And so, in Greek mythology, Hephaestus was the god of volcanos and the forge. Sometimes Christians are so focused on hearing from God that they forget to use reason and common sense. In fact, it refers to the belief that God erased Mary’s original sin the moment she was conceived. The belief in phi (spirits) colors the relationships of many Lao with nature and community and provides one explanation for illness and disease. To Hang phi ban (feed the village spirit) also serves an important social function by reaffirming the village boundaries and the shared interests of all villagers. Participation at weekly and monthly religious ceremonies also dropped off as villagers under the watchful eye of local political cadre were fearful of any behavior not specifically encouraged. Numerous taboos regarding behavior in the house are observed to avoid offending ancestral spirits. The Kammu call spirits hrooy, and they are similar to the phi of the Lao Loum; the house spirit is particularly important, and spirits of wild places are to be avoided or barred from the village.

Ancestor spirits are fond of buffalos; thus buffalo skulls or horns from sacrifices are hung at the altar of the ancestors or under the gable of the house. Ancestor spirits (mbrong n’a) are very important to the Lamet because they look out for the well-being of the entire household. Some are connected with the universal elements-earth, heaven, fire, and water. The village spirit specialist presides over this major ritual, which in the past often involved the sacrifice of a water buffalo and is still an occasion for closing the village to any outsiders for a day. In the past, it was common to perform similar rituals before the beginning of the farming season to ensure the favor of the spirit of the rice. Ceremonies oriented to the phi commonly involve an offering of a chicken and rice liquor. Once the phi have taken the spiritual essence of the offering, people may consume the earthly remains. This shows the beauty of true leadership that even if you die, your name remains immortal till the end of this world. What is Junior’s father’s name? The head of a household or the individual who wants to gain the favor of the spirit usually performs the ritual.

The ceremony is often performed to welcome guests, before and after making long trips, and as a curing ritual or after recovery from an illness; it is also the central ritual in the Lao Loum wedding ceremony and naming ceremony for newborn children. Many Lao Loum also believe that they are being protected by khwan (thirty-two spirits). After being given supersized powers to forgive the gravest of sins, 1,142 Catholic priests and monks are now fanning out around the globe at the behest of Pope Francis. The ashes are then interred in a small shrine on the wat grounds. For the Lao Loum, the Wat is one of the two focal points of village life (the other is the school). Two parts of a person’s body grow throughout their whole life. Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods. If he has none, one of his brother’s sons is chosen. When a spirit practitioner dies, one of his sons is elected by the married men of the village to be his successor.

Devoting particular attention to the relation between the comparative study of language and the nascent science of religion, she demonstrates how new classifications of language and race caused Buddhism and Islam to gain special significance, as these religions came to be seen in opposing terms-Aryan on one hand and Semitic on the other. Well-known religions with significantly fewer adherents include Sikhism, Judaism, Jainism, Shinto and the Baha’i faith. These religions are pantheistic and polytheistic, and involve classes of shamans. People often pray with rosary beads to guide their time in prayer, though they are not necessary for praying the devotion. A majority of the people in the world follow one or another kind of religion to fulfill the requirements of the religion. Which one of these animals is considered the Nile’s most dangerous? If you can’t blow out all your candles in one fell swoop, the wish you make won’t come true. If there was one beverage that could represent you as a person, which would it be? There are approximately 22,000 monks in the country, nearly 9,000 of whom have attained the rank of “senior monk”, indicating years of study in temples.