Worship or deification offire (alsopyrodulia,pyrolatry orpyrolatria), orfire rituals, religious rituals centred on a fire, are known from variousreligions. Fire has been an important part ofhuman culture since theLower Paleolithic. Religious oranimist notions connected to fire are assumed to reach back to such earlyprehuman times.
There may be afire god, as apersonification 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.
InIndo-European languages, there were two concepts regarding fire: that of an animate type called*h₁n̥gʷnis (cf.Sanskritagni,Albanian:enji,[1] Englishignite from Latinignis, Polishogień and Russianogon), and an inanimate type *péh₂wr̥ (cf. Englishfire, Greekpyr, Sanskritpu).[2][3] A similar distinction existed forwater.[4]
Fire rituals that are commonly found among Indo-European peoples have been firstly attested by theVedas, with hymns dedicated to the fire godAgni.[5]
InAlbanian tradition thefire cult and ritual practices have played a prominent role.[7]Enji (Albanian:[ɛɲi]) is the name of thefire god, evidently contained in the week day name that was dedicated to him –e enjte – theAlbanian word forThursday.[8] The Fire –Zjarri – isdeified in Albanian tradition as releaser oflight andheat with the power toward offdarkness andevil, affectcosmic phenomena and give strength to the Sun (Dielli, who is worshiped as the god of light,sky andweather, 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 thehearth and therituals, including calendar fires,sacrificial offerings,divination,purification, and protection from big storms and other potentially harmful events.[9] Fire worship and rituals are associated with the cult of the Sun (Dielli), the cult of the hearth (vatër) and theancestor, and the cult of fertility inagriculture andanimal husbandry.[10] The practices associated with ritual fires among Albanians have been historically fought by the Christian clergy, without success.[11] The fire god Enji was presumably worshiped by theIllyrians in antiquity[12] and he may have been the most prominent god of the Albanian pantheon in Roman times byinterpretingJupiter, when week-day names were formed in the Albanian language.[13] The belief in a prominent fire and wind god, who was referred to asI Verbti ("the blind one"), and who was often regarded more powerful than the ChristianGod, survived in northernAlbania until recent times.[14] Under Christianisation the god of fire wasdemonised and considered afalse god, and it was spread about that anyone who invoked him would be blinded by fire.[15] Thepurifying power of fire underlies the Albanian folk belief according to which the fire god is the enemy of uncleanliness and the opponent of filth.[16]
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In Albanian tradition, Fire is deeply respected. To spit into it istaboo.[19]Albanian solemn oaths are taken "by fire",[20] and the worst curse formulas are cast for the extinguishing of the individual's, family's and clan's fire.[21] 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 (fis orfarë).[22] The absence of fire in a house is traditionally considered a great curse.[21] Protectors of the hearth areGjarpri i Vatrës ("the Serpent of the Hearth"), a household benign serpent,[23] andNëna e Vatrës ("the Mother of the Hearth").[24][25]Zjarret e Vitit ("Ritual Calendar Fires") are associated with the cosmic cycle and the rhythms of agricultural and pastoral life.[26] The ritual collective fires (based on the house, kinship, or neighborhood) or bonfires in yards (especially on high places) lit beforesunrise to celebrate the main traditional Albanian festivities such asDita e Verës (spring equinox),Shëngjergji, thewinter festivals (winter solstice), or mountain pilgrimages, often accompanied byanimal 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 toward off evil according to the old beliefs.[27]Zjarri i Gjallë,Zjarri i Egër, orZjarri i Keq – traditionally kindled with rudimentaryfire making tools and techniques – is the ritual purifying Fire used for the cleansing, protection, healing, and energising of livestock and humans.[28] Albanian folk beliefs regard thelightning asZjarri i Qiellit ("the Fire of the Sky") and consider it as the "weapon of the deity".[29] 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.[30]
The Holy Fire is referred to asUgnis szwenta inLithuanian, and the 'Mother of Fire' is referred to asUguns māte inLatvian.[31]
Fire is very often mentioned by chroniclers, when they were describingLithuanian rituals. The Lithuanian kingAlgirdas was even addressed as a "fire worshiper King of Lithuania" (τῷ πυρσολάτρῃ ῥηγὶ τῶν Λιτβῶν) in the documents of a patriarchNilus of Constantinople.[32]
Celtic mythology hadBelenus, whose name, "shining one", associated him with fire.[citation needed]
Fire worship in Graeco-Roman tradition had two separate forms: fire of thehearth and fire of theforge. Hearth worship was maintained in Rome by theVestal Virgins, who served the goddessVesta, 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 wasHestia, whose worship took place more commonly within the household. The fire of the forge was associated with the Greek godHephaestus and the Roman equivalentVulcan. These two seem to have served both as craft-guild patrons and as protectors against accidental fires in cities. Also associated with fire is thetitanic godPrometheus, 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 analtar in front of atemple (seehecatomb).[citation needed]
In theVedic tradition ofHinduism, fire is a central element in ayajna ceremony, withAgni, "fire", playing the role as mediator between the worshipper and the other gods. Related concepts are theAgnihotra ritual, the invocation of the healing properties of fire; theAgnicayana ritual, which is the building of a fire altar to Agni; andAgnistoma, which is one of the sevenSomayajnas. In theVaishnava tradition ofHinduism, Agni is considered the tongue ofVishnu, hence rendering all sacrifices offered to any given deity ultimately a sacrifice to Vishnu.[33]
In modernHinduism,Yajna is the general terms for the many types of rituals conducted before a fire, withhoma the term for relatively small firepujas conducted in a domestic setting, or as part of a wedding ceremony (avivaha homa). The fire is very carefully constructed and tended by a specialist Brahminpujari, with much reciting of appropriate passages from sacred texts.
Archaeologically, evidence forIndo-Iranian fire worship and the rite of cremation is found at the transition from theSintashta-Petrovka to theAndronovo culture around 1500 BC.[34] Fire worship was prevalent inVedic, withAgni the fire god, and theancient Iranian religion. Whereas cremation became ubiquitous inHinduism, it was prohibited inZoroastrianism.[35] Evidence of fire worship has also been found at the Indus Valley sites ofKalibangan andLothal.[36]
InZoroastrianism, 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 andChaharshanbe Suri are both fire-related festivals celebrated throughoutGreater 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 withAhura 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.
InSlavic paganism,Svarog, meaning "bright and clear", was the spirit of fire. The best known and dramatic among numerous Slavic pagan firerituals is the jumping over the bonfire on theKupala Night.
In the narratives of theHebrew Bible,Yahweh is associated with fire more than any other element or image, and thePresence of Yahweh is conceptualised as a devouring fire, especially but not exclusively in theBook of Exodus, appearing as fire on top of Mount Sinai, inside theArk of the Covenant, as theburning bush and thepillar of fire that guides the Israelites, and in extensive poetic imagery.[37] Offerings to Yahweh in Jewish ritual recorded in the Hebrew Bible and theTalmud are done by fire.[38]
TheHoly Fire in theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre inJerusalem has been consecutively documented since 1106 AD.[39]
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 theNew Testament, Jesus is depicted as the person who will bring fire to the earth.[40] TheHoly Spirit is sometimes called the "tongues of flame".[41]
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Fire continues to be a part of many human religions and cultures. For example, it is used incremation andbonfires;candles are used in various religious ceremonies;eternal flames are used to remind of notable occasions; and theOlympic Flame burns for the duration of thegames.
InJapanese mythology,Kagu-tsuchi is the god of destructive fire.
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