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108-532: Amulets which are said to derive their extraordinary properties and powers from magic or those which impart luck are typically part of folk religion or paganism , whereas amulets or sacred objects of formalised mainstream religion as in Christianity are believed to have no power of their own without faith in Jesus and being blessed by a clergyman, and they supposedly will also not provide any preternatural benefit to

216-419: A "practical working definition" that combined elements from these various other definitions. Thus, he summarized folk religion as "the totality of all those views and practices of religion that exist among the people apart from and alongside the strictly theological and liturgical forms of the official religion". Yoder described "folk religion" as existing "in a complex society in relation to and in tension with

324-439: A battle with Horus's uncle Seth. Amulets were often made to represent gods, animals or hieroglyphs. For example, the common amulet shape the scarab beetle is the emblem of the god Khepri . The most common material for such amulets was a kind of ceramic known as Egyptian faience or tjehenet , but amulets were also made of stone, metal, bone, wood and gold. Phylacteries containing texts were another common form of amulet. Like

432-410: A belief in the rational order of nature, balance in the universe and reality that can be influenced by human beings and their rulers, as well as spirits and gods. Worship is devoted to a hierarchy of gods and immortals ( Chinese : 神 ; pinyin : shén ), who can be deities of phenomena, of human behaviour, or progenitors of lineages. Stories regarding some of these gods are collected into

540-561: A belief the ta'wiz itself cures or protects. Astrological symbols were also used, especially in the Medieval period. These included symbols of the Zodiac, derived from Greek representations of constellations , and especially popular in the Middle East in the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries. Muslim artists also developed personifications of the planets, based on their astrological traits, and of

648-504: A brown Egyptian or red African. Jasper is the main component in the silica-rich parts of banded iron formations (BIFs) which indicate low, but present, amounts of dissolved oxygen in the water such as during the Great Oxidation Event or snowball earths. The red bands are microcrystalline red chert, also called jasper. Picture jaspers exhibit combinations of patterns resulting in what appear to be scenes or images, when seen on

756-405: A challenge. Terms attributed to various well-defined materials includes the geographic locality where it is found, sometimes quite restricted such as "Bruneau" (a canyon) and "Lahontan" (a lake), rivers and even individual mountains; many are fanciful, such as "forest fire" or "rainbow", while others are descriptive, such as "autumn" or "porcelain". A few are designated by the place of origin such as

864-422: A cut section. Such patterns include banding from flow or depositional patterns (from water or wind), as well as dendritic or color variations. Diffusion from a center produces a distinctive orbicular appearance, i.e., leopard skin jasper or linear banding from a fracture as seen in liesegang jasper. Healed, fragmented rock produces brecciated (broken) jasper. While these "picture jaspers" can be found all over

972-522: A deposit at Ettutkan Mountain, Staryi Sibay , Bashkortostan , Russia. (The town of Sibay, in the far south of the Ural Mountains , near the border with Kazakhstan , is noted for its colossal, open-cast copper mine.) Basanite is a deep velvety-black variety of amorphous quartz, of a slightly tougher and finer grain than jasper, and less splintery than hornstone. It was the Lydian stone or touchstone of

1080-485: A diverse range of block printed amulets, the lead case should include lugs, which allowed the tiny package to be either sewn onto clothing or suspended from the owner's body. These modest containers were, most likely, kept sealed shut, their printed contents therefore invisible to a possessor who perhaps was not wealthy enough to purchase a non-serialised, handwritten amulet. The Tibetan Buddhists have many kinds of talismanic and shamanistic amulets and ritual tools, including

1188-400: A doctor or seer was unavailable, then everyday people would simply cast their spells on their own without assistance. It was likely commonplace for individuals to memorize spells and incantations for later use. Amulets were particularly prevalent in ancient Roman society, being the inheritor of the ancient Greek tradition, and inextricably linked to Roman religion and magic (see magic in

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1296-492: A focus on the apotropaic , or thaumaturgical , i.e. it is used to assist in protecting the individual from sickness, and misfortune. He emphasizes that while Rabbinical Judaism dealt with orthodox Jewish ritual, and Halakha , magicians claimed to use unorthodox magical rituals to help people in everyday life. He points to the example of a relatively professionalised type of magician being the Baal Shem of Poland, who beginning in

1404-430: A formal profession of faith in a particular creed , to have religious weddings or funerals, or (among Christians) to have their children baptised . In The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions , John Bowker characterized "folk religion" as either "religion which occurs in small, local communities which does not adhere to the norms of large systems" or "the appropriation of religious beliefs and practices at

1512-589: A holy book placed under part of the bed or cushion. Amulets are plentiful in the Jewish tradition, with examples of Solomon -era amulets existing in many museums . Due to the proscription of idols and other graven images in Judaism , Jewish amulets emphasize text and names. The shape, material, and color of a Jewish amulet makes no difference. Examples of textual amulets include the Silver Scroll ( c.  630 BCE ),

1620-573: A hypothetical invisible planet named Al Tinnin or Jauzahr. It was believed that objects decorated with these astrological signs developed talismanic power to protect. Abstract symbols are also common in Muslim amulets, such as the Seal of Solomon and the Zulfiqar (sword of the aforementioned Ali). Another popular amulet often used to avert the evil gaze is the hamsa (meaning five) or "Hand of Fatima". The symbol

1728-596: A number of localities. The "Lydian Stone" known to the Ancient Greeks is named for the ancient kingdom of Lydia in what is now western Turkey . A similar rock type occurs in New England . Such rock types have long been used for the making of touchstones to test the purity of precious metal alloys , because they are hard enough to scratch such metals, which, if drawn (scraped) across them, show to advantage their metallic streaks of various (diagnostic) colours, against

1836-402: A popular level." Don Yoder argued that there were five separate ways of defining folk religion. The first was a perspective rooted in a cultural evolutionary framework which understood folk religion as representing the survivals of older forms of religion; in this, it would constitute "the survivals, in an official religious context, of beliefs and behaviour inherited from earlier stages of

1944-538: A rug is not a theme: it actually is an amulet, conferring protection by its presence. In his words, "the device in the rug has a materiality, it generates a field of force able to interact with other unseen forces and is not merely an intellectual abstraction." In the Islamic world, material composition and graphic content are important in determining the apotropaic forces of the amulets. The preferred materials employed by amulets are precious and semi-precious materials, because

2052-444: Is "a pure element" to religion "which is in some way transformed, even contaminated, by its exposure to human communities". As a corrective, he suggested that scholars use "vernacular religion" as an alternative. Defining this term, Primiano stated that "vernacular religion" is, "by definition, religion as it is lived: as human beings encounter, understand, interpret, and practice it. Since religion inherently involves interpretation, it

2160-476: Is All-Hearing and All-Knowing' (Qur. 20:46). A tension is therefore created between the idea of Allah as protector and the amulet as a material item that encapsulates and transmits this divine energy. Amulets and talismanic objects were used by early Muslims to appeal to God in the first instance. In this respect, these early Islamic amulets differ substantially from Byzantine, Roman, early Iranian, and other pre-Islamic magic which addressed demonic forces or spirits of

2268-494: Is an act of shirk (idolatry). Other hadith support the use of talismans with some Muslim denominations considering it 'permissible magic', usually under some conditions (for instance, that the wearer believes that the talisman only helps through God's will). Many Muslims do not consider items used against the evil eye to be talismans; these are often kept in the home rather than worn. Examples of worn amulets are necklaces, rings, bracelets, coins, armbands and talismanic shirts . In

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2376-701: Is called an ofuda . Mamorifuda are gofu amulets. In Korea, where they are called bujeok ( 부적 ) even usually in the tradition of Korean Taoist rituals , they are talismans encased inside in small brocade bags that are carried on the person. In antiquity and the Middle Ages , most Jews , Christians , and Muslims in the Orient believed in the protective and healing power of amulets or blessed objects. Many pagan religions also believe in stone worship. Talismans used by these peoples can be broken down into three main categories: talismans carried or worn on

2484-517: Is derived via Old French jaspre (variant of Anglo-Norman jaspe ) and Latin iaspidem (nom. iaspis ) from Greek ἴασπις iaspis (feminine noun), from an Afroasiatic language (cf. Hebrew ישפה yashpeh , Akkadian yashupu ). This Semitic etymology is believed to be unrelated to that of the English given name Jasper , which is of Persian origin, though the Persian word for

2592-414: Is due to iron(III) inclusions . Jasper breaks with a smooth surface and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone . It can be highly polished and is used for items such as vases, seals , and snuff boxes . The density of jasper is typically 2.5 to 2.9 g/cm . Jaspillite is a banded-iron-formation rock that often has distinctive bands of jasper. The name means "spotted or speckled stone," and

2700-401: Is impossible for the religion of an individual not to be vernacular". Kapaló was critical of this approach, deeming it mistaken and arguing that switching from "folk religion" to "vernacular religion" results in the scholar "picking up a different selection of things from the world". He cautioned that both terms carried an "ideological and semantic load" and warned scholars to pay attention to

2808-442: Is often contrasted with elite religion . Folk religion is defined as the beliefs, practices, rituals and symbols originating from sources other than the religion's leadership. Folk religion in many instances is tolerated by the religion's leadership, although they may consider it an error. A similar concept is lived religion , the study of religion as practiced by believers. The term folk religion came to be increasingly rejected in

2916-437: Is pre-Islamic, known from Punic times. In Central and West Asia, amulets (often in the form of triangular packages containing a sacred verse) were traditionally attached to the clothing of babies and young children to give them protection from forces such as the evil eye . Triangular amulet motifs were often also woven into oriental carpets such as kilims . The carpet expert Jon Thompson explains that such an amulet woven into

3024-466: Is relevant in the urban context, but it is neglected in ethnographic studies due to its negative connotations with folk (rural masses, illiterate). According to Chris Fuller (1994), popular Hinduism is not degenerate textual Hinduism in light of ethnographic evidence, although the category of folk Hinduism remains tenuous. According to Michael Witzel (1998), the folk religion is the religion of Prakrit speaking and Dravidian speaking lower caste while

3132-483: Is sometimes seen as a constituent part of Chinese traditional religion, but more often, the two are regarded as synonymous. With around 454 million adherents, or about 6.6% of the world population, Chinese folk religion is one of the major religious traditions in the world . In the People's Republic of China, more than 30% of the population follows Chinese popular religion or Taoism. Despite being heavily suppressed during

3240-452: Is the oldest, non-literate system of Indian religions . Folk Hinduism involves worship of deities which are not found in Hindu scriptures. It involves worship of Gramadevata (village deity), Kuladevata (household deity) and local deities. It is a folk religion, polytheist and animistic belief based on locality. These religions have their own priests, who worship regional deities. During

3348-436: Is the religious dimension of folk culture , or the folk-cultural dimensions of religion. The second refers to the study of syncretism between two cultures with different stages of formal expression, such as the melange of African folk beliefs and Roman Catholicism that led to the development of Vodun and Santería , and similar mixtures of formal religions with folk cultures. In China, folk Protestantism had its origins with

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3456-591: Is their social ties to one another, illustrated by the finding that religious practices that would prevent social integration – such as a strict interpretation of dietary laws and the Sabbath – have been abandoned, whilst the practices that are followed – such as the Passover Seder , social rites of passage, and the High Holy Days – are ones that strengthen Jewish family and community integration. Liebman described

3564-573: Is thus contrasted with a "universal religion" which cuts across ethnic and national boundaries. Among the scholars to have adopted this use of terminology are E. Wilbur Bock. The folklorist Leonard Norman Primiano argued that the use of the term folk religion, as well as related terms like "popular religion" and "unofficial religion", by scholars, does an extreme disservice to the forms of religiosity that scholars are examining, because – in his opinion – such terms are "residualistic, [and] derogatory". He argued that using such terminology implies that there

3672-582: The Chai necklace (though this is also worn simply to indicate Jewish identity), and inscriptions of one of the names of the god of Judaism - such as ה (He), יה (YaH), or שדי ( Shaddai ) - on a piece of parchment or metal, usually silver. Counter-examples, however, include the Hamsa (an outline of a human hand) and the Seal of Solomon . During the Middle Ages, Maimonides and Sherira Gaon (and his son Hai Gaon ) opposed

3780-453: The Quran , hadiths (recorded oral histories of early Islam) and religious narratives, and religious names. The word "Allah" (God) is especially popular, as many believe that touching or seeing it wards off evil. The ninety-nine names of God , and the names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions, are also used. The names of prophets and religious figures are felt to connect the wearer to

3888-582: The Vedic Hinduism which comprises Vedas and Upanishads is the religion of Sanskrit speaking upper caste. According to Asko Parpola (2015), the folk village Hinduism is surviving from pre-rig vedic Indo-Aryan times and Indus valley culture. Jasper Jasper , an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque , impure variety of silica , usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color

3996-571: The blessing of the Church in the name of Jesus . The crucifix , and the associated sign of the cross , is one of the key sacramentals used by Christians to ward off evil since the time of the Early Church Fathers ; as such, many Christians wear a cross necklace . The imperial cross of Conrad II (1024–1039) referred to the power of the cross against evil. A well-known amulet associated with Benedictine spirituality present in Christianity of

4104-414: The dorje , the bell, and many kinds of portable amulets. The Tibetan Buddhists enclose prayers on a parchment scroll within a prayer wheel, which is then spun around, each rotation being one recitation of all of the stanzas within the prayer wheel. The people of Thailand, with Buddhist and animist beliefs, also have a vast pantheon of amulets, which are still popular and in common use by most people even in

4212-460: The theologies and histories ." In one of the first major academic works on the subject, titled Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion , Joshua Trachtenberg provided a definition of Jewish folk religion as consisting of ideas and practices that, whilst not meeting with the approval of religious leaders, enjoyed wide popularity such that they must be included in what he termed

4320-446: The "folk interpretation and expression of religion". Noting that this definition would not encompass beliefs that were largely unconnected from organised religion, such as in witchcraft , he therefore altered this definition by including the concept of "folk religiosity ", thereby defining folk religion as "the deposit in culture of folk religiosity, the full range of folk attitudes to religion". His fifth and final definition represented

4428-541: The 'magic'vocabulary used and the heavy implementation of the Qur'an. The regional variations of these amulets each are unique; however, they are tied together through the Quranic inscriptions, images of Muhammad, astrological signs, and religious narratives. Such text amulets were originally housed within a lead case imprinted with surat al-Ikhlas (Qur. n2: 1-4), a verse that instructs the worshipper to proclaim God's sanctity. As seen in

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4536-419: The 16th century thrived with the popularity of practical Kabbalah in the 18th century. These ba'alei shem promised to use their knowledge of the names of god, and the angels, along with exorcism, chiromancy, and herbal medicine to bring harm to enemies, and success in areas of social life such as marriage, and childbirth. Charles Liebman has written that the essence of the folk religion of American Jews

4644-593: The 1920s and 1930s, theoretical studies of religiöse Volkskunde had been produced by the folklorists Josef Weigert , Werner Boette , and Max Rumpf , all of whom had focused on religiosity within German peasant communities. Over the coming decades, Georg Schreiber established an Institut für religiöse Volkskund in Munich while a similar department was established in Salzburg by Hanns Koren . Other prominent academics involved in

4752-503: The 1990s and 2000s by scholars seeking more precise terminology. Yoder noted that one problem with the use of the term folk religion was that it did not fit into the work of those scholars who used the term "religion" in reference solely to organized religion . He highlighted the example of the prominent sociologist of religion Émile Durkheim , who insisted that religion was organized in order to contrast it with magic . Yoder noted that scholars adopting these perspectives often preferred

4860-479: The 19th century, scholars had divided Hinduism and Brahmanism . Brahmanism was referred to as an intellectual, classical tradition based on Sanskrit scriptures, while Hinduism was associated with superstitious folk tradition. The folk tradition refers to the aspects of the Hindu tradition that exist in tension with the Sanskritic tradition based on textual authority. According to M. N. Srinivas (1976), folk Hinduism

4968-578: The Americas, the study of folk religion developed among cultural anthropologists studying the syncretistic cultures of the Caribbean and Latin America. The pioneer in this field was Robert Redfield , whose 1930 book Tepoztlán: A Mexican Village contrasted and examined the relationship between "folk religion" and "official religion" in a peasant community. Yoder later noted that although the earliest known usage of

5076-662: The Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican traditions is the Saint Benedict medal which includes the Vade Retro Satana formula to ward off Satan. This medal has been in use at least since the 1700s, and in 1742 it received the approval of Pope Benedict XIV . It later became part of the Roman Ritual . Several Christian saints have written about the power of holy water as a force that repels evil; as such in Christianity (especially in

5184-519: The Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican denominations), holy water is used in the dominical sacrament of baptism , as well as for devotional use in the home. Saint Teresa of Avila , a Doctor of the Church who reported visions of Jesus and Mary , was a strong believer in the power of holy water and wrote that she used it with success to repel evil and temptations. Lay Catholics are not permitted to perform solemn exorcisms , but they can use holy water , blessed salt, and other sacramentals, such as

5292-460: The Graeco-Roman world ). Amulets are usually outside of the normal sphere of religious experience, though associations between certain gemstones and gods has been suggested. For example, Jupiter is represented on milky chalcedony , Sol on heliotrope , Mars on red jasper , Ceres on green jasper , and Bacchus on amethyst . Amulets are worn to imbue the wearer with the associated powers of

5400-549: The Greek Orthodox tradition, wear the filakto , an Eastern Christian sacramental that is pinned to one's clothing to ward off Satan. There is a long cultural tradition of using amulets in Islam, and in many Muslim-majority countries , tens of percent of the population use them. Some hadith condemn the wearing of talismans, and some Muslims (notably Salafis ) believe that amulets and talismans are forbidden in Islam, and using them

5508-614: The Islam of the "urban poor, country people, and tribes", in contrast to orthodox or "high" Islam (Gellner, 1992). Sufi concepts, which are found in orthodox Islam as well, and perennialism and syncretism are often integrated into Folk Islam. Folk Christianity is defined differently by various scholars. Christianity as most people live it – a term used to "overcome the division of beliefs into mainstream and heterodox ", Christianity as impacted by superstition as practiced by certain geographical Christian groups, and Christianity defined "in cultural terms without reference to

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5616-514: The Islamic context they can also be referred to as hafiz or protector or himala meaning pendant. Amulet is interchangeable with the term talisman. An amulet is an object that is generally worn for protection and most often made from a durable material such as metal or a hard-stone. Amulet can also be applied to paper examples, although talisman is often used to describe these less robust and usually individualized forms. In Muslim cultures, amulets often include texts, particularly prayers, texts from

5724-528: The Mesopotamians, the ancient Egyptians had no distinction between the categories magic and medicine. Indeed for them "...religion was a potent and legitimate tool for affecting magical cures". Each treatment was a complementary combination of practical medicine and magical spells. Magical spells against snakebite are the oldest magical remedies known from Egypt. The Egyptians believed that diseases stemmed from both supernatural and natural causes. The symptoms of

5832-506: The Ottoman Empire with Qur'anic verses such as 'victory is from God and conquest is near' (Qur. 6I:13) found on ta'wiz worn in combat. Texts packaged in ta'wiz were most often pre-made when used by the public, but literate wearers could change the verse upon their discretion. While criticized by some denominations, Sunni Muslims are permitted to wear ta'wiz as long as it consciously strengthens their bond with Allah and does not come from

5940-513: The Saint Benedict medal or the crucifix , for warding off evil. Some Catholic sacramentals are believed to defend against evil, by virtue of their association with a specific saint or archangel. The scapular of St. Michael the Archangel is a Roman Catholic devotional scapular associated with Archangel Michael , the chief enemy of Satan. Pope Pius IX gave this scapular his blessing, but it

6048-523: The Spanish as "myths" and "superstitions" in an effort to de-legitimize legitimate precolonial beliefs by forcefully replacing those native beliefs with colonial Catholic Christian myths and superstitions. Today, some of these precolonial beliefs are still held by Filipinos, especially in the provinces. Folk Islam is an umbrella term used to collectively describe forms of Islam that incorporate native folk beliefs and practices. Folk Islam has been described as

6156-472: The Taiping Rebellion. Chinese folk religion , folk Christianity , folk Hinduism , and folk Islam are examples of folk religion associated with major religions . The term is also used, especially by the clergy of the faiths involved, to describe the desire of people who otherwise infrequently attend religious worship , do not belong to a church or similar religious society, and who have not made

6264-478: The amulet, praising Allah as the ultimate bestower of security and power and as the provider of the Qur'an and Muhammad. Diminutive amulets made in the medieval Mediterranean Islamic world include prayers executed with a block print or die ( tarsh ). Through folding, these miniature paper amulets are often even further reduced in size in order to fit into a tiny wearable box or tubular pendant cases. In other cases, however, these protective objects remain fully loyal to

6372-623: The ancient Celts , the clover , if it has four leaves, symbolizes good luck (not the Irish shamrock , which symbolizes the Christian Trinity ). In Bolivia , the god Ekeko furnishes a standard amulet, to whom one should offer at least one banknote or a cigarette to obtain fortune and welfare. In certain areas of India , Nepal , and Sri Lanka , it is traditionally believed that the jackal's horn can grant wishes and reappear to its owner at its own accord when lost. Some Sinhalese believe that

6480-672: The ancients. It is mentioned and its use described in the writings of Bacchylides about 450 BC, and was also described by Theophrastus in his book On Stones ( Ancient Greek title: Περὶ λίθων : Peri Lithon ), a century later. It is evident that the touchstone that Pliny had in mind when he wrote about it was merely a dense variety of basalt . Basanite (not to be confused with bassanite ), Lydian stone , and radiolarite (a.k.a. lydite or flinty slate) are terms used to refer to several types of black, jasper-like rock (also including tuffs , cherts and siltstones ) which are dense, fine-grained and flinty / cherty in texture and found in

6588-469: The associations that each word had. In Europe the study of "folk religion" emerged from the study of religiöse Volkskunde , a German term which was used in reference to "the religious dimension of folk-culture, or the folk-cultural dimension of religion". This term was first employed by a German Lutheran preacher, Paul Drews , in a 1901 article that he published which was titled " Religiöse Volkskunde, eine Aufgabe der praktischen Theologie ". This article

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6696-633: The bearer who does not have an appropriate disposition . Talisman and amulets have interchangeable meanings. Amulets refer to any object which has the power to avert evil influences or ill luck. An amulet is an object that is generally worn for protection and made from a durable material (metal or hard-stone). Both amulets and talismans can be applied to paper examples as well. Amulets are sometimes confused with pendants , small aesthetic objects that hang from necklaces. Any given pendant may indeed be an amulet but so may any other object that purportedly protects its holder from danger. The use of amulets ( meket )

6804-602: The body of Chinese mythology . By the 11th century ( Song period ), these practices had been blended with Buddhist ideas of karma (one's own doing) and rebirth, and Taoist teachings about hierarchies of deities, to form the popular religious system which has lasted in many ways until the present day. Chinese folk religion is sometimes categorized with Taoism , since over the centuries institutional Taoism has been attempting to assimilate or administer local religions. More accurately, Taoism emerged from and overlaps with folk religion and Chinese philosophy . Chinese folk religion

6912-413: The body, talismans hung upon or above the bed of an infirm person, and medicinal talismans. This third category can be further divided into external and internal talismans. For example, an external amulet can be placed in a bath. Jews, Christians, and Muslims have also at times used their holy books in a talisman-like manner in grave situations. For example, a bedridden and seriously ill person would have

7020-460: The book format as miniature Qur'ans, protected by illuminated metal cases. In the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, rests an example of an Egyptian block printed amulet, made during the tenth or eleventh century. Here, one can notice the minuscule ink on paper script of the size of 7.2 x 5.5 cm. Its text's final line is a verse from the Qur'an that proclaims: 'So God will safeguard you from them. He

7128-519: The culture's development". This definition would view folk religion in Catholic Europe as the survivals of pre-Christian religion and the folk religion in Protestant Europe as the survivals of Medieval Catholicism. The second definition identified by Yoder was the view that folk religion represented the mixture of an official religion with forms of ethnic religion ; this was employed to explain

7236-420: The dead. The main function of amulets was to ward off misfortune, "evil eye", and the jinn. They were meant to promote health, longevity, fertility, and potency. Despite regional variations, what unites these objects is that they are characterized by the use of particular and distinctive vocabulary of writings and symbols. These can appear in a multitude of combinations. The important elements to these amulets are

7344-491: The disease determined which deity the doctor needed to invoke in order to cure it. Doctors were extremely expensive, therefore, for most everyday purposes, the average Egyptian would have relied on individuals who were not professional doctors, but who possessed some form of medical training or knowledge. Among these individuals were folk healers and seers, who could set broken bones, aid mothers in giving birth, prescribe herbal remedies for common ailments, and interpret dreams. If

7452-452: The emerald-like jasper may have been akin to the modern chrysoprase . The Hebrew word may have designated a green jasper. Flinders Petrie suggested that the odem – the first stone on the High Priest's breastplate – was a red jasper, whilst tarshish , the tenth stone, may have been a yellow jasper. Jasper is an opaque rock of virtually any colour stemming from the mineral content of

7560-416: The evil eye away from the boys, thus serving as a form of protection. This practice continued until the early 20th century. The mezuzah and tefillin have been interpreted by some to be forms of amulet, but others disagree. Rabbi and kabbalist Naphtali Cohen (1645–1719) was said to be an expert in the magical use of amulets. He was accused of causing a fire that broke out in his house and then destroyed

7668-607: The field of religion. This included unorthodox beliefs about demons and angels, and magical practices. Later studies have emphasized the significance of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem to the many Jewish folk customs linked to mourning and in particular to the belief in hibbut ha-qever (torture of the grave) a belief that the dead are tortured in their grave for three days after burial by demons until they remember their names. This idea began with early eschatological aggadah and

7776-510: The form of flat sheets made of silver, gold, copper, and lead were also popular in Late Antiquity in Palestine and Syria as well as their adjacent countries ( Mesopotamia , Asia Minor , and Iran ). Usually, they were rolled up and placed in a metal container with loops to be carried by a necklace. They were incised with a needle with manifold incantation formulars and citations and references to

7884-602: The gods rather than for any reasons of piety. The intrinsic power of the amulet is also evident from others bearing inscriptions, such as vterfexix (utere fexix) or "good luck to the user." Amulet boxes could also be used, such as the example from part of the Thetford treasure , Norfolk, UK, where a gold box intended for suspension around the neck was found to contain sulphur for its apotropaic (evil-repelling) qualities. Children wore bullas and lunulas , and could be protected by amulet-chains known as Crepundia . Metal amulets in

7992-467: The head of a lion and the body of a dwarf, was believed to be the protector of children. After giving birth, a mother would remove her Taweret amulet and put on a new amulet representing Bes. Amulets depicted specific symbols, among the most common are the ankh and the Eye of Horus , which represented the new eye given to Horus by the god Thoth as a replacement for his old eye, which had been destroyed during

8100-562: The horn can grant the holder invulnerability in any lawsuit . The Native American movement of the Ghost Dance wore ghost shirts to protect them from bullets. In the Philippines , amulets are called agimat or anting-anting . According to folklore, the most powerful anting-anting is the hiyas ng saging (directly translated as pearl or gem of the banana). The hiyas must come from a mature banana and only comes out during midnight. Before

8208-552: The inherent protective values of these materials depend hugely upon their natural rarity, monetary value, and symbolic implications. Among the semi-precious materials, carnelian ('aqiq) is often favoured because it was considered as the stone of Muhammad, who was said to have worn a carnelian seal set in silver on the little finger of his right hand. Besides, materials such as jade and jasper are regarded as to possess protective and medicinal properties, including assuring victory in battles, protection from lightning and treating diseases of

8316-920: The inscription " Quis ut Deus? " meaning "Who is like God?". Since the 19th century, devout Spanish soldiers, especially Carlist units, have worn a patch with an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the inscription detente bala ("stop, bullet"). Early Egyptian Christians made textual amulets with scriptural incipits , especially the opening words of the Gospels , the Lord's Prayer and Psalm 91 . These amulets have survived from late antiquity (c. 300–700 C.E.), mostly from Egypt. They were written in Greek and Coptic on strips of papyrus , parchment and other materials in order to cure bodily illnesses and/or to protect individuals from demons. Some believers, especially those of

8424-422: The internal organs. Sometimes, amulets combine different materials to achieve multiple protective effects. A combination of jade and carnelian, for instance, connotes fertility and embryogenesis. The reddish, transcalent quality of the cornelian resembles blood, which echoes the clot of congealed blood from which Allah created human (Qur. 96:2). Additionally, recurring apotropaic Qur'anic verses are often inscribed on

8532-757: The last two centuries, from the Taiping Rebellion to the Cultural Revolution , it is currently experiencing a modern revival in both Mainland China and Taiwan . Various forms have received support by the Government of the People's Republic of China , such as Mazuism in Southern China (officially about 160 million Chinese people are worshippers of Mazu ), Huangdi worship, Black Dragon worship in Shaanxi , and Cai Shen worship. The term Shenism

8640-412: The master class, there is also a forgery market in existence, which ensures that the experts of the scene maintain a monopoly on the market. With so many fakes, experts are needed for collectors to trust for obtaining authentic amulets, and not selling them fakes. Amulets vary considerably according to their time and place of origin. In many societies, religious objects serve as amulets, e.g. deriving from

8748-514: The mineral jasper is also yashp ( یَشم ). Green jasper was used to make bow drills in Mehrgarh between 4th and 5th millennium BC. Jasper is known to have been a favorite gem in the ancient world; its name can be traced back in Arabic , Persian, Hebrew, Assyrian, Greek and Latin . On Minoan Crete , jasper was carved to produce seals circa 1800 BC, as evidenced by archaeological recoveries at

8856-494: The name of God ( Tetragrammaton ). Most of them are composed in various kinds of Aramaic ( Jewish Aramaic , Samaritan Aramaic , Christian Palestinian Aramaic , Mandaic , Syriac ) and Hebrew , but there exist also sometimes combinations with Greek . In China, Taoist specialists developed a special style of calligraphy called fulu , which they say is able to protect against evil spirits. The equivalent type of amulet in Japan

8964-741: The named person, protecting the wearer. The written stories of these people are also considered effective, and are sometimes illustrated with images of the religious figure or omens associated with them. Favoured figures include Solomon , Ali ibn Abi Talib and his sons Hasan and Husain, and the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus . Devotional manuals sometimes also promise that those reading them will be protected from demons and jinn . Apotropaic texts may even be incorporated into clothing. Weapons might also be inscribed with religious texts thought to confer protective powers. Scrolls with Qur'anic quotations, prophetic references and sacred symbols were common during war in

9072-408: The official doctrines and practices of organized religion . The precise definition of folk religion varies among scholars. Sometimes also termed popular belief , it consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of a religion ; but outside official doctrine and practices. The term "folk religion" is generally held to encompass two related but separate subjects. The first

9180-433: The organized religion(s) of that society. Its relatively unorganized character differentiates it from organized religion". Alternately, the sociologist of religion Matthias Zic Varul defined "folk religion" as "the relatively un-reflected aspect of ordinary practices and beliefs that are oriented towards, or productive of, something beyond the immediate here-and-now: everyday transcendence". In sociology , folk religion

9288-701: The original sediments or ash. Patterns arise during the consolidation process forming flow and depositional patterns in the original silica-rich sediment or volcanic ash . Hydrothermal circulation is generally thought to be required in the formation of jasper. Jasper can be modified by the diffusion of minerals along discontinuities providing the appearance of vegetative growth, i.e., dendritic . The original materials are often fractured and/or distorted, after deposition, into diverse patterns, which are later filled in with other colorful minerals. Weathering, with time, will create intensely colored superficial rinds. The classification and naming of jasper varieties presents

9396-525: The palace of Knossos . Although the term jasper is now restricted to opaque quartz, the ancient iaspis was a stone of considerable translucency including nephrite . The jasper of antiquity was in many cases distinctly green, for it is often compared to emerald and other green objects. Jasper is referred to in the Nibelungenlied as being clear and green. The jasper of the ancients probably included stones which would now be classed as chalcedony , and

9504-425: The person can fully possess this agimat, he must fight a supernatural creature called kapre . Only then will he be its true owner. During Holy Week , devotees travel to Mount Banahaw to recharge their amulets. Folk religion In religious studies and folkloristics , folk religion , traditional religion , or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from

9612-529: The place of folk religion in the syncretic belief systems of the Americas, where Christianity had blended with the religions of indigenous American and African communities. Yoder's third definition was that often employed within folkloristics, which held that folk religion was "the interaction of belief, ritual, custom, and mythology in traditional societies", representing that which was often pejoratively characterised as superstition . The fourth definition provided by Yoder stated that folk religion represented

9720-648: The present day. The belief in magic is impregnated into Thai culture and religious beliefs and folk superstitions, and this is reflected in the fact that we can still see commonplace use of amulets and magical rituals in everyday life. Some of the more commonly known amulets are of course the Buddhist votive tablets, such as the Pra Somdej Buddha image, and guru monk coins. But Thailand has an immensely large number of magical traditions, and thousands of different types of amulet and occult charm can be found in use, ranging from

9828-489: The remit of scholars operating in both folkloristics and religious studies, by 1974 Yoder noted that U.S.-based academics in the latter continued to largely ignore it, instead focusing on the study of theology and institutionalised religion; he contrasted this with the situation in Europe, where historians of religion had devoted much time to studying folk religiosity. He also lamented that many U.S.-based folklorists also neglected

9936-499: The rituals and beliefs of contemporary Jewish folk religion in his works, The Ambivalent American Jew (1973) and American Jewry: Identity and Affiliation . June McDaniel (2007) classifies Hinduism into six major kinds and numerous minor kinds, in order to understand the expression of emotions among the Hindus. According to McDaniel, one of the major kinds is Folk Hinduism, based on local ethnic traditions and cults of local deities and

10044-464: The study of the phenomenon were Heinrich Schauert and Rudolf Kriss , the latter of whom collected one of the largest collections of folk-religious art and material culture in Europe, later housed in Munich's Bayerisches Nationalmuseum . Throughout the 20th century, many studies were made of folk religion in Europe, paying particular attention to such subjects as pilgrimage and the use of shrines . In

10152-479: The study of them, and collection. Thai amulets are still immensely popular both with Thai folk as well as with foreigners, and in recent years, a massive increase in foreign interest has caused the subject of Thai Buddhist amulets to become a commonly known topic around the world. Amulets can fetch prices ranging from a few dollars right up to millions of dollars for a single amulet. Due to the money that can be made with sorcery services, and with rare collector amulets of

10260-513: The subject of religion because it did not fit within the standard genre-based system for cataloguing folklore. Chinese folk religion is one of the labels used to describe the collection of ethnic religious traditions which have historically comprised the predominant belief system in China and among Han Chinese ethnic groups up to the present day. The devotion includes the veneration of forces of nature and ancestors , exorcism of demonic forces, and

10368-522: The takrut scroll spell, to the necromantic Ban Neng Chin Aathan, which uses the bones or flesh of the corpse of a 'hoeng prai' ghost (a person who died unnaturally, screaming, or in other strange premature circumstances), to reanimate the spirit of the dead, to dwell within the bone as a spirit, and assist the owner to achieve their goals. The list of Thai Buddhist amulets in existence is a lifetime study in its own right, and indeed, many people devote their lives to

10476-407: The term " folk belief " over "folk religion". A second problem with the use of the term folk religion that Yoder highlighted was that some scholars, particularly those operating in the sociology of religion , used the term as a synonym for ethnic religion (which is alternately known as national religion or tribal religion), meaning a religion closely tied to a particular ethnic or national group and

10584-462: The term "folk religion" in the English language was unknown, it probably developed as a translation of the German Volksreligion . One of the earliest prominent usages of the term was in the title of Joshua Trachtenberg 's 1939 work Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion . The term also gained increasing usage within the academic field of comparative religion , appearing in

10692-637: The titles of Ichiro Hori 's Folk Religion in Japan , Martin Nilsson 's Greek Folk Religion , and Charles Leslie 's reader, the Anthropology of Folk Religion . Courses on the study of folk religion came to be taught at various universities in the United States, such as John Messenger 's at Indiana University and Don Yoder 's at the University of Pennsylvania . Although the subject of folk religion fell within

10800-474: The use of sacramentals in its proper disposition is encouraged only by a firm faith and devotion to the Triune God, and not by any magical or superstitious belief bestowed on the sacramental. In this regard, prayer cloths , holy oil , prayer beads , cords , scapulars , medals, and other devotional religious paraphernalia derive their power, not simply from the symbolism displayed in the object, but rather from

10908-707: The use of amulets and derided the "folly of amulet writers." Other rabbis, however, approved the use of amulets. Regional traditions surrounding the birth of children often included amulets to ward off the devil, the evil eye, or demons such as Lilith . So-called miracle rabbi ( Ba’al Shem ) would be responsible for writing text amulets and conjuring up the names of God and protective angels. Midwives would also create amulets, often filled with herbs, to protect mothers and their young children. In Southern Germany , Alsace and areas of Switzerland , young Jewish boys wore textile neckbands or collars for their Brit Milah . Coins or coral stones on these neckbands were meant to distract

11016-575: The whole Jewish quarter of Frankfurt , and of preventing the extinguishing of the fire by conventional means because he wanted to test the power of his amulets; he was imprisoned and forced to resign his post and leave the city. In Christianity , regularly attending church, frequently receiving Holy Communion , Bible study , and a consistent prayer life are taught as being among the best ways to ward against demonic influence. The Catholic , Oriental Orthodox , Eastern Orthodox , Lutheran , Anglican and Pentecostal denominations of Christianity hold that

11124-603: The world, specific colors or patterns are unique to the geographic region from which they originate. One source of the stone is Indonesia , especially in Purbalingga district. From the US, Oregon 's Biggs jasper and Idaho 's Bruneau jasper from the Bruneau River canyon are particularly fine examples. Other examples can be seen at Ynys Llanddwyn in Wales . A blue-green jasper occurs in

11232-419: Was designed to be read by young Lutheran preachers leaving the seminary, to equip them for the popular variants of Lutheranism that they would encounter among their congregations and which would differ from the official, doctrinal Lutheranism that they had been accustomed to. Although developing within a religious environment, the term came to be adopted by German academics in the field of folkloristics . During

11340-465: Was first formally approved under Pope Leo XIII . The form of this scapular is somewhat distinct, in that the two segments of cloth that constitute it have the form of a small shield; one is made of blue and the other of black cloth, and one of the bands likewise is blue and the other black. Both portions of the scapular bear the well-known representation of the Archangel St. Michael slaying the dragon and

11448-597: Was first published by AJA Elliot in 1955 to describe Chinese folk religion in Southeast Asia . Indigenous Philippine folk religions are the distinct native religions of various ethnic groups in the Philippines , where most follow belief systems in line with animism . Generally, these indigenous folk religions are referred to as Anitism or Bathalism . Some of these beliefs stem from pre-Christian religions that were especially influenced by Hinduism and were regarded by

11556-554: Was then further developed by the kabbalists. Raphael Patai has been acknowledged as one of the first to utilize anthropology to study Jewish folk religion. In particular he has drawn attention to the important role of the female divine element, which he sees in the goddess Asherah , the Shekhinah , the Matronit , and Lilith . Writer Stephen Sharot has stated that Jewish popular religion in common with other forms of folk religion, has

11664-430: Was widespread among both living and dead ancient Egyptians. They were used for protection and as a means of "...reaffirming the fundamental fairness of the universe". The oldest amulets found are from the predynastic Badarian Period, and they persisted all the way through to Roman times. Pregnant women would wear amulets depicting Taweret , the goddess of childbirth, to protect against miscarriage. The god Bes , who had

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