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The Druids were the priests of the Celtic people.
Although since Christian times Druids have been identified as wizards and soothsayers, in pre-Christian Celtic society they formed an intellectual class comprising philosophers, judges, educators, historians, doctors, seers, astronomers, and astrologers. The earliest surviving Classical references to Druids date to the 2nd century B.C. The word "Druidae" is of Celtic origin. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus, 23/24-79 A.D.) believed it to be a cognate with the Greek work "drus," meaning "an oak." "Dru-wid" combines the word roots "oak" and "knowledge" ("wid" means "to know" or "to see" - as in the Sanskrit "vid"). The oak (together with the rowan and hazel) was an important sacred tree to the Druids. In the Celtic social system, Druid was a title given to learned men and women possessing "oak knowledge" (or "oak wisdom"). Some scholars have argued that Druids originally belonged to a pre-Celtic ('non-Aryan') population in Britain and Ireland (from where they spread to Gaul), noting that there is no trace of Druidism among Celts elsewhere - in Cisalpine Italy, Spain, or Galatia (modern Turkey). Others, however, believe that Druids were an indigenous Celtic intelligentsia to be found among all Celtic peoples, but were known by other names. With the revival of interest in the Druids in later times, the question of what they looked like has been largely a matter of imagination. Early representations tended to show them dressed in vaguely classical garb. Aylett Sammes, in his "Britannia Antiqua Illustrata" (1676), shows a Druid barefoot dressed in a knee-length tunic and a hooded cloak. He holds a staff in one hand and in the other a book and a sprig of mistletoe. A bag or scrip hangs from his belt. Besides observing that the name 'Druid' is derived from "oak", it was Pliny the Elder, in his "Naturalis Historia" (XVI, 95), who associates the Druids with mistletoe and oak groves: "The Druids...hold nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and the tree on which it grows provided it is an oak. They choose the oak to form groves, and they do not perform any religious rites without its foliage..." Pliny also describes how the Druids used a "gold pruning hook" or "sickle" to gather the mistletoe. "Anything growing on those trees [oaks] they regard as sent from heaven and a sign that this tree has been chosen by the gods themselves. Mistletoe is, however, very rarely found, and when found, it is gathered with great ceremony and especially on the sixth day of the moon... They prepare a ritual sacrifice and feast under the tree, and lead up two white bulls whose horns are bound for the first time on this occasion. A priest attired in a white vestment ascends the tree and with a golden pruning hook cuts the mistletoe which is caught in a white cloth. Then next they sacrifice the victims praying that the gods will make their gifts propitious to those to whom they have given it. They believe that if given in drink the mistletoe will give fecundity to any barren animal, and that it is predominant against all poisons." A nineteenth-century painting shows a Druidess holding both the sickle and a sprig of mistletoe. She is also standing next to a megalithic structure. Many Druids were women; the Celtic woman enjoyed more freedom and rights than women in any other contemporary culture, including the rights to enter battle, and divorce her husband. Though through history we have lost much information about them, though this will be discussed later. Druids and Stone Circles It was John Aubrey, writing in the 17th century, who first thought it a "probability" that stone circles, such as Stonehenge, "were Temples of the Druids" and called his text on stone circles the Templa Druidum. This idea was picked up by William Stukeley, in the early 18th century, who subtitled his first book, Stonehenge, published in 1740, "a Temple Restored to the British Druids, and his second, on Avebury, published in 1743, "a Temple of the British Druids." Although later, in the 19th century, Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913) dated Stonehenge to a period much earlier than the time of the Druids (that is, to about 2000 B.C., whereas the Druids don't appear in the historical record until 1800 years later), nonetheless the view was maintained by a minority that Druids were pre-Celtic inhabitants of Britain and that the religious beliefs and practices for which Stonehenge was first built are ancestral to those of the later Celtic Druids. The Celtic nations were Alba (Scotland), Breizh (Brittany), Cymru (Wales), Eire (Ireland), Kernow (Cornwall), and Mannin (Man). |
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Minoan Religion Since we have only ruins and remains from Minoan culture, we can only guess at their religious practices. We have no scriptures, no prayers, no books of ritual; all we have are objects and fragments all of which only hint at a rich and complex religious life and symbolic system behind their broken exteriors. The most apparent characteristic of Minoan religion was that it was polytheistic and matriarchal, that is, a goddess religion; the gods were all female, not a single male god has been identified until later periods. Many religious and cultural scholars now believe that almost all religions began as matriarchal religions, even the Hebrew religion (where Yahweh is frequently referred to as physically female), but adopted patriarchal models in later incarnations. What precipitated the transition from goddess religions to god religions is still subject to much debate and controversy, but the adoption of a sedentary lifestyle because of agriculture may have fundamentally reoriented society towards patriarchal organization and the subsequent rethinking of goddess religions. It is certain, however, that urbanization dramatically precipitated gender inequality as human life suddenly assumed a double quality: public life and private life. The domination of public life, that is, administration, rule, and military organization, by men certainly produced a reorientation of religious beliefs. The Cretans, however, do not seem to have evolved either gender inequality nor adapted their religion to a male-centered universe. The legacy of the goddess religion seems to still be alive today. Both Greece and Crete are Greek Orthodox Christian. In Greece, however, only women regularly swear by the name of the Virgin Mary, while in Crete both men and women swear by her name, particularly the epithet, "Panagia," or "All-Holy." The head of the Minoan pantheon seems to have been an all-powerful goddess which ruled everything in the universe. This deity was a mother deity, that is, her relationship to the world was as mother to offspring, which is a fundamentally different relation than the relationship of the father to his offspring. This is an impossibly difficult difference to really understand, but Sigmund Freud in Moses and Monotheism hints at its fundamental aspect. The relationship between a mother and offspring is a real, biological relationship that can be concretely demonstrated (the child comes from the mother). The relationship to the father is also a biological relationship, but it can only be inferred (because the child doesn't come directly from the father's body). It is inferred symbolically, that is, the child looks like the father. One aspect of goddess religion, then, is a fundamentally closer relationship, kinship and otherwise, to the deity, wheras god religions tend to stress distance. These, however, are only guesses because so little comes down to us about goddess religions of antiquity. It's difficult to assess the nature of the mother-goddess of Crete. There are numerous representations of goddesses, which leads to the conclusion that the Cretans were polytheistic, while others argue that these represent manifestations of the one goddess. There are several goddesses we can distinguish, though. The first one we call "The Lady of the Beasts," or the "Huntress"; this goddess is represented as mastering or overcoming animals. In a later incarnation, she becomes "The Mountain Mother," who is standing on a mountain and apparently protects the animals and the natural world. The most popular goddess seems to be the "Snake Goddess," who has snakes entwined on her body or in her hands. Since the figurine is only found in houses and in small shrines in the palaces, we believe that she is some sort of domestic goddess or goddess of the house (a kind of guardian angel–in many regions of the world, including Greece, the household snake is worshipped and fed as a domestic guardian angel). But the household goddess also seems to have taken the form of a small bird, for numerous shrines are oriented around a dove-like figure. Most scholars believe that the principle female goddesses of Greek religions, such as Hera, Artemis, and so on, ultimately derive from the Minoan goddesses. The world for the Minoans seems suffused with the divine; all objects in the world seem to have been charged with religious meaning. The Minoans particularly worshipped trees, pillars (sacred stones), and springs. The priesthood seems to have been almost entirely if not totally female, although there's evidence (precious little evidence) that the palace kings had some religious functions as well. The Minoan religious world apparently had numerous demons as well, who are always pictured as performing some religious ritual or another, so their exact nature is difficult to assess. They are always depicted as human beings, with the hands and feet of a lion. While they are certainly monstrous, they may, in fact, be symbols of religious worship. Mycenean Religion In many ways we know Mycenean religion for much of it survives into classical Greece in the pantheon of Greek gods. But we really don't know how much of Greek religious belief is Mycenean, and how much is a product of the Greek Dark Ages or later. Like everything else about ancient cultures, it is hard to reconstruct a religious system from only ruins and a few fragments of writing. There are several reasonable guesses that we can make, however, Mycenean religions was almost certainly polytheistic, and the Myceneans were actively syncretistic, adding foreign gods to their pantheon of gods with surprising ease. The Myceneans probably entered Greece with a pantheon of gods headed by some ruling sky-god which linguists speculate might have been called *Dyeus in early Indo-European. This *Dyeus shows up in almost all Indo-European languages, suggesting that this god is a common heritage for all Indo-European peoples. In Greek, this god would become "Zeus," among the Hindus, this sky-god becomes "dyaus pitar" ("pitar" means "father"); we still encounter this word in the etymologies of the words "deity" and "divine." At some point in their cultural history, the Myceneans adopted the Minoan goddesses and associated these goddesses with their sky-god; scholars believe that the Greek pantheon of gods do not reflect Mycenean religion except for Zeus and the female goddesses. These goddesses, however, are Minoan in origin. In general, later Greek religion distinguishes between two types of gods: the Olympian or sky-gods (which you have all heard of in some form or another), and the gods of the earth, or chthonic gods—these chthonic gods are almost all female. The Greeks believed that the chthonic gods were older than the Olympian gods; this suggests that the original Greek religion may have been oriented around goddesses of the earth, but there is no evidence for this outside of reasonable speculation. Mycenean religion certainly involved offerings and sacrifices to the gods, and some have speculated that they involved human sacrifice based on textual evidence and bones found outside tombs. In the Homeric poems, there seems to be a lingering cultural memory of human sacrifice in King Agamemnon's sacrifice of his daughter, Iphigenia; several of the stories of Trojan heroes involve tragic human sacrifice. This, however, is all speculation. Beyond this speculation we can go no further. Somewhere in the shades of the centuries between the fall of the Mycenean civilization and the end of the Greek Dark Ages, the original Mycenean religion persisted and adapted until it finally emerged in the stories of human devotion, apostasy, and divine capriciousness in the two great epic poems of Homer. The Greek Dark Ages For some reason the Myceneans abandoned their civilization between 1200 and 1100 BC. The populations of their once-mighty cities dwindled rapidly until there was no urbanized culture left on the Greek mainland. Most of the cities were eventually destroyed, and all the great craftsmen of the Mycenean cities faded away when society could no longer support them. How much of their culture they abandoned, we don't know. For the one key element of their culture that they did abandon was writing , and we don't know why. Without writing, they left us no history following the collapse of Mycenean civilization; we have, instead, only five centuries of mystery: the Greek Dark Ages. Also called, the Greek Middle Ages, this period may have been precipitated by migrations and invasions of a people speaking a dialect of Greek, the Dorians. Later Greeks believed this to be the case: in Greek history and legend, the Dorians were a barbaric northern tribe of Greeks who rushed down into Greece and wrested control over the area. In the absence of archaeological evidence, it seems unlikely that a nomadic, tribal group could so easily overcome a highly efficient, warfare-centered society like the Myceneans. There is, though, no reason to disbelieve the Greeks. The best explanation is that a combination of economic decline and migrations of northern peoples slowly spelled the end of the Myceneans. Ancient Greek Religion Post-Mycenean(the days of the Olympian Gods) Greek religion was part of everyday life and rituals were a basic part of their religion. The Greeks did not have a specific place or day on which they performed their worship of the gods. However, they did have many rituals that they applied to various events happening in their daily lives. Some were minor, happening every few days. Others were more rare, and were used only when the situation called for it. The Greeks were constantly aware of the presence of the gods. The gods were present in everyday places like the market, on the streets and in the people's houses. The gods were not confined to their temples or to their heaven. They were free to roam wherever they chose. Because of this, the Greeks were always aware of the gods' presence and were always hoping to get the gods on their side. The practice of rituals was mainly to make, and keep, the gods as happy as possible. Offerings and gifts were often given to the gods, usually at temples or shrines. The temples were very holy, some more holy than others. Some temples could only be entered during certain times of the year, while others might only be entered by the priest and nobody else. When the priest did enter, it was on very rare occasions, and he only entered for special reasons. These special reasons might include cleaning the temple or delivering a gift to the god or goddess. Aside from temples and shrines, there were also sacred areas, usually gardens, that could never be walked upon by humans. For example, the grove of Demeter and Kore at Megalopolis, and the ground sacred to Zeus on the top of Mt. Lykaion were both off-limits. Anyone who wandered into the sacred areas would lose his or her shadow and die within the year. Many times, the gods personally determined a spot to be holy. A spot which had been struck by lightning was fenced in, and never walked on again. If a person had been killed by the lightning, he was not removed, but buried in the spot where he died. Nothing could be removed from a sacred area, even trees from a sacred grove (a grove is a type of forest). If there was garbage or other types of waste lying on the ground, it was the property of the gods and must not be touched. The land was not cultivated, or farmed, and was therefore overrun with weeds and rocks. Two of the most important rituals that were practiced by all Greeks were festivals and sacrifices. But there were often many other types of rituals that may not have been practiced in every part of Greece, although every city-state had many basic ritual beliefs in common. During the more special events of a person's life, like birth, death, and marriage, certain rituals were required. At the point of birth, certain herbs were laid beside a woman in labor to fight off evil. On the fifth day after the child was born, the child was carried around the fireplace, and through this ritual was accepted into the family (unless he or she was to be exposed). When someone died, the Greeks believed a number of evil forces surrounded the dead person. A purification of the dead person was necessary to stop the evil from spreading, with the ultimate goal of getting rid of the evil completely. If these purification rituals were not performed, the evil could be passed to anyone who came near the dead body. Outside of the house that contained the dead body was a bowl of water that the people visiting could use to wash themselves with. This cleansed them of the evil attached to the house. Everything associated with the house, like water, food and fire, was unclean and had to be fetched from outside sources. Being "clean" was very important to the Greeks. This meant being without evil spirits. One must be clean before sacrificial rituals, prayer, or when entering a shrine. For example, women who had just given birth were rejected from a shrine for forty days, and those who had come into contact with them were restricted for only two days. Those Greeks who had had a death in the family were restricted for twenty to forty days, and could not visit the gods until they became clean once again. Greek Festivals As the Greeks changed from a poor country (one that mostly farmed for a living) to a richer country (one that also farmed, but became richer through warfare and trade), the types of festivals began to change. To the ancient Greeks, a festival was like a giant party that was given in honor of the gods. But these festivals were not just all fun. The festivals of Ancient Greece had great religious importance. The festivals were put on whenever the Greeks' gods needed to be worshipped or the people were asking for a special favor from their god. At these festivals there was usually one special god as the guest of honor. The festivals were also seasonal, meaning that they only happened at certain times of the year. However, these yearly cycles were not often correct because the Greeks kept track of their months differently than we do today. They did it in a different form of astronomy using the moon cycles instead of the sun cycles. Each Greek month had certain festivals, but there were often many other festivals throughout the year, depending on the individual city-states. Some important festivals of the Greeks include the Eleusian Mysteries and the Great Dionysia. The existence of the gods and their activities were very real to the average Greek, so the festivals were extremely important to show the gods the people's thanks. These festivals were centers of worship and thanksgiving, and the people showed such good will that foreigners from other countries were also invited to some festivals. Drama and sports were often a very important part of greek festivals. Athletic and dramatic competitions were held to honor the gods for the enjoyment of the Greeks. However, these competitions also had a greater importance. Drama was a great part of Greek festivals. This is where the people came together to watch plays with spiritual significance. The ancient Greeks saw drama as a sort of social confessional. When the Greeks watched the plays, the Greek was immediately forgiven of all of his secret sins that nobody else knew about. The plays had good morals that taught the audience reverence for the gods, while teaching them to be good to their family and city-state. Sports were also a big part of festivals, the most famous of these being the Olympics. These games were often called holy games because they were in close connection with the gods. In fact, the Olympic Games were held at the feast of Zeus at Olympia in Elis, and the Pythian Games were held at Delphi, in honor of Apollo. There were many more games associated with many more gods. The winner of these games was crowned with a wreath of a plant associated with the god being honored. For example, the winner at Delphi was crowned with the leaves of laurel, which is Apollo's tree. The athletes were thought to be guests of the god, and they were under his protection in all events. The god greatly enjoyed their display of strength and skill, but their joy was nothing compared to the Greeks who came to watch their friends perform at the festivals! Sacrifices in Ancient Greece Sacrifices in ancient Greece were a major part of every Greek's religion. The Greeks had many reasons for doing sacrifices, but the main reason was to please the gods. If the gods are pleased, it is more likely that good things will soon happen to the people who pleased them. Most aspects of Greek religion included sacrifice. Sacrifices were given at festivals, oracles, as a purification, or any time the Greeks felt it would be beneficial or necessary. The Greeks sacrificed a number of different things. Each god was different in the type of sacrifice he or she preferred, but most gods preferred an animal sacrifice of some sort. The animal sacrificed was generally a domesticated animal like a chicken, goat or cow. Some major festivals such as the Olympics or the Eleusinian Mysteries required the sacrifice of a pig as a way to purify those Greeks who would be directly involved in the ceremonies of the festivals. When an animal was sacrificed, it was burned on top of an altar, much like a modern barbecue. When the animal was fully cooked, the rule of the gods was that the animal meat must not be taken from the area on which it was sacrificed. Many times this was done in front of a temple, but never inside the temple. The sacrifice had to be eaten on the spot, and usually before nightfall. These sacrifices were the property of the god, and had to be eaten in his presence. This was especially important because the ancient Greeks believed that the god's spirit was within the animal sacrificed, and by eating the animal, the worshippers consumed his power, and in this way strengthened the connection between man and god. Following this same pattern of thought, the Greeks believed that anyone who eats and drinks together within a group of men, is united with them by a sacred bond. The act of a sacrifice also helped to create a sense of community for the Greeks by bringing them together. It also helped to create a social hierarchy within the community. Examples of Sacrifices --The sacrifice of a pig was a very popular ritual in Ancient Greece. The pig was used to purify otherwise "unclean" situations, to make them appropriate for the god the people would be worshipping. Before every popular assembly in Athens the place that they would be meeting was purified by the sacrifice of a pig, which was carried around it. The pig was also used to purify those persons accused of having committed murder. --Dogs were also used to cleanse one of murder. At one point, the Macedonian army sacrificed a dog to wash clean from the sin of having committed murder. In this case, they tore apart the dog and and made the soldiers march between the bleeding parts. --Very few times did the Greeks ever use humans in their sacrifices. However, one such case was during an Apollo festival, in an early period. At this festival a human being, usually a criminal, was carried around the town, after which he was killed, his body burned upon branches of trees without fruit, and the ashes thrown into the sea. --When a southwest wind threatened to destroy vineyards, a rooster was cut in two, and two men carried the pieces. One man walked in one direction, the other man walked the opposite way. Both walked in a circular manner so that they met up again halfway around the circle. Where these two men met, the parts were buried in the ground. The idea was that a magic circle was drawn. This circle was believed to keep out all evil-even the wind! --Roosters were used for farms in other ways too. Another popular way was to have a maiden walk around the farm in a circle with the rooster in her hand. This was believed to ward off weeds and insects. These sacrifices were a very necessary thing to the Greeks. They did not see sacrifice as "giving" something to the gods. Rather, they saw these sacrifices as purification rites that were necessary to rid the city-state of evils that were detested by the gods. Very often, after something had been purified, the last step was to throw the sacrifice into the sea. This was so unless it was commanded by the gods that the sacrifice stay on its holy ground. |
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Shintoism is the earliest known form of religion of
the Japanese people. In modern day, there are more
than thirty million practitioners of Shinto making it
one of the few ancient religions who survived the
Christianization taking place in much of the world.
The majority of Shinto practitioners are in Japan and
a great many of them are also Buddhists.
Shinto started simply as a religion to deal with the everyday problems and issues of people. Its earliest references can be traced back to 500 BC (or earlier). In its earliest forms, it was an elaborate mix of heroism, native mythology, and naturalism. It was never an organized religion with specifical sacred texts, rituals and firm beliefs. The word "shinto" can be directly translated to mean, "the way of the kami (gods or divine beings)." There are two main divisions. One is the thirteen ancient sects all very similar. The second is known as State Shinto, and is a later synthesis finding its highest expression in the worship of the Emperor and loyalty to the State and family. Shinto, (from the Chinese characters Shin and Tao, signifying the "Way of the Spirits") is called Kami-nomichi in its native Japan. Kami are the many Gods or nature spirits. Shinto shrines are many, over 100,000 in Japan. In the shrines no images are worshiped, rather it is considered that the Kami themselves are there. Fresh foods, water, incense, etc., are offered daily upon the altar. There is an inward belief in the sacredness of the whole of the universe, that man can be in tune with this sacredness. Stress is placed on truthfulness and purification through which man may remove the "dust" which conceals his inherently divine nature and thus receive the guidance and blessings of Kami. The Shintoist's ardent love of the motherland has found unique expression in the loyalty and devotion of the Japanese people to their state institutions. SHINTO BELIEFS 1. I believe in the "Way of the Gods," Kami-no-michi, which asserts nature's sacredness and uniquely reveals the supernatural. 2. I believe there is not a single Supreme Being, but myriad Gods, superior beings, among all the wonders of the universe which is not inanimate but filled everywhere with sentient life. 3. I beleive in the scriptural authority of the great books known as the Record of Ancient Things, Chronicles of Japan, Institutes of the Period of Yengi and, Collection of 10,000 Leaves. 4. I believe in the sanctity of cleanliness and purity - of body and spirit - and that impurity is a religious transgression. 5. I believe that the State is a divine institution whose laws should not be transgressed and to which individuals must sacrifice their own needs. 6. 1 believe in moral and spiritual uprightness as the cornerstone of religious ethics and in the supeme value of loyalty. 7. I believe that the supernatural reveals itself through all that is natural and beautiful, and value these above philosophical or theological doctrine. 8. I believe that whatever is, is Divine Spirit, that the world is a one brotherhood, that all men are capable of deep affinity with the Divine and that there exists no evil in the world whatsoever. 9. I believe in the practical use of ceremony and ritual, and in the worship of the Deities that animate nature, including the Sun Goddess, Star Goddess and Storm God. GOALS The primary goal of Shintoism is to achieve immortality among the ancestral beings, the Kami. Kami is understood by the Shintoist as a supernatural, holy power living in or connected to the world of the spirit. All living things possess a Kami nature. Man's nature is the highest, for he possesses the most Kami. Salvation is living in the spirit world with these divine beings, the Kami. PATH OF ATTAINMENT Salvation is achieved in Shinto through observance of all tabus and the avoidance of persons and objects which might cause impurity or pollution. Prayers are made and offerings brought to the temples of the Gods and Goddesses, of which there are said to be 800 myriad in the universe. Man has no Supreme God to obey, but needs only know how to adjust to Kami in its various manifestations. A person's Kami nature survives death, and a man naturally desires to be worthy of being remembered with approbation by his descendants. Therefore, fulfill-ment of duty is a most important aspect of Shinto. This is the myth of the origins of Shintoism When heaven and earth came into being, five kami were born in Takamanohara (the plane of High Heaven, i.e. the entire universe): Ame no Minakanushi (the master of the August Center of Heaven), Takami Musubi no Kami (the High August Producing Kami), Kami Musubi no Kami (the Divine Producing Wondrous Kami), Umashi Ashikabi Hikoji no Kami (the Pleasant Reed Shoot Elderly Kami), and Kuni Tokotachi no Kami (the Eternally Standing Heavenly Kami). At the center of creation was Ame no Minakanushi no Kami, the central figure in the universe. As the universe formed from a chaotic mass, the kami of birth and the kami of growth initiated the development of the cosmic order because of their power to initiate creativity. The concept of musubi, the power of creativity is shown as a central aspect of Shinto. The concept of Takamanohara can be interpreted as the solar system. Further kami appeared and from them came Izanagi no Makoto (the Male Who Invites) and Izanami (the Female Who Invites). The first kami, Ame no Minakunishi ordered the later kami to model the universe on the principles of Truth, Reason, and Principle. Izanagi and Izanami, the male and female principles were ordered to create the world. The stood on Ame no Ukihashi, (the Floating Bridge of Heaven) and dipped the jeseled spear of heaven beneath the clouds into the primal brine. The brine that dripped from the spear coagulated to form the island of Onogoro, usually taked tobe the islands of Japan but which can also be understood to mean the entire world. In its root meaning, Onogaro describes something that rotates by itself, which suggests the world. Izanagi and Izanamie then descended to the earth where they made love after which Izanami spoke of the greatness of th act. After seeking further guidance from the Heavenly kami on how to fully perform and completely perfect the act of love, they returned to the earth and began to procreated various islands. Various other kami appeared and the last kami the produced wast he kami of fire. The use of fire by human civilization marked this incident. The dangers of fire are shown by the fact that after the birth of the kami of fire, his mother Izanami became sick and died. After her death, the grief-stricken Izanagi followed Izanami into the underworld, the land of pollution, Yomi no Kuni, where she was beginning to decompose. She told him not to look at her but he ignored the order and, in anger, she pursued him to the edge of the outside world. Izanagi then blocked the entrance to the underworld with a great stone. The story of the love between them and the death of Izanami is told in quite a moving way. In their closing argument, Izanami threatened to kill a thousand people a day i Izanagi insisted on returning to the underworld. He reponded that he can assure the birth of one thousand five hundred people a day. This affirms the power of life over death and herein lies the basis of the optimism of Shinto in its view of life. After leaving the land of pollution associated with decay and death, Izanagi bathed in the Tachibana river to cleanse himself completely from the decaying presence. This act of ritual washing is the beginning of the idea of Misogi, the physical act of ritual purification in water which is the prototype of the Shinto ritual of O' harai or purification. Today purification is performed most oftern in a symbolic way by a priest waving a wand of paper streamers called a harai-gushi. As Izanagi washed his face while cleansing, a kami was born from his left eye, Amaterasu O' kami (the Great August Shining Deity of Heaven, the Deity of the Sun.) Tsukiyomi (the Deity of the Moon) came from his right eye, and from his nose came Susanoo no Mikoto (the Troublesome Swift Impetuous Male Deity.) Happy with the birth of the three illustrious kami, Izanage divided the rule of the universe among them. Amaterasu O' kami received the power and authority to preside over the universe and the solar system. To tsukiyuomi was given the power to reign over the night and to Susanoo no Mikoto was given the right to rule over the sea and the stars. In this way, the light and energy necessary for life comes from the kami of the Sun, while that of the Moon presides over quietness and growth. The kami of the seas is responsible for the rhythmic movement of the earth and its daily life as the stars are lit and life follows its cycle. In shinto, we call the restless and infinite movement of the heavenly bodies Kannagara, movements that go "along with the kami." |
