[{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-yomkippur","name":"The fast of Yom Kippur","tradition":"judaism","year":-500,"lat":31.78,"lon":35.23,"how":"On the 10th of Tishrei, the Day of Atonement, observant Jews keep a full fast with other forms of abstinence, accompanied by long prayer services and confession of sins.","why":"The day centres on atonement and repentance; in Temple times it was the occasion of the sacrificial service commanded in Leviticus 16.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-ashura","name":"Fast of Ashura","tradition":"sunni","year":622,"lat":24.47,"lon":39.61,"how":"A fast on the 10th of Muharram, observed by Muhammad and his followers after arriving in Medina; it became optional once the Ramadan fast was prescribed and is now kept voluntarily by Sunnis.","why":"Hadith reports that Muhammad saw the Jews of Medina fasting on this day and adopted the practice.","derives_from":"fasting-yomkippur","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashura"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-ramadan","name":"Sawm in Ramadan","tradition":"islam","year":624,"lat":21.42,"lon":39.83,"how":"During the ninth lunar month, able adult Muslims abstain from food, drink and sexual activity from dawn to sunset, with exemptions for illness, travel and pregnancy.","why":"It is the fourth pillar of Islam, practised to develop self-control, piety and compassion for those in need.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-lent","name":"Lent","tradition":"christianity","year":325,"lat":41.9,"lon":12.45,"how":"A forty-day season of fasting, prayer and penitence before Easter; in the Roman Rite it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday, and Eastern churches keep it as Great Lent.","why":"It echoes the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the desert before his public ministry.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-paryushana","name":"Fasting at Paryushana","tradition":"jainism","year":450,"lat":23.02,"lon":72.57,"how":"Jains fast on holy days and especially during Paryushana, an eight-day (Svetambara) or ten-day (Digambara) monsoon festival; fasts range from a single daily meal with boiled water to full fasts.","why":"Fasting is a form of self-control in line with the teachings of Mahavira, and monks fast as penance for errors. The year is approximate: the Kalpa Sutra that governs the festival was written down at the Valabhi council in the 5th century CE, though tradition credits it to the ancient sage Bhadrabahu.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting_in_Jainism"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-sallekhana","name":"Sallekhana","tradition":"jainism","year":600,"lat":12.85,"lon":76.48,"how":"A supplementary vow in which a Jain voluntarily fasts to death by gradually reducing food and liquids; inscriptions after 600 CE record it at Shravanabelagola.","why":"It is seen as thinning the passions and the body, destroying karma that causes rebirth.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sallekhana"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-ekadashi","name":"Ekadashi","tradition":"hinduism","year":null,"lat":27.58,"lon":77.7,"how":"On the eleventh lunar day of each half-month, Vaishnava Hindus fast fully or partially, and any meal eaten avoids grains and legumes.","why":"The fast is offered as worship to Vishnu and practised for self-discipline.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekadashi"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-uposatha","name":"Uposatha","tradition":"buddhism","year":-500,"lat":25.03,"lon":85.42,"how":"On observance days tied to the moon, devout lay Buddhists take the Eight Precepts, which include not eating after midday, in imitation of a rule for monks.","why":"The Buddha is said to have taught the Uposatha for the cleansing of the defiled mind.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uposatha"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-bigu","name":"Bigu, grain avoidance","tradition":"taoism","year":-168,"lat":28.2,"lon":112.97,"how":"Daoist adepts avoid grains, or sometimes all food, often combined with breathing exercises; the oldest documented grain-avoidance regimen is a Mawangdui manuscript of 168 BCE.","why":"It was associated with reaching transcendence (xian) and with starving the grain-eating Three Corpses that shorten life.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigu_(grain_avoidance)"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-thesmophoria","name":"Nesteia at the Thesmophoria","tradition":"greek","year":-430,"lat":37.97,"lon":23.72,"how":"The second day of the women-only Thesmophoria festival of Demeter, called the nesteia, was a day of fasting.","why":"The fast imitated Demeter's mourning for the loss of her daughter.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesmophoria"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-bahai","name":"The Nineteen-Day Fast","tradition":"bahai","year":1848,"lat":29.61,"lon":52.53,"how":"Bahais aged 15 to 70 fast from sunrise to sunset for the nineteen days of the month of Loftiness, ending at Naw-Ruz in March, with exemptions for illness and pregnancy.","why":"Instituted by the Bab in the Persian Bayan and confirmed by Bahaullah in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, it is practised as abstinence from carnal desires.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen-Day_Fast"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-visionquest","name":"Vision quest","tradition":"nativeam","year":null,"lat":44.48,"lon":-103.43,"how":"In some Native American cultures a young person, prepared by elders, fasts completely for four days and nights alone at a chosen sacred site, praying for a vision.","why":"The vision is sought to reveal the person's purpose and role in the community; \"vision quest\" is an English umbrella term for varied rites.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_quest"},{"practice":"Fasting","id":"fasting-fastsunday","name":"Fast Sunday","tradition":"mormon","year":1896,"lat":40.77,"lon":-111.89,"how":"On one Sunday a month, usually the first, Latter-day Saints fast for 24 hours and give the money saved as a fast offering; the fast day moved from the first Thursday to Sunday in 1896.","why":"The offering funds help for those in need, and the day includes a testimony meeting.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Sunday"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-hajj","name":"Hajj","tradition":"islam","year":632,"lat":21.42,"lon":39.83,"how":"An annual pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca with set rites over several days, ending with a farewell circling of the Kaaba; it is required once in a lifetime of every Muslim able to make it.","why":"It is one of the Five Pillars; Muhammad performed it in 632 and taught its rites, which the Quran traces back to Abraham.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-arbain","name":"Arbain pilgrimage","tradition":"shia","year":680,"lat":32.62,"lon":44.02,"how":"Millions walk, often from Najaf, to the shrine of Husayn ibn Ali in Karbala on the 20th of Safar, forty days after Ashura; it is among the largest annual gatherings in the world.","why":"It mourns Husayn, killed at Karbala in 680; tradition holds that Jabir ibn Abd Allah made the first such visit.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arba%27in_pilgrimage"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-festivals","name":"The Three Pilgrimage Festivals","tradition":"judaism","year":-600,"lat":31.78,"lon":35.23,"how":"At Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, all Israelites who were able were expected to go up to the Temple in Jerusalem.","why":"The journey was commanded by the Torah.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Pilgrimage_Festivals"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-delphi","name":"Consulting the oracle at Delphi","tradition":"greek","year":-800,"lat":38.48,"lon":22.5,"how":"Individuals and city-states travelled to the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi to put questions to the Pythia, and many left votive statues and treasuries along the Sacred Way.","why":"The oracle was consulted about important decisions throughout the classical world, and offerings thanked it for advice.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-kumbh","name":"Kumbh Mela","tradition":"hinduism","year":1695,"lat":29.95,"lon":78.16,"how":"A mass bathing pilgrimage held in a cycle tied to Jupiter at Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain, lasting one to three months; the name is first attested for Haridwar in texts of 1695 onward.","why":"The four sites are believed to have received drops of the nectar of immortality during the churning of the ocean.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-buddhist","name":"The Buddha's four sites","tradition":"buddhism","year":-250,"lat":24.7,"lon":84.99,"how":"Pilgrims visit the places of the Buddha's birth, awakening (Bodh Gaya), first sermon (Sarnath) and death in the Indo-Gangetic plain.","why":"The Buddha himself is said to have named these four sites as most worthy of pilgrimage. The year is approximate: the earliest dated record is the Brahmi inscription showing that the emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini, the birthplace, in the 3rd century BCE.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_pilgrimage_sites"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-kailash","name":"Circling Mount Kailash","tradition":"vajrayana","year":null,"lat":31.07,"lon":81.31,"how":"Pilgrims trek to Lake Manasarovar and walk around the mountain from Darchen over the Drolma pass; Hindus, Buddhists and Jains go clockwise, Bon followers counterclockwise.","why":"The mountain is sacred to four religions: home of Shiva, navel of the universe, place of Rishabhadeva's liberation and abode of a Bon sky goddess.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kailash"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-ise","name":"Okage mairi to Ise","tradition":"shinto","year":1625,"lat":34.46,"lon":136.73,"how":"In the Edo period, waves of commoners travelled to the Ise Shrine; an estimated one in ten Japanese made the journey, and 5 million pilgrims came in 1830 alone.","why":"The shrine is dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu, believed to dwell in its Inner Shrine. The year is the earliest mass pilgrimage counted in the historical documents cited for the shrine: 3.62 million visitors in 50 days in 1625.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ise_Shrine"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-amritsar","name":"Pilgrimage to the Golden Temple","tradition":"sikhism","year":1604,"lat":31.62,"lon":74.88,"how":"Pilgrims walk the marble circumambulation path around the sacred pool and visit the shrine where Guru Arjan installed the Adi Granth in 1604.","why":"Guru Arjan established Amritsar as the primary Sikh pilgrimage destination.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Temple"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-santiago","name":"Camino de Santiago","tradition":"catholic","year":850,"lat":42.88,"lon":-8.54,"how":"A network of routes across Europe leading on foot to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela; the earliest records of visits date from the 9th century.","why":"Tradition holds that the remains of the apostle James are buried there.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-guadalupe","name":"Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe","tradition":"catholic","year":1531,"lat":19.48,"lon":-99.12,"how":"Pilgrims come to the basilica in Mexico City to venerate the image of the Virgin on the cloak of Juan Diego; it draws more visitors than any other Marian shrine.","why":"Catholic tradition holds that the image was miraculously imprinted on the cloak in 1531.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-qoyllurriti","name":"Quyllurit'i","tradition":"inca","year":1783,"lat":-13.6,"lon":-71.2,"how":"A syncretic festival in the Sinakara Valley near Cusco, where ukukus long climbed the glaciers to bring back crosses and ice; its legend involves an apparition of Christ investigated in 1783.","why":"Local Andean people celebrate it as a festival of the stars, marking the return of the Pleiades and the coming harvest, alongside Catholic devotion.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quyllurit%27i"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-wirikuta","name":"Wixarika journey to Wirikuta","tradition":"nativeam","year":null,"lat":23.69,"lon":-100.88,"how":"Each year the Wixarika (Huichol) travel to Wirikuta near Real de Catorce in San Luis Potosi to gather peyote (hikuri).","why":"The gathering is central to their religion, in which Corn, Blue Deer and Peyote form a sacred trinity.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huichol"},{"practice":"Pilgrimage","id":"pilgrimage-osun","name":"Osun-Osogbo Festival","tradition":"yoruba","year":1300,"lat":7.76,"lon":4.55,"how":"Each August worshippers of Osun gather at the sacred grove on the Osun river outside Osogbo, one of the last surviving Yoruba sacred forests.","why":"The grove is sacred to the river goddess Osun. The year is approximate and rests on tradition: the festival is believed to be more than 700 years old.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osun-Osogbo"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-yajna","name":"Yajna","tradition":"vedic","year":-1500,"lat":30.9,"lon":75.85,"how":"Oblations and libations are offered into a sacred fire (agni) with mantras; by the time of the Rigveda it was a fully developed institution.","why":"The word itself means worship, devotion and offering; the rite is described in the Brahmanas and the Yajurveda.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yajna"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-puja","name":"Puja","tradition":"hinduism","year":-500,"lat":9.92,"lon":78.12,"how":"Hindus offer light, flowers, water and food to one or more deities at home or in temples.","why":"It is devotional homage and prayer, a loving offering to the divine. The year is approximate: one of the earliest mentions of puja is in the Grihya Sutras, dated to about 500 BCE.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puja_(Hinduism)"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-egypt","name":"The Egyptian offering formula","tradition":"egyptian","year":-2500,"lat":29.87,"lon":31.22,"how":"Tombs and funerary objects carried the formula \"an offering given by the king\", naming bread, beer, oxen, fowl, alabaster and cloth for the dead.","why":"It was believed to let the deceased share in offerings presented to the gods in the king's name or brought by family.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_offering_formula"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-korban","name":"Korban","tradition":"judaism","year":-950,"lat":31.78,"lon":35.23,"how":"The Torah describes many kinds of sacrificial offering, usually animals, brought to the Temple; they ceased after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, since Jerusalem was the only permitted place.","why":"Offerings were given to God to show homage, win favour or secure pardon. The year is approximate: it marks Solomon's Temple, believed to have stood from the 10th century BCE, though some scholars doubt a temple that early; in the biblical account, sacrifice in the Tabernacle came first.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korban"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-hecatomb","name":"Hecatomb","tradition":"greek","year":-750,"lat":37.64,"lon":21.63,"how":"A sacrifice of a hundred cattle, or in practice as few as twelve, offered to gods such as Hera, Athena, Apollo and Zeus, for example at the end of the Olympic Games.","why":"The great offering honoured the gods at major festivals and is already described in the Iliad.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecatomb"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-suovetaurilia","name":"Suovetaurilia","tradition":"roman","year":-160,"lat":41.9,"lon":12.48,"how":"A pig, a sheep and a bull were sacrificed to Mars; Cato the Elder preserves the rite for purifying private fields.","why":"It blessed and purified land and people.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suovetaurilia"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-blot","name":"Blot","tradition":"norse","year":1075,"lat":59.9,"lon":17.63,"how":"An animal was killed and offered to a particular being, and its meat was usually cooked and eaten by the community, often in a ruler's hall.","why":"Old Norse sources present it as a central rite connected with many aspects of life; Adam of Bremen's account of Uppsala may exaggerate human sacrifice.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%B3t"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-eid","name":"Qurbani at Eid al-Adha","tradition":"islam","year":null,"lat":21.41,"lon":39.89,"how":"On the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, during the Hajj season, Muslims who can afford it sacrifice an animal and share the meat.","why":"It commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son at God's command.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-shinsen","name":"Shinsen","tradition":"shinto","year":927,"lat":34.46,"lon":136.73,"how":"Food such as rice, seafood, mountain produce and seasonal specialities is offered at shrines or household altars, then eaten together afterwards.","why":"The blessed food welcomes the kami, and sharing it joins people with the gods. The year is that of the Engishiki, completed in 927, which lists many specific offerings; the custom itself is older.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinsen"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-josspaper","name":"Burning joss paper","tradition":"chinesefolk","year":null,"lat":23.13,"lon":113.26,"how":"Paper money and paper models of goods are burned as offerings on festivals, at funerals and in ancestral worship.","why":"The offerings are meant to provide for the spirits of the dead in the afterlife.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_paper"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-bloodletting","name":"Royal bloodletting","tradition":"maya","year":723,"lat":16.9,"lon":-90.97,"how":"Rulers and elites cut or pierced their own bodies to offer blood in public ritual.","why":"It legitimised the ruling lineage and was held vital to the well-being of the community. The year is approximate: it is that of Yaxchilan Lintel 24 (about 723 to 726), the best-known Maya depiction; an Epi-Olmec stela of about AD 155 already seems to describe a ruler's bloodletting.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodletting_in_Mesoamerica"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-aztec","name":"Aztec heart sacrifice","tradition":"aztec","year":1487,"lat":19.44,"lon":-99.13,"how":"The most common form of human sacrifice was removal of the heart; the practice was older than the Aztecs and probably went back to the Olmecs.","why":"The heart was thought to be the seat of the person and a fragment of the Sun's heat. The year is the re-consecration of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the largest sacrifice reported by some post-conquest sources; the practice itself is much older.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_sacrifice_in_Aztec_culture"},{"practice":"Sacrifice and offering","id":"sacrifice-capacocha","name":"Capacocha","tradition":"inca","year":1438,"lat":-24.72,"lon":-68.54,"how":"Children were chosen from across the Inca empire and sacrificed at major shrines (huacas), some on high peaks such as Llullaillaco.","why":"It was one of the most important Inca rites of offering to the sacred places of the empire. The year is approximate and rests on tradition: Pachacuti is named as the first Sapa Inca to make this sacrifice, and his reign is dated from 1438 in the standard chronology, though radiocarbon dates suggest the early 15th century.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacocha"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-mikveh","name":"Immersion in the mikveh","tradition":"judaism","year":-100,"lat":31.78,"lon":35.23,"how":"Full immersion in a ritual bath of gathered water; hundreds of mikvaot from the Second Temple period have been found in Jerusalem, Masada and elsewhere.","why":"Immersion restores ritual purity, and Orthodox communities treat a mikveh as essential.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikveh"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-baptism","name":"Baptism","tradition":"christianity","year":30,"lat":31.84,"lon":35.54,"how":"Water is sprinkled or poured on the head, or the person is immersed, traditionally three times; the Gospels recount that John the Baptist baptised Jesus in the Jordan.","why":"It is the Christian rite of initiation, regarded as a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others.","derives_from":"water-mikveh","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-masbuta","name":"Masbuta","tradition":"mandaeism","year":null,"lat":31.32,"lon":48.67,"how":"On Sundays, in white robes, Mandaeans receive a triple full immersion in living, flowing river water, with signing of the forehead by a priest.","why":"It is a repeated purification rather than a one-time initiation, and Mandaeans revere John the Baptist.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masbuta"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-wudu","name":"Wudu","tradition":"islam","year":null,"lat":21.42,"lon":39.83,"how":"Before prayer or reading the Quran, Muslims wash hands, mouth, nose, face and forearms, wipe head and ears, and wash the feet, in order.","why":"Quran 5:6 commands washing before rising for prayer.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wudu"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-padyab","name":"Padyab ablution","tradition":"zoroaster","year":null,"lat":18.95,"lon":72.82,"how":"Zoroastrians wash in the padyab ablution and then untie and retie the sacred cord (kushti) with prayers, before visiting a fire temple or after bodily functions.","why":"The washing restores ritual effectiveness before religious activity.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushti"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-ganges","name":"Bathing in the Ganges","tradition":"hinduism","year":-200,"lat":25.31,"lon":83.01,"how":"Hindus bathe in the river, especially at festivals and at holy cities such as Varanasi, and many carry the ashes of the dead to it.","why":"Its waters are held to be both pure and purifying, absorbing impurities and carrying them away. The year is approximate: from about 200 BCE the river was personified as the goddess Ganga and became a focus of pilgrimage, though it was already central sacred geography by the late Vedic period.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-melukat","name":"Melukat","tradition":"hinduism","year":null,"lat":-8.42,"lon":115.32,"how":"In Bali a priest recites mantras over the person, who is bathed in coconut water and then immersed in a spring, river or sea, as at Tirta Empul.","why":"It removes impurities of mind, body and spirit.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melukat"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-misogi","name":"Misogi","tradition":"shinto","year":712,"lat":35.89,"lon":137.48,"how":"The whole body is washed, often under sacred waterfalls or in rivers and the sea, at places such as Mount Ontake.","why":"It follows the Kojiki story of Izanagi purifying himself in the sea after returning from the land of the dead.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogi"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-songkran","name":"Songkran water rites","tradition":"theravada","year":1690,"lat":13.75,"lon":100.5,"how":"At the Thai New Year, people bathe Buddha images and pour water over the hands of monks and elders, asking their blessing.","why":"The pouring represents purification and the washing away of sins and bad luck. The year is that of the earliest historical record cited, Engelbert Kaempfer's 1690 account of the Siamese new-year festival Sonkraen; the festival itself is older.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songkran_(Thailand)"},{"practice":"Purification by water","id":"water-sweatlodge","name":"Sweat lodge","tradition":"nativeam","year":null,"lat":43.03,"lon":-102.55,"how":"In a low dome of saplings and covers, water is poured on hot stones to induce sweating while participants pray, led by Indigenous elders.","why":"The ceremony is held for prayer, healing and purification.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweat_lodge"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-amidah","name":"The Amidah and the three daily services","tradition":"judaism","year":70,"lat":31.78,"lon":35.23,"how":"Orthodox Jews pray morning, afternoon and evening services, each with the Amidah, recited standing with feet together and facing Jerusalem.","why":"Its name means \"the standing prayer\", and it is central to Jewish worship. The year is approximate: some blessings go back to the Second Temple period, and the prayer was fixed after the Temple's destruction in 70 CE, a codification the Talmud credits to Rabban Gamaliel II.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amidah"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-hours","name":"Liturgy of the Hours","tradition":"catholic","year":530,"lat":41.9,"lon":12.45,"how":"A set of prayers, mostly psalms, said at the canonical hours through the day and night; the Rule of Saint Benedict organised them for monks.","why":"They sanctify each part of the day with praise; early Christians continued the Jewish practice of prayer at set hours.","derives_from":"prayer-amidah","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy_of_the_Hours"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-agpeya","name":"Agpeya","tradition":"coptic","year":null,"lat":30.04,"lon":31.24,"how":"Coptic Christians recite the prayers of the hours seven times a day, facing east, at home or in church.","why":"The practice is rooted in Psalm 119:164, \"seven times a day I praise you\".","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agpeya"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-salah","name":"Salah","tradition":"islam","year":621,"lat":21.42,"lon":39.83,"how":"Muslims pray five times a day (three in some traditions) in units of standing, bowing and prostration with forehead, nose, knees, palms and toes on the ground, facing Mecca.","why":"It is the second and most important pillar after the declaration of faith for Sunnis. The year rests on tradition: the five daily prayers are said to have been set during the Night Journey, which Sunnis who give it a date place in 621.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salah"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-brakha","name":"Brakha","tradition":"mandaeism","year":null,"lat":31.32,"lon":48.67,"how":"Mandaeans pray three times a day, at dawn, noon and evening, standing and facing north; prostration is not practised.","why":"The set prayers are religious duties for priests and laity alike.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brakha"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-gah","name":"The five gahs","tradition":"zoroaster","year":null,"lat":31.9,"lon":54.37,"how":"The Zoroastrian day is divided into five periods, each with its own prayer.","why":"Prayer is recited in each section of the day as a religious duty.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C4%81h"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-sandhya","name":"Sandhyavandanam","tradition":"hinduism","year":null,"lat":25.31,"lon":83.01,"how":"Initiated \"twice-born\" Hindus perform a ritual centred on the Gayatri mantra three times a day, at the junctions of night and day.","why":"It is a mandatory salutation at the twilight hours for those who have received the sacred thread.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhyavandanam"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-nitnem","name":"Nitnem","tradition":"sikhism","year":null,"lat":31.62,"lon":74.88,"how":"Initiated Sikhs read a set of hymns at least three times a day, starting in the early morning hours (amrit vela).","why":"The Sikh Code of Conduct makes the daily hymns mandatory.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitnem"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-prostration","name":"Buddhist prostration","tradition":"theravada","year":null,"lat":13.75,"lon":100.5,"how":"Theravada Buddhists perform a five-point prostration, placing palms, elbows, toes, knees and forehead on the floor before the Buddha, teaching and community.","why":"It shows reverence and is held to purify defilements, especially conceit.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostration_(Buddhism)"},{"practice":"Prayer postures and fixed prayer times","id":"prayer-bahai","name":"Bahai obligatory prayer","tradition":"bahai","year":1873,"lat":32.94,"lon":35.09,"how":"Bahais say daily one of three obligatory prayers written by Bahaullah (short, medium or long), each with its own time and form.","why":"Along with fasting, obligatory prayer is one of the greatest obligations of a Bahai. The year is that of the Kitab-i-Aqdas (1873), which prescribes daily obligatory prayer; the three prayers now used were written later.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obligatory_Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_prayers"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-siberia","name":"Siberian shamanic seance","tradition":"animism","year":null,"lat":62.03,"lon":129.73,"how":"Shamans of Siberian peoples conduct healing seances with drum and song, imitating the sounds of helping spirits.","why":"The shaman's free soul was believed to travel to upper and lower worlds to rescue souls, ward off evil spirits and secure success in the hunt.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamanism_in_Siberia"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-noaidi","name":"The noaidi's drum","tradition":"sami","year":null,"lat":69,"lon":23.04,"how":"The Sami noaidi used a drum to call on helping spirits and to make out-of-body journeys; most practice died out in the 17th century under Christianisation.","why":"The journeys sought help from benevolent spirits for the community.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noaidi"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-pythia","name":"The Pythia at Delphi","tradition":"greek","year":-800,"lat":38.48,"lon":22.5,"how":"The high priestess of Apollo gave oracles seated on a tripod; ancient and later writers describe her in an ecstatic trance.","why":"Apollo was believed to speak through her; some accounts link the trance to vapours from the ground.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythia"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-sama","name":"Sama","tradition":"sufism","year":1250,"lat":37.87,"lon":32.48,"how":"A Sufi ceremony of listening to music and poetry within the remembrance of God (dhikr), associated with Rumi and the whirling Mevlevi order.","why":"Rumi is said to have fallen into ecstatic trance on hearing God's name in a goldbeater's hammering; sama invites reflection on God's presence.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sama_(Sufism)"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-zar","name":"Zar","tradition":"","year":1550,"lat":12.6,"lon":37.47,"how":"In the Horn of Africa and nearby regions, people (mostly women) believed to be possessed by a zar spirit hold rituals to reconcile with it rather than expel it.","why":"The spirit is believed to cause illness, and the possession is often treated as lifelong.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C4%81r"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-san","name":"San trance","tradition":"animism","year":null,"lat":-22,"lon":22,"how":"San shamans of southern Africa entered trance to travel into the spirit world.","why":"Among other aims, they sought to capture the animals associated with rain.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_peoples"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-vodou","name":"Possession by the lwa","tradition":"vodou","year":1750,"lat":18.54,"lon":-72.34,"how":"Vodouists drum, sing and dance to encourage a lwa spirit to possess a dancer temporarily.","why":"The lwa serve as intermediaries of God, communicating with humans through dreams or direct possession. The year is approximate: Vodou took form around the mid-18th century, as African religions mixed with Catholic and other European traditions.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-candomble","name":"Incorporation of the orixas","tradition":"candomble","year":1800,"lat":-12.97,"lon":-38.5,"how":"Drumming, singing and dancing encourage an orixa to possess one of the members, with whom the congregation then interacts.","why":"Possession makes the orixa present among the faithful. The year is approximate: Candomble coalesced in Bahia during the 19th century.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candombl%C3%A9"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-umbanda","name":"Umbanda mediumship","tradition":"umbanda","year":1920,"lat":-22.91,"lon":-43.17,"how":"Mediums in Brazilian terreiros are possessed by spirits such as the pretos velhos and caboclos, spirits of enslaved Africans and Indigenous Brazilians.","why":"These spirits are emissaries of the orixas; the religion emerged in the 1920s from Spiritism, Candomble and Catholicism.","derives_from":"trance-candomble","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbanda"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-seance","name":"Spiritualist seance","tradition":"spiritualism","year":1848,"lat":43.13,"lon":-77.2,"how":"Mediums claim to communicate with spirits of the dead at seances; modern Spiritualism is dated from the Fox sisters in New York State in 1848.","why":"Adherents believe the dead survive and can be contacted.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediumship"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-azusa","name":"Speaking in tongues","tradition":"pentecostal","year":1906,"lat":34.05,"lon":-118.24,"how":"At the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, led by William J. Seymour from April 1906, worshippers spoke in tongues and shouted praises.","why":"Participants understood it as baptism with the Holy Spirit.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azusa_Street_Revival"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-gut","name":"Gut","tradition":"muism","year":1100,"lat":37.57,"lon":126.98,"how":"The Korean mudang drums and dances in swirling circles to enter a possession trance, offering food and entertainment to gods and ancestors.","why":"Neglect of ancestors and gods is seen as the main cause of affliction, which the ritual diagnoses and resolves. The year is approximate: the earliest historical references to the mudang date to the 12th century.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_shamanism"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-theyyam","name":"Theyyam","tradition":"hinduism","year":null,"lat":11.87,"lon":75.37,"how":"In North Malabar, after hours of ritual song and preparation, the performer receives the sacred headdress and is believed to become the deity.","why":"The placing of the headdress is believed to mark the entry of the deity into the performer's body.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theyyam"},{"practice":"Ecstatic trance and spirit possession","id":"trance-nechung","name":"The Nechung Oracle","tradition":"vajrayana","year":1500,"lat":29.67,"lon":91.07,"how":"A medium, the oracle of the Dalai Lama since the second Dalai Lama, goes into trance and is possessed by Dorje Drakden, the principal protector of the Dalai Lamas.","why":"Oracles have played a part in revelation and state decisions in Tibet.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nechung_Oracle"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-seder","name":"Passover Seder","tradition":"judaism","year":200,"lat":31.78,"lon":35.23,"how":"A ritual feast on the first night of Passover with four cups of wine, symbolic foods and the retelling of the Exodus; its rituals are rooted in the Mishnah.","why":"It commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover_Seder"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-eucharist","name":"Eucharist","tradition":"christianity","year":100,"lat":31.78,"lon":35.23,"how":"Christians share consecrated bread and wine; the rite is named \"thanksgiving\" in the Didache of the late 1st or early 2nd century.","why":"Christians believe Jesus instituted it at the Last Supper the night before his crucifixion.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharist"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-lovefeast","name":"Love feast","tradition":"protestant","year":1727,"lat":51.02,"lon":14.74,"how":"A simple shared meal with hymns and testimonies, revived by the Moravians under Zinzendorf and adopted by Methodists.","why":"It continues the agape meals of the early Church as an act of fellowship.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agape_feast"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-mithras","name":"Mithraic banquet","tradition":"mithraism","year":100,"lat":41.9,"lon":12.48,"how":"Initiates of Mithras, ranked in seven grades, held communal ritual meals in their temples.","why":"Mithraic imagery shows Mithras sharing a banquet with the Sun god Sol.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraism"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-iftar","name":"Iftar","tradition":"islam","year":624,"lat":24.47,"lon":39.61,"how":"At sunset during Ramadan Muslims break the fast together, traditionally beginning with dates and water.","why":"It follows the example of Muhammad, who broke his fast with dates and water.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iftar"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-langar","name":"Langar","tradition":"sikhism","year":1500,"lat":31.62,"lon":74.88,"how":"The Golden Temple, like other gurdwaras, has a langar, a free community-run kitchen serving a vegetarian meal to all visitors without distinction.","why":"The meal is offered to all visitors without discrimination. The year is approximate: Guru Nanak introduced the langar into Sikhism around 1500 CE, and later Gurus made it an institution.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Temple"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-prasada","name":"Prasada","tradition":"hinduism","year":null,"lat":19.8,"lon":85.82,"how":"Vegetarian food is offered to a deity and then distributed to devotees; in temples the consecrated mahaprasada is shared by all.","why":"Food offered to the god returns as the god's grace.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prasada"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-naorai","name":"Naorai","tradition":"shinto","year":null,"lat":34.46,"lon":136.73,"how":"At the end of a shrine festival, food that was offered to the kami is eaten together by the participants.","why":"Sharing the blessed food joins the community with the kami.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinsen"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-bahai","name":"Nineteen Day Feast","tradition":"bahai","year":null,"lat":32.82,"lon":34.99,"how":"On the first day of each Bahai month the community gathers for devotions, consultation and a social part, usually with refreshments.","why":"It is the regular gathering of the local Bahai community, which has no clergy.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Day_Feast"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-potlatch","name":"Potlatch","tradition":"pnw","year":null,"lat":50.59,"lon":-126.93,"how":"Peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast hold gift-giving feasts at births, deaths, adoptions, weddings and other major events; Canada criminalised them from 1885 to 1951.","why":"The potlatch was the main governmental, legal and economic institution of these societies.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potlatch"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-kava","name":"Kava ceremony","tradition":"polynesian","year":null,"lat":-21.14,"lon":-175.2,"how":"In western Oceania kava is prepared and drunk in ceremony; in Tonga it was associated with the ancient gods, and in the Fijian sevusevu a visitor presents kava to the chief.","why":"Kava plays a central role in marking stages of life and in welcoming guests.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kava_culture"},{"practice":"Sacred meals","id":"meals-peyote","name":"Peyote meeting","tradition":"nativeam","year":1890,"lat":35.47,"lon":-97.52,"how":"The Native American Church takes peyote as a sacrament; it arose in Oklahoma Territory after peyote use spread from Mexico.","why":"The religion combines traditional Native beliefs with Christian elements, and peyote is its sacrament.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_Church"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-chinchorro","name":"Chinchorro mummies","tradition":"","year":-5050,"lat":-18.48,"lon":-70.32,"how":"The Chinchorro culture of the Atacama coast prepared their dead as artificial mummies; a child from the Camarones Valley dates to about 5050 BCE.","why":"They are the oldest intentionally prepared mummies known; the beliefs behind them are not recorded.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-egypt","name":"Egyptian mummification and burial","tradition":"egyptian","year":-4800,"lat":29.87,"lon":31.22,"how":"Bodies were dried with natron, wrapped and buried with spells and grave goods; burials of the Merimde culture date from about 4800 BCE.","why":"The Egyptians believed these rites were necessary to ensure immortality.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_funerary_practices"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-dakhma","name":"Towers of Silence","tradition":"zoroaster","year":-450,"lat":31.85,"lon":54.43,"how":"Corpses are exposed on raised circular towers (dakhma) for vultures, and the bones gathered into a central pit; exposure is first attested by Herodotus, towers only in the 9th century.","why":"Exposure avoids contaminating soil, fire and other elements with dead matter.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Silence"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-skyburial","name":"Sky burial","tradition":"vajrayana","year":1150,"lat":29.65,"lon":91.1,"how":"In Tibet and neighbouring regions the body is placed on a mountaintop to decompose or be eaten by vultures and other scavengers.","why":"It is seen as a last act of generosity, providing food to sustain living beings, in line with Buddhist compassion. The year is approximate: the customs are first recorded in a 12th-century Buddhist treatise.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-antyesti","name":"Antyesti","tradition":"hinduism","year":null,"lat":25.31,"lon":83.01,"how":"The Hindu funeral, the last life-cycle rite, usually involves cremation, and the ashes are immersed in sacred waters at places such as Varanasi or Haridwar.","why":"Its name means \"last sacrifice\", the final rite of passage.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antyesti"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-jewish","name":"Jewish burial and shiva","tradition":"judaism","year":null,"lat":31.78,"lon":35.23,"how":"Burial takes place as soon as possible after death, followed by a seven-day mourning period (shiva) and recitation of Kaddish for eleven months.","why":"Jewish law sets burial as soon as possible and structured stages of mourning.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bereavement_in_Judaism"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-janazah","name":"Janazah","tradition":"islam","year":null,"lat":24.47,"lon":39.61,"how":"The body is washed, wrapped in white cloth, prayed over and buried as soon as possible, without a coffin and aligned toward Mecca; cremation is forbidden.","why":"Islamic law calls for swift and simple burial.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_funeral"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-qingming","name":"Qingming tomb sweeping","tradition":"chinesefolk","year":732,"lat":34.27,"lon":108.94,"how":"Families visit, clean and make offerings at ancestral graves in early April; in 732 Emperor Xuanzong of Tang fixed such respects to this day.","why":"It honours and cares for the ancestors.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingming_Festival"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-obon","name":"Obon","tradition":"buddhism","year":1500,"lat":35.01,"lon":135.77,"how":"Families return to ancestral homes, clean graves and welcome the spirits at household altars, with the Bon Odori dance; it has been kept for more than 500 years.","why":"The ancestors' spirits are believed to revisit the household at this time.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obon"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-shipburial","name":"Viking ship burial","tradition":"norse","year":700,"lat":59.27,"lon":10.41,"how":"A ship or boat served as the tomb or as part of the grave goods, as in the Oseberg ship found in Norway.","why":"The practice is known among several seafaring cultures of Asia and Europe, notably Viking Age Scandinavia. The year is approximate: the earliest presumed ship burial in Scandinavia is dated by dendrochronology to about 700 AD.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_burial"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-famadihana","name":"Famadihana","tradition":"animism","year":1650,"lat":-18.91,"lon":47.52,"how":"The Malagasy bring ancestors' bodies out of the family tomb, rewrap them in fresh cloth, and dance with them before returning them; in its present form it may date from the 17th century.","why":"It keeps the ancestors remembered and celebrates their lives.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famadihana"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-manene","name":"Ma'nene","tradition":"animism","year":null,"lat":-3.05,"lon":119.9,"how":"Each August the Toraja of Sulawesi exhume their dead to wash, groom and dress them in new clothes, within a culture of elaborate funerals and cliff burials.","why":"It continues care for the dead as members of the family.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torajan_people"},{"practice":"Treatment of the dead","id":"dead-muertos","name":"Day of the Dead","tradition":"catholic","year":null,"lat":17.06,"lon":-96.72,"how":"On 1 and 2 November Mexican families build home altars (ofrendas) with marigolds and the favourite foods of the dead, and visit their graves.","why":"It remembers and honours dead friends and relatives.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-bharatanatyam","name":"Bharatanatyam","tradition":"hinduism","year":171,"lat":10.78,"lon":79.13,"how":"A classical dance of Tamil Nadu expressing Hindu, especially Shaiva, themes, performed for Nataraja; its precursors appear in the Natya Shastra and the Tamil epic Silappatikaram.","why":"The dance is offered to the god of dance and conveys religious ideas.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatanatyam"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-kirtan","name":"Shabad kirtan","tradition":"sikhism","year":null,"lat":31.62,"lon":74.88,"how":"Sikhs sing the hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib to the ragas in which the scripture is arranged.","why":"Devotional singing of scripture is a central form of Sikh worship.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtan"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-qawwali","name":"Qawwali","tradition":"sufism","year":1300,"lat":28.59,"lon":77.24,"how":"Sufi devotional singing performed at shrines in South Asia; its development is attributed to Amir Khusrau, disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi.","why":"It aims to bring about remembrance of God and spiritual ecstasy.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qawwali"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-gregorian","name":"Gregorian chant","tradition":"catholic","year":850,"lat":49.12,"lon":6.18,"how":"Unaccompanied monophonic song in Latin for the liturgy, developed mainly in western and central Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries.","why":"It is the sung prayer of the Roman Catholic liturgy; legend credits Pope Gregory I.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_chant"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-nigun","name":"Nigun","tradition":"hasidism","year":null,"lat":49.43,"lon":27.4,"how":"Groups sing wordless melodies of repeated syllables, a form of Ashkenazi and especially Hasidic vocal music.","why":"The nigun can be a mystical form of prayer.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigun"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-shakers","name":"Shaker worship dance","tradition":"protestant","year":1747,"lat":53.48,"lon":-2.24,"how":"Shakers, founded in England in 1747, worshipped with ecstatic movement and later with set dances and gift songs.","why":"Their dances and songs were taken as inspired by spiritual revelation.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakers"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-spirituals","name":"Spirituals","tradition":"protestant","year":1800,"lat":32.08,"lon":-81.09,"how":"African American Christian songs that merged African musical influences with the experience of slavery.","why":"They carried Christian faith through the experience of bondage. The year is approximate: the songs spread in the late 18th century and were identifiable as a genre by the early 19th century.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituals"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-ghostdance","name":"Ghost Dance","tradition":"nativeam","year":1889,"lat":39,"lon":-119.1,"how":"A circle dance first practised by the Northern Paiute in Nevada in 1889 and spread among many Native peoples.","why":"Wovoka taught that proper practice would reunite the living with the dead and bring peace and an end to American expansion.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Dance"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-sundance","name":"Sun Dance","tradition":"lakota","year":null,"lat":43.03,"lon":-102.55,"how":"Plains peoples gather for days of dancing, fasting and prayer with drum, sacred fire and pipe; some dancers are pierced and pull against weights.","why":"Personal and community sacrifice reaffirms beliefs about the world and the supernatural.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Dance"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-hula","name":"Hula kahiko","tradition":"hawaiian","year":null,"lat":19.6,"lon":-155.5,"how":"Ancient hula, accompanied by chant and traditional instruments, enacts the words of a song; learners were ritually secluded under the goddess Laka.","why":"Many hula are religious performances dedicated to Hawaiian gods.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hula"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-egungun","name":"Egungun masquerade","tradition":"yoruba","year":null,"lat":7.85,"lon":3.93,"how":"Masked, fully costumed dancers appear at Egungun festivals and family rites.","why":"The masquerade is the visible presence of the ancestors revisiting the living.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egungun"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-dogon","name":"Dogon mask dances","tradition":"dogon","year":null,"lat":14.35,"lon":-3.61,"how":"The Awa mask society dances at the Sigi ritual and at dama ceremonies that end mourning.","why":"The dances retell the creation of the world and the coming of death, and close the period of mourning.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogon_people"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-cham","name":"Cham dance","tradition":"vajrayana","year":null,"lat":29.33,"lon":91.5,"how":"Monks perform masked, costumed dances with Tibetan monastic music, often depicting the life of Padmasambhava.","why":"Cham is considered meditation and an offering to the gods, bringing merit to those who watch.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cham_dance"},{"practice":"Sacred dance and music","id":"dance-kagura","name":"Kagura","tradition":"shinto","year":712,"lat":32.71,"lon":131.31,"how":"Ritual dance for the kami, traditionally by a female shaman who may become the god during the dance; the Kojiki tells its mythic origin.","why":"Its name means god-entertainment, and it purifies and stirs the spirit.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagura"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-sannyasa","name":"Sannyasa","tradition":"hinduism","year":-500,"lat":30.09,"lon":78.27,"how":"In the fourth stage of life, a Hindu renounces household and ritual life to live as a wandering ascetic; the term appears in texts of the 1st millennium BCE.","why":"The goal of the renunciant is moksha, liberation.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sannyasa"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-chaturmas","name":"Jain ascetics and chaturmas","tradition":"jainism","year":-367,"lat":24.6,"lon":73.71,"how":"Jain monks and nuns keep five great vows, and during the four monsoon months stay in one place; a united order existed before 367 BCE.","why":"Staying put reduces the risk of killing insects and small creatures that thrive in the rains.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_monasticism"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-vassa","name":"Vassa, the rains retreat","tradition":"theravada","year":null,"lat":7.29,"lon":80.63,"how":"For three lunar months of the wet season, Theravada monks remain in one monastery; Korean, Vietnamese and Tibetan monastics keep an equivalent retreat.","why":"The settled season is devoted to intensive practice.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassa"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-essenes","name":"The Essenes","tradition":"judaism","year":-150,"lat":31.74,"lon":35.46,"how":"A Jewish community of the Second Temple period, 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE, linked by many scholars with the settlement at Qumran on the Dead Sea.","why":"They separated over disputes about Jewish law and the legitimacy of the high priesthood.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-desert","name":"The Desert Fathers","tradition":"coptic","year":270,"lat":30.32,"lon":30.36,"how":"Christian hermits and ascetics settled in the Egyptian desert, notably Wadi El Natrun; Anthony the Great withdrew to the desert in 270 to 271.","why":"They sought God through solitude and asceticism, founding Christian monasticism.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Fathers"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-benedict","name":"The Rule of Saint Benedict","tradition":"catholic","year":530,"lat":41.49,"lon":13.81,"how":"Monks live communally under an abbot following a rule written about 530, dividing the day between prayer and work.","why":"Its motto \"pray and work\" sums up a moderate path of monastic life.","derives_from":"retreat-desert","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Saint_Benedict"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-athos","name":"Mount Athos","tradition":"orthodox","year":963,"lat":40.16,"lon":24.33,"how":"A peninsula in Greece given over to Orthodox monasteries; the Great Lavra was founded in 963 by Athanasius the Athonite.","why":"It is governed as an autonomous region by its monastic community.","derives_from":"retreat-desert","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Athos"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-itikaf","name":"Itikaf","tradition":"islam","year":null,"lat":24.47,"lon":39.61,"how":"A Muslim secludes themself in a mosque for a time, especially the last ten days of Ramadan, devoted to worship.","why":"Muhammad is reported to have withdrawn into the mosque in those days, seeking the Night of Decree.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%CA%BFtik%C4%81f"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-khalwa","name":"Khalwa","tradition":"sufism","year":null,"lat":33.31,"lon":44.37,"how":"A Sufi disciple enters solitary retreat, traditionally for forty days, under a shaykh, leaving only for prayers and to discuss dreams and visions.","why":"Seclusion intensifies spiritual exercises under guidance.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalwa_(Sufism)"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-quanzhen","name":"Quanzhen monasticism","tradition":"taoism","year":1170,"lat":37.4,"lon":121.6,"how":"The Quanzhen school, founded in Shandong around 1170 by Wang Chongyang and others, keeps monasteries such as the White Cloud Monastery in Beijing.","why":"Its name means Complete Perfection, and its adepts are expected to keep celibacy and practise self-cultivation.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quanzhen_School"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-kaihogyo","name":"Kaihogyo","tradition":"mahayana","year":860,"lat":35.07,"lon":135.84,"how":"Tendai monks walk a route on Mount Hiei, praying at halls and shrines, in courses of 100 or 1,000 days spread over seven years; Soo (831 to 918) is held to be its founder.","why":"It is an ascetic practice of devotion and endurance.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaih%C5%8Dgy%C5%8D"},{"practice":"Retreat and monastic withdrawal","id":"retreat-sesshin","name":"Sesshin","tradition":"zen","year":null,"lat":35.01,"lon":135.77,"how":"A period of intensive retreat in a Zen monastery or centre, devoted almost exclusively to seated meditation in periods of 30 to 50 minutes.","why":"It deepens practice beyond the ordinary monastic routine.","derives_from":"","source":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesshin"}]