HOUSEHOLD GODS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3275, 20 December 1916, Page 64

HOUSEHOLD GODS.

SOME RELIGIOUS CURIOS A common accusation brought against early Christians was, that they had no altars, no temples, and no known images, and this charge was never denied. The symbol of the cross dates from the time of Constantino, so far as its public use in concerned. Prior to that date it had a very important place in the so-called "disciplina arcani." The introduction of the crucifix was much later, and the favourite combination in use then was that of the figure of a lamb lyiug at the foot of the cross. ' In 692 the Trullan Council enjoined that this symbol should be discontinued, and directed that where Christ was shown in connection with His Cross, Ho should be represented in His human character.

From 730 to about 780 great attempts were made to prohibit the use of religious symbols, but their use was so closely interwoven with church life, and the domestic habits of the people that it did not altogether succeed. All reverencers of images were even declared to be men who had lapsed into idolatry. All images, whatsoever, of sacred persons or things were ordered to be ejected from Christian churches, and to set them up either in public or in private buildings was forbidden under the gravest ecclesiastical penalties. With the assistance cf the monks there met at Xice in 787 a general council at which it was decided that not only the figure of the cross, but also other holy images such as Christ, the Virgin Mary, angels, arid saints, whether painted or executed in mosaic or other material, might be set up in churches, placed on holy vessels and vestments, on walls and panels, in houses and by highways, and they were to he honoured. At the time of ' the Reformation it was unanimously felt by the reforming party that with the invocation of saints and the practice of reverencing their relics, the adoration of religious images ought also, as a matter of course, to cease. The Greek Church continues tenaciously to adhere to the decrees of the second Nicene Council, and the sacred pictures which abound everywhere are treated with extraordinary reverence and affection. Russian Homes.— Russia is especially noted for religious observances. A muiik cares very little for kings and queens ; but he does know his own angel —his peculiar saint. Ask him to do work on his angel's clay, and lie would rather die than sully such a day with work. The first impulse in a Russian heart is duty to God. Every village must have its shrine, and every child must have its guardian angel and baptismal cross.

Enter into a Russian house and you find a chapel. Every room is sanctified; for in every room there is a sacred image, a domestic altar, and a household god. The inmate steps into that room witr reverence; standing for a moment at the threshold, bowing his head, crossing himself, and uttering a saintly verso. Once in the house he ieels himself in the Presence, and he pays a respect beyond our measure to sacred places and to sacred things.

Icons or religious pictures are stuck up on every wall and over every -door in Moscow; also in the bazaars, the exchange, in every nublic office, and in every shop or private house. There is no common labourer or artisan, no water-carrier or droslri-driver that will go past- them without unbonneting and crossing himself. This duty to God adorns the land with fane and' altar, even as it touches the individual man with penitential grace. Every new house in which a man lives, everv new shop which he opens for trade, must bo blessed, and his religious images duly installed. Ten or twelwo times a year the" parish priest, attended by bis reader and his deacon, enters into every house in his district, sprinkles the rooms with holv water, cleanses them with prayer, and sums them with the cross. A man s Angel is"with him always. He puts a picture of this Angel in his bedroom, over the pillow on which he sleeps. A light should burn before that picture day and night, and on his Angel's, day a man must not onlv go to church, but buy from the priests'^consecrated loaves, which be must give to servants, visitors, and guests. Modern Tendencies. — To-day reverential * worship at home tends to run in the direction of the equipment of the home itself, and in some houses the luxury is so excessive that it is enervating. lii such a case we are apt to think that the acme of civilisation is the beginning of barbarism. The gods of the household are often things which have been collected in the way of old glass and china, furniture of exquisite workmanship, oak cabinets, and various treasures of all kinds. If collected with taste and discrimination these things are often very attractive. There is an ever-increasing' desire among the well-to-do to have their surroundings lovely and in good taste, and it is good, as far as it goes. Prayer Rugs.—

Prayer are often Keen, and these really" form a class by themselves. They certainly are to be seen wherever the followers of Mahomet dwell, or whe -e people have come in contact with them The design usually .represents a mosqua showing "the Mihrab, which is the niche in the wall of the mosque, placed so that whenever the worshipper prostrates himself before it he is towards Mecca. The Moslem must kneel on a clean _ place during his devotions, so he takes his own prayer rug with him. You will always find in a genuine prayer rug a small spot, or mark, where a bit of stone or earth from Mecca has been placed. i'lie head must touch this during prayer, according to the laws of the Koran. Thousands of the ordinary prayer rugs or mats for use of the common people are woven in Lancashire, and despatched out abroad for sale

to the natives wdio cannot afford to purchase and use the highest class mat, the same as their richer brethren do. These are interesting adjuncts to the household alwavs.

An idol included every object ot reverence or worship among the people with whom the Israelites came in contact; thus idolatry came to be used among the early Christians to designate all practices connected with the forms of religion existing around them. It may be said with truth that in most cases it is not the idol or image at all which is worshipped, for it is believed in merely as the representation of an absent god. The fetishes of West Africa are, in fact, believed to be the ordinary abode of the deities. These may be wooden figures of fantastic shape, stones, calabashes, earthen pots, or even the most insignificant objects. Olferings of food, drink, and other things are regularly made to the fetishes. Families obtain their fetishes for their own private use as the result of dreams often, but they always get them through the priests. If persistent ill-luck attends the family, the fetish may be burnt; the fact that it will burn or become injured by fire being taken as a proof tliat it is no longer the abode of a spirit. Individuals may also obtain, make, or select fetishes for themselves, and then call upon a spirit to enter the object, which is then reverenced, if good luck follows. These fetishes may also be called upon to work various ills upon their enemies, through the intervention of other objects which act as charms to be used for that purpose. Gods of the South Seas.— The natives of the Society Islands worship many gods, some being gods of war and others of peace. There are gods of localities or cf professions, and they even preside over the games of wrestling, dancing, and archery, offerings being made to them both before and after the games. Spirits of deceased chiefs and relatives are also worshipped, though with certain distinctions. Each notable spirit is honoured with an image, through which his influence is believed to be exerted. These images are kept in the Maraes, in houses raised from the ground on poles. These gods arc believed to watch over the people jealously, and to be ready to avenge any disobedience to their injunctions, which are conveyed to the people through the priests. Every disease is supposed to be inflicted for some crime against the taboo imposed by the priests, or by some offering has been made to other gods by an enemy. On entering the god-house of a king, a rude red hut, the first idol found is Kongo, in the form of a trumpet shell; next comes the honoured Metoro; then come 11 others, 13 being the number admitted as national gods. The term given to them of "dwellers by day" signifies that they are continuously busy in the affairs of mortals. Those gods alone have carved images. Those who "dwell in night," are, however, also supposed to ascend frequently by day to also take part in the affairs taking place around them. The Malagasy.—

These people have idols or charms belonging to each house, family, tmd even individual. Some of these are merely pieces of wood rudely carved in human form; others quite shapeless. Anything new or found to be useful to them, or out of the common run, is called god. Rice, silk, money, thunder and lightning, and earthquakes, or a deceased sovereign and their ancestors come in for the like term. Altars to the migluy dead are found erected on the principal mountains, and they were till recently visited for prayer and sacrifice. They believed that if the funeral rites were properly performed the ghosts of the deceased would not associate with wild cats and owls, and with evil spirits, but enter on a state of rest or enjoyment. In Radama's tomb were placed a table, two chairs, a bottle of wine, and one of water, and two tumblers. They religiously regarded dreams, and thought that the good spirit came and told them in their dreams when to do such and such a thing, or to warn them of some pending clanger. Largo quantities of property were deposited in the graves, especially "things which the deceased person had been attached to in life. African Gods. — The Balonda have idols fastened on a pole to which they make offerings and ascribe the gift of prophecy. These are usually figures of lions and alligators, made of grass and pastered_ with clay, or even human heads. They use bits of wood, horn, knuckle bones of various animals, which are thrown on the ground, and, according to the way in which they fall, the diviner answers inquiries. Their home lives are peculiar. The Congo tribes have fetishes which are little more than charms.. These are of various forms, and their functions are many and various. They need not re present a human or an animal figure, for a common form is a red, wound ball of cloth, in which the fetish priest has sewn a strong medicine, generally a vegetable extract. Some fetishes are in tb<? rough form of man, the body being stuck all over with bits of iron, feathers, old rags, and resembling our scarecrows. When a man applies to a Ganga or priest for a domestic fetish, he is instructed from what foods be must abstain. Africans believe not in soul, nor in spirit, but in ghost, which endures for a while and then perishes. Gaboon pagans lodge their idols in a dwarf hut behind their largest houses. Behind the little door of matting is a tall threshold of board ; a bench lines the far end, and in the centre stands the god, a rude imitation of the human figure, with a gum torch planted in the ground before it, ready for the burnt offerings. From the walls sundry mystic implements are suspended, especially basins and wooden crescents decorated 'with beads and ribbons. During worship certain objects are placed before the imago, the supplicant at the same time jingling and shaking the Nehake, a thing like a combination of bell and gong, and with rattle accompaniment.