Seleetae, No. 2999, lovi optima
maximo deorum principi, gubernatori
omnium rerum, caeli ieriaruntque
reetori, ob reportatam ex gentilibus
barbaris gloriam Flavius leontius
v{ir) p{erfectissimus) dux per Africam
posuit. The inscription is thought to
date from the fourth century A.D.
The wor-
ship of the
sky among
non-Aryan
peoples.
The
Sumerians
in Baby-
lonia.
CHAPTER III
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG NON-ARYAN
PEOPLES OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worship of the Sky among the ancient Babylonians
and Assyrians
Having treated of the worship of the sky among the Aryan
peoples of antiquity we now pass to consider that worship
among peoples of different races and different languages.
We may begin with the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians,
the two peoples whose civilization dates from the remotest
past of which we possess written records.
To take the Babylonians first. It was at one time the
fashion to regard Babylonian civilization as of purely Semitic
origin, and to assume that the Semitic Babylonians and they
alone were the founders of that complicated system of
religious belief and practice which we know to have existed
from a very early time on the banks of the Euphrates. But
the extensive excavations conducted in Babylonia within
recent years have proved beyond the reach of doubt that
before the Semites ever reached Babylonia the country was
occupied by a non-Semitic race known as the Sumerians,
who tilled the land, reared cattle, built cities, dug canals, and
developed a comparatively high civilization, including a
copious literature. But there is some evidence that even
the Sumerians were not the first inhabitants of the land. It
is probable that, like the Semites of a later age, they were
merely settlers in it, and that they reached the fertile valley
of the two rivers from some mountainous region of Central
Asia. Who occupied the country before the coming of the
Sumerians we cannot say, for of the aborigines we know
62
CH. Ill WORSHIP OF SKY IN BABYLONIA ASSYRIA 63
nothing. The first inhabitants of Babylonia of whom we
have definite knowledge were the Sumerians ; they deeply
influenced the religion of the Semitic invaders who attacked
and overthrew their empire, and it is impossible rightly to
understand the religious system of the Semitic Babylonians
^^thout taking into account the foreign Sumerian influence
under which it grew up.^
The beginning of Sumerian influence in Babylonia is Antiquity
lost in the mists of antiquity, but an eminent historian, the of
late Leonard W. King, was of opinion that the earliest Sumerinn
religious centres in the country may well have been tjon : iise
founded some six or seven thousand years before Christ.
11* r 1 1* • 1 r 1 r- • Semites:
The decline of the political power of the Sumerians, on supremacy
the other hand, may be assigned roughly to the centuries o^i^^byion.
between 2500 B.C. and 2300 B.C. At the latter date
Babylon had risen to a position of pre-eminence among the
cities of the land, and the Semitic population had gained a
complete mastery over their ancient rivals, whom they
gradually absorbed. From that time onward the city of
Babylon maintained her supremacy, and never ceased to be
the capital of the country to which she afterwards gave her
namc.^
While the Babylonians in their religious beliefs were The
deeply influenced by the conquered Sumerians, they in their jJiroffshoot
turn exercised a still deeper influence on their northern
neighbours the Assyrians. At first, indeed, the Assyrians lonmns.
were no more than a handful of colonists from Babylonia,
who carried with them the faith of their mother country to
their new home. Though later on they gained their in-
dependence, and after many centuries of conflict reduced the
elder b»*anch of their race to subjection, their system of
religion, despite a few changes and modifications, always
remained essentially Babylonian. Hence their religious
writings may safely be used as materials for the study of
Babylonian religion.® Indeed a great, perhaps the greatest,
part of our knowledge of the Babylonian religion is derived
^ L. W. King, Babylonian Religion Cambridge Ancient History^ i .2 (Cam-
and Mythology (London, 1899), pp. bridge, 1924) pp. 356 sqq.
I sq> Compare id.^ A History of L. \V. King, Babylonian Religion
Sumer and Akkad (London, 1916), and Mythology^ pp. 2 sq.
pp. I sqq. ; S. 11. Langdon, in The ^ L. W. King, op, lit, p. 5.
64 WORSHIP OF SKY BY NON- ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The library from Assyrian documents, and mainly from the thousands
Ash^'r^baiii- tablets which once formed part of the library of
pal at King Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. That ruthless conqueror,
Nineveh. enlightened patron of learning, was one of the last
kings to occupy the throne of Assyria, reigning from
669 B.c. to about 625 B.C. To his credit, he made great
efforts to collect and preserve the old literature of Babylonia
and Assyria. His scribes visited especially the ancient
cities and temples of the south, and took copies of literary
works of all sorts which they found there. These they
gathered and arranged in the king's palace at Nineveh,
and the wrecks of that great library now form our prin-
cipal source of information on Babylonian religion and
mythology.^
The Baby- The gods of the Babylonians, in the forms under which
amhropo^^^^ they were worshipped during the later historical periods, were
rnorphic. conceivcd as beings with very definite personalities. All
the greater gods, though they wielded superhuman powers,
were supposed to be endowed with human forms, possessed
of human thought and feeling, and animated by human
passions. Like men they were born, like men they loved
and fought, and like men they died. In short, the
Babylonian gods were highly anthropomorphic ; the dis-
tinction between the worshipper and his god was not in
kind but in degree.^
Babylonian While the higher gods of the Babylonian pantheon have
worship of their own strongly marked individualities, it is not
nature : difficult to discover the ground of their differentiation. On
person^- subject I will quote the opinion of one of our best
cations of authorities on Babylonian religion, the late Leonard W.
forces. King. I do so all the more gladly because his testimony
goes to confirm the general thesis which I maintain in this
treatise, namely, that a very large part of religion, at least
in its earlier phases, is based on a direct personification of
nature. Speaking of the Babylonian pantheon, Mr. King
says : ‘‘ The characters of the gods themselves betray their
origin. They are personifications of natural forces ; in
other words, the gods and many of the stories told concern-
ing them are the best explanation the Babylonian could
* L. W. King, op. cit, pp. 3 sq. 2 King, op. cit. pp. 8 sq.
Ill WORSHIP OF SKY IN BABYLONIA ASSYRIA 65
give, after many centuries of observation, of the forces and
changes he saw at work around him in the natural world.
He saw the sun pass daily overhead, he observed the phases
of the moon and the motions of the stars ; he felt the wind
and feared the tempest ; but he had no notion that these
things were the result of natural laws. In company with
other primitive peoples he explained them as the work of
beings very like himself. He thought of nature as animated
throughout by numberless beings, some hostile and some
favourable to mankind, in accordance with the treatment he
had received from them. From the greater powers and
forces in nature he deduced the existence of the greater
gods, and in many of the legends and myths he told concern-
ing them we may see his natve explanation of the working of
the universe. He did not speak in allegory or symbol, but
believed his stories literally, and moulded his life in accord-
ance with their teaching. Babylonian religion, therefore, in
its general aspect may be regarded as a worship of nature,
and the gods themselves may be classified as the personifica-
tions of various natural powers.” ^
Now the Babylonians divided the whole realm of nature The Baby-
into three departments, namely the Sky, the Earth, and the
subterranean Water, and each of these departments they Anu. i^i,
personified as a god. To the Sky-god they gave the name
of Anu ; to the Earth-god they gave the name of Bel ; and
to the Water-god they gave the name of Ea. These three
gods were superior to all the other deities, but among
themselves they were approximately equal. Together they
embraced the whole universe within their sphere of influ-
ence, thus forming a triad or trinity which may be compared
to the Greek trinity of Zeus, Poseidon, and Pluto. When,
therefore, a worshipper invoked Anu, Bel, and Ea, he believed
that he named all the powers that determine the fate of man,
since their triple kingdom comprised within it all the realms
of the many inferior deities.^ At a very early period in
Sumerian history we find these three great deities mentioned in
^ L. W. King, Babylonian Religion in E. Schrader’s Die Keilinschf i/ien
and Mythology^ pp. 9 sq. nnddas Alte ^ (Berlin, 1902),
p. 350; M. Jastrow, The Religion of
^ L. W. King, Babylonian Religion Babylonia and Assy ria{I^o%\.ox\^\!>
and Mythology^ p. 14 ; H. Zimmern, 1898), pp. 107, 147 sqq.
VOL. I F
66
Sumerian
names of
the three
gods.
Anu,
principally
worshipped
at Uruk
(Erech),
Enlil at
Nippur,
and Ea at
Eridu.
Anu, the
Sky -god.
His
superiority
to the other
two persons
of the
trinity.
WORSHIP OF SKY BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
close connexion with each other under their Sumerian names
of Anna or Ana, corresponding to Anu, of Enlil corresponding
to Bel, and of Enki corresponding to Ea. King Lugal-zaggisi,
who caused the inscription to be written in which their names
occur, was one of the earliest Sumerian rulers of whose reign
we have evidence, and we can thus trace back the existence
of this great trinity of gods to the very beginning of history.
During the later periods the connexion of these deities with
each other, as the three great gods of the universe, remained
in full force. Each member of the trinity had his own centre
of worship. Thus Anu, while he had temples in other parts
of the country, was specially worshipped in Uruk, the Baby-
lonian name of Erech, which is mentioned in Genesis as one
of the oldest cities of Babylonia.* The Semitic god Bel was
identified with the Sumerian deity Enlil, whose worship in
E-Kur, as his temple in the city of Nippur was called, is the
oldest, or one of the oldest, of the local cults attested by the
archaic inscriptions. The worship of Ea, the third member
of the trinity, took its rise in Eridu, the most southerly of
the great cities of Babylonia. The site of the city, now
marked by the mound of Abu Shahren, is some fifty miles
distant from the mouth of the Shatt el-Arab j but in the
earliest period of Babylonian history, before the formation
of the present delta, the city must have stood on the shore
of the Persian Gulf.^
Anu, the name of the Babylonian Sky-god, means the
one on high ’? It is of Sumerian origin, being probably
derived from the Sumerian word an, signifying the sky ; in
any case Anu is essentially a personification of the sky, like
Dyaus in Sanscrit, Zeus in Greek, and Jupiter in Latin.
Though the three members of the trinity, as we have seen,
may be regarded as approximately equal in dignity and
power, yet in theory a certain supremacy appears to have
^ Genesis x. lo.
2 L. W. King, Babylonian Relia^ion
and Mythology, pp. i6 sq. As to
King Lugal-zaggibi, see L. W. King,
A History of Sumer and Akkad, pp.
193 sqq. In this latter passage the
author gives the god's name as Ana.
3 M. Jastrow, The Religion of
Babylonia and Assyria, p. IS 3 *
4 H. Zimmern, in E. Schrader’s
Die Keilinschriften und das A lie
Testament'^, pp. 35 ^ M. Jastrow.
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria,
pp. 88-90; P. Dhorme, La Religion
Assyro- Bahylonienne (Paris, 1910), pp.
53 sq. ; Br. Meissner, Babylouien und
Assyrien (Heidelberg, 1920-1925),
ii. 4*
Ill
WORSHIP OF SKY IN BABYLONIA ASSYRIA 67
been assigned to the Sky-god, Anu, as standing at the head
of the divine hierarchy, like the Sky-god, Zeus, at the head
of the Greek pantheon.^ He was described by preference
as King (s/iarru) and Father of the Gods (adu His
theoretical superiority to the other two persons of the trinity
is clearly marked by the assignation to him of the number
sixty, the unit of the sexagesimal system, while the other
two gods had to content themselves with the inferior
numbers of fifty and forty respectively.^ Thus the Sky-god
marched, so to say, in the van of the trinity, while the
Water-god brought up the rear. The Sky-god, Anu, was
naturally conceived of as dwelling in the radiant heaven ;
there was the throne {kiissu) on which he sat, and from
which, as occasion served, he also stood up. His special
home would seem to have been in the northern sky.^
Yet in spite of the lofty rank accorded to him as head The wor-
of the pantheon, the worship of Anu appears never to
have been popular in Babylonia. Though he passed popular in
for the Father of the Gods, he remained little more than
an abstraction. None of the important cities of Baby-
lonia and Assyria revered him as their patron deity.®
It is true that he was worshipped specially in Der, but
that city never attained to a position of ascendancy in
the country. In Assyria his worship was thrown into the
shade by that of the national god Ashur.® He was honoured. At Erech
indeed, in Erech, but there his cult was soon ousted by the
worship of his daughter Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of his
love, who was there inseparably associated wuth him. N ot
content with installing herself beside her father in the temple
of E-anna, “ the house of heaven ” she introduced her
characteristically licentious rites, which made the city a
byword, and in which her Heavenly Father presumably had
no share.*^ In Ashur, the old capital of Assyria, the Sky-
^ M. Jastrow, op. cit. pp. 88, 207 ;
P. Dhorme, op. cit. pp. 53 sq.^ 66 sq.
2 H. Zimmern, op. cit. p. 352 ;
P. Dhorme, op. cit. p. 68.
3 M. Jastrow, op. cit. p. 465 ; II.
Zimmern, op. cit. p. 352.
^ H. Zimmern, op. cit. p. 352.
® H. Zimmern, op. cit. p. 352 ;
M. Jastrow, op. cit. p. 89 ; P. Dhorme,
op. cit. pp. 68 E. Meyer, Geschichte
lies AltcrtumsI^ i. 2 (Stuttgart and
Berlin, 1909), p. 423 ; S. If. Langdon,
in Tiie Cambridge Ancient History^
i.‘^ 396.
P. Dhorme, op. cit. pp. 69 sq, ;
M. Jastrow, op. cit. pp. 155, 207.
^ P. Dhorme, op. cit. p. 69 ; H.
Zimmern, op. cit. p. 352. As to the
68 WORSHIP OF SKY BY NONPAR YAN PEOPLES chap.
In Ashur
the Sky-
god Anu
was
differ-
entiated
from Ram-
man or
Adad, the
god of
thunder
and
lightning.
I'he
temple of
Anu and
Adad at
Ashur
rebuilt by
Tiglath-
pileser.
god Anu shared a temple with Ramman or Adad, the god
of thunder and lightning, who was deemed his son.^ Thus
the differentiation of the Thunder-god from the Sky-god,
which was barely incipient in Roman religion,^ was complete
in Babylonian religion ; the division of labour, which works
such wonders in human society, was successfully applied, in
the society of the gods ; the Supreme Being was relieved of the
trouble of rolling the thunder and hurling the lightning, and
might consequently devote himself with less interruption to
that life of contemplation which may be thought peculiarly
appropriate to a celestial deity. The temple of the two gods
at Ashur was originally built by Shamshi-Adad, a high
priestly official, but after going to decay for six hundred and
forty-one years it was pulled down by Ashur-dan, King of
Assyria. Sixty years afterwards, about iioo B.C., it was
rebuilt in magnificent style by King Tiglath-pileser, who
has recorded its restoration in an inscription. He tells us
that in the beginning of his reign Anu and Adad, the great
gods, his lords, demanded of him the restoration of their
sacred dwelling. He proceeds : “ I made bricks, and I
cleared the ground, until I reached the artificial flat terrace
upon which the old temple had been built. I laid its
foundation upon the solid rock and incased the whole place
with brick like a fireplace, overlaid on it a layer of fifty
bricks in depth, and built upon this the foundations of the
temple of Anu and Adad of large square stones. I built it
from foundation to roof larger and grander than before, and
erected also two great temple towers, fitting ornaments of
their great divinities. The splendid temple, a brilliant and
magnificent dwelling, the habitation of their joys, the house
for their delight, shining as bright as the stars on heaven’s
firmament and richly decorated with ornaments through the
skill of my artists, I planned, devised, and thought out,
built and completed. I made its interior brilliant like the
dome of the heavens ; decorated its walls, like the splendour
worship of Ishtar at Erech (Uruk),
see M. Jastrow, op, at. pp. 84, 311,
472, 475 sq.y 648 ; H. Zimmern, op.
cit. pp. 422 sq, ; and as to the city, the
temple E-anna and its tower, see S. H.
Langdon, in The Cambridge Ancient
History^ i.2 396 sq. The huge walls
of the moat which surrounded the
temple are still intact.
1 M. Jastrow, op. cit, pp. 153
207.
^ See above, p. 60,
Ill WORSHIP OF SKY IN BABYLONIA ASSYRIA 69
of the rising stars, and made it grand with resplendent
brilliancy. I reared its temple towers to heaven and com-
pleted its roof with burned brick ; placed therein the upper
terrace containing the chamber of their great divinities ; and
led into its interior Anu and Adad, the great gods, and
m^de them dwell in this their lofty home, thus gladdening
the heart of their great divinities.’' Having thus recounted
the rebuilding of the temple the king prays to the two gods
as follows : ‘‘ May, therefore, Anu and Adad turn to me
truly and faithfully, accept graciously the lifting up of my
hand, hearken unto my devout prayers, grant unto me and
my reign abundance of rain, years of prosperity, and fruitful-
ness in plenty ! May they bring me back safely from
battle and from flight ; may they reduce to submission all
the countries of my enemies, mountain regions that are
powerful, and kings who are my adversaries ! May they
come nigh unto me and my priestly seed with friendly
blessings ; may they establish my priesthood as firm as the
rocks before Ashur and the great deities for the future and
for ever ! ” ^
This prayer for rain and fruitfulness is addressed with Adad per-
great propriety to the gods of the sky and the thunder, who preferred
might reasonably be expected to fertilize the fruits of the to Anu by
earth by the genial rain from heaven. If the Assyrian king piklcn
discriminated at all between the two great deities whom he
so highly honoured, it would seem that he put his trust
rather in the Thunder-god than in the Sky-god, for after
invoking the curses of Anu and Adad on any who should
thereafter break, destroy, or conceal his memorial slab and
foundation cylinder and erase his signature, the monarch
proceeds : May Adad strike his country with disastrous
lightning!” thus apparently implying that the lightning
of the Thunder-god was a more efficient instrument of
vengeance than any that the Sky-god could wield. Can we
see in this a hint that at Ashur the Sky-god was being
elbowed out by his own son, just as at Erech he was elbowed
out by his own daughter ?
' “ Inscrii)tion of Tiglath-pileser I., quoting I have changed a single word,
King of Assyria”, in R. F. Harper’s substituting the English “placed” for
Assyrian and Babylonian Literature the American “ located.”
(New Yoik, 1901), pp. 25 sq. In
70 WORSHIP OF SK Y BY NON- A R YA N PEOPLES cha p.
Antu or
Antum, the
wife of
Anu.
In
Egyptian
mythology
Sky (Nut)
and Earth
(Seb or
Keb) arc a
married
couple ; but
the Sky
is the wife,
and the
Earth is
the 1ms-
band.
As every god must have his wife, Anu was provided
with a consort called Antu or Antum. Her name is
apparently a feminine form of Anu, just as Bel had a female
partner called Belit, whose name is a feminine form of his
own.^ In an inscription of Agumkakrime, who reigned
over Babylon about 1650 B.C., the king prays, “May Anu
and Antum, who live in heaven, send a blessing on Agum,
the good king, who built the sanctuaries of Marduk and
freed from obligation the workmen ! But, apart from her
character as a wife, Antu or Antum appears to have had
no very distinct personality ; it is said that after the time of
Agumkakrime she is never mentioned again in the inscrip-
tions of Babylonian and Assyrian rulers.^ Yet in the
theological lists, which aimed at reducing the crowded
pantheon to sonfe sort of order and system, Anu was identi-
fied with the sky and his wife Antu with the earth.^ Thus
in the religion of Babylonia we find again that ancient
myth of the marriage of Sky and Earth which we have
already met with in the religions of India and Greece.
§ 2. The Worship of the Sky among the ancient Egyptians
Herodotus tells us that the ancient Egyptians observed
laws and customs which for the most part were exactly the
reverse of those observed by the rest of mankind.^ The
observation which the Father of History applied to the laws
and customs of the Egyptians might perhaps be extended to
their mythology. To take the particular instance with which
we arc here concerned, they resembled other nations in
personifying the Sky and Earth, and in marrying them to
each other, but they differed from other nations in represent-
ing the Earth as the husband and the Sky^ as the wife.
The reason for this assignment of sexes to the two deities is
grammatical ; for in the Egyptian language, the word for
sky i^pet) is feminine, and the word for earth {to') is
^ M. J.istiow, op, lit, p. 153; 11. Meyer, Gesihiihle des A/tir/tir/is, i. 2
Zimniein, op, cit. p, 352 ; P, Dhorme, (Stuttgart and Berlin, 1909), p, 5^5-
op, cit. p. 70. 3 M. Jastrow, op. cit, p. 153 ; P.
2 “Inscription of Aguink.akrime ”, Dhorme, op. cit. p. "] 0 ,
in R. F. Harper’s Assyrian and Baby- ^ P. Dhorme, La Religion Assyro-
lonian Literature^ p. 5. As to the Babylonienne,^ p. 70.
date of King Agumkakrime, see E. ^ Herodotus, ii. 35.
Ill
WORSHIP OF SKY BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
71
masculine.^ In Egyptian mythology the Earth-god is
named Seb or Keb (for the name is variously rendered), and
in art he is represented in human form reclining on the
ground with one arm raised : the Sky-goddess is named Nut,
and in art she is represented as a woman with her body
anehed over that of her husband, her feet resting on the
ground at one of his extremities and her hands touching the
ground at the other. Sometimes, as if to render her identity
with the sky perfectly clear, her body is spangled with stars."
The Egyptians, like maay other peoples, had a tradition rhesepara-
that at first the sky and the earth were not separate from each
other. This they expressed in mythical form by represent- from Earth
ing the Sky-goddess Nut lying flat on her husband the
Earth-god Seb or Keb, until Shu, the father of the Sky- shu. the
goddess, insinuated himself between the pair and raised up thesky-
the Sky-goddess, thus creating the sky and the earth in goddess,
their present form and position.^ Egyptian artists were
fond of depicting Shu in the act of uplifting the Sky-goddess
and supporting her on his upraised hands. There were
many variations in their representations of the scene. In
some of them we see Shu holding up the boat of the
Sun-god Ra under the body of the Sky-goddess ; in others
we see the two boats of the Sun-god placed side by side on
her back, the deity in the one boat being the Sun-god in
his capacity of Khepera, while in the other he is Osiris.
Sometimes the head of the Sky-goddess points to the east,
and at other times to the west ; sometimes the Earth-god
lies with his head to the west, at other times with his head
to the east.^ A text from the tombs of the Kings at Thebes
1 Die agyptische Religion'^ (London, 1908), p. 57 *
(Berlin, 1909), p. 7. (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of I he Gods of the Egyptians ^ ii. 105. l''or
Ancient Egyptians (London, 1897), scenes in which Shu is represented sup-
pp. 230-232; A. Erman, Die dgypiische porting the Sky-goddess on his hands,
Religion"^, pp. 7, 14, 35 ; (Sir) E. A. see (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, op. cit.
Wallis Budge, The Gods of the ii. 99, with the plate facing p. 96 ; H.
Egyptians (London, 1904), ii. 97 sq.^ Brugsch, Religion und Mythologie der
99, 100, 104 sq. alten Agypter (Leipzig, 1885), p. 210 ;
^ A.EmianyDiedgyptischeReligion^f A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient
pp. 35 sq.\ A. Wiedemann, Religion Egyptians^ p. 231; A. Erman, Die
of the Ancient Egyptians, pp. 32 ; dgyptische Religion ^ p. 35 ; G. Maspero,
(Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods llistoire Ancienne des Peuples de
of the Egyptians, ii. 98, 104, 105 ; P Orient Classique, les Origines (Paris,
J. H. Breasted, History of the Ancient 1895), p. 129.
72
WORSHIP OF SKY BY NO N-ARY AN PEOPLES chap.
Nut the
Mother of
the Gods
and of the
Sun -god in
particular.
says of Shu that “ he has divided the heaven from the earth ;
he has uplifted the heaven in eternity above the earth
The radical meaning of his name appears to be “the
Uplifter’*, corresponding to the root sMy “to uplift, to uplift
oneself” ; it expresses the belief that he was the supporter
of the heavens, or the divinity who had once raised tham
and thus separated them from the earth.^ In later times the
Egyptians conceived of him as god of the air which fills the
space between earth and sky.^ As the god of that vast inter-
mediate region Shu was thus appropriately represented under
the form of a god who held up the sky with his two hands,
one supporting it at the place of sunrise, and the other at
the place of sunset ; several porcelain figures exist in which
he is seen kneeling on one knee, in the act of lifting up with
his two hands the sky with the solar disk in it.^
The Sky-goddess Nut is spoken of in Egyptian texts as
“ lady of heaven ”, “ mistress and mother of the gods ”, “ Nut,
the great lady, who gave birth to the gods”, “Nut, who
gave birth to the gods, the lady of heaven, the mistress of
the two lands ”.® She is usually represented in the form of
a woman who bears on her head a vase of water, which has
the phonetic value Nuy thus indicating both her name and
her nature as the source of rain,^ According to one myth,
the Sky-goddess Nut gave birth to her son the Sun-god
daily : traversing her body he arrived at her mouth, into
which he disappeared, and passing through her body he
was reborn the next morning. Another myth set forth how
the sun sailed in a boat up the legs and over the back of
the goddess until noon, when he embarked in another boat,
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
Aiicient Egyptians., pp. 32 sq.
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
Ancient Egyptians, p. 33. But accord-
ing to Sir E. A. Wallis Budge ( The
Gods of the Egyptians, ii. 87), “the
name Shu appears to be derived from
the root shu, ‘ dry, parched, withered,
emt)ty ’ ; . . . Thus Shu was a god
who was connected with the heat and
dryness of sunlight and with the dry
atmosphere which exists between the
earth and the sky.”
^ A. Erman, Die dgyptische Religion,
p. 19.
* (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The
Gods of the Egyptians, ii. 89.
^ A. Wiedemann, Religiojt of the
Ancient Egyptians, p. 232 ; (Sir) E.
A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the
Egyptians, ii. 102 sq,
« (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The
Gods of the Egyptians, ii. 103. In the
illustration given by the author on this
page Nut is figured as a woman with
star-spangled body, standing erect, with
her arms stretched at full length above
her head ; beneath her arms is some-
thing which may represent a vessel of
water.
Ill WORSHIP OF SKY BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 73
in which he continued his journey down the arms of the
goddess until sunset. In the picture which accompanies
and illustrates this myth, the whole body and limbs of the
goddess are bespangled with stars, as if to remove any
possible uncertainty about the nature of the object which
sbe personified.^
But the Egyptians sometimes conceived of the sky not The sky
as a woman but as a huge cow, the legs of which were held
in position by various divinities, whilst the body of the animal hy the
was supported by the god Shu. In one representation of
this celestial cow the stars are figured in a row along the
stomach of the animal, while the Sun is seen in his boat
between its forelegs. This heavenly cow was sometimes
identified with Nut and sometimes with the goddess Hathor.
When the Sun-god Ra decided to retire from the lower world,
he took up his abode on the back of the cow, and there he
ruled the upper heaven, which, as the text relates, he had
himself created, together with all those happy heavenly
fields, where the pious Egyptian hoped after death to dwell
among the millions of departed spirits who sing the praises
of the God their maker.-
' (Sir) E. A. Wallis Tucige, The Aficiott Ej^yptians, p. 64 ; (Sir) K. A.
Cods of the Egyptians^ ii, 104 with Wallis lUidgc, The Codsof the Egyptians^
plate facing p. 96. ii. 106 ; E. Erman, Die dgyptische
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Religion^ pp. 7, 8, 15.
CHAPTER IV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY AMONG THE CIVILIZED
PEOPLES OF THE FAR EAST
§ I. The Worship of the Sky in China
Heaven or ANOTHER people of ancient civilization who have wor-
Supfen^e*^^ shipped the sky from time immemorial are the Chinese.
God in the Indeed, in the religion of China the sky, personified as a
Chinese . . , . , , f,, . ,
pantheon, divine powcr, has always occupied, and still occupies, the
supreme place in the national pantheon. It is worshipped not
only under its proper name Tt'en^ “sky”, but also under the
title of Ti^ “Emperor”, and still more commonly under the
title of Shang’tiy “ Emperor-above ” or “ Supreme Emperor ”.
These latter titles clearly indicate the conception of the sky
as a personal being and supreme ruler.^ In the Chinese
classics the word for sky or heaven {Tien, pronounced
Thieii) is everywhere used to denote the Supreme Power,
ruling and governing all the affairs of men with an omni-
potent and omniscient righteousness and goodness ; and
this impersonal term is constantly interchanged in the same
paragraph for the personal names Emperor ( 7V) and Supreme
Emperor {Shang-ti)? Thus we may safely conclude that
' J. 11 . Plath, Die Religion und der
Ciii/ns dcr alten CJunesen, i. (Munich,
1862) pp. 18 sq. ; (Sir) E. B.
Tylor, Ihimitive Culture'^ (London,
1873), ii. 257, 352 ; J. Leggein Sacred
Books of the East^ vol. iii. (Oxford,
1879) pp. xxiii sqq.\ A. Reville, La
Religion Chinoise (Paris), 1889, pp.
134 sqq. ; C. de Harlez, Les Religions
de la Chine (Leipzig, 1891), pp. 31
35 W- J J- J- Gioot, The
Religion of the Chinese (New York,
1910), p. 103 ; Marcel Granet, La
Religion des Chinois (Paiis, 1922), p.
49. Shang-ti is the term which most
Protestant missionaries in China have
adopted to represent the word God ; for
the same purpose the Catholic mission-
aries have chosen the expression Tien
Chiiy that is “ Lord of Heaven See
R. F. Johnston, Lion and Dragon in
Norlhern China (London, 1 910), p.
395 note h
J. Legge, op. cit. p. xxiv.
74
CHAP. IV THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN CHINA
75
from the earliest times of which we have any record the
Chinese have personified the vault of heaven as a mighty,
indeed almighty god. More than that, there are indications
in the Chinese classics that the god was conceived in human
shape. For example, we read of a barren woman who
sacrificed and then walked in the footprints of the Sky-god
{Shang-ti) in order to obtain offspring. Yet, whether from
religious veneration or a lack of poetic fancy, the process of
personification in his case was never carried very far : his
majestic figure always remained aloof, remote, and awful :
it was never, like that of the Greek Sky-god Zeus, familiar-
ized and brought home to the minds and hearts of his
worshippers by intimate personal traits, gossipy anecdotes,
and romantic adventures, such as the dethronement of
Cronus and the war with the Giants.^
In conformity with this lofty, but somewhat frigid, con-Thewor.
ception of the Sky-god his worship has always remained
more or less cold, abstract, and official. It is the religion the sky is
of the State, not of the people : it attracts the devotion and of'ihe
secures the homage of the learned, it does not win the rather than
affection and excite the enthusiasm of the great mass of people,
men. Candidates who have passed their examinations
return their thanks to Heaven, and at marriage bride and
bridegroom pay their respects to the same mighty being.
In the school of Confucius there are devotees who celebrate
the worship of Heaven at the new and the full moon ; others
are content to do so once a year. But on the whole the
occasions on which the ordinary man prostrates himself
before the great Celestial Being, the Supreme Emperor, are
not frequent, nor are the devotions which the deity receives
characterized by religious fervour : the worship of Heaven
counts for little in the life of the ordinary Chinese. Heaven
is too high and too majestic, they say, to receive the ap-
proaches of common folk, to consult their needs, and to grant
their requests. Most people believe that the earthly Emperor, The
who claims to be descended from heaven and hence bears
I'.mperor
the title of Son of Heaven, is alone qualified to render to called the
Heaven its due and to celebrate its rites with fitting pomp ^ "wen.
and solemnity. Hence it has come about that the full
^ A. R^ville, La Religion Chinoise^ pp. 136 sg.
76
WORSHIP OF SKY IN THE FAR EAST
CHAP.
Heaven
deemed
responsible
for the
course of
the seasons
and the
supply of
food.
Tlie great
sacrifice to
Heaven on
the night of
the winter
solstice.
worship of Heaven is regularly celebrated at the Imperial
Court alone. There it has attained to the dignity of a
fundamental institution of State, and the Chinese people
would be exceedingly displeased and exceedingly disquieted
if the Emperor failed to discharge this essential part of his
duties. This state of public opinion is a logical outcome q {
the conception which people in general have formed of the
character of the Celestial Power, the Supreme Emperor.
As he is supposed to govern the world by general laws
without consideration for individuals, it is natural and ap-
propriate that the nation as a whole, represented by and, as
it were, summed up in the person of the Emperor, should
pay him the honours which he has a right to expect from
mankind. That is why the worship of Heaven holds the
first place in the Imperial religion, which is at the same
time the religion of the State.^
While Heaven or the Sky-god is believed to regulate
the whole order of nature, he is deemed particularly re-
sponsible for the order of the seasons, on which the welfare
and indeed the existence of mankind is dependent. Hence
sacrifices are offered to him for a good year, in other words,
for abundant crops ; and as the crops in their turn depend
on the fall of rain, he is expected and requested to send
sea.sonable showers to refresh and fertilize the thirsty and
barren earth. This utilitarian aspect of the Sky-god, in
virtue of which he is ultimately charged with the mainten-
ance of the food supply, is the principal and perhaps the
original source of the religious veneration which he inspires
in the minds of his worshippers.^
Of all the sacrifices offered to Heaven in China the
most important and the most august is that which takes
place on the night of the winter solstice, that is, on the
longest night of the year. The moment is eminently suit-
able ; since from that night the light, of which Heaven is in
some sense the personification, begins to increase; the god is
born again, the day is his birthday. For the same reason
^ A. Reville, La Religion Chinoise, des Chinois^ pp. 50, sg. ; as to the
pp. 140-142. As to the title ‘‘Son title, compare J. Legge, in Sacred
of Heaven ” be.stovved on the emperor, Books of the East, vol. iii. p. xxv note b
and his claim to be descended from 2 Marcel Granet, La Religion des
Heaven, see Marcel Granet, Tm R eligion Chinois, p. 49.
IV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN CHINA
77
in antiquity the worshippers of Milhra selected the winter
solstice as the birthday of the Sun, and in order to wean
the pagans from their devotion to the Sun on that day, the
Catholic Church adroitly transferred the birthday of Christ
from Old Christmas on the sixth of January to New
Christmas on the twenty-fifth of December.^ The Chinese The Altar
sacrifice to Heaven at midwinter is offered on the Altar of
Heaven {T'ien-tan\ also known as the Round Eminence
( Yuen-kJiiu\ which stands to the south of the Chinese
quarter of Peking. The altar, open to the sky, consists of
three round marble terraces, of different dimensions, placed
one above the other, all provided with balustrades and
accessible by marble staircases, which exactly face the four
quarters of the compass. It thus represents the celestial
sphere with its cardinal points. A wide area, including a
park with huge old trees, surrounds this, the greatest altar
in the world. The whole is enclosed by high walls, within
which there is room for a town of forty or fifty thousand
inhabitants.
On the longest night of the year the Emperor, the Son The scene
of Heaven, repairs, or rather used till lately to repair, to the
altar in great state. Princes, grandees, officers, attendants,
troops to the number of many hundreds, escort him, and
many hundreds more assemble on the altar to receive him.
Everybody is gorgeously attired in the richest ceremonial
costume. Lit up by the flickering glare of great torches,
the spectacle is very imposing. Every prince, minister, and
mandarin has his allotted place on the terraces of the altar
or on the marble pavement which surrounds it. On the
upper terrace is planted perpendicularly a large tablet
bearing the inscription, ‘‘ Imperial Heaven — Supreme
P^mperor”: it stands in a shrine on the north side of the
altar and faces due south. In two rows, facing east and
west, are shrines containing tablets sacred to the ancestors
of the Tvmperor ; and the presence of the ancestral tablets
is significant, because it shows that the Son of Heaven
worships Heaven as the oldest, the original ancestor of
his house. Before each tablet a variety of sacrificial
food is placed in conformity with ancient precedent and
* See below, pp. 526*528.
78
WORSHIP OF SKY IN THE FAR EAST
CHAP.
tradition. On the second terrace stand tablets in honour
of the spirits of the Sun, the Moon, the Great Bear, the
five planets, the twenty-eight principal constellations, and
the host of stars ; also tablets dedicated to the gods of
Clouds and Rain and Thunder. Before these tablets in
like manner are set dishes and baskets containing sacrifice^:.
Cows, goats, and swine have been slaughtered to provide
all these offerings ; and while the ceremonies are being
performed a bullock is burning on a pyre as a special
sacrifice to High Heaven.
The The Emperor, who has purified himself for the solemn
and^prayers f^^ting, is led up the altar by the southern flight of
at the altar, steps, which on botli sides is thronged by ministers and
dignitaries. Masters of ceremonies direct him and proclaim
in a loud voice every act he has to perform. In a hymn,
chanted by voices and accompanied by instrumental music,
the Spirit of Heaven is implored to descend into the tablet
which has been prepared for his reception. Before this
tablet, and afterwards before the tablets of his ancestors, the
Emperor offers incense, jade, silk, broth, and rice spirits.
He humbly kneels and knocks his forehead several times
against the marble pavement. A grandee intones a statut-
able prayer in a loud voice, and on the second terrace several
officials, appointed for the purpose, offer incense, silk, and
wine before the tablets of the Sun, Moon, Stars, Clouds,
Rain, Wind, and Thunder. Finally, the sacrificial offerings
are carried away, thrown into furnaces and burned. So
ends what has been described as the most pompous worship
ever paid on earth to a divinity of nature. It is attended
by a crowd of musicians and religious dancers, who by their
sweet strains and graceful posturing lend variety and charm
to the pageant.^
Another In the samc vast park at Peking there stands, farther to
altar under north, another altar of the same form but of lesser
presenting dimensions. It supports a large circular edifice with a dome
heaven^^°^^^ ciipola, being the only building of this shape and size in
China. It represents the vault of the celestial sphere. In this
* J. J. M. de Groot, 'The Religion above the other, is given in The Review
of the Chinese^ pp. 103-106. A good of Reviews ^ No. 419, December !5th,
view of the great Altnr of Heaven, 1924, p. 505.
rising in its triple circular terraces one
IV
THE WORSHIP OP" THE SKY IN CHINA
79
dome prayers are put up for a happy year, that is, for a good
harvest throughout the empire. Here, too, year by year, in
the first decade of the first month, the Emperor offers a
great sacrifice to Heaven and his ancestors. And in the
first month of summer, to obtain seasonable rains for the
crop^, a sacrifice is presented in the same building to Heaven
and the ancestors of the Emperor, also to Rain, Thunder,
Clouds, and Winds, all represented by their tablets. If
rain does not fall in due time, the sacrifice is repeated.
These sacrifices are usually performed by princes, grandees,
or ministers, as proxies for the Son of Heaven.^
In time of drought, when the crops were perishing for ihe
lack of rain and the people were afflicted with famine, the ^
Emperor remonstrated with Heaven, his ancestors, and the strances
spirits generally on their unfeeling and ungrateful conduct Heaven in
in plunging the whole kingdom in misery after all the
sacrifices that had been offered to them. Thus in the
Shih King or Book of Poetry, one of the most ancient of
the Chinese classics, we read the following plaint of a king
in time of severe drought :
“ Bright was the milky way, shining and revolving in
the sky. The king said, ‘ Oh ! What crime is chargeable on
us now, that Heaven sends down death and disorder?
Famine comes again and again. There is no spirit I have
not sacrificed to ; there is no victim I have grudged ; our
jade symbols, oblong and round, are exhausted how is
it that I am not heard ? The drought is excessive ; its
fervours become more and more tormenting. I have not
ceased offering pure sacrifices ; from the border altars (of
Heaven and Earth) I have gone to the ancestral temple.^
To the powers above and below (Heaven and Earth) I have
presented my offerings and then buried them ; there is no
spirit whom I have not honoured. . . . Ihis wasting and
ruin of our country — would that it fell (only) on me !
‘ The drought is excessive, and I may not try to excuse
1 J. J. M. de Groot, The Religion ^ “By Uhe bolder altars’ we are
of the Chinese, pp. lo6 sq. to understand the altars in the suburbs
of the capital, where Heaven and
These symbols were used at sacri- Earth were sacrificed to — the great
fices : they were of different shapes and services at the solstices, and any other
colours. seasons” (J. Legge).
8o
WORSHIP OF SKY IN THE FAR EAST
CHAP.
myself. I am full of terror and feel the peril, like the clap
of thunder or the roll. . . . Among the black-haired people ^
there will not be half a man left ; nor will God from his
great heaven exempt (even) me. Shall we not mingle our
fears together? (The sacrifices to) my ancestors will be
extinguished.
“ * The drought is excessive, and it cannot be stopped.
More fierce and fiery, it is leaving me no place. My end is
near ; I have none to look up, none to look round, to. The
many dukes and their ministers of the past give me no
help.^ O ye parents and (nearer) ancestors, how can ye
bear to see me thus ?
“ * The drought is excessive ; parched are the hills, and
the streams are dried. The demon of drought exercises his
oppression, as if scattering flames and fire. My heart is
terrified with the heat ; my sorrowing heart is as if on fire.
The many dukes and their ministers of the past do not hear
me. O God, from thy great heaven, grant me the liberty
to withdraw (into retirement).' " ^
In short, deserted by God and even by dukes, who
either could not or would not comply with his request for
rain, the monarch in despair thought of abdicating and so
making room for a successor, who might wring from reluctant
Heaven and the deceased nobility those showers of which
the parched earth stood so sorely in need and of which these
august personages are notoriously the only dispensers.
The wor- The Lo-lo p’o are an aboriginal tribe of Yunnan, a
Sky anioX^ of Southern China. Their religion consists in
the Lo lo honouring the Sky and venerating their deceased kinsfolk.
Southern Catholic missionary who reports their creed was at
China. soiTie pains to ascertain what they meant by the Sky which
they honour. Is it simply the blue vault of heaven ? Is it
a Higher Being, a Great Spirit? Or is it some combination
of the two? To these questions he could elicit no satis-
factory answer. The natives, he tells us, either do not raise
such questions at all, or, if they do, the result of their
^ That is, the Chinese. ^ The Skik King^ Decade iii. Ode 4,
The king had sacrificed to the translated by James I-egge, Sacred
spirits of all the early lords and their Books of the East^ vol. iii. (Oxford,
ministers, but in vain. 1879), pp. 419-427.
IV THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN CHINA 8i
reflections is far from lucid ; and an examination of the
popular expressions applied to the sky does not resolve the
ambiguity, for while some of them admit of a spiritual,
others on the contrary favour a purely materialistic interpre-
tation. If the more intelligent of the people are questioned
oPfthe subject, they reply that the Sky {Meu-nyi rno) which
they adore is the same as the God of the Christians. If, on
the other hand, the question is put to the less intelligent
members of the tribe, “What is that Sky which you adore?’’
they answer, “ Why, it is just the Sky.” But if you insist
in asking, “ But after all what do you understand by the
Sky ?” they cut you short by replying, “ We do not know
The same question put to any primitive people concerning
their Sky-god would probably elicit the same or a similar
answer. Whether the distinction between the material and
the spiritual is sound or not, it is one that has been reached
by civilized peoples after a long period of reflection and
discussion, and it is much too abstract to be understood by
simple folk who have never troubled themselves about such
metaphysical subtleties. For them the Sky is the Sky, and The Sky
if they invest it with personal qualities, as they do, they
merely follow the impulse of the childlike tendency to and the
personify the whole realm of nature. Thus the Lo-lo p’o Mo^ther,^ ^
regard the sky as the father of mortals ; he is often called
Father Sky {^Meu-nyi-mo a-bo). Similarly, they sometimes
speak of the earth {Mi-bou-do) as Mother Earth {Mi-bou-do
a-mo) ; and they often say, “ The Sky is our father, the Earth
is our mother”. Yet apparently they do not look upon Sky
and Earth as husband and wife. Questioned on this
subject, they say, “ The Earth is called Mother because the
Sky, which is our Father, covers it and protects it”.“ They
think that the Sky created man and things for his use.
You may hear them saying, “ Men cannot make things of
that sort ; it is the Sky that made them ” ; or again, “ It
was the Sky that made the earth”. Again, they appear to
conceive of the Sky as omniscient. They will say, for
example, “ Men cannot know such and such a thing ; the
Sky {Meu-nyi-nid) knows it”; or again, “We must not do
^ A. Li^tard, Ytin-natty Les lo-h 2 Lietard, Au Yun-naft, les
fo (Munster-i.-W., 1913), pp. 127 sq, lo-lo p. 129.
VOL I
G
82
WORSHIP OF SKY IN THE FAR EAST
CHAP.
Offering to
the Sky on
thefirst day
of the year.
Siang-
liei, the
Supreme
God.
commonly
identified
with the
Sky,
evil, the Sky would not look on us with favour Some-
times, instead of speaking simply of the Sky, they say “The
Master of the Sky In short, they appear to use the name
for Sky in a sense nearly equivalent to God ; so at least,
Father Li6tard, our authority on the tribe, translates the
word.^
On the first day of the year the head of a Lo-lo p’o
family presents an offering to the Sky. A bowl of rice and
a piece of meat are set on a tray, and holding the tray in
his hands the householder steps to the threshold of the door,
makes three deep obeisances, and lifts the tray towards the
sky. That ends the simple ceremony. Afterwards the rice
and meat are consumed by the family, so that the Sky gets
nothing, unless indeed, it be the spiritual essence of the
food, for on that meagre diet many divinities are forced
to subsist.
§ 2. The Worship of the Sky in Corea
In Corea, as in China, the popular religion is the
worship of ancestors, but with this is conjoined a conception
more or less vague of a great deity named Siang-tiei, whom
most people identify with the sky. His name is clearly the
same with Shang-ti, which, in the sense of Supreme Emperor,
is the name commonly bestowed on the Sky-god by the
Chinese.^ The missionaries have often questioned highly
educated Coreans as to the meaning which they attach to
the word Siang-tiei, but without ever obtaining a clear and
precise answer. Some Coreans believe that the name
designates the Supreme Being, the creator and preserver
of the world ; others maintain that it is simply and solely
the sky, to which they attribute a providential power of pro-
ducing, preserving, and ripening the crops, banishing sick-
ness, and so forth ; but most people confess that they know
nothing and do not trouble themselves about it. When
public sacrifices are offered for rain or fine weather, or for
deliverance from plague, the prayers are addressed -either
^ A. Lictard, op. cit. p. 128 sq, 2 ^ Lietard, op. cit. p. 128.
He translates Meu-nyi-vio sometimes
as “ le Cier’and sometimes as ‘*Dieu”. ^ See above, p. 74.
IV THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN COREA 83
to the Snpreme Being or to the Sky, according to the
text of the programme drawn up by the mandarin who
arranges the ceremony.^
Such sacrifices are not very frequent But when districts Sacrifices
or provinces suffer from drought, the government issues an s^^pr^ie
order to the mandarins, and each of them, on the day Being or
appointed, betakes himself to the place set apart for the
ceremony. Attended by his suite, his guards, and his brought,
satellites, he there awaits patiently the favourable moment
without eating or drinking, or even smoking to beguile the
weary hours. The lucky time is usually towards midnight ;
in any case the mandarin may not return home till after
midnight is passed. At the exact moment he sacrifices
pigs, sheep, and goats, and offers the raw flesh and blood
to the deity. On the morrow he rests from his labours,
but only to begin them again the day after, and so it goes
on alternately every other day till rain falls. In the capital
the mandarins relieve each other, so that the sacrifices take
place every day. If after two or three sacrifices the Supreme
Being or the Sky (whichever of them happens to be down
on the programme) turns a deaf ear to the prayer and a
blind eye to the sacrifice, the place of sacrifice is shifted,
and they try again. The various places, where the deity
is offered raw pork, mutton, and goat's flesh as an induce-
ment to send rain, are determined by ancient custom. But
if, after all, no result is obtained, the mandarins are replaced
by Cabinet Ministers, who officiate in their stead. But if
neither mandarins nor Cabinet Ministers can extract a drop
of rain from the deity, recourse is had, as a last resort, to
the king, and he comes in great state to offer the sacrifices
and to procure the salvation of his people. When rain at
last falls, as it always does, sooner or later, neither the
sacrificer nor the persons of his suite may take shelter from
the downpour ; they must wait till midnight before they
return home. The whole crowd of spectators follows their
example, for they think that it would be an insult to the
Sky if they sought to avoid the rain, the object of such
earnest desires and prayers. Should anybody be so forgetful
of common decency as to put on his hat or open his umbrella,
^ Ch. Dallet, Histoire de VEglise de Cor^e (Paris, 1874), i. pp. cxxxviii sq.
84
WORSHIP OF SKY IN THE FAR EAST
CHAP.
Rewards
for the
mandarin
who pro-
cures rain.
Sacrifices
for fine
weather at
Seoul.
Sacrifices
in time of
public
calamity.
the angry crowd would knock his hat off his head, smash
his umbrella, and overwhelm him under a shower of blows
and curses.^
A mandarin whose sacrifice has been followed by rain
is regarded as the saviour of his country ; the king rewards
him by giving him promotion or a valuable present. In
the nineteenth century a mandarin of the capital who dared
to offer the sacrifice before the prescribed hour was im-
mediately dismissed from office. But that very night rain
began to fall ; so the degraded magistrate was restored to his
dignity and shared the reward with his brother mandarin,
who officiated the next day, and who had the good fortune
to be drenched with rain in the very act of sacrificing. On
both of them the king bestowed a deerskin, which was
carried to their respective abodes with all possible pomp
and ceremony.^
At Seoul, the capital of Corea, sacrifices to procure fine
weather are offered at the great South Gate. The hour is
the same, the sacrificer observes the same rules of abstinence,
and so long as the sacrifices continue the gate is shut day
and night, and all traffic is stopped. Sometimes, too, on
such occasions it is forbidden to carry the dead out to burial.
If at these times undertakers attempt to conduct funerals,
whether in ignorance of the edict, or in the hope of evading
it, or because the date of the obsequies has been fixed by
the diviners and cannot be postponed, they are inexorably
stopped at the gates of the city ; and as they cannot return
home before the burial, they and the coffins which they are
carrying are obliged to remain out in the rain, often for
several days, till with the return of fine weather the embargo
on funerals has been rescinded, and the dead are suffered
peaceably to repair to their long homes.^
Sometimes in great calamities, as when cholera is raging,
individuals club together or collect money to defray the
expense of numerous sacrifices, and the king for his part
essays to appease the wrath of Heaven by granting partial
or general amnesties.^
^ Ch. Dallet, Ilistoire de VEglise de ® Ch. Dallet, Histoire de rijrEse de
CordCy i. pp. cxxxix sq, Cor^e^ l.c.
2 Ch. Dallet, Histoire de VAglise de ^ Ch. Dallet, Ilistoire de VAglise de
Cortfe, i. p. cxl. Cor/e ^ l,c.
IV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN ANNAM
85
§ 3. The Worship of the Sky in Annani,
In Annam, as in China, the sky {troi) is personified as in Annam
an intelligent, wise, and on the whole beneficent deity. The personified
personification transpires clearly in such popular expressions asawiseand
as Mr. Sky ” and “ Mr. Blue Sky ” or “ Grandfather Sky ”, b^nefiSt
“ Grandfather Blue Sky”; for the title Mr. or Monsieur {png)
means literally “grandfather”, though it is applied in a com-
plimentary sense to any person for whom the speaker
entertains respect. Sometimes in common speech the noun
“ sky ” is omitted, while the personification remains. Thus
you may hear people say, “ Grandfather is raining ”, Grand-
father is causing a flood ”, “ If Grandfather goes on like that
we shall lose the harvest But to the mind of the
Annamites the sky {troi) is much more than the personified
cause of atmospheric phenomena. It occupies towards
mankind the position of an overruling Providence. It is the
cause of all that happens here on earth. They say, “ Life
and death are in the power of Heaven ” {troi) ; “ Good and
bad fortune are in the power of Heaven ” ; “ Riches and
honours, want and plenty depend on Heaven ” ; “ It is the
will of Heaven.” It is Heaven, too, that sends the wasting
sicknesses which spread havoc among the people ; cholera
or plague is “Heaven’s evil” {dich troi). Yet Heaven is
also beneficent and compassionate. Men appeal to it. in
time of trouble. Thousands of times every day the cry
goes up from the unfortunate and unhappy in Annam to
a just, a pitiful Heaven; “O Heaven {troi oil)'' is the
simple appeal ; according to the circumstances and feelings
of the speaker it is a cry of supplication, of suffering, of
discouragement, of astonishment, or of indignation. Some-
times, in their despair, men blaspheme Heaven, rendering it
responsible for the evils that befall them : hence there is
“ a sin against heaven ” {Pham troi) ; and they say that
“ Heaven punishes ” {troi phat). But in calmer moments
men appeal to Heaven as to a wise and just judge. They
say, “ Heaven knows ” {troi biet\ “ Heaven judges ” {troi
xet\ meaning, “ Heaven sees what I do, he hears what I
^ L. Cadi^re, “Philosophic populaire annamite,” AnihropoSy ii. (1907) pp.
118-120 ; P. Giran, Magic et Religion Annamites (Paris, 1912), pp. 262 sq.
86
WORSHIP OF SKY IN THE FAR EAST
CHAP.
say ; he is my witness that I speak the truth, that I am
innocent ; he will not leave unpunished the wrong .that is
done me"'. And it is to this great Celestial Being, who
made man and watched over him during his life on earth,
that man returns after death ; to die is “ to return to
Heaven ” {ve troi). Thus on the whole the physical ^ky
{troi) is personified by the Annamites as a wise, good, just
and omniscient being, in short, as a high god.^
Theological But if the people are asked whether this great deity,
concerning Overruling Providence, is distinct from the material
the divine heaven, the blue vault that they see above their heads, they
es^chewed catinot answer. Either they have never put the question to
by the themselves, or, if they have, they have kept to themselves
people. their reflections.^ It is the old, old riddle, and
how can we expect that Annam should find the answer?
Earth could not answer : nor the Seas that mourn
In Jioxving Purple^ of their Lord forlorn ;
Nor rolling Heaven^ xvith all his Signs reveaPd
And hidden by the sleeve of Night and MomP
But with such unprofitable subtleties the great mass of
mankind in Annam, as elsewhere, do not concern themselves.
To their thinking the sky is a god, and that is an end of it.
About his personality there is no manner of doubt. They
call him Ngoc Hoang, that is, the Emperor of Jade. He
dwells in the midst of heaven and is the supreme ruler of the
universe. The sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, the
thunder, the rain, the spirits of the mountains, of the rivers,
and of the forests are all subject to him. It was he who
sent to mankind the three great emperors Phuc y, Than
nong, and Hien vien, who taught the human race to till the
ground and to clothe their nakedness. But the Emperor of
Jade does not dwell in lone splendour above the clouds. He
is surrounded by a regular court, and in the despatch of all
business concerning mankind he is assisted by two Secretaries
of State, who are no other than the Northern Star and the
Southern Star. It is the duty of these functionaries to
superintend and register all things, good and bad, that affect
^ L. Cacliere, ‘ ‘ Philosophic populaiie 2 Cacli^re, “ Philosophic populaire
annamite,” Anthropos^ ii. (1907) pp. annamite,” Anthropos^ ii. (1907) p.
121 $q. 122.
The Sky-
god called
the
Emperor
of Jade ; ho
is attended
by a court
and two
sccTeta,ries,
\v ho are the
Northern
and
Southern
Star.
IV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN ANNAM
87
the welfare of humanity. But while the Southern Star keeps
his eye on the living and records all their doings, of which
they will have to render an account after death, the Northern
Star is lord of the dead ; he it is who regulates their punish-
ment, increasing, mitigating, or suspending it at his dis-
cretion ; and it is to him that, a few days before the end of
the year, the Spirit of the Kitchen makes his annual report
on all that, as Guardian of the Hearth, he has seen and
heard in the house during the past year. In popular art
the Emperor of Jade is represented clad in a robe of
imperial yellow, sitting on a throne amid clouds, and holding
an ivory sceptre in his clasped hands. On either side of him
stand, at the foot of the throne, the two Secretaries of State,
each with the emblems of his office, to wit, a register and a
paint-brush or pencil wherewith to make the entries in the
judgment roll. The image or statue of the deity is to be
seen in many temples, yet he receives no special worship ; no
ceremonies are performed and no festivals held in his honour,
such as are performed and held in honour of the Sun and
Moon.^
The Emperor of Jade is a father; he has sons and The descent
daughters. Among the daughters the most celebrated is the sky!god’s
goddess LiSu Hanh.^ One day when her father had invited daughter to
a select party of gods to dinner, she was so awkward as to ‘
break a valuable vase, and for this fault she was banished
by her stern sire to earth. There she became a princess in
the royal family of the Les and married a young official
named Dao Lang. But after three years she died. When
her husband opened the coffin to take a last look at his dead
wife the body had vanished. The goddess had resumed the
likeness of a young damsel, and in that form now roamed the
forests, making the woods echo to her songs and the music
of the harp. There her husband, who was inconsolable for
his loss, had the good fortune to fall in with her and to
recognize her with the help of a very elegant poem which
she had carved on the bark of a tree. They married again
and lived long years together without ever wearying of
their love. Her husband devoted himself to the pursuit
^ P. Giran, Magie et Religion An- Annamites (Paris, 1906), pp. 219 sq.
namitesy pp. 262-264 ? Y. Diguet, Les 2 Giran, c/>, at, p. 264.
88 WORSHIP OF SKY IN THE FAR EAST chap, iv
of literature, graduated with distinction at the university, and
rose to be a high mandarin. Their marriage was blessed with
a son. One day — one melancholy day — while they were
joyously discussing his future career, they were surprised by
a strain of sweet and solemn music which seemed to proceed
from the sky. A shudder thrilled the wife : she started up
and said to her husband, “ We must part, my darling. Thou
art Dao Lang and I am the goddess Lieu Hanh. My father,
the Emperor of Jade, is calling me to himself. Farewell.”
She vanished, this time to return no more, and he was left
lamenting.^
1 E. Diguet, Les Attnamites^ pp. 225-227 ; compare P. Giran, op. at.
p. 264.
CHAPTER V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
§ I. Worship of the Sky in Western Africa
Thus far we have discussed the worship of the Sky as it The
has existed among the civilized peoples of antiquity and ofJhTsky
modern times. But that worship is by no means confined common in
to civilized nations ; it occurs also commonly enough in barbarmis
savage and barbarous tribes. Nor is this surprising. When bribes,
we remember that the religious veneration of the Sky is
based on a simple personification of the visible firmament,
in other words, on an attribution to it of qualities and
powers like those of man in kind, though higher in degree, we
shall probably be less astonished that so crude a philosophy
should commend itself to primitive folk than that it should
so long have survived among peoples at a higher level* of
culture.
I do not propose to ransack the whole annals of savagery The
and barbarism in search of sky-gods ; to do so would tax
too far the patience of my hearers and exceed the time at well
my disposal. There is the less need for me to dwell at
length on the topic because the whole of this wide field has
already been surveyed and mapped by Professor Fettazzoni
in the learned work to which I have already referred.^ For
my purpose it will suffice to select as examples of this
particular phase of religion the beliefs and practices of a
single race, or rather group of races, to wit, the black peoples
of Africa, among whom the personification and worship of
* R. Pettazzoni, DtOy vol. i. A’ Essere Celeste nelle Credenze dei PopoU Primitivi
(Rome, 1922).
89
90
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
the Sky are particularly well developed. We begin with the
tribes of Western Africa.
The The worship of the Sky appears to be common to all
^e sky ^he negroes of Western Africa, but among many of them it
among the is cast into the shade by the worship pf the Earth and of
Upper ^he Forest. This, for example, is true of the Bobos, a tribe
Senegal, of Upper Senegal or the French Sudan, who occupy a
territory in the valley of the Niger to the north of the Ivory
Coast.^ But among the Sankuras, a branch of the Bobos,
who have been influenced by Mohammedanism, the Sky-
god has regained some of his original importance because
his worshippers have identified him with Allah. Still, even
among them the Sky has to yield precedence to the Earth
The and the Forest.“ Again, among the Nunumas, another
thTsky ^ tribe of the same region, the two great deities are still the
Nunumar Forest, but the people also revere the Sky or
the Good God, as they call him, and they offer sacrifices to
him when the diviner orders them to do so. At his bidding
they ascend one of the terraces of their large family dwell-
ings {sukalas\ which are built of beaten earth and in their
massive proportions often present the appearance of lofty
rectangular fortresses rather than of houses. There, on the
terrace, they cut the throat of a fowl, throw it in the air,
and watch it, as it flutters and flaps its wings in the agony
of death. If it expires on its back, the omen is good :
Heaven has accepted the sacrifice. But if the bird does not
die on its back, it is a sign that Heaven is displeased and
rejects the offering. In that case the sacrifices must be
continued till a victim yields up its life in the required
position.^ The worship of the dead forms an important
element in the religion of the Nunumas ; for the souls of
ancestors are supposed to dwell under ground and to cause
the growth of vegetation, particularly of the grain ; hence
at the time of sowing the seed the head of a family always
sacrifices to the ancestral spirits either at their graves or at
the little huts dedicated to them.'* Now it is noteworthy
1 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Settdan p. 1 95. Throughout this discussion
(Paris, 1912), p. 74. I use Heaven and Sky as equivalent
2 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^ terms.
p. 83. * L. Tauxier, Le Notr du Soudan^
3 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^ pp. 189^7.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 91
that in this tribe the Sky-god is always invoked along with
the ancestral spirits.^ On the terraces of their houses the
people sometimes erect huge pointed cones of beaten earth
in honour either of the ancestors or of the Sky. Further,
the Nunumas, like other negroes, associate the worship of
certain pebbles with the worship of the Sky. When the
head of a family finds in the forest a pebble which attracts
his attention by its colour, or beauty, or curious shape,
he picks it up and takes it home. There he constructs a
cone of beaten earth, some three feet high at most, and
sets the pebble on the top of it, and offers sacrifices to
it, saying that it is the Good God himself, or at all events
a fetish which the Good God has bestowed on him.
This is natural enough, for in the belief of the blacks these
pebbles have fallen from the Sky, and are in fact fragments
of that great divinity.^
The Kassunas Fras, another negro people of the same The
region, to the north of the Gold Coast, similarly offer
sacrifices to the Sky on the terraces of their houses, among the
especially when they are about to set out on a journey,
They also in like manner worship certain pebbles as frag-
ments of the divine Sky, from which they are supposed to
have fallen. When a man finds one of these pebbles he
constructs a cone of beaten earth in front of the door of his
house, places the pebble on the top of it, and from time to
time sacrifices fowls or goats to it. This he usually does in
obedience to the injunction of a diviner.® But with them,
as with other tribes of these parts, the worship of the Sky
appears to be overshadowed by the worship of the Earth
and of the ancestral spirits. Even when rain is wanted, it
is not to the Sky but to the Earth and the Ancestors that '
the Kassunas Fras, like the Nunumas, offer sacrifices in
order to elicit showers from the brazen heaven^
Again, the Nankanas, another tribe of the same region, The
revere the Earth and the Forest as their great deities, but tliTsky
they also pay their devotions to the Sky, who, however, is among the
n.nlccin<is
not so universally feared and respected as the Earth. At
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^ ^ L. Tauxier, Le. Noir du Soudan^
P- 195 - p. 238.
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan y ^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudafiy
pp. 195 sq, pp. 196 sq,y 241 sq.
92
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The
worship of
the Sky
among the
Kassiinas-
Buras.
The
worship of
the Sky
among the
Mossi and
Samos.
Zeko the French official, M. Louis Tauxier, to whom we
owe a valuable account of these tribes, was told by the
people whom he questioned that everybody believed in the
Earth, but that not everybody believed in the Sky. How-
ever, the chief of Zeko, to do him justice, was not one of
these sceptics. Like the pious man he was, he believed in
the Sky, and from time to time in the courtyard of his
house he sacrificed fowls, sheep, goats, and even oxen to the
celestial deity. According to the worshippers of the Sky in
this tribe, it is the Sky who bestows rain, and the Thunder
and Lightning are his progeny.^
Again, the Kassunas-Buras, a tribe situated to the east
of the preceding, similarly worship the Earth and the Forest
as the prime divinities, but they also find a place in their
pantheon for the Sky-god, who bears the name of We,
while the sky itself is called kunkuabi or kongkuanu\ thus
they distinguish between the firmament and the god who
inhabits it. At the bidding of the diviner, they sacrifice
fowls, millet flour, and so forth to We in order to procure
many children and many wives*. Anybody is free to offer
such sacrifices, provided that he is instructed to do so by the
seer. By extension they also give the name of We to the
divine pebbles which they collect and treasure, because they
believe them to have fallen from the sky. As for the
lightning, it is the sword of the Good God, but they do not
offer sacrifices to it They believe that it strikes none but
evildoers.^
Among the Mossi of Yatenga, a district of Upper
Senegal, the Sky-god ranks as the supreme deity. In
theory he is more powerful even than the redoubtable Earth-
god, although, unlike that great divinity, he does not busy
himself with men, and never punishes them. Nevertheless
everything is said to be ordered by him. He resides in the
sky, and his name is Wende or Wennam.^ The Samos of
the same region sacrifice to the Sky, which they represent
by balls of earth ; they call it lar^ or Idro}
* L. Tauxier, Le Noir dti Soudan, 3 Tauxier, Le Noir du Yatenga
pp. 272 sq. (Paris, 1917), p. 377.
L. Tauxier, Le Noir dn Soudan,
p. 328. In French the god’s name is ^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Yaienga,
spelled One. p. 694.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 93
The Hab^s are an aboriginal people who inhabit a The Hab^s
mountainous district of Upper Senegal within the gi’^at
bend of the Niger. Formerly they dwelt in the fertile sky called
lowlands of the great Nigerian tableland ; but, driven thence or^A^nba,
by the inroads of their foes the Peuls, they took refuge in the sends
^ f . .1, ^ ^1 the rain.
mountains, and built their villages on steep slopes or on the
summits of cliffs, where ever since they have bidden defiance
to their enemies and preserved their ancient customs and
heathen religion.^ They believe that the sky, which they
call ana-kala, is solid, and that there is a god of the sky,
who sends the rain. They call him Amma or Amba. They
offer sacrifices to him on altars with three points, to which
they give the same name as to the deity. On some of the
cliffs may be seen a number of monoliths or menhirs, some
six feet high, which are usually fixed in clefts of the rock
and supported by stones at their base. These stones are They offer
altars of the kind Sky-god Amma or Amba, who bestows the
rain on mankind. No definite shape is ascribed to him, but him on
he is supposed to dwell or to be embodied in the menhirs ; menhtrs.
and he also resides in caves and piles of rocks. Sacrifices
are offered to him at all times. When any one desires to
obtain a favour of the deity, whether it be rain, or offspring,
or an increase of worldly goods, he repairs alone to a menhir,
sprinkles millet flour on it, and utters his prayer. If his
prayer is granted, he must inform the High Priest (Jtogon)
and the elders of the village. They assemble before the
sacred stone, and in their presence the worshipper who has
obtained his wish sacrifices a goat, a cock, and a hen, so that
the blood drips on the menhir. The flesh of the victim
is then shared among the persons present. Women are
excluded from these sacrifices of thanksgiving. If the
favoured mortal were to forget thus to testify his gratitude
to the deity, Amba would take his revenge by sending great
misfortunes upon him. The Hab^s believe that the Earth
is the wife of Amba, because he fertilizes her every year
with the rain ; the fruits which, thus fertilized, she brings to
the birth are deemed the children of Amba.^
^ R. Arnaucl, “ Notes sur Ics ^ R. Arnaud, “ Notes sur Ics
Montagnards Habe ”, Revue P Ethno- Montagnards Ua.h 6 ^\ Revue PEthuo-
graphie et des Tradiiious populaires^ graphic et des Traditions populairesP\\.
ii. (1921) pp. 241 sqq. (1921) pp. ^55 sq. As to the High
94
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The
worship of
the Sky
among the
tribes in the
interior of
the Ivory
Coast.
The
worship of
the Sky
among the
tribes in the
interior of
the Gold
Coast.
The Kulangos, in the interior of the Ivory Coast, regard
the sky, or rather the atmosphere {yego), as a great deity.
We are told that like the other negroes of the Sudan they
distinguish the firmament, which they believe to be solid,
from the atmospheric phenomena, such as clouds, storm,
rain, thunder and lightning, which take place beneath it ;
and it is these phenomena, and not the blue sky, which they
deem divine. To this god of the sky, or rather of the
atmosphere, they offer sacrifices when the diviners command
them to do so ; and it is he who sends the thunder, the
lightning, and the wind.^ But the Earth is the great deity
of the Kulangos. Other tribes in the interior of the Ivory
Coast, such as the Abrons, the Cans, and the Deghas, deify
the Sky and the Earth, and offer sacrifices to them.‘^ The
Guros in the interior of the Ivory Coast recognize the
divinity of the atmospheric sky, but they do not sacrifice
to it. However, when anybody has been struck by lightning,
they sacrifice a fowl to the lightning in order to appease it.
They believe that the polished stone axes of the neolithic
period, which are found all over the Ivory Coast, were
thrown down from the sky by the thunder, and they look
upon them as divine. So they collect them and keep them
in vessels of water. From time to time they bathe in the
holy water, and offer fowls to the thunder-stones, that is,
to the stone axes, trusting thereby to win their favour.®
Among the tribes which inhabit the Northern Territories
of the Gold Coa.st the worship of Sky and Earth prevails in
forms which closely resemble those which we have found to
be practised by the natives of Upper Senegal ; nor is this
surprising when we remember that the boundary between
Senegal and the Gold Coast, in other words, between French
and British territory, is a purely arbitrary one, being drawn
straight along the eleventh parallel of North latitude, with
the result that the same tribes are impartially divided
Priest {hogon)^ see id. pp. 249 sqq. He
is the religious and sacred chief of a
group of people ; he is deemed to be
something more than a man, and he has
to observe many taboos.
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Bondotikoii
(Paris, 1921), pp. 175
2 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Boiidoukou^
pp. 353.,37S. 379. 385 . W-
^ L. Tauxier, N^gj’es Gonro et Gai^ott
(Paris, 1924), pp. 200, 248 ; compare
id.y p. 139, as to the Gagus, who
similarly worship polished stone axes
as thunder-stones.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 95
between the two different spheres of political influence. For
example, the Nankana (or Nankanni) and the Kassuna
Fras (or Kassena) inhabit both sides of the Franco-British
boundary line.^ The tribes on the English side of the
boundary have recently been described by Mr. A. W.
Cardinall, and from his description I will borrow what he
tells us about the worship of the Sky among these people.
It will be seen that his account tallies with and confirms
that of his French colleague, M. Louis Tauxier, across the
frontier.
Among the tribes in the Northern Territories of the But these
Gold Coast the principal form of worship is that of the
Earth-gods, for of such deities there are many, and all have chiefly the
different names each community reveres at least one.^
Thus the natives appear not to have attained to the general
conception of a single god of the whole earth ; they conceive
of a multitude of Earth-gods, each with his own particular
name and local habitat. But every one believes in a Belief in a
Supreme Being, the creator of life and the moulder of
destiny. The Nankanni call him Wuni ; the Kassena call called We,
him We; and the Builsa call him Weni. His power is
boundless, and he has pre-ordained everything. No
definite shape is ascribed to him, but he apparently lives
in the sky, or sometimes is identical with the sky or with the
sun. He stands alone, and for the most part is not to be
approached by mere mortals."* Yet at the same time \vc
are told that “the sky itself — or maybe the Creator — has a
private worship paid to it. All are at liberty to offer to the
sky, and in most, but by no means all, houses one will see
on the roof of one of the huts a small pyramid of sun-baked
mud on the summit of which is a small stone — usually a
cast-away hand-grinder. This is the sacrificial place for
We.^*^ Among these tribes, moreover, as among some of Worship of
the tribes of Upper Senegal, the worship of certain stones f^piements
is confused or blent with the worship of the sky. Stone which are
implements abound everywhere, and are supposed by the have^faiieu
natives to have come from God, or the sky, or the rain. A
^ A. W. Cardinall, The Natives of
the Northern TerritoHes of the Gotd
Coast (London, N.D.), pp. vii, i.
2 A. W. Cardinall, op, cit, p. 24.
^ A. W. Cardinall, op. cit. p. 1 6.
* A. W. Cardinall, op. cit. pp. 22, 26.
^ A. W. Cardinall, op. cit. pp. 23 sq.
from the
sky.
96
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Why the
Sky is so
far away.
Supreme
importance
of the
worship of
ancestors
among
these
tribes.
man will pick up and treasure any curiously-shaped stone,
and if good luck should afterwards attend him, he may, in
consultation with the sorcerers, conclude that he owes his
prosperity to the stone; and thus in course of time the stone
may acquire great renown.^
To explain why the sky is so far away the Kassena say
that in the beginning the sky was so close to the ground
that it was in the way of an old woman who was about to
cook. In a rage she cut a slice off the sky and made it
into soup. At this indignity the Sky was so vexed that he
went away to the place which he occupies to the present
day. Similarly the Ashantis tell how in days of old the
sky was so near the earth that a woman who was pounding
yams hit it continually with her pestle. This was more
than the Sky could stand, and he withdrew out of her reach.^
Almost exactly the sa'me story is told by the Kpelle, a negro
tribe of Liberia.®
But among these tribes, while the worship of the Earth-
gods is the most important for the community, that of
ancestors is by far the most important for the individual.
A religious man will do nothing without a sacrifice of some
sort, generally a fowl, to his ancestors. In every courtyard
may be seen the mound that stands for the founder’s grave,
and outside of it are little pyramids representing other
deceased members of the family. Each pyramid is capped
with a stone, on which are laid blood and feathers from
the sacrifices. And when a family migrates, earth from the
pyramids is carried to the new abode, and there the sacrifices
to the dead are offered as before.^
The Tshi-
speaking
peoples
and their
country.
To the south of the territory occupied by these tribes
stretches the great extent of country inhabited by a race of
true negroes, who speak dialects of a language known as the
Tshi, Tshwi, or Twi. It is a land of countless small hills
and low ranges, all covered by dense tropical forest. The
climate is hot, oppressive, and in a high degree unfavourable
to the physical and mental energies of man. The natives live
^ A. W. Cardinal!, o/>. dt. p. 23.
2 A. W. Caidinall, op. cit. pp. 22 sq.
^ D. Westermann, Die Kpelle^ ein
Negerstawm in Liberia (Cjotlingen und
Leipzig, 1921), p. 533.
^ A. W. Cardinall, op. cit. p. 45.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 97
in insignificant villages and hamlets, built in small clearings
of the forest ; communication is kept up by narrow paths
cut through the jungle. With the exception of Coomassie
(the capital of Ashanti) and Djuabin, there is no purely
native assemblage of buildings which deserves the name of
town. In such a country, where men live in small isolated
communities, mere specks in a vast tract of almost impene-
trable forest, ideas permeate but slowly ; shut off from the
outer world by their woods, and enervated by the deadly
influence of the climate, the people have remained in a
backward condition little, if at all, in advance of that in
which they were discovered by the Portuguese navigators
more than four hundred years ago.^ To the east of their
country stretches, as far as the Benin River, the territory The Ewc-
occupied by the Ewe-speaking and Yoruba-speaking peoples.
All three languages — the Tshi, the Ewe, and the Yoruba — Yoruba-
belong to the same family of speech, and all three peoples
appear to have sprung from a common stock. But they
differ in the degree of culture they have reached as we
proceed from west to cast, the Tshis in the west being
the most savage, and the Yorubas in the east being the
most advanced, while between them the Ewes occupy an
intermediate position in respect of culture as well as of
locality. The more open and level country inhabited by the
Ewes and the Yorubas, by facilitating communication, may
partially account for their greater progress in the direction
of civilization.^ The religions of all three peoples conform
to the same type, and they all entertain similar views as to
the Sky-god, who stands at the head of their pantheon. The
same may be said of the Gas, a kindred people who inhabit
the Gold Coast immediately to the west of the Volta River.
Their language (the Ga) belongs to the same family of speech,
and their religious beliefs resemble very closely those of their
neighbours the Tshis.^
Among the Tshi-speaking peoples the Ashantis are by
1 (Sir) A. n. Ellis, The Yoruba-s-peakitig Peoples of the
Peoples of the Gold Coast of West Africa Slave Coast of West Africa (London,
(London, 1887), pp. 1-4. 1894), pp. 32 S(/.
^ {S'w) K'B.'EWis, The Ewe -speaking 3 {S\v) A. 'R. YAWs, 77 ie Eioe-speaking
Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa^
(London, 1890), pp. v 8 sq. ; id,y pp. v, vi.
VOL. I H
98
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Among the far the most powerful and the most famous. They regard
the'sk'y* Earth as their two great deities.' But,
god" unlike the tribes of Upper Senegal, they rank the Sky above
^'yame the Earth. He is indeed the greatest of their gods, the
the greatest Supreme Being." His name in the Tshi language is Onyame,
of the gods. „ Shining One”, shortened into ’Nyame, or lengthened
into Onyankopon or Nyankopon. These names are applied
both to the deity and to the sky. The Tshi negro conceives
of the visible sky as animated : the firmament is, as it were,
the body, or at least the abode, of the deity, who is its soul.
The same It is remarkable that the same name for the deity occurs in
name of laneuascs of widely separated tribes of the Bantu stock
known to in Western Africa. Thus in Dualla it is Nyainbe, in the
widJy language of Angola it is Ndzambi or Nzambi, in Herero
separated it is Ndyambi, and similar names occur in many inter-
mediate tongues.^ In the language of the G5s of the
Gold Coast the name both of the Sky and of the Sky-god
is Nyonmo.'*
Miss The general character of this Sky-god, who under many
Kingsley names is worshipped by many tribes of Western Africa, has
worship of been thus described by Miss Mary Kingsley : ” No trace
the Sky- f sun-worship have I ever found. The firmament is, I
West believe, always the great indifferent and neglected god,
the Nyan Kupon of the Tschwi, and the Anzambe, Nzam,
etc, of the Bantu races. The African thinks this god
has great power if he would only exert it, and when
things go very badly with him, when the river rises
higher than usual and sweeps away his home and his
plantations; when the smallpox stalks through the land, and
day and night the corpses float down the river past him, and
he finds them jammed among his canoes that are tied to the
beach, and choking up his fish traps ; and then when at last
1 R. S. Rattray, Ashanti (Oxford,
1923), p. 214.
2 R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 86,
90 sq., 139 sqq.
3 J. C;. Christaller, Dictionary oj
the Asante and Fante Language (Basel,
i88i), pp. 342 sg., s.v. Onyame; id,
“ Negersagen von der Goldkiiste ”,
Zeitschrift fiir afrikanische Sprachen,
i. (1887-1888) p. 49 note 2. Com-
pare (Sir) A. B. Ellis, The Tshi-
speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast of
I Vest Africa, pp. 24 sqq. ; id.. The
Five- speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast
of IVest Africa, pp. 36 sq. ; K. S.
Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 48, 49, 86, 90
sq .. 94, I4I, 145, 173; Cyril
Clariflge, IVild Bush Tribes of 'Tropical
Africa (London, 1922), pp. 268 sqq.
^ (Sir) A. B. Ellis, The Yoruba-
speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of
West Africa, p. 3$.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 99
the death-wail over its victims goes up night and day from
his own village, he will rise up and call upon this great god
in the terror maddened by despair, that he may hear and
restrain the workings of these lesser devils/*^
“■The general bias of the negro mind says Sir A. B, Ellis, A. b. eiHs
“has been in favour of selecting the firmament for the chief
Nature-god, instead of the Sun, Moon, or Earth; and in this worship of
respect the natives resemble the Aryan Hindus, Greeks, and
Romans, with whom Dyaus pitar, Zeus, and Jupiter equally
represented the firmament”/^ “The Tshis and Gas use the
words Nyankupon and Nyonmo to express sky, rain, or
thunder and lightning, and the Ewes and Yorubas, the words
Mawu and Olorun to express the two former. The Tshi
people say Nyankupon horn (Nyankupon knocks), ‘It is
thundering’ ; Nyankupon aba (Nyankupon has come), ‘It is
raining’ ; and the Ga peoples, ‘ Nyanmo knocks (thunders),’
‘Nyanmo pours’, ‘Nyanmo drizzdes’, etc., while in just the same
way the Ancient Greeks ascribed these phenomena to Zeus,
who snowed, rained, hailed, gathered clouds, and thundered.
Nyankupon has for epithets the following: Amosu (Giver of
Rain); Amovua (Giver of Sunshine); Tetereboensu (Wide-
spreading Creator of Water), and Tyaduampon, which seems
to mean ‘ Stretched-out Roof’ {Tyo^ to draw or drag, dua,
wood, and pon^ flat surface).” ^
In the Ashanti language the rainbow is called literally
* Mary II. Kingsley, Travels in
West Africa (London, 1897), p. 508.
Compare R. 11 . Nassau, Fetichism in
JVest Africa (London, 1904), p. 36,
who gives as different forms of the
god’s name “ Anyambe, Anyambie,
Njambi, Nzambi, Anzam, or, in other
parts, Ukuku, Suku, and so forth
And on this Sky-god in general, see
R. Pettazzoni, Dio^ i. V Essere Celeste
nelle Credenze dei Popoli Pritnitivi
(Roma, 1922), pp. 234 sqq. Among
the Ibos, an important people of
Southern Nigeria, the name of the
Supreme God is fuku or Chuku ; but
he does not appear to be specially
described as a Sky-god. See N. W.
Thomas, Anthropological Report on
the Ibo- speaking Peoples of Nigeria
(London, 1913), i.26sq.; G. T.Basden,
Among the Ibos of Nigeria (London,
1921) , pp. 214-216. According to
Mr. Basden {op. cit. p. 215), this god
“is believed to control all things in
heaven and earth, and dispenses re-
wards and punishments according to
merit”. On the other hand, Mr.
Thomas tells us {op. cit. p. 27) that
“ Cuku appears to play a relatively
unimportant part in the lives of the
people, I have nowhere found any
sacrifice to him.” Suku is the name
for God also in the Ovimbundu tribe
of Bihe in Angola. See D. Campbell,
In the Heart of Bantuland (London,
1922) , p. 245.
2 (Sir) A. B. Ellis, The Voruba-
speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of
li^est Africa^ P- 35 -
3 (Sir) A. B. Ellis, The Yoruba-
speaking Peoples of the Slave Coasts
PP- 35-36 note.
lOO
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Stone celts the Sky-god’s bow,^ and stone celts are named the Sky-god’s
axes {’Njai/te aho/m) or the Sky-god’s hoes (^Nyame asoso).
A^shantis They are supposed to fall from tlie sky during thunder-
god's nxer and to bury themselves in the earth. The natives
or hoe's, believe that, coming from the Sky-god ’Nyame, stone celts
are endowed with some of the power of that great spirit.
Hence they are constantly found as appurtenances of the
inferior gods (abosom) and of charms (stimati) ; hence, too,
the medical virtue ascribed to them. To cure diseases they
are sometimes fastened to the body of the sufferer, or they
are ground down to a powder, which is given him to
swallow. However, there are still alive in Ashanti old men
who know that these stone celts were made by human hands,
and that they were used by their ancestors not so long ago
at a time when the smelting of iron was already practised.”
When a tree is cleft by lightning, a common man will say
that it has been split by the Sky-god’s axe.®
•Nyame ’Nyame, the Supreme Being of the Ashantis, is thought
ihTlkv'but dwell somewhat aloof in his firmament and to be too far
concerns away to concern himself directly with the affairs of man,
littk «kh delegated some of his powers to his lieutenants,
human the Icsser gods {abosom), who act as his vice-gerents on
affairs. earth."* Yet there are beautifully designed temples of the
Sky-god hidden away in remote corners of the older palaces,
and these temples are served by priests. Moreover, almost
every courtyard in Ashanti contains an altar of the Sky-god
in the shape of a forked branch cut from a certain tree which
•Mtarsofthe the Ashantis call the Sky-god’s tree (^Nyatnc dud). Between
fht^s^Vofthe branches, which are cut short, is fixed a basin or a pot ;
forked Jn this receptacle the offerings are placed, and in it is
branches. found a neoHthic celt, one of the Sky-god’s
axes. These rude altars of the Sky-god are frequently
represented on ancient Ashanti weights.® On one such
weight, for example, we see a man offering a fowl at one of
the.se altars, while two eggs are shown lying in the basin
on the top of the forked pole.® Mashed yams are sometimes
thrown on the roof of the house as an offering to the Sky-
' K. .S. Rattray, Ashanti, |). 174. ® R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, p. 142,
* R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 322 sq. with the plate compare p. 51.
3 R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, p. 176. “ R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, p. 312,
R. S. Rattray, . 4 r, 4 a«/f,pp. 86, 141. with Fig. 125 facing p. 310.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA loi
god and to the spirits of the Earth.' When a drummer is
about to beat a drum for the first time on a particular day,
he pours some drops of wine on the drum and calls upon the
gods of the Sky and the Earth and many other deities to
drink.^ In prayers the Sky-god is addre.ssed as “ He upon Oaths by
whom men lean and do not fall ’? When an under-chief suy^'nd
swore fealty to his liege lord, a sword was given him, and he
turned the point of it first to the sky and then to the earth.
Thereupon he bent his head, and while the great chief
placed his left foot on it, the subject prayed that the gods
of the Sky and the Earth might catch him, if ever he should
turn traitor to his lord.'' We have seen that in like manner
the ancient Greeks swore by Sky and Earth.®
A popular myth, known from one end of Ashanti to the Rivers,
other, relates that *Nyame, the Sky-god, had various sons,
of whom one was a favourite, and that he sent them down regardedas
to earth to receive benefits from, and to confer them upon, sky-god.
mankind. All these sons bore the names of what are now
waters, whether rivers, lakes, or the sea. Thus it would
seem that in Ashanti waters are looked upon as emanations
of the Sky-god and as containing, in greater or less degree,
the spirit or virtue of the divine Creator.® Grandmother
Asiama, the traditionary foundress and first ruler of the
Beretuo clan, is said to have come from the Sky-god ; ^ and
that great deity is reported to have sent down a python and
a dove, which are the respective totems of two other Ashanti
clans.®
One of our best authorities on the religion of these The Sky-
people, the late Sir A. B. Ellis, was formerly of opinion that
their Sky-god, whom he calls Nana-Nyankupon, “the Lord African
of the Sky’’, was borrowed by them from the Christians and native dV?ty
was in fact little more than Jehovah under a new name and
. . . r 1 borrowed
a thin disguise.'’ But this opinion he afterwards saw reason from
to retract. Discussing the nature of Mawu, the Sky-god of i^uropeans.
^ R. S. Rattray, Ashanti^ p. 52.
R. S. Rattray, Ashanti^ pp. 263 sqq,
^ R. S. Rattray, Ashanti^ pp. 148,
165, 297.
^ R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 225 sq.
^ Above, p. 42.
® R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 145
sq., compare p. 54.
7 R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, p. lii.
® R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 48, 49.
® (Sir) A. B. Ellis, The Tshi-speakiti^^
Peoples of the Gold Coast of IVest Africa
(London, 1887), pp. 24 sqq.
102
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
the Ewe-speaking peoples of the Slave Coast, he observes :
“ While upon the subject of this god, I may as well say that,
from additional evidence I have since collected, I now think
that the view I expressed concerning the origin of Nyan-
kupon, the parallel god of the Tshi-speaking peoples,^ was
incorrect ; and that instead of his being the Christian God,
borrowed and thinly disguised, I now hold that he is, like
Mawu, the Sky-god, or indwelling spirit of the sky ; and
that, also like Mawu, he has been to a certain extent con-
founded with Jehovah. It is worthy of remark that nyan-
kum means ‘ rain ’, and nyan-konton, ‘ rainbow while the
word nyankupon itself is as frequently used to express sky,
firmament, thunder, or rain, as it is as a proper name.” ^
R. s. The view, that the Sky-god of the Ashantis and other
Tshi-speaking peoples is a pure product of native thought,
dependent and that the resemblance which he presents to the Jehovah
the Sky- ° I^e Jews and Christians is the result of the similar, but
god in independent, working of the human mind in response to
Africa. similar natural surroundings, is strongly confirmed by the
latest and probably the best-informed investigator of Ashanti
religion. Captain R. S. Rattray. He says : “ I have already
stated that I am convinced that the conception, in the
Ashanti mind, of a Supreme Being has nothing whatever to
do with missionary influence, nor is it to be ascribed to con-
tact with Christians or even, I believe, with Mohammedans.
... I believe that such a thought, so far from postulating
an advanced stage in culture and what we term civilization,
may well be the product of the mind of a primitive people
who live face to face with nature, perhaps unclothed, sleeping
under the stars, seeing great rivers dry up and yet again
become rushing torrents, seeing the lightning from the
heavens rending great trees and killing men and beasts, de-
pending upon the rains for their own lives and those of their
herds, observing that the very trees, and herbs^ and grass
can only live if they are watered from the skies.
^ The Tshi or Twi language is the Northern Territories of the Gold
spoken in the southern part of the Coasts p. 113.
Gold Coast, including Ashanti ; in
the northern part another language, ^ (Sir) A. B. ElliSf The Ewe-s/eahin^
the Moshi, is spoken in many districts. Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa
See A. W. Cardinall, The Natives of (London, 1890), pp. 36 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 103
I can see no reason, therefore, why the idea of one
great God, who is the Firmament, upon whom ultimately
all life depends, should not have been the conception of a
people living under the conditions of the Ashanti of old,
and I can see no just cause for attributing what we have
come to regard as one of the noblest conceptions of man’s
mind, to dwellers in, and builders of, cities, and to writers
and readers of parchments and books.
“ In a sense, therefore, it is true that this great Supreme
Being, the conception of whom has been innate in the minds
of the Ashanti, is the Jehovah of the Israelites. It was He
who of old left His own dwelling above the vaulted sky, and
entered the tent of dyed skins, where was His earthly abode
and His shrine, when He came down to protect the children
of Israel in their march to the Promised Land.” ^
It is natural that the Ashantis should notice and ac- Nyame
knowledge the resemblance of their Sky-god to the Supreme
Being of Christians and Moslems. Captain Rattray was
told by a native that “the Allah of the Mohammedan was
just the same as the ’Nyame of the Ashanti
But when, on the strength of this resemblance of ’Nyame
to Jehovah, Captain Rattray asked an old priest why he did
not put all his trust in the one great God and neglect the
lesser deities, the Ashanti was by no means prepared to Yet the
renounce polytheism in favour of monotheism, and he
rendered a reason for the faith that was in him. He said : polytheism
“ We in Ashanti dare not worship the Sky-god alone, or the [heisni!°
Earth-goddess alone, or any one spirit. We have to protect
ourselves against, and use when we can, the spirits of all
things in the Sky and upon Earth. You go to the forest,
see some wild animal, fire at it, and find you have killed a
man. You dismiss your servant, but later find you miss
him. You take your cutlass to hack at what you think is
a branch, and find you have cut your own arm. There are
people who can transform themselves into leopards ; ‘ the
grass-land people’ are especially good at turning into hyenas.
^ R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 140 (Nyankupon), without noticing that the
sq. Captain Rattray severely rebukes gallant and learned colonel had after-
his superior officer, Colonel Sir A. B. w'ards explicitly recanted his heresy,
h^llis (pp. 139 sq.), for his former view 2 5^ Rattray, Ashanti, p. 164
of the Christian origin of ’Nyame note k
104
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Among all
the spirits
worshipped
by the
Ashantis
the most
important
are the
ancestral
spirits.
They are
the real
land-
owners ;
the living
are only
their
tenants
at will.
Similarity
of Ashanti
land laws
to the
English law
of Real
Property.
This
similarity
is not due
to borrow-
ing, but
to in-
dependent
evolution.
There are witches who can make you wither and die.
There are trees which fall upon and kill you. There are
rivers which drown you. If I see four or five Europeans, I
do not make much of one alone, and ignore the rest, lest
they too may have power and hate me.’’ ^
Among the numerous spirits whom the Ashanti is thus
obliged to recognize and, as far as possible, to conciliate,
the most important for his practical welfare appear to be
the spirits of his own dead ancestors. On this subject I
will again quote the weighty words of Captain Rattray.
He writes : “ It is not, however, the Sky and the Earth
deities who in Ashanti are held to be the prime factors in
shaping and influencing the actions and destinies of man-
kind. These great unseen powers are generally too remote
or perhaps too mighty to be concerned very intimately with
the individual clan, much less with the individual member
of that clan, and the predominant influences in the
Ashanti religion are neither ‘Saturday Sky -god’ nor
‘Thursday Earth -goddess ’, nor' even the hundreds of gods
(tibosom), with which it is true the land is filled, but are the
samanfo, the spirits of the departed forebears of the clan.
They are the real landowners, who, though long departed,
still continue to take a lively interest in the land from which
they had their origin or which they once owned. The
Ashanti land laws of to-day appear but the logical outcome
of a belief which, in the not very remote past, considered
the living landowners as but holding as it were tenancies
at will from the dead, and as being the trustees of the
latter.” '
“ The student of the English law of Real Property who
comes to examine the Ashanti law relating to that subject,
will at first be astonished to find that a system, which he
had been taught to believe was peculiar to his own country,
had an almost exact replica in West Africa among the
Ashanti. Topham, one of our authorities on the law of Real
Property, writes, ‘The law relating to land is the most difficult
branch of English law, partly because it is peculiar to England
and differs widely from any other system, and partly because
it is founded in ancient rules and formalities invented to suit
■ K. S. Ratiray, Ashanti, p. 1 50. * R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, p. 216.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 105
a society in which writing was almost unknown, and land was
by far the most important form of wealth \ The student who
argues that the similarity in our own ancient feudal land
laws to the system evolved in^Ashanti was due to any culture
contact or to European influences is, I believe, arguing on a
faulty premiss. The human mind and human intelligence,
even among peoples so widely separated in culture as the
Ashanti and the English of the eleventh century, seem often
to have reacted in a like manner to a similar stimulus, and
the Ashanti, under certain conditions not unlike those exist-
ing at the time of the Norman conquest, seem to have evolved
an almost exactly similar land code. This is not a matter
of surprise when we know that our own land laws, like theirs,
were ‘ invented to suit a state of society in which writing was
almost unknown and land was by far the most important form
of wealth ^
What Captain Rattray here judiciously observes as to the So the
independent origin of the similar land laws of Ashanti and
England applies, with the necessary modifications, to the ship of the
similarities in the worship of the Sky-god which we find
among so many races of men separated from each other <iifferent
by long distances in space and long ages in time. These products
similarities, too, at least the greater part of them, are not to ,
1 ,.11 , r 1 . 1 1 1 • f^epondent
be explained by a theory of borrowing, by an hypothesis evolution,
that the worship of the Sky-god was invented once for all
in a single place by a single people, who thereafter passed
on the invention to other tribes and nations, till, in ever-
widening circles, it had spread almost to the ends of the
earth. With far greater probability such resemblances may
be deduced from the similarity, first of the human mind in
all latitudes, and next of the blue vault of heaven which, lit
up by sun, moon, and stars, everywhere looks down in
serene majesty on all the races of man. Story told
Like many other African tribes, the Tshi-speaking people
of the Gold Coast tell stories which profess to explain human explain
mortality by the negligence or perversity of a messenger nionaiity :
whom the Sky-god had sent to men with the glad tidings
that death would not be for them the end of all things. One messengers
form of the story runs thus. In the beginning, when sky
^ R. S. Rattray, Ashanti ^ pp. 223 goat.
The Sky-
god Mawu
the highest
deity of the
Ewe-speak-
ing peoples.
106 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
and earth existed, but as yet there were no men on earth,
there fell a great rain, and soon after it had ceased a great
chain was let down from heaven to earth with seven men
hanging on it. These men had been created by the Sky-god
Onyankopon, and they reached the earth by means of the
chain. Not long afterwards the Sky-god sent a goat from
heaven to deliver the following message to the seven men :
“ There is something that is called Death ; it will one day
kill some of you ; but though you die, you will not perish
utterly, but you will come to me here in heaven The goat
went on his way, but when he came near the town he stopped
to browse on a bush. When the Sky-god saw that the goat
loitered by the way, he sent a sheep to deliver the same
message. The sheep went, but did not say what God had
commanded her to say ; for she perverted the message and
said to men, “ When you once die, you perish, and have no
place to go to'\ Afterwards the goat came and said, “ God
(Onyankopon) says you will die, it is true, but that will not
be the end of you, for you will come to me But the men
answered, No, goat, God (Onyankopon) did not say that to
you. What the sheep first reported, by that we shall abide.” ^
In another version of the story the parts of the goat and the
sheep are inverted ; it is the sheep that bears the good tidings
and loiters by the way to browse, and it is the goat that
bears the evil tidings and is the first to deliver them. The
story ends with the melancholy reflection that “ if only the
sheep had made good speed with her message, man would
have died but returned after death; but the goat made better
speed with the contrary message, so man returns no more
The Ewe-speaking peoples are a race of pure negroes,
who inhabit the Slave Coast of West Africa, including what
we may call the provinces of Togo on the west and Dahomey
on the east. In their religious system, the Sky-god Mawu
ranks as the highest deity of the pantheon. His name is
* J. G. Christaller, “ Negersagen
von der Goldkiiste ”, Zeitschrift fiir
afrikanische Sprachen^ i. (Berlin, 1887-
1888), pp. 51 - 55 . I have reported
this story elsewhere {Folklore in the
Old Testament^ i. 58 sq.).
^ J. G. Christaller, op. cit. pp. 56-
58. Compare E. Perregaux, Chez les
Achanti (Neuchatel, 1906), pp. 198
sq . ; Folk-lore in the Old Testament^
i. 59 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 107
used as equivalent to sky or firmament ; ‘‘ and the god him-
self is no other than the indwelling spirit of the firmament,
the deified canopy of the heavens The name of Mawu
is known throughout the whole of the country, wherever the
Ewe language is spoken, from the coast far into the interior,
and is of importance in the daily life of the people. The
idea of the Sky-god is not of foreign origin, a reflection of
missionary teaching ; it is an ancient possession of the race
and is said to have formerly occupied an even higher place
in the popular religion than it does at the present day. The
conception seems to have been moulded directly on the
sight of the celestial vault. The light which floods the sky
is conceived as the oil with which the deity anoints his
gigantic body ; the blue colour of the sky is the veil behind
which he hides his face ; and the varied formations of the
clouds are the robes and the ornaments which he puts
on from time to time.“ When the morning clouds are seen
encircled with a rim of light and the blue sky peeps between
the rifts, the natives say, “ Mawu has donned his coat of
many colours The proper name for the visible sky is
dzingbe, but the visible sky is also called Maivu gd^ “the great
God In a native assembly a man has been heard to say,
“ I have always looked up to the visible sky as to God.
When I spoke of God, I spoke of the sky, and when I
spoke of the sky, I thought of God Another man observed,
“ Wherever the sky is, there is God ; for the sky is God
The meaning and derivation of Mawu, the name of the The
Sky-god, appear to be uncertain. According to Sir A. B.
Ellis, the word is derived from a root signifying “ to Mawu.
stretch over, to overshadow ”, so that Mawu would be literally
“the canopy of heaven”.^ According to the experienced
German missionary, Jakob Spieth, to whom we owe the most
thorough investigation of the religion of the Ewe-speaking
peoples, the natives agree in explaining the root wu to
signify “ more ” or “ surpassing ” ; so that Mawu should
mean, “ The Surpassing ”, “ He who is and has more than
^ (Sir) A. B. Ellis, The Ewe- speaking in Siid-Togo (Leipzig, 1911), p. 5.
Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa ^ J. Spieth, Die Ewe-Stamme, P*424.
(London, 1890), p. 31; J. Spieth, Die ^ J. Spieth, £'we’-6'/'^ww^, p. 423.
E^ve-Stiimme 1906)^ p. 67*. ^ (Sir) A. B. Ellis,
2 J. Spieth, Die Re/if on der Eweer Peoples of the Slave Coasts P- 3 ^
io8 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
men In fact, the natives always end their explanations of
the name by saying Ewu misianiF\ “He surpasses every-
thing that exists But the missionary prudently warns us
that all such interpretations rest rather on conjectures and
assertions of the natives than on exact philological investiga-
tion. He himself inclines to discover the essential part of
the name in the syllable ma^ of which the natives give
various inconsistent explanations ; and he interprets the
whole name in the sense of a being who is opposed to all
wrath, revenge, and wrong. “His nature contains no veve,
that is, notliing that causes pain or injury. The worshipper
of Mawu may therefore paint himself only with white and
wear only white cloth ; white colour alone harmonizes with nia.
For the same reason during the worship of Mawu he may not
have anything to do with the Earth-gods or with magic.” ^
How one of But while Mawu appears to be essentially a god of the
fwo'sons physical sky, popular fancy invests him with the form and
cheated his attributes of a man.‘^ He is supposed to be married to the
ofh^is^^°^^ Earth ; hence he is addressed as “ Husband of the Earth”,
father’s and also as “Our Father”.^ According to one account he
blessing, wives. His first wife, Kusoako, bore him a son
named Mawute, who stammered ; his second wife, I^aka,
bore him a son named Adedze, who did not stammer. One
morning Adedze went to his divine father to greet him.
Touched by this polite attention, his father promised to
bestow on him his power, his royal insignia, and his warlike
accoutrements. But Mawu’s other wife, the mother of the
stammerer, happened to overhear this promise, and she said
to her son, “ Stop stammering and speak rightly ! Go to
thy father, Mawu, that thou mayest get his royal insignia.”
Her son Mawute obeyed, and when he came to his father
Mawu, and spoke to him without stammering, his father
thought that he was his son Adedze, and gave him his
royal insignia. But after that Mawute had thus deceived
his father, Mawu’s other son Adedze came to his father and
said, “ Father, I have come to thee to get what thou didst
promise me yesterday”. His father said, “ Hast thou not
* J. Spieth, Die Ewe-Stiimme, pp. in Sud-I'ogo^ p. 15; id.^ Die Ewe-
421-423. Stamme^ p. 424.
^ J. Spieth, Die Exve-Stdmme^ p.
2 J. Spieth, Die Religion der Eiveer 423.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 109
already come and received that which I promised thee ? ”
Hut Adedze answered, “ Nay, I have not been with thee”.
Then said his father, ^‘Therefore hath thy brother taken
away the promise, and I possess nothing else But his son
Adedze earnestly entreated him, and his father, Mawu,
bestowed on him power also.^
The natives say that long ago the great god Mawu Why Mawu
dwelt among men on terms of intimacy, but that through to
their guilt he was forced to withdraw to an infinite distance heaven,
and to delegate the conduct of affairs to the inferior gods.^
The offence which gave umbrage to the deity is variously
related. According to one account, the sky was once so near
the earth that men could touch it with their hands. Hence
when they kindled a fire the smoke blew into the Sky-god’s
eyes so that they smarted, and that is why he retired so far
away. Others say that after their meals people used to wipe
their dirty fingers on the sky, and even thrust their porridge-
pestles into the Sky-god’s face. That was naturally more
than he could put up with, and in dudgeon he withdrew to
his pre.scnt exalted position in the sky.^ There, according to
some, he dwells in a space surrounded by fire ; but according
to others he resides in a house which stands in a large
garden planted with banana trees.'* Thus the Sky-god,
Mawu, is conceived of as distinct from the physical sky. A
priest of the Earth explicitly declared, “ Mawu is not the
Sky [dzingbe)y but he has his dwelling in the sky
In his capacity of Sky-god, Mawu sends the rain as a Mawu
good gift to men.^’ Hence in time of drought the god’s priest jq comro\
prays to the Sky, saying, O our father and our Lord, we the rain,
thank thee. But see how parched our land is! It is very
dry and we must suffer hunger. Grant that to-day, even
to-day, the rain may fall I” ‘ But while Mawu controls the
t J. Spieth, Die Religion der Eweer
in Sud-Togo^ pp. 25 sq. This story is
told by the natives in the neighbourhood
of Mount Agu. It presents a suspicious
resemblance to the Biblical story of
how Jacob, at the instigation of his
mother, intercepted the paternal bless-
ing which was designed for his elder
brother Esau (Genesis xxvii.).
2 J. Spieth, Die Ewe-Stamme^ pp.
67* 419.
^ J. Spieth, Die Ewe-Stdmme^ p.
423.
^ J. Spieth, Die Eivc-Stamme^ p.
67*, compare p. 424.
^ J. Spieth, Die Eive-Sidmvie, p.
424.
® J. Spieth, Die Religion der Ezveer
in SmRTogo, pp. 15, 25.
^ J. Spieth, Die Ewe-Stdmtne^ pp.
72, 432.
no
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The
rainbow a
sign given
by him.
The native
conception
of Mawu as
a god too
high and
mighty to
trouble
about
human
affairs.
rain, and keeps a vast store of water in the firmament, which
he lets out at will, the seasons on the Slave Coast are so
regular that there is rarely either drought or flood ; hence
the natives are seldom driven to the necessity of appealing
to the Sky-god to increase or diminish the rainfall.^ The
rainbow is a sign given by Mawu. When rt is seen to stand
over the valley instead of over the mountain, it is a sign
that Mawu is angry because of man’s disobedience, and it is
needful to appease him by pouring palm-wine and blood on
the earth." In Agu, when a rainbow appears in the sky,
they say, ‘^Kusoako (the wife of Mawu) and her husband are
departing and going home
According to^Lieutenant Herold, while the Ewe-speaking
negroes of Togo entertain a profound belief in Mawu as a
higher divine being, they conceive of him on the analogy of
a great African king who sits enthroned and lives at ease in
his capital, doing nothing, while he leaves the government
of the country to his chiefs. Similarly Mawu is supposed
to be an all-powerful king, who created the world and is still
lord of it, but has now retired from it and is far too high
and mighty to trouble himself about all the sons of men.
Therefore he leaves the conduct of affairs in the hands of
his chiefs, who are the minor deities or fetishes. Yet is he
a friend of men and so great and good that he demands
no offerings from them. All would go well with the world
if only Mawu kept the reins in his own hands instead of
committing them to the fetishes. These represent the
various forces of nature, and bear rule each in his own par-
ticular department. They stand in closer relations to man
than Mawu, and can be induced either to help or to abstain
from injuring him, if only he can win their favour or avert
their wrath by sacrifice and offerings. But the great god
Mawu, despite his omnipotence, can or will do nothing for
man. Thus the belief in a great God Mawu, the Creator
of the world, has fallen completely into the background, and
it would not be in the interest of the fetish-priests to revive
it, since such a revival would tend to lower the reputation
^ (Sir) A. B. YX\\%, The Ewe- speaking in Sud-Iogo^ p. 25.
Peoples of the Slave Coasts p. 34. 3 Spieth, Die Religion der Eiveer
^ J. Spieth, Die Religion der Eweer in Sud-TogOy p. 27.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA ii
and .diminish the influence of the minor deities or fetishes,
on whose imaginary powers for good or evil the priests
themselves depend for their livelihood.^
To the same effect Sir A. B. Ellis tells us that, “ though Eiiis on
Mawu is considered the most powerful of all the gods,
sacrifice is never directly offered to him, and prayer rarely. Mawu.
He is in fact ignored rather than worshipped. The natives
explain this by saying he is too distant to trouble about
man and his affairs, and they believe that he remains in a
beatific condition of perpetual repose and drowsiness, the
acme of bliss, according to the notion of the indolent negro,
perfectly indifferent to earthly matters. . . . To this belief
may be undoubtedly attributed the absence of sacrifice to
Mawu. To the native mind a god that works no evil to
man, and is indifferent to his welfare, is one that it would
be a work of supererogation to mollify or appease, while
there are so many other gods who either work evil and
have to be appeased, or are special guardians and have to
be lauded.” ■
However, Ellis hastens to qualify this alleged absence The
of sacrifice to Mawu by telling us that, when domestic fowls
and other birds are sacrificed to the terrestrial gods, their birds,
spirits are believed to ascend to Mawu as his portion of the
sacrifice, while the bodies of the birds are the share of the
terrestrial deities. For birds are thought to stand in some
relation to Mawu, since they soar aloft and approach his
abode in the sky. A small bird, a variety of the oriole,
which soars like a lark, and makes a whirring sound by
.striking its wing-feathers together, is sacred to Mawu.''
Further, in correction of what he regards as Ellis’s too layers
absolute negation of sacrifices offered directly to Mawu, the
experienced missionary Jakob Spieth tells us that it is Mawu.
precisely the priests of the Sky-god who offer both prayers
and sacrifices. As an instance of prayers offered by these
' Lieutenant Herolii, “ Bericht
betrefFend religiose Anschauungen und
Gebrauche der deutschen Ewe-Negcr ”,
Miitheiliingcn von Forschungsreisettden
ttnd Gelehrtcn aus den deutschen
Schutzgebieten^ v. (1892) pp. 141 sq.^
149.
2 (Sir) A. B. Ellis, The Ewc^speaking
Peoples of the Slave Coasts pp. 33 sq.
Compare H. Klose, Togo nnierdeutseher
Flagge (Berlin, 1899), PP* 266 sq,y
whose account of Mawu agrees in
general with that of Ellis.
8 (Sir) A. B. Ellis, The Ewe- speaking
Peoples of the Slave Coast, pp. 34 sq.
112
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
HAP.
The
worship of
the great
Sky- god
Mawu.
The daily,
weekly,
and
monthly
observ-
ances in
honour of
Mawu.
priests he cites the supplications for rain in time of drou^ght
which we have already noticed. Besides, he informs us,
priest offers every year a piece of a yam which he hc-^s
planted for the purpose, and he accompanies the sacrifice
with a prayer.^
The great Sky-god (Jllawu gd) is only worshipped by
persons with whom he is believed to dwell, and who have
prepared for him a seat and a special place of worship.
Sometimes the seat is of a very humble sort and consists
simply of a vessel set upon a three-pronged pole, thus
exactly resembling the altars of the Sky-god in Ashanti."
In this vessel are placed certain plants, especially one called
nidy which resembles spinach and is much used in the
worship of the Sky-god. The vessel is also kept full of
water the whole year. Other people, however, make an
enclosure for the god, fencing it with palm-branches and
planting in it various herbs and a certain sort of tree, which
they call God’s tree {Mawuii), Its lofty and slender stem,
which distinguishes it from the other trees, appears to mark
it out as specially suitable for the worship of the Sky-god.
Beside it they also plant another palm-like tree, which they
call “the lightning-tree”. Under the shadow of these trees
stands the sacred vessel, which differs from the sacred vessels
of the Earth-gods in this that its clay has not been fired.^
The water which it contains must be drawn by a pure and
unmarried girl, and it is mixed with palm wine.^
The observances in honour of the great Sky-god take
place daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. The daily service
consists mainly in washing with water drawn from the god’s
vessel. This purification the worshipper undergoes immedi-
ately on rising in the morning ; he accompanies it with a
prayer, and until he has performed it he may not speak
with any one. At the weekly and monthly services the
worshipper makes a small offering of eggs, palm-wine, and
meal. In presenting it he prays, saying, “O great God, who
seest my thoughts, here I bring thee two partridge eggs.
Have a care of my house, of my children and of my wives,
* J. Spieth, Die Ewe-Stiiminey p. 435 sq. As to the via plant, see id.
72'*'. pp. 421 sq.
2 See above, p. 100. ^ J. Spieth, Die Ewe-StiimviCy j).
5 J. .Spieth, Die Ewe-StamnUy pp. 436.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 113
and grant that I get cowry shells, in order that my house
may evermore have peace.” The weekly service falls on
Saturday. When the priest rises from his mat, he washes
his face with water from the god’s vessel, dabs white clay on
his forehead, temples, breast and arms, and puts on white
clothes. Then he betakes himself to the hut dedicated to
the worship of Mawu. There, sitting on a stool sprinkled
with white clay, he remains till the sun goes down. This he
does because on that day the god is believed to abide with
him till the cool of the evening, when he takes his departure.
On leaving the hut the priest hangs a white ‘cloth over the
doorway.^
At the annual festival the only offering is that of a The
sheep of a pure white fleece. The vessels out of which ^
the sacrificer eats and drinks must be spotlessly clean ; the sheep at
vessel out of which he eats should be white. The guests festival in
invited to the festival must have slept apart from their wives honour of
^ ^ \1siwu.
on the preceding night. The food must be cooked and
the water fetched by girls who have not yet known a man.
The fire used in cooking may not be taken from a common
hearth ; it ought to be struck from flint and steel, but the
use of European matches is now allowed. The pot is set
over the fire on a tripod of three stout sticks. At the con-
clusion of the festival the fire is extinguished by water which
has been drawn in the morning by a pure hand. This pre-
caution is adopted lest the sacred element should be defiled.
The three charred sticks are carefully preserved by the
worshipper." Before sacrificing the sheep, the worshipper
holds the animal up thrice towards the sky and prays ; he
then cuts the sheep's throat with a knife, and from the
spouting blood he allows some drops to fall into the god’s
vessel. The rest of the blood is suffered to flow across the
entrance to the sacred enclosure. In entering the enclosure
the worshipper must take care not to step in the blood,
because the god Mawu himself is believed to set his feet in the
blood when he comes out of the holy place. The sacrificer
then drinks water out of the sacred vessel, washes his face and
body, and so enjoys the peace of God. The flesh of the
^ J. Spieth, Die Ewe-Stlimtne^ p. ^ J. Spieth, Die Eive-Stantme^ pp.
436. 436 sq.
vor.. I
I
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Beliefs of
the Fo
concerning
Mawu.
Story of the
origin of
death ;
Mawu and
the spider.
How
Mawu
provides
the beasts
with their
food ; the
dwarf
antelope
and the
cat.
victim is cooked and divided among the persons present.
The time of offering the sacrifice is when the afternoon
wears on to evening, and the earth grows cool after the
noonday heat. The sun is regarded as the messenger who
conveys the prayers of mortals to the Sky-god. Hence,
while the priest turns in prayer to the house of God in the
holy place, he yet looks, in the deepening shadows, towards
the setting sun, which will carry his words to the great deity
in the course of the ensuing night.^
In Atakpame, an inland district of Togo, there arc some
isolated settlements of a tribe called Fo, who speak a Ewe
language among people of an alien tongue. They have
preserved the tradition of the Supreme God Mawu, and they
tell some stories about him. One of the stories professes to
explain the origin of death. It runs as follows. When
Mawu created men, he said to them, “ When anybody dies,
he shall come back to earth’', by which he meant that when
a man died, he was to come to life again. But the spider
did not like the notion and said, “ That is not well ”. Then
Mawu took a calabash, and set it on the water, and said,
As the calabash always remains on the surface of the
water, so shall man also always remain on the earth ”. But
the spider threw a stone into the water, and the stone
sank, and the spider said, Mawu ought to say that, when a
man dies, he should vanish like this stone and not come
back again To this fatal proposal Mawu unhappily
assented. Soon after the spider’s mother died, and the
spider came to Mawu, and begged him to retract his
sentence of death, but Mawu refused to do so. That is
why nobody returns, when once he is dead. If only Mawu
had retracted his rash sentence, dead men would have come
back to earth, just like the moon, which dies and returns to
the sky.“
Again, the Fo tell a story to explain how Mawu
provides the beasts of the earth with food. They say that
once on a time there was a famine among the beasts and
they all grew very lean, all except the dwarf antelope
^ J. Spieth, Die Ewe-Stdmme, pp. in Einzeldarstellungen ”, Anihropos^
438 S(/. iii. (1908) pp. 275 sq., 277.
^ Fr. Muller, “Die Religionen Togos
V IVORSmP OF THE SKY IN IVES TERN AFRICA 115
{Cephalolophus maxwellii), for her mother was with Mawu in
heaven, and every day her mother let down a rope, and the
dwarf antelope climbed up it to its mother to browse. So
the beasts said, We will watch the dwarf antelope and
learn how she gets her food And they told the cat to
watch. And the cat took up a post on a tree, and kept
a sharp look-out. When the dwarf antelope saw that the
other animals had gone away, she sang her song, and her
mother let dowa the rope. Then the cat summoned the
animals, and they came, grasped the rope, and proceeded to
climb up it, hand over hand. But the mother, in hauling
up the rope, felt the unusual weight, and said to herself.
My daughter alone is not so heavy as all that”. So she
whipped out a knife and cut the rope, and down fell all
the animals. Where they fell, the sea came and the grass
grew no more. To compensate for this loss of pasture, the
kindly Mawu sent food to all the animals. Therefore they
suffer from famine no more.^
In the interior of Togo, which, as we have seen, is a Uwoiowu.
province of the Slave Coast, there live a number of tribes
speaking languages which differ from the Ewe. But among Akposos.
them also we find the worship of the same great Sky-god of
under different names. Thus the Akposos worship him Togo,
under the name of Uwoiowu, which they regard as equiva-
lent to the Mawu of the Ewe-speaking peoples, and to the
Buku of the Atakpames, their neighbours on the east. The
same word Uwoiowu is used to designate both the firmament
and its personification. This personified sky is conceived
of as the Supreme Being and a good God. He created
everything, including the lesser gods. He bestows on men
the blessings of offspring and harvest, of rain and sunshine.
^e has also given them fire. He is almighty and can
impart all good things. Wherever a priest has set a place
apart for his worship, there is the god in a special way near
to men. The place of worship is a circle of stones from
three to five feet in diameter, with a flat stone in the middle,
like the cromlechs of the later stone-age in England ”.
In ca.ses of sickness and at the end of harvest sacrifices are
^ Fr. Muller, “Die Religionen Togos in Einzeldarstellungen ”, Anthropos^
iii. (1908) p. 279.
Men
sometimes
possessed
by
Uwolowu.
Myths
about
Uwolowu.
His two
wives, the
frog and
the king-
fisher.
ii6 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
offered, consisting of rams, fowls, oil, meal, salt, cowry-shells,
and palm-wine. The god punishes especially vampyres and
persons who forswear themselves by his name. The week of
the Akposos consists of five days, and the fifth day is sacred
to Uwolowu. The second day is a bad day. People do
not work on it, but they sacrifice to the gods, though not to
Uwolowu.^
The worshippers of Uwolowu are not distinguished by
any outward mark. From time to time the god takes
possession of a man. The chosen vessel announces the
divine inspiration by a particularly piercing shriek, then he
remains dumb and quivers all over his body. In this state
he betakes himself to one of the holy places of Uwolowu,
where the priest gives him water mixed with white clay to
drink and claps him on the head with the flat of his hand.
The possessed man thus recovers the use of his tongue, but
for that day he may not carry anything on his head ; it
would infallibly fall. On special occasions, such as sickness,
drought, or war, an Akposo will go on pilgrimage to Adele,
there to consult Buku or Uwolowu, as he calls the deity,
and to offer sacrifice.“
Various myths are told of Uwolowu. Thus it is said
that he had two wives ; one of them was a frog, and the
other was a bird called itanco^ perhaps the kingfisher. Now
Uwolowu loved his frog wife more than his kingfisher wife,
and he gave all sorts of pretty things to her, but none to
the kingfisher. Well, one day he said he would put their
love to the test, and with that view he gave each of them
seven pots and made believe to be dead, and his widows
were to weep for his decease and let their tears fall into the
pots. The frog began and wept like anything, but as fast
as her tears fell they were licked up by ants. Then the
kingfisher wept so copiously that her tears filled the seven
pots. After that the frog tried again, but still the ants
licked up her tears, so that little enough trickled into the
pots. Thereupon God stood up and said, '^She whom I did
not love has filled seven pots with the tears which she wept
1 Fr. Miiller, “ Die Religionen Togos ^ Fr. MUller, “ Die Religionen Togos
in Einzeldarstellungen ”, Anthropos, ii. in Einzeldarstellungen ”, Anthropos^ ii.
(1907) p. 201. (1907) p. 202.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 117
for me, and she whom I loved has wept very little With
these pathetic words the deity lunged out with his foot and
kicked the frog into the slime and ooze of a river-bank,
where she has wallowed ever since. But as for the king-
fisher, Uwolowu set her free to roam ' joyously for ever in
the azure deep of air.^
Another myth is told of Uwolowu to explain the origin Myth of
of death. They say that once upon a time men sent a dog o^f^deaUi^:
with a message to the deity to say that, when they died, they Uwolowu,
would like to come to life again. So off the dog trotted to and^the’
deliver the message. But on the way he felt hungry and
turned into a house, where a man was boiling magic herbs.
So the dog sat down and thought to himself, “ He is cooking
food Meantime the frog had set off to tell Uwolowu that,
when men died, they would rather not come to life again.
Nobody had asked him to take that message ; it was a piece
of pure officiousness and impertinence on his part. However,
away he tore. The dog, who still sat hopefully watching the
hell-broth brewing, saw him go tearing by, but thought he to
himself, “ When I have had a snack, Til soon catch froggy
up However, froggy came in first and said to the deity,
“ When men die, they would rather not come to life again
After that, up comes the dog, and says he, “ When men die,
they would like to come to life again The deity was
naturally puzzled, and said to the dog, “ 1 really do not
understand these two messages. As I heard the frog’s
message first, I will comply with it. I will not do what you
said.” That is the reason why men die and do not come
to life again. If the frog had only minded his own business
instead of meddling with other people’s, the dead would all
have risen from the dead down to this blessed day. But
frogs come to life again when it thunders at the beginning
of the rainy season, after they have been dead all the dry
season while the Harmattan wind was blowing. Then,
while the rain drips and the thunder peals, you may hear
them quacking in the marshes.^ Thus we see that the frog
had his own private ends to serve in distorting the message.
^ Fr.Miiller, “ Die Religionen Togos in Einzeldarstellungen ”, Anthropos, ii.
in Einzeldarstellungen”, Anthropos^ ii. {1907) P* 203. I have cited this myth
(1907) p. 204. elsewhere {Folk-lore in the Old 'Testa-
Fr. Muller, “Die Religionen Togos menty i. 62).
Myth of
the origin
of sun and
moon :
Uwolowu
and the
grub.
The
Yoruba-
speaking
peoples of
the Slave
Coast.
Ii8 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chak
He gained for himself the immortality of which he robbed
mankind.
These people also tell a story of Uwolowu to explain
the origin of the sun and moon. One day, while as yet
there was neither sun nor moon in the sky, a grub came to
Uwolowu and said, “ What must be done to the clouds to
make them bright?” And Uwolowu said to the grub, “Go
to the smith and fetch the thing which he would set in the
clouds ”. So away went the grub, and much he pondered
what he should do, for he had not the glimmering of a
notion what the thing was that he had to fetch. So the
grub went to all the birds and begged a feather from every
one of them ; and when he had rigged himself out in these
borrowed plumes, he flew back to Uwolowu and asked him,
“Where’s the grub?” And Uwolowu, not recognizing him
in his disguise, answered, “ Because the sky was empty, I
sent him to fetch the thing to set in the sky ”. But the
artful grub asked again, “ What was he to fetch ? ” Uwolowu
answered, “ I sent him to the smith to say that he was to
forge the sun and moon, and when they glowed and threw
out sparks, which arc the stars, he was to put them all in
his bag and bring them to me ”. When the grub heard
that, he flew away, put off his disguise, and gave back
the feathers to the birds. Then he delivered the message
to the smith. So the smith gave him the sun, moon, and
stars, and the grub brought the whole bag of tricks to
Uwolowu. And Uwolowu asked the grub, “Who taught
you all that ? ” and the grub answered, “ It was an idea of my
own”. And Uwolowu said to the grub, “Put the sun in its
place,” and the grub did so. And at evening Uwolowu
said to the grub, “ Put the moon and the stars in their places
likewise And the grub did so, and the moon and the
stars shone in the sky. That, you may take my word for
it, is the true origin of the sun, moon, and stars.^
The eastern half of the Slave Coast is inhabited by
peoples speaking the Yoruba language. Their territory is
bounded on the west by Dahomey, on the east by Benin,
1 Fr. Muller, “Die Religionen Togos in Einzeldarstellungen”, Anthropos^ ii.
(1907) p. 208.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 119
and on the south by the sea. On the north they are pent
in by Mohammedan tribes, which in modern times have
invaded and conquered some of Yoruba-land. The Yorubas
were originally an inland people, and it was only about the
beginning of the nineteenth century that, under the pressure
of stronger tribes from the north, they moved southward and
occupied the coast.^ They believe in a Sky-god named Olorun, Their
who corresponds to the ’Nyame of the Tshi- or Twi-speaking suy^^od^
peoples, and to the Mawu of the Ewe-speaking peoples. He is
the deified firmament, the personified sky. His name Olorun who^s'
signifies “Owner of the Sky'’, from oni, “possessor”, and
orun^ “sky Like many other African Sky-gods, Olorun is concern
thought to be too far off, or too indifferent, to interfere in the
affairs of this sublunary world. The Yorubas arc of opinion human
that after having, so to say, roughed out the world, Olorun
entrusted the task of completing and governing it to a qucniiy is
deputy-deity named Obatala, while he himself retired from the generally
business and became a sleeping partner in the divine firm, worshipped
Accordingly, he now enjoys a life of complete idleness and
repose, a blissful condition between slumber and dozing, like
that of a negro king in the sultry climate of Guinea. Since
he is too indolent or listless to exercise any control over
earthly affairs, man on his side wastes no time in vain efforts
to propitiate him, but reserves his worship and his offerings
for more active and enterprising deities or demons, who are
apt to take only too great an interest in the business and
fortunes of mankind. Hence there arc no images, no temples,
no symbols of Olorun ; no priests are dedicated to his service;
and it is only in times of calamity or affliction, when the
other gods have turned a deaf ear to his supplications, that
a Yoruba will, perhaps, as a last resource, invoke the help
or appeal to the compassion of the Sky-god Olorun. But
such occasions are rare. As a rule the god receives no
worship and is importuned by no prayers. Nevertheless,
when a native, for example, conceives himself to be the
victim of injustice, he may instinctively appeal to Olorun to
^ (Sir) A. B. Kllis, The Yoruba- speaking Peoples of the Slave Coasts
speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast pp. 355^.; PereBaudin, “Le Fctichisme
of West Africa (London, 1894), pp. ou la Religion desNcgrcs de la Guinee”,
I sq. I,es Missions Catholiques^ No. 776,
(Sir) A. B. Ellis, The Yoruba- 18 avril 1884, p. 19 1.
120
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
attest his innocence, saying, Olorun sees me ”, or “ Olorun
knows that I speak the truth ”, or ‘‘ O Olorun, save me ! ”
They also swear by Olorun, often using the simple words,
“ Olorun ! Olorun ! ” while at the same time they lift their
hands towards the sky. The name of Olorun is also fre-
quently heard in salutations at morning and evening. Thus
in the morning a man will say to a friend, Have you risen
well ? ” and the other will answer, “ Thanks be to Olorun ” ;
and at evening a common salutation or prayer is, “ May
Olorun protect us all ! ” {K Olorun k'o so gbogbo zuo /)}
The Sky- The Yoruba-speakifig people are not confined to the
Olorun Slave Coast. A large body of them, numbering more than
recognized half a million, is to be found to the west of the Niger in
YoruLsof^^^ northern provinces of Nigeria,*'^ inhabiting a country
Northern which may have been the home of their race before the bulk
Nigeria. nation was driven southward to the sea. Here,
however, the original negro type has been modified by an
Hamitic, or at any rate non-negro element, which mani-
fests itself in the slender build of the body.^ But though
Islam is now the dominant religion of Northern Nigeria,
being embraced by about two-thirds of the population,^
many of these Yorubas retain their faith in a remote Sky-
god named Olorun, who has been called the Zeus of the
Yoruba pantheon. They think that Olorun created Obatala
or Oshala, who fashions human children in the mother’s
womb and is wedded to Odudua. Of this divine pair were
born Aganju, lord of the soil, and Yemaja, the goddess of
water. Aganju married his sister Yemaja, and they begat
Orungan, the god of the upper air. But the lustful Orungan
ravished his mother Yemaja, and from this incestuous union
a whole brood of gods was born at a single birth, including
the Sun-god Orun ; the Moon-god Oshu ; Shango, lord of
lightning ; Dada, god of vegetation ; Orisha Oko, god of
agriculture; Oshosi, god of hunting ; Ogun,god of iron workers
1 P^re Baudin, “ Le Fctichisme ou 1885), pp. 106-108.
la Religion des Negres de la Guinee”, C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
Les Missions Catholiqites^ No. 776, of Nigeria (Oxford University Press,
18 avril 1884, p. 191 ; (Sir) A. B. 1925), i. 24.
Ellis, The Yortiba-speaking Peoples of ^ C. K. Meek, The Northcrfi Tribes
the Slave Coast of West Africa^ pp. of Nigeria^ i. 29.
36 sq. Compare P. Bouche, La C 6 te ^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
des Esclaves et le Dahomey (Paris, of Nigeria^ ii. l sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 121
and of war; and Shankpana, god of smallpox. In giving
birth to these numerous divinities Yemaja’s body burst, and
where she fell the sacred town of Ife arose. Hence to this
day every Yoruba-speaking tribe endeavours to trace its
descent from the holy town of Ife.^
But the Yoruba-speaking tribes form but a small part The
of the population of Northern Nigeria, a country five times
the size of England.'^ The fertile provinces in the northern Nigeria a
part of this great territory border on the vast sandy desert farmed
of the Sahara, and being divided from it by no natural
° • 1 • amalgaina-
barrier have offered for unnumbered ages a tempting bait to tion of
horde after horde of warlike invaders from the north and
east, who, sweeping over the country in wave after wave, and
blending to a certain extent with the aborigines, have pro-
duced a heterogeneity of cultures and languages, as well as
of racial type, which almost defies analysis. Those tribes
which were able to maintain themselves in the open fertile
plains of the north have in large measure amalgamated and
evolved, from the most diverse elements, a comparatively
homogeneous nation and language, the Hausa nation and
the Hausa tongue.^ They now form the most widely distri-
buted people of the country, which they may be said to
dominate socially and economically.^
The weaker and more backward tribes were driven by I'ho more
the tide of invasion to seek refuge in the hills, where they frmJs'remin
formed groups of polyglot peoples, exhibiting almost un- iimir
® ^ .. . 1 1 *1 primitive
paralleled diversities in culture and social organization • ideas and
Safe in their highlands from the stream of foreign intrusion,
which broke at the foot of their mountains, they have kept fastnesses
to modern times all their primitive ideas and customs,
including cannibalism, head hunting, and the worship of
ancestors ; while the hard conditions of life on the hills
and the struggle for land have tended to the maintenance of
perpetual warfare between tribe and tribe and even between
village and village.^
Thus the population of the northern provinces of
^ C. K. Meek, The Noj'thern Tribes of Nigeria^ i. 19, 27 sq.
of Nigeria, ii. 28 sq, ^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes of Nigeria, i. 23.
pf Nii^eria^ i. ^ ^tcek. The Northern T vibes
^ C. K. Meek, The Northern 'Tribes of Nigeria, i. 19
122
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
These Nigeria is extremely mixed in blood and diverse in culture.
pagan7r!besThe negro element is everywhere predominant, but it has
believe in a been modified through fusion with a Mediterranean or
God^^who Hamitic element represented by the Fulani, and with a
ti^^sky*^ Semitic element, represented by the Arabs.^ In the prin-
cipal tribes, including the Hausa, the Fulani, the Nupe, and
the Yoruba, the majority of the people are comparatively
civilized and profess the Mohammedan religion ; but most
of the lesser tribes, of which there are said to be over two
hundred and fifty, retain their old pagan religion.'^ Never-
theless all these pagan tribes, however addicted to their
primitive forms of heathendom, believe in the existence of a
Supreme Ruler of the World, though they frankly admit
that they know little or nothing of his divine attributes.
Many of them conceive of the Supreme Being as a god who
dwells in the sky, too far away for man to approach him
directly, but with whom, nevertheless, the souls of dead
ancestors, despite their attachment to earth, are in some
mysterious fashion associated.^
In some Thus the Jukun, a tribe of the tall Nilotic or Hamitic
SuprL^e^ type, who claim to be the earliest inhabitants of Bornu/
God is believe that the Supreme God, whom they call Achidong,
Cclll^cl
Achidong has charge of the souls of the dead, though apparently
orPvva;jjybe is not himself a glorified ghost^ On the other hand,
he isassoci- among the Bachama, a pagan tribe which observes a form
, of totemism and recognizes the rule of female chiefs,^ the
identihcd T • i
with the Sky-god Pwa is also the tribal ancestor. Here, accordingly,
there would seem to be a definite connexion between the
idea of the Sky-god and the worship of ancestors.^ In other
tribes, again, the Supreme God is associated with, if indeed
he is not actually a personification of, the Sun. He can be
approached through the tutelary genius {dodo)^ who is
usually the spirit of the founder either of the village or
of the tribe. This guardian spirit is commonly personated
by a living man, who conceals his identity under a mask
1 C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes of Nigeria^ i. 58, 79.
of Nigeria^ i. 24-27. ^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
2 C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes of Nigeria, ii. 29 sq.
of Nigeria, i. 23. ® C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
3 C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes of Nigeria, i. 87, 185, 220 sq,
of Nii^eria, ii. 29. ^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes of Nigeria, ii. 30.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 123
or other disguise, such as a white ram's skin thrown over
his head, and who appears either periodically, as at the
first gathering of the corn, or on special occasions, as when
he is called upon to drive away disease or to admonish
erring wives, which he does by night to the terror of the
guilty or at all events accused women. But in the Berom
and some other tribes people pray directly to the Sun-god,
without the mediation of these mummers ; in praying they
hold up the palms of their hands to the great luminary.^
The Mumbake also identify their high god Nyame with
the Sun,^ but in practice they combine the worship of
ancestors with the homage which they pay to the solar
deity. For before they go out on their annual hunting
drive they clean up the graves of their forefathers, and
then lay down their weapons on the graves, beseeching
the spirits of the dead to give them prowess with the
weapons which their fathers had taught them how to use ;
and on the morning of the hunt the chief repairs with
his elders to the holy grove, and there, holding up a sacred
bough towards the sun, again implores the assistance of
the ancestral spirits.® Under the name of Nan, Nen, or The
Nyan the Sun is the Supreme God of the Angas,
Pe, Montoil, and Sura, as well as of the Mumbake ; and Nan, Nen.
under the name of Yamba is recognized by many other
tribes as the god who dwells in the sky. Festivals are held
in honour of Nan, and every year, among the Yergum, the
chief descends to the ancestral tomb, and, taking up the
skulls of his forefathers, calls on each in turn to intercede
with Nan, that the great God, the Giver of Rain and Ripener
of Crops, may grant an abundant harvest.^ Here again,
therefore, the worship of the Supreme Being is combined
with the worship of ancestors, or rather the ancestors are
regarded as the proper intercessors between God and man.
That Nan is indeed looked upon as the Supreme Ruler
of the world is shown by the willingness of the Angas to
apply to him, and to him alone, the Moslem title of Allah ;
1 C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes ^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
of Nigeria^ ii. 30. As to the tutelary of Nigeria, i. 106.
genius [dodo), see id. ii. 18-21.
^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Trtbes ^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
of Nigeria, ii. 30. of Nigeria, ii. 30.
124
IVOR SHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
but under him they acknowledge the existence of various
departmental deities, such as Kim, the god of war, Gwon or
Bom, the god of justice and fertility, and a host of minor
divinities.^
Among the Among these pagan tribes of Northern Nigeria the great
tribes^of Sky-god is regarded as the sole agent in creation. Thus the
Northern Munshi believe that the Sky-god, whom they call Awondo,
Supreme^^ Created the world and has power over all natural phenomena,
God is and that he is the author both of good and of evil. Sub-
ordinate to him is a deity named Foro, to whom, however,
tinguished rather than to the Supreme God, the Munshi pay the
s*un\m^ greater part of their devotions. They think that the Moon
oftener {g Poro’s daughter, and that the Sun is his son, and they
Ulh him. believe in lesser gods of thunder, hunting, agriculture, and
childbirth.'^ Thus the Munshi clearly distinguish the Sun
from the Supreme God Awondo, since they believe the
Supreme God to be the father of the Sun. Yet, we are
informed that among the pagan tribes of this region the
great Sky-god, the Supreme Being, is commonly identified
with the Sun.^ “ The Sun is their Supreme Deity, the All
Father, the Giver of Rain, the Ripener of Crops, but so
remote and otiose that he can only be approached through
the host of intermediaries already described — the spirits of
ancestors who dwell near him, and those nature spirits who
are demi-gods and his servants. He is too far removed to
need the propitiation of sacrifice ; but in times of stress his
devotees vaguely hold out their hands to him in prayer.
The Sun-worshippers seem to regard the Sun primarily as
the Ripener of Crops.’' ^
The power But among the northern tribes of Nigeria the power of
min'sh!ired sending rain was not a monopoly of the Sky-god ; it was
with the shared by many human beings and in particular by the king
by^the^^ of the Jukun, who passed for divine, or at all events for a
divine king demi-Gfod, and was believed to control the rain supply.^
of the ^ ^ ^ ^
Jukun.
' C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
of Nigeria, ii. 30.
2 C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
of Nii^eria, ii. 30 sq.
3 C. K. Meek. The Northern Tribes
of Nigeria, ii. 31.
of Nigeria, ii. 25. Among the Sun-
worshippers the author here names the
Kamuku, Berom, Galambe, (ianawuri,
Mumbake, Vere, Tera, Seiyawa, Ka-
goma, and Jarawa, adding that some
Gwari swear by the Sun.
® C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes
^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes of Nigeria, i. 254 sq., ii. 163.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 125
Indeed, he retained the beneficent faculty of drawing down
the water of heaven even after his death. When his corpse
was carried out to burial, mounted on a horse, some millet
was placed in his right hand and a gourd of water in his left.
As the king rode away on his last journey to the far
country, the assembled people set up a wail and besought
their deceased monarch not to leave them thus bereft of
corn and rain ; so the horse’s head was turned back again,
and the dead kings hands were made to shower the corn
and the water in the direction of his subjects. Many Jukun
traditions ascribe to the king the power of controlling the
elements. Once, for example, when the armies of Bornu and
the Jukun were set in array against each other, the king of
Bornu caused the grass between the hosts to be set on fire,
but the king of the Jukun at once called down from heaven
a shower of rain, which extinguished the conflagration.^
But the semi-divine character of the Jukun king The divine
reveals itself in other ways than in rainmaking. His person
is charged with a spiritual force which makes mere contact formerly
with him dangerous ; were he to touch the ground with his
hands or bare feet, the crops would be blighted.*^ But in oi" seven
spite, or rather in consequence of, his divinity it used to whenever
be deemed necessary to slay him ceremonially at the end
of seven years, in order that his sacred spirit should pass, infimuty.
unimpaired by the weakness and decay of old age, to his
successor on the throne.^ Nay, even during the seven years,
if he fell ill, or so much as sneezed or coughed, or was thrown
from his horse, he might be put to death. The duty of
slaying him devolved on the head councillor, who is known
as the Abun Achuwo. The mode of execution or of
sacrifice is said to have been strangling. The entrails
were removed, and the body was preserved by some process
which included fumigation. It is said that his brain, kidneys,
and heart were dried and eaten by his successor, together
with the oil that exuded from the corpse during the process
of desiccation. The custom of killing the king at the end
of seven years was broken down by a Jukun sovereign,
^ C. K. Meek, TAe Northern Tribes of Nigeria^ i. 254, ii. 62 sq.
of Nigeria^ ii. 62. ^ C. K. Meek, I he Northe^'fi Tribes
^ C. K. Meek, The Northern Tribes of Nigeria^ i. 255.
126
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The reason
for the
custom of
regicide.
The Edo-
speaking
people of
Benin
believe in
a supreme
Sky- god
called Osa
or
Osalobula.
who enlisted a Hausa bodyguard to protect him against
attack, and thereby succeeded in preserving his life and
ruling over the kingdom for eleven years instead of seven.
According to one tradition, he escaped death by entrapping
and killing the three religious chiefs whose duty it was
to slay the king.^
The custom of putting the king to death, either at
the end of a fixed period or whenever he showed signs
of bodily or mental decay, was by no means peculiar to
the Jukun ; it was practised by many other tribes of this
region, including the Yorubas.^ In all cases it was probably
based on a belief in the divine character of the king and
in the fatal consequences which would be entailed on the
people and the land by the failure of his powers through
age or natural infirmity.®
The Edo-speaking people of Benin, a province of Southern
Nigeria, believe in a supreme deity, commonly called Osa or
Osalobula, who lives in heaven. He is regarded as the creator
of the world, and a myth is told in which Osanowa, or Osa
of the house, has an evil counterpart, Osanoha, or Osa of
the bush. Osanowa created man; Osanoha created animals.
Osanoha also made a house of sickness, in which were all
diseases. When men and women, on their way from heaven
to earth, came near that house, rain fell and drove them for
^ C. K. Meek, The Northern 'Tribes
of Nigeria^ ii. 6o.
^ C. K. Meek, 'The Northern 'Tribes
of Nigeria y ii. 59-63.
^ The custom has been described and
discussed by me in The Golden Bonghy
Part III. The Dying Gody pp. 9 sqq.
The latest example of this wide-
spread African practice is reported
from Uha, a district of Tanganyika
Territory, at the north-eastern end of
Lake Tanganyika. See Capt. C. II. B.
Grant, “ Uha in TanganyikaTerritory,”
'The Geographical fournaly November
1925, p. 419: “A sultan is never
allowed to die, nor is he buried in the
ground. When in exif'emis, he is
either strangled or his neck twisted by
whosoever is present at the moment.
Pandemonium reigns in the village at
the death, and every one flees, driving
away all beasts and seizing any article
they can lay hands on. The Bihi (who
are said to be the children of certain
slave women) alone remain, and take
charge of the body, and seize all stock,
etc., left behind. A white cow is
killed and the skin removed entire, the
horns being detached from the skin.
The body is placed in this skin with
the head in the head of the skin, and
the arms and legs in the four legs of
the skin. The skin is sewn up, and
the whole is dried over fires which are
fed with milk. When dry, the body
is placed in a canoe-shaped wooden
trough, the whole sewed up in a cow-
hide, and carried to the burial-place of
the sultans, and is there placed on
trestles, and a hut built over it.” See
also below, p. 188 note
V
IVORS mp OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 127
shelter into it Thus sickness came to the earth. And
because the wicked Osanoha was the creator of animals, man
became their enemy, aqd so, whenever he sees an animal, he
kills it Another explanation of the enmity between Osanowa
and Osanoha is that they agreed to reckon up and compare
their riches, whereupon it was found that the children of
Osanoha were more numerous than the children of Osanowa ;
wherefore the two have been enemies ever since.^
Though Osa, as a rule, receives no regular sacrifices, yet
he is far from being the ordinary type of otiose creator,
remote from mankind and indifferent to their welfare. He
figures largely in the folk-tales of the people, and his name
is constantly on their lips. His usual emblem, a long pole The
with white cloth attached to it, is to be seen in nearly every q"
village.'^ In some places Osa is represented by a pot. In
Okpe his representative is a tree with a white cloth tied
round it. Though Osa is the one persistent figure in the
Edo pantheon, the natives in some places have only a vague
idea of his personality. Some of them say that he looks like
a cloud, which is natural enough in a Sky-god. Over a great
part of the Edo country there are no images of gods.® At Annual
Idumowina, a village a few miles north of Benin, a goat
is annually sacrificed to Osa and its blood poured on his him.
shrine.^
The Ibibios are a tribe of negroes who inhabit Eket, a Among the
district of Southern Nigeria bounded on the south by the sea the
and on the east by the Cross River. In their pantheon at Pantheon is
the present day Obumo, the Thunder-god, is usually regarded the^"^
as the principal deity and the creator of all things. His home
is in the sky, and, being too far off to trouble much about Abassi,
the petty affairs of men, he leaves these in the hands of^!^^
^ ^ ^ Supreme
lesser powers, reserving to himself the ordering of the great Being,
events of the year, such as the regular succession of the
seasons.® Some people, however, distinguish Obumo, the
Thunderer, from Abassi, the Supreme God, the maker of
heaven and earth, and allege that Thunder and Lightning
are only the messengers whom Aba.ssi sends to kill witches,
1 N. W. Thomas, Anthropological ^ N. W. Thomas, op. cit. i. 25 sq.
Report on the Edo-speaking Peoples of ^ N. W. Thomas, op. cit. i. 30 sq.
Nigeria (London, 1910), i. 24 sq. ^ P.AmauryTa.lbotj li/e in Sonthern
2 N. W. Thomas, op. cit. i. 24. Nigeria (London, 1923), p. 7.
128
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Eka
Abassi,
“ Mother
of God ”,
the wife of
Obumo.
Human
sacrifices
offered to
Abassi
Obunio,
the
Thunderer.
to Strike trees, and to give warning of the approach of rain.^
It is said that Obumo once dwelt on earth, but that long
ago he ascended to the sky ; from his home in the clouds
he still sends forth his messengers, who are the Rain, the
Storm-wind, the Thunder-bolt, and the Fish-eagle. The
Ibibios believe that at the beginning of the rainy season
Obumo descends in the form of a fish-eagle, to woo his
terrestrial wife Eka Abassi.^ But according to an esoteric
doctrine, revealed only to the initiated, this goddess Eka
Abassi is not only the wife but the mother of Obumo and
the true head of the Ibibio pantheon. Her name appears to
mean Mother of God and she is said to be regarded as
the divine Creatress, the great First Cause. She is thought to
have conceived Obumo, her first-born, without the assistance
of a husband.^ In some places this great goddess is identified
with Isong, the Earth.'* But though Obumo, or Abassi
Obumo, is now commonly regarded as the divine husband
of Eka Abassi, some traces exist of a belief in an older god
called Etc Abassi, that is, Father God, who was the original
husband of Eka Abassi. At the present day, however, he
has been superseded by Abassi Obumo, as the Greek Cronus
was superseded by Zeus. Abassi is generally represented
by a small clay pot, filled with water, in which is placed an
armlet and sometimes an egg.*'^
To Abassi Obumo, the Thunderer, human sacrifices were
always offered at the annual festival of the New Yams.
Bark, stripped from piassava palms, was wrapped round the
victim so as to envelop him completely, and he was then
tied to the trunk of a very tall tree and left there to perish.
At Atebio, a town in the centre of the Eket District, may
still be seen several trees which in former days were set
apart for thus bearing human sacrifices offered to the God of
Thunder.® Palm-trees are believed to be associated in some
mysterious fashion with the Thunder-god." Whenever the
^ P. A. Talbot, Life in Southern
Ni^eria^ p. 255.
2 P, A. Talbot, op. cit. p. ii. As
to the fish-eagle, compare id. pp. 7, 14.
3 P. A. Talbot, op. cit. pp. 7, 8,
1 1 ; D. Amaury Talbot (Mrs. Talbot),
Woman’s Mysteries of a Primitive
People^ the Ibibios of Southern Nigeria
(London, etc., 1915), p. 13.
^ P. A. Talbot, Life in Southern
Nigeria., p. 13.
^ P. A. Talbot, Life in Southern
Nigeria, p. 13.
® P. A. Talbot, Life in Southern
Nigeria, p. 17.
7 P. A. Talbot, op. cit. p. 18.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 129
rich, orange-hued clusters did not ripen, or even when the
crop was small, the people were ordered to search the country-
side till they found a. leper whose face had been eaten away
by the ravages of disease. Him they dragged to the nearest
palm-grove and bound by waist and throat to the tallest tree,
his arms tied round the trunk as though he were clasping it.
Through both feet were driven long hooked pegs, sharply
pointed, which pinned the victim to the ground. There
he was doomed to stay, enduring intolerable agonies from
wounds, hunger, and thirst in the full glare of a tropical sun,
till death mercifully released him from his sufferings. After
such a sacrifice the palms were supposed to bear fruit
abundantly.^ Why a leper was chosen for the victim, we
are not told. Perhaps his pallid hue was thought to mark
him out, among a black race, as a sacrifice peculiarly accept-
able to a god of the sky. We have seen that among these
negroes white is often the colour prescribed in the worship
of the Sky-god.'^
Priests of the Thunder-God Obumo are supposed to priests of
possess the power of calling down the lightning on
house of any man against whom they cherish a grudge.^ god can
In some parts of the district a curious means is taken
lightning.
prevent a young child from fearing thunder and lightning.
Electric fishes are caught and placed in a bowl during a
storm. After they have been left there some time, the water
is poured off and given to the child to drink. Thus in-
oculated with electricity, the child will naturally have no
fear of lightning and so will enjoy the special protection
of the Thunder-god. Under the shelter of his wing it is
confidently anticipated that the little one will live to be rich
and powerful.^
The people of Calabar, the neighbours of the Ibibios on worship of
the east, acknowledge a creator and supreme governor of all
1 • 1 1.1 1 -ri .1 . t A 7 . » Supreme
things, whom, like the Ibibios, they name Abassi. In theoodAbassi
yard of every house there used to be built a small circular the
... people of
mound on which were placed a few shallow dishes of earthen- Calabar,
ware and some old bones, which commonly included a
human skull. This domestic shrine was called A// Abassi,
^ P. A. Talbot, op, cit, p. 3. ® P. A. Talbot, op, cit. p. 18.
2 Above, pp. 1 1 3, 127. ^ P. A. Talbot, op, cit. p. 19.
VOL. I K
130
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Worship of
a Sky- god
Abassi or
Osowo in
the
Obubura
Hill
District.
that is, the Face or Presence of Abassi ”, and on a certain
day of the native week, which comprises eight days, the
worshippers used to approach the deity at his shrine,
beseeching him, as the case might be, either to benefit
themselves or to harm their neighbours, and supporting
their petition by a libation of water poured into one of the
vessels. This practice, however, appears to have fallen into
desuetude even before the establishment of a Christian
mission in Calabar, and the homage of the native pagans is
now chiefly paid to the various subordinate deities known
as zc/ems. One of these, called Ndem Efik, is a sort of
tutelary deity of the country. The man appointed to take
charge of his worship bore the title of King Calabar, and in
past times probably united the regal to the priestly power.
As tribute he received the skins of all leopards killed in
the country, and any slave who took refuge at the shrine
belonged to the deity. The office, however, imposed certain
restrictions on the incumbent, for example, he might not eat
in the presence of anybody, and he was prohibited from
engaging in traffic. On account of these and other dis-
abilities, when the last of the titular kings died, nobody
was found willing to undertake the burden of royalty, and the
kingship or priesthood became extinct.^ History presents
many instances of a royal and priestly office similarly crushed
under the weight of the fetters rivetted on its bearers.
Among the negro tribes of the Obubura Hill District in
Southern Nigeria, on the borders of Cameroons, the great
god who lives in the sky is known by several names. The
Efiks, who are the natives of Calabar, call him Abassi ; and
this name is heard in many parts of the Obubura Hill
District. The Indems, one of the tribes of the district, call
him Osowo. He is the greatest of all the gods. Offerings to
him are deposited just outside the village, either where two
or more roads meet, or by the side of a single road. They
generally consist of small portions of food and drink, and
are set on the ground in potsherds or calabashes, or are
placed in a basket which is inserted in the fork of a pole
^ H. Goldie, Calabar and its Mis- god’s name Abasi. For the sake of
sion (Edinburgh and London, 1890), uniformity I have adopted the form
pp. 42 sq. The author spells the great Abassi,
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 131
set upright in the earth. These offerings are made by,
or on behalf of, sick people, who hope that Osowa himself
will eat the food and heal them, or that he will give it to
such of their parents or friends as live with him, and so
effect the desired cure. Palm-wine and gin are offered to
the deity in shells, which the natives find in the forest and
use as cups. Besides these communal offering-places out-
side the village, there is generally in every courtyard some
kind of structure at which the Supreme Deity is worshipped.
Thus in a courtyard at Obubura the temple of Abassi
consists merely of a bundle of bamboo poles lashed together
and set upright, with stones and bones lying at its foot.
The natives believe that Osowo can kill men, and also that
he sends the spirit into new-born babes.^ Thus they look
on this Sky-deity as the source both of life and of death.
No wonder that they revere him as the greatest of the gods.
Among the Ekoi, who inhabit the Oban District of Belief in
Southern Nigeria on the border of Cameroons, two great god^obassi
deities are recognized, the Sky-god Obassi Osaw, and the Osaw and
Earth-god Obassi Nsi ; but besides them the people believe god Obassi
in countless hordes of inferior spirits, who people the trees, among
^ ^ ' dio Ekoi,
the lakes, the rocks, and the rivers ; the forest teems with
these dreadful beings ; its shadow lies heavy on all.^
Questioned as to the respective characters of the Sky-god
and the Earth-god, an Ekoi man, who knew no English and
was a mine of folk-lore, declared that the Earth-god Obassi
Nsi was kind and good, but that the Sky-god Obassi Osaw
was fierce and cruel. Asked how he knew that Obassi Osaw
was fierce and cruel, he replied, “ Because he tries to kill us
with thunder and in many other ways. Also, he is not so
loving and near to us as Obassi Nsi, for he cannot receive
our offerings. We sometimes throw things up into the air
for him, but they always fall back again to the earth.
Obassi Nsi draws them down ; that shows he is more
powerful.” To the question how he knew that the Earth-
god Obassi Nsi was good, the same man answered, “ He
never shows us terrifying things as Osaw does, such as
^ Charles Partridge, Cross River 2 Aniaury Talbot, In the Shadoio
Natives (London, 1905), pp. 281 sq,, of the Bush (London, 1912), p. 13.
compare pp. 273, 284.
132
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The Earth
conceived
as a
mother.
Trees
sacred to
the two
deities.
Prayers
to Obassi
Osaw.
thunder or lightning, nor the sun which blazes so hot as to
frighten us sometimes, and the rain which falls so heavily at
others as to make us think there will be no more sunshine.
Nsi ripens our yams, cocos, plantains, etc., which we plant in
the ground. When we are dead we are buried in the ground,
and go to the world under the earth, to our Father Obassi
Nsi.» '
But while the Earth is now personified as a god and a
father, enough legends and fragments of ritual survive to
hint, if not to prove, that formerly Earth was conceived as a
goddess and a mother.- Indeed, the same Ekoi man who had
referred to Obassi Nsi as "‘our Father”, on further reflection
said, “ I think that Obassi Nsi is really our mother and
Osaw our father. For whenever we make offerings we are
taught to say Nta Obassi (Lord Obassi) and Ma Obassi
(Lady Obassi). Now I think that the lord is Osaw, and the
lady Nsi. Surely Nsi must be a woman, and our mother, for
it is well known to all peopld that a woman has the tenderest
heart.” ^ Thus we should be brought back to the ancient
and widespread myth of Father Sky and Mother Earth.
The Ekoi believe that Obassi Osaw and Obassi Nsi made
all things between them. At first they dwelt together, but
after a while they agreed to separate and have different
lands. Obassi Osaw fixed his dwelling place in the sky,
while Obassi Nsi came down to earth and lived there."^
In the central courtyard of almost every house is set
a little group, consisting usually of a growing tree, carved
post, and sacrificial stone, sacred to one or other of the two
great deities. By far the greater number of these are
dedicated to the Earth-god Obassi Nsi, as is shown by the
coco yams planted, or laid in a small heap, close by. Tho.se
of Obassi Osaw can easily be distinguished by the clump of
epiphytic ferns growing on the tree trunk.^
Before beginning the work of the day every man or
woman who still clings to the ancient custom takes a
calabash and washes in the central courtyard. Then, when
the sun rises, they lift up their eyes to it and pray, saying,
^ P. Amaury Talbot, In the Shadow ^ P. A. Talbot, op. cit. p. i6.
of the Bush, pp. i6 ^ P. A. Talbot, op, cit, pp. 70 sq,
2 P, A, Talbot, op. cit, p. 16. ^ P. A. Talbot, op. cit, pp. 21.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 133
Sun of morning, sun of evening, let me be free from
danger to-day This they do, because they think that the
sun is charged by Obassi to receive all prayers offered on
earth and to carry them to his home in heaven. Next the
suppliant takes water in his right hand and holds it up on
high, calling on the name of the great Sky-god, Obassi
Osaw. Next he takes water in his left hand and pours it
out on the ground, thus committing himself to the keeping
of the great Earth-god Obassi Nsi.^
The two deities enter into countless folk-tales, from story of the
which many details as to their nature and attributes may be a
gleaned.^ One such story tells how a poor boy looked up at wishing-
the sun, and pointing eggs towards it cried out, Male God !
Female God ! will you open the gate for me ? Then the Osaw.
eggs slipped from his hand, and out of each flew a small
chick. The chicks surrounded the boy and flew with him
up to the sky, to the kingdom of Obassi Osaw. There he
saw the great Sky-god in his seat of judgment and the
ghosts of the dead passing before him, amongst them the
ghost of the boy’s own dead mother. When all had passed
by, Obassi Osaw gave the boy a box out of which he could
get all that he wanted only by wishing for it. With this
box the boy returned to earth, but the fatal curiosity of a
woman cut short all his hopes of happiness and even his life.^
Another story tells how the Sky-god Obassi Osaw Obassi
designed to cheer mankind with the prospect of immortality, and the
and how his kindly intention was frustrated through the gross
misconduct of a duck. It happened in this way. In the mortality :
beginning of the world, when men died, they were carried in
a sort of dream to the abode of Obassi Osaw in heaven. If messen-
the deity thought fit, he would make the dead man wake
from his dream and stand up before him. Then he would and the
restore him to life and send him back to earth. But such
men on their return could never tell what had happened to
them. One day Obassi Osaw thought to himself, “ Men fear
to die. They do not know that perhaps they may come to
life again. I will tell them that such a thing may happen ;
then they will have less dread of death.” So he stood up
* P. A. Talbot, oJ>, cii. p. 21 sq. ^ P. A. Talbot, op. ett, pp. 18-20.
P. A. Talbot, op. cit. p. 21.
134
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
How the
first fire
was stolen
by a
cunning
boy from
the house
of Obassi
Osaw in
heaven.
in his house in the sky and called a frog and a duck before
him. To the frog he said, “ Go to earth and say to the
people, When a man dies, it is the end of all things ; he
shall never live again To the duck he said, “ Go tell the
earth folk that if a man dies he may come to life again
Then he led them a little way, and showed them the road
down to earth, saying, “ Take my message. Duck, you may
go to the left hand. Frog, keep to the right.” So frog kept
on till he came to earth. He told the first people he met
the message which Obassi Osaw had sent, the message
that for man death is the end of all things. In due time
the duck also reached earth. She came to a place where
people had been making palm oil, and she began to gulp
it down. So greedily did she swill it that she forgot all about
the message which God had charged her to deliver, the
message that the dead may come to life again. Thus men
never heard the glad tidings of immortality. That is why,
when once a man dies, we never see him again. It is all the
fault of the duck. She forgot the message, and of course
we are bound to go by the one which the frog brought us.^
Another story relates how a cunning boy stole fire from
the house of Obassi Osaw in heaven and brought it down to
earth. It was the first fire on earth, for though Obassi Osaw
made everything, he had not given fire to mankind. Indeed,
when the boy first went to heaven and asked Obassi to give
him fire for the use of people on earth, the deity was very
angry and sent the boy about his business. However, on a
second visit to the sky, the urchin contrived to purloin
a glowing brand, which he wrapped in plantain stems and
leaves to smother the smoke, and then hurried down to earth
with it. When Obassi Osaw looked down from his house in
the sky, he saw the smoke curling up from the earth. So he
sent his eldest son down to ask the boy if it was he who had
stolen the fire. The boy confessed the theft, and as a punish-
ment he was obliged to go lame for the rest of his natural
life. He it was who first brought fire to earth from Obassi
Osaw’s home in the sky.^
1 P. A. Talbot, In the Shadow of Old Tesiatnent^ i. 58).
the Bnshf p. 229. I have reported
this story elsewhere [Folk-lore in the
P. A. Talbot, op, cit. pp. 370 sg.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 135
The Ekoi are not confined to Southern Nigeria, a con- TheEkoiof
siderable body of them inhabits the district of Ossidinge in beitevc°in"*
the neighbouring province of Cameroons, to the south of the
Cross River.^ The district is of some importance ethno- obashi.
logically, since the boundary between the true negroes and
the Bantu tribes appears to run through it. Of the seven
tribes which inhabit it, six, including the Ekoi, are Bantus ,
one only, the Bokis, belongs to the true negro type.^ The
natives refer all events to the Supreme God, whom they call
Obashi, though in prayer they address him as Ewerok-babi.
Of his form they seem to have no idea, but they assume
that he dwells above the clouds and reveals himself to men
in dreams. They constantly repeat, “ God tells us in dreams
what we are to do”. On this belief rests their faith in the
efficacy of simples. God is supposed to impart to every
man in a dream the name and the place in the forest of the
magical plant which will answer his special need. Next day
the man must find the plant in the forest, fasten it to a pole,
and set the pole up in front of his farm. If after that any-
body steals anything from the farm, the plant possesses the
power of making the thief sick even at a distance. Besides
this great god Abashi the natives recognize the existence of
a series of minor deities or demons, who mediate between
God and man and hover invisible in the air.®
The Fan or Fang, a large tribe in French Congo, believe The Fan
in a great deity called Nzame or Nsambe, the Lord
Heaven and Earth, who created or gave birth to all living belie™ in a
things, and set in order the world as we at present see it. Lord
For a time Nsambe continued to be on intimate terms with hS'™"
0 - n.ncl
mankind, whom he had created ; he plays a great part in the whom they
myths and legends of the people. But after a while he left
them and removed to a distance. The reasons which induced
him to take this step are nowhere clearly stated ; hence his
departure has somewhat the appearance of a caprice. Be
that as it may, his disappearance was so sudden and
^ A. Mansfeld, Urwald Dokumente^
vier Jahren unter den Crossjltissnegern
Kamcruns (Berlin, 1908), pp. 7 sqq.
Compare P. Amaury Talbot, In the
Shadow of the Bushj p. 1, “ The Ekoi
people are divided into two unequal
parts by the boundary which separates
the Cameroons from Southern Nigeria”.
2 A. Mansfeld, op, cit, p. 7.
3 A. Mansfeld, op, cit, pp. 210 sq.
136
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Slory of
the origin
of death ;
Nsamtxj,
the chamel-
eon and
the lizard.
Belief of
the Bafioti
of Loango
in a
Supreme
Being,
called
Zambi
or Nsambi.
clandestine that one fine day men found themselves aban-
doned by him and destitute of the bare necessaries of life, so
that they were obliged to send messengers after him to request
that he would provide them with food and fire. In another
version of the story Nsambe departed bag and baggage,
taking all the animals with him in his train ; but after a
time, bethinking him of the duties he owed to his creatures,
mankind, he despatched the animals to them with a message
from him and a supply of fire and other necessaries. What-
ever the causes of his alienation from his creatures, the
Creator Nsambe has now retired into the background ; he
has become a purely mythical figure rather than an object of
worship ; the German writer who has given us the fullest
account of him compares him to the head of a great com-
mercial firm, who has retired from the active management
of affairs, which he leaves to his subordinates, though he
retains a general control over the business, and his name still
figures on the brass plate at the door.^
Like other African gods who have retired from business,
the Nsambe of the Fans is associated with a story which
professes to explain the origin of human mortality. It is
said that he first sent the chameleon to men with a message
that nobody would die, and that there should be no such
thing as poverty or ill-luck. Afterwards apparently he
changed his mind and sent a lizard with a message that
all men would die. But the lizard outran the slow-paced
chameleon and brought the fatal tidings of mortality to
mankind before they received the glad news of immortality
from the chameleon. That is the reason why men continue
to die down to this day." This story, which lays the blame
of human mortality on the chameleon is very widespread in
Africa.^ We shall meet with it again later on.^
To the south of the Fan and of French Congo, the same
ubiquitous deity meets us again in Loango, where, to all
appearance, he has been long at home. The natives of
Loango call themselves Bafioti, that is, the Dark People.
^ G, Tessmann, (Berlin, - G. Tessmann, Pie Pang^uey ii. 30.
1913), ii. 12-19. The name of the 3 Folklore in the Old Testa-
Fan tribe is given in a great variety menty i. 63 sqq.
of forms by our authorities. Mr. Tess- ^ Below, pp. 173, 177, 221, 255-
mann adopts the form Pangwe. 258, 672.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA
137
They belong to the great Bantu race, which stretches across
Africa from sea to sea.^ As to their religion the Ahh6
Proyart, who wrote a history of Loango in the second half of
the eighteenth century, informs us that the natives “ acknow-
ledge a Supreme Being, who, having no origin, is himself
the origin of all things. They believe he has created all
that is fine, all that is good in the universe ; that being by
nature just, he loves justice in others, and severely punishes
fraud and perjury. They call him Zambi ; they take his
name in testimony of the truth ; and they regard perjury as
one of the greatest of crimes ; they even pretend that a
species of malady, called Zavibi-a-n-pongou is the punishment
of it ; and they say, when they see one attacked with it,
‘There’s a perjured man*. Besides this just and perfect
God, they admit another, to whom they give quite different
attributes ; the first created all, the latter would destroy all ;
he delights in the evil which he causes among men ; it is he
who counsels them to injustice, perjury, thefts, poisonings,
and all crimes ; he is the author of accidents, losses, diseases,
barrenness of land, in a word, of all the miseries which afflict
humanity, and even of death itself ; they call him Zanibi-a-
fibi^ God of wickedness. Here may be perceived ”, proceeds
the pious and orthodox Abb^, “the error of the Mani-
chaeans touching the Divinity. It appears natural enough
that man who is not enlightened with the torch of revelation,
considering the evils of all kinds that beset him from his
entrance into the world to his departure, should study to
discover the cause, and that, ignorance being one of the
greatest disorders of his soul, he should be bewildered in
his conjectures on matters so much above his faculties. . . .
They who know only the theology of the country, persuaded
that the good God will always be sufficiently favourable,
think only of appeasing the God of wickedness ; some, to
render him propitious to them, never eat fowls or game ;
others eat only certain sorts of fish, fruits, or vegetables ; not
one among them but makes profession of abstaining all his
lifetime from some sort of nourishment. The only way of
^ Die Loango Expedition^ aiisgesandt Dritte Abteilung, Zweite Halfte,
von der deutschen Gesellschajt zur von Dr. E. Pechuel-Loeschc (Stuttgart,
Erforschung .Equatorial- Afrikas^ iS^s- 1907)1 PP* i
«38
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
making him offerings is to let die, under their feet, some
shrubs laden with their fruits ; the banana tree is that which
they consecrate to him in preference.” ^
Powers About a hundred years after Proyart wrote his history
Nsamb? Loango, the country was carefully examined by a German
scientific expedition, and the members of it found a belief in
the same great god still current among the natives. They
tell us that Nsambi, as they spell the name of the deity, is
believed to have power over everything. He, or his vital
and creative energy, is in the earth, the water, the air, the
plants, animals, and men. When he wills, he knows the
thoughts as well as the deeds of men ; he sees them, whether
they sleep or wake, under the open sky, in their huts, by
day and by night. He sends the rain that the plantations
may flourish and yield their fruits to mankind, when men
are good. He sends drought, famine, pestilence, and other
evils, that men may suffer, sicken and die, when they are
wicked. “
How Whether Nsambi created everything that exists, the
Seated* natives do not know for certain. Yet they conceive
men, and it possible, indeed some of them stoutly assert that he
^eifded Created land and water, plants and animals, and likewise
at them sun, moon, and stars. The story of the creation of man-
from earth ^^^nd IS variously told. According to one account, Nsambi
to heaven, moulded men out of potter’s earth mixed with the blood
of animals.^ But men in the early ages of the world were
no better than they are nowadays. They wrangled and
fought, and did evil. Nsambi was grieved at that, and
forbade them many things. But bad men did not heed his
prohibitions. So, to punish them, Nsambi sent drought,
famine, and pestilence, and many of the sinners died.
Many of the righteous also perished, and justly enough,
because they had not kept an eye on the wicked. So man-
kind at la.st, driven to despair, called on Nsambi for help.
He came, but they all shrieked at him laying the blame
^ Proyart, “ History of Loanj^o, von dcr deutschen Gesellschaft zur
Kakongo, and other kingdoms in Erforschung Aquatorial-A/rikas^ iS'jj-
Africa”, in J. Pinkerton’s General Dritte Abteilung, Zweite Halfte,
Collection of Voyages afid Travels, xvi. von Dr. E. Pechuel-Loesche (Stuttgart,
(London, 1814) pp. 593 sq. Proyart’s 1907), pp. 266 sq,
was published at Paris in 1776. ^ E. PechuH-Loesche, op. cit, p.
^ Die Loango- Expedition, ausgesandt 267.
V IVORS //IF OF THE SKY IN WESTERN AFRICA 139
on each other and overwhelming him so with their petitions
that the din and clamour were deafening. At last the deity
grew tired of the hubbub. He fell into a passion, and
went away and never came back. At the present day, if
you ask a native where is the abode of the deity, he will
spread out his fingers and point upwards, at the same time
stretching out his arms in all directions, thereby signifying
that Nsambi dwells in heaven. But whether he resides in a
house or camps at large in the celestial regions appears to
be a matter of uncertainty. Many people opine that he
lives in the style of a wealthy gentleman with plenty of
servants to wait on him, and perhaps in possession of wives
and children. But after all who knows ? ^
As in the days of the Ahh6 Proyart, some natives
Loango distinguish the Good God {N savibua-mboie) from
the Bad God {N sanibi-a-mbi), and say that the Good God
does no evil to men, it is only the Bad God that harms
them. Others, however, are of opinion that there is
only one great god, Nsambi, who does good or evil to
men according to their works. More frequently than either
Nsambi-a-mbote or Nsambi-a-mbi does the name Nsambi-
a-mpungu occur on the lips of the people. It seems to
mean Nsambi the Mighty, nipiingu being a descriptive epithet Nsambi-a-
applied to the deity. The same word is used in the sense
of an important man, the father of a large family, an effective the Mighty,
speaker, an outstanding personality. But according to
another interpretation and tradition Mpungu is the father
of Nsambi, and the expression Nsambi-a-Mpungu signifies
Nsambi, the son of Mpungu. Some say that Mpungu sent
his son, Nsambi, down to earth to look after mankind, and
to comfort the mourners. The son did good to men, and
when his father Mpungu despatched Hunger to gnaw at
the bellies of mortals, Nsambi caught him, so that the fruits
of the earth flourished again, and people had plenty to eat.
Then Mpungu sent Sickness ; but Nsambi warded her off or
healed the sick. At last Mpungu sent Death, who struck
men down and robbed them of their breath ; for he was
strong like Mpungu himself.^
^ E. Pechuel-Loesche, op, cit, pp. ^ E. Pechuel-Loesche, op, at, pp.
268 sg , 269
140
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Nsanibi is But in spite of some confusion and discrepancy in the
pay^litie^ accouiits of Nsambi, he is generally accorded the rank of a
heed to Supreme Being, who exists invisibly everywhere and con-
affJdrs ; forces of nature either personally or by the inter-
hence vention of his representatives. Towards mankind his attitude
genSaiiy^ on the whole is one of nonchalance and neglect. Yet
indifferent Joes he soiTictimes interpose in human affairs with a heavy
hand. Certainly nothing that concerns mankind escapes
his vigilance or happens without his ordinance. On their
side men do not worship him ; no ceremony is performed in
his honour, no sacrifice is offered to him. As a deity he
appears to stand quite aloof from human life. He is too
great and too far away to trouble himself much about the
weal or woe of his creatures. And they repay his lack of
sympathy with a corresponding indifference. But in times
of great and general distress they recognize his handiwork
and speak of him with a certain awe. Nsambi is angry,
he is destroying us they cry, but they do not turn to him
directly for help and pity ; they look to some intermediary
for an alleviation of their sufferings.^
Only in Nevertheless from time to time in dangers and great
^encU's'do emergencies people feel their dependence on his divine
theyac- powcr, acknowledge the working of his divine will, and
commit their affairs to his divine keeping. A man who is
iuui iippiai sick and like to die, or who is anxious and troubled about
to inni. issue of somc undertaking that touches him deeply, will
comfort himself by saying, “It is in Nsambi’s power’*, or
“Nsambi’s will be done’*. When a boat is swept down the
rapids of a rushing river, and the helmsman is adjured to
do his utmost, he will answer with an upward look or
gesture and the words, “It is Nsambi’s affair”. When a
death has taken place, the survivors may console each other
with the reflection that “ Nsambi has bidden him, has called
him away ”. Women, too, in the pangs of travail cry to
Nsambi to have pity on them.” Finally, we are told that
the belief in Nsambi has not been borrowed by the natives
from Christian missionaries, since it is both older and more
widely diffused than missionary activity.^
^ K. l\‘clu\cl-Loeschc, < 7 /. p. 271. K. I’echucl-Loesche, of', cit. p.
K. lV'chucl-Locsche,i>/. <//. p. 272. 274,
V
WORSHIP OF SKY IN VALLEY OF THE CONGO 141
§ 2. The Worship of the Sky in the Valley of the Congo
The great valley of the Congo is peopled by many Belief of
tribes, the great majority of which belong to the Bantu
stock. Among them there is a general belief in the exist- Congo in a
ence of a Supreme Being, the Creator of all things, who is and
eternal and incapable of doing evil, but who at the same time Creator
** ^ Ccillpci
occupies so lofty a position that he does not busy himself Nzambi.
with the lot of his creatures. The general name for this
great deity is Nzambi, though the precise form of the name
varies somewhat with the dialect of the tribe. In Nzambi
the black man personifies the first and universal cause of
everything which he cannot understand or explain. For the
most part Nzambi is conceived as a solitary being ; but in
the coast region of the Lower Congo, where the beliefs of
the natives have lost something of their originality and have
been modified by European influence, Nzambi has been
associated with a female companion or wife. Many tribes
hold that Nzambi has created one or more divine beings of
an inferior order, to whom he has granted very large powers,
and who act as his deputies or vicars on earth. It is these
deputy-deities, and not the great God himself, who keep
up a certain intercourse with mortals, and in turn delegate
their powers, either wholly or in part, to human beings,
to animals, and even to inanimate objects, such as stones,
rocks, trees, and waters. The abode of Nzambi is not
defined, it is everywhere and nowhere, it is in another world
which the native does not picture to himself. If you press
him for an answer, he shakes his head and says that the
question makes his head ache.’
An experienced English mi.ssionary, the Rev. J. H. Rev. j. h.
Weeks, who lived and worked for thirty years among the
natives both of the Lower and the Upper Congo, tells us in Nzambi
that “the name for a Supreme Being (Nzambi) is known all of ^
over the Lower Congo, and indeed, among all the tribes the Congo,
throughout the watershed of the Congo river ; but the
knowledge concerning him is very vague. He is regarded
as the principal creator of the world and all living creatures ;
' Notes Analytiques sur les Collections Ethnographiques dzi Mns^e du Congo ^
i. (Bruxelles, 1902-1906) p. 146.
142
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
and it is thought that after His work of creation He with-
drew Himself, and, since then, He has taken little, if any
further interest in the world and its inhabitants. He is
spoken of among the natives as being strong, rich, and good
— so good that He will not hurt them, hence no sacrifices
are offered to Him, no prayers to Him ever pass their lips,
and they never worship Him. As the Supreme One He is
very remote from them, unconcerned in their welfare, and
harmless, therefore they consider that there is no need for
them to trouble about Him. We never found an atheist
among them, but their theism is of a very hazy quality.” ^
The Mr. Weeks is clearly of opinion that the conception of
of NzaJX Nzambi as a Supreme Being is of purely native origin and
is of native not borrowed by the blacks from the whites. He says :
origin. each case the natives’ ideas of the Supreme Being were
gathered and noted long before our teaching had influenced
their views or increased their knowledge concerning Him.
Before we could preach our views we had to learn their
language, and while learning their language we necessarily
received — in the definitions of the words we were learning
from them — their ideas of that great Being who created the
world. We found their knowledge of Him was scarcely
more than nominal, and no worship was ever paid to Him.
Various '‘On the Lower Congo He is called Nzambi^ or by His
fuller title Nzambi a vipungii ; no satisfactory root word has
Supreme yet been found for Nzambiy but for nipungu there are sayings
ihevfiieyof proverbs that clearly indicate its meaning as, most of
the Congo, all, supreme, highest, and Nzambi a mpungii as the Being
most High or Supreme."
“ On the Upper Congo among the Bobangi folk the
word used for the Supreme Being is Nyambe ; among the
Lulanga people, Nzakomba ; among the Boloki, Njambe ;
among the Bopoto people it is Libanza, which word is also
well known among the Boloki people, and was probably
introduced by slaves from Bopoto. At Yakusu, near Stanley
* John H. Weeks, Among ihe including nine years at San Salvador
Primitive Bakongo (London, 19 14), and Matadi on the Lower Congo. See
p. 276. The author lived for fifteen J. H. Weeks, op. cit. pp. 9, 19.
years among the Boloki or Bangala of - The same epithet is applied to
the Upper Congo, and for fifteen more Nsambi (Nzambi) in Loango. See
years in other parts of the Congo, above, p. 139.
V
WORSHIP OF SKY IN VALLEY OF THE CONGO 143
Falls, the word used is Mungu, which is a shortened form
of the Swahili word imiungu^ and this may contain the root
of the Lower Congo word mpungu. It is interesting to
note that the most common name for the Supreme Being
on the Congo is also known, in one form or another, over
an extensive area of Africa reaching from 6° north of the
Equator away to extreme South Africa ; as, for example,
among the Ashanti it is Onyame^ at Gaboon it is Anyainbie,
and two thousand miles away among the Barotse folk it is
NiainbeP ^
“ During the whole thirty years of my life in various parts Various
of the Congo I have heard the name of the Deity used in
the following four ways only : Among the Lower Congo God.
people, when they desire to emphasize a statement or vouch
for the truthfulness of their words, they use the name in
an oath. When in extreme trouble they cry out, ‘ I wish
Nzainbi had never made me!' or when in great distress,
‘ Nzambiy pity me 1 ’ Also on the Lower Congo there is
the phrase lufwa lua Nzambi — death by God, i.e. a natural
death as distinctive from death by witchcraft ; but this view
of death is not so frequently heard on the Lower Congo as
among the Boloki, where aivi na Njanibe = he died by God,
i.e. there is no witchcraft about the death of the deceased,
nor anything pointing to witchcraft about the accident that
caused the death, is often heard. These are the only phrases
which suppose that the Supreme Being has anything to do
with the world. They are generally employed in the case
of poor folk when they die, as no one wants the trouble and
expense of engaging a witch-doctor to seek out the witch.” ^
In explanation of this last statement it may be observed Deaths in
that in Africa many deaths arc set down to the nefarious to
arts of witches and wizards, and that in all such cases it is,
or rather used to be, under native rule, deemed essential to detecting
discover the e^uilty wretch and to put him or her to death, the wUch,
^ J . , , , , . con-
Thus a single natural death in the old days was apt to sequent
entail many deaths by violence ; for the suspected witches
were commonly obliged to submit to the poison ordeal, to people to
which multitudes of perfectly innocent victims succumbed,
^ J. II. Weeks, Among Congo ^ J. H. Weeks, Among Congo
Cannibals (London, 1913), pp. 246 Cannibals.^ pp. 247 sq.
144
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Belief of
the natives
of the
Lower
Congo in a
great god
Nzamhi.
It is hardly too much to say that till Africa came under the
sway of Europe its black population was decimated by the
combined eficcts of the belief in witchcraft and the practice
of the poison ordeal.^ Fortunately the circumstances to
which in the foregoing passage Mr. Weeks briefly alludes
appear to have exercised some influence in moderating and
restricting the ravages of this fatal superstition. In order to
detect the supposed witch who had caused a death it was
necessary to employ -the agency of a professional witch-finder
or witch-doctor, as he is commonly called by writers on
Africa ; and this man of skill, or rather arrant impostor, had
naturally to be paid for his services, and his charges might
often be excessive. Thus an accusation of deatlij^y witch-
craft doubtless often entailed heavy expenses on the accusers,
and as a rule only wealthy people could afford to prosecute
the sorcerer who, in their opinion, had done their kinsman
to death by his malignant enchantments. Poor people,
even if they suspected foul play, would generally deem
it prudent to stifle or hush up their suspicions, lest by
giving vent to them they should be forced to call in the
aid of a witch-finder and to satisfy his possibly exorbitant
demands for bringing the imaginary culprit to justice.
Hence, when death had removed one of the family circle,
his or her indigent relations were under a strong temptation
to attribute their bereavement to the hand of God rather
than to that of a witch or wizard, since thereby they saved
the expenses of a prosecution. Thus by a beautiful
dispensation of Providence faith in God was powerfully
reinforced by purely economic motives.
The belief of the natives of the Lower Congo in a great
and powerful god whom they call Nzambi, or more emphati-
cally Nzambi-a-mpungu, is described also by Mr. G. C.
Claridge, who spent twelve years in intimate intercourse with
the people, and his description agrees with and confirms
that of Mr. Weeks. He tells us that the natives look upon
Nzambi as almighty, good, just, merciful, and kind, but that
nevertheless, or rather for that very reason, they do not
worship him. Nothing evil is ever attributed to him. Pain,
' For evidence of the scourge, see Folk-lore in the Old Testament ^ vol, iii.
pp. 307.401, “The Poison Ordeal in Africa
V
WORSHIP OF SKY IN VALLEY OF THE CONGO 145
disease, and death come from evil spirits and witches, but
never from God. ' Hence people need not fear or propitiate
him, for he is never angry or offended. Consequently he
may safely be left alone. He receives no mark of homage
and is. represented by no material object or fetish, though
all the other inferior spirits are represented by fetishes
which are deemed essential for the safety and even existence
of mankind, who without them would be at the mercy of
ghosts and demons.^
As to the source of this belief in a great and beneficent Source
deity Mr. Claridge observes that the Congolese “arrive
the idea of the existence of a chief good spirit by the same Nzambi.
reasoning as they come at the notion of a chief evil spirit.
It is a negro chieftainship glorified.'’^ Indeed, whatever is
mysterious or beyond human comprehension is t;alled by
them “ a thing of God ’* {ina kia Nzambi). Ti^us an The name
inedible fungus, the use of which is not understock, is
spoken of as “ God’s fungus ” {ivivwa wa Nzambi) ; the wild,’ whatever
vast, tangled jungle, with its majesty and mystery, is “ God’s
jungle” {titi kia Nzambi) \ and man himself in common incompre-
parlance is “God’s man” {iiiunUi a Nzambi)? There is a
certain wasp of which the head and thorax are joined to the
body by such a slender pin-like waist that the natives believe
it to be impossible for the insect to bear young or lay eggs.
The wasp builds itself a nest of mud in the shape of a
cluster of cylindrical cells cemented together and exquisitely
finished. In each cell the wasp lays an egg, and when the
young are hatched the mother wasp carefully feeds them by
pushing grubs, flies, and small spiders into each cell ; then,
when every cell is thus stored with food, she seals it up, to
all appearance, hermetically. In due time the native, who
has watched the process, sees issuing from the nest, not a
grub, a fly, or a spider, like the insects which he saw put into
it, but a wasp like the one he saw building the nest and
depositing the grubs, flies, and spiders in the cells. This
^ G. Cyril Claridge, Wild Bush
Tribes of Tropical Africa (London,
1922) pp. 268-275. According to Mr.
Claridge {op. cil. p. 269), the epithet
mpungu is an absolute superlative,
signifying “the utmost”, “supreme”.
It can be applied to men as well as
VOL. I
to God, for example in the phrase
mpufic^jt ngaftgf/^ “an absolute fool ”.
2 G. Cyril Claridge, Wild Bush
Tr ibes of Tropical Ajricaf p. 269.
^ G. Cyril Claridge, M^ld Bush
Tribes of Tropical Africa^ pp. 270 sq.
L
146
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
apparent transformation he cannot understand ; he looks
upoa it as an act of creation, and accordingly he calls this
particular species of wasp “ God’s transforming or creating
wasp ” [infingi a Nzambi ankitula)} With this extended use
of the word God {Nzambi) we may compare the Homeric
application of the epithets god-like and divine (Jheios^ dios)
to a great variety both of objects and of persons, including
a house, a tower, a city, a land, horses, a herald, a bard, and
even a swineherd/^
Belief of The Upotos, who inhabit the banks of the Upper Congo
in*a between 20° and 22"" East Longitude, believe in a god called
called Libanza, who lives in the east, while his sister Ntsongo lives
in the west. He had a beginning but he will never die, and
the same is true of all the divine beings, because, when they
are on the point of death, Libanza brings them to life again.
But though Libanza appears to be at present the chief god
of the Upotos and to dwell in the sky, he was not the first
being in existence, nor did he always inhabit heaven. Before
Mythical he was born, two sisters lived in a tall tree. They had mag-
Libanza°^ nificent voices, and they sang so that it was a real pleasure
his descent to hear them. A long string hung from the tree to the
songsfresT g^*ound, and anybody who wished to hear the sisters sing
had nothing to do but to pull the string, and at once the
songstresses in the tree opened their lips and chanted the
most ravishing strains. Several animals, including a leopard,
pulled the string, and were so enchanted with the concert
that they offered marriage to the arboreal sirens, but their
offers were rejected. At last a cock of resplendent plumage
came along, sang “ Cock-a-doodle-do ! ” and tugged at the
string. The songstresses responded as usual from the tree,
and their sweet voices made such an impression on the
susceptible bosom of chanticleer, that like his predecessors
he offered them his heart and hand on the spot. Whether
the sisters were fascinated by his gorgeous feathers or his
musical talent, it is impossible to say, but certain it is that
' G. Cyril Clariclge, Wild Bush xiii. 440, xiv. 48, 401, xvi. l, 333,
Tribes oj Tropical Africa^ 26g s^. 452, xvii. 260, 507 sc/.^ 589. For
many more examples see H. Ebeling,
2 Homer, /Had, ii. 836, iv. 192, Lexicon Homericum (Lipsiae, 1880-
viii. 185, xxi. 43, 526, xxiii. 346, 1885) vol. i. pp. 310 , 557 sq., svz'.
Odyssey, iii. 326, iv. 43, 313, viii. 43, dtos and ffeios.
V
WORSHIP OF SKY IN VALLEY OF THE CONGO 147
they at once closed with his offer, descended the tree, and
followed him to his home. There they all lived happily
together until one day it began to rain. When the
shower was over, the ants, as usually happens after
rain, popped up out of the earth by thousands, and the
cock ran about picking them up and swallowing them.
This disgusting conduct was overseen by a maidservant,
who officiously reported it to the ladies, the wives of
chanticleer. At first they refused to credit the report,
which they treated as a base calumny, the invention of a
low-minded hussy who was jealous of their handsome
husband. Touched to the quick by this reflection on her
honour, the abigail watched the cock and soon found him
at his old trick again. Not only that, she brought her
incredulous mistresses to the spot while the unconscious
cock was still at his meal. Seeing was believing, the horri-
fied wives deserted their ant-eating spouse and returned to
the tree, where, after a period of .sorrow and silence, they
resumed their popular concerts. One day it chanced that
Lotenge, the future father of the Supreme Being, passed near
the tree and heard the ravishing accents of the songstresses
proceeding from among the boughs. He looked up, and,
pleased with the aspect and voices of the singers, he made
them the usual offer of marriage, which was accepted. Well,
to cut a long story short, one of the sisters, whose name
was Ntsombobelle, gave birth to a son, who came into
the world armed cap-a-pie with spear, knife, and buckler.
After that she brought forth thousands and thousands of
serpents, mosquitoes, and other vermin, all of them, singularly
enough, armed to the teeth with spears and bucklers. After
that she bore to her husband twin sons, of whom the younger
was no other than the Supreme God, Libanza himself After
his birth Libanza roamed the earth and met with many
adventures. He married several wives and had at least one
son. He fought many people, including his own aunt, and
he gave proof of his marvellous powers in various ways,
particularly by restoring not a few people to life, including
some whom he had himself knocked on the head. But his
quarrelsome and sanguinary disposition estranged the affec-
tions of his mother and sister. His mother abandoned him
The
adventures
of Libanza.
148 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
His quarrel to his cvil courscs, and his sister reproached him for his
with his misdeeds in very bitter words. “You killed your elder
his brother/’ she said, “and you very nearly killed your own
^^heavrn father, and do you imagine that I will stick at declaring that
I hate you ? No, I hate you and I should be glad to see
you die.” To this stinging reproof Libanza replied very
meekly, for, to do him justice, in spite of his general trucu-
lence he kept a soft place in his heart for his sister. It
happened that she had expressed a wish that he should fetch
her some palm nuts, and now, by way of heaping coals of
fire on her head, he climbed up the palm-tree to gather the
nuts. But the higher he climbed, the higher grew the palm,
till its branches were lost in the clouds, and the people who
remained at the foot of the tree could see neither the nuts
nor Libanza. He disappeared, because he would no longer
live with his sister, who hated him and wished for his death.
His sister and her people waited for him at the foot of the
tree, and when they saw that he did not come back, they
founded a village on the spot, which stands there to this day.
Up aloft, above the clouds, Libanza discovered to his
surprise the aunt whom he had fought and the brother
whom he had murdered. He also engaged in a battle
royal with Lombo, the King of the Air, in which he gained
a complete victory and reduced the King of the Air and all
his people to slavery.^
The abode Nowadays Libanza, as we have seen, inhabits the east,
with't^he^^ while his sister Ntsongo, with whom he quarrelled, inhabits
souls of the the west. The day when he will go to see her in the west,
fhe sky everybody will fall ill, and many people will die. The day
will come when the sky will collapse and flatten us all out,
blacks and whites alike. The thing would probably have
happened long ago, if it had not been for the intercession
of the souls of the dead (inolimons), who have begged and
prayed Libanza not to let the sky fall, and up till now he
has lent an ear to their prayer ; but how long he will do so
is more than anybody knows. The moon is a huge boat,
which sails across the whole earth picking up the souls of
the dead and conveying them to Libanza. The stars are
^ M. Lindeman, Les Upotos (Bruxelles, 1906), pp. 23-40, I have greatly
abridged the story of Libanza.
V WORSHIP OF SKY IN VALLEY OF THE CONGO 149
the fires lit by the souls of the dead, who sleep by day.
That is proof positive that Libanza lives in the sky ;
for the souls of the dead live with him, and since we
see their fires every night in heaven, it follows necessarily
that Libanza is there too. As for the sun, he brews
palm-wine for Libanza and brings it to him for his refresh-
ment every evening. When there is a storm, it is Libanza
fighting ; when there is a mist, it is Libanza smoking his
pipe ; and when there is a wind, it is Libanza sneezing.
The beard of Libanza is like a staircase ; his people climb
up and down it on their way to and from him. As for his
figure, Libanza, his sister, his son, and his cousin have all
the likeness of human beings, but oddly enough their com-
plexion is white instead of black, as you would naturally
expect it to be.'
Like many Sky-gods, Libanza is believed to be ultimately Story of
responsible for human mortality. They say that one day he of^death"
summoned to his presence the people of the moon and the Libanza,
people of the earth. The people of the moon responded p^^pie and
promptly to the summons, and were accordingly rewarded
by the deity, who addressed them as follows: “Because you^°'’*'
have come at once when I called you, you shall never die,
or, to speak more correctly, you shall only be dead for two
days a month, and .that will be to rest ; thereafter you
shall return more splendid than before”. But when the
people of the earth at last arrived, Libanza was angry and
he said to them in his wrath, “ Because you did not come
at once when I called you, you shall die one day and shall
not return to life except to come to me That is the
reason why the moon dies once a month and comes to life
again after two days, and why men, when they die, do not
return, but go, as everybody knows, to Libanza in heaven.
The Basonge, who inhabit a country bordering on the Belief of
Sankuru River, a southern tributary of the Congo, believe ‘4*songe
in the existence of a Supreme Being whom they call Efile in a
Mokulu. The same name is applied to the Supreme Being Being
by all the tribes of the great Baluba family, to which the
Basonge belong. To Efile Moluku they attribute the creation Mokulu.
of the world and of everything in it. After he had created
1 M. Lindeiuan, Les Upolos^ pp. 43 sq, ^ M. Lindeman, Les Upotos^ pp. 23 sq.
50
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
the first man and the first woman, he observed that their
progeny multiplied at an alarming rate, and he said, ‘‘ These
folk grow too numerous and too strong. Soon they will be
so powerful that they will have the upper hand over me and
will do with me what they please.” So he drove them to
earth and said, “ The earth is too far off for them ever to
find their way back. There they will abide all the days of
their life, so long as they rejoice in the strength of their
thews, and only their impalpable souls will come to me.”
Hence it is that after death the souls of men go to Efile
Mokulu and are governed by him ; but what they do there,
is more than anybody knows. The people offer neither
prayers nor sacrifices to him, but they invoke his name in
Oath by taking an oath. In swearing a solemn oath a man first
Mokulu. points to the sky, then he cracks his forefinger against the
other fingers of his hand, saying, This is the truth, this is
the truth, this is the truth, and if not, may Efile Moluku kill
me on the spot ! ” This custom of pointing to the sky before
taking an oath seems to imply that Efile Moluku is believed to
dwell there. Although he drove the living out of his sight, he
appears to have retained a certain control over them and to
consult their interest, in so far as he punishes murderers by
calling their souls to himself and thus causing their death.^
§ 3. TAe Worship of the Sky in Southern Africa
Belief of
the Hcrero
in a great
God
Ndyambi
or
Ndyambi
Karunga.
The Herero, a Bantu people of South-west Africa,
believe in a great god whom they call Ndyambi or Ndyambi
Karunga. Like other Bantu tribes, they look on him as a
good God and as the Creator ; but they believe that he has
retired to the sky and dwells there, leaving the government
of the earth in the hands of inferior deities or demons.
Questioned by missionaries as to the nature of this divinity,
the Herero answered, “ We call him Ndyambi Karunga ; he
is in heaven above and not in the graves ; he is a god of
1 E. Torday et T. A. Joyce, Notes
Ethnographiqties sur des Populations
habitant les Bass ins du Kasai et du
Kivango Oriental (Bruxelles, 1922),
pp. 25 sq. The authors, in a foot-
note, record that, according to another
account, Vidia {sic) Mokulu is in the
centre of the earth, and the souls of
men go to him but return after a time,
and are reincarnated, with the excep-
tion of such as have been guilty of
crimes. For this account they refer to
Schmitz, Les Basonge^ p. 324, a work
which I have not seen.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 151
blessing; he is angry with nobody and punishes nobody”
Asked why they did not worship him and offer sacrifices to
him they replied, “ Why should we sacrifice to him ? We
do not need to fear him, for he does not do us any harm, as
do the spirits of our dead {ovakuru)T And if anybody
accuses them of having no God, they at once repel the
accusation, saying, “ No, no ! we are not so bad as that.
We have Ndyambi Karunga, we also pray to him.” They
do so when some unexpected piece of good luck befalls them.
Then they stand stock still, look up to heaven and cry,
“ Ndyambi Karunga ! ” as if they would say “ He loves us ! ”
In general Ndyambi Karunga is looked upon as the pre-
server of life. When a man who has been grievously sick
recovers, they say, “ Ndyambi has made him whole
When a man has reached a great age, they say, Ndyambi
Karunga has preserved him ” ; and when such a veteran dies,
the expression employed is, ‘‘ Ndyambi Karunga has called
him It would seem that Karunga is believed to exercise
some influence on the powers of nature. Now and then it is
said that the rain comes from him, that his way is in the rolling
thunder, and that it is he who hurls the flashes of lightning. In Prayers to
a violent thunderstorm the headman of a house or village may Karu^a!
be heard to pray, “ Karunga, do not come here, go flash into
the animals of the field and into the trees ”. They also pray
to Karunga in other dangers ; when for example lions are
prowling around they will pray to Karunga, saying, “ See
my distress and anguish, and help me. Show that thou art
mighty and strong.” And generally in seasons of distress
and danger the Herero used to pray to Ndyambi Karunga to
avert all manner of evil. Nowadays such prayers are rarely
heard. Instead the people prefer to call on the spirits of
their ancestors, who, however, can only be invoked at their
graves. But if the graves are too far off or for any reason
inaccessible, the Herero will even now call to Ndyambi for
help. They look on him as a god of love and blessing :
the essence of his character is benevolence : the punishment
of evil is no part of his function. They believe, indeed, in
such punishment, but they think that the powers which Worship of
inflict it are the spirits of their dead ancestors (pvaktiru).
It is these spirits accordingly whom they fear, it is they who
152
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Belief
of the
Ovambo
in a god
Kalunga.
But
apparently
Kalunga is
rather an
Earth -god
than a Sky-
god.
are apt to be angry and to bring danger and misfortune on
men. Hence it is that they render all their worship, not to
Ndyambi Karunga, but to the souls of their departed. To
win the favour of these formidable beings or to avert their
wrath, the Herero offer many sacrifices, not out of love and
gratitude, but out of fear and anguish. The real religion of
the Ilerero, like that of so many other Bantu tribes, is the
worship of ancestors.^
The Ovambo, another Bantu people of South-west Africa,
believe in a god Kalunga, whose name, apart from a
difference of dialect, is clearly the same with the Karunga
of their neighbours the Herero. They think that Kalunga
created the world and men, but their notions about him are
vague, and when they are questioned on the subject, their
usual answer is, “ We do not know ” They neither fear nor
worship him ; he appears to trouble himself very little about
human weal or woe.^ Yet according to another and earlier
account the Ovambo regard Kalunga as a good being ; like
the Herero, they say, “ We are kept by Kalunga ; Kalunga
only kills very bad people”. Moreover, they hold that
he gives fertility to the fields, and makes the corn and the
beans to grow. However, it would seem that Kalunga is
conceived rather as an Earth-god than as a Sky-god. They
say that he came forth from the earth to create the ancestors
of the Ovambo, the Herero, and the Bushmen. Moreover,
he is reported to live in the ground near the chief village,
and to appear from time to time to the people in the company
of his wife Musisi. On such occasions a voice may be heard
commanding a man to sacrifice a black ox. The man obeys
and kills an ox on the spot where he heard the voice.
Then Kalunga appears to him, strokes him with his hand
over the eyes, exhorts him to follow after that which is good,
and sends through him a gracious admonition to the king.^
^ Rev. H. Beiderbecke, “ Some
religious Ideas and Customs of the
Ovaherero ” {South Afruau) Folk-lore
Journal^ ii. (Capetown, 1880) pp. 88-
92 ; J. Irle, Die Herero (Giitersloh,
1906), pp. 72-74. The latter author
notes (p. 75) the occurrence of the
same divine name under various forms
(Njambi, Njame, Onjame, Nyambi,
Ngambe, Nzambi, Zambi, Ambi,
Anjambi, etc.) in many widely separ-
ated tribes of the Bantu family.
2 H. Tonjes, Ovamboland (Berlin,
1911), pp. 193 sq.
^ Rev. H. Beiderbecke, “ Some
religious Ideas and Customs of the
Ovaherero ” {South African) Folk-lore
Journal^ ii. (Capetown, 1880) pp. 95 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 153
The Bapindji and the Badjok, two tribes in the basin of the Belief of
Kasai River, a' southern tributary of the Congo, recognize ^^pindji
a Supreme Being whom they call Kalunga. The Badjok and Badjok
invoke him in prayer, but little can be learned concerning ^a^unga
him, except that he is supposed to cause the death of old
people who die otherwise than by violence.^ Thus a Supreme
Being called Karunga or Kalunga is recognized by several
widely separated tribes of South-west Africa.
§ 4. The Worship of the Sky in Easter^i Africa
We have now completed our survey of the worship of The belief
the sky in Western and Southern Africa. We have seen supreme
that many tribes of that vast region believe in the existence God who
of a Supreme God and Creator who lives in the sky, and fh'e^sky^s
who, in some cases at least, appears to have been originally general in
a simple personification of the physical firmament. We south
have seen that, coupled with the belief in the existence of Nrica.
such a deity, is the notion that of old he lived upon earth on
terms of intimacy with mankind, but that, as time went on,
men offended him in some way, and therefore he quitted
the earth and retired to the sky, where for the most part
he is now supposed to concern himself very little with
human affairs, which he leaves in the hands of his agents,
the inferior spirits or demi - gods. The authorities who
have reported these beliefs at first hand arc practically
unanimous in holding that they are of native African origin
and not borrowed, directly or indirectly, from Christian
teaching.
Now similar beliefs concerning the Sky-god and his A similar
relations to mankind prevail among the tribes of Eastern con^Lning
Africa, at least from Delagoa Bay on the south to the great a great
lakes and the head waters of the Nile on the north, and in prevau^
some of these tribes the deity in question is known by among
the very same name, Nzambi or Nyambe, by which he is of eLi
designated among many tribes of Western Africa. The J
, , . . , ... - some of
resemblance, amounting in some cases almost to identity, of these tnbes
religious belief among tribes which together probably occupy hebearsthe
' K. Torday et T. A. Joyce, Notes Ethnographiques sur des Populations habi-
tant les Bassins du Kasai et du Kivango Oriental (Bruxelles, 1922), p. 293.
(Nzambi or
Nyambe)
as in West
Africa.
154
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Iklief of
the Thonga
in a
mysterious
power
called Tilo
who is
identified
with the
sky.
Tilo is
thought to
regulate
certain
natural and
human
pheno-
mena, such
as rain,
storms,
and the
birth of
twins.
a full half of the great continent of Africa, is certainly re-
markable. The problem of its origin is interesting and
worthy of serious consideration, but the evidence to hand is
insufficient to justify any positive conclusions, and con-
jectures on the subject, in the present state of our knowledge,
would be premature. It is more profitable to study the
facts than to speculate on their origin. Accordingly we
proceed to survey the beliefs concerning Sky-gods and
Supreme Beings among the natives of Eastern Africa,
treating of the tribes in a roughly geographical order from
south to north. We begin with the Thonga, a Bantu tribe
about Delagoa Bay in Portuguese East Africa. Their
religious and social system has been very fully and ably
described by a Swiss Protestant missionary, Monsieur Henri
A. Junod, in two excellent books, from which I will draw
in what follows.
The Thonga believe in a dim mysterious power which
they identify with the sky and call by their name for sky,
which is tilo. In common speech the word tilo designates
the blue sky or heaven, conceived as a place, and especially,
it would seem, as a place of rest for the weary. This
thought is expressed in a song :
“ 0 ! how I should love to plait a string.^ and go up to Heaven.,
I would go there to find rest
But Tilo is more than a place. It is a power which acts
and manifests itself in various ways. Sometimes it is called
a Lord (liosi) ; but generally it is regarded as something
entirely impersonal. The Thonga appear to think that
Heaven regulates and presides over certain great cosmic
phenomena to which men are obliged, whether they will or
not, to submit. It is especially events of a sudden and
unexpected nature which are thus traced to the direction
and influence of Heaven. In the sphere of nature they
comprise rain and storms ; in the sphere of human life
they include convulsions and the birth of twins.^ Thus
it is Heaven that afflicts children with those terrible and
* H. A. Junod, The Life of a South 2 H, A. Junod, The Life of a South
(Neuchatel, 1912-1913), African Tribe, ii. 392; id., Les Ba-
h. 389-391; id., Les Ba-Ronga Ronga, sq.
(Neuchatel, 1898), pp. 408-410.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 155
mysterious convulsions which carry them off suddenly. A
child in convulsions is said to be ‘‘ ill from Heaven '' (a ni
Tild), But more than that it is Heaven that kills and
makes alive. Hence, when somebody has escaped a great
danger or is very prosperous, it is often said, “ Heaven loved
him” {jnio dji mou randjilS)\ but if a man has been very
unlucky or has died, they say, “Heaven hated him” {T'ilo
dji mou yalile)} But the natives agree that in former times
it was more usual than at present to ascribe death to the
direct agency of Heaven, which was believed to kill by
lightning ; nowadays death is more commonly thought to
be caused by witchcraft or by the action of the inferior gods.“
The cause of thunder is attributed by the Thonga The cause
either to a mythical bird or, more frequently, to Heaven, aur^buted^
The proper expression for “ it thunders ” is “ Heaven roars ” to Heaven
{Tilo dji djumd). Native magicians fancy that they can^^’^^^’
avert a thunderstorm by blowing on an enchanted flute
which contains a magical stuff supposed to be extracted
from the mythical thunder-bird. When he sees a thunder-
storm approaching the magician ascends a hill, blows his
flute, and shouts, “ You Heaven, go farther ! I have nothing
against you, I do not fight against you.” He may add in a
threatening tone, “ If you are sent by my enemies against me,
I will cut you open w'ith this knife of mine In this case
Heaven seems to be clearly conceived of as a personal being
who can be intimidated with threats and cut to pieces with
a knife.
Again, in the minds of the Thonga twins are closely Twins
associated with Heaven and rain. The mother of twins is assodLed
called Heaven (Tilo). and the twins are called “Children of'v*^^^
^ ^ Hctiv’cn
Heaven ” (Bana ba Tilo)^ The mother is said to have made (Xiio) and
Heaven (a hambi Tilo), to have carried Heaven (a 7'wi
to have ascended to Heaven (a khandjiyi Tilo). The day “Children
after twins have been born, nobody tills the ground, because ..
they fear that, if they did so, they would prevent the rain
^ H. A. Junod, Thi life of a South ^ II. A. Junod, The Life of a South
African Tribe, ii. 392 ; id,, Les Ba- African Tribe, ii, 290-292.
Ronga, pp. 410 s^.
2 H. A. Junod, The Life of a South ^ H. A. Junod, The Life of a South
African Tribe, ii. 393 sq,, 407 ; id., African Tribe, ii. 394 ; id., Les Ba-
Les Ba- Ronga, pp. 41 1 sq. Ronga, p. 412.
156
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
from falling.^ In time of drought a mother of twins must
lead a procession of women, who draw water and pour it on
the graves of twins in order to ensure the fall of rain. And
if a twin should have been buried in dry ground, the women
will dig up the body and bury it again near a river ; or if
they do not dig it up, they will at least go in procession
and pour water on the grave. This is supposed to act on
Heaven, which is killing the earth by the terrible heat of the
sun. Soon after the burning wind will cease to blow, and
rain will fall.^
Twins The connexion between twins and Heaven appears in
for^heip^in^ relation to thunderstorms as well as to rain. When lightning
thunder- threatens a village, people say to a twin, “ Help us. You are
storms. ^ child of Heaven, you can therefore cope with Heaven, it
will hear you when you speak.’* So the child goes out of
the hut and prays to Heaven in these words : “ Go away !
Do not annoy us ! We are afraid. Go and roar far away ! ”
When the thunderstorm is over, the child is thanked for its
service. The mother of twins can similarly dispel a storm
of thunder and lightning, for has she not ascended to
Heaven ?,^
The Ba- The Ba-Ila or Ila-speaking tribes are a Bantu people of
Northern Northern Rhodesia in the valley of the Kafue River, which
Rhodesia is a northern tributary of the Zambesi. They believe in the
Supreme existence of a Supreme Being named Leza, who made men
and all things and inhabits the sky. They apply to him
Leza, who several epithets, such as Creator {^Chilenga or Namulengd)^
lives in the Moulder and Constructor (Shakapanga), with reference to
his creative power. Again he is spoken of as “ The Eternal
One”, and in relation to men as ‘‘The Guardian”, and “The
Giver ”. One of his titles means, “ Master, Owner of his
things ”, because he is believed to be not only the master,
but the owner of all, and the ordainer of the fate of all.
Such titles are commonly applied to Leza ; they are in no
sense esoteric, but may be heard on the lips of anybody.^
^ H. A. J unod, The Life of a South ^ H. A. Junod, The Life of a South
African Tribe^ ii. 398 sq. African Tribe^ ii. 399 sq.
2 H. A. Junod, The Life of a South ^ E. W. Smith and A. M. Dale,
African Tribe, ii. 296 ; id,, Les Ba~ The Ila-speaking Peoples of Northern
Ronga, p. 418. Rhodesia (London, 1920), ii. 197 sqq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 1 57
Another name given to Leza is “ The Faller with Leza gives
reference to the fall of rain. For of all the functions dis- ^
charged by Leza, that of bestowing rain on the earth is with it.
apparently the most important. Hence in popular speech
Leza is identified with the rain and with its common
accompaniments, thunder and lightning. Instead of saying,
'‘It rains*', they say, “ Leza falls"; instead of saying, “ it Leza
lightens", they say, “Leza is fierce"; instead of saying,
“ It thunders ", they say, “ Leza is making the reverberating natural
sound, ndi-ndi-ndi'\ or “Leza is beating his rugs’*. ‘^nleTasuch
thing struck by lightning is said to be “split by Leza ". as thunder,
And they identify, or at least associate, Leza with other
atmospheric phenomena. Thus the rainbow is called “Leza’s
bow" ; when the weather is very hot, they say, “ Leza is very
hot " ; when a wind is blowing they say, “ Leza blows ".^
Thus to the thinking of the natives Leza is the rain, Leza is
the thunder, Leza is the lightning, Leza is the heat, Leza is
the wind. In short, Leza is the sky and what comes from
it. His identification with the rain is particularly striking,
because the people have the common Bantu word for rain
{imvuld)^ yet they always speak of the rain as Leza in the
regular expression, “ Leza falls ", that is, “ rain falls ". Thus
the analogy between this African Sky-god and the great
Aryan Sky-god, of whom Zeus is the most familiar type,
appears to be complete.^
And the natural conditions which have favoured the Leza, like
development of such a conception are not dissimilar in the
two countries. Just as in Greece the long summer is almost as the
rainless, so is the winter season in the tropical climate of
Northern Rhodesia. There not a drop of rain falls from rain,
the end of March till the end of October. The small
rivers either disappear entirely or shrivel up into shallow
pools. As winter passes and the sultry month of August
comes in, the sun’s power waxes day by day, until in the
weeks that precede the rains the heat becomes almost
unbearable. Then a wonderful, an impressive change comes
over the landscape. In the azure heaven the dark clouds
gather, the wind suddenly veers round to the west, and a
' Smith and Dale, o/>. cit. ii. 202, 2 Smith and Dale, op. cit, ii. 204,
204. 205.
•58
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Leza
conceived
as a moral
being, a
lawgiver.
great storm bursts, sweeping over the country and heralding
the approach of the rainy season. The transformation of
the scene is magical. A day or two after the storm has
rolled away, and the thunder has ceased to peal, the light-
ning to flash, and the torrential rain to fall, nature wears a
new, a fresher, greener aspect. Millions of tiny seedlings
are pushing their way through the late parched and thirsty
soil. The people have hoed their fields and are now busy
planting them. For months, it may be, food has been
scarce ; and the coming of the rain has been anticipated
with eagerness and anxiety. Should it be delayed or the
fall be scanty, the disappointment is deep, the outlook is
gloomy. When a native speaks of Leza, this African Zeus,
as “The Compassionate'’, ‘‘The Kindly One”, he is thinking
of an abundant rainfall with all its blessed consequences for
mankind.^
These last epithets imply that Leza is not a simple
personification of natural forces, but a moral being, a per-
sonal god. He stands in some relationship to men ; he is
their god, not merely a Sky-god ; he is believed to have
established many customs, and to punish any breach of
them ; certain laws or regulations are called, “ God’s pro-
hibitions”.^ People swear by Leza and invoke him as a
witness to the truth of a solemn asseveration, as for example,
“Before God {Leza) I did not steal”.^ In short, the Ba-Ila
have risen to the conception of a great and powerful being,
who is closely related to the phenomena of the sky, but who
at the same time is the maker of all things and the guardian
of men. Yet they are far from conceiving of Leza as a
purely benevolent being. He is indeed over all ; as the
canopy of the sky he “covers us”, to adopt their expression,
but this is not altogether a comfort. For the most part the
natives regard him as an all-powerful Fate, to whom they
trace much of the evil and sorrow of life. A man who is
bereft of his children is spoken of as “one upon whom Leza
has looked ”, as if there was death in the mere look of the
Sky-god.^
1 Smith and Dale, op. cit. ii. 205. 3 Smith and Dale, op. cit, i. 355.
3 Smith and Dale, op. .cit. i. 345,
ii. 206, 207, 21 1. ** Smith and Dale, op. cit. ii. 207.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 159
But whatever his character, Leza is entirely distinct from Lcza quite
the worshipful* ghosts {niizhimo\ who once were living men, from"the
and who now are revered as the divinities of their descend- worshipful
ants. Nobody suggests that Leza was ever a man, nor is he
ever spoken of as a worshipful ghost. He stands in a class
by himself. It is true that legends assign to him a wife
and a family, but that does not imply his original humanity.
The ancestral ghosts {mizhimo) are near to men ; they are
of the same nature, they know human life from the inside,
they understand the wants of men, for they have been men
themselves. But it is not so with Leza ; he is far off and
takes little or no cognizance of the affairs of individuals.^
Hence there is a difference between the worship of The
Leza and the worship of the ancestral ghosts. While it is Leza^'^
necessary to invoke the help of the ghosts and to propitiate distinct
them with offerings, many tribes who acknowledge the wor^ip^^of
existence of Leza do not pray to him at all ; they think him ancestral
too far away, too indolent to heed the petty affairs of man-
kind. But the Ba-Ila do not adopt this view of the purely
apathetic and nonchalant character of Leza. They seek to
come into relationship with him. They look upon the
ancestral ghosts as mediators between Leza and themselves,
but on occasion they address him directly. They say that
‘‘ his ears are long meaning that he can hear even words
whispered in secret. But he has not, like the great ghosts,
any mouthpiece or prophet who periodically summons the
people to sacrifice to him. Generally speaking, it is only
on occasions of special need, when the help of lesser beings
has proved of no avail, that the natives fall back on Leza
as their last hope.^
As might be expected in the case of a god of the sky prayers to
and the rain, it is especially in seasons of drought that the
help of Leza is earnestly besought. Then the people chant
invocations to him, addressing him by his laudatory names.
One such refrain runs thus :
“ to us with a continued rain^ O Leza^ fall / ”
These prayers for rain are put up by the people in one or
more huts specially built for the purpose. But as the Ba-Ila,
^ Smith and Dale, op, cit, ii. 207 sq. ^ Smith and Dale, op. at. ii. 208.
^rayers of
milters to
^eza for
, access in
he chase.
i6o WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
like many other people, distrust the unassisted efficacy of
prayer, they have recourse to magic to reinforce their sup-
plications, and to extort rain from the sky. Accordingly
the services of a rain-maker are called in, and he performs
a ceremony with water and smoke, which, by imitating
clouds and rain, is supposed, on the principles of homoeo-
pathic magic, to produce or to assist in producing the desired
result.^ This combination of magic and religion is charac-
teristic of mankind in all ages and in all countries ; the
theoretical opposition of magic and religion presents no
obstacle to their simultaneous application in practice.
Again, when a party of hunters have been out in the
forest for many days and have had no luck, they build a
shed, and if there is a diviner among them, they inquire of
him what divinity it is that keeps them from killing game.
If the diviner discovers that it is Leza himself who is to
blame, he says to them, “ Let us go out of the shed and
sweep a clear space outside They do so, and then
with all their things they assemble at that clear space.
The eldest man takes his place in the middle, and with
the others sitting in a ring around him, he prays, saying,
“ O Eternal One, if it be Thou that keepest us from killing
animals, why is it? We pray Thee, let us kill to-day
before the set of sun.” When he has finished praying,
all the rest fall to the ground and cry, “ O Chief, to-day
let us kill Then they break up and go to the shed
to rest a while. Late in the afternoon they separate and
hunt. If one of them kills an animal, he calls his fellows,
and they clap their hands. One cuts off bits of meat from
the quarry and makes an offering, throwing a piece in the
air and saying, “ I thank Thee for the meat which Thou
givest me. To-day Thou hast stood by me.” They clap
their hands. Then they take the meat to the space cleared
for Leza. The oldest man arises, cuts off bits of meat and
makes an offering, saying, “ Chief, here is .some of the meat
Thou has given us. We are very grateful.” Then he
throws the morsels of meat into the air, and offers again
between the horns of the beast. Lastly they utter a shrill
greeting and divide the meat. They say, “ Who gave us
^ Smith and Dale, o/>. cit, ii. 208 sq.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA i6i
the meat ? It was Leza who gave it to us, not a divinity,”
that is, it was not given by one of the ancestral ghosts
{jnizkimo), who are the ordinary divinities of the people.^
Again, in sickness, when prayers to the ancestral ghosts Prayers to
have proved unavailing, people will pray directly to Leza
himself. In that case the head of the household fills a sick,
vessel with water and meal, pours some of the liquid on the
ground at the right side of the threshold, and prays thus :
Leza, I pray Thee. If it be Thou who hast made our
brother sick, leave him alone, that Thy slave may go about
by himself. Was it not Thou who createdst him on the
earth and said he should walk and trust Thee ? Leave Thy
child, that he may trust thee. Eternal One ! We pray to
Thee — Thou art the great Chief!’' He then fills his mouth
with water and squirts some out as an offering.*^
Further, when a man is travelling and arrives at a river, Prayers of
he sometimes takes the opportunity of offering a sacrifice to
Leza. Filling his mouth with water, he squirts some of it
on the ground and says this, or something like it : “ It is
Thou who leadest me. Now may I return with Thy pros-
perity from the place whither I am going, O Leza ! Go on
shepherding me well, my Master!”®
Again, among the Balumbu, one of the I la-speaking prayers of
tribes, when a party of fishermen are about to set a trap in
the river, the doctor or magician, whose business it is to
draw fish to their doom, wades into the water, fills his mouth
with magical stuff, and spits it all around. Then he prays,
saying, “ We are humble before thee. Make good, O Leza,
and give to us crocodiles and many fish ! ” If a crocodile
chances to be caught in the trap, where it flounders and
splashes about, it is looked upon as a happy omen ; for where
there is a crocodile, there the natives expect to find many
fish.^ Again, when hunters have killed an elephant and offerings
returned to the village, the occasion is celebrated by a ^^te^kniing
great feast. But before the people partake of the good an
cheer set out for them, they present offerings to Leza,
the ancestral spirits, and to the ghost of the deceased
^ Smitli and Dale, op. cit. ii. 209. 2 Smith and Dale, op. cit. ii. 210.
As to the worshi])ful ghosts or divini- ^ Smith and Dale, op. cit. ii. 21 1.
ties, see id. ii. 164 sqq. ^ Smith and Dale, op. cit. \. 161 sq.
VOL. I M
i 62
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Leza, his
wife, and
his mother-
in-law :
story of
the Origin
of Death.
elephant, who is supposed to have followed his slayers back
to the village. They pray, also, to the ghost, saying, “ O
Spirit, have you no brothers and fathers who will come to
be killed? Go and fetch them.” So the ghost of the
elephant goes away and rejoins the other elephants, where
he acts in the capacity of spiritual guardian, not to say, of
decoy, to his successor in the herd. In this excellent frame
of mind the ghost is presumably confirmed by the Sky-god
Leza in return for the offering which he has received from
the people.^
Leza is not conceived of as a solitary being. Accord-
ing to one account, he had a wife and a family of five
children, three sons and two daughters, likewise a mother
and even a mother-in-law. When his mother died, he
intended that she should come to life again, and he told his
wife so. But she said, “ No, let her die, .she has eaten all
my beans in the field ”. The argument was conclusive, and
Leza acquiesced in the mortality of his mother. Five
months later his mother-in-law died also, and his wife asked
that she might rise from the dead. But the prospect of his
mother-in-law returning to life was far from agreeable to the
Supreme Being, and he repelled the idea with natural in-
dignation. “ She return !” cried he, “and my mother already
rotten ! ” The wife said, “ Do you refuse, husband ? ” He
replied, “ Yes, I do refuse, for when my mother died you
refused”. So his wife had to put up with it, and said,
“ Let her die then. This is the great death.” That is how
death began in the world. It is all owing to the greed of
Leza’s wife, who prevented the resurrection of her mother-in-
law. Thereupon, Leza spoke to the people whom he had
sent down to earth. He said, “ I also shall die. And
when my heir begins to weep, I shall descend to you and
burn houses. Because here aloft my relation is dead, I
shall kill you on earth.” So he sent down diseases and
also medicines to cure them. Said he : “I give you both :
when a person is sick, doctor him. If I will that he live,
he will live ; if I will that he die, he will die.” And having
given Death to mankind, he also gave them a birth-medicine,
that the race should not die out.* In this account of the
I Smith and Dale, op. oil. i. 1 68. ^ Smith and Dale, op. oil. i. 102 .
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 163
Origin of Death the descent of Leza to earth and the
burning of" houses by him refer to the fall of rain and the
destruction of dwellings by lightning. The reference to the Perhaps an
death of Leza appears to imply that at the end of a rainy succession
season the Sky-god dies, and that at the next rainy season his of Lezas.
heir succeeds to his place and weeps for his predecessor in
the falling rain.^ If this inference is correct, we seem
obliged to suppose that, in the opinion of some at least of
the Ba-Ila, there is not a single immortal Leza, but an end-
less succession of them, who die and are mourned for every
year, like the annual death and laments for Thammuz,
Adonis, and Osiris in classical antiquity.
Some confirmation of this conclusion is perhaps furnished The great
by a native story which presents a curious analogy to "0°
Plutarch’s famous tale of the death of the Great Pan. In Leza, the
the year 1906 the Ba - 1 la were found to be mourning for
the death of Mwana Leza, that is the Son of the Sky-god.
It appeared that a certain man living somewhere in the
north was one day out hunting. He had wounded a wart-
hog and was following it. As he went through the open
country, there appeared before him something bright and
dazzling that reached from earth to heaven. The man fell
to the earth like one dead. Then he heard a voice saying,
“ Hast thou not heard that it is forbidden to eat the flesh of
wart-hog ? Stop following the tracks, and tell people that
if they persist in eating that flesh there will be trouble.
And — stay! Why is it that you people on earth have never
lamented the death of Mwana Leza who died so many years
ago ? Bid them weep.” The man presently returned to
his senses, and made his way home. He told the people
what he had seen and heard, but they only laughed at him.
A few days afterwards two people died very mysteriously
in the village. That was enough to set them mourning.
The deaths were accepted as a sign. “ Leza is angry with
us,” said they, “ come, let us weep So they began to
mourn as for a friend. Moreover, they sent messages to
the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, and they
in turn passed on the message to more distant villages,
until in a short time the people all over the country were
' Smith and Dale, op, cit. i. 102.
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
164
mourning for the death of the Son of the Sky-god. In some
places, perhaps in most, the matter was regarded in a most
serious light. The people would gather outside the village,
where the elders would solemnly warn them that there must
be no joking or playing. For more than a week the mourn-
ing would be carried out and the ashes from all the fires
collected and placed in a heap outside the village. Then a
pole would be set up by the heap in token that they had
obeyed Leza’s command to mourn the death of his Son.
So the Sky-god would pass by them and not blast their
village with lightning.^
The son of According to another account Mwana Leza, the Son of
the Sky- Sky-god, came down long ago in the country of Lusaka;
he was kind and gentle and went about telling people to
cease fighting. But they killed him at Chongo. His spirit
^ ^ now enters into many prophetesses, who foretell events and
urge people to live at peace with each other and to shed
blood no more.^
Smith and In the opinion of Messrs. Smith and Dale, to whom we
the story of a iTiost valuable account of the Ba-Ila, the story of
Mwana Mwana Leza is not a mere corruption of missionary teaching.
In the district where they first heard of it there were then no
missionaries, nor w'ere there any in the northern district
where the hunter saw the vision, nor in the districts of Lusaka
and Chongo, where the Son of the Sky-god is said to have
descended from heaven and to have been put to death.
Moreover, there is every sign, they tell us, that the story is
much older than the advent of missionaries among the
Ba-Ila. Mwana Leza is a personage who figures in the
folk-tales. Messrs Smith and Dale incline to think that the
story is an offshoot of Christian teaching grafted upon
an old native idea, and that while the tale may possibly
have come to the Ba-Ila through other tribes from the
preaching of Dr. Livingstone, it has more probably filtered
through from the old Jesuit missions in Portuguese East or
West Africa.® If they are right, the old native idea on
which the Christian teaching has been grafted might still be
the conception of a Sky-god who dies every year and whose
J Smith and Dale, op. cit. ii. 145 sq. ^ Smith and Dale, op. cit. ii.
2 Smith and Dale, op. cit. ii. 146.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 165
death is annually mourned at the beginning of the rainy
season. What more natural than to take the dark rain-
clouds for mourners weeping the death or the disappearance
of the radiant God, whose azure image they have blotted
out ?
Be that as it may, the Sky-god Leza, like many other story of
African Sky-gods, is associated with a story of the Origin ofof\)^ath"
Death which in all probability is very ancient, since, with Leza, the
minor variations, it occurs in the traditionary lore of many and the
African tribes scattered at immense distances from each
other over the continent. The 11a version of the story runs
as follows. The Sky-god Leza sent Chameleon to men
with the message, “ Go and tell men that they shall die and
pass away for ever So Chameleon set out on his journey,
but he travelled very slowly and often rested by the way.
When God saw that Chameleon loitered, he sent Hare to
men with another message, saying, Tell them that they
shall die and return ’’ . On his arrival Hare announced to
the people, “ You shall die and return But Chameleon
contradicted him, saying, “ No, that is not what God sent us
to say. He sent us, saying, ‘ They shall die and pass away
for ever ’ But Hare would not have it so. He stuck to
it that God had said, “ They shall return Thereupon he
went back to God in anger and said, “Yon person whom
you sent has told men that they will pass away for ever
“ All right ”, said the deity, “ let it be so as he has told
them That is the reason why men are mortal to this
day.^
In another I la version of the tale the parts of the Another
Chameleon and the Hare are reversed. God sent Hare to ^he^story.^
men, saying, “ Go and take a message of death to men.
You go also. Chameleon, and take a message of life.” The
Hare arrived first and announced, “ Men shall die and pass
away for ever ”, After he had delivered this message, up
came Chameleon and said, “ Men shall die and shall return”.
But it was too late : the doom of men was sealed.^
We have seen that stories of the Origin of Death,
conforming to the same type of the Two Messengers,
^ Smith and Dale, o/>. cit. ii. Smith and Dale, op. cit. ii.
100 lOI.
i66
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Belief of
the Ba-
Kaonde in
a great
Sky-god
called
Lesa.
Lesa
appealed
to for rain.
Oaths by
Lesa.
are commonly found among African tribes and always in
association with the Supreme Being or Sky-god.^
The Ba-Kaonde are a Bantu people inhabiting the
Kasempa district of Northern Rhodesia. They immediately
adjoin the Ba-Ila, who occupy the land to the south-east of
them. The Ba-Kaonde believe in the existence and power
of a great Sky-god called Lesa, who in name and character
appears to be substantially identical with the Leza of the
Ba-Ila. They believe that Lesa created the first man and
woman, and that he lives in the sky and manifests himself
by thunder, lightning, rain, and the rainbow. He kills
people not only by lightning but by sickness, accident, and
so on. What we call natural deaths are sometimes supposed
to be caused by him, but epidemics are more commonly
viewed as his handiwork. He is married to a wife named
Chandashi, who lives in the ground and manifests herself
by earth tremors, which are common in the country but
apparently do little damage. A native declared that he
knew the tremors were produced by a woman, “ because she
makes a lot of fuss and does nothing”.
The only occasion when the Ba-Kaonde appeal and
pray to Lesa is when they want rain, for they believe that
rain is a gift of Lesa. There are no professional rain-
makers in the tribe, but if the rainy season advances
without rain falling the people pray directly to Lesa to send
the needed showers, without which famine would ensue.
Early in the morning of the day appointed a tall white pole
is set up on the outskirts of the village, and all the people
gather there, men, women, and children. The headman sits
in the middle, near the pole, and the people sit in a circle
round about him. Then he prays, “ Thou God {Lesd)^ we are
all thy people. Send us rain ! ” At that all the people clap
their hands and then return to the village. The pole is allowed
to stand till it falls through the ravages of white ants or
other causes, and when it falls it is left to rot where it lies.®
One of the names applied to Lesa by the Ba-Kaonde is
^ See above, pp. 105 sq.^ 117, 133 (London, 1923), pp. 154
sq., 136.
2 F. H. Melland, In IVitch-lwund ^ F. II. Melland, op, cit. p. 155.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 167
Shyakapanga, which seems to correspond to the Shakapanga
('‘the Constructor") of the Ba-lla.^ Under this name the
Ba-Kaonde swear by Lesa, saying, “ May Shyakapanga
kill me ! " '
•Lesa created the first man and the first woman; the name
of the man was Mulonga, and the name of the woman was
Mwinambuzhi. Now the honey-guide bird was a friend of
the man and the woman, and Lesa called the bird and gave
him three gourds, all of which were closed at both ends.
“ Go, take these", he said, “to the man and woman whom I
have created, and open them not on the way. When you
hand them to the people, say unto them, ‘ Thus saith Lesa :
Open this one and that one which contain seeds for sowing,
so that you may have food to eat ; but the third one ye
shall not open until I come. When I come 1 will instruct
you as to the contents of the third package ’ ". The honey-
guide bird took the gourds and went on his way, but, his
curiosity getting the better of him, he disobeyed the Creator
and stopped to open them. In the first two gourds he found
seeds of corn, of beans, and of other food-crops, and having
examined them he put them back in the gourds, and closed
the gourds as they had been before. He then untied the
third gourd. But in it, alas ! were Death, and Sickness, and
all kinds of beasts of prey, and deadly reptiles. These all
escaped from the gourd, and the honey-guide bird could not
catch them. Then up came Lesa, and very angry was he,
to be sure. He asked the bird where were the things that
had escaped from the gourds, but the crestfallen bird could
only reply that he did not know. So Lesa and he w^nt in
search of them, and sure enough they found the lion in his
den, the snake in his lair, and so on with the rest of the
noxious creatures, but to catch them and put them back in
the gourd was beyond the power of Lesa and the honey-
guide bird. Then Lesa said sternly to the bird, “ Thou hast
sinned greatly, and the guilt is thine That frightened the
bird, and he flew away into the forest and dwelt there, and
he lived no longer with man. But whenever he hungered,
he would come back to his old friends, the man and the
woman, and call them to some honey which he had found ;
^ See above, p. 156. 2 jr, H. Melland, op, cit, p. 160.
Lesa
created the
first man
and
How
Death,
Sickness,
and Beasts
of Prey
were let
loose in the
world
through the
fault of the
honey-
guide bird.
The art of
making fire
imparted
by the
Creator.
Relicfof the
Aluncla in
a Creator-
god called
Nzambi,
1 68 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
and guided by him they would take the honey and leave a
little on the ground for him. Thus it was that death, sick-
ness, and fear came to man. The painful situation was
explained by the Creator with perfect frankness to the man
and his wife. He justly laid all the blame on the honey-
guide bird. “ That bird said he, ‘‘ is a great sinner. I told
him that on no account was the third gourd to be opened
until I came; but he disobeyed me. Thereby he has brought
you much trouble, sickness, and death, not to mention the
risks from lions, leopards, snakes, and other evil animals and
reptiles. This I cannot help now, for these things have
escaped and cannot be caught ; so you must build yourselves
huts and shelters to live in for protection from them.” ^
Few persons, probably, will be disposed to doubt that
this frank and lucid explanation entirely exonerates the
Creator from all blame in the momentous transaction. To
alleviate, as far as lay in his power, the disastrous effects of
the honey-guide bird’s ill-advised curiosity, he kindly taught
men to make fire by rubbing one stick on another ; more
than that he instructed them in the art of smelting iron and
of fashioning axes, hoes, and hammers.^
Among the Alunda, another Bantu tribe of Northern
Rhodesia, whose territory adjoins that of the Ba-Kaonde on
the north-west, the name of the Creator-god is not Lesa or
Leza, but Nzambi, which, as we have seen, is the usual name
of the deity throughout the valley of the Congo.^ The
Alunda believe that Nzambi is remote from mankind and
inaccessible to them. Apart from the act of creation, his
influence on human affairs is deemed to be indirect and
negligible ; he is obscured by the vast crowd of tribal spirits
who interfere directly in every phase of life on earth. Yet
he is said to be the creator of all things, of vegetables and
minerals as well as of animals ; he also made all spiritual
beings. '‘It is his business to make spirits in the tribal
sense, but not in the family sense, except indirectly ”. He
is somewhat of a tribal deity, and the ancestor of the family
spirits (akis/ii) is supposed to have been made by him. His
name is constantly used in oaths, Nzambi yami that is
' F. H. Melland, op. cit. pp. 156- 2 p n Mellancl, op. cit. p. 159.
159- ^ Above, pp. 14 1 sgq.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 169
“My God!” both seriously and profanely; and in legal cases
it is usual to swear to the truth of a statement by the name
of Nzambi. Yet no prayers arc offered to him, and he is
not an object of worship. Indeed, he is hardly treated with
reverence ; for many jokes are cracked at his expense, and
he is taunted with his stupidity in sending rain when it is
not wanted, and so forth. Unlike the Ba-Kaonde, the Alunda
do not pray to Nzambi for rain. But on the other hand
they do pray for rain to the family spirits {akisht), that is,
to dead ancestors, for these powerful beings are supposed to
be able to turn on the celestial water-taps at certain seasons.'
It is said that in the twilight of antiquity Nzambi slid How
down to earth on a rainbow, and finding the earth a pleasant created'
place he improved it by creating animals, trees, and so forth. “"‘i
Afterwards he created a man and a woman, and said to
them, “ Marry and beget children ! ” He also put spirits
{akishi) into their bodies. He laid only a single prohibition .story of
on mankind, and it was thi.s, that none might sleep while
the moon walked the skies, and the penalty for transgression
of this command was to be Death. Well, when the first
man grew old and his sight failed, it chanced one night that
the moon was veiled behind clouds, and with his dim eyes
the old man did not see her silvery light. So he slept, and
sleeping died. Since then everybody has died because
nobody can keep awake while the moon is up.^
But while among the Alunda the Sky-god bears the Lez.i or
name of Nzambi, his more usual appellation amone thgi'esaihe
- . . . ^ commoner
tribes of this region vvould seem to be Leza or Lesa, which name of the
is said to be applied to him from the Kasai River in the
basin of the Congo on the west to Lake Nyasa on the east;^ Africa,
and from Lake Tanganyika on the north to the Zambesi
River on the south.^
Among the Bantu tribes of the Upper Zambesi the
lame for the Supreme Being or Sky-god varies ; the names on fh J
vhich appear to be most frequently applied to him are Leza
Zambesi.
^ J. L. Keith, in F. II. Melland, ^ D. Campbell, In the Heart of
hi Witch-bound Africa^ pp. 162 sq. Bantuland (London, 1922), p. 246.
^ C. Gouldsbury and H. Sbeane,
^ J. L. Keith, in F. H. Melland, The Great Plateau of Northei n Rhodesia
hi Witch-bound Africa^ pp. 164 sq. (London, 1911), p. 80.
170
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
BeliefofUie and Nyambc (Niambe).^ Thus among the Ba-Rotse or
a powifui Ma-Rotse, who occupy a vast region traversed by the upper
God and waters of the Zambesi almost from its source to a point
cai!ed°*^ beyond the great Victoria Falls, there is reported to exist
Niambe. the belief in an all-powerful god, the creator of the universe,
to whom they give the name of Niambe. To him as the
great cause they ascribe everything that happens, whether
good or evil ; nothing can be done against his will. He is
personified by the sun ; yet the Ba-Rotse insist that the sun
is not Niambe himself, but only his dwelling-place. The
moon is his wife, and from their union sprang the world, the
animals, and last of all man. But the cunning, the in-
telligence, and the audacity of man frightened his Creator.
Having made himself spears, man went about killing the
Alarmed at animals. At first the benevolent Niambe restored the dead
ofniaTidnd^ creatures to life ; but as man persisted in slaughtering them,
Niambe Niambe was so much alarmed that he took refuge in heaven,
retreated to .
heaven. ^o which he mounted up on a spider’s web. From that
coign of vantage he is able, at his pleasure, either to benefit or
Prayers to injure mankind ; that is why people pray to him, and
fices^to^'* sometimes offer him sacrifices. Thus in the morning, the
Niambe. worshipper of Niambe will make a little heap of sand and
set a vessel full of water on the top of it ; then when the
sun appears on the horizon, the devotee will give the royal
salute, raising his arms several times to the sky and crying “ Yo
cho ! Yo cho ! ” After that, he falls on his knees and claps
his hands. The water is offered to the god for his use in
his journey across the sky ; for it is natural to suppose
that in the heat of the day the deity will be thirsty.
Another reason for offering it to the rising sun is that every-
thing good comes from the east, whereas everything bad
comes from the west. In a long drought the people sacrifice
to Niambe a black ox as a symbol of the black rain-clouds
which they wish to see lowering overhead. Again, the
women invoke Niambe before they sow their fields. At
such times they gather all their hoes and the seed in a heap,
and standing in a circle round the heap they address their
prayers to the deity, beseeching him that he would be pleased
1 E, Jacottet, Etudes sur les langues dti Hant-Zanibhey Seconde Partie,
Textes Soubiya (Paris, 1899), p. 102.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 17 1
to make their labour fruitful. In case of sickness, also, people
consult a diviner, who ascertains the will of Niambe by
means of his divining bones, and on receipt of a fee consents
to heal the patient.^
Speaking of the Barotse and neighbouring tribes, an The sun
explorer towards the end of the nineteenth century observed :
‘‘These Upper Zambezi natives, like the Masarkwas andHarotseas
many other African tribes, worship the sun as the visible onhlgreat
sign of a great unseen God, and have been described to me unseenGod
by a missionary as a very religious people. On the eve
of battle they petition their deity ; prior to starting on a
hunting expedition they pray for success ; and when they
plant their gardens they ask for the blessings of Niambe
(God), though it must be confessed they seem to busy
themselves much more in their endeavours to propitiate the
evil spirits to whose malice they attribute all deaths as well
as the troubles and misfortunes of this mortal life. In
obeisance to the sun they kneel on the ground and lower
the body until the forehead rests on the earth.’’
Yet though the Barotse recognize Niambe as the But the
Supreme God, it is not to him, but to the inferior deities that p^y^heir
they most frequently address their petitions. These lesser devotions
gods, to whom the people commonly turn in their distress,
are the spirits of their dead kings, who have been raised to their
the rank of divinities {ditind). Their tombs are carefully
kept up, and it is to them that the worshippers resort in
time of need to consult the royal ghosts.® The tomb of such The tombs
a deified king is always in the neighbourhood of the village
which he inhabited in life. It regularly stands in a grove of
beautiful trees, which is surrounded by a lofty palisade.
The whole enclosure is sacred. No one may enter it except
the guardian of the tomb, who is at the same time a sort of
priest, for he acts as intermediary between the ghost of the
dead king and the suppliants who come to implore his aid
or ask his advice."^ The range of these deified spirits is
limited, for they are strictly attached to their tombs. They
^ E. B^guin, Zifi* Lausanne A/rica, (London, 1898) p.
et Fontaines, 1903), pp. 118 S(/. 130.
^ E. Beguin, Les Ma-Rotsiy p. 120.
2 Captain A. St. IL Gibbons, Ex- ^ E. Beguin, les Ma- Rotsi^ pp.
ploration and Hunting in Central 120 sq.
172
IVORS HIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
have no relation to Niambe, who dwells in the sky and can
be invoked anywhere, since his abode is in the sun. He
is the Supreme God, but the people know very little about
him. Hence they prefer to address themselves to the local
divinities, who were historical personages, national heroes,
whose deeds are commemorated in legend. These mighty
beings, now dowered with immortality, are alone in a position
to succour or to punish mortals. Their tombs, scattered
over the country, keep their names fresh in the memory of
the people, who can name their deceased monarchs for ten
generations back.^
Belief ofthc The Louyi, another tribe of the Upper Zambesi, tell
god^ ^ similar stories about Nyambe (Niambe). They say that he
Nyambe, formerly lived on earth with his wife Nasilele, but that he
dvveiis^'^ ultimately retired to the sky for fear of men. For whenever
in the sky. he carvcd one piece of wood, men were sure to carve
another ; for example, if the deity whipped out his knife
and cut a plate, men took their knives and cut out just
such another. This was more than the deity could bear ; so
he mounted on a spider’s web to heaven. They say,
indeed, that originally he had fallen down from heaven to
earth.'^
Stories of Be that as it may, the Louyi, like many other African tribes,
orD^uh” ^l^l^^'ibute the origin of human mortality to the action of their
Nyambe, Sky-god. They say that it fell out in this way. Nyambe’s
his died, and Nyambe said, “ Let my dog live”. But his
in-law. wife objected to the proposal on the ground that the dog was
a thief. Nyambe pleaded for the animal, saying, “ For my
part, I love my dog But his wife was inexorable. “ Cast
him out ”, she said peremptorily. So together they heaved
him out. After that it happened that the deity’s mother-in-
law departed this vale of tears. Her daughter, the wife of
* E. Beguin, les Ma-Rots^y pp.
122 sq. Compare L. Decle, Three
Years in Savage Africa (London, 1898),
p. 74: “The Barotse chiefly worship
the souls of their ancestors. When
any misfortune happens, the witch-
doctor divines with knuckle -bones
whether the ancestor is displeased, and
they go to the grave and offer up
sacrifice of grain or honey. They
believe in a Supreme Being, ‘ Niambe
who is supposed to come and take
away the spiritual part of the dead.
Thus, to express a man dead, they
say, ‘ O Nkeloe had ’ (he has been
taken).”
E. Jacottet, Etudes sur les la^igues
du llaut-Zambhey Troisieme Partie,
I'extes Louyi (Paris, 1901), pp. 116
sq.y 1 18.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 173
the deity, said to her divine husband, ** Let her come to life
again But the deity would not hear of it. “ By no
manner of means he replied, “ let her die and be done with
it. I told you that my dog ought to come to life again and
you refused ; well, it is my will that your mother die once
for all.” The story is apparently told to account for the story of
origin of human mortality ; but for the same purpose the Messengers
Louyi tell another tale which conforms to the common type cham-
of the Two Messengers. They say that Nyambe and histh^harie
wife sent the chameleon and the hare to bear messages to
men. They told the chameleon to say to men, Ye shall
live” ; and they told the hare to say to them, “Ye shall die
for good and all ”, So off the two animals went to deliver
their respective messages. But the chameleon kept returning
on his footsteps, whereas the hare ran straight on. So he
arrived before the chameleon and announced to men that
they were to die for good and all. After he had delivered
his message he returned. And still, when men die, they die
for good and all, as the hare told them to do.^
The Louyi say that when Nyambe had climbed up to How men
the sky on the spider's web, he said to men, “ Worship me cUmi/up
But, far from complying with this command, men said one ^leaven
1-11 XT 1 ,1 1. kill
to the other, “Let us kill Nyambe . lo carry out this Nyambe:
nefarious design, they planted tall poles in the earth, and
tied other poles to the tops of them, and so on to a great Babci.
height. Then they swarmed up the poles, intending to
beard Nyambe in heaven and murder him. But before they
reached the sky, the poles tumbled down, and the men fell
down with them and perished.^
The Louyi allege that Nyambe is the sun. When the Nyambe
sun rises, they say, “ Behold our king, he has appeared ! ”
They worship him saying, “ Mangwe ! Mangzve ! Mangwe ! by the
our King ! ” ^ Here accordingly the conception of the Sky-
god appears to approach, if not to merge into, the conception
of the god of the Sun. We have seen that in the religion
of the Barotse the Sky-god is closely associated with the
* Y. P/i/des sur /es du Haul -'Aamb^zc^ Troisiemc Partie,
dll Ilaiit-ZambHey Troisiemc Partie, 'J'extes Louyi, 118.
Textes Louyi, pp. 116 sq. Compare ^ Y. Etudes sur les iangues
the Ila stories, above, p. 165. dti Haut-ZamhHe, Troisiemc Partie,
^ E. Jacottet, Etudes stir les lances Textes Louyi, p. 1 18.
174
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
sun, and the same union or confusion of the Sky-god with
the Sun-god will meet us in other tribes of Eastern Africa.
The Sky. The Soubiya, another tribe of the Upper Zambesi, tell
Lel^^by the similar tales of the Sky-god, but they call him Leza instead
Soubiya. of Nyambe. They say that originally Leza was a very
strong man who lived on earth. When he was in his hut
{khotla ?), it was as if the sun were sitting there. So men
stood in great fear of him. One day Leza ascended to the
sky. They say that he spun a very long spider’s w.eb and
climbed up it to heaven. Some other people tried to climb
up the spider’s web after him, but they could not manage
it, and they fell to the ground. Then they said, “ Let us
put out the spider’s eyes”. So they caught the spider and
put out its eyes. That is why the spider has been blind
ever since ; at least the Soubiya believe that the spider is
blind.^
An African Afterwards men erected a very tall scaffold and said,
BabeT to heaven But they did not succeed, they
tumbled down, and gave up the attempt for fear of being
dashed to pieces. Aforetime men had dwelt with Leza
under a great tree, one of the trees which the people call
Sacredtrees ibozu. Such trees are usually solitary ; one of them is
worship of commonly to be found near a village. They are all sacred,
Leza. and the natives deposit their offerings under their shadow.
Well, it was beneath one of these holy trees that the Soubiya
dwelt of old with Leza. It was there that they performed
the offices of religion, because they said that their chief
lived there. They brought sheep and goats in great
numbers to the tree, that Leza might have food to eat.
One day Leza met a man under the tree and said to him,
‘‘ Where do you come from ? ” The man answered, “ I am
bringing your goats ”. Leza said to him, “ Return to your
village and say : Thus saith Leza, when ye shall see a great
dust, then shall ye know that it is Leza”. The man returned
to his village and spoke as he had been commanded. One
day the people saw a great dust : it was Leza. A hurricane
blew : they knew that it was Leza. They gathered and sat
down in the public place. Leza came and took up his post
1 E. Jacottet, Jttudes sur les langues Textes Soubiya (Paris, 1899), PP* 102-
du Haui-ZambhCj Seconde Partie, 104.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 175
in a tree. The people heard him speak as follows : “ It is 1,
Leza ; ye shall see me no more on earth They looked
up, but they could not see him. Even a man who asked
Leza for snuff could not see him ; all he saw was his snuff-
box. Leza spoke to them thus, saying, “Worship my house”,
and by his house he meant the sacred tree {ibozu) under
which he had dwelt of old in the midst of his people.^
They say that Leza has a wife in the sky, to which he Leza, his
ascended. They say also that he has a son. It is reported
that Leza in his wrath would have killed all the men on earth,
if his wife had not dissuaded him. He gave ear to her advice
and relinquished his project of a general massacre. Another
day it was his wife who, in her anger, would have slain the
women, if her husband in his turn had not objected to the
sanguinary proposal. Another day it was their son who
thirsted for the blood of the children, his companions. But
his father and mother were angry with him for his bloody
purpose, and they beat him with rods, so that he wept. To
this day, when men see stars shooting down from the sky,
they utter cries and say that it is Leza, their chief, coming
to examine his children who remain here on earth. They
affirm that they were not created by Leza, but that they
fell from a dry and withered tree.^
Leza said to a certain woman, “ Thou shalt be the The
mother of all men. Thou shalt die, and then they will ofTeln.
worship at thy tomb.” To this day, when they worship
Leza, they bring red beads and say that Leza, their chief,
hears them. They set up little tables on the spot where
they worship him. When they worship him they clap their
hands and say, “ We worship thee, O our chief, hear us.
Thou art the great chief who givest with both hands.”
When they worship thus, they bend their heads to the earth
and lift their hands towards the sky. And when they have
finished their supplications they return home, but only to
come back and repeat their prayers, their obeisances, and the
stretching out of their hands to heaven on the next occasion.®
^ E. JsLCoitetf stir /es /an^tes du Ilaut- Zamldze, Seconcle Partie,
du Haut - Zambhe^ Seconde Partie, Textes Soubiya^ pp. 105 5^.
Textes Sotdnya^ pp. 104 sq, ^ E. Jacottet, Ktudcs sur les langues
du Hatit -ZambHe, Seconde Partie,
^ E. Jacottet, Etudes stir /es langues Textes Soubiya^ pp. 107 sq.
176
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Story of the The Soubiya explain the origin of human mortality by
Death '^a stories like those which the Louyi tell on the same profound
man, his subject.^ One of the stories is that of a man, his dog, and
hi^^mother- ^is mother-in-law ; for in the Soubiya version the story is
in-law. told, not of the Supreme God, but of an ordinary man, whose
name is not recorded. In the Soubiya version the man
shows himself less hard than Nyambe in the matter of his
deceased mother-in-law ; for when she died he made a
successful attempt to bring her back to life, though when
his dog had died his unfeeling wife had positively refused
to let him resuscitate the animal. What happened was
this. When his mother-in-law died, he at first would not
hear of her resurrection ; but at last, yielding to the en-
treaties of her daughter, his wife, he said, Bring her into
the hut So they brought her in ; and when they had
done so, the man went in search of a medicine which
restores the dead to life. This he brought, and having
cooked it, he gave it to the dead woman to eat. When she
had done masticating it, she revived and sat up, looking
very fat. Then the man went out of the hut and said
to his wife, “Don’t open the door of that hut. If you do,
your mother will die again.” His wife said, All right”.
So he shut the door behind him and went away to dig
up another medicine. But scarcely was his back turned
when his wife opened the door of the hut, and there sure
enough she saw her mother sitting up in the middle of the
hut. But when her mother saw her, the heart went out of
her, and she died for the second time.
When the husband came back with the medicine he
found his mother-in-law dead again. He asked his wife,
“ Did you open the door of the hut ? ” The woman
answered, “ Certainly it was not I ”. “ Who was it then
that did it?” inquired the husband. “I don’t know,” quoth
she. Then the man said, “ I’ll resuscitate your mother no
more ”. But his wife said, “ I implore you, do resuscitate
her”. “Certainly not,” replied her husband, “ I am tired of
resuscitating your mother ; I will not do it again, l^ury
her”. So they buried her. Then the man said, “ Hence-
forth all men will die thus, just like your mother”. It was
^ See above, pp. 172
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 177
thus that Death entered into the world through the decease
of a man's dog and of his mother-in-law.^
But the Soubiya also tell that other and more usual Another
story to account for the origin of death which we may call thc^^oHgin
the Story of the Two Messengers ; and they relate it in the of Death :
I.rfCZcl tll.6
ordinary and orthodox form, in which the two messengers chameleon
arc a chameleon and a lizard. They say that the chameleon
was sent by Leza to men to tell them, “Ye men, when ye
shall see somebody die, say not that he is really dead ; nay,
he is not really dead ; men will come to life again So
the chameleon set off with this cheering intelligence. But
when the chameleon had got about half way, Leza said to
the lizard, “ Go and say, men will die and will not come to
life again. Begone : if you find the chameleon already
arrived, say nothing ; but if you find that he has not yet
come, tell men that they will die of a truth and not come
to life again." When the lizard set out, he ran and overtook
the chameleon who was crawling slowly and had not yet
arrived at the men’s village. So the lizard passed him and
ran on. He came to the men and said to them, “ Leza says
that ye shall die of a truth and not come to life again".
Then he returned to Leza and told him, “ I found that the
chameleon had not arrived among men". Leza thanked him.
As for the chameleon, the storyteller did not know what
became of him.‘^
The Nyanja or Manganja are a Bantu people who TheNyanja
inhabit the Shire highlands and the southern shores of Lake Manganja.
Nyasa, both on the western and, to a lesser extent, on the
eastern side of the lake. About the middle of the nineteenth
century the northern Nyanja tribes, to the west of the lake,
were conquered by a tribe of Zulus, called the Angoni, who
invaded the country from the south, and imposed some of
their habits and customs on the Nyanja, but adopted their
language. At the present time the Zulu language has
entirely given place to Nyanja (Chinyanja) in one or other
of its dialects ; thus most of the inhabitants of Central
^ Aftides stir les langties 2 Y., Rttides sur les laugues
du Haut -Zambeze^ Seconde Partie, dti Hatit^Zamhhe^ Seconde Partie,
Textes Soubiya^ pp. 1095'^. Textes Sonbiya^ pp. 111-114.
VOL. I
N
178
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Mulungu,
ihe name
for God
among the
Nyanja.
Other
names for
the deity.
Ideas of the
Nyanja
about the
deity.
Angoniland, to the west of Lake Nyasa, are of Zulu descent,
but speak the Nyanja language. Another tribe who harried
and raided the Nyanja were the Yaos ; it was under the
pressure of these more warlike neighbours that a body of
Nyanja settled on the eastern shore of Lake Nyasa.^
Among the Nyanja the general name for god is Mulungu
or Mlungu, which appears in Swahili as Muungu, and in
Lomwe and Makuwa as Mluku. Under this term are in-
cluded not only the deity, but all that appertains to the
spirit world. Whether in its primary sense it conveys the
idea of personality is uncertain, for the word belongs to an
impersonal class of nouns, and always takes the concord of
an impersonal class. When, however, the deity is alluded
to in respect of any of his attributes, there is no doubt that
personality is attributed to him, as when the Nyanja speak
of Leza, the Nurse”, “ Mlengi, the Creator”, “ Mphambi,
the heavens ”, and ** Chauta, the Almighty ”. Other names
are also applied to the Supreme Being, as Chanjiri,
Chinsumpi, Mbamba, Mphezi, but these are generally con-
fined to certain local manifestations of the deity in the
persons of men who claim to possess the divine powers and
to be invested with the divine attributes. For example, in
the year 1910 an individual appeared in South Angoniland
who arrogated to himself the possession of such powers
under the name of Chanjiri, the Supreme God. In that
capacity he demanded offerings from the people and forbade
them to pay the annual tax to the British Government.
Whilst the names Leza and Chauta are the common appel-
latives of the deity among the neighbouring Awemba and
Atonga, the name Mulungu is universally understood to
signify the Supreme Being, and among the Nyanja people
it is the only name in use.^
But by whatever names they call him, we are assured
by a careful and competent inquirer that the Nyanja believe
in one all-powerful Being who has his abode in or above the
* L. T. Moggridge, “The Nyassa- land Rattray, Some Folklore Stories
\2XiAYi\hQ%'^\ Journal of the Ant hropo- and Songs in Chinyanja (London,
logical InstitutCy xxxii. (1902) pp. 467, 1907), p. viii.
468 ; A. Hetherwick, j.z'. “Nyanjas”, ^ A. Hetherwick, s^v. “Nyanjas”,
in J. Hastings’ Encyclopaedia of Re- in J. Hastings’ Encyclopaedia of Re-
ligion and Ethics^ ix. 419 ; R. Suther- ligion and Ethics ^ ix. 419 sq.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 179
sky. He is supposed to be the creator of all things and to
rule the great forces and phenomena of nature, such as rain,
thunder and lightning, earthquakes, and winds. He has
many names, such as Chauta or Chiuta, Leza, Chanjiri, and
Mpambe, but they all signify the one great Power. He is
not a spirit (maimu) in the native sense, for mzimu, as
understood by the Nyanja, is the soul of a human being
who once lived on earth. The deity of the Nyanja is rather,
we are told, “ a supreme power having in him the nature of
a soul of the universe, but here the resemblance to the
Creator of the civilized peoples of the earth ends, for the
Supreme Being [of the Nyanjas] takes no concern whatever
in the affairs of mankind, as the spirits do. He is totally
indifferent to good or evil, nor is he even appealed to in
temporal matters as are the spirits of ancestors, except only
in cases of drought.’^ ^
If the rains do not come at the expected time, the Nyanja Prayers of
say, ‘‘ Look at this, the rain keeps refusing to fall from
above ; come, let us try to propitiate the rain spirit, and for rain,
perhaps the rain may come So they collect maize, and
grind and pound it, and they boil the beer and pour it into
a gourd-cup, and next morning at dawn they all come to-
gether and they go to the rain temple, taking the beer with
them. Now the rain temple is a miniature hut about two
feet high, or it may be two or three such little huts built
close together. The temple is generally in the village, but
sometimes it stands in the forest And when they are come
to the temple, they clear away the grass that the ground
may be open. He who is chief of the ceremony sits in the
middle, and first draws some of the beer, and pours it in a
pot buried in the ground, and says, “ Master Chauta, you
have hardened your heart towards us, what would you have
us do ? We must perish indeed. Give your children the
rains. There is the beer we have given you.” Then the
people begin to clap their hands and to make a shrill sound,
clicking their tongues against their cheeks ; they sing also,
swaying their bodies backwards and forwards, and keep
saying, “ Pardon, pardon ”. When they have done propitiat-
ing the rain spirit, they take the beer that remains, and dip
^ R. S. Rattray, Some Folk-lore Stories and Songs in Chinyanja^ p. 198.
i8o WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
a cup in it, and give every one to drink, just a little ; even
the children must sip it. After that they take branches of
trees and begin to dance and sing, saying,
‘‘ T/t/s little cloudy and this,
This little cloud, and this,
Let the rains cojne udth this little cloud.
Give us water.
Our hearts arc dry,
Krolc.
Give us water.
Our hearts are dry,
Krdle.^^
When they come to the village they find that an old woman
has drawn water in readiness and put it at the doorway ;
and the people dip their branches in the water and wave
them aloft, scattering the drops. Then they see the rain
come in heavy storm-clouds.^ Thus the prayer for rain
addressed to Master Chauta, the Rain-god, is reinforced by a
pantomime in imitation of a shower ; in short, the Nyanja,
like so many other peoples, supplement religion by magic.
TheYaos The Yaos or Wayas are a Bantu tribe who dwell at the
Nyasa^'^ southern end of Lake Nyasa and farther to the south in the
Shire Highlands. Their original home seems to have been
the large and lofty plateau which lies to the east of Lake
Nyasa and is bounded by the Rivers Rovuma and Lujenda.
From there they were driven westward to the lake and
southward to the mountains by the pressure of enemies
about the time when Livingstone first entered their country.^
Physically they are said to be the finest of the South Nyasa
tribes and to be remarkable for a higher sense of personal
decency and a lower standard of morality than their neigh-
bours.^ Their theology seems to resemble that of the Nyanja.
Beiiefofthe Like them, the Yaos believe in a Creator whom they call
Creitor ^ Mulungu. They say that Mulungu made the world, and
called man, and animals. Far in the interior of the continent,
Mulungu. north-west, beyond the plains and swamps of
the Loangwa River and Lake Bangweolo, there lies, in Yao
1 R. S. Rattray, Some Folklore C^nUo] Journal of the Anfhro-
Stories and Songs in Chinyanja, pp. pological Institute, xxxii. {1902) p. 89.
118 with the note on pp. 204 sq. ^ L. T. Moggridge, “The Nyassa-
2 A. rietherwick, “Some animistic \AndTiihes'\ Jo 7 irnal of the A ntkrofo-
Belicfs among the Yaos of British logical Institute, {igo2) p.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA i8i
legend, a lake, and in the midst of the lake is an island, and
in the island is a large flat rock, and on the rock are the
footprints of men and animals of all kinds. When that rock
was a heap of moist clay, Mulungu created all living things
and sent them across the soft mass, where their footprints,
now hardened into solid rock, may be seen to this day.
Such is the Yao story of the creation of the world, or at all
events of living creatures. To the mind of the people
Mulungu is always the Great Creator.^ To him is ascribed
the sending of the rain, but apparently he has no part in
giving good crops or causing a plentiful harvest, neither does
he take any direct interest in human affairs.*^ However, he
is thought to receive the spirits of the dead. If he refuses
to receive a man’s spirit, that man continues to live. When
a patient has recovered from some malady which commonly
proves fatal, the natives say, Mulungu refused him ”, or
“ Mulungu spat him out”.^
Nevertheless it appears that in this sense Mulungu is ideas of
hardly conceived of as a personal being. Indeed we are
informed that the untaught Yao refuses to ascribe to Mulungu.
Mulungu any idea of personality. To him the word denotes
rather a quality or faculty of the human nature whose
signification he has extended so as to embrace the whole
spirit world ”. Hence the term is employed to designate the
world of spirit in general or, more properly speaking, the
aggregate of the spirits of all the dead.'^ But apart from its
use in this collective sense the word mulungu denotes any The word
single human soul after death ; for the Yaos believe that the
soul survives the death of the body, and that in its dis- any human
embodied state it exercises a potent influence on the lives ^le^th
and fortunes of those whom it has left behind in the world.
Hence the souls of the dead are powers to be honoured and Worship of
propitiated, and their worship enters largely into the religious
and social life of the Yaos. In almost every Yao village
there is a shrine which forms the centre of the worship of
* A. Iletherwick, op. cit. p. 94. earth”, which seems to contiadict the
^ H. S. Stannus, “The Wayao of testimony of the Rev. Dr. Hetherwick,
Nyasaland ”, Harvard African Sindies one of our highest authorities on the
(Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A., 1922), tribes of Nyasaland.
p. 312. Dr. Stannus adds, “Nor is ^ H. S. Stannus, op. cit. p. 313.
he ‘ Cod the Creator of man or ^ A. Hetherwick, op. cit. p. 94.
Shrines on
the graves
of dead
chiefs.
Ambiguity
consequent
on the
double use
of the word
Mulungu.
182 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
the inhabitants. It is a wooden hut enclosed by a strong
fence or hedge of cactus, and is built on the grave of a dead
chief. The soul {mulungu) of the chief is supposed either
to inhabit the hut or at least to be there accessible to his
worshippers. The worship paid to the soul of the deceased
chief, or indeed to the soul of any dead man, is called
kulomba mulungu. If a chief is about to go to war or to
undertake a long journey, he must lay an offering at the
shrine of his dead predecessor in order to secure his favour
and help. If a long drought threatens to spoil the harvest,
the deceased ruler must be entreated to send the needed
rain. The living chief or any near relative of the deceased
acts as priest on the occasion. He opens the gate of the
fence, pours beer into the pot at the head of the grave, and
deposits a basket of porridge and a plate of meat on the
sepulchral mound. Then he retires, and kneeling down out-
side the gate looks towards the shrine, and chants his prayer.
Meanwhile all the people who have accompanied him clap
their hands in unison with his utterances and chant the
responses. But it is only the graves of chiefs or headmen
which are thus treated as shrines and become the seat of
worship. Common folk and slaves are buried in the wilder-
ness, where only the rank grass or a thicket of old trees
marks their last place of rest. No offerings are ever carried
thither, for they who sleep in these neglected graves can
have no influence in the spirit world, and therefore cannot
affect the fortunes of the living.^
But where the same word Mulungu is applied indifferently
to the Creator and to the soul of a dead chief, it may some-
times be difficult to discriminate between these two very
different sorts of being, and there must be a certain danger
of confusing the one with the other. The ambiguity does
not exist, or at all events is greatly lessened, in languages
which draw a sharp line of distinction between the two
different kinds of beings by assigning a name like Leza or
Nyambe to the Creator and a totally different name to the
inferior spirits. But among the Yao, when we hear of worship
paid to Mulungu {kulomba niulungu\ it may often be open
to doubt whether it is the Creator or a deified chief who is
* A. Hetherwick, op. cit. pp. 92 sq.
Y WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 183
supposed to receive the adoration of the worshippers. For
example, outside of a village or beside a headman's hut may
often be seen a rough shed in which the first-fruits of the
new crop are placed by the villagers as a thank-offering for
the harvest. Again, a small offering of flour or beer is
occasionally set at the foot of the tree in the village court-
yard, where men sit and talk or work. Again, a devout
native, sitting down to a meal, will throw a morsel of food
at the root of the nearest tree as an offering to Mulungu
before he begins to eat. Once more, a traveller on a
journey will sometimes stop and lay a little flour in a
pyramidal heap at the foot of a tree by the wayside or at
an angle where two roads meet. All these acts of worship
are addressed to Mulungu ; but whether the Mulungu in
question is the Creator, or the soul of a dead chief, or some
other spirit, we are not told, and perhaps the native himself
might be at a loss to tell. The distinction in the native
mind ”, we are told, “ is ever of the haziest. No one will
give you a dogmatic statement of his belief on such points.” ^
Of the Angoni or Ngoni, who inhabit a treeless and TheAngoni
undulating tableland about four thousand feet above sea Supreme" ^
level, to the west of Lake Nyasa, we are told that, “although God, the
they do not worship God, it is nevertheless true that they ^ut think
have a distinct idea of a Supreme Being. The Ngoni call has
him Umkurumqango, and the Tonga and Tumbuka call him fhe^|ov^n-
Chiuta, It may be that the natives, from an excess of
1 r 1- rr WoHd tO
reverence as much as from negligence, have ceased to offer the inferior
him direct worship. They affirm that God lives : that it is spints.
He who created all things, and who giveth all good things.
The government of the world is deputed to the spirits, and
among these the malevolent spirits alone require to be
appeased, while the guardian spirits require to be entreated
for protection by means of sacrifices. I once had a long
conversation on this subject with a witch-doctor who was a
neighbour for some years, and the sum of what he said was,
that they believe in God who made them and all things, but
they do not know how to worship Him. He is thought of
^ A. Hetherwick, “Some animistic Anthropological Institute
Beliefs among the Yaos of British pp. 94 sq.
Central Africa ”, Journal of the
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
184
as a great chief and is living, but as He has the ancestral
spirits with Him they are His auiaduna (headmen). The
reason why they pray to the amadhlozi (spirits) is that these,
having lived on earth, understand their position and wants,
and can manage their case with God. When they are well
and have plenty no worship is required, and in adversity
and sickness they pray to them. The sacrifices are offered
to appease the spirits when trouble comes, or, as when
building a new village, to gain their protection.” ^
Worship In this account of the Supreme Being of the Angoni we
SuprLie recognize the familiar features of the Creator who has made
and ordered all things, but who has long since retired from
the active management of affairs, leaving them in the hands
ancestral of subordinate agents, and whose worship has been almost
spirits. ^
wholly thrown into the shade by that of the ancestral spirits
or ghosts.' We are not expressly told that his abode is in
the sky, and that he maintains a general control over rain,
thunder, and lightning ; but the analogy of many similar
deities in Africa suggests that he possesses these attributes
in common with them.
Chiwuta, The same may perhaps be said of the God of the
Tumbuka, another tribe of the same region, whose country
Turtibuka. lies to the west of Lake Nyasa and adjoins that of the
Ngoni. We are told that ‘‘they believe in God, but this is
one of the least influential articles of their faith, for God
is to them an absentee deity. He is called Chiwuta, which
might mean the great bow, but apparently does not, at least
no native will agree that the name has any relation to the
bow of the firmament, or of the Avenger, or any other kind
of bow. What the root of the word is, no one seems yet to
have discovered. Chiwuta is known as the creator, and the
master of life and death. By him the world was made, and
everything that has life. It is He who sends the great
diseases, like rinderpest and smallpox, and He too is the
sender of death. The only characteristic of God that the
raw native is sure of is this, ‘ He is cruel for it is He who
takes away the children but where He lives, and what He
thinks they do not know. To the general imagination He
^ W. A. Elmslie, Among the Wild Ngoni (Edinburgh and London, 1899),
p. 67 sq.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 185
has withdrawn from the world, and has nothing to do with
it, beyond sending death or disease. I do not think that I
have yet found that prayers were addressed to the Creator
God, though they were frequently offered to the local deities,
who also, when they were not named by their personal titles,
were called Chiwuta. The Creator was too unknown and
too great for the common affairs of man/’ ^ On the other
hand, among the Tumbuka, as among so many other Bantu
tribes, the most active spiritual agents are believed to be the
ancestral spirits, which are supposed to be everywhere and
to be continually intervening for good or evil in human
affairs, though their influence is limited to the concerns of
their kinsfolk.^
Among the Bantu tribes of the great plateau of Northern Le/a, the
Rhodesia, to the west of Lake Nyasa, the conception of the the
Creator or Supreme Being, whom they call Leza, is still tribes of
vague ; his attributes, it is reported, are still in process of
evolution. From one point of view Leza seems to be
regarded rather as a physical force than as a personal deity.
Thunder, lightning, rain, earthquakes, and other natural
phenomena are grouped together as manifestations of Leza.
From another and perhaps later point of view, Leza emerges
as a personal deity, the greatest of all the spirits. To the
Awemba, an important tribe of the great plateau, the thunder
is “God himself who is angry”, the lightning is “the Knife
of God ”. Leza is said to be the creator of life and death, story of
According to a fable told by the Awemba, the deity created Origin
1 u • 1 1 , . 1 . . , of Death :
a man and woman, who increased and multiplied and the two
replenished the earth. To this first pair the Creator Leza
gave two small bundles, in one of which was life {biiini), and
in the other was death {infwd ) ; but unhappily the man chose
“ the little bundle of death
Yet among some of these tribes of the plateau, as among Leza
so many other African tribes, the great god whom they call ^^^ought to
. ... iirr ii ^ Stand aloof
Leza IS believed to stand aloof from the lower world, from the
Serene and imperturbable he controls the heavens, but does
not concern himself with the destinies of mortals. Hence world.
1 Donald Fraser, Winning a Privii- ^ C. Gouldsbury and H. Sheane,
tive People 1914), pp. 120 sq. Great Plateau of Northern Rhodesia
2 Donald Fraser, op. cit. p. 124. (London, 1911), pp. 80 sq.
The more
progressive
tribes think
that Leza
takes an
interest in
human
affairs.
Prayers
and
sacrifice::
not offered
to Leza,
but to the
ancestral
spirits.
1 86 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
the people do not conceive of Leza as a moral being against
whom it is possible to sin by those breaches of the moral
law which the inferior spirits are quick to mark and to
avenge. Leza still remains ‘‘ the incomprehensible,” {Le^a
ni shimwelenganyd). “ How otherwise ”, ask the Wemba old
men, “has he caused the firmament, the sun, moon, and
stars to abide over our heads without any staypoles to
uphold them?” “Were Leza by himself”, say the Wal-
ambia, “ we should never die of disease ; it is the evil spirits
and their allies the wizards who cause swift death.” Leza
only brings at the fit and proper time the gentle, painless
death of old age {infwa Leza). Among many of the ancient
tribes who dwell in the mountain fastnesses of the North
Luangwa district this theory of an impassive God still
obtains,^
But among the more progressive tribes of the plateau,
such as the Wabisa and Awemba, a further stage in the
evolution of the godhead has been reached. They think that
Leza takes an interest in human affairs, and though they do
not pray to him, they nevertheless invoke him by his names
of praise, in which his attributes are gradually unfolded, and
he becomes in a sense the Protector and Judge of mankind.
The Cunning Craftsman, the Great Fashioner, the Nourisher,
the Unforgetful, the Omniscient, all occur in the laudatory
titles of Leza. Again, he is thought to receive the souls of
men after death. According to the Awiwa, the soul at its
departure from the body goes down to the spirit world to
God {kuziniu ku Leza)^ who not only sways the heavens but
judges the spirits of the departed.*^
Yet, so far as the dominant Wemba tribe is concerned,
the worship of Leza forms no part of the ordinary religion.
Prayers and sacrifices are not offered to him but to the
great tribal and ancestral spirits. P'or upon a belief in the
' Gouldsbury and Sheane, op. cit,
p. 8i.
2 Gouldsbury and Sheane, op. cit.
p. 8i. Compare J. H. West Sheane,
“Some aspects of Awemba religion
and superstitious observances
of the Anthropological Institute^ xxxvi.
(1906) pp. 150 sqq. According to
Mr. Sheane (pp. 150 sq.)^ Leza “is
the judge of the dead, and condemns
thieves, adulterers, and murderers to
the state of Vibanda, or Viwa (evil
spirits), exalting the good to the rank
of mipashi^ or benevolent spirits. There
is no special worship of Leza, for he
is to be approached only by appeasing
the inferior spirits, who act as inter-
cessors.”
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 187
existence of powerful spirits of nature and spirits of the dead,
the whole fabric of Wemba religion has been built up.^
Speaking of the natives of a Tanganyika plateau in l. Dede
general, without distinction of tribe, a French traveller,
Lionel Decle, reported that “ these people have a vague sort ancestral
of Supreme Being called Lesa, who has good and evil
passions ; but here, as everywhere else, the Musimo, or
spirits of the ancestors, are a leading feature in the beliefs.
They are propitiated as elsewhere by placing little heaps of
stones about their favourite haunts. At certain periods
of the year the people make pilgrimages to the mountain
of Fwambo-Liambo, on the summit of which is a sort of
small altar of stones. There they deposit bits of wood, to
which are attached scraps of calico, flowers, or beads : this is
to propitiate Lesa. After harvest, for instance, they make such
an offering. So, when a girl becomes marriageable, she takes
food with her and goes up the mountain for several days.
When she returns the other women lead her in procession
through the villages, waving long tufts of grass and palms.” ^
The Konde are a tribe who inhabit a territory at the Mbambaor
extreme north end of Lake Nyasa, in what used to be god'of the
German East Africa but is now known as Tanganyika Konde,
Territory. Their land is for the most part shut in between
steep mountains and the lake : on the north rises the fi^ion of
^ the SKV,
massive volcano, Mount Rungwe.^ The Konde believe in a
god named Mbamba or Kiara, who with his children dwells
above the firmament. His shape is human and his com-
plexion is a shining white. Apparently he is a personifica-
tion of the bright sky. Prayers are offered to him, and in
them he is addressed as Father. Of this deity the Moravian
missionaries report that “a conception of God is imprinted*
on the whole people. A god there is who, on the one hand,
stands above everything else and is invoked as such, but
who, on the other hand, in consequence of his impotence
and weakness, occupies but a humble position in their minds.
' Gouldsbury and Sheane, l.c. As Savage Africa (London, 1898), p.
to the spirits of nature {milungti) and 293.
the spirits of the dead {mipashi), see ^ p, FiUleborn, Das deutsche Njassa-
id. pp. 82 sqq. nnd Ruwuma-Gebiet^ Land und Lente
2 Lionel Decle, Three Years in (Berlin, 1906), p. 266.
1 88 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
The religious behaviour of the people is characterized by a
mixture of respect and contempt, of worship and neglect.
With regard to his essence, the seat of his kingdom, and the
TheKondemost of his qualities, they are in the dark.” ^ According to
worsh?p an account the Konde also worshipped an evil principle or
evil spirit personal devil, whom they called Mbassi, and attempted to
Mbassi. appease by offerings ; but according to another, and perhaps
more probable account, Mbassi is only another name of the
Sky-god imported among the Konde by a priestly family
from Ukinga.“
Another Howcvcr, the belief of the Konde in two distinct gods, a
The beiilf^of ^ Confirmed by Mr. D. R. Mackenzie,
the Konde wlio livcd for tweiity-four years among the tribes at the north
godK^yaki Lake Nyasa. According to him, the name most
and a bad commonly applied by the Konde to the Supreme Being is
godMbasi. name of the evil deity is Mbasi.® But the
name Kyala is not confined to the Supreme Being, for it
may be applied to persons in whom the Deity dwells, or to
men who, though they lived on earth, were yet Kyala, The
name is sometimes applied to white men, who are dangerous
because they are believed to have closer relations with the
Various source of ail power than common men have. Other names
Supreme Tetietidc, the Owner of all things ; Nkuruinuke, the Un-
Go^ dying One ; Chata, the Originator ; Kyaubiri, the Unseen ;
(Kyala). j(.alesi^ Hc who is everywhere present. The name
Ndorombzvike is the one used on solemn occasions, and
comes from the verb, kutoromboka, to create in a sense in
which God only can. Mperiy again, is the Maker, applied to
God only, though the verb from which it is derived may be
The applied to men also. Prayer is addressed directly to the
ancestral ancestral spirits, who in many cases are conceived as having
asked to powcr of tlicmselvcs to grant a petition ; but more frequently
wiTh^the^ they are entreated to carry the petitions to God, who alone
Supreme can give what is asked for. ‘ Why do you ask me for rain ? *
says Chungu,^ when his impatient people come to him, ‘ God
1 F. Fulleborn, op. cit. p. 316. ^ The title of the priestly king.
, Formerly he was not suffered to die a
P. Pillleborn, op. ctl. pp. 31 sq, natural death; when he fell seriously
3 D. R. Mackenzie, The SpiHt- ill, it was the duty of his councillors to
ridden Konde (London, 1925), pp. kill him by stopping his breath. See
178 sqq.y 185 sqq, D. R. Mackenzie, op. cit. pp. 68 70.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 189
owns the rain, and only He can give it/ ‘ But,’ reply the
people, ‘ common men cannot pray. Pray you to your
ancestors, and let them carry your prayer to God/ There is,
however, also direct address in the formula, ‘ Be gracious to
us, O God, and hear the prayers of those whom we have
named ’, the reference being to the spirits, to whom the main
body of the petition is addressed/’ '
Of this Supreme Being, we are told, there is little that Scanty and
can be said with certainty except that the people assuredly
believed in him before the white men came and Christianity conceminf;
was taught Indications of the belief are found everywhere
in the native mind, inextricably intertwined with life and
thought and language, with prayer and sacrifice, with birth
and death, with famine and pestilence and sword. But for
the rest there is much confusion, and no developed theology
exists. What one informant will give as common belief,
another will say that he never heard of ; it belongs, he will tell
you, to another district, but it was not the belief of his fathers/^
The Supreme Being is thought to reveal himself in diverse Modes in
manners. Anything great of its kind, such as a great ox or
even a great he-goat, a huge tree, or any other impressive
object, is called Kyala, by which it may be meant that God
takes up his abode temporarily in these things. When a
great storm lashes the lake into fury, God is walking on the
face of the waters ; when the roar of the waterfall is louder
than usual, it is the voice of God. The earthquake is caused
by his mighty footstep, and the lightning is Lesa, God
coming down in anger. When men see the lightning, they
sit silent or speak in whispers, lest the angry God should hear
them and smite them to the earth. God sometimes comes
also in the body of a lion or a snake, and in that form he
walks about among men to behold their doings. For he is
a God of righteousness and never comes but when evil is
rampant and vengeance is called for. Plence what the people
desire above all things is that God should go away again.
“ Go far hence, O God, to the Sango, for Thy House is very
large ”, is a prayer that is not seldom heard on the lips of
the Konde when they think that God is near. They look
^ D. R. Mackenzie, The Spirit- ^ i). r. Mackenzie, 7 'he Sptrit-
ridden Konde ^ pp. 179 sq, ridden Konde^ p. 178.
190
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Offerings
made to
the spirits,
but not to
the Great
God.
Sacred
groves of
Mbamba or
Kiara :
prayers
offered to
him.
Sacred
grotto of
Mbamba
or Kiara.
on an eclipse as a special visitation of the deity, and greet
it with wild drumming and shouting, with entreaties and
confession of sin ; for the consciousness of sin is a sentiment
by no means foreign to their minds. They make offerings
to the spirits to induce them to intercede with the deity, but
no offerings are ever made to the great Ndorombwtke
Himself, for man has nothing to offer that would be of the
least value to Him. God is indeed for them an ever-present
terror, and the thought of communion with Him has never
entered into their minds. He is the Owner of the World,
and it is for men to see that He is not offended. Of the
many sins that bring down the wrath of God and of the
spirits on the community the chief are widespread sexual
offences and the neglect of sacrifice.^
The souls of the dead, as we have seen, are thought
by the Konde to act as mediators or intercessors between
Kiara {Kyala) and mankind. Prayers and sacrifices are
offered to them as well as to him, but the dead may
not be buried in the groves which are dedicated to
the worship of the god. One of these sacred groves,
in which the deity is believed to dwell with his children,
exists on the slope of the volcano. Mount Rungwe. Hither
the people come with cattle and much beer to worship Kiara
or Mbamba. They dance, and sing, and invoke the deity,
saying, ‘‘ Mbamba, let our children thrive ! May the cattle
multiply ! May our maize and sweet potatoes flourish !
Take pestilence away ! ” and so on. Then they fill their
mouths with leaves of a certain sort which they chew, and
having mixed them with a draught of beer they spit or spray
out the mixture on the trees of the grove ; this form of
offering is called “puffing at the God”. After that, they
slaughter cattle, feast on their flesh, and quaff the beer
which they have brought with them to the holy place.^
Another famous place where sacrifices are, or rather
used to be, offered to Mbamba or Kiara is on the peninsula
of Ikombe, at the north-eastern extremity of Lake Nyasa.
Here a rock, called by the natives God's Rock, juts out into
1 D. R. Mackenzie, The Spirit- Y,Y\\\\^hQxx\, Das deutsche Njassa-
ridden Konde ^ pp. i8i sq, tmd Rnwuma-Gebiet^ Land undLeuie^
p. 3 i8-
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 19c
the lake. It is shaded by lofty trees, and a brook of clear
water babbles close by. In this rock there is a grotto which
the natives call the House of God. The entrance is over-
grown with creeping plants, and the floor of the grotto is
covered with several layers of earthen pots, which once
contained offerings. A priest, who bore the title of Son
of the Lake {Muakinjassa)y used to be in charge of the
sanctuary ; he had a wife and cattle, but both wife and cattle
were deemed the property of the deity. In time of drought Prayersand
the Koiide chiefs used to meet at this rock beside the lake £0^^^
shore to ‘pray for rain. A victim was slain and its flesh
placed in the House of God. Then a chief, who acted as
spokesman in the prayers, filled a gourd with water from the
lake, took a mouthful of the water, and puffed it out on the
ground. This he continued to do until he had emptied
the gourd. Then he prayed, saying, ‘‘Mbamba! Kiara !
Thou hast refused us rain, give us rain, that we die not.
Save us from death by hunger. Thou art indeed our
Father, we are thy children, Thou hast created us, why
wouldst thou that we die ? Give us maize, bananas, and
beans. Thou hast given us legs to run, arms to work, and
also cattle ; give us now rain, that we may reap the harvest.”
But if the deity turned a deaf ear to these petitions, and the
drought continued, the people repaired again to the grove
and repeated their prayers, until Mbamba or Kiara was
graciously pleased to hearken to them and to send the
longed-for rain.^
Another sacred grotto of Kiara is similarly situated in a Another
cliff which, rising in romantic beauty from the brink
of the lake, has been christened by Europeans the Kiara, a
Loreley Rock. But here also the worship of the native sacrifice,
god appears to have been long neglected. A European who
visited the holy spot some years ago had to cut his way to
it through the tangled and matted forest with a knife. A
native, who accompanied him to the forlorn sanctuary with
fear and trembling, informed him that in time past this shrine
had enjoyed a high reputation, not only among the Konde
and the Wakissi ; even the Wakinga came down from the
mountains to sacrifice here beside the lake. The offerings
^ F. FUlleborn, op. cit. p. 320.
192
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Story of the
Origin of
Death :
the 'I'wo
Messengers,
the sheep
and the
clog.
consisted of meal and white fowls, also of goats and cattle,
but the colour of the cattle was indifferent. If a cow
destined for sacrifice chanced to low, it was a sign that
Kiara would not have it ; so the animal was not slaughtered.
Of the slain cattle a head and leg used to be laid in the
grotto as offerings. The goats were taken a little way aside
from the sanctuary and slaughtered at the foot of a cliff,
under the shadow of ancient trees. Their flesh is said to
have been wholly consumed by the worshippers. The white
fowls were brought alive to the sanctuary and fed by the
priest with millet.^ In contrast to the white fowls thus
offered to Kiara were the black calves sacrificed to the
dead. The Konde used to offer human sacrifices. As late
as 1896 there were rumours of the sacrifice of a woman
and child in connexion with a ceremony to procure rain ;
but we are not told that the sacrifice was offered to Kiara.
The mode of sacrifice was to cut the victim's throat and
sprinkle the blood about.^^
Like many other African peoples, the Konde tell a story
of the Origin of Death which conforms to the type of the
Two Messengers ; in this case the messengers are a sheep
and a dog. They say that of old there was as yet no such
thing as death, and men were divided in opinion as to
whether they should ask God to grant them death or not.
Those who thought death desirable sent a sheep to impress
their view on the deity ; while those who preferred not to
die despatched a dog to plead the cause of immortality with
God. But the sheep, the advocate of death, arrived before
the dog ; the deity gave judgment in his favour, and conse-
quently men have been mortal ever sincc.^ A somewhat
similar story of the Origin of Death is told in Calabar,
on the opposite side of the continent, and in it also the
messengers are a dog and a sheep. They say that for a
long time after the creation of the world there was no death
in it. At last, however, a man sickened and died. So the
people sent a dog to God to ask him what they should do
with the dead man. The dog stayed so long away that the
people grew tired of waiting and sent off a sheep to God with
1 F. Flilleborn, o/>. cit. p. 321. 3 p, Fiilleborn, op. at. p. 331.
3 F. Fullcborn, op. cit. pp. 322 s<].
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA
193
the same question. The sheep soon returned and reported
that God said, “ Let the dead man be buried So they
buried him. Afterwards the dog returned also and reported
that God said, “ Put warm ashes on the dead man’s belly,
and he will rise again However, the people told the dog
that he came too late ; the dead man was already buried
according to the instructions of the sheep. That is why men
are buried when they die. But as for the dog he is driven
from men and humiliated, because it is through his fault that
we all dic.^
The Wakulwe inhabit a district to the west of Lake Belief
Rukwa, in the south-western corner of Tanganyika Territory Wakulwe
(German East Africa). Down to about a hundred and in a good
fifty years ago, according to native tradition, their country
was uninhabited, the haunt of elephants, buffaloes, zebras, mailed
lions, leopards, and other wild beasts.^ According to the
testimony of a Catholic missionary, Prather Hamberger, who
lived among them for about eight years and knew their
language, the Wakulwe believe in the existence of a good
and righteous God, the Creator, who is an incorporeal spirit.
They call him Nguluwi, but among some neighbouring tribes,
including the Wabemba, Wamambwe, and Wafipa, his name
is Leza. On account of his goodness the Wakulwe often
give him the title of Mother (^Mavid)^ though they by no
means regard him as feminine. The souls of the dead
(zvasimu) are believed to dwell with him in a bright place
and by their petitions to exercise great influence over him,
though in themselves they are not endowed with any divine
power. Among the souls of the dead the spirits of deceased
chiefs bear a special name {Diale^d) and are the most in-
fluential intercessors with the deity Their name {^naleza)
is the plural form of Leza, which, as we have seen, is the
name of the Supreme Being in some neighbouring tribes ;
yet we are told that no divine power is ascribed even to
them.^
' “Calabar Stories, of the
African Society, No. 18 (January,
1906), p. 194. I have reported this
story elsewhere {Folk-lore in the Old
Testament, i. 63). See also above,
pp. 105 sq.
VOL. I
2 A. Hamberger, “ Religiose Uber-
lieferungen und Gebrauche der Land-
schaft Mkulwe (Deutsch-Ostafrika) ”,
Anthropos, iv. {1909) p. 295.
® A. Hamberger, op, cit, p. 305.
^ A. Hamberger, op. cit. p. 308.
O
194
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Mwawa,
an African
Satan,
Nguluwi
the source
of all good.
Prayers to
Nguluwi.
Story of a
great flood*
Another incorporeal spirit who plays a great part in the
religion of the Wakulwe is called Mwawa. The people hate
and fear him, though outwardly they honour him and obey
his perverse commands, lest he should destroy them. His
special function is to deceive people and to strike them blind
or to “eat them up'’ by means of the smallpox. Hence
he is often known as Mother Smallpox {Mama Nduivi), for
the title Mother is given him to flatter him. In short, as
Father Hamberger observes, Mwawa is no other than Satan
in person, and like Satan he lives in the air.^
From God or Nguluwi, on the other hand, come all good
things, such as children, rain, food, health, and luck in
hunting, fishing, and undertakings of every sort. He will
even help a man to destroy an enemy either by violence or
by sorcery. But the blessings which he so liberally dis-
penses he frequently bestows, not on his own initiative, but
at the prompting of the good spirits who dwell with him.
Even Mwawa, in other words Satan, can appear before
him in the office of intercessor.”
Prayers are offered by the father of a family, either to
Nguluwi directly, or to the souls of the worshipper's dead
forefathers with a request that they will intercede with
Nguluwi for him.^ Thus when rain is wanted, the chief
of the district sacrifices animals at the graves of his
ancestors and begs them to implore rain from Nguluwi,
saying, for instance, “ Thou Father Luiwa, guard me ! All
ye fathers of the land, guard me ! Ask rain of Nguluwi
for me ! Guard me, guard us, us, your children, that we die
not of famine ”, and so on.'^
Some of the Wakulwe tell a story of Nguluwi which
bears a close, not to say suspicious, resemblance to the
Biblical narrative of the Great Flood. It runs thus :
Long ago the rivers came down in flood. God said to
two men, “ Go into the ship. Also take into it seeds of all
sorts and all animals, one male and one female of each.”
They did so. The flood rose high, it overtopped the moun-
tains, the ship floated on it. All animals and all men died.
When the water dried up, the man in the ship said, “ Let us
^ A. Hamberger, op. at. p. 305.
2 A. Hamberger, op. cit. pp. 305 sg.
^ A. Hamberger, op. cit. pp. 306 sq.
^ A. Hamberger, op. cit, p. 308.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 195
see, perhaps the water is not yet dried up He sent out a
dove. She returned to the ship. He waited, he sent out a
hawk which did not return, because the water was dried up.
The men went forth from the ship, they let out all the
animals and all the seeds. This legend is reported by
Father Hamberger, who tells us that it is known to few of
the people. He had it from two men, who assured him
that it was an ancient tradition of the country and not
borrowed from foreigners.^
Like other African tribes, the Wakulwe also tell of an siory hke
attempt which men of old made to scale the heaven. Their
wish was to reach the moon, and for this purpose they set one
tree on the top of another, till the structure attained a great
height. Then it fell down and killed them. Other men
repeated the attempt with the same result, after which the
survivors desisted from the rash undertaking.^ The story
savours of the Tower of Babel, but not more so than some
other African tales of the same type.^
Lastly, the Wakulwe explain the origin of human story of the
mortality by a story which is clearly not copied directly
from the Mosaic record. According to them the fatal Nguiuwi,
event happened thus. One day men said, “ Let us ask the anVth^e^^
sheep and the dog They gave the sheep a piece of meat,
they gave the dog a bone. An old woman, inspired by
Mwawa (that is, by Satan), said to them, “Ye err. Give the
dog the meat.” The men agreed, they did just the contrary
of what they had done at first, they gave the dog the meat,
they gave the sheep the bone. They said, “ The one that
swallows it and speaks first, his words shall have weight ”.
The dog made haste, bolted the meat, barked, “ Bow wow ! ”
and said, “We die, we perish”. The sheep nibbled at the
bone, but could not bolt it down. At last she spoke and
said, “ Ba ! ba ! We die but we come back,” meaning that
we rise from the dead. The men said, “ Alas ! The dog
was before you.” They beat the dog and drove it away.^
On this story Father Hamberger remarks that it is
universally known among the natives and is often told by
^ A. Hamberger, op. cit. p. 304. A. Hamberger, op. cit. p. 304.
I have reported this story elsewhere ^ For examples see above, pp. I 73 >
{Folk-lore in the Old Testament^ i. 174, and below, p. 201.
332). ^ A. Hamberger, op. cit. p. 300.
196
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
them in a shorter form. Further he tells us that, in accord-
ance with the native habit of leaving unsaid much that they
regard as too obvious to require mention, we must under-
stand it to have been the will of Nguluwi, that is of God,
that men should give the meat to the sheep, as indeed they
did in the first instance, instead of to the dog. If only they
had done so, it is plain that the sheep would have swallowed
the meat before the dog could have masticated the bone,
and that, having bolted it, the sheep would have delivered
the glad tidings of resurrection before the dog could have
announced his doom of death. Hence we should all have
been immortal, or, what comes to much the same thing, we
should all have risen from the dead down to this day.
Thus the benevolent intention of the deity towards his
creatures is again triumphantly vindicated. It was not liis
fault that men gave the meat to the dog instead of to the
sheep. Understood in this way, the story is clearly nothing
but a variation on the story of the Two Messengers, which
so many African tribes tell to explain the origin of human
mortality. In that widespread tradition the purpose of
the Creator to bestow immortality on mankind is always
frustrated by the mistake or misconduct of the messenger
who is charged with the good news of life eternal. In the
Konde and Calabar versions of the talc cited above the
two messengers are, as in the Wakulwe version, a dog and
a sheep ; but in them, the parts of the messengers are
inverted, the dog being the herald of resurrection, while
the sheep announces the sentence of death irretrievable.^
Mgr. Father Hamberger's account of Nguluwi, the Supreme
on Nguiwf Wakulwe, is confirmed by the testimony of
(Nguluwi), a French Catholic Missionary, Monseigneur Lcchaptois, who
Supreme Worked among the tribes of the south-western
Beingof the corner of Tanganyika Territory (German East Africa). He
Wakulwe. Mkulwe, that is, the country of the Wakulwe,
the Creator and Supreme Being is known as Ngulwi
{Ngouloiii). He is sovereignly good and has for his
ministers Katavi and Mwawa, two incorporeal spirits
who fly in the air. The first of them (Katavi) appears
to preside over the rewards, and the second (Mwawa)
* See above, pp. 192 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 197
over the punishments respectively bestowed or inflicted
on souls in the other world.^ In this account Mwawa
is clearly identical with the spirit of the same name
whom Father Hamberger equates with Satan ; and with
regard to Katavi, we must conclude that he is no other
than Katai, who, according to Father Hamberger, is merely
Mwawa himself under another name.‘^
Further, Monseigneur Lechaptois informs us that in Various
Nyasaland, on the banks of Lake Tanganyika, and in
Urungu, which is the country at the south-western corner of Supreme
Lake Tanganyika, the name for the Supreme Being is Leza. '
He it is who has made all things, and who gives life to the Katema
child in its mother’s womb. It is to him that men go [jie^'suiT)!^
when they die. In Ugala he receives the same name as the iianzi.
sun, namely Katema. The Wagala say that he pays little
heed to men, but that he kills those at whom he is
angry.^ In Rukwa and Ufipa (the land of the Wafipa) the
usual name of the Supreme God is Leza ; but according to
the tradition of the natives this name was introduced among
them by the Warungu. The true name of the Sovereign
Creator in the native language is said to be Iianzi, which
means the sun. In the morning when they woke, people
used to say, Iianzi has kept me during the night'’; and
when some one died, they said, “ Iianzi has taken him
)) 4
away .
But among all these tribes, situated at or near the The
southern end of Lake Tanganyika, whether he be called Leza,
or Iianzi, or Nguluwi, or Katema, this Supreme God is said in the sky
to enter very little into the everyday life of the people. He troubles ^
inhabits the sky, where he is supremely happy ; and it seems himself
^ ’ , . , . 1 r • nbout the
that he cannot stoop so low as to interest himself in the life of man.
multifarious needs of his creatures. Hence they in their ^ he lower
turn deem it useless to pay him any particular homage ruled by
or to address any prayers to him. But below this great
deity they admit the existence of a multitude of inferior including
the souls
‘ Mgr. Lechaptois, Atix Kives du mission of Mkulwe (St. Boniface). .tnlnt 'is**'’
Tanganika (Algiers, 1913), p. 165. 2 A. Hamberger, e/. p. 305. “["esewhoni
Both Monseigneur Lechaptois and ^ Mgr. Lechaptois, Aux nves du people
Father Hamberger belong to the Order Tanganika^ 165. worship,
of the White Fathers. Father Ham- ^ Mgr. Lechaptois, Aux rives du
berger is, or was, head of the Catholic Tanganika^ pp. 165 sq.
Rich
mythology
of these
tribes.
198 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
divinities, who rule the world, some of them dispensing all
the comforts and blessings, others inflicting all the calamities
and woes that affect for good or evil the life of man. It is
to these lower divinities, the dread of whom is deeply
implanted in the native mind, that all the offerings and
prayers of the people are addressed.^ The name for these
lesser deities varies with the dialect of the tribe ; in one
they are called iniziviu^ in another niiyao or uiigabo^ in
another amaleza. This last name, which is current especially
among the Warungu and Wafipa, would literally mean
“ Sons of Leza ” ; but the natives use the terms father and
son in too wide and loose a sense to allow us to draw any
precise conclusions from the name amaleza? Whatever be
the exact essence of these minor deities, they seem to be all
subject to the infirmities of human nature. Like men they
are apt to be weary and to suffer from hunger and thirst.
Hence people erect little huts where the spirits may rest
from the fatigue of scouring the air, and where they may
refresh themselves with the victuals which are deposited in
the tiny huts for therr consumption. The spirits of the
human dead also roam about the villages where they dwelt
in life, and they still take a kindly interest in the affairs of
their living kinsfolk. Hence for them, too, little shelters
are put up near their old homes, and there the survivors
scatter flour, pour beer, or slaughter an animal in sacrifice,
while they pray to the souls of their fathers, their mothers,
or their brothers to behold their sufferings and heal their
diseases.^ Indeed, we are told that these people possess
a mythology as rich as that of Greece in antiquity.
The popular imagination has given itself full play in
peopling the forests, the rocks, the cascades, the glens,
the rivers, and above all the shores of the lake with
innumerable spirits. There is hardly a reef, hardly a
cape in Lake Tanganyika which has not its god dreaded by
^ Mgr. Lechaptois, Aiix rives du ingly regards as spirits of nature. But
'Tatii^anika^ p. 166. no doubt the mizimu are identical vith
Mgr. Lechaptois, Aux rives du the wazimu^ which Father Hamberger
Tanganika^ p. 167. expressly identifies with the souls of
^ Mgr. Lechaptois, Aux rives du the dead {Anthropos^ iv. 305) ; and
Tangauika, p. 168. Thus the author the same woid, with dialectical difier-
appears to distinguish the souls of the ences, occurs in the sense of “souls
dead from the mizirnu^ which he seem- of the dead ” in many Bantu languages.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 199
the mariner. Such a cape, for example, is Kaboga, where
the hollow rocks at its base receive the breaking waves and
give out their muffled roar, like a peal of thunder, heard
far off for miles. To the ear of the native this mysterious
sound is the voice of the spirit calling for a sacrifice or
threatening with vengeance the bold mortal who should
dare to refuse his demand/ Above all the hubbub and
bustle of life oh earth, the Supreme Being, by whatever
name he is called, is supposed to sit in majestic calm,
hardly deigning to disturb the bliss of heaven by a moment’s
thought bestowed on the petty affairs of his puny creature
man.
Two of these tribes, the Wafipa and the Wabende, who story ofthe
inhabit the country on the south-eastern shore of Lake
Tanganyika, tell a story which, like many other African of the im-
tales, associates the Supreme Being with the origin of
human mortality. They say that Leza, the high God, came
down to earth, and, addressing all living creatures, he said,
“ Who among you wishes not to die?” Unfortunatel)% men
and animals were asleep. The serpent alone was awake
and answered I ” to the question of the deity. That is
why man dies like all the animals. The serpent alone does
not die of itself. To die, it must be killed. Every year, in
order to renew its youth and vigour, it has only to change its
skin.‘^ Almost identical stories to explain human mortality
are told by the Dusuns of British North Borneo and the
Todjo-Toradjas of Central Celebes.^
To the cast of these tribes, but still in the southern riie
portion of Tanganyika Territory (German East Africa), t he
Wahehe inhabit a mountainous and barren region intersected
by valleys down which rush torrents of clear cold water, bdievrin a
Despite its situation within the tropics the country, swept Supreme
by keen biting winds, enjoys a cool or even cold climate, called
The rich grass which carpets the banks of the rivers affords
excellent pasture for cattle ; and accordingly the Wahehe not pray or
sacrifice to
^ Mgr. I^echaptois, Aux rives du
Tavganika, pp. 170, 172.
2 Mgr. Lechaptois, Aux rives du
Tanganika^ p. 195.
3 See Folk-lore in the Old Testament^
i. 66 . For the Dustin version of the ^'”’1
story, add to the references Ivor H. N. all
Evans, Studies in Religion ^ Folk-lore^ f
and Custom in British North Borneo
and the Malay Peninsula (Cambridge, of biedead
1923), PP- 47 , 49 -
200
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
are mainly a pastoral people, who put all their pride and
ambition in the maintenance and multiplication of their
herds.^ Like the other tribes whom we have surveyed, the
Wahehe believe in a Supreme Being, a Creator, whom they
call Nguruhi. The name appears to be only another form of
Nguluwi, by which the Wakulwe designate the same mighty
being.“ The Wahehe believe that he sends rain and sunshine,
wind and storm, thunder and lightning, in short, that he
is the author of all the great atmospheric phenomena of
nature. In his hand, too, are the destinies of mankind ; he
causes them to be born and to die, to be well or to be sick,
to be rich or to be poor ; at his good pleasure he blesses
them with abundant harvests or smites them with dearth
and famine. He is a spirit, invisible, and incapable of
being represented in art ; accordingly, no image of him
exists or has ever existed. He created the world, but as
to when or how he did so, the people have no definite idea.
They conceive of him as all-powerful, but yet as maintain-
ing only a general control over the world and human
destiny, while the spirits of the dead (masoka) exert a
permanent and very considerable influence on the course of
all particular events. It is true that Nguruhi is lord also
over the spirits of the dead, but his relation to them is a
subject on which the natives have but little reflected. To
this Supreme Being they neither pray nor sacrifice ; they do
not strive to enter into any form of communion with him ;
substantially he stands quite aloof from their religious life,
and in practice he serves only as the standing explanation
of every thing and every event which is otherwise inexplic-
able. All the devotion, all the worship of the people is
directed to the spirits of the dead, who are the real objects
of the popular religion.^
The The Pare mountains form a range running southward
from Mount Kilimanjaro, near the eastern boundary of
believe in a Tanganyika Territory (German East Africa). The greater
anrcr^ator mountains is inhabited by a tribe called the
called 1 Nigmann, Wa/ie/ie (BevViny somewhere between the valleys of the
Kyumbi. igo8), p. 3. The writer omits to Ruaha and the Riifiji or Alanga Rivers,
describe the situation of Uhehe, the ^ See above, p. 193.
country of the Wahehe, but fiom the ^ E. Nigmann, Die Wahehe^ pp.
sketch map we gather that it lies 22 sq.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 201
Wapare or Wasu. Among them have been recorded some
ancient and half-forgotten legends of a good God, the Creator
of the world, whom they call Kyumbi. They say that he
gave their forefathers cattle, in order that they might clothe
themselves in the hides, for he pitied their nakedness. He
gave them also maize and the fruits of the field, and taught
them to till the ground, for they suffered from hunger.
God was near, men lived in communion with him. But
Kiriamagi, the Eater of Eggs, the Deceiver, the Serpent,
tempted men to eat eggs, which Kyumbi had forbidden
them to do. And God punished them with a great famine,
so that they began to eat beetles in order to save their lives.
All mankind died, except two, a young man and a young
woman. From them all the generations of the earth are
descended. Now God was still near to men. But when men story like
multiplied they grew froward, and they spake among them- Tower of^
selves, saying, “ Come, let us build a tower, whose top shall Babel,
reach to the upper land, in order that we may creep up it
and wage war on Him that is above in His own country
But Kyumbi looked down on them, as a man looks down
on a heap of ants, and he said, What are these little
pigmies down below there ?^’ Then the earth quaked, and
the tower broke in two, and buried the builders under the
ruins. But Kyumbi moved the upper land far away, and
ever since he has not been near men, but far, far away.
And since that day men have sought God, and wished to
draw him down to them, but they could not ; for Kyumbe
hearkened to them no more.^
And men beheld the fiery orb which rises in the east Kyumbi is
from the underworld and passes by to vanish again in the
west, and to go down into the realm of shadows ; and they th.^t is, the
made the fiery orb their god, and from that time they
named their god Ithuwa, that is to say, the Sun. Thought-
ful people among the Wapare still speak of a God who is
separate from the sun, and who lives on or in the sun and
created it, as he created everything else. But for most folk
the three names Kyumbi, Ithuwa, and Mrungu are all one ;
all three signify God. If you ask them where Kyumbi, or
^ J. J. Dannholz, Im Banne des Heidentums bet den Wasu in Detitsch-
Geisterglaube^ Ziif^e des animistischen Gitafrika (Leipzig, 1916), p. 12.
202
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Mornitig
prayer to
the Sun.
I'he Sky-
god
Kyumbi
identified
or confused
with the
Sun.
Ithuwa, or Mrungu is, they point to the sun. Ithuwa, the
Sun, is the male god, and he begat mankind ; Mweji, the
Moon, is the female deity, and she bore mankind. The
stars are the divining pebbles which the Moon handles when
she consults the oracle about the birth of children. Men
pray to Ithuwa for children and increase of cattle ; and
apart from these blessings they pray to him chiefly to guard
them against the foe who walks in darkness and dabbles in
magic. Early in the morning the father of the family takes
a mouthful of beer and spits it out twice towards the rising
sun, and twice he prays, saying, “O Ithuwa, thou chief, thou
Mrungu, thou who didst create men, and cattle, and trees,
and grass, thou who passest by overhead, look upon him
who curses me ! When thou breakest forth in the morning,
may he see thee ; but when thou goest down at evening, may
he see thee no more ! But if I have sinned against him,
may I die before thou dost decline!” And when a man is
dying, he takes the hand of his son, spits into it and says :
‘‘ My son, I die. But do thou dwell below the water-brook
that thou mayest ever be able to water thy field. May
Ithuwa give thee the strength and fatness of the field. May
He give thee cattle and children, a son and a daughter!”^
Thus it would appear that the Wapare have some
traditions or reminiscences of an ancient Sky-god named
Kyumbi, who at a later time has been identified or confused
by them with the sun. The foregoing account of this
religious evolution or degeneration is drawn from the work
of a German missionary who has lived among the Wapare.
It is confirmed by the testimony of another German
missionary, who, on questioning a very old man as to what
the Wapare knew about God, received the following answer:
“ Kiumbe is the Creator who created everything. We know
nothing more about him. He does not trouble himself
about us, and we do not trouble ourselves about him. But
the Sun is great, and the Moon is great ; the Moon gives
birth to the children of men.” Another native said, “ As
Creator, Kiumbe is known to us all ”. But when one of the
^ J. J. Dannholz, Im Banne der hut says that the z is to be pronounced
Geisterglaiibe, pp. 13 sq. The author like the English th,
spells the name of the Sun-god Izuwa,
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 203
Wapare is asked to give fuller information on the deity, he
has nothing more to say, and falls back on the Sun and
Moon as more familiar and, above all, visible beings.^ The J^rayers to
same missionary describes more fully the prayer offered
those people to the Sun for the destruction of an enemy, destruction
He tells us that when a chief is threatened with an unjust and
war by an enemy, he prepares some honey beer in a small for the
pot, and mounts with it to the roof of his hut, where he sets
down the pot and offers a libation to the Creator (Kitanbe),
to the Firmament {kilunge), and to the Sun and Moon, spitting
twice towards the sunrise and twice towards the sunset.
He prays at the same time that his foe may see the rising,
but not the setting of the orb of day. This prayer or incanta-
tion he repeats on four successive days, and on the day of
battle he gives his enemy notice of it by proclamation.
And a native doctor, after he has treated his patient, will
go out of the house with his medicine bottle, spit towards
the east and the west, and cry to the Sun, Take our sick-
nesses to thyself, and go with them whither thou goest !
On the extreme northern edge of Tanganyika Territory Mount
(German East Africa), close to the boundary of Kenya
Colony, stands Mount Kilimanjaro, a huge extinct volcano the African
more than nineteen thousand feet high. For a perpendicular
height of some five thousand feet its summit is sheathed
in a mantle of eternal ice and snow. Rising in isolated
majesty from the plain, the great mountain offers a most
impressive spectacle, whether, viewed from a distance of
over a hundred miles, its snowy dome appears like a
dazzling white cloud against the blue African sky, or
whether the traveller gazes up at its soaring mass from the
hot tropical lowlands at its foot. The sides of the mountain
are riven into ridges by deep ravines carved by torrents,
their precipitous banks draped with tree ferns and wild
bananas ; waterfalls plunge with a thundrous roar down
sheer cliffs or trickle over rocky inclines into clear crystal
pools set in a riot of jungle growth ; on the lower slopes the
1 E. Kotz., Im Banne der I'urchtj dated 1922), p. 192.
Sitten und Gebrauche der Wapare ^ E. Kotz, Im Banne der Turcht^
(Hamburg, etc. : n.d. Introduction p. 193.
204
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
ridges are clad in the verdurous mantle of unbroken banana
groves, among which nestle the huts of the mountain
dwellers ; higher up the luxuriant groves give place to virgin
forest, the haunt of elephants and leopards, where the
gnarled tree-trunks are interwoven by trailing vines and
decked with ferns, orchids, and moss, where the dense foliage
overhead is wet with the morning mist, and under foot the
ground is carpeted with delicate wild flowers, and honey-
combed with springs that well forth at every step. Here
monkeys gambol among the trees, squirrels leap from
bough to bough, the air is full of the ceaseless hum of
insects, and butterflies of gorgeous hues flit through the
dappled sunshine and shade of the forest. Higher up the
woods are replaced by open grass lands, and higher still
succeed moors of heather, strewn with boulders. Here the
trees have disappeared, and with them have gone most of
the signs and sounds of abounding animal life which relieved
the gloom of the forest. Silence and solitude now reign,
broken occasionally by the croak of a raven on a rock, or by
the sight of a duiker scampering through the heather, or of
a hawk poised on level pinions overhead. Higher still a
desert of sand, shingle, and rock stretches up to the eternal
snows and glaciers of the summit. The very few Europeans
who have scaled Mount Kibo, the loftier of the two peaks
of Kilimanjaro, have looked down with wonder on an
immense crater, over a mile wide and many hundreds of
feet deep, its floor covered with vast sheets and battle-
ments of ice. For though lava has flowed over the rim of
the crater and run down the flanks of the mountain, leaving
great petrified ridges which look like giant girders support-
ing the dome of ice, yet at the present day the volcano dis-
plays no sign of outward activity; only the ominous tremors
that often shake the ground give warning of the tremendous
fires that slumber beneath the seemingly calm and peaceful
surface. In its combination of loftiness with grandeur and
beauty of scenery, if not in the solemn religious impression
which it has made on the minds of its people, Kilimanjaro
deserves to rank as the Olympus of Africa.^
^ Hon. Charles Dundas, AV/////<z/yVz/v 27, 32 38. For another account
and its People (London, 1924), pp. ii- of two partial ascents of Kilimanjaro,
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 205
The native inhabitants of Kilimanjaro occupy the slopes The
from a height of about four to six or seven thousand feet. ^Mount '
They belong to the Bantu family, but they are by no means Kiii-
homogeneous in blood, being the descendants of different
tribes who have been driven up the mountain from the
plains by the pressure of enemies. They have no common
name for themselves, but by Europeans they are called
Wachagga or Chagga, and this name has now been practi-
cally adopted by the people themselves. They have evolved
a more or less common language, with dialects which are
very distinct from each other. Similarly their customs are
for the most part uniform, though they vary in detail. The
differences of dialect, and to a certain extent of custom are
favoured by the configuration of their country ; for the
various communities inhabit separate ridges which are
sharply divided from each other by the deep river valleys
of the mountain. Each community styles itself the people
of this or that ridge, as for instance the Wamashe, the
Wamoshi, and so forth. They are all devoted exclusively
to agriculture, except in one district where pasture land
favours the breeding of cattle.^ Before the arrival of the
Wachagga the mountain is said to have been inhabited by
a dwarf people called the Wakonyingo or Wadarimba."
The Wachagga recognize the existence of a great Sky- The great
god whom they call Ruwa.^ In its absolute form the word
Ruwa denotes the sun only, but in its locative form it Wachagga
designates the sky."^ Some confusion seems to reign in the
seeCh2Lr\esNew, LiFAYanderi/i^s,afid People^ pp. 37, 41, 5 ® word vvhicli
Labours in Eastern Africa (London, ^ Bruno (jiUmann, Dichteu ^
1873), pp.400Jr/^^., 419^,7(7. Mr. New’s Denken der Dschagganeger tile
description of the scenery on the ascent 1909), pp. I 77 ^^ 9 ' > J- Baum, “Die
tallies closely with that of Mr. Dundas. Religion der Landschaft Moschi am
On his second ascent, with much diffi- Kilimandjaro ”, Archiv fiir Religions-
culty, he just reached the level of the wissensihaft^ xiv. (1911) pp. 192 S(]q.\
snow. Of the landscape on the lower Ch. Dundas, Kilimanjaro and its
slope he says (p. 402): “Here are People, pp. 107 sqq. The name is
fairy woods and bowers, sunny hills given as Ru 7 ua by Messrs. Raum and
and shady dells, murmuring brooks, Dundas, as Jruva by Mr. Gutmann.
bridges, viaducts, and, in fact, the But in a later essay Mr. Gutmann
whole collection of sylvan beauties and adopted the form Ruwa. See his essay,
delights; enough to elicit poetry from “Feldbausitten und Wachstumsbrauche
the most prosaic of mortals”. der Zeiischrift fur Eth-
1 Ch. Dundas, Kili?nanjaro and its wi/%i>,liv. (1913) p. 509. Hence I have
People, pp. 32, 41. adopted the form Ru 7 va throughout.
2 Ch. Dundas, Kilimanjaro and its ^ J. Raum, op, cit. p. 193.
2o6
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
language, if not in the minds, of the Wachagga as to the
distinction between Ruwa as a god, as the sun, and as
the sky. In the same breath they will speak of him as a
divine being, the Creator of men, and as the physical sun
which rises, sets, and shines. But this confusion, though it
may puzzle the European, presents no difficulty to the
African. The conception of the external world as purely
physical is foreign to him ; the boundary of the supernatural
and mysterious, if he admits a boundary of it at all, is close
at hand for him, and he passes it readily and without mis-
giving ; to him it is perfectly natural to invest with per-
sonality and to treat as powerful spiritual beings those
objects of the external world which affect him deeply. His
worship of Ruwa is founded on a simple personification
either of the orb of the sun or of the dome of heaven.^
Which of the two, the sun or the sky, furnished the
starting-point of the conception of the great god seems
But the doubtful. One of our best authorities on the Wachagga,
™To7thc German missionary, Bruno Gutmann, appears to hold
deity seems that the primary root of the deity is the sky rather than
to be ^
sky rather l^he sun. He tells US that the Wachagga energetically deny
than the that Ruwa dwells in the sun or above the blue vault of
heaven ; his place is between the sky and the earth ; they
name the whole sky Ruwa, and say that it is a god who
embraces, as it were, the whole world of man. But the
actual vault or firmament, which they believe to be of stone,
they call by a different name (iigind). Again, the god
Ruwa cannot be identical with the physical sun, because at
night the sun sets in the west and passes under the earth to
his place of rising in the east ; whereas Ruwa is conceived
of as brooding by night as well as by day over our human
world. From all this Mr. Gutmann infers that in deifying
Ruwa the Wachagga thought originally, not of the glowing
orb of day, but of the whole broad heaven. “ The worship
of the sky'", he says, ** was the starting-point of their idea of
God
Native This conclusion as to the celestial rather than the solar
the celestial ^***8^^ of the god Ruwa is Confirmed by the opinion of an
nature of
Ruwa. ^ J- Kaum, op. cit. p. 193.
2 B. Gutmann, Dichten und Den ken der Dschagganeger^ pp. 178 sq.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 207
intelligent native, who reported the views of his people as
follows :
“It appears that in speaking of Ruwa they think, it is
true, of the sun, but, on the whole, more of the sky. If they
believed that Ruwa was the sun,- then a man who prayed to
Ruwa at night would look downward, because at night the
sun is believed to be below the earth. At evening also he
would turn towards the west where the sun goes down. But
people do not so, not by any means. The reason why they
think of the sun is this : they know that the sun is some-
thing very big and wonderfully shiny. It can also walk
day and night without stopping for rest and refreshment.
But nobody can say why it keeps walking about, whether it
be to keep awake or for any other reason. They believe
also that in form it is like a man, and that it talks like a
man and eats grass. It, or rather he, has also made a farm-
steading for himself ; and when he is in the zenith he has
reached his steading. The moon is the wife of Ruwa, and
the stars are his cattle. But whether he slaughters them is
more than anybody knows.” ^
With this description of the Sun as a being of the Compari-
graminivorous order, we may compare the vision which an
old Chagga woman professed to have had of Ruwa himself, cow.
Asked to describe the deity, she said that he was as large as
a cow, and that his tail was speckled red and white.^
How little the Wachagga identify the physical sun with 'J'hc birds
Ruwa appears from their belief that, when the sun rises in
the morning, it is so tiny that it would be pecked to pieces sun.
by the birds, if certain sleepless guardians were not stationed
far in the east, at the end of the world, to scare away the
flocks of fowls that would otherwise swallow the sun and
leave the world in darkness.®
Ruwa is not conceived of as the Creator of the universe. Ruwa the
If a Chagga man be asked who made the sun and the earth,
he will answer that they have always existed, but of the stars not of the
he will sometimes say that they are Ruwa’s children.^ On
the other hand Ruwa is said to have created the first human
^ J. Raum, op. cit. pp. 1 97 , 200. ^ B. Gutmann, l.c.
2 B. Gutmann, Dichten und Denken * Ch. Dundas, Kilimanjaro and its
der Dschagganeger, p. 178. People^ p. 107.
208
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Moral
character
of Ruwa.
Riiwa the
guardian of
the moral
law.
pair ; among the various verbs used to express this creation
one [iguinbd) is otherwise only used to express the moulding
of clay by a potter. To this day men come into being by
the will of Ruwa. He it is who fashions the child in its
mother’s womb. A childless man will say sadly, “ Ruwa
has overlooked me A cripple is under the special pro-
tection of Ruwa, and none may mock or illtreat him,
because they say that it was Ruwa who made him so.^
As a personal deity, Ruwa is believed to be kind and
merciful, and these amiable features of his character are
illu.strated by many stories told about him. For example,
we hear of a poor man who set out to seek Ruwa. He
wandered on and on eastward, till he came to a meadow
where a great herd of cattle was browsing. Some of the
kinc took a path that led downward, but others went
upward, and the poor man followed them and came to
Ruwa. And Ruwa received him kindly, inquired into his
distress, and granted his request, saying, “ That which thou
wishest for thou shalt find at home
More than that, Ruwa is regarded in some sense as the
guardian of the moral law. On the omnipotence and
goodness of Ruwa a Chagga man expressed himself as
follows :
“ Ruwa has power to do all things. Ruwa does not
change : as Ruwa was of old, so he is now. Nor does he
lie ; as he says so will he do. If a man does evil, though it
be at night, Ruwa sees him. If the chief and his warriors
surround a man, they cannot kill him if Ruwa does not
permit it. When a man sickens and goes to the diviner
and slaughters many goats and oxen for sacrifice, he will
not be cured if Ruwa does not wish it. But Ruwa assists
such and such a spirit to cure him. The spirit is the deputy
of Ruwa who sends it to do his work, to cast sickness on
^ B. Gutmann, Dichten und Dcnkeit
der Dschaggatteger^ p. 182; compare
J. Raum, op, cit. p. 195. Another
verb {itana) applied to the creation of
man also expresses the work of a smith
(B. Gutmann, On the other hand
Mr. Dundas tells us that “ Ruwa was
not really the Creator of Mankind, he
merely liberated the first human beings
from some mysterious vessel by burst-
ing it. On this account he is known
as Ruwa mopara %vandu, God who
burst (out) men ” {Kilimanjaro and its
People y p. 108).
2 B. Gutmann, Dichten und Denken
der Dschagganegery p. 180; compare
Ch. Dundas, op. cit. p. 107.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 209
people, to give them children, to bring famine, to mock
bad men, to demand cattle, goats, and sheep, and to take
them to Ruwa, and to bring small-pox and war into the
country, to kill such and such a one by sickness and to kill
all those whom Ruwa wants.
“ And the Wachagga teach their children thus : If a whnt
child is sent by its parents, and if that child refuses, or if a
child quarrels with the parents and strikes them, or if it children
does evil, stealing so that people seize the property of the
parents, such a child is rejected by Ruwa and will die before
he marries. And a robber who steals much and kills
people, such a man cannot hide himself ; there will come a
day when Ruwa will place him in the hands of the judge
who will punish him. A man who commits treason, who
invites enemies to attack his country, such a man is rejected
by Ruwa and will die with all his clan ; Ruwa will cut them
down in their land. Ruwa cares for the poor, he cares for
the orphans. If a man does good, if he does not intrigue
against any one, if he does not steal but eats of his own
hand, if he honours and cares for his elders, Ruwa will
rejoice and give the blessing of cattle and goats and children.
Now if you see a hut which has many sorrows, there evil
has been done by the owner and his forebears, and now
Ruwa has sent a spirit of this family to bring distress among
them. So, my child, fear evil, do well, and Ruwa will
rejoice and he will send you great blessing.
“ And the elders thus teach their children at the hour of
noon, and those who are taught point to the sky with one
finger and spit thrice.” ^
Yet withal the worship of Ruwa plays a very small part the wor-
in the religion of the Wachagga ; as in so many other Bantu
tribes, the worship of the Supreme Being is cast into
background and almost completely overshadowed by the that of Uie
worship of the dead : the cult of ancestral spirits is the real ^^nccstiai
* spirits.
religion of the Wachagga. Indeed the figure of Ruwa seems
at times almost to fade away into a dim, a shadowy ab-
straction, destitute of all significance for the practical life of
the people. It is not only that he is thought of as so far
away, so foreign, so aloof from mere humanity, while the
’ Ch. Dundas, Kilimanjaro and its People, pp. 121-123.
VOL. I P
210
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Why the
Wachagga
honour the
dead more
than Ruwa,
Sacrifices
and prayers
offer<'d to
Ruwa only
in the
second
place.
spirits of the dead are so near and so familiar ; it is also
that he is so good and so kind that he never sends trouble
or distress, and therefore men have no need to fear and
propitiate him ; whereas among the spirits of the dead there
are many that persecute and torment poor mortals ; hence
the Wachagga are compelled to sacrifice continually to these
powerful and dangerous beings, to court their favour or
appease their wrath.^
The same Chagga man who testified to the goodness
and overruling providence of Ruwa went on further to
explain why it is that nevertheless the Wachagga fear and
honour the spirits of the dead more than him. He said :
‘Mf you ask them why they fear and obey the spirits
more than they do Ruwa, they will answer thus : ‘ When the
Chief sends to demand something that is his due, and on
that day you have naught to give, whom will you try to
appease, the Chief or his messenger that he may speak well
of you to the Chief and the Chief may have mercy on you ?
And if you give bad words to the spirit who is sent to you,
or refuse him that which the diviner has counselled you to
give (that is, to sacrifice), that spirit will go to Ruwa and
accuse you, and Ruwa will be angered and will send another
spirit, a foreign spirit who is not of your ancestry, to afflict
you greatly and to kill you. For this reason we honour the
spirits more.' Thus the old men speak concerning God and
the spirits.” “
As a general rule, sacrifices are only offered to Ruwa
when the prayers and sacrifices offered to the spirits have
proved in vain. For example, if a man is sick, and offerings
have been made to the spirits for many days to ensure
his recovery, but without result, the people may say, All
this is useless. We will go no more to the diviner. The
next goat that we slaughter shall be offered to Ruwa.” So
they fetch a goat when the sun is in the zenith. They bring
it into the courtyard, and hold it with their hands, and spit
on its head and say, “ Here is the goat, Ruwa, my Chief.
Thou alone knowest, how thou wilt deal with this man, as if
^ B. Gutmann, Dichten und Denken ^ Dunclas, Kilimanjaro and its
der Dschaggatiei^er^ p. 185 ; J. Kaum, People^ p. 123,
op. cit. p. 193.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA
211
thou wouldst beget him anew.” The goat is taken away,
brought behind the house, and slaughtered. The flesh they
eat themselves. Ruwa gets only the soul.^
Again, when rain is wanted, and the rainmaker has Goats
uttered his incantations and sacrificed to the ancestral
spirits, but all in vain, he will advise the chief to offer rain,
sacrifice to Ruwa or the Sun. He will say, “ The rain
would have come by now, O chief, but it is hindered by a
Man of the Sun. A goat must be sacrificed over the door
of the hut, and beer and milk must be spat upward
Accordingly the sacrifice is offered by the rainmaker, assisted
by an old man. The goat is hoisted on the thatched roof
of the chiefs hut and stretched out at full length on its
back over the doorway, with its horns fastened in the thatch.
Kneeling on the goat, the wizard receives a calabash full of
beer, takes some of the beer in his mouth, spits it four times
towards the sky, and prays, “ Sun, my Chief, let the rain fall
on us!” Then he does the same with the milk. Lastly,
he stabs the goat to the heart with a knife, thus accomplish-
ing the sacrifice. The goat is then taken down from the
roof and cut up. The rainmaker carries home one half of
the animal, and his assistant gets the other.‘^
Again, when a married pair are childless or all their Sacrifices
children have died, they seek to procure offspring by offering
a sacrifice to Ruwa or the Sun. The sacrifice is offered at
noon, when the sun is in the zenith, for that is the right
time to sacrifice to Ruwa. The victim, a goat, is laid on its
back at the entrance of the hut so that half of its body
projects into the house. Men and women strip themselves
naked and stand beside the victim. The old people say,
“ We have given heed to that which here cuts off the thread
of life, and we find that the cause is not any human being
here on earth, but that it is He on High, who turns his eyes
down on us below. It is He in his wrath. But if we
sacrifice to him, the trouble will cease, he will give you
the child.” Before the goat is stabbed to the heart, the
childless couple spit four times between its horns, and
^ J. Raum, op. cit. pp. 198 sq. \ 2 Bruno (jutmann, “ Feldbausitten
compare B. Gutmann, Dichten uiid und Wachstumsbrauche der Wads-
Denken der Dschagganeger, p 185. chagga,” Zeitschrift fur Eihnologie^
liv. (1913) p. 487.
212
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Sacrifices
and prayers
to Ruwa in
war.
Sacrifices
and prayers
to Ruwa
at the
boundary
of the
country.
each of them leaps four times over its body, the husband
first and after him the wife. Then the victim is slaughtered
and cut up, and omens are taken from the state of the
entrails.^
Again, when the Wachagga go to war, they sacrifice to
the spirits and Ruwa, and they say, '*Ruwa, my Chief, mayest
thou take me by the hand and lead me safe ! Keep for me
a head of cattle, O Chief, that with it I may sacrifice to thee.''
And if the army returns with a booty of cattle, they sacrifice
and give thanks once to the spirits, and once to Ruwa, say-
ing, “Hail, Ruwa, my Chief! Thou hast brought me back
safe and sound, so that I am come to my house. Here is a
goat, thou wealthy one, mayest thou hereafter lend me
another I " ^
There is another sacrifice in which Ruwa is brought
into immediate connexion with the ancestral spirits. The
Wachagga formerly fortified their country on the side of the
steppes by deep trenches. By day, to facilitate peaceful
intercourse, these trenches were bridged by tree-trunks,
which the wardens of the bridges removed at night. The
guardian spirit of the bridge was believed to be the ancestor
who first kept watch and ward at the trench. At the end
of the rainy season, when the intercourse between the
different communities, and also with the population of the
steppes, begins afresh, sacrifices are still offered at all these
entrances into the country in order to prevent sickness and
plague from passing the boundary. The sacrifices are
addressed to God (Ruwa), because the ancestral spirits have
no power over sickness that comes from far ; it is sent not
by them but by God. The prayer which accompanies the
sacrifice runs thus: “Thou Man of Heaven, O Chief, take
this head of cattle. We pray thee that thou wouldest lead
far past and away the sickness that comes on earth 1 And
Thou, O Owner of the Bridge, help us to entreat the Man
of Heaven that he send us no sickness 1 ” Thus the prayer
is addressed to God (Ruwa) and to the Owner of the Bridge,
that is, to the spirit of the dead first Warden of the Marches ;
^ Bruno Gutmann, “ Feldbausitten ^ j, Raum, “Die Religion der
und Wachstumsbr'auche der Wads- Landschaft Moschi am Kilimandjaro,”
chagga,” Zeitschrift fu 7 ‘ Ethnologie, Archtv fur Religionsivisseuschaft, xiv.
liv. (1913) p. 509. (1911) P. 199.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 213
but the Warden is only besought to act as intercessor with
the Man of Heaven, the great god Ruwa.^
Simple prayers, unaccompanied by sacrifices, are also Morning
offered to Ruwa by pious people both at morning and
evening. Thus at night a man will take his stand in the Ruwa.
courtyard of his hut and looking up at the sky will say,
“ Ruwa, O Chief, hail to thee ! Thou hast made me to pass
this day in peace, grant that I pass this night in peace
also ! ” And in the morning likewise many people look up
at the sky, the mid sky, not at the point where the sun
rises, and as they look they say, “ Thanks be to thee, Ruwa
O Lord, thou hast guarded me this night. Be pleased to
guard me also the livelong day and let me not want some
food to eat ! ” With these words they spit towards the
sky.- The regular Chagga mode of saluting Ruwa is to
name the god and to spit thrice towards the sky, his home.®
The Wachagga tell many stories about Ruwa. Among stories
these stories is one which professes to account for human
mortality. It is so remarkable that it deserves to be related Death told
• f 11 i>y ‘he
lull. Wachagga.
The story runs thus. When Ruwa had either created story of the
mankind or at all events liberated them from confinement,^
he kindly provided for their subsistence. He gave them a
banana grove, and in the grove of their principal elder he
planted a great number of sweet potatoes and yams. And
in the centre he planted a species of yam called U/a, or
Ukahoy which is planted beneath large trees and trained up
creeper vines. What follows is related in the words of the
natives, only rendered into English.
“ Ruwa instructed the elder of the village in this wise,
‘ I give you leave to eat all the fruit of the bananas, also all
the potatoes in the banana grove. Eat all the bananas and
1 B. Gutmann, Dichten und Denken and are wide, deep, and steep enough
der Dschagganeger, pp. 187 sq. As to make the passage a difficult opera-
te the trenches, compare Charles New, tion to foes, particularly if defended
Life, Wanderings, and Labours in by a few brave men. They are the
Eastern Africa (London, 1873), pp. work of former generations, and are
403 sq. : “Issuing from the stockade, being neglected in these days.”
we came to a deep and spacious fosse, ^ J. Raum, op. cit. pp. 196
over which we had to make our way ^ Ch. Dundas, Kilimanjaro and its
upon a narrow and very shaky plank. People, pp. 123, 31 1, 3 I 9 > 323 >
The whole of Chaga is surrounded by 325, 326, 331.
these trenches. They are well dug, * See above, p. 208 note b
214
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
How the
man was
tempted to
cat of the
forbidden
fruit.
Death the
conse-
quence of
eating of
the for-
bidden
fruit.
Another
story of the
Origin of
Death, the
cast skin
and the
naughty
grand-
daughter.
potatoes, you and your people. But the yam which is called
Ula or Ukaho, truly you shall not eat it. Neither you nor
your people may eat it, and if any man eats it, his bones
shall break and at last he shall die.’
“Then Ruwa left the people and went his ways. And
every morning and evening he came to greet the elder and
his people. Now one day a stranger came and greeted the
elder and begged for food. The elder said to the stranger :
‘ Go into the banana grove to eat bananas and potatoes
there, but the potato Ula do not eat at all. For Ruwa
directed me and my people that we should not eat it, there-
fore do you not eat it’ The stranger said: ‘ It is now noon,
this morning early Ruwa bade me tell you to give me a
cooking-pot that I might cook this Ula, to eat it with you
and your people that we may rejoice’. The elder hearing
that Ruwa had sent this stranger, gave him a cooking-pot
And the stranger took a digging-stick and dug up the Ula
and put it in the pot The elder and the stranger cooked
the Ula yams, and they started to eat.
“As they were eating Ruwa’s Minister smelt the odour
of cooking like to the odour of Ula. At once he came
running up and asked them : * What do you ? What are
you eating ? ’ So the elder and the stranger were astonished
and greatly afraid, they could find nothing to reply. Then
the Minister of Ruwa took the pot with the yams and
carried it to Ruwa. When Ruwa saw them he was very
angry and sent his Minister a second time. And he went
and spoke to the cider and his people : ‘ Because you were
deceived by a stranger and ate my Ula, I shall break your
bones and burst your eyes, and at last you shall die ’. So
the Minister returned to Ruwa. Since that day they have
not seen him again, and Ruwa has not sent word to them
again, and people commenced to be broken, and their eyes
to be closed, and afterwards they died. Thus the old men
of the Wachagga tell and know.
“ When the Minister had gone to Ruwa, at once the
people and their elders commenced to sicken in their bones
and eyes. So the elder prayed to Ruwa for honey and
milk. And Ruwa hearkened to him, and he sent his
minister again to tell the elder, * Now I will have mercy
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 215
on you and your people. Know henceforth that you shall
grow to a great age, and when you die you shall cast your
skin as a snake does, and afterwards you shall become as a
youth again. But not one of your people may see you
when you cast your skin, you must be alone at such time.
And if your child or grandchild see you, in that hour you
shall die altogether and not be saved again.’
‘‘ So they lived until the elder became very aged. His
children seeing this gave him his granddaughter to care for
him, that he might not fall into the hearth and be burnt.
Now the old man knew that the day was come for him to
cast his skin as Ruwa had sent word to him by his Minister.
And he considered how to be rid of his granddaughter to
give him opportunity to change his skin. And he said to
the granddaughter : ' Bring a gourd and fetch me water
here And the granddaughter brought a gourd. The old
man took a large needle and made small holes in the
bottom of the gourd and gave it to the girl and instructed
her to bring water. The old man knew she would not
return quickly for the gourd was pierced with many holes.
The granddaughter went quickly to draw water. But when
the bowl was filled she saw that all the water leaked out
because the gourd was pierced with many holes. And she
made efforts to plug the holes. When she had finished
plugging the holes she filled the gourd. And she placed
the gourd on her head and hastened home to her grand-
father. As she entered the house she was startled, for the
old man had cast half his skin. The old man stared at her
in great amazement, and cried out aloud : ‘ So be it, I have
died, all of you will die ; I have died, all of you shall die.
For you, granddaughter, entered while I cast my skin. Woe
is me, woe is you ! ’
“ So the old man slowly wrapped himself up in his skin
and died. And his children came with his grandchildren
and they buried him. And that bad grandchild they drove
away, and she went into the forest. And she became a
wife and bore children, but not human children ; she gave
birth only to children with four legs and a tail. And these The origin
indeed are the baboons, and monkeys, and apes, and colobus
monkeys. Thus the baboons and these others are the and apes.
2I6
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The two
stories give
two
different ex-
planations
of the
Origin of
Death.
Both stories
reported
inde-
pendently
by a
German
missionary.
The story
of the Cast
Skin.
children of her who offended against her grandfather. For
this reason the baboons and their like are called ‘ People of
the Forest ’ or ‘ Children of the Curse ^
This curious legend has been reported by the Hon.
Charles Dundas, Senior Commissioner of Tanganyika Terri-
tory (German East Africa). It obviously comprises two
apparently distinct explanations of the origin of human
mortality. According to the one explanation, men die
because one of the first men ate of a certain kind of yam
which God had forbidden him to eat under pain of death.
According to the second explanation, men die because one of
the first men was seen by his granddaughter in the act of
casting his skin like a serpent and hence was prevented from
renewing his youth. For, like many other primitive peoples,
the Wachagga believe that serpents renew their youth by
casting their skin : “ to grow young like a serpent '' appears
to be a proverb with them.‘^
Both stories — that of the forbidden fruit and that of the
cast skin — are reported independently by the German
missionary, Mr. Bruno Gutmann, one of our best authorities
on the religion and customs of the Wachagga. His version
of the story of the cast skin runs as follows :
A man and his wife reached a great age. They had
two children, a boy and a girl. One day the man said to
his wife, “We must do something to renew our youth”.
He commanded her saying, “ Plait two market-bags out of
tree-bark. In them the children shall fetch water, for such
bags leak, so the children will not soon return.”
When the wife had woven the bags, she called the two
children, gave them the two bags, and said to them, “ With
these bags fetch water to-day, and come not again until the
bags are full”. The children went away, and the old man
said to his wife, “ Now will we cast our skins like the
serpents and be young again ”. So they began to strip off
their skin. But hardly had they begun to do so when they
heard the children talking in the courtyard. The old man
sent them away again, and cried, “ Go to the water until it
remains in the bag”. The children did as he had bidden
1 Cli. Uundas, Kilimanjaro and its ^ g. Gutmann, Dichten und Denken
People, pp. loS-iii. der Dschagganeger, p. 190.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 217
them. Ten times they turned back with the bags drained
empty. Then they said, “ We will go to the house'’. This
time they went softly and came unperceived into the house.
There they found their father and mother half stripped The story
of their skin. Their father called out to them, “ Now you
see me as I am. Shall I now burst like an earthen pot, or
shall I burst like a calabash that one pieces together again?”
The son said, ‘‘ Burst like an earthen pot, which one does
not piece together again Then his father burst and died.^
In this story the conclusion concerning the burst pot
introduces us to a third and independent explanation of the
origin of death which has been clumsily tacked on to the
story of the cast skin. In its independent form the story
of the burst pot runs as follows :
Of old when a man died he burst with a crack like that
of a gourd-bottle. Then his friends came and sewed him
up, and he got up as fresh and well as before. Now when
an old woman drew near to death, she called her children
and said to them, “ I shall now die. Choose ye now what
kind of death ye wish, my sons. Will ye die and break in
bits like a gourd-bottle which is patched up again ? or will
ye break in bits like an earthen- pot?” They answered,
“We should like to break in bits like an earthen pot”.
Then the old woman cried out, “ Alas ! If ye had said, I
will break in bits like a gourd bottle, ye should have been
patched up again. But how shall ye patch up an earthen
pot when once it is in bits ? ” Hence men have now in-
curred the doom of death, which cannot be cured. When
they die, it is all up with them. They are buried and rot."
The thoughts of the Wachagga would seem to be much Another
occupied with the problem of human mortality, for they tell ongin of
vet another and quite different story to explain it. The i^eath : the
story is this : the per-
A certain man had two wives. The child of one of the
wives died, and the mother asked the other wife, saying,
“ Go and cast my child into the forest, and as thou dost so
say these words, ‘ Go and come back like the moon . But
the other wife envied her the child ; and when she laid it
1 B. Gutmann, Volksbuch der Wads- ^ B. Gutmann, Dichten und Denken
chagga (Leipzig, 1914), pp. Dschagganeger^ p. 124.
2I8
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
In one
version of
the Chagga
story it is
a serpent
who tempts
man to eat
the
forbidden
fruit.
Re-
semblances
of Chagga
myths to
Biblical
stories.
down in the forest, she said, “ Go and lose thyself and come
not back ; but let the moon go and come back Since
that day the moon comes back after it has vanished, but
when man dies he comes back no more.^
The same story is told by the Masai, ^ from whom the
Wachagga may have borrowed it, for the two peoples have
long been in contact with each other. It contains the
elements of the perverted message and qf the moon, both
of which are typical of whole classes of myths told by
simple peoples to account for the origin of death. ^
But to return to the story of the forbidden fruit. In
Mr. Dundas’s version it is a stranger who tempts the man to
eat of it, but in Mr. Gutmann’s version it is a serpent. As
reported by Mr. Gutmann, the story runs thus : Jn the
beginning God created a man and a woman. Then he
created the cattle, bull and cow, then the goats, he-goat and
she^goat. So he did with all living things, two and two he
created them. In the beginning there were only two human
beings, until they multiplied. God commanded them that
they should not eat all the fruits which he had made. But
the serpent deceived the woman, and she ate with her
husband. The serpent said, “ It is a lie, God has deceived
you. Only eat.’' But God said, “ I will scatter your sons,
.so that none knows the speech of the other
The reader will observe that this version of the story
contains no allusion to the origin of death. It has the
appearance of being made up of elements drawn from the
Biblical stories of the Fall of Man and the Tower of Babel.
The suspicion that this is so derives support from other
Chagga legends, which bear some resemblance to the Biblical
stories of Cain and Abel and the Great Flood. These
stories have been reported by Mr. Charles Dundas in
the words of his native informants.^ To report and
discuss them here would be out of place. I will content
myself with quoting Mr. Dundas’s judicious remarks on
1 B. Gutmann, Dichten und Denken
der Dschagganeger^ p. 124; id.^ Volks-
buch der iVadschagga, p. 156.
2 A. C. Hollis, The Masai (Oxford,
1905), PP. 271 sq.
3 See The Belief in Immortality
and the Worship of the Dead^ i. 60 sqq . ;
Folk-lore in the Old Testament^ i.
52 sqq,
* B. Gutmann, Dichten und Denken
der D sc hagganeger^ p. 182.
® Ch. Dundas, Kilimanjaro and its
People^ pp. 1 1 1-120.
219
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA
these African parallels to the narratives in Genesis. He
says :
The first of these myths bears a striking resemblance Mr.
to the Biblical accounts of the fall of man and the origin
o on these
of death. The second part recalls very vividly the story African
of Cain. So also the destruction of mankind by Ruvva
recalls the story of the flood. The first destruction was by in Genesis,
a devouring colossus who came from the water, the second
destruction was caused by an actual flood.
“These ancient myths sound a little strange in African
form and applied to conditions which survive to this day,
but they retain the essential substance and characteristics of
the ancient Semitic accounts. I have satisfied myself that
they are familiar to the Chagga people ; and that they could
not have been gleaned from Mission teachings, follows in
the first place from the circumstance that Mission activities
have been too recently introduced on Kilimanjaro, in the
second place these myths are best known to the old people.
Furthermore, if such legends were imitations of Christian
teaching there is no reason why they should have been
restricted to the Old Testament.
“ Merker in his book on the Masai has recounted a
number of myths which bear an astonishing resemblance to
the Biblical myths and include the substance of those here
related. This portion of Merker’s book has been much
criticized and its authenticity doubted, but it seems to me
to receive strong support from the fact that similar myths
are known to the Chagga people. The latter not only have
lived for generations surrounded by the Masai, and have
been in close contact with that tribe, but many of them are
direct offshoots of the Masai. It is therefore very possible
that they have incorporated in their mythology a part of
the Masai legends, adapting them to their own conditions of
life.
“ There seems no absolute reason for an assumption that
the Biblical myths could not have been known to the Masai,
and if they were, it is not surprising that the Wachagga
should have acquired the same myths. But it is curious to
observe how the one myth may be cloaked in many different
forms, while its essential elements are carefully preserved.
220
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Between Noah's flood and Rimu's devastation there is con-
siderable difference, but it is typical of changes in legendary
that the flood in one place should in another be converted
into a devouring monster proceeding from the water. Such
variation seems to me too authentic to be the mere invention
or repetition of something heard, and suggests rather an
ancient origin of the myth." ^
The While I agree with Mr. Dundas in thinking that the
myth of the ^hagga stories which resemble the early narratives in Genesis
cast skin may have been borrowed from the Masai, and that the
to^corre-”^ Masai stories in turn may not improbably be traced back to
spend to it a Semitic source, I would point out that among the Chagga
nlbiicai explanations of the origin of human mortality there is
o^ig- which at first sight differs entirely from the Biblical
Death. legend of the Fall of Man. That explanation is given in
the story of the cast skin, which relates that formerly men
were able to renew their youth perpetually by casting their
skins like serpents, which are supposed in like manner to
slough off old age with their skins and so to live for ever ;
but of this serpentine immortality, as we may call it, men were
unfortunately deprived by the ill-timed intervention of some-
body at the critical moment As I have had occasion to point
out elsewhere,^ a story of this type is widely diffused over the
world. At the first blush, it appears to have no connexion
with the Biblical narrative and the corresponding Chagga
myth of the Fall of Man, which traces human mortality to
the eating of a forbidden fruit Yet a connecting link may
be detected between them in the part which the serpent
plays in the Biblical version and in one of the Chagga
' Ch. Dundas, Kilimanjaro and its
People,^ pp. 1 20 sq. According to the
legend reported by Mr. Dundas (pp.
1 1 4- 1 17) the monster Rimu was com-
manded by Ruwa “ to destroy all
living human beings and animals,
because the people have abandoned
the ancient customs and adopted evil
ways ; and they have oppressed the
poor, and have followed indolence and
pride themselves daily Accordingly
Rimu passed over the earth devouring
all mankind and all the cattle, goats,
and sheep, until after seven days
nobody and nothing was left alive but
one poor woman, her infant son, and
her cattle ; for Ruwa guarded her, and
prophesied that she and her son should
rule the earth. And when her son
grew up, he shot and killed Rimu
with poisoned arrows. But in Chagga
folk-lore Rimu seems to be the general
name of a whole class of cannibal
monsters, about whom many tales are
told. See B. Gutmann, Volksbuch der
IVadschagga, pp. 73 sqq.
^ The Belief in Immortality and the
Worship of the Dead^ i. 69 sqq. ; Folk-
lore in the Old Testament^ i. 66 sqq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 221
versions of the myth. If in the story the serpent deprives suggested
man of the boon of immortality, we may surmise that in the ^e-
* ' tween tne
original form of the tale the wily creature always did this two myths,
for the purpose of appropriating to himself the blessing of
which he robbed mankind ; so that the story regularly
aimed at explaining the cause both of the real mortality of
men and of the supposed immortality of serpents. In the
Biblical version the story has apparently been mutilated,
and thereby rendered unintelligible, by the omission of one
half of the tale, namely, that which explained the supposed
immortality of serpents.
The story which contrasts the mortality of man with the African
supposed immortality of serpents is found among other
l^antu tribes beside the Wachagga. Thus we have found itityofman
among the Wafipa and Wabende of Tanganyika Territory.’
It occurs also in a somewhat different form among the Kavi- immortai-
rondo in Kenya Colony (British East Africa), on the eastern sjrpjnts.
shore of Lake Victoria Nyanza. They say that after the
first human pair had begotten children, and men multiplied
on earth, they were subject to all kinds of misery, but death
had not yet carried away any of them. One day a chameleon Thcchame-
said to a man, “ Bring me a pot of beer The man brought
the pot of beer, and the chameleon crept up the pot, and the serpent,
plunged into the beer. Having bathed in it, he ordered
the man to drink the beer. But the man refused, for he
abhorred the chameleon, thinking that the mere touch of his
skin was poisonous. On his refusal, the chameleon said to
him, From henceforth all you men will die'’. While he
was speaking, a snake came along, and the chameleon
ordered him to sip of the beer. The snake obeyed the
order and sipped of the beer. Hence men die and snakes
do not, because a snake is reborn every time that he sloughs
his skin.“ On this story it may be remarked, that since
lizards cast their skin, and the chameleon is a species of lizard,
the story-teller seems to derive the snake's power of slough-
ing his skin from the like power possessed by the chameleon,
since the snake is said to have acquired this property by
drinking the beer in which the chameleon had bathed.
^ Above, p. 199. Mumias district (near Lake Victoria) ”,
2 N. Stam, “Bantu Kavirondo of A»/kropos, xiv.-xv. {igig-1920) p.gjg.
222
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Thcwoman The Baluba, a great tribe or nation in the valley of the
haleTa^stoIr tell a story of the origin of human mortality in
her old skin which the notion of immortality attained by casting the
re^rfewed dearly expressed, though there is no mention of
her youth, serpents. They say that in the early days of the world
God granted a woman the power of renewing her youth and
of transmitting the power to the whole human race, on
condition that she succeeded in the effort in her own case.
So when she began to grow old and withered, she took a
friend’s winnowing-basket and shut herself up in her hut.
There she began to tear off her old skin and to deposit the
pieces in the basket. The old skin peeled off easily, and
underneath it appeared a skin as fresh as that of a baby.
She had nearly finished the operation, and there only
remained the head and neck to strip, when her friend
approached the hut to get back her basket. Before the
old woman could stop her, she pushed the door open.and
entered. At the same moment the old woman, who had
almost renewed her youth, fell dead and carried away with
her the secret of immortality. That is why we must all
die.^
God, the
woman,
and the
serpent.
God, the
bird, and
the snake.
Again, the Baholoholo, a tribe who border on the Baluba
in the valley of the Congo, say that in the beginning God
one day sent for the first man and the first woman and also
the serpent. Wishing to prove them, he took a kernel in
each hand and held them out in his clenched fists, one to the
woman and the other to the serpent, saying to them, ‘‘Choose”.
Now the one kernel contained the seed of mortality and the
other the seed of immortality. The woman chose the seed
of mortality, and the serpent chose the seed of immor-
tality. “ I am sorry for your sake ”, said God to the woman,
“ that you have chosen death, while the serpent has chosen
eternal life.” That, continues the legend, is why serpents
do not die, whereas men do so. On this story the missionary
who reports it remarks that in the opinion of the Tanganyika
tribes the serpent does not die ; he merely changes his skin ;
he only dies when he is completely crushed.'^
In this last story, as in so many others of the same type,
^ Le R. P. Colic, Les Ba/uba Le R. P. Colic, Les Baluba
(Brussels, 1913), ii. 522 sq. (Brussels, 1913), ii. 507.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 223
it was clearly the intention, or at all events the wish, of God
that men should be immortal, and he was grieved that the
superior sagacity of the serpent had baffled his kindly pur-
pose. The same feature of the myth comes out still more
clearly in a Galla version. The Gallas say that God sent to
men a certain bird which is called holowaka or “ the sheep of
God ”, because its cry resembles the bleating of a sheep. This
bird the deity charged to tell men that they would not die,
and that when they found themselves growing old and weak,
they should slip off their skins and grow young again. The How
bird set out to carry the message, but he had not gone far learn^i to
before he fell in with a snake eating carrion. The bird said growyoung
to the snake, “ Give me some of the meat and the blood, and casting^
I will tell you God’s message ”. The snake answered gruffly skins,
that he did not want to hear the message. But the bird
pressed him, and at last he consented to listen to it. The
bird then said, “ The message is this : when men grow old
they will die, but you, when you find yourself growing infirm,
all you have to do is to crawl out of your skin and you will
renew your youth That, says the story, is why people
grow old and die, but snakes change their skins and grow
young again. God cursed the bird for betraying the secret
of immortality to serpents. That is why the bird sits
moaning and wailing on tree-tops down to this day.^
It is possible that the Biblical story of the Fall of Man,
with its significant but mutilated account of the part played of the Fail
by the serpent in that momentous transaction, was borrowed^^j!|J^JJ^
by the Hebrews, like so much else, from Babylonian and borrowed
ultimately Sumerian mythology. But no such tale has yet
been discovered in Babylonian and Sumerian literature, and
when we contrast the absence of the story in Babylonia
with its wide diffusion in Africa, we must not exclude the
possibility that the myth originated in Africa and was thence
derived, through one channel or another, by the Semites.
Even if the story should hereafter be found in a Sumerian
version, this would not absolutely exclude the hypothesis
of its African origin, since the original home of the
Sumerians is unknown. It is conceivable, I do not say
^ A. Werner, “Two Galla legends”, cited this story elsewhere {Folk-lore in
Man, xiii. (1913) pp. 90 sq. I have the Old Testament, i. 74 sq.).
224
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Belief in a
Supreme
Being
called
Iniana
among the
Warundi
(Barundi)
of Urundi.
probable, that the Hebrews learned the story from negroes
with whom they may have conversed during their long
sojourn in Egypt. Certainly negroes appear to have
been settled in Egypt as early as the time of the
Twelfth Dynasty (about 2200 to 2000 B.C.), long before
the traditional servitude of the Israelites in that
country. The faces of the Egyptians on monuments of
the Middle Kingdom are thought to exhibit approxima-
tions to the negro type, pointing to a mixture of the two
races ; nay it is even surmised that negro blood may have
flowed in the veins of the royal family, which was of southern
extraction.^ There is therefore no inherent extravagance
in the supposition that the Hebrews may have borrowed the
barbarous myth of the Fall of Man from the barbarous
negroes, with whom they may have toiled side by side in
the burning sun under the lash of Egyptian taskmasters.
In favour of an African origin of the myth it may be
observed that the explanation of the supposed immortality
of serpents, which probably formed the kernel of the story
in its original form, has been preserved in several African
versions, while it has been wholly lost in the Hebrew version ;
from which it is natural to infer that the African versions
are older and nearer to the original than the corresponding,
but incomplete, narrative in Genesis.
In Urundi and Ruanda, two districts at the extreme
^north-west of Tanganyika Territory, the basis of the
native religion is the fear of the ancestral spirits {baziimi^
abasinui) whom the people regard as malignant and
as the cause of the evils that befall them. Every father
of a family sacrifices to the
^ H. R. Hall, in I'he Caiiibridge
Ancient History^ i.- 295 sq. As to
the trading relations of the Egyj)tians
with negroes in the south, and the
representation of negroes on the monu-
ments, see A. Erman, Agypten und
agyptisches Leben im A/tertnm (Tubin-
gen, N.D.), pp. 659 sqq. ; A. Wiede-
mann, Das alte Agypten (Heidelberg,
1920), pp. 10, 271 sq. There is still
no general agreement among critics
and historians as to the probable date
spirits of his ancestors and
of the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt ;
but the tendency of recent inquiries
seems to be to date the Exodus in the
second half of the thirteenth century
B.C., under King Rameses H. or his
successor King Meneptah (Merneptah).
See The Cambridge Ancient History^
ii. (Cambridge, 1924), pp. 356 note
403 note 694 ; A. Lods, in Revue
de PHistoire des Religions^ xc. (1924)
pp. 134-138.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 225
of his other deceased relations in the little grass huts
which stand near his dwelling, for in them these ghostly
beings are believed to reside.^ But at the same time the
people acknowledge the existence of a high god or Supreme
Being whom they call Imana. He is spoken of by some of
our authorities as the Creator of the World ; and though
Father Van der Burgt, a high authority on the language and
religion of the Warundi or Barundi, denies that Imana is
conceived of as a Creator in the strict sense of the word, by
which he means one who creates something out of nothing,
he admits that in the opinion of the natives, Imana, either
alone or with the help of two other spirits, Rikiranga and
Riyangombe, made all visible things, and that he is supposed
to dispense life and death, prosperity and misfortune to his
creatures.^ The real religion of the Warundi, he tells us, The real
consists in the worship of evil spirits whom they identify
with the souls of the dead. Imana is a spirit superior to all uncii the
the others ; he is the first of the ghosts ; he has ordered and
arranged everything, and, in the view of the Warundi, he is
the master of everything in our planetary system.^ Although
the Warundi say that Imana has set everything in order,
and that he still intervenes in everything, bestowing life and
rain and the fruits of the earth, and healing diseases, yet
their beliefs concerning him are confused and inconsistent ;
for sometimes they confound him with the spirits of the
dead, and sometimes they regard him as a sort of Pan, who
embraces and includes all created beings. Further, they look
upon him as their national god, and think that he was the
first ancestor of their tribe, of their kings, and even of the
whole human species. In short, as Father Van der Burgt
remarks, it is very difficult to form an exact idea of Imana,
and the difficulty is increased by the loose way in which the
Warundi employ the name Imana. Thus, they apply it to
a sacred grove, to the king of Urundi, to a cock, to the
sacred bull, to the sacred lance, to amulets, and so forth.
^ J. Czekanowski, Forschuugen im ^ J. M. M. van der Burgt, Diction-
Nil- Kongo-Zivischengebiet^ i. (Leipzig, naire Frant;ais-Kirnndi (Bois-le-Duc,
1917) p. 298; H. McytXi Die Barundi 1903), p, 135.
(Leipzig, 1916), p. 1 19.
J. Czekanowski, op, cit, i. 301 ; * J. M. M. van der Burgt, Diction-
II. Meyer, Die Barundi^ p. 120. naire Fran^ais-Kirundi, p. 167.
VOL. I Q
226
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Belief in a
Supreme
Being
called
Iniana
among the
Banya-
ruanda of
Ruanda.
Further, they call Imana by many different names, and con-
fuse or identify him with many different deities.^ Yet they
neither sacrifice nor pray to him. They seem to regard
him as a Being too lofty to be approached by man, and they
turn for help rather to the inferior deities, who, having been
once men themselves, are believed to be more closely knit
to humanity.^
The like vagueness and uncertainty characterize the con-
ception of Imana in the neighbouring province of Ruanda.
He is said to be the Creator, yet his relations to the inferior
divinities are not clearly defined. The idea which the
Banyaruanda have of him is dim and misty. He is said
to have created the first man and woman and to have
given them fire. He is the master of thunder, lightning,
and rain ; and people pray to him in some such words
as these: “Be favourable to me, Imana, thou who hast
made me, who hast made my father, and my grandfather,
and my grandfather’s father, and my grandmother, and
my grandmother’s mother, and my own mother. He has
healed me, how has he healed me!” Yet the Banya-
ruanda do not sacrifice to Imana. Hence he plays no
part in their worship, and his only function is to satisfy
what we may call a theoretical or philosophical craving.®
His home would seem to be in the sky. He is spoken of as
the King of Heaven, and he is said to have created animals
and plants in the sky, where men at first lived with him in
bliss, for sickness and suffering were then unknown.^ Besides
his proper name Imana, the Supreme Being is known in
Ruanda under various titles, such as Rugaba^ “ The Giver ”,
from a verb kugaba, “to give”; Rulema, “The Creator”,
from a verb ktilema, “to create”; and Rugira^ “He who
makes to possess”, from a verb kugira^ “to make to
possess
^ J. M. M. van der Burgt, op, cit,
p. 214; H. Meyer, Die Bartmdi, pp.
120 sq.
2 H. Meyer, Die Barundi, p. 120.
3 J. Czekanowski, Forschungeii im
Nil - Kongo - Zwischengebiet^ i. 30 1 ;
A. Arnoux, “ Le Culte de la Socidte
Secrete des Imandwa au Ruanda”,
AnthropoSy vii. (1912) p. 285.
^ Le P. Loupias, “ Tradition et
L^gende des Batutsi sur la Creation
du Monde et leur Etablissement au
Ruanda”, AnthropoSy iii. (1908) pp.
2, 3 » 5 -
® A. Arnoux, Le Culte de la
Soci^t^ Secrete des Imandwa au
Ruanda”, Antkropos, vii. (1912) p.
383.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 227
In Kiziba, a district of Tanganyika Territory to the Belief in a
west of Lake Victoria Nyanza, the natives entertain a
similar idea of the Supreme Being, whom they call Rugaba. called
But they can give no exact account of him. He is believed
to have created men and cattle, and so long as man lives natives of
he is thought to be in the power of Rugaba. Yet the
people never sacrifice and seldom pray to Rugaba. It
is said that only in the case of a difficult birth do they
appeal for help to the Creator of Men.^ Thus the name
Rugaba given to the Supreme Being m Kiziba coincides
with one of the titles applied to him in Ruanda.
Of all the native tribes who inhabit the lake region of riieRa-
Central Africa, the Baganda, who give their name to the
Uganda Protectorate, are probably at once the most powerful
and the most advanced. They occupy the country which
borders on the north-western shores of Lake Victoria Nyanza,
bounded on the east by the head waters of the Nile, where
the great river flows out of the great lake. The Baganda Their
worship, or rather worshipped till lately, a number of national godj"®’
gods, who appear to have been at one time human beings,
noted for their skill and bravery in their life, and raised to
the rank of deities after their death.® The theory of the
human origin of the national gods of Uganda is strongly The wor-
confirmed by the practice of worshipping every dead king
a special temple, where his jawbone and navel-string were
preserved with religious care, and where his spirit was
regularly consulted as an oracle by a medium or prophet,
who was believed to be directly inspired by the ghost.®
“ The ghosts of kings ”, we are told, “ were placed on an
equality with the gods, and received the same honour and
worship ; they foretold events concerning the State, and
advised the living king, warning him when war was likely to
break out. The king made periodical visits to the temple,
first of one, and then of another, of his predecessors. At
such times the jawbone and the umbilical cord were placed
on the throne in the temple, and the King sat behind them ;
' H. Rehse, Kiziba^ Land iind Leute 1911), p. 271.
(Stuttgait, 1910), pp. 125 sq, ^ J. Roscoe, Baganda^ pp. 282
2 J. Roscoe, The Baganda (London, sqq.
228
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
they were handed to him, and he examined them and
©r them to the custodian.''^ Yet even more important
ancestral in the practical religion of the people appear to have been
spirits. ghosts of their own departed kinsfolk, for ghosts were
believed to possess an incalculable power for good or evil,
and they were worshipped in small shrines built near their
graves, where offerings of beer and clothes were made to
them by their relatives/^ Thus on the whole the religion of
the Baganda may be described as essentially a worship of
the dead.
Worship of At the same time the Baganda acknowledged the
God^^ii^d existence of a Supreme God, the Creator, whom they named
Katonda Katoiida. He was called the Father of the Gods, because
B^galidl!'^ he had created all things, including the inferior deities, who,
after appearing on earth in human form for some time,
returned to God. However, not much was known about
Katonda, and he received little honour and attention. He
had a temple on the Banda Hill in the Kyagwe district,
but it was only a small hut, much inferior to the temples of
the God of Plenty and the God of War. He had a medium
or prophet who gave oracles by night ; no fire or light was
allowed to burn in his temple. Offerings of cattle were
occasionally made to him ; some of the animals were killed,
but most were decorated with a bell round the neck and
allowed to roam about during the day, while at night they
were brought to one of the huts. The king sometimes s.ent
as a special offering an animal which was never killed.
Indeed, he annually despatched a gift of an ox and a milch
cow to the temple, and he worshipped the deity on behalf of
his people and of the country. But Katonda never came to
earth, nor did he take any active part in ruling the world ;
he left the management of affairs to the Inferior gods, his
sons. A common saying of the people was that the Creator
had done his work, and there is no need to disturb him ;
the task of carrying on the business of this sublunary
sphere had been deputed by him to other deities, whose
duty it was to see that all went on smoothly.^
1 J. Roscoe, 7 'he Baganda, p. 283. id,, Tiventy-five Years in East Africa
^ J. Roscoe, The Baganda, pp. 273, (Cambridge, 1921), pp. 136 sq. Com-
285 sq. pare C. T. Wilson and R. W. Felkin,
3 J. Roscoe, The Baganda, p. 312 ; Uganda and the Egyptian Soudan
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 229
The Sky-god Gulu is said by the Baganda to have Descent of
been a son of Katonda and father of Kintu, the first man of^uganL
who came to earth, and who reigned as the first king off»;on'
Uganda. All the kings of Uganda traced their descent in
an unbroken line to Kintu and hence to his grandfather,
the Supreme God Katonda.^
Ankole is a district lying to the south-west of Uganda. The
The country is hilly, interspersed with tracts of rolling Banyan^
grassy plain and valleys. A few of the hills are extinct
volcanoes, in the craters of which nestle lakes of clear
water embowered in luxuriant tropical vegetation.*^ The
climate is healthy and the country lends itself well to
cattle-breeding ; the governing class consists of a people
who are entirely pastoral in their habits. They are known
among the neighbouring tribes as Bahuma or Bahima,
though they themselves prefer to be called Banyankole.
They are a tall, fine race, though physically not very strong.
Women as well as men are above the usual stature of their
sex in other tribes. The features of these pastoral people
are good : they have straight noses with a bridge, thin lips,
finely chiselled faces, heads well set, and a good carriage ;
indeed, apart from their swarthy complexion and short
woolly hair there is little of the negroid about them. They
undoubtedly belong to the Hamitic stock, and they differ
from other branches of Bahuma in having kept their race
pure by refraining from intermarriage with members of
(London, 1882), i. 206: “They [the
Baganda] believe in a Supreme Being
who made the world and mankind,
and whom they call Katonda, or the
Cieator, but they offer no worship to
him, as they consider him too exalted
to pay any regard to mankind. Their
principal objects of worship are inferior
gods or devils called Inbari.''^ This
statement must be corrected by Mr.
Roscoe’s fuller and more accurate
evidence. It seems probable that other
general statements as to African Supreme
Beings, who are said not to be wor-
shipped, might have to be similarly
limited or corrected if we knew more
about the religion of the people.
' J. Roscoe, Twenty -Jive Years in
East Africa y pp. 137, 138 ; icf.y
“ Further Notes on the Manners and
Customs of the Baganda ”, Journal of
the Anthropological Institute^ xxxii.
(1902) pp. 25, 26, with the genealogical
table, plate ii. ; , The Baganda, ])p.
136, 214, 460 S(j(j. In the tradition
recorded in this last passage (pp. 460
sqq.) Kintu is said to have manied
Nambi, daughter of Gulu, the king
of Heaven ; but he is not spoken of
as a son of Gulu. For the legend of
Kintu and Nambi, see also Sir Harry
Johnston, The Uganda Protectorate
(London, 1904), ii. 700 sejej,
^ J. Roscoe, The Banyankole (Cam-
bridge, 1923), p. 3. Compare id..
The Northeift Bantu (Cambridge,
1915)* PP- lOl
230
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The negro
aborigines
called
Bahera.
Ruhanga,
the chief
god of the
Bah urn a,
dwells in
the sky but
is not wor-
shipped.
negro tribes. Their ancestors must long ago have invaded
and conquered the aborigines, who were true negroes and
devoted to agriculture. The conquerors did not exterminate
the original inhabitants of the land but reduced them to a
state of serfdom, in which their descendants continue to this
day. These serfs or peasants are known as Bahera. They
cultivate fields of millet for their own use, keep a few sheep
or goats with which to buy wives or pay fines, and serve
their masters the Bahuma or Banyankole, for whom they
perform all the menial tasks and drudgery of transport, of
building huts and cattle-kraals, and so forth, as well as
supplying them with beer and any vegetable food they
may required This superposition of a tribe of conquering
Hamitic herdsmen on an aboriginal negro population of
agricultural peasants, with a consequent division of the
people into two classes which differ fundamentally from each
other in race, as well as in their habits and modes of life, is
characteristic of other parts of the Lake region of Central
Africa ; it recurs notably in Bunyoro, as we shall see
presently.
The Bahuma are not a very religious people ; the gods
do not trouble them much, and they do not often trouble
the gods. Their chief deity is named Ruhanga. He lives,
or used to live, in the sky, and he is known as the Creator
and Powerful One. The world is said to belong to him ;
his favour brings life, his anger inflicts sickness and death.
Yet he receives no worship and no offerings ; he has neither
temple nor priest, and people do not pray to him. However,
they utter his name in certain ejaculations, such as Tata
Ruha7tga, an exclamation of joy, accompanied by the
clapping of hands, at the birth of a child. Also they some-
times cry out, “ May Ruhanga heal you ! ” {Ruhanga akut-
ambire). Still, everybody knows Ruhanga and acknow-
ledges his existence ; he is the great benefactor from whom
they receive all the good in life as a matter of course and
without any thought of making him a return in the shape
of offerings. He is said to have created a man Rugabe and
his wife Nyamate and sent them to people the earth. They
' J. Roscoe, The Northern BaniUy Aft'ica (London, etc., 1922), pp. 53,
pp. 102 sq. ; /f/., The Soul oj Central 56 sq , ; id.^ The Banyankole y pp. i, 94.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 231
had a son Isimbwa, who was the first of a dynasty of kings
that ruled the country. These kings did not die, but
became the gods of the land. They had no temples,
but there were certain men and women who professed
to be their mediums or prophets and claimed the power
of healing diseases and otherwise helping the people.* But, Thereiigion
as happens with so many African peoples, the niost
important part of the religion of the Bahuma is the wor- mainly a
ship of the dead. All classes of the people, from the the dead,
king downwards, have or had till lately shrines for their
family ghosts, to whom they daily offer milk from certain
cows which are specially dedicated to the use of these
august beings.^
Similarly the Bambwa, a turbulent tribe of mountaineers a Creator
inhabiting the western slopes of the Ruwenzori range,
acknowledge the existence of a Creator, but pay him no not wor-
worship and make him no offerings. The only supernatural
beings whom they believe to exert any real influence on Bambwa.
their lives are the spirits of the dead, which accordingly
require to be propitiated by offerings. Children are named
after ancestors, because the ghosts are supposed to become
the guardians of their youthful namesakes, the ghosts of
men looking after boys, and the ghosts of women taking
girls under their protection.^
To the north-west of Uganda lies Bunyoro or Kitara, as
it should rather be called, which was at one time the largest
and most powerful of all the independent kingdoms in the
lake region of Central Africa. It was not until some three or
four generations ago that the territory and power of the
kingdom began to dwindle in consequence of the encroach-
ments of its great enemies, the Baganda.* Most of the
country is a rolling plain covered with coarse grass. Yet
the flora is very rich and varied, though during the dry
season little meets the eye but a scorched and arid
waste. The advent of the rains produces a sudden outburst
of tropical growth which transforms the desert as by magic
1 J. Roscoe, The Northern Banin, 25 sq,
p. 131 ; id„ The Banyankole, p. 23. J. Roscoe, (Cambridge,
In the former work the author gives 1^24), pp. 148 ■'^q.
the name of the chief deity as Lugaba. J. Roscoe, The Baktiara or Ban-
^ J. Roscoe, The Banyankole, pp. yoro (Cambridge, 1923), P-
232
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
into a beautiful garden. On the whole the country is best
adapted to the rearing of cattle.^
The two The dominant people of Bunyoro or Kitara are not
Bu^nyoro, negroes, but a branch of the Hamitic stock, akin to the
the Bahuma of Ankole. At some early date their ancestors
Banyom”^ invaded the country, apparently from the north-east, con-
quering and subjecting to their rule tlie negro aborigines,
subject These conquerors, like those of Ankole, were pastoral
Bahera. nomads commonly known as Bahuma ; and the conquered
negro aborigines, as in Ankole, were called Bahera, and
subsisted chiefly by a rude sort of agriculture. The relations
between the conquering herdsmen and the subject farmers
were much the same as in Ankole, though in Bunyoro the
division between the two races has not been maintained
with the same rigour, the rulers sometimes allowing members
of the subject people to rank as freemen and to marry
women of the pastoral clans. The result of the inter-
marriage has been to modify the customs and to some extent
the physical type of the dominant race and to assimilate
both to those of the aborigines.^
Belief of the The Banyoro or Bakitara are reported to have had many
objects of worship, but only one god, Ruhanga, the creator
Ruhanga, and father of mankind. With him were associated the
and^^Tuier of Enkya and Enkyaya Enkya, two mysterious beings
of Man- whose identity it is not easy to separate from that of
' Ruhanga. One of Mr. Roscoe's native informants asserted
that the three were a trinity and yet one god ; but as he
had been for some years a devout Christian, in constant
attendance at the Roman Catholic Mission Station, his
statement may have been coloured by Christian ideas.
The general impression which Mr. Roscoe received from his
inquiries was that the belief of the Bakitara was entirely
monotheistic, and that if the three beings were not one deity,
then Enkya and Enkyaya Enkya were subordinate gods
whose appearance in the native theology was later than that
No temples of Ruhanga. No temples or priesthoods were dedicated to
ofRuhanV three ; but in time of distress or need people
called upon Ruhanga and more frequently on Enkya, stand-
^ J. Roscoe, The Bakitara^ pp. 3, 5.
2 J. Roscoe, The Bakitaray pp. 6 sqq.y 12 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 233
ing in the open with hands and eyes raised skywards, while
they prayed. Thus Ruhanga was apparently conceived of
as dwelling in heaven. But on the whole he was supposed
to have retired from active participation in the affairs of the
world which he had created ; and people generally turned
for help, not to him but to a misty and somewhat bewilder- The Bach-
ing collection of beings called the Bachwezi, supposed to
be immediate descendants of Ruhanga, but completely sub-
ordinate to him. They were regarded as immortal and
almost divine. After living as men in the country for
many years, these Bachwezi suddenly departed, leaving
behind them their priests, who could communicate with them
and obtain blessings and favours from them for the people.^
It seems to have been especially in seasons of drought, Prayersand
when the ordinary means for procuring rain had been
employed without effect, that an appeal was made to lor rain.
Ruhanga to have compassion on the people and unlock the
celestial fountains. Thus, when the local rain-makers had
sought in vain to wring the needed showers from the
reluctant sky, when the crops were dying and the pasturage
failing, the people used to petition the king, who accord-
ingly instructed the chief rain-maker of the district to
discharge his office, and supplied him with a red and
black bull, a ewe, a black he-goat, and two white fowls,
the colours of the creatures being chosen to represent the
sky in different aspects, bright, dark, and variegated. The
rain-maker told the king’s messengers which of the animals
he would require for the offering, and these were put in his
hut and remained there all night. Early next morning the
rain-maker and his assistant set out with the destined
victims for the sacred shrine. One of these holy places,
where solemn intercessions were made for rain, Mr. Roscoe
was allowed to visit. It was a glade in the deep forest,
where the overarching boughs of tall trees shed a religious
gloom over the quiet place. At one end of the glade were
two pits, of no great depth, which were said to have been
dug by the hand of Ruhanga himself. A few feet away
among the bushes stood some water-pots, which were used
* J. Roscoe, The Bakitara, pp. 21 sq. Compare ?</., The Northern Bantti,
P. 91-
234
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
While bull
sacrificed
to Ruhanga
for rain.
Ruhanga
and his
three
grandsons.
Story of
the Origin
of Death :
the woman
and the
dog.
during the ceremony to work the sympathetic magic that
formed an important element of the rite. When one of the
victims had been killed, some of the blood was poured into
each of the pits, and its body was cast into one of them.
Then a vessel of water was brought from a neighbouring
spring, and the rain-maker raised his hands and prayed thus
to Ruhanga : “ Ruhanga, bless us. Thou king of all the
earth, hear us. The people are dying from hunger.” With
much ceremony the water was then poured into some of the
pots and left exposed to the air, in order to draw down rain
by sympathetic magic.^ Thus in the ritual of the Bakitara,
as in that of so many . other peoples, religion is blent with
and reinforced by magic.
Sometimes when rain failed to come, one of the rain-
makers would send to the king to tell' him that it was
necessary to make a special offering at an empty pit far
away in the wilderness. A white bull was demanded as the
offering, and with it the rain-maker and his staff set off for
the pit. There the bull was offered to Ruhanga and then
killed near the pit, while prayers for rain were put up. It
is said that rain invariably fell a short time after the
ceremony.^
Apparently Ruhanga was believed to be married, for a
story is told of a dispute as to precedence between his three
grandsons, which Ruhanga .settled by means of three pots of
milk which he gave the brothers one evening to hold and
not put down. In the morning Ruhanga decided in favour
of the youngest, Machuli, because his pot alone was full of
milk, while the pot of the second brother was not full, and
the pot of the eldest brother was empty. Ruhanga declared
that Machuli, the youngest, should rule them all, that his
second brother, Mugati, should look after his milk, and that
the eldest brother, Musiganjo, should be the slave of all, to
build, and to carry, and to eat potatoes.^
Like many other African tribes, the Banyoro or Bakitara
trace the origin of death to a doom of their great God. They
say that at one time men rose again from the dead and came
^ J. Roscoe, The Bakitara^ pp. 28-30.
2 J. Roscoe, The Bakitara^ pp. 31 sq.
^ J. Roscoe, The Bakitara^ pp. 336 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 235
back to their friends on earth. Only animals did not enjoy
the privilege of resurrection ; when they died they remained
dead. Now there was a man who lived with his sister, and
she had a dog of which she was very fond, and the dog
died. When people rose again from the dead, it was the
custom that all the living adorned themselves in their best
to go and meet their risen friends. The man and his friends
said to his sister, “ Put on your good clothing and come to
meet the risen But she answered, No. Why should I
go when my dog is dead and gone ? Ruhanga overheard
her reply and was angry. He said, “ So people don’t care
what becomes of the dead. They shall not rise again, for
death will end their careers.” So now, when a man dies,
he does not rise again from the dead.^
A different story of the origin of death was recorded by Another
Emin Pasha among the Banyoro or Bakitara. They say
that in primeval times people were numerous on the earth ; Death : the
they never died but lived for ever. But as they grew pre- cimnieieon!
sumptuous and offered no gifts to ‘‘the great Magician ”
who rules the destinies of man, he was angry and killed
them all by throwing the whole vault of heaven down upon
the earth. But in order not to leave the earth desolate, “ the
great Magician” sent down a man and woman from above.
Both the man and the woman had tails. They begat a son
and two daughters who married. One daughter bore a
loathsome beast, the chameleon ; the other daughter bore a
giant, who was the moon. Both children grew up, but soon
they quarrelled ; for the chameleon was wicked and spiteful,
and at last “ the great Magician ” took the moon up to the
place in the sky whence it still looks down upon the earth.
But, to keep in remembrance its earthly origin, it waxes,
growing large and bright, and then wanes as though it were
about to die ; yet it does not die, but in two days passes
round the horizon from east to west and appears again, tired
from its journey and therefore small, in the western sky.
But the sun was angry with his new rival and burned him,
and you may see the marks of burning on the moon’s face
any clear and moonlit night. As for the chameleon, his
progeny peopled the earth ; in time they dropped their tails,
^ J. Roscoe, The Bakitara^ p. 337.
236
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
and the original pallor of their skin changed into a dusky
hue under the torrid beams of an African sun. Down to
the present hour the heavenly bodies are inhabited by people
with tails who have many herds of cattle.^
The cha- This legend of the origin of death combines two
the^moon”^ mythical personages, the chameleon and the moon, who
in stories of usually appear in different versions of the myth, in one of
of^^i^ath*^ vvhich the chameleon is represented as the messenger whose
tardy pace robbed man of the boon of immortality, while in
the other the monthly return of the moon after its apparent
decline and destruction is contrasted with the fate of man,
who dies and returns no more.^ Perhaps Emin Pasha’s
native informant confused the two distinct versions of the
story.
TheBasoga Immediately to the east of Uganda, but separated from
of Busoga. head waters of the Nile, where the river issues from
Lake Victoria Nyanza, lies the province of Busoga. Its
native population, the Basoga, are pure negroes of the same
type as the agricultural peasants of Bunyoro or Kitara.
Their features are those generally known as negroid ; the
nose is almost bridgeless and flat, the face round, with thick
but not generally protuberant lips. The chief industry is
agriculture, but cattle, sheep, and goats are reared, and most
of the peasants keep a few fowls. In temperament the
Basoga are much more submissive and pacific than the
Baganda and Banyoro. From time immemorial they have
been subject and tributary to one or other of the surround-
ing nations, particularly the Banyoro and Baganda ; and
this subjection to different foreign rulers may help to
explain certain differences which have been noted in the
customs of the several districts. The country is open,
undulating, and remarkably fertile ; travellers have long
admired the vast stretches of arable land interspersed with
great groves of plantains and plots of sweet potatoes.^ At
the present day, unfortunately, under the rule of the native
chiefs, the people of this naturally rich and fruitful country
1 Emin Pasha in Central Africa sqq,^ 60 sq.y 63 sqq. See also above,
(London, 1888), pp. 92 pp. 136, 149, 163, 169, 173, 177,
2 7 'he Belief in Immortality and the 21^ sq.y 221.
Worship of the Dead^ i. 60 65 sqq . ; ^ J. Roscoe, The Northern Bantu ^
Folk-lore in the Old Testa?nent^ i. 52 pp. 197-200; id.frheBagesu^^^.(.)']sq.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 237
have sunk into a miserable condition, and famine has
attacked them more than once/
The Basoga retained their ancient pagan faith and Belief ofthe
practised their ancient pagan customs long after these were a
almost extinct among their neighbours the Baganda, with Being
whom they are closely connected by language and habits. Kat^ondaor
They believe in a Supreme Being whom, according to some Mukama.
authorities, they call Katonda, the name which the Baganda
also apply to their chief or only god. The name is said
to signify Creator, being derived from a verb kutonda^ “ to
create Perhaps the name may be due to the once
dominant influence of the Baganda in the country. In the
Central District of Busoga the Creator, who made man and
beast, is named Mukama. At one time he is said to have
lived in a deep hole on Mount Elgon, where, with his sons,
he worked iron and forged all the hoes which were first
introduced into the land. Thus far, therefore, Mukama
would seem to be an African Vulcan rather than a Jupiter.
However, he is also believed to be the creator of all rivers,
which are said to have their source at his mountain home.
Oddly enough, any child that happens to be born with its Any child
teeth already cut is taken to be an incarnation of Mukama. it^tcethcui
On its birth a hut is built for such a child and a high fence cgnrded
is erected around it; there the mother is lodged with her -nckmation
infant during the period of her seclusion. When that is of Mukama.
1 .1 • 1 1 • 1 r • 1 Ceremonies
over, the divine infant is exhibited to relatives and friends, observed at
A vessel of water is brought from Lake Kyoga, together
with a reed from the papyrus-grass, by the husband’s sister’s child,
son, who has to go secretly to the lake ; nobody may see
him either going or returning. He takes with him four
coffee-berries which he offers to the water-spirit of the lake,
as he draws the water. When the time of seclusion is over,
two houses are built for the reception of the child, one for
a sleeping-room, the other for a living-room. To this new
home the mother and child are conducted with great cere-
mony. In front walks the husband’s sister’s son, carrying
1 J. Roscoe, The Soul of Central A^ithropos, iii. (1908) p. 217 ; M. A.
Africa^ p. 292. Condon, “Contributions to the Ethno-
graphy of the Basoga-Batamba, Uganda
^ N. Stam, “The religious Con- Protectorate”, Anthropos^ vi. (1911)
ceptions of some Tribes of Buganda”, p. 381.
238
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Elsewhere
in Busoga
the Creator
is called
Lubare.
the papyrus - reed as a spear, and behind him follow a
number of medicine-men. Next comes a woman carrying
a native iron hoe, which she brandishes as she walks. She
utters a shrill cry as women do in danger, in order to warn
people of their approach. Behind her walk members of the
parents* clan, and the rear of the procession is brought up
by the father and mother with the child. The mother is
escorted into the living-room, where a sacred meal is par-
taken of, and after the meal the child is brought out and
has its head shaved, the water brought mysteriously from
the lake being used both to wet the head for shaving and to
wash it after it is shorn. When the ceremony of shaving is
over, the father gives his shield to the child. The company
remain three days with the mother and the holy infant. On
the third day the papyrus-reed is handed to the child, who
is thereupon appointed governor over a portion of land.
The mother remains with the child, for her husband resigns
her to this pious duty, and her clan presents him with
another wife to take the place of the Mother of God, whose
time and attentions are now devoted to the care of the
infant deity. For the child is regarded as a God, being
no other than an incarnation of the Creator Mukama, and
people come to pray to him for whatever they happen to
want. When the god dies, for he is mortal, a medium or
prophet is appointed to hold communion with his departed
spirit and to impart his precious answers to the suppliants
who come to consult the oracle.^ Thus we see that there is
much virtue in being born with teeth in Busoga. It secures
for the happy possessor of the teeth the reputation of being
a great god incarnate both in his lifetime and after death.
Elsewhere in Busoga the Creator seems to have been
known as Lubare, which in Uganda is the general name for
any god. Under this name he had shrines in different parts
of the country, to which people resorted to pray and sacrifice.
The priest presented the offerings to Lubare, then killed the
fowls in front of the shrine, and divided them. One half went
to the people who had brought the offerings, and the other
half went to the priests.^
1 J. Roscoe, The Northern Bantu^ 2 Roscoe, The Bagestt^ p. 104.
pp. 248 sq. As to Inbarey “god” (plural balubare)^
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 239
But in Busoga, as in so many other parts of Africa, the in Busoga
worship of the gods, including that of the Creator, is over-
shadowed by the worship of the dead. On this subject I Creator
will quote the evidence of Mr. John Roscoe, our best authority shadowed
on the peoples of the Uganda Protectorate, in which Busoga
is included. He says: ‘‘In all parts of Busoga worship of the dead,
the dead forms a most important part of the religion of the
people, and the belief in ghosts and the propitiation of them
are the chief features of their most constant and regular acts
of worship. The gods, with fetishes and amulets, are able
to do great things for the living ; but, after all, it is the
ghost that is most feared and obtains the most marked
attention. In child-birth, in sickness, in prosperity, and in
death, ghosts materially help or hinder matters ; hence it
behoves the living to keep on good terms with them. It is
because of this belief that people frequently make sacrifices
of fowls and other animals to the dead and constantly seek
their help. First and foremost, it is because of the firm
conviction of the presence of ghosts that the elaborate
funeral ceremonies are performed. ... In the beliefs of
these primitive people we must relegate gods to a secondary
place after the worship of the dead.” ^
Mount Elgon is a large range or rather group of moun- Mount
tain peaks rising in isolated grandeur on the borders of the ^e^rj^yand
Uganda Protectorate and Kenya Colony (British East Africa), its caves.
It occupies an area of many square miles, and some of the
peaks are very lofty, the snow lying on them for long periods
of the year. Copious streams of water gush from springs
far up the heights and flow down deep, luxuriantly wooded
gorges, between which the ridges stand out like the ribs of
a monster stretching away up the mountain sides. On these
ridges are perched the villages of the natives, but at such
wide intervals apart that, even with the cultivated ground
about them, they appear but as specks on the vast slope of
wild mountain. In some places the mountain breaks away
in sheer cliffs hundreds of feet high, over the brink of which
in the language of Uganda, sec J. the Aitthropological Institute, xxxii.
Roscoe, The Baganda, p. 271 ; id., (1902) pp. 73, 74 *
“ Further Notes on the Manners .and ^ J. Roscoe, The Northern Ba 7 itu,
Customs of the Baganda ”, Journal oj p. 245.
240
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The
Bagesii
of Mount
Klgon.
Their
harvest
festival.
streams tumble into rocky basins far below. The faces of
these cliffs are thickly draped with maiden-hair and other
ferns, while a profusion of exquisite tropical or semi-tropical
plants flourishes in the spray and moisture of the falling
water. Most of these beautiful waterfalls are sacred, and
the natives resort to them for the healing of diseases. Some
parts of the mountain are honeycombed with large natural
caves capable of holding hundreds of cows and several
families of people. In these caves the natives, with their
flocks and herds, used to find refuge when they were hard
pressed by the raids of warlike enemies from the plains
below. Most of the caverns are approached by steep and
narrow paths, which can easily be defended against attack,
and some of them were formerly always kept provisioned
and ready for occupation in case of sudden need. So long
as the raiders prowled in the neighbourhood, the cattle were
kept in the caves during the day and taken out to graze by
night. Some of these caves have been examined, but they
showed no sign of permanent habitation, the floors being
smooth rock without any deposits.^
The Bagesu tribe on Mount Elgon is one of the most
primitive of the negro tribes of Africa, though they are
surrounded by other Bantu tribes much more advanced than
themselves. They are an agricultural people, supporting
themselves chiefly by the cultivation of millet and plantains,
though they also keep a few cows, sheep, and goats.‘^ The
clans into which the tribe is divided for the most part
occupy separate ridges of the mountain and until lately used
to be at constant enmity with each other, so that it was
unsafe even for an armed man to wander in the territory
of another clan. Only after harvest, when beer had been
brewed, a universal truce was observed between all the
clans ; the people, unarmed, roamed from village to village,
drinking beer, dancing, and singing by day and by night,
the festivity degenerating into saturnalia, in which the sexes
indulged their passions without any regard to the bonds
of marriage. These orgies were all the more remarkable
^ J. Roscoe, 7 Vie Northern Bantu^ ^ J. Roscoe, The Northern Bantu y
pp. 161-163; id.y 7 'he Bagesu, pp. pp. 161, 165 sq., 168; id., I'he
I sq. Bagesu y pp, l, 12 sqq,, 17 sq.
.V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 241
because at other times of the year the women of the tribe
were strictly chaste, and the men guarded their wives with
jealous care.^ Another proof of the savagery of the Bagesu Cannibai-
was their cannibalism. The dead were not buried but carried
out to waste land and deposited there. Then, when darkness
had fallen, some old women, relatives of the deceased, stole
out of the village, carved the corpse, and brought back the
favourite joints to be cooked and devoured by the mourners.
This ghoul-like feast lasted for days, until the flesh had all
been consumed, and the bones burnt to ashes. The reason
the people gave for not burying their dead was that, if they
allowed a corpse to decay, the ghost would be detained near
the place of death and would take his revenge by causing
sickness among the children of the family.'^ Thus with these
savages the fear of the ghost was the source of cannibalism.
It was also with them at least one of the motives which
contributed to the prosecution of the blood-feud ; for we are
told that, when a man had been slain, his relatives would
keep up a feud against the clan who had killed him and
would watch, it might be, for years for a chance of slaying
some member of the clan, in order to pacify the ghost of
their kinsman, whose wrath nothing but blood for blood
could appease.^
In spite of their savagery the Bagesu are reported to Belief ofthc
believe in a Creator, whom they call Weri Kubumba. But ^ c>?ator
they did not often trouble him with requests of any kind, called Wen
.1.11 1-1 1 11 Kubumba.
If there was a year in which the cows did not bear well, the
herdsnaen took them to a specially prepared shrine ; one
barren cow was offered to the god by the priest, who then
drank beer, on which a blessing had been pronounced, and
puffed it over the other cows. The cow was then killed
and a feast made for all the owners of cattle, after which the
herds were driven back to their ordinary pastures."*
Offerings were also made to the Creator at the elaborate Offeringsto
ceremonies of initiation, when all lads about the age of at^the
puberty had to undergo a very severe form of circumcision cumdsion
^ of boys.
' J. Roscoe, The Northern Bantu^ pp. 16 1, 177 sq. \ id.^ The Baiiesu,
pp. 1 61, 164, 189 sq. ; id., The pp. 40
Bagesu, pp. 3 15-17 J I'rventy- .•{ ^ Bagesu, p. 23.
five Years in East Africa, pp. 2^1 sq.
2 J. Roscoe, The Northern Bantu, ** J. Roscoc, The Bagesu, p. 8.
VOL. I
242
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Sacrifice of
bulls or
goats.
Dances
before
circmn-
cision.
before they were deemed fit to marry or to share in the
councils of the men. These ceremonies commonly took
place every second or third year in a district, but if the
harvest happened to be a poor one and the supply of beer
consequently scanty, the ceremony was postponed to another
year. Early in the morning of the day appointed for the
performance of the rite, the priest went to the mountain
shrine of the Creator Weri, which was under the shade of a
large tree and near a spring of water. He was attended by
one or more followers, including the chief of the village in
which the ceremony was to take place. They took with
them a fowl, usually white, and two eggs ; the fowl was
offered to the god, and was then killed and left at the foot
of the sacred tree, while the eggs were broken in the path
for a snake which was supposed to live in the tree. In
many parts of Africa a green snake, with a patch of orange
under the head, haunts trees near springs, where it preys on
birds that come to sip the water. Such snakes are always
sacred. The particular tree-snake to which the Bagesu offer
eggs may belong to this species.
After the Creator had thus been propitiated with a fowl,
and the tree-snake with eggs, the boys who were to be
circumcised were taken by the priest and the chief into the
forest for another sacrifice to the god. If among the lads
were any sons of chiefs or wealthy men, one or more bulls
might be provided for the sacrifice and feast ; but if the lads
were sons of poor men, the sacrificial victims would only be
goats. One of the animals was taken with them into the
forest and offered to the god, after which it was killed, and
the contents of the stomach, mixed with water, were smeared
over the bodies of the boys. A plentiful supply of cooked
vegetable food and beer had also been brought, and the meat
of the animal which had been offered to the god was cooked
and eaten with the vegetables and beer as a sacred meal,
while the priest pronounced the god’s blessing on each boy.
When the meal was over and they had drunk freely of
the beer, the boys returned at a run to the village. They
arrived there about noon ; dancing went on vigorously, and
the excitement grew apace. Up and down in an open
space, surrounded by a crowd of spectators, pranced the
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 243
boys, brandishing heavy clubs, with which they were supposed
to be repelling the assaults of an evil ghost ; but too often
they missed the ghost and hit the spectators, so that broken
heads were the order of the day, and sometimes the wounded
succumbed to their injuries. In thus laying recklessly about
them with their bludgeons the lads were supposed to be
under the influence of a spirit, to whose account the blood
spilt, the ey^s blackened, and the bruises inflicted were
doubtless debited. The excitement spread also among the
crowd : women often grew hysterical, and, shaking in every
limb, joined in the frenzied dance. They, too, were believed
to dance under the influence of the spirit.
By this time the day had worn on to afternoon. The The
declining sun marked the approach of the hour when the
boys had to undergo the last, the fearful ordeal, from which,
under pain of lifelong infamy, they dared not shrink. To
brace them for it they had to repair once more at a run to
the mountain shrine, there again to receive the blessing of
the Creator conveyed to them by his priest. At the shrine
the priest was waiting for them. To each boy he gave his
blessing, and smeared the face and body of each novice with
white clay. The visit to the shrine and the benediction at
it occupied about an hour, and when it was over, what with
the beer, and the dancing, and the prospect of the dreadful
operation now looming immediately before them, the boys
were wrought up to such a pitch of excitement that on their
breakneck course back to the village (for they had again to
go at a run) they needed guides to direct their steps and to The
help them along. Immediately after their return they under-
went the operation, each at his own village.^
Sometimes, in serious sickness, a diviner discovered by Sacrifice
the exercise of his art that the illness was brought about by uie^c^eat^or
the Creator Weri. Thereupon a goat and two long branches sickness,
of a tree were brought to the house where the sick man lay.
The branches were planted outside near the door to serve
as a shrine or shelter for the Creator, and the goat was
offered to him beside them. If the goat made water while
the preparations for the sacrifice were afoot, it was a sign
that the god accepted the offering, whereupon the animal
1 J. Roscoe, The B^gesu, pp. 27-32.
244
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The
Bakyiga
clan also
believe in
the god
Weri.
Sacrifice
for rain.
Were, the
god of the
Wawanga.
was led away, with drums beating, to the forest, where it
was killed and eaten. If, however, the deity did not thus
signify his acceptance of the victim, the goat was taken back
to the flock, and another goat was brought and tied near the
tree for a short time, that it might be. seen whether the god
approved of it or not If he showed by the usual sign that
he accepted the offering, the goat was conducted to the
forest and there sacrificed. After that the sick man no
doubt either recovered or died.^
On the northern slopes of Mount Elgon there lived a
clan called the Bakyiga, who, though they belonged to the
Bagesu tribe, held little communication with the other clans.
They, too, believed in the god Weri ; but in their opinion
ghosts were the responsible agents in the affairs of life, and
to these powerful spirits offerings were made whenever the
medicine-man called for them.^
When rain was wanted, the rain-maker offered a fowl to
rejoice the heart of the god, and he usually smeared some
of the blood on his fetishes. Afterwards he sprinkled some
medicated water upwards towards heaven and round him on
every side, calling upon the spirit to give rain.® This
sprinkling of water heavenward suggests that the spirit who
was asked to give rain had his abode in the sky, but whether
he was identified with the Creator Weri we are not informed.
The Wawanga, a tribe of the Elgon District in Kenya
Colony (British East Africa), recognize a god whom they
name Were. In every village and on the path leading to
the village may be seen small stones, usually oblong, which
have been set up in honour of Were.^ Sacrifices are offered,
libations poured out, and prayers addressed to Were and
the spirits of the dead at a ceremony which takes place in
honour of a deceased person at the season when the eleusine
grain is sown ; but we are not told that the Were of the
Wawanga is regarded as a Creator or Supreme Being, nor
that he is thought to dwell in the sky. Indeed, in prayers
addressed to him he seems to be identified with the spirit of
a person recently deceased.** However, the similarity of his
^ J. Roscoe, The Bagesu^ p. 37. Wawanga and other Tribes of the
2 J. Roscoe, The BagesUy p. 48. Elgon District, liritish East Africa”,
2 J. Roscoe, The Bagesu^ p. 10. Journal of the R. Anthropological Insti-
♦ lion. Kenneth R. Dundas, “The tute^ xliii. (1913) pp. 31, 37.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 245
name to the Weri of the Bagesu suggests that perhaps in
one of his aspects he may claim a lofty position in the
celestial hierarchy.
The Akamba are a Bantu tribe who occupy an extensive The
territory in Kenya Colony (British East Africa), at a c^ti-
siderable distance to the south of Mount Kenya. Their their
country, known as Ukamba, comprises a series of granitic
mountain ranges running roughly north and south, with
great stretches of flat land lying between them. Many
springs rise on the hills and at their foot, and the intervening
plains sometimes present a park-like appearance, but oftener
they are covered with thickets of thorny scrub. Great water-
courses traverse these plains, but their beds are dry except
at the height of the rainy season. However, water can
generally be obtained by digging holes in the clean white
sand. At these holes women will sometimes sit for hours
before they can fill their calabashes with the water which
slowly oozes from them. The country as a whole is treeless :
only on the tops of some of the higher mountains may be
seen small remnants of primeval forests. The woods which
once clothed the hill-sides appear to have been cut down by
the Akamba to make room for their fields. The western
district, named Ulu, is the most fertile and best watered
portion of the country ; on the other hand, in the eastern
portion of Kitui, which is the most easterly district of
Ukamba, the rainfall is very fluctuating, and severe famines
occur at intervals of seven or ten years. On the eastern
borders of Kitui the mountains cease and are succeeded by
a flat, waterless, bush-covered desert, which stretches away
unbroken to the valley of the Tana River. The fertility of
the soil in this desert is extraordinary, but unless the
wilderness can at some future time be irrigated by water
from the river, it must remain useless to man.^
The Akamba subsist chiefly by agriculture, but they also
keep cattle and value them highly.^ They appear to
^ C. W. Hobley, Ethnology of the 26 ; Hon. Charles Dundas, “ History
A-Kamba and other East African oi YA\.\x\'\ Journal of the R. Ant hropo-
Tribes (Cambridge, 1910), p. 3; G. xliii. (191 3) pp. 480
Lindblom, The Akamba^ Second 2 Lindblom, The Akamba^ pp.
Edition (Uppsala, 1920), pp. 22 sq.y 475 sqq.y 501 sqq.
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The
Akamba
recognize a
high god
and creator
called
Mulungu
or Engai,
who lives in
the sky.
Different
opinions of
observers
as to
Mulungu
or Engai.
246
recognize the existence of a high god, whom they call
Mulungu or Engai (Ngai) or sometimes Chua, which means
the sun.^ They look upon him as the creator of all things ;
hence they name him Mumbi, “the Creator”, from umba,
a verb which means “ to fashion ”, “ to shape ”, and is most
commonly applied to the shaping of pottery. Less often he
is called Mwatwangi, “the Cleaver”, from atwangga, “to
cleave into pieces”, because he is thought to have formed all
living beings originally “ as one hews out a stool or some
other object with an axe ”. He is believed to be above the
ancestral spirits {ainiu) and all the powers of nature. Yet
he seldom receives worship in the form of sacrifice or in
any other way. He dwells in the skies at an indefinite
distance and is held to be well-disposed towards human
beings, but beyond that he has nothing to do with them.
The Akamba say, “ Mulungu does us no evil ; so wherefore
should we sacrifice to him ? ” It is only on rare and special
occasions that they pray to him. At the birth of a child
they have been heard to say, “ Mumbi, thou who hast created
all human beings, thou hast conferred a great benefit on us
by bringing us this child And when rain is wanted they
sometimes pray, or seem to pray, for it to Mulungu-Ngai,
yet such prayers, according to one account, are really
addressed to the ancestral spirits.®
But so vague and indefinite is the conception which the
Akamba have formed of this high god that a careful observer
of them has even denied that they have any word for God
at all. According to him, the names Mulungu or Muungu
and Ngai (Engai), “are merely collective words meant to
denote the plurality of the spiritual world ”.® But this con-
clusion is rejected by Mr. C. W. Hobley, one of our best
authorities on the Akamba. He says : “ While it is recog-
nised that great confusion of thought may exist on the
subject among the bulk of the people, there is little doubt
that the elders of Wumbo, or tribal shrines, are quite clear on
the matter. Great care was taken to record only such infor-
mation on the question as was furnished by this grade of
> C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and ^ Hon. Charles Dundas, “ History
(London, 1922), p. 6z. of Kitai ”, fow-nal of the R. Anthro-
2 G. Lindblom, The Akamba, pp. pological Institute, xliii. (1913) P-
244 sq, 535 *
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 247
Kamba society. And as the elders of ithembo correspond,
in a measure, to the priestly castes of more highly developed
communities, their opinion has a certain value, and we there-
fore feel justified in saying that the Kamba religion contains
the concept of a high god.” ' The same view is held by
Mr, Gerhard Lindblom, a Swedish ethnologist who has made
a very careful study of the tribe.* Mr. Lindblom appears
to be also right in holding that the Kamba conception of
Mulungu is quite distinct from, and independent of, that
of the ancestral spirits {aitnti). He tells us that the natives
generally, though not always, draw a sharp distinction
between Mulungu and the ancestral spirits, and that Mulungu
is believed to have created the first man who existed
before death came into the world, and to dwell in the sky
“among the clouds”, whereas the ancestral spirits are sup-
pose to live in the earth or upon it. These beliefs appear to
be inconsistent with the hypothesis that Mulungu or Kngai
is simply the spirit of the first ancestor of the tribe, or that
he stands for the whole body of the ancestral spirits col-
lectively. At the same time Mr. Lindblom admits that the
terms Mulungu and amm (ancestral spirits) are often used
by the Akamba indiscriminately, in particular that in their
mouth Mulungu-Ngai is sometimes employed in the sense of
aimn to denote the ancestral spirits.®
To an agricultural and pastoral people, living in a country Prayer and
where there are no lakes, where the river-beds are generally
dry, and where the rainfall is uncertain, drought is apt to or^Ngai in
prove a great calamity, and it is no wonder that at such drought,
times the Akamba should appeal to the Creator, Mulungu
or Engai, to have pity on them and moisten their parched
fields and pastures with the water of heaven. Scattered
over the country are shrines or sacred places {fuathcnibOf
singular ithembo\ where the people pray and sacrifice to
Engai or Mulungu for rain, and where also they worship
him at times when pestilence has broken out among men or
1 C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and fices, nor in any other way” (p. 244).
Magic, p. 62. But sacrifices to Mulungu are recorded
g! Lindblom, 77 /^ 249 by Mr. C. W. Hobley. See below,
sqq, Mr. Lindblom says : “ Mulungu pp. 247 sqq.
is not worshipped at all (or at least G. Lindblom, The Akamla, pp.
extremely seldom) by offering of sacri- 245-247.
248
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
beasts. Sacred places bearing the same name {inathembo)
are also dedicated to the worship of the ancestral spirits
(aiimu). But whereas the sacred places of the ancestral
spirits belong to a group of two or three villages, the sacred
places of Engai or Mulungu belong to the whole country, or
rather to each of the large divisions of the country. But
whether dedicated to the deity or to the spirits, these holy
spots almost always include a sacred tree at which the sacri-
Sacred fices are offered. In the shrines of Engai or Mulungu the
thTshdnes ^acrcd tree is regularly a fig tree of the sort which the
Akamba call munio. On the other hand, at the shrines of
the ancestral spirits the sacred tree may be either a fig tree
of the mumo species, or another variety of wild fig called
mumbo^ or a tree called ^niitundii}
Procedure When a sacrifice for rain is to be offered to Mulungu or
sacriLes Engai at one of his sacred places, the procedure is said to be
for rain, as follows. The elders who are to take part in it must
observe continence on the preceding night and for six days
Ceremonial following that on which the sacred meat was eaten. No
puntyofthe ^ider may participate in the rite who has the pollution of
elders. death on him ; that is to say, if his wife or child has died,
and he has not completed the ceremony of purification which
their decease obliges him to perform ; or again if he or one
of his men has killed some one, and the ceremony of purifica-
tion designed to relieve a homicide from the guilt or defile-
ment of bloodshed has not yet been carried out. On the
day appointed for the ceremony the elders assemble early in
the morning and repair slowly to the sacred place, taking
The vvith them a male goat, usually of a black colour, as well as
offerings, milk, snuff, and a small quantity of every kind of produce
cultivated by the people. Among the produce thus con-
veyed to the shrine are millet, sorghum, bananas, sugar-cane,
beans, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins, also beer made from
sugar-cane (honey-beer is forbidden), red beads, cowries,
leaves of a sweet-smelling plant, butter, and gruel. The
men lead the goat and carry the milk, gruel, snuff, and
beer, while the other things are carried to the tree by old
women.
The women in general are not allowed to approach the
^ C. W. Ilobley, Bantu Beliefs and Magic ^ p. 35.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 249
tree, but dance together some way off. Six senior elders The
and six old women are chosen and all proceed to the sacred
tree. The men go first and taste a little of the milk, gruel, sacred tree,
and beer, which they spit out at the foot of the tree, and
then give way to the old women, who go through the same
ceremony. After that, the men return to the tree and pour
the rest of the milk and so forth at its foot. Each elder
now puts some of the snuff in the palm of his hand, takes a
little and deposits the remainder. Next the women again
come up and pour the foodstuffs at the foot of the sacred
tree and smear the butter on the trunk. When the offerings
have thus been deposited, the officiating elders pray as
follows : “ Mulungu, this is food. We desire rain, and wives
and cattle and goats to bear, and we pray God that our
people may not die of sickness.’^
The sacrifice of the goat follows ; but before the animal xhe
is slain, it is sanctified by being obliged to drink '^ater
mixed with the pulverized roots of two sorts of trees (the
mriti and mulkumba). This done, they lead the goat up to
the tree, set it up on its hind legs before the trunk, and cut
its throat, allowing the blood to pour over the offerings
deposited at the foot of the tree. The upper portion of the
skull with the horns is cut off and buried at the foot of the
tree. Small pieces of meat are cut from every part of the
carcase and from every internal organ and are laid also at
the foot of the tree. The flesh is then divided ; the left
shoulder and part of the back are given to the old women,
while the elders take the rest. Each party, that of the men
and that of the women, lights a separate fire kindled with
the wood of a niiimo tree, not that of the sacred tree, but of
another of the same species. The six men and six women
each stick a fragment of the meat on a skewer of mumo
wood, roast and eat it. This is a ceremonial meal, and
when it is over they divide up the rest of the meat, and may
use firewood of any sort to cook it.
The sacrifice of the goat is called kiitonya n^ondu, ‘‘ to The idea of
pierce the sacrifice But the word sacrifice hardly ex-
presses the meaning of n^ionduy which rather implies
purification, or perhaps expiation, the underlying idea being
that the goat is an expiatory gift offered for the sake of
250
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
relieving the country from the effects of the deity^s dis-
pleasure and from the drought which is a consequence of
his anger.^
Prayer to In another account of these sacrifices offered to the
Engai for fQj- j-ain, the prayer uttered by the men on depositing
the offerings is said to be, “We pray to God {Engai) that
rain may bless all our country”.^ After the sacrificial meal
the bones are collected and placed on the fire and covered
with the contents of the stomach. The smoke which rises
to heaven is said to be pleasing to Engai.®
The house A little house is always built at the foot of the sacred
of offerings eastern side, with the door facing the rising sun ;
at the tree. , , , . * . . , ^ .
and two days before the time appointed for beginning to
plant the crops a pot of water and one of food, as well
as butter and milk, are placed in it. These offerings are
said to be for Engai ; the pot of water is to remind
him that rain is wanted, and the food represents the
crops.^
Ceremonies The Akamba of Kitui, which is the most arid and
to save the ^ainless district of Ukamba, perform a curious ceremony
drought, when their crops are in danger of being blighted for lack of
rain. They snare a couple of hyrax (Procavia sp,) and
carry them round the fields of standing crops. Then they
kill one of the animals and release the other. A fire is lit
among the crops, and the heart, intestines, and contents of
the stomach of the victim are placed upon it. The smoke
of the sacrifice is said to be pleasing to the deity, that is,
to Engai. The carcase is not eaten.’"' For some reason
the Akamba appear to attribute to the hyrax a power of
fertilizing their fields. Hence in Ulu, a district of Ukamba,
the people mix the dung of the animal and other ingredients
with some of the seed which they intend to sow ; the
mixture is then burned in such a way that the smoke drifts
over the field. The ashes of the fire are afterwards mixed
with the seed which is about to be sown. In Kitui, however,
it is said that a live hyrax is carried round the fields by the
1 C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliep and Magic^ pp. 57 sq.
Magic ^ PP* 53 ' 55 - ^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
2 C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and Magic ^ p. 60.
Magic, p. 57 * ^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
3 C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and Magic, pp. 60 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 251
villagers in procession ; the animal is then killed and its
blood and entrails scattered over the field.^
When a villager sees that his crops are suffering from
drought or the ravages of insects, he will go to the bed of a
river and cut the branch of a tree called kindio which grows
there. He then digs a hole in the ground among the crops,
and plants the branch in it, together with an egg. On doing
so he prays to Engai, beseeching him to make his crops
grow like the kindio tree, which never withers.^ Here the
prayer to the deity is reinforced by the magic of the ever-
green tree.
On returning from a successful raid, the leader of the
expedition used to sacrifice the largest ox of the captured
cattle, and pray to Engai by way of thanking him for his
favours. But the thanksgiving ceremony never took place
at a shrine (Jthembo)^ probably because the deity was
supposed to shrink from personal contact with the man-
slayers, at least while the blood or the smell of it was still
fresh upon them.^
The Akamba of Kitui believe that the spirits of their
dead ancestors sometimes pray to Engai to give them
another body, and that, if the deity grants their prayer, one
of the spirits will be born again as a human infant. Their
reason for thinking so is that a woman with child will
sometimes dream of a dead man night after night, and if she
afterwards gives birth to a son, they are sure that the child
is no other than that same dead man come to life again ; so
the infant is given his name.^
The Akamba of Kitui observe the widespread custom of
blood brotherhood, whereby two men make a sacred and
lasting covenant of friendship by exchanging and swallowing
a little of each other’s blood. If such a covenant is broken
by the treachery of either party, the Akamba are very
shocked, and believe that Engai will injure the traitor’s
village, probably killing him and his kinsfolk and his cattle.
On this belief Mr. Hobley remarks that “ it is often difficult
to state with precision whether the high god or the ancestral
^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and ^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Magic, p. 76. MagiCf p. 65.
2 C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and ^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Magic, p. 140. Magic, p. 159.
Prayer
reinforced
by magic.
Sacrifice
to Engai
after
capturing
cattle.
Rebirth of
the dead.
Blood
brother-
hood
sanctioned
by Kngai.
Prayer to
Engai in
sickness.
Sacrifice of
a goat and
prayer to
Engai to
avert
sickness.
252 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
spirits are meant when the term Engai is here used. In
this case, however, the high god is probably referred to.
And if the opinion be correct, it is a striking example of the
belief in the concept of a personal God, who takes a con-
tinual and minute interest in the doings of His creatures.’*^
When sickness prevails in a village of Kitui, the head-
man consults a diviner, who may declare that the spirit
{imu) of some dead person is troubling the people and must
be appeased. To effect this desirable end, the headman
walks round the village with some ashes in his right hand
and a fowl in his left ; on reaching a point opposite the gate
of the village he releases the fowl and lets it fly inside.
Then the bird is caught again, its throat is cut, and the
knife is afterwards buried in the cattle pen. The children
of the village eat the flesh of the fowl. Thereupon the
headman prays to Engai, begging him to remove the sickness
and keep it from the village. Afterwards he prays to the
spirit {imu) of the dead person who is supposed to have
brought the sickness. They say that they pray to Engai
first because the spirit of the dead man has gone to him.
The spirits of the dead which chiefly afflict villages are those
of deceased medicine-men who in their lifetime were believed
to communicate with Engai in their dreams.^
Sometimes a goat instead of a fowl is employed to ward
off sickness from a village. In that case the proceedings
are as follows. The evening before the ceremony the head-
man puts a stone in the fire of the hut and leaves it there
all night. Next morning he calls a small boy and girl, and
the boy leads a he-goat round the outside of the village,
followed by the girl. For the success of the ceremony it is
essential that the goat should be all of one colour ; a
speckled goat would be useless. When the procession
reaches the gate of the village, the headman takes half a
gourd of water and places it on the goat’s head between the
horns. The stone is now fetched from the glowing embers
of the fire in the hut ; by this time the stone is red hot, and
when it is dropped into the bowl on the goat’s head it fizzes
and causes the water to boil and give off steam. A hole is
* C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and ^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Magic, p. 249. Magic, p. 138.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 253
next dug at the door of the headman’s hut ; the headman
himself holds the stone over the hole and prays saying, “ O
Engai, I do not wish to see the sickness enter my village,
so now I bury this stone and bury the sickness with it
The goat is not killed, but allowed to go free, so that it is a
little hard to see what part it takes in staving off the
sickness. Apparently in this respect the chief reliance is
placed on the fizzing hot stone, which, if it does not actually
kill the sickness with which it is buried, may at least be
thought to act as a powerful deterrent on his imagination in
case he should meditate a fresh assault on the village.^
While we are told that Engai or Mulungu is vaguely Engai live
supposed to live in the sky,‘^ it is also sometimes said that
he dwells in the high mountains, inhabiting, for example, the high
lofty Mount Kenya,^ which, though it rises only half a
degree south of the equator, is sheathed in glaciers for a
perpendicular height of about four thousand feet."^ So
stupendous a mountain, towering far beyond the limits of
perpetual snow, might well be deemed the home of an
African Sky-god.
Other indications of the celestial abode of Engai are his Engai
association with the rain, with shooting stars, and with
eclipses. The Akamba emphatically affirm that it is Engai, shooting
and not the ancestral spirits {aiiimi), who sends the rain.^ rci[pses?^
When a shooting star appears to fall on a sacred place
{itliembo)y they think that Engai has descended to the shrine
to ask for food ; so to appease his hunger they take various
kinds of food to the spot or even sacrifice an animal.^
Again, eclipses are said to be wrought by the high god
Engai and to be an omen of sickness in the land. Accord-
ingly, at an eclipse the headman of each village has to take
two children and a goat. The goat is led round the outside
of the village, and when it reaches the gate, an elder cuts a
piece out of one of its ears and lets the animal return to the
^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Magic ^ pp. 139 sq.
2 C. W. Hobley, Ethnology of
A-FCaviba and other East African
Tribes^ p. 85 ; compare G. Lindblom,
The Akamba^ p. 244.
^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Magic, p. 63.
^ W. T* Sollas, Primitive Hunters,
Third Edition (London, 1924), pp.
16 sq.
® C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Magic, p. 63.
® C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Magic, p. 64.
254 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
village. Then they smear white earth on the face, the
stomach, and along the back of the goat to its tail.^ This
remedy for an eclipse has never yet been known to fail ;
invariably, after the whitening of the goat, the sun or the
moon regains its former radiance.
'I'he first Yet another indication of the abode of the deity in the
fhrown legend that the first parents of the existing tribes
down by were thrown down by Mulungu from the clouds, bringing
Muiungu. them a cow, a goat, and a sheep. The very place where
they fell and built the first village is still pointed out.‘^
However, according to another and equally probable account,
Engai produced the first man, the ancestor of the human
race, out of an ant-hill by the sea. Hence the Kamba
Adam is known as “ He who came out of the earth V
Engai or A Very notable feature in the Kamba religion is the
assodafed association of Engai or Mulungu with sacred trees ; for
with sacred almost always, as we have seen, his holy places are at sacred
fig trees. ^ particular species.^ The way in which any
fig tree came to be regarded as sacred and so to form the
centre of a holy place, is said to have been as follows. In
any particular village, long ago, there would be a woman
who enjoyed a high reputation as a prophetess or seer,
inasmuch as her prophecies always came true. At her death
she would be buried in the village, and after her death her
spirit (zmu) would take possession of another woman of the
same village, who, thus inspired, would speak in the name of
the dead prophetess, saying, I cannot stay here, I am called
by Engai, and I go to live at a certain tree ”, which she
would name. The tree thus designated became holy hence-
forth. Four elders and four old women would then be
chosen to go and consecrate it. They took with them earth
from the grave of the prophetess, and one of them, a relation
of the deceased, would take a goat. Arrived at the tree,
they deposited the earth from the grave at its foot and led
the goat thrice round the trunk; the goat was then sacrificed,
and the delegates prayed, or rather addressed the spirit of
the dead prophetess, saying, “ We have brought you to the
' C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and ^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Magic, p. 259. Magic, p. 26.
2 G. Lindbloin, The Akamba, p. 252. ^ Above, p. 248.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 255
tree you desire After that a small hut was built on the
spot. From time to time it is usually rebuilt before a great
ceremony takes place at the tree. The elders who build the
hut must have their heads shaved next morning, but they
are obliged to shave one another, no one else is permitted to
discharge that holy office. The shorn locks are then hidden,
probably to prevent an enemy from bewitching them by
means of the clippings.^
However, this explanation of the origin of a sacred place
would apply to the foundation of shrines sacred to ancestral
spirits as well as to Engai or Mulungu ; indeed, it appears
to hold good especially of the shrines of ancestral spirits,
since it is the spirit of a dead woman who is supposed to
have been mainly instrumental in instituting the sanctuary.
The association of the Sky-god Engai or Mulungu with Association
a species of fig tree reminds us of the association of the
Greek and Roman Sky-gods, Zeus and Jupiter, with the oak. species of
But why a fig tree should be chosen for the honour does not
appear. The reason for associating the oak with the Sky-
gods Zeus and Jupiter probably is that in Europe the oak
is oftener blasted by lightning from heaven than any other
tree of the forest.^ The ancients themselves would seem to
have observed this curious fact ; for Aristophanes puts into
the mouth of Socrates the remark that Zeus strikes his own
temples and the great oaks with his thunderbolts.^ Can it
be that in East Africa the sacred fig trees belong to a
species which is often the target of heaven’s artillery ?
Like so many other African peoples the Akamba believe story of the
that God originally designed to endow men with the gift of^^ath;^^
immortality, or at all events with the almost equally valu- Engai, the
able property of rising from the dead after a brief interval, t^e cha-
but that this benevolent intention was frustrated through nieieon.
the fault of one of the animals whom the Creator had sent
to bear the glad tidings to his creatures. In the Kamba ver-
sions of the myth the two messengers are a chameleon and
a bird, which is variously described as a thrush and a weaver-
bird. In one version the two creatures are accompanied
^ C. W. Ilobley, Bantu Beliefs and ^ The Golden Bought Part VII.,
AfagnCj pp. 61 S(/. Balder the Beautiful ^ ii. 298 sqq.
3 Aristophanes, Clouds^ 401 sq.
256 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
on their mission by a frog, but he plays no active part
in the story, which runs thus. Once upon a time there
were a frog, a chameleon, and a bird called itoroko, which
is said to be a small bird of the thrush tribe {Cossypha
imolaens\ with a black head, bluish-black back, and a buff-
coloured breast. These three were sent by Engai, that is,
by God, to search for human beings who died one day and
came to life again the next. In those days the chameleon
was a very important personage, so he led the way. Pres-
ently he spied some people lying like dead ; so, while the
three approached the seeming corpses, the chameleon called
out to them softly, “ Niwe^ niive, niive But the thrush
was vexed with the chameleon and asked what he was
making that noise for. The chameleon replied, “ I am only
calling the people who go forward and then come back ”, by
which he meant people who die and come to life again.
But the sceptical thrush derisively declared it to be clean
impossible to find people who ever came back to life.
The chameleon, however, stuck to it that the thing was
possible, and added by way of illustration, “ Do not I go
forward and back ? ” alluding to the way the chameleon
lurches backwards and forwards before he takes a step. By
this time the three messengers had come up to the spot
where the dead people were lying, and in response to the
call of the chameleon sure enough the corpses opened their
eyes and listened to him. But the thrush cried out to them,
“ You are dead to this world and must stay where you are.
You cannot rise to life again.” Having delivered this dis-
couraging message the thrush flew away. But the frog and
the chameleon stayed behind. The chameleon now took up
his parable again and addressed the dead in these words :
“ I was sent by Engai to wake you up ; do not believe the
words of the thrush, he only tells you lies ”. But the spell
of his power was now broken : his exhortations were of no
avail : the dead turned a deaf ear to them and either could
not or would not come to life. So the chameleon and
the frog returned to Engai, and the deity questioned the
chameleon as to the result of his mission. He said, “ Did
you go?” The chameleon said, “Yes”. The deity then
asked, “Did you find the people?” “Yes, I did,” answered
V
IVORSmP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 257
the chameleon. “ What did you say ? inquired the deity.
The chameleon replied, “ I called out Niwe, niwe^ niwe,
I spoke very gently, but the thrush interrupted me and
drowned my voice, so the dead people only listened to what
he said.’’ Engai then turned to the thrush and asked
whether that was so, whereupon the thrush stated that the
chameleon so bungled his message that he, the thrush, felt
morally bound to interrupt him. Engai believed the story
of the thrush, and, being very vexed at the way in which the
chameleon had executed his commands, he reduced that
animal from his high estate, and ordained that ever after
he should only be able to walk very, very slowly, and
that he should never have any teeth. But he took the
thrush into high favour, and commissioned him to wake up
the inhabitants of the world every morning, and that duty
the thrush discharges punctually down to this day ; for he
begins to sing every morning at 2 A.M. when all other
birds are still fast asleep.^
In a shorter Kamba version of the story the kindly in- Another
tention of the deity is more plainly expressed, but on the th^toryL
other hand he is taxed with a change of purpose which the Origin
bespeaks a certain vacillation or fickleness of character. Muiungu,’
The story runs as follows : the bird,
When Muiungu created man, he resolved to endow him chameleon,
with immortality. Now he knew the chameleon to be a
very trustworthy animal, slow but sure ; so he chose him to
carry the message of immortality to the children of men.
So the chameleon set off, but his duty sat very lightly on
him, and he stopped now and then to catch flies. At last,
however, he arrived at mankind, and opening his mouth
proceeded to deliver his message of immortality. But
unfortunately he was afflicted with an impediment in his
speech, and when he attempted to speak he got no further
in his message than this, have been commissioned to — I
have been commissioned to Here the deity grew
impatient ; he had now changed his mind and decided that
man should die, “ like the roots of the aloe The swift-
^ C. W. Hobley, Ethnologv of cited this version elsewhere {Folk-hic
A-Famha and other East African in the Old destament^ i. 60-62).
Tribes, pp. 107 sq. I have already
VOL. I
S
The
Akikuyu
and their
country.
258 WORSH/P OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
flying weaver-bird was accordingly despatched post haste
with the new, the fatal message, and he arrived while the
chameleon still stood stuttering and stammering, “I — I — I
have b-b-been co-co-co-com-missioned to — to — to
But before he could spit it all out, the bird cut in and
delivered his message of death. That is why all men are
mortal down to this day.^
To the north and north-west of the Akamba dwells
another and perhaps kindred Bantu tribe called the Akikuyu.
They inhabit a highland country which, though it lies nearly
under the equator, enjoys a temperate and perfectly healthy
climate on account of its great elevation above the ocean.
It is a vast expanse of hills in the form of ridges, which,
seen from a height, present the appearance of the billows
of a troubled and tossing sea receding, wave beyond wave,
into the distance, till they break at the foot of the lofty
mountains that bound the horizon on nearly every side.
These rolling downs would seem to have been once clothed
with a dense forest of giant trees and impenetrable jungle ;
but now only a few patches of virgin forest, where the axe
of the woodman has spared the sacred groves of the sylvan
gods, add here and there a touch of verdure to the
bleakness and bareness of the scenery. Yet is its monotony
relieved by the view of the great mountains in the near or
farther distance, above all by the sight of the magnificent
mass of Mount Kenya rearing its mighty top, crowned with
eternal glaciers and perpetual snow, far up into the blue
vault of heaven. The prospect of it, at all times impressive,
is perhaps most striking at early morning or towards
evening, when clouds veil the lower slopes and the summit
is bathed in the purple mist of dawn or lit up by the
gorgeous hues of sunset. The glorious mountain dominates
like an Olympus the landscape for miles and miles. No
wonder that the Akikuyu place the home of their god on
Mount Kenya.^
' G.lJindh\oxn,7"he Akaffiba,ip.z$'^. fine climate of the country, see P.
2 W. S. Routledge and K. Rout- Cayzac, “ La Religion des Kikuyu
edge. With a Prehistoric People, the (Afrique Orienlale) ”, Anthropos, v.
Akikuyu of British East Africa (1910) p. 310.
(London, 1910), pp. I sq. As to the
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 259
Like their kinsfolk the Akamba, they call their deity Engai or
indifferently Engai (Ngai)or Mulungu (Molungu),' and their
notions of him seem to be equally vague and floating, far god of the
indeed from being crystallized into the hard lines and
inflexible shapes of a dogmatic theological system. Yet
they regard him as the master of all, the being without
whose permission neither good nor evil can happen to
men. They offer many sacrifices to him, sometimes the
first-fruits of the crops, but most commonly a sheep. The
sacrifice is public and solemn, and it takes place at the foot
of a sacred tree ; for, like the Akamba, the Akikuyu regularly
associate the reverence for sacred trees with the worship of
the Supreme God. The aim of the sacrifice is to obtain
some benefit, such as rain, from the deity. It is offered
exclusively by the elders of a district. Women and children
take no part in it. On the other hand, in the numerous
sacrifices which they offer to the spirits of the dead
{ngomd) the whole of the family, down to the little children,
must participate.^
Among the Akikuyu the Supreme God seems to be The wild
known as Engai (Ngai) more commonly than as Mulungu.^
His sacred tree, as among the Akamba, is a species of fig, Engai.
the great wild fig-tree {Ficus capeusis), which the natives call
muguinu or muti wa Engai, Dotted about the country are
numbers of these sacred trees, many of which were formerly
sacred shrines or places of sacrifice to Engai from time
immemorial.'^ No beast or bird may be killed or shot in a
sacred tree, and if any impious person cuts off a branch or
makes an incision in the trunk, dire results are believed to
ensue. The elders oblige the sinner to pay a fine of a ram
and a he-goat, and the animals are sacrificed at the tree.
The elders apply a strip of the skin of one of the victims to
the cut in the tree to heal the wound, and they anoint it
^ P. Cayzac, “La Religion des Institute^ xxxiv. (1904) pp. 263 5q.\
Kikuyu (Afrique Orientale)”, Anihro- W. S. Routledge and K. Roulledge,
poSy V. (1910) pp. 309 sq. With a Ptr historic People^ pp. 225
^ P. Cayzac, “La Religion des sqq. \ C. W. llobley, Batttu Beliefs
Kikuyu (Af^rique Orientale)”, Anthro- and Magic^ pp. 40 sqq.
pos, V. (1910) pp. 309 sq,
3 II. R. T ate, “ Further Notes on * C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
the Kikuyu tribe of British East MagiCy p. 40 ; H. R. Tate, op, cit,
Africa,” f Journal of the Anthropological p. 263.
26 o
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Sacrifices
offered by
the
Akikuyu
at the
sacred
trees.
with the fat and the contents of the stomach. Moreover,
the breast of the ram is cut off and hung in the tree ; but
the remainder of the carcase, and the whole of the goat are
eaten by the elders.*
Sacrifices are offered at the sacred trees to procure rain,
to obtain relief from famine, and to check the progress of an
epidemic.^ On the day when a sacrifice is offered for rain,
no one may touch the earth with iron ; a sword or spear may
not so much as be rested on the ground, else the Akikuyu
believe that the sacrifice would be in vain. Nay on such a
day, an elder may not even strike his staff into the ground
in the usual way.^ Apparently the notion is that earth
should not be wounded at the moment when she is about
to be fertilized by rain from heaven. The victim offered is
regularly a ram. One year it may be a black ram ; but if
in that particular year the seasons chance to be unfavour-
able, the Akikuyu conclude that the deity is displeased and
therefore change the colour of the victim to red or white.
When the ram is brought to the sacred tree, one of the
elders lifts up the animal so that it stands on its hind legs
facing the tree. A gourd of honey and another of beer,
brewed from sugar-cane, are then poured out at the foot of
the tree, and the elders call out, “ We pray to God (Engai),
we sacrifice a goat, we offer all things”. It is curious that
the elders should thus say that they are sacrificing a goat,
when the victim is really a ram. The victim is then
suffocated and its throat pierced with the sacrificial knife.
The flowing blood is collected in a gourd and poured out at
the foot of the sacred tree. The right half of the carcase is
then skinned and removed, while the left half, wrapped in
the skin, is deposited at the foot of the tree and left there.
This portion is believed to be eaten by a hyena or wild cat
which is moved to do so by the deity. The remainder of
the flesh is cooked and eaten by the elders on the spot. In
olden times the fire on which the sacrificial meat is roasted
was always supposed to be kindled with new fire made by
the friction of wood, but nowadays a firebrand is often brought
* C. W, Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and Magic, pp. 45 sg.
Mai^ic, p. 41. ® C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
- C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and Magic, p. 47.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 261
from a village. None of the meat may be taken back to the
village. The bones of the portion of the sacrificial ram eaten
by the elders are each broken into two parts and deposited
at the foot of the tree : the marrow is not extracted. After
partaking of the sacrificial meal, the elders retire to a little
distance and chant these words : “ We elders pray God prayer to
(Engai) to give us rain ”. The night before and the night
after the sacrifice the elders must observe strict chastity. A
breach of the rule by any person present at the ceremony is
believed to render the sacrifice ineffectual. No elder whose
father is alive may attend the ceremony.'
Every year, when the maize is just sprouting, the elders Sacrifice at
summon the chief medicine-men and repair with them to the Jree^^hen
sacred tree to offer sacrifice. One of the medicine-men pours the maize
“ medicine” into the mouth of the sacrificial ram before it is
killed, and he pours it also on the fire on which the meat is
roasted. The bones of the victim are then burned in the
fire, that the smoke of them may ascend into the tree and
be well-pleasing to the deity among the branches. The
flowing blood is caught in a half-gourd and placed in the
horn of an ox. Half of it is poured out at the foot of the
sacred tree ; the other half is mixed with pieces of intestinal
fat and put in the large intestine of the sacrificial ram. This
large intestine, with the blood and fat in it, is next roasted
over the fire and eaten by the senior elders.^
Near the time of harvest, when the crops are ripe, but Sacrifice at
before they are reaped, the elders take a ram to the sacred {JlJe
place and slaughter it. They pour the blood at the foot of harvest,
the tree and pray, “ O God (Engai), we have to bring meat
so that we may not fall ill, for we have good crops and are
glad The elders then eat the meat. After the feast, they
take the contents of the stomach of the sacrificial ram and
sprinkle them over the ripe crops and also over the large
wicker bottles and large gourds in which grain is stored. It
is believed that if the elders failed to do this, the people
would suffer greatly from diarrhoea.^
Besides the sacred trees at the communal places of
^ C. W, Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and ^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Ma^c, pp. 42-45. Magic, p. 46.
^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and ^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
Magic ^ P. 46. Magic ^ pp. 46 sq.
262
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Private
sacrifices
at sacred
trees.
The sacred
places of
Engai are
sanctuaries
where
criminals
and foes
can take
refuge.
sacrifice, the head of a village usually has a private sacred
tree of his own, at which he sacrifices to the deity for good
fortune or for help in time of trouble. Women are not
allowed to attend a sacrifice to the deity at one of the
regular sacred trees ; but at a -private sacrifice for good
fortune, performed at a sacred tree belonging to a particular
village, the village elders attend with their wives and children,
their cattle, sheep, and goats. However, even then the women
and children may not come near the tree, but must remain
a little way off. When the sacrificial ram has been killed,
the fat of the victirh is smeared on the whole family as well
as on the flocks and herds. The party then returns home,
uttering the usual African cry of joy. After a private sacrifice
the skin of the slain ram is carried back to the village and
presented to the elder’s chief wife, but this is never done
after a public or communal sacrifice. The night before the
sacrifice the elders must observe continence. On the morning
after a private sacrifice the wives go to the sacred tree and
deposit there offerings of grain, bananas, and other things.
Two days after a private sacrifice a ceremonial drinking of
beer takes place at the village, men and women drinking
apart. During the ceremony they pray to the deity, saying,
“ We pray thee, O God (Engai), that you will give us all
things, children, goats, and cattle”.^
The sacred places of Engai serve as sanctuaries. If a
murderer or other criminal can escape to one of them and
touch the sacred tree, he is safe from the vengeance of his
pursuers. He cannot, of course, stay indefinitely at the tree,
or he would soon die of hunger, but the elders come and
take him away under safe conduct. His clansmen must go to
the sacred tree and sacrifice a ram, which they are supposed
to offer in exchange for him. The contents of the stomach
of the victim are smeared on the body of the murderer, and
a senior elder draws a line of white earth on his face from
the forehead to the tip of his nose. The criminal is now
ceremonially clean and may return to his family ; until the
purification had been accomplished, he might not enter the
village. All the flesh of the ram is eaten by the elders ;
none is left at the tree. But some of the contents of the
* C. W. Ilobley, Bantu Beliefs and Magic ^ pp. 48-50.
V WORSH/P OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 263
victim's stomach are sprinkled at the foot of the tree to
cleanse the spot where the criminal stood. In war, if an
enemy succeeded in taking sanctuary at a sacred tree, he
might not be slain there, but he would probably be seized
and killed at some distance from the holy spot.^
The Akikuyu, as we have seen, offer many sacrifices to Sacrifices
the ancestral spirits {ngontd) as well as to God (Engai).
Indeed, they attribute the ordinary ills of life to the agency Akikuyu
of the ancestral spirits, who have to be propitiated accord- J^^^estrai
ingly.'^ But the sacrifices to the ancestral spirits are never spirits,
offered at the sacred trees ; they always take place in the
village, close to the village shrine. The victim sacrificed is
regularly a ram. The portions of its flesh which are eaten
are roasted on a fire, which was formerly kindled on the
spot by the friction of wood. Nowadays the fire is supposed
to be brought from a village. An elder usually sacrifices a
ram every three months or so at the grave of his father. He
pours blood, fat, and beer on the grave, and leaves the ram-
skin there. Sacrifices to the ancestral spirits must take place
before sunrise, probably because the spirits are supposed to
be on the prowl by night but to retire during the day. If
on the occasion of a sacrifice at the sacred tree the elders
chance to see a snake, they say that it is an ancestral
spirit {ngomd) and try to pour a little of the blood from
the sacrificed ram on the head, back, and tail of the reptile.®
Bordering on the territory of the Akamba and the Primitive
Akikuyu are some small tribes who inhabit a rugged and [h^outh-
not very accessible country on the south-eastern slopes of the eastern
mighty Mount Kenya. Here the declivities of the mountain of Mount
are still to a great extent clothed with dense virgin forest, i^enya.
which is, however, slowly retreating before the encroachments
of man. Here the rivers flow in deep rocky gorges, their
heavily-timbered sides swept in the wet season by torrents
of rain which render the paths across them, difficult at
all times, then doubly precarious. On the ridges, parted
^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and Kikuyu (Afrique Orientale) ”, Afithro-
Magic ^ pp. 47 sq, pos^ v. (1910) p. 310.
^ W. S. Routledge and K. Rout-
ledge. With a Prehistoric People^ p. ^ C. W. Hobley, Bantu Beliefs and
227 ; P. Cayzac, “ La Religion des Magic ^ pp. 50 sq.
264
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
TheChuka.
The two
physical
types.
The clans
and their
mode of
life.
from each other by these profound and sometimes almost
impassable ravines, dwell isolated communities, which,
secluded in the fastnesses of their wild highlands, have clung
to their ancient modes of life and thought, while their
neighbours in the lowlands have succumbed more or less to
that restless tide of change, which even in Africa may be
traced setting silently but surely in the direction of progress,
wherever nature has not opposed insuperable obstacles to its
current. Altogether these mountaineers on the rugged
slopes of the great extinct volcano remained very little
affected by foreign influence down to the beginning of the
twentieth century.^
Among them, the most typical are the Chuka, who
claim to have inhabited the country from time immemorial,
though they tell of a race of hairy dwarfs who once dwelt
in the depths of the forest, practising no kind of agriculture,
and subsisting solely by the chase and by bee-keeping, while
they lodged in burrows dug out of the ground and roofed
over to keep out the rain.‘^ The Chuka themselves are
apparently the nucleus out of which other less pure tribes
in their neighbourhood have been formed by admixture of
foreign elements on the north and west.^ Physically they
are rather more thickset and muscular and decidedly darker
in hue than their neighbours ; their eyes are of the warm brown
colour characteristic of the negro. Yet two distinct types of
face occur in about equal proportions among them. One,
which may be called the Bushman type, is marked by
prominent cheek-bones, lumpy forehead, heavy jaws, and
matted hair and beard. The other is a sort of Mongolian
type, with narrow eyes, high cheek-bones, wide mouth, and
slanting forehead.'^ All the tribes are divided into clans
which are exogamous, marriage within the clan being
regarded as incest Descent of the clan is hereditary in the
male line. Traces of totemism appear to exist in the special
relation of various animals and insects to certain clans,
1 Major G. St. J. Orde Browne, dwarfs is Agumbe, though the name
TAe Vanishing Tribes of Kenya Asi also occurs as an alternative.
(London, 1925), pp. 17-25, 39. ® G. St. J. Orde Browne, The
Vanishing Tribes of Kenya^ pp. 25-27,
2 G. St. J. Orde Browne, The 42.
Vanishing 7>ibes of Kenya, 'pp. 20 s^, ♦ G. St. J. Orde Browne, The
The name commonly applied to these Vanishing Tribes of Kenya, pp. 42-44.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 265
which use them as signs or badges.^ The people subsist
mainly on maize, beans, and millet, which they cultivate in
the usual wasteful fashion by clearing patches in the forest,
sowing them for a few years, and then suffering them to
relapse into the wilderness. The men fell the trees, grub up
the roots and bushes, and remove the stones, the women sow
the seed and reap the crops.^ Some of the tribes keep a
few cattle, the milk and flesh of which form part of their
diet.® But nobody will drink milk and eat flesh at the Meat not
same time ; ^strictly speaking, three months ought to elapse
between a draught of milk and a meal of meat, but in
practice the eater or drinker is allowed to purify himself by
eating a small bitter berry that grows on a large tree, thus
preparing his body for a change of diet. The motive for not
allowing milk to come into contact with meat in the stomach
is a fear lest such contact should harm, not the eater, but the
cow that gave the milk ; for the natives believe that she and
her calf would break out in spots as a consequence of any
breach of the rule.^ The people also keep goats, which
they slaughter both for food and in a variety of ceremonies,
though they do not drink the milk.^ Of the ceremonies The
in which the goat figures as a victim the most curious
perhaps is one performed at the birth of a child J from a
it consists apparently in a pretence that the infant has
been born from a goat instead of from its human mother.
A goat having been killed, its skin is spread on the legs of
the child’s mother ; the baby is wrapped in it, and then
snatched from the skin by old women, who in doing so utter
the trilling cry which is usual at the birth of a child.
Sometimes the intestine of a goat is tied round the mother’s
waist and is cut at the moment when the child is lifted out
of the goatskin, apparently in imitation of the severance
of the navel string.® A similar ceremony is performed on
boys before circumcision among the Akikuyu."^ Other
^ G. St. J. Orde Browne, The
Vanishing Tribes of Kenya ^ p. 39.
^ G. St. J. Orde Browne, The
Vanishing Tribes of Kenya^ pp. 66 sq.
® G. St. J, Orde Browne, The
Vanishing Tribes of Kenya ^ pp. 1 1 7
* G. St. J. Orde Browne, The
Vanishing 7'ribes of Kenya^ p. 100.
^ G. St. J. Orde Browne, The
Vanishing Tribes of Kenya^ p. 119.
® G. St. J. Orde Browne, ’ 'The
Vanishing Tribes of Keny ay pp. 82 sq.
^ W, Scoresby Routledge and Kath-
leen Routledge, With a Prehistoric
People y the Akikuyu of British East
Africa^ pp. 1 51-153. Compare C.
266
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Scrupu- occasions which require the slaughter of a goat are
ceremonial purificatory rites intended to rid persons of ceremonial
cleanness, uncleanness {thaliu\ which they are supposed to have
contracted through a great variety of causes.^
Vapie But while the whole social life of these wild tribes is
the^'opie permeated by a scrupulosity as to ceremonial cleanness
ina Creator which reminds us of the Pharisees, they are said to have very
E^rigai. Httle religion, and in particular, unlike most African tribes,
to have no idea of a life after death. Yet they certainly
believe vaguely in a Creator, and the snowy cap of Mount
Kenya appears to be generally regarded as his home ; thus
in the course of his incantations a wizard will address the
holy mountain and pray for the divine approbation of the
undertaking he has in hand. The name universally applied
to the deity is the Masai word Engai. However, they seem
to have very little idea of any definite control exerted by
Engai over the affairs of ordinary life. Their theology may
accordingly be described as a vague theism, the belief in
a great First Cause, whose will may perhaps be thought
to work automatically in the social laws of uncleanness,
purification, and so on.“
How men Yet, like so many of the simple folks of Africa, these
deprived of have meditated on the eternal problem of human
the boon mortality and have found what perhaps they regard as a
mortality : satisfactory solution of it. They say that long, long ago the
the ma"e desired that all men should rise from the dead. To
and the ’ givc effect to this kindly wish he prepared a medicine which
hyena. marvellous property of bringing the dead to life, if
it were only smeared on their lips. This priceless drug he
committed to the care of a mole with instructions to dis-
tribute it broadcast among mankind ; and he chose the mole
as his messenger because in those far-off days the mole was a
beast that ran about on the surface of the ground. So off
the mole set on the journey with the precious packet in his
hand. On the way he fell in with a hyena, who stopped
him to ask what errand he was running. In the fulness of
W. Hobley, “ Kikuyu Customs and Testament^ ii. 7 sqq.
Beliefs,” Journal of the R. Anthropo^ * G. St. J. Orde Browne, The
logical Institute^ xl. (1910) pp. 440 Vanishing Iribes of Fenya^ iZi sq .
sqq. ; id., Bantu Beliefs and Magic, 2 q Browne, The
PP* 77"79 » Folk-lore in the Old Vanishing Tribes of Kenya, 20^ sq.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 267
his heart the mole confided to him the great secret and
showed him the little packet that was to make all men
immortal. At the news the hyena was struck with con-
sternation, For what,*' said he, “ am I to eat if there are
no more nice fresh corpses for me to devour ? ” The bread
would, so to say, be taken out of his mouth if the mole were
to deliver the medicine at the correct address. But a
thought struck him. ** Look here,*’ he said to the mole
insinuatingly, you have always been a friend of mine, so do
me one favour. Just give me the medicine that the Sun
gave you, and tak^e this here medicine of mine instead.’*
Now the medicine of the hyena was meant to kill all men
so that there would be many corpses for him to batten on.
The mole did not much like the proposal, but being loth to
disoblige an old friend he swopped medicines with the hyena.
Then, feeling some qualms, he returned to the Sun and told
him all that had happened. The Sun fell into a passion
and upbraided him in very bitter words. ‘‘You have lost
the medicine *’, he said, “ which I had so much trouble in
making, and now I cannot make any more. I trusted you
to take my message, and you have failed. Henceforth you
shall fear my face and hide when you see me.” The mole
went away much ashamed, and since that time he has lived
beneath the earth ; if he sees the face of the Sun he dies.^
Like the other tribes of East Africa whose beliefs con-
cerning Sky-gods and Supreme Beings we have thus far
been investigating, the Akikuyu and the Akamba belong to
the great Bantu family, which, roughly speaking, occupies the
whole southern half of Africa from the equator to the Cape
of Good Hope, with the exception of the comparatively small
area inhabited by the Hottentots and Bushmen. But in the
part of Africa that we have now reached, which may be
said to extend from the head waters of the Nile eastward to
the Indian Ocean, there are a number of tribes which belong
to an entirely different stock and speak entirely different
languages. As many of them dwell in the valley and along
the banks of the Upper Nile, they have been classed together,
appropriately enough, under the general name of Nilotics.
^ G. St. J. Orde Browne, The Vanishing Tribes of Kenya^ pp. 216 sq.
Belief in a
Supreme
God among
the Nilotic
or Hamitic
tribes of
Kast
Africa.
268
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Racially they are usually assigned to the type known as
Hamitic. They are tall thin men, with features which are
not markedly negroid and sometimes resemble what is
called the Caucasian type.^ Among some of these Nilotic
or Hamitic tribes there prevails a belief in a Supreme God,
who lives in the sky or at all events in the upper regions of
the air, and who presents a more or less close analogy to
the Sky-god or Supreme Being of the other African peoples
whom we have thus far been considering. Accordingly I shall
conclude this survey of the worship of Sky-gods in Africa by
a brief notice of the similar deities worshipped, or at all events
recognized, by the Nilotic or Hamitic tribes in question.
The Masai, Of these tribes the most southerly and probably the
acterand ^lost famous are the warlike Masai, who inhabit an ex-
miiitary tcnsive region in Kenya Colony (British East Africa) and
o^ganiAi 'fanganyika Territory (German East Africa), to the east of
Lake Victoria Nyanza, and stretching from the equator to
about 6 ° south latitude.^ They are, or were down to recent
years, a race of nomadic herdsmen, devoted to war and the
care of their cattle and despising the pursuit of agriculture.
Their martial temper and their elaborate military organization
long made them the terror of the neighbouring tribes and
secured for them a predominant position in East Africa.
Yet they never succeeded in founding a state or polity like
the kingdoms of Uganda and Unyoro. The reason probably
was that these fierce warriors never bowed their necks to a
monarchical yoke. The centre of political gravity was not
with the chiefs or elders, but with a republic of young men,
dominated by the spirit of soldierly comradeship and thirst-
ing only for military glory. To retire at a mature age from
the ranks of the warriors and to assume the dignity of chief
was honourable, but seems to have been looked upon as a
descent to a lower sphere of activity, a decline from the
prime of manhood to the threshold of old age. The chiefs
planned the details of the raids which the warriors desired
to undertake, but their power of compelling these hotspurs
to do anything for which they had no liking was slight
indeed. The nearest approach to a central and supreme
^ Sir Charles Eliot, in A. C. Hollis, The Masai (Oxford, 1905), pp. xi sq.
2 Sir Charles Eliot, op> cit. p. xi.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 269
authority was made by a line of seers or medicine-men who
exercised much influence over the people in virtue of the divine
support which they were supposed to enjoy and of the divine
oracles which they delivered under the inspiring promptings
of honey-wine. Yet, great as was the power they wielded,
they seem never to have availed themselves of it as a means
of establishing a despotism like that of the sultans on the
neighbouring coast or of the kings on the farther shore of
the great lake.^
A peculiar feature in the character of this turbulent and Belief of
warlike people is their piety and their firm faith in a high
god whom they name Engai or Ngai.^ This, as we have god ^Ued
seen, is the name which the Akamba and the Akikuyu
bestow on the same exalted Being, and it is probable that
both peoples borrowed the name from their neighbours the
Masai.® The Akamba have long been in close, though for
the most part hostile, contact with the Masai, of whom they
formerly lived in great terror ; * and the high reputation
which the Masai acquired by their warlike exploits induced
many of the surrounding peoples to copy the Masai dress,
customs, and rules of life. The Akikuyu, for example,
imitate the dress and equipment of Masai warriors, including
the badges on the Masai shields.® It would not, therefore,
be surprising if the Akamba and Akikuyu adopted the name
of the great God who had so often led their dreaded foes to
victory. Be that as it may, the Masai seem to repose The Masai
an implicit faith in the great god Engai, who lives up aloft
in the sky, as the Israelites of old did in Jehovah, and like the chosen
the Israelites they firmly believe themselves to be the chosen
people of the deity, and consequently they hold that all
1 Sir Charles Eliot, op. cit. pp. xiv-
xviii, XX. The fullest accounts of the
Masai, their customs, beliefs, and
legends, are contained in the German
work of the late Captain M. Merker,
Die Masai (Berlin, I 904 )>
English work of Mr. A. C. Hollis,
The Masai (Oxford, 1905). Compaie
J. 1 j. Krapf, TratfelSy Reseai ches, and
Missionary Labours during an Eighteen
Years'' Residence in Eastern Africa
(London, i860), pp. 35 ^ W- ; Joseph
Thomson , Through Masai land ( T .ondon,
1885) f'Oscar Baumann, Dutch Massai-
land zur Nilquelle (Berlin, 1894), pp.
156 sqq. ; S. L. Hinde and H. Hinde,
The Last of the Masai (London, 1901).
2 O. Baumann, Durch Massailand
zur Nilquelle, p. 163.
3 G. Lindblom, The Akamba, p. 247 ;
W. S. Routledge and K. Routledge,
IVith a Prehistoric People, p. 226.
4 C. W. Hobley, Ethnology of
A-Kamba and other East African
Tribes, pp. 44
^ C. W. Ilobley, Ethnology oj
A-fCatnha and other East African
Tribes, p. 132.
270
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The
prayers of
the Masai
to Engai.
Other nations, whom they brand with the title of Unbelievers
(el meg) ought of right to be subject to them. In their view
God made the earth and everything that exists upon it for
the Masai. Hence when they attack a neighbouring tribe,
slaughter the men, and carry off their cattle, they are simply
recovering the property which God had destined for them
from the creation of the world, and which their impious
and unbelieving foes had been most unrighteously with-
holding from them. Apparently the Masai conceive of
Engai as an incorporeal being, as a spirit. Certainly they
make no images or likenesses of him, and they appear not to
have meditated on his outward form. But the stars which
twinkle in the nocturnal sky are the eyes of Engai looking
down from heaven on the slumbering Masai. A shooting
star prognosticates the death of somebody, and at sight of it
the Masai pray that the somebody may not be one of them-
selves, but an enemy, an unbeliever. The lightning is the
dreadful glance of Engai^s eye, the thunder is his cry of joy at
what he has seen. During the long rainy season, when the
cattle grow sleek, the raindrops are the tears of joy which
the emotional deity sheds at sight of the fat beeves ; and
during the short rainy season, when the cattle pine for lack
of pasture, the raindrops are the tears of sorrow wrung from
the compassionate divinity by the melancholy spectacle.
Then the Masai seek to allay his sorrow and assuage his
grief by their prayers. In prayer they stand with uplifted
hands and invoke the deity. Such prayers they put up
before every raid and in all the undertakings of life. In
their uplifted hands they hold bunches of grass, which has
for them a sacred character, because it is the fodder of the
cattle on which they depend for their subsistence.^ Altogether,
the Masai are, or used to be, a most prayerful people. The
prayers which they put up to Engai were incessant. Nothing
could be done without hours of howling, whether it was to
discover where they could best slaughter their enemies or
* O. Baumann, Dtirch Massailand A. C. Hollis, The Masai, pp. 288 sqg . ;
zur Nilquelle, p. 163 ; M. Marker, S. L. Hinde and H. Hinde, The Last
Die Masai, p. 196. As to the re- of the Masai, pp. 103 sq. As to the
ligious use of grass among the Masai, term el meg, which the Masai apply to
compare Joseph Thomson, Through all people other than Masai, see M.
Masailand (London, 1885), p. 445; Merker, Die Masai, p. 115.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 271
how they could best ward off disease.^ If only the efficacy
of prayer were proportioned to its fervour, the Masai ought
long ago to have overrun the earth.
The pious motive which prompted the Masai to steal Belief of
the cattle of their neighbours was long ago observed ^nd Ihat^^gai
recorded by one of the earliest missionaries who came into them
^ all the
contact with these devout and truculent savages. He cattle in
says : When cattle fail them they make raids on the tribes
which they know to be in possession of herds. They say in stealing
that Engai (Heaven) gave them all that exists in the way
of cattle, and that no other nation ought to possess hours they
any. Wherever there is a herd of cattle, thither it is the
call of the Wakuafi and Masai to proceed and seize it. their own.
Agreeably with this maxim they undertake expeditions for
hundreds of leagues to attain their object, and make forays
into the territories of the Wakamba, the Galla, the Wajagga,
and even of the Wanika on the sea coast. They are
dreaded as warriors, laying all waste with fire and sword, so
that the weaker tribes do not venture to resist them in
the open field, but leave them in possession of their herds,
and seek only to save themselves by the quickest possible
flight.*^ -
The Masai tell a story to explain how God gave them Story told
cattle, and why the Dorobo, a tribe akin to the Masai, have Masatto
no cattle and are obliged to support themselves by hunting, expiam ^
The Dorobo, Andorobo, or Wandorobo, as they are also called, (Kngai)
inhabit forests that stretch from 1° north to s'" south of
equator.® The Masai say that when God (Engai) came to kutie inthe
prepare the world, he found three things in the land, to wit,
a Dorobo, a serpent, and an elephant. At first all three
lived amicably together, but in time the Dorobo accused the
serpent of blowing on him and making his body to itch.
The serpent replied, “Oh, my father, I do not blow my bad
breath on you on purpose ”. The excuse did not satisfy the
Dorobo, and that same evening he picked up his club, struck
the serpent on the head and killed it. Meantime the Dorobo
had somehow or other obtained a cow and used to take her
' Joseph Thomson, Through Masai- Eighteen Years' Residence in Eastern
iand, p. 445. Africa (London, i860), p. 359.
J. L. Krapf, TratMs^ Researches^ ^ A. C. Hollis, 7 'he Nandi (Oxford,
and Missionary Labours during an 1909), p, 2.
272
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
out to graze and to drink at the puddles of rain. But the
elephant contracted a bad habit of wallowing in the puddles
and stirring up the mud, so that the water was muddy when
the Dorobo’s cow came to quench her thirst at a puddle.
So the Dorobo was angry, and made an arrow with which he
shot and killed the elephant. The daughter of the elephant
naturally resented the murder of her mother, and in high
dudgeon went away to another country. “The Dorobo is
bad,” quoth she, “ I will not stop with him any longer. He
first of all killed the snake, and now he has killed mother. I
will go away and not live with him again.”
On her arrival at another country the young elephant
met a Masai man, who asked her where she came from.
The young elephant replied, “ I come from the Dorobo’s
kraal. He is living in yonder forest, and he has killed the
serpent and my mother.” The Masai, to make sure of the
facts, inquired, “ Is it true that there is a Dorobo there who
has killed your mother and the serpent ? ” The reply being
in the affirmative, he said to the elephant, “ Let us go there.
I should like to see him.” So they went and found the
Dorobo’s hut, which God (Engai) had turned upside down,
so that the door of it looked towards the sky. God then
called the Dorobo and said to him, “ I wish you to come
to-morrow morning, for I have something to tell you ”. The
Masai man overheard the remark, and next morning he went
and presented himself to God saying, “ I have come ”. The
deity, who was perhaps near-sighted, apparently mistook him
for the Dorobo whom he had commanded to appear before
him. At all events he told the Masai man to take an axe
and to build a big kraal in three days. When it was ready,
he was to go and search for a thin calf, which he would find
in the forest. This he was to bring to the kraal and
slaughter. The meat he was not to eat but to tie up in the
hide, and the hide he was to fasten outside of the door of the
hut ; then he was to fetch firewood, light a big fire, and
throw the meat into it. He was afterwards to hide himself
in the hut, and not to be startled when he heard a great
noise outside like thunder.
The Masai man did as he was bid. He searched for a
calf, and when he found it he slaughtered it and tied up the
V
^^ORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 273
flesh in the hide. Then he fetched firewood, lit a big fire,
and threw the meat into it. After that he entered the hut,
leaving the fire burning outside.
God (Engai) then got to work. He let down a strip of How God
hide from heaven so as to hang just over the calf-skin, and
immediately cattle began to descend the strip of hide until from
the whole kraal was full. Indeed, the beasts jostled each
other so that they almost broke down the hut in which the
Masai man lay hid. The Masai man was startled and
uttered an exclamation of astonishment. Then he went out-
side of the hut and found that somebody had cut the strip
of hide, so that no more cattle came down from heaven.
God asked him whether the cattle that had come down from
heaven were sufficient, For ”, said he, “ you will receive no
more because you were surprised The Masai man then
went away and attended to the beasts that had been given
him. But as for the Dorobo, he lost the cattle because he
did not present himself before the deity at the critical moment
as the Masai did. Hence the Dorobo have had to shoot wild
beasts for their livelihood down to this day. Indeed,
according to one version of the tale it was the Dorobo who
shot away the strip of hide by which the cattle descended
from heaven. How then could they reasonably expect to
have any cows? But the Masai, who appeared before God
at the right time and did his bidding, were given cattle
by the deity. Hence nowadays, if cattle are seen in the
possession of Bantu tribes, it is presumed that they have
been stolen or found, and the Masai say, “ These are our
animals, let us go and take them ; for God (Engai) in olden
days gave us all the cattle upon the earth
However, the religion of the Masai would seem to be far Belief of the
from a pure monotheism, it is even tainted with Manicheism. two gods.
For according to one of their stories, there are two gods, ^ ^
Black God and a Red God. One day the Black God said Red God.
to the Red God, ** Let us give the people some water, for
they are dying of hunger ”. The Red God agreed and told
1 A. C. Hollis, The Masai (Oxford, said to comprise members of all three
1905), pp. 266-269, 271. The Dorobo branches of the Masai mixed with the
are called Andorobo or Wandorobo by remains of another extinct race which,
some writers. See A. C. Hollis, op. according to Merker, was Semitic. See
cit. p. 28 note‘^. The Dorobo are M. Merker, Die Masai, 221.
VOL. I
T
274
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Masai
prayers for
rain.
his colleague to turn on the water. This the Black God
did, and it rained heavily. After a time the Red God told
the Black God to stop the water, because rain enough had
fallen. The Black God, however, was of opinion that the
people had not had enough, so he refused to turn off the
water. Both remained silent after that, and the rain con-
tinued to pour down steadily till next morning, when the
Red God again said that enough had fallen. The Black
God then turned off the water.
A few days later the Black God proposed that they
should give the people some more water, because the grass
was very dry. The Red God, however, was obstinate and
refused to allow the water to be turned on at any price.
They argued the point for some time, till at length the Red
God in a passion, threatened to kill the people, whom he
said the Black God was spoiling. At that the Black God
bridled up and said, “ I will not allow my people to be
killed ; and happily he has been able to protect them,
for he lives near at hand, whilst the Red God is above
him. So now when you hear a great crash of thunder in
the sky, you may know that it is the Red God who is trying
to come to the earth to kill human beings ; but when you
hear the thunder rolling and rumbling far away, you may
be sure that it is the Black God saying, ‘‘ Leave them alone,
do not kill them
Hence, if no rain falls, the old men light a bonfire of
cordia wood and throw a charm into it. Then they encircle
the fire and sing as follows :
“ So/o. The Black God ! ho !
Chorus, God, water us !
O the (sic) of the uttermost parts of the earth !
Solo, The Black God ! ho !
Chorus, God, water us !
Again, in time of drought Masai women fasten grass to
their clothes and offer up prayers to God (Engai) for rain.®
Children, too, at such times may be called in to assist in
invoking the aid of Engai. If the drought is prolonged and
rain is urgently needed, the great chief sends a proclamation
1 A. C. Hollis, The Masai^ pp. ^ A. C. Hollis, The Masai, p. 289.
264 sq. For the prayer, see id, p. 347.
2 A. C. Hollis, The Masai, p. 348.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 275
to the surrounding villages, requiring that on a given day
all the children shall assemble and sing for the rain. This
is done at seven in the evening. The children stand in a
circle and each child holds a bunch of grass in its hand.
Meanwhile, the mothers, also holding bunches of grass,
fling themselves on the ground. No one else takes part
in this ceremony, which is deemed an infallible means of
bringing on rain.^
When warriors tarry on a foray, their mothers, sisters. Prayer for
and sweethearts gather outside the huts when the Morning
Star is shining in the sky, and they pray to God (Engai).
They tie grass to their clothes, and leave milk in their
gourds, for they say, “ Our children will soon be returning,
and when they arrive they may be hungry When they
have all assembled they pray as follows :
Solo. The God (Engai) to whom I pray, and he hears.
Chorus. The God (Engai) to whom I pray for offspring.
Solo. I pray the heavenly bodies which have risen.
Chorus, d'he God (Engai) to whom I pray for offspring.
Solo. Return hither our children.
Chorus. Return hither our childien.”-
When a Masai woman has given birth to a child, the Sacrifice
other women gather and take milk to the mother ; then they
slaughter a sheep, which is called ‘‘ The Purifier of the Hut ”
or simply “ The Purifier”. They slaughter the animal by
themselves and they eat all the meat. No man may
approach the spot where the animal is slaughtered. When
they have finished their meal, they stand up and sing the
following song :
“ Solo. My God ! my God ! (Engai ! Engai ! ) to whom I pray.
Give me the offspring.
Who thunders and it rains,
Chorus. Thee every day only I pray to thee.
Solo. Morning Star which rises hither.
Chorus. Thee every day only 1 pray to thee.
Solo. He to whom I offer prayer is like sage.
Chorus. Thee every day only I pray to thee.
1 S. L. Hinde and H. Hinde, The It does not contain a mention of
Last of the Masai, p. I02. The Engai.
children’s song for rain is recorded ^ A. C. Hollis, The Masai, pp.
by A. C. Hollis, The Masai, p. 349. 350
276
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
So/o, Who is prayed to, and He hears,
Chorus, Thee every day only I pray to thee.’’ ^
A third pfod,
Naitcru-
kop,
recognized
by the
Masai.
Story of the
Origin of
Death ;
God, man,
and the
Besides the Black God and the Red God the Masai
recognize the existence of a third god named Naiteru-kop,
but he is not so great as the Black God. According to one
story it was he, and not Engai, who let cattle down from
heaven by a strip of hide for the use of the Masai. “ Of this
minor god is told the sad story which, in different forms,
has met us among so many African tribes, the story of the
origin of death. The Masai version of the tale runs thus.
One day Naiteru-kop told a certain man named Le-eyo
that, if a child were to die, he was to say when he threw
away the body : '' Man, die, and come back again ; moon,
die, and remain away Soon afterwards a child died, but
it was not one of Le-eyo’s own children, and when he was
told to throw it away, he picked it up and said to himself,
“ This child is not mine ; when I throw it away I shall say,
‘ Man, die, and remain away ; moon, die, and return So
he threw it away, and spoke these words, and returned
home. Next one of his own children died, and when he
threw it away, he said, ‘‘ Man, die, and return ; moon, die,
and remain away”. But Naiteru-kop said to him, ‘‘ It is of
no use now, for you spoilt matters with the other child ”.
That is how it came about that when a man dies he does
not return, whereas when the moon is finished, it comes
back again and is always visible to us.^
Here we have the old story of the kindly god whose
benevolent intention of endowing man with immortality
miscarried through the fault of somebody. In this, as in
some other similar stories, the blame is man’s alone, and the
gift of eternal life which he forfeited by his misconduct is
transferred to the moon, which consequently never dies, or,
^ A. C. Hollis, The Masai y pp.
345
2 A. C. Hollis, 7 'he Masai, p.
270. Compare J. L. Krapf, Travels,
Researches, and Missionary Labours
during an Eighteen Years'^ Residence
in Eastern Africa (London, i860),
p. 360: “As to the origin of these
truculent savages, they have a tradition
that Engai — Heaven, or Rain — jdaced
in the beginning of time a man named
Neiterkob, or Neiternkob, on the
Oredoinio - eibor (White Mountain,
Snow Mountain, the Kegnia of the
Wakamba) who was a kind of demi-
god ; for he was exalted above men
and yet not equal to Engai.”
A. C. 1 1 oil is, The Masai, pp.
271 sq. Compare the Chagga story,
above, pp. 217 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 277
to speak more correctly, which dies once a month and
always comes to life again.
Finally, it would seem that the primary idea at the root The
of the Masai god Engai is rather the rain than the blue
vault of heaven. On this point I will quote an instructive Masai god
passage from the writings of Mr. A. C. Hollis, our best p^rhaps^
English authority on the Masai and their language. He rather the
writes : “ I have been asked to add a few words on the thlTsUy^^
subject of eng-A 'i, the Masai term for God. Eng-Af, i.e. Mr. Hollis’s
with the feminine article prefixed, means literally ‘the rain VEngai.
and though one occasionally hears other words used as the
equivalent of God, eg, Parmasis and Parsai, there is no
other word for rain.
“To the Masai eng-Ai is of much the same general Ke-
pattern as the sky-god, e.g, Zeus, was to the ancients. Joseph o^Eng^aTL
Thomson ^ states that their conception of the deity, whom
he called Ngai, was marvellously vague, and that whatever
struck them as strange or incomprehensible they at once
assumed had some connexion with Ngai. Thus, his lamp
was Ngai, he himself was Ngai, Ngai was in the steaming
hole^, and his house in the eternal snows of Kilima Njaro.
But Thomson was incorrect. It is conceivable that the
Masai alluded to him, to his lamp, or to the steaming holes
as e-ng-Ai or le-'ng-AY, i.e, of God, as this is the only term
they have, so far as I am aware, to express anything super-
natural or sacred. Sickness, grass, the only active volcano in
Masailand, can all be, and indeed are, referred to as e-’ng-Alf
or le-’ng-Ai', according to the gender of the substantive
which precedes the expression. * God gave us cattle and
grass,’ the Masai say, ' we do not separate the things that
God has given us.’ Cattle are sacred, and grass is con-
sequently also sacred, i.e, it is of God. The volcano which
Thomson and others called Donyo Ngai is known to the
Masai as Ol-doinyo le-’ng-A'f, the Mountain of God, or the
sacred mountain. I am glad to see that in the newest maps
the change in orthography has been made.
“ That eng-Ai is personified is apparent from the prayers Engai a
given in my book,^ which are all authentic, as well as in the being who
hears
1 Joseph Thomson, Through Masai- ^ The Masai, For the prayers, see prayer.
land, pp. 444 sq, above, pp. 274 sqq.
278 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
forms of blessing and cursing. In one instance, it will be
remembered, it is said : ‘ The God to whom I pray and He
hears’.
“ Eng- At can also be used to express the sky or heavens,
but the Masai equivalent for clouds, fog, cold, etc., may also
be used in this sense. ‘ Heaven’ in the expression ‘ Heaven
help you ’ would be translated by eng-Ai, whilst ing-atamhoy
the clouds, would be required in a sentence like ‘The
heavens are overcast ^
The two Kavirondo is a vast territory stretching round the north-
races of eastern shores of Lake Victoria Nyanza. It is a rolling
grass country at an altitude of from 3800 feet to about
and the cqoo feet above the level of the sea. The climate is fairly
Nilotic. r It * 1 1 1 -1 •
warm and sunny, yet the rainfall is abundant ; the soil is
well adapted to the agriculture practised by the people.'^
The country is peopled by two entirely different races, one
of them belonging to the Bantu and the other to the Nilotic
family. The Bantu Kavirondo are physically much finer,
though socially much less developed, than the Baganda.^
The Nilotic Kavirondo, whose proper name is Jaluo, belong
to the same family as the great Dinka tribe of the Sudan,
and are near relations of the Aluri and Acholi tribes, which
live on both sides of the Nile near Wadilai, the differences
being less marked than those which usually distinguish two
adjoining Bantu tribes. Probably, therefore, the Jaluo
originally formed one tribe with the Acholi. In appearance
they are a fine race, not so much remarkable for beauty of
face as for stature and development.^ Though the mornings
and evenings are comparatively cold in their hills, the Jaluo
go stark naked ; indeed they object to clothes as indecent,
and members of the tribe who have been abroad and have
adopted clothing are requested to put it off during their
residence in their old homes.^
1 A. C. Hollis, “ The Religion
of the Nandi”, Transactions of the
Third International Coftgress for the
History of Religions (Oxford, 1908),
i. 90 sq,
2 C. W. Hobley, Eastern Uganda
(London, 1902), p. 13.
3 C. W. Hobley, Eastern Uganda^
p. 8.
^ G. A. S. Northcote, “The Nilotic
Kavirondo ”, Journal of the R,
Anthropological InstitutCy xxxvii. ( 1 907)
p. 58.
® J. Roscoe, 7 'he Northern Bantu,
p. 275.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 279
Both the Bantu and the Nilotic Kavirondo are reported Belief of the
to believe in a Supreme Being or Creator, to whom, how-
ever, they pay no formal worship. On this subject I will Supreme
quote the evidence of a missionary who has lived among the cremor
people. He says : called
^Jy^SclVC
“Though entirely different in origin and language the whom they
religious beliefs of the two races are very similar, differing
only in minor points of ritual. Both the Nilotic and the
Bantu Kavirondo have a distinct idea of God, the Supreme
Being. The first call him Nysaye (from sayo^ to adore), and
the latter Nasaye (from gusaya^ to beseech). He is con-
sidered to be the Creator or originator of all things. It is
true, the Supreme Being is not adored, but, when a child is
born, it is ascribed to Nyasaye ; when any one dies, it is
Nyasaye that has taken him away ; and when a warrior
returns safe from battle, it is Nyasaye that has given him a
safe return to his home.
“As, however, no external worship is given to the The
Creator, it would seem to the ordinary observer, that the
Sun is their principal deity and the Moon their second, Sun and
whilst the spirits of their forefathers rank as minor spirits, [h^pirits
In the early morning the Kavirondo may be seen facing the^^'^heir
sun. His mode of worship is, to say the least, peculiar.
He commences by spitting towards the East, in honour of
the rising orb, then he turns successively to the North, West,
and South, and salutes each quarter solemnly in the same
manner, whilst he earnestly beseeches the Sun-god to give
him good luck. A similar ceremony, if ceremony it can
be called, is gone through when the new moon appears, in
order to obtain good speed for that month. But we must
not lose sight of the fact that though health and good luck
are asked from the Sun and the New Moon, life itself is
ascribed to the Creator Nyasaye. In fact it would seem
that the higher the particular object of reverence is in the
estimation of the Kavirondo, the less ceremonious is his
mode of showing his reverence. The Supreme Being,
the Creator of all things and giver of life and death, has
to be content with the mere acknowledgement of His
existence ; the Sun and New Moon receive a periodical
expectoration ; but the spirits of the departed, who are
28 o
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
really the lowest in rank, are worshipped with an elaborate
ritual.’* ^
J. Roscoe To much the same effect Mr. John Roscoe has described
^ the religion of the Nilotic Kavirondo. He tells us that
the Nilotic apart from worship of the dead and belief in ghosts, the
Kavirondo. havc little religion. They call the supreme being
Nyasi, who, they say, is to be found in large trees. In times
of trouble or sickness they make offerings to him of an
animal which is killed under a large tree, and the flesh is
cooked and eaten near by, though sometimes the meat is
taken a little distance away and is not eaten under the
shadow of the tree.”
In these accounts of the Supreme Being of the
Kavirondo nothing is said to connect him definitely with
the sky ; indeed the statement that he is to be found in
great trees, where sacrifices are offered to him, would point
to an arboreal rather than a celestial deity. However, we
have seen that among the Akamba and Akikuyu the
worship of Engai or Mulungu, who has some claim to
rank as a Sky-god, is closely associated with sacred trees, ^
and the same may be true of the Supreme Being of the
Kavirondo,
The Nandi, To the north of Kavirondo stretches what is known as
or^liodc Nandi plateau, a highland country which is one of the
tribe. most fertile and beautiful regions of Kenya Colony (British
East Africa). The tribe, who give their name to it, the
Nandi, are akin to the Masai, and form one of a group of
Hamitic or Nilotic tribes to which the Suk and Turkana
also belong. All these tribes appear to be hybrids, perhaps
1 N. Stam, “The Religious Con-
ceptions of the Kavirondo”, Anth^'opos,
V. (1910) p. 360. In one place (the
first) the writer spells the god’s name
Nysaye, but elsewhere consistently
Nyasaye. The latter is probably the
correct form. With the writer’s ac-
count of Sun - worship among the
Kavirondo compare G. A. S. North-
cote, “The Nilotic Kavirondo”,
Journal of the R. Anthropological In-
stitutCy xxxvii. (1907) p. 63; “The
Jaluo religion is extremely slight. They
worship the sun, and to a less extent
the moon. They regard the sun as a
deity seldom beneficent, more often
malignant, and usually apathetic ; as
one of them said to the writer, ‘ It
does not matter how much you pray,
you fall sick and die just the same ’.
The offerings made at all important
occasions in their daily life they make
more with the idea of appeasing him
than of obtaining positive benefits.”
2 J. Roscoe, The Northern Bantu y
pp. 291 sq.
3 See above, pp. 248, 259 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 281
formed by a mixture of Galla or Somali with negro blood ;
the Galla or Somali element is judged to be stronger in the
Masai and Nandi than in the Suk and Turkana.^ Together The
the four tribes make up what we may call the East African
section of the Nilotic family. The features which distinguish tribes,
them from their brethren who inhabit the valley of the Nile,
such as the Bari, Acholi, and Aluru, are that they are more
or less nomadic herdsmen, and that their young men are
organized as a special class of warriors. As a result
apparently of these institutions, which are perhaps due to
an infusion of Galla-Somali blood, these tribes of warlike
herdsmen have spread widely over East Africa. Their kins-
folk on the Nile, on the other hand, are settled cultivators
of the soil ; and though they fight on occasion and esteem
bravery, they do not devote the prime of life exclusively to
raiding their neighbours, nor do they despise peaceful labour.
The nomadic and military mode of life is most fully
developed in the Masai, who disdain agriculture and all
occupations except fighting and herding cattle. One section
of the Suk are tillers of the soil ; the other section and the
Turkana do little in the way of cultivation, but tend cattle
and hunt. The various sections of the Nandi have taken
to agriculture, seemingly within the last few generations,
and they practise it in a somewhat desultory fashion.^
The religious beliefs of the Nandi are somewhat vague Belief of
and unformulated, but they recognize the existence of a
Supreme God whom they call Asis or Asista. His name Supreme
means the sun. He dwells in the sky: he created
and beast, and the world belongs to him. Prayers are Asista,
addressed to him. He is acknowledged to be a benefactor
and the giver of all good things, and offerings are at times "'^ans “the
made to him in return for his benefits.® Besides the high ’
god Asis or Asista the Nandi believe in the existence of Two
two thunder-gods, the one kindly, the other malevolent,
who closely resemble the Black God and the Red God of
^ Sir Charles Eliot, in A. C. Hollis, The Nandi ^ p. xvii.
The Masai, pp. xi sp. ; id,, in A. C. ^ a. C. Hollis, The Nandi, pp. xix,
Hollis, The Nandi (Oxford, 1909), 40 sq. \ id„ “The Religion of the
pp. XV sqq, ; id., in M. W. H. Beech, Nandi ”, Transactions of the Third
The Suk (Oxford, P* xi. International Congress for the History
^ Sir Charles Eliot, in A. C. Hollis, of Religions (Oxford, 1908}, i. 87.
282
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
the Masai, The crashing peal of thunder near at hand is
said to be the bad thunder-god trying to come to earth to
kill people, whilst the distant muttering or rumbling of
thunder is supposed to be the good thunder-god protecting
mankind and driving away his evil-disposed colleague.
Forked lightning is said to be the sword of the bad thunder-
god, while sheet lightning is thought to be the sword of the
good thunder-god, who does not kill people. Whenever
forked lightning — the flashing sword of the bad thunder-
god — is seen, all Nandi women look on the ground, as it is
deemed wrong that they should witness the havoc which
the sun or God (Asista) is allowing to take place. During
a thunderstorm it is usual to throw some tobacco on the
fire, and the youngest child of a family has to take a certain
stick, used for cleaning gourds, thrust it into the ashes of
the fire, and then throw it out of doors. But the two
thunder-gods are not worshipped, nor are offerings made to
them.^
Players of The commonest form of prayer is addressed both to the
the Nandi great god Asista and to the spirits of deceased ancestors.
Indto^dcad It is supposed to be recited by all adult Nandi twice a day,
ancestors. jj, more particularly used by old men when they rise
in the morning, especially if they have had a bad dream.
It runs thus :
“ Gody I have prayed to thee, guard my children and cattle,
I have approached thee morning and eveni?ig,
God, I have prayed to thee whilst thou didst sleep and whilst thou
wentest,
God, I have prayed to thee. Do not now say ; ‘ / am tired \
O our spirits, guard us who live on the earth, and do 7iot say :
‘ We were killed by human beings\^^'^
When warriors have gone to the wars, the men’s mothers
tie four knots in their belts, and going out of their huts every
morning spit towards the sun and say “ God, give us health
And the fathers of the absent warriors meet together
regularly, and before they drink their beer they sing,
'‘'‘God guard our children.
That we may greet them
Prayers in
war.
1 A.
41, 99.
C. Hollis, Ihe Nandi, pp.
2 A. C. Hollis, “The Religion of
the Nandi”, op, cit, i. 87 sq,\ compare
id.. The Nandi, pp. 41 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 283
Then they sprinkle some of the beer on the ground and on
the walls of the* hut, and say,
“ O our spirits^ we pray to you.
Regard this beer^ and give us healthP
If an expedition has been unsuccessful and a number of
warriors have been killed, the survivors must all go to a
river on their return and bathe. Then they hold a dance
at which the women wail and cry at intervals. Afterwards
an old man stands up amidst the seated warriors and says :
God^ we admit ourselves beaten^
We pray thee^ give us peace
When cattle have been carried off by an enemy or Prayers for
killed by lightning, a procession is formed, and the cattle
that have been left are driven to the nearest river, and there
every animal is sprinkled with water. One old man recites
these lines, all present repeating them after him :
God,, guard these that are left,.
We pray thee, i^ifard these that are left^\
When disease breaks out in a herd, a great bonfire is
kindled and the sick herd is driven to the fire. A pregnant
sheep is killed and eaten, and the herd is driven round the
fire, each beast being sprinkled with milk, whilst the
following prayer is offered up :
“ God, 7 ve pray thee.
Guard these that are here^\^
While the eleusine grain is ripening, and after the grain Prayers at
has been reaped, the harvest ceremonies are held. Porridge
is made from the first basketful of grain cut, and all the
members of the family take some of the food and dab it on
walls and roofs of the huts. They also put a little in their
mouths and spit it out towards the east. The head of the
family then holds some of the eleusine grain in his hand, and
offers up the following prayer, everybody present repeating
the words after him :
1 A. C. Hollis, “The Religion of the Nandi”, op. cit. i. 88; compare
id., The Nandi, pp. 42*46.
284
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Prayers for
rain.
Prayers
after child-
birth.
God^ give us healthy
A nd may we be given strength^
And may we be give ft milk.
If any man eats of this corn^ may he like it.
And if a pregnant woman eats it, may she like it.'*^ ^
After the harvest has been gathered in, each geographical
division (pororiet) of the tribe holds its own feast on the top
of a hill or in a large open plain, and all the warriors gather
and dance the war-dance. A great bonfire is kindled with
the wood of certain trees and shrubs, and when the flames
blaze high, a sort of doorway, like that of a cattle-kraal, is
built near the fire, and as the warriors file past, the old men,
standing by the door-posts, take a little milk and beer and
spit it on them. The old men then sing as follows :
“ God, give us health,
God, give us raided cattle,
God, give us the offspring
Of men and cattle.
Before the assembly separates, the old men kill and eat
a pregnant goat, and the women, who have oiled their
bodies, proceed to the nearest river, where. they take two
pebbles from the water : one of the pebbles they place in
their water-jars and keep it there till the next harvest
festival ; the other pebble they place in their granaries.*^
When there is a long drought, the old men assemble,
and take a black sheep, and go with it to a river. There
they tie a fur cloak on the sheep's back and push the animal
into the water. Next they take beer and milk into their
mouths and spit them out in the direction of the rising sun.
When the sheep scrambles out of the water and shakes
itself, they recite the following prayer :
“ God, we pray thee give us rain.
Regard this milk and beer.
We are suffering like women labouring zvith child.
Guard our pregnant women and cows.” ^
Four months after the birth of a child a feast is held.
An ox or goat is slaughtered, and after the mother, child,
1 A. C. Hollis, I'he Nandi, pp. 46 op. cit. i. 89.
sq . ; id., “The Religion of the Nandi ”,
op. cit. i. 89. 3 A. C. Hollis, “The Religion of
^ A. C. Hollis, The Nandi, p. 47 ; the Nandi”, op. cit. i. 89; id.. The
id., “The Religion of the Nandi”, Nandi, yp.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 285
and animal have been anointed with milk by one of the
elders of the clan, the child’s face is washed with the un-
digested food from the animal’s stomach. The elder then
prays as follows :
“ God^ give us health.
God^ protect us.
O our spirits.^ guard this child.
O belly ^ guard this childl^ ^
When they begin to build a house, they perform a short Pmyer at
inaugural ceremony. The elders of the family pour milk
and beer and put some salt into the hole that has been pre-
pared for the reception of the central pole, and they say :
God., give us health.
God., give us milk.
God., give us power.
God, give us coi n.
God, give us everything that is good.
God, guard our childre^i and our cattlel^ -
Among the Nandi, as among many savage tribes, the Prayer at
potters are women. When the pots have been baked, the niakun;.
potters recite the following prayer :
“ God, give us strength,
So that, when we cook in the pots, men may like thenP\^
When smiths search for iron ore they pray, saying :
“ God, give us health.
God, give us h'on.^^ **
Prayer at
seeking
iron.
As a rule, children do not pray, but when the two Prayer of
middle incisor teeth of the lower jaw are extracted, accord-
ing to the tribal custom, the child must throw the teeth extraction
, j . , . . . of teeth.
away towards the rising sun, saying :
“ God, take these brown teeth and give me white ones,
So that I may drink calfs milk'*\^
^ A. C. Hollis, “The Religion of
the Nandi ”, op. cit. i. 89 sq. ; id.., The
Nandi, p. 65.
A. C. Hollis, “The Religion of
the Nandi ”, op. cit. i. 89 ; id.. The
Nandi, p. 15.
2 A. C. Hollis, “The Religion of
the Nandi ”, op. cit. i. 90 ; id.. The
Nandi, p. 35.
^ A, C. Hollis, “ The Religion of
the Nandi”, op. cit. i. 90; id.. The
Nandi, p. 37.
^ A. C. Hollis, “The Religion of
the Nandi”, op. cit. i. 90; id.. The
Nandi, p. 30.
286
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Thus the Nandi, like their kinsfolk the Masai, may be
fairly called a prayerful people.
Is Asista a As Asis Or Asista, the name of the Supreme God of the
a s'un^gld*? Nandi, is also the name of the sun, it might be thought that
Asis or Asista is a Sun-god rather than a Sky-god. It
may be so, but in all that is recorded of him there seems to
be very little except his name to connect him definitely with
the sun,^ though the customs of spitting and throwing teeth
in the direction of the sun certainly admit of, if they do
not require, a solar interpretation. On the whole it is
perhaps safer to class the great god of the Nandi among the
kindly Sky-gods, whose range is so wide in Africa, than to rank
him with the pure Sun-gods, who, apart from their occurrence
in ancient Egypt, appear to be on the whole rare in Africa.
Similarly we saw that among the Wachagga of Kilimanjaro
the Supreme God is known by a name (Ruwa) which signifies
the sun, though his attributes are rather those of a Sky-god.‘^
A. c. Hollis On the Nandi religion and its relation to that of the
rriig^onof tribes about them I will quote the remarks of Mr.
the Nandi. A. C. Hollis, our highest authority on the tribe. He says :
“ It will be seen that the Nandi believe in a sky-god, whose
name, as already stated, is synonymous with the sun. The
Nandi also, like the surrounding Bantu peoples and unlike
the Masai, worship and propitiate the spirits of deceased
ancestors. As a general rule it may, I think, be said that
prayer and sacrifice to the sun or deities in the sky are un-
known among the Bantu tribes of Eastern Africa, whilst this
form of worship is followed by all the Nilotic or Hamitic
tribes. The Bantu Kikuyu, it is true, acknowledge a sky-god
whom they call Ngai, but both the name and the worship
are obviously, borrowed from the Masai. The Chaga, too,
who sometimes pray to a sun-god called Iruwa, and spit
towards the east when they leave their huts in the morning,
have probably taken these customs from the Dorobo, who
are nearly akin to the Nandi.*’ ^
1 Compare Sir Charles Eliot, in the Wapare. See above, pp. 197, 201
A. C. Hollis, The Nandi ^ p. xix. sqq. Compare pp. 122-124, I'jo sq.y
2 See above, pp. 205 sqq. Other 173 sq.^ 279.
African Sky-gods whose names appear
to mean ‘‘the Sun” are Ilanzi, the god ^ A. C. Hollis, “The Religion of
of the Wafipa, and Ithuwa, the god of the Nandi ”, op. cit, i. 90.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 287
Like so many other African peoples, the Nandi tell a story of the
story to account for the origin of human mortality; but
unlike some of their congeners they appear entirely to ^og and
exculpate the deity from all share in the unfortunate trans- ^
action and to lay the whole blame of it on a dog. What
happened, if we can trust their account, was as follows.
When the first people lived on the earth a dog came to them
one day and said, “ All people will die like the moon, but
unlike the moon you will not return to life again unless you
give me some milk to drink out of your gourd and beer to
drink through your straw. If you do this, I will arrange
for you to go to the river when you die and to come to life
again on the third day.” But the people laughed at the
dog and gave him some milk and beer to drink off a stool.
The dog was huffed at not being served in the same vessels
as a human being, and although he put his pride in his
pocket and swallowed the milk and the beer, he went away
very sulky, saying, “ All people will die, and the moon
alone will return to life That is why, when people die,
they remain away, whereas when the moon dies she re-
appears after three days’ absence.^ If only people had
treated that dog more civilly, we should all unquestionably
have risen from the dead on the third day.
The Suk belong, as we have seen, to the same group oL^'^eSuk
Nilotic tribes as the Nandi and Masai, but they are much country!^
less homogeneous and compact. The physical type varies
greatly from the tall handsome Hamite, with almost perfect
features, to the squab, dwarf-like pigmy with spread nose and
protruding eyes. Their original home seems to have been
on the Elgeyo escarpment, to the east of Mount Elgon, in
Kenya Colony (British East Africa). Timber and grass are
plentiful there, and the rocky descent into the Kerio offers
many natural fortresses. In these mountain fastnesses,
accordingly, the Suk appear to have been joined by many
broken men, refugees from tribes that had been conquered
or exterminated by more warlike invaders. Hence the
diversity of physical type which now characterizes the Suk.
Of all the tribes that have gone to compose the Suk nation,
^ A. C. Hollis, The Nmidi^ p. 98. 1 have reported this story elsewhere
{Folk-lore in the Old Testament^ i. 54 j^y.).
288
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Belief of
the Silk in
a Supreme
God called
Tororut.
A com-
pendium
of Silk
theology.
Asis, the
Sun, and
Hat, the
Rain.
none has so deeply influenced both the language and the
customs as the Nandi.^
The religious notions of the Suk are extremely vague ; it is
difficult to find two men whose ideas on the subject coincide.
All, however, agree as to the existence of a Supreme Being ;
most of them call him Tor6rut, that is, the Sky ; but a few
call him Hat, that is, the Rain. A man named Tiamolok,
one of the oldest of the Suk then living, and renowned for
his knowledge of folk-lore, gave Mr. Beech the following out-
line of Suk theology.
‘‘Tor6rut is the Supreme God. He made the earth and
causes the birth of mankind and animals. No man living
has seen him, though old men, long since dead, have. They
say he is like a man in form, but has wings — huge wings —
the flash of which causes the lightning {kerial), and the
whirring thereof is the thunder {kotil). He lives above
{yim\ and has much land, stock, ivory, and every good thing.
He kmows all secrets ; he is the universal father ; all cattle
diseases and calamities are sent by him as punishment to
men for their sins.
“ His wife is Seta (the Pleiades), and his first-born son is
Arawa (the Moon). Hat (the Rain) is another son, as are
Kokel (the Stars) his other children. Topogh (the Evening
Star) is his first-born daughter. Asis (the Sun) is his
younger brother, who is angry in the dry season. All
these are gods, and all are benevolently disposed towards
mankind.” ^
This is a clear and consistent account of a great Sky-
god, husband of the Pleiades, father of the Moon, the Stars,
and the Rain, and elder brother of the Sun. It will be
observed that according to this account Asis, the Sun, who
is the chief god of the Nandi, occupies only a subordinate
place in Suk theology. Other Suk, however, say that the
only god they know is Hat, the Rain, who is supreme and
lord of life and death. Others, again, maintain that Hat is
the servant of Tor6rut, that it is his duty to carry water,
and that when he spills the water, it rains.®
i M. W. If. Beech, The Suk, their 2 m. W. H. Beech, The Suk, p. 19.
Language and Folk-lore (Oxford, 191 1 ),
pp. xi iq., 2 , 3 sq. M. W. H. Beech, The Suk, p. 19,
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 289
On the whole, Mr. Beech, our best authority on the
language, customs, and beliefs of the Suk, concludes that
“ the general consensus of opinion inclines to the belief in
the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient being or entity,
to whom it is advisable to make frequent prayers, and who
is responsible, not only for the creation of the world, but for
all the good and evil occurrences that have happened in it
ever since.’' ^
The Alur are a Nilotic people who inhabit a consider- The Aiur,
able area on the western shore of Lake Albert and along peopie^of
the western bank of the Nile from the point where it issues i^ake Albert
from Lake Albert to a point a little north of Wadelai. NUe.
Their language differs from that of all the tribes around
them and is identical with that of the Shilluk, who
inhabit the western bank of the Nile much farther to the
north. Hence there is every reason to accept as probable
the tradition of the Alur that their ancestors migrated to
their present home from the north more than a century ago.“
They are an agricultural people, cultivating maize, sorghum,
eleusine grain, bananas, and sweet potatoes. Eleusine
grain constitutes their staple food. Men and women share
in the labour of agriculture. But they also rear cattle,
though they do not pay so much attention to the herds as
do the Dinka and Bari, two other tribes of the Upper Nile.®
The Alur believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, Belief of
whom they call Rubanga, His home is generally supposed
to be the sky or the air, but no bodily attributes are ascribed Being
to him. He receives little or no regular worship ; but when R^ubanga,
the harvest has been good, a number of communities will who lives
meet together and hold a festival under shady trees. MenoVtheSn
and women share in the festivity, and all join in singing,
eating, and above all drinking in honour of Rubanga. But
in general Rubanga is only invoked to explain events of
which the causes are mysterious or unknown, as, for
example, when some one is suddenly cut off in the prime of
life, when a fire breaks out in a village and the incendiary
cannot be discovered, or when one man’s herds multiply
1 M. W. H. Beech, The Suk, p. 20 . 1894 ), pp. 492 - 494 .
2 Franz Stuhlmann, Mit Emin ® Franz Stuhlmann, op. cit. pp. 497-
Pascha ins Herz von Afrika (Berlin, 499 .
VOL. I
U
290
WORSHIP OF THE SHV IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Relief of
the Alur
in spirits
of nature
and spirits
of the
dead.
The T^ango
district.
while his neighbour’s cattle are dwindling away. In short,
the Alur make of Rubanga a sort of stalking-horse to explain
all inexplicable occurrences and to cloak their own ignorance.
In ordinary life you may often hear such expressions as,
“ Rubanga has done that ” ; or, “ Are you Rubanga, that
you give yourself such airs ? ” ^
Besides this mysterious being the Alur believe in the
existence of spirits of nature, which dwell in the woods, the
steppes, the river, and the wind. The river spirits arc
particularly feared, because the crocodiles do their bidding.
Of a life beyond death the Alur are said to know nothing.
Yet the spirits of the dead are believed to appear to them
in dreams and to give them injunctions which it would be
unlucky to disregard. But if a ghost persistently intrudes
on somebody’s slumbers, the sufferer will lay a small gift on
the grave of the deceased in order to get rid of his unquiet
spirit. But apart from such petty offerings occasionally
deposited on the graves and left there for a short time, there
can hardly be said to be any regular worship of the spirits
of the dead.^
The Lango district occupies a great region in the north
of the Uganda Protectorate. Its area is between five and
six thousand square miles, and it is inhabited by a variety
of tribes, among which the Lango alone, who give their
name to the district, number about a quarter of a million.^
It is a flat, savannah-like country, for the most part treeless,
but covered with coarse spear-grass some eight or ten feet
high, and intersected by innumerable marshy rivers, whose
sluggish current is almost blocked by thick vegetation. But
the yellow - flowering mimosa is everywhere to be seen,
yellow-flowering leguminosae break the monotony of the
unending grass, and a profusely flowering lilac adds a touch
of colour to the drab landscape. Papyrus lines the river
banks, and water-lilies, blue, white, and yellow, drape the
surface of Lake Kwania. In general, the prospect is limited
by the tall grass, but in August and September, when the
flowers are in full bloom and have been refreshed by the
J Franz Stuhlmann, op. cit. p. 528. 3 j h. Driberg, I'he Lango, a
2 Franz Stuhlmann, op. cit. pp. Nilotic Tribe of Uganda (London,
528 sq. I 923 )» PP- 42, 50.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 291
passing of an occasional shower, the eye is pleased by
frequent and unexpected patches of colour, where the
Calotropis procera, with its balloon-like fruit, the gardenia,
petunia and aster, jasmine and gladiolus, lupin and the
heavy-scented clematis are all ablaze. Later in the year
nothing is to be seen but the parched grass and here and
there the sere and yellow leaves of withered and stunted
trees. Only in the north-eastern portion of the district,
where the rivers flow in deeper beds, the gullies are fringed
with magnificent trees mantled with convolvulaceae and
lianae in tropical exuberance.'
As mieht be expected from the nature of the country. The game
with its abundance of water and of cover, game is numerous
and varied, including giraffe, rhinoceros, elephant, buffalo,
eland, zebra, and many kinds of bucks. Wild boars are
destructive of the crops ; lions, leopards, and hyenas prey
on the live-stock. Rats and voles are omnipresent. The
hippopotamus is seen wallowing in some waters, and crocodiles
abound in the rivers and lakes, except in Lake Kwania, where
their numbers have been reduced by the Lango, who eat their
flesh. Mosquitoes swarm everywhere, and at certain times
and in certain regions sandflies are an unmitigated pest.^
Thus man has many foes to contend with in this exuberance
of animal life.
The Lango are a Nilotic people, and like other tribes of The ^
the same stock they are a narrow-jawed, long-limbed, dark- ^leir
skinned race, lean, but muscular. Their lips are much
thinner and their noses better formed, according to our istics and
European standard, than is usual among pure negroes. In
contrast with the practice of Bantu tribes, the men do all
the hard work of cultivation, and this, together with the
pursuits of hunting and fighting, has given them a fine
appearance of physical strength and activity, which is ^ not
belied by their powers of endurance and sustained exertion.®
They raise good crops, but their success is due to the
fertility of the soil rather than to their skill as farmers ; for
they are agricultural from necessity and not from choice ,
at heart, like other Nilotic tribes, they are a pastoral
* T. H. Driberg, The Lango, pp. ^ J.li.Vnherg, TheLaugo,pp. 46s?.
^ J. n. Driberg, The Lango,, p. 50.
292
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
people, who really love their herds. Not infrequently, when
cattle have died or been carried off by raiders, the women
raise the cry of mourning, as if for a dead man. The type
of Lango cattle is the short-horned, humped zebu. The
owner of a cow milks her himself, or, in his absence, his
children do it for him ; but in no case may a woman
perform the duty. The Lango also keep goats and sheep,
but do not milk them.^
Religion of The religion of the Lango is said to be composed of two
theii bS on the one hand, the worship of ancestral spirits,
in a high and on the other hand the worship of a high god whom
they call Jok. This name for a Supreme Being is said to
be known, in varying forms, to all the Nilotic tribes except
the Jaluo, among whom, as we saw, the high god is known
by a different name.‘^ The Lango conception of Jok is
vague. They liken him to moving air, and a village in which
many deaths occur is said to be on the path of the air or of
Jok. He has never been seen, but he can be heard and
felt ; he manifests himself most sensibly in whirlwinds and
circular eddies of air. Like the air or the wind, he is omni-
present ; his dwelling is everywhere — in trees, in rocks, in
hills, in springs and pools, and more vaguely in the air.^
Apparently, too, he inhabits the sky, for on rare occasions
he has taken up people to it from the earth. One such
visitor to heaven is known to have returned io this sublunary
world after a stay of four days in the celestial mansions.
He could not remember much of what he had seen ; but he
did know that there were a great many black, but no white,
people in heaven ; that they were just like people here on
earth, except that they all wore tails, and that they ate
nothing but fried flies, though there were cattle, sheep, and
goats in plenty. As a diet of fried flies did not agree with
him, and there was nothing else to eat, he begged Jok to
send him back to earth, and with this request the kind-
hearted deity apparently complied.'*
Jok as Jok created the sky and the earth, which the Lango
and^ource conccive as the two halves of a great sphere ; and the births
of life.
' J. H. Driberg, The Lango, pp. ® J. II. Driberg, 'The Lango, pp.
90 93. 94» 96. 216 sq,
2 Above, p. 279. ^ J. H. Driberg, The Lango, p. 217.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 293
both of men and animals are still referred to his agency.
For example, a goat which bears twins or triplets is garlanded
or festooned with a particular sort of convolvulus in recogni-
tion of the favour shown by Jok to the animal and of a
human mother of twins it is said, ‘^Jok visited so-and-so;
she has borne twins
In general, the character of Jok is benevolent. From jok is kind
him come rich harvests, and he ordered the seasons so that
the rainy season should ensure abundant crops, and that the
dry season should allow of the joys of hunting. Further
he shows his kindly nature in being always accessible to the
prayers and inquiries of the faithful, and through his seers
he gives advice on all matters great and small, but specially
on the important topics of war and hunting. Still he is a
jealous god and punishes neglect with severity, demanding
his meed of sacrifice and observance. Scofifers who openly
profess that they do not believe in Jok, and that his oracles
are worthless, are punished by him with leprosy or a painful
death. Indeed, disease, accidents, failure in hunting, loss of
cattle, and many other tribulations are commonly regarded
by the Lango as punishments inflicted by Jok upon men
for their neglect or their sin. So powerful is Jok that his The over-
proximity is dangerous to men, not so much because he
bears them ill-will, as on account of the very nature of theofjek.
divine essence, contact with which is more than a mortal can
endure ; some buffer must be interposed to screen humanity
from the awful, the overpowering energy of the deity. Hence
the Lango never build their villages on hills, because hills
are vaguely associated with Jok.^
Nevertheless, curiously enough, there is no danger to be Jok takes
feared from Jok if he takes up his abode in a tree near the
village, or even in the village itself, for he will not do so in sacred
without warning, which gives time to propitiate him by ^^ere he is
offerings, the erection of shrines, and compliance with his ^v^shipped
instructions concerning religious observances and the rules consulted
of life. The effect is to mollify the deity, or at all events to
neutralize the danger inevitably attendant on his personality;^
1 J. H. Driberg, The Lango, p. 223. 218, 223 sq.
'^ ]Al.V>nh^rg, The Lango, \^. 222, ^ j. h. Driberg, The Lango, pp.
^ J. H. Driberg, The Lango, pp. 218 sq.
294
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Indeed, the worship of Jok is specially associated with
sacred trees. In this connexion he bears a special title, Jok
Adongo, that is, Jok the Large or Powerful. Sometimes
Jok will call a village headman by name at dead of night,
and when the man answers, the deity will say, “ Do not you
or any of your people cut such and such a tree, for I am
present in it, and it is sacred to me ; nor may any one
venture to pass under its shadow from otyeno (about 5 P.M.)
till dawn The headman instructs his people accordingly,
and that tree is for ever sacred. No particular sort of tree
is thus dedicated to Jok, but fig trees and kigelias are the
kinds he specially favours. Once the tree has been thus
sanctified by the presence of Jok, the headman resorts to it
for the purpose of getting advice on such subjects as war
and hunting. He goes to the tree at dawn, alone and un-
attended, and standing at a safe distance asks the tree's
advice and counsel, observing that he and his people have
faithfully refrained from injuring the tree or passing under
its shadow. The tree will answer, speaking with a human
voice and saying that the people have no claim on its
gratitude ; For where ", it asks, “ is my shrine ? and where
are my offerings and sacrifices ? " It then directs the head-
man as to the building of a suitable shrine. The shrine is
thereupon built under the tree. It is a diminutive hut, con-
sisting only of a grass roof supported on four posts about a
foot high, the whole hut being no more than eighteen inches
in diameter. Contented with this humble shrine and with the
offerings at it, the tree, or rather Jok in the tree, will give
an oracular response on any question which the headman
may put to it, without the intervention of a seer or any
other intermediary.^
Various Though Jok is conceived of as an indivisible entity per-
titiesofjok. whole universe,^ and there is no plural form of
his name,^ yet he is known under a variety of titles which
correspond to his different manifestations and activities.
Thus one of his manifestations, as we have seen, is in the
form of a tree-god, in which character he bears the title of
Jok Adongo. But his oldest manifestation, curiously enough,
^ J. H. Driberg, The Lari go ^ p. 218.
2 J. H. Driberg, The Lango^ p. 223 note
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 295
is in the form of a female called Atida, a name which may Atida. the
not be spoken by the vulgar, who address her as Min Jok,
that is, “ the Mother of God She is particularly associated
with hunting, fighting, and rain, and her oracles are mainly,
though not exclusively, delivered by prophetesses.^ For tree,
example, to the north of the River Moroto there is said to
be a large banyan tree which for very many years has been
sacred to Atida, the Mother of God, and under the tree sits
the prophetess, a woman of great stature. In recent years
the popularity of the shrine has declined, but formerly the
Lango resorted to it from far and wide to receive prophecies
of war and of the chase, and they took with them presents
of beer, or chickens, or goats. On the day of their arrival
they would sit there in meditation, and next night they
would lean their spears against the tree, in order that virtue
might pass from the tree into the spears and give them
success. In the morning they would proffer their request,
and the prophetess would convey it to the tree and interpret
the answer of the tree to the inquirers ; for, though the tree
spoke with a human voice, its words were understood only by
the prophetess. In that respect the banyan tree of the Mother
of God differed from the trees animated by Jok Adongo, for
these latter speak in a language intelligible to anybody who
knows the Lango tongue. After a successful foray or hunt
the votaries would bring thankofferings of loot or game,
which were hung upon the banyan tree.^
At an elaborate ceremony, which is annually performed Annual
for the purpose of ensuring a due fall of rain, prayers are ^ndpr^yers
addressed to Min Jok, the Mother of God, and her help is to the
besought at the festival. She is implored to send abundant God^oV^^
rain and to give a good harvest, and further she is urged to
disclose any persons whose hearts are evil, and who purpose
to conceal or withhold the rain by magic. The ceremony
takes place at a sacred tree, either a fig tree or a sycamore,
and the men sit in orderly rows under the tree while the
prayers for rain are being put up. The old men lead the
prayer, and the others respond in a monotone, concluding
each prayer with a long-drawn, deep-throated moan. After
^ J. II. Driberg, The T.aftgo^ p. 218.
2 J. H. Driberg, The Lango^ pp. 219 sq.
296
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Jok as the
patron of
souls.
Shrines for
ghosts.
the prayers the men dance what is called the bell dance, in
which all the performers imitate the actions of their totemic
animals, whether the animal is a leopard, a monkey, a duiker,
or what not. There is no instrumental music, but a singer
stands in the middle of the circle of the dancers and sings
while they dance. The ceremonies and the dances last several
days. On the last day medicated water is thrown up into the
air, and an old man climbs the tree and sprinkles the medi-
cated water on its leaves, praying the while for good rains
and harvest. The ceremony includes the sacrifice of a ram
and a goat under the sacred tree. The members of one clan
will use only a black goat for the sacrifice, because the black
colour is symbolical of rain clouds. In no case may a red
goat be employed as a victim. At the end of the festival
the bones, heads, and skins of the ram and goat are taken
away by an old man, who buries them secretly in a river or
swamp.^
In one of his manifestations Jok is specially concerned
with the souls {tipd) of human beings and animals, for some
animals, such as giraffes, roan, elephants, rhinoceroses, and
warthogs, possess souls, but others, such as lions and leopards,
do not. In his capacity of patron of souls Jok is known as
Jok Orongo.^ Indeed, the spirits of the human dead are
believed to merge into Jok. We are told that the idea
which the word Jok now conveys to the Lango mind is
apparently “ the sum total of the long departed merged into
one pre-existing deity called Jok, a plurality of spirits unified
in the person of a single godhead, a Spiritual Force composed
of innumerable spirits, any of which may be temporarily
detached without diminishing the oneness of the Force”.®
But in spite of this general absorption of souls in the
deity after death, it seems to be beyond question that a
certain number of them do retain their individuality, some-
times indeed, a very marked and even obtrusive individuality,
for a considerable time after their decease. For example, a
^ J. H. Dribcrg, The LangOy pp.
249-253; id.y “ Rain -making among
the Lango ”, Journal of the R.
Anth 7 ‘opological Institute , xlix. (1919)
pp. 48-61.
2 J. H. Driberg, The Lango, p. 220.
As to the souls of animals, see id.
pp. 229 The Lango word for soul
{tipo) means “shade” or “shadow”.
It is applied equally to the souls of
persons, animals, and inanimate ob-
jects. See J. H. Driberg, The Lango,
p. 228,
3 J. H. Dril)erg, The Lango, p. 223.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 297
ghost may demand that a shrine be erected for him. This
demand he may either communicate personally to a relative,
or he may so harass him by a series of petty annoyances
that the man is driven to consult a diviner, who thereupon
reveals the ghost’s wishes to him. A shrine is accordingly
built for him, and in this he takes up his abode, and if he
is decently treated by the family he may favour them with
as valuable advice as Jok himself, though sometimes, it
must be admitted, the oracle is dumb, the ghost preserving
an impenetrable silence. But whether he is taciturn or
loquacious, his shrine exactly resembles those that are built
for Jok, and at it he receives from time to time offerings of
food and beer.^
But some ghosts are so unreasonable and fractious The
that not even the construction of a shrine in their
honour can pacify them. They continue to haunt and somcghost.
plague their relatives, till it becomes necessary to lay them
once for all. For that purpose a man of God iajoka^
literally a Jok man) is sent for. On his arrival he is pre-
sented with a he-goat. He kills the animal ceremonially
and smears some of the contents of its stomach on the chest
of the man who is haunted by the troublesome ghost.
Then he shakes a rattle to avert evil influences and
places in readiness a new-made jar with a narrow mouth.
In the jar he puts some of the goat’s meat and a little of
the sort of food of which the deceased in his lifetime was
known to be fond. At the side of the jar he places the
lid ready to be clapped on at a moment’s notice. The
trap is now set and baited ; it only remains to lure the
ghost into it. For this purpose the man of God shakes his
rattle vigorously and calls loudly on the ghost by name.
Suppose the dead man was named Okelo, the man of God
will cry, “ Okelo, come here and take your food ”. The
ghost accordingly arrives on the scene of action, but he is
wary and suspicious. “ How do I know that I may trust
you ? ” says he. “ There are none of my friends here.
Where is Ngulu ? ” naming a former friend. But the man
of God is prepared to meet this objection, for he has
summoned the friends and relations of the deceased, and
' J. H. Driberg, The Lango^ p. 231.
298 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
they are now at hand, ready to answer to their names in
case the ghost should call for them. So Ngulu comes
forward as a guarantee of good faith and sits down by the
pot The ghost then goes through the muster-roll of his
old friends ; they all answer to their names and come
forward, or if any happen to be unavoidably detained, a satis-
factory explanation of their absence is tendered to the ghost.
The misgivings of the ghost are now dispelled, and firmly
convinced that he is really being invited to a family feast, he,
so to say, puts his head in the noose by entering the jar to
partake of the savoury meat which his soul loves. But no
sooner is he inside the jar than the man of God claps on the
lid and fastens it down tightly. The ghost inside struggles
manfully and raises a bitter cry, “ Thou deceivest me, thou
killest me ”, but it is all in vain. The man of God turns a
deaf ear to his remonstrances, seals the lid, carries away the
pot, and buries it in the middle of a swamp. That is the
end of the ghost as such. Henceforth his immortal spirit is
absorbed in Jok, the deity.^
The That may be taken as the regular method of giving a
I-epTnTant to a troublesome ghost. But sometimes a ghost, on
ghost. being safely caught and bottled up in a jar, is led to see the
error of his ways and to promise amendment, if only they
will let him out. On the other hand he threatens that, if they
persist in sealing up the pot and burying it in the swamp,
he will kill every soul in the village. Alarmed at these
sanguinary threats, and knowing that, if the worst comes to the
worst, they can always pot him again, his relations take off
the lid and let him out, and even build a shrine for him in
the village. But beside the shrine they always set the pot
as a reminder to the ghost of what he may expect if he
should relapse into his former career of crime. It is to the
credit of ghosts in general that no such case of a backsliding
ghost is on record.^
State of the Whether the souls of animals as well as of men are
absorbed into the deity we are not informed ; but it
after death, secms clear that some of them at least lead an independent
life for some time after the death of the body. For
^ J. II. Driberg, The Lango, pp. 232 sq.
2 J. II. Driberg, The tango ^ p. 233.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 299
example, if a hunter kills a rhinoceros, the soul or ghost of How to
the rhinoceros is very vengeful and dangerous, and the slayer
must at once return to his village and consult a seer as to rhinoceros,
what steps he should take to appease or lay the ghost of the
animal. The ceremonies prescribed by the seer naturally
vary with the circumstances, but they always include the
sacrifice of a black ram at the door of the slayer’s house.
The carcase is dragged whole into the wilderness and left
near a river, but the old men of the village may go and eat
it there, provided that they burn the skin and bones and
throw the ashes into the water. Having thus appeased the
ghost of the rhinoceros, the slayer may return and cut up its
body ; but he may not bring the horns into the village,
because in the case of a rhinoceros it is not physically
possible wholly to eradicate the viciousness of the ghost.
The same holds true in an even higher degree of the roan
antelope, the ghost of which is most particularly vengeful,
vicious, and dangerous.^
These facts arc of interest for their bearing on the much-
debated question whether or not animals possess immortal
souls like those of men. In the opinion of the Lango some
animals, such as elephants, rhinoceroses, and warthogs,
certainly do possess souls which survive the death of their
bodies, and their testimony on this important topic may be
accepted for what it is worth.
A man who interprets Jok’s will for the benefit of his The
fellow-creatures is called an ajoka^\hz.i is, a Jok-man or Hian
of God. Both men and women may hold the sacred office ; ofjok’swiii
indeed the most famous of these divinely inspired ministers jo^nmn or
have always been women. Women alone are competent Man of
to serve ifi the capacity of prophetesses at certain shrines,
particularly at those of Atida or the Mother of God. While
a man of God is engaged in ascertaining the will of Jok, he
wears a serval skin slung down the front of his body, the
forefeet being fastened round his neck, and he holds in his
hand a rattle to avert inauspicious influences. An inquirer
of the deity always prefaces his petition with a small present,
generally some beer, flour, or cakes, part of which is offered
at the shrine and the rest kept by the man or woman of
1 J. H. Driberg, The Lango^ pp. 229 sq.
300
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Among the
inspired in-
terpreters
of the
divine will
are epilep-
tic patients,
both men
andwotnen.
The treat-
ment of
epileptics.
The
House of
Exorcism.
God as his or her fee. If the petition is one of great
importance a goat may be offered.^
Among these interpreters of the divine will a special
class is occupied by epileptic patients, who may be either
men or women, but are oftener women than men. For an
epileptic fit is regarded as a sure and certain token of
divine inspiration ; the deity is thought to have entered into
the patient and taken possession of him or her ; they say
that “ God has seized him ’’ (Jok omake). The first step in
such a case is to serve a notice of ejectment on God, in other
words, to exorcize him. In former days the ejectment often
took a very forcible form ; the patient was simply flogged to
the accompaniment of drums and singing till God had left him,
in other words till the fit was over. The present procedure
is more elaborate. In every village, apparently, there is a
small hut set specially apart for the use of inspired, that is,
epileptic patients ; it is quite distinct from the shrine {abild)
either of Jok or of a ghost, and it bears a different name,
being called a House of Exorcism {pt abani). It contains
nothing but a sacred spear or spear of Jok {tong jok).
Accordingly, when a person falls down in a fit, an exorcizer,
who must himself be an epileptic patient, comes to the hut
of his fellow sufferer with a sacred spear in his hand and
conducts him to the House of Exorcism, at the door of
which a goat has been tied. At entering the house the
patient administers a kick to the goat, which is then
removed and killed. A little of the meat is given to the
sufferer, who eats it in the House of Exorcism. Meantime
the whole village is engaged in drinking beer, dancing,
singing, and making as much noise as is humanly possible
in order to drive away evil influences. By this time the
worst effects of inspiration are over ; the convulsive stage is
past, and though the patient is still possessed by Jok, he now
lies passive, inert, and comparatively sane. The dance of
exorcism is accompanied by the music of six large drums,
and all the exorcizers who can be mustered for the occasion
take part in it, carrying their sacred spears and shaking their
rattles. On his recovery the patient has to pay the owner of
the drums a goat and one hoe, and to supply him with new
1 J. II. Driberg, The LangOy p. 234.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 301
skins for his drums, as the old skins are presumably worn
out with the hard usage to which they have been subjected
in the process of exorcism. At night he is led back to his
own house, but the exorcizer who came to the rescue at the
first instance remains for two days without food in the
House of Exorcism, for it takes him that time to complete
the exorcism. If the patient succumbs to the treatment, his
friends submit to the will of heaven ; for they know that the
day fore-ordained for him has arrived, and that Jok has sent
his spirit to take him away. But if he survives, as he
generally does, he is now a fully qualified exorcizer {abanwd)
and man of God (ajoka), competent at any time to reveal the
will of God to his worshippers.*
Whenever Jok, in his special manifestation as Jok Nam, oracies
desires to communicate with a mortal, he always does so
through one of these epileptics. When the chosen vessel by persons
feels the old symptoms coming on, he takes his measures
accordingly. He hurries to the House of Exorcism, and
there, the full force of inspiration descending on him, he falls
down in a fit and writhes in the usual convulsions which
attest the presence of the deity. In this divine frenzy, Jok
Nam, speaking through the mouth of the epileptic, summons
the person with whom he desires to communicate. On his
arrival he receives the divine message from the man or
woman in the fit, who thereafter gradually recovers from the
delirium of inspiration and remains in bis right mind until
the next time.^
These exorcizers {abanwd) are invariably epileptic patients Exordsmof
and can communicate the will of Jok just like ordinary men^*f^,,fy
and women of God {ajoka), who are not epileptics. In animaib.
certain cases, indeed, it is absolutely essential to consult
them, as when a man has killed an elephant, a rhinoceros,
or a warthog, and goes about in bodily fear of the ghost of
the warthog, the elephant, or the rhinoceros. In such an
emergency the only person on earth who can relieve him of
his terrors by laying the ghost of the animal is an epileptic."
A qualified practitioner can voluntarily induce a fit of
inspiration, that is, of epilepsy, by dancing and other
1 J. H. Driberg, The Lango^ pp.
237-239*
2 J. H. Driberg, The Lan go, p. 239.
3 J. H. Driberg, The Lango^ p. 239.
302
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
How the
great god
Jok can be
outwitted.
J. H.
Driberg
on the
religion of
the Lango.
provocatives of violent excitement, and the words which in
that state he utters are accepted by the inquirer as the words
of God, a revelation of Jok Nam. But more usually he seats
himself calmly in the House of Exorcism and falls into a
trance, during which his soul leaves him and visits Jok, in
his special manifestation as Jok Orongo, from whom the
soul obtains the requisite information. On its return to his
body the practitioner, still in a sort of trance, communicates
the divine message to the inquirer, and then slowly returns
to his normal condition.^
But while the great god Jok is thus regarded as the
supreme fount of wisdom, which may flow down to mortals
through epileptics and other suitable channels, his intelligence
would seem to be, in certain directions, of a limited order ;
for the Lango think that they can outwit and overreach
him. For example, when the men are going out to hunt,
they take the auspices, and it may be that the omens are
unfavourable, prognosticating, for example, that one of the
hunters will fall a prey to a leopard. To obviate this
calamity, they mould clay figures of a man, a woman, and
a leopard ; the leopard is represented in the act of biting
the man, and the woman is supposed to be the man’s widow
lamenting his death. The name of an enemy is given to
the figure of the man, and that enemy, it is confidently
anticipated, will be attacked and devoured by the leopard.
This ingenious device is called “ frustrating God {keto Jok\
because the wrath of God is thereby diverted from its
proper object to another." Again, when the children of a
family have died in succession, one after the other, the next
born will be called by some such trivial or unseemly
name as “frog”, “ordure”, and so forth. Thus dust is
thrown in the eyes of the deity, who will not turn his atten-
tion to a child so named, and thus the life of the infant will
be saved.^ From all this we may infer that in the opinion
of the Lango their great god Jok is by no means infallible.
To conclude this notice of Lango theology, I will quote
the words of Mr. Driberg, our best and almost only authority
1 J. H. Driberg, The Lango^^, 239. ^ J. H. Driberg, The Lango^ pp.
2 J. H. Driberg, The Lango^ pp. 144, 225.
1 13 sq., 224 sq.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 303
on the people. He says : “ It cannot be too often em-
phasized that religion is a much more important factor in
the secular life of primitive peoples than it is with civilized
communities — indeed, it is the most important factor of all.
It enters into all their family and social relations, into their
most commonplace activities and their daily occupations —
in short, there is no aspect of native life which has not its
religious significance, and which is not more or less con-
trolled by religious rites or prohibitions. Jok is so intensely
all-pervading that in all important events prudence compels
that his will be ascertained, lest he be offended by an
unintentional slight, or in order to profit by his omniscience
in obtaining the best results of a contemplated action.” ^
The Dinka arc another Nilotic tribe, or rather congeries The Dinka.
of independent tribes who occupy an immense territory lUtribeofthe
the valley of the White Nile, situated chiefly on the eastern WhiteNiie.
bank of the river and stretching from the sixth to the
twelfth degree of north latitude. Physically they are a
typical Nilotic people, tall, long-legged, slender, and with a
complexion of the deepest black. They are essentially
a pastoral people, passionately devoted to the care of their
numerous herds of cattle, though they also keep goats and
sheep, and the women cultivate small quantities of millet and
sesame. But besides the comparatively powerful tribes who
own cattle there are some small and poor tribes who have
no cattle and hardly till the ground, but live in the marshes
near the river and depend largely for their support on
fishing and hunting the hippopotamus. Their dirty evil-
smelling villages are built on ground that scarcely rises above
the vast reedy expanse of the marshes. The pastoral people
naturally depend for their subsistence in great gieasure on
the regular fall of rain, without which the pastures wither
and the cattle die. Rain accordingly plays a great part in
the religion and superstition of the Dinka.^
1 J. H. Driberg, The Lango, p. 233. sqq,, 18 sqq, ; G. Schweinfurth, The
2 As to the Dinka and their country, Heart of Africa, Third Edition (Lon-
see “ E. de Preussenaere’s Reisen und don, 1878), i. 4^ 5 The Golden
Forschungen im Gebiete des weissen Bough, Part III. 7 'he Dying God, pp.
und blauen Nil”, Petermann’s GeO’ 28 C.G.Seligmann,j.z/. “Dinka”,
graphische Mittheilungen, Erganzungs- in J. Hastings, Emyclopaedia of Re-
heft, No. 50 (Gotha, 1877), pp. 13 Itgion and Ethics, iv, sqq.
The Dinka
worship
ancestral
spirits {Jok)
and a
high god
Dengdit,
whose
name
means
‘ ‘ Great
Rain
How
the path
between
earth and
heaven was
cut off.
304 WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
The Dinka are a deeply religious people. They worship
a host of ancestral spirits called jok and a high god called
Dengdit, whose name means literally “ Great Rain They
also give him the name of Nyalich, which, literally translated,
signifies “ in the above being the locative form of a word
which means “above”. It is, however, only used as a
synonym of Dengdit. A common beginning of Dinka
prayers is Nyalich ko kwar, that is, “ God and our ancestors ”.
The phrase indicates the two main elements of which Dinka
religion is composed, to wit, the worship of a high god and
the worship of ancestors ; and the order in which the two
are mentioned in the prayer is significant of their relative
importance, for there is no doubt that the great god Dengdit
or Nyalich ranks above the ancestral spirits {^jok'). He is
believed to have created the world and established the
present order of things, and he it is who is supposed to send
the rain from “the rain-place” above, which is especially
his home. Nevertheless in the ordinary affairs of life the
ancestral spirits {Jok) are appealed to far oftener then
Dengdit, and in some cases, in which the appeal is nominally
made to Dengdit, its form seems to imply that he has been
confused with the ancestral spirits.^
The Dinka have a legend that formerly earth and heaven
were connected by a path, up and down which men used to
pass at will, but that the path was unfortunately cut off
under the following melancholy circumstances. Dengdit
had a wife named Abuk. One day she was busy making
men and women from a bowl of fat which her husband had
given her for the purpose ; for it appears that God had
deputed to his wife the task of creating mankind. Softening
the fat over the fire, she moulded the figures out of it with
her hand, |ust as a Dinka potter moulds moist clay. As
each person was completed in this fashion, he or she passed
down the road to earth; for naturally the creation of human
kind took place in heaven, the home of God and his wife.
Well, while she was at work, God happened to pass by, and
seeing what she was about he warned her against her father-
in - law or brother - in - law Lwal Burrajok, with whom the
^ C. G. Seligmann, s.v, “Dinka”, in J. Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion
and Ethics, iv. 707.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 305
deity was not on those amicable terms which might have
been anticipated from their family relationship. But his
wife forgot the warning and went to the forest to fetch wood,
leaving the bowl simmering on the fire. Just then Lwal
Burrajok strolled up, and seeing the bowl, drank some of
the fat, spilt more of it on the ground, and out of pure
mischief moulded what was left of the fat into preposterous
figures, with eyes, mouths, and noses all bunged up and
perfectly useless. He then went on his way, but fearing the
wrath of his son-in-law or brother-in-law the deity, who
could not be expected to take in good part this travesty of
creation, he beat a retreat down to earth by the usual road.
On her return, God’s wife was horrified to find the spilt fat
and the misshapen figures, and she hastened to inform the
deity of the trick which his father-in-law or brother-in-law
had played her. God was naturally indignant and started
in pursuit of his waggish relative by marriage. But when
he came to the path leading down to dearth, he found to his
surprise that the communication had been cut and the road
rendered impassable. For the culprit, anticipating pursuit,
had persuaded a certain bird to bite through the path
with its bill. That was the end of the path that used to
join earth and heaven. The bird that did this great mischief
is a little bird about the size of a wren, with red and brown
plumage ; it builds its nests in the roofs of huts and is very
common throughout the Sudan.^
Shrines or temples of Dengdit appear to be scattered Shrines of
all over the Dinka country. Most Dinka tribes have one
shrine in their territory. At these shrines the people pre-
sent ofiferings." It is said that in former days a hut was
built in every village to serve as God’s house, and that
sacrifices were offered at it.^ Of these shrines one of the
holiest is at Luang Deng. The Dinkas visit it in great
numbers. Its guardians are thought to be in a special
sense the servants of Dengdit. Only they may enter the
shrine. But a man desirous of offspring may bring cattle Sacrifices
^ ^ of cattle to
^ S. L. Cummins, ‘‘Sub-tribes of ® S. L. Cummins, “Sub-tiibes of Dengdit at
the Bahr-el-Ghazal Dinkas ”, Journal the Bahr-el-Ghazal Dinkas ”, Journal his shrines.
oj the Anthropological Institute^ xxxiv. oj the Anthropological Institute^ xxxiv.
(1904) pp. 157 sq. (1904) P. 157-
^ C. G. Seligmann, op. cit. p. 708.
VOL. I
X
3o6
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Worship
of dead
ancestors
and
sacrifices
on their
graves.
to the shrine and offer them to Dengdit, praying that the
desire of his heart may be granted. The door of the shrine
is regularly kept shut, but it is opened when one of the
animals offered to Dengdit is slaughtered ; and, peering in
through the doorway, the worshipper discerns in the darkness
the shifting shapes of men and animals, and even of
abstractions like happiness, hunger, satisfaction, and cattle-
disease. No sacrifice is made until Dengdit has sent a
dream to the keeper of the shrine, authorizing him to
accept the offering, so that worshippers are nearly always
kept waiting for a few days till the keeper dreams his dream.
But it rarely happens that a sacrifice is finally refused. It
is thought that if a man be sent away without being
allowed to sacrifice, he will soon die, or disease will attack
his people. As the worshipper approaches, he is accom-
panied by two servants of the shrine, one on either side.
The animal is killed with a spear kept specially for the
purpose, and the spirit of the victim goes to join the other
spirits in the shrine. Before the worshipper leaves the
shrine, one of the servants of Dengdit takes dust from the
holy precincts, mixes it with oil, and rubs the mixture over
the body of the devotee. Sometimes a material object,
as a spear, may be given to a man as a sign of favour and
a guarantee that he will obtain his wish. In front of the
shrine a low mound of ashes has arisen through the
cooking of many sacrifices, and on it offerings, such as
pieces of tobacco, may be thrown. The contents of the
large intestine of the victim are scattered over and about
this mound, and near it the worshippers thrust the branch
of a tree called akoch into the ground.^
In the Shish tribe of Dinka, certain men who lived long
ago were spoken of as “the sons of Dengdit though this
expression does not imply a physical relationship ; it appears
that the Shish considered these “ sons as spirits that came
from above to possess certain men who became known by
^ C. G. Seligmann, op. cit. p. 708. linction drawn between Dinka and
Dr. Seligmann adds the following note ; Nuer to be erroneous, and that the
“According to prevailing view.s, this Nuer are simply a tribe of Dinka
shrine is situated in Nuer territory, differing no more from other admittedly
though it was formerly held by Dinka, Dinka tribes than these do among
and there are Dinka priests at the themselves.”
shrine. The writer believes the dis-
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 307
their names. Each of these men is regarded as the ancestor
of a Shish clan and has become a powerful ancestral spirit
(jok) of the usual type. Every year, after the harvest has
been reaped, ceremonies are performed at the graves of these
men, four in number, whose names are Walkerijok, Majush,
Mabor, and Malan. At this yearly sacrifice a man, in
whom the ancestral spirit is supposed to be immanent, kills
a sheep or a bull, and smears its blood and the contents of
the large intestine on the grave in the presence of the
descendants of the hero, for no person but the descendants
of the hero may take part in the rite. The flesh is boiled,
all eat thereof, and great care is taken not to break the
bones, which are thrown into the river.^
The beliefs of the Dinka concerning the fate of the Beliefs of
human souls after death are apparently not always
consistent with each other. On the one hand they think the fate of
that the spirits of the old and mighty dead {jok) and the
spirits of the recent dead (atief) exist in and around death,
the villages in which their descendants live. Of these two
sorts of spirits those of the ancient dead {joF) are the more
powerful and energetic, and they sometimes have special
shrines built in their honour. They are also supposed to
have their home in the earth, in the immediate neighbour-
hood of their shrines. The spirits of the recent dead {atiep)
are thought to be at their strongest immediately after death,
and although funeral feasts are held for no other purpose
than to propitiate them lest they should cause sickness and
death, they gradually grow weaker, and in a very few
generations may safely be forgotten. The spirits of the Sacrifices to
ancient or, as we may perhaps style them, the heroic dead
Uok) retain their strength and energy, and require to be
propitiated by sacrifice. Nor are the sacrifices offered
to them on stated occasions sufficient to satisfy their
craving. They accept these as their due, but they also
make known their wants by appearing to their descendants
in dreams and demanding that a bullock or other animal
shall be killed ; or they may appear to a professional seer
{tiet) and command him to deliver their message. If their '
demands are disregarded, they send sickness or bad luck,
^ C. G. Seligmann, op. cit. pp. 708, 709.
3o8 worship of THE SKY IN AFRICA chap.
and the only remedy for these ills is sacrifice. But the
spirits of the heroic dead (jok) may send sickness to man-
kind without warning them beforehand in dreams and visions
of the night ; hence the usual treatment of all sickness is to
begin by making offerings to the heroic dead or to the great
god Dengdit, when he is confused with them.^
Belief that But side by side with this belief that the spirits of the
the dead are everywhere around them and mingling in the
to Dengdit. affairs of the living, the Dinka entertain another and
apparently incompatible belief, that after death the human
soul (atiep) leaves the neighbourhood of its body at the time
of burial and passes upward to the great god Dengdit in his
place between earth and sky, whence comes the rain from
which the deity, as we have seen, takes his name. But the
spirits that thus attain to the abode of Dengdit are not
absorbed in him, for they retain their power of returning to
earth. It is a common notion that the spirits of the ancient or
heroic dead (jok) can pass to and from this earth to Dengdit,
and one of the most familiar articles of Dinka faith is that
these august beings come to every dying person to take and
conduct his parting spirit (atiep) to its place of rest. The Niel
Dinka believe that these angels of death, as we may call
them, come in the form of their totem animals ; for the
Dinka are divided into totemic clans, and most of the clans
speak of their totemic animals as their ancestors. Among
the totemic animals, and therefore the ancestors, of the Dinka
are snakes, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, lions, and foxes.^
Oaths by The rcvcrence which the Dinka entertain for Dengdit
Dengdit. appears in their oaths. In small matters the Shish Dinka
affirm the truth of their asseverations “ by Nyalich which,
as we have seen, is a synonym for Dengdit. Among the
Agar Dinka a form of oath is to place a spear or stick on
the ground and jump over it, saying, “ By Dengdit, I have
not done this thing ; if I have, may my spear be speedily
put on my grave ! This refers to the Agar custom of
putting a man^s spear, bracelets, and shield on his grave for
seven days. The most solemn and terrific oath of all is to
go to the shrine of Dengdit and swear by it.^
^ C. G. Seligmann, cit. p. 709. sq.^ 71 1.
2 C. G. Seligmann, op. cit. pp. 705 ^ c. Q. Selignjann, op. cit. p. 712.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 309
The need of rain for the pastures and hence for the import-
cattle, which are the staff of life for the Dinka, has tended
to invest the office of rain-maker {pain) among them with makers
the highest dignity and power. The men who are commonly
called the chiefs or sheikhs of the Dinka tribes are regularly
rain-makers, actual or potential. A successful rain-maker is
supposed to be animated by the spirit of the great rain-
makers of the past, and his influence is very great, for in
virtue of his indwelling spirit he is believed to be wiser than
common men.^ One of these ancestral spirits supposed to Lerpiu an
be immanent in living rain-makers of the Bor tribe is called
Lerpiu. In 1911 the rain-maker of the Bor tribe believed thought
himself to be animated by the great and powerful spirit of[°,^anent
Lerpiu, and he affirmed that at his death Lerpiu would pass iti lain-
into his son. There is a shrine in which Lerpiu is thought
to reside more or less constantly. Within the hut is kept a
very sacred spear, which also bears the name of Lerpiu, and
before it stands a post, to which are attached the horns of
many bullocks sacrificed to Lerpiu. The ceremony which is Sacrificesto
intended to ensure the rainfall consists of a sacrifice offered
procure
to Lerpiu for the purpose of inducing him to move Dengdit rain,
to send the rain ; for Lerpiu is regarded only as a mediator
between men and the great sky-god or rain-god Dengdit.
The ceremony takes place in spring, about April, when the
new moon is a few days old. In the morning two bullocks
are led twice round the shrine and are tied to the post by
the rain-maker. Then the people beat drums, and men and
women, boys and girls, all dance round the shrine. Nothing
further is done until the bullocks urinate, when every one
who can get near the beasts rubs his body with the urine.
After that all except the old people go away. Presently the
rain-maker kills the bullocks by spearing them and cutting
their throats. While the sacrifice is being prepared, the
people chant : “ Lerpiu, our ancestor, we have brought you a
sacrifice : be pleased to cause rain to fall The blood of
the sacrifice is collected in a gourd, transferred to a pot, put
on the fire, and eaten by the old and important people of
the clan. Some of the flesh of one bullock is put into two
pots, cooked with much fat, and left for many months near
1 C. G. Seligmann, op. cit. p. 7 1 1 .
310
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
a sacred bush {akot)^ which is an essential part of the shrine,
because the spirit of Lerpiu is believed to quit the hut and
come to the bush during the great rain-making ceremony
in spring. Hence the meat left in pots at the bush is no
doubt destined for his consumption ; indeed, it is expressly
said to be intended for the ancestral spirit (jok). But the
meat of the other bullock is eaten the same day. The bones
of the sacrificed bullocks are thrown away, but their horns
are added to the rest on the post.^
Sacrifices Besides the great rain-making ceremony performed at a
for ram central shrine, some tribes offer a sacrifice for rain in each
beginning settlement. Among the Shish Dinka this takes place before,
or at the beginning of, the rainy season. The old men of the
settlement (dai) kill a sheep, thanking and praising Dengdit.
The victim is bisected longitudinally and horizontally, and
the upper half is cut in pieces and thrown up into the air as
an offering to Dengdit. As the pieces fall on the ground,
so they are left and are soon eaten by dogs and birds. The
blood of the sacrifice is allowed to soak into the ground, but
the rest of the meat is boiled and eaten ; the bones may not
be broken ; they are buried in the skin for seven days and
then cast into the river. Some durra (a kind of millet) is
boiled, thrown into the air, and then left lying on the ground
just like the flesh of the sacrifice.^ The throwing of the
offerings, whether of flesh or of grain, up into the air is a very
natural way of presenting them to the deity whose home is
in the upper regions of the world.
The The Shilluk are a Nilotic tribe or nation of the White
a Nilotic Their country is*a narrow strip on the western bank
tribe of the of thc rivcr from Kaka in the north to Lake No in the
WhiteNiie. gQu|-|^ They also occupy a portion of the eastern bank, and
their villages extend some way up the Sobat River. Their
country is almost entirely in grass ; hence cattle constitute
their wealth and the principal object of their care, but they
also grow a considerable quantity of durra (a species of
millet), though not enough to support the dense population.
The villages are built on the slight elevations which break
the monotony of the plain. Physically the Shilluk conform
to the Nilotic type, being tall, lean, and so dark in colour as
1 C. G. Seligmann,^?/.^*//. ^ q q Seligmann, op. cit, p. 712.
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 311
to be almost black. The cheek-bones and lips protrude, but
not excessively so ; the nose in general is flat, but high noses
are not infrequent.^
The Shilluk believe in the existence of a high god whom Heiiefofthe
they call Juok. He is formless and invisible, and, like the ^igh^god
air, he is everywhere at once ; he is far above men and even
^ • r 1 r'l -tl 1 ®
above Nyakang, the semi -divine ancestor ot the bhi link powerful
kings; nevertheless it is only through Nyakang, as rnediator
or intercessor, that men can approach him, for by sacrificing Nyakang.
to Nyakang they induce him to move Juok to send rain.
Although the name of Juok occurs in many greetings, as
in the phrase, “May Juok guard you!” {Yiiniti Juok), and
although a sick man may, like Job, remonstrate with the
deity, crying out, “Why, O Juok.^” (Ar ra Juok), yet it seems
doubtful whether he is ever worshipped directly; and although
some Shilluk may vaguely associate the dead with him, this
feeling does not seem to imply any dogma concerning the
abode and state of the dead. There is an undefined but
ereneral belief that the spirits of the dead are about every- Beiiefof the
° , .1 . • j ji i. Shillukasto
where, and that sometimes they come to their descendants .spirits
in dreams and help them in sickness or give them good ofthedcad.
counsel. Yet, though, in the case of important men the
funeral rites are neither short nor lacking in ceremony, never-
theless there is no such considerable worship of ancestral
spirits among the Shilluk as there is among the Dinka.
The explanation is probably to be found in the concentra-
tion of the religion of the Shilluk on the worship of Nyakang
and of the divine kings in whom the spirit of Nyakang is
believed to be incarnate. Thus, while the Dinka commonly
attribute sickness to the action of an ancestral spirit, the
Shilluk regard the entrance of the spirit of one of their
divine kings into the patient’s body as the most usual cause
of illness. But probably it is only the ancient kings who
are imagined to afflict people in this manner. Be that
as it may, the practical religion of the Shilluk at the present
time is the worship of Nyakang.'^
^ C. G. Seligmann, 7 'he Cult of 458 ; D. Westerniann, The Shilluk
Nyakang and the Divine Kings of the People (Berlin, 1912), pp. xx-xxiii.
Shilluk (London, 1911), p. 217; id,y ^ C. G. Seligmann, The Cult of
s.v. '‘Shilluk”, in J. Hastings, En- Nyakang and the Divine Kings of the
cyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics^ xi. Shilluk (London, I 9 ii)> P* 220; /</.,
312
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Father The Shilluk conception of Juok is thus explained by
a Catholic missionary, Father Hofmayr : “ The fundamental
Shilluk idea of the Shilluk word Juok is that of a Being who is
of unfathomable and unknown ; to whom is ascribed everything
that is gigantic and beyond the reach of human understand-
ing ; who stands high above the spirits o£ the dead and the
evil spirits, to which he abandons the world, and who thus
has nothing to oppose him. The good and evil that befall
mankind are both attributed to him, for he is the Creator,
the Punisher of Sins, and the Author of Death. For the
rest, he dwells high above and troubles himself not about
mankind ; good and bad luck he has committed to the care
of the subordinate spirits. Hence, once born into the world —
the only good turn which the Shilluk acknowledges that he
owes to Juok — the ordinary man is no longer dependent
on him ; indeed, since everything comes to him from his
ancestors and he knows Juok only as an avenger, he feels
under no obligation whatever to do any reverence to his
Creator and Lord. It is very seldom that he mentions the
name of Juok, and then only in three forms of greeting, on
arrival, ‘Juok has brought you*, ‘Juok has kept you’; and
again at parting, ‘Juok guide you.’
“To Juok, too, is ascribed anything wonderful or
monstrous. So, for example, when Halley’s comet was
seen here in full splendour, it was immediately entitled Juok
or Juok’s Star. When the first great Nile steamers passed
by the lands of the Shilluk, the people said, ‘ Such ships can
no man make: they are the handiwork of Juok’.
“ Lastly, the word Juok is mentioned in cases of sickness
and death ; at such times the Great Spirit appears only as
the avenger of past sins. Thus, they say, da Juok, ‘ I am
sick ’, or anake Juok, ‘ He is dead ’. Only on such an
occasion is an offering made, and that is done, not to show
s,v. “Shilluk”, in J. Hastings, Eti’ Juok’s name as Jwok and Nyakang’s
cyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, xi. name as Nyikang. For the sake of
459, 462. Compare W. Hofmayr, uniformity I have adopted the spellings
“Religion der Schilluk ”, A^ithropos, Juok and Nyakang throughout, even
vi. (19 II) pp. 120 sqq.\ D. Wester- in quoting from Father Hofmayr. As
mann. The Shilluk People, pp. xxxix to Nyakang and the divine kings of
sqq. Father Hofmayr spells Juok’s the Shilluk, see also The Golden
name as Cuok, and Nyakang’s name Bough, Part III. The Dying God,
as Nykang. Mr. Westermann spells pp. 17 sqq^
V
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 313
reverence to the deity, but only to appease the spirit, and
that in a mood of sorrow and dejection that accords well
with the circumstances. If after such an offering the sick
man recovers, strings of beads are tied round his feet, the
cure is ascribed to Nyakang^s intercession with Juok, and the
convalescent belongs to the class of persons who are dedicated
to King Nyakang. . . .
“As to the essence of Juok, he is yomo, that is, wind or The
spirit, able to be present everywhere, invisible, from whose
hand everything has proceeded and can proceed. This
Being can assume different shapes at pleasure, but he does
not do so, at least not since the great kings have become
his intermediaries.
“ To the question where this great Being dwells, the The abode
Shilluk answers, e a rnal^ he is above, in the air, above the
clouds, there he has a great house, there he lives, old and
alone. Though the Shilluk stands at a lower level than the
Mohammedans to whom he was once subject, he does not
think, at least he does not speak, of life in the other world
after so sensuous a fashion as his former rulers. When the
sun is passing the highest point in the sky, it is said that he
is going under Juok’s house. Juok can certainly choose
different places of abode, yet he does not do so and is
usually at home, just like the elders of the Shilluk, who love
to be in repose. He only comes to earth when something
is to be created or when he visits the villages with sickness
and death. What this Great Spirit does at other times, the
Shilluk know not. Their notion of him is modelled on the
mode of life of their aged chiefs, who, lacking nothing, pass The idea
their time in gossip. Of old, after the creation, men often
got speech of God. Nyakang was the first and last Shilluk on that of
who conversed with the Great Spirit. Since he vanished
from the earth, Juok has not deigned to deal directly with
mankind, but does everything at the intercession of that
first king.” ^
Of the creation of mankind the Shilluk tell the following shiiiuk
story. They say that Juok, the Creator, moulded all men
out of earth, and that while he was engaged in the work of men by
creation he wandered about the world. In the land of the
1 W. Hofmayr, “Religion der Schilluk”, Anthropos^ vi. (1911) pp. 121 sq.
314
WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN AFRICA
CHAP.
whites he found a pure white earth or sand, and out of it he
fashioned white men. Then he came to the land of Egypt,
and out of the mud of the Nile he made red or brown men.
Lastly, he came to the land of the Shilluks, and finding there
black earth he created black men out of it. The way in
which he modelled men was this. He took a lump of earth
and said to himself, “ I will make man, but he must be able
to walk and run and go ouf into the fields, so I will give
him two long legs, like the flamingo”. Having done so, he
thought again, The man must be able to cultivate his
millet, so I will give him two arms, one to hold the hoe,
and the other to tear up the weeds ”. So he gave him two
arms. Then he thought again, “ The man must be able to
see his millet, so I will give him two eyes So two eyes
he gave him. Next he thought to himself, “ The man must
be able to eat his millet, so I will give him a mouth ”. So
a mouth he gave him. After that he thought within himself,
The man must be able to dance and speak and sing and
shout, and for these purposes he must have a tongue ”. And
a tongue he gave him accordingly. Lastly, the deity said
to himself, The man must be able to hear the noise of the
dance and the speech of great men, and for that he needs
two ears So two ears he gave him, and sent him out into
the world a perfect man. ^
juokofthe It is dear that Juok, the God of the Shilluk, is identical
compared ^oth in name and nature with the Jok of the Lango.^ But
with^jok of while both names agree with the jok of the Dinka, they
and^he^"^ differ from it in meaning, since in the Dinka language jok
Dinka. signifies, not a great God and Creator, but the spirit of a
dead ancestor. From this it might perhaps be inferred that,
if we could trace back the history of the Shilluk Juok and
of the Lango Jok far enough, we should find that both these
great Gods were men who had been deified after death. It
may be so, but the analogy of African Sky-gods or Supreme
Beings in general is against the hypothesis. For we have
1 W. Hofmayr, “Religion der also that the word iipo in the sense
Schilluk”, Antkroposy vi. (1911) pp. both of shadow and of the human
128 I have cited this story of soul is common to the Lango and the
creation elsewhere {Folk-lore in the Shilluk languages. See J. H. Driberg,
Old Testament^ i. 22 sq.). The Lango, pp. 228 sqq. ; D. Wester-
2 Above, pp. 292 sqq. It is notable mann, The Shilluk People, p. xlv.
V WORSHIP OF THE SKY IN EASTERN AFRICA 315
seen that for the most part the high gods or Supreme
Beings are sharply distinguished from the ancestral spirits
not only in name but in function ; for while the task of
creating the world and man is usually assigned to the high
god, who generally dwells in the sky, or at all events in the
upper region of the air, the work of carrying on what we may
call the ordinary business of the world is commonly supposed
to be deputed to the spirits of the dead ; for it is from them
that the African for the most part imagines that he experi-
ences both good and evil, and it is they accordingly whom
he feels bound to propitiate by prayer and sacrifice, while the
Creator, having retired from the active conduct of affairs and
committed it to the inferior spirits, is supposed to exercise
little or no direct influence on human life and accordingly
receives but scanty worship from his creature man. The
meaning of the names of African Supreme Beings is com-
monly unknown or disputed ; but it is significant that among
not a few tribes of Eastern Africa the name of the high The names
god undoubtedly signifies Sun, Sky, or Rain,^ while other .
tribes of Eastern Africa and many tribes of Northern Nigeria some of
positively identify their Supreme God with the Sun, whether vairnt^tc^^
they call him by the name of the Sun or not.^ So far as
1 • 1 A r • 01 t Rain.
they go, these facts support the view that African Sky-gods
or Supreme Beings in general are not deified ancestors, but
simply personifications of the great celestial phenomena,
whether the sky, or the rain, or the sun.
^ Sun among the Wagala, the Wafipa, Sun); p. 288 (as to the Sky) ; pp. 277,
the Wapare, the Wachagga, and the 288, 304 (as to the Rain).
Nandi ; Sky among most of the Suk ; 2 above, pp. 122- 124 (as to the
Rain among the Masai, the Dinka, and tribes of Northern Nigeria), 170 s^, (as
some of the Suk. See above, pp. 197, to the Barotse), 173 s^.{a.s to theLouyi),
201-203, 205-207, 21 1, 281 (as to the compare p. 279 (as to the Kavirondo).
Prithivl,
the Vedic
Earth-
goddess, is
the wife of
the Sky-
god Dyaus,
but other-
wise hardly
figures
in Vedic
mythology.
Hymn to
the Earth-
goddess
in the
A tharva-
veda.
CHAPTER VI
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE ARYAN PEOPLES
OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worship of Earth among the Vedic Indians
Having treated in previous chapters of the personification
and worship of the sky, we may next proceed to examine
the corresponding personification and worship of the earth,
which in the physical world is in a sense the counterpart of
the sky. In mythology the Earth, regarded as a person,
is often conceived of as the wife of the Sky-god. We
have seen that among the ancient Aryans of India the Sky
and Earth were thus personified as husband and wife under
the names of Dyaus and Prithivl, the father and mother
of all living creatures.^ But apart from her association as
a wife with the Sky-god, the Earth-goddess Prithivl appears
to have played a very small part in Vedic religion. She is
praised alone in a short hymn of the Rig~veda^ but in it
she is hardly regarded as an Earth-goddess pure and simple ;
for, though she is said to quicken the earth, she is also
described as wielding the thunder-bolt. In the Atharva-
veda, which is a much later collection of hymns than the
Rig- veda and was not at first recognized as canonical,^
there is a long and beautiful hymn addressed to the Earth-
^ Above, pp. 22 sqq.
2 Rig-veda^ v. 84 ; Hynms of the
Rigveda^ translated by R. T. H. Griffith
(Benares, 1889-1892), vol. i. p. 301.
^ The Imperial Gazetteer of India,
The Indian Empire (Oxford, 1909)?
ii. 229. The writer (Professor A. A.
Macdonell) says that “the Atharvaveda
is decidedly later in language than the
Rigveda, but earlier than the Brah-
manas. It must have been in existence
as a collection by 600 B.C. , but was
a long time in attaining to canonical
rank. It was, however, recognized
as the fourth Veda by the second
century b.c.”
CH. VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 317
goddess.^ In it we read : “ The Earth is the mother and I
am the son of the Earth : Parjanya is the father ; may he
nourish us ! " ^ and again : “ Reverence be paid to the
Earth, the wife of Parjanya, to her who draws her richness
from showers Here it will be noticed that the husband
of the Earth-goddess is not the Sky-god Dyaus, but Parjanya,
who appears to be a personification of the rain-cloud.^ In
the same hymn we read : “ O Mother Earth, kindly set me
down upon a well-founded place ! With (father) Heaven
co-operating, O thou wise one, do thou place me into happi-
ness and prosperity ! ” ^ But the greater part of the long
hymn is devoted to a description of the physical earth
with its hills and snowy mountains and plains, its seas and
rivers, its forests, and its races of men and animals. As to
the inhabitants of the earth the poet says, addressing the
goddess : “ The mortals born of thee live on thee, thou
supportest both bipeds and quadrupeds. Thine, 0 hearth,
are these five races of men, of mortals, upon whom the rising
sun sheds undying light with his rays. These creatures
all together shall yield milk for us ; do thou, 0 Earth, give
us the honey of speech ! Upon the firm broad earth, the
all-begetting Mother of the plants, that is supported by
(divine) law, upon her, propitious and kind, may we ever pass
our lives ! . . . Upon the earth men give to the gods the
sacrifice, the prepared oblation ; upon the earth men live
pleasant lives by food. May this Earth give us breath and
life, may she cause me to reach old age ! ^ Once more we
read in the hymn : “ The earth upon whom the noisy
mortals sing and dance, upon whom they fight, upon whom
resounds the roaring drum, shall drive forth our enemies, shall
make us free from rivals 1 ” ^ Throughout the hymn the poet
never loses sight of the material nature of the earth ; its
mythical or religious aspect he touches on very lightly ; the
personification is very slight and perfectly transparent.
1 Atharva~veda, xii. i ; Hymns of ® Atharva-veday xii. i. 63 ; Hymns
the Athaiwa-veday translated by M. of the Atkarzfa-veda, translated by
Bloomfield (Oxford, 1897), pp. 197-205 M. Bloomfield, p. 207.
{Saa-ed Books of the East y vol. xlii.). ® Atharva-veda, xii. i. 15, 16, 17,
2 J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts y 22 ; Hymns of the Atharva-veday
V. (London, 1884) p. 23. translated by M. Bloomfield, p. 201.
3 J. Muir, l,c. ^ Athai-va-veday xii. i. 41 ; Hymns
^ A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology of the Atharva -veday translated by
(Strassburg, 1897), p. 83. M. Bloomfield, p. 204.
3 1 8 WORSHIP OF EARTH BY AR VAN PEOPLES chap.
Mother By a natural train of thought Mother Earth, who gives
Earth takes j-Q men, is conceived to take her dead sons back to her
the dead *
back to her bosom. In a funeral hymn of the Rig-veda the poet,
bosom. addressing a dead man, speaks thus :
Betake thee to the lap of Earth the Mother^ of Earthy far-spreading^
very kind and gracious.
Young datne., wool-soft unto the guerdon-giver^ may she preserve thee
from Destruction!
Then turning to Earth herself, the poet proceeds :
“ Heave thyself Earthy nor press thee dowmvard heavily : afford him
easy access^ gently tending hiiH.
Earth as a 7nother wraps her skirt about her child^ so cover him! ^
§ 2. The Worship of Earth among the Ancient Greeks'^
The Greek ancient Greece, as in ancient India, the worship of
Earth- Earth as a goddess was not an important element of the
Gaia or Ge, national religion, unless indeed we regard Demeter as an
not pro- Earth-goddess, for unquestionably Demeter was one of the
Greek most important, as well as among the most stately and
religion, beautiful, figures in the Greek pantheon. But she was a
goddess of the corn rather than of the earth.^ The true
Greek goddess of the Earth was Gaia or Ge, whose name
means nothing but the actual material earth, and is con-
stantly used in that sense by Greek writers from the earliest
to the latest times. Hence in her case the personification
is open and unambiguous ; the veil of mythic fancy is too
thin and transparent to conceal the physical basis of the
goddess.
The But if the Earth-goddess never received a large share of
goddess Greek worship, she played an important part in the scheme
in Greek of Greek mythology as expounded by the poet Hesiod in
H^siod^s^^ his Tkeogony. According to him. Broad-bosomed Earth, as
account of i Rig.yeda, x, i8. lo, ii; Hymns
of the Rigveda^ translated by R. T. II.
Griffith, vol. iv. p. 139. On this beauti-
ful hymn, see 11 . Zimmer, Altindisches
Leben (Berlin, 1879), pp. 404-407.
2 p'or details on this subject, see
Preller - Robert, Griechische Mytho-
logies, i. (Berlin, 1894), pp. 632 5 qq.\
Drexler, s.v. “Gaia”, in \V. H.
Roscher’s Ausfuhrliches Lexikoft der
griechischen und romischen Mythologie,
i. 1566; Eitrem, s.v. “Gaia”, in Pauly-
Wissowa, Real-Encyklopddie der das-
sischen Altertumswissenschaft, vii. l.
467 sqq. ; L. R. Farnell, Cults of the
Greek States, iii. l sqq., 307 sqq.
^ See The Golden Bough, Part V.
Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild,
i- 35
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 319
he calls her, was the first being that came into existence
after the primeval chaos. She was older than the sky,
indeed she gave birth to the starry sky, he was her first-
born ; and afterwards she brought forth the mountains and
the sea. All these, apparently, she was thought to have
produced of herself without the assistance of any male power.
But thereafter, she mated with the Sky, her own offspring,
and from their union were born Ocean and the Titans.^
For the poet distinguished the sea, by which he probably
meant the Mediterranean, from the great ocean lying beyond
the Pillars of Hercules, of which adventurous mariners had
brought back tales of wonder to the Greeks of the home-
land, and of which rumours had reached even the poet-
husbandman Hesiod among the quiet dells of Helicon. Yet
husbandman as he was, and author of the oldest extant
treatise on husbandry, Hesiod appears to have felt little
tenderness or respect for the Earth-goddess on whom he
depended for his livelihood ; perhaps the land about Ascra, The poet’s
his native town, was hard and stony, and yielded but a Ascraf
scanty harvest to the plough and the sickle. Certainly he
grumbled at Ascra, which he described as “ a wretched
village, bad in winter, disagreeable in summer, good at no
time^'.^ It stood on the top of a hill, exposed to all the
winds that blow ; by the second century of our era the
place had fallen into utter decay and nothing worth mention-
ing remained in it but a single tower. The solitary tower
still crowns the summit of the hill, a far-seen landmark, and
the hill-side is still stony and rugged.^ So perhaps after all
the bard had some ground for complaining of the niggardli-
ness of the goddess and for paying her out in the uncompli-
mentary verses which he wrote about her. Certainly he
represents her in a very unamiablc light as hard, cruel,
and treacherous. For did she not instigate her offspring,
the Titans, to attack and mutilate their own father while he,
quite unsuspecting, lay quiet with her in bed ? Did she not
even provide the weapon with which the dastardly outrage
was perpetrated on the deity by his unnatural son ? ^
^ Hesiod, Theogony, 116-138. commentary (vol. v. pp. 149 5 ^.).
2 Hesiod, Works and Days ^ 63955^. ^ Hesiod, Theogony^ 159-182. See
* Pausanias, ix. 29. 2, with my above, pp. 36 sq.
320
WORSHIP OF EARTH BY ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The A far more favourable portrait of the Earth-goddess,
Homeric which probably harmonized much better with Greek
Earth, the notions and sentiments about her, is painted by the author
Mother of Homeric hymn addressed to “ Earth, the Mother of
Air\ In English it runs thus :
“ ril sing of Earth, Mother of All, of her the firm founded.
Eldest of beings, her who feeds all that in the world exists j
All things that go upon the sacred land and on the sea,
And all that fly, all they are fed from thy bounty.
By thee, O Queen, are men blessed in their children, blessed in their
crops ;
Thine it is to give life and to take it back
From mortal men. Happy is he whom thou tn heart
Dost honour graciously j he hath all things in plenty.
For him his fruitful land is big with corn, and his meads
Abound in cattle, and his house is full of good things.
Such men do rule in righteousness a city of fair women.
Great wealth and riches wait on them ;
Their sons exult in joyance ever new ;
In florid troops their maidens blithesomely
Do sport and skip about the meadows lush with flowers.
Such are they whom thou dost honour, Goddess revered,
0 bounteous Spirit.
Hail, Mother of Gods, Spouse of the Starry Sky,
And graciously for this my song bestow on me
Substance enough for hearfs ease. So shall I not forget
To hymn thee in another layj^ ^
Plutarch on Hundreds of years later a like feeling of reverence and
!!fVa°rth affection for the Earth-goddess was expressed by Plutarch
with that simple piety and transparent sincerity which
characterize all the writings of that excellent and lovable
man. He says : “ Fire receives barbaric honours among
.the Medes and Assyrians, who out of fear think to acquit
themselves of the obligations of religion by worshipping the
destructive rather than the venerable aspects of nature ; but
the name of Earth is dear, I ween, and precious to every
Greek, and it is a custom handed down to us by our fathers
to revere her like any other deity
Antiquity But if in the historical ages of Greece the public worship
worsi^of Earth was comparatively rare and unimportant, there are
Earth in some grounds for thinking that it must have been very
Greece.
^ Homeric Hymns, \yix. 2()6 sq., ^ Plutarch, De facie in orhe lunae,
ed. Allen and Sikes). xxii. 14 .
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 321
ancient. The three great seats of the national religion were The
Dodona, Delphi, and Olympia, and at all of them the pa^th
worship of the Earth-goddess would seem to have been Dodona.
established in antiquity. At Dodona the main objects of
religious reverence were certainly Zeus and his oracular oak,
but side by side with them the Earth-goddess appears to
have shared the homage of the pilgrims who flocked to the
shrine. For the priestesses, who perhaps bore the title of
Doves, are said to have chanted the verses :
“ Zeus tmSy Zeus is^ Zeus shall be : O great Zeus I
The Earth yields fruits^ therefore glorify Mother Earth
At Delphi the oracle is said to have belonged to Poseidon The oracle
and Earth long before it was taken over by Apollo, and the
tradition ran that the Earth-goddess delivered her oracles in
person, while Poseidon employed a mere human being as
his interpreter and intermediary.*^ In a hymn to Apollo,
which was discovered by the French in their excava-
tions at Delphi, there is an allusion to the peaceful dis-
placement of Earth by Apollo when he came from Tempe
to take possession of the oracle,^ The poet Aeschylus, a
high authority on the religious traditions of his country,
represents the Pythian priestess at Delphi as praying first
of all to Earth, and calling her the first who ever gave
oracles at the shrine.^ Among her predictions she is said
to have prophesied that Cronus would be dethroned by his
own son, that Zeus would vanquish the Titans with the help
of the Cyclopes, and that Metis would bear a son who
should be the lord of heaven.^ Down to the time of Plutarch
the ancient goddess had a sacred precinct at Delphi to the
south of the great temple of Apollo.® The frowning cliffs
above Delphi and the deep glen below might naturally
mark out the spot as a fit seat for a sanctuary and oracle
of Earth. Nowhere else in Greece, unless it be at the foot
1 Pausanias, x. 12. 10. Pausanias with a human voice. Compare my
here assume.s that the priestesses were note on Pausanias, vii. 21. 2 (vol. iv.
called Doves. But perhaps he mis- pp. 149 sq.).
understood a tradition, recorded by 2 Pausanias, x. 5. 6.
Herodotus (ii. 55), that the oracle at Bulletin de Correspondance HelU^
Dodona was founded in obedience to nique^ xvii. {1893) p. 566.
the bidding of a black dove, which * Aeschylus, Eumenides, i sq.
flew from Thebes in Egypt to Dodona, ^ Apollodorus, i. i. 5, i. 2. i, i. 3, 6.
and there, perching on an oak, spoke ® Plutarch, De Pythiae oraculis^ 17 .
VOL. I V
322
WORSHIP OF EARTH BY ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
of the tremendous precipices down which the water of the
Styx falls or dribbles in Arcadia, has Nature thus wrought
as with an artist’s hand to impress on the spectator’s mind
so deep a sense of awe and solemnity. Indeed, in antiquity
some philosophers attempted to explain the oracle at Delphi
by a theory that the priestess was inspired by certain
physical exhalations or vapours due to the nature and
configuration of the ground, and they traced the decadence
of the oracle in their own time to a decrease or cessation of
the exhalations consequent on changes in the crust of the
earth brought about by natural causes, such as heavy rains,
thunderbolts, and above all, earthquakes. Plutarch, who
seems to have inclined to accept this view, compares the
exhaustion of the oracular vein to the exhaustion of the
silver mines in Attica, and of the copper mines in Euboea,
and to the frequent intermittence in the flow of hot
springs. On this attempt to reconcile science with religion
one of the interlocutors in Cicero’s dialogue on divination
pours scorn. “ You might think ”, says he, “ that they were
talking of wine or pickles, which go off with time ; but what
length of time can wear out a power divine?
Altars and In the great sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia there was an
sanctuaries Earth-goddess made of ashes, and the tradition
of Karth in ^ i i i i y
Greece. ran that of old the goddess had an oracle on the spot.
Some miles from the site of the ancient Aegae in Achaia
there was a sanctuary of Earth, who here bore the title of
Broad-bosomed. At this sanctuary an oracle of Earth sub-
sisted down to the second century of our era. The priestess
drank bull’s blood, and under its influence descended into
the oracular cave. She was bound to remain chaste during
her tenure of office, and before she entered on it she might
not have known more than one man. The bull’s blood
which inspired a chaste priestess was supposed to act like
poison on one who had not kept her vow.® Similarly, the
prophetess of Apollo Diradiotes at Argos drank the blood
of a sacrificial lamb once a month as a means of inspira-
tion before she prophesied in the name of the god. The
1 Plutarch, De defectu oraculoruvt^ 3 Pausanias, vii. 25. 13 ; Pliny,
40 Cictro, De divinatione, \. 19. Nat. Hist, xxviii. 147. The two
38. i. 36. 79, ii. 57. 117* accounts supplement each other.
^ Pausanias, v. 14. 10.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 323
lamb was sacrificed by night, and the prophetess, like the
priestess of Earth near Aegae, had to abstain from all
intercourse with the other sex/ At Sparta there were two
sanctuaries of Ea'rth/ There was an altar to Earth at
Tegea in Arcadia,® and another at Phlya in Attica,
where she bore the title of the Great Goddess/ In
the great sanctuary of Olympian Zeus at Athens, where
the lofty columns which have survived the wreck of ages
are among the most imposing monuments of ancient
Greece, there was a precinct of Olympian Earth, where
the ground was cloven to the depth of a cubit. Tradition
ran that in Deucalion’s time the water of the great
flood, which submerged almost the whole of Greece, all
flowed away down this seemingly insignificant drain.® This
sanctuary of Earth is mentioned by Thucydides as one proof
of the antiquity of the city in that quarter.® Thus, if the
shrines of the Earth-goddess were neither numerous nor
splendid, the traditions associated with them point to the
great age of her worship in Greece. Perhaps the Greeks
took it over from the aborigines whom they conquered or
exterminated.
About the manner of the worship which they offered Mode uf
to her we know very little. The victims sacrificed to her
would seem to have been black. In Homer we read of the in Greece,
sacrifice of a black ewe Iamb to Earth, and of a white maleyjjJ^n,,,
lamb to the Sun : black yearling lambs were sacrificed
to Subterranean (Chthonian) Earth and Subterranean
(Chthonian) Zeus for the crops on the twelfth day of the
month Lenaeon in the island of Myconos ;® and at Marathon
a goat entirely black was sacrificed to Earth “ at the oracle ”
on the tenth day of the month Elaphebolion, and a cow in
calf was offered to her “ among the acres ” at another time
of the year, but the colour of the cow is not mentioned.®
1 Pausanias, ii. 24. i. iii. p. I 74 ; Ch. Michel, Kecueil d' In-
2 Pausanias, iii. ii. 9, iii. I2. 8. scriptions Giecqnes (Bruxelles, 1900),
3 Pausanias, viii. 48. 8. No. 7 14, p. 616; J. de Prott, L. Ziehen,
4 Pau-anias, i. 31. 4. Leges GraecornmSacrae{\Jv^’s\yi(i^\%^^-
3 Pausanias, i. 18. 7. 1906), No. 4, vol. i. p. 14.
® Thucydides, ii. 15.
7 Homer, Iliads iii. 103 sq. ^ J. de Prott, L. Ziehen, Leges
3 G. Diltenberger, Sylloge Jnscrip- Graecorum Sacrae^ No. 26, vol. i.
tionum Graecarum^^ No. 1024, vol. p, 48, col, B.
324
WORSHIP OF EARTH BY AR VAN PEOPLES chap.
Earth
the Fruit-
bearing.
Earth
praying for
rain.
Earth the
Nursing-
Mother.
The sacrifice offered to her for the crops in Myconos
proves that she was supposed to quicken the seed in
the ground, which was a very natural function for an
Earth-goddess to perform. The same inference may be
drawn from the epithet, Fruit-bearing, which was applied to
her both at Athens and at Cyzicus. At Athens the name
of the goddess with this epithet is engraved on the rock
of the Acropolis, and the inscdption, which is still legible,
informs us that it was carved in compliance with an oracle.^
Near this inscription on the Acropolis there was an image
of Earth praying to Zeus for rain,'^ from which we may
perhaps infer that the goddess was invoked to intercede
with Zeus for rain in time of drought. The image may
have represented her in the act of emerging from the rock
and stretching her arms upward, while a great part of her
body remained under ground. In this attitude she is often
depicted on Greek vases and on a well-known terra-cotta
relief, in which the goddess is represented with her head and
shoulders only above ground, holding up the infant Erich-
thonius to his mother Athene in presence of Poseidon, whose
fishy tail gives him the appearance of a merman.® The
conception of Earth as a power able both to fertilize the
ground and to bestow offspring on men appears to be
indicated by her association with Green Demeter, and by
the epithet of Nursing-mother {Kotirotrophos) bestowed on
her at a sanctuary which was dedicated to her and to Green
Demeter, near the entrance to the Acropolis at Athens.^
Erichthonius is said to have been born from the earth, and
very appropriately he is reported to have been the first to
sacrifice to the Earth-goddess under the title of Nursing-
mother, and to set up an altar to her on the Acropolis out
of gratitude for his upbringing.^ The Athenian lads used
1 Corpus Imcriptionum Atticarurny
iii. No. 166 ; E. S. Roberts and
E. A. Gardner, Introduction to Greek
Epigraphy^ Part II. (Cambridge, 1905),
No. 245, pp. 465 sq. The epithet
Fruit -bearing applied to Earth at
Cyzicus is known from an inscription.
See L. R. Farnell, Cults of the Greek
States^ iv. 91, quoting Bulletin de
Correspondance helUnique, 1882, p. 454.
2 Pausanias, i. 24. 3.
2 A. Baumeister, Denkmaler des
klassuchen AltertumSf i. 492, fig. 536 ;
W. H. Roscher, Ausfiihrliches Lexikon
der griechisc hen und romischen Mytho-
logies i. coll. 1577-1578, fig. 2. As to
the legend of the birth of Erichthonius
from the earth, see Apollodorus, iii.
14. 6.
* Pausanias, i. 22. 3.
^ Suidas, s,v. Kovporpofpos.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 325
to sacrifice to the Nursing-mother on the Acropolis;^ and
in a fragmentary inscription found on the Acropolis the
sacrifice of a pig to Earth the Nursing-mother appears to be
prescribed/^ Aristophanes represents the Athenian women
praying to Demeter and Earth the Nursing-mother at
the festival of the Thesmophoria.® Not far from the joint
sanctuary of Earth and Green Demeter, whose epithet of
Green refers to the green sprouting corn, there was a sanc-
tuary of the Furies near the Areopagus, and in it were
statues of Earth, Pluto, and Hermes. Here sacrifices were
offered both by Athenians and foreigners, but especially
by persons who had been acquitted at the bar of the
Areopagus.** Curiously enough, persons who had been
wrongly supposed to be dead, and for whom funeral rites
had been performed, were not allowed to enter this sanctuary
of the Furies.'^
The Earth-goddess was often invoked in solemn oaths. Earth
along with other deities, especially Zeus and the Sun, to
witness the truth of an asseveration. Thus when Agamemnon
solemnly swore that he had not approached Briseis while
she was his prisoner, he sacrificed a boar to Zeus, and
looking up to heaven called upon Zeus, the Earth, the Sun,
and the F'uries to be his witnesses that he did not lie.^
And in the Odyssey Calypso swears to Ulysses by “ Earth,
and the wide Sky above, and the down-trickling water of
Styx ” that she meant him no harm.^ An Aetolian oatji
was by Zeus, the Earth, and the Sun.^ In Chersonesus,
a Greek city of the Crimea, the citizens took an oath of
loyalty to their city, swearing by Zeus, the Earth, the Sun,
the Virgin, the gods and goddesses of Olympus, and the
heroes who protected the city and the country and the
walls.® In a treaty of alliance between the cities of Urerus
^ Corpus hiscriptioniifn Atticarum^
ii. No. 481, lines 58 sq.
2 Corpus InscriptiofiufH Atticaruviy
i. No. 4.
3 Aristophanes, Thesmophor, 297
sqq.
^ Pausanias, i. 28. 6.
^ Hesychius, s,v. AevrepdiroriuLoSy
citing Polemo as his authority.
® Homer, lliad^ xix. 252-265.
^ Homer, Odyssey v. 184-187.
^ G. Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscrip-
tionurn Graecarum’^, No. 1212, vol.
P- 357 y Ch. Michel, Recucil d' In-
scriptions Grecquesy No. 1421, p. 939.
® G. Dittenberger, Sylloge hiscrip-
tionum Graecanun'^^ No. 360, vol. i.
PP- 585, 586 ; Ch. Michel, Recueil
d Inscriptions Grecques^ No. 1316, pp.
87s, 876. The Virgin was a deity
worshipped in Chersonesus, where she
had a sanctuary. See Strabo, vii. 4. 2,
326 WORSHIP OF EARTH B Y AR VAN PEOPLES chap.
and Cnossus in Crete the allies took a tremendous oath of
fidelity by Hestia of the Frytaneum, and Zeus (Den) of the
Market-place, and Tallaean Zeus (Den), and the Delphinian
Apollo, and Athene the Guardian of the City, and the
Poetian Apollo, and Latona, and Artemis, and Ares, and
Aphrodite, and Hermes, and the Sun, and Britomartis, and
Phoenix, and Amphiona, and the Earth, and the Sky, and
the heroes, and the heroines, and the springs, and the rivers,
and all the gods and goddesses, that they would never and
by no manner of means be friendly to the Lyttians, neither
by night nor by day, but that on the contrary they would
do all the harm they possibly could to the city of the
Lyttians.^ About the year 244 B.c. the people of Magnesia
concluded a treaty of alliance with Smyrna and King
SeleucLis II., and swore to observe it faithfully, calling on
Zeus, the Earth, the Sun, Ares, Warlike Athene, Tauropolus,
the Sipylene Mother, Apollo of Panda, all the other gods
and goddesses, and the Fortune of King Seleucus, to be their
witnesses. The people of Smyrna on their part swore in
much the same terms to observe the treaty, but in the list of
deities by whom they swore they omitted Apollo in Panda
and the Fortune of King Seleucus, substituting Stratonicean
Aphrodite in their room.“ The mercenary troops of
Eumenes L, King of Pergamum, took an oath of loyalty
to him, swearing by Zeus, the Earth, the Sun, Poseidon,
Demeter, Ares, Warlike Athene, Tauropolus, and all the
other gods and goddesses ; and the king swore by the same
deities to observe good faith to the troops.® In or about the
year 3 B.C. the Paphlagonians swore fealty to the Emperor
Augustus by Zeus, the Earth, the Sun, all the gods and
goddesses, and also by the Emperor himself.^ Thus in
p. 308. She had an altar on the acropolis ^ W. Dittenberger, Orientis Graeci
of Chersonesus, and the people cele- Inscriptiones Sehetae (Lipsiae, 1903-
brated in her honour a festival which 1905), No. 229, vol. i. pp. 371, 372.
included a procession. See (i. Ditten- ^ W. Dittenberger, Orientis Graeci
berger, Syllo^e Inscriptionum Graec- Inscriptiones SelectaCy No. 266, vol. i.
arinn '^y No. 709, vol. iii. pp. 344, 345. pp. 438-440; Ch. Michel, RecneildLn-
^ G. Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscrip- scriptions GrecqneSy No. 15, pp. 9 sq.
tionum Graecarum^y No. 527, vol. i. ^ W. Dittenberger, Orientis Graeci
pp. 769-771; Ch. Michel, Recueil Inscriptiones Sefectae^ ISo. ^1,2^ \o\. ii,
ciLnscriptions GrecqueSy No.. 23, pp. 28 pp. 198 sq, ; H. Dessau, Inscriptiones
sq, ; P. Cauer, Delectus Inscriptionum Latinae SelectaCy No. 8781, vol. ii.
Graecarum'^y No. 12 1, pp. 77 sq, p. loio.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 327
Greek-speaking lands the old oath by Zeus, the Earth, and the
Sun persisted from the Homeric age down to imperial times.
§ 3. The Worship of Earth among the Anciefit Romans^
The ancient Romans, like the ancient Greeks, personified Scanty
and worshipped the Earth as a Mother Goddess ; but
though her worship was doubtless very ancient, the evidence worship of
for its observance in Rome and Italy is very scanty ; the ^and
goddess would seem to have been pushed into the back- Italy,
ground by other and more popular deities, above all by the
Sky-god Jupiter, and by the Corn-goddess Ceres, with
whom she was often confounded.^ Her proper name was Her names,
Tellus,^ which is also a common Latin noun signifying
“ earth ” ; but in later times she was more usually invoked
under the name of Terra or Terra Mater, ^ that is, “ Mother
Earth,” terra being practically synonymous with tellus in the
sense of “ earth Apparently she personified, not so much
the whole earth as, primarily, the fruitful field to which men
owe their food and therefore their life, and, secondarily,
the burial ground which receives their bodies after death.
The poet Lucretius sums up the conception of the Earth-
mother in her double aspect in a striking phrase by saying
that she is thought to be “ the universal parent and the
common tomb So the older poet Ennius said that the
Earth “ gave birth to all nations and takes them back
again Again, in an epitaph on a tomb it is said that,
^ For details, see L. Preller, Kdmische
Mythologie"^ (Berlin, 1881-1883), ii.
2 sijq. ; G. Wissowa, Religion nnd
Kultus tier Ronier^ (Munich, 1912),
pp. 19 1 sgq.\ id.^ “Tellus”, in W, II.
Roscher’s AusfUhrliches Lex ikon der
griechischen und romischen Mythologies
V. 331 sqq,
2 Compare G. Wissowa,. “Tellus”,
in W. II. Roscher’s AusfUhrliches
Lexikon der griechischen und romischen
Mythologies v. 339.
3 H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Selectaes Nos. 1954, 3956, 3957, 3958,
3959» 7994.
* H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Selectaes Nos. 1522, 3950, 395i-3954»
3960, 5050^3®, 8008. According to
Servius (on Virgil, Aen, i. 171), I'elltts
was properly the name of the goddess,
and tena the name of the element
of earth. As to the lateness of the
designation 'Terra Mater compared to
the earlier Tellus or Tellus Maters see
L. Preller, Rdmische Mythologie'^s if 2
note 2; G. Wissowa, s.v. “Tellus”,
in W. H. Roscher’s AusfUhrliches
Lexikon der gtdechischen und rdmischen
Mythologies v. 332.
^ Lucretius, v. 259, “ Omniparens
eadem rerum commune sepulcrum ”.
® Ennius, quoted by Varro, De
lingua latina, v. 64, “ Terris gent is
omnis peperit et resumii denuo ”.
328 WORSHIP OF EARTH B Y AR VAN PEOPLES chap.
Pregnant
sow sacri-
ficed to her.
Karth
coupled
with the
Sky and
Jupiter.
“ the bones which Earth produced she covers in the grave
For the Earth was thought to be the source not only of
vegetable but of animal life. In the ode composed by
Horace to be sung at the Secular Games which Augustus
celebrated in 17 B.C., the poet prays that “Earth {Tellus),
fruitful in crops and cattle, may bestow on Ceres a crown of
ears of corn ^ and from an inscription containing an account
of the Secular Games, which was found in the Field of Mars
{Campus Martins') at Rome in 1890, we learn that on this
occasion the goddess was invoked under the title of Mother
Earth {Terra Mater) and that a sow big with young was
sacrificed to her.® Again, in an oath of loyalty to Rome,
which the Italians took in 91 B.C., they swore by Capito-
line Jupiter, by the Roman Vesta, by Mars, by the Sun,
and by “ Earth, the benefactress both of animals and
plants
In an inscription found at Rome mention is made of a
sanctuary dedicated to the Eternal Sky, to Mother Earth, and
to Mercury Menestrator.® At the beginning of his treatise
on agriculture, Varro, the greatest of Roman antiquaries, tells
us that he will invoke the twelve Confederate Gods {dei
consentes)y not those twelve gods, male and female, whose
gilded statues adorned the forum, but the twelve gods who
were the special patrons of farming. Among them he
invokes in the first place Jupiter and Earth {Tellus) because
they, in their respective spheres of sky and earth {terra),
contain all the fruits of husbandry ; therefore, he proceeds,
because they are called the Great Parents, Jupiter is named
Father, and Earth {Tellus) is named Mother.® In this
passage, just as Tellus is plainly a personification of the
physical earth, so Jupiter is plainly a personification of the
physical sky. Thus Varro is at one with the writer of the
inscription, in which, as we have just seen, Mother Earth is
’ II. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Selectae, No. 7994.
^ Horace, Carmen Saeculare, 29 sq,
3 H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Selectae, No. 5050
^ Diodorus Siculus, xxxvii.*ii.
^ H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Selectae, No. 3950.
® Varro, Rernm rusticariim libri
tres, i. I. 5. In this passage the MSS.
read Tellus terra 7 nater, But terra
appears to be a gloss on Tellus, as H.
Jordan observed (L. Preller, R’omische
Mythologies, ii. 2 note^). It is rightly
omitted by G. Wissowa, s.v, “Tellus”,
in W. H. Roscher’s Ausfiihr Itches
Lexikon der griechischen iind romischen
Mythologie, v. 332,
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 329
coupled with the Eternal Sky ; and Varro more than hints
at the ancient myth of the marriage of Sky and Earth,
though perhaps his orthodox Roman faith prevented him
from expressly substituting Earth for Jupiter’s legitimate
wife Juno. A similar collocation of Jupiter and Earth
occurs in the solemn form of imprecation in which a Roman
general devoted to destruction, the cities, lands, armies, and
people of the enemy, for at the close of the curse he called
on Mother Earth {Tcllus) and Jupiter to be his witnesses ;
and when he named Earth, he touched the earth with his
hands ; and when he named Jupiter, he raised his hands
towards the sky.^ Here, again, the identification of Jupiter
as a Sky-god is rendered indubitable by the accompanying
gesture, and it is remarkable that in this fearful imprecation
Mother Earth takes precedence of the Sky-god, perhaps with
reference to the fate of the foemen who might be expected
soon to return to the bosom of their Mother, ashes to ashes,
dust to dust
Elsewhere Varro tells us that the pontiffs used to Sacrifices
sacrifice to four deities, namely Earth (Te/lus)y Tellumo,
Altor, and Rusor.^ Here Tellumo is apparently a male to Earth
Earth-god, the husband of the Earth-goddess. Certainly
his name appears to be only a masculine form of Tellus^ Tellumo.
“ the earth ”. Varro himself saw this and explained the two
deities as personifications of the earth in its twofold aspect,
first as a male who produces the seeds (^Tellunio)^ and second
as a female who receives and nourishes them {Tellus)? In
a late writer a masculine deity Tellurus, no doubt equivalent
to Tellumo, is mentioned along with Ceres.^ As to the
deity Altor, whom the pontiffs associated with Earth
1 Macrobius, Saturn^ iii. 9. 9-12. Compare Augustine, De civitate Dei^
2 Varro, quoted by Augustine, De iv. 10. According to C. Pauli, Tellumo
civitaU Deiy vii. 23. The passages is an Etruscan deity. See W. H.
of Varro bearing on the worship of Roscher, Ausfuhrliches Lexikon der
Earth {Tellus) are collected by R. griechischenund romischen Mythologies
Agahd, A/. Terenti Varronis Anti- v. 330, j. 2^. “Tellumo”.
quitatnm Reriwi Divinarum libri i.
xiv. XV. xvi. (Leipzig, 1898) pp. 212- ^ Martianus Capella, De nuphts
214. Philologiae et Me?rnf'iis i. 49, Cor-
3 Varro, quoted by Augustine, De rogantur ex proxima \i'egione'\ trans-
civitate Dei, vii. 23, “ Una eademque cnrsis conjugiim regum Ceres Tellurus
terra habet geminam vim, et mascu- Terraeque pater Vulcanus et Genius
linanis quod $e?nina producat ; et femi- Here Terraeque pater is perhaps a
nina/Hs quod recipiat atque enutriat ”. gloss on Tellurus.
330
WORSHIP OF EARTH BY AR YAN PEOPLES chap.
{Tellus) and Tellumo, he was no doubt rightly interpreted
by Varro to mean the Nourisher, from the verb alere^ to
nourish, “ because all things that are born are nourished
from the earth The fourth deity Rusor was explained by
Varro to signify Reverser, because all things revert or
revolve back again to the same place.^
The Earth- Naturally enough the Earth-goddess Tellus or Terra
freUuror often associated with the Corn-goddess Ceres. The
Terra) two are neatly compared and distinguished by Ovid, who
wk^Sres, Com-goddess makes the seeds to grow, while
the Corn- the Earth-goddcss gives them a place in which to grow.^
Sacrifices Hence certain sacrifices were offered to them jointly. One
to the two sijch sacrifice took place at the festival of sowing. The
goddesses i . r i • • r i
at the most approved time for the winter sowing was from the
festival autumnal equinox in September till the winter solstice in
of sowing. ^ ^
December.^ The festival of sowing followed in January,
after the seed had been committed to the ground,'^ and its
aim was no doubt to foster the growth of the seedlings.^
No fixed day was appointed for it in the calendar ; it was a
moveable feast, the time for which varied from year to year
with the state of the season and the weather.^^ The day for
the beginning of the festival was appointed in each year
by the pontiffs.^ The offering to the two goddesses con-
sisted of spelt and the inward parts of a sow big with young.®
The festival comprised two days which were separated from
each other, curiously enough, by an interval of seven days.
The first of the two days was dedicated to the Earth-goddess
Tellus or Terra, the second was dedicated to the Corn-
^ V.'ino, quoted by Aiigusline, De
civitate Dei, vii. 23, Alton quare ?
Quod ex terra, iiiquit, aluntur omnia
quae nata sunt. Rusori quare 1 Quod
rursus, inquit, cuncta eodem revolvun-
tur"\ As to these names, see G.
Wissowa, s.v. “Tellus”, in W. H.
Roscher’s Ausfuhrliches Lexikon der
griechischen und romischen Mythologie,
V. 333 ) who prefers to connect Rusor
with the same root as I'uma, rumen,
Rumina.
2 Ovid, Fasti, i. 673 sq., “ Officium
commune Ceres et Terra tuentur: Haec
praebet causam frugibus, ilia locum ”.
Two lines before the poet used Tellusque
Cere.ujue in precisely the same sense as
Ceres et 'Terra, thus proving that he re-
garded I'ellusvcnd. as synonymous.
3 Varro, Rerum 7 msiica 7 'um libiH tres,
i. 34; Pliny, Nat. Hist, xviii. 201-204;
Geoponiia, ii. 14.
* Ovid, Fasti, i. 657-662.
^ Y^%\.\ss,,De verborum significatione,
s.v. “Sementivae”, p. 455, ed. Lindsay.
® Ovid, Fasti, i. 657-662 ; Joannes
Lydus, De fnensibus, iii. 6, ed. Bekker :
Macrobius, Saturn, i. 16. 6 ; F'estus,
De verboi'um significatione, s.v. “ Con-
ceptivae ”, p. 55, ed. Lindsay.
7 Varro, De lingua latma, vi. 26.
® Ovid, Fasti, i. 671 sq.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 331
goddess Ccres.^ On this second day, probably, the Flamen Twelve
Cerialis offered to Earth (Tellus) and Ceres jointly a sacrifice,
at which he invoked the help of twelve subordinate deities, deities of
each concerned with a special department of agriculture,
and all of them together making up a complete cycle of the
operations of husbandry, from the first breaking up of the
fallow under the plough to the reaping, gathering into the
barn, and the taking of corn from the granary.^ These
twelve lubbardly fiends, with their uncouth names, furnish a
good instance of the minute scrupulosity of the Roman
religious mind, which, far from content with committing the
direction of affairs to a few great gods, relieved these over-
worked deities of a great part of their functions by installing
a complete bureaucracy of minor divinities, whose special
business it was to superintend the whole circle of human life
down to its pettiest and most seemingly insignificant details.®
Indeed, deities multiplied at such a rate that a Roman
philosopher calculated that the population of heaven
exceeded that of earth, ^ and a Roman wench complained
that she could not walk the streets in pursuit of business
without knocking up against a god much oftener than against
a man.^ Even the twelve minor divinities, whom the Supple-
Flamen Cerialis invoked at the festival of sowing, did not
suffice to bring the corn to maturity ; they were all males, divinities
and Augustine furnishes us with a supplementary list of
1 Joannes Lydus, De mensibns, iv. Compare G. Wissowa, s.v, “ TelliTs ”, of
6 ed. Bekker. According to this in W. H. Roscher 's Ausftdu Uches
author, the first day was dedicated to Lexikon der griechischen und romischen
Demeter in her character of Earth Mythologte^ v. 334. Servius, or his au-
olov Ty yy xy v'troSt'x^oixipy thority habius Pictor, doesnot mention
Toi>y Kaprovs), but we must correct this which of the Flamcns was charged with
statement by the evidence of Ovid, the duty of offering this sacrifice to Earth
/w//, i. 671, Placentur frugtim matres and Ceres, but we may safely conclude
Tell usque Ceresqiie''\ So Wissowa, i-. z'. that it was the Flamen Cerialis, whose
“Tellus”, in W. If. Roscher's Aus- existence at Rome is known from at
fiihrliches Lexikon der griechischen least one inscription. See H. Dessau,
und roffiischen Mythologies v. 334. Inscriptiones LatinaeSelectaes'^o.lOt^*] y
2 Servius, on Virgil, Georg, i. 2l, compare No. 9011.
Fabius Pictor hos deos entitneraty quos 3 These minor divinities were the
iuvocat FlameHy sacrum Cereale faeieus Di ludigites. P"or a formidable list
Telliu-i et Cereri: Vervactoreniy Redara- of them see R. Peter, s.v. “ Indigita-
torem [so we must read with Salniasius menta”, in W. H. Roscher’s^//^//^r*
iot Reparatorem']y Inporcitoremy Itches Lexikon der griechischen und
Insiloretfiy Obaratoreniy Occatoreniy Sar- romischen Mythologies ii. 1 29 sqq.
ritoreniy Subrimcinatoreniy Messorem, ^ Pliny, Nat. Hist. ii. 16.
Convector etUyC on ditoremsPromitorem'‘\ ® Petronius, Satyricon, 16.
332 WORSHIP OF EARTH BY AR YAN PEOPLES chap.
female divinities, whose duty it was to assist the growth of
the corn at every stage of its development ; it would task
a professional botanist to explain the nice distinctions
between the various functions which they discharged. The
Christian Father makes merry over the really excessive
exuberance of the Roman deities, remarking, that while one
man sufficed to act as door-porter, no less than three gods
were required to do the same job, one of them being told off
to look after the door, a second to take care of the hinges, and
a third to keep the threshold in order.^ To such a degree
of perfection did the Romans carry the principle of the
division of labour in the sphere of religion.
The Another sacrifice for the crops was offered to the
Fordicidia: Earth-goddess Tellus on the fifteenth of April. The victim
pregnant sacrificed was a cow in calf ; such a victim was called a
th^Farth- forda \ hence the festival bore the name of Fordicidia^
goddess on that is, the Killing of the Pregnant Cow.^ These victims were
April 15th. ^11 thirty wards {curiae) of Rome and also by
the pontiffs on the Capitol.^ No doubt a victim big with
young was chosen with reference to the crops, in order that,
by a sort of sympathetic magic, Earth’s womb might teem
with increase and yield an abundant harvest. A curious
piece of ritual was performed at this sacrifice. The unborn
calves were torn from the wombs of their mothers and burned
to ashes, and these ashes, mixed with the blood of a horse and
bean-stalks, were afterwards used by the Senior Vestal Virgin
to purify the people at the shepherds’ festival of the Parilia,
which fell six days later, on the twenty-first of April. On
that day people repaired to the temple of Vesta, where the
Senior Vestal distributed to them from the altar the mingled
ashes, blood, and beanstalks. These they carried away to
be used in the fumigations which formed a notable part of
the rites. The poet Ovid, who describes the ritual in his
valuable work on the Roman calendar, tells us that he himself
^ Augustine, De civitate Dei, iv. 8. being derived from horda, a different
2 Fasti, iv. 629*634; Varro, dialectical form of “pregnant”.
De lingua laiina, vi. 15 ; Festus, De See Varro, Rerum rusticarum libri
verborumsigniJicatione,s.v,^'¥o\ 6 \cW\ tresF\\. 5. 6; Festus, s.v. “ Horda,”
p. 74, ed. Lindsay. Another form of p. 91, ed. Lindsay; Joannes Lydus,
the name of the festival was Fordicalia, De mensibus, iv. 49, ed. Bekker.
I/ordica/ia, or Hordicidia, ihQivfo]?Ltter ^ Ovid, Fasti, iv. 635 sq.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 333
often came away from the altar with a handful of ashes and
beanstalks.^ The blood, which was mingled with the ashes The
of the unborn calves to serve in fumigation, had also a
curious history. On the fifteenth day of October in every horse
year a chariot-race was run in the Field of Mars, and the
right-hand horse of the victorious chariot was sacrificed to sacrifices.
Mars for the good of the crops. The animal’s tail was then
cut off and carried by a runner at full speed to the King’s
House in the Forum, where it arrived still reeking, and was
held so that the blood dripped on the hearth or altar.^ It
was this blood, shed just six months before, and now
clotted and dry, which added its own purificatory virtue to
that of the ashes of the calves and the beanstalks. The
vulgar opinion was that the Romans, as descendants of the
Trojans, sacrificed the horse out of revenge, because Troy
had been betrayed and captured through the stratagem of
the Wooden Horse.^ On this the hard-headed Polybius
observed sarcastically that by the same token all the bar-
barians must be descendants of the Trojans, since all, or
almost all, of them sacrificed a horse before going to war,
and drew omens from its death agony.^ The true signifi-
cance of the rite as designed to contribute to the fertility
of the soil is intimated by the statement that the sacrifice
was offered for the sake of the crops, and that the severed
head of the horse was encircled with a necklace of loaves.®
But while a cow in calf was sacrificed to the Earth- Pregnant
goddess at the Fordicidia in April, her regular victim was a ^ejuiar^
sow big with young.® We have seen that such victims were victims
sacrificed to her at the festival of sowing and at the Secular uie^Earth-
goddess.
date, and the exact day of October (the
Ides) is mentioned by Festus (p. 246,
ed. Lindsay).
^ P'estus, De significatione verborum^
s.v. “October equus”, p. 190, ed. Lind-
say ; Plutarch, Quaestioftes Romanae,
97 -
* Polybius, xii. 4B.
^ Festus, De verborum significatione^
s.v. “Panibus”, p. 246, ed. Lindsay.
** Festus, De verborum sigfiificatione^
s.v. “Plena sue”, p. 274, ed. Lindsay,
p. 238, ed. Muller; AmohmSt A civersus
NationeSy vii. 22.
^ Ovid, Fastif iv. 637-640, 721 - 735 *
2 Festus, De verborum significatione^
svv. “October equus” and “Panibus”,
pp. 190, 19 1, 246, ed. Lindsay; Poly-
bius, xii. 4B ; Plutarch, Quaestiones
Romanae^ 97. Compare W. Mannhardt,
Mythologische Forsekungen (Strassburg,
1 884), pp. 1 56 sg^. ; The Golden Bought
Part V. Spirits of the Corn and of the
Wild, ii. 42 s^g. Plutarch wrongly
places the sacrifice on the Ides of
December (13th December) instead of
on the Ides of October (15th October).
The name of the sacrifice (the October
horse) would be conclusive against this
334
WORSHIP OF EARTH B Y AR VAN PEOPLES chai>.
Games.^ The true reason for sacrificing pregnant sows and
in general pregnant victims to the Earth-goddess was not
that the pig is an animal destructive of the crops, ^ but that,
as I have already pointed out in the case of the Fordicidia,
a pregnant victim is supposed to communicate its own
fertility to the ground and so to ensure a good harvest.®
The Earth- Another occasion on which the Earth-goddess appears
goddess have been associated with the Corn-goddess Ceres was at
apparently ^ ®
associated a sacrifice offered every year before the reaping began, or
Com-' perhaps rather before it was lawful to partake of the new
goddess fruits. The victim was a sow which received a special name
sicHficeTt praecidmied), referring to its slaughter before the
harvest. harvest, or before the eating of the new corn.^ It is true
that the writers who mention the sacrifice of a sow at this
season speak of it as offered to the Corn-goddess Ceres alone,
without any mention of the Earth-goddess ; but on the
other hand we are told on the high authority of Varro that
Sow a sow bearing the same title {porca praecidaned) must be
sacrificed jointly to the Earth-goddess {Tellus) and Ceres by
goddess an heir when the person to whom he succeeded had not
Sresbyan t>een duly buried ; otherwise the family would be cefemoni-
heirwhen ally polluted.® This latter custom is mentioned also by two
toVhomTe of o^r authorities (Aulus Gellius and Festus) who record
' the sacrifice of the sow before harvest ; but again they
been duly mention only Ceres as the goddess to whom the sacrifice
buried. offered. Festus says that if any person had not paid
funeral rites to a dead man by casting a clod on his body,
he had to sacrifice a sow {^porca praecidaned) to Ceres before
he might taste the new corn of the harvest.^’ To the same
1 Above, pp. 328, 330.
2 This seems to be the reason
assigned by Festus {De verborum signi-
fuatione), in a mutilated passage re-
siored by K. O. Miiller, p. 238 ;
compare id.^ p. 274, ed. Lindsay.
3 This is recognized by Arnobius,
Adversiis Nationes^ vii. 22, “ Tellun
gravidas atque fetas ob honorem fecundi-
iatis ipsius
^ Cato, De agri cnlturay cxxxiv. i ;
Aulus Gellius, iv. 6. 8 ; Festus, De
verborum significatione^ pp, 242, 243,
250, ed. Lindsay.
^ Varro, De vita Poptili Romani,
lib. iii., quoted by Nonius Marcellus,
De compendiosa doctrina, s.v. “ Prae-
cidaneum ”, p. 173, ed. Quicherat,
“ Quod humatus non sit, heredi porca
praecidanea suscipienda Telhiri et
Cereri: aliter familia pura non est^\
® Festus, De verborum significatione,
p. 250, ed. Lindsay, ^'‘Praecidanea agna
vocabatur, quae ante alias caedebatur.
Item porca, quae Cereri mactahatur ab
eo, qui mortuo justa non fecisset, id
est glebam non objecisset, quia mos erat
eis id facere, priusquam novas fniges
gustarent ”.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 335
effect Aulus Gellius declares that the sacrifice of the sow
{porca praecidaned) to Ceres was an expiation incumbent on
persons who had failed to perform the usual purificatory
rites after a death in the family, and that this sacrifice had
to be offered by them before they might partake of the new
fruits.^ Thus explained, the sacrifice of the pig {porca prae-
cidaned) becomes perfectly intelligible. It is a widespread
view, all over the world, that the first-fruits of harvest
are holy, and that consequently they may not be eaten
by persons in a state of ceremonial pollution.^ But a man
who has been rendered unclean by a death in his family, and
has not taken the proper steps to cleanse himself and his
relations by performing the funeral ceremonies incumbent on
him, is held to be in a state of virulent pollution, and conse-
quently cannot without gross impiety partake of the new
corn until he has first appeased the Corn-goddess by the
sacrifice of a sow. Hence in this application the term
porca praecidanea is a sow sacrificed before eating the
new corn ^ rather than a sow sacrificed before reaping
the new corn.^ But, as we have seen, Varro tells us that
in such cases the sow was sacrificed to the Earth-goddess
as well as to the Corn-goddess, and this also is perfectly
intelligible ; for the Earth-goddess, who receives the dead
into her bosom, naturally resents any omission of funeral
rites as disrespectful to herself as well as to the departed,
and naturally calls for an expiation in the shape of the
sacrifice of a sow.^
Another occasion on which a sacrifice was perhaps offered Sacrifices
to the Earth-goddess was after an earthquake. It is said offered^to
that during an earthquake a voice was once heard from the the Earth-
temple of Juno on the Capitol commanding an expiatory
sacrifice of a pregnant sow,^ and a pregnant sow, as we have earthquake.
1 Aulus Gellius, iv. 6. 8, Porca
etiam p^-aecidanea appellata^ quam
piaculi gratia ante fruges novas captas
immolare Cereri mos erat^ si qtii
familiam fienestamautnon purgaverant,
aut aliter earn retn^ quam oportuerat,
procuravei'ant
2 The Golden Bought Part V. Spirits
of the Corn and of the Wild, ii. 48 sqq,
Festus, p. 250, ed. Lindsay,
priusquafft novas fruges gustarenP\
^ Festus, p. 243, ed. Lindsay,
‘ ‘ antequam 7 tovatn frugem praeride-
renP'' \ Aulus Gellius, iv. 6. 8, ante
fruges novas captas
^ On this sacrifice, compare G.
Wissowa, s.v. “Tellus*’, in W. H.
Roscher’s Ausfiihrliches Lexicon der
griechischen und romischen Mythologies
V. 335-336.
® Cicero, De divinationej i. loi.
336 WORSHIP OF BARTH BY AR VAN PEOPLES chap.
seen, was the regular victim offered to the Earth-goddess.
Again, while the Romans were fighting the Picentes in the
year 268 B.C., a shock of earthquake was felt by the con-
tending armies, and in consequence the Roman Consul,
P. Sempronius Sophus, vowed and built a temple of the
Earth-goddess Tellus at Rome.^ Yet on the other hand we
have it on the authority of Varro that in the case of earth-
quakes the Romans observed all the scrupulous caution
which characterized them in religious matters. When an
earthquake took place, they proclaimed a holy day or holy
days, but refrained from announcing, as they usually did, the
name of the god in whose honour the holy days were to be
kept, and this they did for fear that they might name the
wrong god and so involve the people in sin. Further, if any
person, whether wittingly or unwittingly, desecrated one of
these holy days the sacrilege had to be expiated by a
sacrifice ; but not knowing who the offended deity was,
they did not dare to name him or her, but contented them-
selves with directing the sacrifice “ whether to god or
goddess leaving it to the deity to whom it properly
belonged to claim his own. Such was the rule laid down
by the pontiffs, the highest authorities on questions of
religion, and the reason alleged for the rule was that they
did not know what force or what god or goddess caused
an earthquake.‘^ Thus it is by no means clear whether a
pregnant sow was regularly offered after an earthquake,
and even if it was so, it must still remain doubtful whether
any part of the victim was formally assigned to the Earth-
goddess.
The temple
of the
Earth-
goddess
on the
Esquiline.
So far as we know the temple built for the Earth-goddess
in consequence of the earthquake of 268 B.C. was the only
one she ever possessed in Rome. It stood in the quarter
called the Carinae, on the western slope of the Esquiline Hill,
above the Forum ; the house of the Pompeys was not far off.®
The exact site has not been discovered, but it is believed to
have been somewhere in the neighbourhood, though not
immediately close to, the church of San Pietro in Vincoli,
^ Florus, Epitoma, i. 14. Servius, on Virgil, viii. 361; Dionysius
2 Aulus Gellius, ii. 28. 2-3. Halicarnasensis, AfUiqiiit, Rom, viii.
3 Suetonius, De grammaticisy 15; 79. 3.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 337
which contains the famous seated statue of Moses by Michael
Angelo.^ Cicero’s brother Quintus lived in the same quarter;^
he seems to have undertaken to restore or embellish the
temple. His statue was set up in front of it by his brother
the orator.® In Cicero’s lifetime part of the sacred area of
the temple appears to have been appropriated by a private
individual, who built himself a vestibule to his house on the
spot ; and for some reason the guilt of the sacrilege was
apparently laid at the door of Cicero by his deadly enemy
Publius Clodius. The season happened to be bad, the fields
were barren, corn was scarce and dear, and in defending
himself against the charge of impiety Cicero confesses to
have felt misgivings as to whether the Earth-goddess had
received her dues, all the more because the soothsayers
reported that in the Campagna there had been heard a
mysterious noise, accompanied by a dreadful clash of arms,
which was interpreted to signify that the Earth-goddess
and other deities were clamouring for their arrears.^ The
day after Caesar had been murdered, Mark Antony sum-
moned the Senate to meet in the temple of Earth because Meeting ot
it was close to his house and he dared not go down to the
Senate-house, situated as it was beneath the Capitol, where temple of
the assassins had taken refuge and were mustering the pro-
fessional cut-throats known as gladiators to defend them, of Caesar.
The messengers with the summons went round to the houses
of the senators in the course of the night, and the senators
met in the temple while the grey dawn was breaking over
the city. Among the speakers on that memorable occasion The temple
were Mark Antony himself and Cicero.^ In the fierce street-
fighting between the troops of Marius and Sulla, when the wars,
soldiers of Sulla, forcing their way into the city, were received
with volleys of stones and tiles from the multitude perched
on the house-tops, the general replied by ordering his men
to set fire to the houses and leading the way himself with
^ O. Richter, Topographic der Stadi
Pom^ (Munich, 1901), pp. 323-325;
II. Jordan, 7 'opographie der Stadi Rovi
itfi Alterthiim^ i. 3, bearbeitet von
Ch. Huelsen (Berlin, 1907), pp. 323-
326.
^ Cicero, Ad Quwtum pratrem Epist.
ii. 3. 7.
VOL. I
^ C'xcQXOy Ad Quintnm Jrairem Epist.
iii. I. 14.
^ Cicero, Oe karuspii//m respoftso,
X. 20, xiv. 31.
^ Appian, Be//. Civ. ii. 18. \7.(i sqq. ;
Dio Cas.sius, xliv. 22 sqq. ; Ciceio,
P/ii/ipp, i. 13. 31 ; id., Epist. ad
Atticum, XV i. 14. i.
Z
338 WORSHIP OF EARTH BY AR VAN PEOPLES chap.
a blazing torch in his hand. Marius was driven back to the
temple of Earth, where he vainly endeavoured to make a
last stand, calling on the slaves to rally round him and to
Varro's win their freedom by the sword. ^ Many years later, when
the tide of civil war had ebbed far from, the capital, though
temple of the issue had still to be fought out on distant battle-fields
and seas, the aged antiquary Varro, then in his eightieth
year, ascended the hill and passing along the now peaceful
streets entered the temple of Earth. It was the time of
the sowing festival, and he came at the invitation of the
sacristan, probably to take part in some rite appropriate
to the holy day. The sacristan himself was absent, but
in the temple Varro met several friends who had also come
at the invitation of the same official. He found them con-
templating a picture of Italy painted on one of the walls
of the edifice. Awaiting the return of the sacristan, they
sat down on benches and fell into a discourse very appro-
priate to the season and the place, for it turned on the
fertility of Italy, in which they agreed that it surpassed all
the rest of the earth. For what spelt, they asked, was like
the Campanian ? what wheat like the Apulian ? what wine
like the Falernian ? what olive-oil like the Venafran ? could
the vineyards of Phrygia vie with those of Italy ? did the
cornfields of Argos equal the cornfields of Italy? And as
for fruit trees, were they not planted so thick in Italy that
the whole country resembled an orchard ? ^ This patriotic
panegyric on their native land, put in the mouth of a knot
of old gentlemen discoursing peacefully on a holiday at the
temple of the Earth-goddess, may perhaps have suggested
to Virgil his famous praise of Italy,® which is undoubtedly
one of the noblest expressions of the love of country ever
penned by mortal man.
The Earth- In her temple on the Esquiline the Earth-goddess was
annually annually worshipped along with the Corn-goddess Ceres on
worshipped the thirteenth day of December, which seems to have been
December anniversary of the foundation of the temple. Apparently
13th. the worship took the form of a lectisternium, in which the
1 Plutarch, Sulla, 9. treatise is mentioned by himself in the
Varro, Reruin rusticarum libri preface {op, cit. i. i. i).
Ires, i. 2. 1-7. That Varro was in his
eightieth year when he wrote this ^ Virgil, Georg, ii. 136 sqq.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 339
deities were represented reclining on couches and partaking
of a banquet.^
The worship of the Roman Earth-goddess Tellus orThewor-
Terra appears to have been widespread in the provinces, Earth-^
from Spain in the west to Dalmatia in the east, and south- goddess
ward to Numidia. But the inscriptions which attest the provinces,
diffusion of the worship furnish little or no information as to
the nature of the rites." At Rudnik, to the south of Belgrade,
there was a temple of Mother Earth {Terra Mater) appro-
priately situated at the entrance to some quarries or mines ;
it was rebuilt in the name of the Emperor Septimius Severus
by the procurator Cassius Ligurinus.® Near Murcia, in
Spain, a dedication to Mother Earth {Terra Mater) has been
found, surmounted by an image of the goddess. She is
represented as a woman of mature age, seated and holding
in her left hand a cornucopia, in her right hand a saucer,
while on her knees various fruits are heaped up in a fold of
her robe.*^ Such a representation lays stress on the character
of the goddess as a deity of fertility ; no wonder that as
such she was sometimes confused with the Corn-goddess
Ceres. In Africa the worship of the Earth-goddess seems
to have been particularly popular. At Cuicol in Numidia
the city built a temple to her under the title of Tellus
Genitrix, which is equivalent to Mother Earth, and in the
temple was an image of the goddess, presented by a certain
Titus Julius Honoratus, Pontiff and Perpetual Flameh.®
Other temples of the Earth-goddess are known to have
existed in Africa, as at Vaga and Cirta ; the one at Vaga
was restored in the year 2 B.C.® Between Zama and Uzappa
there was a temple of the Goddess Earth {dea Tellus)^ which
was rebuilt by one of the successors of Marcus Aurelius.
The existence of a priesthood, and consequently of a public
' Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum^
i.^ p. 237 {Fasti Pf'aeuestini)f with
Mommsen’s Commentary, pp. 336 s^. ;
Arnobius, Adversus Nationes^ vii. 32.
Arnobius mentions only a Udisteruium
of Ceres, and he omits to give the
name of the month in which the cere-
mony took place, though he mentions
the day of the month (the Ides). His
omissions are supplied by the engraved
calendars {fasti).
2 J. Toutain, Les Cultes pa'iens dans
r Empire Romain, i. (Paris, 1907)
pp. 338 Sff.
3 J. Toutain, op. cit. i. 339.
^ J. Toutain, l.c,
^ J. Toutain, l.c. ; H. Dessau,
Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae^ No.
3957.
® J, Toutain, op, cit. i. 339 sq.
340 WORSHIP OF EARTH BY AR VAN PEOPLES chap.
worship, of the goddess is attested by inscriptions at Madaura
and Thubursicum in Numidia. In both these towns the
priestly office was discharged by priestesses.^ It has been
remarked that traces of the worship of the Earth-goddess in
Africa are found only in the interior of the province and in
fertile regions, where the population had certainly been
sedentary and agricultural before the Roman conquest.
The natural inference is that the cult of the Earth-goddess
had deep roots in the soil of Africa.^
The Earth- The last aspect of the Roman Earth-goddess which here
hi^SaUon notice is her relation to the dead. She was often
tothedead. coupled with the deified spirits of the departed (the di manes).
When the news of the death of Tiberius was made known
at Rome, the populace were wild with joy and ran about
the streets shouting, To the Tiber with Tiberius ”, while
others prayed to Mother Earth and the deified dead to give
the deceased tyrant a place among the damned in hell.^
Similar pious prayers Were put up to the same deities by
the Roman mob for the soul of the Emperor Gallienus.^
The grave would seem to have been naturally enough the
place where Mother Earth and the deified spirits of the
dead were worshipped together. An epitaph on the tomb
of three members of the great Cornelian house contains a
dedication to these divine spirits and to Mother Earth.^
And addresses to both Mother Earth and the deified dead
often occur in sepulchral inscriptions.^
Custom of But the most solemn of all occasions when these deities
?he arm%f Conjoined was when a Roman general devoted himself
anenemytoto them in order by his death to procure the victory of
goddess destruction of the enemy’s army.
and the Two instances of this devotion are recorded in Roman
spirits of - . 1 IT-.
the dead, history. In the year 340 B.C. the Roman and the Latin
armies were encamped over against each other in the
neighbourhood of Capua. The Roman army was under
the command of the two consuls P. Decius Mus and
^ J. Toutain, o/>. cit. i. 340.
2 J. Toutain, oJ>. cit. i. 340 sq.
^ Suetonius, Tiberius , 75.
^ Sextus Aurelius Victor, De Caesar-
ibiis, xxxiii. 31.
^ H. Dessau, Juscriptiones Latinae
Selectacy No. 8008.
® G. Wissowa, s.v. “Tellus”, in
W. H. Roscher’s Ausfuhrliches Lexikon
tier griechischen und romischen Mytho-
lope, V. 336 sq.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 341
T. Manlius Torquatus. It was the eve of battle. In the The consul
dead of night both consuls dreamed the same dream. They
seemed to see the figure of a man of more than mortal devoted
stature and of more than human majesty, who said that the |he^an!iy"cff
general of the one side and the army of the other were enemy
doomed to fall victims to the deified spirits of the dead and
to Mother Earth, and that victory would rest with the side
whose general devoted himself and the army of the enemy
to death. In the morning the consuls compared their
dreams, and resolved that, to avert the anger of the gods,
sacrifices should be offered, but that if the omens drawn
from the victims should be found to tally with the visions
of the night, one of the two consuls should comply with the
decree of fate. The sacrifices were offered, and the omens
tallied exactly with the dreams. So a council of war was
held ; the situation was clearly explained to the officers by
the commanders, and it was decided not to alarm the soldiers
by the voluntary and public death of one of the consuls in
front of the whole army, but to abide the issue of battle ;
then, if either wing of the Roman army gave way before
the enemy, the consul in command of that wing was to
devote himself to death for the Roman people and army,
and rushing into the midst of the enemy to seek and find
death. ^ The thing was done. The battle took place near
the foot of Vesuvius. Before the consuls led out the army
to the fight, a sacrifice was offered and the auspices were
taken. The soothsayer, on inspecting the entrails of the
victim, informed the consul Decius that the omens were ill
for him, but well for his colleague Manlius. “ If they be well
for him ”, replied Decius, then all is well.” He commanded
the left wing ; Manlius commanded the right. On the left
wing the front Roman line gave way under a charge of the
Latins and fell back on the second line. Their commander,
the consul Decius, called for the pontiff, and bade him recite
the form of words by which a general devoted himself to
death for his army. The pontiff complied, and Decius
repeated the words after him, in the attitude prescribed by
ritual, standing on a javelin with his head muffled and his
hand applied to his chin. Invoking all the Roman gods
^ Livy, viii. 6. 8-13.
342
WORSHIP OF EARTH BY ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
in due form, he prayed for the victory of the Roman
arms and the destruction of the foe, concluding with a
solemn dedication of himself and the army of the enemy
to the Earth-goddess and the spirits of the dead. Then,
having sent word to his colleague Manlius of what he had
done, he leaped, sword in hand, on his horse, charged into
the thickest of the enemy and was cut to pieces. But from
the spot where he fell, consternation spread like wild-fire in
the Latin ranks. Their whole army was soon in full flight,
and the battle ended in a complete victory for the Romans.
But the struggle lasted till nightfall, and in the darkness it
was impossible to discover the dead body of Decius. Next
day it was found, pierced with many wounds, where the
enemy’s dead lay thickest ; and his colleague paid him
funeral honours worthy of the death he had died.^
Livy on the The historian Livy, after describing the devotion and
devotion A^^th of Decius, adds some curious details of the ancient
Roman ritual which had long passed out of use and almost
of memory in his own day. He tells us that in devoting
the army of the enemy to destruction a Roman commander
was free to devote to death any .soldier of his own army
instead of himself, and that if the soldier so devoted fell in
the battle, all was weU; but that if he survived, a statue
seven feet high or more had to be buried in the earth and
a piacular sacrifice offered, and on the ground where the
statue was buried, no Roman magistrate might set foot.
Clearly the statue was offered to the Earth-goddess and the
spirits of the dead as a substitute for the living victim of
which they had been deprived by the escape of the soldier
from the battle. But if the general devoted himself, as
Decius did, and nevertheless survived, he was thenceforth
incapable of offering any sacrifice, whether public or
private, apparently because, having been devoted to the
the infernal powers, he carried the taint of death about with
4iim, and would consequently defile any religious rite at
which he might venture to assist. Lastly, Livy tells us that
the javelin, on which the general stood when he pronounced
the formula of devotion, might not without sacrilege fall
into the hands of the enemy ; but that if they did contrive
^ Livy, viii. 9-10; Valerius Maximus, i. 7. 3.
VI WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 343
to get possession of it, the sacrilege had to be .expiated by
the sacrifice of a sheep and a bull to Mars.^
Forty-five years after the heroic death of P. Decius Mus, similar
his son and namesake, the consul P. Decius, died a similar ofthe
death in a desperate battle with the united forces of the Decius, son
Samnites, Umbrians, Etruscans, and Gauls. He, like his
father, devoted himself and the army of the enemy to the
Earth-goddess and the spirits of the dead ; he, like his
father, charged on horseback into the thickest of the foe
and found a soldier’s death in their midst ; and his mangled
body, like that of his father, was borne from the field by his
weeping soldiers to receive the last honours that a grateful
country could pay to his memory.^
^ Livy, viii. 10. 11-14, viii. ii. i. 2 Livy, x. 27-29.
CHAPTER VII
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG NON-ARYAN
PEOPLES OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worship of Earth among the ancient
Babylonians and Assyrians
Eniii, the We have seen that in Babylonian mythology the Earth-god
Earfh^god^ Enlil held a high rank as a member of the great trinity, of
an ancient which the Other members were Anu, the god of the sky, and
ddty who abyss of water beneath the earth.^ But
had hisseat though Enlil is commonly designated by modern writers as
at Nippur. Earth-god without qualification,' it seems very doubtful
whether from the first he occupied that dignified position.
There is no doubt that originally he was the local god of
Nippur, the religious centre of Babylonia. His name is
Sumerian and means Lord of the Wind or of the Storm,
which points to his being a god of the air rather than of the
earth. The Semites, in adopting his worship, gave him the
Semitic name of Bel, equivalent to Baal, which merely
means Lord or Master. But at Nippur he seems to have
been never known by any other name than Enlil or Ellil ;
hence we may infer that he was an ancient Sumerian deity
and that at Nippur his worship always remained essentially
^ See above, pp. 65 s^. op. at. pp. 52-55 ; H. Zimmern, in
2 L. W. King, Babylonian Religion I£. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften unci
pp. 10, 14; M. Jastrow, das alte 7 'estamejit^ (Berlin, 1903),
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria^ pp. 354-356; E. Meyer, Geschichte
pp. 140, 147 ; S. Langdon, 'The Baby- des Altertnms^y i. 2. pp. 407, 421 5^/.,
Ionian Epic 0/ Creation [ 0 \iovdiy 1 923), 440 sq.y 519, 559 sq. ; P. Dhorme,
pp. 17, 23; id.., in 'The Catnbridge La Religion Assyro-Babyloniefine {V2iX\s,
Ancient History, iA 391, 392. As to 1910), p. 70; Br. Meissner, Baby lonien
the worship of Enlil (Ellil) or Bel, as nnd A ssyrien {Heidelberg, 1920— 1925),
the Semites called him, see M. Jastrow, ii. 6-8.
344
CH. VII WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG BABYLONIANS 345
Sumerian.^ Indeed, he was the chief national god of the
Sumerians ; his temple at Nippur was the principal shrine
of the whole country, and the holy city itself may be called
the Sumerian Rome.^ And as the Sumerian city of Nippur
was the Rome of Babylonia, so the ancient Sumerian
language remained the holy tongue of Babylonia even after
it had long been superseded by a Semitic speech in all the
usages of daily life, just as Latin has remained the holy
tongue of the Catholic Church for centuries after it was dis-
placed by its daughter tongues, the Romance languages.
Down to a late time the original Sumerian texts continued
to be copied and accompanied by Semitic translations, when
Sumerian had become a dead language ; nay, it was a rule
to add Sumerian versions even to original Semitic texts.^
In their origin the great cities of Babylonia were little The ruins
more than collections of rude huts built of reeds cut in the ^ ^ ^ ^ ■
surrounding marshes ; but in time these frail structures gave
place to more substantial buildings of clay and sun-dried
brick. From the very first it would seem that the shrine of
the local god played an important part in the foundation
and subsequent development of each centre of population ;
it formed as it were the nucleus or germ about which a
town tended to grow both by the natural multiplication of
the inhabitants and by the aggregation of dwellers from the
surrounding country, who would be attracted to it, partly by
the security afforded by its walls and the strength of ‘its
natural position, partly by the reputation of the deity, under
whose powerful protection they hoped to place themselves.
Such in outline would seem to have been the early history
of Nippur. It was built on a group of mounds rising like
an island from the dead flat of the marshes. The site, still
known by its ancient name in the slightly altered form of
^ As to the name Enlil, “Lord of graph Lil is used to designate a demon
the Wind ”, see H. Zimmern, op, at. in general, and En-lil is therefore the
pp. 354 sq. ; E. Meyer, op. cit. i, 2. pp. ‘ chief demon ’ ”.
407, 421 ; P. Dhorme, La Religion ^ E. Meyer, op. at. i. 2. pp. 421,
Assyro-Babylonienne,Y>V‘ 7 ^ YVi. 440 sq.\ S. H. Langdon, in The
King, History of Sumer and Akkad, Cambridge Anaent History, i. 391 sq,
p. 52 ; S. H. Langdon, in The Cam- On Nippur as the religious centre of
bridge Ancient History, i .2 391 ; Br. Babylonia, see L. W. King, History of
Meissner, Babylonien und Assyrien, Sumer and Akkad (London, 1916), pp.
ii. 6. But according to M. Jastrow 85, 107, 297.
{op. cit. p. 53), “Primarily, the ideo- ^ E. Meyer, op. cit. i. 2. p. 521.
346 WORSHIP OF EARTH BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES ch .
The
sanctuary
of Enlil at
Nippur.
Niffer or Nuffar, is marked by the ruins which in recent
years have been investigated and excavated by American
scholars. The mounds, once occupied by a thriving
population, have long been deserted ; and, like the sites of
many other ancient cities in Babylonia and Assyria, no
modern town or village is built upon them or in their
immediate neighbourhood. In summer the surrounding
marshes consist of pools of water connected by a network of
channels meandering through" the reed-beds ; but in spring,
when the snows have melted in the Taurus and the
mountains of Kurdistan, the flood -water converts the
marshes into a great lagoon, and in the vast level expanse
nothing meets the eye but here and there a solitary date-
palm and a few hamlets built on knolls that scarcely rise
above the waste of waters.^ Of this site of the ancient city,
now lying desolate, the words of the prophet may seem to
have come true : “ It shall never be inhabited, neither shall
it be dwelt in from generation to generation : neither shall
the Arabian pitch tent there ; neither shall the shepherds
make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall
lie there ; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures ;
and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate
houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces.^^ ^
The sanctuary of Enlil occupied the centre of the
ancient city, and was built on an artificial mound to prevent
it from being swamped when the floods were out. An
ancient plan of the temple, drawn on a clay tablet which is
believed to date from the first half of the second millennium
before our era, enables us to form a fairly accurate notion of
the general arrangement of the sanctuary, which bore the
name of E-Kur. It was surrounded by an irregular wall
and cut by a canal or sluice, on one side of which stood the
store-houses of the temple. The most striking feature of
the sacred area was the great temple-tower {ziggurai)^ built
of bricks and rising in the form of a pyramid, with a ramp
winding round and up it to the summit. Such temple-
towers, forming conspicuous landmarks in the flat country of
^ L. W. King, History of Sttmer and Akkad^ pp. 84-86.
2 Isaiah xiii. 20-22.
VII WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG BABYLONIANS 347
Babylonia, perhaps gave rise to the legend of the Tower of
Babel. The great one at Nippur is known from inscriptions
to have been built by Ur~Engur, the first king of Ur of
the Chaldees, who reigned about 2400 B.c. In the treasure-
chambers of the sanctuary were deposited the votive offerings
of Sumerian kings and princes, particularly vases made of
stone and bearing inscriptions.^
Clay figures of the god represent him in human form imagesand
with long hair and beard. He wears a horned head-dress,
the emblem of divinity. He bore the title of “ the Great
Mountain ” {kur-gal in Sumerian, shadiUrabA in Assyrian) or
“ King of the Mountain-lands {lugal kurkura in Sumerian,
bil mdtati in Assyrian) ; and E-Kur^ the name of his temple
at Nippur, means “ House of the Mountain But the
god was also known more simply as Lord or King of
the Lands, probably in the sense of Lord or King of the
whole Earth.^ Further, he was styled the King of Heaven
and Earth,^ and the Father of the Gods.^ Possessing
dominion over the whole earth, he was able to confer Eniii and
it on his favourites. He also determined the fates, and o^Vestiny '
as a symbol of this supreme power, which few gods could
claim, he constantly carried the tablets of destiny. One
morning, when he was washing himself, he incautiously
took off his crown and laid it on a chair while he performed
his ablutions. The storm-bird Zu seized the opportunity
^ L. W. King, History of Stimer 437). According to Professor Langdon
and Akkad^ pp. 86-89 ; E. Meyer, op. {op. cit. i.^ 435, 658), Ur-Engur came
cit. i. 2. pp. 415, 44 1; S. H. Langdon, to the throne in 2474 n.c. and reigned
in The Cambridge Ancient History^ i.- eighteen years.
392. As to King Ur-Engur, see S. H. 2 Meyer, op. cit. i. 2. p. 421;
Langdon, in The Cambridge Ancient H, Zimmern, op. cit. p. 355 ; P.
History^ i.^ 435^(7^., who calls him Dhorme, op. cit. p. 72; M. Jastrow,
“the real champion of Sumer and op. cit. p. 56; S. H. Langdon, in
Akkad, the organizer of its most The Cambridge Ancient History^ i.‘^
brilliant period ” (p. 435). “ The 392 ; Br. Meissner, Babylonien und
emperors of Ur surpassed their pre- Assyrien^ ii. 7 sq. As to the horned
decessors in their reverence for Nippur. head-dress, compare S. H. Langdon,
So great were the revenues in grain, op. cit. i.^ 438.
fruit, live stock, and various offerings 3 £ Meyer, op. cit. i. 2. p. 421 ;
that a receiving-house was built on the II. Zimmern, op. cit. p. 355 ; L. W.
Euphrates below Nippur, now the ruins King, History of Sumer and Akkad,
of Drehem. Arabs have found many pp. 10 1, 104, 194, 196 sq., 198 sq.
hundred tablets from temple archives, * L. W. King, History of Sumer •
and nearly every collection in Europe, and Akkad, p, 128.
America, and the British Empire pos- ® E. Meyer, op. cit. i. 2. p. 445 ;
sesses some of these records” {ib. p. P. Dhorme, op. cit. p. 72.
348 WORSHIP OF EARTH BY NOHA RYAN PEOPLES ch .
Enlil’s wife
Ninlil.
Enlil’s
place in the
Babylonian
pantheon
beside Anu
and Ea.
Enlil in a
treaty
between
Lagash
and
Umma.
to purloin the tablets of destiny and so to rob the deity
of his power. It cost Enlil much trouble to recover his
stolen property. The story of the theft and the recovery
is the theme of an epic poem.^
Side by side with Enlil was worshipped his wife Ninlil,
a goddess of procreation and fertility, whose name is only
a feminine form of Enlil. The Semites called her Belit,
the feminine form of Bel, which, as we saw, was the Semitic
name of her consort Enlil, She also bore the title of the
Lady of Heaven and Earth, corresponding to the title of King
of Heaven and Earth bestowed upon her husband. Further,
.she was akin to, and afterwards identified with, Nin-khar-sag,
“ the Lady of the Mountain ”, who was known as the Mother
of the Gods and was believed to nourish princes with her
holy milk. Yet the glory of Ninlil was dimmed by that of
her husband Enlil ; like most Babylonian goddesses she was
only a pale reflection of her powerful Lord.^
Thus Enlil, from being merely the local god of Nippur,
gradually rose to a position of supremacy as the deity of the
whole habitable world. It was in virtue of this enhanced
dignity that among the Semites he became known simply
as Bel, that is Baal, the Lord or Master. As the god of the
whole surface of the earth he took his place in the Babylonian
pantheon beside Anu, the god of the sky, and Ea, the god
of the subterranean waters.®
Evidence of the high rank accorded to Enlil among all
the gods of Sumer is furnished by a treaty contracted
between the neighbouring cities of Lagash and Umma in
Southern Babylonia. There had been a dispute between
them concerning the boundary line, and with the consent
of both sides Mesilim, king of Kish, drew up a treaty of
delimitation. The document has been discovered in modern
times and is peculiarly interesting because it forcibly illus-
trates the theocratic sentiment of these early peoples, who
conceived themselves to be under the immediate sway of
' Br. Meissner, Babyloiiien tind of Sumer and Akkad^ pp. 104, 294 ;
Assyn'en, ii. 7, 182. Br. Meissner, Baby/on/en und Assyrien,
2 M. Jastrow, op. cit. pp. 55 sq. ; ii. 8.
H. Zimmern, tV/. p. 356 ; E. Meyer, ^ M. Jastrow, op. cit. p. 53; H.
op, cit. i. 2. pp. 421 sq. : P. Dhorme, Zimmern, op. cit. p. 355 ; P. Dhorme,
op. cit. p. 73 ; L. W. King, History op. cit. pp. 71 sq.
VII WORSHIP OF EAR 7 H AMONG BABYLONIANS 349
their respective deities far more than under that of their
human governors. In accordance with this view the rulers
(patesis) of the two cities are not so much as named in
the treaty ; the dispute is supposed to have been settled
by the gods, not by any mere mortal agents. The president
of the peace conference was not a human king nor yet his
prime minister ; it was the great god Enlil in person, “ the
King of the Lands”. On account of the unique position
which he held among the deities of Babylonia, his authority
was frankly acknowledged by the smaller divinities, the
local gods of the other cities. Thus it was at his command
that Ningirsu, the god of Lagash, and the city-god of
Umma fixed the boundary. It is true that Mesilim, the
king of Kish, is named in the treaty, but he only acted
at the bidding of his own goddess Kadi, and his duties
were merely those of a secretary; all that he had to do
was to put down in writing the treaty which the gods
themselves had drawn up. We could hardly have a more
striking instance of the theocratic spirit which prevailed
among the early inhabitants of Babylonia somewhere about
three thousand years before our era. Like the Israelites at
a much later date, these simple-minded folk regarded the
gods as the real rulers of their cities. Human kings and
governors {patesis) were nothing more than ministers or
diplomatic agents appointed to carry out the divine will.
Hence, when one city made war upon another city, it was
not ostensibly because the two peoples owed each other a
grudge ; the reason, or at all events the pretext, alleged for
hostilities was that the gods were at feud, and that therefore
the worshippers were bound to support the sacred cause by
fire and sword. But we may suspect that in such cases
the gods were little more than fair masks to hide the foul
passions of men. And in like manner, when the sword was
sheathed, it was nominally for the gods to dictate the treaty
of peace and for men to submit to it.^
^ L. W. King, History of Sumer given by L. W. King (op. n't. Appen-
aud Akkad., pp. 100- 102. Compare dix II.) as somewheie before or about
E, Meyer, Geschichte des Allertums'^^ 3000 B.c. ; by Meyer it is given as
i. 2. p. 445, who names Gishu instead about 2850 B.C. Professor S. U.
of Umma as one of the two contracting Langdon assigns him a much earlier
cities. The date of King Mesilim is date, about 3638 B.c. See The Cajtt-
350 WORSHIP OF EARTH BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES cn.
The
Sumerian
conqueror
Lugal-
zaggisi
ascribed all
the glory
of his
conquests
to Enlil.
Prayer of
King
Lugal-
zaggisi to
Enhl.
Again, at a somewhat later period a strong testimony to
the overruling powder of the great god Enlil is borne by
Lugal-zaggisi, lord of Umma, who, about the year 2800 B.C.,
subdued the whole of Sumer and won for himself a dominion
as great as, if not greater than, any hitherto acquired by any
Sumerian ruler of a city state, for it would seem to have
stretched from the Persian Gulf (the Lower Sea) to the
Mediterranean (the Upper Sea). The record of his conquests
has been pieced together from the inscriptions engraved
upon a number of fragments of vases, made of white calcite
stalagmite, which Lugal-zaggisi had dedicated to Enlil and
deposited as votive ofiferings at his great temple of E-kur in
Nippur, where they were discovered in the course of the
excavations carried out by the University of Pennsylvania.
In these inscriptions the pious Sumerian king ascribes all the
glory of his conquests to Enlil, just as a pious Israelitish
king would ascribe all the glory of his conquests to Jehovah.^
Thus King Lugal-zaggisi says : When the god Enlil, the
King of the Lands, had bestowed upon Lugal-zaggisi the
kingdom of the land, and had granted him success in the
eyes of the land, and when his might had cast the lands
down, and he had conquered them from the rising of the
sun unto the setting of the same, at that time he made
straight his path from the Lower Sea over the Euphrates
and the Tigris unto the Upper Sea’'.^
Further, in these inscriptions King Lugal-zaggisi has
left on record that he dedicated the vases to Enlil, after
making due ofiferings of loaves in Nippur and pouring a
libation of pure water. Then he adds a dedicatory prayer,
bridge Ancient History^ i. 2 , 368 sq.
According to Sir E. A. Wallis Budge,
“ It is not possible at present to assign
an exact date to the reign of Mesilim,
and of his works at Kish nothing is
known. . . . The evidence which
Langdon has collected proves, he
thinks, that Kish was the oldest
capital of Sumer and Akkad, and that
it maintained control of the entire
land for longer periods, and more
often, than any other City-State before
the coming of Sargon, who removed
his seat of royalty from Kish to Agade.
The founders of Kish were undoubtedly
Sumerians. Sargon, the Semite,
became king of Kish because the
god Enlil slew^ ‘ Kish like the bull of
heaven’.” See Sir E, A. Wallis Budge,
Babylonian Life and History^ Second
Edition (London, 1925), p. 257.
^ Compare King Solomon’s prayer
at the dedication of the temple, i Kings
viii. 44-49.
^ L. W. King, History of Snmer
and AMadj pp. 1 93 sq. Compare
S. H. Langdon, in 'The Ca?nbridge
Ancient History^ i.*-^, 402 sq.^ who
dates the rise of Lugal-Zaggisi about
2897 H.C.
VII WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG BAB VLONIANS 351
beseeching the deity- to grant life to himself, peace to his
country, and a large army. His prayer for these blessings
runs as follows : May Enlil, the King of the Lands, pro-
nounce my prayer to Ana, his beloved father ! To my life
may he add life ! May he cause the lands to dwell in
security ! Warriors as numerous as the grass may he grant
me in abundance ! Of the celestial folds may he take
care ! May he look with kindness on the land of Sumer !
May the gods not alter the good destiny they have assigned
to me ! May I always be the shepherd, who leads his
flock ! 1
Other kings commemorated their victories in inscriptions Com-
engraved on stone vases, which they dedicated as thank- offeHng^s'of
offerings to Enlil at Nippur. Some of these vases were kings to
made of white calcite stalagmite, others of dark brown sand- N^ypur.
stone, and others of dark brown tufa or igneous rock. In
the land of Sumer, formed of alluvial soil, stone is a rare
commodity; and vases made of it were fitting offerings at
the shrine of Enlil among the marshes.'^
At a later time two kings of Ur, by name Bur-Sin and Devotion -
his son Gimil-Sin, manifested their devotion to Enlil of
Nippur in many ways. Both of them fully recognized the to Enin of
importance of the central shrine at Nippur and laid stress
on EnliTs position at the head of the Babylonian pantheon.
Both of them dedicated offerings to the god at his great
temple of E-kur ; and both of them publicly acknowledged
that to him they owed their elevation to the throne of Ur.
Thus in the inscriptions Bur-Sin’s regular titles are generally
preceded by the phrase, ‘‘ whose name Enlil has pronounced
in Nippur”; while his son Gimil-Sin describes himself as
‘‘ the beloved of Enlil ”, “ whotn Enlil has chosen as his
heart’s beloved ”, or whom Enlil in his heart has chosen to
be the shepherd of the land and of the four quarters ”.
From inscriptions found at Nippur we know that Bur-Sin
enlarged the great temple of E-Kur, and also built a store-
house for offerings of honey, butter, and wine, while his third
year was dated by the construction of a great throne in
^ L. W. King, History of Sumer p. 458.
and Akkad^ pp. 198 scj. Compare E. ^ L. W, King, History of Sumer
xMeyer, Geschichfe des A/tertums^y i. 2. and Akkad, pp. 165 sq., 201 sq.
352 WORSHIP OF EARTH BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES ch .
The titles
of Enlil of
Nippur
afterwards
assumed by
Marduk of
Babylon.
honour of En-lil. The king’s son and. successor, Gimil-Sin,
appears to have been equally zealous in his devotion to the
shrine ; for out of his short reign two years take their titles
from the setting up of a great sculptured slab and the build-
ing of a sacred boat, both offerings being dedicated to the
glory of Enlil and his wife Ninlil.^
When the centre of political power shifted northwards
from Sumer to Akkad and settled definitely at Babylon, the
local god of Babylon, by name Marduk, naturally aspired to
a dignity in the pantheon suitable to the rank which his
city had assumed in the sublunary sphere ; and this natural
ambition was gratified by investing him with the title
and attributes of the oldest and greatest of the ancient
Sumerian deities, Enlil of Nippur. Thus Marduk usurped
the title of Lord of the Lands {bel matdii) which for ages
had been the property of Enlil ; and in later times he
abridged the title into Bel, the general Semitic name for
Lord or Master, which really belonged to Enlil. Further,
he annexed without scruple not a few myths and hymns
which, time out of mind, had been recited and chanted in
honour of Enlil and other gods. Nay, he went so far as to
oust Enlil from the dignity of Creator and to pose in that
lofty character himself. Thus, to take a single instance,
it was indubitably Enlil, the mighty warrior, who in the
beginning fought and conquered the great dragon Tiamat,
parted the earth and sky, and fashioned this terrestrial globe
in the manner in which it has continued to exist, with very
little change, down to our own time. Yet these beneficent
exploits were in later ages transferred bodily from Enlil of
Nippur to Marduk of Babylon. However, the ancient deity
in a sense took his revenge on the unscrupulous upstart who
had made free with his property and tricked himself out
in borrowed plumes ; for more and more, as time went on,
the name of Marduk tended to fall into abeyance, until at
^ L. W. King, History of Sumer
and A Mad, p. 297. As to the two
kings, Bur-Sin and Gimmil-Sin, see
S. H. Langdon, in 77 ie Cambrid^^e
Ancient History, i.^ 457-459* Accord-
ing to him, King Bur-Sin, whose 'name
signifies “Youth of the Moon-god ”,
succeeded to the throne in 2398 B.c.
and reigned eight years, receiving divine
honours from the date of his accession,
ftis son Ciimmil-Sin was also deified
in his lifetime. Compare Sir E. A.
Wallis Budge, Babyloniati Life and
History"^ (London, 1925), pp. 31 sq^
VII WORSHIP OF EARTH BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 353
last it was almost entirely replaced by that of Bel, the
ancient Semitic title of Enlil.^
Yet though Enlil rose to the rank of a god of the whole Eniiihardiy
earth, he seems to have held that position rather as a lord
or possessor of the surface of the earth than as a personifica- themateriai
tion of its material substance. Hence if by an Earth-god
we mean the personification of the earth as a divine being,
Enlil can hardly lay claim to the title.
§ 2. The Worship of Earth among the Ancient Egyptians
We have seen that the ancient Egyptians personified the The
earth as a male god named Seb or Keb, who was married
to the Sky-goddess, Nut.^ But apart from his marriage to Seb or
the personified sky and his relation to the dead, the Earth-
god plays little part in Egyptian mythology and religion.^
In art he is represented as a man either with a crown,
sometimes of a peculiar shape, or with a goose on his head.
Sacred geese of a particular species were sacred to him and
bore his name (sel or hed)^ because he was thought to have
flown through the air in the shape of a goose. In hiero-
glyphic writing one of his symbols is a goo.se, and another
is an egg. He personified both the element earth and the
surface of the earth on which trees and plants grow. Hence
the earth was conceived of as his body, but also as his
house ; for it was called the House of Keb, just as the air*
was called the House of Shu, the heaven the House of
Ra, the Sun -god, and the underworld the House of
Osiris.^ There was no special city or district set apart for
his worship, but his chief seat appears to have been at
Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, where he and his wife laid
and hatched a great egg, out of which the Sun-god burst
in the shape of a phoenix. In virtue of having laid this
^ M. Jastrow, The Religion of Baby-
lonia and Assyria, p. 54; II. Ziminern,
o/f. cit. 355 sq. ; E. Meyer, Geschichte
des Allertnms^f i. 2. pp. 430, 521,
559 sq.
^ Above, pp. 70 sq. The god’s name
is spelled Geb by Professor Peet { 7 'he
Cambridge Ancient History, i.’-^ 331).
VOL. I
A. Y.xm'Sin, Die agyptisi'he ReIigion‘^
(Berlin, 1909), p. 21.
* (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The
Gods of the Egyptians (London, 1904),
ii. 94 ; II. Brugsch, Religion nnd
Mythologie der alte 7 i Agypter (Leipzig,
1885-1888), p. 577 ; A. Wiedemann,
Religion of the Aticient Egyptians
(London, 1897), PP. 230 sq,
2 A
354 WORSHIP OF EARTH BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES ch.
celebrated egg, the god sometimes went by the name of
the Great Cackler.^ He is also described as one of the
porters of heaven’s gate, who draws back the bolt and opens
the door to let the light of the Sun-god stream upon the
world ; when he moves, thunder rolls in the sky, and the
Seb earth quakes.^ According to the lists of the divine dynasties
the^fourth Memphis and Thebes, he was the fourth king of Egypt,
king of and was therefore to be -reckoned as one of the younger
Egypt and the Legend of the Destruction of Mankind he is
successor installed as king in immediate succession to the Sun-god
Ra.® Hence in the hierarchy at the court of Ra he bore a
title equivalent to Heir Apparent or Crown-prince of the
Gods ; the throne belonged of right to him as the future
king, and his seat was regularly styled the Chair of the
Heir to the Throne/ And he passed on the inheritance to
his son Osiris. In a hymn addressed to Osiris it is said
that his father Seb gave him the kingdom of the two
Egypts. He made over to him the government of the lands
for good luck and gave him this land into his hand ; his
water, his air, his herbs, all his herds, all that flies and all that
hovers, his creeping things and his wild beasts, were given
to the son of Nut, and the two lands (Upper and Lower
Egypt) were content therewith.”^ Earthly kings and queens
boasted of being heirs of Seb and of occupying his chair, as
a proof of their legitimacy and their right to the throne.^
The The connexion of Seb with the worship of the dead is
of SeiMvkh slight ; nevertheless he is often named incidentally in
the worship the texts,^ particularly in the Book of the Dead, Thus he
ofthedead. one of the company of gods who watch the weighing of
the heart of the deceased in the Judgment Hall of Osiris.
The righteous were provided with the magic words which
enabled them to escape from the earth, wherein their bodies
were laid, but the wicked were held fast by Seb. It was to
Seb that the dead man prayed to open wide his two jaws
for him, to unseal his eyes, and to loose his legs from the
^ (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, op. cit. H. Brugsch, op, cit. p. 578.
ii* 95 Brugsch, op. cit. p. 577. ^ A. Erman, Die agyptische Re-
^ (Sir) E, A. Wallis Budge, op. cit. Hgion^^ p. 38.
ii. 98 ; H. Brugsch, op. cit, p. 580. ® H. Brugsch, op, cit, p. 578.
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the ^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of thi
Ancient Egyptians^ p. 22^ . Ancient Egyptians, p 231.
VII WORSHIP OF EARTH BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 355
bandages in which they were swathed. To Seb the dead
man appealed for help against serpents, and he never tired
of boasting that his cakes “ were on the earth with the god
Seb ”, and that the gods had declared that he was “ to live
upon the bread of Seb”. Again, a certain Nu, the overseer
of the house of the overseer of the seal, is represented as
saying, in a burst of joy at the prospect of his blissful
future, “ The doors of heaven are opened for me, the doors
of earth are opened for me, the bars and bolts of Seb are
opened for me ” ; and again, “ I exchange speech with Seb,
I am decreed to be the divine heir of Seb, the lord of the
earth, and to be the protector therein. The god Seb
refresheth me, and he maketh his risings to be mine.” '
As the father of his five children — Osiri.s, the elder Seb the
Horus, Set, Isis, and Nephthys — the Earth-god Seb was ,^entiaS''
called the Father of the Gods.- The Greeks identified him hy ‘he
With their ancient and mysterious god Cronus. In two Cronus : re-
passages of the Book of the Dead there is an allusion to a
myth concerning Seb which may perhaps explain and justify myths,
his identification with Cronus. In one of these passages
the dead man says, “ I, even I, am Osiris, who shut in his
father together with his mother on the day of making the
great slaughter ”, and the text adds, “ Now the father is Seb,
and the mother is Nut”. Here the Egyptian word for
“ slaughter ” is shat, and we are told that there is no doubt
whatever about its meaning. It is derived from a root
signifying, “ to cut ”, “ to cut in pieces ”, “ to sever ”. The
eminent Egyptologist Brugsch conjectured that the reference
was to a mutilation which Osiris inflicted on his father
Seb, like the mutilation which the Greek god Cronus inflicted
on his father Uranus (the Sky). He points out that the
same word shat is applied in the Book of the Dead to the
mutilation which the Sun-god Ra is said to have inflicted
on himself, and that out of the drops of blood falling from
his severed member certain deities are said to have sprung,
I (Sir) E. A. Wallis Bu<lge, The (Berlin, 1850), p. 190.
Gods of the F.g}’plian 5 , ii. 95. * H. Brugsch, op. cit. p. 576 ; A.
Wiedemann, Religmt of the Ancient
II. Brugsch, Religion und Mytho- Egyptians^ pp. 230 Plutarch, Isis
logie der alten Agypter^ p. 579 ; and Osiris^ 12, with G. Parthey’s note
G. Parthey, Plutarch Uber Isis und (p. 190).
356 WORSHIP OF EARTH B V NONPAR VAN PEOPLES ch. vii
just as from the blood of Uranus, mutilated by his son, the
Furies and Giants are said to have originated in Greek
mythology.^ The parallel thus suggested between the
Egyptian and the Greek myths may be carried a step further.
For Osiris, who seems to have mutilated his father Seb, was
himself afterwards mutilated in like manner by his wicked
brother Typhon, that is, Set ; ^ and in Greek mythology
Cronus, who had mutilated his father Uranus, is said to
have been in turn mutilated by his son Zeus.^ As the life
of the gods is regularly modelled on the life of men, the
double parallel suggests that in certain families, or under
certain circumstances, the practice of mutilation may have
been hereditary.
* II. Brugsch, op. cit. p. 581 ; (Sir) Plutarch, Isis and Osiris, 18.
E. A. Wallis Budge, I'he Gods of the
Egyptians, ii. 99 sq. As to the ^ Dio Chrysostom, Or. xi. vol. i.
mutilation of Uranus hy Cronus, sec p. 210, ed. L. Dindorf ; Poi phyiy,
above, pp. 36 sq. As to the birth of antro nyrnphariun, 16 ; Aristides, Or.
the Furies and Giants from the dripping iii. vol. i. p. 35, ed. G. Dindorf;
blood of Uranus, see Hesiod, Theog. Scholiast on Apollonius Khodius,
180-186; Apollodorus, i. i. 4. Argon, iv. 983.
CHAPTER VIII
THE WORSHIP OB^ EARTH IN CHINA
We have seen that the Chinese personify and worship The
the Sky as a great deity, the head of the pantheon.^ But of Kanh^as
they also personify and worship the Earth, under a title Mother
which signifies “ The Sovereign Earth ” In this capacity and^wife of
the Earth is conceived as feminine, as a Mother Goddess,
the counterpart of the Sky or Heaven in his capacity of a develop-
heather God, the two great deities forming a married couple.
Yet this personification and deification of the whole Earth religion,
as a great Mother Goddess appears to be a comparatively
late development of Chinese religion. It seems not to have
originated earlier than the foundation of the Han dynasty
in the second century before our era, and it was in the reign
of the Emperor Wu (140—87 B.C.) that the worship of the
Sovereign Earth as a goddess was definitely established.
Henceforth the cult of Pleaven and Earth attained a pro-
digious importance ; this natural dualism, embracing the
entire universe, appears as the supreme expression of Chinese
religion. “
But if the Chinese were long of attaining to the gener- older
alized idea of the whole Earth as a single divine being,
they appear nevertheless to have worshipped from the hierarchycf
earliest times a whole series or hierarchy of particular
Earth-gods, that is, of deities who personified each a par- gods,
ticular portion of ground, from the plot of land owned by
^ Above, pp. 74 account of the Chinese Earth-gods I
^ E. Chavannes, Le 7"*ai C/ian, follow closely the masterly exposition
Essai de Monographie d'un Culte of Chavannes, a great scholar too early
chinoise (Paris, 1 910), pp. 520-525 lost to his country and to learning.
{Annalesdu Mjts^e Gnimet^ Biblioth^que Compare M. Granet, La Religion des
d'&ttides^ vol. xxi.). In the following Chinois (Paris, 1922), pp. 62 sq,
357
358
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
CHAP.
a single family up to a whole province or kingdom ; for
the division of the earth or of the ground over which each
of the Earth-gods presided was determined by the extent of
the human group which occupied it. All these particular or
local Earth-gods were conceived as males ; they were the
personifications of the energies resident in the soil.^
The Earth- At the base of this hierarchy of terrestrial divinities,
god of land lowest rung of the ladder, stands the god of the
owned by a ^ i r m 't-'i r
family. plot of land owned by a single family. Ihe seat ot
this deity used to be a place called tchong lieou^ situated
under an opening in the roof of the family dwelling. The
characters of which his name is composed imply that he
was at the centre’ that is, that he concentrated in himself
all the energies inherent in the landed property of the family,
and further that he was exposed to the rain, in other words,
that he was under the open sky to allow the earth or ground,
which he personified, to participate in that general movement
of exchange which constitutes universal life. The Earth-
god thus seated at his shrine in the midst of the family
dwelling was one of the five domestic deities to which in
antiquity all Chinamen paid homage. The other four
deities were the hearth or stove, in which burns the domestic
fire ; the well, in which resides the Water-spirit ; the outer
door and the inner doors, the deities of which watch over
the comings and goings through the doorways and so guard
the whole house. In our days the domestic shrine of the
Earth-god no longer exists under its old name {tchong lieou)^
but its equivalent remains in the shape of a little local elf
called fou ti chen to whom every family sacrifices ; in the
streets of every Chinese town, towards evening, sticks of
incense are lighted in the open air and smoke jn front of
the elfs tablet at the doors of shops. This tribute is
paid to him because, the earth being deemed the ultimate
source of all the good things that men enjoy, these little
' E. Chavannes, “ Le Dieii du Sol exactly as “God of the Ground or of
dans la Chine antique Le 'J"'ai Chan, the Soil ” rather tlian as “ God of the
P- 437 ‘ Throughout his very learned Earth”, which is apt to be taken to
and valuable essay on the Chinese signify “God of the whole Earth”.
Earth-god (pp. 437-525), Chavannes But I trust that this ambiguity will be
speaks of him consistently as Dieu du obviated by the explanations and defini-
SoL not as Dieu de la Terre ; and Dieu tions in the text.
du Sol might be rendered perhaps more
VIII
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
359
local elves have come to be regarded as simply the deities
of the family prosperity, and nowadays they are revered no
longer as powers of nature, but as guardian spirits who help
the family to make plenty of money.^
Above the family is the larger group of people called a The Earth
//, which we may perhaps translate by parish. Each parish,
including twenty-five families, had its own Earth-god, and and
the parishioners had orders to sacrifice to him on a holy day
in the second month of spring ; every family in the parish
sent one of its members to assist at the ceremony.^ Above
the parish there was a larger territorial division, which we
may compare to a county, it included two thousand five
hundred hearths ; and the head magistrate of the county,
whom we may compare to the sherifif, was bound to sacrifice
to the county Earth-god twice a year. Under the Han
dynasty, in the year 205 B.C, the Emperor Kao tsou gave Biennial
. -r- I 1 • 1 sacrifice cf
orders to institute an Earth-god in every county; and
few years later, in 197 B.C., he approved of an
in virtue of which every sherifif was commanded to sacrifice god and
regularly a sheep and a pig to the Earth-god and the
Harvest-god in the second month of spring and in the last county,
month of the year. Thus we see that the county Earth-
god had a sort of acolyte or colleague in the person of the
Harvest-god. We shall find that Earth-gods of higher rank
were similarly coupled with Harvest-gods ; but the Harvest-
god appears to have always remained in the position of a
satellite, a mere reflection of the glory of the Earth-god,
with whose destinies his own were inseparably linked.^
Under the Tcheou dynasty there existed, above the Earth-gods
county, feudal kingdoms and, higher still, nine provinces.
Each kingdom and each province had its own Earth-god and pro-
and Harvest-god. The Han dynasty altered the higher
local divisions and the number of the provinces ; but each
division or province had still its own Earth-god and Harvest-
god, and in every case it was the lord-lieutenant or governor
1 E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chau, pp. duces the seasons. Earth produces all
438 sq. With regard to the earth as the sources of wealth ”.
the producer of all good things, see ^ E. Chavannes, Le Pat Chan, pp.
The Li Ki, translated by James Legge, 439 sq.
Sacred Books of the East, vol. xxvii. ^ E. Chavannes, Le Pai Chan, pp.
(Oxford, 1885) p. 378, “Heaven pro- 441 sq.
36 o
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
CHAP.
The two
Earth-gods
of the
Chinese
Emperor,
the Great
Earth -god
and the
Imperial
Earth-god.
The altar
of the
Earth-god.
who presided at the sacrifice of a sheep and a pig to the
deity. But when the governor of a province went on a
round of inspection at the head of an army, he always took
the Earth-god with him, but never the Harvest-god ; because,
with their usual good sense, the Chinese calculated that, as
the governor could nowhere stop long enough to sow and
reap, he would have no occasion to employ the services of
the Harvest-god, and therefore* it would be useless to cart
that deity about with the rest of the baggage.^
Finally, passing over a multitude of Earth-gods instituted
by many subordinate officials in their various capacities, we
may notice the Earth-gods of the Chinese Emperor or Son
of Heaven, as he was commonly styled by his subjects. Of
these Earth-gods the Emperor had two. One of them, called
the Great Earth-god, had his altar in the imperial palace,
opposite to the Ancestral Temple ; his worship was estab-
lished for the good of the whole empire. The other, called
the Imperial Earth-god, had his altar in the sacred field,
where the Emperor annually performed the ceremony of
ploughing for the purpose of producing the millet which
was to be used for the offerings in the Ancestral Temple.
This latter Earth-god belonged in a peculiar sense to the
Emperor ; it was he, and not the Great Earth-god, whom
the Emperor carried with him when he went to war ; and
it was in presence of the Imperial Earth-god, and not of the
Great Earth-god, that the Emperor inflicted punishment on
the guilty. A further distinction between these two Earth-
gods of the very highest class was that the Great Earth-god
was associated with a Harvest-god, but the Imperial Earth-
god was not.*^
The shrine of the Earth-god was marked by an altar of
earth, and the same word {chd\ which properly designates
the Earth-god himself, was very often applied to the altar
which symbolized him. The altar, in fact, was a mound
which represented the whole of the surrounding ground ; as
the Chinese commentators constantly repeat, the whole of
the ground is sacred, and therefore sacrifices should be
offered to it everywhere, but as that is not possible, people
^ E. Chavannes, Le Hai Chatty pp. E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chan, pp.
442-444. 444-448.
VIII
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
361
choose certain spots and there erect heaps of earth in
which the whole latent energies of the environment are
concentrated.^
In the time of the Han dynasty the altar of the The altar
Great Earth-god, situated in the imperial palace, was of a
rectangular shape, measuring fifty feet square ; each side of Earth-god
the altar was made of earth of a colour corresponding to "Imperial
that of the quarter which it faced, green for the east, red palace,
for the south, white for the west, and black for the north ;
on the top of the altar the earth was yellow.'”^ The reason
for the diversity of colours exhibited by the four different
sides of the altar was this. When a vassal was invested by
the Emperor with a fief, he received a clod of earth from
the altar of the Great Earth-god in the imperial palace, and
this clod was taken from that side of the altar which faced
towards the quarter where the vassahs fief was situated.
Hence if the fief lay to the east, the clod was of green earth ;
if the fief lay to the south, the clod was of red earth, and so
on. This clod, wrapped up in white herbs of a certain sort
{inao)^ the vassal carried away with him to his fief, where he
set it up as his Earth-God and worshipped it. Such was
one of the regular rites of investiture ; and there are
good grounds for believing that it was very ancient.
Under the Han dynasty the privilege of receiving a clod
from the altar of the Great Earth-god in order to convert it
into a local Earth-god appears to have been confined to the
sons of the Emperor.^
The altar of the Earth-god had to be in the open air ; The altar
it was thought that he could only live in contact with the®f^^\^
atmospheric influences, and that, cut off from them, he would had to be
pine and waste away. Hence if you would render an Earth-
god impotent, you have nothing to do but to enclose him in the altar of
a building with a roof over his head. Accordingly, when
the great conqueror T’ang had founded the dynasty of the deposed
Yin or Shang and wished to extirpate by the roots the fooS^i^over
vanquished Hia dynasty, the surest means that occurred to in order to
him for effecting his object was to remove the Earth-god of fordoing
mischief.
1 E, Chavannes, Le Tat Chatty p. 451.
450. ^ E. Chavannes, Le Tat Chan^ pp.
^ E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chatty p. 452-459.
3^2
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
CHAP.
his predecessors ; but, failing in the sacrilegious attempt, he
contented himself with shutting up the deity in a house.
Afterwards, when his family was in turn ousted by the
Tcheou, the founder of the new dynasty treated the
Earth-god of the deposed family precisely as they had
treated the Earth-god of their predecessors ; he built a
house over him, but opened a window in the north wall of
the building in order that the Blighting principle of the yin,
that is, the principle of darkness and death, might alone
play upon the deity, and so disable him for doing mischief.
In the ancient Chinese books of ritual called the Li Ki we
read that in the palace of the Emperor “ the altar of the
Great Earth-god must needs be exposed to the hoar-frost
and the dew, to the wind and the rain, in order that it may
be in communication with the influences of the sky and of
the earth. That is the reason why the Earth-god of a
conquered dynasty is covered with a building ; in that way
he is no longer open to the action of the heavenly yczn^ (the
principle of light and life). As for the Earth-god of Po
(the Earth-god of the deposed Yin or Shang dynasty), they
made a window for him on the north side in order that the
principle of the yin (the principle of darkness and death)
might illuminate him.” ^
Clods from Thus the worship of the Earth-god of the conquered
conquered^ Yin or Shang dynasty was maintained in a certain limited
d'^r^b^d court of their successors on the imperial throne,
as awful More than that, the Emperor distributed clods from the
warnings to vanquished Earth-god’s altar to his noblemen in order that
noblemen. , . , ,
they might carry them away and make local Earth-gods of
them on their own lands, to serve them as awful warnings of
the fate that would surely overtake them if they dared to
rebel against their liege lord. When they looked upon the
deity, languishing in captivity, how was it possible that,
with his melancholy fate before their eyes, they could
entertain even a thought of disloyalty to the emperor ?
That this was indeed the train of reasoning at the back of
the Emperor’s mind in distributing the sods among his lords,
^ E. Chavannes, Le T'ai Chan, pp. Chavannes’ translation. Po had been
459-461. Compare The Li-Kt, trans- the capital of the conquered Yin or
lated by James Legge, Sacred Books of Shang dynasty. The site was in the
the East, vol. xxvii. p. 425. I follow present Ho-nan (Legge’s note, l.c.).
VIII
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
363
is made clear by the following passage from the Toii-touan
of Ts’ai Yong. “ In antiquity the Son of Heaven took the
Earth-god of the conquered dynasty to give pieces of it to
the lords, in order that out of these pieces they might make
Earth-gods which should warn them to be on their guard.
They walled up these Earth-gods of the conquered dynasty ;
they covered their top in order that they might not com-
municate with the sky ; they set up a palisade at their base
in order that they might not communicate with the earth ;
thus these Earth-gods were isolated from heaven and from
earth ; they faced the north and were turned towards the
principle of the yin (the principle of darkness and death)
to show clearly that they were dead.’' ^
From a passage of a Chinese commentator named
Kou-leang we learn further that the building which enclosed
the Earth-god of the conquered dynasty had to be near the
Ancestral Temple, to which it acted as a screen.*^
The custom of imprisoning for life the superannuated The custom
Earth-god of a conquered dynasty as a sort of scare-crow
for evil-doers appears not to have lasted beyond the Tcheou Earth-god
dynasty ; there is no mention of it in texts relating to vanquished
the Han dynasty. The memory of the custom, however, fell
survived, for in the year 6 A.D., under the usurper Wang abeyance.
Mang, a proposal was made to revive the ancient practice.
His ministers reminded the usurper that ‘Hn antiquity, when
a reigning family revolted against the commands of Heaven
and was exterminated, they used to wall up the Earth-god
of the family on four sides, cover the top, and surround
the base with a palisade, to show that he could no longer
communicate with the sky and the earth ; they distributed
pieces of this Earth-god to the nobles, in order that every
time they went out they might see it, and that it might be
for them a manifest warning”. Accordingly, the ministers
suggested to the usurper that he should treat the Earth-god
of the Han dynasty in like fashion by clapping him in gaol
and distributing fragments of his broken body among the
nobility in order to remind them perpetually of their duty.®
1 E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chafi^ pp. 463 sg,
^62 sg. * K. Chavannes, Le Tai ChaUy pp.
E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chany pp. 465 sg.
364
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
CHAP.
A sacred But for his proper worship the Earth-god required a tree
essLtiai altar. The Chinese dictionary Chouo zven tells
to the altar us explicitly that “ for every Earth-god they planted a tree
the sort which suited the soiTV Another Chinese text
throws light on the geographical distribution of the trees
which thus represented the Earth-god. It informs us that
the Great Earth-god was a pine-tree; the Earth-gods of
the East were thuyas ; the Earth-gods of the South were
catalpas ; the Earth-gods of the West were chestnuts ; the
Earth-gods of the North were acacias.” ^
The presence of a tree at every place where there was
an Earth-god is attested by many passages of Chinese
writers. Thus we read of an oak-tree of which the wood
could not be used for any purpose ; so they kept the tree
and turned it into an Earth-god. Again, we hear of the
soul of a murdered man which passed into the tree of an
Earth-god and shook the branches.^
Originally In later times, from the Han dynasty onwards, the
the tree was of the tree to the Earth-god was misunderstood,
looked on ^ ^
as an and it was explained on shallow rationalistic principles as a
melu of the simple sign-post to attract the attention of passers-by to the
Earth-god; shriiie, or as a memorial planted to commemorate some great
viewed aTa ancient texts of the Tcheou dynasty suffice
simple to provc that the tree in question had much deeper religious
sign-post. than the barren and paralysing scepticism of a later
age allowed for. For they prove beyond question that the
tree was essential to the Earth-god’s altar, nay that it was
not distinguished from the deity himself ; in short that the
tree was the Earth-god. Is it not clear, in fact, even to the
most purblind vision, dimmed by the mists of freethinking,
that a fine tree concentrates in itself all the creative and
nutritious virtues of the surrounding soil ? Does not the tree
spring from the earth as a living expression of her maternal
fecundity ? To this day a traveller in China passes from
time to time great trees loaded with red cloths on which the
votaries have recorded in black letters and touching language
the expression of their gratitude to the arboreal deity. Why
^ E. Chavannes, Le T''ai Chan, p. 467.
466. 3 E. Chavannes, Le T'ai Chan^ p.
E. Chavannes, Le T'^ai Chan, p. 468.
vin
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
365
then, in the name of common sense, should we doubt that
the tree is a god, in fact, the Earth-god, who manifests him-
self in this majestic form and verdurous garb ? ^ If any
lingering doubts could subsist in our minds on the subject, a
simple consideration should suffice to set them at rest ; the
tree was so truly an expression of the vitality of the Earth-
god, that while the altar of the Earth-god of a conquered
dynasty was allowed to survive, the conquerors cut down
the tree beside it to signify that the god was dead.‘^
In the most ancient times, indeed, the Earth-god appears At first the
to have been represented, not by a single tree, but by
whole wood. This comes out in the oldest prayer to an represented
Earth-god that is on record. In the time of l ang, the
great conqueror who founded the second Chinese dynasty,
there was a severe drought in the land. For five or seven sacrifice
whole years no harvest was reaped. At- the end of that time p^^j^^p^ror
they drew lots, and the lot declared that the prayer for rain to^a^sacred
must be accompanied by a human sacrifice. In this cmer-^j^^j^f
gency the Emperor came forward and nobly offered himself ^bought,
as a victim to be offered up for the salvation of his people
to the wood of Sang. In presenting the sacrifice of himself
to the wood the Emperor addressed to it the following solemn
prayer: If it is I who am guilty, the guilt extends not to
the multitude ; if it is the multitude that is guilty, then let
the guilt rest on me alone. Suffer not that for my fault the
ghosts and the gods should blast the life of my people.”
After that he consummated the great sacrifice by cutting,
not his throat, but his hair and nails and offering the clip-
pings to the deity as a substitute for his person. The sacri-
fice was accepted, the people were content, and rain fell in
abundance.^
Thus the Earth-god appears for the first time surrounded
by the religious horror of a sacred wood and calling from its dwindled
gloomy depths for the sacrifice of a human victim to end single
the drought that was desolating the country. To that call
the Emperor promptly responded in his own person, and by
a simple sacrifice of the superfluities of his person succeeded
' E. Chavaiines, Le T'ai Chan, pp. 472.
470-472. ^ E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chan, pp.
E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chan, p. 472-475.
The shrine
of the
Earth-god
needed a
sacred
block or
tablet of
stone be-
sides the
sacred tree.
This block
or tablet
seems to
have been
originally
an image of
the deity.
Shape and
size of
the sacred
stone.
366 THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA chap.
in appeasing the divine wrath and saving his people. But
by a melancholy process of religious decadence the sacred
wood dwindled down to a single tree, and in time, the winter
of scepticism following hard on the summer of faith, even
the solitary tree shed its sanctity like its leaves and was
taken by blind infidelity for nothing better than a sign-post.^
But the shrine of the Earth-god, to be complete, required
a block of stone in addition tp an altar and a sacred tree.
For this block of stone the Chinese name is tchou. The
word is now generally translated “ tablet ”, and in most
Chinese religious ceremonies at the present time the ichoti is
in fact a wooden tablet with the God's name inscribed on it.
But certain rites, which are observed to this day, prove that
the tablet, whether of wood or stone, was originally something
more than a simple seat or lodging of the deity, it was his
living image. Thus in the worship of ancestors one of the
essential ceremonies consists in what is called punctuating
the ancestral tablet which represents the deceased ; that is to
say, the spots in the tablet where the eyes and ears of the
dead man are supposed to be are marked with points of
blood ; the blood animates his eyes and ears and so enables
the deceased to see and hear. This rite seems to show
that originally the tablet was a rudimentary statue, whether
of wood or stone, representing a ghost or a god. Similarly
the Earth-god was figured in this uncouth shape beside the
sacred tree, which was at first no other than the god himself,
but which, as we have seen, came afterwards to be looked
upon as a simple sign-post, when the deity had shifted his
quarters from the tree to the tablet {tchou) that represented
him. Thus a Chinese, writer of the ninth century of our
era, speaking of the customs observed in the time of the
Han dynasty, says : For each of these Earth-gods they
plant a tree to mark the place where he is to be found ;
and besides they make a tablet {tchou) to represent the
divinity
The tablet, if we may call it so, of the Earth-god was in
fact a block or rather a shaft of stone which stood beside
the god’s altar. What the exact shape and dimensions of
^ E. Chavannes, Lc Chatty pp. ^ E. Chavannes, Le T'ai Chatty pp.
475 S (], 476 sq.
VIII THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA 367
the sacred stone were in antiquity we do not know ; but
from a document of 705 A.D. we learn that it was proposed
to make it five feet high by two feet wide, tapering at the
top and square at the base, and to bury half of the shaft
in the ground in imitation of a root The proposal was
adopted, and we know that precisely the same rules for
shaping and planting the Earth-god’s sacred stone were
observed hundreds of years later under the »Song dynasty
(960-1279 A.D.y
If now we ask what were the attributes of the Chinese why men
Earth-god, and why men worshipped him, the first and most
obvious answer is that he was worshipped because the farmer god.
required his help in tilling the ground. The labour of the
husbandman aims at stimulating the fertility of the earth ;
the sower sows the seed in the firm belief that there is a
spirit in the ground who will cause the seed to bear fruit
and multiply. Nothing therefore can be more natural and
reasonable than that he should address his prayers to the
Earth-god in the second month of spring to entreat his
favour for the future harvest, and that in the second month
of autumn he should thank the deity for the crop he has
reaped and gathered into his barns.*^
But here we are at first sight confronted with a difficulty. Relation of
We have seen that the Earth-god is regularly coupled with
a Harvest- god. Now if the husbandman addresses his Harvest-
petitions and his thanks for the harvest to the Earth-god,
the question naturally arises, Where does the Harvest-god
come in ? In accepting the adoration of the farmer is not
the Earth-god poaching on the preserves of his colleague ?
At the first blush it might certainly appear to be so, but a
little reflection will convince us that each of the gods has his
own proper function, and that, far from clashing, they work
harmoniously into each other’s hands. The Harvest-god
in fact expresses the energy of the Earth-god in so far as
that energy is useful to man in the budding and growth of
the cereals. But the powers of the Earth-god are by no
means exhausted by these forms of his activity ; far from
it ; he exercises an influence infinitely more complex and
^ E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chan^ pp. 2 £ Chavannes, Le Tai Chatty pp.
477 478 sq .
368
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
CHAP.
The two more general, inasmuch as he personifies the great principle
pdncipies which is Opposed to the other great principle of
of Chinese the just as the earth is opposed to the sky, and as
and darkness is opposed to light. Thus we see that, important
iheyan^. as the Harvest-god unquestionably is, his importance is yet
secondary to that of the Earth-god who contains within
himself all the great cosmic forces which make up one of
the two grand, constituent principles of the universe.^ For,
as every Chinaman is aware, the whole world is composed
of the two antagonistic yet correlative principles of the
and thejT*;^, which by their mutual action and reaction, their
attraction and repulsion, maintain in equipoise the universal
framework of things. If Europe resolves the universe into
hydrogen and electricity, or perhaps at bottom into positive
and negative electrons, China resolves it into the positive
and negative elements known respectively as the and
the //«. Of the two great principles, heaven or the sky is
the chief storehouse of the which is the principle of
light, warmth, and life ; earth is the chief storehouse of the
which is the principle of darkness, cold, and death."
This This precious system of philosophy was first apparently
first^ex-^ ' revealed to China in a very ancient book known as the
pounded in Kifigy wliich, with another called the Shu Khigy has been
called the Bible of China.^ It was composed by the famous
King Wan and his equally famous son the Duke of Kau
in the twelfth century before our era.'^ The work is held in
high esteem by Chinese scholars and sages. In his old age
Confucius declared that, if years were added to his life, he
would give fifty of them to the study of the F/, and that
then, enlightened by his long poring over the sacred volume,
he might hope to escape from falling into serious errors.
Indeed, he read the book so hard that the leathern binding
was thrice worn out, and still in his enthusiasm the great
master declared, “ Give me several years more and I shall
' E. Chavanne«;, Le I'^ai Chan, pp.
479 V-
^ As Id the vatiiT and the ytu see
J. J. M. de (iroot, The Religious
System of Chhta^ iii. 940, iv. 12 sqq.y
67 sq.\ id.y 7 ' he Religion of the Chine se^
pp. 3 sq,y 16, 19, 55, 133 sq.y 136,
152.
^ The Vt 7 \ing, translated by James
Le^ge, Sacred Books of the Easty vol.
xvi. (Oxford, 1882) pp. 43, 423 sq,
J. J. M. de Groot, The Religion
of the Chinese y p. 18.
* The Vi A7ngy translated by James
I'Cgge, Sacred Books of the Easty vol.
xvi. (Oxford, 1882) pp. 3-6.
VIII THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA 369
be master of the Yi”} The European reader who peruses
or merely inspects the work in question is apt to form a
somewhat different opinion of its merits and to hesitate
whether he should wonder more at the state of mind of the
author who composed it or at that of the philosopher who
admired it. The whole farrago of nonsense purports to set Scope of
forth the mystic meaning of hexagrams or figures of six
parallel and horizontal straight lines, one or more of which are
usually divided in the middle. The following passage, which
professes to reveal the meaning of a particular sort of hexa-
gram called a //, may serve as a specimen of the treasures
of wisdom unlocked to humanity in the sacred volume :
“ Li suggests the idea of one treading on the tail of a
tiger, which does not bite him. There will be progress and
success.
“ The first line, undivided, shows its subject treading his
accustomed path. If he go forward, there will be no
error. . . .
“The third line, divided, shows a one-eyed man who
thinks he can see ; a lame man who thinks he can walk
well ; one who treads on the tail of a tiger and is bitten.
All this indicates ill-fortune. We have a mere bravo acting
the part of a great ruler.
“The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject treading
on the tail of a tiger, fie becomes full of apprehensive
caution, and in the end there will be good fortune.”
But to return to the Chinese Earth-god. Since the The Eanh-
earth is identified with the principle of darkness, it is perfectly
plain to the Chinese mind that the Earth-god must have a for solar
hand in solar eclipses, since at such times the principle of eclipses,
darkness (jv;/) manifestly triumphs over the principle of
light (jyang). Accordingly, when such an untoward event
happened, the Chinese undertook to restore the balance of
nature which had been disturbed by the encroachment of
the Earth-god, or the principle of darkness, upon the domain
of the Heaven-god, or the principle of light. For Chinese
philosophy identifies the earth with the moon, which in its
^ The Yi translated by James ^ The Yt Ring^ translated by James
Legge, Sacred Books of the East^ vol. Legge, Sacred Books of the East^ vol.
xvi. (Oxford, 1882) Introduction^ p. i. xvi. (Oxford, 1882) pp. 78 sq.
370
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
CHAP.
turn represents the principle of darkness while the sun
represents the principle of light. Hence, when the moon
causes an eclipse by obstructing the rays of the sun,
the conclusion is obvious ; it is the Earth-god who is
really responsible for the obstruction by breaking bounds
Conduct of and trespassing on the celestial sphere. - Consequently it is
the Chinese necessary to compel or persuade him to retreat within his
during ^ ^ ^
eclipses of proper limits and leave the great luminary alone. For this
the sun. purpose the Chinese used to beat drums, to tie a red cord
round the Earth-god’s altar, and to sacrifice a victim to him.
The beating of the drums was a martial demonstration to
intimidate the deity ; the red cord tied round his altar
was a mode of putting him in the stocks ; and the victim
offered to him was meant to soothe his agitated feelings,
which had naturally been ruffied by the menacing rub-a-dub
of the drums and the galling constriction of the red cord.^
There are some grounds for thinking that of old the people
did not content themselves with beating drums at an eclipse,
but that they also shot arrows at the moon or the Earth-god
(the two being practically identical) in order to force him to
let go his hold on the sun.^
The Earth- lu times of excessive rain as well as of solar eclipses
god held Earth-god was held responsible for disturbing the course
responsible o i o
for of nature, since he was, so to say, a tool or instrument of
mhrand great principle of the yin, which includes damp as well
tied up with as darkness and death in its scope. Accordingly, to stop
a red cord. restricting the activity of the Earth-god they
tied the god up with a red cord, which they passed ten
times round \]im or his altar. However, unlike the similar rite
practised at solar eclipses, the custom of tying up the Earth-
god in heavy rain seems to be comparatively modern, dating
perhaps from the second century of our era, and apparently
it had no great vogue and soon died out.®
* E. Chavannes, Le T'ai Chan, pp,
480-490.
2 E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chan, pp.
486 sq. According to Chavannes, the
ritual of tying a red cord round the
altar of the Earth-god during an eclipse
is very ancient, since its original sig-
nificance (that of fettering the Earth-
god and so preventing him from doing
mischief) was already a matter of doubt
and discussion in the second century
B.c. See E. Chavannes, op. cit. pp.
484 ' 4 ^^-
3 E. Chavannes, Le T^ai Chan, pp.
493 The treatise Tong Tchong-chon,
which mentions the practice, is a work
of the second century a.d. {id, p. 570).
VIII
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
371
But if in time of excessive rain it was necessary to re- Treatment
strain the too exuberant energies of the Earth-god, in time of ^
drought, on the contrary, it was essential to encourage him altar in
and remove any obstacles that might be standing in the way dmught.
of his discharging his watery functions as representative of
the great yin principle. For that purpose his altars were
swept and cleaned, obviously with the view of setting
free his energies to wrestle with the drought. Further,
for the same wise end, the villagers made a hole in the
Earth-god’s altar and led a channel to it from a little
canal outside the village. By thus laying on the water
to the Earth-god’s abode they hoped no doubt to stimulate
him to turn on the celestial water-taps, of which he natur-
ally had the full control. As a further reminder of what
was expected of him, they put five frogs on his altar, that
their croaking for rain might induce him to grant their
prayer.^
But if with every incentive and inducement to right Recai-
conduct, the Earth-god proved recalcitrant and obstinately gods
refused either to abate the rain or to terminate the drought, cashiered,
there was nothing for it but to cashier him and give his
office to another deity, who, it was hoped, would prove
more regardful of human wishes and necessities. Thus the
great religious teacher, Mencius, a pupil of Confucius, wrote
that, ‘‘ When the victims have been perfect, when the millet
offered in the vases has been pure, when the sacrifices have
beeti performed at the prescribed seasons, if nevertheless
there are droughts and inundations, then we change the
Earth-gods and Harvest-gods, and institute new deities in
their stead
But the Earth-god does not restrict his activity to The Earth-
superintending and promoting the agricultural operations of
sowing and harvest. As a personification of the great yin death and
principle he presided at death and executions. One of the
very early sovereigns of China threatened that if his soldiers
disobeyed him in a forthcoming battle, he would put them to
death before the altar of the Earth-god ; at the same time
he promised that those who obeyed him should be rewarded
1 E. Chavannes, Le 'Fai Chan, pp. 2 Chavannes, Le 7 ^^at Chan, ‘pp.
495 503 ^ 7 -
372
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
CHAP.
in presence of his ancestral spirits.^ Similarly, when in the
eleventh century before our era King Wu triumphed over
the last sovereign of the Yin dynasty and compelled him to
commit suicide, he repaired to the shrine of the Earth-god
and rubbed the blood of his victims on the altar or image of
the deity, thus communicating fresh vital energy to him ;
and in presence of this Supreme Judge he proclaimed to
Heaven and to the people ^of the conquered prince the
crimes for which he had inflicted the punishment.*^ In the
year 640 B.C. a petty prince of Chan-tong sacrificed a dis-
loyal vassal to the Earth-god. The historian adds that by
this exemplary punishment the prince hoped to reduce to
submission the barbarians who then occupied all the eastern
part of Chan-tong. And the sacrifice of one or more
prisoners of war to the Earth-god after a victory appears to
have been prescribed by ancient Chinese ritual.^
The Earth- Just as in the physical world the principle of the jym is
coumerpart balanced by the principle of the so the Earth-god has
the his counterpoise in the Ancestral Temple. The parallelism
Temple.^ between the two is rigorously carried out. The Earth-god
stands for the principle of darkness (ym ) : hence his altar is
placed to the right, that is, to the west of the royal palace,
because the west is the domain of darkness. The Ancestral
Temple represents the principle of light {yang) : hence it
is built to the left, that is, to the east of the royal palace,
because the east is the domain of light, being the place of
sunrise. And just as universal life is dominated by the two
principles of the ym and the yang, so the national life is
dominated in everything by the Earth-god and the Ancestral
Temple. The presence of this pair of tutelary powers con-
stitutes the true seat of government : the capital is founded
on the altar of the Earth-god and the Ancestral Temple.
When a sovereign builds or chooses a city to serve as
his residence, his first care is to establish the altar of the
Earth-god and the Ancestral Temple.^
^ The Shii King, translated by James dieu dti sol
Legge, Sacred Books of ihc East, vol. 2 Chavannes, Le Tai Chan, p.
iii. (Oxford, 1879) p. 77; E. Chavannes, 507.
Le TaiChan, p. 77. Legge translates ^ E. Chavannes, Le T'ai Chan, pp.
“ shall be put to death before the altar 508-510.
of the spirits of the land ” ; Chavannes E. Chavannes, I.e Tai Chan, pp.
translates ‘C/t? les faire ftfrir devan i le 51 1 sq.
VIII
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
373
But it was not enough that these two divine powers On going
should be installed at the capital on either side of the royal
palace : it was essential that they should attend the monarch Emperor
when he went forth to war, in order that they might keep attLdedby
him safe under the shadow of their wings. But as it was representa-
practically impossible to transport a temple and an altar Earth-god
among the baggage of the army, the sovereign had to be
content to be followed by a special car, called “ the car of Temple,
purity ”, in which were placed the stone shaft representing
the Earth-god and the wooden tablet representing one
of the ancestors.^ The Earth-god had previously been
sprinkled with holy water by the Grand Magician, who had
also smeared blood on the drums of the warriors. Thus the
army marched forth to battle, followed by the Earth-god
and the Ancestor, who, refreshed by the sacrifices which the
Grand Magician and the subordinate Master of Ceremonies
had offered to them, stimulated the valour of the troops from
a strategic position in the rear. • If defeat instead of victory
attended the arms of the sovereign, on the return of the
beaten army the Earth-god and the Ancestor were publicly
degraded, the care of their worship being taken from their
usual ministers and left to an inferior official.'^
Thus, whether in the capital or in the camp, the Earth-
god and the Ancestral Temple are always present as the
expression of the spiritual reality of the kingdom. They
symbolize everything that assures the unity and continuance
of the social group, to wit, a common soil and a common
inheritance, that common inheritance being summed up iri
the continuity of the princely family. By means of the
Ancestral Temple the existence of the ancient princes is
perpetuated and therefore confers on their descendants an
authority such as no single individual could wield : the altar
of the Earth-god concentrates in itself all the vitality of the
fruitful soil. Together, the temple and the altar furnish a
guarantee to the people that they will be governed and fed ;
the first object of royalty is to maintain, by the appropriate
sacrifices, the full efficacy of this twofold protection. That
is why, in the words of a Chinese text, the prince must
Together
the Karth-
godancl the
Ancestral
Temple
represent
the spiritual
reality of
the Chinese
Empire.
1 E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chan, p. ^ E. Chavannes, Le Chan, pp.
512. 512-514.
374
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA
CHAP.
above everything “ preside over the Earth-gods and Harvest-
gods and attend to the sacrifices offered to the ancestors
In countless passages of Chinese literature the emperors
refer the prosperity of their reigns, as the Emperor Wen did
in 167 B.C., “to the supernatural support of the Ancestral
Temple and to the blessing of the E^arth-god and the
Harvest-god
Intimate The intimate union of the- Earth-god and the Harvest-
Eanh^god^ Ancestral’ Temple, is shown in many ways.
On the point of setting out on a military expedition, the
commander repaired to the Ancestral Temple there to receive
his marching orders, and he went to the altar of the Earth-
god to partake of the raw flesh offered in sacrifice. When-
ever a great calamity happened, whether in heaven or on
earth, the sacrifices prescribed by the ritual were offered to
the Earth-god and the Harvest-god and to the ancestors at
their temple.^ In the Ancestral Temple of the Emperor
and at his altar of the Earth-god one of the essential rites
of sacrifice was to take portions of the flesh of the victims
and give them to certain persons to eat for the purpose of
strengthening their loyalty to the imperial house by this
species of communion. At one time, under the Tcheou
dynasty, the privilege of thus communicating with the
sovereign was nominally restricted to noblemen bearing the
same family name as the king, but in fact it was extended
to other princes and high dignitaries. The flesh offered in
the Ancestral Temple was cooked ; the flesh offered to the
Earth-god was raw, because, we are told, as a god of war and
of executions he delighted in blood, whereas the ancestors,
To the last i^gg ferocious, preferred to eat their victuals roast or boiled.^
the ancient • , 1 . t 1 -r- 1
Earth-god, Thus to the last, beside the colossal figures of Father
god^^arir^^ Sky aiid Mother Earth, which with the growth of Empire
the’ loomed ever larger in the national pantheon, the Earth-god,
SpiruT^^ the Harvest-God, and the ancestral spirits in their temple
continued continued to subsist and to receive the homage of their
worSiipped worshippers, witnessing by their immemorial sanctity to
beside the beliefs bred in the very bone of the Chinese race. These
two great
divinities,
FatherSky, * Chavannes, Le T ai Chan, pp. 516.
and Mother 514 ^ E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chan, pp.
Earth. ^ E. Chavannes, Le Tai Chan, p. 517*519.
with the
Ancestral
Temple
shown in
various
ways.
VIII THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN CHINA 375
ancient deities represent the simple religion of the husband-
man, who in his rude daily task counted on the support of
his forefathers, dead and gone, as a child trusts to the help
and protection of his living father, while at the same time
he threw himself on the mercy of the God of his native
Earth, beseeching him not to blight his hopes of an abundant
harvest. This local and family worship is the deepest
stratum of religious thought in China : nothing in that great
country savours of a more remote antiquity than the Earth-
god and the Ancestral Temple.^
^ E. Chavannes, Le Fat Chan, p. my gratitude to that great scholar for
525. The last paragraph in the text is the debt I owe him in this section of
practically a translation of Chavannes’ my work,
conclusion. I desire again to express
CHAPTER IX
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA
§ I . The Worship of Earth among the Hindoos
In modern India the earth is worshipped as a goddess both
by Hindoos and Dravidians, the aboriginal inhabitants of
the country. To the Hindoos the goddess is known as
Dharti Mata or Mother Earth. In the Punjab a pious
among the Hindoo does obeisance to her and invokes her when he
of the rises from his bed in the morning; and even those who
Punjab [ggg punctilious in the matter of religion comply with
and Bengal. , ^ i i
the same custom when they begin to plough or to sow.
When a cow or a buffalo is first bought, or when she first
gives milk after calving, the first five streams of milk
drawn from her udders are allowed to fall on the ground
in honour of the Earth-goddess, and at every milking the
first stream of milk is similarly devoted to her. So, too,
when medicine is taken, a little of it is sprinkled on the
ground in honour of the deity.^ As the digging of the
foundations of a new house naturally disturbs the liarth-
goddess, she must be worshipped when the house is occupied
for the first time. In Bengal the chief festival in her honour
is held at the hot season, when she is supposed to suffer
from the infirmity common to women. All ploughing,
sowing, and other work cease during that time, and widows
in Bengal refrain from eating cooked rice. The Earth-
^ (Sir) Denzil C. J. Ibbetson, Out- See Sir Henry M. Elliot, Memoirs on
lines of Panjab Ethnography {gd\Q,\x\Xz.y the History ^ Folk-lore^ and Distribu-
1883), P* ^*4- Compare W. Crooke, tion oj the Races of the North PVestemt
'I'he Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Prozdnces of India ^ edited by J. Beames
Northern India (Westminster, 1896), (London, 1869), ii. 290.
i. 26. Dharti means “the earth”.
'Fhe wor-
ship of
Mother
Earth
{Dharti
Mata)
376
CH. IX WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE HINDOOS 377
goddess is also worshipped at the family rites of marriage
and childbirth.^ At Chunar in Bengal, after a long drought,
the women assembled in a field from which all men were
excluded. Three of them, members of a farmer's family,
stripped themselves naked ; two were yoked to a plough
like oxen, and the third held the plough handle. Then they
imitated the operation of ploughing, while the woman who
held the plough-handle cried out, ‘‘ O Mother Earth ! bring
parched grain, water, and chaff. Our stomachs are breaking
to pieces from hunger and thirst." After that the landlord
and accountant approached them, and laid down some grain,
water, and chaff in the field. The women then dressed and
returned home.“
The Hindoos of the Bombay Presidency similarly regard The wor-
the earth as one of the great deities and worship it on many MoUier
occasions, especially when anything is to be built on its ,
^ r t XT. , . . . , . among the
surface. In the Deccan a Hindoo, on rising in the morning, Hindoos
asks pardon of the earth before he steps on the floor. Thus,
before setting foot on the ground, he will say : “ O Goddess, presidency,
who is clothed (surrounded) by the sea, whose breasts are
mountains, and who is the wife of Vishnu, I bow down to
thee ; please forgive the touch of my feet. O Goddess
Earth ! who art born by the power of Vishnu, whose surface
is of the colour of a conch shell and who art the storehouse
of innumerable jewels, 1 bow down to thee." ^ Again the
Earth-mother is worshipped at the digging of a well or
of a sacrificial pit, at the making of a tank, at the laying
of the foundation-stone of a house, or at any other construct-
ive work raised upon or made in the ground. The intention
of the ceremony is to propitiate the goddess in order that
she may not interrupt the operations. The owner or the
person interested in the new construction pours a little water
on the earth where the foundation-pit is to be dug, sprinkles
red lac and red powder, places a betel-nut and a few precious
coins, and digs out the first clod of earth with his own hands.
1 W. Crooke, Natives of Northern the Central Provinces 0/ India
India (London, 1907), p. 232. 1916), iii. 106 ; The Golden Bongh,
2 North Indian Notes and Queries, Part I . The Magic A i t and the Evolu-
i. (1891-1892) p. 210, § 1161. For tion of Kings, i. 2Z2 sq,
similar ceremonies to procure rain, see ^ R. E. Enthoven, The Folklore of
R. V. Russell, Tribes and Castes of Bombay (Oxford, 1924), pp. 81, 87.
378 WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA chap.
Some of the things offered to Earth at such times are betel-
nuts and betel-leaves, a bowl, green garments and the five
precious things {panchar at nd), to wit, gold, silver, copper,
coral, and pearls.^
Worship of On the Dasara day, which is the tenth day of the bright
Ear\h^on month of Ashvin (September-October) Hindoo
Dasaraday. kings go out in State With their ministers and subjects to
worship the Earth-mother and the holy shami tree (Prosopis
spicigera), A wetted plot of ground is first dug over with
pikes, tender- wheat plants and sha^ni leaves are then mixed
with the muddy earth, and the whole is kneaded into little
balls. A small coin and a betel-nut are inserted in each
ball, and every worshipper receives one of the balls as a
mark of good luck. Afterwards the wheat-plants are ex-
tracted from the balls and are allowed to grow in an earthen
vessel filled with clay till they have sprouted to the height
of a span, when they are taken from the vessel and used.^
Wheat-plants thus cultivated in the worship of Earth remind
us of the Gardens of Adonis cultivated in the worship of
that sad oriental deity.
Worship Again, Earth is worshipped when treasure is buried in
Eanh^ir ground, and when a marriage procession reaches the
various boundary of the bridegroom's village.^ When presents are
occasions, Brahmans outside the limits of the village, the
Earth-mother is worshipped by pouring milk on the ground
and by placing seven betel-nuts and seven copper coins
thereon.^ Some women of the Thana District, in the
Bombay Presidency, worship the Earth daily during the
four months of the rainy season, at the end of which they
give a Brahman a piece of land or the equivalent of it
in money.'*
Worship of At sowing and harvest farmers appease the Earth by
^wing^and her coco-nuts, fowls, rice mixed with curds, and
harvest. SO forth. On the fifteenth day of the bright half of the
month of Ashvin (September-October) every farmer prepares
some sweetmeats in his house and takes them to his farm.
There he gathers five stones, worships them, and offers the
^ R. E. Enthoven, op, cit. pp. 8i * R. E. Enthoven, op, cit. p. 84.
^ R. E. Enthoven, op, cit. pp. 82 sq.
3 R. E. Enthoven, op, cit. p. 83. * R. E. Enthoven, op. cit. p. 87.
IX WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE DRAVIDIANS 379
sweetmeats to the Earth. Afterwards he takes a portion
of the food and scatters it over the farm. The members
of his family then gather there and eat a hearty meal.
In the evening the person who carried the food to the
farm picks up some grains of barley and puts them in a
basket. On return home the grains are thrown over the
house.^
In the Deccan, when new grain is heaped on the Worship of
threshing-floor, Mother Earth is worshipped by offering to JJreshing
her cooked food or some animal. At the time when a stake, and
to which the bullock is to be tethered, is set up in the
middle of the threshing-floor, a coco- nut is offered to the
Earth. Again, red powder is offered to the Earth at the
time of ploughing.*^^ At the foundation of a new village,
when the gates have been set up, Mother Earth is wor-
shipped, and afterwards the headman, accompanied by a
Brahman reciting incantations, either winds a cotton thread
besmeared with red lac round the village or pours a stream
of milk round the village boundaries.^
§ 2. The Worship of Earth among the Dravidians
Among the Dravidian tribes of Central India the worship Worship
of the earth prevails widely.^ Thus among the Oraons, a
primitive Dravidian people of Chota Nagpur, when a culti- among the
vator wishes to begin transplanting his rice-seedlings,* he
must employ a village priest to make an offering to Mother Nagpur.
Earth {Dhartimdt), Accompanied by the priest, the culti-
vator repairs to the field, whither bundles of rice-seedlings
have already been brought. He takes with him a pot of
rice-beer, and on arriving at the field the priest pours a little
of the beer on the ground as a libation, while he invokes the
goddess, saying, “ O Mother Earth ! may we have plenty
of rain and a bumper crop. Here is a libation for thee.”
Next the priest plants with his own hands five rice-seedlings
on the spot where the rice-beer has been poured. That
done, the women begin to transplant the rest of the seedlings
^ R. E. Enthoven, op. cit. p. 87 . ^ W. Crooke, Popular Religion and
^ R. E. Enthoven, op. cit. p. 87 sq. Folk-lore of Northern India (West-
2 R. E. Enthoven, op. cit. p. 302 . minster, 1896 ), i. 30 .
380
WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA chap.
Marriage
of the
Earth-
goddess
to the
Sun-god.
on the fields/ Every year the Oraons celebrate the marriage
of the Earth-goddess to the Sun-god in order to ensure the
fertility of the ground. The rite, which goes by the name
of Sarhul, is celebrated in the month of May, when the sal
tree is in bloom. In it the divine bridegroom, the Sun-god,
is personated by the village priest, and the divine bride, the
Earth-goddess, is personated by the priest's wife. We are
told that “ the object of this feast is to celebrate the mystical
marriage of the Sun-god {Bhagaivan) with the Goddess-
earth {Dharti-inai\ to induce them to be fruitful and give
good crops At the same time all the minor deities or
demons of the village are propitiated, in order that they may
not hinder the beneficent activity of the Sun -god and the
Earth-goddess. On the eve of the appointed day no man
may plough his fields, and the priest, accompanied by some
of the villagers, repairs to the sacred grove, where he beats
a drum and invites all the invisible guests to attend the
great feast on the morrow. Very early next morning, before
cock-crow, holy water is fetched from the sacred spring in a
new pot by an acolyte, who carries it secretly to the priest’s
house. During the morning victims for the sacrifice are
collected from the houses. In the afternoon the people all
gather at the sacred grove, and the priest proceeds to consum-
mate the sacrifice. The first victims to be immolated are a
white cock for the Sun-god and a black hen for the Earth-
goddess ; and as the feast is the marriage of these great
deities the marriage is performed over the two fowls before
they are despatched. Amongst other things both birds are
marked with vermilion, just as a bride and bridegroom are
marked at a human marriage ; and the earth is also smeared
with vermilion, as if it were a real bride, on the spot where
the sacrifice is offered. Sacrifices of fowls or goats to the
minor deities or demons follow. Meantime the acolyte has
collected flowers of the sal tree and set them round the place
of sacrifice, and he has also fetched the holy water from the
priest’s house. A procession is now formed and the priest
is carried in triumph to his own abode. There his wife has
been watching for him, and on his arrival the two go through
' Sarat Chandra Roy, The Oraons of Chota Nagpur (Ranchi, 1915), pp.
143. 441-
IX WORSHIP OF FAR TH AMONG THE DRAVIDIANS 381
the marriage ceremony, applying vermilion to each other in
the usual way to symbolize the mystical marriage of the
Sun-god with the Earth-goddess Meantime all the women
of the village are standing on the thresholds of their houses,
each with a winnowing-fan in her hand. In the fan are two
cups, one empty to receive the holy water, the other full of
rice-beer for the refreshment of the priest. At each house
he distributes flowers and holy water to the women, and
blesses them, saying, “ May your rooms and granary be filled
with rice, that the priest’s name may be great The
holy water which he leaves at each house is sprinkled over
the seeds that have been kept to sow next year’s crop.
Having blessed the household, the priest drinks the rice-
beer that is offered him, and as he repeats his benediction
and his potation at every house, he is naturally very drunk
by the time he gets to the end of the village. “ By that
time every one has taken copious libations of rice-beer, and
all the devils of the village seem to be let loose, and there
follows a scene of debauchery baffling description — all these
to induce the Sun and the Earth to be fruitful.”^ Before
the marriage of Sun and Earth has thus been celebrated in
April or May no Oraon may manure his fields ; for up to
that time, in the opinion of the Oraons, Mother Earth has
remained a virgin since the preceding harvest ; how then,
they argue, could it be lawful to fecundate her before she is
duly married ? ^
But besides the beneficent goddess of the cultivated earth, Propitia-
who fosters the growth of the crops, there are malignant niapgnant
spirits who have to be appeased whenever an Oraon at
reclaiming
1 Rev. P. Dehon, S.J., “Religion ing to Col. Dalton (/.r.), the ceremony waste land
and Customs of the Uraons”, Ale/fioirs takes place “ towards the end of March,
of the Asiatic Society of Bengal^ \o\. i. or beginning of April, but any day
No. 9 (Calcutta, 1906), pp. 144-146. whilst the sal trees are in blossom will
Compare 1 ^. T. Dalton, Descriptive answer”. According to Mr. S. C. Roy
Ethnology of Bengal (Calcutta, 1872), {of. cit. p. 279) the marriage is cele-
p. 261 (who does not mention the brated in April. I have described the
Sun-god, though he speaks of the marriage of the deities elsewhere. See
marriage of Dharti, the Earth) ; Rev. The Golden Bongh^ Part I. The Magic
E. Hahn, “ Some Notes on the Religion Art and the Evolution of Kings ^ i.
and Superstitions of the Oraos ”, 76 sq.^ 148; id,^ Part IV. Adonis^
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal^ Attis^ Osiris^ i. 47 sq,
Ixxii. Part III. (Calcutta, 1904) p. 12;
Sarat Chandra Roy, The Onions of ^ Sarat Chandra Roy, 'The Oraons
Chota NCxgpur,}^y^. 167,279. Accord- of Chotd-Nlgpur, pp. 167, 279.
382
WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA chap.
encroaches on their domain by reclaiming some of the land
for cultivation. On such an occasion the cultivator sacrifices
a fowl or an animal to pacify the wrathful spirit, lest some
misfortune befall his family. The same procedure is followed
when a house is to be built on waste land. If within a
short time after a plot of waste land has been reclaimed or
a house built on it, there should occur a case of sickness or
death to man or beast in the family, it is believed to be
caused by the offended spirit of the land. Accordingly
the master of the family vows to offer to the angry spirit a
particular animal or fowl, if the sick person or animal
recovers, or if no other death happens in the family within
a certain time. As a pledge of the fulfilment of the vow,
the dedicated animal or fowl is set apart and fed on sacri-
ficial ricc.^
Worship In Hoshangabad, the end of the sowing is celebrated by
Eartrlir worship of Mother Earth, here called Machandri, The
Hoshanga- ceremony is intended to promote the fertility of the ground,
end of Every cultivator performs the worship for himself in the
sowing. company of his family and servants. At the edge of one of
his fields he puts up a little semicircle or three-sided wall of
clods about a foot high, meant to represent a hut. This is
covered with a certain sort of green grass {Imperata spontanea)
in imitation of thatch. At the two ends of the hut two posts
of a certain wood {Bntea frondosa) are erected, with leaves
round the tops, like those which are put up at marriage.
They are tied to the thatch with red thread. This little house
is the temple of Mother Earth {Machand?^). In the middle
of it a small fire is kindled, and a little milk is set to boil on
it in a tiny earthen pot. The milk is allowed to boil over
as a sign of abundance. While this is going on, the plough-
men gather in a field and drive their bullocks at a trot,
striking them wildly ; it is the end of the year’s labour for
the cattle. The cultivator meanwhile offers a little rice,
molasses, and saffron to Mother Earth, and then makes two
tiny holes in the ground to represent granaries ; into the
holes he drops a few seeds of grain and covers them over, as
a symbol of prayer, that his granary may be filled with the
produce of the land. After that he dabs a little saffron
* Sarat Chandra Roy, The Oraons of Chota Nagpur^ pp. 148 sq.
IX WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE DRAVIDIANS 383
on the foreheads of the ploughmen and the bullocks, and ties
a red thread round the horns of the cattle. Thereupon the
animals are let go ; and the ploughmen run off at full speed
across the country, scattering boiled wheat in token of
abundance. This concludes the ceremony, and every one
returns home.^
Many similar customs are observed by the jungle tribes Worship
of South Mirzapur. The Korwas regard Mother Earth
(^Dharti Mata) as one of their chief deities. She lives in among the
the general village shrine under a sal tree {Shorea robusta). {ribfs^
In the month of Aghan (November-December) she
worshipped with flowers and the offering of a goat. When
she is duly worshipped, the people believe that the crops
will prosper and that no epidemics will break out. The
Pataris also acknowledge her divinity, and worship her in
August. The local priest {baigd) offers her a goat, a cock,
and rich cakes. She is also worshipped in the cold weather
before the grain and barley are sown, and again on the
threshing-floor before the winnowing begins. The flesh of
the victims is eaten by the males and unmarried girls ; no
grown-up girl or married woman may partake of it. The
Ghasiyas also believe in Mother Earth {Dharti Mata), She
is their village goddess and receives as an offering a ram, or
a goat, or cakes. The offering is presented by the local
priest {baiga); the materials are provided by a general
contribution levied on the village. The Kharwars worship
her at the village shrine before the wood-cutting and
ploughing begin. They also perform a special service in
her honour known as the “ worship of greenery ” {HariyAri
PAjA) at the time when the rice is transplanted. In
November they perform the ‘‘ thatching-grass'^ worship {Khar
PAjA) at the season when they begin to cut the thatching-
grass (kkar). A cock, some leaves of the Bassia latifolia^
and parched grain are offered to her. The service is
performed by the local priest, who receives the offerings ;
none but males are allowed to attend. Similarly the
Pankas worship her before sowing and harvesting the grain.
They and the Bhuiyars offer a pig and some liquor at the
^ W. Crooke, Popular Reli^on and Folk-lore of Northern India^ i. 31,
quoting Elliott, Settlement Report, 125.
384 WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA chap.
Chief
festivals
of the
Dravidians
intended to
stimulate
the fertility
of Mother
Earth.
Human
sacrifices
offered to
the Earth-
goddess by
the Khonds
of Orissa.
more important agricultural seasons. When the crops are
being sown, the Kharwars release a fowl as a scapegoat and
pray, saying, “ O Mother Earth ! keep in prosperity and
protect the ploughmen and the oxen
The Parahiyas, a Dravidian tribe of Mirzapur, propitiate
Mother Earth {Dharti Mata) by pouring a little milk or
liquor on the ground.^ Some Pankas, in eating, throw a
little bread and water on jthe ground as an offering to
Mother Earth {Dharti Mata)'? Similarly the Dusadhs, a
menial caste, put a little food on the ground in honour of
the same goddess before they begin their meals.^ The
Koiris, a caste whose ethnical affinities are doubtful, are
found both in the North-Western Provinces and in Bengal.
At marriage they pour curds, mixed with pepper, sugar,
and water, on the ground as an offering to Mother Earth
{^Dharti Mata)? The Bhuiyas and the Kharwars, both
Dravidian tribes of South Mirzapur, worship Mother Earth
{^Dharti Mata) in association with the collective village
gods {Dih)\ the victim offered to her by the Kharwars on
this occasion is a goat, which is sacrificed by the village
priest {baiga)?
In general, the chief periodical festivals of the Dravidians
are celebrated for the purpose of stimulating the fertility of
Mother Earth ; hence they fall at the critical seasons of the
farmer’s year, to wit, at sowing and transplanting the rice,
at reaping the harvest and at garnering it in the barn. At
these festivals the youths and maidens dance and pat the
ground with their hands in order to rouse the Earth-goddess
to activity.^
]"ar less innocent were the means which another
Dravidian tribe adopted to attain the same end. The cruel
human sacrifices, which down to the middle of the nine-
^ W. Crooke, Popular Relii^ion and
Folk-lore of Northern India, i. 32.
- W. Crooke, Tribes and Castes of
the North- Western Provinces and Oudh
(Calcutta, 1896), iv. 130.
^ W. Crooke, Tribes and Castes of
the North- Western Provinces and Oudh,
iv. 1 1 8.
^ W. Crooke, Tribes and Castes of
the North- Western Provinces and Oudh,
357.
^ W. Crooke, Tribes and Castes of
the North- Western Provinces and Oudh,
iii. 290. As to the ethnical affinities
of the Koiris, see id,, pp. 287 sq. ;
(Sir) H. H. Risley, Tribes and Castes
of Bengal (Calcutta, 1892), i. 500
^ W. Crooke, Tribes and Castes of
the North- Western Provinces and Oudh,
ii. 80, iii. 247.
7 W. Crooke, Natives of Northern
India, p. 232.
IX WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE DRAVIDIANS 385
teenth century the Khonds of Orissa offered to the Earth-
goddess in order to ensure the fertility of their fields, have
earned for them an unenviable notoriety among all the
Dravidian tribes of India. The Khonds inhabit the hills The
of Orissa, a province of Southern Bengal, but they extend
southwards into the Madras Presidency and westward into country,
what used to be part of the Central Provinces.^ The general
character of the country is wild and mountainous ; it consists
of a jumble of ranges covered with dense forests of sal trees
{Shorea rohiistd), .About two-thirds of it is believed to be
occupied by jungle. The Khonds live in scattered villages
built in clearings of the jungle, each surrounded by its
patch of tilled land won from the virgin forest. They arc a
shy and timid folk and eschew contact with the inhabitants
of the lowlands. They love their wild mountain gorges and
the stillness of life in the jungle ; on the least alarm they fly
to the most impenetrable recesses of the forest or the hills.
They live by hunting and agriculture. Like many other
savage tribes, they clear patches of land in the forest during
the cold season, and set fire to the fallen timber in the hot
weather. After the second year of cultivation the land thus
reclaimed is abandoned, and a fresh clearing is made. By
this primitive form of husbandry the people raise barely
enough food to support them for half the year ; they supply
their wants for the remainder by bartering turmeric, of
which they cultivate large quantities. Like their kinsfolk,
the Santals, the Mundas, and the Hos, they regard them-
selves, not without reason, as the true owners of the land,
and they insist on their rights with a curious pertinacity.“
The Khond pantheon is said to number no less than The
eighty-four gods, of whom Dharni Deota, the Earth-god, is
the chief. Deota is an Aryan word : the proper Khond Khonds
name for a god is Pennu, The Earth-deity is now a male,
but formerly she was a female, named Tari Pennu or Bera Deota
Pennu. We are told, and may readily believe, that there is Tari^Pennu
nothing surprising in a god changing his or her sex for the (female),
opposite. A parallel case is the Earth-deity of Chhattisgarh,
^ (Sir) H. H. Risley, Tribes and Tribes and Castes of the Central Prozj-
Castes of Bengal^ i. 397; E. Thurston, inces (London, 1916), iii. 464.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India ^ (Sir) H. H. Risley, Tribes and
(Madras, 1909), iii. 357; R. V. Russell, Castes of Bengal^ i. 397.
VOI.. I 2 C
Animals
now
sacrificed
in room of
human
victims.
Motives
for offering
human
sacrifices to
the Karth-
goddess.
386 WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA chap.
who, like the Earth-deity of the Khonds, used to receive
human sacrifices ; he is either a god named Thakur Deo,
or a goddess named Thakurani Mai. The Earth-god
of the Khonds is usually accompanied by Bhatbarsi Deo^
the god of hunting. The Earth-god Dharni Deota is
represented by a rectangular peg of wood driven into the
ground, while the Hunting-god Bhatbarsi has a place at his
feet in the shape of a piece^of conglomerate stone covered
with circular granules. Once in four or five years a buffalo
is offered to the Earth-god in room of the human victim
who used to be sacrificed to the grim deity. The animal is
predestined for sacrifice from its birth, and is allowed to
wander and graze on the crops at will. The stone repre-
senting Bhatbarsi is examined from time to time, and when
the granules on it appear to have increased, it is known
that the season for the sacrifice has come. In Kalahandi
a lamb is sacrificed every year, and strips of its flesh arc
distributed to all the villagers, who bury them in their fields
as divine agents of fertilization, just as they used to bury
pieces of the flesh of the human victims for the same
purpose.^
These human sacrifices offered to the Earth-goddess Tari
Pennu ^ were formerly believed to ensure good crops and im-
munity from all diseases and accidents. In particular they
were deemed essential in the cultivation of turmeric, the
Khonds arguing that the turmeric could not have a deep red
colour without the shedding of blood.^ The sacrifice was
1 R. V. Russell, Tribes and Cashes of
the Central Provinces of India, iii. 473.
^ The chief authorities on these
sacrifices are the reports of the tu'o
olTiccrs, Major-General John Campbell
and Alajor S. C. Maepherson, who
were engaged in suppressing the custom.
See Major-General John Campbell,
Personal Narrative of Thirteen Years*
Sei-vice amongst the Wild T^dbes of
Khondistan (London, 1864), pp. 52-
58, etc. ; Major S. C. Maepherson,
Metnorials of Service in India (London,
*865), pp. 1 13-13 I. Compare Mgr.
Neyret, Bishop of Vizagapatam, in
Annales de la Propagation de la Foi,
xxiii. (1851) pp. 402-404; E. T.
Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology of
Bengal, pp. 285-288 ; (Sir) H. H.
Risley, Tribes and Castes of Be?tgal,
i. 403 sqq. ; E. Thurston, Ethnographic
Notes on Southern India (Madras,
1906); pp. 510-519; id.. Castes and
Tribes of Southern India (Madras,
1909), iii. 371-385 ; R. V. Russell,
Tribes and Castes of the Central Pro-
vinces of India, iii. 473 sqq. I have
described the saciifices in The Golden
Bough, Part V. Spirits of the Corn
and of the Wild, i. 245 sqq. My
description has been reprinted by Sir
H. II. Risley, op. cit. i. 404 sqq.,
and by Mr. R. V. Russell, op. cit. iii.
474 m-
3 Major-General J. Campbell, op.
cit. p. 56.
IX WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE DRAVIDIANS 387
performed as a public oblation by tribes, branches of tribes,
or villages, both at periodical festivals and whenever special
occasions appeared to demand extraordinary propitiations.
And besides these social or communal offerings, the rite was
observed by individuals to avert the wrath of the goddess
Tari from themselves and their families.^ For example, if
a child were carried off by a tiger, the parents would fly to
the priest, bring him to their house, dash vessels of water
over him, seat him in his wet garments, and set a cup of
water before him. Into this cup of water the priest dipped
his fingers thrice, smelled them, sneezed, and being filled
with the deity spoke wildly in her name. If he declared
that Tari had inflicted the blow as a punishment for the
neglect of her worship, the father would vow to expiate his
sin by sacrificing a human victim within the year."
The periodical sacrifices offered by communities were Distribu-
generally so arranged that each head of a family was ^ble
to procure a shred of human flesh for his fields at least once flesh!
a year, usually about the time when he laid down his
principal crop.^ The victims were commonly known as Thevictims
Meriahs ; but in the Khond language the name for them^^^^^^g.
was Tokki or Keddi. Persons of any race or age and of how they
either sex were acceptable victims, with the exception of
Brahmans, who, having been invested with the sacred thread, kept,
were perhaps considered already dedicated to the gods.*^
Grown men were the most esteemed because they were the
most costly. Children were purchased, and brought up for
years with the family of the person who ultimately devoted
them to a cruel death whenever circumstances were supposed
to require a sacrifice at his hands. They seem to have been
treated with kindness, and in youth were kept under no
restraint, but when they were old enough to be sensible of
the fate that awaited them, they were placed in fetters and
guarded. The victim must always be purchased. Criminals,
or prisoners captured in war, were not deemed fit to be
sacrificed. Most of the victims rescued by British officers
1 Major S. C. Maepherson, Memo-
rials of Service in India , p. 1 1 3 ;
E. Thurston, Castes and Tribes of
Southern India^ iii. 372 sq.
2 Major S. C. Maepherson, op, cit.
p. 1 14.
3 Major S. C. Maepherson, op. cit,
P. 1 13.
' ^ S. C. Maepherson, op. cit, p. 114.
388
WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA chap.
had been sold by their parents or nearest relations, a practice
which seems to have been very common.^ To prevent the
grown victims from running away, the purchaser sometimes
promised not to sacrifice them, and sometimes he kept his
word, gave the young man a wife, and indemnified him-
self for sparing the father by sacrificing the children of the
marriage. At the same time, despite his promise, he reserved
to himself the right of sacrificing the father also, if he thought
fit to do so ; and any pretext was good enough to justify
the butchery, it might be a public calamity, a serious illness,
a family festival, a marriage, or what not.^ Further, as the
wife of a Meriah was herself usually a victim, it was in the
power and within the right of the owner to immolate the
whole family, father, mother, and children, and the right was
sometimes exercised without hesitation. Should a destined
victim have intercourse with the wife or daughter of a Khond,
the husband or father of the woman, far from resenting the
deed as a blot on his scutcheon, returned thanks to the
Sacred goddess for the honour she had done him. For so long as
t^he vSms^ Hved, the victim was regarded as a consecrated being,
and, if he was left at large, he was eagerly welcomed at every
threshold.^ Hence parents were not ashamed to sell their
children for victims, believing that the beatification of their
souls was certain, and that their death for the benefit of
mankind was the most honourable that could fall to the lot
of a mortal. Once, when a father had sold his daughter for
a victim, her lover loaded him with curses and spat in his
face. But a party of Khonds who witnessed the affair con-
soled the insulted father, saying, Your child has died that
all the world may live, and the Earth-goddess herself will
wipe that spittle from your face But persons of riper
years were kidnapped and sold by wretches who traded in
human flesh.^
^ E. Thurston, Castes and Tribes
of Southern India^ iii. 373, quoting
Russell, Selections from Records^ Govern-
ment of India^ No. V. Human Sacrifice
and Infanticide^ 1854.
2 Mgr. Neyret, in A finales de la
Propagation de la Foi^ xxiii. (1851)
p. 403. The evidence here quoted
by Monsignor Neyret is that of a
missionary who visited the Khonds
and recorded what he had learned from
the lips of destined victims.
^ S. C. Maepherson, op, cit. p. 116.
^ S. C. Maepherson, op. cit. pp.
1 15 sq.
^ J. Campbell, op. cit. pp. 50, 52
sq. ; E. Thurston, Tribes and Castes
of Southern India., iii. 373.
IX WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE DRAVIDIANS 389
The priest (jyanee) who officiated at the sacrifice might The priest
be of any caste, but he performed the preliminary ceremony
of offering flowers and incense through the medium of a
Khond child under seven years of age. This child, who
bore the title of Toomba, was fed and clothed at the public
expense, ate with no other person, and was subjected to no
act deemed impure.^
The mode of consummating the sacrifice varied in The modes
different places. The earliest report of it, dating from
1837, describes the custom as it was observed in the hill sacrifice,
tracts of Goomsur, in the Madras Presidency. There the
sacrifice was annually offered to the Earth, represented by
the effigy of a peacock, in order to induce the deity to grant
favourable seasons and good crops. It was preceded by
a month of revelry. The people feasted, drank themselves
drunk, and danced round the destined victim, who was
decked with garlands. On the day before the rite he was
stupefied with toddy and made to sit, or, if necessary, was
bound to the foot of a post which bore the effigy of a
peacock. The assembled multitude then danced round the
post to music, and addressing the earth they said, “ O God !
we offer the sacrifice to you. Give us good crops, seasons,
and health.” After that they addressed the victim, saying,
We bought you with a price and did not seize you. Now
we sacrifice you according to custom, and no sin rests with
us.” Next day, the victim having been again intoxicated
and anointed with oil, every person present touched the
anointed part of the victim’s body, and wiped off the oil on
his own head. All then marched in procession round the
village and its boundaries, preceded by music and bearing
the victim and a pole, to the top of which was tied a bunch
of peacock’s feathers. The sacrificial post was always placed
near the shrine of a village deity called Zakaree Pennoo,
who was represented by three stones, near which the brass
effigy of a peacock was buried. When the procession with
the victim reached the fatal post, a hog was killed in sacri-
fice, and its blood allowed to flow into a pit prepared for the
purpose. The victim, still dead drunk if possible, was then
seized and thrown into the pit, and his face was pressed down
1 E. Thurston, /.c.
390
WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA chap.
into the bloody mire till he died of suffocation, while all the
The flesh of while the music crashed. Then the priest cut a piece of
buried!^”^ flcsh from the body, and buried it with ceremony near the
effigy and the village idol as an offering to the Earth.
Afterwards all the rest of the people similarly cut pieces from
the body and carried the bleeding flesh to their respective
villages, where part of it was buried in like manner near the
village idol and little bits -were interred on the boundaries.
The head and face of the victim were not touched by the
knives, and when the bones had been stripped bare of flesh,
they were buried with the face and head in the bloody pit.
When the ceremony was over, a buffalo calf was brought in
front of the post, its forefeet were cut off, and the animal
was left to welter in its blood till the following day. Then
women, dressed and armed as men, drank, danced, and sang
round the spot. The calf was killed and eaten, and the
priest was dismissed with a present of rice and a hog or calf.^
^od of Elsewhere the mode of putting the victim to death was
performing different, and often far less merciful. In some districts
the acceptable place of sacrifice was discovered the previous
sncrincOt ^
night by persons who went about the village probing the
ground with sticks in the dark, and the first deep chink
which they lit upon was the spot marked out by the Earth-
goddess herself for the slaughter. There, in the morning, a
short post was inserted ; around it four larger posts were
usually set up, and in the midst of these the victim was
placed. The priest, assisted by the chief and one or two of
the village elders, then took the branch of a green tree cleft
several feet down the middle. In the rift they inserted
sometimes the chest and sometimes the throat of the victim,
and with the help of cords twisted round the open extremity
of the stake strove with all their strength to close it. Then
the priest wounded the victim with his axe, whereupon
the crowd threw themselves upon the wretch and stripped
the flesh from his bones, leaving untouched the head and
intestines.^ According to another account the victim was
1 E. Thurston, Castes and Tribes of The original Report appears to date
Southern India, iii. 372-376, quoting from 1837.
Russell’s Report, Selections from the
Records, Government of India, No. V. ^ S. C. Maepherson, of. cit. pp.
Ilufftan Sacrifice and Infanticide, 1 854. 127 sq.
IX WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE DRA VIVIANS 391
squeezed to death between two strong planks/ Sometimes
he was cut up alive. This was the account given by the
destined victims themselves to a Catholic missionary who
visited the Khond hills while the custom was still in full
vogue. They said that after the victim had been tied up,
generally in a state of intoxication, the crowd danced round
him, and then, at a given signal, rushed at him and cut off
pieces of his living body ; the flesh had to be quivering, warm,
and bleeding ; and as each man took his slice, he hurried
away with it to the field which he wished to fertilize.*^
Chinna Kimedy is a principality a little to the south Thewaysof
and west of Goomsur. The plains are fertile, but the
mountains are to a great extent covered with forest and in chinna
jungle. In the lower hills water is comparatively scarce
and the valleys present a poor and barren appearance. The
distant prospect is that of range after range of mountains
thickly mantled with forests of bamboo and the damur
tree. These highlands are the home of the Khonds,
who in the old days used to raid the peaceful inhabitants
of the rich lowlands and then retreat with their booty
into the inaccessible fastnesses of the jungle. Throughout
the mountains human sacrifices were offered not to the
Earth alone, as in Goomsur, but to a number of other
deities whose favour was deemed essential to the life and
happiness of the people.^ Major-General Campbell, who
took active measures for suppressing the barbarous custom,
has described some of the ways in which these atrocities
were perpetrated in the name of religion. He says :
“ One of the most common ways of offering the sacrifice
in Chinna Kimedy, is to an effigy of an elephant, rudely
carved in wood, fixed on a stout post, on which it is
made to revolve. After the performance of the usual cere-
monies, the intended victim is fastened to the proboscis of
the elephant, and amidst the shouts and yells of the excited
multitude of Khonds, is rapidly whirled round, when, at
a given signal by the officiating Zani or priest, the crowd
rush in, seize the Meriah, and with their knives cut the flesh
1 J. Campbell, op. cit. pp. 57 sq. pp. 403 sq. Compare J. Campbell,
op. cit. pp. 56, 58, 120 sq.
Mgr. Neyret, in Annates de la ^ J. Campbell, op. cit. pp. 119,
Propagation de la Foiy xxiii. (1851) 120, 125.
392
WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA chap.
The victims
burned
alive.
Ritual
observed
over the
mangled
remains of
the victims.
off the shrieking wretch as long as life remains. He is then
cut down, the skeleton burnt, and the horrid orgies are
over.*’ ^ In another report the same officer describes how
the miserable victim is dragged along the fields, surrounded
by a crowd of half>intoxicated Khonds, who, shouting and
screaming, rush upon him, and with their knives cut the flesh
piecemeal from the bones, avoiding the head and bowels,
till the living skeleton, dying from loss of blood, is relieved
from torture, when its remains are burnt, and the ashes
mixed with the new grain to preserve it from insects
Even this was not the worst that a fiendish ingenuity,
masked under the guise of religion, could do to augment the
sufferings of a fellow-creature. We are informed that “ in
one tract the victim is put to death slowly by fire. A low
stage is formed, sloping on either side like a roof ; upon it
the victim is placed, his* limbs wound round with cords, so
as to confine but not prevent his struggles. Fires are lighted,
and hot brands applied, so as to make the victim roll alter-
nately up and down the slopes of the stage. He is thus
tortured as long as he is capable of moving or uttering cries ;
it being believed that the favour of the Earth-goddess,
especially in respect of the supply of rain, will be in propor-
tion to the quantity of tears which may be extracted. The
victim is next day cut to pieces.” ^
We have seen that when the human victim was cut up
at the stake or other place of execution, care was taken
to avoid injuring certain portions, particularly the head and
bowels. These mangled remains were regarded as sacred
and became the objects of a ritual observance, which is thus
described by Major Maepherson, one of the British officers
engaged in the suppression of the sacrifices. He says :
“ The most careful precautions are taken lest the offering
should suffer desecration by the touch or even the near
approach of any persons save the worshippers of the Earth-
goddess, or by that of any animal. During the night after
the sacrifice, strong parties watch over the remains of the
victim ; and next day the priest and the Mullickos [the chiefs
^ J. Campbell, op. cit. p. 126. Tribes of Southern India., iii. 376.
2 Colonel (Major-General) Campbell, ^ Major S. C. Maepherson, Memo-
quoted by E. Thurston, Castes and rials of Sendee in India, p. 130.
IX WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE BRA VIDIANS 393
of the villages] consume them, together with a whole sheep,
on a funeral pile, when the ashes are scattered over the fields,
or are laid as paste over the houses and granaries. And
then two formalities are observed which are held indispensable
to the virtue of the sacrifice. The first is that of presenting
to the father of the victim, or to the person who sold or
made him over to the Khonds for sacrifice, or the repre-
sentative of such person, a bullock, called the dhuly^ in final
satisfaction of all demands. The second formality is the
sacrifice of a bullock for a feast, at which the following
prayer is offered up.
“After invoking all the gods, the priest says: ‘O Tari Pi-aycr to
Pennu ! you have afflicted us greatly ; have brought death
to our children and our bullocks, and failure to our corn ;TariPennu.
have afflicted us in every way. But we do not complain of
this. It is your desire only to compel us to perform your
due rites, and then to raise up and enrich us. We were
anciently enriched by this rite ; all around us are great from
it ; therefore, by our cattle, our flocks, our pigs, and our
grain, we procured a victim and offered a sacrifice. Do you
now enrich us. Let our herds be so numerous that they
cannot be housed ; let children so abound that the care of
them shall overcome their parents, as shall be seen by their
burned hands ; let our heads ever strike against brass pots
innumerable hanging from our roofs ; let the rats form their
nests of shreds of scarlet cloth and silk ; let all the kites in
the country be seen in the trees of our village, from beasts
being killed there every day. We are ignorant of what it is
good to ask for. You know what is good for us. Give it
to us.* *’ ^
As the main object of the sacrifice to the Earth-goddess The
was to ensure the fertility of the ground which fell within ^
her province, and as the principal agent of fertilization was carried
the flesh of the human victim, every expedient was adopted lhe^fidls\°o
in order to apply it as speedily as possible to the fields te^tiiize
which were to be fecundated by its influence. We have
seen that for this purpose the flesh ought to be quivering,
warm, and bleeding.^ Further, when a sacrifice took place,
' Major S. C. Maepherson, Memorials of Set-vice in India^ pp. 128 sq.
2 Above, p. 391.
394
WORSHIP OF EARTH IN MODERN INDIA chap.
A section
of the
Khonds
abhorred
human
sacrifices.
deputies from all Earth-worshipping Khonds attended it, and
no sooner had the victim been hacked to pieces than these
deputies returned home in hot haste, each with his portion
of dripping flesh. Sometimes, in order to ensure its rapid
arrival, it was forwarded by relays of runners and conveyed
with postal fleetness for distances of fifty " or sixty miles.^
Meantime in the village the priest and all who remained at
home fasted rigidly till the arrival of the flesh. The bearer
brought it rolled up in leaves of the googlut tree, and de-
posited it on a cushion of grass in the place of public
assembly. There it was received by the priest and the
heads of families. The priest divided it into two portions,
one of which he offered to the Earth-goddess by burying it
in a hole in the ground with his back turned, and without
looking ; but first he tendered an apology to the goddess for
the smallness of the offering, explaining that the victim had
been sacrificed by another village, and that they could not
give her more. Then each man added a little earth to bury
the offering, and the priest poured water from a hill gourd.
The other portion of flesh the priest divided into as many
shares as there were heads of families present. Each head
of a house then rolled his shred of flesh in leaves, and after
a mock battle with stones and mud, in which many heads
were broken, he finally buried it in his favourite field,
depositing it in the earth behind his back without looking.*^
In some places every man carried his portion of flesh to
a stream which watered his fields, and there hung it on
a pole.^
It is only just to the Khonds to mention that a certain
section of them, who worshipped Boora Pennu, the God of
Light, abhorred the human sacrifices offered by their kins-
folk to Tari Pennu, the Earth-goddess. They looked with
horror on the country that was sullied by the blood of
these sacrifices ; and when they visited it between the
seasons of sowing and reaping, they might not use its
polluted fire, but had to obtain pure fire by the friction
of wood ; nor might they drink the water of its pools and
^ E. B. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno- ^ Major S. C. Maepherson, op. cit.
logy of Bengal, p. 288; Major S. C. p. 120.
Maepherson, op. cit, p. 129. 3 Campbell, op. cit. p. 182.
IX WORSHIP OF EARTH AMONG THE DRAVIDIANS 395
fountains until they had first fixed their arrows in them to
symbolize their conquest of the defiled water. Similarly
they might not sleep in a house until they had snatched
and burned a few straws from its thatched roof to symbolize
the conquest of the contaminated house by fire. They
believed that death was often the penalty for neglect of these
precautions.^
After the suppression of human sacrifices, inferior victims Animals
were substituted in some places ; for instance, in the capital
of Chinna Kimedy a goat took the place of a human victim.^ victims in
Elsewhere a buffalo does duty for a man. They tic the sacrifice,
animal to a wooden post in a sacred grove, dance fast and
furiously round it with brandished knives, then, falling on
the live beast, soon hack it to shreds, leaving nothing but
the head, bones, and stomach. In a few minutes every
particle of flesh and skin has been stripped from the buffalo,
while the men fight over it and struggle for every morsel of
the carcase. As soon as a man has secured a piece of the
flesh, he makes off with it at full speed to bury it in his
fields, according to ancient custom, before the sun has set,
and as some of them have far to go, they must run very
fast. The crowd of women, who have witnessed the
slaughter but taken no part in it, throw clods of earth
at the rapidly retreating figures of the men, some of them
taking very good aim. Soon the sacred grove, so late
a scene of tumult and hubbub, is silent and deserted, exccjpt
for a few people who remain to guard all that is left of the
buffalo, to wit, the head, the bones, and the stomach, which
are burned with ceremony at the foot of the stake.^
^ Major S. C. Macpherson, Memo- ^ E. Thurston, Castes and Tribes of
rials of Se?‘Z' ice in India^ p. 131, Southern India^ iii. 381-385, quoting
^ J. Campbell, op. cit. p. 187. the Madras Maif 1894.
CHAPTER X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
The
worship of
the Sky
eclipsed by
the worship
of the Earth
in some
tribes of
Western
Africa.
The Bobos:
their wor-
ship of the
Earth
conducted
by a
religious
chief called
the Chief
of the
Earth.
Dislike of
the Earth-
goddess to
see blood
flowing.
In dealing with the worship of the sky in Western Africa we
saw that in certain tribes of that region the divinity of the
Sky is to some extent overshadowed and eclipsed by that of
the Earth, who ranks as a still higher deity.^ This holds
good in particular of a group of tribes in Upper Senegal
or the French Sudan, within the great bend of the Niger.
Among them the Bobos inhabit the plain in the Mossi-
Gurunsi country, to the east of the Black Volta river.
They subsist mainly by agriculture, cultivating especially
various sorts of millet.^ As a rule, they till a patch of land
for five years, then abandon it, and obtain fresh ground for
tillage either by cutting down the virgin forest or by clearing
away the trees and shrubs that have grown up on old
fallows.^ In every Bobo village there is generally, in
addition to the village chief, a religious chief who bears
the title of Chief of the Earth and is charged with the duty
of offering sacrifices to the Earth and to the other local
deities. He has no political authority and in that respect is
subject to the village chief ; but he is the necessary mediator
between the people and the gods, and when he dies he is
succeeded in his office by his son."^ Like the other tribes of
this region, the Bobos regard the Earth as a great and
formidable deity who avenges breaches of the moral law.
In particular he or rather she (for the sex of the deity appears
to be feminine) dislikes to see human blood flowing and is
^ See above, pp. 90 sqq.
^ I.. Tauxier, Le Noii' du Soudan,
p. 42.
L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan * L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan,
(Paris, 1912), p. 30. p. 61.
396
CHAP. X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
397
offended when it is spilt. Hence when a murder has taken
place or a simple wound involving bloodshed has been
inflicted, it becomes necessary to appease the angry deity by
sacrifice, which is offered either by the Chief of the Earth or,
where there is no such priestly authority, by the chief of the
village. The culprit furnishes the victim or victims, it may-
be a goat, a sheep, a dog, or fowls, or several of these different
sorts of creatures. After being offered to the Earth the
flesh of the victims is consumed by ihe chief and the village
elders. The wounded person or the family of the murdered
man gets nothing, because the intention of the rite is not to
compensate the wronged at the expense of the wrong*doer,
but to pacify the anger of the Earth at the sight of blood-
shed. But if an assault has not involved the shedding of
blood, nothing is done, no atonement is needed.^ In other
tribes of this region the victims sacrificed to the Earth
to pacify her wrath at bloodshed are usually oxen, one or
more in number.'^ The place of sacrifice may be either
the sacred grove or the hdly place in the middle of the
village.*"^
But sacrifices are offered by the Bobos to the Earth on The
many other occasions. The people live in large communal
houses, massively constructed of beaten earth so as to present [sukaia)
the appearance externally of fortresses. Each such com- B„bos.
munal house, called a siikala, is inhabited by the members
of a single family in the larger sense of the word, including
married sons, married brothers, the .sons of married brothers,
and so forth. The daughters at marriage quit the parental
dwelling, but are replaced in it by the wives of the married
sons. The head of the family presides as chief over the
communal house. When the house becomes too small to
lodge the growing family, it is enlarged ; or, if that is not
possible on account of the proximity of other houses, the
younger brother of the head of the family goes away, taking
some of the overflowing household with him, and settles in
a new communal house elsewhere. Each of these family
dwellings or fortresses usually stands by itself, at an interval
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir dti Soudan^ pp. loi, 176, 177, 178, 227 sq.^ 290,
pp. 64 sg., 73. 3 i 3 - 3 i 5 » 352 .
3 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^
2 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^ p. 239.
398
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
of one or two hundred yards from its next neighbour, and
the ground about each is planted with maize, hemp, and
other plants with long stalks, so that in the rainy season
every house is surrounded by a compact mass of lofty
verdure, above which its massive walls rise like cliffs from
a green sea. At that time of the year all the members
of the household, whether married or not, work together
on the family fields from early morning till late afternoon,
with an interval of about three hours for rest and refresh-
ment in the heat of the day.^
Sacrifices At the time of sowing the head of the family offers a
at sowing sacrifice to the ancestral spirits in order that they may make
and harvest _ -
to the the seed to sprout. The sacrifice is performed either at the
sphSTnd communal dwelling (sukala) or on the grave of
to a tree the last head of the family. But in addition he offers a
presentTthe sacrifice to a great tree in the field. This tree represents
Earth and both the Earth and the Forest ; for in the mind of the
the Forest, these two great and mighty deities are practically
fused into one, and the sacrifice offered to them in the
form of the tree is intended to ensure their favour for
the sowing. The victims presented to them and to the
ancestral spirits on this occasion are fowls. At harvest some
Bobos always sacrifice a fowl and millet flour to the ancestral
spirits and the great tree as a thank-offering to the spirits
and to the Earth for their bounty. Others, more cautious
or economical, consult a diviner as to whether it is necessary
to testify their gratitude to the higher powers in this fashion.
If the sage says yes, they sacrifice the animal which he pre-
scribes, it may be a sheep, a goat, or a fowl, to the ancestral
spirits to thank them for having caused the crop to grow ;
for dwelling underground they can make the seed to
sprout, and without their goodwill the earth would remain
barren. The sacrifice is appropriately offered on the grave
of the last head of the family dwelling {sukala). Thus we
see the close relation which subsists between the divinity of
the ancestors and the divinity of the Earth.^ If there is a
Chief of the Earth in the village, it is he who offers the
sacrifice of thanksgiving after harvest ; if not, the duty
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^ ^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^
pp. 41, 60. pp. 70 sq.
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
X
399
devolves on the chief of the village. The season of the
harvest is November or December.^
At the same time the Bobos sacrifice to the Forest, Sacrifices
because at this season they burn the grass and kindle fires purest,
in the forest as a preparation for hunting, in order that when fires
the hunters may not be stung by serpents, devoured by
leopards or lions, or incur other mishaps. The sacrifice,
consisting of a fowl or a goat, is offered by the Chief of the
Earth or the Chief of the Poorest near the village or some-
times on a rising ground. But it is to be borne in mind
that the blacks do not clearly distinguish between the
Earth and the Forest. They say that the trees are the
children of the Earth, and that when they sacrifice to a tree
or a sacred grove they sacrifice at the same time to the
Earth, their Mother. Thus the Poorest, embracing all the
vegetation that grows on the bosom of the Earth, is a
daughter of Earth and as such is confused with her Mother.
Hence, too, the members of Secret Societies in these tribes
claim to be under the special protection of the Earth and
carry leaves and branches in support of their claim. This
ascription of maternity to Earth appears to designate that
deity as female, as a divine Mother rather than a divine
Father.
The worship of the Plarth as the great deity, or rather the Worship of
greatest of the deities, prevails in similar forms among all
the pagan tribes of the Mossi-Gurunsi country. All have thetribesof
their Chiefs of the Earth, who preside over the worship, and
all offer sacrifices to the Earth on various occasions, such as country,
at sowing and harvest, when human blood has been shed,
and when rain is wanted, and indeed whenever the diviner
declares that the Earth demands this mark of homage. All
look upon the P 3 arth as a just divinity, who does good to
the virtuous and punishes the wicked. She is the abode of
the dead, and it may be that from them she derives her
power of being kind to the righteous and a terror to
evil-doers.^
The profound confidence which these tribes repose in Oaths by
1 L. 'lauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^ ^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir dn Sotidan^
p. 73. pp. loi, io4> 105, 106, 170, 176,
L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^ I 77 » 190, and especially 194.
PP- 73
400
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Sacrifices
to the
Earth at
clearing
land for
cultivation.
the Earth as a power which makes for righteousness is
clearly manifested in the solemn oath which an accused man
will swear by the Earth in order to attest his innocence.
Thus when a man is charged with being a sorcerer and
with having caused the death of somebody by “ eating his
soul/' he is made to drink water in which is mixed a
handful of earth taken from the place of* sacrifice. Before
he drinks he protests his innocence and calls upon the
Earth to kill him if he lies. Should he be guilty, it is
thought that the Earth will take him at his word and slay
him on the spot ; whereas if he is innocent, she will not
harm a hair of his head.^ Sometimes the accuser as well
as the accused was obliged to drain the cup, and it was left
to the Earth to decide between them by killing one or the
other. One of the two always succumbed, or at least ought
to do so ; and if both perished, it was accepted as proof
conclusive that both were sorcerers.'^ One of the nefarious
tricks practised by sorcerers in this region is to turn them-
selves into hyenas and in that disguise to attack and kill
anybody against whom they have a grudge. When that
has happened, and the crime has been brought home to
the criminal in the usual way, by the corpse bumping up
against him when it is carried by two bearers, the accused
has to swear his innocence by the Earth, and if he forswears
himself, it is believed that the Earth will kill him within two
days. But if he refuses to swear and prefers to confess that
he really did turn into a hyena and as such despatched
his victim, they put on his breast some earth, which is
supposed to kill him the very next time he turns into a
hyena.^ One way in which the Earth slays a perjurer is
by causing his belly to swell after he has drunk the water
in which a little of the sacred soil has been dropped.'^
One of the occasions of sacrificing to the Earth is
naturally at clearing land for cultivation. A man who is
about to clear some ground in the forest goes to the Chief of
the Earth or the chief of the village, and together they repair
to the spot where the field is to be laid out. There they
1 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^ ^ L. Tauxier, le Noir du Soudait^
pp. 194 sq., 229, 289. p. 353.
2 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudati^ ^ * L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^
PP- 375 > 376. ' ‘ p. 375.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
401
sacrifice a victim, it ma}" be a fowl, a goat, or what not, to
the Earth, and sometimes also to the Forest ; and having
slaughtered the animal they cook and eat the flesh. After
that the operation of cutting down the trees and bushes may
proceed.^
Another motive for offering sacrifice to the Earth is to
obtain rain in time of drought. For rain is very important
for all these agricultural tribes, and if it docs not fall in
sufficient quantity to ripen the crops during the rainy season,
it is a public disaster. In such a case the village elders take
a fowl to the Chief of the Earth, who sacrifices it to the
I^'arth in their presence that the rain may fall, and together
they cat the flesh. If still no rain falls, they repeat the
sacrifice.^ Sometimes, to encourage the Earth to do her
best for them, the Chief of the Earth, in sacrificing the fowl,
promises to sacrifice a goat also as soon as rain falls. Some-
times, cheered by the prospect, the goddess puts forth her
power at once : the thunder rolls, the tornado bursts, and
the rain pours down in torrents. At other times several days
pass before the water of heaven descends, but it always falls
.sooner or later, which is not so miraculous as it might seem,
because such sacrifices are only offered in the rainy season.’’^
Among the Kassunas-Buras the Chief of the Earth sacrifices
a dog, a sheep, a goat, or even an ox to the Earth for rain
in the sacred grove or, if there is no sacred grove, at the place
set apart for sacrifices to the Earth. Only the chief of the
village and the elders may assist at the ceremony.*^ Among
the Sissalas, when rain has fallen in great abundance, the
Chief of the Earth thanks the goddess by seizing a fowl by
the legs and dashing its head against the ground on the bare
spot in the middle of the village which is dedicated to the
worship of Earth.^ Among the Nunumas, when a heavy
shower has fallen, the head of a house {sukala) takes a fowl
to his field. If there is a tamarind tree or another tree of a
certain species in the field, he causes the blood of the fowl to
1 L. Tauxier, I.e Noir du Soudan,
pp. 163, 328, 347.
2 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan,
pp. 74 sq, ; compare id, pp. 1 06,
196 sq.
VOL. I
L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan,
pp. 241 sq.
* L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan,
P. 327-
^ L, Tauxier, Noir du Soudan,
p- 358.
2 D
Sacrificing
to the Earth
for rain in
time of
drought.
1 h.ank-
offerings
to the Earth
for rain.
402
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Worship of
the Earth
among the
Kassunas-
Huras.
Scat of the
Earth-
goddess on
dunghills.
The Earth-
goddess
and the
Forest-
goddess.
flow on the tree, but if there is no such tree he lets the blood
pour on the ground. This is a sacrifice to the Earth and
the Forest for a good crop.^ If the harvest answers his
expectations, the husbandman makes a mess of millet
porridge, seasoned with fish sauce, carries it to his field, and
pours part of it on the ground, while he thanks the Forest
for having given him a good crop."
Among the Kassunas - Buras the Chief of the Earth
sacrifices to the Earth for the whole village at the time of
sowing, in order that the seeds may thrive. The sacrifice
consists of millet flour, moistened with water, which he offers
at or near the door of his family house {siikahi) ; and after
harvest he sacrifices to the Earth for the whole village to
thank the goddess for her bounty.*^ But in this tribe the
husbandman himself at sowing sometimes sacrifices in his
field to the Earth and the Forest. If there is a great tree in
the field, he pours the blood of the victim or smears a paste
of flour on it ; but if there is no tree, he applies the sacrificial
blood or flour to a rock or stone ; and if there is no rock or
stone, he pours out the whole on the ground. The tree,
the rock, or the ground is supposed to convey the offering
to the deity.'^ More usually, however, in this tribe, the head
of a family at sowing offers the sacrificial paste to the
ancestral spirits at their little huts made of beaten earth in
the large communal dwelling (suka/a).^
Among the Kassunas-Fras one of the favourite seats of
the Earth deity, curiously enough, is on the great dunghills,
sometimes twelve feet or more in height, one of which is
usually to be seen at the door of the large communal house
(sukala) of the village chief. In such cases the sacrifices
to the Earth-goddess are offered to her on the heap of
ordure.^
While the Earth-goddess, as we have seen, is at times
confounded with her daughter the Forest - goddess, the
two great deities are sometimes distinguished from each
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir dii Soudan^
p. 190.
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir dti Soudan^
p. 191.
^ L. Tauxier, T.e Noir du Soudan^
P- 323.
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^
pp. Z2Z sq.
“ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan,
p, 322. For other sacrifices to Earth
at sowing, see id, p. 587.
® L. Tauxier, L^e Noir du Soudan,
pp. 3 > 5 . 328.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
403
other. Thus the Nunumas look on the Forest as the
second great divinity and as closely related to the Earth,
who indeed is her mother. At bottom she is righteous like
her parent, yet is she of a sterner temper, more terrible, more
mischievous. In the gloomier cast of her character we may
trace the horror of the dense thickets and matted jungle, the
haunts of wild beasts.^ In some villages of the Kassunas-
Fras there is a Chief of the Forest distinct from the Chief
of the Earth, and at sowing he sacrifices one or two fowls
to the F'orcst for the whole village in order that the seed
sown may prosper.^'
In most villages of the Kassunas-Buras and probably The office
of most other pagan tribes of the Mossi-Gurunsi country, [h/^Ea/th •
there is a Chief of the Earth as well as a chief of the village, ‘ts origin.
When a native was asked why there was this division of
authority, and why the chief of the village could not be also
the Chief of the Earth, he answered that the duplication
dated from a time when two brothers had divided the power
between them, the elder electing to be Chief of the Earth
and the younger to be chief of the village, and that their
descendants had inherited their respective offices.'^ In this
explanation there may be an element of truth, if we sup-
pose that the Chiefs of the Earth are representatives of
the aboriginal race which was conquered and deprived of
political predominance by a race of invaders and conquerors,
the Mossis, who were content to leave in the hands of the
ancient inhabitants those religious functions, and especially
that worship of the Earth, which as newcomers they felt
themselves incompetent to undertake.^
In Yatenga, a district of Upper Senegal or the French The^ ^
Sudan, to the north of the Mossi-Gurunsi country, the the Earth
worship of the Earth is similar. There also the Earth
{Tengd) is esteemed a powerful divinity, indeed the supreme
divinity in conjunction with Wenda, the Sky. But she is The Earth-
much more terrible than he. She is the great champion
of morality and justice, the great avenger of wrong. She champion
is angered by all the crimes and faults that men commit, andjusUce^
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan^ ^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan,
p. 195. pp. 309
2 Iv. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan, ^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Soudan,
pp. 170, 240. pp. 594-596.
404
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Oaths by
Earth.
Worship of
the Forest
in Yatenga.
The Chief
of the Earth
in Yatenga.
for example, by the shedding of blood ; and if these crimes
and faults are not redressed, she manifests her indignation
by the various calamities which she has it in her power
to inflict, as by withholding rain or sending famine,
locusts, and disease. For example, if a girl is raped in
the forest, it is necessary to sacrifice two goats and two
fowls to the Earth-goddess, otherwise the rain will not fall
and the millet harvest will fail ; and the same thing holds
good of other crimes. In particular, the Earth is the relent-
less foe of perjurers. The way of swearing by her is as
follows. The Chief of the Earth (Toigasoha) of the village
collects spear-heads, arrow-heads, old knives, and so forth,
and puts them all in a hole dug in the ground. There he
kills a fowl, goat, sheep, or ox, while at the same time he
invokes the formidable divinity. Over the hole, thus watered
with the blood of the victim, he compels the accused to
swear his innocence and to call upon the Earth to kill him
if he is not speaking the truth. If he is innocent, the Earth
naturally spares him ; but if he is guilty, she kills him
within a given time. The Mossis and Foulses of Yatenga
stand in great fear of the Earth-goddess ( Tengex), and often
prefer to make a clean breast of their misdeeds rather than
forswear themselves in such conditions.^
In Yatenga the Forest is also worshipped. Before a
patch of ground is cleared for cultivation, a sacrifice is offered
to the Forest. The victim is generally a fowl, sometimes
a goat, more seldom a sheep, and still more rarely an ox.
At sowing also a sacrifice is offered. But indeed the Forest
divinity is only one side of the Earth divinity ; on closer
analysis the two appear to coincide."
In every village of Yatenga the public worship is in the
hands of the Chief of the Earth (Te?igasobay from tenga,
“ earth,” and soba, ‘‘ chief”). He is always a Fouls^ by race,
not a Mossi. The political chiefs {tenganabas) of Yatenga
never themselves offer sacrifices, though they may command
the Chiefs of the Earth to do so.^ Towards the end of
February the people hold a festival for the purpose of
1 L. Tauxier, Le Noir dti Yatenga p. 377.
(Paris, 1917), pp. 376 sq. ^ L. Tauxier, le Noir dii Yatenga^
2 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Yatenga^ p. 389.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
405
ensuring a good crop. They dance and beat drums for
seven days and nights, and offer sacrifices to the ancestral
spirits, to the Earth, and to the Sky.^ Again, when a
husbandman is about to sow his field, he calls in the aid of
the Chief of the Earth {^Tengasoba) of his village and gives
him a fowl, a goat, and so forth to sacrifice to the Evil
Spirits, to the Earth, and to the Forest. The animals are
roasted and eaten on the spot by the Chief of the Earth and
the man on whose behalf the sacrifice is offered. Similarly,
if the harvest turns out well, a thank-offering of a fowl,
a goat, and so forth, is presented in the fields to the same
divine powers."
Further to the south the worship of the Earth is The
practised in similar form by the negro tribes in the interior
of the Ivory Coast. Thus the Kulangos regard the Earth among
as their great divinity. They think that she hates murderers,
thieves, sorcerers, and all who do ill. Often she is rcpre- of the
sented by a tree of which the great roots ramify like serpents co°?t.
on the ground. On these roots they place a block of massive
red ferruginous stone, looking on the tree, the roots, and the worship
stone as symbols or images of the Earth. If they can find
two or three of these trees so near together that their
roots are intertwined, so much the better ; the red block
is then placed in the middle of the group of trees and
completes the material representation of the great divinity.^
In the opinion of the Kulangos the Forest is a deity
identical with the Earth, the mother of all vegetation.*^
Besides the civil chief there is in every Kulango village a
religious chief, who bears the title of Chief of the Earth
(Salcotese, from sa/cOy “ earth If anybody wishes to
sacrifice to the Earth, he must call in the aid of the Chief
of the Earth, who will offer the sacrifice for him. Every
seventh day is a day of rest, on which no work may be
done ; different villages choose different days of the week
for their rest-day or Sabbath. On the Sabbath they
assemble in the courtyard of the Chief of the Earth,
bringing palm-wine with them. The Chief of the Earth
^ L. Tauxier, Le Noir du Yatcngay ^ L. Tauxier, l.e Noi?- du Bondoukon
p. 379- ' 921 ), p. 175.
2 L. Tauxier, Le Noir du YateugUy L. Tauxier, Le Noir du BondoukoUy
p. 380. p. 176.
4o6
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Sacr fices
of the
Kulangos
to the
Earth-
goddess at
burning the
forest.
Succession
to the office
of Chief of
the Earth.
then prays that the Earth will be pleased to send a good
crop, to protect the husbandmen, and to see that no evil
befalls them. Then he offers a little of the palm-wine by
pouring it out on the ground. After that all the people
drink of the wine and enjoy this bounty of the divine
giver. ^
In the dry season, which falls in December and January,
when the Kulangos are about to burn the withered grass and
kindle fires in the forest, they hold a festival which lasts from
one to seven days. They beat drums, dance, and eat fowls,
after having cut the throats of the birds and offered the blood
to the Earth-goddess. They thank her for having given a
good harvest, and pray that in burning the forest they may
not be hurt by the wild beasts that lurk in it. They also pray
that in these conflagrations the villages may not catch fire, an
accident which often happens, partly through the negligence
of the natives and partly through the force of the parching
north-easterly wind, the harmattan. If anybody sets fire to
the forest before the festival and before the Chief of the
Earth has offered the usual sacrifice, that functionary obliges
him to pay a fine of a goat and two fowls, which he sacrifices
to the Earth to appease her anger. The forest fires are
kindled to assist the people in clearing ground for cultivation
and to make hunting easier.^
When the Chief of the Earth dies, he is succeeded in
office by his nephew, the eldest son of his eldest sister. If
the heir is too young to take office, the sacrifices to the
Earth are offered by his mother till he is grown up, when he
assumes the priesthood in succession to his uncle.’^ The
office of village chief is also hereditary, but it passes at
death to the chief^s eldest son and not to his sister’s son.^
Thus the archaic rule of hereditary transmission to a sister’s
son is observed in succession to the religious office, while
the succession to civil office is regulated by the more modern
rule of hereditary transmission to a man’s own son. Here
as usual religion is essentially conservative.
The Abrons, another tribe in the interior of the Ivory
^ 1 j. Tawxicr, Le JVo/r du BofhilotU’oUj ® h. TiwixiGiCy Le JVotr d/i Bofidou^oi^,
p. 167. p. 168.
^ h. Hotr duBonifou/cotty * L, TsLUxiei y Le JVoirduBondot^^oUy
pp. 167 s^. p. 170.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
407
Coast, also worship the Earth and offer sacrifices to her, Worship of
especially when they are searching for gold.^ They also
sacrifice a victim, generally a fowl, to the Earth at clearing Abrons.
land for cultivation ; the blood of the fowl is the share of the
goddess, its flesh is eaten by the sacrificer. Further, they
promise a fowl or a goat to the Earth if she gives them a
good harvest ; and when the goddess grants their prayer,
they pay their vow.^
The Nafanas, another pagan tribe in the interior of theworshipof
Ivory Coast, recognize two great deities, the Sky and the
Earth, to both of whom they offer sacrifices. They regard among the
the Earth as the guardian of morality. They think that the
Earth resents an act of unchastity committed in the forest,
and that in such cases it is necessary to offer a sacrifice in
order to appease her anger ; otherwise she will not allow the
rain to fall or will send some other calamity.^
Among the Gagus, another tribe in the interior of the The Chief
Ivory Coast, there is a Chief of the Earth {toua-kini or
toua-kene) in every village besides the ordinary civil chief. Ougus . his
Before the French occupation these Chiefs of the Earth were
more important and had more power than the civil chiefs.
The French have altered the balance of power, making it
incline to the side of the civil instead of the religious
authority."^ The Chief of the Earth used to offer sacrifices
to the Earth for the whole village on a great stone that stood
in his courtyard. He interpreted the wishes of the Earth,
and could announce that the deity would have no work done
on a particular day. Thus he could prevent the villagers
from going forth to their labour, even when they wished to
work, and they obeyed from fear of incurring the vengeance
of the goddess. On the other hand, if anybody was wounded
^ I .. Tau X icr, Le N'oir du Bondotikoii^
P« 353 * gold-bearing districts
of the Gold Coast, where the natives
dug for alluvial gold, it was thought
that the precious metal was brought
up from the bowels of the earth by a
local deity, who thus rewarded his
worshippers for their offerings. When
the supply of gold ran shoit, the people
fancied that the god was angry or
lacked labourers, so they sacrificed
two or three slaves to him to assist
him in his mining operation.s. See
(Sir) A. B. Ellis, 'I' he 'I'shi-speakittg
Peoples of the Gold Coast (London,
1887), pp. 69 sq.
L. Ttxwxitxf.eNoirduBoHdoukoH,
P. 309.
2 L. Taiixier, Le Noir dtt Boudotikoti ^
P- 379.
^ L. T?iM'P\^XyNlgres Goiiro etc agon,
Centre de la CSte d'Ivoire (Paris,
1924), p. 135.
4o8
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Worship of
the Earth
among the
CJuros of
the Ivory
Coast.
Chiefs of
the Earth :
their duties.
or killed in the forest, the Chief of the Earth was responsible,
and had to pay compensation to the wounded man or to the
family of the deceased. Moreover, he had to sacrifice a young
he-goat and a fowl to the Earth to pacify her wrath.^ A
murderer had to give a kid to the Chief of the Earth, who
sacrificed it to the Earth to appease her anger.^ Theft also
excited the wrath of that righteous deity, and the thief was
obliged to soothe her by the sacrifice of a kid, which was
offered to her by the Chief of the Earth. If the theft had
been committed in another village than that of the thief, the
sacrifice of the kid was offered half-way between the two
villages by the Chiefs of the Earth of both places and in the
presence of the two village chiefs and the elders of both
villages.^ So when there had been war between two villages
and some of the combatants had been slain, the Chiefs of the
Earth of the two sides used to meet half-way between the
two villages and sacrifice two young he-goats to the Earth,
begging her to forgive the slaughter and the blood that had
been spilled. The civil chiefs and the elders of the villages
attended the ceremony and partook of the flesh of the kids.
Thus peace was restored between the villages.^
The Guros-are another tribe in the interior of the Ivory
Coast who revere the Earth as a great divinity, the upholder
of the moral law.^ In respect of political evolution they
stand at a somewhat higher level than the Gagus, for unlike
the latter they have chiefs of tribes as well as chiefs of
villages. Yet their social organization would seem to have
remained essentially theocratic till it received a rude shock
through contact with European civilization when the French
invaded and conquered the country. For the tribal chiefs
and their subordinates, the village chiefs, were rather priests
than civil rulers ; they all bore the title of Chief of the
Earth {Terezan, from terd, “earth"’), and their principal
functions were religious, it being their duty to offer sacrifices
to the Earth both periodically and on special occasions,
when the wrath of the great goddess was excited by
1 L. Tauxier, Negres Gouro et Gagou,
p. 136.
^ L. Tauxier, Gouro ei Gagou^
P. 137.
L. Tauxier, Negres Gouro et GagoUy
p. 138.
^ L. T&\xx\q\\ Negres Gou? 0 et Gagoti^
P. 139.
^ L. Tauxier, Negres Gouro et GagoUj
p. 248.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
409
breaches of the moral law, such as murder, theft, rape,
and adultery. The tribal chiefs, in their capacity of Chiefs
of the Earth, sacrificed to the Earth on behalf of the whole
tribe ; and the village chiefs, in their capacity of Chiefs of the
Earth, sacrificed to Earth on behalf of the whole village.^
The periodic sacrifices include those offered at clearing
the land for cultivation, at sowing, and at harvest,^ but some
at least of these appear to have been offered by the heads of Sacrifices
families rather than by the Chiefs of the Earth. Thus among
the southern Guros it is the head of a family who at sowing
offers a fowl to the Earth on an ant-hill,® and among the
central Guros it is the husbandman himself who sacrifices a
fowl and a little rice to the Earth at clearing land for
cultivation.^ But among the northern Guros it is the
tribal chief or Grand Chie^ of the Earth in person who
sacrifices to the Earth at harvest, while the people drink
palm-wine and dance to the sound of the drums for two
days.^
Among the crimes which, in the opinion of the Guros, Crimes
had to be atoned for by an offering to the Earth, homicide
or simple bloodshed was generally expiated by the sacri- for by
fice of a male kid, sometimes two kids, offered either by
the Chief of the Earth or by the oldest man of the village,®
but sometimes in the case of wounds the victim was a
fowl.^ When somebody killed a person of another village,
the village of the slain man or woman took up the
quarrel and killed somebody of the homicide’s village
immediately, it might be in the very night that followed
the murder. The chief of the tribe then intervened to
stop reprisals. He exacted a kid from the family of the
first homicide, and a kid from the family of the second
homicide, and the Chief of the Earth of the one village,
bringing with him the kid, met the Chief of the Earth of
the other village, bringing the other kid, at a point between
the two villages, both chiefs being accompanied by the
^ Jj, TsLWxier, Cfouro ei^ p. 197*
pp. 171, 182, 196 s(/., 243, 244. ^ L. Taiixier,
L. Tauxicr, N?p'es Gouro et Gagou^ p. 260.
pp. 186, 197, 208, 225, 260. ® \.,T 2 .\\yi\^x,Ngres Gouro et Gagoit,
3 \j.'}L7Si\rI\iiiyN^.gres Gouro ei Gagou^ pp. I73» ^75> I99> 245.
186. " " ^Nigres Gouro et Gagoti,
^ lu. Gouro ei GagoUf p. 246.
410
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
inhabitants of their respective villages. At the place of
meeting the great Chief of the Earth sacrificed the kids to
the Earth, then seasoned the flesh with a medicine intended
to prevent the repetition of such acts ; the medicine consisted
of a little earth or sand gathered at the spot where the
sacrifice had just been offered to the Earth. The people of
the two villages ate the flesh thus seasoned, and the quarrel
was over.^
Sacrificesto When a man killed a member of another tribe, no com-
a^^percL'^ position for the murder was accepted, and the result was
making, a petty war between the tribes which might last two or
three years. When both sides were weary of hostilities,
the great Chief of the Earth of a third tribe interposed his
good offices as mediator between the combatants. If they
accepted his mediation, the tribe which had killed the first
man gave a kid, which was sacrificed to the Earth by the
great Chief of the Earth. The kid was cut in two, and
the tribe which had killed most men in the war enjoyed
the privilege of eating the fore-quarters of the animal, while
the tribe which had shed less blood acknowledged its
inferiority by consuming the hind-quarters of the victim.^
Sacrificesto Among the Guros the expiation for theft also con-
inLpiluion listed in the sacrifice of a male kid to the Earth. These
of crimes, people deemed rape a less serious offence than theft ; the
ravisher furnished a fowl, which was offered to the Earth as an
atonement by the brother or husband of the injured woman.®
Among the central Guros an adulterer had to give a kid
and two fowls to the injured husband, who sacrificed them
to the Earth ; for if the wrath of the Earth at the adulteress
were not thus appeased the woman’s children would die.'*^
Among the northern Guros the sacrifice of a fowl to the
Earth was deemed sufficient to protect the guilty couple
and the innocent husband from the natural consequences
of the crime.^ Another crime abhorred by the Earth was
sorcery, the malignant art of killing a person by eating his
or her soul. A convicted wizard or witch had to give a
^ h.Tnuxicry Nt’i^^resGourpe^ Ga^oi^y p. 174.
p. 245. ^ T-duxittr^N^^^res GoiiJV et Ga^>-oi^y
V^.'Y^\y)i\Q.x,N^gresGouro et Gagou^ p. 105.
pp. 245 ^ \^.Tx\.yx'k\iix^N^gres Gouro et Gagoti^
^ V,,TzMyL\Qx^Negres Gotiro d Gagon^ p. 241.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
411
goat and a fowl, or even a goat and a bull, which were
sacrificed to the Earth in atonement of the horrid crime.^
On the whole, among these tribes of Upper Senegal and Moral
the Ivory Coast the belief in the moral character of the great on^eiieTin
Earth deity appears to have exercised a powerful influence ^njEarth
in enforcing respect for human life, for private property, and
for the sanctity of the marriage tie.
The Ashantis of the Gold Coast regard the Sky and the Worship of
Earth as their two great deities. With their Sky-god, whose goddJss^^^
name is ’Nyame, we have already dcalt.“ The worship of the among the
Earth-goddess is less well known, perhaps because it is not
quite so obvious. No temple, no image is reared in her
honour, but her power is none the less universally acknow-
ledged. From the Earth, according to one of their most
familiar myths, sprang some of the noblest of the Ashanti
clans, for example the Oyoko, from whom the later Ashanti
kings were descended. The Ashanti name for Earth is Asase
Ya, that is. Old Mother Earth. The day dedicated to her
worship was Thursday, and even now the Ashanti farmer
will not till or break the soil on that day ; down to some
thirty years ago a breach of the rule was punished with
death.^ To this day the Ashanti farmer makes an offering
to Old Mother Earth every year on the day when he begins
to till his land. He goes to the field, taking with him a
fowl and some mashed plantain or yam which his wife or
sister has cooked for him. Arrived at the field where work
is to begin, he wrings the fowks neck, and letting the blood
drip on the mashed yam and the earth he speaks as follows :
“ Grandfather So-and-so, you once came and hoed here and
then you left it to me. You also Earth, Ya, on whose soil
I am going to hoe, the yearly cycle has come round and
I am going to cultivate ; when I work let a fruitful year
come upon me, do not let the knife cut me, do not let a
tree break and fall upon me, do not let a snake bite me.”
He then cuts up the fowl and mixes the flesh with the yam.
After that he throws portions of the mixture to the four
points of the compass ; and some of the remains he places
1 h. TzLUxicr^JV^^res Goi/roei ^ U. S. Rattray, (Oxford,
pp. 204, 222. I923)» PP- 214
2 Above, pp. 97
412
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Earth-gods
worshipped
among the
inhabitants
of the
Northern
Territories
of the Gold
Coast.
Sacred
groves of
the Earth-
gods.
Propitia-
tion of the
Earth -god
after the
commission
of certain
crimes,
such as
bloodshed
and incest.
in a leaf and deposits on the spot where he stood in making
the offering.^
Among the inhabitants of the Northern Territories of
the Gold Coast there prevails a worship of the Earth like
that which we have found characteristic of the inhabitants
of Upper Senegal or the French Sudan> and the resemblance
is natural enough since, as I have already pointed out, the
boundary between the two countries is not racial but merely
political, the same tribes bemg settled on both sides of it."
While the natives of the Northern Territories of the Gold
Coast all recognize the existence of a great Sky-god or
Supreme Being, whom they call Wuni, Weni, or We,^ they
in practice pay much more attention to the Gods of the
Earth ; for, like the ancient Chinese, they have not risen
to the general conception of a single Earth-god, the per-
sonification of the whole earth, but believe in the existence
of a great number of Earth-gods, each presiding over his
own particular territory, like a human chief. For the most
part every community possesses at least one Earth-god, and
the names of the Earth-gods vary from place to place.
They are invisible, but abide in natural objects, such as
clumps of trees, rocks of large size or remarkable appearance,
and ponds ; but clumps of trees are their favourite homes.
At Kanjaga, for example, there are two such sacred groves.
One of them is a small cluster of fan palms surrounding
a single tall one, all of them growing out of a white ants'
ne.st. The other is a group of short, long-leaved raphia
palms such as grow in the marshes of the Ashanti forest.
This latter grove, situated in a small dale otherwise bare of
trees, presents a striking appearance, all the more so because
these palms are elsewhere unknown in the district. The
propitiation of the local Earth-god is deemed of the utmost
importance, for, were it neglected, famine would surely follow
as a consequence of the wrath of the offended deity. His
righteous indignation is excited by the spilling of human
blood on the ground, and by the commission of incest,
for such acts are thought to pollute the soil. Even so
seemingly trivial an act as the shooting of an arrow in
1 R. S. Rattray, Ashanti, pp. 2155^. 2 Above, pp. 94 sq,
3 Above, p. 95 *
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
413
anger suffices to disturb the equanimity of the sensitive
deity. When such a deed has been done, or indeed anything
untoward has happened, the particular Earth-god on whose
domain the event took place must be appeased. The duty
of making atonement devolves on the religious chief or
priest who bears the title of tindana^ tengyona, or tengsoba^
meaning literally in every case the Owner of the Land or
Chief of the Earth, as the corresponding official is commonly
designated in Upper Senegal. It is his office to intercede
between the people and the deity who gave them the land
on which they live and the food which they eat. They say
that no place is without its Chief of the Earth {tinda?ia\ and
to this day, if people migrate into an uninhabited country
in the hope of finding there a less niggardly soil than the one
they have left behind them, they must obtain a grant of
land from the Chief of the Earth who happens to be nearest
to the new settlement. As usual, the atonement takes the
form of sacrifices, which are ordered by the Chief of the
Earth to be performed as the occasion arises. He also
appoints the day when the new crops may be eaten by the
community ; in short, he regulates all matters that concern
the religion of the Earth-god.^
The requirements of the deity are revealed from time Sooth-
to time by a soothsayer, who ascertains them by means of ^
certain magical stones, which he shakes out of a bag. The ^^^nes.
divine wishes announced by this form of soothsaying are
regularly gratified, or if not, so much the worse for the
Chief of the Earth who is responsible for the omission.
For example, the Chief of the Earth at Issa was informed by
the soothsayer that his Earth-god desired a market to be
re-established on the spot. The Chief delayed to comply
with the divine injunction, and in consequence his son
was badly mauled by a leopard as a warning to the Chief
himself to be less dilatory in obeying the deity. ^ Through
the communication which the soothsayer thus maintains
with the higher powers his services are indispensable, not
only in religious matters but in the conduct of everyday
1 A. W. Cardinall, The Natives of 2 a. W. Cardinal!, The Natives of
the Northern I'erritorics of the Gold the Northern Territories of the Gold
(London, N.D.), pp. 15-17, 24-26. Coast, pp. 26, 30.
414
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
life ; practically nothing is done without consulting him ;
the whole structure of society is in his hands. Yet the
stones by which he works his wonders are neither rare nor
beautiful : they are just hard, smooth stones which may be
picked up anywhere in the fields. The natives believe that
the stones have fallen from heaven, so they gather them and
pile them on the ancestral graves, or rather on the little
pyramids of mud which are. set up to serve as altars in the
worship of the dead. But sceptical Europeans are of opinion
that these precious stones are simply disused hand- grinders.^
Worship of The Ewe-speaking people of Southern Togo, a province
goddess^*^ to the east of Ashanti, worship the Earth as a goddess
among the under the name of Anyigba. One of the epithets applied
peaking goddess is Mother of the Little Children, for she it is
people who bestows offspring on people. She also makes the yams
Togo. grow and trade to prosper she gives good luck in
hunting and victory in war. It is in her power, too, both
to inflict and to heal sickness and disease. One day of the
week, named asiamighe^ is her rest-day or sabbath ; there-
fore on that day it is unlawful to hoe the ground, to dig
yams, and to thrust a stake into the earth, because such acts
arc clearly calculated to disturb her divine repose, if not
to do her bodily injury. Anybody who hoes the ground
Oaths by on her sabbath will surely die. When a man is accused
the Karth. theft or any other wrong and denies the accusation,
he smites the earth with his hand, praying that the Earth
may kill him if he is not speaking the truth ; and if he
is lying the Earth will surely kill him, for she can
distinguish between truth and falsehood and make the
distinction manifest. She is served by a priest whose
office is hereditary, descending from father to son. The
badges of the priest are two bells and a priestly cap
woven of rushes.^ If a man has sworn falsely by the Earth,
his sin must be expiated by the sacrifice of two fowls and
a goat, which the priest offers to the goddess, killing them
without the use of a knife.^
^ A. W. Cardinall, The Natives of 56 59; id,^ Die Ewe-Stcimme
the Northern Territories of the Gold (Berlin, 1906), p. 716.
Coasts pp. 29-31.
2 J. Spieth, Die Religion der Eweer ^ Spieth, Die Religion der Eweei
in Slid -Togo (Leipzig, 19 il), pp. in Siid-Togo^ sq.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
415
When a wife is childless she goes with her husband Wife's
to the priest of the Earth. Her husband gives the priest {iie^Earth-
palm-wine, two hen's eggs, some tobacco, and four strings goddess for
fi diild
of cowries, and begs him to pray the goddess to cause his
wife to conceive. The priest takes a little of the wine,
names the goddess, gives the woman a chicken in her hand,
and prays, saying, “ This woman says she would like to
have a child, and if she gets one she will come again and
thank thee’'. Thereupon her husband says to the goddess,
“ I have made over my wife to thee, that thou mayest give
her a child, which she shall bear. If she gets a child, I will
come again and thank thee." The priest now commands
the husband to inquire of his wife at home whether she has
been guilty of any secret sin ; for should she have sinned
and not confess her fault before putting her hand in the
sacrificial vessel of the goddess, she would surely die. If
the wife agrees, she draws water next morning, and she and
her husband go with the water to the priest. To him the
woman confesses her secret sins. If she hides anything,
she will surely die. After her confession the priest pours
holy water into a vessel of the goddess, and causing the
woman to kneel down pours the water over her. In the
vessel are palm -kernels and pebbles, which consecrate
the water. Then the priest withdraws, and the woman
bathes in water taken from the holy vessel. After that the
priest binds round the woman’s neck a cord made of the
bark of the raphia palm, with two cowries fastened to
the end. The cord signifies that the woman has been made
over to the goddess. Twice a week, during the time that
she is gone with child, the woman must bring maize-meal
to the priest in order that he may feed the goddess with it.
This the woman must do down to the day of her delivery.
When her child is born and the navel string has fallen off,
the mother brings the infant to the priest, who prays over it,
bathes it, and ties a cord of raphia-palm bark about its neck.
If the child thrives, the mother bathes it twice a week (on
asiamigbe and domesigbe) with water drawn from the holy
vessel of the goddess. If the child is a girl, she will after-
wards wash herself with water from the holy vessel. If the
child is a boy, he will afterwards buy palm-wine for the
4i6
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The place
of sacrifice.
Offerings to
the Earth-
goddess
at the
planting
of yams.
Offerings to
the Earth-
goddess at
the festival
of the new
yams.
Offerings
and prayers
to the
Earth-
goddess
for rain.
priest, work on the priest’s field, and run errands for him
to the neighbouring towns.^
The place of sacrifice is a great mound of earth in which
the quills of a porcupine and the feathers of a certain bird
{(iJclama) are inserted. On this mound fowls are sacrificed
to the goddess."
When the time has come for planting the yams, all the
towns bring each a piece of seed-yam to the priest of the
Earth. The women give maize, earth-nuts, and cotton-seeds.
On the day of the week called domesigbc, which, as we have
seen, is the sabbath of the goddess, these gifts are brought
to the priest. They are carried to the sanctuary in the
forest, the seed-yams on three great wooden plates, and the
maize, nuts, and cotton-seed in a basket ; and on arriving at
the holy place they are set down on the earth. When the
people have returned home, the priest casts up two mounds
of earth and plants the seed-yams in them. After that he
gives notice that any one who pleases may plant his yams.^
At the annual festival of the new yams all the chiefs
bring an offering of two yams apiece to the priest of the
Earth. To these offerings he adds his own, and carries
the whole to the house of the goddess, where he prays,
saying, “ To-day the life-yam has come into the town. Here
is thy portion. Take and eat it. Thou must cat before we
eat. May no man who eats yams to-day suffer pain.’’ There
in the house of the goddess the yams are left, and the priest
returns home. Arrived there, he cooks some of the new
yams, mixes them with oil, and strews them all about his
house and courtyard. When he has done so, everybody is
free to cat the new yams.^
In time of long drought the servants of the chiefs go
about the town catching fowls. When they have caught
about a score, they bring them to the house of the Earth-
1 J. Spicth, Die Religion der Eweer
in Siid-Togo^ p. 58.
2 J. Spieth, Die Religion der Eweer
in Slid- Togo y pp, 58 sq.. 59 sq.
^ J. Spieth, Die Religion der Eweer
in Siid-TogOy p. 60.
* J. Spieth, Die Religion der Eweer
in Siido-Togo^ p. 60. Among the
IIos of Togo the Earth-deity to whom
the new yams are offered is a male
god named Agbasia. See J. Spieth,
Die Ewc-Stamme^ pp. 304-310, 340 ;
The Golden Bought I’art V. Spirits of
the Corn and of the Wild^ ii. 58-62.
In a prayer to Agbasia the priest ad-
dresses him as “Our Father” (J.
Spieth, Die Ewe-Stamme^ p. 308) .
X
THE WOES HIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
4*7
goddess on her sabbath (doniesigbe). There the priest prays
over the fowls, saying, Because it rains no more, the elders
have stolen these fowls for thee. Grant therefore that the
rain again falls on the crops and not upon men.^^ In thus
praying the priest holds up a cock and a hen. After the
prayer he kills them both by dashing them on the ground.
The flesh of the birds is then cooked and eaten, and at the
conclusion of the meal the worshippers drink palm-wine.^
When the chiefs hear that an infectious disease is raging, offerings
they go together to the priest of the Earth. He prays,
saying, We have heard that an evil disease is raging. Let Eanh-
it not come to us. If thou wilt hinder it from coming to us
we will give thee a goat.’* Next morning the whole town is disease,
swept and the sweepings are carried outside the walls. On the
third day all the fires in the whole town must be extinguished,
and the ashes are carried out of the town by women on
broken wooden plates. The chiefs take thick clubs, wrapt
in creepers, fasten a toad and the fruit of the calabash-tree
to a fresh palm-leaf, and going out into the forest throw
away the leaf and its contents. On their return fires may
again be lit in the town.‘^
On the outbreak of war the chiefs gather to the priest of Offerings
the Earth, and he prays to the Earth, saying, for example,
“ The men of Agate are about to go to war. If nobody on Earth*
our side falls, we will give thee a goat.” Then the warriors un^cofwar.
take a white fowl, go out into . the street, hold up the bird,
and pray, saying, To-day thy children are about to go to
war and have made a sign for themselves. Therefore be
round about them, and if none of us falls in the war, we will
eome and thank thee.” After praying thus each man plucks
a feather of the white fowl and fastens it to his gun. The
servants of the chiefs kill the fowl and eat it, after which the
warriors march away to the battle.^
We have seen that the Bafioti of Loango believe in a worship of
great deity named Zambi or Nsambi, who created men but,
nssi or
* J. Spieth, Die RePt^ion der Eweer of the new yams. See J. Spieth, Die Bunssi
in Sud-'rogo^ p. 6o. Ewe ~ Stdmfue^ pp. 305 - 307 ; The among the
2 J. Spieth, Die Religion der Eweer Golden Bonghy Part VI. The Scapegoaty Bafioti of
in Sud-7'ogOy pp. 60 sq. Among the pp. 134-136. Loango.
IIos of Togo a similar ceremony is ^ J. Spieth, Die Religion der Ewetr
annually performed before the eating in Stid-TogOy p. 61.
VOL. I
2 E
4i8
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
wearied by their importunity, retired from earth to heaven,
where he now dwells aloof from human affairs and occupies
himself but little with the weal and woe of his creatures.'
However, they think that at his departure to a higher sphere
the deity did not leave this lower world entirely forlorn. He
cither left behind him or sent down from above a certain
being named Mkissi nssi or Bunssi, whose name and attributes
appear to mark him out as -an earth-god, though the native
opinions about him are various and conflicting. His name
Mkissi nssi is compounded of mkissi, “ magic ”, and 7issi,
“ earth ” ; so that literally it signifies “ Magic-earth ”. His
other name Bunssi is sometimes explained as meaning
mmna ina nssi, that is, “ Mother Earth ”, from mama,
“ mother ”, and nssi, “ earth ”. He or she appears to be
an embodiment of the earth viewed in its productive and
fertilizing aspect. Like Nsambi himself, he is invisible and
intangible ; but, unlike Nsambi, he dwells in the earth
and comes up occasionally to the surface, especially at places
where in former times public fires were maintained on behalf
of the State. His function is to look after the welfare of all
that dwell on Nsambi’s earth, particularly to regulate the
fertility of the ground and the distribution of rain. This he
does chiefly by requiring the strict maintenance of the sacred
taboos {china), which are nothing but the commands and pro-
hibitions issued by the great god Nsambi him.self. Breaches
of these ordinances bring down misfortunes either on the
guilty district or on the whole country, and for the sake of
the general weal they must be punished and expiated.
Closely connected with these beliefs are the notions of the
holiness of the earth and the importance of its fertility,
which, for an agricultural people like the Bafioti, is an
essential condition of life.®
Native The native opinions about the Earth-god Mkissi nssi or
artoThe l^unssi are, as we have seen, various and conflicting. The
Eanh-goci. old orthodox opinion would seem to be that he is one and
all powerful and everywhere the same ; but others hold that
there are many independent Earth-gods differing from each
> Above, pp. 136 sqq. pp. 276 sq.
2 E. I’cchuel-Loesche, Pie Loanqo- 3 k. Pcchuel-Loeschc, Die Loango-
Expedition, iii. 2 (Stuttgart, 1907), Expedition, iii. 2, p. 277.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
419
other in power, and that every district has its own particular
Earth-god, each with his own special name. Some believe
that the Earth-god was established by the great god Nsambi;
others say that he has nothing to do with Nsambi. Some
think that he no longer exists or at least is no longer
active, that like Nsambi he has retired from business and
withdrawn into the depths of the earth or somewhere else
far away.^
In the old days, when native kings reigned in Loango, The
the sanctuaries of the Earth-god were also the places where
the king’s sacred fires burned perpetually. Such spots are Earth-god
still well remembered by the people, who will not pass them loango.
by without doing them reverence.^ At the present day the
sanctuaries of the Earth-god are found either in the forest
remote from dwellings or in the villages, sometimes sur-
rounded by a clump of trees, sometimes standing on the
edge of a thicket. They all contain a building of some
sort, varying from a solitary and much weathered hut to a
more elaborate structure in which a number of fetish-men or
magicians may be lodged. The materials used in their con-
struction are largely papyrus stems and palm branches ; the
wooden posts and beams are often carved and painted red
and black ; the walls, made of slim papyrus stems set close
together, are sometimes decorated with graceful patterns
formed by dark stalks of plants or creepers, which are
woven in and out of the papyrus stems so as to produce the
effect of embroidery. The simplest form of sanctuary con-
sists of a square or oblong hut, closed on all sides and built
on a floor of beaten earth. In a single place Dr. Pechuel-
Loesche saw a circular hut, open on all sides, with a thatched
conical roof supported on seven round wooden pillars. The
existence of such a round hut, dedicated to the Earth-god
Bunssi, is all the more remarkable because the nearest round
huts are said to be situated far to the north in the Cameroons
mountains.®
The sanctuaries of the Earth-god are characterized by simplicity
great simplicity. No sacred animals are kept in them, and
aries.
^ E. Pecliuel-Loesche, Die Loattgo- Expedition^ iii. 2, pp. 278, 281.
Expedition^ iii. 2, pp. 278, 279. ^ E. Pechucl-Loesche, Die Loango-
2 E. Pechuel-Loesche, Die Loango- Expedition^ iii. 2, pp. 282-284,
420
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
The priest
of the
Earth-god.
Prayers to
the Earth-
God for
rain.
Other occa-
sions of
consulting
the priest.
no bloody sacrifices are offered ; no one may hunt in the
neighbourhood. At the entrance of some, but not all, of the
huts, an antelope horn or a leaden funnel is stuck in the
ground as a receptacle for the palm-wine or rum which
worshippers offer to the Earth-god.^
The priest who is charged with the guardianship of the
sanctuary and with the performance of all rites at it must be
a man of sound and unblemished body who has never shed
blood. He receives no regular salary, but is maintained by
the offerings of the faithful, for whom he performs the offices
of religion. He has no official costume and no official dwell-
ing ; he resides in the village, and for days or weeks to-
gether may not go near the sanctuary of which he has charge.
None but he may enter the holy building: he must celebrate
the rites between sunrise and sunset : he must have fasted
and abstained from women since the evening before. How-
ever, these rules are said to be now not everywhere strictly
observed. From a variety of indications it is inferred that
in the regal period the priests of the Earth-god were trained
smiths and workers in metal. Nothing is known of stone
tools in Loango. When the priest enters the holy house
and shuts the door behind him to convey the petition of the
worshipper to the deity, he rings an iron hand-bell, which, like
all his priestly furniture, must be of native workmanship.'^
In time of severe drought the people go on pilgrimage
to one of these sanctuaries to pray for rain. Arrived at the
holy place they take up position on three sides of a square
facing towards the house of the god, and wait in silence till
the sun rises. Then they all begin to pray in a loud voice,
their prayer being accompanied by the beating of drums and
the blowing of horns, while the priest is officiating and ring-
ing his bell in the house. So it goes on without a break till
sunset, or until the people, who must be fasting, are com-
pletely exhausted. Such assemblies are said in times of
great distress to have numbered many thousands.^
Different and more complicated are the rites of the
sanctuary when the pilgrims come to ask for help in their
^ E. Pechuel-Loesche, Die Loango- Expedition^ iii. 2, pp. 285-287.
Expedition, iii. 2, p. 284. ^ E. Pechuel-Loesche, Die Loango-
^ E. Pechucl-Loesche, Die Loango- Expedition, iii. 2, pp. 288 sij.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
421
private affairs or to do penance for sins which they have
committed by breaking taboos. The occasions which induce
them thus to go on pilgrimage may be long-continued sick-
ness, or inexplicable misfortunes, or the fear of coming evils.
The priest consoles and encourages the sick, the dejected,
and the sinful by a variety of antics, clashing iron instru-
ments of antique patterns or scraping the rust off them into
water, cutting capers and prancing round the pilgrims, puffing
at them, stroking them, painting red, yellow, and white lines,
dots, and circles on their bodies, or setting vessels full of
water on their heads and observing the ways in which the water
overflows. Finally, he assures them that all is now well and
dismisses them with advice for their conduct in the future.^
Among the sins which in the native opinion are fraught Penance
with serious consequences are sexual offences, and the guilty
couple must do penance at a sanctuaryof the Earth-god. They at the
must fast from meat and drink for twenty-four hours, then
appear at sunrise at the holy place, their bodies clean shaven K.nih-god.
and smeared with charcoal, their heads and shoulders sprinkled
with ashes. They bring two new mats and a pair of un-
blemished fowls, which must be either pure white or pure
black in colour ; the man brings the hen, and the woman
the cock. The mats are unrolled before the door of the hut,
and the sinners take their stand on them, while the priest
with a piece of iron traces a circle about them on the ground.
Next he tethers the cock to the ankle of the woman and the
hen to the ankle of the man, but so that the fowls can
approach each other, for from the behaviour of the birds one
to the other omens are said to be drawn as to the future
weal or woe of the guilty pair. The sinners now make
their confession in a low voice, and the priest afterwards
repeats it in the holy hut, ringing his bell at the same time.
The ceremony of confession is repeated thrice, at sunrise, at
noon, and at sunset. All that time, till darkness falls, the
pair must stand silent and motionless, exposed to the jeers,
the witticisms, and the reproaches of passers-by or of the
villagers who have gathered to witness their penance. It is
related that on one such occasion the woman, unable to bear
the shame of the exposure, fled from the spot, but the angry
1 E. Pechuel-Loesche, Die Loango- Expedition, iii. 2, p. 289. '
422
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
Purifica-
tion of
sinners.
Why
sexual
crimes are
deemed
grave.
Hunters
bring the
heads of
game to the
Earth-god.
crowd pursued and killed her, and then put her paramour
also to death.^
Many of these penitents are said to be obliged to appear
at the sanctuary for three days in three successive months,
after full moon, and to creep on all fours or to hop on one
leg thrice round the holy hut. And by way of cleansing
them from their sin earth is thrown on them, dust is puffed
at them, and they are sprinkled with rust scraped from
a sacred implement of iron. Other modes of purification
are sprinkling the sinners with salt water and forcing them
to leap over wisps of burning grass. It is probable that the
rites of penance vary with the nature and gravity of the
misdemeanour.^ The reason of the extreme seriousness
with which the natives of Loango regard breaches of sexual
morality is that such offences are supposed by them to blight
the fertility of the earth, especially by stopping the rainfall.^
Similar notions prevail and lead to similar practices in other
parts of Africa. Thus among the Chagga of Mount Kili-
manjaro almost the most heinous crime was deemed sexual
intercourse between a girl and an uncircumcised lad, because
such an offence was thought to bring misfortune on the land.
Hence, if the girl was got with child, the guilty pair were
laid one on the top of the other and staked to the ground.
This was done above or below the cultivated land, and the
corpses were left unburied.**
In Loango hunters are expected to bring to the priest
of the Earth-god the fresh heads of the animals which they
have killed, along with the tongues. The flesh is eaten at
the sanctuary, and the priest adds the skull to the heap
of mouldering skulls and bones which gradually accumulates
at the holy place. The reason alleged for the custom is
that the animals live on the products of the earth. A
hunter who omits to bring a fresh head of game to the
sanctuary of the Earth -god is bound, according to the
priests, to do penance for the omission ; for they say that
by his negligence he has injured the earth and lost his luck
^ E. Pechuel-Loesche, Die Loango- Second Edition (London, 1913), pp.
Expedition^ iii. 2, pp. 290 sq. 54 sqq,
2 E. Pechuel-Loesche, Die Loango-
Expedition, iii. 2, pp. 291 sq. * Ch. Dundas, Kilimanjaro and its
3 J. G. Frazer, Psyche's Task, People (London* 1924), p. 296.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
423
in the chase.^ It might naturally be thought that the first-
fruits of the ground would be offered at the sanctuaries of
the Earth-god, but there is no strict rule on the subject,
and such offerings are said to be few in number and small
in quantity.'^
The Baganda, the once powerful nation who give their
name to the Uganda Protectorate, used to worship an Earth-
god whom they called Kitaka. He had a temple in
Busiro, where his will was interpreted by a prophet. When
the king contemplated putting to death people who had
been condemned by the other gods, he would often send
to Kitaka and ask him to destroy the ghosts of the doomed
men. Speaking in the name of Kitaka, the prophet under-
took to destroy both their bodies and their spirits, so that
their ghosts could not return to harm the king. Kitaka was
consulted by women when they wished to ensure the fertility
of a garden which they had just laid out ; moreover, prayers
and offerings were addressed to him in order that the land
might yield abundant crops.^
But the Baganda also believed in another Earth-god
named Musisi, whom they held to be responsible for earth-
quakes. He had his temple on one of the Sese Islands in
Lake Victoria Nyanza, but he was believed to dwell in the
centre of the earth and to cause earthquakes when he moved
about At such times anybody who had fetishes at hand
patted them and asked the god to keep quiet ; pregnant
women patted their stomachs to prevent the god from taking
either their own life or that of their unborn child ; others
raised a shrill cry to remind the deity of their existence and
to induce him to remain still. He was not a' god who was
much consulted by the people, but they made him gifts lest
he should be angry and disturb the earth by his movements.'*
In the central district of Busoga, the country which
adjoins the territory of the l^aganda on the east, the Earth-
god Kitaka is believed to be the cause of earthquakes.
The Basoga think that the god is present in the form of a
Worship of
the Earth -
god Kitaka
among the
Baganda.
Miisisi,
anoth<*r
Earth -god
of the
Baganda.
Worship of
the Earth-
irod Kitaka
1 E. Pechuel-Loesche, Die Loango- ^ J. Koscoe, The Baganda (London,
Expedition^ iii. 2, pp. 291 si]. PP* 3^2 sq.
- E. Pechuel-Loesche, Die Loango- ^ J. Roscoe, The Baganda^ pp.
Expedition^ iii. 2, p. 292. 3^3
424
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
CHAP.
How the
Earth-
quake god
Kitaka
passes
through
Busoga
with his
sinister
follower
Kibaho.
Belief of the
Banyan-
kole in
the Earth-
quake gods
Omusisi
and
Nabinge.
great stone or rock. Accordingly they build a shrine beside
the rock to receive offerings, and they go thither to pray to
the deity. Sometimes men disappear from the district and
are said to have been spirited away by the god. Fowls and
goats are sacrificed at the rock ; the blood is poured out on
the ground beside the shrine, and the head of the victim is
buried close by. The worshippers cook and eat the meat in
the vicinity of the rock.^
The Basoga say that sometimes Kitaka journeys through
the land and causes the earth to quake on his passage. He
is always followed by another god named Kibaho, who is
greatly feared, because plague or sickness of some kind
usually dogs his steps, unless it can be averted. So when
a tremor of the earth betrays the passage of Kitaka, the
medicine-men set to work to ward off the evil which his
follower might bring in his train. They say that Kitaka
passes from Mount Elgon to Lake Kyoga ; hence when an
earthquake is felt they call on the people to cut a path for
the god Kibaho, in order that he may pass by as swiftly as
possible. So in each district the people cut down the grass
and shrubs and smooth a road some ten feet wide, while
others bring food and place it at the boundary of their land
to be carried on by the inhabitants of the next district.
This road is said to expedite the god and to carry him
through to Lake Kyoga without doing any harm. The
people of the next district take up the work and pass on the
victuals to their boundary ; and in this manner the path is
made and the food carried on, with additions from each
district, until the shore of Lake Kyoga is reached. There a
canoe is ready, and the food is put into it and rowed to an
island, where a priest takes the food and offers it to the god
by scattering it upon the water. This offering averts the
plague and death that otherwise would almost certainly have
attended the passage of the Earthquake-god Kitaka and his
dreadful follower.’^
Among the Banyankole, a pastoral people whose
country adjoins that of the Baganda on the south-west,
the Earthquake - god was originally known as Omusisi, a
^ J. Roscoe, The Northern Bantu ^ J. Roscoe, The Northern Bantu^
(Cambridge, 191S), pp. 2^0 sq, p. 251.
X
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA
425
name which is clearly identical with Musisi, the appellation
of the Earthquake-god among the Baganda. But of late
years some people among the Banyankole have claimed
to be the prophets of another Earthquake - god called
Nabinge. These prophets or priests built a hut and hung
about in it things that rattled when they were shaken. So
when anybody came to consult the oracle the priests made a
noise like the rumbling of an earthquake and shook the hut
till it seemed to be falling down. This so terrified the
applicants that they willingly made offerings to the priests
in order to avert the threatened danger.^
The worship of this Earthquake-god Nabinge has in Worship of
recent years spread also among the Bakyiga, a large tribe
of the Bantu stock who inhabit the mountainous region Nabinge
called Kigezi to the cast of Lake Edward. They are a Bakyi|a. ^
wild and truculent people, who set little value on human
life ,and in their mountain fastnesses long maintained their
independence against all comers. The country inhabited
by these savages, with its wonderful mountain scenery, its
tropical luxuriance of vegetation, its dashing waterfalls and
calm lakes spangled with water-lilies and embosomed in
forests of grand timber, is said to be the most beautiful in
Eastern Africa.^ Like the Basoga, the Bakyiga associate
the outbreak of plague or other sickness with the Earth-
quake-god and think that on such occasions it is neces-
sary to appease his wrath. So the headman of the village
builds a shrine and calls upon the people to bring offerings
of goats and sheep, which, according to their number, are
exchanged for a cow or cowS. One cow is sacrificed, and the
blood, heart, and liver are the portion of the deity ; the blood
is allowed to run on the ground, while the heart and liver are
placed in the shrine. Some of the meat is cooked and eaten
on the spot, and the people carry the rest to their homes.®
On the eastern slope of the great Luenzori range, offt rin^to
between Lake Edward and Lake Albert, there are at various
places boiling springs, where the natives have long been quakes,
accustomed to take vapour baths as a cure for fever or
^ J. Roscoe, Thf Banyankole (Cam- J. Roscoe, The Bagesn (Cam-
bridge, 1923), p. 25. bridge, 1924), pp. 162 sq.
3 J. Roscoe, The Bagesu^ p. 166.
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AFRICA chap, x
rheumatism. At one place the bubbling of the water under
a rock can be both heard and felt ; the people say that
a rock-spirit dwells there and makes his presence known by
this noise. They used to make offerings here whenever a
severe shock of earthquake was felt. These shocks are
frequent and sometimes severe.^
Worship The natives of Kiziba, a district to the west of Lake
Eanh Victoria Nyanza, believe in the .existence of an Earth-spirit
spirit called Irungu, who, at the bidding of the Supreme Being
among\he or of a powerful spirit named Wamara, fashioned
natives of the earth, the mountains, and the woods, and peopled them
Kiziba. animals. For the use of this Earth - spirit every
householder builds two miniature huts of grass or sticks
to right and left of the doorway of his own hut ; in
shape the little huts resemble the big one ; their doors must
face in the same direction. In each of the tiny huts is
placed a potsherd with an offering of bananas for the spirit.
Irungu presides not only over the house but also over the
forest trees that grow on the edge of the banana groves, also
over any rivers that may flow there, and over the birds. It
is especially necessary to propitiate him when one of his
creatures, the wild animals, has been killed either in the
chase or by accident. All who have been concerned in the
slaughter, sometimes amounting to hundreds of men, assemble
before the house of the Earth-spirit, with the dead animal
lying in their midst. The priest comes forth with the
severed bloom of a banana-cluster in his hand. This he
cuts in two with a knife, inserts wood of various sorts
between the halves, and then presses the whole together.
After that he kills a fowl, sticks it on a spit with the banana-
bloom, carries it into the hut of the Earth-spirit, and there
roasts it. As soon as they perceive the smell of the roast
fowl the hunters form in line, and, preceded by the priest,
stride over the dead game. Thus the anger of the Earth-
spirit at the slaughter of his creature is appeased. Such an
expiatory rite is called by a name which means “ healing ”
(kutamda)}
^ J. Roscoe, The Soul of Central Leute (Stuttgart, 1910), pp. 126,
Africa (London, etc., 1922), p. 124. 127 j^., with the illustration on p.
2 H. Rehse, Kiziba^ Land und 128.
CHAPTER XI
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA
Many of the American Indians appear to have personified The Earth
the Earth as their mother and to have supposed that their
first ancestors issued from it as a child from the womb, by the
Thus with regard to the Lenni Lenape or Delaware '
Indians, who formerly inhabited Pennsylvania, we are
informed by an old observer that ‘'the Indians consider
the earth as their universal mother. They believe that they Beiiefofthe
were created within its bosom, where for a long time they
had their abode, before they came to live on its surface, that their
They say that the great, good, and all powerful Spirit, when ca^iTSnh
he created them, undoubtedly meant at a proper time to put from the
them in the enjoyment of all the good things which he had
prepared for them upon the earth, but he wisely ordained
that their first stage of existence should be within it, as the
infant is formed and takes its first growth in the womb of its
natural mother. . . . The Indian mythologists are not agreed
as to the form under which they existed while in the bowels
of the earth. Some assert that they lived there in the human
shape, while others, with greater consistency, contend that
their existence was in the form of certain terrestrial animals,
such as the ground-hog, the rabbit, and the tortoise.” ^
Beliefs of the same sort prevailed also among the similar
Iroquois, as we learn from the evidence of a Mohawk chief
which was taken down in Januar}^ 1743 by the Rev. Iroquois.
Christopher Pyrlaeus. It runs as follows :
^ Rev. John I lecke welder, ‘‘An neighbouring States ”, Transactious of
Account of the History, Manners, and the Historical and Literary Committee
Customs of the Indian Nations who of the American Philosophical Society^
once inhabited Pennsylvania and the i, (Philadelphia, 1819) pp. 241 sq.
427
428
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA chap.
Belief of
the Ottawa
Indians in
Earth, the
Great-
grand-
mother of
All.
“ Tradition, That they had dwelt in the earth where it
was dark and where no sun did shine. That though they
followed hunting, they ate mice, which they caught with
their hands. That Ganawagahha (one of them) having
accidentally found a hole to get out of the earth at, he went
out, and that in walking about on the earth he found a deer,
which he took back with him, and that both on account of
the meat tasting so very good, and the favourable description
he had given them of the country above and on the earth,
their mother concluded it best for them all to come out ;
that accordingly they did so, and immediately set about
planting corn, etc. That, however, the NocJiarauorsul^ that
is, the ground hog^ would not come out, but had remained in
the ground as before.’’ ^
The Ottawa Indians, a branch of the great Algonkin
family, believed that a certain being, whom they called
Na-na-bush, created the ground in obedience to the commands
of the Great Spirit, and further that, as a benevolent inter-
cessor between the Supreme Being and mankind, he procured
the creation of the animals, in order that their flesh might
serve men as food and their skins as raiment. He also sent
down roots and medicines of sovereign power to heal the
sicknesses of mankind and in times of hunger to enable them
to kill the wild beasts. All these things, destined for the
benefit of the human race, were committed to the care of
Me-suk-kum-mik O-Kwi, or the Earth, the Great-grand-
mother of All ; and in order that men and women should
never call upon her in vain, the Old Woman was directed to
remain constantly at home in her lodge. Hence it is that
good Indians never dig up the roots of which their medicines
are made without at the same time depositing in the earth
something as an offering to Me-suk-kum-mik O-Kwi. They
also sing to her the songs in which they relate the creation
of the earth and animals and all other good things by
Na-na-bush.‘^
* Quoted by J. Heckewelder, <7/. r/V. (London, 1830), pp. 192 sq. That
pp. 243 sq. The Mohawks were a the Indians among whom Tanner lived
tribe of Iroquois : their proper name as a captive were Ottawas appears
was Caniengas. to follow from his statement (p. 36)
2 Narrative of the Captivity and that his captor was a kinsman of
Adventures of John Tanner^ prepared Net-no-kwa, the principal chief of the
for the press by Edwin James, M.D. Qttawwaws (Ottawas).
XI THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA 429
The Winnebagos, an Indian tribe of the Siouan stock, Belief of
similarly look upon the earth as a goddess. She is indeed
one of the most ancient deities of the tribe, and appears as an Earth-
the Grandmother in some of their oldest myths. Offerings who^nTthey
are made to her at the various ceremonies, particularly at call Grand-
the medicine-dance and the war-bundle feast. However, in
the myths she is represented as a being nowise interested in
furthering the welfare of mankind ; on the contrary, she is
spoken of as the sister of those bad spirits who are bent on
destroying the human race,^ She is generally known either
as Earth {inana) or simply as Grandmother {kunika). Her
connexions are almost exclusively with peace. She played
a far greater part in the earlier than in the later phases of
Winnebago religion, and she figures prominently in the
stories of transformation, in which her grandson the Hare is
also an important personage. In the myths which are told to
explain the origin of rites her character is changed from that
of a somewhat indifferent, and at times hostile, deity to that
of a beneficent all-loving Mother-earth.^
The followiTVg are specimens of Winnebago prayers winne-
acldressed to the Earth-goddess at what are called war-
bundle feasts. Thus after offering tobacco, with prayers, to the Earth-
the Moon and the Morning Star, the officiant prays as
follows : “ To you, grandmother, the Earth, do we offer
tobacco also. We pray for victory in war, and for all the
medicines that are necessary to attain it, so that we may
bind ourselves with medicine ; that we may use the flowers
of the earth for paint — all that is red and all that is blue —
this we ask of you. Should there be anything better, we
ask that you arrange it so that we obtain it. Tobacco and
corn for food do we offer to you, and should you need more
tobacco we will send it along. Here it is.’* ^
Again, on a similar occasion, theoofficiant prays, saying,
“ You who are our grandmother. Earth, you blessed grand-
father Djobenaegiwiexga with life and war powers. As far
as you extend, that far, O grandmother, do we spread out
for you tobacco and food and mocassins. Here is the
^ P.Raclin, “The Winnebago tribe”, ington, 1923), p. 286.
Thirty -seventh Annual Report of the ^ P. Raclin, op. cit. pp. 440 sq.
Bureau of American Ethnology P. Kadin, op. cit, p. 53 ^«
430
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA chap.
tobacco. Here in the fire shall I place tobacco ; and food
and offerings of buckskin will we send to you at all times.
You will always accept them, grandfather said, it is said, so
that our clansmen may travel in a straight path of war and
life.” '
Worship of The Cheyenne Indians, a tribe of the western plains who
arnong^he belong to the Algonkin stock, say that there is a principal
Cheyenne god named Heammawihio, who lives up aloft, and that there
is also a god called Ahk tun o wihio, who lives under the
ground. Both deities are beneficent, and they possess like
powers. Next after Heammawihio, we are informed, “ the
power of the earth is named in prayer. It is implored to
make everything grow which we eat, so that we may live ;
to make the water flow, that we may drink ; to keep the
ground firm, that we may live and walk on it ; to make
grow those plants and herbs that we use to heal ourselves
when we are sick ; and to cause to grow also the grass on
which the animals feed.” Such reverence for the earth is
general among the western Indians.^ On this subject, the
same writer, Mr. G. B. Grinnell, whose acquaintance with the
western Indians extends over half a century, tells us that
“the almost universal reverence of the Indians for the earth
is interesting in connection with their feeling about the
ownership of land. The earth is regarded as sacred, often it
is called the ‘ mother ’, and it appears to rank second among
the gods. A sacrifice of food is held up first to the sky and
then is deposited on the earth, and perhaps rubbed into the
soil. The first smoke is directed to the sky, the second to
the earth, and then those to the four directions in order.
Other sacrifices are commonly held up first to the sky, and
then are held toward the earth. Before beginning to perform
any sacred office, the priest or doctor holds his hands first
towards the sky, and then rubs them on the ground. ‘It is
by the earth they say, ‘ that we live. Without it we could
not exist. It nourishes and supports us. From it grow
the fruits that we eat, and the grass that sustains the
animals whose flesh we live on ; from it come forth, and
over its surface run, the waters which we drink. We
^ P. Radin, op. cii. p. 501 ; com- * G. B. Grinnell, The Cheyenne
pare id, pp. 449, 459, 469. Indians Haven, 1923), ii. 88, 89.
XI
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA
43
walk on it, and unless it is firm and steadfast we cannot
live.’ ” 1
The Klamath Indians of south-western Oregon regard PersonU
the Earth as a mysterious, shadowy power of incalculable fhe^Earth^
energies and influences, rather mischievous and wicked than among the
beneficial to mankind. They ascribe anger and other Indians.'
passions to it, but their personification of it has not advanced
beyond a rudimentary stage. In the many tales which
they tell about the Earth, that mysterious power nowhere
appears as an active deity.‘^ An Indian prophet who
announced his mission at Priest Rapids, on the Middle
Columbia River, dissuaded his numerous followers from
tilling the ground, alleging as his reason that “ it is a sin to
wound or cut, tear up or scratch our common mother by
agricultural pursuits ; she will avenge herself on the whites
and on the Indians following their example by opening her
bosom and engulfing such malefactors for their misdeeds
The Zunis of New Mexico speak of the Earth Mother Worship of
{^Aivitelin Tsita) as the source of all man’s food, both vege-
table and animal."^ In all the poetic conceptions of the .ynong the
Zuftis one great object is said to be paramount, and that is
food to support the life of man. Thus they pray, saying, Mexico.
“ May the rain-makers water the Earth Mother that she may
be made beautiful to look upon. May the rain-makers
water the Earth Mother that she may become fruitful and give
to her children and to all the world the fruits of her being,
that we may have food in abundance. May the Sun Father
embrace our Earth Mother that she may become fruitful,
that food may be bountiful [plentiful], and that our children
may live the span of life, not die, but sleep to awake with
their gods.” ^
At a ceremony of the Hopi Indians of Arizona theTheEaith-
Earth-goddess is represented by a bundle of sticks placed on f^tng^
^ G. B. Grinnell, “Tenure of land ^ Mrs. Matilda Coxe Stevenson, the Hopi
among the Indians”, “The Zuni Indians”, Tivan^jy-^kin/
pologist^ ix. (1907) p. 3, note t. Annual Report of the Bureau of
„ ^ , American Ethnology (Washington,
2 A. S. Gatschet, The Klamath . 20 23 24
Indians of Southwestern Oregon {VI 6 m^s. ’ Ma\ilda Coxe Stevenson,
ington, 1890), p. {Contributions ** Ethnobotany of the Zuhi Indians”,
to Norik American Ethnology, vol. 11. rtiirtieth Annual Report of the Bureau
qJ American Ethnology (Washington,
^ A. S. Gatschet, op. cit. p. .\cii. I 9 t 5 )j P* 37 *
432
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA chap.
the floor of the house, and over this bundle the priest kneels
when he shouts to the Earth-goddess down a hole in the
floor.^
Worship of The Caribs of the Antilles said that the Earth was a
^mon^the mothcr wlio gave them all things necessary for life.^
Caribs They regarded an earthquake as a sign given them by the
Amiites Earth to dance for the sake of their health. So they used
to dance for four days and four nights by moonlight, arrayed
in all their barbaric finery, wearing masks of diverse colours,
and necklaces, bracelets, belts, and garters loaded with
little shells, which clashed and clattered as they danced,
while old women shook rattles and droned a monotonous
accompaniment.^
Belief of One of the tribes of the Salivas, an Indian nation on
the Salivas ^he Oriiioco, claimed to be a daughter of the Earth: they
in Mothcr . , , ^ i i i i I r ^ i
Karih. said that formerly the earth brought forth men and women
just as it brings forth briars and thorns nowadays."* The
Peruvian Indians worshipped the Earth as a goddess, whom
they named Pachamama or Mother Earth because it yielded
Worship of them the fruits whereby they lived.^ The worship of
KaTtff*^ Mother Earth (Mamapacha) persisted among the Indians
(Pacha- of Peru even after their nominal conversion to Christianity.
The women were particularly devoted to it, especially at
pacha) the time of sowing their fields. They professed to speak
Peruvfan the gocldess, begging her to grant them a good crop,
Indians, in Order to enforce their petition they poured out
maize-beer and maize-flour as an offering to her ; this they
did either with their own hands or by the intervention of a
priest.^’ When they fell sick, they sometimes thought that
1 J. W. Fewkes, “ Hopi Katcinas ”,
Twenty - first Annual Report of the
Bureau of American Ethnology (Wash-
ington, 1903), p. 55.
^ De Rochefort, Histoire naturelle
et morale des lies Antilles ^ Seconde
Edition (Rotterdam, 1665), p. 469.
^ De la Borde, Relation de Porigine,
mceurs^ couslumes, religion^ guerres et
voyages des Caraibes sauvages des Isles
Antilles de P Amerique, j). 38 (in
Recueil de divers Voyages faits en
Afrique et en Ameriique, Paris, 1684).
^ J. Gum ilia, Histoire naturelle^
civile et geographique de POrenoque
(Avignon, 1758), i. 175.
® Garcilasso de la Vega, Royal Com-
mentaries of the Yncas^ vol. i. p.
49, Markham’s translation (Hakluyt
Society, London, 1869-1871); J. de
Acosta, Natural and Moral History of
the Indies^ vol. ii. p. 304, Grimston’s
translation (Hakluyt Society, London,
1880).
® P. J. de Arriaga, La Extirpadon
de la Idolatria en el Peru (Lima, 1920),
p. 20. The original edition of this
work was printed at Lima in 1620.
XI
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA
433
the Earth-mother was angry with them ; so to appease
her wrath they poured out chicha (maize-beer) and burned
woollen cloths on the spot where they had fallen ill. Women
in childbed also invoked her help with similar sacrifices.
Yet we are told that in Peru the worship of the Earth-
mother, universal and important as it was, mainly rested
on this popular basis : it had no place in the public ritual
of the community, though it retained a prominent position
among the rites performed for the special benefit of the
Apu-Ccapac-Inca.^ Thus, for example, after sacrificing to Sacrifices
the Sun, the Thunder, and the Moon, and praying for the
health, prosperity, and victory of the reigning Inca, the Earth,
priests also sacrificed to the Earth and prayed to her,
saying, “ O Mother Earth ! preserve the Lord Inca, thy son,
who stands upon thee, in peace and safety } Sacrifices
to Mother Earth (Pachamama) were equally prominent
among the sacrifices offered by the Apu-Ccapac-Incas in
their progresses from place to place : at the principal pro-
vincial centres on these occasions two llamas were sacrificed
to the Creator (Pachacamac), two to the Sun, two to the
Earth, and one to the Thunder.^ The village or town of
Mama (“ Mother ”), situated on a tributary of the Rimac,
derives its name from a celebrated sanctuary of the Earth-
mother, who was there worshipped as a consort of the
Creator, Pachacamac. The two streams which mingle their
waters below the sanctuary were known us the breasts of
the Earth-mother.^
^ E. J. Payne, History of the New
World called America, i. (Oxford,
1892) p. 467.
^ Chr. de Molina, “ The Fables and
Rites of the Yncas”, in The Kites and
Laws of the Yncas, translated and
edited by C. R. Markham (Hakluyt
Society, London, 1873), P- 5 ^* The
prayer is somewhat differently translated
by E. J. Payne (/.r.). In particular he
translates Pachamama by “Mother of all
things ” rather than by Mother Earth,
on the ground that T^cha “appears to
be in its origin a collective term,
simply denoting many colligated objects
of thought, and hence may be translated
‘ things ’. Employed to designate the
visible things around the speaker, it is
VOL. I
equivalent to ‘ world’ ” {op, cit. p. 456).
While he admits that the Earth was
invoked under the name of Pachamama,
he holds that the true translation of the
title is “Mother of (all) things”, and
adds that “Mother Earth” would be
Mamapacha. Yet he notes that the
form Mamapacha is found occasion-
ally, but rarely ; it is used for example
by Arriaga, an excellent authority (see
above, p. 432).
3 E. J. Payne, History of the New
World called America, i. 467.
^ E. J. Payne, History of the New
World called America, i. 45S. The
worship of Pachamama has left some
traces of itself among the christianized
Indians of Bolivia. See R. Paredes,
2 F
434
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA chap.
Worship of The ancient Mexicans worshipped a goddess whom they
onhe^Gods i^^med Mother of the Gods {Teteo innati)^ Grand-
er the mother {Toci\ or Heart of the Earth {Tlalyollotli)} In
the Earth explanation of this last title it was said that when she chose
among the she made the earth to quake.*'^ Hence modern writers seem
Mexicans, to be justified in treating her as an Earth-goddess,^ though
she is not definitely so described, so far as I have observed,
by the original Spanish authors who have described her
strange and bloody rites. Her festival fell in the eleventh
month of the Mexican year, which began on the twenty-
fourth of August and ended on the twelfth of September.^
The goddess presided over medicines and medicinal plants,
which accords well with the character of an Earth-deity.
Hence she was worshipped especially by physicians, surgeons,
blood-letters, midwives, women who procured abortion, and
fortune-tellers of all sorts, such as those who predicted
the future from grains of maize or drew omens from the
inspection of water in a bowl. All these guilds clubbed
Festival at together once a year to celebrate a great festival in honour of
goddess^^ their patron divinity. For this purpose they bought a woman
was who was to personate the goddess at the festival and to be put
personated character.^ She had to be neither very old
Tho was young ; hence a woman of about forty or forty-five
put to vvas usually selected for the fatal dignity. The purchase was
death in made forty days before the festival. Like all the otlier slaves
character, chosen to personate deities she was washed and purified and
The received the name of the goddess whom she was to represent
consecra- life and death. Thus sanctified and consecrated she was
victim. from that day onward shut up in a cell and closely guarded,
that she should not sin; for the representative of a goddess
must be sinless. When twenty days were over, they brought
her forth from her cell, clothed her in the garments appropriate
MitoSy Siipersticiones y Sufervivencias
populares de Bolivia (La Paz, 1920),
pp. 38 sqq.
* B. de Sahagun, Histoire ginirale
des choses de la Nonvelle - Espagne,
traduite et annot^e par D. Jourdanet
et R. Simeon (Paris, i88o), pp. 18,
68, 134; Diego Duran, Historia de
las Indias de Niieva Espaila (Mexico,
1867-1880), ii. 185, 187; E. J. Payne,
History of the Neiv IVorld called
America, i. 464, 468.
D. Duran, Historia de las Indias
de Nueva Espafta, ii. 187.
3 E. J. Payne, History of the New
IVorld called America, i. 464, 468 ;
T. A. Joyce, Mexican Archeology
(London, 1914), pp. 43.
^ J. de Torquemada, Monarchia
Indiana (Madrid, 1723), ii. 275.
^ B. de Sahagun, op. cit. p. 18.
XI
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA
435
to the goddess, and set her before the public that all might
see and adore her as the deity incarnate. From that hour
the people esteemed her as the Mother of the Gods herself
and paid her as much reverence as if in truth she had been
that great divinity. Seven days before the festival they
gave her in charge to four old medical women or midwives,
who waited on her and made it their business to keep her
in a happy and cheerful frame of mind, telling her stories
and encouraging her to laugh and be merry, for it was an evil
omen if any woman or man who was to die in the character
of a god was sad and cast down at the prospect of death.^
If that happened they thought that many soldiers would
be slain in war or that many women would die in child-
bed.^ Among other occupations the woman who person-
ated the Mother of the Gods was given a quantity of aloes
which in her last days she had to dress, spin, and weave
into a shirt and petticoats, which were afterwards to figure
in the ghastly ritual.*'^ But the principal mode of diverting
the thoughts of the unhappy woman from her approaching The
doom was the dance. Four rows of dancers, carrying
branches of trees in blossom, danced silently, without
singing, daily in the afternoon till set of sun. They hardly
moved their legs or bodies, but lifted and lowered their arms
in time to the music. These dances went on for eight days.
Then the medical women, young and old, divided themselves
into two parties and engaged in a sham fight before the
woman who acted the part of the Mother of the Gods. In
the battle the two sides pelted each other with balls made of
tree- moss, leaves of reeds, portions of cactus, or yellow flowers
of a certain sort; and the woman who personated the goddess
had to lead the first attack,^
These sham-fights lasted four days, and when they were
over they led the woman who was to die to the market-
place, escorted by all the medical women, that she might bid
it a last farewell, for she was to return to it no more. On The
her return from it she scattered maize wherever she passed
by way of good-bye to the market. Thence they reconducted
1 D. Duran, Historia de las Indias ^ D. Duran, Historia de las Indias
de Nueva Espafia^ ii. 187 sq. de Niteva Espaila^ ii. 188.
2 K. clc Sahagun, op, cit, p. 134. * B. de Sahagun, op, r/V. pp. 133 sq.
436
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA chap.
The
sacrifice.
her to her cell, which was hard by the temple where she was
to die that night. As they went, the medical women and
the midwives consoled her, saying, Be not sorrowful, sweet-
heart ; this night you will sleep with the king. Therefore
rejoice.*' They did not let her know that she was about to
be killed ; for her death must be sudden and unexpected.
They covered her with the ornaments of the Mother of the
Gods, and at midnight they led her to the temple where she
was to die. A great multitude had gathered to see her pass,
but no one spoke or coughed ; a profound silence reigned.
Arrived at the place of sacrifice she was hoisted on the back
of an assistant, whereupon the priest came up, and seizing
her by the hair adroitly cut off her head, while her streaming
blood drenched the man who supported the now headless
Personi- body. The skin was immediately stripped from the still
fhegoddcL throbbing corpse, and in it a tall robust young
and her son man clad liimsclf, thus personating the goddess come to life
bynieu again. Over the woman's skin he wore the shirt and
wearing petticoats which she had woven in her last days.^ One of
the victim, the woman’s thighs was flayed separately and the skin carried
to another temple, where a young man put it on his face as
a mask and thus personated the maize-god Cinteotl, the son
of the Mother of the Gods. Besides the mask of skin he wore
a hood and jacket of feathers.‘^
The man who represented the Mother of the Gods and
was clad in the skin of the dead woman now joined the
representa- Other who personated the son of the goddess and wore the
mask of skin on his face. After a curious ritual of flight
and pursuit, in which the fugitives carried bloody besoms
of couch-grass and at sight of which all the beholders were
seized with fear and trembling, the two actors who played
the parts of the divine Mother and the divine Son repaired
together very deliberately to the temple of the Mother of
the Gods, where the woman had been slain in the character
of the goddess. There the man who represented the Mother
of the Gods entered the temple. It was still night, but at
break of day he ascended the steps of the pyramidal temple
and took up his post on the summit. No sooner did his
Ritual
observed
by the
tives of the
goddess
and her
* B. de Sahagun, op, cit. p. 1 34;
D. Duran, Historia de las Indias de
Nueva Espatia^ ii. 188.
B. de Sahagun, op. cit. p. 135.
XI THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA 437
figure appear outlined against the sky than men who had
been waiting below ran up the staircase at full speed to
bring him offerings. Some covered his feet and head with
white eagle down ; others painted his face red ; others
put on him a short cloak which bore the likeness of an
eagle embroidered or woven in the stuff ; others clad him
in painted petticoats. Some cut off the heads of quails
in his presence ; others offered him copal. Also they
decked him out in all the richest ornaments of the goddess
and set a splendid crown on his head. Then the captives Sacrifice
who were to die were set in a row before him. He took captives,
one of them, laid him on his back on the block, cut open
his breast, and tore out his heart. This he did to a second,
a third, and a fourth. The rest he left to be butchered by
the priests.^
Leaving the sacred shambles the two men who per- The
sonated the divine Mother and the divine Son then repaired [fve^ortht
to the temple of Cinteotl, preceded by devotees who wore goddess
ornaments of paper, cotton, and feathers, and escorted on 5"^
either side by medical women who sang as they marched, the temple
while priests led the singing and played on musical instru-
ments. The heads of the human victims were brought to
this temple. There a great many old soldiers were waiting,
and when the procession arrived they took the man who
played the part of the divine Son in their midst and ran
with him at full speed to a certain hill which stood at the
borders of the enemy’s country. There the divine Son took The
from his face the mask made of the skin from the thigh
of the dead woman and deposited it in a tower or keep of human
at the frontier. Often the enemy was waiting for them
at the spot, a fight ensued, and some were slain, after which
the survivors returned home."
A variety of ceremonies followed in which the repre- The dance
sentative of the Mother of the Gods played a conspicuous
part, dancing with the medical women in the court of the tive of the
temple of the Mother of the Gods. The captains and
soldiers who had just been decorated by the King for
gallantry took part in these dances. They danced silently
to the tuck of drum, and all were so festooned that they
» B. de Sahagun, cit. pp. 135 sq. * B. de Sahagun, op. cit. pp. 1 36 sq.
438
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA
CHAP.
The blood
of the
human
victims
tasted
by the
representa-
tive of the
Mother of
the Gods.
The skin
of the
woman
who
personated
the Mother
of the Gods
hung on a
tower.
looked like living flowers to the admiration of the beholders.
But the women who saw them dancing in gorgeous array
wept, saying, “ Our sons now so richly bedecked will have
to march when war is proclaimed. Think you that they
will return ? Perhaps we shall see them no more.” The
King and all his courtiers were present at these ceremonies.
The gold on their persons was so plentiful that the courtyard
shone with a dazzling splendour in the blaze of the sun.^
Yet the human representative of the Mother of the Gods
had to figure in another and grimmer scene than these
flowery sun-illumined dances. For the blood of the human
victims slain in sacrifice was brought to him in a vessel
decked with feathers, and he had to stoop over it, dip his
finger in the blood, and suck his bloody finger. Then he
gave a doleful groan, and all who heard it were seized with
fear and said that the Earth herself felt it and shook. At
the conclusion of this dismal rite, all the people stooped
down, took up a little earth on one finger, and ate it. This
ceremony of eating earth they commonly performed at their
solemn festivals and in presenting themselves before their
idols ; they looked on it as a mark of reverence and humility
towards the gods. After their conversion to Christianity
they sometimes observed the custom before the images of
the saints.*^
Finally, a priest descended the staircase of the temple-
pyramid of the great god Uitzilopochtli, carrying in his
hand a wooden basket full of white chalk and white feathers,
which he left at the foot of the steps. Immediately a great
number of soldiers, who had been waiting and watching,
raced to the basket, striving who should be the first to reach
it. There they filled their hands with the contents of the
basket and ran back to the point from which they had
.started. The man who wore the skin of the dead woman
and who personated the Mother of the Gods watched them
plundering the contents of the basket, and when they had
done he ran after them as if in pursuit, while all the spec-
tators accompanied his movements with loud cries, and when
he passed them in his course they spat at him and hurled at
' B. de Sahagun, op, cit, pp. 137 sq,
2 D. Diego, Historia de las Indias de Ntieva Espaiia, pp. 189 sq.
XI
THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA
439
him whatever they happened to have in their hands. The
King himself took part in this affray and returned to his
palace at a run. All did the same, and abandoned the
representative of the Mother of the Gods with the exception
of a few who joined some priests and escorted him to a
place called Tocititlan, that is, “ Near our Grandmother
There the representative of the goddess stripped off the
woman’s skin and hung it on a tower or keep that stood
on the spot. There it was stretched out with the head up
and the arms open, in full view of the road. Such was the
end of the festival of the Mother of the Gods.^
The custom of choosing a living woman to represent Meaning of
a goddess, treating her as the divinity in person, and after-
wards killing her and clothing in her skin a man who there- ing men
upon figured as the representative of the deity, was by no to
means confined to the worship of the Mother of the Gods ; personate
it was a common piece of Aztec ritual, in which men as well godcieTses
as women played the fatal part of gods and came to the
same tragic end.*^ I he only probable explanation of such death,
barbarous rites would seem to be that they were based on
a belief in the natural mortality of the gods, and were
intended to prolong the lives of the deities for the good of
the world by annually killing their human representatives
and then simulating their resurrection, this pretence of
resurrection being effected by clothing a living man in the
skin of the slain representative of the deity. In this way.
^ B. de Sahagun, o/>. cit. pp. 138 sq.
'riie two fullc.st accounts of this strange
festival are those of B. de Sahagun,
op. cit. pp. 18 sq., 68 sq., I33'i39»
and D. Duian, op. cit. ii. 185-191.
The two accounts differ from and
supplement each other on many points,
but are not necessarily inconsistent.
I have combined them in the text,
following mainly the account of
Sahagun. A much briefer description
is given by J. de Torquemada,
Monarchia Indiana (Madrid, I723)>
ii. 275 sq., which appears to have
little or no independent value. A
short account of the festival, based on
Torquemada’s, is given by Brasseur
de Bourbourg, Ilisioire des Nations
civilishs du Mexique et de V Amerique
Centrale (Paris, 1857 -1859), iii. 523-
525 ; while a very full one, based
throughout on Sahagun’s and following
it closely, is supplied by hi. H. Ban-
croft, Native Races of the Pacific States
(London, 1875-187C), iii. 353-359-
When Bancroft wiote, the second vol-
ume of Duran’s work, containing his
description of the festival, had not yet
been published. E. J. Payne’s brief ac-
count {^History of the New World called
America, i. 470) is drawn fiom Duran
alone. I have described the festival
elsewhere. See The Golden Bough,
Part VI. The Scapegoat, pp. 288-291.
2 For examples see The Golden
Bough, Part VI. The Scapegoat, pp.
275 sqq.
440 THE WORSHIP OF EARTH IN AMERICA ch. xi
to take the particular instance with which we are here con-
cerned, the Mexicans may have imagined that they annually
endowed with a fresh lease of life the important Earth-
goddess, the Mother of the Gods. But it is not clear why
apparently a man was always chosen to personate a goddess
come to life again by wearing the bloody skin of the woman
who had died in the character of the divinity ; rather we
should expect that, as one woman acted the divine death, so
another woman should act the divine resurrection.
CHAPTER XII
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN AMONG THE ARYAN
PEOPLES OF ANTIQUITY
§ I. The Worship of the Sun in general
As one of the most conspicuous and powerful objects in the The
physical world the sun has naturally attracted the attention Jiic'sun i°ot
and obtained the homage of many races, who have personi- so widely
fied and worshipped it as a god. Yet the worship of the as is
sun has been by no means so widely diffused among primi- commonly
• 1 . 1 suppo'scd.
tive peoples as, on purely abstract grounds, we might at first
sight be tempted to suppose. If we were to draw a map of
the world showing in colour the regions where sun-worship
is known to have prevailed, we might be surprised at the
many large blanks in the chart, blanks which would prob-
ably be particularly numerous and extensive in countries
occupied by the most backward races. In Africa, for
example, while sun-worship was a most important element
in the religion of ancient Egypt, it is on the whole con-
spicuously absent among the black races of that continent,
though we have noted some evidence of its occurrence
in many tribes of Northern Nigeria and in certain tribes
of East Africa.^ The same paucity of sun-worship, or at
all events of any trustworthy evidence of its existence,
is characteristic of the indigenous Australian, Melanesian,^
^ See above, p. 315, with the refer- beings; in the Banks Islands the Sun
ences. and Moon arc thought to be rocks or
^ Speaking of the Melanesian re- islands” {The Melanesians^ Oxford,
ligion, Dr. Codrington, our highest 1891, p. 348). In San Cristoval, one
authority on the subject, observes that of the Solomon Islands, Mr. C. E. Fox
“there is no appearance of a belief has recently recorded some connexions
that any heavenly bodies are living supposed to exist between the clan of
441
442 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
A. Bastian
on the
rarity
of Sun-
worship.
Sun-
worship
in ancient
Kgypt,
Mexico,
and Peru.
Polynesian,^ and Micronesian races, who together occupy a
considerable portion of the globe. On the limited diffusion
of this form of religion in the world the most learned and
far-travelled of ethnologists, Adolf Bastian, long ago re-
marked that sun-worship, which people used to go sniffing
about to discover everywhere, is found on the contrary
only in very exceptional regions, or on lofty table-lands
of equatorial latitude.^ Subsequent research has confirmed
this weighty judgment. Whatever the reason may be, a
solar religion appears to flourish best among nations which
have attained to a certain degree of civilization, such as the
ancient Egyptians and the Indians of Mexico and Peru at
the time when they were discovered by the Spaniards.
Perhaps the regular and peaceful movement of the sun in the
heavens, by lacking the element of the sudden, the terrible,
and the unforeseen, disqualifies it for being an object of
interest to the simple savage, whose attention is excited and
whose emotions are stirred rather by those events which
the chiefs and the sun, and in these
connexions he finds “ many traces of
sun-worship ” ; but, so far as I have
observed, he has reported no case of
actual sun-worship, that is, of prayer
and sacrifice offered to the great
luminary. See C E. Fox, The Thresh-
old of the Pacific (London, 1924), pp.
239 sq- 363-
^ Speaking of the Tahitians, a typical
Polynesian people, William Ellis, who
knew them well at a time when they
were still but little modified by Euro-
pean influence, remarked, “ I am not
aware that they rendered divine homage
either to the sun or moon ’’ {Polynesian
Researches^ Second Edition, London,
1832-1836, iii. 171), Mr. Elsdon
Best, a high authority on Maori
religion and lore, believes that a
worship of the sun formerly existed
in Polynesia, though he admits that
“ there is but little direct evidence” of
its former existence, and indeed that
the Maoris “ did not practise a direct
worship of the sun His theory of a
former prevalence of sun-worship in
Polynesia is based on his view of the
god Tane, whom he interprets as a
personification of the sun. But this
interpretation seems not to be generally
accepted by the Maoris ; for Mr. Best
tells us that “ apparently the people on
the whole were not aware that Tane
represents the sun, and it was only
when we gained a closer knowledge of
native myths that we recognised in him
a personified form of the sun. . . .
Fornander, of Hawaii, gave many
proofs in his work on the Polynesian
race that Tane represents the sun, yet
he makes in that work the statement
that solar worship had faded from the
Polynesian mind since the race entered
the Pacific.” See Elsdon Best, The
Maori (Wellington, N.Z., 1924), i,
275 The late Dr. Rivers, indeed,
propounded a far-reaching theory of a
secret sun-worship in the Pacific, but
the theory rested on the extremely
doubtful evidence of a single writer (J.
A. Moerenhout). See I'he Belief in
Immortality and the Worship of the
Dead^ ii. 119, 266, note ^ 286, note ^
If the Polynesians ever had a secret
worship of the sun, the secret was so
well kept that it has never leaked out,
2 Adolf Bastian, Die Voelker des
Oestlichen Asien^ iv. (Jena, 1868) p.
175.
XII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG VEDIC INDIANS
443
occur at irregular intervals, which threaten his existence, and
which no means at his disposal enable him to predict. A
higher degree of intelligence and reflection is needed to ask
whence comes the marvellous uniformity of those operations
of nature whereof the courses of the heavenly bodies are
at once the most easily observable and the most splendid
examples.
§ 2. The Worship of the Sun among the Vedic Indians
Among peoples of the Aryan stock solar worship has not The Sun
been unknown, but the Sun has never occupied the leading
place in their pantheon. The Indians of the Vedic age Vedic
personified and to some extent worshipped the sun under
various names, of which the chief were Surya and Savitri or names of
Savitar.^ It is under these two different appellations that the savritrTm-
sun is chiefly celebrated in the Kig-veda^ though it is sometimes Savitar.
difficult to perceive why in any particular case the one name
should be employed rather than the other. Yet different
sets of hymns are devoted to the worship of the deity under
each of these names, and the epithets applied to him in
each of these characters are for the most part distinct. In
a few passages both these names, and occasionally certain
others, appear to be applied to the solar divinity indis-
criminately ; but in most cases the distinction between them
is at least nominally preserved.^
Of the two solar deities, Surya and Savitri or Savitar, the Surya
former is the more concrete ; he remains closer to the physical of
object which he personifies ; his connexion with the great the two
luminary is never lost sight of. His name indeed of Surya ^ekies.
designates the solar orb ; hence in many passages it is
impossible to say whether the word denotes the physical
sun simply or the personification of it as a god.® The diffi-
culty of discriminating the physical from the divine aspect of
Surya is all the greater, because in his case the personification
1 A. Barth, The Religions of India pp. 40-50 ; II. D. Griswold, The
(London, 1882), pp. 20, 165 sq. ; J. Religion of the Rigveda (London, etc.,
Muir, Original Sanskiit Texts^ V .3 1923), pp. 266-278.
(London, 1884) pp. 155 sqq. ; A. A. ^ J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts ^
Macdonell, Vedic Mythology (Strass- V.^ 155 sq.
burg, 1897), pp. 30-35 ; E. W. Hopkins, ^ A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology^
The Religions of India {LondoUj 1896), p. 30.
444 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Surya the
son of
Dyaus and
the
husband
or son of
the Dawn
(Ushas).
is never carried far ; mythical fancy has hardly played
about him ; indeed, the only myth of which he is the
subject relates how the great god Indra vanquished him ^
and carried off one of the wheels of his chariot.^ The
allusion may be to the obscuration of the sun by a thunder-
cloud or to a solar eclipse. However, Surya is so far
personified that, like other sun-gods, he is described as
driving across the sky in a car drawn either by one or
several or seven fleet and ruddy horses or mares.^ He is
said to be the son of the great sky-god Dyaus.^ The Dawn
(Ushas) is spoken of as his wife in one passage,^ while in
another she is said to have brought him forth.^ Thus in the
fancy of the Vedic poet the two great natural phenomena,
the Sun and the Dawn, were not yet crystallized into
sharply defined figures, but floated vaguely in a golden or
rosy haze. The eye of Surya is mentioned several times
in the hymns, but he is himself equally often called the eye
of Mitra and Varuna or of Agni (the Fire-god)/ In the
Atharva-veda he is called the Lord of Eyes, and is said to
be the one eye of created beings, and to see beyond the
sky, the earth, and the waters. He is described as far-
seeing, all-seeing, the spy of the whole world, he who
beholds all beings and the good and bad deeds of mortals.
He is the preserver and soul of all things, both stationary
and moving, the vivifier of men and common to them all.
Enlivened by him men pursue their ends and perform their
work.® He shines for all the world, for men and gods.
He dispels the darkness with his light. He rolls up the
darkness as a skin. His beams throw off the darkness
as a skin into the waters. He triumphs over beings of
darkness and witches.^ It is said that “ truth is the
base that bears the earth ; by Surya are the heavens
sustained
* Rig‘Veda^ x. 43. 5.
^ Pig- 7 jeda, i. 175. 4, iv. 28. 2, iv.
30. 4, V. 29. 10 ; A. A. Macdonell,
Vedic Mythology^ p. 31 ; J. Muir,
Original Sanskrit 7 'exts, V.^ 159.
3 J. Muir, op. cit. V .3 156 ; A. A.
Macdonell, Vedic Mythology^ p. 30.
^ Rig-veda, x. 37. i.
^ Rig-veda^ vii. 75. 5.
® Rig-veda^ vii. 78. 3.
^ A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology^
P- 305 J* Muir, Original Sanskrit
Texts y V .3 157.
^ J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts y
V.3 1 57.
® A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology y
P- 31 -
Rig-veduy x. 85. i.
XII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 445
Yet elsewhere Surya is occasionally spoken of as an Surya
inanimate object, as a gem of the sky, a variegated stone
placed in the midst of heaven, a brilliant weapon which as an
Mitra and Varuna conceal with cloud and rain.^ Hence he object,
is said to have been produced, or caused •to shine or to rise,
or to have his path prepared by various gods. Thus we
are told that Indra generated him, caused him to shine, or
raised him to heaven ; that Indra-Soma brought him up with
light ; that Soma placed light in the Sun, caused him to
shine, or raised him in heaven ; that Agni (the Fire-god)
established the brightness of the sun on high, and made him
ascend to heaven ; that Dhatri, the creator, fashioned the
sun as well as the moon. In these and other passages
relating to the creation of the sun the notion of the simple
luminary doubtless predominates.*^ The ancient hymns,
composed perhaps before the descent of the Aryans into the
sweltering plains of Northern India, contain only two or
three allusions to the sun’s burning heat ; in the Rig-veda
the luminary is not a maleficent power ; for that aspect of
his nature we must turn to the later Atharva-veda and the
literature of the Brahmanas?
Ten entire hymns of the Rig-veda may be said to be iiymn to
devoted to the celebration of the Sun under the name of
Surya."^ The following may serve as specimens.
“ His heralds bear him up aloft y the god who kiioweth all that lives ^
Surya, that all may look o?i him.
The constellatiofis pass a^uay, like thieves, together with their beams,
Before the all-beholding Su?i,
His herald rays are seen afar refulge?it o^er the %vorld of men.
Like flames of fiy^e that burti and blaze.
Swift and all beautiful art thou, O Surya, maker of the light,
Illuming all the radiant realm.
Thou goest to the host of gods, thou contest hither to mankind,
Hither all light to be beheld.
With that same eye wherewith thou looBst, O pw'ifying Varuna,
Up 07 i the busy race of men,
Traversmg sky and wide mid-air, thou metest with thy bcatns our
days.
Sun, seeing all things that have birth.
1 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,
P- 31-
2 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,
P- 31*
3 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mytholog)f,
P- 31-
* A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mytho-
logy, p. 30-
446 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Seven bay steeds harnessed to thy car bear thee^ O thou far-seeing
one^
God^ Suryuy with the radiant hair. . . .
Looking upon the loftier light above the darkness we have come
To Surya, god among the gods^ the light that is most excellent.
Rising this day, O nek in friends, ascending to the loftier heaven,
Surya, remove my hear Is disease, take fro7n 7ne this my yellow hue.
To parrots and to starlutgs let us give away 7ny yellowness,
Or this my yellowness let us transfer to Haritdla trees . i
Prayer to thcse last lines the poet prays the Sun to remove his
th' principle of homoeopathic magic, in accord-
jaundice. ance with which the yellowness of the disease can be trans-
ferred to yellow objects, such as the sun and yellow parrots.
Similar cures for jaundice were known to the ancient Greeks
and Romans and are not unknown in modern Europe.^
That this was indeed the notion which prompted the old
Vedic prayer to the Sun is certain ; for the same cure is
Charm for recorded in unambiguous terms as a simple charm in the
Jaundicc.^^ Atharvu-veda. The charm is as follows :
Up to the sun shall go thy heart-ache and thy jaundice : in the colour
of the red bull do we envelop thee /
‘‘ We envelop thee in red tints, unto long life. May this person go
unscathed, and be free of yellow colour !
“ The cows whose divinity is Rohini, they who, moreover, are themselves
red (rohinih ) — in their every form and every strength we do
envelop thee.
“ Pito the parrots, into the thrush do we put thy jaundice, and,
furthertnore, ifito the yellow wagtail (haridravas) do we put
thy jaundice. ^
In this charm the word translated “yellow
wagtail ” occurs in the hymn of the Rig-veda quoted above,
where it is translated “ Haritdla trees The translator (Mr.
R. T. H. Griffith) in a note says that the word hdridrava
is understood by the commentator Sayana to mean a
haritdla tree, but that there seems to be no tree of that
name. He further remarks that haritdla usually signifies
yellow orpiment, which is a yellow crystalline metal, and
1 Rig-ueda, i. 50 ; Hymns of the i. 79 sqq.
Rigveda, translated with a popular ^ Atha)'va-veda, i. 22 {Sacred Books
commentary by R. T. U. Griffith of the East, vol. xlii., Hymns of the
(Benares, 1889-1892), vol. i. pp. 88jr^. Atharva-veda,\.x 7 iw%\^\.cLi\. by M. Bloom-
The Golden Bough, Part I. The field, Oxford, 1897, pp. 7 sq., with the
Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, commentary, pp. 263-265).
xri
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 447
that hdridrava generally means a yellow vegetable powder ;
and he adds that “ the word haridrava is explained in the
Petersburg Lexicon as a certain yellow bird In any case
the essential point is that the objects to which the jaundice
is to be transferred must be either yellow or red ; for on
the principles of homoeopathic magic or medicine yellow
objects naturally absorb the yellow disease, while red objects
are similarly calculated to infuse into the sallow patient
the rosy hue of health. To this day the Mehtars of the
Central Provinces of India hang the flesh of a yellow snake
or of a fish with yellowish scales about the neck of a child
who is suffering from jaundice ; or they catch a small frog
alive, tie it up in a yellow cloth, and hang it by a blue
thread till it dies on the neck of the little sufferer. Of
course the yellow snake, the yellow fish, and the yellow
cloth all possess the valuable property of absorbing the
jaundice and thereby relieving the patient.^ On similar
grounds anybody can see for himself that the Sun is a
natural recipient of the jaundice.
A higher note is struck by another Vedic poet in a Hymn to
hymn addressed to Surya the sun :
“ Do homa(^e unto Varutia^s and Mitrdts eye : offer this solemn worship
to the mighty god^
“ Who seeth far away^ the ensign^ bo fit of gods. Sing praises unto
Surya^ to the son of Dyaus.
“ May this my truthful speech guard me on every side^ zuherever heaven
and ea7dh and days are spread abroad.
All else that is in motio7i folds a place of 7'est : the waters ever flow
and ever mounts the su7t. . . .
“ O Surya^ with the light wJm'eby thou scatte7'est gloom., and with thy
ray impellest every moving thing.,
“ Keep far from us all feeble., worthless sacrifice., and drive away disease
and every evil d7‘eam.
“ Sent forth thou guardest well the path of every man., and i7i thy
ivontcd way arisest free from W7'ath.
“ When, Surya, we address our prayer's to thee to-day, may the gods
favour this our purpose and desire.
“ This invocation, these our words may Heaven and Earth, and Indr a
and the Waters and the Maruts hear.
“ Nder may we suffer want in presence of the Sun, and, living happy
lives, may we attain old age.
^ R. V. Russell, Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India {\uOXiAox\.,
1916), iv. 224.
448 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
“ Cheerful in spirit, evermore, and keen of sight, with store of children,
free from sickness and from sin^
“ Lo?ig' livings may we look^ O Surya^ upon thee uprising day by day^
thou who art rich in friends /
“ Surya, may we live long and look upon thee stilly thee^ O far-seeing
one^ bringing the glorious lights
“ The radiant god^ the spring of joy to every eye^ as thou art
mounting up der the high shining flood.
Thou by whose lustre all the world comes forth,^ and by thy beams
again returns unto its rest^
“ O Surya with the golden hair^ ascend for us day after day^ still
bringing purer innocence.
“ Bless us with shine^ bless us with perfect daylight.^ bless us with cold^
with fervent heat and lustre.
“ Bestow on usj O Surya, varied riches, to bless us in our home, and
zvhen we travel.^^ ^
The Vedic The Other Vedic personification of the sun is Savitri or
Sun-goU Savitar, who, as we have seen, is sometimes distinguished
Savitar. from and sometimes identified with Surya. In him the
personal element is more prominent and the physical
element less conspicuous than in his divine colleague or
double."^ The name appears to be derived from a root
meaning to stimulate, arouse, vivify, and in nearly half its
occurrences it is accompanied by the noun deva, “ god so
that it would seem not to have lost its adjectival force.
Hence we may conclude that Savitri or Savitar was
originally an epithet applied to the sun as the great
stimulator of life and motion in the world.^ He is
The Golden celebrated in eleven whole hymns of the Rig-veda as well
as in parts of others. Above all other deities, he is the
golden god : the poets describe him as golden-eyed, golden-
handed, and golden-tongued : he puts on golden or tawny
mail : he mounts a golden car with a golden pole drawn by
two radiant steeds, or by two or more brown, white-footed
God.
1 Rigveda^ x. 37 {Hymns of the
Rigveda, translated by U. T. H. Griffith,
vol. iv. pp. 176 sq.).
2 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology^
p. 34. The god’s name is spelled
Savitr by Macdonell, Savitri by A,
Barth {Religions of India, p. 20) and
J. Muir {Original Sanskrit Texts, V.^
162), and Savitar by R. T. H. Griffith
{Hymns of the Rigveda, vol. i. p. 64),
A. Kaegi {Der Rigveda 2, Leipzig,
1881, p. 40), E. W. \io\)kms{Religions
of India, p. 46), and il. D. Griswold
{The Religion of the Rigveda, pp.
270 sqq.).
3 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,
p. 34; A. Kaegi, Der Rigveda’^, p. 79;
H. D. Griswold, 7 'he Religioti of the
Rigveda, pp. 275-277.
XII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 449
horses.^ Mighty golden splendour is his and his alone.
He illumines the air, the earth, the world, and the vault of
heaven. He lifts up his strong golden arms, wherewith he
blesses and arouses all beings : his arms extend even to the
ends of the earth. He rides in his golden car, beholding all
creatures both on an upward and on a downward path.
He shines after the path of the dawn. He has measured
out the earthly spaces : he goes to the three bright realms
of heaven and is united with the rays of the sun. His
ancient paths in the sky are dustless and easy to traverse.
He supports the whole world. He fixed the earth with
bonds and made firm the sky in the rafterless space of air.
He bestows length of days on man and immortality on the
gods. He drives away bad spirits and sorcerers ; he is
implored to deliver men from evil dreams and sin, and to
waft the parting soul to the land where dwell the righteous
who have gone before.^
According to the commentator S^yana, the sun is called
Savitri before his rising, but from his rising to his setting
his name is Surya. Yet Savitri is sometimes spoken of as
lulling to sleep ; hence he would seem to be associated with
the evening as well as with the morning. Indeed, in one Evening
hymn he is extolled as the setting sun, and there are s^vUri! o,e
indications that most of the hymns addressed to him are Sim-god.
designed for either a morning or an evening sacrifice. He is
said to lull to rest all two-footed and four-footed beings : he
unyokes his steeds in the gloaming : he brings the wanderer
to rest : at his command the night comes on : the weaver
rolls up her web, and the man of skill lays down his work
unfinished : then every bird seeks his nest and every beast
his lodging.**^
Besides these two great personifications of the sun, Mma
mythologists .sometimes distingui.sh three other solar deities regardodL
another
1 A. A. Macdonell, Hopkins, Relti^nons of India, pp. solar deity
p. 32; J. Muir, Original Sanskiil 46-50* inthcVedic
Texts, V .3 162; H. H. Griswold, 3 a. A. Macdonell, /W/V pantheon.
The Religion of the Rigveda, p. pp. 33 H. D. Griswold, The
273. " Relig^ion of the Rigi^eda, pp. 273 sq.
The evening hymn, as we may call it,
2 A. A. Macdoncll, Vedie Afythology, to the Sun-god Savitri is Rig[-veda, ii.
pp. 32 sq. ; compare J. Muir, Original 38. In the text I have borrowed some
Sanskrit Texts, V.^ 162-164; E. W. touches from it.
VOL. I 2 G
450 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
But his in the Vedic pantheon, namely Mitra, Pushan, and Vishnu.^
character solar divinities of the Rig-veda the oldest perhaps
is dim and is Mitra, the '‘Friend”, the personification of the sun’s
beneficent agency. Surviving from an earlier period, his
individuality is almost merged in that of the great god
Varuna, with whom he is nearly always invoked. Indeed,
only a single hymn of the Rig-veda is addressed to him
alone.^ The great antiquity, of Mitra is vouched for by the
occurrence of his name under the form Mithra in the old
Pushan,
anotlier
solar deity
oftheVcdic
pantheon.
Persian pantheon, which seems to show that he dates from
a period before the separation of the Indian and Iranian
peoples.^ However, it must be admitted that the solar
character of Mitra is but dimly adumbrated in the
Rig-veda ; indeed, some high authorities believe that he,
like his Iranian counterpart Mithra, was originally a
personification of the celestial light rather than of the sun,
though in later times, like Mithra, he came to be identified
with the great luminary.^ Others think that the primary
character of Mitra was moral rather than physical ; according
to them, he personified the virtue of good faith and strict
regard for the sanctity of compacts.^
Another Vedic deity in whom mythologists detect a
personification of the solar orb is Pushan, the “ Prosperer ”.
1 A. A. Macdonell, “ Sanskrit
Literature ”, The Impei‘ial Gazetteer
of India, vol. ii. (Oxford, 1909) pp.
213 sq,
2 A. A. Macdonell, “Sanskrit
Literature”, The hnperial Gazetteer
of India, vol. ii. (Oxford, 1909), p.
213; id., Vedic Mythology, p. 29. For
the hymn to Mitra, see Rig-veda, iii.
59. On Mitra as a Sun-god, see
H. Oldenberg, Religion des Veda, pp.
1855'^$^.; L. von Schroeder, Arische
Religion, I. Emleitung, Der altaHsche
Himmelsgott (Leipzig, 1923), pp.
367 sqq. (who rejects the view, which
he formerly accepted, that Mitra was
originally a Sun-god) ; FI. D. Griswold,
The Religion of the Rigveda, pp. 1 14-
121.
^ F. Spiegel, Erdnische Alterthums-
kunde (Leipzig, 1871-1878), ii. 86;
J. Darmesteter, Ormazd et Ahriman
(Paris, 1877), PP‘ 67 sq. ; J. Muir,
Original Sanskrit Texts, V.^ 7 1 ; E. W.
Hopkins, The Religions of India, pp.
57 Franz Cumont, Textes et Monu-
ments figurh relatifs aux Mystires
de Mithra (Bruxelles, 1896-1899, i.
223 sq. ; L. von Schroeder, Arische
Religion, I. Einleitung. Der altarische
Himmelsgott, pp. 367 sqq. ; H. D.
Griswold, The Religion of the Rig-
veda, pp. 1 14 sqq.
^ This is the view of Fr. Spiegel
{Erdnische Alte 7 'thumskunde, ii. 77
sqq.), A. Barth {The Religions of India,
p. 19), J. Darmesteter {Ormazd et
Ahrimaii, pp. 62 sqq., 72 sq.), and F.
Cumont ( Textes et Monume^its fgurh
7 ‘elatifs aux My stores de Mithra, i.
223 sqq.).
^ L. von Schroeder, A rise he Religion ,
I. Einleitung. Der altarische Himmels-
gott, pp. 372 sq. H. D. Griswold,
The Religion of the Rigveda, pp.
1 1 6 sq.
XII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 451
He is said to exhibit the genial aspect of the sun, manifested
chiefly as a pastoral deity, the protector and multiplier of
cattle. In this respect he reminds us of the Greek Sun>god
Helios, who kept herds of kine, as Ulysses and his com-
panions learned to their cost. But the individuality of
Pushan is vague and his human traits are scanty. He
is called the best charioteer : his car is drawn by goats
instead of horses ; and he subsists on a low diet of gruel.
As a cowherd he carries an ox-goad : he follows and protects
the cattle : he preserves them from falling into a pit, brings
them home unhurt, seeks and drives back the lost. He
beholds all creatures clearly, and he is the lord of all things,
both moving and stationary. He is said to have been the
wooer of his mother or the lover of his sister : the gods gave
him in marriage to the sun-maiden Surya. The epithet
“glowing” is often applied to him. Born on the far path
of heaven and the far path of earth, he goes to and returns
from both the beloved abodes, which well he knows. Hence
he conducts the dead on the path to the fathers who have
gone before ; and, knowing the paths, he is a guardian of
roads, and is besought to protect the wayfarer from the
perils of wolves and robbers.^
In all this there is not much to show that Pushan
personifies any natural phenomenon. However, we are told
that a large number of passages point to a connexion
between him and the sun. One Indian commentator, Yaska,
explains Pushan to be “the sun, the preserver of all beings”,
and in post-Vedic literature Pushan occasionally occurs as a
name of the sun.'^
The last of the solar deities in Vedic literature is Vishnu. Vishnu.
Though less often invoked than the others, he is historically solar deity
by far the most important, since he developed into one ofoftheVedic
the three persons of the Hindoo trinity. In the Rig-veda
his most characteristic trait is that he takes three strides,
1 A. A. Macdonell, ligions of Itidia, pp. 50 H. D.
pp. 35-37; “Sanskrit Literature”, Griswold, The Religion of the Rigveda^
The Imperial Gazetteer of India^voX.n. pp. 278-282. As to the Greek Sun-
(Oxford, 1909), p. 214; A. Barth, god Helios and his cattle, see below,
The Religions of India^ p. 20 ; J. jip. 466 sqq,
Muir, Original Sanskrit TextSy V.^
1 71 sqq.\ A. Kaegi, Der Rigveda^y A. A. MacdoneUy Ft’dieAIytholog^'y
pp. 77 sq. ; E. W. Hopkins, The Re- p. 37.
452 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Ushas, the
Dawn.
Her
mythical
relation-
ship to
Night
and the
Sun.
which are often referred to in the hymns. Scholars are
almost unanimous in interpreting the three strides with
reference to the course of the sun, but they differ as to the
application of the myth, some understanding the three steps
to mean the rising, culminating, and setting of the sun,
while others regard them as descriptive of the sun’s passage
through the three realms of the universe. The former view
is favoured by most European scholars ; the latter is sup-
ported by a practically unbroken tradition in India from
the later Vedic period onward. Whichever interpretation
be adopted, the highest step of Vishnu is heaven, where the
gods and the fathers dwell. In several passages he is said
to have taken his three steps for the benefit of mankind.
According to a myth of the Brahnianas^ Vishnu rescued the
earth for man from the demons by taking his three strides
after that he had assumed the form of a dwarf. In this we
have a transition to the later mythology, in which Vishnu’s
benevolent character is further developed in the doctrine
of Avatars or incarnations for the good of humanity.^
Closely connected with the solar gods is Ushas, the
Dawn. Her name, derived from the root vas^ “ to shine ”,
means the dawn, and is etymologically identical with the
Latin aurora and the Greek eds^ both signifying dawn
Hence, conceived as a goddess, she always betrays her
physical basis through a transparent veil of mythical fancy.
In her graceful figure the personification is but slight: in
addressing her the poet never forgets the radiant glory and
the gorgeous hues of the sky at break of day.^ She is said
to have been born in the sky, and is constantly called the
daughter of heaven. She is the sister, or the elder sister,
of Night, and the names of Dawn and Night are often
conjoined as a dual compound. She is said to have opened
the paths for Surya, the Sun-god, to travel in : she shines
with the light of the sun. In one passage the Sun-god
Surya is spoken of as following her as a young man follows
* A. A Macdonell, Vedic Mytholoi^yy Relii^ion of the Pis^vcda, jip. 282-285.
PP* 37-395 “Sanskrit Literature”, 2 ^ ^ Macdonell, Vedic Mythology ^
The Imperial Gazettee?' of Itidia^voWn, p
(Oxford, 1909), p. 214. Compare E.
W. Hopkins, The Religiofis of India ^ ^ A. A. Macdonell, Vcdic Mythology y
pp. 56 sq . ; A. Kaegi, Der Rigveda^, p. 46 ; H. D. Griswold, The Religion
pp. 78 sq,\ H. D. Griswold, The of the RigT^eda^ \\ 24/^.
XII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG VEDIC INDIANS 453
a maiden, but in another she is described as the wife of
Surya, and elsewhere the Dawns are called the wives of the
Sun ; for recollecting the multitude of dawns that have suc-
ceeded each other, the poet often speaks of Dawn in the
plural. Thus, as followed in space by the sun, the Dawn
is conceived of as his spouse or mistress ; but as preceding
the sun in time she is occasionally thought of as his mother.^
Born anew every morning, she is always young ; yet at the
same time she is old, nay immortal ; she wears out the lives
of the generations of men, which vanish away one after
another, while she continues undecaying." As she shone
in former days, so she shines now and will shine in days
to come, never ageing, immortal. Arraying herself in gay
attire, like a dancer, she displays her bosom : like a maiden
decked by her mother, she shows her form. Effulgent in
peerless beauty, she withholds her radiance from neither
small nor great : rising resplendent as from a bath, revealing
her charms, she comes with light, driving the shadows away.
She dispels the darkness : she removes the black robe of
night : she wards off evil spirits and evil dreams. She
discloses the treasures which the shadows of night had
concealed : she distributes them bountifully. When she
awakes, she illumines the utmost borders of the sky : she
opens the gates of heaven : she unbars the doors of darkness
as the cows throw open their stall : her radiant beams
appear like herds of cattle. The ruddy beams fly up : the
ruddy cows yoke themselves : the ruddy Dawns weave their
web of light as of old. Thus Dawn comes to be called
Mother of Kine.^ She is borne on a shining chariot : she ' I'he chariot
is said to arrive on a hundred chariots. She is drawn by
ruddy horses or by ruddy cows or bulls. Both the horses and
the cows probably represent the red rays of morning, though
the cows are often explained as the rosy clouds of daybreak.^
^ A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology^
p. 48 ; J. Muir, Original Sanskrit
'Texts, V.^ 190
J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts ^
\ ? 195 ; H. D. Griswold, The
Religion of the Rigveda, pp. 249 sq,
A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,
pp. 46 sq. ; II. D. Griswold, 'The
Religion of the Rig-veda, p. 247.
* A. A. Macdonell, Tedic Mythology,
p. 47 ; J. Muir, Original Sanskrit
Texts, V ? 194. As to Dawn (Ushas),
see also A. Kaegi, Der Rigveda'^, pp.
73-76 ; J. W. Hopkins, The Religions
of India, pp. 73-80 ; H. D. Griswold,
'The Religion of the Rigveda, pp.
244-254.
454 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Hymn to
the Dawn.
Among the many hymns specially dedicated to Ushas
or the Dawn/ it will suffice to quote one : its pensive
beauty needs no words to commend it to the attention of
the reader :
This light is come^ amid all lights the fairest ; born is the brilliant^
far-extending brightness.
“ Night., sent away for SavitaPs uprising., hath yielded up a birth-place
for the morning.
“ The fair., the bright is come with her white offspring; to her the dark
one hath resigned her dwelling.
Akin, immortal, following each other, changing their colours both the
heavens move onward.
“ Common, unending is the sisters^ patlnvay ; taught by the gods,
alternately they travel.
“ Fair-formed, of different hues and yet onc-minded. Night and Dawn
clash not, neither do they tarry.
“ Bright leader of glad sounds, our eyes behold her, splendid in hue she
hath unclosed the portals.
“ She, stirring up the world, hath shozv?i us riches : Daw 71 hath
aivakcfied every living creature.
“ Rich Daw ft, she sets afoot the coiled-up sleeper, one for cfijoyffient, ofie
for wealth or worship,
“ Those who saw little for ex te tided vision; all living creatures hath the
Dawn aivaketicd.
“ One to high sway, one to exalted glory, one to pursue his gain, and one
his labour ;
'‘"‘All to regard their different vocations, all moving creatures hath the
Dawn awakened.
“ We see her there, the child of Heaven, appaf^ent, the young maid
flu shift g in her shining raiment.
“ Thou sovran lady of all earthly treasure, flush on us here, auspicious
Dawn, this morning.
“ She, first of endless morns to come hereafter, follows the path of morns
that have departed.
Da 7 Ufi, at her rising, urges forth the I hung: him 70/10 is dead she
7 vakes not from his slumber. . . .
“ How long a time, and they shall be together, — dawns that have shone
and da 7 vns to shine hereafter ?
“ She yearns for former daxvns with eager longing, and goes forth gladly
shining 70/th the others.
“ Gone are the men who in the days before us looked on the rising of
the earlier morning.
“ We, we the living, now behold her brightness, and they come nigh
who shall hereafter see her.
1 Rig-veda, i. hymns 48, 49, 92, 64, 65 ; vii. hymns 75, 76, 77, 78,
113, 124; iii. hymn 61 ; iv. hymns 79, 80, 81 ; x. hymn 172.
51, 52; V. hymns 79,80; vi. hymns
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT PERSIANS 455
Foe-chaser y born of LaWy and lazds protectory joy-givery maker of all
pleasant voiceSy
‘‘ Ausplclot/Sy bringing food for godi enjoyment y shine on us here^ as besty
O Dawny this morning.
From days eternal hath Dawn shone y the goddess y and shows this light
to-day y endowed with riches.
So will she shhie on days to come ; immortal she moves on in her own
strenglhy undecaying.
^Hn the sky's borders hath she shone in splendour : the goddess hath
thrown off the veil of darkness.
“ Awaketiing the world with purfle horses y on her well-harnesscd chariot
Dawn approaches.
'‘"‘Bringing all life-sustaining blessings with heVy showing herself she
sends forth brilliant lustre.
Last of the countless mornings that have vanishedy first of bright
morns to come hath Dawn cirisen.
Arise / the breathy the lifcy again hath reached us: darkness hath
passed awayy and light approacheth.
“ She for the Sun hath left a path to travel : we have arrived where men
prolo 7 tg existence.
“ Singing the praises of refulgent mornings with his hymn's web the
pricsty the poety rises.
'‘"‘Shine then to-day y rich maidy on him who lauds theCy shine do7vn on
us the gift of life and offspring. . . .
“ Mother of godSy Aditi's form of glory y ensign of sacrifice y shine forth
exalted.
“ Rise upy bestowing praise on our devotion : all-bounteouSy make us
chief among the people.
“ Whatever splendid wealth the Dazvns bring with them to bless the
man who offers praise and worshipy
Even that may Mi tray Vanina vouchsafe usy and Aditi and Si ndhuy
Earth and Heaven." ^
§ 3. The Worship of the Sun among the Ancient Persians
We have learned on the authority of Herodotus that the Herodotus
ancient Persians worshipped the whole circle of the sky,
which they called by a name equivalent to Zeus, and to worship of
which they offered sacrifices on the tops of the highest
mountains.^ In the same passage the old historian, who
appears to have been accurately acquainted with the Persian
^ Rig-vedUy i, 113 [Hymns of the
Rigveday translated with a popular
commentary by R. T. H. Griffith, vol.
f PP* 195-198). Portions of this and
of other two hymns, addressed to
Ushas, the Dawn, are translated by
J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts y vol.
V.^ pp. 181-190, and by H. D. Gris-
wold, The Religion of the Rigveday
pp. 244 sqq.
2 Herodotus, i. 13 1. See above,
P- 32.
456 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLFS chap.
religion, informs us that the Persians also sacrificed to the sun
and moon and earth and fire and water and the winds. They
thought that leprosy was a punishment inflicted on the sufferer
for a sin which he had committed against the sun ; hence
the leper was strictly secluded and forbidden to mix with his
fellows.^ When Xerxes was about to march out of Sardes at
the head of his mighty host for the invasion of Greece, the
sun was suddenly eclipsed irra clear sky, and the shadows of
night replaced the splendour of the day. Alarmed at the
portent, the King inquired of the Magians what it meant.
But they reassured him and encouraged him to proceed on
the fatal and ill-omened expedition by declaring that the
eclipse portended the evacuation or desolation of the Greek
cities, since it was the function of the sun to give omens to
the Greeks, but of the moon to give omens to the Persians.^
The prayer When he had reached the Hellespont, and the bridges were
hig all ready for the passage of the army, the monarch tarried
Xerxes on the Asiatic shore till sunrise. Meantime, while the
cTosshig waited in solemn silence for the order to march, myrtle
the Heiies- boughs Were strewed all over the ground on which they were
to tread, and incense was burned on the bridges ; the long
line of fires might be seen glimmering in the morning twilight
far away to the European shore, the shore from which so
many thousands were to return no more. At the moment
when the sun appeared above the horizon, Xerxes poured a
libation from a golden cup into the sea, and looking towards
the orb of day he prayed that no reverse might befall him
which should prevent him from carrying his victorious arms
to the utmost bounds of Europe. Having so prayed, he cast
the golden cup, together with a golden bowl and a Persian
scimitar, into the Hellespont ; but the careful historian adds
that he could not say whether the King offered these things
to the sun or to the sea ; for a short time before the despot
had caused the sea to be scourged for destroying the first
bridge over the Hellespont, and he might naturally wish, as
a measure of prudence, to propitiate the sea-god, whose
feelings might still be hurt and his back still sore from the
beating.^ The army was accompanied on the march by a
^ Herodotus, i. 138. 2 Herodotus, vii. 37.
3 Herodotus, vii. 54. As to the scourging of the Hellespont, see id. vii. 35.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT PERSIANS 457
chariot drawn by eight white horses in which no man was
allowed to ride because it was sacred to the god whom
Herodotus calls Zeus ; ^ the deity may have been either the
Sky-god or the Supreme God Ahura Mazda, whom Xerxes
is known from the cuneiform inscriptions to have worshipped
under the name of Auramazda. In one of these inscriptions
Xerxes declares that “ Auramazda is a powerful god ; he is
the greatest of the gods This chariot sacred to Zeus is
mentioned also by Xenophon in the historical romance which
he devoted to the glorification of Cyrus the Elder, and he The
tells us that it was followed by a chariot of the Sun, also
drawn by white horses and wreathed with garlands like the
chariot of Zeus.^
The evidence of Xenophon on all points of Persian Xenophon
religion and life is to be received with great caution,
for curiously enough he saw through a sort of magnifying
haze of glory the Persians whom he had fought under
a Persian captain. Yet on his long march and retreat
through the Persian empire he had many opportunities of
acquainting himself with the character and customs of his
gallant enemies, and we cannot afford to dismiss all his
statements on the subject as a soldier's dream. In the same
passage in which he describes the chariot of the Sun he tells
us that horses were led along to be sacrificed to the solar Horses
deity and later on he relates how the animals were burned tTthe^Suu
entire in honour of the luminary.^ The statement that the t)y the
^ rcrsifins.
Persians sacrificed horses to the Sun is confirmed by other
ancient writers.^ Indeed, Xenophon had personal reasons
for being acquainted with the custom ; for marching through
the snow on the mountains of Armenia he came to a village
where horses were being bred as tribute for the king of
Persia ; and in return for the hospitality which he and his
men received from the villagers he gave the headman of
the village a horse to fatten up and sacrifice to the Sun.
The gift was not so liberal as his host perhaps imagined ;
^ Herodotus, vii. 40, 55.
- J. Darmesteter, Onnazd et Ahri-
man (Paris, 1877), p. 25.
^ Xenophon, Cyropaedia^ viii. 3. 12.
According to Quintus Curtins (iii. 3.7)
the sacred chariot of Jupiter (Zeus)
was followed by a great horse called
the horse of the Sun.
^ Xenophon, l.c.
® Xenophon, Cyropaedia^ viii. 3. 24.
® Pausanias, iii. 20. 4 ; Philostratus,
Vit. Apollon, i. 31.2; Ovid, Fasti,
i. 38s
458 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Horses
sacrificed
to the Sun
by the
Mixssa-
getae.
Persian
sacrifices to
the Sun.
Vine-
dressers
sacred to
Apollo.
Invoca-
tions of
the Sun
in the
7 .end~
Avesta,
for the shrewd Greek soldier observes that the charger
was old and damaged by the march, and he feared it
would die if pressed to go farther ; moreover, he took care to
replace it by a colt which was being bred for his enemy the
Persian king.^ Another people, possibly Iranian, who used
to sacrifice horses to the Sun were the Massagetae, a people
of Turkestan, to the east of the Caspian. They alleged as
the ground for the sacrifice that the swiftest of the gods ought
to receive for his share the fleetest of mortal animals." We
shall see presently that in like manner horses were sacrificed
to the Sun by the Lacedaemonians and the Rhodians.^
I'urther, in the imaginary picture which he draws of the
last days of Cyrus, his Greek panegyrist represents him
offering sacrifices and praying to Zeus, the Sun, and all the
other gods on the tops of the mountains in gratitude for
the favours they had bestowed on him in his long career of
glory.^ A later Greek historian, Agatharchides of Samos,
speaks of Xerxes in Greece sacrificing oxen on an altar of
the Sun.^ In a Greek letter of Darius the First, which was
found engraved on a stone near Magnesia in Asia Minor, the
monarch praises his vassal Gadates for transplanting certain
fruits from beyond the Euphrates to Lower Asia, but
threatens him with punishment for his impiety in taking
tribute of the vinedressers, who were sacred to Apollo, and
compelling these holy men to dig unhallowed ground.^^ Here
Apollo is probably equivalent to the Sun, who would accord-
ingly seem to have had vineyards and vinedressers of his own
in the time of Darius, just as he had cattle in the time of
Homer.
In the Zend-Avesta the Sun is invoked not un frequently,
but it cannot be said that he is the object of fervent worship;
the references to him are mostly incidental ; the benefits which
' Xenophon, Anabasis, iv. 5. 34 s^/,
2 Herodotus, i. 216; Strabo, xi. 8.
6. As to the ethnical affinities of the
Massagetae, see (Sir) E. H. Bunbury,
History of Ancient Geography‘s (Lon-
don, 1883), ii. 224 note®. Humboldt
was of opinion that the Massagetae
belonged to the Indo-European family.
If he was right, they may have been
Iranians.
^ See below, pp. 476, 484.
* Xenophon, Cyropaedia, viii. 7. 3.
^ Agatharchides Samius, in Frag-
menta Historicorum Graecorum, ed.
C. Muller, iii. 197.
® G. Dittenberger, Sylloge Insci'ip-
tiomini Graecarum No. 22 (vol. i.
pp. 20 s ^.) ; Ch. Michel, Kectieil In-
scriptions Grecques (Bruxelles, 1900),
No. 32, p. 39.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT PERSIANS 459
he confers on mankind are rather left to be inferred than
expressly enumerated in the texts/ It would almost appear
as if the prophet, lost in the rapturous contemplation of
the spiritual Creator, were indifferent to the gross realities
of the material universe. In the Zend-Avesta the name of
the Sun is hvare, which is verbally equivalent to the Sanscrit
svar, of which Surya, the name for the sun and the Sun-god,
is a derivative. The Greek helios^ “the sun”, comes from the
same root.^ The sun is called the eye of Ahura Mazda
and he is often spoken of as “ swift-horsed which seems to
imply that, like his Vedic counterpart and namesake Surya,
he was supposed to be driven across the sky in a chariot
drawn by horses. Thus in a hymn to the Sun we read :
“ Unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun be pro- Hymn to
pitiation, with sacrifice, prayer, propitiation, and glorification.
We sacrifice unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
When the light of the sun waxes warmer, when the bright-
ness of the sun waxes warmer, then up stand the angels
( Ya,zatas)J' by hundreds and thousands : they gather together
its Glory, they make its Glory pass down, they pour its Glory
upon the earth made by Ahura, for the increase of the world
of holiness, for the increase of the creatures of holiness, for
the increase of the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
“And when the sun rises up, then the earth, made by
Ahura, becomes clean ; the running waters become clean, the
waters of the wells become clean, the waters of the sea
become clean, the standing waters become clean ; all the holy
creatures, the creatures of the Good Spirit, become clean.
“ Should not the sun rise up, then the demons (daevas)
would destroy all the things that are in the seven quarters
of the earth (^Karshvares)^ nor would the heavenly angels
^ Fr. Spiegel, Enhiische Alterthiims- ^ Yazatas are an inferior order of
kumie, ii. 66 sq. divinities or angels. See Fr, Spiegel,
2 A. A. Macdonell, Vedic Mytho- Erdnische AUerthiimsktmde^ ii. 41 ;
pp. 31 sq. A. V. Williams Jackson, “ Die iranische
3 Zend-Avesta^ Fait III. translated Religion”, in W. Geiger und E. Kuhn,
by L. H. Mills (Oxford, 1887), p. 199 Grtindriss dev iranischen Phiioiogie, ii.
{Sacred Books of the Easiy vol. xxxi.). p. 632 ; J. H. Moulton, Early Zoro-
4 A. V. Williams Jackson, -‘Die asiriamsm, p. 432.
iranische Religion ”, in W. Geiger und ® The old Iranians divided the earth
E. Kuhn, Grundriss der iranische 7 i into seven or three quarters or regions
ii. (Strassburg, 1896-1904), {karshvares). See Fr. Spiegel, Erd-
p. 649. nische Alterthumskimde^ i, 189.
46 o worship of SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Daily
prayer to
the Sun.
( Yazatas) find any way of withstanding or repelling them
in the material world.
‘‘ He who offers up a sacrifice unto the undying, shining,
swift-horsed Sun — to withstand darkness, to withstand the
demons (^daevas) born of darkness, to withstand the robbers
and bandits, to withstand the sorcerers ( Ydtus) ^ and the
peris {Pairikas)^ to withstand death that creeps in unseen
— offers it up to Ahura Mazda, offers it up to the archangels
(^Amesha-Spentas)^ offers it up to his own soul. He rejoices
all the heavenly and worldly angels ( Yazatas\ who offers up
a sacrifice unto the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun. . . .
I bless the sacrifice and the invocation, and the strength
and vigour of the undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.” ^
And every layman over eight years old was bound to
recite a prayer to the Sun, thrice a day, namely at sunrise,
at noon, and at three o’clock in the afternoon : he recited
it standing and girt with his sacred cord {kosti). He prayed,
saying among other things :
Hail to Ahura Mazda! Hail to the lesser deities
(A7?iesha - Spentas) \ Hail to Mithra, the lord of wide
pastures 1 Hail to the Sun, the swift-horsed ! . . . We
sacrifice unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-horsed Sun.
We sacrifice unto Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who
is truth-speaking, a chief in a.sscmblies, with a thousand ears.
^ The Vd/iis include both lunnan
sorcerers and demon sorcerers. See
Fr. Spiegel, Erdnische Alterthiims-
kuttde^ ii. 146-148 ; J. Darmesteter,
OrtJiazd et Ahriman, pp. 174 sq. ; A.
V. Williams Jackson, “Die iranische
Religion”, in W. Geiger und K. Kuhn,
Grttndriss de?' ir anise hen Philologic^
ii. 665 ; J. II. Moulton, Eajdy Zoro~
asiriajtism, p. 209.
2 The Pair i has arc wicked fairy
women who seduce men by their
beauty. See Fr. Spiegel, Erdnische
Alterthiimskimde, ii. 138 sq. ; J.
Darmesteter, Oi'fnazd et Ahri/nan, pp.
174 sq. ; A. V. Williams Jackson,
“Die iranische Religion”, in W.
Geiger und E. Kuhn, Grnndriss der
iranischen Philologie^ ii. 665.
^ The Aniesha-Spentas or Amsha-
spandsy as they are called in later
Persian, whose name signifies “ the
Immortal Holy Ones”, are the deities
who rank below Ahura Mazda ; they
may be described as archangels. Their
number is six or, if Ahura Mazda is
included among them, seven. They
arc deified abstractions and therefore
of comparatively late origin rather than
ancient deities of nature. See Fr.
Spiegel, Erdnische Alterthiimskunde,
ii. 28 sqq. ; A. V, Williams Jackson,
“Die iranische Religion”, in,W. Geiger
und E. Kuhn, Grundriss der iranischen
Philologiey ii. 633 sq. Plutarch tells
us that Oromasdes (Ahura Mazda),
created six gods, who are doubtless
the Amesha-Spentasy though Plutarch
does not name them so. See Plutarch,
Isis et Osiris y 47.
^ Zend-Avestay Part II. translated by
James Darmesteter, pp. 85-87 (Sacred
Books of the East, vol. xxiii.).
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 461
well-shapen, with ten thousand eyes, high, with full know-
ledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake. We sacrifice unto
Mithra, the lord of all countries, whom Ahura Mazda made
the most glorious of all the gods in the world unseen. So
may Mithra and Ahura, the two great gods, come to us for
help ! We sacrifice unto the bright, undying, shining, swift-
horsed Sun.'’ ^
This prayer suffices to prove that at the date of its Mithra dis-
composition Mithra was regarded as a god distinct from the
Sun ; he was not yet identified or confused with the solar Sun.
deity, as he came to be in later times. To that confusion
we shall return presently.^
§ 4. The Worship of the Sun among the Ancient Greeks^
The Greeks personified and worshipped the Sun under Greek wor-
his proper name of Helios, but in general they paid little atten- hcHos^ the
tion to him. To this rule the Rhodians were an exception, for Sun.
they deemed their island sacred to the Sun-god and elevated
him to a high, if not to the principal, place in their pantheon.
But on the whole the solar deity under his proper name
plays a very subordinate part in the religion, the mythology,
and the art of ancient Greece. In the hymn-book which
goes by the name of Homer, a short and not very enthusiastic iiomojic
piece is devoted to his praise. In it we read that his father
was Hyperion, that is, He who goes on high ; that his
mother was Euryphacsia, that is. She who shines far and
1 Zend-Avesta^ Part 11 . translated
by James Darmesteter, pp. 349-351
{Sacred Books of the East, vol. xxiii.).
The kosti, as the modern Parsees call
it, was the sacred cord with which, at
about the age of fifteen, every worship-
per of Ahura Mazda was solemnly girt
as a token of his membership of the
religious community. It was worn
constantly both by men and women
during the day and only laid aside at
night. In later times the investiture
with the sacred cord took place earlier
than in the fifteenth year. See Fr.
Spiegel, Erdnische Alterthnmskunde,
iii. 578, 700 sq. : W. Geiger, Ostira-
nische Kulttir im Altertum (Erlangen,
1882), pp. 238 sq.
2 See below, pp. 503 sqq.
^ On this subject see F. Ci. Welckcr,
Gricchische Gotterlehre (Gottingen,
1857 1863), i. 400-413; I.. Preller,
Griechische ^fythologie, i.'*, ed. C.
Robert, i)p. 429-440 ; F^ipp,
“Helios”, in W. H. Roscher.
liches Lexikon der yriechisehen und
romischen Mythologie, i. coll. 1993-
2026 ; E. Cahen, s.v, “ Sol ”, in
Daremberg et Saglio, Diitionnaire des
Antiqiiith Grecques ct Rom nines, iv. 2,
pp. 1373-1381 ; Jessen, s.v. “Helios”,
in Pauly- Wissowa, Real-Encyclopiidie
der classischen Alterhimswissenschaft ,
viii. I, coll. 58-93 ; L. R. Farnell,
The Cults of the Greek States, v.
(Oxford, 1909) pp. 417-420.
462 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap .
wide ; and that his sisters were the rosy- armed Dawn and
the fair-tressed Moon. He himself is spoken of as splendid,
The chariot Unwearied, like the immortals; mounted on his golden-reined
oahe°Stm- chariot, drawn by horses, he shines on mortals and the im-
goti- mortal gods. He wears a golden helmet ; bright rays flash
from him ; bright hair floats about his temples and enframes
his lovely beaming face ; a glistering garment, finely spun,
wraps him about and streams upon the wind.^
This description of the resplendent Sun-god in human
form, riding his horse-drawn car, answers to the general
conception of him which the Greeks formed and embodied
in works both of literature and art. We see him, for
Thechariot example, exactly so portrayed in a fine metope which once
and horses adorned a temple at New Ilium. The god stands erect in
in a metope the chariot, which, however, is hidden by the four prancing
of a temple. ^rm is raised over the heads of the horses as if
holding the reins : his face is turned full to the right and to
the spectator : the features of his face arc noble : ample
curling locks enframe his brow and cheeks : broad sunbeams
radiate from his head ; and behind him his flowing robe
streams on the wind.^ Yet it is remarkable that no mention
of the chariot and horses of the Sun occurs in the //uid or
Odyssey, though the car and the steeds are repeatedly men-
tioned in the Homeric hymns. Thus, to take another instance.
Demeter’s when Demctcr was searching the world over for her daughter
thlfsun ° Persephone, ravished by gloomy Dis, she appealed to the Sun
god in his to help her to find the loved and lost one. She took her stand
chariot. front of the chariot and horses and prayed, saying : “ O
Sun, have pity on me, since from the divine ether thou lookest
down with thy rays on all the earth and sea, tell me true if thou
didst see what god or mortal man has snatched far from me
my darling child The god informed the sorrowful goddess
that Hades (Pluto) had carried her daughter off on his
chariot to be his bride in the gloomy infernal world. Then,
1 Homeric Hymn, xxxi. In line 1 1 W. H. Roscher, AusfUhrliches Lexikon
I accept Pierson’s emendation, Trepl der griechischen und romischen ^Mytho-
KpoTd<f>oL<ri t' ^deipai for the manuscript iogie, i. 2005-2006. For evidence of
reading irapii Kpord<pu)v re irapeial. the chariot and horses of the Sun in
Greek literature and art, see further
2 A. Baumeister, Denkmaler des Rapp, op. cit. coll. 1998 sq., 2005-
klassiscken Altertums, i. 639, fig. 710; 2009; Jessen, op. cit. coll, 88-90.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 463
after comforting her as well as he could by dwelling on the
splendid match which her daughter was making, he called to
his horses, and they swept away his chariot, like birds upon
the wing.*
This conception of the Sun as knowing all that happens The aii-
upon earth, because he looks down on it from the sky, is
familiar to Homer, for both in the Iliad and the Odyssey the witness.
Sun is said to see and hear all things, and in one passage
Agamemnon appeals to him, along with Zeus, and the Rivers,
and Earth, and the gods of the nether world, to be the
witnesses of his oath,* and elsewhere the King swears by
Zeus, Earth, Sun, and the Avenging Furies.® Euripides makes
Medea, on her arrival in Athens, exact from King Aegeus
an oath by the Earth and the Sun that he will protect her ; ■*
and Apollonius Rhodius represents her swearing to Arete,
wife of Alcinou.s, by the light of the Sun and Hecate.® In a
letter to a certain philosopher named Maximus the Emperor
Julian calls Zeu.s, the great Sun, Athene, and all the gods and
goddesses to witness that he had trembled for the safety
of his philosophic friend.'' We have seen that in Greek-
speaking lands the custom of attesting fidelity by a solemn
appeal to Zeus, the Sun, and the Earth persisted down to
Imperial times ; such oaths are often recorded in inscriptions.^
This personification of the Sun as a deity who knows The
everything and stands for righteousness is sometimes em-
ployed with fine efifect by the Greek tragedians. Thus in the Sun as
Aeschylus, when Prometheus is nailed to a crag on the snowy deilf’in™'*
Caucasus as a punishment for the benefits which he had con- Greek
ferred on mankind, he appeals to “the all-seeing circle of the
Sun”, to the divine ether and swift-winged breezes, to the
springs of rivers and the unnumbered dimpling smile of ocean
waves, and to Earth the Universal Mother, calling on them to
witness the wrongs which he, himself a god, suffers at the hand
of the gods.® Again, going to her death, Cassandra prays to
‘ Homeric Hymn to Demeter, ‘ Euripides, l^Iedea, 745-753.
The chariot and horses of the Sun are ^ Apollonius Rhodius, Argonaiiiica^
also mentioned in Homeric Hynm to iv. 1019 sq.
Hermes, 68 sq, ® Julian, Epist. 38, vol. ii. p. 536
2 Homer, Iliad, iii. 275 - 280 ; cd. Hertlein.
Odyssey, xi. 109, xii. 323. ^ See above, pp. 325-327.
3 Homer, Iliad, xix. 257 sqq. ® Aeschylus, Prometheus, 88-92.
464 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The appeal
of the
dying Ajax
to the Sun.
the Sun for vengeance on her murderers.^ And when the
matricide Orestes feels his brain beginning to reel at the
approach of the Furies of his murdered mother, he bids them
spread out the gory garment which his father wore in his
last hour, that in it the all-seeing Sun may behold the
unhallowed handiwork of his mother and may at his trial bear
witness that he was indeed the man to visit on her the blood
of his dead sire.“
Sophocles also introduces the Sun as. the unwilling
witness of unrighteous deeds and as their appropriate avenger.
Thus in the palace at Mycenae, polluted by the murder of
the rightful king and the triumph of his murderers, the
chorus asks passionately where are the thunderbolts of Zeus
and where the bright Sun, if they behold these deeds and
sit with folded hands nor smite the guilty pair.^
At Thebes, when the full horror of the crimes committed
by the unwitting Oedipus had been brought to light, Creon
drove him into the house on the plea that the pure Sun
ought not to look upon so defiled a wretch.'^ Afterwards at
Colonus, in Attica, on a bright day in early spring, while
snow still crowned the distant hills and the nightingales were
singing in the neighbouring grove, the blind and banished
Oedipus retorted on his persecutor Creon, cursing him and all
his house, and saying, “ May the all-seeing Sun give thee
and thine even such a sad old age as mine ^ Again, in
Euripides, when the witch Medea announces that she has
steeled her heart to slay her children, the horror-struck
chorus prays to Earth and to the Sun’s resplendent glory to
look down upon the abandoned woman before she lays a
ruthless hand upon her offspring.^
But nowhere perhaps has a Greek poet yoked, so to say,
the chariot of the Sun in his service with finer effect than
in the pathetic passage wherein the gallant Ajax, about to
fall upon his sword, looks up at the Sun and bids him, in
his bright chariot carry the message of his sorrows and his
* Aeschylus, Agamevmon, 1323- ^ Sophocles, Oedipus Colonetts., 868-
1326. 870. For the scene and time of the
2 Aeschylus, Choephor. 983-989. play, see Jebb’s Introduction to his
3 Sophocles, Electra^ 825 sq. edition (Cambridge, 1900), p. xii.
^ Sophocles, Oedipus Rexy 1424-
1431.
Euripides, Medea^ 1251-1254.
XU WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 465
death to his far home in Greece, across the rolling sea. “ O
Sun,” he cries, “ who in thy car dost ride heaven’s steep,
when thou lookest upon my fatherland, O draw thy golden
reins and tell my sorrows and my fate to my old sire and to the
hapless dame, my mother ; all the town will ring with her sad
wail when she shall hear thy tidings. And thou, O present
radiance of the shining day, and thou the Sun, the charioteer,
I hail ye for the last time, and then no more for ever.” ^
But while the Sun was thus supposed to drive across the sky The golden
in a chariot by day, it was imagined that after plunging into the fhe’s,'
sea in the west he returned by night to his starting-point in
the east, floating over the subterranean ocean in a golden
goblet. In a beautiful poem Mimnermus has described the
tired god, after his day’s toil, sleeping in his lovely bed, while
the winged goblet, wrought of beaten gold by the hands of
Hephaestus, wafts him lightly over the waves from the far
western land of the Hesperides to the far eastern land of
the Kthiopians, where his chariot and horses stand waiting
for him, till his herald, the rosy-fingered Dawn, shall mount
the sky and the great god shall begin his weary, never-
ending journey afresh." According to Pherecydes, the
horses of the Sun were also ferried across the sea by night
in the golden goblet ; ® and this seems only reasonable, else
how could they have cros.sed all that stretch of water and
been ready to start again next morning in the east ? When
Hercules went to lift the cattle of Geryon in his far western
island of Erythea, beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, he needed
a vessel of some sort in which to sail across the sea. So he
asked the Sun for the loan of his golden goblet, and bending
his bow at the solar orb, threatened to shoot the deity, if he
did not comply with his request. The frightened Sun implored
him not to shoot, and lent him the precious goblet. So
Hercules embarked in it and sailed away westward. And
when he came out on the open Atlantic, and saw the coasts
of Spain and Africa stretching away behind him and
fading into the blue distance, the god of Ocean, to try his
1 Sophocles, Ajax, 845-857. I Mimnermus. The poem of Mimnermus
have shortened the passage. is given also by Bergk, Poetae Lyrtct
2 Athenaeus, xi. 38-39, pp. 469- 6Vrtm, ii.^ p. 412, frag. 1 2.
470, quoting Pisander, Panyasis, Slesi- ^ pherecydes,* quoted by Athenaeus,
chorus, Antimachus, Aeschylus, and xi. 39, p. 470 c.
VOL. I
2 H
466 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
courage, caused the goblet to rock and heave on the swell
of the great billows. But, nothing daunted, the truculent
hero threatened to shoot the Sea-god also ; and the deity,
in alarm, begged him to hold his hand, so there was a
great calm.^ Thus bully Hercules sailed to Erythea, stole
the kine of Geryon, embarked them on the goblet, and
landed them safely on the coast of Spain ; after which, he
restored the goblet to the Sun.^
The These accounts suffice" to prove how very human the
of the*s\^n Sun-god was supposed to be ; for in them we see him at
god. one time driving his team across the sky, at another time
reining them up and stopping to deliver the last message
of the dying Ajax to his parents in Salamis, and yet again
cowed by the threats of Hercules and lending his precious
goblet on compulsion to the swaggering hero. In Homer
the deity also figures as a successful cattle-breeder ; for in
The sacred the Odyssey we read how in the island of Thrinacia he had
flocks and herds of cows and seven flocks of sheep, fifty cows in
herds of ' . i i i
the Sun in every herd and fifty sheep in every nock ; neither herd
Thrinacia. flock ever multiplied or diminished ; their numbers
remained for ever the same. They were tended by two
fair-tressed nymphs, Phaethusa and Lampetia, whom Ncaera
bore to the Sun.^ These goodly herds and flocks the Sun-
god loved to behold, both at his rising and at his setting.*^ The
witch Circe in her magic isle, and the ghost of the prophet
Tiresias in the nether world, had bidden Ulysses beware of
molesting the sacred herds and flocks, warning him that,
if he slaughtered them, his ship and all his comrades would
perish, and that if he himself ever reached home it would
be after long delay and in evil plight.^ So when the ship.
^ Pherecydes, quoted by Athenacus,
xi. 39, p. 470 c-i) ; compare Apollo-
dorus, ii. 5. 10 ; Scholiast on Apollonius
Rhodius, Argon, iv. 1396.
In a late vase-painting the Sun and
the Dawn, mounted on a four-horse
car, are seen transported across the
sea in a ship, not a goblet. See
F. G. Welcker, Antike Defikmaler,
iii. taf. X. I ; E. Gerhard, Gesammdte
akademische Abhandlnngen (Berlin,
1866-1868), taf. vii. 3.
Apollodorus, ii. 5. 10.
^ Homer, Od. xii. 127-136. Com-
pare Apollonius Rhodius, A 7 gon. iv.
964-979. According to the historian
Timaeus (quoted by a scholiast on
Apollonius Rhodius, Argon, iv. 965),
the island of Thrinacia was Sicily,
which was so called on account of its
triangular shape. But more probably
the island was purely mythical.
^ Homer, Od. xii. 379 s^.
^ Homer, Od. xi. 104-115, xii. 127-
141.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 467
after threading the perilous passage between Scylla and How
Charybdis, was off the Thrinacian isle, the mariners could
hear afar off the lowing of the cows and the bleating of of uiysses
the sheep. Weary with the voyage they landed on the ^njed ^nd
island for rest and refreshment beside a spring of sweet ate the
water. After partaking of supper and lamenting for the
comrades whom Scylla had snatched from the ship and
devoured, the night closed in upon them, and they wept
themselves to sleep. But when the night was waning
and the stars had crossed the zenith, the wind rose and
blew a hurricane. For a whole month it blew, and the
mariners dared not put out upon the angry sea. For a time,
warned by Ulysses, they subsisted on the corn and wine they
had brought with them in the ship; but when these were
exhausted, one evil day, while Ulysses had wandered away
and fallen fast asleep, they yielded to the pangs of hunger
and slew the finest of the oxen of the Sun and roasted
the flesh on spits over the fire. Waking from sleep and
retracing his steps to the ship, Ulysses smelt the sweet
savour of the roast meat and groaned aloud. Word of the How Zeus
sacrilege was carried by Lampetia to the Sun ; for in spite fhe sinners
of his sharp sight the outrage appears to have escaped his
notice. The indignant deity at once appealed to Zeus and the Suni
the other immortal gods, demanding vengeance on the
sinners, and threatening that, if this reasonable demand
were not granted, he would go down to Hades and shine
among the dead. In great agitation, Zeus implored him
not to carry out this dreadful threat and promised to hurl
a thunderbolt at the ship and smash it in the middle of the
sea. Reckless of their doom, the sinners feasted on the finest
of the oxen for six whole day.s. Then on the seventh day,
when the wind had dropped, they put off from shore, stepped
the mast, and hoisted the white sails. But when they were out
of sight of land, black clouds gathered overhead and the sea
grew dark beneath them. The wind came down out of the
west with a roar and snapped the rigging, so that the mast
fell with a crash, striking the helmsman's head and sweeping
him overboard. Then Zeus kept his word to the Sun ; for
he hurled a thunderbolt and smote the ship, which staggered
under the blow and was filled with sulphur. All the wicked
468 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
men who had partaken of the sacred roast beef tumbled into
the sea and were drowned; but the pious Ulysses was saved
on a floating spar. Thus were the sinners punished and the
Sun-god avenged.^
The cows The cattle and sheep of the Sun-god have been variously
onhe^Sim in ancient and modern times. Homer clearly
interpreted thought of tlicm as vcry Substantial animals, whose flesh
and^night^ furnish a hearty meal. But this interpretation is too
of a lunar gross and palpable to satisfy some mythologists, with whom
it is a first principle that in mythology nothing is what it
seems or what its name seems to imply. From observing
that the total number of the cows was three hundred and
fifty, since seven herds of fifty head apiece amount precisely
to that sum, the sagacious Aristotle concluded that the cows
stood for the days of a lunar year, which he appears to have
calculated at three hundred and fifty and which, like the
cows of the Sun, never vary in number but remain perpetually
the same." An ingenious scholiast on Homer clinches the
interpretation by explaining the corresponding three hundred
and fifty sheep to be the nights of the lunar year.^ The
Aristotelian explanation of the three hundred and fifty cows
was accepted by Lucian in antiquity ^ and by F. G. Welcker
in modern times.^ Apollonius Rhodius perhaps favoured the
same interpretation, for in describing the cattle of the Sun,
which the Argonauts saw in passing the island, and of which
the lowing of the cows and the bleating of the sheep were
wafted to their ears out at sea, he tells us that not one of the
cows was dark, every one was white as milk with golden
horns.^ The picture might pass in mythology for a
description of a bright day touched with the gold of sunrise
and sunset. Certainly Homer would seem to have had a
definite idea in his mind when he fixed the number of the
Sun’s cows and sheep at precisely three hundred and fifty
each, adding that the numbers never varied. The idea
corresponds fairly to the number of days and nights in a year
^ Ilomer, xii. 260-425 ; com- * Lucian, astrologia^ 22.
pare Apollodorus, Epit. vii. 22 sq. ^ F. G. Welcker, G^^iechische Golicr-
Scholiast on Iloincr, Od. xii. 129; lehre (Gottingen, 1857-1862), i. 404-
Eustathius on Homer, Od. xii. 130, 406.
p. 1717. ^ Apollonius Rhodius, Argot, iv.
3 Scholiast on Homer, Od. xii. 129. 964-978.
XII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 469
composed of twelve lunar months ; for though the true
number of the days in such a year is not three hundred and
fifty but three hundred and fifty-four, we may allow the poet
the licence of a round number without tying him down to
mathematical exactness.
Others would see in the cows of the Sun the white and The cows
golden or red clouds that gather round the great luminary at hltc^preted
his rising and setting. In favour of this view it might be clouds,
alleged that the Sun himself in his appeal to Zeus and the
gods declares that he loved to look on his cattle both when
he mounted up into the starry sky and when he returned
again from heaven to earth.^ Further, it has been pointed
out that according to one account the kine in the island of
Erythea were the cows of the Sun,^ that these kine are ex-
pressly said to have been red or purple,^ and that Erythea
is the Red Island in the far west.^ All this would fit
very well into a myth of the red, purple, and , golden clouds
of sunrise and sunset ; but it leaves the fixing of their number
at three hundred and fifty quite unexplained.
However, many of the ancients, rejecting or ignoring both Herds of
the astronomical and the nebular hypothesis, appear to have
acquiesced in the plain view that the cows and sheep of the sheep de-
Sun were cows and sheep and nothing else. In Sicily the
very place was pointed out, near the little town of Artemisium,
where the cows of the Sun had pastured, and where Ulysses
slept while his comrades committed the fatal sacrilege.^ At
Cape Taenarum, in Laconia, there used to be kept flocks of
fleecy sheep which were deemed sacred to the Sun ; ® and
we are told that formerly there were herds of the Sun at
Gortyn in Crete.^
At Apollonia in Epirus, down apparently to the time Flock of
of Herodotus in the fifth century before Christ, there were to
sheep sacred to the Sun, which pastured by day on the^heSun at
banks of a river, but were folded at night in a cave far h/Epkus.
from the city, where they were guarded during the hours
^ Homer, Od. xii. 379 sq, der griechischen und rbniischen Mytho-
Apollodorus, i. 6. i. logie^ i. 2018 sq,
3 ApoUedorus. ii. s. 10 rfxe 6 Appian, Dell. Civ. v. Ii 6 .
(poiVLKas poai.
^ W. ll. Koscher, lErmes der Wind- ® Homeric Hymn to the Pythian
gott (Leipzig, 1878), p. 44 ; Rapp, in Apollo^ 233-235.
^ Atisfuhrliches Lexikon ^ Servius, on Virj^il, Eel. vi. 60.
470 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
How the
somnolent
shepherd
became a
great
diviner.
of darkness by men of the richest and noblest families in
Apollonia. Each of these guardians held office for a year.
On one occasion it chanced that the guardian, Evenius by
name, fell asleep on his watch, and while he slept wolves
attacked the sheep and devoured sixty of them. For thus
sleeping on his watch and allowing the sacred flock to be
ravaged, Evenius was punished by having both his eyes put out.
But after he had been thus mutilated, the sacred sheep ceased
to lamb and the land to bear fruit as usual. So the people
of Apollonia consulted the oracles of Delphi and Dodona, and
the prophets at these holy places informed them that the gods
were angry with the people for wrongfully blinding the
shepherd of the sacred sheep, because it was the gods them-
selves who had instigated the wolves to worry the sheep, and
that they would never cease avenging the wrong done to that
innocent man until the people atoned for it by granting him
whatever satisfaction he might demand ; moreover, they said
that as soon as this satisfaction was made they would them-
selves bestow on the blind shepherd such a gift as would make
many persons account him blessed. When these oracles were
reported, the people of Apollonia kept them quiet and com-
missioned some of their number to see the blind man and
try to make the best bargain they could with him. The
commissioners found him sitting on a bench in the market-
place ; so they sat down beside him and entered into conver-
sation. From general topics they led the talk to the subject
of his misfortune, and after expressing their sympathy with
him they asked, in a casual sort of way, what compensation
would satisfy him, supposing that his fellow -citizens were
willing to make him amends for the wrong they had done
him. To this the blind man, knowing nothing of the oracle,
replied in the innocence of his heart, that if they gave him
the two best estates in the country and the finest house in
the city he would be perfectly satisfied and would owe them
no grudge for what they had done to him. The com-
missioners took him at his word and divulged the secret
by saying that the people would give him this compen-
sation in obedience to the oracles. The blind man fumed
and stormed, feeling that he had been outwitted, and thinking
how very much higher he would have pitched his demands
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREENS 471
if only he had known that the gods had, so to say, given
him a blank cheque to draw on the bank of Apollonia.
However, it was all to no purpose ; the estates and the house
were purchased by the town and handed over to him, and he
had to make the best of the bargain. But the gods were as
good as their word ; for no sooner had he thus come into his
fortune than they endowed him with the gift of prophecy,
and he became a famous diviner.^
This story has all the air of being authentic, and it is of Suggested
interest as illustrating the eminent degree of sanctity which in
historical times the inhabitants of Apollonia attached to the sacred
sheep of the Sun, since they set a man of the highest birth
and fortune to watch over the sheep every night in their
cave, and punished the w^atchman severely for any neglect
of duty. Here the sheep were undoubtedly sheep and not
clouds of the rosy dawn or golden sunset ; hence the cows of
the Sun, which the companions of Ulysses devoured in the
isle of Thrinacia may very well have been likewise creatures
of flesh and blood and not pale abstractions of the mythical
fancy. Perhaps we may suppose that real herds of cows and
flocks of sheep were actually dedicated to the Sun-god, and
that the number both of the cows and of the sheep was fixed
at three hundred and fifty, or perhaps at three hundred and
fifty-four, because, in the imperfect state of the calendar, that
was reckoned the number of days in the year, and people
thought that a daily allowance of one cow and one sheep
should suffice to support the deity in the discharge of his
arduous duties. If we adopt this view, we need not neces-
sarily assume that the animals were sacrificed daily ; like
many other divinities, the Sun-god may have been imagined
to content himself with the spiritual essence of the sacred
kine without insisting on their slaughter.
In accordance with his character as a personal being the The wife
Sun was supposed to be married. The name of his wife is of
commonly given as Perse, or Perseis, daughter of Ocean,“ the Sun.
but many other goddesses, nymphs, or women are men-
tioned by ancient authors as the partners of the Sun-god in
^ Herodotus, ix. 93-94. iii. l. 2, Epit. vii. 14; Apollonius
2 Homer, Od. x. 139 sq.\ Hesiod, Khodius, Argon, iv. 591; Hyginus,
Theog. 956 sq, ; Apollodoius, i. 9. I, Fab, 156 and preface p. 31 ed. Bunte.
472
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
love or marriage and as the mothers of his numerous off-
spring.^ Among them we might naturally expect to find
the Moon, and there are some grounds for holding that the
Greeks did associate her with the Sun as his wedded wife,
but the mythical marriage of the two great luminaries is
rather a matter of inference than of direct attestation.^ Of
the children of the Sun the most celebrated were Aeetes^
Circe/ and Pasiphae.^ It is remarkable that all three of
them, as well as some of their offspring, such as Medea
and Phaedra, were famed for their wickedness and crimes ;
in particular the women were notorious witches. Why
there should have been this taint in the blood of the Sun is
not manifest.
Aectes, the Aectes is Called baleful by Homer ; ® and Diodorus
Siculus says that Aeetes and his brother Perses, both
children of the Sun, were exceedingly cruel.^ Aeetes was
king of Colchis, and being warned by an oracle that
he would die whenever strangers should land in his
country and carry off the Golden Fleece, which Phrixus
had dedicated in the temple of Ares, he gave orders that
all strangers were to be sacrificed. Ihis, says Diodorus, he
did not only to escape the threatened danger but also out of
sheer natural cruelty, in order that, the report of the savagery
of the Colchians getting abroad, no foreigner might dare to
set foot in their land. Moreover, lest anybody should make
off with the Golden Fleece, he built a wall round the temple
of Ares in which the precious fleece was kept, and he set
^ Rapp, s.v. “Helios”, in W, II. pp. 521 sqq.
Roscher’s Ausfiihrliches Lexikon der ^ Homer, Od. x. 137'I39J Hesiod,
Sriechischen iind romischen Mythologies Theog. 956 sq. ; Diodorus Siculus, iv.
i. 2016 tq, ; Jessen, s.v, “ Helios”, in 45* ^ » Apollodorus, i. 9* l J Hyginus,
Pauly- Wissowa, Real-Encyclopddie der Fab. 156 and p. 3 1 ed. Bunte.
classischen Aiieriiimswissenschafis viii, * Homer, Od, x. 135*^39 > Hesiod,
I. coll. 78-80. Theog, 956 sq. ; Apollodorus, i. 9. i,
2 That the Sun (Helios) and Moon Epit, vii. 14; Hyginus, Fab. 156 and
(Selene) were regarded as husband and p. 31 ed. Bunte. According to Dio-
wife has been maintained, for example, dorus Siculus (iv. 45. 3), Circe was
by W. H. Roscher. See his Selette a daughter of Aeetes and therefore
tmd Venvandtes (Leipzig, 1890), pp. granddaughter of the Sun.
75 “ Mondgottin ”, in ^ Apollonius Rhodius, Argon, iii.
Ansjiihr. Lexikon der griech. und rbm , 999 5 Apollodorus, i. 9. l, iii. i. 2 ;
Mythologies ii. coll. 3157 sqq. Com- Diodorus Siculus, iv. 60. 4 ; Pausanias,
pare The Golden Boughs Part HI. The v. 25. 9 ; Hyginus, Fab. 40 and 156.
Dying Gods \>^. ^7 sqq. s and especially ^ Homer, Od. x. 137.
A. B. Cook, Zeuss i. (Cambridge, 1914) ^ Diodorus Siculus, iv. 45- L
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 473
watchmen to watch it, whom rumour magnified into a dragon
and fire-breathing bulls.^
As for Circe, the daughter of the Sun, it is said that Circe, the
she was a past-mistress of drugs and poisons of all sorts, ""
Being married to the king of the Sarmatians, she began
operations by taking him off by poison, and then, having
succeeded to the throne, she committed so many crimes of
cruelty and violence against her people that they drove
her out of the country. Afterwards, according to some
mythologists, she took refuge with her attendant women in
a remote and desert isle of ocean ; but certain historians
will have it that she settled at the headland of Italy which
was called Circeii after her.‘'^ Every one knows how by
her baleful drugs she turned the companions of Ulysses
into swine, after that by her enchantments she had trans-
formed other men into wolves and Hons, which stood on
their hind legs, wagged their tails, and fawned upon human
beings.^
As for Fasiphae, daughter of the Sun, to say nothing of Pasiphae,
her unnatural love for a bull,^ she bewitched her husband Minos of
so that he was affected by a strange malady which proved theSun.
fatal to any woman whom he approached.^ This wicked
woman had a wicked daughter Phaedra,® whose criminal
passion for her stepson Hippolytus led to the tragic death
of that slandered but virtuous young man.^ Thus Phaedra,
as a daughter of Pasiphae, was a granddaughter of the Sun.
Still more flagrant and notorious, if possible, were the Medea, a
crimes of Medea, who, as a daughter of Aeetes, was likewise
a granddaughter of the Sun.® Having made a thorough the Sun,
^ Diodorus Siculus, iv. 46-47, Ac-
cording to Hyginus {Fab. 22), Aeetes
had received an oracle that he would
reign as long as the Golden Fleece,
which Phrixus had dedicated, should
remain in the temple of Mars.
Diodorus Siculus, iv. 45. 3-5*
The Italian home of Circe naturally
found favour with Italian poets (Virgil,
Aen. vii. 10 sqq. ; Ovid, Metamorph.
xiv. 8-10).
^ Homer, Od. x. 210-243 J Ovid,
Metamorph. xiv. 245-307. According
to Apollodorus {Epit. vii. 15), she
turned some of the comrades of Ulysses
her long
into swine, some into wolves, some career of
into asses, and some into lions. crime.
* Apollodorus, iii. 15. 8 ; Ovid,
Metamorph. ix. 735-740.
^ Apollodorus, iii. 15. i ; Antoninus
Liberalis, Transform . 41.
® Apollodorus, iii. i. 2.
7 Apollodorus, Epit. i. 17-19; Dio-
dorus Siculus, iv. 62 ; Pausanias, i.
22. 1 sq.^ ii. 1-4; Hyginus, Fab. 47 ;
Ovid, Metafnorph. xv. 497 sqq.
^ Hesiod, 958-962 ; Diodorus
Siculu.s, iv. 45. 3 ; Apollodorus, i. 9.
23 ; Hyginus, Fab. 25.
474 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Medea ii\
Colchis.
Medea in
lolcus.
Medea in
Corinth.
study of all the properties of drugs/ this bad woman became
a profound adept in witchcraft and, armed with that deadly
weapon and with a heart steeled against every emotion of
pity, perpetrated such a series of atrocious crimes as is
calculated to fill the mind with horror. By her drugs she
lulled to sleep the watchful dragon which guarded the
Golden Fleece, thus enabling her lover Jason to purloin that
talisman on which depended the life, or at all events the
reign, of her aged father. Then with her paramour she fled
the country, and being pursued by her injured sire she did
not scruple to cut her young brother Apsyrtus limb from
limb and scatter the pieces in the sea in order to stay
pursuit, while her father engaged in the melancholy task of
gathering up the mangled remains of his murdered son.“
Having reached lolcus, the home of Jason, she repaired to
the palace of Pelias, the king of the country, and persuaded
the king’s daughters to make mince meat of their old father
and boil him in a cauldron, promising that by the help of
her enchantments he would issue from the cauldron alive
and young. To demonstrate the truth of her prediction she
actually did thus restore to life and youth an aged ram which
she had carved and boiled. But naturally Pelias remained as
dead as a door-nail, and lolcus became too hot to hold Medea.^
So she and her husband sought refuge in Corinth. There
Jason divorced her and would have married Glauce, daughter
of Creon, the king of the country. But the witch Medea
sent the bride a wedding robe steeped in poison, and, when
the hapless bride put it on, she was consumed with fire, she
and her father, who had rushed to extinguish the conflagration.
After that, the ruthless Medea murdered the children whom
she had by Jason and fled away to Athens on a chariot
borne by dragons which she had received from her grand-
father the Sun.^ After other adventures she is said,
according to one account, to have returned to Colchis and
^ Diodorus Siculu.s, iv. 46. i.
2 Apollodorus, i. 9. 23 sq. The
murder of Apsyrtus is otherwise related
by Apollonius Rhodius {Argon, iv.
224 303-481), the Orphic poet
{Argonautica^ 1027 and llyginus
{Fab. 23). See my note on Apollo-
dorus, l.c.
3 Apollodorus, i. 9. 27 ; Diodorus
Siculus, iv. 50*52 ; Pausanias, viii.
II. 2 sq.\ llyginus, Fab. 24; Ovid,
Metamorph. vii. 297-349.
^ Apollodorus, i. 9. 28 ; Diodorus
Siculus, iv. 54 ; Hyginus, Fab. 25.
These events are the subject of
Euripides’ great tragedy, Medea.
XII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 475
closed a long career of crime by murdering her paternal
uncle Perses ; though some say that the murder was per-
petrated, not by her, but by her hopeful son Medus, who
would seem to have been a chip of the old block.^
Such in brief was the discreditable career of some
children of the Sun.
Of a direct worship of the Sun there are comparatively The wor-
few records in Greek literature. In one passage Homer
speaks of a white ram to be offered by the Trojans to the (Greece.
Sun, along with a black ewe to be offered to the Earth, the
sex of the victim being clearly adapted to that of the deity,
while a similar adaptation of colour is indicated by assigning
a white victim to the Sun and a black one to the Earth.^
Elsewhere we read in Homer of a boar being sacrificed to
Zeus and the Sun in confirmation of an oath.® In a passage
of the Lazvs, where Plato sets himself seriously to combat riato on
the shocking impiety of those who denied the existence of
the gods, he seems to say that the habit of praying and tiie sun.
doing obeisance to the rising and setting Sun and Moon was
practically universal among Greeks and barbarians alike,
though, like the recitation of the spells which they had heard
from their nurses and sucked in with their mother’s milk,
the good old custom had apparently gone out of fashion
with the pert young jackanapes who presumed to question
the fundamental truths of religion. These scapegraces and
ne’er-do-weels the philosopher proceeds to admonish in
fatherly style, telling them that they are by no means the
first, as they imagine, to hold these pestilent opinions, and
that they will certainly know better when they are older,
for that there was no such thing as an aged atheist.' These
sound principles the senile philosopher might have illustrated
by the practice of his master Socrates ; for elsewhere he has
described how on one occasion, after standing a whole day
and night plunged in profound meditation, Socrates was seen
at sunrise to pray to the rising luminary and then to go on his
way.® The ordinary Greek mode of saluting the rising Sun was
to kiss the hand to it.® In the beautiful essay In praise of
^ Apollodorus, i. 9. 28 ; Diodorus ^ Plato, Laws^ x. 3, pp. 887 c-
Siciilus, iv. 56. I ; Hyginus, Fab. 27. 888 D.
^ Homer, II. iii. 103 sq. ® Plato, Sympostunt, 36, p. 220 C D.
3 Homer, //. xix. 196 249-268. ^ Lucian, De saliaiiom, 17.
476 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PFOPLFS chap.
Fatfierland, which passes under the name of Lucian, though
it breathes a warmer spirit and strikes a deeper note
than we expect to find in the writings of that cold, though
brilliant, wit and sceptic, we read that every man must look
on the Sun as his own paternal deity because he saw it for
Piutarchon the first time from his own fatherland/ And referring to the
of^thTsun^ preposterous notion that the Sun and Moon are mere lifeless
bodies, the pious Plutarch' informs us that all men worship
these luminaries and offer prayer and sacrifice to them.^
One of the articles in the accusation of Socrates was that he
did not believe in the divinity of the Sun and Moon, and
that he inculcated on the minds of the youth of Athens the
damnable doctrine that the Sun was nothing but a stone and
the Moon nothing but earth. In his defence the philosopher
did not directly deny the charge but parried it by declaring
that the heresy in question was to be found in the writings
of Anaxagoras, which any young man could buy at a book-
stall for a shilling,^
Local cults Certainly the Sun was worshipped in various parts of
of the Sun Qj-ecce, but for the most part these cults appear to have
in Greece. ’ ^ ^ ^
been of only subordinate importance. We have seen that,
according to tradition, flocks of sheep sacred to the Sun
used always to pasture on the promontory of Tacnarum in
Worship of Laconia, and that flocks of sheep dedicated to the solar
Laconia"' deity were kept by the people of Apollonia in Epirus
down at least to the time of Herodotus.^ Sacred to
the Sun was a peak of Taygetus, the splendid range
of mountains which dominates the vale of Sparta and
from its long line of glistering snow-capped crests reflects at
morning the beams of the rising sun, while the deep purple
shadows still brood on the slopes below. On this holy
pinnacle the Spartans used to sacrifice horses to the bright orb
of day.^ Perhaps they thought that at noon, passing over
the mountains, the deity used to rein in his weary steeds and
yoke these fresh horses to his golden car, before he drove
^ Lucian, Patriae encomium^ 6. ficed a horse on Mount Taygetus to
Plutarch, Adversus Coloten^ 27. the winds and burned the body of the
^ Plato, Apolog. 14, p. 26 C-E. animal, in order that the winds should
See above, p. 469. carry the ashes all over the country.
" Pausanias, iii. 20. 4. According This is probably the sacrifice mentioned
to P'estus (j.t/. “ October equus”, p. 190 by Pausanias, though the interpretation
ed. Lindsay), the Lacedaemonians sacri- of it is different.
xir WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 477
down the slope of heaven and plunged at evening into the
waves of the incarnadined sea. On the other side of the
range, in the bleak and savage country which intervenes
between the mountains and the sea, there was a place called
Thalamae, where the sea-goddess I no had an oracular sanc-
tuary. In the open part of the sanctuary stood a bronze
image of the Sun and another of Pasiphae, whom the Greek
traveller Pausanias understood to be the Moon, an interpre-
tation according well with the name Pasiphae which means
‘‘ She who shines on all The interpretation derives some
support from an inscription which proves that at Gytheum,
the port of Sparta, there was a joint cult of the Sun and
Moon and other deities, and that a priest officiated in the
worship.^
In Arcadia the traces of Sun-worship are few. l^ut Worship of
in Mantinea, situated in a flat and now marshy plain sur-
rounded by mountains, they showed the grave of Areas,
the mythical hero who gave his name to Arcadia, and
near the grave was a place called the Altars of the Sun.^
At Megalopolis, in the great western plain of Arcadia, there
was an image of the Sun which bore the surnames of Saviour
and Hercules.^
In the market-place of Elis stood two marble images of
of the Sun and Moon ; horns projected from the head Moon^at”^
of the Moon and beams from the head of the Sun.^ The ^lis.
legend of Augeas, King of Elis, lord of multitudinous
herds of cattle, also points to a worship of the Sun in Elis ;
for according to one account he was himself a child of the
Sun,^ and his father the Sun had bestowed on him these
wondrous herds, that he might be rich beyond all other men
in cattle, and the god himself looked to it that the kine
throve and multiplied from year to year, free from murrain
and wasting sickness.^ The poet Theocritus has given us
1 Pausanias, iii. 26. i.
2 Corpus Inso'iptiouuni GraecarufUy
No. 1392 (vol. i. p. 671). The other
deities associated with the Sun and
Moon are Zeus the Counsellor, Aescu-
lapius, and Health. The inscription
is of the Imperial age. Compare S.
Wide, Lakonische Kulte (Leipzig,
1893), p. 215.
^ Pausanias, viii. 9. 4.
Pausanias, viii. 31. 7.
^ Pausanias, vi. 24. 6,
® Pausanias, v. i. 9; Apollodorus, ii.
5. 5 ; Theociitus, xxv. 54 ; J. Tzetzes,
ChiliadeSy ii. 279 sq. ; Hyginus, Fab.
14, p. 42, ed. Bunte.
' Theocritus, xxv. 1 1 8 sqq.
478 WORSHII^ OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Temple
and altars
of the Sun
in Argolis.
Sacrifice to
the rising
Sun.
Worship of
the Sun at
Corinth.
a graphic description of the cows and the sheep of Augeas
as they came home at sunset, trooping in their thousands
and filling all the plain with their jostling multitudes and
all the air with their lowing.^ Among them, he tells us,
were twelve bulls, white as swans, and sacred to the Sun.^
On a certain day, when the sun was low in the west,
the women of Elis used to lament for Achilles ; ^ but
this does not imply that they identified the dead hero with
the setting sun, for it was a rule of Greek religion to
sacrifice to the dead at sunset, but to the heavenly gods at
sunrise.'* At Olympia there was a common altar of the
Sun and Cronus.^
At Hermion, on the coast of Argolis, there was a temple
of the Sun at Troezen, on the same coast, an altar of the
Sun of Freedom stood near a temple of Wolfish Artemis \ ^
and in the Argolic plain, on the way from Mycenae to Argos,
there was another altar of the Sun.® At Sicyon, also, an
altar of white marble dedicated to the Sun stood near a
sanctuary of Hera.^ When the people of Cleonae, a little
town to the south - west of Corinth, were afflicte d by a
pestilence, the Delphic oracle advised them to sacrifice a hc-
goat to the rising Sun. They did so, and the plague was
stayed. In gratitude for their deliverance they sent a bronze
he-goat as a thank-offering to the Delphic Apollo, whom,
like many people in ancient and modern times, they seem to
have identified with the Sun.*^
The city of Corinth was associated in a particular
manner with the myth and worship of the Sun ; indeed one
of its names was Helioupolis, that is, the City of the Sun.^^
It is said that the Sun disputed the possession of the country
with the Sea-god Fo.seidon, and that, the dispute being
submitted to the arbitrament of Briareus, he assigned the
isthmus to Poseidon, while he awarded to the Sun the
precipitous and lofty height which towers above the isthmus
^ Theocritus, xxv. 85 sqq.
^ Theocritus, xxv. 1 29-1 31.
^ Pausanias, vi. 23. 3.
^ Scholiast on Apollonius Rhoclius,
Argon, i. 587.
® Etymologicum Magntim^
p. 426, lines 17 sqq.
^ Pausanias, ii. 34. 10.
7 Pausanias, ii. 31. 5.
^ Pausanias, ii. 18. 3.
^ Pausanias, ii. ii. i.
Pausanias, x. ii. 5.
n Stephanus Byzantius, s.vv. ‘HXtou-
TfoXts and Kbpipdos.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 479
and became in later ages the citadel of the city.^ Yet
afterwards, according to the Corinthians, the Sun resigned
this imposing stronghold to the goddess of love. Aphrodite.^
Hence on the summit, which commands magnificent views
over the blue Saronic Gulf on the one side and the blue
Gulf of Corinth on the other, with the lilac-tinted mountains
of Attica and Boeotia looming sharp and clear through the
crystalline air in the distance, there stood a temple of
Aphrodite and an image of the Sun.^ Lower down the steep images and
slope were altars of the Sun ; ^ and in the city itself there
was a portal surmounted by two gilded chariots, one bearing Corimh.
an image of the Sun and the other an image of Phaethon,
the ill-fated child of the Sun.^ On some Corinthian coins of
the Imperial age the portal is represented, with a four-horse
chariot or chariots above it ; on others we see the Sun-god
driving his car.^ Another legend which connected Corinth
with the Sun was that the Sun-god had bestowed the land,
under its ancient name of Ephyraea, on his son Aeetes, who
reigned over it before he departed to assume the kingdom of
Colchis/
At Athens inscriptions prove that there was a regular Worship of
worship of the Sun, conducted by a priestess who had a
special seat in the theatre of Dionysus/ There was also a
priest of the Sun at Athens. On the twelfth day of the month
Scirophorion, which seems to have fallen about Midsummer
Day, a festival called Scira was celebrated, at which the
priest of the Sun, the priest of Poseidon-Erechtheus, and the 1 he priest
priestess of Athene went in procession from the Acropolis
to a place called Scirum, situated at a short distance from
Athens on the road to Eleusis. In this procession the
priest of Poseidon-Erechtheus carried a large white umbrella,
perhaps as a protection against the heat of the midsummer
sun, which beats down fiercely from the cloudless Attic
heaven/ Again, at the Attic festivals of the Pyanepsia and
1 Paiisanias, ii.
I. 6.
F xcvii, xcviii, xeix, c, ci, cii.
2 Pausanias, ii
4. 6.
^ Eumelus, cited by Pausanias, ii.
3 Pausanias, ii
5. I.
3. lO.
^ Pausanias, ii
4. 6.
^ Corpus Inscripiionum Atticarum^
^ Pausanias, ii.
, 3. 2.
iii. Nos. 202, 313; AeXrlov dpxaio-
® F. Imhoof-
Blumer
and
Percy
\oyiK 6 vy 1889, pp. 19 j-y.
Gardner, A Numismatic
Conwientary
^ Ilarpocration, s.v. liApov ; Suidas
on Pausanias^
p. 22,
with
Plate
and Photius, Lexicon^ s.vv, 'LKlpov and
48 o worship of SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Procession Thargelia the Athenians performed ceremonies in honour of
of the Sun Scasons. On these occasions boys carried
and of the in procession branches of olive or laurel wreathed with wool
Seasons. loaded with ripe fruits of the season, and they hung
the branches over the doors of houses as a charm to avert
dearth and ensure plenty.^ This procession in honour of the
Sun and the Seasons used regularly to wind through the
streets of Athens down to the time of Porphyry in the third
century of our era ; for that advocate of vegetarianism and
adversary of Christianity, in speaking of the bloodless
sacrifices of the olden time, cites with approval this same
Athenian procession in honour of the Sun and the Seasons
as still to be witnessed in his day ; and he enumerates the
various sorts of vegetable produce which were carried in it,
including barley, wheat, and acorns or branches of oak."
The ancient antiquary Polemo tells us that the sacrifices
which the Athenians offered to the Sun and Moon, to
Memory and various other deities, were “ sober that is wine-
less ; ^ and though he assigns no motive for the rule we may
reasonably suppose that it was intended to guard against
the intoxication of these deities, for it requires no great
stretch of imagination to picture to ourselves the catastrophes
Wineless which would inevitably ensue if the Sun and Moon were
tipsy when they drove their chariots across the sky. Indeed,
Moon. very explanation of the custom was given by the ancients
themselves ; for the historian Phylarchus tells us that “ among
the Greeks persons who sacrifice to the Sun pour libations
of honey, but do not bring wine to the altars, alleging that
the god who holds together and controls the universe ought
to keep strictly sober The rule is illustrated and con-
firmed by an inscription which refers to the sacrifices to be
offered in the temple of Aesculapius at the Piraeus. In it
'^Klpos ; Scholiast on Aristophanes, for the festival. The ripe fruits of the
Knii^hts, 1 8. As to the festival, com- season appear to be decisive in favour
pare Aug. Mommsen, Fesfe der Stadt of the former interpretation. Compare
Athen (Leipzig, 1898), pp. sqq,\ Feste der Stadt Athen^
and my note on Pausanias, i. 36. 4 pp. 279, 480 sq.
(vol. ii. pp. 488 sq,), 2 Porphyry, De abstinentia^ ii. 7.
^ Scholiaston Aristophanes, A 3 polomo, quoted by the Scholinst
729, and /’////« 1054. The scholiasts on Sophocles, Oedipus Coloneus, 100.
hesitateasusual between Xt/4<5s(“dcarth”) ^ Phylarchus, quoted by Athenaeus,
and Xoi/x6s (“pestilence”) as the motive xv. 48, p. 693 E F.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 481
we read of honeycombs sacrificed to the Sun and to
Memory, and the altars at which these ‘‘ sober sacrifices
were offered are themselves called “ sober ’V doubtless because
no libations of wine were poured upon them.
In the island of Cos we hear of an altar dedicated to the Altars of
Sun ; ^ and in the island of Cyprus there were altars and cos^anV”
precincts consecrated in common to the Sun and Zeus.^ Cyprus.
At Mopsuestia in Cilicia an inscription records a dedication
to the Sun and the people.^ At Pergamum there would Worship of
seem to have been a regular worship of the Sun, for there
was an altar to that deity in the sanctuary of Demeter, and gamum.
an inscription records a dedication to ‘‘the Sun, the Highest
God Another Pergamene inscription commemorates the
dedication of an image of the Sun on horseback, with a sup-
pliant standing beside the horse. This mode of representing
the Sun riding a horse instead of mounted in a chariot is
proved by many sculptured reliefs to have been common in
Asia Minor, though it was foreign to purely Greek art.®
The island of Rhodes was deemed sacred to the Sun, Worship of
and its inhabitants worshipped the Sun above all the other
gods, looking upon him as the ancestor and founder of their
race. The myth ran that the Sun fell in love with the Myths of
nymph or goddess Rhodos and named the island and the of
people after her. But the truth, according to the rationalistic the Sun to
historian Diodorus Siculus, was this. In the beginning the
island was marshy ; but the rays of the sun dried up the
superfluous moisture, and the plastic soil produced, by a sort
of spontaneous generation, seven men known as the Heliades
or Children of the Sun, who became the ancestors of the
Rhodians. These seven Children of the Sun had a sister
I ’E(prjfjL€pis dpXf^f-oXoyiK'^ , 1885, p.
88 ; Corpus Ifiscriptionum At tic arum,
iii. No. 1651 ; G. Dittenberger, Syllogc
Inscriptionum Graecarum^, No. 1040;
Ch. Michel, Kecueil d' Inscriptions
GrecqiieSy No. 672 ; E. S. Roberts
and E. A. Gardner, Introduction to
G 7 'eek Epigraphy, Part II. (Cambridge,
>905) p. 379. No. 133; J. de Prott
et L. Ziehen, I.eges Graecorum Sacrae
e titulis collect ae. Pars Altera (Leipzig,
1906), p. 71, No. 18.
« W. R. Paton and E. L. Hicks,
VOL. I
Inscriptions of Cos (Oxford, 1891),
p. 1 16, No. 64.
3 Julian, Or. iv. pp. 135 D, 143 D.
* W. Eroehner, lesi Inscriptions
Grecques du Louvre (Paris, 1880), p. 30,
No. 17.
^ Jessen, s.v. “ Helios ”, in Pauly-
Wissowa, Real-Encyclopadie der classi-
schen Altertumswissenschaft, viii. i. col.
69, referring for the inscription to Friin-
kel, hischriften von Pergamon, 330.
® G. Dittenberger, Sylloge In scrip-
tionum Graecarztnl^, No. 754, with
Dittenberger’s note,
2 I
482 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
named Electryone, but she died a maid and so left no
posterity behind her ; however, the Rhodians accorded her
heroic honours.^ One of the Seven, whose name Actis
means Beam of Light, is said to have migrated to Egypt
and there founded Heliopolis, or the City of the Sun, which
he named after his father.^ A more poetical account of the
association of the Sun with Rhodes is given by Pindar.
According to him, while Zeds and the other gods were
parcelling out the earth among themselves, the Sun was
absent and the island of Rhodes had not yet appeared,
being still buried at the bottom of the sea. When the
Sun remonstrated with Zeus on being thus left out in the
cold, Zeus offered to draw the lots over again, but the Sun
refused, declaring that he could discern a goodly and a
fruitful land growing up from the depths of the green
water, and he desired that it might be granted to him
as his share. His request was granted ; the island of
Rhodes emerged from the waves, and was made over as a
possession to the Sun-god, the lord of fire-breathing steeds.
There the bright deity met the nymph or goddess Rhodos
in love's dalliance and begot on her his seven sons, the wisest
of the men of old.^
Inscrip- But of the actual worship of the Sun in Rhodes very
e^delice of details have come down to us, and these mostly brief
theworship notices in inscriptions. A sacred precinct of the Sun is
at R^des. mentioned in a Rhodian inscription dating from about
5 I A.D.^ Another inscription of the Roman period records
the dedication of an offering to the Sun in fulfilment of
a vow made after an earthquake;'^ another commemorates
the sacrifice of a white or red kid to the Sun.^ The priests
1 Diodorus Siculus, v. 56. 3-5.
Compaie Aristides, Or, xliv. vol. i.
p. 840, ed. Dindorf.
2 Diodorus Siculus, v. 57. 2.
3 Pindar, Olymp. vii. 54-73. Com-
pare Aristides, Or. xliii. vol. i. p. 807
ed. Dindorf.
^ Inscriptioncs Graecae Insular imi
Rhodi C hakes Caipathi cufu Saro Casi,
ed. F. Hiller de Gacrtringen (Berlin,
1895), No. 2, pp. 2 ; H. Collitz
und F. Bechtel, Sammlung der grie-
chi sc hen Dialekt- Inschriften^ No. 3753
(vol. iii. I . p. 420). Compare Xenophon
Ephesius, Ephesiac. v. 10.
^ Inscripiiones Graecae Insiilarum
Rhodi^ etc., No. 22, p. 14.
® Inscripiiones Graecae Insulai'um
Rhodif etc., No. 892, p. 146 ; H.
Collitz und F. Bechtel, Sanwilung der
gf'iechischen Dialekt-Inschriften^ No.
4226 (vol. iii. I. p. 564) ; J. de Prott
et L. Ziehen, Leges Graecorutn Sacrae
e tiiulis colleclaey Pars Altera, No. 149,
p- 365.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 483
of the Sun are often mentioned in the inscriptions.^ One
inscription records a decree of the Rhodians that “ prayers
should be offered by the priests and the sacrificers to the
Sun and Rhodes and all the other gods and goddesses and
to the founders and the heroes, who have in their keeping
the city and the country of the Rhodians’? From the
inscriptions we learn that the priests did not hold office lor
life ; indeed the tenure of the priesthood was only for one
year, and the year was named after the priest.^
The principal festival of the Sun in Rhodes was called Haiieia.the
the Halieia or Haleia, from halios, the Doric form of the the Sun^at
name for the sun. It is occasionally mentioned by classical Rhodes,
writers,^ and oftener in inscriptions. In one of these inscrip-
tions mention is made of the Great Halieia and the Little
Halieia,^ and it is probable that the Little Halieia was an
annual celebration, and that the Great Halieia is to be
identified with the Dipanamia Halieia, which is known to
have been a quadrennial festival held every fourth year, so
that three years intervened between two successive celebra-
tions.^ The quadrennial festival is believed to have been
1 Inscriptiones Graecae Insidarum Wissowa, RealEncycloplidie der classi-
Rhodi, etc., Nos. 65, 833 (pp. 32, schen AUertumswissenschaft, viii. i.
132) ; JI. Collitz und F. Bechtel, coll. 66 sq.
Sainmlnng der griechischen Dialekt- ^ Athenaeiis, xiii. 12, p. 561 e;
Inschriften, Nos. 3756, 3798, 3799» Aristides, Or. xliii. vol. i. p. 808, ed.
3800, 3801, 41.90 (vol. iii. I. pp. Dindorf. Compare Xenophon Ephesius,
422 sq., 460 sq., 552); G, Bitten- v. 1 1, who mentions a magni-
berger, Sylloge Inscriptionum Graeca- ficent public festival at Rhodes, includ-
rum^. No. 723 (vol. ii. p. 380). ing a procession and a sacrifice and
2 P. Cauer, Delectus Inscriptiomim attended by a multitude of people.
Graecarurn propter dialectum memora- This was no doubt the Halieia. As to
(Leipzig, 1883), No. 181, the festival compare M. P. Nilsson,
\2y, C\v.Wiz\\^\, Recueil d' Tnscrip- Griechische Feste von religidser Be-
t 'ions Grecques, No. 21, p. 24; II. deutung init Ausschluss der at ti schen
Collitz und F. Bechtel, Sam m lung der (Leipzig, 1906), pp. 427 sq.
griechischen Dialekt- Inschrif ten. No. ® G. Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscrip-
3749 (vol. iii. i. p. 412). tionum Graecarurn'^, No. 1067 (vol.
3 G. Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscrip- iii. pp. 222 sq.).
tionum Graecarurn^, No. 723 (vol. ii. ® G. Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscrip-
p. 380); Ch. Michel, Recueil dUn- tionum Graecarurn^, No. 724 (vol. ii.
scriptions Grecques, No. 874, pp. 7^5 P- S^i); Inscriptiones Graecae Insula-
sq . ; J. de Prott et L. Ziehen, Leges rum Rhodi, etc.. No. 730, pp. 106 sq.’,
Graecorum Sacrae e titulis collectae, Ch. Michel, Recueil ^Inscriptions
Pars Altera, No. 147, p. 362; Chr. Grecques, No. 875, pp. 716 sq.’,
Blinkenberg, La Chronique du Temple H. Collitz und F. Bechtel, Sammlung
Lindien (Copenhagen, 1912), pp. 340, der griechischen Dialekt- Inschrif ten,
341 ; Jessen, s.v. “Helios”, in Pauly- No. 4135 (vol. iii, i. p. 530).
484 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
called Dipanamia because it was celebrated in the intercalary
month Panamus, which was inserted every fourth year
immediately after the ordinary month of the same name,
so that in that year there were two months named Panamus
and the festival was held in the second of them.^ It included
athletic contests, and from the inscriptions which record
victories in the contests we learn that among the games
Chariot were wrestling matches and diariot races.^ From another
throw^imo gather that every year the Rhodians used to
the sea as a throw into the sea a chariot drawn by four horses as an
thrsun/° offering to the Sun, because the Sun-god was supposed
to drive round the world in such a car.® No doubt the
ceremony was observed at the annual festival of the Halieia,
and the chariot and horses were intended to furnish the Sun-
god with a new car and a fresh team to replace those which
had been worn out by the daily journey across the sky.
May not the chariot and horses thus cast into the sea have
been those which had just won the victory in the racecourse ?
Their superior swiftness would naturally mark them out for
the service of the Sun. So at Rome it was a horse of the
victorious team which was specially selected for sacrifice
to Mars.'*
Uonol-^ In or about the year 408 B.c. the three ancient and
the city formerly independent Rhodian cities of Camirus, lalysus, and
of Rhodes. Lindus united to found the new city of Rhodes, near the
extreme northern point of the island.® This union of the
three cities in a single State marks the beginning of what we
may call the Golden Age of Rhodes, which by virtue of its
strong insular position, extensive commerce, and powerful
navy acquired, in the declining age of Greek independence, a
position of political importance comparable to that of Venice
in the middle ages. The analogy is rendered all the closer
^ This is the explanation of the
name suggested by F. Hiller von
Gaertringen (G. Dittenberger, Sylloge^,
No. 6 og = Synoge'\ No. 724) and
accepted by P. Stengel (Pauly-Wissowa,
Real - Encyclopddie der classischen
Alteritimsivissenschaft, v. i. coll. 1151
s,q,y s.v. ALTTavdfjiia), Compare G. F.
Schoemann, Griechische Alterthiimer^
(Berlin, 1897-1902), ii, 557.
2 Inscripiiones Graecae Insularum
Rhodiy etc., Nos. 72, 73, 74, 75
(pp. 34 sq.) ; H. Collitz und F. Bechtel,
Sammlung der griethischen Dialekt-
InschrifteUy Nos. 3807, 3808, 3809,
3810 (vol. iii. I. pp. 462-464),
^ Festus, s.v, “October equus”,
p. 190 ed. Lindsay.
^ Festus, 4r.
* Diodorus Siculus, xiii. 75. i.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 485
by the oligarchical constitution of the Rhodian State and the
architectural and artistic splendour of the capital, which was
laid out by the same architect, Hippodamus, who had
planned the Piraeus, and which survived in all its glory to
the reign of Augustus when the Piraeus lay in ruins.^
With the foundation of the new city of Rhodes the The Sun
Rhodians started a new coinage, of which the principal types
were the Head of the Sun-god and the Rose ; for the Greek emblems of
word for rose (rhodon) being almost identical with the name
of the island (Rhodos), the flower naturally suggested itself
as a fitting emblem of the State. Thus Rhodes was the
island at once of the Sun and the Rose. On the coins the
full face of the Sun-god is portrayed beardless, with strong
and noble features, his ample locks curling about his forehead
and sometimes encircled by rays. The rose is represented
less full blown than modern roses at their prime and often
with a rosebud beside it.^
But the great pride of Rhodes was the huge bronze The
statue of the Sun-god, which was executed by the sculptor ^magr
Chares, a native of Lindus in Rhodes and a pupil of 0/
Lysippus. He spent twelve years in constructing it. The Rhodes^
cost amounted to three hundred talents and was defrayed by
the sale of the siege engines which Demetrius Poliorcetes left
behind after his memorable but unsuccessful siege of Rhodes.
The height of the statue is stated by Pliny to have been
seventy cubits. Sixty-six years after its erection the statue
was thrown down by an earthquake and remained prostrate
in the time of Pliny, who, to give us an idea of its immense
size, says that few men could encircle the thumb with their
arms, and that the fingers were larger than most statues.
Through the yawning crevasses in the enormous figure the
spectator could see in the interior the great rocks by which
the sculptor had sought to impart stability to the image.®
^ Strabo, xiv. 2. 5 and 9 ; Harpo- a poet of the Greek Anthology
oration, s.v. 'ImroddiMeia (as to the {Anthologia Palaiina^ v\. I 7 l)» Lucian
name of the architect). {hipiter Tragoedtis^ ii), Suidas {s,v.
2 B. V. Head, Historia Numorum KoXo<r<ra6ts), a scholiast on Lucian
(Oxford, 1887), pp. 538-542. {Icarom, 12), and Hyginus (Pad. 223).
3 FViny f Nat. Ilzst. xxxW, 41. Pliny The scholiast on Lucian (i.c.) agrees
does not mention the material of which with Pliny in giving the height as
the statue was made ; but that the sixty cubits, but he erroneously states
material was bronze is mentioned by that the statue was a work of I.ysippus.
Lucian
on the
Colossus
of Rhodes.
486 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Another estimate of the height of the statue was one hundred
and five feet.^ In falling, the Colossus broke off at the knees,
and the Rhodians, in consequence of an oracle, refrained from
attempting to set it up again,^ although Ptolemy, King of
Egypt, promised to contribute no less than three thousand
talents to its restoration.® The image, popularly known as
the Colossus, was reckoned one of the Seven Wonders of the
World.^ The date of its erection is believed to have been
about 284 B.c.®
Often as the Colossus is mentioned by ancient writers,
not one of them has told us where exactly the image stood
or in what attitude the Sun-god was represented. The story
that the image bestrode the mouth of the harbour, and that
ships sailed under its straddling legs, is a modern fancy.®
But from a passage of Lucian we may infer with some
probability that the god was represented, not in his chariot,
but as a single standing figure, as indeed is almost implied
by the statement of Strabo that, in falling, the image broke
off at the knees. In the passage of Lucian the Colossus of
Rhodes is introduced speaking in his own person. It appears
that Zeus had been greatly perturbed by a public discussion
held the day before between a Stoic and an Epicurean
philosopher, in which the Epicurean had roundly declared
that the gods did not exist, and though the Stoic had
put in a plea for their existence, no conclusion had been
reached and the meeting had broken up in disorder. Smart-
ing under the reflection thus cast on the divine nature, Zeus
summoned an assembly of the gods in order to determine
what was to be done in this emergency. The deities
answered to the call, and arrangements were made for seating
them in the order of merit according to the fineness of
the material of which they were wrought and the degree
The passages of ancient writers re-
ferring to the image are collected by
] . Overbeck, Die aniiken Schriftqtiellen
zur Geschichte der bildenden Ktinste
bei den Griechen (Leipzig, 1868), Nos.
1539-1554, PP. 291-294.
1 Festus, s.v. ‘‘Colossus”, p. 50
ed. Lindsay. But according to Hyginus
{Fab. 223), the height was ninety feet,
which agrees closely with the estimate
of sixty cubits.
Strabo, xiv. 2. 5.
3 Polybius, V. 89.
^ Strabo, xiv. 2. 5 ; Ilyginus, Fab.
223.
^ J. Overbeck, Geschichte der grie-
chischen Plastik^ (Leipzig, 1893-1894),
ii. 175.
^ J. Overbeck, t.c.
XII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 487
of artistic finish bestowed upon them by the sculptor. The
front row of seats was naturally reserved for the golden gods ;
the second row was assigned to the silver gods, and the
third to the ivory gods ; the bronze and marble gods had
to take what seats they could find in the fourth row, the
order of precedence between them not being settled ; while
the riff-raff of deities, made of wood, earthenware, or such like
base material, were left to scuffle among themselves for places
in the rear. Now according to this arrangement the Colossus
would have to take a back seat in the fourth row, since he
was made of bronze. But against the slight thus put on him
the burly deity entered an indignant protest, arguing that
with the money spent in making him the Rhodians could
have made sixteen golden gods of the usual size ; so that on
the simple ground of weight, to say nothing of the fineness
of his workmanship, he was fully entitled to sit with the best
of the gods in the front row of the stalls. To this plea Zeus
demurred. In an aside to Hermes, who wa.s acting as usher,
he observed rather testily, “ Why does the fellow come here
to make a disturbance in the stalls and cast a slur on the
rest of us for not being so big as he ? ” Then turning to the
Colossus, with a forced air of politeness he pointed out to him
the serious practical difficulty involved in his proposal. “ If
you sit down in the front row,” he said, “ all the other gods
will have to stand up, since one half of your person would
cover the whole place of popular assembly at Athens. So
you had much better just keep standing, and stoop over the
assembly when you want to see what is going on.”'
The ereat Greek god Apollo has often been identified The
... 1 1 i.* A. iclcnti-
with the Sun-god both in ancient and modern times, but
the identification would appear to have been the fruit
philosophic thought rather than an article oC popular faith. su„ ,,
Thus the early philosophers Parmenides and Empedocles
seem to have explained Apollo as equivalent to the Sun. specuia-
It is said that Orpheus did not honour Dionysus, but that ‘'O"-
he regarded the Sun, which he identified with Apollo, as
the greatest of the gods, and he used to rise by night and
ascend Mount Fangaeum that he might catch the first glimpse
1 Lucian, lupiter Tragoedtis, i-il. sokratiker"^, i. (Berlin, 1906) p. 108,
2 H. Diels, Die Fragmente der Vor- frag. 20, p. I 57 > frag. 23.
488 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
of the rising luminary. Hence Dionysus was angry with
him, and sent the Bacchanals, who tore him limb from limb
and scattered his mangled remains.^ The Cynic philosopher
Crates also identified Apollo with the Sun.‘^ The speculative
poet Euripides, who loved to resolve the traditional Greek
gods into natural phenomena, puts into the mouth of
Clymena the saying, that he who knows the secret names of
the deities is aware that the true name of the Sun is Apollo,
in the sense of the Destroyer since he had been
the undoing of her and of Phaethon, the ill-fated son whom
she had borne to the Sun-god.^ The philosopher Cornutus,
who wrote a compendium of Greek mythology in the first
century of our era, announced, without hesitation or beating
about the bush, that Apollo was the sun and Artemis the
moon.^
Apollo The identification of Apollo with the Sun - god is re-
wUhthe peatedly mentioned by Plutarch as an ancient and popular
Sun-god by doctrine ; in a passage of a dialogue he reports a remark
writers.^^ that ‘‘ all the Greeks, so to say, hold Apollo to be identical
with the Sun A contemporary of Plutarch, the eloquent
rhetorician Dio Chrysostom, in a speech addressed to the
Rhodians, remarks that some people say that Apollo and
the Sun and Dionysus are the same, and you think so too
In the dreary welter of confused thought and mystical
aspiration which passed under the name of Orphism in later
ages the identification of Apollo with the Sun was inevitable,
and the solar deity might even be thankful if he did not find
himself in worse company. One poet of this rhapsodical
school declares that Apollo is a name of the Sun, and that the
Sun is all the same with the leach Aesculapius.^
Pausanias In the second century of our era the Greek antiquary
identb traveller Pausanias tells us that in the sanctuary of
fication of Aesculapius at Aegium in Achaia he met a Phoenician from
the^SuiT'^^ Sidon who engaged him in a theological discussion. The
1 Pseudo-Eratosthenes, Ca^as/er. 24, ^ Cornutus, Thcologiac Graecae Com-
}>p. 28 sq. ed. Olivier; scholiast on penditinty 32.
Caesar Germanicus, Aratea, 273, pp. ^ Plutarch, De R apud Delphos, 4.
404 sq. ed. Eyssenhardt (appended to Compare id.^ De defectu oraculorum^
his edition of Martianus Capella). 42 ; id.^ De latenter vivendo^ vi. 3.
^ Scholiast on Ilonier, 11 . xviii. 239. ® Dio Chrysostom, Or. xxxi. vol. i.
3 Trai^icorum GraecorionFraguieuta^ p. 347 cd. Dindorf.
ed. A. Nauck 2, p. 608. 7 Orphica^ ed. E. Abel, p. 217.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT GREEKS 489
stranger maintained that his countrymen the Phoenicians had
juster views of the divine nature than the Greeks, and as a
case in point he cited the Phoenician legend that Aesculapius
had Apollo for his father, but no mortal woman for his
mother. “ For Aesculapius said he, is the air, and as such
he is favourable to the health, not only of mankind, but of
every living thing ; and Apollo is the sun, and most rightly
is he called the father of Aesculapius, since by ordering his
course with due regard to the seasons he imparts to the air
its wholesomeness.” Agreed,” replied Pausanias, “ but that
is just what the Greeks say too. For at Titane, in the land
of Sicyon, the same image is named both Health and
Aesculapius, clearly because the sun’s course over the earth
is the source of health to mankind.'’ ^ The conversation is
probably typical of much crude rationalism which, in the later
ages of classical antiquity, sought to find a basis for the tradi-
tional religion in natural philosophy or in what passed for such.
From loose and vague speculations of that sort no inference
can be drawn as to an original identity of Apollo with the Sun.
Yet in modern times that identity has been maintained The
by some mythologists of repute, such as F. G. Wclcker,*'^
L. Preller,^ and W. H. Roscher.^ On the other hand it was the Sun
denied by the brilliant antiquary and historian, K. O. a^rmeef
Muller,® whose too early death was one of the heaviest ‘denied
losses suffered by Greek studies in the nineteenth century, schoiars!^^
Labouring with consuming zeal and tireless energy at the
excavation, decipherment, and copying of inscriptions, in
front of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, bare-headed under
the fierce blaze of a July sun, this great scholar was sud-
denly struck down in the height of his intellectual powers
and carried back unconscious to Athens to die.® In his death
superstitious fancy might be tempted to see the vengeance of
^ Pausanias, vii. 23. 7 sq. As to
the sanctuary of Aesculapius at Titane
see Pausanias, ii. ii. 5 sq. For more
evidence of the identification, or con-
fusion, of Apollo and the Sun, see
Macrobius, Saturn, i. 17. 7 sqq.
F. G. Welcker, Griechische Goiter-
lehre^ i. 457 sqq,
^ L. Preller, Gnechische Mythologie
i. 230 sqq.
* W. H. Roscher, Apollon und Mars
(I.eipzig, 1873), PP* 1 6
A\:io\\on'*\ Ausfulirliclies Lexikon der
griechischen und r 'omischen Mythologie.^
i. 422 sqq.
6 K. O. MlUler, Die Dorier^^
(Breslau, 1844), i. 286-293.
® See the Memoir by his brother,
Eduard MUller, prefixed to K. O.
Muller’s Kleine deutsche Schriften
(Breslau, 1847-1848), i. p. Ixviii.
Little
evidence
of Siin-
worship in
ancient
Rome.
490 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
the archer Apollo, shooting down at his own temple the impious
mortal who had dared to deny his identity with the Sun.
However, the tragic end of Karl Otfried Muller has not
deterred later scholars from following in his footsteps and
rejecting the solar myth of Apollo. Among these bold
spirits are numbered Wernicke in Germany,^ and Dr.
Parnell ^ and Dr. Rendel Harris in England. In an essay
by the last of these learned men Apollo appears, not
only shorn of his sunbeams, but reduced to the level of
a common apple-tree and bearing in his name to the last
the unmistakeable trace of his humble origin.® But we are
not here concerned with the intricate problem of detecting
the original nucleus out of which the fertile Greek imagina-
tion evolved the complex but splendid figure of Apollo ; it
is enough for our present purpose to conclude that his
fusion with the Sun came rather at the end than at the
beginning of his long mythical career.^
§ 5. The Worship of the Sun among the Ancient Romans^
The traces of a native worship of the Sun are even
fewer and fainter among the ancient Romans than among
the ancient Greeks. In Latin calendars of the Augustan age,
1 Wernicke, s.v. “ Apollon ”, in
Pauly-Wissowa, Real- Eftcyclopddie der
class ischen Altertums'ivissenschaft^ ii. i.
coll. 19-21.
^ L. R. Farnell, The Cults of the G 7 'eek
States, iv. (Oxford, 1907) pp. 136-144.
3 Rendel \\’A.x\\%f The Ascent of Olym-
pus (Manchester, 1917), pp. 19*55.
^ It is true that in some cities of
Asia Minor the Sun was identified
with Apollo in later times, as we learn
from inscriptions and coins. Thus at
Patara, in Lycia, the name Sun Apollo
{^Helios Apollon) occurs in an inscrip-
tion. See Journal of Hell eitic Studies,
X. (1889) p. 81. At Smyrna there was
a worship of Sun Apollo Kisauloddenus.
See G. Dittenberger, Sylloge Riscrip-
tionum Graecarum'^, No. 996 (vol. iii.
p. 127), where the editor remarks that
the confusion of Apollo with the Sun
betrays, as always, the late date of the
inscription. And on coins of Tralles,
of the Imperial age, there appears a
bust of the Sun with the inscription
“Apollo [Apollon Helios), See
P. Head, HistoHa Numorutn (Oxford,
1887), p. 555. But these late identi-
fications on Asiatic soil prove nothing
as to the original identity of Apollo
and the Sun in the genuine ancient
religion of Greece. See further on this
point L. R. Farnell, The Cults of the
G^eek States, iv. 138, 366; Jcssen, s,v.
“Helios”, in Pauly-Wissowa, Real-
Encyclopadie der classischen Altertums-
wissenschaft, viii, i. coll. 70, 76;
A. B. Cook, Zeus, ii. (Cambridge,
1925) P. 500 -
^ On this subject see L. Preller,
Komische Mythologie^, i. 324-327;
G. Wissowa, Religion und Kultus der
Rotner'^, pp. 315*317; Franz Cumont,
s.v, “ Sol ”, in E. Daremberg et E.
Saglio, Dictionnaire des Antiquitds
Grecques et Romaines, iv. 1381-1386;
». Richter, s.v. “Sol”, in W. H.
Roscher’s Ausfiihrliches Lexikon der
griechischen und rbtnischen Mythologie,
iii. 1137-1152.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 491
there is recorded, under the date of August the ninth, a Sacrifice to
public sacrifice to the Sun (Sol Indiges) on the Quirinal
Hill/ The meaning of the epithet Indiges here applied to on August
the Sun is ambiguous and has been variously interpreted by
modern scholars. If it implies that the Sun was reckoned
among the ancient native gods known as Di indigeteSy which
we may render as Indigenous Gods, it proves that among
the Romans the worship of the Sun was of immemorial
antiquity, for the Di indigetes belong to the oldest stratum
of Roman religion/ On this interpretation, which is the
most obvious and natural one, the Indigenous Sun (Sol
Indiges) is analogous to the Indigenous Jupiter (Jupiter
Indiges)y who had a sacred grove in Latium near the river
Numicius,^ and whom Roman mythologists afterwards identi-
fied with the deified Aeneas.^ The view of the great
antiquity of the worship of the Sun at Rome has the support
of the learned Roman antiquary Varro, who tells us that
the Roman annals recorded the dedication of altars to the
Sun and Moon by the old Sabine King Titus Tatius, the
adversary and afterwards the colleague of Romulus.^ More-
over, the ancient Roman family of the Aurelii, who are said Worship of
to have been of Sabine origin, were believed by the ancients
to take their name from the sun, which in the Sabine
language appears to have been called ausel\ hence the
original name of the family was not Aurelii but Auselii.
On account of their worship of the Sun the family were
granted by the Roman State a place in which they could
sacrifice to the luminary.®
^ Corpus Inscription um Latinariim,
vol. i. Pars Prior ^ (Berlin, 1893),
pp. 240, 324.
2 L. Preller, Romische Mythologies,
i. 90 sqq, ; J. Marquardt, Romische
Staatsvenvaltung, iii.^ (Leipzig, 1885),
pp. 7 sqq.\ G. Wissowa, “ De dis
Romanoriim indigetibus ct noven-
sidibus ”, Gesammelte Abhandlungen
zur rojnischen Religions- und Stadt-
geschichte (Munich, 1904), pp. I 75
id.. Religion und Kultus der Rbmer^,
pp. 18 sqq.; R. Peler, s.v. “ Indigita-
menta ”, ii>W. H. Roscher’s Ausfiihr-
liches Lexikon der griechischen und
romischen Mythologie, ii. 129-233,
3 Pliny, Nat. Hist. iii. 56.
^ Livy, i. 2. 6 ; Scrvius, on Virgil,
Aen. i. 259.
® Varro, Re lingua latina, v. 74.
Compare Dionysius Halicarnasensis,
Antiquit. Rom. ii. 50. 3 ; Augustine,
De civitate Dei, iv. 23.
0 Festus, s.v. “ Aureliam familiam ”,
p, 22 ed. Lindsay. The name atisel
should probably be read in Varro, De
lingua Latina, v. 68, “ ausel quod
ita SabinV\ instead of with the MSS.
Sola vel quod ita Sabini'\ The
correction is due to Wissowa, Religion
und Kultus derRdmer'^, p. 315* notC‘'^.
On the etymology of the word, which
is connected with aurora, see G. Curtins,
Grundziige der griechischen Etymologic^
493
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
As part
of the
original
Aryan
religion,
Sun-
worship
was
probably
ancient in
Rome.
Varro, on
the Twelve
Gods of the
farmer.
We have seen that the worship of the Sun was shared by
other great branches of the Aryan stock, the Vedic Indians,
the ancient Persians, and the ancient Greeks,^ and it appears
to have been common to their northern kinsfolk in Europe,
the Lithuanians and the Germans ; “ hence we may reason-
ably infer that Sun-worship was part, though apparently a
subordinate part, of the original Aryan religion, which the
various branches of the family after their dispersal carried
with them to their new homes. Hence we need not suppose,
with some modern mythologists, that the Romans were
reduced to the necessity of borrowing the worship from
the Greeks,^ in whose religion it had never played an
important part It is more probable, as Franz Cumont has
rightly observed, that the adoration of the heavenly bodies,
which serve to mark the seasons and exert so great an
influence on agriculture, existed from the beginning in the
rustic population of Italy, as in the other branches of the
Indo-European family.^ In favour of this view it may be
noted that Varro, an eminent authority on agriculture as well
as on mythology, at the outset of his book on farming tells
us that he will invoke the twelve gods, not the city gods,
male and female, whose gilded images stand in the Forum
at Rome, but the twelve gods who are the best guides of
husbandmen, and among them he mentions the Sun and
Moon, “ whose seasons are observed at seed-time and harvest
immediately after Father Jupiter and Mother Earth, and
(Leipzig, 1879), pp.399 P. Kietsch-
mer, Einleitimg in die Geschichte der
griechischen Sprache (Gottingen, 1896),
p. 83.
» Above, pp. 443, 456, 461.
^ Caesar, Bell. Gall. vi. 21 ; O.
Schrader, Reallexihon der indoger-
7 nanischen Allcrtwnskimde (Strassburg,
1901), p. 472 ; id.y Sprachvergleichiing
und Ufgesrkiehte^^ i. (Jena, 1906) pp.
439 i Meyer, Altgermanische
Religionsgeschichte (Leipzig, 19 lo), pp.
104 sg.
^ This is the view of G. Wissowa
{Religion und Kultus der Rofner*^^
pp. 315 sgq.) and of Fr. Richter, s.v.
“Sol”, in W. II. Roscher’s Aus-
fUhrliches Lexikon der griechischen
und romischen MythologiCy iii. 1138.
Wissowa would explain the epithet
IndigeSj applied to the Sun, not as an
ancient title classing him with the old
Jdi Indigeles^ but as bestowed on him
in the Augustan age in order to dis-
tinguish him as a native Sun-god from
the foreign Sun-gods whose worship
became popular in Imperial times.
Sec Wissowa, op, cit. p. 317 ; /V 4 ,
Gesammelte Abhandhingetiy pp. 180 sq.
But the explanation seems somewhat
forced and improbable, though it is
accepted by Fr. Richter {s.v. “Sol”,
in W. H. Roscher’s Lexikon^ iii. 1141)
andW.Warde Fowler {Roman Festivals
of the Period of the Reptiblic^ p. 193).
^ Franz Cumont, s.v. “Sol”, in
E. Daremberg et E. Saglio, Dictionnah’e
des AntiquiUs Grecques et RomaineSy
iv. 1381.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 493
immediately before such genuine old Italian deities as Ceres,
Liber, Flora, and Robigus, the god of Mildew.^ So learned
an antiquary was not likely to interpolate new-fangled Greek
gods in the list of the divinities who were to serve as guides
to the Italian farmer.
On the Quirinal Hill there was a temple or shrine of the Temples of
Sun, in which couches were decked out for the accommodation
of the god and his divine colleagues who feasted with him ;
on these sacred couches a place was reserved for the Evening
Star under his genuine old Latin name of Vesperug. The
name does not savour of Greek influence, and the temple
or shrine stood near the temple of the good old Sabine god
Quirinus.^ It may well have been the shrine which in
bygone days the Roman State had assigned to the Sabine
family of the Aurelii or Auselii as a place where they could
sacrifice to the Sun, from whom they took their name.
Further, there was an ancient temple of the Sun in or near
the Circus Maximus. When a plot to assassinate Nero in
the Circus had been detected, special honours were paid to
the Sun in this his old sanctuary, because he was supposed to
have revealed the designs of the conspirators. On the gable
of the temple there was an image of the Sun, for it was
not thought right that the image of the god who traverses
the open sky should be placed under a roof.^ In the topo-
graphical descriptions of Rome dating from the reign of
Constantine the temple is called the temple of the Sun and
Moon.‘^
When Augustus conquered Egypt he brought two Obelisks of
obelisks away from Heliopolis to Rome, where he set them transported
up, one of them in the Circus Maximus, the other in the from Egypt
^ to Rome.
^ Varro, Rerim rusticarum libri. See H. Jordan, 7'opographie der Stadt
i. I. 4.6, Rom im Alterthum^ i. 3, bearbeitet
2 Quintilian, Inst. Oral. i. 7. 12. von Ch. Huelsen (Berlin, 1907), p. 115.
3 Tertullian, De spectaculis, 8 ; But this explanation is not generally
Tacitus, Annales^ xv. 74. Tacitus accepted. Compare O. Richter, I'opo-
seems to say that the temple was near graphic der Stadt Rom'^
the Circus, whereas Tertullian appears p. 179.
to affirm that it stood in the middle ^ F. Cumont, “Sol”, in Darem-
of the Circus. Huelsen attempted to berg et Saglio, Dictionnaire des Anti-
reconcile both statements by supposing qtath Grecqzies et Roinaines, iv. 1382 ;
that the temple stood originally outside Notitia xi., Curiosum uz'bis, reg. 1 1 , in
the Circus, but was afterwards included H. Jordan, Topographic der Stadt Rovi
within it, when the Circus was extended. im Altcrthum, ii. (Berlin, i87i)[p. 558.
494 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Field of Mars.^ The obelisks still stand in Rome, though
not in their original positions ; the one which Augustus
placed in the Circus Maximus is now in the Piazza del
Popolo ; the other, which graced the Field of Mars, now
stands in the Piazza di Monte Citorio. Each of them bears
an inscription which records that, after reducing Egypt to the
condition of a Roman province, Augustus in his eleventh
consulship (lO B.c.) dedicated the obelisk as a gift to the
Sun.^ Thus these monuments of Egyptian piety, which in
their original home at Heliopolis had been consecrated to the
Sun,^ continued in Rome to be sacred to the solar deity.
Indeed, the one which Augustus set up in the Field of Mars
was turned to appropriate use, being converted into the
gnomon of a colossal sun-dial, the face of which consisted of
a pavement with lines inlaid in bronze and radiating from
the obelisk as a centre, which was crowned with a gilt
ball. The hieroglyphic inscription on the obelisk proves that
it was originally set up by King Psammetichus (not, as Pliny
thought, by Sesostris) about the middle of the seventh
century before our era. In Pliny’s time the gigantic gnomon
had ceased to mark the true solar time, which the philosopher
attributed to a slight displacement of the obelisk either by an
earthquake or by floods.^
AVorship of If the worship of the Sun played but an insignificant
part in the genuine old Roman religion, it was far otherwise
introduced in later times when, under the Empire, at the height of its
Roni^an powcr or hastening to its fall, the ancient Italian gods were
Empire driven into the background by an invading host of foreign
East. and especially of Oriental deities, among whom the Sun-god
was one of the most popular. The missionaries of the
foreign faiths which, in the decline of paganism, the
masses of mankind eagerly embraced as substitutes for
the outworn creeds and faded gods of Greece and Rome,
^ Ammianus Marcellinus, xvii. 4. 12.
For a full account of the obelisks and
their transportation to Rome, see Pliny,
Nat. Hist, xxxvi. 64-73. removal
of the two obelisks from Heliopolis to
Rome is mentioned also by Strabo
(xvii. I. 27).
2 II. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Seleciae, No 91 (vol. i. p. 25);
11 . Jordan, Topographic der Stadt
Rom im AlterthufUy i. 3, bearbeitct
von Ch. Huelsen, pp. 124, 610-612.
3 Pliny, Nat. Hist, xxxvi. 64.
Pliny, Nat. Hist, xxxvi. 71-73;
H. Jordan, Topographic dcr Stadt Rom
im Alterihtimy i. 3, bearbeitet von
Ch. Huelsen, pp. 610 sq.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 495
were in great measure merchants and soldiers travelling
about in pursuit of trade or shifted in regiments on military
duty from one end of the Empire to the other. These men
brought with them, so to say, in their bales and knapsacks
the religious beliefs and practices which they had picked up in
distant lands, and which they now unfolded to eager listeners
as a new gospel, the latest message to poor trembling
mortals from the world beyond the gravc.^ A striking
instance of Sun-worship imported by soldiers into Italy
from the East was witnessed at the second battle of
Bedriacum, fought in 69 A.D. between the forces of the
rival Emperors Vitellius and Vespasian. The two armies
met and grappled in the darkness of night. For hours the
combat swayed to and fro, and still the issue hung in
suspense. At last the moon rose and turned the trembling
balance in favour of the army of Vespasian ; for shining
behind them and full on the faces of the enemy it confused
the sight of the one side and presented them as a visible
target to the missiles of the other. The commander of the
army of Vespasian seized the opportune moment to urge his
men, and especially the Guards, to a desperate charge. Just
then, by a fortunate coincidence, the sun rose ; and the men
of ‘the third legion, who had their backs to the east, at once
faced round and saluted it ; for having recently served in
Syria they had learned the habit of thus greeting the rising
orb of day. The effect was instantaneous and decisive ; for
the enemy, believing that they were saluting reinforcements
coming, like the Prussians at Waterloo, to turn the tide of
battle, wavered, broke, and fled.^ Thus the Sun -god
crowned with victory the arms of Vespasian.
The cool-headed Vespasian so far yielded to popular
superstition as to consult the oracle of God on Mount
Carmel and to heal a blind man by spitting on his eyes ; ®
but he seems never to have testified his gratitude to the
Sun-god for his opportune help at the most critical moment
^ As to the part played by merchants and the Romans, the Parthians saluted
and soldiers in this religious propa- the rising sun, “according to their
ganda, see below, pp. 507 jy. custom”, and then charged the Romans
- Tacitus, Il/st, iii. 22-25. Herod- with a great cheer. See Ilerodian, iv.
ian has similarly described how, in a 15.
desperate battle between the Parthians ^ Suetonius, v. 6, vii. 2
496 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Worship of
Elaga-
balus,
identified
with the
Sun, at
Emesa in
Syria.
The wor-
ship of
Elagabalus
introduced
at Rome
by his
namesake
the Roman
Emperor.
of his career. However, if he failed in respect for the solar
deity, several of his successors on the throne made ample
amends for his deficiency. At Emesa in Syria there was a
large black conical stone which was said to have fallen from
the sky and bore the Phoenician name of Elagabalus. It
was popularly supposed to be an image of the Sun, and was
lodged in a great temple resplendent with gold and silver
and precious stones. The. god received the homage not
only of the natives but of distant peoples, whose governors
and kings sent costly offerings every year to the shrine.
Among the rest the soldiers of a great Roman camp pitched
in the neighbourhood used to visit the temple and admire
the handsome young priest when, wearing a jewelled crown
and arrayed in gorgeous robes of purple and gold, he
tripped gracefully in the dance round the altar to the
melody of pipes and flutes and other musical instruments.^
This dainty priest of the Sun, then in the full bloom of
youth and beauty, and resembling, we are told, the ideal
portraits of the youthful Bacchus, was the future Emperor
Elagabalus, the most abandoned reprobate who ever sat
upon a throne. On being elevated, at the age of fourteen,
to the imperial dignity by the intrigues of his artful grand-
mother and the favour of the soldiers, the stripling, whose
original name was Bassianus, assumed the style of his
barbarous god Elagabalus or Heliogabalus, as the name was
also pronounced in order to suggest to Greek ears the name
of the Sun (^Helios')? Further, the young fanatic caused the
rude fetish of the deity to be transported from Emesa
to Rome, where he built a great and stately temple for it
on the Palatine beside the imperial palace. The site had
formerly been occupied by the genuine old Roman god Orcus.^
1 Herodian, v. 3. 4-9. As to the
identification of Elagabalus with the
Sun, compare Dio Cassius, Ixxviii.
31. I.
On the god Elagabalus see E. Meyer,
s.v. “Elagabal”, in W. II. Roscher’s
Ausfiihrliches Lexikon der griechischen
und7vmischen Mythologies i. 1 229- 1231;
F. Lenormant, s,v. “Elagabalus”, in
E. Daremberg et E. Saglio, Dictiofinaire
des Antiquit^s Grecques et RomaineSs
ii. I. pp. 529-531 ; L. Preller, Roniische
Mythologie 3 , ii. 399.402 ; G. Wissowa,
Religion und Kulttis der Romer 2, pp.
365 sq.
2 Lampridius, Heliogabalus ^ i. 4-6 ;
Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesa^dbusy
23, The intrigues by which his grand-
mother Maesa contrived to win for him
the allegiance of the soldiers and hence
the empire, are described by Herodian
(v. 3. 10-12).
3 Lampridius, Heliogabalus^ i. 6, iii.
4 ; Herodian, v. 5. 8,
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 497
Round about the temple were set up many altars, on
which every morning hecatombs of bulls and sheep were
slaughtered, incense of all sorts was piled, and jars of the
oldest and finest wines were poured, so that streams of
mingled blood and wine flooded the pavement. And round
the altar on the ensanguined pavement danced the emperor
and a choir of Syrian damsels with clashing cymbals and
droning drums, while the knights and senators stood looking
on in a great circle, and the entrailr of the sacrificial victims
and the perfumes were carried in golden jars on the heads,
not of menials and servitors, but of captains of armies and
ministers of state, arrayed in the long loose-sleeved robes
and linen shoes of Syrian prophets ; for among these
degenerate nobles it was deemed the highest honour to be
allowed to participate in the sacrifice.^
And in the height of summer, lest the Sun -god should The
suffer from the excess of his own heat, the considerate
emperor escorted him to an agreeable suburb, where he had holidays,
built another vast and costly temple in which the deity might
while away the sultry months till the refreshing coolness of
autumn should permit of his return to Rome. On these
annual excursions to and from the country the god, or rather
the stone, was conveyed in a chariot glittering with gold and
jewels and drawn by six superb white horses, themselves
resplendent in trappings of gold. No man might share the
sacred chariot with the deity. But the emperor himself
held the reins and went before, walking the whole way
backward out of respect to the god, upon whom he kept his
eyes fixed, and supported on either side by his guards lest
he should stumble and fall. The whole road was thickly
strewed with gold dust, and on either side ran crowds waving
torches and flinging garlands and flowers on the path. On
reaching the summer quarters of his deity the emperor used
to ascend certain towers which he had erected for the
purpose, and from which he showered on the multitude
largess in the shape of golden and silver cups, fine raiment,
and all sorts of beasts, both wild and tame, except pigs, for
by a law of the Phoenician religion the pious Phoenician
emperor was bound to refrain from contact with these unclean
1 Herodian, v. 5. 8-10.
VOL. I
2 K
498 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
animals. In the wild struggle of the crowd to profit by the
imperial bounty many persons perished, either trampled under
foot by their fellows or pushed by them on the levelled
spears of the guards.^
intentionof It was the intention of this eminently religious but
Eiagabaius crack-braiiied despot to supersede the worship of all the gods,
to super- ^ ^ 1111*1
sede the not Only at Rome but throughout the world, by the single
aliThe^ worship of Eiagabaius or the Sun. In particular he aimed,
gods by the we are told, at concentrating the religion of the Jews, the
the’^Sun.^^ Samaritans, and the Christians in his new temple on the
Palatine, which was to be the Zion of the future. In
pursuance apparently of this policy he began operations,
after a truly Puritanical fashion, by defiling the temple
of Vesta and attempting to extinguish her eternal fire.^
But this religious reformer and champion of monotheism,
whose infamous orgies far outdid the wildest excesses of
Marriageof Caligula and Nero, was no believer in celibacy even for the
god^oThe Supreme Being, who could not, in his opinion, reasonably be
Cartha- expectcd to do without a wife. It was at once the duty and
ITtane pleasure of the emperor to select a consort for the deity,
and to this delicate task he devoted as much thought and
attention as it was in his nature to devote to anything. His
first choice fell on Minerva, whose sacred image, known as
the Palladium, was popularly supposed to have been rescued
by Aeneas from the flames of Troy and transplanted to
Rome, where the goddess was established in a temple, from
which she had never since stirred except on a single occasion
when she had been forced temporarily to quit the building
by a fire. But the emperor was not a man to stand on
ceremony. The hallowed image was transported to the
palace and the divine wedding was about to be celebrated,
when it occurred to the imperial lunatic that his soft Syrian
god might be frightened in the nuptial bower by the
formidable aspect of a bride in armour ; for Minerva could
not be expected to lay aside her shield and spear even for
the honeymoon. So on second thoughts he sent to Africa for
the image of Astarte, the great goddess of love, which Dido
was said to have set up in Carthage when she founded the
^ Hcroclian, v. 6. 6-io.
^ Lampridius, Heliogabalns^ iii. 4 sq.^ vi. 7.
xn WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 499
city of old, and which was held in great reverence by the
Libyans as well as by the Carthaginians. Her Phoenician
worshippers identified her with the Moon, from which, as
well as from her affectionate nature, the emperor concluded
that she would be a most suitable mate for his Sun-god. So
she came, and much treasure with her, and all the subjects of
the empire were bidden to contribute to the dowry of the
bride. The divine union was consummated, and all Rome
and Italy were compelled to hold high revelry in honour
of the wedding.^
But even the patience of the degenerate Romans, long Assassina-
schooled to submission, could not for ever put up with the p^^peror^
freaks and follies, the extravagances and outrages of their Eiagabaius
dissolute and crazy emperor. They rose in rebellion, slew expulsion
him in the sordid den in which he had sought to conceal ^
himself from their fury, dragged his body through the streets, Eiaga-
and flung it into a sewer; and when it choked the sewer
they fished it out and carried it, dripping and stinking, to the
Tiber, where they heaved it into the river, weighted with a
stone, that the vile body might never come to the surface and
never receive the rites of burial.^ Such was the miserable
end of the religious reformer who would have established solar
monotheism throughout the Roman empire. Monuments of
the attempted reformation and of the ill-starred reformer are
extant in the shape of contemporary inscriptions which record
dedications to the Sun-god Elagabalus,^ and make mention
of the emperor in his capacity of priest of that deity.'^ As
for the sacred black stone, of which so ^ much had been
made, on the death of its namesake the emperor it was
expelled from the city,^ and found its way back to Emesa ;
for there the Emperor Aurelian saw it in the temple when
he entered the city after his victory over Zenobia.^
^ Herodian, v. 6. 3-5 ; Dio Cassius,
Ixxix. 12.
2 Lampridius, Heliogabaliis^ xvii. i,
1-3 ; Herodian, xv. 8. 8 ; Dio Cassius,
Ixxix. 20 ; Aurelius Victor, Epitome de
Caesaribns^ 23.
3 H. Dessau, Inscriptions Laiinae
SelectaCy vol. ii. i. p. 172, No, 4329
Soli AlagabalOf No. 4330 Sol. Elagabaii,
No. 4332 deo Soli A lagabal. Ammudati,
^ H. Dessau, Inscriptions Latin ae
Seleclae, No. 47 3 [salcerd. amp\li\ invicti
Solis Elagaba\ii'\ ; No. 475 sacerdos
a/nplissi[mus dei invicti Solis'\ Ela-
gabali ; No. zooZsacerdos ajii^plisYinnts
invicti Solis Elagabali ; No. 9058,
sacerdos [amplissimus dei invi\cti Solis
Elagabali.
^ Dio Cassius, Ixxix. 21, 3 re
’EXeyeijSaXos ai^TOJ 4k rrjs 'FuifJLtjs Travrd-
waaitf 4^4w€(re.
® Vopiscus, Aurelian usy xxv. 4.
500 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Scheme Some fifty years after the disastrous attempt of
Emperor Elagabalus to establish the worship of the Sun at Rome on
Aureiian to a new and more solid basis, the scheme was revived by the
the^wo^hip Emperor Aureiian, a man of a very different character, in
of the Sun whom the stern inflexible temper and military genius of
at ome. Rome shone bright for a brief time, like the flicker
of an expiring candle, in the gloomy evening of the Roman
empire. From his youtji fortune would seem to have
marked him out as the natural champion of the Sun-god.
His family name linked him with the Aurelii, the noble old
Roman house who bore the name of the Sun and may
have deemed themselves his offspring.^ His mother is said
to have been a priestess of the temple of the Sun in the
village where he was born.^ Being sent on a mission to
Persia, he received from the Persian king the gift of a cup
on which the Sun was represented in the familiar garb and
attitude which the future Emperor of Rome had so often
The temple beheld in the temple where his mother ministered.® When
at Palmyra 2enobia, the rebel Queen of the East, was defeated and
restored by captured, her people massacred, and Palmyra, her once
stately and beautiful capital, reduced to a heap of blood-
stained ruins, the temple of the Sun in the city shared the
fate of the other buildings ; but Aureiian ordered that it
should be completely restored. The despatch in which he
conveyed the order to the officer commanding the troops at
Palmyra has been preserved by the emperor’s biographer ; it
runs as follows : ‘‘ Aureiian Augustus to Cerronius Bassus :
The swords of the soldiers must be stayed. Enough of the
people of Palmyra have been slain and cut to pieces. We
spared not the women : we killed the children : we slaughtered
the old men : we destroyed the peasants. To whom shall
we leave hereafter the country and the city ? The survivors
are to be spared. For we think that so few have been
sufficiently chastised by the condign punishment of so many.
As for the temple of the Sun in Palmyra, which was sacked
by the eagle-bearers of the third legion, along with the
standard-bearers, the dragon-bearer, the hornblowers, and the
trumpeters, it is my will that it be restored to its original
^ See above, p. 491. 2 Vopiscus, Aurelianiis, iv. 2,
3 Vopiscus, Aurelianus, v, 5.
XII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 501
state. You have three hundred pounds of gold from the
coffers of Zenobia : you have eighteen hundred pounds of
silver from the plunder of Palmyra : you have the royal
jewels. Out of all these see that the temple is beautified :
in doing so you will oblige me and the immortal gods. I
will write to the Senate requesting them to send a pontiff to
dedicate the temple.’* ^
Not content with restoring the temple of the Sun among Temple of
the ruins of Palmyra, the conqueror built a magnificent
temple of the Sun at Rome and adorned it with the spoil of Aureiian at
the captured city. In it he set up images of the Sun and
of Bel, of whom no doubt the latter was the Semitic Baal.^
Among the votive offerings which it contained were masses
of gold and jewellery and fine robes studded with gems.^ A
silver statue and a painted portrait of Aureiian himself were
afterwards to be seen within the walls.^ The splendour of
the temple was enhanced by colonnades, in which wines
belonging to the imperial treasury were stored.^ The service
of the temple was entrusted to a new college of priests called
Pontiffs of the Sun, or Pontiffs of the Sun-god, or Pontiffs
of the Unconquered Sun-God,® but of the ritual observed in
the temple we know nothing. The coins of Aureiian also
attest his devotion to the solar deity. On one of them the The
Sun is seen offering to the emperor a globe as a symbol of
the empire of the world, with a captive lying at their feet ; imperial
some of the inscriptions on the coins proclaim the Sun-god
to be the Preserver or Restorer of the World or even Lord
^ Vopiscus, Anrelia 7 ttiSy xxxi. 5-9. of the Church of St. Sophia. See H.
2 Zosimiis, i. 61 ; Vopiscus, Au 7 ‘elia- Jordan, Topographic der Stadt Rom im
nus\ XXV. 6, xxxix. 2. AUerthumj i. 3, bearbeitet von Ch.
^ Vopiscus, Aureliamis^ xxviii. 5, Huelsen, pp. 453-456 ; O. Richter,
xxxix. 6. Topographic der Stadt Rofft'^ (Munich,
* Vopiscus, Aureliattus, x, 2 ; id,, 1901), pp. 263-265.
Tacitus, ix. 2. ® Vopiscus, Aurelianus, xxxv. 3,
^ Vopiscus, Aure/iafius, xxxv. 3, sacerdotia composuit. For the inscrip-
xlviii. 4. The situation of the temple tions see II. Dessau, Inscriptiones
is not described by ancient authors, Latinae Selectae, Nos. 1203, 1210,
but it seems to have been in the Field 1211, 1217, 1243, ^^259, 2941, 4149,
of Mars, on or near the site of the pres- 4413, 6185; F. Cumont, Textes et
ent monastery of S. Silvestro. Eight Monutnents figures relatifs aux My stires
costly columns of red porphyry were cU Mithra, ii. 109-111 ; compare id.,
afterwards removed from the temple s.v, “Sol”, in E. Daremberg et E.
and conveyed to Constantinople, where Saglio, Dictionnaire des Antiquitis
they were employed in the construction Grecques et Romaines, iv. 2, p. 1384.
502 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG AHYAJM PEOPLES chap.
Annual
sacrifice to
the Sun on
November
i8th.
Spread of
a solar
religion in
the Roman
Empire.
of the Roman Empire. Such legends seem to announce the
intention of the emperor to set the Sun-god at the head of
the pantheon. It is remarkable that on all these coins the
type of the god, in spite of his Oriental origin, is purely Greek,
being clearly derived from that of Apollo. On some we see
a young man wearing a crown with the solar rays and
carrying in his left hand a globe or a whip ; his right hand
is raised ; he is naked except for a light cloak which
floats on his back. Sometimes he is represented driving
a four-horse car.^ In the reign of Probus the intimate
relation of the emperor to the Sun was signified by a
legend on the coins, “To the Unconquered Sun, the Com-
panion of Augustus and the reorganization of the empire
by Diocletian did not affect the now traditional types
and inscriptions on the coins which referred to the solar
worship." An inscription found at Aquileia records a
dedication to the Sun-god by the Emperors Diocletian and
Maximian.^ The armies of Licinius marched to fight the
armies of Constantine under the protection of the Sun-god,
and a curious inscription informs us that Licinius established
in his camp at Salvosia in Moesia an annual sacrifice in
honour of the Sun on the eighteenth of November, which
was the first day of the year according to the calendar of
Antioch.^ Constantine himself, during the first quarter of
his reign, struck many pieces with figures or busts of the
Sun-god and legends, “The Unconquered Sun”, “To the
Unconquered Sun, the Companion of Our Augustus ”, and so
forth.^
The imperial patronage thus accorded to Sun-worship
for at least half a century before the establishment of
Christianity was little more than an official recognition of a
universal solar religion which had long been spreading in
the empire under the combined influence of philosophic
^ F. Cumont, s.v. “ Sol ”, in E.
Saglio et E. Daremberg, Dictionnaire
des Antiquiih Grecques et RomaineSy
iv. 2, p. 1384; Fr. Richter, s.v. “Sol”,
in W. H. Roscher, A usfuhrliches Lexikon
der griechisc hen und romischen Mytho-
logies, iii. 1148 sq.\ H. Usener, Das
Weihnachtsfesty Kapitel I bis II H
(Bonn, 1911), pp. 358 sq. (“.Sol In-
victus ”).
2 F. Cumont, op. cit. pp. 1384 sq.
^ H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
SelectaCy No. 624.
^ F. Cumont, op. cit. p. 1385 ; Fr,
Richter, op. cit. iii. 1148.
® F. Cumont, op. cit, p. 1385 ; H.
Usener, op. cit. p. 363.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 503
thought, astrological speculation, and Oriental mysteries.^
Among these mysteries none were more popular, none Popularity
proved more dangerous rivals to Christianity, than the
worship of the old Persian god Mithra, who was nowMithra;
definitely identified with the Sun-god under the title of the pe^rsiangod
Unconquered Sun.‘^ About the beginning of our era Strabo identified
affirms without hesitation or ambiguity that the Persian un-
deity Mithra was the Sun.^ Yet in the opinion of some conquered
good modern scholars Mithra originally personified the
light, not of the Sun, but of the luminous heaven in
general. As to the mode, place, and date of the process
which transformed him from a god of light in general into
a god of the Sun in particular we have no information. The
change perhaps took place in Babylonia, where, under the
powerful influence of Chaldean theology and astrology, the
Iranian deities were assimilated to their nearest Semitic
counterparts, the Supreme God Ahura Mazda being identified
with the Sky*god Bel, while the goddess Anahita was con-
fused with Ishtar (Astarte), the goddess of the planet Venus,
and Mithra was equated with the Sun-god Shamash.^
But Babylonia was only a stage in the triumphal march Spread of
of Mithra westward. Even under the early kings of the
Achemenidian dynasty Persian colonists seem to have settled from
Babylonia
^ ^ westward.
1 F. Cumont, s.tj. “ Sol ”, in E. ments of the topic see G. Wissowa,
Dareniberg et E. Saglio, Dictioiinaire ii?id A'ullus der pp.
des Autiqiiitis Grecques et Romaiftes, 368-373; S. Reinach, “La Morale du
iv. 2, pp. 1385 .sq. Mithraisnie ”, Cnltes^ Mythes et Re-
2 The standard work on the later tigious^ ii. (I’aris, 1906) pp. 220-233 ;
worship of Mithra is the masterly S. Dill, Roman Society from Nero to
treatise, in two volumes, of Franz Manus Aurclitts (London, 1920), pp.
Cumont, 7 ’extes et Monuments figuris 584-626; J.Toutain, Les Cultes fatens
relatifs aux My stores de Mithra Premiere Parlie,
(Bruxelles, 1896-1899). Elsewhere ii. (Paris, 191 1) pp. 121-177.
the same scholar has treated the sub- ^ Strabo, xv. 3. 13. Compare Lac-
ject in a more summary but always tantiiis Placidus, on Statius, Theb. i.
authoritative manner. See his article ^ Apud Persas Sol proprio nomine
“Mithras”, in W. H. Roschcr’s ZA on Statius, Theb,
Ausfuhrliches Lexikon der griechischen i. 720, *^Persae in spelaeis Solem colnnt.
und romischen Mythologie, ii. 3026- Et hie Sol proprio nomine vocatui
3071; his article “Mithra”, in E. Mithra^\
Daremberg et E. Saglio, Dictionnaire ^ F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments
des Antiquit^s Grecques et RomaineSy figuris relatifs aux MysRres de MithrOy
iii. 2, pp. 1944-1954; and his ex- \, 2.2^0 sq.\ id.y Les Religions Orient ales
cellent book Les Religions Orientales dans le Paganisme remain “y pp. 216
dans le Paganisme remain^ (Paris, sq., 3845^, See also above, pp. 30,
1909), pp. 200-239. For other treat* 461.
504 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The
Persian
coloniza-
tion of
Anatolia.
The
Magian
religion in
Cappa-
docia
and Lydia,
in Armenia, where, according to Strabo, all the Persian
deities were worshipped.^ It is said that the governor of
Armenia used to send no less than twenty thousand colts a
year to the Persian king for use at the Mithrakana or
festival of Mithra.‘‘^ Of the mode of celebrating the festival
at the Persian court we know little or nothing except that
the only day on which the king was allowed to be drunk
was the day on which sacrifices were offered to Mithra, and
on that day he also danced a Persian dance.^ But the
wave of Persian colonization rolled westward beyond the
boundaries of Armenia. In its climate, as in its natural
products, the tableland of Anatolia resembles that of Iran,
and lent itself particularly to the breeding of horses, and
hence to the formation of a native cavalry, the arm in which
the Persians always excelled. Under the sway of Persia
the nobility who owned the land appear to have belonged to
the conquering race in Cappadocia and Pontus as well as in
Armenia, and despite all the changes of government which
followed the death of Alexander these noble lords remained
the real masters of the country, ruling each the particular
canton in which his domains were situated and, on the
borders of Armenia at least, preserving through all political
vicissitudes down to the time of Justinian the hereditary
title of satrap which recalled their Iranian origin.^ This
military and feudal aristocracy furnished Mithridates Eupator
with many of the officers by whose help he was so long able
to set the power of Rome at defiance, and still later it
offered a stout resistance to the efforts of the Roman
emperors to subjugate Armenia. Now these warlike
grandees worshipped Mithra as the patron-saint of chivalry ;
hence it was natural enough that even in the Latin world
Mithra always passed for the ‘"Invincible”, the guardian of
armies, the soldier’s god.^ In the time of Strabo the
Magians were still to be found in large numbers, scattered
over Cappadocia, where they maintained the perpetual fires
1 Strabo, xi. 14. 16. ing the historians Ctesias and Duris.
2 Strabo, xi. 14. 16. As to the ^ Y ,Q\\vc\oxiX^LesKel\^ionsOrievtales
Mithrakana see F. Cumont, Textes dans le Pagantsfue roniaifi'^^ 21'^,
et Monuments figures relatifs aux ^ F. Cumont, Les Religions Orien-
My stores de Mithra, i. 230. tales dans le Paganisme romain 2,
2 Athenaeus, x. 45, p. 434 E, quot- pp. 213
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 505
in their chapels, intoning the liturgy with the regular Persian
ritual.^ A century and a half later the same sacred fires still
blazed to the drone of the same liturgy in certain cities of
Lydia : for Pausanias tells us that the Lydians have
sanctuaries of the Persian goddess, as she is called, in the
cities of Hierocaesarea and Hypaepa, and in each of the
sanctuaries is a chapel, and in the chapel there are ashes on
an altar, but the colour of the ashes is not that of ordinary
ashes. A magician, after entering the chapel and piling dry
wood on the altar, first claps a tiara on his head, and next
chants an invocation of some god in a barbarous and, to a
Greek, utterly unintelligible tongue : he chants the words
from a book. Then without the application of fire the wood
must needs kindle and a bright blaze shoot up from it.”
Outside of the Anatolian tableland the first to observe The
the rites of Mithra are said to have been the Cilician pirates. Mrnira^
During the civil wars which distracted the attention and among the
absorbed the energies of the Romans in the first century of p/rat'e^s?
our era, these daring rovers seized the opportunity to issue
from the secret creeks and winding rivers of Cilicia and
scour the seas, landing from time to time, harrying islands,
holding cities to ransom, and carrying off from some of
the most famous sanctuaries the wealth which had been
accumulated there by the piety of ages. Gorged with
plunder and elated by the impunity which they long
enjoyed, the corsairs rose to an extraordinary pitch of
audacity and effrontery, marching up the highroads of Italy,
plundering villas, and abducting Roman magistrates in their
robes of office ; while at sea they displayed a pomp and
1 Strabo, xv. 3. 15. W. Dittenberger, Orientis Graeci In-
2 Pausanias, v. 27. 5 sq. At Hiero- scriptiones Selectae^ No. 333 (vol. i.
Caesarea a goddess was worshipped pp. 519 sq.). Hence, as Dittenberger
whom the Romans called the Persian remarks on that inscription, it is highly
Diana: she was probably Anahita probable that in the passage of Pausanias
(Anaitis) ; and there was also a chapel (v. 27. 5), cited above, we should read
which was said to have been dedicated Ilepcrtx^s with some MSS. for the
in the reign of Cyrus. See Tacitus, vulgate llepo-tKots. Elsewhere (vii. 6. 6)
A finales, iii. 62. On coins of the city Pausanias speaks of a sanctuary of the
Artemis is represented with the legend Persian Artemis in Lydia, and it is
1 IEP 2 IKH. See B. V. Head, Historia probable that the sanctuary in question
Ntimorutn (Oxford, 1887), p. 550. is the one at Hierocaesarea. This
The goddess is also mentioned under makes the proposed correction of the
that name in an inscription which may text of Pausanias v. 27. 5 practically
have been found at Hierocaesarea. See certain, I have adopted it in the text.
5o6 worship of SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
pageantry proportioned to the riches which they had
amassed by their successful forays. Their galleys flaunted
gilded sails and purple awnings, and glided along to
the measured plash of silvered oars, while the sounds of
music and revelry, wafted across the water, told to the
trembling inhabitants of the neighbouring coasts the riot
and debauchery of the buccaneers.' The worship of Mithra,
which these sanctified ruffians practised in their fastnesses
among the wild Cilician mountains, may have been learned
by them from Mithridates Eupator, King of Pontus, whom
they assisted in his wars with the Romans.^
Statius and By the end of the first century of our era the worship of
on the " Mithra and his identification with the Sun appear to have
worship of been familiar to the Romans; for in an address to Apollo
the poet Statius, enumerating the titles by which that deity
was called, suggests that the god might prefer to be known
as “ Mithra, who under the rocks of the Persian cave twists
the bull’s struggling horns The allusion is plainly to the
most widespread and familiar monument of Mithraism, the
sculpture which represents Mithra in a cave, kneeling on the
back of a bull and twisting its head back with one hand,
while with the other he plunges a knife into its flank.^ The
ancient scholiast Lactantius Placidus, commenting on this
passage of Statius, not only explains Mithra as the Sun
whom the Persians worshipped in caves, but completes the
solar interpretation by adding that the horned bull is the
horned Moon, and that the scene is laid in a cave to signify
an eclipse of the sun by the interposition of the moon. In
the group of Mithra and the bull, as the scholiast correctly
observes, Mithra is regularly portrayed in Persian costume
wearing the usual tiara or peaked Phrygian cap ; but the
scholiast proceeds to say that Mithra was also represented
with the head of a lion, and he explains this representation
either with reference to the constellation of the Lion which
the Sun enters in his course through the zodiac, or as a
^ As to the Cilician pirates see ^ Statius, Theh. i. 719 sq.
Strabo, xiv. 5. 2, pp. 668 Plutarch, * Many of these monuments are
Pompetus, 24; Belluvt Mithri- extant in many parts of Europe. See
92 Dio Cassius, xxxvi. 20-23 ; F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments
Cicero, De imperio Cn. Pompeii^ 1 1 sq, figures relati/s aux My stores de Mithra^
2 Plutarch, Pompey^ 24. ii. 209 sqq.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 507
symbol of the superiority of the Sun-god over all the other
gods, like the superiority of the lion over the other beasts.^
In this interpretation the scholiast appears to have erred.
The figure of a lion -headed god, standing with a serpent
twined round his body and holding one or two keys in
his hands, is explained with greater probability as a
personification of Time, answering to the Persian divinity
Zervan Akarana, Infinite Time, which from the period of
the Achemenides was deemed by a Magian sect to be the
origin of all things and the begetter both of Ormuzd and
Ahriman.^
Compared to other Oriental deities, such as the Phrygian Long
Great Mother, the Carthaginian Astarte, and the Egyptian thg^^-orshrp
Isis and Serapis, the Phrygian god Mithra was a late arrival of Mithra
in Rome. The nature of the Anatolian plateau explains in |J]g\^]ancis
some measure the long seclusion of the deity from the ofAnatoiia.
western world. It is a bleak upland region of steppes and
forests and precipices, which offers few attractions to the
stranger ; and there, in the solitude of the mountains or the
dreary expanse of the unending plains, Mithra remained for
ages isolated amid natural surroundings which formed a not
unsuitable setting for his stern and soldierly religion. Even
during the Alexandrian age, after the victorious Greek armies
had swept over the country, Mithra never descended from
his highland home to the soft skies and blue seas of Ionia.
A single late dedication to the Sun Mithra, found at the
Piraeus, is the only monument of his worship on the coasts
of the Aegean. The Greeks never welcomed this god of
their ancient enemies to their hospitable pantheon.^
But no sooner was the Anatolian tableland overrun by Rapid
Roman armies and annexed to the Roman empire than
the worship of Mithra spread like wildfire to the remotest of Mithra
regions of the west and south. The soldiers adopted it with soid^e^r^^"
enthusiasm, and from about the end of the first century of merchants,
our era they carried it with them to their distant camps on ^
the Danube and the Rhine, on the coast of France, among
^ Lactantius Placidus on Statius, that the lion-headed god in Oriental
7 'ked. i. 720. art is the last heir of a lion-totem.
^ F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^
2 F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments ^ i. 241-243, ii.469, InscriptionNo. 220 a,
i. 74-85. This scholar suggests (p. 79) ry 'HXfwt ry M/rpat.
5 o 8 worship of SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap .
the mountains of Wales and Scotland, in the valleys of the
Asturias, and even on the edge of the Sahara, where a line
of military posts guarded the southern frontier of the empire.
In all these widely separated quarters of the globe they
left memorials of their devotion to Mithra in the shape of
monuments dedicated to his worship. At the same time
merchants of Asia introduced the religion into the ports of
the Mediterranean and carried it far into the interior by water-
ways or roadways to all the important trading cities and
marts of commerce. In our own country Mithraic monuments
have been found in London, York, and Chester. Finally,
among the apostles of the new faith must be reckoned the
Oriental slaves, who were everywhere and had a hand in
everything, being employed in the public services as well as
in private families, whether they toiled as labourers in the
fields and the mines, or as clerks and book-keepers in
counting-houses and government offices, where their number
was legion.^
The At last the foreign deity wormed his way into the favour
worship of qJ officials and even of the emperor. Towards the
Mithra , ^ i . r • *1
favouredby close of the second century of our era an immense impulse
amTiater^^ was given to the propagation of the religion by the attention
Roman bestowed on it by the Emperor Commodus, who, in keeping
Emperors, brutal and cruel character, is said to have polluted
the rites by human sacrifice.^ The dedications, “ to The
Unconquered Sun Mithra for the safety of Commodus
Antoninus Augustus, our Lord V numerous other
1 F. C union t, Les Religions Orientales
dans le Paganisme romain^y pp. 220 sq.
For details as to the diffusion of the
religion and the monuments, see id.,
Textes et Monuments, i. 241 sqqr, id.,
s.v. ‘‘Mithras”, in W. H. Roscher’s
Ausfuhrliches Lexikon der griechischen
und rdmischen Mythologie, ii. 3030-
3037 ; id., s.v. “ Mithra ”, in E.
Daremberg et E. Saglio, DicHonnaire
des Antiquitds Grecques et Romaines,
iii. 2. pp. 1945-1947 ; and especially
J. Toutain, Les Ctiltes patens dans
V Empire Romain, Premiere Partie, ii.
1 44- 1 59. For the Mithraic monuments
in Britain, see F. Cumont, Textes et
Monuments, ii. pp. 389-396. From
a careful analysis of the geographical
diffusion and character of the monu-
ments, Monsieur J. Toutain concludes
that Mithraism was mainly a religion
of the soldiers, that it was never popular
with the bulk of the middle classes,
and that its adherents were never so
numerous as to constitute a serious
rivalry with Christianity.
2 Lampridius, Commodus, 9 {Scrip-
tores Historiae Angustae, vol. i. p. 105,
ed. H. Peter).
3 F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments,
ii. pp, 99, 170, Inscriptions 34 and
541 . The two inscriptions vary slightly
in the wording.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 509
Mithraic dedications datingfrom the reignof Commodus, attest
the popularity which the worship attained in the sunshine of
imperial favour.^ From the early years of the third century
the religion was served by a domestic chaplain in the palace
of the Caesars, and inscriptions record the vows and offerings
of its devotees for the prosperity of the Emperors Septimius
and Alexander Severus and afterwards of Philip. Still later
the Emperor Aurelian, who, as we have seen, established an
official cult of the Sun at Rome, could not but sympathize
with Mithra, the god who was himself now regularly identified
with the Sun. By the beginning of the fourth century the
Mithraic faith had spread so widely and struck its roots so
deep, that for a moment it seemed as if it would overshadow
all its rivals and dominate the Roman world from end to end.
In the year 307 A.D. Diocletian, Galerius, and Licinius had
a solemn meeting at Carnuntum on the Danube, and there
consecrated together a sanctuary ‘‘to the Unconquered Sun-
god Mithra, the favourer of their empire V So near did
Mithra come to being the Supreme God of the Roman
empire. Yet a few years later and that same empire bowed
its neck to the yoke of another Oriental god, and the Sun,
the Unconquered Sun, of Mithra set for ever.
The popular identification of Mithra with the Sun in the Popular
later times of classical antiquity is placed beyond the reach
of doubt by a multitude of inscriptions, found in all parts of Mithrawith
the Roman empire, which directly qualify Mithra as • the
Sun or more usually as Mithra the Unconquered Sun.®
^ F. Cumont, Texies et JMomiments, are in Latin, except Nos. 75 » ^ 49 >
i. 281, with the references to the in- 150, which are in Greek. In this list
scriptions in vol. ii. pp, 540 sq. I have omitted many inscriptions in
2 F. Cumont, I'cxtes et Monuments, which the title “ Mithra the Uncon-
i. 281, ii. 146, Inscription 367; id., quered Sun” is indicated only by
Les Religions Orientates dans le Paga- abbreviations, such as D[€o) S{oH)
7iisme romain^, pp. 221 sq. I{nvicto) M{ithrae) in the inscription of
3 F. Cumont, 'fextes et Moiiuments, Diocletian, Galerius, and Licinius (No.
vol. ii. Inscriptions Nos. 2, 28, 29, 367). P'or inscriptions which describe
30, 34, 49, 50, 51, 53, 56, 58, 61, Mithra as the Unconquered Sun {Sol
62, 66, 67, 72, 74, 75, 131, 135, 141, Invictus Mithras) or the Unconquered
144, 149, 151, 156, 157, 159, 161, Sun-god Mithra {dens Sol inznetus
163, 172, 235, 258, 287, 295, 320, Mithras), see H. Dessau, Inscriptiones
354, 355, 360, 423, 430, 461, 479, Laf inae Selectae,lSos. 6^() { — Cwmimt,
509, 526, 541, 542 (Mithra the Un- No. 367), 1661, 4152, 4191, 4 I 94 »
conquered Sun), Nos. 76, 134, 150, 4198, 4200, 4202, 4203, 4204, 4205,
193, 485 (Mithra the Sun, or Mithra 4213, 4215, 4223, 4226, 4227, 4229,
the Sun-god). All these inscriptions 4237, 4238.
510
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Nevertheless on many monuments of the worship Mithra and
the Sun are represented by separate figures as if they were
Mithra and distinct deities. In one scene we see Mithra standing in his
Represented ^^ual Oriental costume opposite a young man, naked or clad
by separate in a simple cloak, who is either standing or kneeling at the
fhe'^monT Mithra. In some reliefs Mithra is putting on his
ments. companion’s head or removing from it a large curved object
which sometimes resembjes a horn or a deflated leathern
bottle. The kneeling personage is usually passive, but
sometimes he lifts his arms, whether in supplication or to put
aside or retain the mysterious object which is being placed
on his head or removed from it. In some reliefs the scene
is more complicated : Mithra is displacing the enigmatical
object with his right hand, while with his left he places on
his companion’s head a radiant crown. In one scene of a
great relief found at Osterburken we see Mithra holding the
same object over the head of the kneeling figure with his
right hand, while he puts his left hand to the hilt of his
sword at his belt, and the radiant crown lies on the ground
between them. The exact significance of the scene is
uncertain, but the standing or kneeling figure who receives
or loses the radiant crown is interpreted as the Sun, towards
whom Mithra seems to adopt an attitude of superiority by
conferring upon him or removing from him the crown of rays
which is the emblem of his solar character. Perhaps the
scene refers to a contest between the two deities in which
Mithra remained the victor. It has also been suggested that
Mithra is pouring oil or other liquid from a horn on the head
of the Sun as a solemn form of baptism or investiture in sign
of the powers which that deity will wield when he is crowned
with the diadem of rays.^ In another scene of a great relief
found at Heddernheim we see Mithra holding out his hand
to the kneeling Sun as if helping him to rise : the head of
the Sun is surrounded by a nimbus.^ On several monuments
the two gods are represented standing opposite each other
^ I*'. Cumont, Textes et Mo 7 iuments^ ischeit mid romische^i Myihologie, ii.
i. 172 sq. For the relief at Ostcr- 3047.
biirken, see td.y vol. ii. pp. 348-351, 2 Cumont, Textes et Moituments^
with Plate VI, Compare F. Cumont, i. 173. For the relief at Heddernheim,
s.v. “Mithras”, in W. H. Roscher’s see /c/., vol. ii. pp. 362 sqq,y with
Atisfuhrliches Lexikon der griech- Plate VII.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 51 1
and shaking hands. Mithra wears his usual costume : the
Sun is either naked with a nimbus round his head, or he
wears a cloak and the radiant crown and carries a whip.
The meaning of the scene is obvious. The two deities have
concluded a treaty of alliance, and peace and harmony will
henceforth reign between them. In the relief at Osterburken,
as if to give a religious consecration to the union of the two
gods, they are represented shaking hands over an altar.^
Further, the peace between Mithra and the Sun is sealed by The scene
a banquet, at which they are portrayed reclining side by side
at the festive board and holding up goblets in their right
hands, while about the table are gathered a number of guests
as partakers of the sacred feast. The importance attached
to this divine banquet is attested both by the number of
the monuments on which it is figured and by the important
place assigned to it in the series of subsidiary scenes arranged
round the central piece, the sacrifice of the bull by Mithra.^
Often, especially in the great sculptured reliefs which have
been found in the valley of the Rhine, the relief representing
the banquet is the last of the whole series, as if it formed the
concluding act in the history of the god^s exploits, the Last
Supper of which he partook before quitting the scene of his
earthly labours.^
Remembering that according to the Christian Fathers a The
sort of communion was celebrated in the Mithraic niysteries^,
we can understand why the devotees of the religion set so commemo
high a value on this last feast of Mithra and his companions,
or should we say his disciples ? The sacramental act which
the liturgy appears to have prescribed was accomplished in
memory of the example set by the Divine Master. This
relation between the legend and the ritual is established by
a fragmentary relief discovered in Bosnia. It represents
two devotees reclining at a table on which loaves are set
out : one of them holds a drinking horn : both are in the
attitude in which Mithra and the Sun are regularly
represented on the other monuments. Round about the two
devotees, or rather communicants, are grouped the initiated
^ F. Ciimont, Textes et Monuments, ^ F. Cumont, Textes et Alonuments,
i. 173. \.\T^sq,
2 F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments,
i. 173 -
* See below, pp. 524, 525.
512 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The mystic of various grades in the mystic hierarchy, including the
hierarchy. the Persian, the Soldier, and the Lion, wearing the
masks which are appropriate to their names and which they
are known from other sources to have worn in the sacred
rites.^ A text of St. Jerome, confirmed by a series of
inscriptions, informs us that there were seven degrees of
initiation in the Mithraic mysteries, and that the initiated
took successively the n^-mes of the Raven, the Occult, the
Soldier, the Lion, the Persian, the Courier of the Sun
(Jieliodromus\ and the Father. These strange names were
Sacred not simply honorary titles. On certain occasions the
officiants disguised themselves in costumes appropriate to
the names which they bore. These sacred masquerades were
variously interpreted by the ancients with reference either to
the signs of the zodiac or to the theory of transmigration.
Such differences of opinion only prove that the original mean-
ing of the disguises was forgotten. Probably the masquerade
was a survival from a time when the gods were supposed to
wear or assume the form of animals, and when the worshipper
attempted to identify himself with his deity by dressing
in the skin and other trappings of the divine creature.
Similar survivals in ritual are common in many religions.^
The To complete the history of Mithra we must notice the
orM^tb-a nionuments on which the Sun is represented driving in his
toheavenin chariot, which is drawn by four horses at full gallop. With
oHhe the left hand he grasps the reins, while he holds out his right
hand to Mithra, who approaches to take his place beside
the Sun in the chariot : sometimes, indeed, Mithra clings to
the arm of the Sun-god as if preparing to leap into the
whirling car. Sometimes the Ocean, into which the Sun’s
chariot descends at night, is indicated by the figure of a
bearded man reclining on the ground and leaning on an urn
or holding a reed.® Yet the daily disappearance of the Sun
1 F. Cumont, Texies et MonumeniSy De ahsiinentiay iv. i6, who mentions
i. 176. the titles of Eagles and Hawks in
F. Cumont, Texies et Monuments^ addition to those of Ravens and Lions,
i. 3 1 4-3 1 7. For the passage of St. Porphyry notices the zodiacal ex-
Jerome {Epistle^ evil, ad Laetam^ planation of the titles, but prefers the
Migne, Palrologia Latina^ xxii. p. theory of the transmigration of human
869), quoted by Cumont, see id. ii. 18. souls into animal bodies.
As to the degrees of initiation in the ^ F. Cumont, Textes et Momiments^
Mithraic mysteries see also Porphyry, i. 176 sq.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 513
setting in the sea does not -suffice to explain this scene
nor the part which Mithra plays in it. To understand it
we must compare the scenes carved on some Christian
sarcophaguses, which present so striking a resemblance to
the Mithraic sculptures that the two series can hardly be
independent of each other. On the Christian sarcophaguses
it is the prophet Elijah who stands erect in his car drawn by
four galloping steeds. He grasps the reins with his left
hand, while with his right he holds out his mantle to the
pmphet Elisha, who stands on the ground behind the car.
In front of the car, and beneath the rearing steeds, the
figure of a bearded man is stretched, leaning with his left
arm on an urn from which water is flowing. The reclining
figure represents the Jordan, from whose banks the prophet
Elijah was swept away to heaven on the chariot and horses
of fire. In the light of this parallel we may suppose that
Mithra, like the prophet of Israel, his earthly labours over,
was believed to have ascended up to heaven in the Sun’s
bright chariot, though doubtless he was thought still to look
down upon and protect the faithful worshippers whom he
left behind him on earth. Sic itur ad astra}
It remains to mention among the Mithraic sculptures The figures
two figures which are commonly supposed to be connected
with the solar character of Mithra. The great scene of the bearers,
sacrifice of the bull, which occupied the central place hi clmtr-
Mithraic art and probably in Mithraic religion, is regularly pates,
flanked by two youthful male figures dressed like Mithra Mithl-lic
and wearing the usual peaked Phrygian cap. Each of them monu-
grasps a burning torch, but one of them holds the burning
end of the torch up, while the other turns it down towards
the earth. Though they are most commonly represented in
the scene of the sacrifice, where they are in a sense the
acolytes or satellites of Mithra, yet they also occur in large
numbers as detached sculptures. P^or example, they are
found in couples as votive offerings in the usual subterranean
sanctuaries. In the scene of the sacrifice they are por-
trayed as smaller than Mithra, but not disproportionately so,
and they are always dressed exactly like him. P'or the
most part they take no part in the sacrifice, but stand
1 F, Cumont, Textes et Monuments^ i. 178, 306.
2 I.
VOL. I
514 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The tripl
Mithra,
or the
Mithraic
Trinity.
motionless as statues, gazing into space or absorbed in the
contemplation of the flame of their torch. Sometimes,
however, the torch-bearer who stands behind the bull grips
the animal’s tail below the bunch of ears of corn in which
the tail terminates : the gesture seems to indicate that he
is about to detach the bunch of ears from the tail.^ Two
pairs of statues of these torch-bearers are accompanied by
inscriptions, from which- we learn that the one who held
up his torch was called Cautes, and that the one who held
down his torch was called Cautopates. Elsewhere the sarne
names have been found on in.scribed pairs of pedestals,
though the statues which stood on the pedestals are lost.
The addition of the words dens god ”) to the names in some
of the inscriptions proves that both Cautes and Cautopates
were regarded as divine.^
The meaning and etymology of these two barbarous
names are uncertain, attempts to derive them from the
Persian appear to have hitherto failed ; ® but from some of
the inscriptions in which they occur it seems indubitable
that both names are merely epithets of Mithra himself.
One of these inscriptions reads, d{ed) iijivictd) M{ithrae)
Cautopati, that is, ** To the Unconquered god Mithra
Cautopates ”, and a certain number of dedications ought to
be read similarly.^ Another inscription runs, deo M{ithrae)
C{autopati) S(olt) i{nvtcto\ that is, “ To the god Mithra
Cautopates, the Unconquered Sun Hence it would seem
that in the great scene of the sacrifice of the bull, which
occurs so often in Mithraic art, Mithra is represented thrice
over. Now we are told by the Pseudo -Dionysius the
Areopagite that the Magians celebrated a festival of the
Triple Mithra ; and this statement, which has been much
discussed, is illustrated by the monuments in question, which
represent Mithra in three distinct forms, namely, the central
figure of Mithra slaying the bull, flanked by the two torch-
^ F, Cumont, Textes et Monuments^
i. 203-205.
2 F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^
i. 207, ii. p. 122, Inscription 165,
p. 142, Inscriptions 329, 330 ; H.
Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae,
Nos. 4250, 42S2a, 42S2'>, 4253%
4253i>, 4254, 4255, 4256, 4258,
4259, 9280.
* F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments,
i. 208.
F, Cumont, Textes et Monuments ^
i. 208, ii. 533 ; H. ’Dts^^wH^iscriptiones
Latinae Selectae^ No. 4256.
® H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae
Select ae^ No. 4257.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 515
bearers Cautes and Cautopates. Hence apparently we are
driven to conclude that the sculptor meant to portray a
triune god or a single deity at three different moments of his
existence.^
This Mithraic trinity has nothing to correspond to it in Cautes and
the religion of Zoroaster, but it may well be of Babylonian j^^terpre^ed^
origin. Now according to Semitic astrology Mithra is a astherising
solar god ; hence the two torch-bearers must also be the setting Sun.
Sun, but they must represent him under different aspects or
at different moments of his course. Perhaps the two youths
stand for the brightening or the fading glow of the morning
or evening twilight, while the god stabbing the bull between
them may represent the splendour of noon. Long ago the
learned French antiquary Montfaucon interpreted the three
figures of these reliefs as the rising sun, the mid-day sun,
and the setting sun. This would explain why in many
reliefs the figure of Cautes, who holds up his torch, is
accompanied by a cock, the herald of the dawn. So in
Greek mythology the cock was regarded as the herald of the
Sun and was accounted sacred to him ; and Plutarch speaks
of an image of Apollo holding a cock in his hand, which
he naturally interprets as a symbol of the dawn and
sunrise. Similarly in two Mithraic monuments the torch-
bearer who holds up his torch in one hand supports a cock
on the other. Hence we infer that this youth, named Cautes,
was regarded as an emblem of the rising sun, and we may
suppose that in the daily liturgy Cautes was invoked at
sunrise, the bull-slaying god at noon, and Cautopates at
sunset.^
A more recondite theory would explain the two torch- Cautes and
bearers as symbols of the vernal and the autumnal sun
respectively, the one waxing and the other waning in as the
power and splendour. In favour of this interpretation it is
pointed out that Cautes and Cautopates are sometimes autumnal
^ F, Cumont, Textes et Momunents^
i. 208 sq. The passage of the Pseudo-
Dionysius (E/>ist. vii., Migne, Patrologia
Graeca^ vol. iii. p. 1082) is quoted by
F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^ vol.
ii. p. II, Mci70t rd fivrj/JLdjvva
Tov Tpnr\a<rlov Mldpov r^XovffiP,
F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^
i. 209 sq. As for the sanctity of the
cock and its dedication to the Sun in
Greek mythology, see Pausanias, v. 25.
9 ; Jamblichus, De Pythagorica vita^
xxviii. 147. For the image of Apollo
with the cock on his hand see Plutarch,
De Pythiae oraculis, 12,
516 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Signifi-
cance of the
two torch-
begirers.
The great
scene of the
Sacrifice of
the Bull
on the
Mithraic
monu-
ments.
represented holding in their hands, the one the head of a
bull, and the other a scorpion ; or a bull is seen browsing or
resting beside Cautes, while a scorpion crawls at the feet of
Cautopates. Now at a very remote date the Bull and the
Scorpion were the signs of the zodiac which the sun
occupied at the vernal and the autumnal equinoxes respect-
ively, although in classical times, as a consequence of the
precession of the equinoxes, the sun had long retrograded to
the signs of the Ram and the Balance. It is tempting to
conjecture that the traditional emblems of the constella-
tions which once marked the beginning of spring and the
beginning of autumn were transmitted from Chaldea to the
west and preserved in the symbolism of the mysteries long
after they had ceased to correspond with the facts of
astronomy.^
Be that as it may, we may be fairly certain as to the
general significance of the two torch-bearers in Mithraic
art. The one who lifts his torch is a personification either
of the matutinal or of the vernal sun which mounts higher
and higher in the sky and by its growing light and strength
imparts fertility to the earth. The other who depresses
his torch personifies the declining sun, whether the great
luminary appears to haste at evening to his setting, or to
sink day by day lower and lower in the autumnal and
wintry sky.**^’
Far more obscure and difficult to interpret is the scene
of the sacrifice of the bull, which, as we have seen, occupies
the central place in Mithraic art, as the sacrifice itself
doubtless formed the supreme act in the Mithraic religion.
In the crypts, which constituted the Mithraic temples, a
sculptured group representing Mithra in the act of slaying
the bull was regularly placed at the far end, facing the
entrance, in a position corresponding to that which is
occupied by the altar in Christian churches. Not only so,
but reduced copies of the group were placed, like cruci-
fixes with Christians, in domestic oratories and no doubt
in the private apartments of the faithful. The number
of reproductions of it which have come down to us is
^ F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments
i. 210,
2 F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^
i. 21 1.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 517
enormous/ comparable to the number of crucifixes which
would be found in the ruins of Europe by the hordes of
infidel and iconoclastic invaders which may one day lay the
whole fabric of western civilization in the dust.
A possible clue to the meaning of the mysterious The ears of
sacrifice is furnished by certain curious details of the sculp- the"^
tures which represent it. On almost all the monuments crying bull,
the tail of the dying bull ends in a bunch of ears of corn,
and on the most ancient of the Italian monuments three ears
of corn are distinctly represented issuing instead of blood
from the wound in the bull's side.^ The inference seems
inevitable that the bull was supposed to contain in itself
certain powers of vegetable fertility, which were liberated by
its death.
Now according to the ancient Avestan system of in Avestan
cosmogony the primeval ox, created by the Supreme God
Ahura Mazda, contained in itself the seeds of all plants slaughter
and of all animals except man ; it was slain by the evil prjmevaiox
demon Ahriman, but in its death it gave birth to the whole byAhriman
vegetable and animal creation, always with the exception of sQ^rceofaii
the human species, which was supposed to have had a both
different origin. Thus in the Bundahish^ an ancient Pahlavi andanimal.
work on cosmology, mythology, and legendary history, we
read : “ On the nature of the five classes of animals it says
in revelation, that, when the primeval ox passed away, there
where the marrow came out grain grew up of fifty and five
species, and twelve species of medicinal plants grew ; as it
says that out of the marrow is every separate creature, every
single thing whose lodgment is in the marrow. From the
horns arose peas, from the nose the leek, from the blood the
grape-vine from which they make wine — on this account
wine abounds with blood — from the lungs the rue-like herbs,
from the middle of the heart thyme for keeping away stench,
and every one of the others as revealed in the Avesta. The
seed of the ox was carried up to the moon station ; there it
was thoroughly purified, and produced the manifold species
of animals. First, two oxen, one male and one female, and,
^ F. Cumont, Textes et Momunents^ remarkable monument showing the ears
j* 63, 179, of corn instead of blood is now in the
2 F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^ British Museum. It was formerly in
i. 186 sq,^ ii. 228, with fig. 10. The Rome.
5i8 worship of SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The
sacrifice of
the bull
on the
Mithraic
monu-
ments
may repre-
sent the
slaughter
of the
primeval
ox.
afterwards, one pair of every single species was let go into
the earth.^’ ^ Again, in another passage of the same treatise
we read : “ As it (the primeval ox) passed away, owing to
the vegetable principle proceeding from every limb of the ox,
fifty and five species of grain and twelve species of medicinal
plants grew forth from the earth, and their splendour and
strength were the seminal energy of the ox. Delivered to the
moon station, that seed was thoroughly purified by the light of
the moon, fully prepared in every way, and produced life in
a body. Thence arose two oxen, one male and one female ;
and, afterwards, two hundred and eighty-two species of each
kind became manifest upon the earth.’’
Hence it seems highly probable that the Mithraic sculp-
ture of the sacrifice of the bull represents the slaughter of
the primeval ox, which in dying produced from the various
parts of its body the whole vegetable and animal creation,
always with the exception of humankind.^ We can now
understand why, in the Mithraic group of the slaughter of
the bull, the animal is always represented fallen with its head
to the right, never to the left. The reason is given in the
Bundahish^ which tells us that “ when the primeval ox passed
away it fell to the right hand Thus we may fairly con-
clude that in the belief of the Mithraic devotees the slaughter
of the primeval ox was a creative act to which plants and
animals alike owed their origin. We can therefore under-
stand why the priests should have transferred that beneficent,
though painful, act from Ahriman, the evil spirit, to Mithra,
the good and beneficent god. In this way Mithra apparently
came to be deemed the creator and source of life, as indeed
he is described in a passage of Porphyry.^ Thus the sad
^ Btindahish, xiv. 1-3, in E. W.
West’s Pahlavi Texts, Part I. (Oxford,
1880) pp. 45 s^. [Sacred Books of the
East, vol. V.). Compare J . Darmesteter,
Orrnazd et Ahriman, pp. 144 sg^, ;
A. V, Williams Jackson, “Die iranische
Religion ”, in W. Geiger imd E. Kuhn,
G 7 nndriss der iranischeti Philologie,
ii. 669, 673 sq,', F. Cumont, Textes et
Mofinments, i. 186 sq,
2 Btindahish, x. 1-3; compare xxvii.
2, in E. W. West’s Pahlavi Texts ^
Part I. pp. 31 sq,, 99 sq.
. 3 This is the view of F. Cumont,
Textes et Monuments, i. 186 j^., whose
explanation of the sacrifice I have
adopted.
^ Bundahish, iv. i, in E. W. West’s
Pahlavi Texts, Part I. p. 20.
® Porphyry, De antro 7 iympharnm,
24, iiroxlixai [scil. MiOpas] Tai'>p(p
'A^poSlrrji, ws Kal 6 raCpos drjjuiovpyds
C!)v 6 Miff pas Kal yep^aecos Seawdryjs. In
this passage the words 6 Mlffpas are
perhaps an interpolation, as F. Cumont
has seen ( Textes et Moimments, vol. ii.
XII WORSHIP OF SUH AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 519
and solemn scene which always met the eyes of Mithraic
worshippers in the apse at the far end of their temples com-
memorated the consummation of the great sacrifice which in
ages gone by had given life and fertility to the world.^
But perhaps the sight of the tragic group in the religious Mazdean
gloom of the vaulted temple awakened in the minds of the t^Taiufre
worshippers other thoughts which moved them still more resurrection
deeply.^ For it is probable, we are told, that in the Mithraic jea^dto be
religion the cosmogonic myths were correlated with the ideas accom-
entertained by the Magians as to the end of the world. In LsLburor
fact, the two sets of beliefs present a resemblance which is Redeemer
’ ^ t)y means
naturally explained by the identity of their origin, if we of the
suppose that both narratives are variants of a single primitive
theme. We know, both from Greek writers and the Mazdean a magic
scriptures, that the ancient Persians believed in a resurrection
of the dead at the end of this present world. Thus the Greek
historian Theopompus recorded that according to the Magians
men would come to life again and be immortal.® According
to Aeneas of Gaza, in his treatise on the immortality of the
soul, “ Zoroaster predicts that a time will come in which
there will be a resurrection of all the dead The state-
ments of these Greek writers are amply confirmed by the
sacred books of the ancient Persian religion, which explicitly
teach the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, good and
bad alike, at the end of the present dispensation. They
predict that in these last days there will arise a Redeemer
or Saviour named Soshyans or Saoshyant, who will be the
p. 41). If that is so, all that Porphyry
expressly affirms is that “ the bull is
also a creator and master of genera-
tion ”, with the implication that
Mithra is a creator and master of life
as well as the bull. But in that case
the sentence is ungrammatical, for in-
stead of the nominatives (6 ravpos, x.r.X.)
we ought to have genitives {rod raijpov,
kt\. ).
^ F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^
i. 187.
2 Here I again follow the suggestions
of F. Cumont {Textes et Monuments^ i.
187 sq.).
2 Theopompus, cited by Diogenes
Laertius, Vit, philosopk,^ Prooemium^
9, p. 3, ed. Cobet. Diogenes adds that
the same statement was made by
Eudemus the Rhodian.
^ Aeneas of Gaza, Dial, de ivimort.
animaCy ed. Boi-ssonade, 1836, p. 77,
’0 hk ZoypodffTpris TrpoXlycL ws iarai irore
Xpi>vos iv irdvTtov vcKpQv dvdffrao'is
(erai' olSev 6 OloTro/niros (quoted by F.
Cumont, Textes et Monuments^ i. 187,
note^). However, Herodotus (iii. 62)
reports the saying of a Persian noble-
man which implies a complete scepticism
as to the resurrection of the dead. But
even if the saying is authentic, it does
not follow that the scepticism was
universal among the Persians, though
the speaker appears to assume that it
was shared by Cambyses.
520 IVORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
agent of the resurrection.^ He it is, we are told, “ who
makes the evil spirit impotent, and causes the resurrection
and future existence In the task of bringing the dead to
life the Redeemer will be assisted by fifteen men and fifteen
damsels, and their labours will last for seven and fifty years.
Now the way in which they will bring about the resurrection is
this. They will slay an ox called Hadhayos, and from the fat
of that ox and the sacred white horn or haoma (the equivalent
of the Sanscrit soma) they will prepare an ambrosia {Jtiish\ and
they will give it to all men, and all men will drink of it and
become immortal for ever and ever. Then will all men stand
up, the righteous and the wicked alike. Every human creature
will arise, each on the spot where he died. The souls of the
dead will resume their former bodies and they will gather in
one place, and they will know those whom they knew formerly
in life. They will say, “ This is my father, and this is
mother, and this is my brother, and this is my wife, and
these are some other of my nearest relations They will
come together with the greatest affection, father and son and
brother and friend, and they will ask one another, saying,
“ Where hast thou been these many years ? and what was
the judgment upon thy soul ? hast thou been righteous or
wicked ? ” And all will join with one voice and praise aloud
the Lord God Almighty (Ahura Mazda) and the archangels.
The Last There in that assembly, which no man can number, all men
Judgment, together, and every man will see his own good
deeds and his own evil deeds, and in that assembly a wicked
man will be as plain to see as a white sheep among black.
In that day the wicked man who was a friend of a righteous
man will make his moan, saying, “ Why, when he was in the
world, did he not make me acquainted with the good deeds
which he practised himself?’' Afterwards they will separate
the righteous from the wicked, and the righteous will be
carried up to heaven, but the wicked will be cast down into
1 F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^ irafu'sfken P/a/o/ogte/u. 66 g sg., 6 ^^ sq.
i. 187 sq. On the doctrine of the The principal passage on the subject
Redeemer and the resurrection from in the sacred books is Bundahish, xxx.
the dead in the Mazdean religion, see (E. W. West, Pahlavi Texts^ Part I.
Fr. Spiegel, Eninische Alterthwns- pp. 120- 130).
kundgy ii. 158 sqq.; A. V. Williams
Jackson, “ Die iranische Religion in ^ Bundahishy xi. 6 (E. W. West,
W. Geiger und E. Kuhn, Grundriss der Pahlavi TextSy Part I, p. 33).
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 521
hell. For at the bidding of the Lord God Almighty (Ahura
Mazda), the Redeemer and his assistants will give to every
man the reward and recompense of his deeds.^
Hence it would seem that Mithra succeeded to the place Mithra
which in the old Persian religion had been occupied by Soshyans
or Saoshyant, the Redeemer or Saviour. Thus in the belief the
of his worshippers “the sacrifice of the divine bull was in ^
truth the great event in the history of the world, the event
which stands alike at the beginning of the ages and at the event irTthe
consummation of time, the event which is the source at once of
r lhe world.
the earthly life and of the life eternal. We can there-
fore understand why among all the sacred imagery of
the mysteries the place of honour was reserved for the
representation of this supreme sacrifice, and why always and
everywhere it was exposed in the apse of the temples to the
adoration of the worshippers.”^ On the minds oj worshippers,
seated in the religious gloom of the subterranean temple,
the mournful scene of the slaughter of the bull, dimly
discerned at the far end of the sanctuary, was doubtless
well fitted to impress solemn thoughts, not only of the
great sacrifice which in days long gone by had been the
source of life on earth, but also of that other great sacrifice,
still to come, on which depended all their hopes of a blissful
immortality.
A rite which presents a superficial resemblance to the The /auro-
sacrifice of the bull in the Mithraic religion was the ceremony f,apdsm^of
known as a taiirobolium. This strange sacrament consisted bull’s blood
essentially in a baptism or bath of bull's blood, which was ^vashing
believed to wash away sin, and from which the devotee was awayofsins
supposed to emerge born again to eternal life. Crowned lebitth to
with gold and wreathed with fillets, the candidate for the new
birth descended into a pit, the mouth of v/hich was covered
with a wooden grating. A bull, adorned with garlands of
flowers, its forehead plastered with gold leaf, was then driven
on to the grating and there slaughtered with a sacred spear.
Its hot reeking blood poured through the grating on the
worshipper in the pit, who received it with devout eagerness
^ Bundahish^ xxx. 1-27 (E. W, F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments,
West, Fahlavi Texts, Part I. pp. i. 187 sq,
120-127). Compare Fr. Sj)iegel, ^ F. Cumont, Textes el Monuments,
Enhiische AltertJmmskunde, '\\. \(iOsq,\ i. 188.
522
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The rite
was no part
of the
regular
Mithrair
worship,
but
was often
observed
byMithraic
devotees.
on every part of his person and garments, till at last he
emerged gory from head to foot, and received the homage,
nay, the adoration, of his fellows as one who had been born
again to eternal life and had washed away his sins in the
blood of the bull.^ It does not appear that this baptism of
blood ever formed part of the regular Mithraic ritual. The
many inscriptions which mention it, with the exception of
one which appears to be fprged, explicitly refer the rite to the
worship of the Great Mother and Attis.^ Yet worshippers
of Mithra are known to have sometimes submitted to the
repulsive rite ; for we possess the dedication of an altar to
the Mother of the Gods and Attis by a certain Sextilius
Agesilaus Aedesius, who describes himself as Father of
Fathers in the religion of the Unconquered Sun-god Mithra,
and at the same time claims to have been “ born again to
eternal life by the sacrifice of a bull and a ram But the
Father of Fathers ranked as the highest dignitary, a sort of
little pope, in the Mithraic hierarchy ; ^ accordingly we can
hardly doubt that the example set by so exalted a prelate
was often followed by the inferior clergy. In fact, we
hear of another Father of Fathers who boasted, with honest
1 Prudentius, Peri Stephan, x 1006-
1050. Compare Firmicus Maternus,
De error e profanarum religione^ xxvii.
8, Neminem apiit idol a profits ns
sanguis mnnit^ et ne cruor peendnm
miser os homines ant dec i pi at aut perdat,
pollnit sanguis iste^ non redimit^ et per
varios casus homines premit in mortem :
miseri sunt qui profnsione sacri/egi
sanguinis ernentantnr. Tauribolinm
quid vei criobolinrn scelerata tc san-
guinis labe perfundit? Laventcr itaque
sordes istae quae coUigisP The pious
apologist naturally seizes the opportunity
to exhort his readers to wash in the
blood of the lamb {agnus dei), which
he assures them is a great deal moie
efficacious than bull’s blood for the
purging of sin.
2 H. Uessau, In script iones Latinae
Selectae^ Nos. 41 18-4159 (vol.ii. Part I.
pp. 140- 147). For the forged dedi-
cation, which professes to record the
dedication of a taurobolium “to the
great god Mithra”, by a man who had
been born again to eternal life by secret
wash i ngs arc an is perfusion ibus in
actenium renatus”)^ see F. Cumont,
Textes et Monuments^ vol. ii. p. I 79 »
Inscription No. 584. I follow F. Cumont
and J. d'outain in thinking that the
taurobolium formed no part of the
Mithraic ritual. See P\ Cumont, Textes
et A/onuments, i. 334 sq, ; J. Toutain,
LesCultes paiens dans V Empire Rom ain^
Premiere Partie, ii. p. 138. I have
described the taurobolium elsewhere.
See 7 iie Golden Bought Part IV.,
Adonis^ Attisy Osiids, i. 274 sqq., with
the references.
3 F. Cumont, Textes et Alonuments^
vol. ii. p. 96, Inscription No. 17 ; II.
Dessau, Instriptiones Latinae Select ae^
No. 4152, taurobolio criobolioq. in
aeterniim renatus ”.
** F. Cumont, Textes et AlonumentSy
i. 317 sq.y vol. ii. pp. 93-96, 98, 1 18,
163, Inscriptions Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10, ii,
12, 15, 17, 18, 26, 27, 141, 494; II.
Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectacy
Nos. 4213, 4254, 9279.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 523
pride, that not only he himself but his wife also, with
whom he lived for forty years, had been washed in the
blood of the bull.^ Another high dignitary of the Mithraic
church was the Father of the Sacred Rites, though
presumably he ranked below the supreme pontiff, the
Father of Fathers.^ Two of these Fathers of Sacred Rites
similarly bragged of having been regenerated by the appli-
cation of bull’s blood/ Again, one of the inferior clergy,
a simple Father and Sacred Herald of the Unconquered
Sun-god Mithra, records that he too had partaken of the
sacrament of the bull. This last prelate would seem to
have mixed up his religions in a very liberal spirit, for,
apart from the preferments which he held in the Mithraic
communion, he informs us that he was priest of Isis,
hierophant of Hecate, and arch-cowkeeper of the god
Liber, who apparently laid himself out for cattle-breeding.
And far from being ashamed of having been drenched with
the blood of the slaughtered bull, this reverend pluralist
prayed that he might live to repeat the performance
twenty years later ; ^ for though in theory the blood was
supposed to regenerate the votary for ever, it seems that in
practice its saving efficacy could not safely be trusted to
last longer than twenty years at the most, after which the
sacrament had to be repeated.® Thus we may conclude that
the worshippers of Mithra were often glad to practise a
barbarous rite which, though it formed no part of their
own religious service, yet served to remind them of that
supreme sacrifice to which they attached the deepest im-
portance as being nothing less than the great central fact
in the history of the world.
The striking similarities which may be traced, in certain The
points between Mithraism and Christianity were clearly
1 F, Cumont, 7 ex/es Mom/ mefitSf cepio'*'),
vol. ii. p. 95, Inscription No. 15, ^ CnmowX, Textes et Monume^ifs,
iatiroboliattis^ pater pati^im . . . vol. ii. pp. 9^ ^ 7 *^ Inscription No. j^lithraism
taiiroholiata ”, 20 ; H. Dessau, Inscript ioiies Latinae
^ h". Cumont, Textes et Monuments y Selectacy No, 4153* Chris-
i. 317, ^ Contipare H, Dessau, Inscriptiones tianity.
^ f'. Cumont, 7 'extes et MomifuentSy Latinae Setectae, No. 4 I 54 » iterate y
pp. 95, 98, Inscriptions No. 14 viginti annis expletis taiirobolii stii'\
{^Uauroboliato . . . patri sacrorum'^)y where, as Dessau notes, iaurobolii sui
No. 23 pater sacrorum dei invicti may be a stonemason’s mistake for
MithraCy taurobotio criobolioque per- iau?'obolio suo.
Tertullian
on the
Soldier’s
Crown.
524 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
perceived by the Christian Fathers ; indeed we are indebted
to their writings for our knowledge of some of the
parallels which otherwise might have been forgotten. In
accordance with their general theory of the world, they
explained the resemblances as wiles of the devil, who sought
to beguile poor souls by a spurious imitation of the true faith.
Thus Justin Martyr tells us that in the mysteries of Mithra
the evil spirits mimicked the eucharist by setting before the
initiates a loaf of bread and a cup of water with certain
forms of words.^ But the Father who appears to have
possessed the most intimate knowledge of Satan and the
greatest skill in unmasking him under all his disguises, was
Tertullian, and to his ruthless exposure of the great Enemy
of Mankind we are indebted for certain particulars which,
but for his scathing denunciation, might long have been
consigned to the peaceful limbo of oblivion. Thus in his
essay on The SoldieYs Crown he reveals some points in the
curious ritual observed when a Mithraic votary was promoted
to the rank of soldier in the sacred hierarchy, for Mithraism
had its Salvation Army. The ceremony took place in
one of the crypts which formed the regular Mithraic
temples. There a crown was offered to the candidate on
the point of a sword, and a pretence was made of placing
it on his head ; but he was instructed to wave it aside
and to say that his crown was Mithra. Thus was his
constancy put to the proof, and he was counted a true
soldier of Mithra if he cast down the crown and said that his
crown was his god.^ This, according to Tertullian, was a
diabolic counterfeit of the conduct of a true Christian who
should learn to despise the glories of this frail fleeting world
in the prospect of a better world that will last for ever.
“ What hast thou to do,'* asks the Father in a glow of
religious emotion, “ what hast thou to do with flowers that
fade? Thou hast a flower from the rod of Jesse, a flower
on which hath rested the whole grace of the Holy Spirit, a
flower incorruptible, unfading, eternal.’^ He reminds the
Christian soldier of the Spirit’s promise : “ Be thou faithful
^ Justin Martyr, ApoIog.\,e)(> (vol. i. ^ Tertullian, De corona militis, 15
p. 268 cd. Otto) ; F. Cuniont, Textes (Migne, Patrologia Latina^ ii. loi sq,)\
et Monuments^ vol. ii. p. 20, F. Cumont, Textes et Alotiuntetiis^
ii. 50.
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 525
unto death and I will give thee a crown of life'';^ and he
recalls the boast of the great Apostle of the Gentiles uttered
when the time of his departure was at hand : “ I have fought
a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right-
eousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me
at that day : and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love his appearing.” ^
Further, we learn from Tertullian that among the The
Mithraic rites there was a species of baptism at which re-
mission of sins was promised to the initiate at the baptismal baptism
font. This also, according to Tertullian, was a device of
Satan, whose cue it is to invert the truth by aping the holy
sacraments in the mysteries of idols.^ In further proof of
the craft and subtlety of the devil Tertullian adds : “ And
if I remember aright, Mithra marks his soldiers on their
foreheads : he celebrates the offering of bread : he enacts
a parody of the resurrection ; and he redeems the crown at
the point of the sword. Nay more, he enacts that his high
priest shall marry but once, and he has his virgins and
celibates.” ^ Here “ the offering of bread ” obviously refers
to the same sacrament of bread and water which Justin
Martyr stigmatizes as a diabolic imitation of the eucharist.
The virgins and celibates of Mithra appear to have antici-
pated the nuns and monks of Christianity. It is not so
certain what ‘‘the parody of the resurrection” alludes to. The
But from the words which Lampridius uses in describing Jfte oaL
the profanation of the mysteries by Commodus, it seems resurrec-
clearly to follow that the death of a man by violence was
dramatically represented in the mysteries. For the historian
says that Commodus “ polluted the Mithraic rites with a real
homicide, whereas the custom in them is only to say or to
pretend something that creates an appearance of fright
1 Revelation ii. 10.
2 2 Timothy iv. 7-8. The two texts
are briefly referred to by Tertullian
(/.c.) in the words : Esio et tu fidelis
ad mortem : decerta et tu bo 7 ium agottem,
cujtis coj'onam et Apostolus repo sit am
sibi merito conjidit
3 Tertullian, De praescriptionibus
advtrsus haeretuos^ 40 (Migne, Patro-
logia Latina^ ii. 54 sq.) ; F. Cumont,
Textes et Monuments^ vol. ii. p. 51.
^ Tertullian, De praeso'ipiiortibus
adversus haereticos^ 40.
^ Lampridius, Commodus^ ix. 6,
“ Sacra Mithriaca homicidio vero pol-
luity ctun illic aliquid ad speciem
timoris vel did vet fingi soleat ”.
526 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The date of
Christ’s
Nativity
shifted by
the Church
from
January 6th
(Old
Christ-
mas) to
December
25th, the
old pagan
festival of
the Birth of
the Sun.
Again, Zacharias the Scholiast, in a life of the Patriarch
Severus of Antioch, which must have been written about
514 A.D., asks, “Why in the mysteries of the Sun do the
pretended gods reveal themselves to the initiates only at
the moment when the priest produces a sword stained with
the blood of a man who has died by violence ? It is because
they only consent to impart their revelations when they see
a man put violently to deqth by their machinations.” ^ The
mysteries of the Sun here referred to are probably those of
Mithra, but the writer appears to be mistaken in supposing
that human sacrifices ever formed part of the Mithraic
ritual.^ All that we can safely infer from his testimony,
confirmed by that of Lampridius, is that one of the scenes
acted in the mysteries was the pretended killing of a man,
and that a bloody sword was produced in proof that the
slaughter had actually been perpetrated. We may con-
jecture that the supposed dead man was afterwards brought
to life, and that this was the parody of the resurrection
which Tertullian denounced as a device of the devil.
If the Mithraic mysteries were indeed a Satanic copy of
a divine original, we are driven to conclude that Christianity
took a leaf out of the devil’s book when it fixed the birth of
the Saviour on the twenty-fifth of December ; for there can
be no doubt that the day in question was celebrated as the
birthday of the Sun by the heathen before the Church, by
an afterthought, arbitrarily transferred the Nativity of its
Founder from the sixth of January to the twenty-fifth of
December.® From the calendar of Philocalus, which was
drawn up at Rome about 354 A.D., we learn that the twenty-
fifth of December was celebrated as the birthday of the
Unconquered Sun by games in the circus.'* These games
* F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^
i. 361, quoting and translating a pass-
age of a Syriac version of the I.«ife of
tlie Patriarch Severus of Antioch by
Zacharias the Scholiast, Das Leben des
Severus von Antiochien^ published by
Spanuth, Gottingen, 1893.
2 F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments^
i. 69 322.
^ F. Cumont, Textes et Monuments,
325 ■f?-. 339. 342, 355 Th.
Mommsen, in Corpus Inscriptionum
Latinarum, i.^ Pars prior (Berlin, 1893),
pp. 338 sq, ; H. Usener, Das Weih-
nachtspest'^, Eapitel \Ai\, (Bonn, 1911)
pp. 348 sqq.'t L. Duchesne, Ori^ines du
Culte Chrdtien^ (Paris, 1920), pp. 271-
279; The Golden Bough, Part IV.,
Adonis, Attis, Osiris, i. 302-305.
Corpus hiscriptionum Latinarum,
ip Pars prior, pp. 278, 338. The
calendar of Philocalus is assigned to the
year 354 a.d. by Th. Mommsen {op. cit.
p.254) and Yl,\ 3 ^^Vi^i{DasWeihnachtS'
XII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT ROMANS 527
are mentioned by the Emperor Julian, who tells us that
they were performed with great magnificence in honour of the
Unconquered Sun immediately after the end of the Saturnalia
in December.^ The motives which induced the ecclesiastical
authorities to transfer the festival of Christmas from the
sixth of January to the twenty-fifth of December are
explained with great frankness by a Syrian scholiast on Bar
Salibi. He says : ‘‘ The reason why the fathers transferred
the celebration of the sixth of January to the twenty-fifth of
December was this. It was a custom of the heathen to
j
celebrate on the same twenty-fifth of December the birthday
of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity.
In these solemnities and festivities the Christians also took
part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived
that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took
counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be
solemnized on that day and the festival of the Epiphany on
the sixth of January. Accordingly, along with this custom,
the practice has prevailed of kindling fires until the sixth.”
The custom of holding a festival of the Sun on the twenty-
fifth of December persisted in Syria among the pagans down
at least to the first half of the sixth century, for a Syriac
writer of that period, Thomas of Edessa, in a treatise on the
Nativity of Christ, informs us that at the winter solstice
“ the heathen, the worshippers of the elements, to this day
everywhere celebrate annually a great festival, for the reason
that then the sun begins to conquer and to extend his
kingdom But the pious writer adds that, though the
power of the Sun waxes from that day, it will afterwards
wane again ; whereas, “ Holy Church celebrates the festival
of the Nativity of Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, who
begins to conquer error and Satan, and will never wane
/esUf p. 348), but to 336 A.D. by L. prior, pp. 338 s,/.; H. Usencr, Das
Duchesne {O rig/nes du Ctdte Chritien^^ (Veiknach/sfesUf pp. 349
p, 272). ^ Fr. Curnont, “ La Celebration du
' Julian, Or. iv. p. 156 ed. Spanheim ‘Natalis Invicti* en Orient”, Revue de
(vol. i. pp. 202 sq. ed. Hcrtlein). PHistoire des Religiofis^ Ixxxii. (1920)
2 C. A. Credner, “ De natalitioriim pp. 85 sq.y quoting Thomae Kdesseni,
Christi originc ”, Zeitschrift fur die Tractatus de Nativitate Domini nostri
historische Theologie^ iii. 2. (1833), Jesti Christie textum syriacum edidit,
p. 239, note'*®; Th. Mommsen, Corpus notis illustravit, latine reddidit, Simon
Inscriptionum Latinarum^ Pars Joseph Carr, Romae, 1898.
528 WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ARYAN PEOPLES ch. xii
This opposition between the natural Sun of the heathen and
the metaphorical Sun of Righteousness of the Christians is a
rhetorical commonplace of ecclesiastical writers, who make
use of it particularly with reference to the Nativity.^ The
pagan origin of Christmas is plainly hinted at, if not tacitly
admitted, by St. Augustine in a sermon wherein he exhorts
his Christian brethren not to solemnize that day like the
heathen on account of the, sun, but on account of Him who
made the sun.*^ Similarly Leo the Great rebuked the
pestilent belief of those who thought that Christmas was
to be observed for the sake of the birth of the new sun, as it
was called, and not for the sake of the Nativity of Christ.^
Worship of The last stand for the worship of the Sun in antiquity
embraced made by the Emperor Julian. In a rhapsody addressed
by the to the orb of day the grave and philosophic emperor
jiiham^^ professes himself a follower of King Sun.'* He declares that
the Sun is the common Father of all men, since he begat us
and feeds us and gives us all good things ; ® there is no
single blessing in our lives which we do not receive from
him, either perfect from him alone, or at the hand of the
other gods perfected by him.^ And Julian concludes his
enthusiastic panegyric with a prayer that the Sun, the King
of the Universe, would be gracious to him, granting him,
as a reward for his pious zeal, a virtuous life and more
perfect wisdom, and in due time an easy and peaceful
departure from this life, that he might ascend •to his God in
heaven, there to dwell with him for ever.^ However the
deity to whom he prayed may have granted him a virtuous
life, he withheld from his worshipper the boon of an easy
and peaceful end. It was in the press of battle that
this last imperial votary of the Sun received his mortal
wound and met a most painful death with the fortitude
of a hero and the serenity of a saint.® With him the sun
of pagan and imperial Rome set not ingloriously.
^ Fr.Ciimont, Textes et Monuments^ Julian, Or. iv. p. 130 ed.Spanheim.
k 355 ^ Julian, Or. iv. pp. 131, 152 ed.
2 Augustine, Serfii. cxc. i (Migne’s Spanheim.
Patrologia Latma, xxxviii. 1007). ^ Julian, Of. iv.p. 153 ed. Spanheim.
^ Leo the Great, Servi. xxii. (al. xxi.) ^ Julian, Or. iv. p. 158 ed.Spanheim.
6 (Migne’s Latina, liv. 198). ® Ammianus Marcellinus, xxv. 3.
CHAPTER XIII
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN AMONG THE NON- ARYAN
PEOPLES OF ANTIQUrPY
§ I. The Worship of the Sun among the Ancient
Babylonians and Assyrians
In ancient Babylonia the Sun was worshipped from im- The
memorial antiquity. The ideogram of the Sun, like that
of the moon, in the Babylonian language is always preceded (Shamash)
by a determinative which implies divinity.^ The Semitic
name both of the Sun and of the Sun-god in Babylonia is
Shamash; the Sumerian name is Utu or Babbar;“ for even
before the Semites settled in the country the Sun-god was
worshipped by their predecessors the Sumerians. The two The two
great seats of Sun-worship were Larsa in the south and
Sippar in the north of Babylonia. The site of Larsa is now worship at
marked by the mounds called Senkereh ; the site of Sippar,
to the north of Babylon and to the south-west of Bagdad, is
now occupied by the ruins of Abu Habba. In both cities
the Sun-god was worshipped by the Sumerians, and in both
his temple was called E-babbar or E-babbara, that is, “ the
House of the Sun In Babylonia the Sun-god Shamash
is always masculine, but in south Arabia his namesake
^ P. Dhorme, La Relii^iou assyro-
babylonienne (Paris, 1910), p. 81.
^ Br. Meissner, J^abylonien icud
Assy7-ien (Heidelbcrj^, 1920--1925), ii.
19 sq, ; S. H. Langclon, in The Ca>?i-
bridi^'e Afoder/i Ilistoiy, i.^ (Cambridge,
1924) P. 397.
^ H. Zimmern, in E. Schrader, Die
KcilitisrhiLften mid das A He 'TestaruetiD
(Berlin, 1902), p. 367 ; P. Dhorme,
VOL. I
I^a Reii^ifioii assyro - babyloiiicnite^
p. 85. Zimmern translates E-babbara
as “ weisses Hans ”, “ White House
Others translate the words as “house
of lustic” or “bright house”. See
M. Jastrow, The Religion of Babylonia
and Assyria (Boston, U.S.A., 1898),
p. 70 ; L. W. King, Babylonian Re-
ligion and A/ythology (London, 1899),
p. 18 ; Br. Meissner, Babylonien uttd
AssyrieHy ii, 21 {^^glanzendes JLans”).
2 M
529
530 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NO NARY AN PEOPLES chap.
Shams is feminine.^ The great temple of the Sun-god at
Sippar, with its tower rising in stages, occupied a terrace
1300 feet square on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, just
south of the Royal Canal.^
Popularity There was no deity of the pantheon whose worship
shiffonh^ G^ijoycd an equally continued popularity from the earliest
Sim-god to the latest time both in Babylonia and Assyria. And
Shamash, long period Shamash, Utu, or Babbar,
retained the character of a solar god with scarcely any
Inferiority modification.^ Yet, singularly enough, he did not rank with
to Uiegreat greatest gods. He was not one of the supreme trinity,
gods of the which Comprised Anu, the god of heaven, Bel, the god of
pantheon, jy^^nkind, and Ea, the god of the abyss of
water under the earth. He may be said to have formed
part of an inferior trinity, which included himself, and Sin,
the god of the moon, and Ramman or Adad, the god of
the atmosphere.^ But even in this subordinate trinity the
Sun-god Shamash was not the foremost. He was deemed
Shamash a a son of the Moon-god Sin. One of the early rulers of Ur
Moomgofi Sun-god the offspring of Nannar, which is one of
Sin. the names of the Moon-god; and Nabonidus, the last native
king of Babylonia, assigns to him the same father, so that
from first to last the Sun-god ranked below the Moon-god
in dignity. His inferiority was marked in other ways. In
the list of gods drawn up by Babylonian and Assyrian
kings and preserved for us in inscriptions, the Sun-god is
always mentioned after the Moon-god ; and the number
assigned to him is only twenty, whereas the number of his
father the Moon-god is thirty. Indeed, his very name is said
to signify “attendant”, or “servitor”. This subordination of
Sun-worship to Moon-.worship is an interesting peculiarity of
early Babylonian religion, in which, if we may say so, the
sun seems to have been always eclipsed by the lesser
luminary. However, at a later period, when the system
of mythology was more fully developed, the solar deity
to some extent emerged from the cloud, or rather from
the shadow of the moon, which had so long obscured
^ II. Zimmcrn, /.c. ; E. Meyer, ^ M. Jastrow, 7 'he Religion of
Geschichte des Altertiims'^y i. 2, p. 376, Bahylotiia and Assyria^ p. 68.
2 S. n. Langdon, in The Cambridge L. W. King, Babylonian Religion
Andenl History^ i.^ 395. and Mythology ^ pp. 14, 17.
XIII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS
53
his radiance.^ Agumkakrime, one of the Cassite kings of
Babylonia, in the second millennium before our era, even
speaks of Shamash as ‘‘ the Lord of Heaven and Earth ” ; ^
and in an Assyrian inscription Shamash is repeatedly
described as “ chief of the gods Nevertheless, the
Sun-god never played an important part in mythology.'*
With him was associated, especially at Sippar, his wife
Aya, Aia, Ai, or Aa, whose name appears to mean bride Ai, the wife
She is often coupled with him in incantations, but seldom
appears in historical texts.^ In Sumerian she is also called
Snenirda.^ The Sun - god was blessed with a numerous
progeny, including a son Kettu, whose name signifies
Justice; another son, Mesharu, whose name means Right;
another son, Sumuqan, the God of Meadows; a daughter,
the Goddess of Dreams ; and several other deities who
presided over cattle and fields.^
Originally the Sun -god made his way painfully across Thechariot
the sky on foot, but in later times, with the progress
civilization, a chariot was considerately placed at his disposal
with a charioteer named Bunene to drive him ; the car was
drawn b}^ two fiery steeds or mules.® Thus the god was
enabled to accomplish the long journey in tolerable comfort.
The Sun-god was represented as an old man with a long Represen-
beard, and often with sunbeams radiating from his shoulders.
Sometimes he is seen sitting on a throne ; in Assyrian art god in art.
1 M. Jastrow, The Religiott of
Babylonia and Assyria^ pp. 68 sq. \
Iv. W. King, Babylonian Religion and
Mythology, pp. iq sq.\ H. Zimmern,
in E. Schrader, Die Keilmschrifte^i
und das A lie Testament^, p. 368 ; Br.
Meissner, Babylonien iind Assyrien,
ii. 19 sq.
2 R. F. Harper, Assyrian and
Babylonian Literature, “ Inscription
of Agumkakrime ”, p. 6.
3 R. Campbell Thompson, 'Semitic
Magic (London, 1908), p. 26.
^ Br. Meissner, Babylonien imd
Asryrien, ii. 21.
^ H. Zimmern, in E. Schrader, Die
Keilinschriftcn und das A lie Testa-
ment'^, p. 368 ; Br. Meissner, Baby-
lonien und Assyrien, ii. 21 ; L. W,
King, Babylonian Religion and Mytho-
logy, p. 23 ; M. Jastrow, The Religion
of BalyloJtia and Assyria, pp. 74 sq . ;
R. F. Harper, Assyrian and Babylonian
Literature, p. 402. Jastrow shortens
the name of the goddess to A.
3 Br. Meissner, Babylonien und
Assyrien, ii. 21.
7 Br. Meissner, Babylonien und
Assyrien, ii. 21 ; H. Zimmern, in
E. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und
das Alte Testament^, p. 368 ; P.
Dhorme, I.a Religio 7 i assyro- baby-
lonienne, p. 84.
® Br. Meissner, Babylonien Jtnd
Assyrien, ii. 20 ; I>. W. King, Baby-
lonian Religioti and Mytholos^y, p. 32 ;
P. Dhorme, I.a Religion assyro-
babylonienne, pp. 81 sq., 84 sq. ;
H. Zimmern, in E. Schrader’s Die
Keilinschriften und das Alte Testa-
ment'^, p. 368.
The solar
disk.
The gates
of heaven.
Hymns to
Shamash,
the Sun-
god.
532 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
he is occasionally represented standing on a horse. In
Babylonia his special emblem is a round disk with a
four-pointed star within it and beams or flames flickering
between the points of the star. On Assyrian monuments
the disk is fitted with long wings, so that it presents a
striking resemblance to the winged disk of the Sun in
Egyptian art.^
In the solid dome of heaven there were thought to be
two gates, one in the east and the other in the west, for the
use of Shamash, the Sun-god, in his daily passage across the
world. Coming from behind the dome of heaven, he passed
through the eastern gate, and stepping out upon the
Mountain of the Sunrise at the edge of the world, he began
his journey across the sky. In the evening he came to the
Mountain of the Sunset, and, stepping upon it, he passed
through the western gate of heaven and disappeared from
the sight of men. On a cylinder-seal he is represented
standing in the eastern gate of heaven with one foot planted
on the Mountain of the Sunrise.^
In the following hymn addressed to the Rising Sun, the
god is described entering the world through the eastern gate
of heaven :
“ O Shamash^ on the foundation of heai’cn thou hast flamed forth.
Thou hast ufiharred the bright heavens^
Thou hast opened the portals of the sky.
O Shamash.^ thou hast raised thy head over the la?id.
0 Sha^nash.^ thou hast covered the lands with the brightness of
heaven. ” ^
Another hymn addressed to the Setting Sun contains a
reference to the return of the god into the interior of heaven:
‘‘ O Shamash^ when thou e 7 tt crest into the midst of heaven^
The gate bolt of the bright heavens shall give thee greeting.^
The doors of heaven shall bless thee.
The righteousness of thy beloved servafit shall direct thee.
Thy sovereignity shall be glorious in E-babbara^ the seat of thy power^
And Ai, thy beloved 7 mfe, shall come joyfully into thy presence.^
And she shall give rest unto thy heart.
1 Br, Meissner, Bahylonien und ^ L. W. King, Babylonian Religion
Assyiien^ ii. 21; V, l.^hornie, La and Afythology, 21 S(/.
Religion assyro - habylonienne, pp. ^ L. W. King, Babylonian Religion
81 sq. and Mythology^ P* 32.
XIII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS
533
A feast for thy godhead shall be spread for thee.
O valiant hero.^ Shamash^ mankind shall glorify thee.
O lord of E-babbara^ the course of thy path shall be straight.
Go fonvard 07 i the road which is a sure foundation for thee.
O Shamashy thou art the judge of the world, thou directest the decisions
thereof.^"' ^
Every evening, when Shamash entered the innermost
part of heaven he was met by Ai, his wife, and he feasted
and rested from his labours in the abode of the gods.^
But Shamash was much more than a simple personifica- Universal
tipn of the physical sun. On account of the conspicuous
place which he occupies in the sky he attracted universal Shamash.
attention and received universal homage. “ Mankind, all the
people together, pay heed to him.*^ Even “ the beasts, the
four-footed creatures, look upon his great light All the
sorts of men who engage in perilous undertakings by land or
sea — the messenger, the mariner, the hunter, the merchant
and his henchman, he who carries the weight-stones — pray
to him before they set out on their journeys.^ Before an
army marched to war, offerings were made to the Sun-god,
and he was consulted as to the issue of the battle.'^ Before
the king of Assyria appointed a man to a high office, he
inquired of Shamash whether the man would be loyal to
him or not.^ And Shamash was gracious to the sufferer.
Him who is sick unto death he makes to live, and he Shamash
delivers the captive from his bonds.” The woman in
travail he supported in her hour of need.^ The following is
a prayer addressed to the Sun-god on behalf of a woman in
child-bed : “ O Shamash, lofty judge, father of the Black-
headed ones, as for this woman the daughter of her god,
may the knot that impedes her delivery be loosed in
presence of the godhead ! May this woman bring happily her
offspring to the birth ! May she bear ! May she remain in
life, and may it be well with the child in her womb ! May
' L. W. King, Babylonian Religion
and Mythology, p. 33.
2 L. W. King, Babylonian Religion
and Mythology, p. 33.
3 Br. Meissner, Babylonien und
Assy Hen, ii. 20, 167 sq. ; for the
merchant’s prayer to the Sun-god, see
id. i. 338 ; for the Sun-god as the
patron of hunters, see id. i. 224. Com-
pare Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, Baby-
lonian Life and History'^ (London,
1925)* PP- 135-137.
* Br. Meissner, Babylonien und
Assy Hen, i. 10 1 .
^ Br. Meissner, Babylonien und
Assy Hen, i. 133.
® Br. Meissner, Babylonien und
Assyrien, ii. 20,
534 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Sham ash
the
supreme
judge and
source of
law.
Ham-
murabi
and the
Sun* god.
she walk in health before thy godhead ! May she be
happily delivered and honour thee.’' ^
But in his capacity of the great luminary which lights
up all the world, Shamash was conceived especially as the
supreme judge, and hence as the fount of law and justice, the
supporter of virtue and the avenger of vice and crime. In
the epilogue to his code, the great king and law-giver
Hammurabi or Hammurapi speaks of Shamash as “ the great
judge of heaven and earth”; and the monarch expressly
acknowledges that it is from Shamash the Sun-god that
he received his laws.‘^ Indeed, to put the solar inspiration
of his code beyond a doubt, the monument on which the
laws of Hammurabi are inscribed exhibits in sculpture the
figure of the king standing in an attitude of adoration before
the Sun-god, who is seated on his throne and is handing to
Hammurabi a ring and staff in token of his divine commis-
sion. The nature of the deity is plainly indicated by the three
wavy sunbeams that emanate from each of his shoulders.^ In
an inscription of Gudea, an early king of Lagash, under whom
that city seems to have attained its highest degree of material
prosperity,^ it is said that the Sun-god “ tramples iniquity
under his feet.”^ Again, in an inscription of Ur-engur,
king of Ur, we read that the king established the reign
of justice according to the just laws of the Sun-god.”^ In
legal as well as historical inscriptions Shamash is accorded
the title of “judge of heaven and earth He is even called
“ the great judge of the gods ”, or “ the supreme judge of the
Anunnakis”, that is to say, of all the terrestrial divinities.
Hence he is, above all others, “ Lord of Judgment ” {bel dtni),
and from the most ancient times his temple at Babylon was
1 Br. Meissner, Bahylonien nnd
Assyrien^ i. 390.
^ H. Winckler, Die Gesetze Ilam-
mtirabis (Leipzig, 1 903), pp. 40, 41 ;
II. Gressmann, Altorientalische 7 'exte
and (Tubingen, 1909), i. 170;
P. Dhorme, I^a Religion assyro-baby-
lonienne, p. 83.
^ II. Gressmann, Altorientalische
Texte tind Bilder^ ii. 58, Abb. 94.
^ L. W. King, History of Sumer
and Akkad (London, 1916), p. 259.
According to King {pp. cit, p. 64),
Gudea acceded to the throne about
2450 H.c. As to King Gudea, see S. H.
Langdon, in The Cambridge Ancient
History, i.^ 426 sqq. Twelve diorite
statues of Gudea have been found,
most of them decapitated. One of
them is perhaps the finest specimen of
Sumerian sculpture {ib, pp. 428, 429).
In The Cambridge Ancient History, i.^
670, the date assigned to Gudea is
2600 B.c.
^ P. Dhorme, La Religion assyro-
babylonienne, p. 83.
® P. Dhorme, La Religion assyro-
babylonienne, p. 83.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS 535
called the House of the Judge of the World” {E-dIkud-
kalamd)} In his capacity of a righteous judge the Sun-god
“ looks with a gracious eye upon the weak ” ; but “ the
unjust judge thou wilt put in bonds ; him who takes bribes,
who directs not the case aright, thou wilt punish. But as for
him who takes not bribes and who pleads the cause of the
weak, he is pleasing to the Sun-god, and the Sun-god will
lengthen his life V
While this conception of the moral character of the Sun- The moral
god as the patron of justice was early developed in Babylonia,
it was fully accepted at a later date in Assyria, where indeed sun-god
the ideas regarding Shamash reached a higher ethical level recognfzed
than those concerning any other deity. The national god Assyria.
Ashur and the mighty goddess Ishtar are partial to Assyria,
and uphold her rulers at any cost ; but the favours of
Shamash are bestowed upon the kings because of their
righteousness, or, what comes to much the same thing,
because of their claim to be righteous. To the thinking of
Tiglath-pileser the First, great and ruthless conqueror as he
was, the Sun-god Shamash was the judge of heaven and
earth, who beheld the wickedness of the king’s enemies and
shattered them on account of their guilt. When the king
captured alive all the kings of the countries of Nairi and
mercifully granted them their lives, it was in the presence of
Shamash, his lord, that he undid their bonds and set them
free. It was therefore as champion of the right that Tiglath-
pileser claimed to have received the glorious sceptre at the
hands of the Sun-god.^ Especially in the days of Ashur- Promm-
nasirbal and Shalmaneser the Second, in the ninth century
before our era, the worship of the Sun received great worship
prominence. These kings called themselves the Sun of the
world.^ Indeed, more than a thousand years before them of Assyria.
King Hammurabi had dubbed himself the Sun-god of
Babylon.^ Shalmaneser bestows many complimentary epithets
1 P. Dhorme, Lc, Harper, Assyrian attd Babylonian
2 Br. Meissner, Babylonien und Literature^ ‘‘Inscription of Tiglath-
Assyrien, i. 148, ii. 20, 167; M. Pileser I.”, pp. 12, 19, 20.
Jastrow, Die Religion Babyloniens und ^ M. Jastrow, The Religion of Baby-
Assyriens (Giessen, 1905-19 12), i. 435 - Assyria, p. 210.
^ U, Jastrow, The Religion 0/ Baby- ^ Br. Meissner, Babylonien und
Ionia and Assyria, pp. 209 s^. ; R. F. Assyrien, i. 47.
536 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
on Shamash, calling him the guide of everything, the
messenger of the gods, the hero, the judge of the world, who
leads mankind aright, and the lord of law.^ But in placing
themselves under the protection of the great judge, the kings
of Assyria were not unmindful of another aspect of the Sun-
god’s nature, his warlike character. Tiglath - pileser calls
Shamash “ the warrior ”, and declares that the Sun-god
guarded him when Ashur, his lord, sent him forth on his
career of conquest. The same title of the warrior ” is often
given to Shamash in the religious literature.*^ ^
The temple The character of the Sun-god as at once the righteous
at s^ppaT^ judge and the great warrior is expressly acknowledged by
restored by Nebuchadnezzar the Second, king of Babylon, in an inscrip-
nezzaMi^ tioii ill which he records how he repaired E-babbara, the
temple of Shamash at Sippar, which had fallen into decay
and was little more than a heap of ruins when the pious
monarch undertook to restore it. Nebuchadnezzar says : “For
Shamash, the lord, the exalted judge of heaven and earth, the
great warrior, the worthy hero, the lord who dictates righteous
decisions, the great lord, my lord, his temple, E-babbara,
which is in Sippar, I built with joy and rejoicing. O
Shamash, great lord, when thou joyfully enterest E-babbara,
thy shining temple, ever look with favour upon the costly
undertaking of my hand ! May my gracious deeds be
established on thy lips ! By thy sure command may I be
sated with offspring. A long life and a firm throne do thou
grant me I May my sway be long and extend forever !
Adorn my kingdom forever with a righteous sceptre, with
goodly rule, and with a staff of justice for the welfare of my
people. Protect my people with strong weapons and with
the onslaught of battle. Do thou, O Shamash, truly answer me
in judgment and in dream ! At thy noble command, which
cannot be altered, may my weapons be drawn, may they
wound, may they overthrow the weapons of the enemies ! ” ^
In virtue, apparently, of his character as the great source
1 M. Jastrow, The Religion of Baby- Harper, Assyrian and Babylonian
Ionia and Assyria^ p. 210; F. R. literature y “Inscription of Tiglath-
Harper, Assyrian and Babylonian Pileser I.”, p. 19,
Literaturey “Monolith Inscription of
Shalmaneser II.”, p. 33. ^ R. F, Harper, Assyrian and
2 M. Jastrow, The Religion of Baby- Babylonian Literature y pp. 156 sq.\
Ionia and Assyriay p. 210 ; F. R. compare fc/. p. 154.
XIII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS
537
of light Shamash was reckoned, like Apollo in Greece, the Shamash
god of oracles and the patron of prophets and diviners. He o^acf^s^and
is called the Lord of the Oracle. He was supposed to the patron
inscribe the oracular signs on the inwards of the sheep, in
order that the diviner, by reading the signs, might predict diviners,
the future. But he also condescended to answer in person
the questions of his worshippers.^ The seers or diviners,
whose profession was hereditary, being transmitted from
father to son, traced their lineage to a certain fabulous
JLnmeduranki, king of Sippar, the favourite of the Sun-god,
who lived before the great flood.^ Hence these diviners
occupied the first place among the officials of the temple
of the Sun-god at Sippar.^ But the oracular function was
often shared by the Sun-god with the Thunder-god Adad
(Ramman) ; inquiries were addressed to them in common ;
together they ranked as “ Lords of Divination {bcle bin)}
A series of questions addressed to the oracular Sun-god Questions
by kings of Assyria has been preserved in inscriptions. loShamash
They date from the reigns of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal
in the seventh century before our era. All deal with Assyria,
matters concerning the state and the royal family ; hence
they are valuable historical documents. All begin with
the same form of words : O Shamash, great lord ! As I
ask thee, do thou in true mercy answer me.^’ Then follows
the question, in which the priest, acting as mediator between
god and man, asks whether certain political or warlike opera-
tions will be carried out within a set time. Next follows
a prayer that the Sun-god would not heed any imperfec-
tions, impurities, or contaminations in the sacrificial lamb, or
any shortcoming of the priest in dress, accent, or ceremonial
purity. The first request is then repeated by the priest in
a shorter form ; the animal victim is inspected, and in a final
prayer the Sun-god is besought to send a favourable oracle.^
1 Br. Meissner, Babylonien unci E. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und
Assyrien, ii. 20 s^., 66, 242 ; P. das Alte TestamenF^ p. 3 ^^*
Dhoriiie, La Religion assyro-baby- ^ Br. Meissner, Babylonien und
lonienney p. 84. Assyrien, ii. 242 ; P. Dhorme, La
Religion assyro-babylonienne, p. 84.
Br. Meissner, Babylonien und 5 Harper, Assyrian and Baby-
Assyrien, ii. 53 ^<7., 66. Ionian Literature, p. Ixi ; M. Jastrow,
3 P. Dhorme, La Religion assyro- The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria,
babylonienne, p. 84 ; H. Zimmern, in p. 333.
Questions
addressed
toShaniash
by King
Esar-
haddon.
538 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON‘ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The following may serve as a specimen of these
questions put by the king to the oracular Sun-god. The
speaker is King Esarhaddon, who, being hard pressed by
a certain Kashtariti at the head of a group of nations,
including the Medes, asks for an oracle from Shamash as to
the outcome of the threatened danger :
‘‘ O Shamash, great lord ! As I ask thee, do thou in
true mercy answer me.
“ From this day, the third day of this month of lyar,^
to the eleventh day of the month of Ab ^ of this year,
period of one hundred days and one hundred nights is the
prescribed time for the priestly activity.
“ Will within this period, Kashtariti, together with his
soldiery, will the army of the Gimirrites, the army of the
Medes, will the army of the Manneans, or will any enemy
whatsoever succeed in carrying out their plan, whether by
strategy or by main force, whether by the force of weapons
of war and fight or by the axe, whether by a breach made
with machines of war and battering rams or by hunger,
whether by the power residing in the name of a god
or goddess, whether in a friendly way or by friendly
grace, or by any strategic device, will these aforementioned,
as many as are required to take a city, actually capture
the city Kishsassu, penetrate into the interior of that same
city Kishsassu, will their hands lay hold of that same city
Kishsassu, so that it falls into their power ? Thy great
divine power knows it. The capture of that same city
Kishsassu, through any enemy whatsoever, within the
specified period, is it definitely ordained by thy great
and divine will, O Shamash? Will- it actually come to
pass } ^
Then having put his question, Esarhaddon proceeds to
pray that no irregularity or omission in the ritual may vitiate
the oracle. He says :
“ Heed not what the chief offering of this day may be^ whether good or
baa ; a stormy day on which it rains !
Heed not that something unclean may have produced uncleanness at the
place of vision a 7 id rendered it unclean !
^ The second month. Ionia and Assyria^ p. 334 ; compare
2 The fifth month. R. F. Harper, Assyria^! and Babylonian
3 M. Jastrow, The Religion of Baby- Literature^ pp. 425 sq.
XIII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS
539
Heed not that the lamb of thy divinity^ which is looked upon for vision^
be unperfect and with blemish !
Heed not that he who touches the forepart of the lamb may have put on
his garment for sacrifice as arshati (?) or have eaten ^ drunk ^ or rubbed
himself ufon something unclean / . . .
Heed not that in the mouth of the son of the seer^ thy servant^ a word
may have been passed over in haste / ” ^
The priest who is consulting the oracle next proceeds to Oniens
examine the victim before him, which is a lamb. A list of
omens is introduced for the guidance of the officiating priest, of the
but not to be recited by him as part of the liturgy. He is
instructed to observe whether at the nape on the left side ”
there is a slit ; whether ‘‘ at the bottom on the left side of
the bladder ” some peculiarity is found, or whether it is
normal ; whether “ the nape to the right side is sunk and
split, or whether the viscera are sound. The proportions,
too, in the size of the various parts of the body appear to
have been deemed important ; hence a large number of
points are mentioned to which the priest is to give heed.
From a consideration of all the peculiarities and signs
manifested in the victim, he divines the disposition of the
god, whether it is favourable or the reverse. Finally, the
ceremony closes with another appeal to the deity, entreating
him to answer the question addressed to him. The priest
prays, saying :
By virtue of this sacrificial lamb, arise and grant true
mercy, favourable conditions of the parts of the animal, a
declaration favourable and beneficial be ordained by thy
great divinity. Grant that this may come to pass. To thy
great divinity, O Shamash ! great lord ! may it be pleasing,
and may an oracle be sent in answer.”^
The foregoing is only one of a series of questions which Shamash
Esarhaddon addressed to the Sun-god and which are pre-
served for us in inscriptions. Again and again he beseeches
Shamash to reveal the issue of the campaigns in which he
was engaged. Again and again does his foe Kashtariti
figure in these appeals to the divinity, along with the Medes,
the Girairrites, and the rest of his enemies. We may conclude
* R. F. Harper, Assyrian and Baby- and Assyria^ pp. 335 sq,
Ionian Literature^ p. 426; compare 2 M. Jastrow,
M. Jastrow, The Religion of Babylonia Ionia and Assyria^ pp. 337 sq.
540 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONARY AN PEOPLES chap.
that a regular ritual for the procuring of oracles and the
observation of omens was established in Assyria, and that
the oracular god above all others was Shamash the Sun-god.^
Inscrip- It is probable that a similar ritual was observed in
o^Agum- Babylonia long before the rise of Assyria ; indeed we have
kakrinie positive evidence of its observance in the reign of the Cassite
boni^t King Agumkakrime or Agukakrime, about a thousand years
before the time of Esarhaddon. For in a long inscription
Agumkakrime boasts how he brought back to Babylon the
image of Marduk which had been captured and carried away
by enemies, and how in connexion with this enterprise he
consulted Shamash by means of the lamb of a soothsayer.*^
Long afterwards Nabonidus, the last king of Babylonia before
the Persian conquest, tells us that when he was rebuilding
the temple of the Moon-god Sin in Harran, he laid the
foundation in a favourable month and on an auspicious day
which had been revealed to him by Shamash.^
History of On the history and ritual of the temples of Shamash in
ofSharmsh Babylonia our information is very scanty. The first mention
at Larsa of the temple of the Sun-god at Larsa, in southern Babylonia,
andSippar. Qccurs in inscriptions of the first dynasty of Ur, dating about
2900 B.c/ Ur-Bau, king of Lagash, who is thought to
have reigned somewhere about 2500 B.C., tells us that he
built a temple to Shamash at Larsa, but this may only mean
that he restored an ancient one which had fallen into disrepair.'"
A certain Enannatum, “ who was chief priest in the temple
of the Moon-god at Ur, has left us an inscription upon clay
cones, in which he records that he rebuilt the temple of the
Sun-god at Larsa for the preservation of his own life and
that of Gungunu, the King of Ur'\^ This Gungunu is
^ M. Jastrow, The Religion of Baby-
lonia and Assyria^ pp. 338
2 R. F, Harper, Assyrian and Baby-
lonian Literature^ “ Inscription of
Agumkakrime”, p. 3; compare M.
Jastrow, The Religion of Babylonia
and Assyria^ pp. 122, 152 sg.; Br,
Meissner, Babylonien und Assyrienj ii,
245. According to Meissner, Agum-
kakrime reigned about 1600 B.c. This
king’s name is spelled Agumkakrimi
by Jastrow, Agumkakrime by Harper,
and Agukakrime by Meissner.
3 R. F. Harper, Assyrian and Baby-
lonian Literature^ “ Inscription of
Nabonidus”, p. 164; Br. Meissner,
Babylonien und Assyrien, ii. 245.
•* M. Jastrow, The Religion of Baby-
lonia and Assyria^ p. 69.
® M. Jastrow, l.e. As to Ur- Ban
and his date, see L. W. King, Sumer
and Ahhadf pp. 258 s^/., 361. Accord-
ing to Professor Langdon in 7 he
Cambridge Ancient History (i.‘-^ 373 ))
Ur-Bau reigned about 2700 b.c.
® L. W. King, History of Sumer
and Ahhad, pp. 310
XIII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS
541
believed to have reigned about 2200 B.c.^ The temple of
Shamash at Sippar, in Northern Babylonia, was rebuilt by
Naram-Sin, king of Akkad, who reigned about 2600 B.C."
The great Hammurabi, king of Babylonia, who reigned about
2100 B.C.,® was strongly attached to the worship of the Sun-
god Shamash, from whom, as we have seen, he professed to
have received his laws. He enlarged K-babbar, the teniple
of Shamash at Sippar, the temple “ which is like the fabric
of the sky ” ; he also fortified Larsa, and there restored the
other E-babbar for Shamash, his helper/ At a later time
ICara-indash, one of the Cassite dynasty, who reigned over
Babylonia about 1450 B.C., again restored the temple of the
Sun-god at Larsa/
Still later the temple of the Sun-god at Sippar was Thctempie
restored by King Nebuchadnezzar, but forty-five years ^^iter
its walls had fallen in, as we learn from an inscription of restored
Nabonidus, the last native king of Babylon, who restored the
temple once more, perhaps for the last time. He recorded
the restoration as follows :
“ For Shamash, the judge of heaven and earth, E-babbara,
his temple which is in Sippara, which Nebuchadrezzar, a
former king, had rebuilt, after searching for its platform-
foundation without finding it — -that house he rebuilt, but in
forty-five years its walls had fallen in. I became anxious
and humble ; I was alarmed and much troubled. When I
had brought out Shamash from within it and made him take
residence in another house, I pulled that house down and
made search for its old platform-foundation ; and I dug to a
depth of eighteen cubits, and Shamash, the great lord of
^ L. W. King, Hibiojy of Sufuer murahis'^, pp. 8 sq,\ 11 . (Jressmann,
and Akkad^ p. 362, Table III. ; E. Altorientalischc Texte nnd Bilder^ i.
Meyer, Geschichie des Alterinms'^y i. 14 1 sq. In another inscription Ham-
2. p. 502. The latter historian dates murabi describes more fully his fortifica-
Gungunu about 2000 B.c. According tion of Sippar. See R. F. Harper,
to The Canibridge Ancient History Assyrian and Babylonian Literature^
(i.*'^ 658), Gungunum, King of Larsa, “Inscription from a cylinder of Ham-
reigned from 2264 to 2238 B.c. murabi”, p. 2 : “I raised the battle-
^ L. W. King, History of Sumer ments of the wall of Sippara, like a
and Akkad, pp. 244, 361 ; K. Meyer, great mountain, with a swamp (moat)
Geschichtl des A/tertums'^, i. 2. p. 479. I surrounded it. I dug the canal of
2 L. W. King, History of Babylon Sippara to Sippara, and supported it
(London, 1915), pp. ill, 320; 7'he with a wall of safety ”.
Cambridge Ancient History, i.^ 659. ^ M. Jastrow, The Religion of Baby-
^ H. Winckler, Die Gesetze Ham- Ionia and Assyr ia, p. 144.
542
WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES cha ^
E-babbara, the temple, the dwelling well-pleasing to him,
permitted me to behold the platform-foundation of Naram-
Sin, the son of Sargon, which during a period of thirty-two
hundred years, no king among my predecessors had seen.
In the month Tishrit, in a favourable month, on an auspicious
day, revealed to me by Shamash and Ramman in a vision,
with silver, gold, costly and precious stones, products of the
forest, sweet-smelling cedars, amid joy and rejoicing, 1 raised
its brick-work — not an inch inward or outward — upon the
platform-foundation of Naram-Sin, the son of Sargon. I
laid in rows five thousand large cedars for its roof ; I set uf)
in its doorways high doors of cedar, thresholds and hinges (?).
I built E-babbara, with its temple tower E-ilu-an-azagga
anew and I completed its construction. I took the hands of
Shamash, my lord, and with joy and rejoicing I made him
take up a residence therein well-pleasing to him. I found
the inscription, written in the name of Naram-Sin, the son of
Sargon, and I did not alter it. I anointed it with oil, offered
sacrifices, placed it with my inscription, and restored it to its
place.
Prayer of O Shamash, great lord of heaven and earth, light of the
Naboni- gods, his fathers, offspring of Sin and Ningal, when thou
ShLimsh. enterest E-babbara, thy beloved temple, when thou takest
residence in thy eternal shrine, look with joy upon me,
Nabonidus — king of Babylon, the prince, thy supporter, who
hath gladdened thy heart and built thy lofty dwelling-place —
and my gracious works ! Give me favourable signs daily at
the rising and setting of the sun in the heavens and on the
earth ! Receive my supplications and grant favour to my
petitions ! May I hold the legitimate sceptre and staff, which
thou hast intrusted to me, forever and ever ! ^
1 R. F. Harper, Assyrian and Babjy- that the scribe may have reckoned as
Ionian Literature, “Inscription of consecutive a number of dynasties which
Nabonidus”, pp. i66 sq. The state- were contemporaneous. See L. W.
ment in the inscription that three King, History of Sumer and Akkad,
thousand two hundred years elapsed pp. 6o sqq. j S. A. Cook, in The
between the time of Naram-Sin and Cambridge Ancient History, i? 155
that of Nabonidus has sometimes been Sargon, father of Naram-Sin, was an
used as a basis for reconstructing the ancient king of Akkad who reigned
early chronology of Babylonia. But about 2650 B.c. His proper name was
it appears to be certainly erroneous Shar-Gani-sharri. See L. W. King,
and far in excess of the truth. To History of Sumer and Akkad, pp. 216
explain the error it has been suggested sqq..^ 361. This Sargon I. is not to be
xni
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS
543
The king’s prayer to the Sun-god was as vain as that
which long afterwards the Emperor Julian addressed, in a
fervour of devotion, to the same bright deity. For a few
years more, and Babylon had fallen to the arms of Cyrus,
and King Nabonidus was a captive. So little help, appar-
ently, can the Sun-god give even to his royal and imperial
worshippers.
Of offerings made to the Sun-god by his votaries the Offeringsto
records appear to be few. Shar-Gani-sharri, king of Agade,
better known as Sargon the First, dedicated to Shamash in
h/s temple at Sippar a famous inscribed macc-head, which
is now in the British Museum.^ Rimush, king of Kish,
the son and successor of Sargon the First, added ten
sheep for daily sacrifice to the ten which had previously
been offered to the Sun-god at Sippar, thus bringing the
number up to twenty sheep a day. He also doubled the
other sacrifices, thus making a total of four oxen, six
measures of corn, three measures of meal, and corresponding
quantities of dates, oil, fat of swine, milk, and honey, besides
the twenty sheep.^ Manishtusu, the successor of Rimush on
the throne of Kish, after subjugating the rebel king of
Anshan, led his captive into the presence of Shama.sh at
Sippar, and lavishly enriched the temple of the Sun-god
in gratitude for his victory.^ His restoration of the temple
and the worship of the Sun-god is recorded in a long
inscription engraved in twelve columns on a large cruciform
stone.^ Gungunum, king of Larsa (about 2264-2238 B.c.)
dedicated two copper palm-trees and a great copper statue
confounded with Sargon II., the famous closely as to the date of Sargon I. and
Assyrian king and conqueror, who dififer widely from Professor Langdon.
captured Samaria in 722 n.c. See R. Br. Meissner, Babylouien itmi
F. Harper, Assyrian and Babylonian AssyrieUy ii. 85. As to Rimush, see
Literature^ pj). Ixxiii sgq. S. H. Langdon, in The Canibrid^^c
^ L. W. King, History of Sumer Ancient History^ i.^ 408 s.q. Accord -
and Akkad ^ pp. 218, 361. Mr. King ing to Br. Meissner {Babylonien and
dates the reign of Sargon I. about Assyrien, ii, 443), he reigned from
2650 B.c. According to Professor 2581 to 2573 R.c.
Langdon, Sargon I. founded the ^ L. W. King, History of Sumer
impireof Agade about 2872 B.c. {The and Akkad, pp. 231, 360.
Cambridge, Ancient History, i.^ 403). ^ The Cambruioe Ancient History,
According to Br. Meissner, Sargon I. i.'*^ 409. Accoiding to Br. Meissner
reigned from 2637 to 2582 B.c. {Babylonien ttnd Assyrien, ii. 443),
{Babylonian und Assyrien, ii. 443). Manishtusu reigned from 2572 to
Thus King and Meissner agree fairly 2558 B.c.
544 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
in the temple of the Sun-god.^ Nur-Adad, king of Larsa
(about 2197-2182 B.C) offered a golden throne to Shamash,
and invested the high-priest of the god with due authority
Inscription From an inscription of Nabupaliddin, king of Babylon,
paMd^n. reigned in the first half of the ninth century B.C., we
learn that at some period the temple of Shamash at Sippar
had been ruined in an invasion of a hostile people, the Sutu,
that the image and insignia of the god had disappeared, and
had been vainly sought for by the king of Babylon ; and
that at a subsequent time, as a result of distress and
famine, the regular sacrifices had been discontinued, and the
drink offering had fallen into abeyance. The disappearance
of the image was interpreted as a sign of the displeasure of
the god, who had turned away his neck in anger. However,
in the reign of King Nabupaliddin the deity relented and
Recovery of showed his favour once more. ‘‘The relief of his image, cut
Shamash.^^ day, his statue and insignia were found on the other side
of the Euphrates towards the west ; and Nabunadinshum,
the priest of Sippar, the seer, of the seed of Ekurshumushabshi,
the priest of Sippar, the seer, showed Nabupaliddin, the
king, his lord, that relief of the image ; and Nabupaliddin,
the king of Babylon, who had commanded him and
intrusted him to replace that image, saw that image, and his
countenance was glad and his spirit exultant ; he directed
his attention to replace that image, and with the wisdom of
Ea . . . with pure gold and brilliant lapis lazuli, he carefully
prepared the image of Shamash, the great lord. He washed
his mouth according to the purification rite of Ea and
Marduk, in the presence of Shamash in Ekarsaginna, which
is on the bank of the Euphrates, ahd he (Shamash) took up
his residence. He made offerings to his heart’s content, con-
sisting of immense oxen and large sheep, and with honey, wine.
Royal
favours to
the priest of
the Siiii-
god at
Sippar.
and grain in abundance he filled the granaries.” Further,
King Nabupaliddin showed favour to Nabunadinshum, the
priest of the Sun-god at Sippar. He made him an allowance
of food and drink, the ancient dues of Shamash ; also he
assigned to him a garden, which a former king of Babylon
had bestowed on a former priest of Shamash at Sippar.
^ R. Campbell Thompson, in 'Phe ^ Campbell Thompson, in T/ie
Cambridge Ancient History^ i,2 478. Cambridge Ancient History^ i.2 481.
XIII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS
545
Moreover, the king presented six fine garments of purple
wool for the use of Shamash, his wife Ai, and his charioteer
Bunene.^ Having recorded these and other munificent gifts
to the Sun-god and his priest, the king concludes the record
with the following solemn warning : Whoever in the future
enters this palace as ruler and renders null the gift of the
King Nabupaliddin, or presents it to another, or cuts down
the allowance, or reckons it as belonging to the prefect, or
appropriates it to himself, or by some evil act destroys this
tablet, as for that man, by the command of Shamash, A, and
Bunene, lords of fates, the great gods, may his name pass
away, may his seed perish, in distress and want may his life
go out, may his corpse be cast out, and may he not be
granted burial ! ” On his accession to the throne Nabonidus,
the last king of Bab^don, offered six minae of gold as a tithe
to the Sun-god at Sippar.^
Through the accumulation of votive offerings the temples wealth of
acquired a considerable degree of wealth and became the
1 1 i- t . A , ofShaniash
monetary centres or banks of the community. As early as at Sippar.
the time of the first dynasty the temple of Shamash at
Sippar was ready to lend money or arrange loans in seed
to farmers. In inscriptions of that period we read of a man
who borrowed five and a half shekels from the Sun-god
Shamash at Sippar, agreeing to pay it back with interest at
harvest ; and we read of another man who got a loan of
ten measures of grain from a priestess of Shamash and
promised to pay for it at a stipulated rate when the harvest
came round.**
A ritual tablet furnishes us with some details as to the wor- Ritual of
ship of Shamash at Sippar in the tenth century before our cra.^ ofsiu°m^sh
* R. F. Harper, Assyrian and Baby- ^ Br. Meissner, Babylonien nnd
Ionian fdierature, “ Inscription of Assyrien, ii. 86.
Nabupaliddin”, pp. 30-32 ; P. Dhorme, ** R. Campbell Thompson, in The
Choix de Textes religieiix assyro- Cambridy^e Ancient History^ i .2 534.
babyloniens (Paris, 1907), pp. 385-397. ^ R. F. Harper, Assyrian and Baby-
As to Ai or A and Bunene, see above, Ionian Literatt( 7 'e, “A ritual tablet”,
p. 531, As to the historical events pp. 399 * 407 * Nothing is here said as
recorded in the inscription, compare to the date of the tablet or the place
L. W. King, History of Babylon to which it refers ; but from a reference
(London, 1915), p. 257. in R, Campbell Thompson’s Scf/iitic
Magic, p. xxii (compare p. xlii), I infer
2 R. F. Harper, Assyrian and that the tablet refers to the worship of
Babylonian Literature, “Inscription Shamash at Sippar, and that it dates from
of Nabupaliddin ”, p. 33. the first half of the tenth century b.c.
VOL. I 2 N
546 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONARY AN PEOPLES chap.
Ofifering to
Shaniash
before
sunrise.
In it directions are given that, as soon as the horizon of
the heaven is overcast with darkness the priest is to
prepare three tables and place them in a row, the middle
table for Shamash and Ramman (Adad), the left table
for Aa, the wife of Shamash, and the right table for
iluncne, the messenger and charioteer of Shamash. Four
clean rams are also to be provided, two for Shamash and
Ramman, one for Aa, and one for Bunene. Directions
are further given for distributing the flesh of the victims,
for strewing cypress and cedar roots on three censers, an^,
for pouring out sesame wine, and for a prostration to be
performed by the priest. A lamb is to be sacrificed to the
protecting god and a libation to be offered, with the words,
“Shamash and Ramman, great gods!” Further, the seer
is to place the divining-cup in position. Without a gift the
seer shall not approach the place of judgment nor raise the
staff* of cedar ; else the gods will not reveal the oracle to
him. It is the diviner, who divines by means of oil, that
shall cause the sacrificer to raise the cedar staff, he shall
shake water upon the oil. If the sacrificial victim be found
without blemish, “ then shall the seer set himself before
Shamash and Ramman upon the judgment seat, and give a
true and righteous judgment. Then will Shamash and
Ramman, the great gods, the lords of the oracle, the lords of
the decision, stand up for him, make a decision for him, and
answer him with true grace.” ^
In the same tablet directions are given for making an
offering to Shamash before the rising of the sun. A censer
is to be placed before Shamash, another before Ramman
(Adad), another before Marduk, another before Aa, another
before Bunene, another before Kettu, and another before
Mesharu. Behind the censer which is before Shamash shall
be set a table, and on the table shall be placed four jugs of
sesame wine, thrice twelve wheaten loaves, and a mixture of
1 R. F. Harper, Assyrian and Baby-
lonian Literature^ “A ritual tablet”,
pp. 402 sq. The mode of divination
referred to in the text is mentioned
repeatedly in another inscription, where
we read “ the tablet of the gods, the
tablet of the mystery of the heavens
and of the earth, to observe the oil on
the water, the secret of Anu, of Bel,
and of Ea ”. See P. Dhorme, Choix de
Textes religieux assyro - baby Ion iens
(Paris, 1907), pp. 14 1, 143 ; compare
H. Zimraern, in E. Schiader, Die
Keilinschriften und das AlteTestament'\
PP- 533
XIII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS
547
honey and curds, sprinkled with salt. “ The censer which is
before Shamash thou shalt strew, take the hand of the
sacrificer, and speak thus : ‘ May So-and-so, thy servant,
offer a sacrifice at the rising of the sun, may he raise the
staff of cedar, and stand in the presence of thy great
divinity ; may thy great divinity be well pleased with refer-
ence to this sheep, all of whose flesh is unblemished, whose
appearances are auspicious \ Thereupon thou shalt offer the
sacrifice.^* ^
^ A scene of worship in the temple of the Sun-god at Sculptured
Sippar is sculptured in relief on a well-known Babylonian
tablet, which is now in the British Museum. On the lower woiship of
part of the tablet are inscribed the records of the bene- goVl't"
factions conferred on the temple by Nabupaliddin (Nabfi- sippar.
apal-iddina), king of Babylon.*^ The upper part contains
the sculptured relief. The Sun-god is represented sitting
within a shrine upon a throne, the side of which is carved
with two mythical figures ; he has a long beard and wears a
high pointed cap and a flowing robe, which reaches to his
ankles. In his extended right hand he holds a disk and
bar, “ which may be symbolic of the sun’s orbit, or eternity
Above his head are the three disks emblematic of the Moon,
the Sun, and the planet Venus. The roof of the shrine is
supported by a column in the form of a palm-trunk standing
immediately in front of the seated deity. Before the shrine
is a square altar, on which rests the disk of the Sun. Within
the disk is a four-pointed star with wavy lines between the
points to represent sunbeams. The disk is held in position
by means of ropes tightly drawn in the hands of two divine
beings, whose busts are seen projecting from the celestial
canopy just above the capital of the supporting column.
Approaching the disk are three figures, much smaller than
that of the seated Sun-god. The first of the three is the high
priest of the Sun-god, who is leading the king to worship
the disk, the symbol of the solar deity ; the last of the three
figures is an attendant goddess holding up her hands in an
attitude erf adoration. The shrine of the god rests upon the
* R. F. Harper, Assyrian and Baby- the children of the Sun-god, see above,
Ionian Literatiae^ A ritual tablet”, p* 53 ^*
pp. 403 sq. As to Kettu and Mesharu, See above, pp. 544 sq.
The
Sun-god
Shaniash
invoked in
exorcisms.
548 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONA RYAN PEOPLES chap.
Celestial Ocean, which is indicated by wavy lines that run
the whole length of the relief. -Within the water of the
Ocean are seen four small disks, each containing a star ;
they may perhaps stand for the four cardinal points of the
sky. The text inscribed below this relief describes the
restoration of the temple of the Sun-god by two kings
named Simmash-shipak (about 1030 B.C.) and E-ulmash-
shakin-shum (about 1020 It then proceeds to say
that Nabupaliddin (Nab(i - apal - iddina), king of Babylon,
found and restored the ancient image of the Sun-god and
the sculptures of the temple, which had been overthrown oy
the enemies of the country. The shrine of the god had
been stripped of its beautiful ornaments, and its ancient
endowments had been appropriated for profane uses. But
when Nabupaliddin came to the throne, he resolved to take
vengeance on the foe who had perpetrated this shocking
sacrilege, to found again and to endow again the shrines of
the gods, and to institute regular festivals and offerings.
Moreover, he adorned the ancient figure of the Sun-god with
gold and lapis lazuli. The text concludes with a list of the
offerings which the king dedicated to the temple, and
enumerates at length the various garments and apparel
which the priests were to wear on holy days and at festivals.
The tablet was engraved in the ninth century B.C., but the
sculptured scene of Sun-worship at the top was probably
copied from a much more ancient relief.^
The Sun-god Shamash was believed to possess power
over demons, witches, and wizards ; hence in incantations
he was besought to deliver the haunted, the sick, and the
bewitched from the snares and spells of these maleficent
beings. Thus when a man was haunted by the ghost of a
dead relative, the exorcist was directed to take two threads,
one scarlet and the other of many colours, to spin the
two together, and to tie seven knots in the string, and
while he tied the knots he was to repeat the following
incantation :
1 Guide to the Babylonian and p. 19 ; M. Jastrow, Rildermappe zur
Assyrian Antiquities in the British Religion Babyloniens tind Assyriens,
Museum^ {hondoUf 1922), pp. 69-71, Fig. 94; H. Gressmann, Altorienta-
with plate xxvi. Compare L. W. King, tische Texte und Bilder^ ii. 57, Abb.
Babylonian Religion and Mythology^ 92.
xni WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS 549
“ O Sun-god^ king of heaven and earthy judge of what is above and belo^v^
lord of the dead^ ruler of the livings
0 Su?i-god, the dead who have risen and appeared^ whether the ghost of
my father or of my mother^ or the ghost of my brother^
Or of my sister^ let them accept this^ and leave me free I ’’
Further, in order to make sure of laying the ghost, an Effigy
effigy of the dead man was to be made and buried in a grave, ("j^exo^dsni.
while at the same time an effigy of the haunted person was
to be made and washed in pure water by way of signifying
his riddance of the ghost/
^ Another incantation contains an appeal to the Sun-god shamash
r 11 appealed to
to undo the enchantments of sorcerers. It runs as follows : for help
“ It is thee whom I have invoked, O Shamash, in the agai'’®'
sorcerers.
midst of the bright heavens ; sit down in the shadow of a
cedar. Let thy feet rest on the root of a cypress. The
countries acclaim thee, they throw themselves before thee,
uttering cries of joy. Thy brilliant light beholds all the
peoples ; thy net is cast on all the lands. O Shamash, thou
knowest all the spells that enchain them ; thou destroyest
the wicked, thou dost undo the enchantments, the signs, the
fatal omens, the heavy, evil dreams ; thou cuttest the bonds
of wickedness, which destroy peoples and lands. Such as
have wrought enchantments, sorceries, evil witcheries, O keep
them not before thee; to the bright Nisaba" deliver their
images, the images of those who have wrought witcheries
and planned iniquity, whose heart meditates a multitude of
wickednesses. Be propitious, O Shamash ! light of the
great gods ! May I be strong in the face of the author of
my enchantment ; may the god who begat me stand fast at
my side ; over the purification of my mouth, over the right-
eousness of my hands, keep watch, O Lord ! light of the
world ! Shamash, thou judge !
Again, before an image-maker felled a tree of which Prayer to
the wood was to be used to make images, he had to pray
to the Sun-god, saying, “O Shamash! august lord, sublime felling a
judge, overseer of the world and of the sky, sovereign of
the dead and of the living, I fell a divine tree, a sacred
1 R. Campbell Thompson, Semitic demons. See M. Jastrow, 77 /^
Magic (London, 1908), pp. 33 sq, of Babylonia and Assyria, p. loi.
A goddess, who, along with Ea, ^ C. Fossey, La Magie assyrienne
was besought to break the power of (Paris, 1902), pp. 293, 295.
550 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Prayers to
the Sun-
god on
t:)ehalf
of persons
bewitched.
tamarisk, a holy tree, whereof to make images which I will
place in the house of So-and-So, son of So-and-So, to lay
low the wicked spirits. I kneel before thee. May all that
I do succeed and prosper!” Having said so he was to
fell the tree with a golden axe ; then from the wood he
was to make seven images of the seven gods in their proper
costume and hats ; on a pedestal of tamarisk wood he was
to place them, clad in grey- clay as in a garment.^
The following prayer or incantation is addressed to the
Sun-god on behalf of a man on whom a spell has been cast :
“ O S/iamas/i / fro)n the depths of the sky thou lightest thy lamp^
Thou umioest the bolt of the bright heavens.
O Shamash ! upon the lands thou liftest up thy head.
O Shamash ! thou cove rest nnth light the heai'cns and the earthy
To the peoples afar off thou yivest the light.
A I I the witchcraft that is in his body., let it come forth /
Let him shine like bright copper !
Dissolve thou his enchantment I
To the end of his life may he tell of thy grandeur.,
And /, the exorcist., thy servant., may I be able to celebrate thy
worship!'*
Another prayer or incantation addressed to the Sun-god
by a man who has been bewitched is as follows :
“ 0 Shamash !
Make ?ne to live ; to the pure hands of ?uy god and of iny goddess,
For my salvation and life, do thou commit me.
O Shamash I thou a7't the ki?ig of heaven and earth, thou gov er nest the
world above and below.
O Shamash I it is in thy power to give life to the dead, to deliver the
captive.
Thou art a judge incorruptible, thou governest 7nankitid.
Illustrious scion of the lord of illustrious ofdgin,
Mighty S071, bright light of the hmds,
Thou dost illu77ii7ie the 7uhole heave7i and earth, O thou, Sha7nash I
0 Sha77iash ! because the charm is not yet b7''oke7i which has fastened on
7ne 7WW 7nany a day,
Wasti77g and cor7'uption and afi evil plight of flesh a 7 'e in 7 ne;
By 77ian, by the beasts of the fields, by all that bears a 7ia77ie, the cha7'77i
doth break 77ie ;
It hath filled 7ne with sickness, with weakness incurable y
By the b7'eaki7ig of 77iy hea7't a7td the evil plight of 77iy flesh I a77i
undo7ie.
1 C. Fossey, La Magic assyrie7i7ie, pp. 309, 31 1. I have omitted some
pp. 132 sq. obscure or fragmentaiy lines.
2 C. Fossey, La Magic assyrienne,
XIII
WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG BABYLONIANS
551
And /, day and nighty I am without repose ;
I am in darkness^ I am afflicted^ I am full of anguish ;
By pain and lamentation T am brought low.
My faulty I know it not; of the crime that I have conwiitted I am
ignorant.
When I was youngs I sinned ;
I transgressed the commandments of my GodP ^
The Sun-god Shamash is often brought into relation with Grove of
other deities. We have seen that he is frequently coupled ^nd
with Adad (Ramman) in the giving of oracles. At the ancient
city of Eridu, which formerly stood on the shore of the
Persian Gulf, though the sea has long retreated from it, we
hear of a holy grove, like a forest, untrodden by the foot of
man, where in the deep shade the Sun-god dwelt with
Tamrnuz, the spirit of plant life which blooms in spring to
wither in the scorching heat of summer.*^ It is interest-
ing to find the personification of the short-lived blossoms
thus dwelling side by side in the same shady grove with
the personification of the sun, who might be thought his
cruel foe.
Again, when Ishtar (Astarte), the goddess of love, had shamash
descended to the nether world, and the life both of men and
of animals was consequently threatened with extinction, her
brother Shamash, the Sun-god, went to their father Sin, the (Astarte)
Moon-god, and with tears running down his face explained
to him the melancholy situation. He said : “ Ishtar has world,
gone down into the earth, and has not yet come forth*; after
Ishtar had descended to the land of No-Return, the bull did
not mount the cow, nor did the ass leap upon the she-ass,
the man did not approach the maid in the street, the man
lay down to sleep upon his own couch, while the maid slept
by herself”. Apparently the Moon -god had no remedy to
suggest for this alarming state of affairs ; at least, if he
offered any remarks on the subject, they have not been
recorded by the scribe. However, the great god PLa took
measures promptly to bring back the goddess of love to the
upper earth and so to set the tide of life flowing once more.
He sent down a messenger to Allatu, the goddess who kept
Fran9C)is Martin, Texies icligiettx litudes, Fascicule 130).
assyriens et babyloniens (Paris, 1900), ^ Dhorme, Choix de Textes re-
p. 15 {Biblioth^que de VRcole des Hautes ligieux assyro-babyloniens, p. 99.
552 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONA RYAN PEOPLES chap .
the infernal gaol, with orders that she was to release Ishtar
at once. The grim Fury received the command with any-
thing but good humour ; indeed, she cursed the messenger
in very bitter words, saying, “ I will curse thee with a fearful
curse. The food of the sewage of the city shall be thy food,
the gutters of the city shall be thy' drinking-place, the
shadow of the wall shall be thy station, the threshold shall
be thy place of residence, may dungeon and prison-house
destroy thy strength ! But for all her rage she could not
resist the orders of the great god. So Ishtar was sprinkled
with the water of life and led out through the seven gates ol
hell, which opened to let her pass ; and at every gate there
was restored to her one of the ornaments of which she had
been stripped on her descent to the nether world.^
Dialogue Again, we possess a short and unfortunately fragmentary
^aniash dialogue between the Sun-god and Gilgamesh, the hero of
and the famous Babylonian epic which bears his name. Mourning
Gilgamesh. friend and wandering the world over to find the
secret of immortality, Gilgamesh came to the Sun-god,
to Shamash. But Shamash was sad and said to him,
“ Gilgamesh, why runnest thou hither and thither ? The
life that thou seekest thou shalt never find.’* Gilgamesh
said to him, to the warrior Shamash, “ Since I have been
roving the earth like the dalu bird, have the stars above the
earth diminished? I have lain down for years together.
O that my eyes may behold the sun ! that I may satisfy
myself with the light ! Darkness is far off when the light is
abundant. O that the dead might behold the gleam of the
sun!”“
§ 2. The Worship of the Sun among other Ancient Semites
Worship of The evidence for the practice of Sun-worship in other
the Sun branches of the Semitic race is very scanty, though it might
among the
ancient J R. F. Harper, Assyrian and Baby- Bilder^ i. 65 - 69 ; , R. W. Rogers,
Arabs. Ionian Literature^ pp. 41 1-4 13. Com- Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testa-
pare L. W. King, Babylonian Religion ment (Oxford, 1912), pp. 121-131.
and Mythology, 178-183 ; P. Jensen,
Assyrisch-babylonische My then und ^ P. Dhorme, Choix de I'^xtes re-
Epen (Berlin, 1900), pp. 81-91 ; P. ligieux assyr0‘ babyloniens, pp. 199-
Dhorme, Choix de Textes religieux 301. Compare A. Ungnad und H.
assyro-babyloniens, pp. 327-341; H. Gressmann, Das Gilgamesch - Epos
Gressmann, Altorientalische Texte und (Gottingen, 1911), pp. TO sq.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT SEMITES 553
be rash to infer the absence of the worship from the scarcity
of the records. According to Strabo, the Nabataeans, in
northern Arabia, worshipped the Sun ; they built altars to
him on the roofs of their houses and poured libations and
burned incense in his honour day by day.^ With regard to
the heathen Arabs we are told that Shams, that is, the Sun,
“ was an idol of the Banu Tamim ; he had a house and all
the Banu Udd worshipped him”. Here Shams is spoken
of in the masculine gender, but only because the word for
“ idol ” is masculine. The deity was in reality feminine and
w5s known simply as “ the goddess In Palmyra, where Worship of
in later times, as we have seen, there was a well-developed paiy^iTa”^
worship of the Sun,® Shams was also masculine, but this was
probably an effect of foreign, perhaps Greek, influence ; ^ for
in Greek mythology the Sun was always masculine. Aramaic
inscriptions found at Palmyra record votive offerings to
Shamash, the Sun-god : one of them contains the dedication
of an altar and a sun-pillar to him another mentions the
dedication of six pillars, their beams, and their coverings to
Shamash, jointly with Allath and Raham, “ the good gods
Among the stately ruins of Palmyra, where the long line of
dazzling white columns presents a striking and picturesque
contrast with the yellow sand of the desert, the remains of
the temple of the Sun are the most magnificent objects and,
being of the Ionic order, relieve the monotony of the
prevailing and more florid Corinthian style.*^
There is nothing to suggest that in their nomadic life No positive
the Israelites were worshippers of the Sun; and even after
they had settled in Palestine positive evidence of such a worship in
worship is lacking before the times of the kings. In
default of such evidence the theory of a worship of the
Sun among the early Israelites rests on the slippery founda-
tion of etymological speculation, in which the towns of
Beth-Shemesh, “ House of the Sun ”, and En-Shemesh,
^ Strabo, xvi. 4. 26.
J. Wellhausen, Reste arabischen
HeideutumsJ- (Berlin, 1897), p. 60.
^ Above, pp. 500 sq^
^ J. Wellhausen, Lc.
^ A. G. Cooke, Text-book of North-
Semitic Inscriptions (Oxford, 1903),
pp. 298 sq.^ Inscription No. 298. As
to sun-pillars compare M. J. Lagrange,
Etudes sur les Religions sirnitiques'^
(Paris, 1905), pp. 213-215.
® G. A. Cook, op, cit. p. 275,
Inscription No. 117.
7 William Smith, Dictionary of Greek
and Roman Geography,^ ii. 537.
554 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Worship of
the Sun at
Jerusalem
under King
Manasseh.
The
reformation
of King
Josiah.
Fountain of the Sun ”, naturally figure prominently.
On the strength mainly of his name, which means solar ”,
Samson has often been explained as a solar hero or god,
and in support of this view it has been remarked that he
belonged to the tribe of Dan, the name of which means
“ judge ”, the title so often bestowed on the Babylonian
Sun>god Shamash.^
But while the evidence for a primitive cult of the Sun
in Israel is at best very dubious, there is no doubt that
in later times the worship gained a foothold in the kingdom.
Manasseh, the idolatrous king of Judah, worshipped Cill
the host of heaven and built altars for them in the two
courts of the temple at Jerusalem,^ and in the host of
heaven he would necessarily include the Sun and Moon.
As Manasseh reigned for fifty-five years, the example set by
the king was doubtless followed by many of his subjects.
Later on, in the same century, the pious King Josiah
abolished the worship of the heavenly bodies ; he caused
the vessels that had been used in the idolatrous service to
be carried out of Jerusalem and to be burned, and the very
ashes of them to be conveyed away to Bethel ; and he put
down the idolatrous priests and those who had burned
incense to Baal, to the Sun, and to the Moon, and to the
planets, and to aH the host of heaven.^ And in the book of
Deuteronomy, which is generally believed to have been
published by King Josiah in 621 B.C. and made the basis
of his reformation, the penalty of death by stoning is
denounced against any man or woman who should, by
the testimony of two witnesses, be proved guilty of the
abominable crime of worshipping the sun, or the moon, or
any of the host of heaven ; the witnesses were to cast the
1 Encyclopaedias iblica^ s.v, “Nature-
worship”, vol. iii.coll. 3355-3356; /V/.,
s.v. “Samson”, vol. iv. coll. 4268-
4270. As to the solar theory of
Samson, see H. Steinthal, “The Legend
of Samson ”, in Ignaz Goldziher’s
Mythology among the Hebreivs (London,
1877), PP* 392-446 ; A. Jeremias, Das
Alte Testament im Lichte des Alten
Orients’^ (Leipzig, 1906), pp, 478*482;
Paul Carus, 'The Story of Samson
(Chicago, 1907) ; A. Smythe Palmer,
D.D., The Samson - Saga (London,
1913)? C. F. Burney, The Book of
Judges (London, 1918), pp. 391 sqq.
The theory has been rejected by Fr.
Baethgen, Beitrdge zur semitischen
Religions-geschichte (Berlin, 1888), pp.
16 1 sqq.^ and by G. F. Moore, Critical
and Exegetical Commentary on Judges
(Edinburgh, 1903), pp. 364 sq.
2 2 Kings xxi. 1-5.
3 2 Kings xxiii, 4-5.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN AMONG ANCIENT SEMITES 555
first stones at him or her.^ The prophet Jeremiah, a Jeremiah
contemporary of King Josiah, predicts that “they shall
bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of Sun and
his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of
the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
out of their graves : and they shall spread them before
the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven,
whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and
after whom they have walked, aiid whom they have sought,
and whom they have worshipped : they shall not be
gathered, nor be buried In another passage the same
stern prophet foretells the desolation that shall come upon
“ all the houses upon whose roof they have burned incense The wor-
unto all the host of heaven Similarly the prophet housetops^
Zephaniah speaks with indignation of “ them that worship
the host of heaven upon the housetops Hence we may
infer that the idolatrous Israelites, like the Nabataeans,
adored the Sun on the roofs of their houses. King Josiah
broke down “ the altars that were on the roof of the upper
chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made”, and
he cast the dust of the broken altars into the brook
Kidron.^ Probably these altars on the roof were conse-
crated to the worship of the Sun and the other heavenly
bodies, like the altars on the roofs of houses among the
Nabataeans.
Further, the royal reformer and ardent iconoclast The
“ took away the horses that the kings of Judah had ^ndTorses
given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the of the
Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, Jerusalem,
which was in the precincts ; and he burned the chariots of the
sun with fire”.’^ This is the only notice in the Old Testament
of horses and chariots dedicated to the Sun in the temple
at Jerusalem ; but from the Jewish commentators it appears
that the horses were not kept for sacrifice, but that they were
harnessed to the chariots and driven out towards the east to
meet and worship the sun at his rising.^ We may conjecture
' Deuteronomy xvii. 2-7.
2 Jeremiah viii. 1-2.
^ Jeremiah xix, 13.
^ Zephaniah i. 5.
^ 2 Kings xxiii. 12.
® 2 Kings xxiii. ii.
^ S. Bochart, Hierozoicon^ editio
tertia (Leyden, 1682), vol. i. coll.
176 sq , ; G, F. Moore, in Encyclopaedia
Biblica, s.v. “Nature-worship”, vol. iii.
556 IVORS //IP OP SUN BY NON- A RYAN PEOPLES chap.
that the chariots and horses were placed at the disposal of
the Sun to enable him to accomplish his journey across the
sky in ease and comfort. We have seen that the notion of
the Sun driving in a chariot across the sky was common to
the Vedic Indians, the Iranians, the Greeks, and the Babylon-
ians, and that the Rhodians were wont' annually to throw a
chariot and horses into the sea for the use of the Sun.^
Ezekiel’s Yet the Sweeping reformation instituted by King Josiah
vision of would seem to have failed to eradicate the seeds of Sun-
shippers of worship from the minds of the Israelites ; for in the following
thegjueof century the prophet Ezekiel, writing in exile by the waters’
the temple, of Babylon, describes how in a vision he was brought to the
temple at Jerusalem and saw there at the gate women
weeping for Tammuz, and how in the inner court, between the
porch and the altar, he beheld five and twenty men with their
backs towards the temple and their faces towards the east,
and they were worshipping the Sun and putting the branch
The to their noses.“ The pious Job speaks of the practice of
kissing the hand to the sun as a heathen custom and a
the Sun. punishable offence. He says : “ If I beheld the sun when it
shined, or the moon walking in brightness ; and my heart
hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my
hand : this also were an iniquity to be punished by the
judge : for I should have denied the God that is above
§ 3. The Worship of the Sun among the Ancient Egjptians^
Prevalence Among all the peoples of antiquity none adored the Sun
worship in SO fervently and so long as the Egyptians. Indeed, the Sun-
ancient god may be said to have occupied the foremost place in the
national pantheon and to have tended from time to time to
3356. It has sometimes been thought
that the horses were statues ; but
Bochart seems to be right in arguing
that they were living animals.
1 See above, pp. 444, 457 . 459 .
462 sg.^ 484, 531.
2 Ezekiel viii. 14-17.
3 Job xxxi. 26-28.
^ On this subject see A. Wiedemann,
Religion of the Ancient Egyptians
(London, 1897), pp. 14-102, 106-124;
A. Erman, Die agyptische Religion “
(Berlin, 1909). PP- 10-13, 32-38,
71-84; (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge,
The Gods of the Egyptians (London,
1904), i. 322-371, ii. 3 sqq,\
Roeder, s.v, “Sonne und Sonnengott”,
in W. H. Roscher’s Ausfnhrliches
Lexikon der griechischen nnd rhnischen
Mythologies iv. coll. 1155-1210 ; J. H.
Breasted, Development of Religion and
Thought in Ancient Egypt (London,
1912), pp. 8-17, 312-3^.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 557
efface the other deities, either by identifying them with
himself or by abolishing them altogether. It is true that
the evidence for the existence of Sun-worship does not begin
to flow clearly until the time of the fourth and fifth dynasties,
which seem to have lasted roughly from about 3100 B.c. to
2800 B.c.^ It was in this period that the five pyramids at
Sakkarah (Memphis) were built, and from the inscriptions
engraved in hieroglyphics on the walls, passages, and galleries
of the pyramids we gather that the worship of the Sun formed
then the groundwork of the national, or at least of the^royal
religion.^
The ordinary name pf the Sun - god was Ra or Re,
as the name is now usually transliterated. The name is
simply the ordinary Egyptian word for the Sun,^ so that
the Egyptian Sun-god is as clearly a personification of the
physical sun as the Vedic Surya, the Greek Helios, the
Latin Sol, and the Babylonian Shamash. But the deity had
many other titles, apparently because he was identified with
various local gods, some of whom probably had originally
no connexion with the Sun. In very early times the
worship of the Sun was centred at Heliopolis, a vanished
city which stood not far north of the site now occupied
by the modern Cairo. But even there it seems that
1 The Cambridge Ancient History^
i. 2 662. Erman dates the fourth, fifth,
and sixth dynasties somewhat later,
namely, from 2800 to 2300 B.c. {Die
dgyptische Religion, p. vii).
T. E. Feet, in The Cambridge
Ancient History, 330. As to the
engravings on the pyramids, the so-
called Pyramid Texts, see The Golden
Dough, Part IV. Adonis, Attis, Osiris,
ii. 3 sqq., with the references. Accord-
ing to one calculation, the Pyramid
Texts were engraved during a period
roughly of a hundred and fifty years
from 2625 B.C. onward.
3 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
Ancient Egyptians, p. 14 ; A. Erman,
Die agyptische Religion'^, p. 10. It
seems to be now generally held that the
Egyptians, like the ancient Hebrews,
did not write the vowels but only the
consonants, so that in most cases there
is little or no guidance to the correct
vocalization of the words. This natur-
ally adds much to the difficulty of the
language. See R. A. Stewart Macalister,
in The Cafub ridge Ancient History, i.'-^
1 1 9. Hence P^gyptologists vary greatly
in their transliteration of Egyptian
proper names. In the almost infinite
variety of forms thus offered to his
choice the uninitiated may perhaps be
excused for selecting what seem to
him the simplest, clearest, and most
euphonious. On this ground I have
preferred the spelling Ra to the spell-
ing Re in the name of the Sun-god
as less liable to be misunderstood by
English readers. The spelling Ra has
the authority of Brugsch, Wiedemann,
Maspero, Pierrel {Le Livre des Morts,
Paris, 1882), Moret, and Budge ; the
spelling Re is adopted by Erman, Ed.
Meyer, Roeder, Breasted, Peet, and
W. Max Muller {Egyptian Mythology).
The Sun-
god Ra
worshipped
specially at
Heliopolis.
Ra identi-
fie<l with
Atum and
Horus.
Ra
conceived
as Khepera,
the scarab
beetle.
Egyptian
Sun-
worship
imposed on
a basis of
toteraism.
Attempts
to reconcile
the various
names and
attributes
of the Sun-
god.
558 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONA RYAN PEOPLES chap.
the S.un was not the original deity ; he was identified
with an older local divinity called Atum or Turn, of whose
origin we know nothing, but who may perhaps have been an
ichneumon totem, since in later times he was occasionally
represented in the form of an ichneumon.^ The Sun-god
was also identified with Horus, the Falcon-god of Behdet
(Edfu) in Upper Egypt, who later was worshipped throughout
the length and breadth of the kingdom ; and the identifica-
tion was supported by conceiving the sun as a falcon flying
across the sky. The comparison was very popular, and it
is in the form of Horus on the Horizon {Hor-achte) that the
Sun-god was most commonly represented even in early times.
Yet again the Sun -god was conceived of as Khepera or
Khepri, the scarab beetle, which symbolizes coming-into-
existence ; and it has been conjectured that the idea may
have been suggested by the resemblance which popular fancy
traced between the sun’s disk crossing the sky and the beetle
rolling his ball of dung before him.‘^
‘‘ In all this ”, observes Professor Feet, “ we see how strong
was the tendency to harmonize sun-worship with the local
totemic cults. The impression we receive is that sun-
worship, and indeed the whole cosmic system of which it is
typical, was secondary in Egypt, imposing itself on a sub-
stratum of totemism. In any case, whatever doubts there
may be on this point, one thing is clear, namely that nine-
tenths of the mythology of Ancient Egypt is cosmic in
origin, and that it was grafted on to a totemic system with
which it had originally no connexion. Thus to Horus, a
falcon totem in origin, was attached the whole of the mass
of myth which centred round the sun, while to Thoth,
originally an ibis totem in the north-eastern Delta, accrued
all the legend connected with the moon.” ®
Sometimes an attempt was made to reconcile the different
names and attributes of the Sun-god by supposing that they
applied to him at different times of his course across the
* T. E. Peet, in The Cambridge Egyptians ^ According to Wiede-
Ancient History, i .2 330. mann, the name Khepera (Kliepri) is
2 T. E. Pect, in The Cambridge derived from a verb kheper, “ to
Aiicient History, i.'-* 330 sq.\ A. Erman, become
Die dgyptische Religion'^, p. 10; A. ^ T. E. Peet, in 7 'he Cambridge
Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient Ancient History, i .2 331.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 559
sky. Thus in the Turin papyrus it is said that the Sun-
god is Khepera in the morning, Ra at noon, and Atum at
evening, but the distinction was never carried out consist-
ently ; an ancient text, for example, represents the rising
sun as Ra and the setting sun as Khepera.^
Most commonly the Sun - god was supposed to sail The
across the sky in a ship or boat built on the model ol the .
^ ^ supposed to
ordinary boats which are used on the Nile. Amidships was cross the
a cabin in which the god installed himself either sitting or ^o^t
standing ; fore and aft were his attendant deities, whose boats,
business was to navigate the boat and to fight such foes
as might oppose the progress of the Sun -god : the watch was
relieved hourly. For, accustomed as they were to the use
of waterways rather than of roadways in travelling, the
Egyptians imagined that the movement of the heavenly
bodies also consisted in a navigation, either on the waters
which were thought to form the firmament, or else on the
celestial Nile, which was supposed to run through a sky of
metal. It was commonly understood that the Sun had two
barks at his disposal, one called the mdd or niAdet boat, in
which he sailed in the morning, and the other the sckti boat,
in which he sailed in the afternoon. But, according to
another theory, the number of the Sun’s barks was much
larger, one being provided for every hour of the day.^ Thus
the different vehicles provided for the use of the Sun-god
in different lands furnish a good instance of the way in
which men create their gods in their own likeness. Where
men travelled in chariots drawn by horses, they naturally
assumed that the deity did so too ; and, on the other hand,
where men habitually voyaged in boats, they took it for
granted that the divinity similarly navigated the azure ocean
of heaven in a ship of some sort. If there ever had been
a Venetian Sun-god, he would no doubt have traversed the
sky in a gondola or, if he kept pace with the march of
intellect, in a steam-launch.
1 K.YAVCi2iX\,Di^ag)>ptische Religion*^ ^ figs. 3 and 4 on pp. 22, 23; A. Erman,
pp. 10 sqy^\ A. Wiedemann, Religion Die dgyptische Religion'^, p. ii ; G.
of the Ancient Egyptians^ P- 3 i J (Sir) Maspero, Histoire ancienne des peuples
E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the de POrient classique : les 07 dgines
Egyptians, i. 352. (Paris, 1895), p. 90; (Sir) E. A. Wallis
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians, i.
Ancient Egyptians, pp. 23 sq., with 323 sq.
S6o WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Nocturniii During the night the Sun was supposed to traverse the
passage of underworld (Duat) or land of the dead from west to east,
through sailing in his boat on a river which runs through that dismal
woriT^^^ region. His subterranean voyage is described in great
detail in two long texts which have come down to us, the
Book Am Duaty and the Book of the Gates} On the banks
of the subterranean river dwelt all manner of spirits and
demons, some of them in "the form of monkeys, because it
was their function to worship the setting sun ; the Egyptians
may have noticed how monkeys chatter together at sunset
and may have interpreted their chattering as adoration
addressed to the descending luminary.^ The underworld
was thought to be divided into twelve compartments, called
fields, cities, or dwellings : each of them was entered by a
door ; and the passage of the Sun through each of them
occupied one hour. The dead shouted with joy when they
beheld the bark of the Sun floating by in glory and illumining
the infernal gloom by his radiance for one brief hour ; for
the departed were supposed to dwell in darkness which was
dissipated by the passage of the Sun only for one hour out
of the twenty-four. At all other times the blackness of
darkness prevailed, only relieved, if relief it could be called,
by the lurid light of fire-spitting serpents, or of the sea of
fire in which the enemies of the Sun-god were consumed.
Thus to sit in utter darkness was the lot of nearly all the
dead, of the rich and great as well as of the poor and lowly ;
kings themselves were not exempt from it. Few there were
who remained for ever with the Sun and voyaged with him
eternally ; these were not necessarily the great ones of the
earth, nor yet the very good, but they were those who pos-
sessed the most minute information about the next world
and who were best versed in magic.^ As for the dead in the
nether world, they greet the Sun-god joyfully : “ they lift up
their arms and praise him, and tell him all their wishes. . . .
Their eyes open again at the sight of him, and their heart
exults when they see him. He hears the prayer of him who
lies in the coffin ; he dispels their sorrow and drives away
' A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient EgyptianSy pp. 84 sq.
Ancient Egyptians y pp. 83*102. ^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient EgyptianSy pp. 94 sq.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EG YPTIANS 561
their sadness ; he puts breath into their nostrils”, and as the
fresh breezes of the upper world never blow in the windless
underworld, the dead seize the rope at the bow of the Sun-
god’s boat and draw the vessel along, plodding on the bank like
men who tow a barge on the Nile when the wind is contrary.^
From the earliest times the Sun -god was regularly The Sun-
conceived to be male ; but in later times the Egyptians
associated with him a goddess, who was created very simply
by adding a feminine terminatioa to the masculine name for
the sun. Thus the Sun-goddess Rat or Rat Taui, that is,
^ Rat of the Two Lands”, came into being. But no
particular duties were assigned to her : her functions, so far
as she had any, resembled those of Isis, and she was even
represented bearing the cow horns of that goddess, but never
with the head of a falcon. She was often called the Lady
of Heliopolis, but she was also supposed to dwell in other
places, as in the peninsula of Sinai.*^
The great seat of Sun-worship in the times of the ancient Heliopolis
kingdom was the city which the Egyptians called An, the
Hebrews On, and the Greeks Heliopolis, that is, the City of seat of the
the Sun. The Egyptians also named it Pa Ra, “ the House Ihe^sun.^^
of Ra”. It was a small town, which, while it exercised a
great influence on the history of Egyptian religion, took no
part in political revolutions ; it was a purely religious capital.
The city has long vanished. It stood in the plain at a little
distance from the Nile, near the apex of the Delta. The site
is now partly occupied by the village of Matarieh, about five
miles to the north-east of Cairo. An obelisk standing erect
in the middle of the fields, some mounds of ruins, some
scattered stones, and two or three fragments of crumbling
walls are all that remain to tell of its former grandeur. The
obelisk bears the name of Usertesen or Senusret the First,
a king of the Twelfth Dynasty (about 2200 to 2000 B.C.),
who is better known by the name of Sesostris.^ The
1 A. Erman, Die cigyptische Re-
ligion 2, pp. 1 1 si2.
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
Ancietit Egyptians^ pp. 1 $ J (Si*")
E. A. Wallis Budjije, 7 'he Gods of the
Egyptians^ i. 287, 328.
A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
Anc ient Egyptians^ pp. 17 sq* \ G.
VOL. I
Maspero, Histoire aneienne des peuples
de r Orient dassiqiie : les origines
(Palis, 1895), pp. 135 sq.-, (Sir)
E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the
Egyptians^ i. 328. As to the approxi-
mate dates of the Twelfth dynasty,
see The Cambridge Ancient History^
i.2 658 sq.
2 O
562 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Zenith and
decline of
the temple
of the
Sun at
Heliopolis.
The spring
of the Sun-
god at
Heliopolis.
history of the city cannot be carried very far back. In texts
of the Old Kingdom it is seldom named, and the foundation of
the great temple of Ra, which was zealously adorned by later
Pharaohs, dates only from the Twelfth Dynasty. The event
is described in a document written on leather and now pre-
served at Berlin. But the temple was not the first sanctuary
built in the city ; for the same manuscript mentions that on
the occasion of the new foundation the great house of Turn
or Atum was enlarged. Under Rameses the Third (about
1200 B.C.) the temple was at the height of its power;
nearly thirteen thousand persons are said to have been en-
gaged in its service.^ But the decline of the city appears to
have begun somewhat early. In the fifth century before
our era Herodotus visited the city and conversed with the
priests, who revealed to him some of their divine mysteries
which he preferred not to divulge.^ In Strabo’s time, about
the beginning of our era, the city had fallen into utter decay
and was deserted ; but the ancient temple of the Sun was
still standing, together with the great houses once inhabited
by the priests, and the sacred bull Mnevis was still fed and
worshipped as a god in his stall, like the other divine bull
Apis at Memphis. But the old college of priests, who were
thought to devote themselves to philosophy and astronomy
and to practise a life of religious austerity, had ceased to
exist ; nobody was to be seen about the deserted courts and
quadrangles but the men whose business it was to offer
sacrifice, and the guides who earned a livelihood by showing
strangers over the temple.^
There was in Heliopolis a sacred spring of the Sun-
god which has survived his temple. When King Piankhi
of Ethiopia arrived at Heliopolis about 730 B.C., on his
of triumphal march through Egypt, he washed his face, as he
himself relates, in the pool of fresh water in which the Sun-
god Ra was wont to lave his divine countenance. The Arabs
still call it “ the Spring of the Sun ” ; and here, as the
ancient legend relates, the Mother of Christ washed her
infant’s swaddling clothes when she reached Egypt in her
flight from Herod. It is said that from the water falling on
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the * Herodotus, ii. 3.
Ancient Egyptians, pp. \*J sq. ^ Strabo, xvii. i. 27-29.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 563
the ground there sprang up a balsam shrub, the like of
which, according to the Arab historian Makrizi, is not to be
found in the world. Even to this day the traveller is shown
the sycamore, under which the Holy Family rested after
their long and weary journey.^
The Ethiopian king recorded his triumphal march visit of the
through Egypt in a long inscription, which is said to be the
best example of a truly historical Egyptian inscription. In Piankhi to
it, after describing how he washed his face in the pool of the
Sun, the monarch continues as follows : He proceeded to Sun at
the sandhill in Heliopolis, he brought an offering on the
sand-dune in Heliopolis to Ra at his rising, a great offering
of white oxen, milk, incense, balsam, and all sorts of sweet-
smelling woods. Then he returned to the temple of Ra ;
the superintendent of the temple praised him highly : the
speaker of prayers spoke the prayer for the averting of
enemies from the king : the king performed the ceremony in
the chamber of purification, the putting on of the bands, the
purifying with incense and the water of libations, the handing
of flowers for the Hat Benben of the god. He took the
flowers, he ascended the steps to the great terrace, to see Ra
in the Hat Benben, he the king himself. When the prince
was alone, he undid the bolt, he opened the doors and saw
his Father Ra in the Hat Benben, he saw the morning boat
of Ra and the evening boat of Turn. He closed the doors,
he put the seal on, and sealed it with the royal seal. He
declared to the priests, ‘ I have put on the seal, no other
king shall go in thither’. They threw themselves down before
His Majesty and said, ‘ May Horus, the darling of Heliopolis,
exist, and remain, and never pass away And he went and
entered into the temple of Turn, and they brought the statue
of Turn the Creator, the lord of Heliopolis, and King Osorkon
came to see His Majesty.” " At this time Egypt was broken
up into a number of petty kingdoms. The Osorkon here
mentioned was king of Bubastis.^
^ A. Wiedemann, Reli^on of the A. Wiedemann, Keligiou of the Ancient
Ancient Egyptians, pp. 18, 21. pp.21-23 ; (Sir) E. A. Wallis
2 A. Wiedemann, Agyptische Ge- Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians^ i.
schichte (Gotha, 1884), pp. 573 sq. 331 sq.
For a translation of the whole inscrip- 3 Wiedemann, Agyptische Ge-
tion, see id. pp. 566-575 ; compare schichtey p. 564.
564 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON- ARY AN PEOPLES chap.
The
temple of
the Sun at
Heliopolis
called Hat
Benben,
the ‘ ' House
of the
Obelisk
The
temples of
the Sun
different in
plan from
the ordinary
temples,
The title of Hat Benben, given to the temple of the Sun
at Heliopolis, means the “ House of the Obelisk ”, for the
Benben was a small stone obelisk or rather perhaps pyramid,
which was supposed to be an embodimen-t of the Sun-god Ra
himself. It enjoyed a great reputation and is mentioned
especially in religious and magical texts ; it may even have
been the model of the great obelisks which were amongst
the most striking features of Egyptian Sun-worship.* The
great obelisks which stood at the entrances of temples were
dedicated to the Sun, and so were the little votive obelisks
which were placed in tombs, particularly during the period of
the Old Kingdom. Under the New Kingdom these small
obelisks were replaced by small pyramids, which are not to
be regarded as modelled on the huge sepulchral pyramids of
the Old Kingdom ; rather they represent the obelisks, the
pointed tops of which are similarly shaped.^
The kings of the Fifth Dynasty were devoted to the
worship of the Sun-god Ra ; indeed, the first king of the
dynasty is said to have been a high priest of that deity, and
from him. his successors on the throne appear to have
inherited their partiality for the solar religion. Almost
every one of them built a new sanctuary for the Sun-god
near his residence, and the highest nobility served as priests
in it. These sanctuaries, which bore titles such as “ Favourite
Seat of Ra”, were built on quite a different plan from the
usual Egyptian temple. In the ordinary temple the Holy
of Holies, approached through a pillared hall from an open
cloistered court, was a closed chamber in which deep dark-
ness reigned ; for it had no windows, and light penetrated
to it only through the door. There in the religious gloom
might be faintly di.scerned the image of the god ; it was
usually a wooden idol not more than eighteen inches high,
for it had to be small and light that it might be carried in
the processions which figured largely in the worship. On
the other hand, in the temples of the Sun-god built by kings
of the Fifth Dynasty the deity was represented in the Holy
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Jxxikon der griechtschen tivd rotmschen
Ancient Egyptians y p. 24 ; A. Erman, Mythologies iv. 1162.
Die dgypiische Religion PP- 33 » 55 I
Roeder, “Sonne und Sonnengott”, ^ A. Wiedemann, Rehgon of the
in W. II. Roscher’s Ausfiihrliches Ancient Egyptians^ p. 1 6.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN B Y ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 565
of Holies by a great stone obelisk, resting on a massive
truncated pyramid as a foundation and completely open to
the sky and the sunlight. The temples of this peculiar type
were perhaps modelled on the great temple of the Sun-god
at Heliopolis, which has disappeared and of which we have
no description. One of these Sun-temples stood at Abu
Gurab ; from its remains, many of which are now in the
museum at Berlin, it is possible to restore conjecturally the
general plan of the temple.^
Another temple of the Sun-god, on the same plan, has Temple of
feeen excavated at Abusir (Busiris) in the Delta. Outside
of the temple, on the southern face of it, was discovered Busiris.
the image of a boat, about a hundred feet long, built
of bricks. It was no doubt provided for the convenience
of the Sun-god to enable him to accomplish his daily voyage
across the sky ; and as the temple stands to the west of
the Nile we may suppose that the boat was the one which
the deity used in the afternoon and evening to transport
him to his setting in the west. Hence it would appear that
the temple at Abusir (Busiris) was dedicated specially to the
Setting Sun.*^ The unusual materials employed in the
construction of the vessel would be no impediment to its
use by the deity, who would find, or make, bricks quite as
buoyant as timber.
Another seat of Sun-worship was Behdet, the modern Temple of
Edfu, in Upper Egypt. The temple of the Sun-god godt^
there, restored in the Greek period on the ancient model, is BtMet
still in perfect preservation. It is constructed on the ordi-
nary plan with an inner sanctuary or Holy of Holies of the
usual type.®
* A. Die, dgyptische Religion y
pp. 52-56 ; A. Wiedemann, Religion
of the Ancient Egyptians, pp. 16 sq.
As to the general plan of an ordinary
Egyptian temple, see also A. Erman,
Aegypten und aegyptisches Lebe}i im
Altertum, pp. 380 sq. The Holy of
Holies was divided into three chapels,
side by side. The image of the god
stood in the central chapel, while the
images of his wife and son usually
stood in the side chapels, in accord-
ance with the common distribution of
Egyptian deities into triads or trinities,
each consisting of a Father, a Mother,
and a Son. See A. Wiedemann, Ancient
Egyptian Religion, pp. 103 sq. As to
the religious gloom characteristic of
the Holy of Holies in ordinary Egyp-
tian temples, compare G. Maspero,
IJArch^ologie ^gyptienne, p. 71.
2 G. Maspero, Causer ies d^Agypte
(Paris, N.D., preface dated 1907), pp.
327-333*
3 A. Erman, Die dgyptische Religion,
pp. 13, 51 ; G. Maspero, U Archiologie
566 IVONSHIF OF SUN BY NON^ARVAN PEOPLES chap.
The Sun- The Sun-god Ra was almost invariably represented as a
fj'lesented ^ holding 111 onc hand
as^a man the kingly sceptre, and in the other hand the symbol of
helVo^a life, which was a cross with a loop at the top to serve
falcon or as a handle.^ On his head he wears the solar disk with the
uraeus coiled about it, that serpent being symbolic of power
over life and death. It is a characteristic sign of Egyptian
solar deities to have the Kead of a hawk or falcon : many of
them were supposed to be incarnate in the bird ; wherever
a god is so represented, his solar nature may be confidently
assumed. In times when an attempt was made to convei^t
the whole Egyptian religion into Sun-worship, the figure of
the sparrow-hawk proper was equivalent to the sign for
netcr^ “ god ”, and similarly the figure of the uraeus serpent
was equivalent to the sign for neteret, “goddess”. We have
no ancient information as to how the hawk or falcon came
to be associated with the sun ; bak, which is the Egyptian
name of the bird, has no philological connexion with the
The heavenly body.’ It is a plausible conjecture, though it may
^^rhapr"^ be nothing more, that “ the falcon-god Horus, originally, it
originally would scem, the local totem-god of Behdet in the Delta,
became in pre-dynastic times the national god of Lower
Egypt, simply because the falcon tribe acquired an ascendancy
over the other tribes of the Delta. Later still, on the unifica-
tion of Upper and Lower Egypt, he became the national
god of the united country, and it was doubtless then that he
was given a new home at Behdet of Upper Egypt, the
modern Edfu ^
In Egyptian mythology it is necessary to di.stinguish
igyptieune, p. 73. Compare The Cam-
bridge Ancient History, i.^ 261, 329;
Roeder, s.v, “Sonne und Sonnengott”,
in W. H. Roscher’s Ausfuhrlkhcs
Lexikon der griechischen und romisthen
Mythologie, iv. 1 1 59.
^ The name of the symbol was
ankh ; by modern writers it is often
referred to as the crux ansata. See
A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient
Egyptians, pp. 288 sq,, who denies
that the symbol has anything to do
with a cross.
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
Ancient Egyptians, pp. 25 sq. Some
modern authoiities speak of tlie Sun-
bird as a hawk, others call it a falcon.
The two words are not synonymous.
See Alfred Newton, Dictionary of
Bif'ds (London, 1893-1896), s.vv.
“Falcon” and “Hawk”, pp. 235,
41 1. Of the two, “falcon” is the
more precise and definite, while hawk
is “a word of indefinite meaning, being
often used to signify all diurnal Birds
of Prey, which are neither vultures nor
eagles” (Newton, op. cit. p. 41 1).
3 T, E. Peet, in The Cambridge
Ancient History, i.^ 329.
xin WORSHIP OF SUN B Y ANCIENT EG YPTIANS 567
Horus the Sun-god from Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, ^^rus the
Originally these two deities, both named Horus, appear to and Hm-us
have had nothing in common, but in later times an attempt
was made to blend them into one, and to liken the war which isis.
Horus the Sun-god waged on the powers of darkness to the
long combat in which Horus, the son of Osiris, engaged
with Set the murderer of his divine father. Generally
speaking, the Sun-god Horus can be distinguished from his
namesake, the son of Osiris, by the possession of certain
titles which varied with the provinces or cities in which he
^as worshipped. In course of time each of the different
forms of the Sun-god Horus, discriminated from the rest by Different
a distinctive epithet, came to be regarded as an independent HonL°the
divinity, and we often find several such duplicate deities Sun-god.
worshipped contemporaneously, as if they had no relation
to each other, in the later periods of Egyptian history.^
Among these various forms of Horus the Sun-god the
following may be particularly noted.
Her-ur, that is, “ Horus the Elder ”, whom the Greeks Horus the
called Arueris and identified with their Apollo.“ His (Arueris).
mother was the goddess Hathor : he was born at Apollino-
polis Parva, and he was especially worshipped at Latopolis,
near Memphis. A great temple was also dedicated to him
at Ombos in Upper Egypt. He was represented as a man
with a hawk’s head or simply as a hawk.^ But in some
places he was worshipped in the form of a lion The
inscriptions on the walls of the temple at Ombos prove
that he was called the Lord of the South, the Lord of Nubti
(Ombos), and that he was identified with Shu, the son of Ra,
and with several other gods who were regarded as gods of
light and of the rising Sun in various of his aspects.4
Horus the holder was distinguished from Horus the
Younger or Horus the Child, Her - pe - khred, whom the Horus the
Greeks called Harpocrates. This Horus the Younger was
the son of Osiris and Isis ; but he could not escape the crates),
fate of the Egyptian gods, who were regularly attracted to
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
Ancient Egyptians^ p. 27.
2 Plutarch, Isis and Osiris ^ 12.
3 A Wiedemann, Religion of the
Ancient Egyptians^ pp. 27 sq,\ (Sir)
E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the
Egypt iansy i. 467 sq,
* (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The
Gods of the EgyptianSy i. 468.
Horus of
the Two
Eyes.
The Blind
Horus.
Horus on
the Two
Horizons
(Har.
niachis).
The great
Sphinx.
568 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONARY AN PEOPLES chap.
the sun like moths to the flame of a candle, and in after
times he was identified with the young Sun just risen above
the horizon.^
Her-mer-ti, “ Horus of the Two Eyes that is, of
the Sun and Moon. He was called Lord of Shedennu,
a city of Lower Egypt ; in art • he was represented as
a man with a hawk's head and above it the solar disk
encircled by the uraeus- serpent, and in his hand he bore
a certain symbol (ntchatz) in which two eyes appear side by
side.“
Her-khent-an-ma, “ Horus, Lord of Not Seeing ”, a god
of Latapolis who was supposed to be blind and to symbolize
an eclipse of the sun. The shrew-mouse was sacred to the
Blind Horus because it was thought to be blind, and also
because darkness is older than light. The little creature
was said to be born of ordinary mice in the fifth generation
at new moon, and its liver was supposed to diminish in size
during a lunar eclipse.^
Her-em-khu-ti, the Harmachis of the Greeks, “ Horus on
the Two Horizons”, that is, the eastern and the western
horizon, so that the name signifies Horus at his rising and
at his setting. Sometimes he was designated simply Her-
em-khu, ‘‘ Horus on the Horizon ”, and then represented
especially the god of the rising sun. He was easily and
commonly identified with the ordinary Sun-god Ra in his
daily course across the sky. In that capacity he was
styled “the Great God, the Lord of heaven, Ra Harmachis”.
He appears in this form as god of Heliopolis, where he was
associated with a wife named Ifl-s-aas. He played a
prominent part also in the city of Tanis, in the far east of
the Delta, on the Asiatic frontier. But the greatest and
most famous monument dedicated to his worship is the huge
Sphinx, near the pyramids of Gizeh, which was his type
and symbol. According to the inscriptions, this colossal
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Wallis Budge, I^he Gods of the Egyp-
Ancient Egyptians, pp. 223 sq, ; (Sir) Hans, i. 469 sq.
E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the
Egyptians, i. 468 sq. The latter writer ^ a. Wiedemann, Religion of the
transliterates the Egyptian name of Ancient Egyptians, p. 28. The
the god as Heru-p-khart. Egyptian notions about the sbrew-
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the mouse are mentioned by Plutarch,
Ancient Egyptians, p. 28 ; (Sir) E. A. Quaest. Conviv. iv. 5. 2.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EG YPTIANS 569
figure was in existence in the days of King Khephrcn
(Khafra), who built the second pyramid at Gizeh.^ But
curiously enough no mention of this monstrous monument
occurs in the inscriptions until the reign of Thothmes or
Thutmose the Fourth (about 1420-1411 B.C.). An inscrip- The history
tion engraved on a tablet near the Sphinx records how in his dediLtion:
youth, long before his father’s death, Thothmes was one day dream
hunting and in the ardour of the chase was carried out Thothmes.
into the desert near the pyramids of Gizeh. There, overcome
with weariness and the noonday heat he lay down to rest in
tke shadow of the great Sphinx. He fell asleep, and as he
slept he dreamed a dream. It seemed to him that the Sun-
god, with whom in those days the Sphinx was identified,
appeared to him and besought him to clear away the desert
sand which had drifted against his image and had partially
buried it. As a reward for this pious labour the Sun-god
promised him the kingdom. The prince vowed to do as the
great god desired, and no sooner did he come to the throne
than he hastened to perform his vow. He cleared the gigantic
figure of the Sphinx from the drifted sand, and he recorded
the whole story on a tablet in the neighbourhood. A later
version of the tale, made by the priests of the palace, was
engraved on a htige granite architrave taken from the
neighbouring temple and set up against the breast of
the Sphinx between its fore-legs, where it stands to this
day.^
Her-nub, ‘‘the Golden Horus ”, was primarily the god The Golden
of the morning sun, who manifested himself in the golden
glory of the dawn. He was thus the counterpart of the
Golden Hathor, the goddess of the western sky, who
received the dying sun in the sunset glow and was hence
supposed to receive the dead on their departure from the
upper world. In this capacity the Golden Hathor was
usually represented emerging from the Mountain of the
West. From of old the Pharaohs, who always sought to
pose as the Sun on earth, greatly affected the title of “ the
Golden florus”, and their public appearances were commonly
1 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the 2 j. h. Breasted, in The Cambridge
Ancient Egyptians^ pp. 28 sq,\ (Sir) Ancient History^ ii. 91 ; (Sir) E. A.
E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the VVallis Budge, The Gods of the Egyf-
EgyptianSf i. 470-472. ttanSy i. 472.
570 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONARY AN PEOPLES chap.
described as the breaking forth of light by the use of a word
which also signified the sunrise.^
The Sun- The Sun-god Turn or Atum was originally the local god
orAuiTof^*^ Heliopolis, and in the dynastic period at all events he
Heliopolis, was held to be a form of the great Sun-god Ra and to
personify the setting sun in contradistinction to Khepera,
the morning sun. He was adored at Heliopolis as Lord
of the World and the great Creator. In the Book of
the Dead he is called “ Creator of heaven, maker of beings,
procreator of all that is ; He who gave birth to the gods ;
self-created ; Lord of Life ; He who grants new strength Lo
the gods”. His worship was intimately associated with the
Egyptian doctrine of immortality. But in regard to this life
also he was a beneficent deity : from before him went forth
the north wind that brought cool airs to the dry and dusty
land during the hot Egyptian summer, and to breathe its
sweet breath was reckoned one of the passionate desires of
Pa Turn the dead. Another centre of the worship of Turn was
Pa Turn, ^Hhe House of Turn”, the Pithom of the Old
House of Testament, the ruins of which were discovered by the
eminent Swiss Egyptologist, M. Edouard Naville, in 1883,
at Tell el Maskhutah, east of the Delta. In the papyri and
the monuments Turn is usually represented as a man
wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt ; in his
right hand he holds the emblem of life, and in his left hand
the sceptre. In the boat of Ra he is depicted in human
form even when Ra is symbolized by a disk which is being
rolled along by a beetle, and when the Sun -god Khepera
is portrayed by a beetle. Originally Turn had no divine
consort, but in one of the later texts, from Denderah, there
is mention of a goddess Tumt, the feminine form of Turn ; the
text says that she was worshipped at Bubastis.“
The Sun- But the identification which carried with it the most
SelitHkd far-reaching consequences for Egyptian religion was that
withAmon of the Sun-god Ra with Amon (Ammon), the local god
goVor^ of Thebes in Upper Egypt. In the most ancient times of
Thebes. Egyptian history Thebes was an obscure provincial town, so
* A. Wiedemann, Religion of the E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the
Ancient Egyptians^ pp. 29 sq, Egyptians^ i. 349 sqq.^ who trans-
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the literates the god’s name as Tern, or
Ancient Egyptians^ pp. 31 sq,\ (Sir) Temu, or Atem.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EG YPTIANS 571
insignificant that its god Amofi is hardly mentioned in the
oldest religious texts. It was not until the time of the
Middle Kingdom, when two Theban families came to the
throne, that something was done for the glory of the local
god, and with him his consort Mut began to emerge from
her obscurity. But the great day for the gods of Thebes
dawned with the beginning of the New Kingdom (about
1600 B.C.). During the confusion which followed the close
of the twelfth dynasty and continued under the rule of the
foreign conquerors, the Hyksos, Thebes was the capital of
a® princely house, which, by a brilliant stroke of policy,
identified its local god Amon with the great Sun -god Ra,
and so worshipped the composite deity under the name of
Amon-Ra. When this royal family succeeded in expelling
the Hyksos and bringing the whole of Egypt under their
sway, it was inevitable that Amon-Ra, “ the King of the
Gods”, should become the ofhcial god of the whole kingdom.
Under the great and warlike kings of the Eighteenth
Dynasty the dominion of Egypt stretched from the
Euphrates to the Sudan, and with it the fame of Amon-Ra,
the patron god of the conquerors, spread far and wide.
From the riches, which in the form of tribute, flowed into
their treasury the Pharaohs of that and the following
dynasties testified their gratitude for their victories by
rearing in honour of Amon-Ra at Thebes (Karnak) the The
gigantic temples which, enlarged by the labours and the
wealth of successive generations, remain to this day the at Thebes
wonder of the world, the most colossal shrines which the
hands of men have ever dedicated on earth to the glory of
God. And in other cities also the kings caused new temples
to be erected to the Sun-god, that men everywhere might
pay their devotion to his supreme majesty. For a thousand
years this hybrid deity stood at the head of the Egyptian
pantheon.^
In truth, he was a curious hybrid, compounded out of Amon of
the sun and a ram, since Amon, the local god of Thebes,
. _ . a ram -god.
^ h.,YjX\Xi2CCi^Dieagyptische Religion^ y Religion of the Ancient Egyptians^ pp,
pp. 71-73; E. Meyer, s,v. “Ammon”, 107 sq,\ (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge,
in W. II. Roscher’s Ansfiihrliches The Gods of the Egyptians^ ii. 4 sq.^
Lexikon der griechischen und romischen 22 sq»
Mythologie, i. 283-285 ; A. Wiedemann,
572 WORSHIP OF SUN BV NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Annual
sacrifice of
a ram at
Thebes and
identifica-
tion of the
god with
the ram.
appears to have been of old* a ram and nothing else. For
the sheep was sacred and worshipped at Thebes, as cats,
crocodiles, lions, wolves, monkeys, and the rest of the divine
menagerie were sacred and worshipped in other parts of
Egypt; indeed, whoever adored the Theban god in any part
of the kingdom was bound to spare the life of the sheep as
a holy animal.^ The god himself was represented in the
form of a ram or of cu man with a ram's head, or of a man
with the horns of a ram, wearing the solar disk. The
avenues leading to his temples at Thebes were flanked on
either side by colossal figures of rams with coiled or curved
horns, that being the species of the animal which was
especially sacred to the god, or rather in which he was
supposed to be incarnate.^ But though the people of
Thebes did not usually sacrifice rams, deeming them sacred,
nevertheless on one day of the year, at the god's festival,
they killed a ram, skinned it, and clothed the image of the
god in the skin of the slaughtered beast. Thereupon all the
people in the temple lamented for the ram, beating their
breasts, after which they buried the carcase in a sacred
coffin.^ In this custom the god seems clearly to be
identified with the ram by being clothed in the animal’s
skin, and the divinity of the ram is in like manner plainly
indicated by the lamentations for his death and by the
burial of his dead body in a sacred coffin. The intention of
the rite probably was to renew the strength of the god once
a year by communicating to his image, and thereby to
himself, the vigour of a live ram, the creature in which his
divine spirit was believed to be incarnate.^ The supposed
necessity of thus annually renewing the strength of the god
will be manifest when we remember that in the opinion of
the Egyptians the gods in general and the Sun-god in
particular were subject to the weakness and decrepitude
of old age.
^ Herodotus, ii. 42; Strabo, xvii. i,
40 ; Clement of Alexandria, Protrept.
39 > P* 34 > Potter.
2 E.Meyer,j.z;. “Ammon”, in W.H.
Roscher’s Aus/uhrliches Lexikon der
griechischen und rornischen Mythologies
i, 284 ; A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
A ncient Egyptians ^ pp. 118-120;
id,s Herodots Zweites Buch (Leipzig,
1890), p. 202 ; A. B. Cook, Zeus^
i. 347.
3 Herodotus, ii. 42.
^ Compare The Golden Bought Part V.
Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild^ ii.
172 sq.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 573
To this notion we shall return presently. Meantime The
it deserves to be noticed that Thebes was not the only
place where the Sun-god was identified with a deity who with
would seem originally to have been neither more nor less (Chnubis),
than a ram. The god Chnum or Chnubis, as the Greeks
called him, who was worshipped in Llephantine, the city phantine.
situated at the First Cataract in Upper Egypt, was
represented on the oldest monuments as a man with a
ram's head, the horns projecting horizontally from the
temples and not curved downwards, like the horns of the
rifm Amon. The two rams, thus distinguished from each
other, clearly belonged to different species.^ According to
Brugsch, the god was represented at his sanctuaries by a
living ram in which the soul of the deity was believed to
reside ; the animal was chosen from the flock on purpose
to serve as the god’s incarnation.^ But in course of
time the ram of Chnum, like that of Amon, was identified
with the Sun-god Ra ; hence at Abaton, near Philae, a
little south of Elephantine, the sacred ram of Chnum was
called the “ living soul of Ra”.^ Hence, too, in Egyptian
inscriptions from the sixteenth century B.C. onwards his
name was coupled with that of Ra in the compound of
Chnum-Ra to indicate the divine partnership, or rather
identity, of the two gods; and the composite nature of
the hybrid deity was graphically indicated by portraying
him as a man with a ram’s head surmounted by the
1 H. Brugsch, Religion und Mytho- which was foimd in one of the
logic der alten Aegypter islands of the Cataracts. See W.
pp. 290 sqq. ; A. Wiedemann, Herodots Dittenberger, Orientis Graeci Inscrip-
Ztvei/esBiich{lA\yL\g,i^<^o),\^\'i.if) 7 iq.\ Hones Selectae, No. 130, vol. i.
id.. Religion of the AmieJit Egyptians, pp. 207 sq, Strabo (xvii. i. 48) calls
pp. \ 2 % sq.\ Drexler, “Knuphis”, the god Knuphis (Krou 0 ts). The name
in W. H. Reseller’s Ansfiihrliches is given as Kneph by Plutarch (/f/V
Lexikonder griechisehen nnd rdmischen and Osiris, 21) and Eusebius {Praepar,
Mythologie, ii. 1250 sqq.-, Sethe, s. 7 >. Evangel, m. 11.2%). Eusebius
“Chnubis”, in Pauly-Wissowa, Real iii. 12. i) describes the god’s image at
Encyclopddie der classischen Allertums- Elephantine as that of a man seated,
wissenschaft, iii. 2349-2352 ; (Sir) of a blue colour, with the head of a
E. A. Wallis Budge, I'he Gods of the ram surmounted by a disk. The
Egyptians, ii. 49 sqq.-, A. B. Cook, description is borne out by the
Zeus, i, 32|.6 sq. The last two of monuments.
these writers call the god Khnemu. H. Brugsch, Religion und Mytho--
The Greek form of the name logie der altcn Aegypter, 2 <^\.
{Xpou^ls) occurs in a Greek inscription ® A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
of Ptolemy VIII. (146-116 B.C.), Ancient Egyptians, p. 12S.
574 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
The
divine ram
perhaps a
totem.
Hymn to
Amon-Ra,
the Sun-
god.
solar disk. His worship prevailed especially in the south
of Egypt.’
If, as there is some ground for thinking, the religion
of the primitive Egyptians was saturated with totemism,“
we can easily understand why a ram should have been
worshipped as a sacred animal at Thebes in Lower Egypt
and at Elephantine in Upper Egypt ; in both places the
ram may originally have been the totem of the ruling clan.
The power and glory of Amon-Ra are celebrated in
hymns which attempt to make up by fulsome flattery for
their lack of poetical inspiration. For example, in a loflg
hymn of the Twentieth Dynasty, which is now preserved in
the museum of Gizeh, the god is addressed as follows :
Praise to Amon-Ra !
To the bull in Heliopolis^ to the chief of all the gods^
To the beautiful and beloved god^
Who giveth life by all manner of warmth^ by
All 7nanner affair cattle.
Hail to Thee., Amon-Ra^ lord of the throne of the two lands.,
Dwelling in Thebes.,
Husband of his Mother., dwelling m his fields..
Wide-ranging., d%velling in the La7id of the South.,
Lo7d of the Libyans., rider of Arabia
Prmce of hcave7i^ heir of earth..
The lord who giveth du7'atio7i to things., dui'ation to all things.”'^
In the same hymn he is called “the chief of all the
gods, maker of men, former of the flocks, lord of the things
which are :
“ The gods give praise unto hi77i;
Maker of things below a7id things above., he illimiines
The t7i/o lands., he traverseth the upper heaven m peace ;
King of Upper and Lower EgyptP ^
Still in the same hymn he is described as
‘‘ Hearing the prayer of him who is in afidiction,
Khidly of heart towards hi77i 7vho calleth upon him.
He delivercth the timid fro77i him 20/10 is of a fro2va7‘d heart ;
1 Sethe, s.v. “ Chnubis ”, in Pauly- The Gods of the Egyptians, ii. 52.
Wissowa, Real-Encyclopadie der classi- 2 x. E. Peet, in 'The Cambridge
schen Altertumsivissenschaft, iii. 2351; Ancient History, i.^ 246, 328 sq.
H.BrngscUyReligionundMythologieder ^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
alten Aegypter, pp. 242 sq., 294, 296; Ancient Egyptians, p. in.
A. Erman, Die dgyptische Religion'^, ^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
pp. 48, 71 ; (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, Ancient Egyptians, p. 112.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 575
He judge th the cause of the poor^ between the poor and the mighty^
He is the lord of understandings plenty is on his lips.
He comcth as the Nile to those who love him.
Lord of sweetness^ a great one of lovel^ ^
In the same hymn the god’s creative power is extolled
as follows :
“ Only forftis who didst make all that is, one and only om, maker
of all that have being !
Mankind we fit forth from his two eyes.
The gods were created on his lips.
He maketh the herbage which maketh the cattle to lives
The fruit trees for men ;
He maketh to live the fishes in the rivers
The fowls beneath the sky.
He giveth breath to that which is in the egg;
He maketh the grasshoppers to lives
He maketh the birds to lives
The creeping things and the flyings n-s well as what belongeth
to them.
He maketh provision for the mice in their holes ;
He maketh to live the birds in every trees
Hail to thees maker of all these / . . .
Hail to thee from all flockSs
Acclamations to thee from every lands
To the height of heavens to the width of earths
To the depth of the sea.
The gods bow before thy majesty ;
They exalt the spirits of him who formed thenis
They rejoice at the comings of him who begat them ;
They say unto thee : ‘ Approach in peace s
Father of the fathers of all the godSs
Thou who upholdest the heaven and puttest down the earth \ . . .
• King is he when alone even as in the midst of the gods ;
Many are his names s none knoweth their number ; he riseth in the
horizon of the easts he setteth in the horizon of the west ;
He overthroweth his enemies. . . .
Hail to theCs Amon-Ras lord of the throne of the two lands !
Whose city loveth his rising.^'* ^
Amon-Ra is generally represented in human form with
a human head ; he holds either the sceptre alone or the Amon-Ra
sceptre in the left hand and the symbol of life (ank/t) in the
right, and he is crowned with the solar disk and two long
feathers, which rise either from a stiff cap or else from a pair
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient Egyptians Com-
Ancient Egyptians s p. 114. ^?s^KY.xxti'AX\sDieagyptische Religion^ s
pp. 73 sq . ; (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge,
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the The Gods of the Egyptians, ii. 5 sqq.
576 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
Mut, the
wife of
Anion- Ra.
of ram’s horns. The sections of the plumes are coloured
alternately red and green or red and blue. His body is
sometimes coloured blue, probably because that was the
colour of the sky in which he ruled as Sun-god. It is to be
noted that the horns which he wears are those of Chnum
rather than of Amon, since they stand out horizontally from
the head instead of curling round the cars. Sometimes he
is given the head of -a hawk surmounted by the solar disk
with the uraeus serpent coiled round it. Again, in many
scenes he is portrayed with the head of a ram and above it
the solar disk, plumes, and uraeus serpent.’
The principal wife of Amon-Ra, the king of the Gods,
in the New Empire was Mut, whose name means “ Mother”.
In one, at least, of her aspects she appears to have been
conceived as the great World-mother, who brought forth
whatever exists. Her relation to the Sun-god seems to have
been somewhat uncertain. In a late text she is described
as “ the Mother of the Sun, in whom he rises ” ; but in the
city of Samhud she was held to be the daughter of Ra. In
pictures the goddess is usually represented as a woman
wearing on her head the united crowns of the South and
the North, and holding in her hands the papyrus sceptre and
the symbol of life. Elsewhere we see her in female form,
standing upright with her arms stretched out at full length
and with large wings attached to them. The chief centre of
her worship was Asher, a place south of Karnak (Thebes).
Here King Amenophis the Third built a temple to her, with
a sacred lake attached to it. Votive statues representing the
goddess with the head of a lioness, both standing* and seated,
were dedicated there by the founder and by King Sheshonk
the First (the Shishak of the Bible) in such numbers that even
in ancient times many were transferred to other Egyptian
sanctuaries, and in modern times almost every great museum
of the world possesses one or more of them. Such a
representation appears to imply a warlike character in
the goddess.^
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient Egyptians^ pp. 122 sq.\ A.
Ancient Egyptians^ pp. ii8j^. ; (Sir) Die cigyptische Religion^, 16)
E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of the (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The Gods of
Egyptians^ \\. 16 sg. the Egypt iansy ii. 28.
2 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 577
Fortified by his association with the Sun-god Ra and by Rise of the
the support of the reigning dynasty, the once obscure and o^Amon-^
insignificant deity Amon of Thebes rose in the course of Raat
about a century to the rank of “ the King of the Gods ” of powe^ and
Egypt. Under the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties the
wealth of the Theban priests must have been enormous, and by foreign
the religious and social influence which they wielded was such conquest,
as to render them formidable rivals of the royal house. The
golden age of the Theban temples and priesthood began with
the Asiatic expeditions of the eighteenth dynasty. Indeed,
th^re is some ground for suspecting that the great Egyptian
raids, both to the north in Syria and to the south in Nubia,
were dictated as much by the desire of enriching the temples
and the priests as by the ambition of extending the glory
and prestige of the empire. The slavish homage which the
Thothmes (Thutmose) kings and the Ramessids paid to
Amon-Ra, and the lavish gifts which they showered on his
sanctuaries, suggest that behind the stately figureheads of
the kings it was the pious, but not altogether unworldly,
ecclesiastics who pulled the real strings of war and peace.^
Of the prodigal liberality with which the kings heaped wealth
on the religious establishments some of them have bequeathed
to us exact records. Thus King Seti the First (about
1320 R.C.) tells us that ‘‘ he gave to his Father Amon-Ra, the
silver, gold, lapis lazuli, malachite, and all the precious stones
which he had got as booty in the wretched land of Syria
The sculptures which accompany and illustrate this inscrip-
tion show that among the booty were the splendid vessels,
fashioned of precious metals in fantastic forms, which were in
that age the much-admired handiwork of Syrian goldsmiths.^
But all other records of pious munificence are cast into the Munificent
shade by the roll known as the great Harris papyrus, some ^Zlons of
hundred and thirty-three feet long, in which are set forth
the benefactions which King Rameses the Third (about i 200 temple of
B.C.) conferred on Egyptian sanctuaries during his long reign
of thirty-one years. They include one hundred and sixty-
nine cities, of which nine were in Syria and Ethiopia ; more
i (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The im Altertum, pp. 403 sqq.
Gods of the Egyptians, ii. \\ sq.\ K. ^ E,YAm 7 m,Aegyptenundaegyptisches
Aegypteiiund aegyptisches Leben Leben im Altertum, p. 404.
VOL. I 2 P
Usurpation
of kingly
power by
the High
Priests of
Amon-Ra
at 'I'hebes ;
the dynasty
of priestly
kings.
578 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
than a hundred thousand slaves ; nearly half a nnillion head
of cattle ; more than five hundred vineyards and gardens ;
more than two thousand seven hundred images of gods ; and
many thousand vessels of gold, silver, and bronze ; not to
mention many millions of less precious offerings. Of the
royal bounty, Amon-Ra at Thebes appears to have appro-
priated the lion’s share, for we know that in the reign of this
generous benefactor the god s temple in that city owned more
than eighty thousand slaves, more than four hundred thousand
head of cattle, hundreds of thousands of acres of cornland,
four hundred and thirty-three vineyards and orchards, fift^v-
six cities in Egypt, and the whole of the nine foreign cities
which were allocated to the service of Egyptian religion.
Thus the patrimony of the great god of Thebes far surpassed
that of all his brother and sister deities in Egypt. It was at
least five times as great as that of the Sun-god Ra at
Heliopolis, and it was ten times greater than that of Ptah at
Memphis ; yet in the early ages of the kingdom, the gods of
Heliopolis and Memphis had been reckoned among the
wealthiest divinities of Egypt. We can understand the force
of attraction exercised by a deity so richly dowered with the
goods of this world, since, by ensuring him the means of
conquest, they at the same time demonstrated the reality and
power of his divinity beyond the reach of cavil.^ No wonder
that, fostered by endowments beside which the revenues of
the wealthiest monasteries of the Middle Ages in Europe must
appear almost insignificant, the great religious foundations at
Thebes should have reared to the greater glory of God those
gigantic temples at Karnak to which no other country and no
other age in the history of the world can present a parallel.^
But towards the close of the twentieth dynasty a decline
set in ; a paralysis seems to have struck the line of Rameses.
The later kings of that dynasty led no armies into foreign
lands : they neglected even the Delta, Memphis, and Ethiopia,
and what little activity they displayed, was devoted to the
service of the gods of Thebes. No longer enriched by the
^ G. Maspero, Histoire anciefwe des Alterturn^ pp. 405 - 409 ; id,^ Die
penples de V Orient classique : les dgyptische Keligion‘^^ P* 85.
pr emigres mt'Res des penples (Paris,
1897), pp. 557-559; A. Erman, ^ A. Erman, Die agypHsche Re-
Aegypten tind aegyptisches Leben tm ligion pp. 84 sq.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 579
spoils of conquest, the treasury of Amon-Ra was drained to
supply the wants of the vast religious establishment ; poverty
stared the clergy in the face. To replenish their empty
coffers the priests wrested from the feeble and degenerate
successor of Rameses the Third the right of levying taxes
on the Theban people and of appropriating to the service of
God certain of the revenues of the city. Finally, when the
last Rameses had been gathered to his fathers, the high priest
of Amon-Ra, grasping at the show as well as the substance of
power, made himself king of Egypt and so became the founder
ofithe twenty-first dynasty, the dynasty of the priestly kings/
Under the ghostly sway of these Theban popes, who, The
like their brethren of Rome in the Middle Ages, combined
the spiritual with the temporal power, the central Egyptian female
government assumed the form of a theocracy. For the real er^hiy
rulers, the high priests of Amon-Ra, masked their rescripts of
under the guise of oracles of the god, who, with the help of
a little pious jugglery, complacently signified his assent to
their wishes by nodding his head or even by speech. But
oddly enough the papal power was wielded, nominally at
least, not by the pope himself but by a woman, the earthly
consort of Amon-Ra. Her office was hereditary, passing by
rights from mother to daughter. But probably the entail
was often broken by the policy or ambition of the men who
stood behind the scenes and worked the oracle by hidden
wires for the edification of the multitude. Certainly we
know that on one occasion King Psammetichus the P'irst
foisted his own daughter into the holy office by dedicating
her to Amon under a hypocritical profession of gratitude for
favours bestowed on him by the deity. And the female
pope had to submit to the intrusion with the best grace she
could assume, protesting her affection for the adopted
daughter who had ousted her own daughter from the throne.
When kings reigned at Thebes, the wife of the god was
either the queen or a princess.^
1 (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The pp. 347 sqq.^ 357 sqq, ; C. P. Tiele,
Gods of ihe Egyptians, ii. 12; G. Geschichte der Keligmi irn Altertum,
Maspero, Histoire ancienne des peiiples i. (Gotha, 1896), pp. 66, 98-100; H.
de V Orient classique : les premises Y.\\ 7 s\\,\xi The Cambridge Ancient Hi s-
ftiHies des peuples (Paris, 1897), pp. iii. (Cambridge, 1925), pp. 251
559-566; J. H. Breasted, History of ^ KJ^xm2in,Die cigyptische Religion’^,
the Ancient Egyptians i()oS), pp. 87, 185 sqq. As to the oracular
58 o worship of SUN BY NON ARY AN PEOPLES chap.
The Queen
of Egypt
believed to
be the wife
of the Sun-
god and to
be impreg-
nated by
him.
Not only was the Queen of Egypt usually the wife of
the Sun-god, but she was believed to be actually impregnated
by him and in consequence to give birth to a son, who was
no other than the king of Egypt; for from the fifth dynasty
onward the king was styled the Son of Ra and was believed
to have been physically begotten by the Sun-god.^ The
divine marriage, the birth of the royal infant, and his or her
recognition by the gods are carved and painted in great
detail on the walls of two ancient temples, one at Deir el
Bahari and the other at Luxor ; and the inscriptions
attached to the sculptures leave no doubt as to the meaning
of the scenes. The sculptures at Deir el Bahari, which
represent the begetting and birth of Queen Hatshopsitou
(Hatshepsut), are the older and have been reproduced with
but little change at Luxor, where they represent the beget-
ting and birth of King Amenophis the Third. There is a
prologue in heaven, in which the god summons his assessors,
the deities of Heliopolis, and reveals to them the future
birth of a new Pharaoh, a royal princess, and requests them
to make ready the fluid of life and of strength, whereof they
are the masters. Then the god is seen approaching the
queen’s bed-chamber: the mystery of incarnation takes place :
Amon-Ra lays aside his godhead and becomes flesh in the
likeness of the king, the human spouse of the queen. The
union of the two follows immediately. On a bed of state
the king and queen appear sitting opposite each other, with
their legs crossed. The queen receives from her husband
the symbols of life and strength, while two goddesses, the
patronesses of matrimony, support the feet of the couple
and guard them from harm. The text which encloses the
scene sets forth clearly the mystic union of the human with
the divine : “ Thus saith Amon-Ra, king of the gods, lord
of Karnak, he who rules over Thebes, when he took the
form of this male, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Thothmes the F'irst, giver of life. He found the queen when
jugglery see J. H. Breasted, History ^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
of the Ancient Egyptians (London, Ancient Egyptians^ p. 53 ; A. Erman,
1908), pp. 357 sq. Compare The Die dgyptische Religion'^^ p. 49;
Golden Bought Part I. The Magic ]. H. Breasted, Develop^nent of Religion
Art and the Evolution of Kings, ii. and Thought in Ancient Egypt, pp.
134 i$sq.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 581
she lay in the glory of her palace. She awoke at the fragrance
of the god and marvelled at it. Straightway His Majesty
went towards her, took possession of her, placed his heart in
her, and shewed himself to her in his divine form.” Further
he announces the birth of her daughter, the future queen. ^
It was therefore much more than an idle compliment, a The kings
piece of courtly flattery, when the ancient Egyptians spoke supposed
of their kings as the offspring of the Sun-god. They really to be the
looked upon them as divine Sons of a divine Father. “Itof the Sun-
has never been doubted that the king claimed actual
dfvinity ; he was the * great god', the ‘golden Horus’, and
son of Ra. He claimed authority not only over Egypt, but
over ‘all lands and nations', ‘the whole world in its length
and its breadth, the east and the west ', ‘ the entire compass
of the great circuit of the sun', ‘the sky and what is in it,
the earth and all that is upon it ', ‘ every creature that walks
upon two or upon four legs, all that fly or flutter, the whole
world offers her productions to him '. Whatever in fact
might be asserted of the Sun-god was dogmatically predic-
able of the king of Egypt. His titles were directly derived
from those of the Sun-god.” “
Of all the kings of Egypt none displayed so fervent, so Devotion of
fanatical a devotion to the worship of the Sun as a king of
the eighteenth dynasty, the famous Amenophis (Amenhotep)
the Fourth, who reigned from about 1380 to 1362 B his attempt
But his devotion took a heretical turn. A philosophic to establish
dreamer, absorbed in the contemplation of the divine and theism, the
engrossed in a visionary scheme of a religious reformation,
which was to sweep away all the barbarous and monstrous disk under
gods of his country and replace them by a pure monotheism,
the worship of the Sun as the only god, he frittered away
his short life in a vain attempt to elevate his people to the
^ A. Moret, Bit Caract^re religietix (Sir) Peter le Page Renouf, “ Tlie
de la Royaut^ Pharaoniqite (Paris, Priestly Character of the earliest
1902), pp. 48-54. For a full descrip- Egyptian civilisation”, Proceedings oj
tion and discussion of the various the Society of Biblical Archaeology ^ yX\,
scenes, with illustrations, see A. Moret, (1890) p. 355. Compare The Golden
op. cit. pp. !t8-73. Compare A. Wiede- Bought Part I. The Magic Art and the
mann, Herodots zweites Buch^ pp. Evolution of Rings fi. sq.
268 sq. ; The Golden Bought Part I.
The Magic Art and the Evolution of ^ The Cambridge Ancient History,
Kin^s, ii. 130-133. ii. TOZ.
582 WORSHIP OF SHN BY NON- ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
contemplative heights at which he loved to expatiate in
thought, while his kingdom fell into disorder and his Syrian
empire crumbled away under the pressure of the new and
formidable empire of the Hittites, which was now rising,
like a dark and menacing cloud, on the northern horizon.
The old titles and effigies of the Sun-god were abolished.
Instead of the many names in which he had hitherto
rejoiced, he was to be* known henceforth by the simple name
of Aton, which signified the solar disk. He was no longer
permitted to prance about with the legs of a man and the
head of a ram or a hawk. Truth to nature was now fhe
watchword of the reformation, and after all what is the sun
to our eyes but a bright disk with beams radiating from it ?
Accordingly a bright disk with beams radiating from it was
to be thenceforth the sole image of the Sun : the shocking
impiety of likening him to a man or a beast was no longer
to be tolerated. But as a slight concession to human
weakness the sunbeams were provided with human hands,
which they extended in an affectionate manner towards their
orthodox worshippers. The pattern of orthodoxy was
naturally set by the king, and on the monuments of his time
he and his wife are often represented thus basking in the
rays of the divine Sun. But nevertheless the Sun w^as still
so far personified that he passed for the father of the king.
In his inscriptions Amenophis the Fourth repeatedly refers
to him as “ Aton my father
Command fn his zeal for the unity of God, the king commanded to
of the king erase the names of all other gods from the monuments, and
to destroy ,
the images to destroy their images. Singularly enough, the rage of the
andtoerase reformer was particularly directed against Amon or Amon-
ihc names u j o
of all the Ra, who, on account of the close alliance which, in his
especially^ Capacity of a ram, he had struck up with the Sun, might
the name of well have been spared the indignities to which he was now
Amon-Ra. subjected. But no, he had to go with the rest of the old-
fashioned deities. Even the sanctity of the grave was not
respected, masons scoured the cemetery of Thebes and
hammered out the obnoxious name of .Amon wherever it
appeared on the tombs. The long rows of statues of the
high and noble, memorials of Egypt's ancient but now fast
vanishing glories, ranged in silent and solemn grandeur-
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN B Y ANCIENT EG YPTIANS 583
along the walls of the great temple at Karnak, were similarly
mutilated by the erasure of the once honoured name.
Stone-cutters climbed to the tops of the lofty obelisks and
chipped away the name of Amon even on the apex. Worse
still, the name of the king’s own father Amenophis
(Amenhotep) had to be effaced on his monuments because
it contained the name of Amon. Even the private apart-
ments of the late monarch in his splendid palace at Thebes
were invaded and the king’s name erased from the sumptuous
decorations of the walls, leaving unsightly gaps where
tfie mason’s chisel had struck out the royal cartouche.
The name of the reformer himself suffered from precisely
the same defect; for was not he too an Amenophis? The The king
sensitive king felt the name like a blot on his scutcheon, and
he changed it for one in which the new name of the deity name to
figured instead. He was henceforth known as Ikhnaton,
which means “ Aton is satisfied ”, or “ He with whom Aton
is satisfied
Thebes itself, the ancient capital of his glorious ancestors. The
full of the monuments of their piety and idolatry, was no ^gypt^
longer a fit home for the puritan king. Perhaps as he
looked westward at evening from his palace window, and reformer
saw the sun, which he worshipped, setting behind the
’ iTjT » 1.11 Ihcbes to
mountains, the long line of the royal tombs in the deep Teii-ei-
shadows below might seem to reproach him silently for the
outrage he had committed on the dead, his ancestors, .who
slept in these solemn mausoleums. Be that as it may, he
deserted Thebes and builthimself a newcapital, which hecalled
Akhetaton, “Horizon of Aton”, situated some three hundred
miles lower down the river, at the place now known as Tell-
el-Amarna. It is a fine and spacious bay in the cliffs which
hem in the valley. Here in a few years a city of palaces
and gardens rose like an exhalation at his command, and
here the king, his dearly loved wife and children, and his
complaisant courtiers led a merry life. The Sun-god was
worshipped with songs and hymns, with the music of harps
and fluJtes, with offerings of cakes and fruits and flowers. ^
Blood seldom stained his kindly altars. The king himself the new
celebrated the offices of religion. He preached with unction,
^ J. H. Breasted, in 7 '/te Cambridge Ancient History ^ ii. 113. the piilp*t.
584 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONA RYAN PEOPLES chap.
and we may be sure that his courtiers listened with at least
an outward semblance of devotion. From the too faithful
portraits of himself which he has bequeathed to us we can
still picture to ourselves the heretic king in the pulpit, with
his tall, gaunt figure, his bandy legs, his pot belly, his long,
lean, haggard face, aglow with the fever of religious fanati-
cism. Yet ‘'the doctrine’*, as he loved to call it, was
apparently no stern 'message of renunciation in this world,
of terrors in the world to come. The thoughts of death, of
judgment, and of a life beyond the grave, which weighed
like a nightmare on the minds of the Eg)’ptians, seem tx:>
have been banished for a time. Even the name of Osiris,
the awful judge of tlic dead, is not once mentioned in the
graves at Tell-el-Amarna. So life at Akhetaton glided
peacefully away in a round of religious ceremonies and pious
meditation. Rumours of war and prayers for help from
hard-pressed vassals fell unheeded on the ears of the devout
monarch ; like the muttering of distant thunder, they were
drowned in the noise of psalmody and the music of harps
and flutes.
Reaction But the reformation, so fondly inaugurated, was brief
deathoAhe transient ; it hardly outlasted the life of the reformer.
reformer. His death was followed by a violent reaction. The old gods
were reinstated in their rank and privileges : their names
and images were restored, and new temples were built.
But all the shrines and palaces reared by the heretic king
were thrown down, even the sculptures that referred to him
and to his god in rock-tombs and on the sides of hills were
erased or filled up with stucco : his name appears on no
later monument, and was carefully omitted from all official
lists. The new capital was abandoned, never to be inhabited
again. Its plan can still be traced in the sands of the
desert.^
^ On this attempted reformation of pp. 74 355-357; id.^ Die agypiische
religion, one of the most curious and Religion ^^ pp. 76-84; A. Wiedemann,
interesting episodes in Egyptian history, Aegyptische Geschichte (Gotha, 1884),
see Lepsius, in Verhandlimgeii der pp. 396 sqq. ; id.^ Die Religion der
k'onigl, Akadeniie der Wissenschaften al/en Agypier, pp. 20-22; id. ^ Religion
zti Berlin., 1851, pp. 196-201 ; II. of the Ancient Egyptians, pp. 35-43;
Brugsch, Bistojy of Egypt (London, C. P. Tiele, Geschichte der Religion ivi
1879),!. 441 sqq.; A. Ermnn, A egypten Alterhim, i. (Gotha, 1896) pp. 84-92 ;
und aegyptisches Leben itn Altertum, G. Maspero, Histoire ancienne des
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 585
Of all the surviving monuments of this attempted reforma- Hymns to
tion, the most remarkable are the hymns addressed to the go^^ton.
Sun -god under his new name of Aton. Two of them,
which have been found engraved on the tombs of nobles,
may perhaps have been composed by the king himself;
if so he may rank, like David in Israel, as the sweet
singer of Egypt. A portion of one of them may serve as a
specimen of a hymn which has been compared to the
hundred and fourth psalm.
“ Thy dawfiing is beautiful in the horizon of the sky^
0 living Aton^ Begbming of life !
When thou rises t in the eastern horizo7i^
Thou fillest every land with thy beauty.
Thou art beautiful.^ greaf^ glitterifig.^ high above every land^
Thy rays, they encompass the lands, even all that thou hast made.
Thou art Ra, and thou earnest them all away captwe ;
Thou bindest them by thy love.
Though thou art far away, thy rays are upon carBi ;
Though thou art on high^ thy footprints arx the day.
When thou seitest in the western horizon of the sky.
The earth is in dar'kness like the dead;
They sleep in their chambers.
Their heads are wrapped up,
Their nostrils are stopped.
And none sceth the other.
While all their things are stolen,
Which ar'c under their heads.
And they know it not.
Every lion co7neth forth fro77i his den.
All serpents, they sti7tg,
Dark7jess . . ,
The world is in silence.
He that 77tade theni resteth i7i his horizo7i.
Bright is the earth whc7i thou 7'isest in the horizo 7 i.
Whe7i thou s limes t as Aio7t by day
Thou d7ivest away the darkness.
Peuples de r Orient classiqiie : les
prernilres fuHles des peuples, pp.
316 sgq.’, (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge,
The Gods of the Egyptians, ii. 68-84 5
A. Moret, Kings attd Gods of Egypt
(New York and London, 1912), pp.
41-68; J. II. Breasted, History of the
Ancient Egyptians (London, 1908),
pp. 264-289 ; id.. Development of
Religion a 7 id Thought i/i Ancie 7 it
Egypt (London, 1912), pp. 319 - 343 ;
id., in The Cambridge Ancient History,
ii. 109- 1 29 ; T. E. I’eet, ib. pp. 203-
207 ; W. Max Muller, Egyptian Mytho-
logy (London, etc., n.d.), pp. 224 sqq.
Compare The Golden Bough, Part IV.
Adonis, Attis, Osiris, ii. 123 -125,
from which I have here borrowed some
sentences.
Hymn to
the Sun-
god Aton.
586 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON- ARY AN PEOPLES chap.
IVheti thou sendest forth thy rays^
The Two Lands {^Kgypt') are in daily festivity^
Awake and standing ufon their feet
When thou hast raised them up.
Their limbs bathed., they take their clothing.,
Their arms uplifted in ado7'ation to thy dawnifig.
Then in all the worlct they do their work.
All cattle rest upon their pasturage.,
The trees and the pla7its flourish.,
The bh‘ds flutter in their marshes,
Their wings uplifted in adoratio?i to thee.
All the sheep dance upon their feet,
All the winged things fly.
They live when thou hast shone upofi them.
The barques sail up-stream a7id down-streafn alike.
Every highway is open because thou dawnest.
The fish in the 7'iver leap up before thee.
Thy rays ar'e in the midst of the great green sea.
Creator of the germ in woman,
Maker of seed in man.
Giving life to the son in the body of his mother,
Soothing him that he may not weep.
Nurse even in the womb.
Giver of breath to animate every one that he maketh f
When he cometh forth fr'om the womb ... on the day oj his birih.
Thou ope nest his mouth in speech,
Thou suppliest his necessities.
When the fledgling in the egif chirps in the shell.
Thou givest him breath therein to preserve him alive.
When thou hast brought him together
To the point of bursting it in the egg.
He cometh forth frvm the egg
To chirp with all his might.
He goeth about upon his two feet
When he hath come forth therefrom.
How 77ia7iifold are thy works /
They are hidden fro7n before us,
O sole God, whose powers 710 other posscsseth,
Thou didst create the earth accordmg to thy heart
While thou 7vast alone :
Men, all cattle large a7id S77iall,
All that are upoft the earth,
That go about upon their feet ;
All that are on high,
That fly with their wings.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN B Y ANCIENT EG YPTIANS 587
The foreign countries, Syria and Kush,
The land of Egypt,
Thou set test every man into his place.
Thou suppliest their necessities.
Every one has his possessions.
And his days are reckoned.
The tongues are divers in speech,
Their forms likewise and their skins are distinguished
For thou makest dijferent the strangers . . .
Thy rays flourish every garden ;
When thou risest they live.
They grow by thee.
Thou makest the seasons
In order to create all thy work :
Winter to bring them coolness.
And heat that they may taste thee.
Thou didst make the distant sky to rise therein,
In order to behold all that thou hast made.
Thou alone, shining in thy form as living A ton,
Dawning, glitterifig, going afar and returning.
Thou makest millions of forms
Through thyself alone ;
Cities, towns, and tribes, highways and rivers.
All eyes see thee before them.
For thou art A ton of the day over the earth. . . .
Thou art in my heai't.
There is no other that knoweth thee
Save thy son Ikhnaton.
Thou hast made him wise
hi thy designs and in thy might.
The world is in thy hand.
Even as thou hast made them.
When thou hast risen they lEe,
When thou set test they die;
For thou art length of life of thyself.
Men live through thee.
While their eyes are upon thy beauty
Until thou settest.
All labour is put away
When thou settest in the 7 vestl'‘ ^
Hymn to
the Sun-
god Aton.
1 J. H. Breasted, Development oj
Religion and Thought in Ancient
Egypt (London, 1912), pp. 324-328;
id., in The Cambridge Ancient History,
ii. 1 1 7- 1 19. Compare id.. History of
the Ancient Egyptians (London, 1908),
pp. 273-277 ; A. Wiedemann, Ancient
Egyptian Religion, pp. 40-42 ; A.
Erman, Die dgyptische Religion'^, pp.
79-81 ; (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge,
The Gods of the Egyptians, ii. 75*79 J
A. Moret, Kings and Gods of Egypt,
pp. 55-58 ; W. Max Muller, Egyptian
Mythology, pp. 227-231.
Devotion of
the Queen
to the
Sun-god.
'I'he
Queen’s
prayer.
Other
prayers to
the Sun-
god.
588 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONARYAN PEOPLES chap.
In another hymn of the reformed religion we read :
“// is the breath of life in the nostrils to behold thy rays.
All flowers live and what grows in the soil
Is made to grow because thou dawnest,
They are drunken before thee.
All cattle skip upon their feet;
The birds in the marsh fly with joy.^
Their wings that were folded are spread.
Uplifted in adoration to the living A ton.” ^
The king’s wife, Queen Nofretete, with whom he
appears to have lived on terms of warm affection, and who^^
is depicted on his monuments adoring in his company the
disk of the Sun and blessed by his radiant glory, shared
his devotion to that great deity. She gave expre.ssion to
her reverence in the following prayer :
“Thou disk of the Sun, thou living god! there is none
other beside thee! Thou givest health to the eyes through
thy beams, Creator of all beings. Thou goest up on the
eastern horizon of the heaven, to dispense life to all which
thou hast created ; to man, four-footed beasts, birds, and all
manner of creeping things on the earth, where they live.
Thus they behold thee, and they go to sleep when thou
settest. Grant to thy son, who loves thee, life in truth, to
the Lord of the land, that he may live united with thee in
eternity. Behold his wife, the Queen Nofer-i-Thi [Nofretete].
May she live for evermore and eternally by his side, well-
pleasing to thee: she admires what thou hast created day by
day. He (the king) rejoices at the sight of thy benefits,
grant him a long existence as king of the land!
Vain prayer! The hand of death may already have
been on the sickly and emaciated king. Cut off in the
flower of his age, he soon slept in a rock-cut tomb in a
lonely valley, where one of his daughters had been laid to
her last rest before him.^
Carved on stones of the deserted capital have been
found prayers addressed to the Sun-god by lesser mortals,
* J. H. Breasted, Development of Egyptians, p. 37 ; A. Ernian, Die
Religion and Thought in Ancient agyptische Religion p. 83.
EjrvM. p. ^ II. Brugsch, History of Egypt,
2 (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The i. 450.
Gods of the Egyptians, ii. 73, 77 ; ^ J. H. Breasted, in The Cambridge
A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient Ancient History, ii. 127.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY AITCIENT EGYPTIANS 589
who shared in the devotion of their royal master to the new
deity, and assisted him by their labours in various capacities.
One of the humbler devotees was the king’s steward, another
his architect named Bek. The steward prays thus to the
setting Sun :
“ Beautiful is thy setting, thou Sun’s disk of life, thou The
lord of lords, and king of the worlds. When thou unitest
thyself with the heaven at thy setting, mortals rejoice before the Setting
thy countenance, and give honour to him who has created
them, and pray before him who has formed them, before the
glance of thy son, who loves thee, the King Khunaten
[Ikhnaton]. The whole land of Egypt and all peoples
repeat thy names at thy rising, to magnify thy rising in like
manner as thy setting. Thou, O God, who in truth art the
living one, standest before the two eyes. Thou art he which
createst what never was, which formest everything, which art
in all things; we also have come into being through the word
of thy mouth. Give me favour before the king for ever ; let
there not be wanting to me a peaceful burial after attaining
old age in the land of Khu-aten, when I shall have finished
my course of life in a good state.” ^ With the steward’s The
prayer we may compare the epitaph on the architect’s tomb-
stone. On the stone the figures of the architect and his
wife are seen standing in a niche. On the right-hand side
runs an inscription: “A royal sacrifice to Hormakhu, the
sun’s disk, who enlightens the world ; that he may vouch-
safe to accept the customary offerings of the dead on the
altar of the living sun’s disk, in favour of the overseer of the
sculptors from life, and of his wife, the lady Tahir”. On the
left-hand side of the stone is the inscription: “A royal offer-
ing to the living sun’s disk, which enlightens the world by
its benefactions, in order that it may vouchsafe a perfectly
complete good life, united with the reward of honour, joy of
heart, and a beautiful old age, in favour of the artist of the
king, the sculptor of the lord of the land, the follower of the
divine benefactor, Bek
Before concluding this sketch of Sun-worship in ancient
Egypt we must quit the speculative heights, on which the
' H. Brugsch, History of Egypt, ® M. Brugsch, History of Egypt,
i. 449 . i- 445-
The Sun
god Ra
deemed
the first
king of
P^gypt.
Antiquity
of the reign
of Ra.
Humanity
of Ra.
Myths of
the origin
of the Sun
god.
590 WORSHIP OF SUN £Y NON ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
contemplative genius of the royal reformer loved to dwell,
and plunge once more down to the level of those ruder ages
and grosser minds which personified the Sun-god in myths
redolent of human limitations, pas.sions, and frailties.
The Sun-god Ra was regarded by the Egyptians, not
only as a solar deity, but also as the first king of Egypt.
In early times the people seem to have held this notion
with a tenacity which no theological subtleties, no priestly
refinements availed to shake. Not until later ages did Ra
yield his place in popular favour to Osiris, the model of
Egyptian kings, and even then he was not entirely deposed ;
for while Osiris was believed to have ruled as a man over men
only, the reign of Ra was relegated to a time when gods still
sojourned among men, and the Sun-god ruled over both.^
The reign of Ra was placed in the remotest antiquity.
“ The like has not happened since the time of Ra ”, was a
common phrase used of any evetit to which no parallel
within the memory of man could be adduced. The god
was conceived by the Egyptians as existing purely in the
shape of a man. In popular tales, such as the Tale of the
Two Brothers,^ he appears walking on earth along with
other gods, conversing with mortals, granting to his favourites
gifts, which did not always minister to their permanent
happiness, and conceived as a kindly old man. There is
nothing singular in such notions. On the contrary they are
commonplaces in the childlike religion of primitive peoples.
But in Egyptian faith the Sun-god Ra was brought into
still nearer relations to humanity by the belief that he was
the begetter of the Egyptian kings, and that at the last he
sank into a drivelling old age.® Evidence of this belief
in the ultimate dotage and decrepitude of the Sun-god will
meet us immediately.
As to the origin of the Sun-god various stories were told.
According to one account, he originated, no one knew exactly
how or where, in the great primeval ocean called Nun.'^
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
Ancient Egyptians^ P* 52 .
2 (Sir) VV. M. Flinders Petrie,
Egyptian Tales ^ Second Series (London,
1895). PP- 45. 49 - 5 « : O. Maspero,
Les Contes populaires de VEgypte
Ancienne^ (Paris, N.D.), pp. 8, 9 sq.
3 A. Wiedemann, Religion of the
Ancient Egyptians^ pp. 52-54.
^ A. Erman, Die dgyptische Re-
ligion'^, p. 32.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EG YPTIANS 591
Many people thought that he first appeared as a child sitting
in a lotus flower which bloomed in the primordial watery
abyss.^ Perhaps the notion may have been suggested by the
sight of the sun rising over the flooded Delta, where lotus
flowers spangled the shimmering surface of the water.^
According to another account, the Sun-god was hatched from
an egg, which lay in a nest, which rested on a hill, which rose
from the water. Eight primeval monsters, in the form of
frogs and serpents, were present at the birth, and so was a
cow. No sooner was the infant god hatched from the egg
,than he climbed on the back of the cow and, so mounted,
swam about in the water. As for the egg, it was not laid by
any living creature but fashioned on a potter’s wheel by the
creator-god Ptah of Memphis. Abydos likewise could point
to the birthplace of the Sun.^ We have seen that in Itgyptian
mythology the sky was supposed to have originally lain flat
on the earth until it was raised to its present position by the
god Shu, who, dexterously interposing himself between the
bodies of the deified Earth (Seb or Keb) and the deified Sky
(Nut), pushed up the firmament to the lofty position which it
has occupied ever since. On this view the Sun, which must
have at first lain flat on the ground, was elevated, simultane-
ously with the deified Sky, to the vault of heaven ; and on
Egyptian monuments he is represented sailing in his boat
over the back of the Sky-goddess Nut.'*
But another and even more barbarous myth was told to Myth told
account for the position of the sun in the sky. It is said for^thT^"^
that the Sun-god Ra, the king of gods and men, grew old position
. 1 *1 1 • I* 1 ^ ij j the Sun
and feeble ; his bones turned to silver, his limbs to gold, and the sky.
his hair to lapis lazuli. So men despised him and plotted
against him. But Ra heard the words which men spoke
about him ; and he said to one of his following, “ Call to me
my eye (the goddess Hathor or Sekhet), and the god Shu
and the goddess Tefnut, the god Seb and the goddess Nut,
and the fathers and the mothers who were with me when I
was in Nun (the primeval waters), and call also Nun him-
self (the god of the primeval waters), let him bring his
•
^ A. Erman, Die dgyptische Re- ^ A. Erman, Dte agypttsche Re-
ligion'^j p. 33 . ligion'^, P* 33-
2 (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, Tke ^ A. Erman, Die agyptische Re-
Gods of the Egyptians, i. 522 . ligion^, PP-35 ^9- See above, pp. 7 *-73*
Ra accuses
men of
plotting
against
him.
Ra sends
forth his
eye to
destroy the
men who
plotted
against
him.
The
goddess
Hathor, as
the eye of
Ra, slays
mankind.
Ra
stops the
slaughter
by render-
ing Hathor
tipsy.
592 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
companions with him ; let him bring them in all secrecy, that
men may not see them and flee ” Now when these gods
came to the place where Ra was, they cast themselves down
to earth before his majesty, and he spake to Nun, the father
of the oldest gods, the maker of men, the king of those that
know. He said : O thou eldest god, by whom I first had
my being, and ye ancestral gods ! behold, mankind, who
had their being from mine eye,^ plot against me. Tell me
what ye would do in face of this. Take ye counsel for me.
I will not slay them until I have heard what ye say con-
cerning it.”
Then spake the majesty of the god Nun : “O my son
Ra, thou god that art greater than his father and his creator,
thy throne standeth fast, great is the fear of thee, turn thine
eye against those who have uttered blasphemies against
thee ”. And when Ra turned his eye upon them, they fled,
into the desert,^ for their hearts were full of fear because of
that which they had said. Then the gods spake to his
majesty, to Ra the king, saying : “ Send forth thine eye ;
let it destroy for thee the people which imagined wicked
plots against thee. There is no eye among mankind which
can withstand thine eye when it descendeth in the form of
the goddess Hathor.”
So the goddess Hathor went forth, she slew mankind in
the desert,^ she waded in their blood. Then the heart of Ra
smote him, and he commanded that the butchery should
cease. But the goddess had tasted blood, and she refused
to obey. “ By thy life,” she answered, “ when I murder men,
my heart is glad.” The fall of night alone arrested the
carnage.
While the cruel goddess slept, Ra took steps to prevent
her from utterly destroying mankind on the following day.
He said : Call unto me swift messengers ; let them run
like a blast of the wind ; let them run to Elephantine ; let
1 In an obscure myth about the
eye of the Sim it is said that the Sun
wept, and that men arose out of the
tears which fell from his eye. See
A. Erman, Die dgyptische Religion^,
P- 34.
2 So Maspero au d^serP') and
Erman in die Wiiste ”) ; “ unto the
hills ” (Wiedemann) ; ‘‘into the moun-
tain” (Budge); “to the (desert)
mountains” (W. Max Miiller).
3 So Erman (“ der iVusie’^);
“ upon the hills” (Wiedemann) ; “on
the mountain” (Budge); “on the
mountains” (W. Max Muller).
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN B Y ANCIENT EG YPTIANS 593
them bring me many mandrakes So the mandrakes were
brought and the god delivered them to the grinder who
dwells in Heliopolis, and he ground them to powder, while
handmaids brewed barley beer. Then the powder of the
mandrakes was poured into the beer, and the beer was red as
blood. Seven thousand jars of the red beer were brewed.
The majesty of King Ra came with the gods to behold the
beer. And when the morning broke, and the goddess
Hathor would have resumed the slaughter, Ra said, “ I will
protect men against her. Carry the beer to the place where
she would slay mankind.’* So the beer was carried there
and poured out, and it flooded the fields four spans deep.
In the morning the goddess came, she found the fields
flooded, she saw her face beautifully reflected in the beer, and
she drank of the beer, and her heart was glad, and she
returned home drunk, and took no more thought of men.
Thus did the old Sun-god save mankind from utter But. tired
destruction. But he would rule no more among these his
ungrateful creatures. ‘‘ By my life,” quoth he, “ my heart is men, the
weary of abiding with them.” But the gods remonstrated
with him, saying, “Speak not of weariness; thy might is drew to the
according to thy desire ”. Nevertheless, the weary Sun- rafsed^on^
god replied to Nun, the god of the primeval waters, die back
saying : “ For the first time my limbs ail ; I will not wait daughter
until this weakness seizeth me a second time To discover
a retreat and place of rest for the worn-out Sun-god, now goddess) in
fallen into the vale of years, was a task for Nun, the g-od
° of a cow.
of the primeval waters. He called his daughter, the Sky-
goddess Nut, and she turned herself into a cow, and took the
Sun-god on her back, and lifted him up aloft ; and there she
herself became what is now the sky. But when Nut looked
down from heaven, she trembled at the great height. So
Ra called the god Shu to him and said, “ My son Shu, put
yourself under my daughter Nut, take her on thine head ”.
And Shu did as he was bidden, and since then he has
supported the heavenly cow, on whose belly the stars
twinkle, and the sun sails along in his boat. For, according
^ So Wiedemann, Maspero, Budge, Erman leaves untranslated, remarking
and W. Max MlUler, following Brugseh. that it must be some fruit with a red
The Egyptian word is diclij which juice.
VOL. T 2 Q
The sky
conceived
as a cow
and
identified
either with
Hathor or
with Nut.
Another
story of
how Ra,
the
Sun-god,
destroyed
his enemies
by Horns
the
Sparrow-
hawk
(Horbe*
hudti), in
the form of
a winged
disk.
594 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
to one scheme of Egyptian cosmography, the celestial vault
is in fact a gigantic cow, and the sun travels in his bark
along the stomach of the animal, which is propped up and
prevented from collapsing by various divinities, especially by
Shu. The heavenly cow is sometimes identified with the
goddess Hathor and sometimes with the Sky-goddess Nut.
As for the Sun-god Ra, he perched on the back of the cow ;
and there he created for himself a kingdom, to wit the upper
heaven, with its green fields spangled with stars, and one of
the fields he called the Field of Rest. There the blessed
dead, a great multitude whom no man can number, gathei
to him, and walk these happy fields, and praise him, their
Maker, for ever and ever.^
The destruction of the enemies who took advantage of
Ra’s age and infirmities to plot against him is related in
another myth, which explains the meaning of the winged
disk as a symbol of the sun. The story sets forth how,
when Ra was in Nubia with his warriors, his foes conspired
against him. Ra did not himself go forth to battle with
them, but had recourse to the god Horbehudti, that is,
Horus the Sparrow-hawk, who thereupon flew up to the sun
in the form of a great winged disk ; therefore was he thence-
forth called the Great God, the Lord of Heaven. From
heaven he saw the foemen, he pursued them as a great
winged disk. Because of his fierce onset their eyes no
longer saw, their cars no longer heard ; every man slew his
neighbour, not a head remained whereby they could live.
When Ra was sailing in his bark on the water, and the
crocodiles and hippopotamuses opened their jaws to devour
him, then came Horbehudti with his servants ; every one
of them had an iron lance and a chain in his hand ; then
they smote the crocodiles and the hippopotamuses ; and
the number of the foes of Ra that were slain before the
city of Edfu was three hundred and eighty - one. Thus
' This account of the attempted
destruction of mankind by Hathor,
and the retirement of the Sun-god
to the sky, is found in a magical book
which may have been written under
the Middle Kingdom and is preserved
in royal tombs of the New Kingdom.
See A. Erman, Die dgyptische Religion^,
pp. 36 sq. ; A. Wiedemann, Religioti
of the Ancient Egyptians^ pp. 58-64 ;
(,). Maspero, Histoire ancienne des
peuples de P Orient classique : les
origines, pp. 164-169; (Sir) E. A.
Wallis Budge, The Gods of the Egyp-
tians, i. 363-369 ; W. Max Muller,
Egyptian Mythology, pp. 73-78.
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 595
did the god Horbehudti traverse the v^hole of Egypt in the
company of Ra, warding off all evil and harm from the king
of the gods. Hence it was hoped and believed that he
would always and everywhere exert the same beneficent
power ; therefore the image of the winged disk of the sun The image
was placed over the entrances to the inner chambers of^jj^g^d
temples as well as over their gates ; and it was carved on disk of
, , , . . .. , j the Sun.
tablets and other objects as a talisman to stave off harm and
destruction. Sometimes the emblem is simply a winged
solar disk, but sometimes it is combined with two serpents,
•one on either side of the disk ; occasionally the serpents are .
crowned with the diadems of Upper and Lower Egypt.
They represent the tutelary goddesses of the two divisions
of the land, namely, the goddesses Nekhebit and Uazit,
whom the Greeks called Eileithyia and Buto. While these
winged disks were rarely represented in the Old Kingdom,
they were common in the New ; and in later times a series
of such disks would be placed one below the other on the
same monument, doubtless in the hope that the efficacy of
the sacred symbol would be strengthened by its repetition. It
is probable that originally Horbehudti, the god of the winged
solar disk, was an independent deity of the sun, the peer
of Ra, though afterwards, in the fusion of local worships, he
came to be subordinated to that great god, who drew so
many once distinct deities, like planets, into his orbit.^
But nowhere are the feebleness and decrepitude of the How isis
aged Sun-god Ra depicted so vividly as in the famous myth Q^eeTof
which relates how the cunning enchantress Isis wheedled him the Gods
out of his secret name, and by transferring it to herself
became mistress of his divine powers ; for in accordance with Sun-god
the doctrine of primitive magic a person’s true name is not reveal to
a mere empty sound but a substantial part of him, which
carries with it the personal qualities and powers of the owner name,
and can be purloined, like any other piece of property, and
used against him by an enemy. In this story of the cajoling
of Ra, we read that Ra had many names, but that the great
name, which gave him all power over gods and men, was
known to none but himself. However, by this time the god
was grown old ; he slobbered at the mouth, and his spittle
^ A. Wiedemann, Religion of the Ancient Egyptians ^ pp. 69-78.
596 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES chap.
fell upon the ground. So Isis gathered up the spittle and
the earth with it, and out of the two, by her magic art, she
fashioned a serpent, which stung Ra as he passed on his daily
journey to and fro. The god suffered agonies from the effect
of the poison, and Isis offered to deliver him from his pangs,
if only he would reveal to her his secret name. The god held
out for a time, but at last he could bear the torture no more,
and in a moment of weakness, to obtain relief, he consented
that Isis should search into him, and that his name should
pass from his breast into hers. It did so, and Isis kept her
part of the bargain by reciting a spell, which caused the
poison to flow out of the god’s body. Thus possessed of the
divine name, Isis became the Queen of the Gods ; but robbed
of his name, and ashamed of his fallen state, Ra hid himself
from the gods, and his place in the ship of eternity was
empty.^
Mythofthe Even in the zenith of his power and glory, before he
the sank into the fens and bogs of a feeble old age, the Sun-god
god with or Amon Ra had to contend with a foe more fierce and
dmg^on, dangerous than any mere human enemy. This dreadful
Apepi being was the huge serpent or dragon, Apep, Apepi, or
(Apophis). dared to oppose and obstruct the passage of
the Sun-god s bark both in the sky above and the world of
the dead below. He seems to have personified the principle
of darkness in opposition to the sunlight. Originally, perhaps,
he was the thick darkness which brooded over the primeval
abyss of water (Nun), before the sun arose from it to
illumine the universe ; but afterwards he apparently stood
for darkness in general, whether the gloom of midnight or of
the murky storm-cloud. In the BooLs of Overthroiving Apep
he is spoken of at one time as a serpent, and at another as a
crocodile ; but in the pictures of Egyptian papyri he is
always portrayed in the form of a serpent with a knife stuck
in each of his coils. In the Book of the Gates he is to be
^ k.l^imKX\,Aegyptenundaegy>ptisckes Religion of the Ancient Egyptians.
Lehen im Altertum, pp. 359-362 ; id., pp. 54-58 ; (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge,
Die (igyptische ReligioiD, pp. 1 73 sq. ; The Gods of the Egyptians, i. 360-363;
R. V. Lanzone, Dizionario di mitologia W. Max Muller, Egyptian Mytholog)>,
egizia{Twx\x\, 1881-1884), pp. 818-822 ; pp. 79-83 ; The Golden Bough, Part II.
G. Maspero, Histoire ancienne des Taboo and the Perils of the Soul,
peuples de V Orient classique : les pp. 387-389.
origines, pp. 162-164; A. Wiedemann,
XIII WORSHIP OF SUN BY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 597
seen chained to the ground by five chains, while another
chain is fastened round his neck and is held at one end by a
god. But the eye of the Sun-god is victorious over the
dragon, and in the combat the crew of the Sun-god*s boat
exult when they see how the monster is laid low, how his
limbs are slashed with knives, his body scorched with fire,
and his soul punished still more cruelly.^ In one aspect
of this combat we may perhaps detect a mythical account of
a solar eclipse.^
In the Books of Overthrowing Apep the various ways of How the
dealing with the dragon and overcoming him are described
in great detail. He is to be speared, then gashed with was to be
knives, every bone of his body is to be severed by red-hot
knives, his head, legs, and tail are to be amputated, and
what little remains of him is to be scorched, singed, roasted,
and finally shrivelled up and consumed by fire. The same
fate was in store for his accomplices and for everything that
pertained to them, such as their shadows, souls, doubles, and
spirits ; all these were to be clean wiped out of existence,
and the same radical treatment was to be administered to
any offspring of which they might be the unhappy parents.^
In Upper Egypt a special service was daily performed with Magical
the object of destroying the power of the dragon and frustrat-
ing his attacks on the Sun. The service consisted in reciting destruction
a series of chapters at certain hours of the day, while at the dragon
same time the celebrant performed a set of magical rites, performed
Thus one rubric directs that the name of the dragon, Apepi,
should be written in green ink on a piece of new papyrus,
and that a waxen figure of the fiend should be made, and his
name inscribed in green ink on the covering; and the papyrus
with the name of Apepi on it was to be placed inside the
covering of the figure. And the celebrant was to cast the
figure on the ground, and to stamp on it with his left foot
and defile it, and to spit upon it four times a day. And he
was to put the figure in the fire and as the wax melted and
^ A.Y.xm^nyDte dgyptiseke Religion-y ancienue dex peoples de V Orient
pp. II, 73 sq.\ (Sir) E. A. Wallis dassique: les origines, sq.
Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians^ i. ^ G. Maspero, l,c,
324 Jr/.; Religion of the ^ (Sir) E. A. Wallis Budge, The
Ancient Egyptians, pp. 49, 91, 92, Cods of the Egyptians, i. 270 sq.,
99 sq,, 102 ; G. Maspero, Histoire 325 sq.
598 WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES ch. xiii
the papyrus burned, the dragon would decay and fall to
pieces. And when the wax was melted, the refuse was to
be mixed with filth and burned again. This must be done
at midnight, the hour at which the Sun-god began his return
journey towards the east in the underworld, and it was to be
repeated at dawn, at noon, and at eventide ; and it might
be performed with advantage whenever the sky lowered or
clouds gathered for rain. And the foul fiends that aided
and abetted Apepi in his impious attacks on the Sun-god
were effectually disposed of in like manner. Waxen images
of them were made and inscribed with their names and tied
up with black hair ; and the celebrant cast them on the
ground, kicked them with his left foot, and pierced them
with a stone spear.
Survival of The document which contains this interesting liturgy was
maginn Written about 312—311 B.C., though the compositions which
Egypt. it contains are probably very much older. It suffices to
prove that down to a time subsequent to the Macedonian
conquest, when Egypt was permeated by Greek influence,
the religion of that conservative country was still saturated
with elements borrowed from primitive and world-wide
magic.'
t (Sir) K. A. Wallis Budge, The document which contains these
of the Egyptians, i. 270-272. Compare particulars is known as the papyrus of
The Golcien Bough, Part I. The Magic Nesi-Amsu.
Art and the Evolution of Kings, i. 67 sq.
CHAPTER XIV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA
§ I . The Worship of the Sun among the Hindoos
The worship of the sun has prevailed in India from the TheSun
most ancient times of which we have record down to the both^by^^^
present day. It has not been confined to immigrants of Aryans and
the Aryan stock, but has been shared by the Dravidian fn°ndia^^
aborigines. We have seen that the Aryans of the Vedic age
worshipped the Sun under the two names of Surya and fhe'prelUt
Savitri or Savitar/ But ‘‘ever since Vedic times the Sun
has not ceased to figure prominently in the pantheon as well
as in the poetic and religious literature of India. A great
part of the Bhavishya Purdna is specially consecrated to
him. Traces of his worship are found on the coins of the
satrap kings who ruled over Gujarat towards the Christian
era, as well as on those of the Indo-Scythian princes. At a
later date, in the same region, one at least of the kings
of Valabhi is designated in the inscriptions, Adityabhakta^
worshipper of the Sun. A little more towards the north,
at Multan, in the Punjab, a temple was erected to this
god, the most celebrated in India, the splendours of which
have been described by Hiouen - Thsang and the Mussul-
man writers, and which was finally destroyed only under
Aurangzeb. There were other sanctuaries at Gwalior in
Rdjastan, in Kashmir, and in Orissa. Perhaps Iranian
influences had something to do with the organisation of this
worshjp during the middle age ; at any rate, a great array
of Indian proper names would by itself show how much this
cultus was in vogue throughout India. In fine, the Sun has
1 Above, pp. 443 sqq,
599
600 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
always been in a way the professional and family god of
astronomers and astrologers, who rarely fail to invoke him
at the commencement of their writings.” ^
Sun. The worship of the Sun appears to have flourished in
worsWp during the middle ages ; for in the time of the famous
during the philosopher and commentator Sankara, who was born in
Agef^ 788 A.D., there were no less than six distinct sects of Sun-
worshippers. One sect worshipped the rising Sun, which
they identified with Brahma ; a second sect worshipped the
noonday Sun, which they identified with Siva ; a third sect
worshipped the setting Sun, which they identified withf
Vishnu ; a fourth sect worshipped the Sun in all three of
■these phases, identifying it with the Tri-murti or triad of
forms ; a fifth sect worshipped the Sun in the form of a
man with golden hair and a golden beard, and zealous
members of this sect refused to eat anything in the morning
till they had seen the Sun rise ; and a sixth sect worshipped
an image of the Sun formed in the mind. Members of this
last sect spent all their time in meditating on the Sun, and
were in the habit of branding circular representations of his
disk on their foreheads, arms, and breasts.'*^
Sun- Akbar the Great, who founded the Moghul empire in
fevourfdby reigned from 1556 to 1605 A.D., aimed at estab-
the Moghul lishing a religion which should reconcile the Mohammedan
emperors, Hindoo faith.^ In pursuit of this statesmanlike
1 A. Barth, The Religions 0/ India
(London, 1882), pp. 257 sq. The
Purdnas are a class of epic works,
didactic in character and sectarian in
purpose, which are on the whole later
than the great Sanscrit epic, the
MahCibharata. I'he oldest of them,
the Vdyu PnrCina, dates from about
320 A. D. 'SQt The Imperial Gazetteer
of India ^ The Indian Empire (Oxford,
1909), ii. 236. Aditya, meaning son
of Aditi, is a name of the Sun. It
is not often applied to him in Vedic
literature, but it is a common name
for the Sun in the Brdhmanas and
later books. See A. A. Macdonell,
Vedic Mythology (Strassburg, 1897),
pp. 30, 44. Hiouen-Thsang (Iliuen-
tsiang) was a famous Chinese pilgrim
who, as a Buddhist, travelled through
practically the whole of India between
629 and 645 A.D. and recorded his
travels in works which are still ex-
tant. See The Impefdal Gazetteer of
Indiay The Indian Empire^ ii. 79 sqq.
Aurangzeb was the sixth Moghul
emperor of India. He reigned from
1658 to 1707 A.D. See The Imperial
Gazetteer of India^ The Indian Empire ^
ii, 401 sqq,
2 Monier Williams, Religious
Thought and Life in India (London,
1883), p. 342 ; W. Crooke, 'The
Popular Religion and Folk-lore of
Northern India (Westminster, 1896),
i. 7, who gives Sankara’s date as
1000 A.D. As to Sankara’s birth, I
follow Professor A. A. Macdonell, in
The Imperial Gazetteer of India ^ The
Indian Empire^ ii. 254.
3 The Imperial Gazetteer of India,
'The India^i Empire, ii. 397, 398.
XIV WORSHIP OF THE SUN AMONG THE HINDOOS 6oi
policy he endeavoured to introduce a special form of Sun-
worship. He commanded that the Sun should be adored
four times a day, namely at morning and evening, at noon
and midnight. He collected a thousand and one Sanscrit
titles of the solar deity, and he read them daily, facing
devoutly towards the sun. Then he would lay hold of both
his ears, and, turning quickly round, would strike the lower
ends of his ears with his fists. He ordered his band to play
at midnight, and used to be weighed against gold at his
solar anniversary.^ His son Jahangir was also a worshipper
of the Sun ; and if further evidence of his devotion were
needed, it would be furnished by the Mithraic symbolism
on his tomb at Lahore as well as by the accounts of
contemporary historians and Portuguese missionaries, who
all notice the assiduous worship paid to the Sun by the
early Moghul emperors.*^
Of the Sun-god’s temples in India that of Kanarak in
Orissa, near the temple of Juggernaut, was built about the
beginning of the thirteenth century of our era. It is
described as one of the most exquisite memorials of Sun-
worship in existence ; its luscious ornamentation is at once
the glory and the disgrace of Orissan art.^ Yet the temple
is now deserted and in ruins.^ Ruinous, too, is another
famous temple of the Sun at Martand, in Kashmir, about
three miles east of Islamabad, the old capital. It was
built in the eighth century of our era and has long been
roofless. The pillars and pilasters resemble some of the
later forms of Roman Doric. Round about the temple are
the ruins of about eighty small cells.^ The situation is
appropriate, for it is very sunny and commands magnificent
prospects over the beautiful Vale of Kashmir, the paradise
of the East, with its sacred streams and glens, its orchards
and green fields, surrounded on all sides by lofty snow-clad
mountains.® But the glory of the Sun-god has departed.
1 W. Crooke, Popular Religion and
Folk-lore of Northern India^ i. 7.
2 W. Crpoke, Things Indian (Lon-
don, 1906), p. 445.
3 W. Crooke, Popular Religion and
Folk-lore of Northern India^ i. 6 ; /V/.,
Things Indian, p. 445.
^ M oilier Williams, Religious
Thought and Life in India, p. 343.
The Imperial Gazetteer of India,
The Indian Emph'e, ii, 169.
® W. Crooke, Things Indian, pp.
445
Temples of
the Sun
in India.
6o2 worship of the SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
Sects of
Sun -wor-
shippers.
Siiraj
NArAyan,
the Sun-
god.
He is no longer looked on as a great god, but only as a
godling, or even as a hero who once lived and reigned on
earth.^ At the present day there are few temples dedicated
to him in Northern India, including two or three in Bengal.
There is a small shrine in his honour close to the Anna-
phrna temple in Benares, where the god is represented sitting
in a chariot drawn by seven horses ; he is worshipped with
the fire-sacrifice in a building detached from the temple. In
other temples the god is represented by an equestrian image
or merely by a circle painted red. But images of him,
whether under his title of Surya or Aditya, are conf*-
paratively rare in modern times. His worship has been
largely taken over by Vishnu, and wherever the cult of Siva
is predominant, that of the Sun falls into neglect."
The Saura sect worship the Sun as their special god
under the name of Suryapati. They wear a crystal necklace
in his honour, and abstain from eating salt on Sundays, and
on the days when the sun enters a sign of the zodiac. They
make a red mark on their forehead. Their headquarters
are now in Oudh.^ They never eat until they have seen
the sun. Nowadays they are few in number, but formerly
they were more numerous.'* Another sect called Nimbarak
worship the sun in a modified form. Their name means
“ the sun in a ntm tree ” (^Azidirac/ita Indica), and to
explain it they tell how at the prayer of their founder, who
had invited a friend to dinner after sunset, the Sun-god
obligingly descended on a nim tree and continued to shine
there till the dinner was over.^
The popular modern name for the Sun-god or Sun-
godling is Suraj Nar^yan. “ He is thus regarded as
Narayana or Vishnu occupying the sun. A curiously
primitive legend represents his father-in-law, Viswakarma,
^ W. Crooke, Popular Religion and
Folk-lore of Northern India, i. 5.
^ W. Crooke, Things Indian, pp.
445, 446; id.. Popular Religion and
Folk-lore of Norther 7 i India, i. 5 sq.
The author’s statements in these two
passages as to the number of temples
of the Sun appear discrepant. In the
former passage Mr. Crooke says that
“in North India few temples are
dedicated to the Sun ’’ ; in the latter.
he says that “there are many noted
temples dedicated to him ”, and he
enumerates more than nine such temples.
^ W. Crooke, Popular Religion and
F'olk-lore of Northerfi India, i. 6.
* W\ J. Wilkins, ModernHinduism,
Second Edition (Calcutta and Simla),
P. 345 -
® W. Crooke, Popular Religion and
Folk-lore of Northern India, i. 6 sq.
XIV WORSHIP OF THE SL^N AMONG THE HINDOOS 603
as placing the deity on his lathe and trimming away one-
eighth of his effulgence, leaving only his feet. Out of the
blazing fragments he welded the weapons of the gods/' ^
In the Punjab, particularly in the eastern part of it sun-
comprised within the Karnal District, the Sun-god ranks
first among the pure and benevolent deities adored by the Punjab,
peasants. Any villager, on being asked what divinity he
reveres most, will mention the Sun-godling, Suraj Devaia ;
for the worship of the Sun has in great measure dropped
out of the higher Hindooism, and the peasant calls the solar
fleity, not Deva but Devata, a godling, not a god. No shrine
is built for him, but on Sunday, his holy day, the people
abstain from salt, and do not set milk as usual to make
butter, but convert it into rice-milk and give a portion of it
to Brahmans. A lamp, too, is always burned in honour of
the Sun on Sundays. Every now and then Brahmans are
fed in the name of the Sun on Sunday, especially on the
first Sunday after the fifteenth day of the month Sarh,
when the harvest has been got in, and the agricultural year
is over. Before a Hindoo takes his daily bath, he throws
water towards the Sun.*^ Moreover, the pious householder
bows to the Sun as he leaves his house in the morning.
His more learned brethren repeat the GAyatrt, that ancient
Aryan prayer, saying, ‘‘ May we receive the glorious bright-
ness of this, the generator, the God who shall prosper our
works ! " In the chilly mornings of the cold weather, when
the sleepy coolies awake with a yawn, you may hear them
muttering, “ Si'iraj Ndrdyan " in salutation to the Sun, while
the yellow light of dawn spreads over the eastern sky.^
In the mythology of the Rajputs, of which a better idea Sun-
may be obtained from their heroic poetry than from the
^ W. Crooke, Popular Religion and and Folk-lore of Northern India^ i. 8.
Folk-lore of Northern India, i. 5. The Gdyatrt prayer is from the Rig-
2 (Sir) Denzil C. J. Ibbetson, Report
on the Revision of Settlement of the
Panipat Tahsil and Karnal Parganah
of the Karnal District (Allahabad,
1883), p., 147 ; id.. Outlines of Punjab
Ethnography (Calcutta, 1883), p. 114.
veda, iii. 62. 10. See The Hymns of
the Rigveda, translated by R. T. II.
Griffith, vol. i. p. 87, who translates
the stanza : “ May we attain that
excellent glory of Savitar the god ;
so may he stimulate our prayers ”.
Savitar is a Vedic name of the Sun-
2 (Sir) Denzil C. J. Ibbetson, Report god. See above, p. 448.
on the Revision of Settlement, etc., * W. Crooke, Popular Religion and
p. 147 ; W. Crooke, Popular Religion Folk-lore of Northern India, i. 8.
04 IVORSmP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
legends of the Brahmans, the Sun-god is the deity whom
they are most anxious to propitiate, and in his honour they
fearlessly shed their blood in battle, hoping to be received
into his bright abode. Their highest heaven is accordingly
the Bhanuthan or Bhanuloka, that is, the region of the
Sun ” ; and, like the Massagetae of old, the Rajput warrior
of the early ages sacrificed the horse in honour of the
Sun and dedicated to him the first day of the week, called
Adityawar^ contracted" to Itwar.^ At Udaipur, the capital
of Mewar in Rajputana, the Sun has universal precedence ;
his portal (Suryapol) is the chief entrance to the city ; hv^
name gives dignity to the chief apartment or hall (Suryama-
hall) of the palace ; and from the balcony of the Sun
{Suryagokhrci) the prince of Mewar, who claims to be a
descendant of Rama, shows himself as the Sun^s representa-
tive in the dark monsoon. A huge painted sun formed
of gypsum in high relief, with gilded rays, adorns the hall
of audience, and in front of it stands the throne. The
sacred standard bears the image of the Sun ; and a disk
of black felt or ostrich feather, carried on a pole, displays
in its centre a plate of gold to represent the solar orb. The
royal parasol is called kirania, in allusion to its shape, like
a ray {kiran) of the Sun.*^
Sun- The worship of the Sun is prevalent among the Hindoos
Tmo^g^the Bombay Presidency.® In the Konkan, Deccan, and
Hindoos Kamatak it is deemed very meritorious to adore the Sun,
BomLy Brahmans regard the Sun as their chief deity.
Presidency. Persons desirous of ensuring health, wealth, and prosperity
propitiate the Sun-god by prayers and ceremonies. For
this purpose they make weekly vows in his honour, and the
day on which the vow is to be kept is Sunday. In the
Deccan, on every Sunday in the month of Shravan (July-
August), a picture of the Sun and of his mother Ranubai is
drawn on a low wooden stool in quartz powder and wor-
shipped ; in this picture the Sun is represented by twelve
concentric circles, and his mother is accompanied by the
^ lAeut. -Co\. James To 6 , Anna/s and 2 Lieut.-Col. James Tod/ Annals
Antiquities of Rajasthan^ edited by W. and Antiquities of Rajasthan^ ed. W.
Crooke (Oxford, 1920), ii. 658. As to Crooke, ii. 659 sq.
the horse-sacrifice offered to the Sun by 3 Enthoven, The Folklore of
the Massagetae, see above, p. 458. Bombay (Oxford, 1924), pp. 29-40.
XIV WORSHIP OF THE SUN AMONG THE HINDOOS 605
figure of a swastika and a mace. The seventh day of the
month of Magh (January-February) is believed to be the
principal day for worship and festivities in honour of the
Sun-god ; the day bears the special name of Ratha saptmni.
In the Deccan people think that up to that day the Sun's
chariot is drawn by a deer, but that after that day it is drawn
by horses, which clearly explains why from that time onward
the days lengthen ; for naturally a deer could not be expected
to draw the car so many hours daily as horses. Accordingly,
on the day in question a figure of the Sun is drawn in red
iiandal paste on a low wooden stool ; he is represented
in human shape sitting in a chariot drawn by seven horses,
or by a horse with seven faces. This figure is then placed
in the sunshine, and the devotee worships it by offering
it spoonfuls of water, red powder, red flowers mixed with
red sandal paste, camphor, incense and fruits. Some people
kneel down when they make these offerings to the Sun.^
The Sun-god is also worshipped by Hindoos of the Bombay
Presidency on various special occasions, as at solar eclipses
On these occasions corn is not ground, the hair is not
combed, and cotton-seed may not be ginned.^
After performing his toilet a high-caste Hindoo should The Sun
take a bath and offer morning prayers and oblations, called
arghyas^ to the Sun. These oblations consist of water and Hrabmans.
some of the following ingredients, namely rice, sandal oil,
sesamum seed, white flowers, and Durva grass {Cynodon
dactylon). In making the oblation the Brahman holds the
spoon to his forehead and empties it towards the Sun, after
reciting the ancient Vedic prayer known as the Gdyatrt,
This prayer he ought to recite one hundred and eight times.
If water is not available for the oblation, sand may be used
instead. But on no account may the Sun be deprived of his
oblations. As for the GAyatrt prayer, a strict Brahman is
bound to recite it thrice one hundred and eight times,
making a total of three hundred and twenty-four times,
every day of his life ; if he does not, he commits as heinous
a sin as if he were to slaughter a cow, a contingency at
which the brain reels. To obviate the accidental occurrence
1 R. E. Enthoven, The Folklore of ^ r, k, Enlhoven, The Folklore of
Bombay^ pp. 32, 38 sq. Bombay^ p. 40.
6o6 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
Why the
Sun
receives
daily
offerings.
The Sun
worshipped
by women
for the sake
of offspring.
of this fearful calamity, he uses a rosary with one hundred
and eight beads, one of which he ticks off at every prayer ;
when he has thus counted the rosary thrice over, with the
accompanying prayer, he has so far discharged his duty
to the Sun for the day. The right to repeat the Gdyatri
prayer belongs exclusively to the twice-born ; nobody else is
authorized to recite it or even to hear a word of it. Women
and Sudras in particular ought not to catch so much as
an echo of a single syllable of it.^
The reason why the Sun should not on any account
be deprived of his oblations {(irghyas) is this. The Sue
is overjoyed at the birth of a Brahman, and, carried away by
the warmth of his feelings, he gives no less than a million
cows in charity, counting on the new-born Brahman to make
up to him by his oblations for this profuse liberality, since
every drop of the oblation wipes out a thousand of the Sun’s
enemies. Thus every Brahman at birth incurs a debt of
a million cows to the Sun, but he discharges the debt
by reciting the Gdyatri prayer at least one hundred and
eight times a day.^
Women believe that a vow made to the Sun is a sure
means of attaining their desires. The aim of their vows
is generally to ensure the birth of a male child. If her
prayer is granted, a mother will testify her gratitude to
the Sun by naming the child after him ; hence such names
as Suraj-Ram, Bhanu-Shankar, Ravi-Shankar, and Adit-
Ram. Further, she may dedicate a toy-cradle to the Sun in
his temple as a record of the fulfilment of her vow. There
is a temple of the Sun at Mandavraj, in Kathiawar, where
many such votive cradles may be seen. Rich women have
these cradles made of precious metal. In this temple
Parmar Rajputs, with their brides, bow to the image of
the Sun on their wedding day. And when a Rajput’s wife
has borne him a son, the boy’s hair is shaved for the first
time in the presence of the Sun-god at his temple, and a suit
^ R. E, Enthoven, The Folklore of Census of India^ ^9^^, vol. x. Central
Bombay^ pp. 31 sq. In the Central Provinces and Berar^ Part J. Report^
Provinces and Berar devout Hindoos, by J. T. Marten (Calcutta, 1912), p.
on rising from bed in the morning, 81.
bow to the Sun with folded hands and R. E. Enthoven, The Folklote of
one leg raised from the ground. See Bombay^ p. 40.
XIV WORSHIP OF THE SUN AMONG THE HINDOOS 607
of rich clothes is presented to the image by the child’s
maternal uncle/ In the Karnatak, when a girl attains to
puberty, she takes a bath and is made to stand in the sun
in order to conceive offspring. A barren woman attempts
to satisfy her maternal longing by being exposed to the
sun’s rays.^ Thus a physical power of impregnating women
is apparently attributed to sunlight Among the Chamars,
a caste of curriers, tanners, and day-labourers found through-
out Upper India, childless persons fast and worship the
Sun-godling, Sffraj N^r^yan, in the hope of thereby pro-
(fUring offspring.^
Some people think that the rays both of the sun and of The Sun
the moon facilitate and expedite a woman's delivery in
childbed. Hence, before she is brought to bed, a woman is delivery,
made to walk about in the sunlight and the moonlight ; and
after her delivery the mother should glance at the sun with
her hands clasped and offer him rice and red flowers. How-
ever, in the Deccan it is more commonly believed that the
sun’s rays are injurious to a pregnant woman, and in order Pregnant
to preserve her offspring she is obliged to take her meals in ^eXded
the dark or in the moonlight. In some places a woman is
secluded in a dark room at the time of childbirth, and is not
allowed to see sunlight until she presents her child to the
Sun with certain ceremonies either on the fourth or the
sixth day after her delivery. Exactly a month and a quarter
after the birth the mother is taken to a neighbouring stream,
there to pray to the Sun and to fetch water thence in an
earthen vessel. This ceremony is known as Zarmazaryau,
Seven small betel-nuts are used in it. The mother carries
them and distributes them to barren women, who believe that
by eating them from her hand they are likely to conceive."^
What indeed is more natural than that conception should
be effected by the combined influence of the Sun and of
a fruitful woman ?
Rajputs, Marathas, and other warlike races love to trace Warlike
their descent from the Sun and Moon. The descendants
^ R. E, Enthoven, The Folklore of the North-western Provinces and Oudh
* * •' _ _ - _ Sun nnri
Bofttday^ p. 30. '
2 R. E. Enthoven, The Folklore of
Bofftbayy pp. 30 sg.
(Calcutta, 1896), ii. 185. J
^ R. E. Enthoven, The Folklore of
Sun and
Moon.
3 W. Crooke, I'ribes and Castes of Bombay y pp. 36-38.
6o8 WORSH/P OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
the two luminaries are known respectively as the Sun-family
(Su/yavanshi) and the Moon-family {Somavanshi\ Rulers
who claim to be of the solar race always worship the rising
Sun. They also keep a golden image of the Sun in their
palaces, and engage learned Brahmans to recite verses in his
honour. On Sundays they take oiily one meal, and that of
simple rice, for white food is deemed most acceptable to the
Sun.^
The Sun It is believed that nothing can escape the gaze of
docunTerus Hence he receives the names of
and oaths. Survasakshi^ that is, “Observer of all Things”, and
Jagatchaks/m, that is, “the Eye of the World In accord-
ance with this conception of his nature as the universal
witness, documents are attested in his name as Surya-
Narayana-Sakshi, and such an attestation is supposed to
furnish ample security for the sincerity and good faith of
the contracting parties. An oath by the Sun is thought to
pledge the person who takes it to the strictest veracity."
The Sun From the matchless power of vision possessed by the Sun
dfselLes of it follows as an obvious corollary that vows in his honour
the eyes, are highly efficacious in healing diseases of the eyes and
strengthening the eyesight^ For much the same reason the
sun-face {siirya-mukJi) is looked upon as one of the very
best talismans to protect the worshipper against evil ; as
such it is carved on temples and worked on banners,
which are carried in procession.^ Hindoos of the Bombay
Presidency are in the habit of drawing designs in powder,
red or white, as seats for the deities, whenever these
mighty beings are to be installed and invoked. For one
deity the design is a triangle, for another a square, for
The Sun another a circle, and so forth. The seat for the Sun-god is
swastika, the swastika ; hence the general belief that the swastika
represents the sun.® In the Konkan some people think that
the swastika is the central point of the Sun's helmet, and
they will sometimes make a vow called the swastika in its
honour. A woman who observes this vow draws a figure
^ R. E. Enthoven, The Folklo 7 ‘e of Bombay^ pp. 2 ^ sq.
Bombay^ p. 36. ^ R. E. Enthoven, The Folklore of
2 K. E. Enthoven, The Folklore of Bombay^ p. 38.
Bombay^ p. 30. ® R. E. Enthoven, The Folklore of
3 R. E. Enthoven, The Folklore of Bombay^ P-
XIV WORSHIP OF THE SUN AMONG THE HINDOOS 609
of the swastika and worships it daily during the four
months of the rainy season, and at the end of it she
gives to a Brahman a gold or silver plate bearing the
sign of the swastika graven upon it But other people
in the Konkan are of opinion that the swastika is the
foundation-stone of the universe, or that it is the symbol
of the god Siva, and not of the sun. Generally, through-
out the Bombay Presidency, the swastika is held to be
an emblem of peace and prosperity, and for that reason
Brahman women draw a figure of the swastika in front of
rtieir houses.^
During the rainy season of the monsoons, which lasts Vows of
four months, many Hindoos in the Bombay Presidency, and
particularly in Kathiawar, take a vow called chaturinas^ is
which obliges them to abstain from eating on days when the
sun is invisible. Even if the luminary happens to be hidden
by clouds for days together, the devout votary observes his
fast till the bright deity shines out once more.'^
The worship of the Sun prevails also to a certain extent Sun-
among the Hindoos of Bengal. On this subject we are ^^long'^the
informed by Sir Edward Gait that “ amongst the godlings of ui'^^ioos of
Nature the Sun, Surjya or GraharAj (king of the planets),
takes the first place. The Sun-god was one of the great
deities in Vedic times, but he has now fallen to the rank of
a godling. At the same time he is still widely worshipped,
especially in Bihar and amongst some of the Dravidian
tribes of Chota Nagpur. There are temples in his honour
at various places, notably at Kandrk near Puri and at Gaya.^
Amongst his smaller temples may be mentioned one at
Amarkund, near Berhampore, in the Murshidabad district,
where he is worshipped as Gangaditya, and is represented by
an equestrian image made of stone. In Cuttack the visible
representation is a circle painted red. In Mymensingh he is
represented as a being with two hands of a dark red colour
mounted in a chariot drawn by seven horses. The higher Daily
castes worship him daily while bathing, and a libation
^ R. Ef Knlhoven, The Folklore of by J. A. Dalai (Bombay, 1902),
Bombay^ p. 45. p. 1 24.
2 R. E. Entboven, 7 'he Folklore of
Bombay^ p. 35. Compare Census of ^ “The most celebrated temple is
India^ i^oiy vol. xviii. Baroda^ Part I. at Ajodhya in the United Provinces.”
VOL. I 2 R
6io WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
v^ 2 Xtx'{arghya) is made in his honour before other gods and
goddesses are worshipped. The Gdyatri or sacred verse,
which each Brdhman must recite daily, is dedicated to him.
Sunday is sacred to him, and on that day many abstain from
eating fish or flesh ; in some districts salt also is abstained
from. The Sundays in the month of Kdrtik are specially
set aside for his worship in Bihar and parts of Bengal.
Great The great festival in his honour, known as the Chhat Pujd^
feTvl held on the sixth daV of the light half of Kdrtik,' when
the people gather at a river or pool and offer libations to
the setting sun, and repeat the ceremony on the following
morning. They also make offerings of white flowers, sandal
paste, betel-nut, rice, milk, plantains, etc. Brahman priests
are not employed, but an elderly member of the family,
usually a female, conducts the worship. Even Muhammadans
join in the Chhat Pujd, In Eastern Bengal the Sundays of
Baisdkh (occasionally Mdgh) are held sacred, and low-caste
women spend the whole day wandering about in the sun
carrying on the head a basket containing plantains, sugar,
and their offerings. On the last Sunday of Baisdkh the
pujd [worship] is performed, and a Brdhman priest officiates.
In Noakhali widows stand on one leg facing the sun the
whole day. In Mymensingh unmarried girls worship the
Sun in Magh, in the hopes of obtaining a good husband and,
so it is said, a satisfactory mother-in-law. In Puri, Hindu
women desirous of obtaining male offspring worship him
on the second day after the new moon in Asin. The Sun is
often credited with healing powers in all sorts of disease,
such as asthma, consumption, skin diseases, white leprosy
and severe headaches.
Female The Sun is a male deity, but in Rajshahi he has a
female counterpart called ChhatamAtA, who is worshipped,
Sun-god. chiefly by females, on the sixth day of Kdrtik and Chaitra.
On the previous day the devotee takes only rice or wheat
cooked in milk without salt, and on the day of the ceremony
she fasts till evening, when she goes to a tank with plantains
and cakes, and bathes facing the setting sun. She then
returns home, keeps vigil throughout the night and repeats
^ This festival falls early in November. See (Sir) George A. Grierson, Bihar
Peasant Life (Calcutta, 1885), p. 399.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN B V NONAR VAN PEOPLES 6i i
the ceremony in the morning. The offerings are then eaten
by the worshipper and her friends.” '
§ 2. The Worship of the Sun among non- Aryan peoples
of modern India
In modern India the worship of the Sun is practised by Sun-
many aboriginal tribes, especially of the Dravidian stock,
and there seems to be good reason to believe that they have aborigines
not borrowed it from the Aryan immigrants, now represented elpSi'y
Ijy the Hindoos, but that they have inherited it from their the Dra-
remote ancestors, who may well have been addicted to it
long before the Aryans made their way into the peninsula.
Of such tribes many are found in the Central Provinces
of India, where in their wild mountains and forests they
still adhere to their ancient religion and customs despite the
gradual spread of Hindooism and Islam in the more open
and level regions around them.
Thus the Baigas, a primitive Dravidian tribe of the Sun-
Central Provinces, while they retain the worship of their old
. 1 . . 1 1 1 , . , ^ among the
native deities, also acknowledge certain Hindoo divinities Baigas.
and do them reverence, but not in the orthodox manner.
Amongst these divinities is Narayan Deo, the Sun-god.
To him the Baigas sacrifice the most unclean of animals, sacrifice of
the pig, but were a Hindoo to do so it would be a sacrilege.
The Baiga mode of sacrificing the animal is peculiar. The
pig chosen for sacrifice is allowed to wander loose for two
or three years, and is then killed in a cruel manner. It is
laid on its back athwart the threshold of a doorway and a
stout plank is placed across its stomach. Half a dozen men
sit or stand on the two ends of the plank, while the fore
and hind feet of the pig are pulled backwards and forwards
alternately over the plank till the wretched creature is
crushed to death, while all the men sing or shout a sacrificial
hymn. The head and feet are then cut off and presented
to the solar deity : the carcase is eaten.^ Pigs are sacrificed Bigs
in similar fashion to the Sun-god by the Gonds, who are
the principal tribe of the Dravidian family and perhaps the by the
Gonds,
1 Census of India, igoi, vol. vi. 2 y. Russell, Tribes and Castes
Bengal Part I. Report, by (Sir) E. A. of the Central Provinces of India
Gait (Calcutta, 1902), p. 188. (London, 1916), ii. 85 sq.
The
Sun-clan of
the Bhainas
mourns at
a solar
eclipse.
612 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA ^ chap.
most important of the non-Aryan or forest tribes in India.
In 1 91 1 they numbered three millions and were increasing
rapidly.^ With them the Sun-god, Narayan Deo, is a
household deity. He has a little platform inside the thresh-
old of the house. He may be worshipped every two or
three years, but should a snake" appear in the house or
somebody fall ill, they think that the Sun-god is growing
impatient at the delay' in propitiating him, so they hasten
to appease him by sacrifice. A young pig is offered to him
and is sometimes fattened up beforehand by being fed on
rice. When the time of sacrifice is come, the pig is laid ofi
its back over the threshold of the door, and a number of
men squeeze it to death by pressing down a heavy beam of
wood laid across its body. Then they cut off the tail and
testicles and bury them near the threshold. The carcase is
washed in a hole dug in the yard, after which it is cooked
and eaten. They sing to the god, ‘‘Eat, Narayan Deo, eat
this rice and meat, and protect us from all tigers, snakes,
and bears in our houses ; protect us from all illnesses and
troubles*’. Next day the bones and any other remains of
the pig are buried in the hole in the yard, and the earth is
well stamped down over them.^
The Bhainas are a primitive tribe akin to the Baigas and
found only in the Central Province.s. Their home is a wild
tract of forest country.^ They are divided into totemic
clans named after the animals or plants which are their
totems. Among their totems are the cobra, the tiger, the
leopard, the wild dog, the monkey, the vulture, the hawk,
the quail, and the black ant. Members of a clan will not
injure the totemic animal whose name they bear, and if they
see the dead body of the animal or only hear of its death,
they throw away an earthen cooking-pot and bathe and
shave themselves, just as they would do for the death of
one of their family. At marriage images of the totemic
animals or birds of the bride and bridegroom are made and
worshipped by them. Similar marks of respect are paid
to the inanimate objects after which some of the clans are
named. Thus the Cowdung clan will not burn cakes of
^ R. V. Russell, op. at. iii. 41. 2 y. Russell, op. cit. iii. 10 1 sq.
3 R. V. Russell, op. cit. ii. 225.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON- ARY AN PEOPLES 613
•
cowdung as fuel, and the clan which takes its name from
chillies will not use these peppers. One clan is named after
the sun, and when the sun is eclipsed, members of the
Sun-clan perform the same formal rites of mourning which
the members of other clans perform for the death of their
totemic animals.^ In such rites we may see an incipient
worship of the Sun ; totems appear to be in the act of
blossoming into gods.
The Bhunjias are a small Dravidian tribe in the Central Sun-
Provinces. They bow daily to the Sun with folded hands,
find believe that he is of special assistance to them in the Hhunjias.
discharge of their debts, which they consider a primary
obligation. When they have succeeded in paying off a debt,
these honest debtors offer a coco-nut to the Sun as a mark
of their gratitude to him for his assistance.^
The Gadbas, a primitive tribe of the Central Provinces Sun-
who are classed as Mundari or Kolarian on the ground of their amo^g^the
language, offer a white cock to the Sun and a red one to the
Moon.^ The Kawars, another primitive tribe of the Central kawars.
Provinces, are thought to be Dravidians, though they have
lost the Dravidian language.'^ They have a vague idea of a
supreme deity whom they call Bhagwan and identify with
the sun. They bow to him in reverence, but pay him no
other attention because he does not interfere with men’s
concerns.^
The Kols, Mundas, or Hos (for the tribes described The Kois,
by these names appear to belong to the same stock) are o/kos/
a great people of Chota Nagpur, who have given their name
to the Kolarian or Mundari family of tribes and languages.
They are distributed all over Chota Nagpur and have spread
to the United Provinces, the Central Provinces, and Central
India. The Santals are a branch of the Kols, and so, too,
probably are the Bhumij, the Kharias, the Korwas, and the
Korkus. The disintegrating causes which have split up
what was originally one people into a number of distinct
tribes are in all likelihood no more than distance and settle-
ment in different parts of the country, with consequent
» R. V. Russell, op. cit. ii. 228 sq. ^ R. V. Russell, op, dt. iii. 389
R. V. Russell, op. dt, ii. 327. sq.
R. V. Russell, op. dt. iii. ii. ^ R. V. Russell, op, dt, iii. 399.
Sing-
bonga, the
head of
the Munda
pantheon,
identified
with the
Sun.
614 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
cessation of intermarriage and social intercourse. Hence
the separate tribes came to acquire different names or to
receive separate territorial or occupational designations at
the hands of the Hindoos, and their former identity has
gradually been forgotten. At the present time the whole
group of allied tribes appears to n\imber not less than six
millions.^ The Munda languages are quite distinct from
the Dravidian and belong to the same family of speech
as the Mon-Khmer of Indo-China, the Nicobarese, and the
dialects of certain wild tribes of Malacca and Australonesia.
In the .south of India, where the Dravidian tongues prevail^
there are no traces of Munda languages, and it seems there-
fore necessary to conclude that the Mundas of the Central
Provinces and Chota Nagpur did not come to their present
home from Southern India, but that they arrived either by
way of Assam and Bengal or by sea through Orissa, unless
indeed India was their cradleland and from it spread the
various peoples who now speak cognate languages in Indo-
China, the Malay Peninsula, and the islands of the Indian
Archipelago. None of the Munda languages have any
proper written character or any literature.^
At the head of the Munda pantheon stands Sing-bonga,
the Sun, a beneficent but somewhat inactive deity, who
concerns himself but little with human affairs and leaves the
details of government to the departmental gods of nature.
Nevertheless, although Sing-bonga does not himself send
sickness or calamity to men, he may be invoked to avert
such disasters, and for this purpose people sacrifice to him
white goats or white cocks by way of appeal from the unjust
punishments which are believed to have been inflicted on
suffering humanity by his subordinates.® In August, when
the highland rice is reaped, the first-fruits of the harvest are
^ R. V. Russell, Tribes and Castes
of the Central Provinces of India, iii.
500 sq. As to the Kols, Mundas, or
Hos, see further E. T. Dalton, Re-
scriptive Ethnology of Bengal (Calcutta,
1872), pp. 151 sqq,\ (Sir) H. H. Risley,
Tribes and Castes of Bengal (Calcutta,
1891-1892), ii. loi sqq.; Sarat Chandra
Roy, The Mundas and their Country
(Calcutta, 1912).
R. V. Russell, op, cit. iii, 503 sq . ;
(Sir) Ceorge A. Grierson, in The
Imperial Gazetteer of India, The Indian
Empire, i. 382-384.
3 (Sir) H. H. Risley, Tribes and
Castes of Bengal, ii. 103 E. T.
Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology of
Bengal, p. 186 ; R. V. Russell, Tribes
and Castes of the Central Provinces of
India, iii. 512.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NO NARY AN PEOPLES 615
presented to Sing-bonga, and a white cock is sacrificed to
him. Until this has been done, it would be an act of
impiety to eat the new rice.^ Sing-bonga, the Sun, is said
to have married Chando Omol, that is, the Moon, but she
deceived him on one occasion, and in his wrath he cut her
in two ; however, he repented of his rash deed and now he
permits her at times to shine forth in all her beauty. The
stars are her daughters.^ Sing-bonga also figures as the Sing-bonga
creator in Munda cosmogony. In the beginning of time, reator.
we are told, the earth was covered with water ; but Sing-
fconga, the Sun-god, brooded over the face of the water,
and the first beings to be born were a tortoise, a crab,
and a leech. Sing-bonga commanded these first-born of all
animals to bring him a lump of clay from out the depths of
the primeval ocean. The tortoise and the crab by turns
tried their skill, but in vain. However, the persevering
leech succeeded in fishing a lump of clay from out the
watery abyss, and out of that clay Sing-bonga moulded this
beautiful earth of ours. At his command, too, the earth
brought forth trees and plants, herbs and creepers of all
.sorts. Next Sing-bonga filled the earth with birds and
beasts of many kinds and sizes. Last of all the swan laid
an egg and out of the egg came forth a boy and a girl, the
first of human beings. These were the first parents of the
Horo Honkoy the sons of men, as the Mundas .still call them-
selves. But this first human pair, Tota Haram, the man,
and Tota Buri, the woman, were innocent ; they knew not
the relations of the sexes until Sing-bonga taught them how
to make rice-beer ; then they drank of it and their eyes
were opened, and in due time three sons or, according to
another account, twelve sons and twelve daughters, were
born to them, and these wandered over the face of the earth
and became the ancestors of mankind.®
The Korkus are a Munda or Kolarian tribe in the Sun and
Central Provinces and Berar. They have a language
by the
1 E. T. Dalton, Descriptive EthnO’ ^ Sarat Chandra Roy, T/te Mundas Korkus.
lo((y of Befigal, p. 198 ; (Sir) H. H. and their Country, Appendix I. pp.
Risley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal v.-vii. Compare E. T. Dalton, De-
l’ll 104 . scriptive Ethnology of Bengal, p. 185 ;
2 E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno- R. V. Russell, Tribes and Castes of
logy of Bengal, p. 186. the Central Provinces of India, iii. 508.
6i6 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
Sun-
worship
among the
Nahals and
Savars.
Sun-
worship
among the
Rhuiyas
and
Kisans.
their own, which resembles that of the Kols of Chota
Nagpur.^ Their principal deities are the Sun and Moon,
both of whom in their language they call Goinaj\ which is
also the general word for a god. The Korkus claim to be
descended from the Sun and Moon, and they invoke these
deities at marriage. The head of ‘^ach family offers a white
she-goat and a white fowl to the Sun every third year ; and
when they begin to sow:, the Korkus stand with the face to
the sun ; they also face the east at the performance of other
rites. However, the Sun and Moon are scarcely expected
to interest themselves in the common affairs of daily life f
these are regulated rather by the local godlings, to whom
accordingly the Korku appeals with more fervour than to
the great luminaries that are so far away.^ The Nahals, a
forest tribe of the Central Provinces, seem to be a cross
between Korkus and Bhils. They are divided into a number
of totemic clans, among which the Surja clan worships
Surya, the Sun, by offering him a fowl in the month of Pus
(December-January) ; some members of the clan further
keep a fast every Sunday. And while the dead of all the
other clans are buried, the dead of the Sun-clan are burnt.®
The Savars, another primitive tribe of the Central Provinces,
are likewise divided into totemic clans, one of which, Suriya
Bansia, takes its name from the sun. On the occasion of
a solar eclipse members of the Sun-clan feed their caste
fellows and throw away their earthen pots.'*
The Bhuiyas are a non-Aryan tribe of Bengal, who have
partially adopted the Hindoo customs and religion. It is
thought that they belong rather to the Dravidian than to the
Munda or Kolarian stock.^ They worship the Sun under
the titles of Boram or Dharm Deota, and they dedicate
sacred groves to him, but make no image or other visible
representation of the deity. As the creator and the first and
greatest of the god.s, Boram is invoked by them at the
sowing season, when they offer him a white cock.^ The
1 R. V. Russell, c>I>. cit. iii. 550. * R. V, Russell, op. cit. iv. 505.
R. V, Russell, op. cit. iii. 557, ® E. T. Dalton, Descripth*e Ethno-
559 J J- Forsyth, The Highlands of logy of Bengal ^ p. 139.
Central India (London, 1871), p, 146. ® E, T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno-
^ K. V. Russell, op. cit. iv. 259, logy of Bengal^ p. 141. Compare id.
260, 261. p. 147.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONARYAN PEOPLES 617
Kisans, another primitive tribe of Bengal, short of stature,
with broad truncated noses, protruding jaws, and a dusky
complexion varying from dark brown to black, similarly
adore the Sun and sacrifice white cocks to him.^ The
Bhumij, a tribe of Bengal who are allied to, if not identical Sun-
with, the Mundas, revere the Sun, under the names of
Sing-bonga and Dharm, as the giver of harvests to men Bhumijand
and the cause of all those changes of the seasons which
affect and control their agricultural fortunes.^ The Juangs
are an aboriginal tribe of Orissa. They claim to be the
autochthones of the country, their ancestors having sprung
from the ground on the banks of the Baitarni river, which
they maintain to be older than the Ganges. Their stature
is very short, the males averaging less than five feet in
height. The forehead is low, the chin receding, the nasal
bone very depressed, the mouth large, the lips very thick,
the complexion a reddish brown, the hair coarse and frizzly.
By their language they seem to be akin to the Mundas or
Hos, though they repudiate all connexion with that tribe.
They practise an extremely rude form of agriculture, and
down to recent times wore nothing but leaves and beads.
Colonel Dalton, who had seen many primitive tribes,
regarded the Juangs as the most primitive he had ever met or
read of^ He could find no word for god in their language and
no idea of a future state in their minds. The even tenour of
their lives, we are told, is not broken by any obligatory religious
ceremonies. Yet when they are in distress they offer fowls to
the Sun, and they sacrifice fowls to the Earth that she may
yield them her fruits in due season. On these occasions an
old man officiates as priest ; he bears the title of Nagam."^
^ E. T. Dalton, Descriflive Eth-
nology of Bengal^ p. 132
2 (Sir) H. H. Risley, 'Jn'ba and
Castes of Bengal, i. 124.
3 E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno-
logy of Bengal, pp. 1 52 sq., 1 54, 157 ;
(Sir) n. H. Risley, Tribes and Castes
of Bengal, i. 350 j-y.
4 E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno-
logy of Bengal, p. 157; (Sir) H. H.
Risley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal,
i. 353. The inquiries of the latter
writer led him to doubt the accuracy
of Colonel Dalton’s account of Juang
religion or absence of religion. He
found that the Juangs of Keunjhar
worship a forest deity called Baram,
who stands at the head of their religious
system and is regarded with great
veneration. Besides him they revere
other deities, including Basumati or
Mother Earth. Sacrifices of animals,
milk, and sugar are oftered to all these
deities at seed-time and harvest, and
the forest gods are carefully propitiated
when a plot of land is cleared of jungle
and prepared for the plough.
6i8 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
The
Kharias of
Chota
Nagpur.
Legend of
theirorigin.
Their
totemic
system.
Closely related to the Juangs by language are the
Kharias, one of the most backward tribes of the Munda or
Kolarian stock. Their home is in Chota Nagpur, but a few
of them are to be found in the Central Provinces. Their
speech belongs to the Munda family, and they resemble
the Mundas physically, though their features are somewhat
coarser and their, figures less well proportioned.^ The legend
which they tell of theij: origin tends to show that they are
an elder branch of the Munda tribe. In this legend there
occurs an incident like that of the caskets in The Merchant
of Venice, They say that in days of old two brothers came/
to Chota Nagpur, and the younger of the two became king
of the country. But the elder brother asked for a share of
the inheritance. So the people put two caskets before him,
and invited him to choose one. Now the one casket con-
tained silver and the other only some earth. The elder
brother chose the casket that contained the earth ; hence he
was informed that he and his descendants were fated to till
the soil. The Kharias say that they are descended from the
elder brother, while the younger brother became the ancestor
of the Nagvansi Rajahs of Chota Nagpur.“ Some of the
Kharias are settled and are fair cultivators, but the wild
Kharias, who frequent the crests of the forest-clad hills and
mountains, are acquainted with no mode of agriculture
except the barbarous system of burning down a patch of
jungle and sowing the seed in the ashes between the stumps
of the trees. These wandering savages are believed to be
now rapidly dying out, and few Europeans have had an
opportunity of seeing them in their homes. They have the
reputation of being great wizards.^ Like many other
aboriginal tribes of India, they are divided into totemic and
exogamous clans, the members of which pay reverence to
their totems. Thus men who have the tortoise, the tiger,
the leopard, the cobra, or the crocodile for their totem
will not kill these animals ; and though men who have rice
' E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno- 2 v. Russell, op, cit, iii. 445
logy of Bengal^ pp. 158 sq,^ 1 60 sq. ; sq. •
(Sir) H. H, Risley, Tribes and Castes ^ E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno-
of Bengal^ i. 466; R. V. Russell, logy of Bengal pp. 158, 160 ; (Sir)
Tribes and Castes of the Central H. H. Risley, Tribes and Castes of
Provinces of India^ iii. 445, 453. Bengal i. 4^9, 470*
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONARVAN PEOPLES 619
or salt for their totems cannot help eating these articles, they
compromise by observing certain abstinences. Thus men of
the Rice clan will not eat the scum that gathers over rice
when it is boiling in a pot ; and men of the Salt clan will
not take up salt on one finger, though they are free to use
two or more fingers for the purpose. Members of the Stone
clan will not make ovens with stones, but qnly with clods of
earth.^ The Kharias worship various deities and among sun-
others the Sun, whom they call Bero or, according to
another account, Giring Dubo. Every head of a family Kharia?.
should in his lifetime make not less than five sacrifices to
the Sun-god, the first of fowls, the .second of a pig, the third
of a white goat, the fourth of a ram, and the fifth of a
buffalo. They think that this ought to content the deity for
that generation, and they deem him ungrateful if, after
accepting all these sacrifices, he does not behave handsomely
to his votary. In praying to the Sun-god they address him
as Parmeswar, a Hindoo word for deity. The sacrifices are
always made in front of an ant-hill, which is used as an
altar. This peculiar mode of sacrificing has fallen into
desuetude among their kinsfolk the Mundas and Hos, but
Colonel Dalton learned from some old men of these tribes
that it was orthodox, though not now generally practised.
In the worship of Bero, the Sun-god, it is the head of the
family who acts as priest.^ The Korwas are a small tribe Sun-
of the Munda or Kolarian family, who lead a savage and am?ng\he
almost nomadic life among the highlands of Chota Nagpur. Korwas.
A branch of them called the Saonts worship the Sun under
the name of Bhagawan, and, like the Kharias, they sacrifice
to him in an open place with an ant-hill for an altar.^
The Birhors are a small and very primitive tribe of The
nomadic hunters, who roam the highlands and forests of
Chota Nagpur ; their principal haunts are the hills and Nagpur,
jungles which fringe that province on the east and north-
east. The country occupied by the Birhors is a long
succession of wooded hills, range beyond range, separated
^ R. V. Russell, I'ribes and Castes Risley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal^
of the Central Provinces of India^ iii. i. 468.
447 ‘
2 E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno- ^ E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno-
logy of Bengal p. 159; (Sir) H. H. logy of Bengal^ pp. 221, 222, 223.
620 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
I'heir
toteniic
system.
by open valleys. These valleys are alone fit for cultivation,
and are sparsely inhabited by agricultural tribes on a higher
level of culture than the Birhors. The Birhors generally
select for their more or less temporary settlements {tandas)
open glades on the tops or slopes of the wooded hills or
the edges of the jungle. They wander about or settle down
for a time in sm^ll groups of from three or four to about
ten families, earning a precarious subsistence by hunting
deer and other animals, snaring monkeys, which they eat,
collecting bees’ wax and honey, and gathering creepers,
which they make into ropes for barter or sale in the neigh-f
bouring villages. But they also rear scanty crops of maize
or beans by burning a patch of jungle, scratching the soil,
and sowing seed in the ashes. In person they are small and
very black, with sharp attenuated features and long matted
hair. Their general appearance is very squalid. They live
in little rude hovels made of bamboos and leaves.^ Ethni-
cally the Birhors belong to the same short, dark, long-
headed, broad-nosed, and wavy-haired race as the Mundas,
Hos, Santals, and Bhumij, and like these people they speak
a language which is now classed in the Austro-Asiatic sub-
family of the Austric speech, which extends throughout
Indonesia and Melanesia.‘^ They are divided into a series
of totemic and exogamous clans with descent in the male
line. To eat, kill, or destroy a man’s own totemic animal is
regarded by the Birhors as equivalent to killing a human
member of the clan ; and were a woman to kill her husband’s
totemic animal or destroy his totemic plant, she would be
thought to have killed her husband himself. Men are
supposed to resemble their totemic animal or plant in
character or appearance. Thus members of the Vulture
clan are said, like vultures, to have usually little hair on
the crown of the head ; members of the Wild Cat clan have
bald foreheads ; members of the Myrobolan ilupung) clan
1 Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors personal observations and inquiries
(Ranchi, 1925), pp. 8-10, 15 24- extending over many years. For some
26, 36, 39-41, 43-46. This valuable previous notices of the Birhors, see
monograph embodies and supersedes E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethnoloj^y
the former very imperfect accounts of of Benqaly pp. 158, 218-221.
this interesting and hitherto little known 2 Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors^
tribe. It is based on the Writer’s p. 59.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES 621
are generally short and plump like the fruit of that plant,
and so on.^
The Birhors, like their kinsfolk the Mundas, believe in a sing-bonga,
Supreme God whom they call Sing-bonga and identify with
the Sun. In their language the word for sun is singi. The pantheon,
Hindoo name Bhagawan is also applied to him. He is’vuirthe'^
believed to stand at the head of the pantheon but to take
for the most part no active interest in human affairs, which
are supposed to be controlled by the lesser spiritual beings
or impersonal forces with which the fancy of the Birhor
peoples the universe. Yet though Sing-bonga does not
ordinarily cause harm to men, he may occasionally protect
them from evil. To avert particular dangers the head of
a family, with his face to the east, sacrifices to Sing-bonga
a white goat or a white fowl, for the white colour symbolizes White
the white rays of the sun. Again, at the annual ceremony Jacrmced
for the protection of the settlement (tanda) from harm, the to Sing,
headman offers Sing-bonga a white fowl. The Birhors also
appeal to Sing-bonga for help on various other occasions.
Thus when a man goes out to hunt or collect honey, he will
sometimes invoke the aid of Sing-bonga in his search for
game or honey On the day after a baby has been born,
the father takes a jug of water in his hands, and, standing
with his face to the east, slowly pours out the water, saying,
O Sing-bonga, I am making this libation of water to thee.
May milk flow from the mothcr\s breast like this water. I vow
to offer thee ‘milk flower’^ when my desire is fulfilled.'’^
Again, in order to ensure a good crop of maize or rice. Sacrifices
the head of a Birhor family vows to sacrifice a wliite fowl to bonga^t'o
Sing-bonga at threshing, if the harvest should turn out well, ensure
In making this vow he sits with his face to the east before
a low stool on which the seed is placed in a wooden vessel.
The votive fowl is beside him, and he prays, saying, “ I make
this vow to thee, O Sing-bonga. May grains grow in abun-
dance, and I shall sacrifice this white fowl to thee at the
time of the threshing.” Meantime he releases the white
fowl and sacrifices a black one in the name of all the
^ Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors, ^ This is an euphemism for “ cow’s
pp. 89 sgg., 97 sg., 99-101. milk”,
2 Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors, ^ Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors,
pp. 288, 297 sq., 333, s<7. pp. 225 sq.
Birhor
theory of
eclipses.
622 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
neighbouring villages, so that the evil eye of any dweller in
these villages may not fall on the crops. Then he sprinkles
a few drops of blood of the sacrificed fowl on the seed, which
is thereupon carried to the field and sown. This ceremony
is observed at full moon in the month of Baisakh (April-
May). A curious feature of the ritual is that on the eve of
the ceremony a small fish is caught in a neighbouring stream
or pool, taken home and kept in a jug of water until next
day, when, after the seed has been sown, the fish is carried
back to the stream or pool. It is believed that as the little
fish grows in the water, so will the maize or rice grow in the'
field.^ Again, after harvest, at the ceremony of eating the
new rice, the owner of the fields drops milk from a jug
on the new rice, and as he drops it he prays, saying, “ Thou
Sing-bonga in heaven, to-day I am giving thee milk. Drink
it. From to-day may there be no sickness in stomach
or head.” A little of the new rice is then offered to the
ancestral spirits, and afterwards all the family eat the new
rice and drink rice beer.® It is a rule with the Birhors that
women should not comb their hair at sunset. The reason is
that Sing-bonga takes his supper at that hour after his day’s
work is over, and if women were so thoughtless as to comb
their tresses at that time, some of the loose hair might fall
into the god’s rice, which he would naturally resent.®
The Birhors have discovered a cause of solar and lunar
eclipses which has escaped the notice of Kuropean astro-
nomers. The truth is, according to them, that these luminaries
have generously stood security for the debts of poor men,
and when the creditors are tired of waiting for the repay-
ment of their dues they send in bailiffs to take the Sun and
Moon into custody. In the discharge of their painful duty
the bailiffs meet with resi.stance ; a struggle ensues, which
the ignorant call an eclipse ; finally the bailiffs are forcibly
ejected, and the Sun and Moon go on their way rejoicing
until the next occasion when they are brought into personal
conflict with the minions of the law. During a lunar eclipse
the Birhors clash iron implements together, seemiirgly in
* Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors ^ pp. 35^
pp, 373-375, ^ Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors^
2 Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors^ p. 376.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONARYAN PEOPLES 623
order to assist the Moon in the tussle by scaring the bailiffs
away.^
The Birhors look upon Sing-bonga as the creator and Birhor
tell a story of the creation of the earth which closely re-
sembles the one told by their kinsfolk the Mundas.^ They the earth
say that in the beginning all was water, but a lotus plant out of
lifted its head above the surface of the flood. Sing-bonga
was at first in the nether regions, but he came up through
the hollow stern of the lotus and seated himself on the flower
of the plant. There he commanded first the tortoise and
Afterwards the crab to bring up some clay from under the
water. The two creatures dived, one after the other, into
the depths, but failed to bring the clay to the surface. Then
Sing-bonga summoned the leech, who dived to the bottom,
swallowed the clay, and emerging from the water disgorged
it into the hand of Sing-bonga. The deity moulded the
clay into the earth as we see it, flattening some parts of it
with an iron leveller and scattering seeds of all sorts, which
sprang up and became trees.® After that Sing-bonga created
first a winged horse and next mankind. He made a
clay figure of a man by day and left it to dry. But at
night the horse came and trampled the clay figure and
spoiled it, for he feared that, were man created, he would
subjugate the horse and ride on his back. So next
morning Sing-bonga found his clay man damaged. He
then made a fresh man of clay and a dog also of clay,
and laid them both out to dry. By evening the clay dog
had dried up, and the wind blew into its nostrils, and it
became a living dog. So Sing-bonga set the dog to guard
the clay man, who was still damp. At night the horse came
back and would have again attacked the clay man and
trampled him into dust, but the dog barked and kept him
off. And when the clay man dried up, Sing-bonga endowed
him with life. Such is the origin of the human species.^
^ Saral Chandra Roy, The Birhors,
P- 495.
2 See above, p. 615.
3 SarjU; Chandra Roy, The Birhors,
pp. 398-400.
^ Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors,
pp. 400-402. A similar story of the
creation of mankind is told by the
Mundas, but in their version a spider
is substituted for a dog. See Sarat
Chandra Roy, “ The Divine Myths of
the Mundas ”, Journal of the Bihar
and Orissa Research Society, ii. (Banki-
pore, 1916) pp, 201 sq. For other
Indian versions of the same story, see
Folk-lore in the Old Testament, i. 17-19.
Birhor
story of
the first
smelters
of iron.
Similar
story of
the first
smelters of
iron told
by the
Mundas.
624 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
The Birhors say that at first men employed only sticks
and stones as their tools and weapons, and that the Asurs
were the first to smelt iron on this earth. But the thick
smoke which issued from their furnaces began to incommode
Sing-bonga up above. He sent messenger after messenger
to dissuade the Asurs from smelting iron, but the Asurs
refused to desist from their favourite occupation ; and more
than that they mutilated and drove away Sing-bonga's
bird-messengers. So the messengers returned to Sing-bonga
and reported to him what they had suffered at the hands of
the Asurs. Then Sing-bonga himself in his wrath came(
down to earth, and in the shape of a boy afflicted with sores
contrived to lure the male Asurs into a furnace and burn
them alive. Finally, he hurled the female Asurs in different
directions ; and their spirits still haunt the rocks and woods,
the pools and streams and springs on which they fell. Such
was the origin of some of the elemental spirits.^
A similar story is told by the Mundas, the kinsfolk of
the Birhors. They say that formerly there were people
who served Sing-bonga in heaven. But seeing their faces
reflected in a mirror they found that they were in the image
of God and were therefore his equals. So they worked no
more for God, and in his wrath the deity kicked them out
of heaven. They fell on a place where iron-ore existed in
abundance, and they immediately made seven furnaces and
began to smelt the iron in them. But the fire of the
furnaces burned the trees and the grass, and the smoke and
the sparks ascended to heaven. This disturbed Sing-bonga
up aloft, and he sent them word that they must work either
by day or by night, but not both day and night. However,
they would not obey him. Then Sing-bonga sent two king
crows and an owl to warn them ; but, far from paying heed
to the warning, the smelters tried to catch the birds with
their fire- tongs and spoil their long tails. Next Sing-bonga
sent a crow and a lark on the same errand, but with no
better result. For whereas crows had formerly been white,
the smelters caught the messenger crow and smqked it
black, which has been the colour of crows ever since ; and
they caught the lark and reddened it and flattened its head ;
' Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors^ pp. 402 sq.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON ARYAN PEOPLES 625
but the orders of the deity were not executed. After that
Sing-bonga sent other messengers, but all in vain. At last
he resolved to go himself. So down to earth he came and
stopped at the house of an old couple of charcoal-burners,
named Lutkum Haram and Lutkum Buri. For a time he
served them incognito and amused himself by playing with
the children of the smelters. The children played with
balls of iron and he with eggs, but his eggs smashed their
iron balls. When the old man and his wife went to the
woods to make charcoal, they left Sing-bonga in charge of
:he hut and told him to watch the rice that was laid out to
dry. But he played all the time, and the fowls ate up the
rice, all but a few grains. When the old couple returned
they mourned for the loss of their dinner ; but Sing-bonga
consoled them, and taking the few grains that were left he
filled all the pots with them.
By this time the furnaces of the smelters were all falling The
in, and the smelters sought a diviner to ascertain the cause.
They placed rice on a winnowing-fan, and it led them to their own
Sing-bonga, and they asked him what they should do. He
answered, You must offer a human sacrifice”. But they
could not find a man to sacrifice and so returned to Sing-
bonga. On that the god said that he himself would be the
sacrifice. Under his direction the smelters made a new
furnace, and instead of iron-ore they put Sing-bonga himself
into it and blew the bellows, and when the furnace was very
hot they sprinkled water on the fire, as they had been
directed, and lo ! Sing - bonga came forth from the fire
unhurt, and from the furnace flowed streams of gold and
silver and precious stones, shining like the sun. Then said
Sing-bonga, See what one person has done ; if you all
pass through the furnace, what a heap of wealth you will
have 1 ” They agreed to be smelted ; so they entered the
fiery furnace, and the door was shut on them, and Sing-
bonga ordered their wives to blow the bellows. In the
furnace the smelters shrieked and yelled, which frightened
their wjves, who would have stopped plying the bellows ;
but Sing-bonga reassured them, saying, ‘‘ Blow away ! They
are only quarrelling over the division of the spoil Thus
these wicked beings were all destroyed, because they had
vor.. I 2 s
626 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap
Similar
story of
the first
smelters
of iron
told by the
Oraons.
not obeyed the word of Sing-bonga. Then the women
said, ‘‘You have killed our husbands, what are we to do?*’
So Sing-bonga had compassion on them and assigned to
each of them her abode ; and they became the spirits
(bhuts), both male and female, of the hills and rocks and
groves, of the pools and rivers.^ ^
The same story is told at full length, with minor
variations of detail, by the Oraons to account for the origin
of the evil spirits ibhuts) which play a large part in the
mythology and religion of these people. In the Oraon
version of the legend the deity is named not Sing-bonga
but Bhagwan. The beings who persisted in smelting iron
and kept their furnaces ablaze day and night are called the
twelve brothers Asurs and the thirteen brothers Lodhas.
The smoke of the furnaces was so thick and suffocating
that God’s horse fell sick and could not eat his corn. So,
by the mouth of his messengers, the king crow and another
bird resembling a hedge sparrow, God commanded the
brothers to stop the nuisance. But the brothers paid no
heed to his commands and even mauled and disfigured one
of his messengers, the birds. So God himself descended
to earth, and, taking the likeness of a man covered with
purulent sores, he lodged with a kind old widow, who
washed his sores and anointed him with oil. In return for
her hospitality the deity miraculously increased her store of
rice, to the astonishment of the widow. Being consulted by
the iron-smelters as to the best mode of repairing their
furnaces, which were falling into ruins, the disguised deity
contrived, by the same trick as in the Munda version of the
story, to decoy them into a furnace and shut them in, so
that, when the furnace was opened again, nothing but
charred bones was found in it. At that moment the deity
jumped on his horse and was preparing to make a bolt for
it, when the Asur widows came up, caught the steed by the
bridle, and shouted, “ We won’t let you go. Now that our
husbands are all dead, who is going to feed us ? ” In reply
God pleaded the disobedience of their deceased husbands as
a justification of the punishment he had inflicted upon them ;
but he wound up his admonition by saying, “ Now I will
* E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal^ pp. i86 sq.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN B Y NON-AR VAN PEOPLES 627
give you the means to live. Become evil spirits {bhtits),
and your name will be Dehdebi and Dahadebi ; go and live
among the Oraons, who will offer sacrifices to you.’* ^ Such
was the origin of the evil spirits.
In these stories we seem to detect a dim reminiscence Tradition
of the time when men discovered the art of smelting iron s^dtln^g^of
and began to substitute iron implements for the ancient
tools of stone and wood. The wrath of the deity at the dis-
coverers perhaps reflects the resentment felt by conserva-
tive members of the primitive community at the momentous
innovation.
The Birhors tell a story to explain why the sky is now Birhor
so very far away. They say that in ancient times the sky
was so low as almost to touch men’s heads. Once, while separation
an old woman was husking rice with a pestle and mortar,
her pestle knocked against the sky with such force that the
sky was pushed up and has remained ever since hung high
aloft.^ The Gonds give a like explanation of the separation
of heaven and earth. According to them, the sky of old
lay close down on the earth. One day an old woman was
weeping, and when she stood up she knocked her head
against the sky. In a rage she put up her broom and shoved
the sky away ; so it rose up above the earth and has stayed
there ever since.^ Similar myths of the severance of sky
and earth have met us in West Africa.'*
The Mal^s are a Dravidian tribe of the Rajmahal hills. Sun-wor-
They are closely akin to the Oraons and physically represent the^Mai^s.^
the extreme Dravidian type as it is found in Bengal. Their
stature is low, their complexion swarthy, and their figure
sturdy. Their country is rocky and wooded, and by its help
they were able to maintain a virtual mdependence during
the period of Mussulman ascendancy in Bengal.® At the
head of their religious system stands the Sun, whom they
call Dharmer Gosain. He is represented by a roughly hewn
post set up in front of each house. The Mal6s worship him
1 Rev, P. Dehon, S.J., “ Religion ^ Cenms of India, ^901, vol. xiii.
and Customs of the Uraons”, Memoir s Central Provinces ^ Part I. Report, by
of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. i. R. V. Russell (Nagpur, 1902), p. 94.
No. 9 (Calcutta, 1906), pp. 128-131. See above, pp. 96, 109.
2 Sarat Chandra Roy, The Birhors, ^ (Sir) II. II. Risley, Tribes and
p. 436. Castes of Bengal, ii. 51.
628 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
Sun wor-
ship among
the Mai
Paharias.
The
Oraons, a
Dravidian
people of
Chota
Nagpur.
with offerings of fowls, goats, and oil at the beginning of
each harvest and at other times when any misfortune befalls
the family. When people are gathered together for this
purpose, the village headman, who acts as priest, goes round
the congregation with an egg in his hand, and recites the
names of certain spirits. Then'' he throws the egg away,
apparently as a propitiatory offering, and enjoins the spirits
to hold aloof and abstain from troubling the sacrifice.^
The Mai Paharias are a Dravidian tribe who inhabit the
Ramgarh hills in the Santal Parganas. Their tribal affinities
are obscure. Down to recent times they lived by hunting
and by the rude method of cultivation known as which
consists in burning patches of the jungle and sowing seed
in the clearings.^ Their chief divinity is the Sun, to whom
they pay reverential obeisance both morning and evening.
Occasionally on Sundays the head of a family testifies his
respect for the Sun by a special service. For this sacred
duty he must prepare himself by eating no salt on the
previous Friday and fasting all Saturday, except for a light
meal of molasses and milk at sunset. Before sunrise on
Sunday morning a new earthen vessel, a new basket, some
rice, oil, areca nuts, and vermilion are laid out on a clean
space of ground in front of the house. The worshipper shows
these offerings to the rising sun, and, addressing the luminary
as Gosain, prays that he and his family may be guarded from
any peril or trouble that might threaten them. The rice is
then given to a goat, and while the animal is eating it, its
head is cut off by a single blow from behind. The body
of the goat is thereupon cooked and served up to the
neighbours at a feast ; the head alone, which is deemed
sacred, is carefully reserved for the members of the family.
Next in honour to the Sun is Dharti Mai, that is. Mother
Earth.®
The Oraons are an important Dravidian tribe of the
Chota Nagpur tableland. They number altogether about
^ (Sir) H. H. Risley, Tribes and
Castes of Bengal y ii. 57.
* (Sir) H, H. Risley, Tribes and
Castes of Bengal ^ ii, 66,
3 (Sir) H. H. Risley, THbes and
Castes of Bengal, ii. 70. Compare
E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology
of Bengal, p. 275, “I have no in-
formation regarding the religion of this
tribe, except that they worship the
earth and sun
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONAR YAN PEOPLES 629
750,000 persons, of whom 85,000 now belong to the Central
Provinces, where they are commonly known as Dhangars, which
means farm-servants. The name Oraon has been applied to
them by other people ; their own name for themselves is
Kurukh or Kurunkh. The meaning of both names is obscure.^
Physically the people are small but well - proportioned ;
their complexion is of the darkest brown, approaching to
black ; their hair is jet black, coarse, and inclined to be frizzy.
Protruding jaws and teeth, thick lips, low narrow foreheads,
and broad flat noses characterize their faces ; their eyes are
often bright and full ; no obliquity is observable in the
opening of the eyelids. The countenances of the Oraon
youths beam with animation and good - humour. Their
supple, lithe figures are often models of symmetry ; they
have not the squat appearance or muscular development of
the dumpy Himalayan tribes. There are about the young
Oraon a jaunty air and a mirthful expression that distinguish
him from the Munda or Ho, who has more of the dignified
gravity that is said to characterize the North American
Indian. He is a dandy, but only so long as he remains
unmarried. In his roll of hair gleams a small mirror set in
brass ; from his ears dangle bright brass chains with spiky
pendants, and as he trips along with the springy elastic step
of youth and tosses his head like a high-mettled steed in
the buoyancy of his animal spirits, he sets all his glittering
ornaments dancing and jingling, and his laughing mouth
displays a row of ivory teeth, sound, white, and reguliar, that
give light and animation to his dusky features. In point of
character and temperament the Oraons are said to be, if not
the most virtuous, perhaps the most cheerful of the human
race.^
Essentially an agricultural people, they would seem to The
have chosen their present home on account of its adaptation to t^rorLns
their favourite pursuits.^ Their country is the most gently
1 R. V. Russell, Tribes and Castes Castes of Bengal^ ii. 139 ; Sarat
of the Central Provinces of India^ iv. Chandra Roy, The Oraons of Chota
299 sqt\ E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Nagpur (Ranchi, 1915), pp. 80 sq.\
Ethnology of Bengal^ p. 245. R. V. Russell, Tribes and Castes of the
2 E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno- Central Provinces of India^ iv. 315 sq.
logy of Bengal^ pp. 249, 250 sq,y ® Sarat Chandra Roy, The Oraons
262; (Sir) H. H. Risley, Tribes and of Chota Nagpur y p. 105.
Dharmesh,
the
Supreme
God of the
Oraons,
manifested
in the sun.
630 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
undulating portion of the Chota Nagpur tableland. At the
present day it presents to view vast areas of terraced rice-
fields, divided by swelling uplands, some of them well-wooded
with groves of mango, tamarind, and other useful and
ornamental trees, others bearing stately remnants of the
ancient forests, which still linger o^n these heights, the haunts
of sylvan sprites who took refuge there in days long ago when
the woodman's axe was first heard in the verdurous solitudes
of the valleys. The landscape is diversified by deep ravines,
sounding cataracts, and masses of rocks piled fantastically
upon each other or soaring in pinnacles hundreds of feet
high, like the domes of sunken temples in some ruined and
buried city. In many places the rock shows for acres
together just flush with the surface of the ground, as if the
crust of the earth had there been stripped bare. Such spots
the Oraons choose above all others as sites for their villages.
The flat or gently undulating rock affords them threshing
floors, hard surfaces on which to spread out their grain to
dry, holes which they can use as mortars for pounding
their rice, and open spaces where they can trip it in the
dances that they love. In the distance this Indian Arcadia
is generally bounded on one or more sides by ranges of low
hills.^
The Oraons acknowledge a Supreme God, whom they
call Dharmesh or Dharmes, the Holy One, who is manifest
in the sun. They regard him as a perfectly pure and
beneficent being, who created us and would in his mercy
preserve us, were it not that his benevolent designs are
thwarted by malignant spirits or minor deities, to whom
Dharmesh has left the management of the world. These
evil spirits (b/iuts) men are obliged to propitiate, since
Dharmesh in general cannot or will not interfere, when once
the fiends have fastened upon us. It is therefore of little 1^r
no use to pray or sacrifice to him ; hence, though he is
acknowledged and reverenced, he is nevertheless neglected,
while the evil spirits are adored.^ Yet we are told that in
1 E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethno- logy of Bengal^ p. 256 ; Rev. P.,Dehon,
logy of Bengal, ^.2^6 \ Sarat Chandra S.J., “Religion and Customs of the
Roy, The Oraons of Chota Nagpur, Ur2ions'\ Afemoirs of the Asiatic Society
pp. 52 sg. of Bengal, vol. i. No. 9 (Calcutta,
2 E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Etkno- 1906), p. 125.
XIV
WORSHIP OF SUN BY NONPAR VAN PEOPLES 631
their greatest difficulties, when neither the village priest nor
the magician has availed to help them, the Oraons will turn
to Dharmesh as a last resource and say, ‘‘ Now we have tried
everything, but we have still you to help us Then they
sacrifice a white cock to him. They wash the feet of
the bird, and cut its throat with a knife, and pray, saying,
God, thou art our creator, have mercy on us This
sacrifice of a white cock is offered to Dharmesh at all the
feasts, and also when the magician drives away the evil
spirits.^
We have seen that the Oraons celebrate the marriage of Marriage
the Sun-god with Mother Earth at a festival in spring, when
the parts of the two deities are played by the village priest among the
and his wife, and that until the mystic union of the god and
goddess has been thus consummated, the Oraons may not
use nor even gather the new roots, fruits, and flowers of the
season.^
The Santals are a large Dravidian tribe of Bengal, who ^iic
on the ground of their language are classed with the Kols Dralldian
or Mundas. They occupy a strip of country some four^*‘>^^of
hundred miles long by a hundred miles broad, which
stretches along the whole western frontier of Lower Bengal
from within a few miles of the sea to the hills of
Bhagulpore. The nucleus of the tribe is to be found in
the Santal Parganas or Santalia, which in the second half
of the nineteenth century was said to contain upwards of
two hundred thousand of them. At the same time their
total numbers were estimated at nearly two millions.
In appearance the Santals may be regarded as typical
examples of the pure Dravidian stock. Their complexion
varies from a very dark brown to almost charcoal black :
the bridge of the nose is depressed : the mouth is large, the
lips thick and protruding : the hair is coarse, black, and
occasionally curly. The proportions of the skull, which
approach the long-headed type, refute the hypothesis of
their Mongolian descent. Their faces are round and
blubbery ; by some observers the cast of countenance is
^ Rev. P. Dehon, S.J., ‘‘Religion Russell, Tribes and Castes of the
and Customs of the Uraons,” Memoirs Central Provinces of India ^ iv. 310.
of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. i.
No, 9 (Calcutta, 1906), p. 125 ; R. V. . 2 above, pp. 380 sq.
632 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
Their
shifting
cultivation.
Sun-
worship
among the
Santals.
They call
the Sun
Sing-bonga
and
sacrifice
goats to
him.
thought to approach the negro type. Their stature is
about that of the ordinary Hindoo or a little less.^ They
delight in hunting and are very expert with bows and
arrows, their constant weapons in the chase. Every year, in
the hot season, when the game can least find cover, they
have a great hunting expedition in which thousands take
part. But the Santal also practises a form of husbandry
for which he is in no way indebted to the superior races
who have ousted him from the valleys, and before whom he
retreats into the depths of the forest, where he feels most at
home. There he clears patches of the jungle for cultivation;
there his harmonious flutes sound sweeter, his drums find
deeper echoes, and his bows and arrows freer exercise. For
him a country denuded of the primeval forest has no
attractions. The jungle is his unfailing friend. It supplies
all his simple wants, yielding him everything that the
lowlander lacks — noble timber, brilliant dyes, gums, bees’
wax, vegetable drugs, charms, charcoal, and the skins of
wild beasts — a little world of barbaric wealth to be had for
the taking. There, in some sequestered spot among the
woods and hills, he makes his home ; and there now and
then a wandering sportsman is surprised to stumble on a
Santal village. There the Santal dwells secluded from the
Hindoos, from whose contact he shrinks. The only Hindoo
whom the sylvan folk tolerate is the blacksmith, who is
attached to the village and does all the working in iron for
the hamlet, fashioning among other things the armlets and
rude jewellery in which the Santal matron delights.^
Like many other Dravidian tribes of India, the Santals
worship the Sun, but as to the exact place which he holds
in their pantheon the accounts of our authorities are some-
what conflicting. According to Colonel Dalton, who has
given us a valuable account of the people, among the Santals
of Chota Nagpur the Sun is the supreme god ; they call
him Sing-bonga, and look upon him as their creator and
preserver. Every third year in most houses, but in some
1 (Sir) W. W. Hunter, Annals of of Bengal^ ii. 224 sq.
Rural Bengal^ (London, 1872), pp. * (Sir) W. W. Hunter, Annals of
145 sq. ; E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Rural Bengal^ ^ pp. 2 10-21 5, 218;
Ethnology of Bengal, pp. 207, 212; E. T. Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology
(Sir) H. II. Risley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal, pp. 208 sq,, 216.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES 633
every fourth or fifth year, the head of the family offers a
goat to the Sun-god, Sing-bonga, for the prosperity of the
family, especially of the children, “ that they may not be cut
off by disease, or fall into sin The sacrifice is offered at
sunrise on any open space cleaned and purified for the
occasion. “ A very important distinction is observed by all
the Kolarians in the motive of the sacrifices to the supreme
deity and those by which the minor gods are propitiated. To
Sing Bonga the sacrifice is to secure a continuance of his
mercies and for preservation. The other deities are resorted
to when disease or misfortune visits the family, the sacrifice
being to propitiate the spirit who is supposed to be afflicting
or punishing them.”^ But according to Sir William Hunter
and Sir Herbert Risley, the national god of the Santals and Santai
the head of their pantheon is not the Sun-god Sing-bonga Malang
but “ Marang Buru, the Great Mountain, who appears in the
their legends as the guardian and sponsor of their race ; the Mountain,
divinity who watched over their birth, provided for their
earliest wants, and brought their first parents together in
marriage. In private and in public, in time of tribulation
and in time of wealth, in health and in sickness, on the
natal bed and by the death-bed, the Great Mountain is
invoked with bloody offerings.''^ However, Sir William
Hunter so far agrees with Colonel Dalton as to admit
that the Sun-god, whom he calls Chando, is theoretically
acknowledged as supreme in the religious system of the
Santals, although he seldom receives sacrifice. “ Sometimes
they adore him as the Sim-bonga, the god who eats chickens,
and once in four or five years a feast in his honour is held.
The Santai religion, in fact, seems to consist of a mythology
constructed upon the family basis, but rooted in a still more
primitive system of nature-worship.’’ ^ According to Sir
Herbert Risley, every Santai ought to sacrifice two goats, or
a goat and a sheep, to the Sun at least once in his life ; ^
^ E. T, Dalton, Descriptive Ethno- Rural Bengal^ ^ p. 184. According
logy of Bengal^ pp. 213, 214. to Dalton, the Santals worship Chando
2 (Sir) W. W. Hunter, Annals of Bonga as the Moon-god, not the Sun-
Rural Bengal p. 1 86. Compare god {Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal^
(Sir) H. H. Risley, Tribes and Castes p. 214).
of Bengal^ ii. 232. * (Sir) H. H. Risley, Tribes and
3 (Sir) W. W. Hunter, Annals of Castes of Bengal^ ii. 234.
634 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
Traces of a and lie tells US that “according to Mr. Skrefsrud traces may
be discerned in the background of the Santal religion of a
called fainlant Supreme Being called Thakur, whom the Santals
Thakur
identified have long ceascd to worship for the sufficient reason that he
wUh the is too good to trouble himself about anybody and does
among the neither good nor ill to mankind. Some identify him with
Santals. whom the Santals regard as a good god and worship
every fifth or tenth year with sacrifices of slain goats. But this
point is uncertain, and I am myself inclined to doubt whether
a god bearing the Hindu name Thakur, and exercising
supreme powers which mark a comparatively late stage of^
theological development, can really have formed part of the
original system of the Santals.” ^
Worship Among the Mongoloid hill-tribes of Assam, who differ
and the radically both in race and language from the Dravidians of
heavenly India, the worship of the heavenly bodies, including the
developed sun and moon, appears to be either absent or very little
developed. Thus of the Lushais we are told that they “ do
of Assam, not worship the sun or moon or any of the forces of nature,
though when wishing to emphasize a statement they
frequently say, ‘ If what I say is not true, may the sun and
moon desert me ’. But they believe the hills, streams, and
trees are inhabited by various demons.” ^ Similarly of the
Serna Nagas we read that “ the forces and phenomena of
nature, though not definitely deified by the Sernas, are often
regarded as the manifestations or abodes of spirits. In the
case of the sun and moon they are not worshipped or deified,
and no clear conception at all is entertained of their nature.
They are regarded as phenomena, and their existence is
taken as a matter of course, but they are called upon to
witness oaths and asseverations, and cannot be falsely
invoked with impunity.”^ In all oaths it is deemed
essential by the Sernas that the swearing should take place
between sunrise and sunset, “ that the sun may see the
^ (Sir) H. H. Risley, Tribes and
Castes of Bengal^ ii. 232.
2 J. Shakespear, The Lushei Kuki
Clans (London, 1912), p. 65.
3 J. H. Hutton, The Serna Nagas
(London, 1921), pp. 249 sq. Else-
where, speaking of the hill tribes of
Assam, Mr. Hutton observes that
“ there seems to be no worship of
the sun or moon at all, though they
are called on to witness oaths, * since
they see all that takes place’, as a
Naga put it to me”. See J. H. Hutton,
“Some Astronomical Beliefs in Assam,”
Folk-lore, xxxvi. (1925) p. 116.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN B V NON-AR VAN PEOPLES 635
oath'\^ The implication seems to be that the sun is a
conscious and powerful being who can punish perjury. A
being so conceived is on the highroad to divinity. The
Angami Nagas so far personify the Sun that they regard him
as female, the wife of the Moon, whom they look on as a
male. Being a woman, she is afraid to go about in the dark
and only shows herself by day ; whereas her husband the
Moon, being a man, moves fearlessly about in the gloom of
night.^ The Lhota Nagas think that the sun is a flaming
plate of hard metal, as big as a piece of ground on which
^ne basket of seed rice is sown ; by day it travels along
its path in the sky, and at night it returns back under the
earth and lights up the Land of the Dead ; and the moon is
just such another plate of flaming metal.® Conceived in
this materialistic way, the luminaries are far indeed from
being deified. The Mikirs, one of the most numerous and
homogeneous of the many Tibeto-Burman tribes inhabiting
Assam, regard the sun and moon as divine, but do not
specially propitiate them.^ However, among the hill-tribes Approach
of Assam the one which seems to have approached most
worship
nearly to a worship of the Sun is the Ao. Of this tribe we among the
are told that among the Aos, although there is no
distinctive nature worship, there is something which closely
approaches it. In a way there is a sun worship, but it would
be more accurate to say that they worshipped the deity who
controls it and its beneficent rays. When the weather is
inclement for several days, the priests collect a number of
eggs, and, going to a particular spot, break them and eat
them raw, hanging up the shells for the deity. Then they
implore the sun deity to grant favourable weather ; other-
wise the villagers must suffer from lack of food. This is
followed by a rest day, when the priests go from house to
house, drinking rice beer and singing praises to the sun.
At times they sacrifice cows and pigs to the ruling spirits of
^ J. H. Hutton, The Serna Nagas^ also represent the sun as female and
p. 166. the moon as male. See P. R. T.
2 J. H. Hutton, The Angami Nagas Gurdon, The Khasis^ (London, 1914),
(London, 1921), pp. 410 sq. One of pp. 172 sq.
Mr. Hutton’s informants reversed the ^ J. P. Mills, The Lhota Nagas
sexes of the luminaries, but in doing (London, 1922), p. 172.
so he contradicted the normal Angami * E. Stack, The Mikirs (London,
version {pp, cit, p. 259). The Khasis 1908), pp. i, 33,
636 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA chap.
the sun and moon. According to the Aos this has been a
customary practice from the beginning of time, and should
it not be kept up, the pigs and cattle would die and the
crops fail. At some of the other festivals they appeal to the
deities of heaven and earth, of the sun and of the moon, to
be favourable unto them.'* ^
Traces Among the Mongoloid tribes of Burma, immediately to
worship Assam, a few traces of Sun-worship have been
among the recorded. Thus among the Kachins or Singphos (Ching-
ttibefo^r^ paws), a large tribe of Upper Burma, the spirits {nats) of the
Burma, the Sun and Moon are worshipped once each year, but only b%
Singphos the chief, who jealously guards the privilege. The ceremony
and the takes place in the cold season. No living thing is sacrificed,
but food and drink are offered, and the chief begs the spirits
of the two great luminaries to protect the whole village.*^
The Palaungs, a tribe inhabiting some of the hills in the
Shan States of Burma, profess Buddhism, but like many
Buddhists they retain numerous beliefs and practices which
have survived from an older worship of nature.^ Thus, they
regard the Sun and Moon as brother spirits so powerful that
they are almost ranked as gods. It is believed that if these
mighty beings are offended, they can send sickness, sunstroke,
violent headaches, or fever as a punishment. If a wise man,
on being consulted, decides that sickness is caused by one of
these great lights, he advises the patient to take a freshly
cut bamboo, split one end of it, and insert two streamers in
the split, one red to represent the Sun, and one white to
represent the Moon. Further, to the top of the bamboo
pole he must fasten two pieces of paper, one of them round
or white, with a peacock drawn on it, the other crescent-
shaped, with a hare drawn on it ; the round white paper
stands for the Sun, and the crescent-shaped paper stands for
the Moon ; and the drawings are obviously appropriate to
the luminaries which they represent, because, as everybody
knows, a peacock lives in the Sun and a hare resides in the
Moon. Having decorated the pole with these symbols, the
sufferer plants it firmly in the ground. Then beside it he
' W. C. Smith, The Ao Naga Tribe and the Shan States ^ Part I. vol. i.
of Assam (Ix)ndon, 1925), pp, 87 sq. (Rangoon, 1900) p. 435.
2 (Sir) J. George Scott and J. P. 3 y[xs.ljt^\\Q'^\\nt^TheHomeofan
Hardiman, Gazetteer of Upper Burma Eastern Clan (Oxford, 1924), p. 312.
XIV WORSHIP OF SUN BY NON-ARYAN PEOPLES 637
#
sets up a shorter stalk of green bamboo, which supports a
rough basket. In this basket he places yellow rice and
yellow or red flowers for the Sun, and white rice and white
flowers for the Moon, with two curries, one sweet and one
sour, on the top of the rice. But before he sets up this
basket of offerings, the sick man holds it as high as he can
above his head and prays, saying, “ To-day I am ill ; T fear
that I may have offended thee, O Sun ! thee, O Moon ! pity
me, please. I offer this rice and curry and these flowers to
you both. Grant that I may overcome this illness, O Sun !
O Moon ! ” It is best to offer this prayer at dawn.^
The Todas, who inhabit the lofty tableland of the sun-
Neilgherry Hills in Southern India, are a small tribe isolated
from their neighbours alike by natural surroundings, race, Todas of
temperament, and occupation. Their racial affinities are '*
unknown ; there is no reason to connect them with the Hiiis.
Dravidians, the prevailing people of Southern India, from
whom they differ totally in physical type. They occupy
themselves exclusively with the care of their cattle : their
religion centres round their sacred buffaloes : the dairies are
their temples, and the dairymen their priests : the chief
dairyman {palot) is a very sacred personage, a sort of high-
priest.^ But there is no doubt that the Sun is also an object
of reverence to the Todas. It is the duty of every man,
when first he leaves his hut in the morning, to salute the Sun
by raising his hand to his face ; and when the sacred dairy-
man {palol) comes out of his dairy to milk the buffaloes, he
salutes the Sun by raising his milking-pail and churn to his
forehead. All Dr. Rivers’ Toda informants were unanimous
in saying that the salutation of the sacred dairyman was
offered both to the buffaloes and the Sun. The doors of the
great majority of the dairies face more or less in an easterly
direction, so that the dairyman, in coming out of his dairy in
the morning, can see the sun ; and where the dairy faces in
a different direction he has to turn so as to salute with his
face to the east. In the afternoon he salutes in the same
direction as in the morning, so that, so far as the salutation
•
1 Mrs. Leslie Milne, The Home of * W. H. R. Rivers, The Todas
an Eastern Clan (Oxford, 1924), pp. (London, 1906), pp. 38, 42, 98-105,
256 sq. 448 sq., 680 sq.
638 WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN MODERN INDIA cii. xiv
is performed to the Sun, it would seem that reverence is
paid rather to the place of sunrise than to the Sun itself.^
According to Colonel W. E. Marshall, the Todas salaam to
the rising and setting Sun {btrsh) and to the Moon {tiggalii)
at night, reciting the one form of prayer which they use on
all devout occasions : it runs thus, “ May it be well with the
male children, the men, the cows, the female calves, and
every one
1 W. H. R. Rivers, The Todas ^ Travels amongst the Todas (London,
pp. 94, 126, 128, 436. 1873), pp. 71, 123.
2 Lieut. -Colonel W. E. Marshall,
CHAPTER XV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN
The ancient religion of Japan is known as Shinto, or “ the Shinto, the
Way of the Gods”. It is essentially a worship of R^-ture,
that is, of the material aspects of the physical world Japan, a
personified as gods or goddesses. The view that it was „ ^ture^
primarily a worship of ancestors, upon which the worship of
nature was afterwards grafted,^ appears to be erroneous. It
is rejected by two of our best modern authorities on Japanese
religion, W. G. Aston and M. Revon. According to Aston,
Shinto, which has been described as exclusively a cult of
ancestors and deceased sovereigns, has in reality little of this
element. It is in the main a worship of nature. The man-
deities are of more recent origin and of minor importance
Indeed, he holds that “ the worship of ancestors is an
importation from China and has no place in the older
Shinto”.^ Similarly the French scholar, M. Michael Revon,
while he admits that the worship of ancestors became the
dominant feature of Shinto at a certain period, is of opinion
that this cult of the dead was developed later than the
worship of nature, and in proof of it he refers to the
prominence given to spirits of nature in ancient Japanese
ritual and annals.^ This ancient worship of nature, which
was no doubt in former times the national religion of Japan,
has long been thrust into the background by Buddhism, the
1 W. E. Griffis, The Religions of
Japan (London, 1895), P* “From
the em|:)eror to the humblest believer,
the god-way is founded on ancestor
worship, and has had grafted upon its
ritual system nature worship ”.
2 W. G. Aston, “Shinto”, in J.
Hastings’ Encyclopaedia of Religion
and Ethiesy xi. (Edinburgh, 1920)
p. 463.
3 W. G. Aston, op, cit, p. 464.
^ Michael Revon, Le Shintdismey i.
(Paris, 1907) pp. 57 sq.
639
640
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN
CHAP.
lofty morality of which furnishes a striking contrast to the
general absence of ethical teaching in Shinto,^ and therefore
strengthens its appeal to a people so intelligent and civilized
as the Japanese. Yet the old faith still retains a certain
hold on the mind of the people, manifesting itself particularly
in that adoration of the Sun ^hich appears to have^been
from the earliest times a salient feature of the national
religion. The absence of a moral code in Shinto is acknow-
ledged by modern native commentators, who account for it
by the innate perfection of the Japanese nature, which
renders such outward props of morality superfluous. It is only,^
they insinuate, the inferior races, such as the Chinese and
Europeans, whose natural depravity requires from time to time
to be corrected by the preaching of sages and reformers.^
The Sun- Of all the Shinto deities {kamis) the most eminent is the
fhe^mSt Sun-goddess, the personification of the physical sun. She is
eminent of described as the Ruler of Heaven and as unrivalled in dignity.
defdeT^^ She wears royal insignia, is surrounded by ministers, and is
spoken of in terms appropriate to personages of sovereign
rank. From her the Mikados claim to derive their descent
and authority. Yet she is hardly what we understand by a
Supreme Being. Her power does not extend to the sea and
to the Land of Darkness {yomi)^ the Japanese Hades. The
commission to rule the Heaven was conferred on her by her
parents, and did not by any means convey despotic power.
Important celestial matters are determined, not by her, but
by a Council of the Gods. The heavenly constitution, like
its earthly counterpart, on which no doubt it was modelled,
is far from being an absolute monarchy.®
Japanese The Ordinary Japanese name of the Sun-goddess is
The^Sun^^ -^4 tio Oho-katniy “ the Heaven-shining Great Deity
goddess. European writers usually abridge it to Ama-terasu^ which,
1 W. G. Aston, “Shinto”, in J. prehensive word for deity in the
Hastings’ Eftcyclopaedia of Religion Japanese language is Its proper
and Elhicsj \\. ^ 6 (). meaning is “top” or “above”,
Basil Hall Chamberlain, Things Applied to persons, human or divine,
Japanese^ (London, 1902), p. 414. it signifies little more than “superior”,
3 W. G, Aston, Shinto y the Way of See W, G, Aston, Shinto ^ the ^ Way of
the Gods (London, 1905), pp. 123 sq . ; the Gods, pp, 7-10; B. H. Chamberlain,
id., “Shinto”, in J, Hastings’ En- Kofi-ki, Records of Ancient Matters,
cyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, xi, pp, xvii sq. {Transactions of the Asiatic
466. The commonest and most com- Society of Japan, Sup-pltmeni to \o\.x,).
XV THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN 641
however, is a mere epithet, and as such is applied to other
deities. She is also called Ama-terasu hiru-me^ “Heaven-
shining Sun-female ”, or, more briefly, Hirume, Another of
her titles is Ama-terasu mi oya^ “ Heaven-shining august-
parent In modern times the old title Ania-terasu no Oho-
kami is little used, and is commonly replaced by its Chinese
equivalent Tenshodaijin, Partly under cover of a name
which is less intelligible to the multitude, the tendency has
increased to throw the solar nature of the goddess into the
shade and to conceive of her simply as a general Providence
^t the expense of other divinities. In this way she has
made a distinct advance to the dignity of a supreme
monotheistic deity. Even in ancient times there was some
recognition of the Sun-Goddess as a Providence who watched
over human affairs, especially over the welfare of the
Mikado and his government. She is said to have provided
Jimmu, the first of the Mikados, with a Sun-crow to guide
his army.^ The solar character of the goddess having
become obscured, the people have personified the sun afresh
under the names of Nichi-rin sama^ “ Sun-wheel-personage ”,
and 0 tento sama^ “ August-heaven-path-personage ”. To
the lower class of Japanese at the present day, and especially
to women and children, 0 tento sama is the actual sun,
conceived without sex and without myth, unencumbered by
any formal cult, but looked up to as a moral being who
rewards the good, punishes the wicked, and enforces oaths
made in his name.^
The material symbol or embodiment {shintai) of the The sacred
Sun-goddess, is a mirror, sometimes called the eight-hand-
mirror {yata-kagami) or the Sun-form-mirror. It is kept in the Sun-
a box to this day in the great shrine at Ise, which has been
called the very heart of the ancient Japanese religion. The
mirror is about eight inches in diameter. It is treated with
the greatest care and reverence, and is even spoken of as if
it were the Sun-goddess herself.^ Religious honours are still
1 W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of in J. Hastings’ Encyclopaedia of Re-
the Gods,-i^^, 124 sq. ligion and Ethics, xi. 466 . It is
2 W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of M. Revon who calls the temple at
the Gods, p. 127 . Ise “the very heart of the ancient
3 W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of Japanese religion ” {Le Shintdisme,
the Gods, pp. 134 sq. ; id., “Shinto”, i. 41 ).
VOL. I
2 T
642
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN chap.
The bird
of the Sun-
goddess.
Royal
princess
dedicated
to the
service of
the Sun-
goddess.
The Food-
goddess,
Uka
Mochi.
paid to it or to its representative.^ Formerly the female
attendants of the imperial palace used to offer rice, fish,
cakes, cloth, and so forth at every new moon to the sacred
mirror which represented the goddess. In the modern form
of the worship the emperor himself does homage to the
shrine which contains the symbols of divinity.^
The Sun-goddess was also provided with a bird as her
messenger and attendant. In Japanese the bird is called
yata-garasH^ ‘‘eight-hand crow”. It is said to be borrowed
from China, where it is called the Sun-crow or Golden Crow,
and is described as a bird of a red colour and three claws,(
which roosts in the sun. Mention of this remarkable fowl
occurs in a Chinese poem written in 3 14 B.c. As a symbol
of the Sun it was wrought on the banners set up in front of
the Imperial Palace on State occasions. This custom is
known to go back to 700 A.D. and is probably much older.®
At the beginning of every reign an unmarried princess
of the imperial blood used to be chosen by divination and
consecrated to the service of the Sun-goddess at Ise. For
three years before she took up her duties she went on the
first day of every month to a sacred hall and worshipped
towards the Great Shrine of Ise ; this period of preparation
was called the “ three years* purity
Next to the Sun-goddess the most important, or at all
events the most universally popular, deity of the Shinto
pantheon is the Food-goddess, Uke-mochi ; the outer shrine
at Ise is dedicated to her. At the present time daily
offerings arc made to the two goddesses at Ise. They
consist of four cups of rice-beer {sake), sixteen saucers of
rice and four of salt, besides fish, birds, fruits, seaweed,
and vegetables.^ According to Hirata, the Japanese theo-
logian who worked for a revival of the Shinto religion in
the first half of the nineteenth century, no flesh was offered
in sacrifice to the Sun-goddess.® Clothing was formerly
‘ W, G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of ® W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way oj
the Gods, p. 72. the Gods, pp. 161, 162, 219 ; id.,
2 W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of “Shinto”, in J. Hastings’ Encyclo-
ihe Gods, pp. 291 sq. paedia of Religion and Ethics, xi. 467.
3 W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of ® W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of
the Gods, p. 136. the Gods, p. 254. As to Hirata, who
* W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of lived from 1776 to 1843 A.D., see id,
the Gods, pp. 205 sq. pp. 373 sq.
XV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN
643
presented to the Sun-goddess at Ise twice a year, in the
fourth and ninth months. Her shrine at Ise used to be
rebuilt every twentieth year. A special form of liturgy
{norito) was prescribed for the occasion.^ Many people go
on pilgrimage to the shrines of the Sun-goddess and the piigrim.
Food-goddess at Ise. More than eleven thousand pilgrims
, , , ... ^ slirine of
have been known to pay their devotions at Ise on NewtheSun-
Year^s Day. Boys and even girls often run away from
home and beg their way to Ise. This is regarded as a
pardonable escapade. When an actual visit to a shrine is
difficult or impossible, the worshipper may offer his homage
from a distance. In some places special shrines are provided
at which the deity graciously consents to accept this worship
at a distance.^ On the coast of Ise there is a famous spot
to which pilgrims resort in order to worship the Sun as he
rises over the distant Mount Fujiyama, the Olympus of
Japan. There is a mark to indicate the proper direction
in which the devotees should do obeisance to the orb of
day. In the eastern wall of a private courtyard a round
hole may occasionally be seen for the convenience of
worshipping the morning sun. There is a modern custom
called Sun-waiting which consists in keeping awake
the whole night of the fifth day of the tenth month in order to
worship the Sun at his rising. The rules of religious purity
must be observed from the previous day. Many persons
assemble at various open places in Tokio for the sake of
worshipping the Sun on the first day of the year. This is
called “ the First Sunrise ” {hat su no hi no de)? The ordinary
Japanese salutation to the rising Sun is to bow the head.^
Among the places of pilgrimage are the tops of lofty piigrim-
mountains, where the worshipper naturally feels himself
nearer to the heavenly gods. The great sacred moun- the sun or
tain of Japan is Mount Fuji or Fujiyama, a volcano
very regular shape, like an inverted fan, more than 12,000
feet high.^ Thousands of pilgrims ascend it annually, but
* W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of ^ W, G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of
the Go(^, p. 287. Pie Gods, p. 128.
, 2 w. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of ^ W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of
the Gods, pp. 239 sq . ; id., “Shinto”, the Gods, p. 208.
in J. Hastings’ Encyclopaedia of Re- ® B. H. Chamberlain, Things
ligion and Ethics, xi. 468. Japanese ^ (London, 1 902), pp. 1 89 sqq.
644
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN chap.
only during two months of the year, from the fifteenth of
July to the tenth of September. During the rest of the
year, woe to the rash intruder who should dare to transgress
the prescribed lines ! ' Another peak to which pilgrims
resort is the lofty Mount Ontake, “ the August Peak
The mountain is an ancient volcano ; sulphurous fumes still
burst from crevices in the rocks. On the top Mr. Weston
witnessed a band of white-robed pilgrims making their
offerings at the shrine and then worshipping the Goddess of
the Sun. It was dawn and streaks of golden light were
stealing up into the azure sky. First of all the pilgrims
clapped their hands to call the attention of the divinity to
their prayers, and then broke into a series of chants of
invocation. Mingled with the chants were repetitions of
the prayer which is constantly heard on the lips of pilgrims
as they toil up the slopes of a holy mountain : “ May our
six senses be pure, and may the weather on the honourable
peak be fine!” Next followed a series of extraordinary
pantomimic gestures called seal-knots ” {in musabi). With
intense energy and earnestness the devotees twisted and
tied the fingers of both hands into the oddest combinations
of knots, like the “ cat’s cradles ” made by children at play.
Each twist, each knot had its own special significance, being
addressed to those invisible powers of evil from whose
insidious machinations the pilgrim prayed to be delivered,
grunting loudly as he made*each cabalistic sign.^
Blessings The Goddess of the Sun is not only looked up to with
onhe^^n warmth and light which she sheds on the
goddess, world ; she is also supposed to grant bodily health and
success in business to her devotees. P'urther, she protects
the country from invasion, and bestows many other blessings
which have no obvious relation to her functions as a solar
power.® Hence some modern writers, both Japanese and
^ Walter Weston, Mount ameertng the old ritual. In some ceremonies
aftd Exploration in the Japanese Alps the number was thirty-two. In more
(London, 1896), p. 193. modern times hand-clapping as a token
2 W. Weston, op. cit. pp. 279 sq, of respect has been confined to divine
Elsewhere (p. 272) Mr, Weston men- worship. See W. G. Aston, Shinto^
tions that pilgrims are clad in cere- the Way of the Gods] p. 209.
monial white. The clapping of hands
was in ancient times a general token ^ W. G. Aston, “Shinto”, in J,
of respect in Japan. The number of Hastings’ Encyclopaedia of Religion
hand-claps was minutely described in a 7 td Ethics^ xi, 464.
XV
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN
645
European, have inclined to hold that the Sun-goddess Ama-
terasu is not so much the physical sun as a deity who rules
and guides the sun. Thus the native theologian Hirata
maintained that the Sun-goddess was not the Ruler of
Heaven but the Ruler of the Sun ; ^ and Mr, Basil Chamber-
lain thinks that in the ancient Japanese mythology ‘‘ the
sun is ruled over by a goddess, the glorious Ama-terasu
But such nice distinctions do not trouble the heads of simple-
minded Sun-worshippers. To. them the sun, the physical Japanese
sun, is a god, and that is an end of it. Of this truth we
are assured again and again by good observers, who have piiysicai
lived among the Japanese and seen them at their devotions."
Thus Dr. W. E. Griffis, formerly of the Imperial University
of Tokio, tells us that to the common people the sun is
actually a god, as none can doubt who sees them worshipping
it morning and evening. The writer can never forget one
of many similar scenes in Tokio, when late one afternoon
O Tento Sama (the Sun-Lord of Heaven), which had been
hidden behind clouds for a fortnight, shone out on the
muddy streets. In a moment, as with the promptness of a
military drill, scores of people rushed out of their houses and
with faces westward, kneeling, squatting, began prayer and
worship before the great luminary.'’ ^
To the same effect M. Revon tells us that he questioned m. Revon
several devout Shintoists in Japan as to their real thought
in this matter, and they assured him that in Ama-terasu, the deification
Sun-goddess, they by no means worshipped a spirit control- phygfcai
ling the sun and more or less independent of it, but actually Sun.
the real, material sun, the animate celestial body which gives
light and warmth to men.^ In the junks and steamers which
ply on the Inner Sea there are always some pious passengers
who do reverence to the rising or setting sun, and the boat-
men are bound by custom thus to adore the great orb of day
when he appears above the horizon in the east. So, too,
where the railway runs in sight of the sacred Mount Fuji-
yama, whether on the side of the sea or where the golden
dolphins of the castle of Nagoya glitter in the morning or the
* 1 W. G. Aston, Shinto, the Way of ^ VV. E. Griffis, The Religions of
the Gods, p. 124. Japan, p. 87.
2 Basil Hall Chamberlain, Things ^ M. Revon, Le Shintdisme, i. 77,
Japanese^ (London, 1902), p. 435. note 2,
646
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN
CHAP,
evening light, many passengers, looking out of the windows,
pay their respects to the rising or the setting sun ; the third-
class passengers are particularly assiduous in their devotions.^
In short, to adopt the words of M. Revon, “the Japanese people
adore the Sun as a living god ; the worship which they pay
him is not vague and spiritual, it ‘is direct and absolutely real,
when, every morning, the glorious luminary rises in face of his
worshipper, lighting up and warming all things, or at evening
when he is about to plunge into the night. And such is the
inward, instinctive faith of the whole religious public, from
the artisan who, from the back of his dark shop, turns
towards the bright dawn, claps his hands and recites piously
his prayer to the goddess, up to the pilgrim who, on the
summit of Mount Fujiyama, prostrates himself, with dazzled
eyes, before the first golden shafts of light and worships the
orb with forehead bowed down to the rocks.” ^ “ For my
part,” adds M. Revon, “ I must confess that one morning
on the summit of Fuji, perceiving myself alone in a scene
which might have befitted the Last Judgment, faced by the
radiant orb which seemed to me like the last living thing of
creation, I had a lively illusion that it was a personal being ;
and when, a moment afterwards, I saw pilgrims hasting from
all sides to adore him, I thought their faith perfectly natural.
If Herbert Spencer had been there, perhaps he would have
abandoned his theory that the worship of the Sun sprang
from the worship of the dead through a mistake about their
posthumous names.” ^
Mythical The ancient mythology of Japan relates the origin of the
the^Sui^ Sun-goddess as follows. Both of the two old native histories
goddess, of Japan, the Kojiki or “Records” and the Nihongi or
“ Chronicles ”, ^ begin with describing a state of primeval
* M, Revon, Le ShintoismCy i. 78, order and completed in 712 A. D. It
note has been translated into English, with
2 M. Revon, Le ShintoisnieJ\,*j*j sq^ a valuable introduction, by Mr. Basil
3 M. Revon, Le Shinto'isme^ i. 78, Hall Chamberlain, and the translation
note b has been published as a Supplement
^ For our knowledge of ancient to the tenth volume of the Transactions
Japanese history and mythology we of the Asiatic Society of Japan. The
are indebted mainly to two early Nihongi has been translated into
Japanese works, the Kojiki^ or “ Re- English by Mr. W. G. Aston, and
cords of Ancient Matters and the the translation has been published as
Nihongi^ or “Chronicles of Japan”, Supplement I. to the Transactions
The Kojiki was compiled by Imperial and Proceedings of the Japan Society^
XV THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN 647
chaos, in which Heaven and Earth were not yet separated
from each other, but adhered together in a mass like an egg.
In time the two elements parted from each other, the purer
and lighter rising to form the Heaven, while the grosser and
heavier sank to form the Earth. Thereafter Divine Beings
were produced between them.' Then followed seven genera-
tions of gods, of whom the last were a brother and sister
called Izanagi and Izanami. The name of the brother, izanagiand
Izanagi, has been interpreted “ Male who invites ”, and the
name of the sister Izanami, has been interpreted “ Female and sister,
who invites ”, but this interpretation is doubtful. Be that an?w?fe
as it may, the brother and sister appear to be personifications
of the dual creative powers of the universe ; and as ideas so
abstract are probably late, we may assume, with some
likelihood, that the conception of this pair of creators
originated long after that of the simpler and more concrete
deities of nature, such as the gods of the Sun and Moon.
At all events the brother and sister are said to have united
in marriage, and by their union to have produced, first, the
various islands of the Japanese Archipalego, and afterwards
a brood of gods and goddesses, many of whom we should
call personifications of the powers of nature, such as the
Wind-Gods, the Sea-gods, the Gods of Mountains and
Valleys, the God of Trees, and the Goddess of Food. The
youngest born was the God of Fire, and in bringing
London^ in two volumes (London, language, and the traditional history
1896). The scope of the two works of Ancient Japan. Indeed it is the
is the same, but the later book (the earliest , authentic connected literary
Nihongi^ or “ Chronicles ”), though product of that large division of the
composed only a few years after the human race which has been variously
JCojiki, is written in Chinese and denominated Turanian, Scythian, and
under Chinese influence, which has Altaic, and it even precedes by at least
deeply coloured the whole, omitting a century the most ancient extant
or rationalizing some of the most literary compositions of non -Aryan
childish and barbarous myths. At India. Soon after the date of its com-
the same time the Nihongi has an pilation, most of the salient features
independent value of its own, in so far of distinctive Japane.se nationality were
as the author has added to the original buried under a superincumbent mass
text many variants of the current myths of Chinese culture”. See B. H,
which might otherwise have been lost. Chamberlain, Ko-ji-ki^ or Records of
Nevertheless, the earlier work, the Ancient Matters^ Introduction, pp. i
Kojiki% or “Records”, is the most sqq.\ W. G. A.ston, Shinto^ the IVay
important monument of early Japanese of the Gods, pp. 2 sq.
literature, “ because it has preserved ^ B. H. Chamberlain, ^ Ko^ji-ki, or
for us more faithfully than any other Records of Ancient Matters, p. 4;
book the mythology, the manners, the W. G. Aston, Nihongi, i. i sq.
648 THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN chap.
him into the world his mother expired, being burnt by
the flames which emanated from the body of the infant.
The dead So she passed away to the Land of Yomi, the Japanese
s^gh™' Hades, the Land of the Dead. Her disconsolate husband
by her pursued her thither, and implored her to return, like Orpheus
ton^gi seeking to recall his lost Eurydice. But sadly she said, “ My
I'amTof husband, why is thy coming so late ? I have
the Dead, already eaten of the cooking-furnace of Yomi. But I am
about to lie down to rest. Look not on me.” But look at
her he did by the light of a torch made from the tooth of a
comb which he wore in his hair. What he saw was dreadful.
For her body was already falling into putrefaction : maggots
swarmed over it ; and the eight Thunder-gods had been
generated in her members. Horrified at the spectacle he
turned and fled, pursued by the Infernal Hags whom his
dead wife, enraged at the shame of her exposure, sent after
him to slay him. As he fled he threw down first his comb
and then his head-dress to delay his pursuers. The comb
was changed into bamboo-shoots, which the Hags stopped to
devour. The head-dress was changed into grapes, and
again the dreadful beings tarried to pick them up. When
he reached the Even Pass of Yomi, he found three peaches
growing there, and plucking them he hurled them at his
pursuers, who turned and fled back. But at the same Even
Pass of Yomi the fugitive was overtaken by his dead wife
herself, Izanami. He took a great rock and blocked up the
pass : he pronounced the words of divorce : he said, “ Come
no farther ” ; and he threw down his staff, his garments, and
his shoes. So husband and wife parted for ever.^
Purification On returning from this vain attempt to recover his lost
on^Ws"*^ spouse, Izanagi’s first care was to bathe in a river or the sea
return from in order to purify himself from the pollution which he had
the Dead. Contracted in the Land of the Dead. As he did so, fresh
deities were born from each article of clothing that he threw
down beside the water, and also from each part of his
person. For example, one deity was produced from his
august girdle, another from his august trousers, and a third
' B. H. Chamberlain, Ko-ji-ki^ or Aston, N'ihongi^ i. 5 sqq.^ 21-25;
Records of Ancient Matters^ pp. xlv Shinto, the Way of the Gods, pp. 85-
sq,, 16 sqq., 29 sq., 34-39; W. G. 94, 169-172.
XV THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN 649
•
from his august hat. The Sun-goddess was born when he The Sun-
washed his august left eye ; the Moon-god was born when born from
he washed his august right eye, and a god called Susa-no- the left eye
Wo, or the Impetuous Male, was born when he washed his
august nose. To the Sun-goddess her father assigned the
heaven to rule over, to the Moon-god he gave dominion
over the night, and to the Impetuous Male God he com-
mitted the kingdom of the sea. But the Impetuous Male,
whom modern scholars variously interpret as a personification
of the rain-storm and so forth, was not content with his lot ;
he did not accept the kingdom of the sea, but blubbered and
wept till his beard reached the pit of his stomach. He wept
till the green mountains were withered and all the rivers and
seas, curiously enough, dried up. When his father, exasperated
at this exuberance of sorrow, asked him testily what he meant
by it, his hopeful offspring replied, ** I wail because I wish to
depart to the land of my deceased mother, to the Nether
Distant Land Then the great God his father was very
wroth, and forthwith expelled him with a divine expulsion.^
• But before the Impetuous Male Deity went down to the Ascent
Nether Land, he begged to be allowed to ascend for a brief
space to heaven, there to meet his elder sister the Sun-
goddess once more, after which he promised to depart for ^is
ever. Leave was granted him, and up he went accordingly.
But such was the fierceness and impetuosity of his nature that sister the
at his going there was a commotion in the sea, the rivers
trembled, and the hills and mountains groaned aloud. His
sister, who knew his violence and wickedness, was startled,
and her countenance was changed at the sound of his coming.
She said to herself, “ Is my younger brother coming with
good intentions ? I think it must be his purpose to rob me
of my kingdom. By the charge which our parents gave to
their children, each of us has his own allotted limits. Why,
therefore, does he reject the kingdom to which he should
proceed, and make bold to come spying here ? So she
bound up her hair into knots, and tied up her skirts into the
form of trousers. She slung her quivers on her back : she
•
*1 B. H. Chamberlain, Ko-ji-H, or 26-28; id,, Shinto, the Way of the
Records of Ancient Matters, pp. xlvi, Gods, pp. 95 > *37 -W* > R^von,
39-45 ; W. G. Aston, Nihongi, i. Le Shintdisme, i. 62 sqq.
650 THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN chap .
drew a dread loud-sounding elbow-pad on her lower arm :
she gripped her sword hilt : she stamped on the hard earth
of the courtyard : she sank her thighs into it as if had been
snow : she kicked it in all directions. Thus prepared for
the worst, she uttered a mighty cry of defiance, and questioned
her younger brother, the Impetiious Male Deity, in a straight-
forward manner. He soothed her agitation, he allayed her
suspicions. He said, “ From the beginning my heart has
not been black. But as in obedience to the stern behest of
our parents, I am about to proceed for ever to the Nether
Land, how could I bear to depart without having seen face
to face thee, my elder sister ? It is for this reason that I
have traversed on foot the clouds and mists and have come
hither from afar. I am surprised that my elder sister should,
on the contrary, put on so stern a countenance.’^
Covenant Touched at this display of family affection, she answered,
goddes^^" *\If this be so, how wilt thou make evident the redness of
with the thy heart?” He answered and said, “Let us, I pray thee,
Ma?rDcity together. Bound by this oath, we shall surely
at the River produce children.” So they swore to each other, standing
o eaven. opposite banks of the calm River of Heaven, which
mortals call the Milky Way. She asked him for his sword,
whereof the jewels made a jingling sound : she broke it into
three pieces, she brandished them, she dipped them in
the Pool of Heaven : she crunched them with her teeth
crunchingly, and blew them away, and from the true mists of
her breath gods were born. And he asked his sister for the
string of jewels that was twined in her august hair : he
brandished it with a jingling sound : he dipped it in the
Pool of Heaven, and having crunchingly crunched the jewels
between his teeth, he blew them away, and from the true
mist of his breath were gods produced. Thus were eight
divine children born into the world. Through one of them,
who rejoiced in the euphonious name of Masa-ya-a-katsu-
kachi-haya-hi-ama-no-oshi-ho-mi-mi, the Mikados trace their
descent from the Sun-goddess.^
After that, for reasons which it is no longer possible to
^ B. H. Chamberlain, Ko-ji-ki^ or 33 sqq.\ id.y ShintOy the Way of the
Records of Ancient Matters y pp. 45 Godsy pp. 96 sq, ; M. Revon, Le
sqq , ; W. G. Aston, Nihongiy i. ShintoismCy i. 65 sq.
XV THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN 651
%
ascertain, the conduct of the Impetuous Male Deity became Outrapous
in the highest degree rude and unseemly. It chanced that
the Sun-goddess had laid out rice-fields both of the long impetuous
and of the narrow sort. Well, when the seed was sown in
spring, what did the Impetuous Male Deity do but break
down the fences and fill up the ditches ; and when autumn
came, the abandoned wretch let loose the heavenly piebald
colts and made them to lie down in the midst of the rice-
fields. Worse than that, when the Sun-goddess was about
to celebrate the festival of first-fruits, he made his way into
the palace and defiled it in a disgusting manner. All this
the Sun - goddess bore with admirable patience, and even
found excuses for her wayward brother's misconduct. En-
couraged, perhaps, by her leniency, he proceeded to greater
excesses than ever. While the Sun-goddess sat in her
weaving-hall, surrounded by her handmaids plying their
looms and weaving the august garments of the gods, the
miscreant took a heavenly piebald horse, flayed it, beginning
at the tail, and, having broken a hole in the roof of the
weaving-hall, he dropped the flayed horse, no longer piebald,
into the room. Down it crashed into the midst of the
handmaids, who, in their terror, injured themselves with their
shuttles and died of the injury on the spot. The patience of
the goddess was exhausted by this last unmanly outrage. She The Sun-
straightway entered the Rock-cave of Heaven, and bolting
the door behind her dwelt there in sullen seclusion. Deserted the Rock-
by the Sun-goddess, the world was now plunged in darkness,
which threatened to be eternal : the cheerful alternation of leaving the
day and night ceased : instead, night reigned perpetually. jarkneL
The gods naturally were much alarmed. They gathered in
their myriads by the Calm River of Heaven and considered
what was to be done in this emergency, and how they could
entice the sulky goddess from the cave. They resorted to
the most approved modes of divination, by consulting the
shoulder-blade of a stag and by stripping off the bark from
a cherry-tree. They assembled the long-singing birds of
nighty by which we are to understand the barndoor fowls,
and caused them to sing in chorus at the door of the cave.
But it was all in vain. The Sun-goddess turned a deaf ear to
their melodious voices. They caused the Smith of Heaven
How
the Sun-
goddess
was lured
from the
cave and
light was
restored to
the world.
652 TJ/E WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN chap.
to make a mirror, an eight-hand mirror. They pulled up
by its roots a true Cleyera japonica ^ with five hundred
branches. They hung a string of five hundred jewels to
its upper branches, and the mirror to its middle branches,
while on its lower boughs they hung blue soft offerings and
white soft offerings. Then the gods, and particularly the
white August Heavenly-Beckoning-Ancestor-Lord, prayerfully
recited grand liturgies. But the heart of the angry goddess
was still not moved : she remained silent in the cave : the
bolt did not grate in its socket : the door did not creak on
its hinges. As a last resource, one of the goddesses, bye
name August Heavenly- Alarming-Female, rigged herself out
in a sash of club-moss and a head-dress of spindle-tree, with
a posy of bamboo grass in her hands. Thus arrayed she
turned a tub upside down and danced on the top of it. As
she bounced about and stamped on the improvised sounding-
board, High Heaven shook, and the myriads of gods roared
with laughter. The Sun-goddess in the cave heard the
laughter. Her curiosity was excited. She cautiously set
the door ajar and peeped out. Two of the gods now pushed
forward the mirror and respectfully showed it to the goddess.
She gazed on it in astonishment and edged her way a little
farther out. Thereupon one of the gods, by name the
Heavenly Hand-Strength-Male-Deity, who had artfully con-
cealed himself behind the door, pounced on her, took her
august hand, and drew her forth. So the plain of High
Heaven and the Central Land of Reed-plains (that is, Japan),
grew light again. The gods were overjoyed, and gleefully
they cried aloud, “ O how delightful it is again to see each
others’ faces ! ” They besought her not to return into the cave.
But as for the Impetuous Male Deity, who had done all the
mischief, the gods imposed on him a fine of a thousand
tables of offerings, and they shaved his beard, plucked out the
nails of his fingers and toes, and expelled him with a divine
expulsion.^ On the other hand, the goddess, who by her
^ In Japanese saka-ki. It is com- Shinto ^ the IVay of the Gods^ pp. 96-
monly planted in the precincts of loi ; M. Re von, Le Shintoisme^ i.
Shinto temples. 66-71 ; G. Kato and H. Hoshino,
Imbe-no-Hironart^ s Kogoshni, orGlean-
2 B. H. Chamberlain, Ko-ji-kiy or ings frojn Ancient Stories^ translated
Records 0/ Ancient A/atterSj pp, ^ 2 -^g ; with an Introduction and Notes
W. G. Aston, Nihongii i. 40-45; id,, (Sanseido, 1924), pp. 18-23.
XV THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN 653
•
dance had lured the Sun-goddess from the darksome cave,
became the ancestress of the inspired diviners, who, in after
ages, played an important part in the ceremony of Quieting
the Imperial Spirit.^
This strange story is the kernel of the mythical lore The story
of Japan. From it were deduced some of the principal ^
ceremonies of the Shinto religion, as they were practised eclipse,
at the Mikado^s court.'^ Substantially the story would seem
to be a mythical explanation of a solar eclipse.^
Not less barbarous is the tale told in the Nihongi to Myth to
explain why the sun and moon do not shine together. It^^hy^he
is said that when the Sun-goddess Ama-terasu had been
raised by her divine father to heaven, she heard that the not shine
Goddess of Food, Uke-mochi, was in the Central Land
Reed-plains, that is, in Japan ; so she sent her brother the
Moon-god, Tsuki-yomi, to wait upon her. The Moon-god
descended to earth and paid a visit to the Goddess of Food,
who prepared to receive him with lavish hospitality. For
this purpose she turned her head towards the land, and from
her mouth she spewed out boiled rice : she faced the sea,
and from her mouth she vomited things broad of fin and
things narrow of fin : she looked towards the mountains,
and from her mouth she disgorged things rough of hair and
things soft of hair. All these dainties, the fruit of her
vomit, she set out on one hundred tables for the enter-
tainment of the Moon-god. But far from accepting the
proffered hospitality, the Moon-god flushed with anger and
exclaimed, ‘‘ Filthy ! Nasty ! That thou shouldst dare to
feed me with things disgorged from thy mouth ! ” With that
he drew his sword and slew the Goddess of Food. Then
he returned to heaven and reported everything to the Sun-
goddess. But she was exceedingly angry and said, ‘‘ Thou
art a wicked deity ! I may not see thee face to face.” So
the Sun-goddess and the Moon- god were separated by one
day and one night and dwelt apart.^ Such is the real
reason for the separation of Sun and Moon.
1 G. Kato and H. Hoshino, op. cit. ^ W. G. Aston, Nihongi, i. 32.
g2, * The passage is also translated by
^ ^ W. G. Aston, Shinio, the Way of Mr. B. H. Chamberlain, Ko-ji-ki, or
the Gods, p. loi. Records of Ancient Matters, Introduc-
3 This is the interpretation of M. tion, p. xxiii, note 21. Compare M.
Revon, Le Shintoispie, i. 67* 69* Revon, Le Shtntoistne, i. 32 sg.
654
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN JAPAN ch. xv
Sun-
worship
among the
Ainos of
Japan.
The barbarous Ainos, the aboriginal inhabitants of
Japan, reckon the Sun and the Moon among their gods,
but assign them only a subordinate place in their pantheon/
Yet we read that in Aino theology “ the deity who is
supposed to hold the most important office next the great
Creator of all may be said tp be the goddess of the sun,
for she is conceived of as being the special ruler of the
good things God has made and fixed in the universe
However, we are informed by the same authority that
the Ainos suppose the sun to be rather the vehicle of
the goddess than the goddess herself ; she rules it, she
resides in it, her brightness shines through it, and it
is her glory, not the splendour of the physical sun,
that the Aino adores/ When the Sun is eclipsed, the
Ainos think that the deity is fainting or dying, and they
throw water into the air to revive him, just as, for the same
purpose, they squirt water into the face of a swooning or
dying person/ While most Ainos speak of the Sun in the
feminine gender, some of them look on him as a male and
the Moon as a female, his wife. They say that the male is
appointed to do his work by day and the female by night.
The divine Sun has the brightest and best clothes to wear,
and that is why he shines so clearly. His garments con-
sist of white embroidery, and he has a larger body than
his wife. The Moon is like a round cake made of millet,
and is clothed in dark and wide garments worn, one over
the other, as anybody can see for himself by looking at her.
When the Moon is invisible, it is because she has gone to
visit her husband. But among the Ainos persons who
actually worship the Sun and Moon are few in number.^
Such 'worship as they pay to the luminaries appears to
consist in pouring libations of rice-beer, with waving of
bowls and hands, but without any spiritual act of deprecation
or supplication.®
1 B. Scheube, “Die Ainos”, MU-
theilungen der Deutschen Geselhchaft
b. S. undSrOstasiens (Yokohama), Heft
xxii. p. 14 ; R. Hitchcock, “ The
Ainos of Yezo, Japan ”, Smithsonian
Institution^ Report of the National
Museum for i 8 go (Washington, 1892),
p. 472.
2 J. Batchelor, The Ainu and their
Folk-lore (London, 1901), p. 63.
3 -J. Batchelor, op, cit, pp. 63 sq^
^ J. Batchelor, op. cit, pp. 64 sq,
® J. Batchelor, op, cit, pp. 63, 67.
® Isabella L. Bird, Unbeaten Tracks
in fapan (London, 1911), p. 274.
CHAPTER XVI
THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA
The worship of the Sun appears for the most part to be
absent among the Malays and the other races who inhabit
the Malay Peninsula and the great region known as
Indonesia or the Indian Archipelago. We are told that
among the deities of the Malay pantheon the White
Divinity, who dwells in the Sun, and the Black Divinity,
who dwells in the Moon, are of some importance, but
nothing is said of any worship paid to them. The Malays
also believe in a Yellow Divinity who dwells in the Yellow
Sunset-glow ; but they deem the sunset-glow most dangerous,
and when they see it they try to put it out by spitting
water towards it, which can hardly be regarded as a form
of worship.^ The Semangs, a primitive aboriginal tribe of
the Malay Peninsula, are said to worship the Sun, but the
statement appears to be inaccurate.*^ However, they are
reported to personify the Sun as a female with an actual
Magic and North America, they adore a
superior power, not in temples made
with hands, not in the form of graven,
sculptured, or painted images, but
through the medium of one of the
greatest and most splendid of his
apparent created works — the Sun —
the Baal of the Chaldeans — the Mithras
of the Persians — and the Belphegor of
the Moabites See T. J. Ncwbold,
Political and Statistical Account of the
British Settlements in the Straits of
Malacca (London, 1839), ii. 385, But
little weight can be attached to this
vague and rhetorical statement.
General
absence
of Sun-
worship in
Indonesia.
The White
Divinity of
the Malays.
1 W. W. Skeat, Malay
(London, 1900), pp. 92 sq.
W. W. Skeat and C. O. Blagden,
Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula
(London, 1906), ii. 202. The authors
quote New bold as the authority for
the statement, but I do not find the
statement in the passage to which they
refer. But speaking of the wild tribes
of the Malay Peninsula in general,
Newbold affirms that most of them
possess only faint glimmering ideas
respecting the existence of a Supreme
Being ; but with the savages of Tartary
The Sun
personified
by the
Semangs
of the
Malay
Peninsula
and by the
Bataks of
Sumatra.
655
Worship of
the Sun
in Timor’
and the
adjoining
islands.
Worship
of spirits
{nitu) in
the Indian
Archi-
pelago.
656 THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA chap.
human figure, who is married to a husband called Ag-ag or
the Crow.^ Such a personification is at least a step in the
direction of deification. Again, of the Bataks, a people in
the interior of Sumatra, who have always maintained their
political and religious independence against the rising tide
of Mohammedanism, we are tpld that “ they know nothing
of a worship of nature in the proper sense of the word.
Sun, moon, and stars were created by Debata, but are not
worshipped. The powers of nature are certainly feared,
but not adored.” ^ However, the Bataks conceive of the
sun and moon as living persons, who sometimes wage war
on each other.^ But here, again, personification is not
worship, though it may be a step towards it.
However, a definite worship of the Sun is reported to be
practised in a group of islands, of which Timor is much the
largest and most important, situated in the south-eastern part
of the Indian Archipelago, though even there the worship
would seem to be not highly developed. In this respect the
religion of the Timoreese and their neighbours differs not-
ably from the religion of the other peoples of the Indian
Archipelago."^ As a rule, the religions of the pagan peoples
of the Archipelago conform to a single type, being based on
a faith in spirits of nature and souls of the dead, both of
which classes of spiritual beings are believed to be endowed
with the power of benefiting or injuring mankind ; both are
accordingly feared and propitiated. The names for these
formidable and worshipful beings vary in different parts of
the Archipelago. The general name for both is mlu, which
is widely diffused among the islands, though in some of them
it is confined to the spirits of the dead, while in others it is
applied by preference to the spirits of nature. Fear of both
1 W. W, Skeat and C. O. Blagden,
Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula^
ii. 202.
2 J. Warneck, Die Religion der
Batak (Leipzig, 1909), pp. i, 125.
Debata, the Batak name for God,
is apparently the Hindoo Devata,
“godling”, a diminutive of Deva^
“God”. See J. Warneck, op. cit,
p. I ; W. Crooke, Popular Religion
and Folk-lore of Northern India^ i.
3 sq. The same name occurs, with
variations, in other parts of the
Indian Archipelago. See A. C. Kruijt,
“ Indonesians ”, in J. Hastings’ En-
cyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics^ vii.
249 sq.
3 J. Warneck, Die Religion der
Batak f p. 6.
^ G. A. Wilken, Handleiding voof
de vergelijkende Volkenkunde van
Nederlandsch-Indi'i (Leyden, 1893),
pp. 62s sq.
XVI THE WORSHIP^ OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA 6$?
sorts of spirits is the fundamental motive of the religion and
finds expression in a complicated ritual.^
In its essential features the religion of the Timoreese Worship of
does not diverge from this general type. It is iriainly
concerned with the spirits of the dead and the spirits of
nature, especially with the spirits of earth because
these mighty beings are supposed to exercise far greater
influence on human affairs than the celestial deities, and
consequently far more offerings are made to them. But
besides these lower spirits the Timoreese recognize the
existence of certain higher divinities, and this recognition
:onstitutes the distinctive feature of their religion. Amongst Worship of
:hese higher divinities the most exalted is Usi-Neno, whose
name means Lord Sun from usi lord ” and iie7io sun Neno) and
It does not mean Lord of the Sun which would be Neno-
Usi. Thus Usi-Neno is a direct personification and deifi- Mu),
cation of the physical sun ; he is not simply a god or
spirit who resides in the sun and regulates its operations.
He is conceived as the male principle, but as too exalted to
meddle much with terrestrial affairs. Next to him in rank
is Usi-Afu, whose name means '‘Lady Earth''. She is thus
the physical earth personified as a goddess, the wife of the
Lord Sun. From their union the whole creation is thought
to have originated, and it is their union which still imparts
fertility and growth to every living thing. The Earth- Sacrifices
goddess receives, along with the other earth-spirits, more
sacrifices than are offered to the Sun-god ; indeed, apart from
certain special rites, the Sun-god appears to be worshipped
with a great sacrifice only once a year, at the end of the
harvest. At that festival his wife, the Earth-goddess, is not
forgotten, but her share of the offerings is small, consisting
only of a few grains of rice and maize thrown on the ground.
But at other times she, like her husband, receives bloody
sacrifices of fowls, goats, pigs, and buffaloes. Horses are
sacrificed to the Sun-god alone, but such sacrifices appear to
be rare. The victims offered to the Sun-god must be male
and of a white or red colour; the victims offered to the
* 1 J. Warneck, Die Religion iler ktmde van Nederlandsih- Indie ^ pp.
Bataky pp. 1-3 ; G. A. Wilken, Hand- 544 sqq,^ 554, 624 sq.
hiding voor de vergelijkende Volken-
VOL. I
2 U
658 THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA chap.
Earth - goddess must be female ; according to one account
their colour is indifferent, but according to other writers the
victims destined for the Earth-goddess and the other earth-
spirits must be black.^ It is said that the people may not
directly invoke the Sun-god and implore his blessing ; the
ancestral spirits (nitii) are thought ,to be the indispensable
intermediaries between the great god and men ; it is they
who are charged with the duty of presenting the prayers of
mortals to Usi-Neno and acting as their advocates with him ;
hence to induce them to use their good offices it is cOstomary
from time to time to offer sacrifices on their graves.*^ One
of our authorities for Sun-worship in Timor says nothing
about the Earth-goddess Usi-Afu, but does mention a
certain Usi-Paha, “Lord of the Earth ”, whom he classes
among the evil spirits. On the other hand, he tells us that
the Timoreese worship the Moon as a goddess, whom they
call Funan and regard as the only and eternal consort of the
Sun-god.^ Such inconsistencies may be due to the imperfect
information of our authorities ; but more probably, perhaps,
they are inherent in the vague and unsystematic thinking of
Chiefs the natives themselves. In Timor some chiefs of distinction
caik^sLs authority bear the honourable title of Nenoh-ana or Neno-
of the Sun. “ Son of the Sun V If it rains too much or threatens
* J. S. G. Gramberg, “ Een maand and Wilken. S. Milller describes the
in de binnenlanden van Timor ”, worship of the Sun-god Usi-Neno, but
Verhandelingen van het Baiaviaasch not that of the Earth-goddess Usi-Afu,
Genootschap van Knnsten en IVefen- * ^.yivW^x^ReizeneiiOnderzoekingen
schappett^ xxxvi. (1872) pp. 206-209 ; in den Bidischen Archipel^ ii, 261.
S. Muller, Keizen en Onderzockifigen ^ S. Muller, op, cit. ii, 262. A
in den Indischen Archipel similar statement as to the Moon-
1857), ii. 261-263 ; A. Bastian, Indo- goddess (Funan) and her relation to
7 iesien, ii. Timor und umliegende the Sun in Timor is made by A. Bastian
Inseln (Berlin, 1885), pp. i sq. ; H, {Bidonesien, ii. I'imor nnd timliegende
Zondervan, “Timor endeTimoreezen”, Inseln^ p. i), but he may be copying
Tijdschrift van het kkederlandsch S. MUller.
Aardrijkskundig Genootschap^ Tweede ^ J. S, G. Gramberg, op, cit, p.
Serie, v. Afdeeling : Meer uitgebreide 185; J. G. Riedel, “ Prohibitieve
artikelen (Leyden, 1888), pp, 397-399, teekens en tatuage- vormen op het
403 sq. ; G. A. Wilken, Hand/eiding eiland Timor ”, Tijdschrift van het
voor de vergelijkende Volkenkwtde van Baiaviaasch Genootschap van Kunsttfi
Nederia 7 idsch-Indiej pp. 624-626 ; ?V 7 ., e 7 t Wetenschappen^ xlix, (Batavia, 1907)
“ Het animisme bij den volken van den ]). 5 (separate reprint). Compare A.
Indischen Archipel ”, Ve 7 ‘spreide Ge- Bastian, l 7 tdo 7 iesie 7 t^ ii. Timor und
(The Hague, 1912), iii. 173 iwtliegende Inseht, p. 8, who gives as
Our principal authority is Gramberg ; the title Nena-A 7 tak, “ Children of the
his evidence is reproduced by Zondervan Sun ”.
XVI THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA 659
to rain when dry weather is wanted, the Timoreese sacrifice Sacrifices
a white or red pig to obtain sunshine ; but if they desire to shLT*'"
procure rain, they sacrifice a black pig. Probably, though or rain,
our chief authority does not say so,^ the white or red pig is
sacrificed to the Sun-god and the black pig to the Earth-
goddess.^ In any case the colour of the victim is no doubt
a^dapted to the object in view, the white or red answering to
the brightness of sunshine, and the black to the darkness of
rain-clouds. Such an adaptation is common in ceremonies
intended to procure sunshine or rain ; it is based on the
principle of sympathetic or imitative magic.^
While the elements of Sun-worship appear thus to exist
in Timor, it is significant of the variety of religious beliefs woiship in
prevalent in these islands, that in the neighbouring island
Sumba no worship is paid to the sun, moon, and stars, though
the people believe in a god who lives above the clouds ; they
call him Umbu Walu Mendoku, which means the Lord who
makes everything”, but they do not worship him directly.^
The natives of Rotti, an island to the south-west of Doubtful
Timor, believe in the existence of certain invisible beings, in
some kindly, some malignant, endowed with mysterious f^otti.
powers, to whose action they ascribe every event that
happens to them in life, whether it be good or bad fortune,
joy or sorrow, prosperity or adversity. Their chief deity is
called Mane-tua-Iai, which is thought to mean ‘‘ Great Lord
of Heaven ” or simply ‘‘ Heavenly Lord Some people
hold that this great divinity has his seat in the Sun {/edo/i) ;
but others, and indeed the majority, are of opinion that he
dwells in the moon {bulak\ From him, even should he not
be propitiated by sacrifices, men have nothing to fear : still
out of simple gratitude it behoves them now and then, after a
successful undertaking, to offer to the deity a sacrifice, which
must always consist of white victims, whether fowls, sheep,
or what not. But at such ceremonies the name of the
^ J. S. G. Gramberg, op. cit. p, 209.
2 This is expressly affirmed by H.
Zonder^^an [op. cit. pp. 403 jy.), whose
aocount, • however, appears to be based
on that of Gramberg.
3 For examples see The Golden
Bougky Part I, The Magic Art and
the Evolution of Kings., i. 290 S(]q.
^ S. Roos, “ Bijdragen tot de Kennis
van Taal, Land en Volk of het eiland
Soemba”, Verhandelingen van ket
Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten
en Wetenschappen^ xxxvi. (1872) pp.
59 sq-
66o THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA chap.
divinity may not be uttered ; he is too lofty and too awful
a being for his name to be profaned by human lips.^
Worship of The inhabitants of Solor, an island to the, north-west of
Timor, profess Mohammedanism, but retain many heathen-
Earth in ish superstitions. They speak, indeed, of Allah, the great
invisible God, who created everything and dwells in the sky ;
but that does not prevent them from invoking also the Sun
(Rarak)y the Moon {Wulan)^ and the Earth {TanaK) and
making offerings to them on special occasions. They believe
that the ghosts of the first human pair, by name Nuba and
Nara, still roam the earth, haunt old fig-trees, the clefts of
rocks and so forth, and transmit the petitions of mortals
to the higher gods, supporting them by their intercession."
Doubtful In Wetar, an island to the north of Timor, the people
the^Su^n hi recognize a deity whom they call the Great Lord or the
Wetar. Ancient up above ( Wawaki or WawaJiaki')^ who dwells in the
sun {lelo) or in the vault of heaven, and represents the male
principle as distinct from the female principle, which they
identify with the earth {rae or rad). Their ideas of him are
vague, but they pray and sacrifice to him in sickness or after
an evil dream and on other occasions.®
Worship of To the east of Timor stretches an archipelago, or rather
underThe Small archipelagos, including the Leti, Sermata,
name of Babar, and Timorlaut groups of islands. The pagan in-
Dudiiaa habitants of all these islands worship the Sun as their highest
in Leti, deity under the title of Upulero or Upulera, that is, Lord Sun.
Bab^r and ^^e Timorlaut Islands he is also known as Dudilaa. His
Timorlaut. worshippers regard him as a male principle who fertilizes the
Earth or female principle, who in the Leti Islands is called
Upunusa or Grandmother Earth. No images are made of
the Sun-god, but he is worshipped under the form of a lamp
made of coco-nut leaves, which may be seen everywhere
hanging on the houses and on the branches of the sacred
fig-trees. Under these trees lies a large flat stone which
^ ^ReizenenOnderzoekingen ous gods and spirits who are revered
in den Indischen Archipel,^ ii. 272 sq, or feared in Rotti. He tells us that
As to the meaning of the name lai means heaven or the sky.
Mane-iua-l at ^ c.om^zxQ, kj, Ileijmeriiig, ^ S,yih\\QXyReizenen Otiderzoekin^en
“Zeden en gewoonten op het eiland in den htdischen Archipel^ ii. 285 sq.
Rottie ”, Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch ® J, G. F. Riedel, De sluik~en
Indie, 1844, vol. i. 86 sqq., who gives kroesharige rassen iusschen Selehes en
a fuller list (pp. 85 sqq.) of the numer- Papua (The Hague, 1886), p. 436.
XVI THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA 66i
serves as an altar. On it the heads of slain foes were
and are still placed in some of the islands. Once a year,
at the commencement of the rainy season, when the east
monsoon begins to blow, a great festival, called poreka^ Marriage
porekey or porka^ and lasting usually a month, is held and^Earth
in honour of the Sun-god.^ At that time the deity is at a great
believed to descend into the sacred fig-tree in order to
fertilize Grandmother Earth. To facilitate his descent, a
ladder, with seven or ten nmgs and adorned with carved
figures of cocks, is considerately placed at his disposal under
the tree ; and in the Babar archipelago, to attract his atten-
tion, blasts are blown on a triton-shell. Pigs and dogs are
sacrificed in profusion. Men and women alike indulge in a
saturnalia ; and the mystic union of the Sun and the Earth
is dramatically represented in public, amid song and dance,
by the real union of the sexes under the tree. The object of
the festival, we are told, is to procure rain, plenty of food and
drink, abundance of cattle and children, and riches from
Grandfather Sun. The arrangements for the festival are
made by a man and woman, the ministers of the local deities
who protect the village. During the festival the man prays
thrice to the Sun-god, His first prayer runs somewhat as Prayer to
follows : “ O Lord or Grandfather Sun, come down ! The
fig-tree has put forth new shoots ; the former shoots have
turned to leaves and have fallen ofiF. The pig’s flesh is
ready, cut in slices. The canoes of the village are full to
overflowing of offerings. Lord or Grandfather Sun, thou art
invited to the feast. Cut and eat. Cleave the bamboo and
drink. There are heaps of rice, there are packets of cooked
rice. O drink indeed ! We have given the heart of a fowl
that is excellent, the liver of a pig that is excellent. The
fowl has bright eyes, the liver of the pig is red in colour.
O come indeed. Lord or Grandfather Sun ! We expect that
thou wilt give into our hands much ivory, much gold. Let
the goats cast two or three young apiece. Let the number
of the nobles increase, let the number of the people increase
or multiply. Replace the dead goats and pigs by living ones.
1 According to Riedel {op. cit. p. the time when the fig-tree changes
372) the word poraka {sic) signifies leaf. This seems to be the season of
the coming of the spirits to eat at the annual festival.
662 THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA chap .
Woman’s
prayer
to the
Sun -god
Upulero
for
oft spring.
Replace the rice and betel that are used up. Make the
empty rice-basket full, make the empty sago-tub full, that
the village and the canoes suffer no lack.^^ In the Babar
archipelago a special flag is hoisted at this festival as a symbol
of the creative energy of the Sun ; it is of white cotton about
nine feet high, and consists of the "figure of a man in an
appropriate attitude.^
The Sun-god Upulero is thought to possess the power
of bestowing offspring on childless women. Hence in the
Babar Archipelago, when a woman desires to have a child,
she invites a man who is himself the father of a large family
to pray on her behalf to Upulero. A doll is made of red
cotton, which the woman clasps in her arms as if she would
suckle it. Then the father of many children takes a fowl and
holds its feet to the woman’s head, saying, “ O Upulero, make
use of the fowl ; let fall, let descend a child, I beseech you,
I entreat you, let a child fall and descend into my hands and
on my lap”. Then he asks the woman, ‘‘Has the child come?”
and she answers, “ Yes, it is sucking already ”. After that the
man lets the fowl’s feet rest on the husband’s head, while he
mumbles some form of words. Next the fowl is killed at a
blow by being knocked against the house-posts, in order that
omens may be drawn from its veins or heart. Whether the
omens are favourable or not, the fowl is laid, with some betel,
on the domestic place of sacrifice. After that, notice is sent
round the village that the woman has been brought to bed,
and her gossips come and wish her joy. Lastly, her husband
borrows a rocking-cradle from a neighbour, and his wife
^ J. G. F. Riedel, De sluik-en
kroesharige lassm tusschen Selebes en
Papjua^ pp. 314 (Luang-Sermata), 337
(Babar archipelago), (Lcti,
Moa, and Lakor), 410 sg. (Keisar or
Kisser) ; G. W. \V. C. Baron van
Iloevell, in 7'ijdschrift voor hidische
Taal-Land-en Volkenkttnde, xxxiii.
(1890) pp. 204 sg,y 206 sg. (Leti,
Babar, Sermata, and Timorlaut) ; id.y
“ Einige weitere Notizen liber die
Formen dCr Gdtterverehrung auf den
Siid-wester en Siid-oster Inseln”, Inter-
nationales Archiv fiir Ethnographie,
viii. (1895) P. 134; J. A. Jacobsen,
Reisen in die Inselwelt des Banda-
Meeres (Berlin, 1896), pp. 123, 125
(Kisser) ; J. II. De Vries, “ Reis door
cenige eilandgroepen der Residentie
Amboina ”, 7'ijdschrijt van het Konin-
klijk Ncderlandsch Aardrijkskundig
Genootschapy Tweede Serie, xvii.
(Leyden, 1900) pp. 594, 612, 615 sg.
( Babar and Kisser) . The Sun-god’s name
is variously given as Upulero (Riedel),
Upulera (van Iloevell), Upulere (De
Vries), and Opolere (Jacobsen). Ac-
cording to Jacobsen (p. 123) the name
Opolere is compounded of opo “the
Old Man,” and lere “Sun.” *I have
described the festival more briefly in
The Golden Bough y Part I. The Magic
Art and the Evolution of KingSy ii.
98 Sf .
XVI THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA 663
rocks the doll in the cradle for seven days.^ In this ceremofly
the prayer and sacrifice to the Sun-god are reinforced by the
imitation and pretence of motherhood : religion is assisted, as
often, by sympathetic or imitative magic.
Still farther to the north-east of Timor lies the Kei Worship
Archipelago. The pagan inhabitants of the islands worship a
supreme god called Duad-lerwuan or Duadlera, who has his and the
dwelling in the sun. His consort is Duan-luteh, a personifi-
cation of the moon. The Sun-god is deemed the creator and Kei
also the sustainer of all things ; he it is who bestows the rain peiago.
and sunshine and fertility. The inhabitants of one of the
islands (Du-roa or Dulah-laut) say that long ago the Sun-
god descended to the island and, finding it uninhabited,
fashioned puppets out of clay, into which he afterwards
breathed the breath of life. The Sun-god is consulted when
it is desired to ascertain the future, or when some offence has
been committed for which punishment is feared, or again
occasionally for the healing of sickness. His wife, the Moon-
goddess, is hardly worshipped at all ; only now and then an
offering is made to her at the rising of the moon. The
native pantheon includes a number of other deities, such as
the god who guards seafarers, the god of agriculture, and the
village gods. Images are made of all the deities. The Sun-
god is represented as a man in a crouching posture, generally
armed with a pike. His wife, the Moon-goddess, is portrayed
as a woman, sometimes standing and sometimes sitting. The
village gods are also represented in human shape either
seated or standing. But while every village has its image of
its own local god, either set up in the open, or protected by
a roof, or lodged in a little wooden house, images of the Sun-
god and the Moon-goddess are very rare ; they are to be
found, if at all, scattered here and there over the islands.^
In former days, before the islands fell under the sway Offerings
of the Dutch Government, wars were frequent among the god^before
natives of the Kei Archipelago. When it was determined a battle,
to meet the foe in the field, or to attack his village, an
1 J., G. F. Riedel, De shiik-en Beschrijving der Kei-eilanden ”,
kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes en schrift van het Kon, Nederlandsch
Papua^ p. 353. Aardrijkskundig Genootschap^ Tweede
Serie, x. (Leiden, 1893) pp. 564,
2 C, M, Pleyte, “ Ethnographische 828 sq.
664 THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA chap.
offering used to be made to the Sun-god, Duad-lerwuan,
at sunrise on the morning of the battle for the purpose
of ascertaining whether the expedition would be successful
or not. The offering, which consisted of some gold scrap-
ings wrapt in a banana-leaf, was intended to ensure the
forgiveness of the deity for all sins that had been com-
mitted. All the warriors who purposed to march out to
battle carried the offerhig in procession to the beach,
where the priest {inetuduan) waited to cast it into the
sea. When that had been done, the warriors went down
into the sea and ducked their heads thrice under the water,
after which they returned to the village to gird on their
weapons and don their amulets ; for they might not thus
array themselves until the offering and the purification by
bathing had been accomplished. In full martial pomp they
next assembled in the middle of the village to learn whether
the Sun-god had accepted their offering. Meantime, while
the men were down on the beach at their ablutions, the
women had cooked a great quantity of rice and piled it on
a mat in the place of assembly. All who were to take part
in the fight now gathered in a circle round the heap of rice.
The priest then commanded silence ; and, rising from his
place, the leader of the expedition stepped up to the heap of
rice and gathered a handful of the grain. Looking up to
the sky he put the rice in his mouth, and endeavoured
to swallow it at one gulp. If he succeeded, the Sun-god
smiled on the undertaking ; if he failed, the expedition was
deferred. All the warriors had to submit to the same
ordeal : such as bolted the rice at one gulp went to fight :
such as boggled or chewed the rice stayed at home and lived
to fight another day. When the stalwarts had thus been
sorted out from the chicken-hearted, they danced the war-
dance in a circle round the priest, who, going from man to
man, looked them in the eyes and bade them put all fear
away. And as they marched out of the gate, the priest
stood by it and gave his last blessing to the departing brave.
When they had gone and the gate was closed behind them,
the women who were left behind brought out from the
houses certain baskets containing fruit and stones. These
they anointed with oil and placed on a board, and as they
XVI THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA 665
•
did so they prayed, saying, ‘‘ O Lord Sun, Moon, let the Women’s
bullets rebound from our husbands, brothers, betrothed, and
other relations, just as raindrops recoil from these things
which are smeared with oil And no sooner did the sound in battle,
of the first shot ring out than the women dropped the baskets,
and seizing their fans ran through the village waving them
in the direction of the enemy. As they did so, they sang;
“ O golden fans, let our bullets hit and let those of the
enemy miss ! ” ^ Here again religion is reinforced by magic ;
the slipperiness' of the oil and the waving of the fans were
clearly supposed to parry such bullets as the Sun-god might
fail to stop.
At the conclusion of peace these pious islanders again The Sun
invoked the Sun-god to witness their troth. The chiefs of
the two sides swore, saying, “ O Lord Sun, Moon, and so witnesses
* ^ [q o3.tns.
forth, if I break my oath, if the opposite side breaks the
treaty, then may the head of the perjurer be stuck in the
ground and his feet erected skyward both here on earth and
in the life hereafter Finally an arrow, with a little gold
fastened to it, was shot towards the sky, while all present
raised a cry of Ju ju huwe!^' "^ The Kei Islanders
apparently conceive the Sun-god as the guardian not only
of good faith but of the sanctity of the marriage-tie.
When after a birth the infant persists in squalling, and
other approved methods of stopping it have been tried
in vain, the painful conclusion is forced upon the parents
that one of them has been unfaithful. A friend is called
in to examine the matter. If he succeeds in eliciting a
confession from the culprit, he offers some gold scrapings to
the Sun-god (Duadlera) in expiation of the sin.®
The natives of the Kei Islands also resort to the Sun- The
god Duad - lerwuan for the healing of sickness. i^voifed^to
commonly happens in the Indian Archipelago, the natives heal the
attribute sickness to the agency of an evil spirit, who has cashing
taken possession of the patient's body to torment and destroy out the
him. The Sun-god accordingly must be invoked to cast out possess
the devil, and for that purpose it is essential that he should ^^em.
himself enter into the body of the sufferer ; indeed, how
C. M. Pleyte, op. cit. pp. 804 sq. ^ C. M. Pleyte, op. cit. pp. 806 sq,
8 C. M. Pleyte, op, cit. pp, 818 sq.
1
666 THE WORSHIP OP THE SUN IN INDONESIA chap.
else could he expel the foul fiend ? To facilitate this
delicate operation the sick man is brought out of the house
and set down in the yard, where the priest has already
erected an altar. In front of the altar the priest thereupon
sets a wooden vessel full of food, a sort of three-cornered
hat, a chain of coco- nut leaves fastened together, and a cup
of oil, behind which he spreads a small mat. Beside the
altar a bamboo is thrust into the ground in a slanting
position ; on its top a coco-nut leaf is stuck, and at the
lower end of the leaf a little bag is fastened to contain
offerings. Then the priest puts on his official costume, and
with his face turned towards the sun kneels down on the
mat. After that he takes the three-cornered hat, which is
made of the leaf of a coco-nut palm, and anoints it with the
oil from the cup ; then standing up he claps the hat on his
head and sets the dish of food on the altar. Some of the
food he takes and puts in the little bag as an offering to
induce the Sun-god to descend and settle on the coco-nut leaf
impaled on the bamboo ; the rest of the food he scatters
on the ground as an offering to the souls of the dead.
Next he tries to ascertain whether the Sun-god will consent
to help or not. For this purpose he splits a coco-nut in
two, and, after waving it thrice circularly in the air, lets
it fall on the ground. From the position in which the
two halves of the nut rest on the ground he infers
whether the Sun-god will lend his aid or not. If the
omen is favourable, the sick man is connected with the altar
by the chain of coco-nut leaves, which serves the Sun-god
as a ladder that enables him to descend into the body of the
sufferer from the coco-nut leaf. At the same time the priest
entreats the deity so to do. As soon as he perceives that
the god has complied with his request, he stops praying
and watches until the patient has made an involuntary
gesture, which the priest accepts as a sign that the demon
of sickness has been driven out, and that the patient will
recover.^
To the east of the Kei Islands lies the Aru Archipelago.
The Aru Islanders also worship the Sun, the Moon, and the.
Earth as powers that exercise great influence on human life,
1 C. M. Pleyte, op, cit, pp. 62 sq., 829-831.
XVI THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IN INDONESIA 667
and accordingly they offer them sacrifices.^ Once more the Worship of
natives of the Watubela Islands, situated on the north-west Mo(^^*and
of the Kei Islands, revere Grandfather Sun {Tata Earth in
as the male principle in nature in contrast to Mistress Earth watu^ta
(^Latu hila la balaa or Latu buniti). Offerings are made to islands,
the Sun-god through the agency of a priest to secure the
divine favour on various occasions, such as in sickness, on a
voyage, at hard labour in childbirth, and in war ; and further
people render thank-offeringf to the same deity on their
return after a long absence. The offerings consist of rice,
sago, bananas, roasted fowls, betel, and so forth. All the
food, after being presented to the deity, is consumed by
the priest.^
1 J, G. F. Riedel, De sinik-en Papua^ p. 252.
kroesharige rasscn tusschcn Selebes eu J. F, Riedel, op, at, p. 195.
APPENDIX
THE STORY OF THE FALL OF MAN
Another African Version
In the text I have noted many African stories of the Fall of
Man or the Origin of Death. ^ Since the chapter containing them
was written and in typ'^ I have received another version through
the kindness of Mr. Frank Worthington, C.B.E., formerly Secretary
for Native Affairs for Northern Rhodesia. He tells me that his
informant belonged to the Matotela tribe, which inhabits a stretch of
country lying between the Njoko and Liii rivers, tributaries of the
Zambesi river on the left bank ; the Lui river joins the Zambesi near
the foot of the Barotse valley. The story was told to Mr. Worthington
towards the end of 1911. It runs as follows :
“ Of the many curios which I acquired during my twenty-five
years’ residence in Africa, there is one which I value above all others.
I bought it a few weeks before I left the country.
It is a round wooden pot with a lid to it. On the lid is the
seated figure of a little old man with his back hunched up, his chin
resting in his two hands, his elbows on his knees. There is a mildly
amused expression on the rudely carved face ; whether this is there
by accident or design, I cannot say.
“ On one side of the pot is a snake in relief ; on the other a
tortoise.
“ I bought this pot from a very old native. So old was he, that
his scanty knots of hair were quite white and his eyes were very dim.
He must have been a fine enough man once, but now his dull,
greyish-black skin clung in folds about his gaunt frame.
I paid the old man the modest price he named, and asked him
the meaning of the figures on the lid and sides of the pot.
The following is his explanation, given in short, jerky"sentences,
done into English as literally as our language will permit :
‘‘ ‘ Yes, it was a long time ago. So long ago was it that no white
^ See above, pp. 105 jy., 114, 117, 195, 199, 213 j-y., 214 jy., 2i6j-y., 217
136, 149. 162, 163, 167 sq., sq., 218, 221, 222, 223, 234 sq,,
169, 172 J7., 176 jy., 177, 18s, 1925-^., 235 sq.y 255-258.
669
670
APPENDIX ^
man had then come to this country. It was before my father’s day.
Before that even of his father. Both died old men. Yes, so long
ago was it, that only the old people now speak of those past times.
It was when men did not grow old and die. There was no death
then ; all men lived on, and happily.
“ ‘One day all this was changed. God became angry — that is
God on the lid of the pot. What fooli^ things men did to make
God angry, I cannot say. He must have been very angry.
“ ‘ In His anger, God sent His messenger of death to men. He
sent His messenger the snake. Then people began to die — that is
the snake on the side of the pot.
“ ‘So many people died that all became frightened. They thought
all would soon be dead. In their fear they cried to God. They
said they were sorry for their foolish act — whatever that might have
been. They promised they would anger Him no more. They
begged Him to recall His messenger the snake.
“‘After a while God agreed. He said He would recall His
messenger, the snake. He promised to send another messenger —
that is the second messenger on the other side of the pot. God sent
the tortoise to recall the snake.’
“ The old man paused and mused for a little while, and then
resumed :
“ ‘ When I was a young man, I thought to myself perhaps the
tortoise will overtake the snake ; that some day he will deliver God’s
message. I am an old man now. I do not think the tortoise will
ever overtake the snake — at least, not in my time.’
“ He said all this without a trace of emotion. He was too much
of a philosopher, it seemed, to indulge in anything so profitless as
self-pity.
“ ‘ Do you kill snakes when you see them ? ’ I asked.
“ ‘ No r said he. ‘ Why should I ? But I do kill tortoises. The
tortoise is very lazy. He runs with his message so slowly. More-
over, a tortoise is good meat.’
“ Having told his story and pouched the price of his pot, the old
man rose painfully and hobbled away.
“Just outside my compound gate, he paused and made a vicious
stab at something in a patch of grass.
“ Shouldering his assegai, he passed on his way ; a writhing
tortoise impaled upon the blade
In the light of the African parallels which I have cited we may
conclude that this Matotela version of the Fall of Man or the Origin
of Death is a genuine native myth and not a mere distorted echo of
1 F. Worthington, C.B.E., Deputy during the Great /Far, April 30, 1919,*
Chief Censor, London, “ Life and p. 6. Printed and published by Daily
Death,” The Mail Bag, A Souvenir of Post Printers, Wood Street, Liverpool,
the Postal Censor's Office at Liverpool
THE STORY OF THE FALL OF MAN 671
the narrative in Genesis. For it conforms to what we may call the
stereotyped story of the Two Messengers, a messenger of life and a
messenger of death, whom the deity despatched to men, hoping
and intending that they should profit by the message of life and so
live for ever. But through the fault of one of the messengers the
glad tidings of immortality miscarried, and man remained or became
mortal and subject to death. The two messengers are always
animals. In the Matotela version they are a snake and a tortoise,
the snake acting as the messenger of death, and the tortoise acting
as the messenger of life, and it is through the slowness of the tortoise
in carrying his message that man has been deprived of the boon of
immortality. Now the tortoise acts the same fatal part in a story
told by the Tati Bushmen to explain the origin of human mortality.
They say that in the olden time the Muon wished to send a
message to men, to tell them that as she died and came to life again,
so they would die, and dying come to life again. So the Moon
called the tortoise and said to him, Go over to those men there,
and give them this message from me. Tell them that as I dying
live, so they dying will live again.^’ Now the tortoise was very slow,
and he kept repeating the message to himself, so as not to forget it.
The Moon was very vexed with his slowness and with his forgetfulness;
so she called the hare and said to her, “ You are a swift runner.
Take this message to the men over yonder : ‘ As I dying live again,
so you dying will live again So off the hare started, but in her
great haste she forgot the message, and as she did not wish to show
the Moon that she had forgotten, she delivered the message to men
in this way, “As I dying live again, so you dying will die for ever^\
Such was the message delivered by the hare. In the meantime the
tortoise had remembered the message, and he started off a second
time. “This time”, said he to himself, “I w’on’t forget.” He came
to the place where the men were, and he delivered his message.
When the men heard it they were very angry with the hare, who was
sitting at some distance. She was nibbling the grass after her race.
One of the men ran and lifted a stone and threw it at the hare. It
struck her right in the mouth and cleft her upper lip ; hence the lip
has been cleft ever since. That is why every hare has a cleft upper
lip to this day.^
In this last story we read how men were angry with the animal
which brought the message of death and how they ill-treated it.
Similarly the Matotela kill tortoises because they owe them a grudge,
not indeed for bringing a message of death, but for bringing the
message of life too late and so depriving men of immortality. In
a widely diffused story of this type ,'the Two Messengers are the
•
• 1 Rev. S. S. Dornan, “The Tati logical Institute^ xlvii. (1917) p. 80.
Bushmen (Masarwas) and their Lan- I have cited this story elsewhere {Folk-
Journal of the Royal Anthropo- lore in the Old Test amenta i. 56
672
APPENDIX
chameleon and the hare, the chameleon being the messenger of life,
and the hare being the messenger of death ; and the Thonga and
Ngoni, who tell the story, kill the chameleon whenever they get a
chance, because by its slowness in carrying the message of life it
was the cause of human mortality.^ Similarly in the corresponding
Biblical narrative there is enmity put between man and the serpent,
because the serpent is supposeito have brought death into the
world, and in consequence it is said that men will bruise the serpent’s
head. 2 Originally, no doubt, this bruising of the serpent’s head was
meant in the most lite^-al sense ; men trampled on a serpent when-
ever they could, just as some people in Africa kill a^ tortoise or a
chameleon for a precisely similar reason, because they look on the
creature as the hateful agent or minister of death.
In both the Biblical and the Matotela version of the story the
agent of death is a serpent, but in view of the frequency with which
the serpent figures in the sad story, not only in 'Africa but in other
parts of the world, ^ we need not suppose that this feature of the
Matotela version is borrowed directly or indirectly from the Hebrew
version j both may be drawn independently from those springs of
barbaric fancy which everywhere underlie the surface of humanity ;
or if there has been borrowing, it is perhaps more likely that Judaea
borrowed from Africa than Africa from Judaea. In any case we may
conjecture that in all the stories of the Origin of Death, whether
African or Judaean, in which the serpent figures, the original motive
for introducing the reptile was to explain his imaginary immortality
by contrast with the real mortality of man, though that feature has
disappeared both from the Hebrew and from the Matotela version
of the tale.
* Folk-lore in the Old Testament^ i. ^ See above, pp. 199,218,222,223;
63-65. Folk-lore in the Old Testament^ i.
2 Genesis iii. 15. 66-68, 74-76.
END OF VOL. I
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