The History and Significance of the Amesa Spentas

The Amesa Spentas, otherwise known as the Amesha Spentas, are not deities the general public recognises on first glance. Unfortunately in today’s contemporary society, only the major gods, such as Zeus, Isis, Osiris and Odin for example, are recognised. However, the more obscure deities, such as the Amesa Spentas can provide us with information into the lives and religious identity of a culture.

The Amesa Spentas are the holy immortals of Zoroastrianism. They were later grouped into a special class of archangels, named “Vohu Mano, the "Good Mind" (of God); Asa Vahista, the "Best [World] Order," Hsathra Vairya, the "Desired Kingdom" (of God); Spenta Armaiti, "Holy Piety," Haurvatat and Ameretat, "Physical Perfection" and "Immortality"; to which might also be added Sraosa, "Obedience." The latter is often supposed to have been added in order to complete the number "seven," since "obedience" can hardly be termed a divine attribute” (Albright, p.234).

Historians have translated a prayer which is addressed to the Amesa Spentas, which states “At whose sacrifice Ahura Mazda knows the best for me according to righteousness. Those who were and are, those I shall worship by their names, and shall approach with praise” (Boyce, p.18-19).

This prayer has been of importance to the study of Zoroastrianism. The worship and invocation by the prophet of divinities other than Ahura Mazda, however subtle the doctrine of their relationship with the supreme god, is not consonant with a theory of his strict monotheism. It has also been suggested by scholars that the Amesa Spentas had a special closeness with the worship of Ahura Mazda and the protective powers of Mithras (Boyce, p.33).

In standard Zoroastrian doctrine, the first six Amesa Spentas , have respective connections with the series of creations - Vohu Mano with cattle; Asa Vahista with fire; Hsathra Vairya with metals; Spenta Armaiti with earth; Haurvatat with water; and Ameretat with plants. Concerning the seventh, Sraosa, one scholars states that “Ahura Mazda himself had his own special creation, that of man, who comes at the beginning of the series” (Barr, p.207).

When looking at the significance of the Amesa Spentas in regards of history and religion, or the history of religion, it has been argued amongst scholars that they were part of the model Hebrew angelology developed, although the names and functions of the Amesa Spentas, and the nature of the entities as revealed by them, are very far removed from what counted as angels in most stages of Judaism (Barr, p.222).

Regardless of the fact that the Amesa Spentas are not well known in today’s society, they provide us with great insight into the culture and society of ancient Mesopotamia.

Bibliography:

Albright, W. F. (1927) Note on the Goddess Anat, the American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, the University of Chicago Press.

Barr, James (1985) The Question of Religious Influence: The Case of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Oxford University Press.

Boyce, Mary (1969) On Mithra’s Part in Zoroastrianism, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London, Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies.

Cotterell, Arthur & Storm, Rachel (1999) The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology, Hermes House, Anness Publishing House.

Funeral Rites among the Lama Priests of the Monguor

In all cultures across the world, death and the traditions bound up in death are important aspects of one’s culture. Among the Monguor (also known as the Tu), one of the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups in China, there are certain funerary rites that must be adhered to in order to safeguard the community. In addition to this, deaths are categorised into different groups; those who have died a natural death, an unnatural death or the death of a lama.

A lama is a Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism (Tibetan Buddhism) and the death of one of these priests is of great concern among the Monguor. Death and the spirits are considered with great seriousness as if the proper rites are not performed correctly, then the spirit can raise havoc among the community.

If a lama is advanced in years or is clearly seriously ill, a coffin is built for him in advance. The coffin is constructed sloping at the top and is painted red with a sun and moon symbols. The box is built on a small scale, usually only big enough “accommodate the corpse, which is set in the box in a squatting position just prior to being carried to the cremation ground”.

As the lama dies, his clan and immediate family are invited to join in the ‘death watch’. As soon as the lama dies, his ajiu (important male maternal relative) is informed. The rest of his family and village are then told. On the first day of his death there are endless burning of symbolic paper money and flat pieces of fried bread (which are only used during the Spring Festival, the Day of Pure Brightness, and the anniversary of the death of the deceased, and are never eaten).

The body is then prepared. The body is generally tied in a squatting position, dressed in his finest clothes. His face is white-washed and covered in yellow silk. The head is crowned with a five-directional hat and then the body is placed in the centre of the north room facing the door. A table or chest is placed in front of him where offerings of fruit, money, large sugar crystals, a bowl of rice in which crossed chopsticks are inserted, bread, joss sticks, oil lamps, etc, are placed upon. The body will stay here until the third day of his death.

On the third day, the ajiu arrives to visit the deceased with a group of people. Several old women will walk behind him, singing loud laments. As soon as the ajiu arrives, family members rush out of the home and kneel outside on the ground, and, as the ajiu draws near, they kowtow, holding incense sticks. It is the older family members, and those who are closely related to the lama, that will kowtow and the entire family will wail before the ajiu enters the home.

After this, the body is then placed in his coffin. The windows are closed in order to prevent the curious looking in. As this happens, a retinue for wailing women set off for the cremation site, singling laments about the deceased. The woman going in front carries a wicker basket containing crumpled funeral bread and bits of "sacred paper" burned for the deceased. As she walks to the site, she will gradually throw out the contents of the basket. The women have effectively, “opened a road for the deceased to follow”.

The coffin is then brought to the site. The ajiu walks in front of the coffin and the rest of the family and community behind them. Once they reach the site, a screen of several blankets are placed around the oven before the corpse is placed seated upon it in privacy. “The coffin sedan is smashed to pieces and the pieces placed in the oven bottom, above a basin of liquefied butter and cypress needles”.

On one side, a group of lamas will assemble. Usually they number seven but any up to twenty will arrive. “After the lamas assemble and begin chanting, a lama hands the oldest xiaozi a long tree-branch, the end of which has been tied with cotton, dipped in butter, and set ablaze. The xiaozi accepts the torch, kowtows to the dead lama, then kneels and lights the fuel inside the cremation oven through the four small openings at the bottom”.

At this point the women leave and only the men remain. After an hour the rest of the villagers will leave as well so that only a few xiaozi (male relatives) and lamas remain. After the lamas have finished their chanting, they too depart.

The fire then burns out and after three days the oven is opened, and the bones are removed using red chopsticks, wrapped in yellow gold paper, and placed in a small container. This container may then be buried locally or sent to Kumbum (Taer Temple). The mourning period of the nephew of a lama lasts for 100 days. In this time they should not cut any facial hair or brush their hair. In addition to this, they are should not wash their faces until after the coffin is taken out.

The funerals and traditions surrounding the deaths of lamas among the Monguor are fascinating; it has been pondered by scholars as to the reasons why they are cremated and never buried in their ancestral burial grounds. It has been suggested that this is because they die childless and if they were buried in ancestral ground it could bring bad luck to the community – which future generations may not reproduce.

Bibliography:

Stuart, Kevin & Hu, Jun (1992) Death and Funerals among the Minhe Tu (Monguor), Asian Folklore Studies, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.

Examples of Religious Diversity in Roman Britain

The Romans conquered many civilizations during the Republic and once Rome became an Empire. However, most non-academics do not realize that although Rome imposed much of their culture on these people, religious tolerance was one of Rome’s strengths. It is my intention to explore religious tolerance in Roman Britain through the use of the archaeological record.

The first example I wish to present, is the goddess Senuna. Near Baldock in Hertfordshire in 2002, a metal detector found a hoard of artefacts. This hoard is now on display in the British Museum. One inscription is dedicated to the goddess, which states

D SENVNE FLAVIA CVNORIS V S L M

This translates as “To the goddess Senuna, Flavia Cunoris paid her vow, willingly, deservedly” (Burnham, Hunter, Fitzpatrick, Worrel, Hassell & Tomlin, p. 489). Until this discovery, this goddess was unknown and has been able to throw new light on the religious diversity between the Romans and the native population. The votive plaques of the goddess gives her similar characteristics similar to that of Sulis Minerva, the Romano-British goddess, worshipped at Bath in Somerset. Since there are springs near to where the hoard was found, it could be argued that the goddess was associated with “the south-British river whose name is transmitted by the Ravenna Cosmography as Senua” (, Hunter, Fitzpatrick, Worrel, Hassell & Tomlin, p. 489).

The offerings, which included coins, jewellery, votive plaques, a figurine and cloak clasps, are of importance. The jewellery was imported from different parts of the Roman Empire, and the name of Flavia Cunoris suggests that the dedication was from a Roman woman, rather than a local woman. So from this, we can clearly see that a native goddess was worshipped, respected and given offerings to not only from the local population, but also from the Romans.

The next example to explore the theme of religious diversity in Roman Britain is the archaeological finds of Abandinus in Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire. Excavations uncovered a bath-house and three temples or shrines. As with many Celtic gods, we only have one inscribed that records his existence in Celtic mythology. It reads,

DEO ABANDINO VATIAVCVS D S D

Which translates as “To the god Abandinus, Vatiacus gave this from his own resources” (Wilson, Wright & Hassall, p.325). This inscription was found on the bottom of a single bronze feather found in the disused aqueduct of the bath-house. Because of the evidence found, it can be argued that Abandinus was a local deity and was worshipped by the Romans. So here is another example of religious diversity between the native Celts and the Roman population.

One more example that I wish to put forward is the cult of Mithras. Mithras was the Persian god of truth and light, and evidence of his worship can be found throughout the Roman Empire, as this deity was very popular with the Roman soldiers. A stone relief depicting his divine birth was found in northern England, and temples dedicated to the god have been along Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. Excavations undertaken at a temple of Mithras in London uncovered a wealth of icons and treasures that were buried before the building was converted into a building for a different form of worship in the 4^th century CE (Perring, p.123).

From the evidence shown in the archaeological record show that religious diversity in Roman Britain was more fluid than fixed. The cultural differences between the native and the Roman population were not quite as negative as what some people still believe today. In fact, it is because of the belief and respect the Roman soldiers paid to these Celtic deities that we today can identify and learn more about them.

Bibliography:

Burnham, Barry., Hunter, F., Fitzpatrick, A.P., Worrel, S., Hassall, M.W.C. & Tomlin, R.S.O (2004) Roman Britain in 2004, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

Perring, Dominic (2003) ‘Gnosticism’ in Forth-century Britain: The Frampton Mosaics Reconsidered, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

Wilson, D.R., Wright, R.P. & Hassall, M.W.C. (1973) Roman Britain in 1972, Britannia, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.