Harvest prayer
Harvest prayer ceremonies are common from Asia to Europe to America. Originally, the harvest prayer is the request addressed to God or a specific nature , agriculture or fertility deity for a good harvest , which was customary in rural societies especially in spring . In many cases it is still today, for which there are special days or weeks . In Europe, on the one hand, these are the Prayer days , the Rogate (Easter Sundays) and regional customs, and on the other hand, the harvest festivals .
In South and East Asia, many rites have turned into folk festivals, and some have connections with the magic of the weather .
introduction
While the prayers in polytheistic cultural areas are mainly aimed at fertility or weather gods , sometimes also at ancestors , in Judaism, Christianity or Islam there are their own - often locally influenced - rites and also liturgical celebrations. In areas threatened by storms, blessings of the weather , hail or bid processions are tradition, and in a secular form customs such as hail shooting or the like. Some saints and patron saints are appealed to for a good harvest or to avert agricultural damage, for example St. Leonhard , St. Norburga , St. Isidor of Madrid or St. Vitus in the viticulture . Some regions know their own pilgrimages, such as the Leonhardifahrt for the thriving of cattle and forage .
Old Europe
Various fertility deities were invoked regionally among the ancient Germans, such as the Vanes in the Norse Skírnismál myth . The kings were often responsible for the harvest prayers (and also for their success). On the Stentoftenstein in Blekinge (South Sweden) it is noted that Hådulf gave a "good year" - apparently as a successful mediator between the fertility deity and his tribe. Such sacred kingship was particularly pronounced in Uppland, where the Ynglinger dynasty was derived from the god Yngvi (Freyr). The Ynglinga saga even reports that a King Domald was sacrificed to put an end to repeated crop failures.
While the harvest prayers mainly took place in spring, there were also rites scheduled later, such as the midsummer celebrations at the solstice - probably also to avert storms. In Finland, Juhannus was celebrated in honor of the deity Ukko , the god of weather, harvest and thunder. In Ireland, Lughnasadh was celebrated in the middle of summer to pray for a good harvest.
Some Greek Dionysus festivals also revolved around vegetation and harvest. In general, however, in Greek mythology , Priapus , a son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, was the god of fertility and protector of crops, cattle and fish. In the evening summer sky , the constellation Virgo was ascribed a good influence for bringing in the harvest.
In Slavic mythology , Veles (Volos), one of the main gods, patron of fertility, protector of cattle and harvest was originally . Later this function was transferred to St. Blaise .
In the ancient Roman religion , the goddess Ops (similar to the Greek Rhea ) was considered a personification of nature and therefore stood for harvest blessings and fertility. Later, Roman mythology turned to Ceres , the goddess of agriculture , fertility and marriage .
Africa and Canary Islands
The main festival of the Guanches , (indigenous people of the Canary Islands ) was the Beñesmen harvest festival in summer, where people sang and danced. Her dance “canario” with its short, brisk steps has been handed down to this day. The ceremony included a banquet (guatativoa) and competitions such as stone lifting or stick fencing (forerunner of today's Juego del Palo ). It is still unclear whether the enigmatic queseras of the ancient Canarian majos served as ritual sacrificial sites.
Middle and South America
In Central America, archaeological research indicates that the Maya , the Aztecs and related peoples prayed for a good harvest and sparing storms at some step temples . For example, Chaac, the god of rain and thunderstorms, was responsible for fertility and agriculture among the Mayans, as was the star and wind god Huracán .
In the spring of the Aztecs , human sacrifices were made to the fertility god Xipe Totec for a good corn harvest . Prisoners of war tied to stakes were pierced with arrows and their skin removed, which was worn by the priest for 20 days. So the green dress of spring should be symbolized and the rustling of the robe should remind of the corn.
Little is known about the old spring rites in South America , including those of the Inca fertility goddess Mama Allpa . In the Chimú culture , which dominated northern Peru between 1250 and 1470 , the moon and the tides were thought to be responsible for the flourishing of plants and crops . A popular offering in the coastal areas of Ecuador was the shiny spondylus shell , which symbolizes the sea, rain and the sea and rain and thus a symbol of fertility.
Among the Quechua- speaking indigenous peoples in the Andean region of South America, Pachamama or Mama Pacha was and is the personified Mother Earth or "Mother World", worshiped as a deity and who gives life in many ways. Today it is also regarded as a hope for a holistic life and was incorporated into the new constitution of Ecuador in 2008 as a symbol of this principle . In popular religion, the figure is partly mixed with Mary, the mother of God . Throughout the year (with the exception of Holy Week ), different rites are cultivated regionally, also according to the agricultural cycle. Thank you for everything you have received and ask for a good harvest. Small offerings are z. B. Coca leaves or the first bite of every meal.
On the basis of reciprocity and being in balance with the entire universe , the rites and prayers aim to maintain or always restore the balance of forces in nature.
Judaism
One of the harvest festivals in Judaism is the festival of the first fruit . It marked the time to make the sacrifice of the first fruit to give thanks for the end of the harvest season. As a symbol for this, grapes , grain, oil, wine and the first fleece were given to the priest and offered by him as an offering to praise YHWH for rain and fertility .
Because, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the appearance of the Holy Spirit happened at the time of this festival, it is generally assigned to the Christian Pentecost festival .
The offering of the first fruits and the request for God's grace is already described in the Tanakh with Cain and Abel and ritually regulated in the 3rd book of Moses when Israel enters the promised land.
South and East Asia
Many cults for harvest prayer have always existed in South Asia , China and Japan - especially in the densely populated areas. In India and the surrounding regions, Hinduism contributes significantly to the diversity of rites, as it knows numerous regional fertility deities. The Indian folk religion asks for a good harvest not only from the Gramadevatas (local deities) but also from Bhutas or nature spirits . The Tamils living in southern India and Ceylon know prayer times lasting several days, which lead to the Pongal harvest festival towards the end of the year .
The Indian prayer days of Makar Sankranti - when the effect of the solstice ( Sakranti ) becomes clear in mid-January - takes place regionally in various forms. According to the ancient Hindu tradition, the period of time that brings blessings is z. B. in areas of sugar cane cultivation already celebrated as Thanksgiving . The general gift of sugar cakes and the saying “Take this sweet part and say sweet words” should end any hostility and the cyclical change in nature should stimulate the spiritual development of the individual. In the north of India and in Punjab , where this is the coldest season, Lohri is celebrated with dances around a bonfire .
In China's capital Beijing , in the temple district of the Temple of Heaven, there is a separate Hall of Harvest Prayer , built around 1420 . In this 38 m high building in the style of a Buddhist stupa , the emperors of China personally performed the rites for the harvest prayer in the spring . The harvest altar in the Beijing imperial city of Huangcheng was laid out in 1421 in the Ming period opposite the imperial ancestral temple.
Japan
In Japan people meet everywhere for autumn prayers and rites on the occasion of the rice harvest . These events are also related to the Matsuri folk festivals and mostly take place at the local Shinto shrine or at Buddhist temples.
As elsewhere, there are spring harvest prayers in February, the most famous of which is in the Shrine of Ise at the Shrine of Toyouke. According to the Ise festival calendar , a week of prayer for a successful harvest begins on February 17th with the participation of an imperial envoy, which continues on May 14th and August 4th as prayer for mild winds and with offerings for a weather conducive to the harvest. On the spring equinox (March 20), prayers for a successful harvest are held in the sanctuary's Misono fields, and Thanksgiving is celebrated in the Kanname-sa ceremony with fresh ears of rice harvested there from October 15 to 17 .
Another fertility festival is Hōnen-Matsuri ( Japanese 豊 年 祭 ), which means "rich harvest year ". This form of Matsuri is an annual holiday in some parts of Japan on the Sunday before March 15th . The two most famous festivals take place at Tagata Shrine in the city of Komaki north of Nagoya, and at Ōagata Shrine in Inuyama , also in Aichi Prefecture. The festival and its ceremonies celebrate the blessings of a rich harvest, the new sake (rice wine) and the prosperity that comes from fertility.
To traditional Gagaku music, a procession of traditionally dressed participants then leads around two Mikoshi sedan chairs with a statue of the god Takeinadane-no-mikoto and a 2-meter-long wooden phallus , which the porters swing back and forth on the way. Shinto priests say prayers, bless the participants and then shower them with small rice cakes ( mochi ).
In antiquity, the Middle East also knew numerous fertility ceremonies, especially in Mesopotamia (see also the article step temple ). In addition to prayer and sacrificial rites in spring , the first fruits of the year were gratefully celebrated later in the year - as in Judaism . In Sumerian the celebrations were called nesag on Akkadian Nisannu and Hebrew Bikkurim . The Old Testament also uses the latter word in connection with the cattle-sacrifice of the firstborn .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ynglinga saga, chap. 15th
- ↑ Monthly pictures in antiquity
- ↑ The festival of the first fruits: a key for blessings ( memento of the original from March 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Dictionary of Mythology, Volume 6, Gods and Myths in East Asia (Shinto Cults p.94), Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1994
- ^ Feast of the firstlings of the year in Mesopotamia and Israel
