Ancestor worship
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Ancestor worship (拜祖), also ancestor veneration (敬祖), is a religious practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. All cultures attach ritual significance to the passing of loved ones, but this is not equivalent to ancestor worship. The goal of ancestor worship is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living and sometimes to ask for special favors or assistance. The social or nonreligious function of ancestor worship is "to cultivate kinship values like filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. While far from universal, ancestor worship or ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity, and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times.
Ancestor worship in some cultures (such as Chinese) seeks to honor the deeds, memories, and sacrifice of the deceased. Much of the worship includes visiting the deceased at their graves, making offerings to the deceased to provide for their welfare in the afterlife. For instance, a toothbrush, comb, towel, slippers, and water are provided by the coffin so that the deceased will be able to have these items after they have died. Spirit money (also called Hell Notes) is sometimes burned as an offering to ancestors as well for the afterlife. The living may regard the ancestors as "guardian angels" to them, perhaps in protecting them from serious accidents, or guiding their path in life.
For most Chinese, ancestor practices are not the same as the worship of the gods. When a Chinese person worships a god at a local temple, it is to ask for some favor that can be granted by the powerful spirit. Generally speaking, however, the purpose of ancestor worship is not to ask for favors but to do one's filial duty. Some people believe that their ancestors actually need to be provided for by their descendants. Others do not believe that the ancestors are even aware of what their descendants do for them, but that the expression of filial piety is what is important. Whether or not the ancestor receives what is offered is not the issue.
Therefore, for people unfamiliar with how "ancestor worship" is actually practiced and thought of in Chinese culture, the use of the translation "worship" is a great cause of misunderstanding and is a misnomer in many ways. In English, the word "worship" usually refers to the reverent love and devotion accorded a deity or divine being. However, in Chinese culture, this act of "worship" does not confer any belief that the departed ancestors have become some kind of deity. Rather the act is a way to respect, honor and look after ancestors in their afterlives as well as possibly seek their guidance for their living descendents. In this regard, many cultures and religions have similar practices. A Christian, for example, may visit the grave of his parents or other ancestors, leave flowers and pray to them in order to honor and remember them while also asking their deceased ancestors to continue to look after them. However he would not consider himself as "worshipping" them. But most Chinese do not view their practices as fundamentally different in this regard.
It is in that sense that the translation "ancestor veneration" may convey a more accurate sense of what practitioners, such as the Chinese and other Confucian-influenced societies, see themselves as doing. For example, as "worship" in a Christian context is reserved for the Trinity, a Christian who is unfamiliar with the actual practices and beliefs involved in ancestor-directed rites may mistakenly assume that those who "practice" "ancestor worship" attribute to the ancestors everything that a Christian attributes to the Trinity: creation of the world, omnipotence, a different class of being, etc. This was a possible cause for the initial conflict between the East and Christianity when it was spread to Asia. In Shinto belief, "Ancestorhood" is a state of being that everyone can attain upon death, so an ancestor is not fundamentally different in the way a deity is.
See also
External links
- ["Hell Money"] by catherine yronwode at luckymojo.com
- [Smithsonian: Ancestor Worship Today]
- [Photos of Modern Papier-Mâché Objects Found in Hong Kong]
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