sacred mountain

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The Kailash in Tibet, the "holiest mountain in the world"; also symbol for the world mountain of creation

A holy mountain is a mountain that has special religious or cultic significance as a sanctuary .

features

The religious worship of geographical places, which were also of practical relevance to people's lives, is known from different times and cultures. The term animism implies the belief in the soulfulness of nature and its appearances, a frequent characteristic of the ideas summarized as ethnic religions . As an element of popular belief , belief in holy places also finds its way into the traditions of some world religions as pantheism . In addition, people are considered to be symbols , personifications or manifestations of the higher powers.

The reasons and forms of worship of mountains and hills are varied:

  • The elevations can be viewed as deities or, more commonly, the abode of gods, spirits, or demons. Among the mountains that are considered sacred are many volcanoes from which a particular danger emanated: to personify and divine natural hazards ( theism ), and therefore also to venerate them ( theolatry ), is found in all cultures (see the term 'volcano') himself, after the Roman god of fire: a god of fire is then also assigned earthquakes as a blacksmith god ). On the other hand, volcanic ash is often important for the fertility of entire regions.
  • Mountains that hold important resources, such as mineral resources or water reserves, for example sacred springs , and outstanding peaks or massifs whose climatic effects (rainfalls) have a positive influence on the soil's fertility or represent good hunting grounds are often mythified and mystified .
  • Exposed weather mountains , known as weather divisions , germ cells for thunderstorms, frequent wind direction or indicators of weather changes, have been assigned fateful power: The conclusion that the mountain "makes" the water, weather and other natural events, or raw materials and booty, leads in an animistic way Worldview to try to influence him through homage or sacrifice ("to vote graciously").

In addition to particularly high or free-standing mountains, which are landmarks ( landmarks ) for territories or travel, mountains with a distinctive shape are often revered. This applies, for example, to pyramidal and conical mountains, pinnacles or those whose shape is reminiscent of humans ( anthropomorphism ) or animals ( zoolatry ), whereby a special connection between living beings and mountains is assumed ( totemism ).

Another reason for the worship of mountains can be the association with a special event, such as a divine revelation or a holy person - for example on Mount Sinai . Mountains can, however, also represent places of residence of the dead ( ancestral cults ) and are cursed places, for example as a dance floor for witches ( magical concepts). In a number of cosmogonies , the “ navel of the world ” (as the center of the earth of a flat earth, or the suspension point of a round earth hanging from the sky) is localized on a certain mountain.

Often holy mountains are marked or marked by ritual signs or objects, for example stone setting ( stone men , temple buildings, in the Christian culture by summit crosses ). In addition, certain religious rules apply, so the ascent of such mountains can be limited to a certain group of people or certain times or rituals, or even be a sacrilege or taboo . On the other hand, the ascent or circumnavigation can be the goal of pilgrimages , or the summit region - due to its proximity to heaven and the higher powers - a suitable place for meditation , hermitage or monastic communities.

Holy mountains often retain their special status over a long period of time and the changes in several cultures and religions. Pre-Christian places of worship were built over with Christian pilgrimage sites in the course of Christianization . Deities and concepts ascribed or associated with mountains are adopted through the correspondences of one's own belief system.

Sacred mountains in different regions

Europe

Asia

middle East
South asia
Machapuchare , 6997 m (seat of Amitabha, Buddha of limitless light)
  • Meru , mythological mountain, center of the universe in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. He is identified with various real mountains.
  • Emai Shan , one of the four sacred mountains of Buddhism, China, Sichuan Province, monastery mountain with pilgrimage route to the summit. World Heritage Site, listed since 1996.
  • Kailash - worshiped by Hindus, Buddhists and Bon , headwaters of the four largest rivers of the Indian subcontinent; also Mount Everest (nepal. Sagarmatha "forehead of heaven" / Tibet. Chomolungma "mother of the universe"), Annapurna ("the food-giving goddess", epithet of the goddess Parvati) and many other mountains of the Himalayas are associated with deities, or personified as a deity. The Machapucharé in the Annapurna massif is considered to be the seat of Amitabha , the Buddha of limitless light.
  • The Arunachala in India is considered the holy mountain of Hinduism as the embodiment of Shiva - Linga .
  • Numerous mountains are also venerated as sacred in southern India; in the Tamil language they are often called Tirumalai or Thirumalai .
  • The Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka was already in prehistoric times the Vedas as sacred. He is revered today by Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists alike. A depression in its summit plateau ( Sri Pada , holy foot) is venerated as the footprint of Buddha , Adam , Shiva or the apostle Thomas , depending on belief .
Merapi - 2914 m (seat of spirits and gods)
South East Asia
  • The Gunung Merapi in Indonesia, one of the most dangerous volcanoes on earth, but which also provides extremely fertile soil, is considered the seat of mountain demons and an invisible king who protects the local residents from eruptions. This belief has already failed several evacuation attempts and thus claimed several lives.
  • Human sacrifices are said to have been made to the Apo in the Philippines, an active volcano.
  • To this day, animals and other gifts are sacrificed to Bromo in Java in an annual procession. Legend has it that this goes back to a human sacrifice that was made there to end a long period of childlessness.
East asia
  • Sacred mountains in China - the Chinese culture looks back on a long reverence for particularly charming mountains, they are also partlysacredto Buddhism and Daoism ( Chinese   五嶽  /  五岳 , Pinyin Wǔyuè  - "five peaks", 四大 佛教 名山 , Sìdà Fójiào Míngshān  - "Four great, Buddhist, famous mountains"). The symbol of Chinese culture is the Huang Shan (黄山  - "Yellow Mountain"), Anhui. Religious centers are also the Wutai Mountains (五台山 , Wǔtái Shān ), near Wutai , Shanxi, and the two Potala , the Putuo Shan (普陀山 , Pǔtuó Shān , Luojia), Zhejiang, and the Mar-po-ri (“Red Mountain ”) of Lhasa, location of the Potala Palace , both of which refer to the Avalokiteshvara Buddhistmyth. The Lu Shan (廬山 區  / 庐山 区 , Lúshān  - "mountain of the hermit's hut " near Guling) is also particularly awe-inspiring, as is the mountains of Guilin (桂林 , Guìlín ) on the Li River , the most visited tourist destination in China after Beijing
  • Fuji-san , Haku-san and Tateyama are considered to be the "three sacred mountains of Japan " (日本 三 霊 山 , Nihon sanreizan ), but there are numerous other mountains; Three mountains of Dewa (compare also the hundred famous mountains of Japan 日本 百名 山 Nihon Hyaku-meizan which go back to Kyūya Fukada's book from 1964)
  • The Nyainqêntanglha in Tibet, pre-Buddhist mountain deity of the north, “protector of the world”, later integrated into the Buddhist faith
  • Miwa , Mimoro or Miwa-yama , the holiest mountain in Japan. Venerated since prehistoric times, sanctuary of the mountain deity Ōmononushi , place of pilgrimage for sake brewers. In contrast to most other sacred mountains in Japan, the Miwa is not sacred as the seat of a deity, but sacred per se .
  • The Burchan Chaldun in Mongolia is a Buddhist sanctuary, but is still officially venerated as the birthplace and burial place of Genghis Khan as a sacred mountain of the Mongols.

Africa

  • Ol Doinyo Lengai , seat of the rain and cloud god Ngai for the Maasai
  • Kilimanjaro , part of the Chagga sun cult, house of God ("Ngaia Ngai") for the Maasai , again referring to the god Engai
  • Deified name also has the Atlas that supports the heavens - the myth is with antique concept of the end of the world at the Pillars of Hercules , at the junction of the Mediterranean (the sea itself) to the at that time known earth runaround Okeanos (the Atlantic Ocean): The atlas is the last solid edge of the earth.

Australia and Oceania

  • Uluṟu , for the Pitjantjatjara - Aborigines, part of their creation myth, the Uluru myth . Due to its topography and its lack of earth cover, the rock ensures that rainwater runs off its flanks and thus ensures fertility in its immediate vicinity. The same applies to the Kata Tjuṯa rocks.
  • The Kīlauea in Hawaiʻi is worshiped as the seat of the goddess Pele . It is said to be appeased by offering flowers at the edge of the crater.

North America

Mount Shasta, California - 4,322 m
  • Mount Shasta , sanctuary of the North American Klamath Indians, abode of the "Great Spirit". Today the power center of the New Age movement and various sects
  • The Hopi consider the San Francisco Peaks sacred. They play a role in their creation myth and are held as weather mountains for the seat of the weather spirits ( kachinas ). They are venerated in annual festivals around the summer solstice and are still a pilgrimage destination today.
  • Mount Graham , sacred mountain of the Apaches , long-standing controversy about the construction of the Large Binocular Telescope on sacred ground.
  • Black Hills , sacred mountains of the Lakota .
  • The Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes are worshiped as the seat of mountain gods, but are also considered deities themselves, petrified by other gods as punishment for evil deeds. In this legend, the Popocatépetl represents the lover of Iztaccíhuatl, the “White Woman”. During the “Festival of the Mountain” ( Tepeilhuitl ), replicas of the mountains made of dough were ritually beheaded and eaten.

South America

  • Illimani , for the Aymara as a weather god one of the highest deities. Coca leaves, llama fetuses, beer, cigarettes and other items are sacrificed to him in order to ensure the fertility of the land
  • Llullaillaco , deified as a water dispenser, probably also a place for human sacrifice, the highest archaeological finds in the world
  • Ampato in Peru, sacred mountain of the Inca , place where the mummy Juanita was found , who was sacrificed there. Like the Llullaillaco, the Ampato was sanctified as a mountain of water.
  • Ausangate in Peru, the annual destination of thousands of pilgrims for the Snow Star Festival . Healing powers are ascribed to him, sacrifices to him should ensure a good harvest.
  • The mountains Chimborazo and Tungurahua are venerated by the Puruhá as the progenitor and first mother of their people.
  • The Cerro Calvario in Bolivia was already considered sacred before the Inca times, today it is a place of pilgrimage to Mary.

literature

  • Herbert Arlt (Hrsg.): Reality and virtuality of the mountains . Röhrig Universitätsverlag, St. Ingbert 2002, ISBN 3-86110-315-X .
  • Johanna Bernhardt: Mountains - thrones of the gods . In: Oesterreichischer Alpenverein (Hrsg.): Mountain climbing . No. 3 , 2005, p. 28–37 ( bergundstieg.at [PDF]).
  • INST (Ed.): The names of the mountains . ( Press information on inst.at - materials from the conference in Ramsau am Dachstein, May 31 to June 4, 2001).
  • Karl Gratzl (Ed.): The holiest mountains in the world . Verlag für Collectors, Graz 1990, ISBN 3-85365-083-X .
  • Karl Gratzl: The Mountain Myth. Lexicon of the important mountains from mythology, cultural history and religion . Hollinek, Purkersdorf 2000, ISBN 3-85119-280-X .

Europe:

Asia:

  • Andreas Gruschke (ed.): The holy places of the Tibetans. Myths and legends from Kailash to Shambhala . Diederichs Verlag, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-424-01377-3 .
  • Andreas Gruschke: Paths to the gods. The sacred mountains of Tibet . In: Hagia Chora. Journal of Geomancy . No. February 20 , 2005, p. 36-43 .
  • Herbert Tichy (Ed.): To the holiest mountain in the world . Seidel Verlag, Vienna 1937.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. 100 Famous Japanese Mountains , engl. Wikipedia