The Encyclopedia of World Religions

angels S 15

at several special occasions. They also sponsor feasts in which the ancestors participate, although priests known as BRAHMINS actually eat the food. In traditional Chinese communities, the ances tors are honored at three places: at a household shrine, where simple offerings may be placed daily before a tablet bearing the names of the recently deceased; at an extended family shrine, where large tablets bearing the names of male ancestors for six generations back are set up on tiers and honored; and at the cemetery, where the family traditionally cleans the graves and sets out offer ings twice a year, in spring and fall. While Chris tians today do not engage in ancestor worship in a strict sense, archaeology seems to indicate that the earliest Christians did. They visited the graves of their ancestors and enjoyed a meal there with them. Many people believe that neglected ancestors have the power to cause illness and misfortune. Especially in these cases it is important to be able to communicate with the ancestors: to learn what has offended them and what one can do to stop their anger. In Korea SHAMANS traditionally consult the ancestors in an effort to alleviate the sufferings of their clients. In parts of Africa people use vari ous methods of divination to determine what is troubling the ancestors. People also expect the ancestors, if they are treated properly, to help them. Such help often includes health and material well-being. The so called CARGO CULTS of Melanesia are based on the belief that the spirits of the dead will eventually return and distribute riches among the living. In one cargo cult people used telephones to commu nicate with the ancestors. In another they built a landing strip for the ancestors to use when they return in airplanes. The cults began in the 19th century when European explorers distributed gifts to the islanders. There may be more to ancestor worship than first meets the eye. One scholar has argued that for one group of people in Melanesia ancestor worship was actually a way by which the peo ple, perhaps unknowingly, maintained a balance between yams and pigs in their diets. Such an

The Shang rulers of China had ritual vessels cast in bronze to feast the ancestors. This example was decorated with taotie ( t’ao t’ieh ) mask images, representing either a flesh-eating monster or a celestial being. (© Asian Art & Archaeology, Inc./CORBIS)

ecological explanation is intriguing, but not all scholars accept it.

angels Pure spirits devoted to the worship and service of G OD . Most developed religious tradi tions have a class of beings that range between the human realm and the supreme God or Ultimate Reality. They include lesser gods, SAINTS , ancestral spirits ( see ANCESTOR WORSHIP ), BODHISATTVAS , and today even aliens from other planets. Angels are among the most prominent, especially in mono theistic (believing in one God) religions. They are believed to be pure spirits created directly by God to praise and honor him in HEAVEN and to serve as his messengers (the word angel comes from the Greek angellos, messenger) on Earth.