RGST 12 Final Study Guide
Days of the dead
- Mexicans believe the spirits of their dead relatives return on these days. They make altars for them and go to the cemetaries for ceremonies. They have skeleton crafts, food, candy and flowers and candles. - All hallows eve (10.31): halloween - All Saints day (11.1): "day of the littel angels", dedicated to children who died prematurely before reaching adulthood - All soul's day (11.2): El Dia de los Muertos
Cistercians
- Monastic order based in Citeaux, France - Monks were said to have been met by Knight Owen in the Purgatory of St. Patrick - Responsible for the popularization of purgatorial doctrine and the worship of Mary Mother of God
virabhadras
- Name given to the souls of dead children. If these souls are not appeased/properly looked after, they can become malevolent and possess members of their living family
Ten Kings Sutra
- On its journey, the Huai soul is said to encounter 7 out of 10 kings. - Each king presides over the successive spheres through which a huai soul must pass on its way to rebirth
Nai-He bridge
- On the third day of its journey, the huai soul is said to cross this bridge. If one has been good, this bridge willbe easy to cross; hell creatures wait on the sides and attempt to push people off
Amulets
- One of many techniques employed to combat the advances of spirit beings
Jawbone relic
- One of the foundations of Bagandan traditions, the jawbone of the dead king (sse-kabaka), Buried in the forest section of the shrine, foundation of royal authority - In order for a new kabaka to be enthroned, this ritual passing off of the jawbone of the previous kabaka must be completed
Erlik Khan
- One of the main figures of a Central Asian myth (Altai Tartar) - Erlik, the central asian version of satan, tempts a guard dog with fur (dog accepts) and he taints humankind afterwards by spitting on the clay bodies crafted by God - Fortifies the idea of humans being the battleground upon which the battle between good and evil is taking place
Describe the journey of the huai soul
- One's moment of death in life corresponds with the arrest of one's Huai soul by the Tu-Ti (spirit police) - Huai soul undergoes a series of dangerous experiences, torments, and interrogations - On the third day following death, the Huai soul crosses the Nai-he bridge - Soul is made to look into a mirror of judgement, which makes clear to them the nature of their deeds in life (very similar to yama's mirror) - Journey ends after 49 days
Guadalupe
- Our Lady Guadalupe is the face of the Catholic church in Mexico and represents a christianized form of the Aztec Corn Mother Tonantzin (example of syncretism)
Sand paintings
- Paintings made from sand that are believed to serve a variety of functions - Often compared to mandalas; depicts ordered, color coded worlds into which gods are summoned - In healing rites, the patient is belieed to inhabit the spirit painting, and meet the spirit of the disease or cure. - At the end of most procedures involving sand paintings, the painting is destroyed
Hariti
- Principle figure in Hindu demonology - Female demon; formerly kidnapper of babies (in previous life she died having a miscarriage), now she is a protector of babies
Twinning
- Prominent feature of many religions - Life is the "twin" of death - Yama means "the twin" in Sanskrit - Mexican Xolotl (hellhound) is the twin of Quetzalcoatl - Bagandan Kabaka's family's placental "twins"
Arhants
- Reclusive Theravada saints that served as forerunners of later bodhisattvas - When assembled, these "saints" play bodhisattva-like roles and back up the system of merit exchange for petas - Leaders of the monastic portion of the Two Wheels of Dhamma
Two Wheels of Dhamma
- Represents the two social groups in the Buddhist community (laity and monastic order) - Monastic order (monks), led by arhants, give back to the laity by offering healing and spiritual advice - Laity (everyone else) are not interested in nibanna (liberation), but rather wealth and a good reincarnation. Support the monastic order by donating food, shelter, and clothing to monks
Kukuza
- Ritual installation killings that are believed to increase the power and virility of the new Kabaka - Involves the killing of a gazelle, and then a human of the common class. This human is often referred to as a bird (Bagandans believed birds to be the source of mortality) - Followed by the killing of a leopard, whose skin was stitched together with that of a lion and used to make a royal carpet. - Finally, the king would kill a prince of a powerful clan, representing the abolition of a potential threat. Back muscles from this individual would be used to make a whip/anklets
Ghost Month
- Seventh Month where ghosts are welcome back home; gates are thrown open so ghosts can have one month vacation. The living provide food - Distinct from the Ching Ming festival; in this month the deceased are believed to actually visit the living; during the festival they are simply celebrated
Sipaapuni
- Sipaapuni refers to a "wormhole" of sorts that connects separate worlds - There are a number of sipaapunis other that the original one; the 2nd sipaapuni is where the morning sun is believed to emerge - Many kivas (ritual chambers) also feature sipaapunis
Bhava Cakra
- Symbolic representation of the cycle of life and death that all beings participate in. According to Buddhists, the Buddha himself designed it - Lacks a depiction of a central deity
Shivaratri
- The "Night of Shiva", annual Indian festival dedicated to lord Shiva - marks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world - It is observed by remembering Shiva and chanting prayers, fasting, and meditating on ethics and virtues such as self-restraint, honesty, non-injury to others, forgiveness, and the discovery of Shiva.
Calaveras
- The (occasionally) edible, decorative skulls that are commonplace during the days of the dead.
Xolotl
- The Aztec dog-faced "god of monsters," divine prototype of the dogs that guided the souls of the dead to Mictlan, and the "twin" of Quetzalcoatl - The creator of humanity: together, the two represent the planet Venus, as the morning and evening stars, respectively - Xolotl is evening star
Mictlan
- The Aztec hell; lowest of the 9 of the Aztec underworlds; land of the fleshless - Lorded over by Mictlanteculi, who is often depicted as having exposed, low hanging organs that represent Mictlan
Coyolxuahqui
- The Aztec moon goddes to which the remains of sacrificial victims (excluding the head and heart) were dedicated. - Daughter of the earth goddess, Coatlicue
- The black/white bhairava is said to have been created from mail ("filth") and shakti ("divine energy") rubbed from the bodies of the great gods Vishnu and Shiva
Bbemba the snake
- The cruel ruler of Baganda that was deposed by Kintu (with the assistance of the Prime Minister and the trickster Tortoise) - Cuts off his own head after trying to imitate the tortoise
Two horn shamans
- The deceased are guided on their journey to Maski by shamans / psychopomps who are priests from the Hopi One Horn (Kwan) and Two Horn clans, whose specialty is traveling from one level to another. They also judge the souls and abandon the evil ones to sit forever atop the rocks along the path.
Hun soul
- The eternal form of a persons soul; believed to reside in heaven - This is the soul most closely identified with family; it is the name of this soul that is inscribed on ancestor tablets
Kintu
- The first Kabaka and man of Baganda - Represents the earth, and also has notable comparability w/Adam. - Through Kintu, the Bagandan's existence on earth is explained. Through Nnabi, the Bagandans are related to the heavenly region of the sky. - Fled into the forest out of shame after accidentally killing his Prime Minister
Hopi emergence myth
- The hopi people believe that the people of this world emerged from the ground after transitioning from an earlier (and lower) world. Our current world is the 4th in a series of worlds - At the end of each world age, migration upwards take place through a cane reed; each world begins ideally, is corrupted, and destroyed by some sort of catastrophe - Faithful are allowed to rise from the ruins of a polluted world - The Sipaapuni is the channel that connects one world to another
Possession
- The hostile takeover of a living person by a demon or spirit being, often accompanied by nightmares, insomnia, disease, famine, and family breakup - If a family fails to look after the souls of their deceased children, there is a chance that these children possess members of the family in retaliation
Virgin Mary
- The mother of Jesus, who is honored as "ever-virgin" for her perpetual virginity - Popularized by the Cistercian order
Confession
- The practice of monthly confessions of sins and the idea of purgatory were both popularized around 1215 CE. - The deathbed confession is considered the most important; regardless of what a persons deeds were in life, making this confession with true contrition gives one the promise of eventual salvation
Merit Field
- Theravada Buddhism, reserve bank of good deeds, Petas can get merit from fields if Sangha approves of it and then makes the transfer - Good deeds in life will be "planted" in a field and grow, and can be redeemed after death to remove one from the peta world
Walumbe
- This character is the brother of Nnabi and is responsible for punishing her for her transgressions - After Kintu and Nnabi have had three children, Walumbe requested one of them to serve as a household servant. After they refuse three times, Walumbe kills one of their children; serves as an explanation for the origin of death - Comparable to the serpent/satan. Connections w/the underworld
Regicide
- This is a prominent feature of Bagandan royal succession - Originates from Kintu's mythic slaying of Bbemba; rituals reenact this killing and are an important component of installing a new Kabaka - Every election to the throne is both an election and a conquest; every evil and tyrannical king can be killed justly in Bagandan society
Huai soul
- This is the traveling soul that the living help along through their rituals, observances, and offerings before it becomes fully established in another form, ideally as a Hun soul in heaven. If this transition does not take place, a person is reincarnated
Seven Sleepers
- This myth offers a rare exception to the usual negative depiction of dogs in Judaism and Islam - In this myth, a faithful dog guards a cave in which six humans sleep, protecting them while they sleep sleep for hundreds of years; another example in which dogs serve as guardians - In the muslim version, the dog is named Ketmir and is said to be one of the ten animals that are permitted to go to heaven at the time of final judgement
Taosim
- This philosophy stressed simplicity, meditation, inner peace, and closeness with nature - Lao Tzu is the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching and the founder of philosophical Taoism
Spring and Autumn Period
- Took place within the latter Chou dynasty (early Chinese dynsasty), was a time of "stormy" political weather - Also a time of emergence for new religions; Taoism and Confucianism are popularized.
Stove God
- Tsau Chun is the Chinese Stove God, and is also referred to as the "director of destinies" - At the moment of death, this god will write the sum total of a person's acts on the forehead of their huai soul; consequently, any bureaucratic ghosts in the afterlife are immediately aware of the huai soul's actions - independent families never share a stove; when brothers divide a fathers household the eldest inherits the old stove, while his younger brothers transfer hot coals from the old stove to their new ones, thus inviting the Stove God to join them. (far left in image)
Vision Literature
- Vision literature served as an ancient source for the Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory - Visions of Perpetua (suffrages), Gregory the Great (river of pitch), St Boniface (angels and devils fighting over souls of the dead)
Sirius
- Well known as the Dog Star, because it's the chief star in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog - There are said to be two stars (two dogs), each guarding the path of the milky way - Heliacal rising of Sirius begins the "Dog Days", the start of deadly summer heat that is often attributed to the opening of the gates of hell
Sag-Did
- Zoroastrian rite in which the gaze of a "four-eyed dog" drives away the demonic Nasu spirits that swarm around the corpse of the deceased - Zoroastrians also believe that four eyed dogs guard the bridge of judgement that must be crossed in the afterlife
Petavatthu
- a Theravada Buddhist scripture which details through karma how bad actions in the human world can lead to a rebirth in the unhappy world of Petas. - Stories of hungry ghosts
Syncretism
- a blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith - Spanish missionary strategy used amongst the Aztec, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Maya societies - There are countless other instances of syncretism across various world cultures
Kiva
- a round room used by the Pueblo peoples for religious ceremonies - Often includes a sipaapuni in the floor; described as a "superimposed world"
Uto-Aztecan
- family within which the Hopi and Aztec language Shoshonean falls; example of syncretism?
Punna
- punna is the actual "currency" for merit transactions between the living and the invisible petas -
Old Oraibi
- the oldest continuously inhabited village in the U.S.; stepping stone into the 5th world (Hopi) - Critical location in Hopi eschatology
Siva/Shiva
-The destroyer god in Hinduism (not seen as evil) - Hindu believe that this god (one of the most important in the Hindu pantheon) destroys the world at the end of each world cycle and allows for new creation. - Takes multiple forms and names;
Dunhuang
Chinese city located the intersection of many silk road routes, was largely responsible for the spread of Buddhism within China.
Maski
The World of the Dead; "Massaw's House" - Massaw lives there, but visits our world at night to protect graves from sorcerers.
petas
- "hungry ghosts" living in Peta World, principle recipients of transferred merit. Without this transferred merit, petas cannot leave this world - World of hungry ghosts is reserved for those who failed to observe the merits of reciprocity in life - Pali form of Sanskrit Preta; poorly clothed -
Churels
- (Hindu) spirit of woman who died in childbirth - Often depicted with backwards-facing feet
Maasaw
- (Hopi) Lord of the dead/God of Fire; protector of the 4th World - Maasaw only spends some of his time here because he is also the guardian of the third world - It is implied that the downfall of the third world (previous one) might have partially been the result of Maasaw doing a poor job
Ash fruits
- 3 (usually atop a tray) represent dead child - made of ash and acacia gum--> add to it to see child "grow" (maintained and fed in ways reminiscent of pinda-dana) -placed in dark shrine at foot of a tree--> becomes haunted -The form and function of the ash fruits reminiscent of that of the stones of megaliths, "bodies for eternity" in Neolithic Europe
Aztec calendar
- 365 days, divided into 18 months each with 20 days. - 9th month (July) dedicated to dead children - 10th month (August) is dedicated to dead adults - 14th month (November) is dedicated to dead warriors - After the spanish conquest, these remembrances were syncretized with the Catholic Days of the Dead
Grave ladder
- A Hopi word relating to Maasaw's name, mas-saqa, "the grave ladder," is the means by which the dead are able to rise from the grave on the fourth day after burial. - After this release, the soul travels NW to the sipaapuni leading to Maski (world of the dead)
Bhairava
- A bhairava is specific bhutanata, and is the one that appears in the city of Benares to punish the wicked
Bhutanatha
- A bhutanatha is a is a lord of the spirit of the dead - If one is experiencing hardship or abuse from spirits, they can call upon a bhutanatha to reduce their suffering. The right bhutanatha has to be called though
Pilgrimage
- A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes. - One of many forms of suffrages - Catholic church often promotes the concept that life is, as a whole, one large pilgrimage -must include physical, economic, and spiritual hardships to qualify
Venial sins
- A less serious offense against the will of God that diminishes one's personal character and weakens but does not rupture one's relationship with God. - Can be absolved through suffrages
Protestant Reformation
- A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches - The protestant reformation brought an end to the rapid propagation of indulgences
tzompantli
- A type of wooden rack or palisade documented in several Mesoamerican civilizations, which was used for the public display of human skulls, typically those of war captives or other sacrificial victims.
Mamingie
- African spirit of a woman who died in childbirth
Ggulu
- African version of "Lord God". Sky deity who warned Kintu not to return to their domain with his wife Nnabi. - Father of Nnabi and Walumbe - Multiple parallels with the story of Adam and Eve - Represents what would have been the immortal component of humanity
Dark shadow/light shadow
- African version of soul duality; notable comparability to the ka and ba souls - At birth, two spirit families are compressed into a single body to become a double soul. - The dark shadow represents the biological aspect of humanity; the light shadow represents the mind - It is the light shadow that explains our ability to dream (it travels during the night). The light shadow stays with the body after death, the dark shadow ascends to heaven
Angelitos
- All Saint's day (November 1st) is also called "Dia de los Angelitos": day of the little angels - Angelitos are the spirits of children who died prematurely
Benares
- Ancient city on the Ganges River in northern India. - Shiva takes the Bhairava form in Benares to punish people within the city -best place to be cremated
Purgatory of St. Patrick
- Ancient pilgrimage site in Ireland, ancient legend claims that St. Patrick was brought to this location by God, who showed him a cave and claimed it was an entrance to purgatory - Metaphor for life/afterlife (the catholic church often cast life as being one long pilgrimage)
Purgatorial fire
- Augustine first described purgatorial fire as a purging entity - Augustine argued that suffrages (masses, prayer, alms) allowed the intensity and duration fo this purgatorial fire to be diminished - Augustine never describes an actual place, just a fire that is capable of saving one from the fires of hell (purgatorial fire is different than hellfire, and is considered much gentler)
Tlaltecuhtli
- Aztec earth goddess, the mother of the human race, a companion of Tonatiuh - Often associates with hummingbirds and butterflies - Said to collect the spirits of women who died in childbirth; often surrounded by depictions of children in Aztec art?
Tlalocan
- Aztec earthly paradise; one of the destinations for dead Aztec people - to reach this region, Aztec people must cross nine mountain ranges and nine rivers, which can only be navigated with the assistance of a dog
cihuateotl
- Aztec spirits of women who died during childbirth - Malevolent entities who prey upon pregnant women out of spite
Tonatiuh
- Aztec sun god - Believed to have been created following the self-sacrifice of earlier, unnamed gods? - Demanded human sacrifice with the threat that he would refuse to move across the sky without such sacrifice
Ksitigarbha
- Chinese religion, 5th of 10 Kings who is a Bodhisattva.. he can rescue huai souls or can condemn them to reincarnation
Message that failed
- Component of African theodicy, also offers an explanation for why humans are mortal (parallels with stone/banana myth) - Characterized by a breakdown of communications between humans and gods (sheep/dog myth)
(Sse)-Kabaka
- Component of Bagandan tradition, this refers to the divinized former king (kabaka) who is said to reside in a shrine that is "his palace" and an opening to the forest of the dead - The will of the Sse-Kabaka is conferred by a female spirit medium - When a kabaka dies, nobody actually believes them to be dead; instead they say he went to his palace/to the forest (reference to Kintu's disappearance into the forest after killing his prime minister)
Spirit Money
- Component of Chinese religion, this form of currency has no real value for the living but, when burned, becomes available for the deceased to spend in the afterlife.
Ancestor tablets
- Component of Chinese religions; when the huai soul is believed to have completed its 49 day journey, the family of the deceasd write the name of the newly converted hun soul on an ancestral tablet - Ancestral tablets serve as a record of family solidarity and contain information dating back up to 16 generations
Confucian Bureaucracy
- Confucianism emphasized respect for the elders while alive and funeral rites and sacrifices for deceased ancestors as being one's highest priority in life - Bureaucracy refers to the hierarchical nature of the Chinese Pantheon
P'o soul
- Described as the "earth soul", the one that is most closelt linked to the body in the tomb. When bodies are disturbed this soul is believed to become a wandering ghost similar to a preta. - Special protections are taken against po souls; they are often treated like beggars, and people will spread food around tombs to satisfy the wandering (and potentially malevolent) souls. - Po souls can be calmed through storytelling, and amulets/charms are also worn as a way to ward them off
Earthly Paradise
- Discovered by Knight Owen during his travels in the purgatory of St. Patrick - People living in this place have already been purged by purgatorial fire; they reside here until the time of judgement, at which point they are sent either to heaven or hell - Described as a "foretaste of heaven"
Nnabi
- Disobedient eve figure from the Kintu story - Daughter of Ggulu, responsible for the mortality of human kind: After marrying herself to Kintu, she goes back up to heaven (which was forbidden to do by her father) to retrieve chickens that she had forgotten. Walumbe, her brother, kills one of her children as punishment for her transgressions
Theravada Buddhism
- Earliest form of Buddhism, often describes as the "doctrine of the Elders", found today in SE Asia and Sri Lanka - Foundations lie in the Pali Canon?; the "three baskets of teachings" that compose the earliest buddhist scriptures. - Emphasis on monastic discipline and overall conservatism
Perpetua
- Early Christian saint (woman) whose has a vision in which her younger brother has a facial deformity and is incredibly thirsty; she wakes up, prays for him, and finds that her brothers issues were resolved in her next dream - Supported the idea that prayers (suffrages) can help those in another world
Suffrages
- Feature of Catholicism, suffrages can be in the form of masses, prayers, alms, pilgrimages etc. - Suffrages allow for the absolution of venial sins, and reduce the time/intensity of a persons experience in purgatory - Supported by St. Augustine and popularized by Perpetua's vision
Female seizers
- Found in hindu religion, believed to kill infant children with disease; often portrayed as monstrous female beings with human bodies and the heads of birds or animals
Anubis
- God of the dead, mummification, and embalming that is depicted as dog headed; fortifies the argument that dogs are a consistent feature of religion - The cult to Anubis is traceable to the dog-headed sumerian goddess Bau, whose necropolis is at Cynopolis ("Dog City") -
Kerberos
- Greek version of Cerberus, three-headed hellhound who occupies and guards the liminal barrier between the land of the living and the world of the dead
Exempla
- Historical scenes used to demonstrate moral purpose - Usually follow a standard plot: almost immediately after a person dies, his/her soul or body would appear in front of their living family, asking for suffrages to ease the pain of the purgatorial fire. The life body disappears, and then returns a year later wearing clothing (the state of this clothing is indicative of the extent to which their sins have been purged. At the end of the second year, the soul returns again, wearing all white, thanks the family for their suffrages, and enters the earthly paradise
Kachinas/Cloud People
- Hopi ancestors ("Six point cloud people" who live in the 6-directinal world) who send or withhold rain, health, crops, life, etc. Influence Hopi's daily life. - Winter solstice is the beginning of six-month katsina/kachina season, in which benevolent spirits return to live among Hopi to ensure growth, fertility, safety of community in transition from darkness to light. After summer solstice katchinas return to the spirit world.
Ching Ming
- In Chinese culture, an annual festival celebrating deceased ancestors during which family members visit graves and burn paper replicas of money and other necessities as a way of showing respect and care for ancestors.
Pattidana
- In Theravada, this is the doctrine of "giving back" in order to help the unfortunate dead, "merit transfer" - refers to the actual transfers that occur, punna refers to the acts/merits/deeds themselves
bhut-pret
- In hindu, these are the most unhappy dead. these can be controlled via feeding rituals and/or worship of a bhuta-natha (lord of spirits). they seize people based on bodily impurity (leaving hair unbound), or natural weaknesses such as pregnancy.
Mictlantecutli
- Lord of the Land of the Fleshless; Depicted as a fleshless skeleton who presides over the Aztec feast of the dead - Often shown with an exposed, low hanging liver, representing his lordship over the lowest levels of the Aztec world of the dead
Cynocephali
- "dog-headed" men that feature in Amazonian myth. It was declared by St. Augustine that these men were still valid candidates for salvation because they are descendants of Adam. -
Tu Ti Kung
- "Earth god" that serves as a prototype for many of the gods in the Chinese pantheon, also referenced as the Chinese god of agriculture - Seen as having two functions, one of which is to police the "kui" (supernatural equivalent of bandits, beggars, etc), the other is spying on the affairs of his human charges (keeps record of their activities and reports regularly to his superiors) - A family that moves from one community to another should see themselves as leaving the authority of one Tu Ti Kung and entering taht of another - Serves localities, not kinship groups (far right in image)