Worship or deification of fire (also pyrodulia, pyrolatry or pyrolatria), or fire rituals, religious rituals centred on a fire, are known from various . Fire has been an important part of homo culture since the Lower Paleolithic. Religious or animist notions connected to fire are assumed to reach back to such early prehuman times.
There may be a fire god, as a personification of fires in general, and he may be believed to reside in some sense in any particular ritual fire, or the fire may represent worship of another deity.
Indo-European religions
In Indo-European languages, there were two concepts regarding fire: that of an animate type called h₁n̥gʷnis (cf.
Sanskrit agni, ,
[; ; ] English
ignite from Latin
ignis, Polish
ogień and Russian
ogon), and an inanimate type *
péh₂wr̥ (cf. English
fire, Greek
pyr, Sanskrit
pu).
[Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q., (eds.). Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture. London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997. p. 202.] A similar distinction existed for
water.
[Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q., (eds.). Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture. London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997. p. 636.]
Fire rituals that are commonly found among Indo-European peoples have been firstly attested by the Vedas, with hymns dedicated to the fire god Agni.
Albanian
In
Albanians tradition the fire cult and ritual practices have played a prominent role.
[; .] Enji () is the name of the
fire god, evidently contained in the week day name that was dedicated to him – e enjte – the Albanian word for
Thursday.
[; ; ; ; ; ] The Fire – Zjarri – is
Deity in Albanian tradition as releaser of
light and
heat with the power to
Apotropaic magic darkness and
evil, affect cosmic phenomena and give strength to the Sun (Dielli, who is worshiped as the god of light,
sky and
weather, giver of life, health and energy, and all-seeing eye), sustain the continuity between life and afterlife and between the generations. The divine power of Fire is used for the
hearth and the
rituals, including calendar fires,
sacrifices,
divination, purification, and protection from big storms and other potentially harmful events.
[; ; ; ; ; ; .] Fire worship and rituals are associated with the cult of the Sun (Dielli), the cult of the hearth (vatër) and the
Ancestor worship, and the cult of fertility in
agriculture and
animal husbandry.
[; ; ; .] The practices associated with ritual fires among Albanians have been historically fought by the Christian clergy, without success. The fire god Enji was presumably worshiped by the
Illyrians in antiquity
[; ; ; .] and he may have been the most prominent god of the Albanian pantheon in Roman times by interpreting Jupiter, when week-day names were formed in the Albanian language.
[; ; ; ; .] The belief in a prominent fire and wind god, who was referred to as
I Verbti ("the blind one"), and who was often regarded more powerful than the Christian
God, survived in northern
Albania until recent times.
[; ; .] Under Christianization the god of fire was
demonized and considered a
false god, and it was spread about that anyone who invoked him would be blinded by fire.
[; ; .] The purifying power of fire underlies the Albanian folk belief according to which the fire god is the enemy of uncleanliness and the opponent of filth.
In Albanian tradition Fire is deeply respected. To spit into it is taboo. Albanian solemn oaths are taken "by fire", and the worst curse formulas are cast for the extinguishing of the individual's, family's and clan's fire. The lineage is identified with an original fire, and the members of a same tribe/clan are "from the same fire". Zjarri i Vatrës ("the Fire of the Hearth") is regarded as the offspring of the Sun and the sustainer of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead and between the generations, ensuring the survival of the lineage (Albanian tribes).[; ; ; ; .] The absence of fire in a house is traditionally considered a great curse. Protectors of the hearth are Vitore ("the Serpent of the Hearth"), a household benign serpent,[; ; ; ; ; .] and Nëna e Vatrës ("the Mother of the Hearth"). Zjarret e Vitit ("Ritual Calendar Fires") are associated with the cosmic cycle and the rhythms of agricultural and pastoral life.[; .] The ritual collective fires (based on the house, kinship, or neighborhood) or bonfires in yards (especially on high places) lit before sunrise to celebrate the main traditional Albanian festivities such as Dita e Verës (March equinox), Shëngjergji, the winter festivals (winter solstice), or mountain pilgrimages, often accompanied by animal sacrifices, are related to the cult of the Sun, and in particular they are practiced with the function to give strength to the Sun and to apotropaic according to the old beliefs.[; .] Zjarri i Gjallë, Zjarri i Egër, or Zjarri i Keq – traditionally kindled with rudimentary fire making tools and techniques – is the ritual purifying Fire used for the cleansing, protection, healing, and energizing of livestock and humans. Albanian folk beliefs regard the lightning as Zjarri i Qiellit ("the Fire of the Sky") and consider it as the "weapon of the deity". During big storms with torrential rains, lightning and hail, which often cause great damage to agriculture, livestock, and to the rural economy in general, Albanians traditionally bring outdoors Fire as a continuous chain or in a container, as well as ember and fire-related metallic objects, seeking assistance from the supernatural power of the Fire, in order to turn the storm away and to avert the harms it can cause to the community.[; .]
Baltic
The Holy Fire is referred to as
Ugnis szwenta in Lithuanian, and the 'Mother of Fire' is referred to as
Mahte in
Latvian language.
Fire is very often mentioned by chroniclers, when they were describing Lithuanian rituals. The Lithuanian king Algirdas was even addressed as a "fire worshiper King of Lithuania" (τῷ πυρσολάτρῃ ῥηγὶ τῶν Λιτβῶν) in the documents of a patriarch Nilus of Constantinople.
Celtic
Celtic mythology had
Belenus, whose name, "shining one", associated him with fire.
Graeco-Roman
Fire worship in Graeco-Roman tradition had two separate forms: fire of the
hearth and fire of the
forge. Hearth worship was maintained in Rome by the
Vestal Virgins, who served the goddess Vesta, protector of the home, who had a sacred flame as the symbol of her presence in the city (
cf. Sacred fire of Vesta). The Greek equivalent of the goddess was
Hestia, whose worship took place more commonly within the household. The fire of the forge was associated with the Greek god
Hephaestus and the Roman equivalent Vulcan. These two seem to have served both as craft-guild patrons and as protectors against accidental fires in cities. Also associated with fire is the titanic god
Prometheus, who stole fire for humans from the gods. Most forms of worship in Graeco-Roman religion involved either cooking or burning completely an animal on a fire made on an
altar in front of a
temple (
see hecatomb).
Hinduism
In the Vedic tradition of
Hinduism, fire is a central element in a
yajna ceremony, with
Agni, "fire", playing the role as mediator between the worshipper and the other gods. Related concepts are the
Agnihotra ritual, the invocation of the healing properties of fire; the
Agnicayana ritual, which is the building of a fire altar to Agni; and
Agnistoma, which is one of the seven
. In the
Vaishnavism tradition of
Hinduism, Agni is considered the tongue of
Vishnu, hence rendering all sacrifices offered to any given deity ultimately a sacrifice to Vishnu.
In modern Hinduism, Yajna is the general terms for the many types of rituals conducted before a fire, with homa the term for relatively small fire pujas conducted in a domestic setting, or as part of a wedding ceremony (a vivaha homa). The fire is very carefully constructed and tended by a specialist Brahmin pujari, with much reciting of appropriate passages from sacred texts.
Indo-Iranian
Archaeologically, evidence for
Indo-Iranians fire worship and the rite of cremation is found at the transition from the Sintashta-Petrovka to the Andronovo culture around 1500 BC.
Fire worship was prevalent in Vedic, with
Agni the fire god, and the ancient Iranian religion. Whereas cremation became ubiquitous in
Hinduism, it was prohibited in
Zoroastrianism.
Evidence of fire worship has also been found at the Indus Valley sites of
Kalibangan and
Lothal.
[Young, L. M. (1976). Review. Asian Perspectives, 19(2), 308–309. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42927928]
Zoroastrianism
In
Zoroastrianism, fire is considered to be an agent of purity and as a symbol of righteousness and truth. In the present day this is explained to be because fire burns ever-upward and cannot itself be polluted.
Sadeh and Chaharshanbe Suri are both fire-related festivals celebrated throughout
Greater Iran and date back to when Zoroastrianism was still the predominant religion of the region. Zoroastrianism, however, is sometimes mischaracterised as a fire-worshipping religion, whereas it is a monotheistic faith with
Ahura Mazda as its central figure and a dualistic cosmology of good and evil. Fire simply exemplifies a medium for spiritual wisdom and purity, but is not worshipped.
Slavic
In
Slavic paganism,
Svarog, meaning "bright and clear", was the spirit of fire. The best known and dramatic among numerous Slavic pagan fire
is the jumping over the bonfire on the
Kupala Night.
Abrahamic religions
Judaism
In the narratives of the
Hebrew Bible,
Yahweh is associated with fire more than any other element or image, and the
Shekhinah is conceptualized as a devouring fire, especially but not exclusively in the Book of Exodus, appearing as fire on top of Mount Sinai, inside the Ark of the Covenant, as the
Burning bush and the Pillar of fire that guides the Israelites, and in extensive poetic imagery.
Offerings to Yahweh in Jewish ritual recorded in the Hebrew Bible and the
Talmud are done by fire.
Christianity
The
Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been consecutively documented since 1106 AD.
Fire is often used as symbol or sign of God's presence in Christianity and, since it is held to be a creation along with water and other elements. In the New Testament, Jesus is depicted as the person who will bring fire to the earth.
Other religions
Fire continues to be a part of many human religions and cultures. For example, it is used in
cremation and
;
are used in various religious ceremonies;
are used to remind of notable occasions; and the
Olympic Flame burns for the duration of the
Olympic Games.
In Japanese mythology, Kagu-tsuchi is the god of destructive fire.
See also
Bibliography
