Animal worship

[9] The Egyptian pantheon was especially fond of zoomorphism, with many animals sacred to particular deities—cats to Bastet, ibises and baboons to Thoth, crocodiles to Sobek and Ra, fish to Set, mongoose, shrew and birds to Horus, dogs and jackals to Anubis, serpents and eels to Atum, beetles to Khepera, bulls to Apis.

[33] According to Tadeusz Margul, observations of the Hindu religion and the cow have led to a misunderstanding that Hindi has a servile relationship with the zebu, giving prayers and offerings to it daily.

This is a day when the dog is worshipped by applying tika (the holy vermilion dot), incense sticks, and garlanded generally with marigold flower.

The horse, exceptionally white, has always been associated with the sun, with daytime clarity, with fire, air, sky, water, and solar heroes, as an expression of good human aspirations in daily work and struggle against difficulties.

In the beliefs and rites of the nomads, first, the horse itself, second, its separate parts — the skull, cervical vertebrae, skin, hair, and third, objects associated with it — bridle, clamp, sweat, reins, whip, fallen horseshoe, image, etc., act as the patroness and protector of people.

In the cave of Phigalia Demeter was, according to popular tradition, represented with the head and mane of a horse, possibly a relic of the time when a non-specialized corn-spirit bore this form.

The great antiquity of Wepwawet's worship in Egypt is evidenced by the Narmer Palette, made by the very first of the dynastic pharaohs, including the image of a wolf on a standard as a part of a ritual procession.

[45] In Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese folklores, foxes (huli jing in China, kitsune in Japan, kumiho in Korea, and hồ ly tinh in Vietnam) are powerful spirits that are known for their highly mischievous and cunning nature, and they often take on the form of female humans to seduce men.

Sekhmet, the most famous Egyptian lion-goddess, was considered a daughter of the chief god Ra and was worshipped as a beneficent goddess who protected Egypt from pestilence and misfortune,[50] though at the same time was greatly feared due to her destructive capabilities, as demonstrated in the Book of the Heavenly Cow.

During the Late Period of ancient Egypt from 664 BC until the 4th century AD, the practice of mummifying small cats in Bastet's honour grew in popularity.

Thus the Lion of Judah started to be reverenced in some other Abrahamic cults, symbolising their prophets, such as Jesus and Haile Selassie I, the ras Tafari.

Tigers were either worshipped directly or used as a symbols of aspects of the divine in Shu and other ancient Chinese states, as well as the Black Pottery culture and among the Tungus.

[58] Even today, some celebrants of the Dragon Boat Festival paint the character 王 on children's foreheads with arsenic realgar as a protective ward against snakebite and other summer ailments.

The Solar Calendar Square is a tourist site in Kunming, Yunnan, related to the traditional religion of the Yi people which held that a tiger was responsible for the creation of the world.

[citation needed] In Korean history and culture, a tiger is regarded as a guardian that drives away evil spirits and a sacred creature that brings good luck – the symbol of courage and absolute power.

For example, the 19th-century painting named "Sansindo" (산신도) depicts the guardian spirit of a mountain leaning against a tiger or riding on the back of the animal.

In traditional Chinese folk religion, monkeys are supernatural beings that could shape shift into either monkey-demons or were-monkeys, and legends about monkey-human interbreeding are common.

In Daoism, monkeys, particularly gibbons, were believed to have longevity like a xian "transcendent; immortal", and to be innately adept at circulating and absorbing qi "breath; life force" through the Daoist discipline of daoyin "guiding and pulling".

All over that region it is the chief figure in a group of myths, fulfilling the office of a cultural hero who brings the light, gives fire to mankind, and so on.

[62] There were rituals that involved the hawk when the natives wished to make decisions about certain events, such as journeys from home, major agricultural work, and war.

Danh-gbi has numerous wives, who until 1857 took part in a public procession from which the profane crowd was excluded; a python was carried around the town in a hammock, perhaps as a ceremony for the expulsion of evils.

This tradition may have originated here, with a misinterpretation, but recently uncovered reliefs suggest a fish-god with human head and hands was worshipped by people who wore fish-skins.

In addition, the birth of young beetles from eggs laid in dung was an important symbol of rebirth, so amulets in the shape of scarabs were often included in tombs.

Notable oracular animals of the modern period include Lady Wonder, Punxsutawney Phil, Maggie the Monkey, Lazdeika the Crab, Paul the Octopus, and Sonny Wool.

Because of the eagle, an animal, the Inner Eurasians believed that they were capable of achieving their after-life and living in the home of their ancestors and Supreme God after their departure from the earth.

[84] Not believing in inflicting harm on any living, sentient being, some Buddhists also follow a vegetarian diet to avoid causing pain to animals.

In order to avoid crushing any living thing, be it plant, insect, or animal, some Buddhist monks do not travel during rainy seasons.

While Hindu belief proscribes the slaughter for human pleasure or lavishness [citation needed], animal sacrifice has been an accepted ritual in some parts of India.

She was heavily worshipped by sailors and fishermen who wanted to ensure a great supply of fish and sought her help in navigating the storms and calming the seas.

Mahavira, the 24th Teerthankar of Jainism, believed that the only way to be released from the cycle of life (birth, death, and then rebirth), one must follow ahimsa and not harm any living creature.