- Siedi in Balsfjord.
- Siedi in Saltfjellet.
- Siedi on the Mount of Vottovaara in Karelia
- Siedi near the village of Tumanny
- The same siedi near Tumanny
- Siedi near Tumanny [4]
- Siedi at the top of Nuorunen
- Man-made siedi near the lake Seydozero
Sieidis (Northern Sami : sieidi, Finnish : seita, Swedish : sejte, Russian : сейд) are Sami cultural items, usually a rock with unusual shape. Sieidis are found in nature in certain sacred places, for example at the sea or river beaches or on the mountain. [1] The word sieidi has also been used for holy rocks or wooden figures that have undergone some processing. The victory was a symbol of the divine power ruling over the natural resources that humans needed for their survival. Samis sacrificed parts of their catch at sea to get a successful hunting or fishing in the future.
In southern Sami, the name varies between viero-gierkie (sacrifice stone), viero-moere (sacrificial wood), soul-gierkie (goose-goat) and soul-nut (goose-tree).
Each stone is different from the others, and they might vary in form and size. They could be small rocks below a meter of highness but also high stones of more of ten meters. They don't have specific forms but sometimes they remind anthropomorphic features or have other peculiar forms. [2] Their natural form makes it difficult to recognize them in the Sami landscape and don't confuse them with other normal stones. In fact, most of the sieidis which are still known these days are remembered because of written or oral traditions, but other sieidis sites have been probably forgotten. [3]
One of the most relevant features of the Sami sacred landscape, the sieidis, consist of wood poles or, more commonly, of stones not modified by humans. Many sacrifices occurred at sieidis sites, and these were always connected to the lives of the Sami population. Sami used to do offers and sacrifices to ask help to the sieidis, for example during sickness, but also for assistance in everyday's tasks and duties. Fisherman offered fish before going fishing and others offered meat before going hunting. The relationship between these stones and the population was considered to be reciprocal. In fact, sacrifices were usually promised before trips and hunt or fishing expeditions; if the trips were a success the Sami respected their promises, if not they could destroy the sieidi which didn't help them. Meat, fish and bones were the most common offers, but there were also other types which included coins, metal objects, jewelry, cheese, and glass. [3] [2]
The Sámi are the traditionally Sámi-speaking indigenous people inhabiting the region of Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and of the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The region of Sápmi was formerly known as Lapland, and the Sámi have historically been known in English as Lapps or Laplanders, but these terms are regarded as offensive by the Sámi, who prefer their own endonym, e.g. Northern Sámi Sápmi. Their traditional languages are the Sámi languages, which are classified as a branch of the Uralic language family.
Tláloc is the god of rain in Aztec religion. He was also a deity of earthly fertility and water, worshipped as a giver of life and sustenance. This came to be due to many rituals, and sacrifices that were held in his name. He was feared, but not maliciously, for his power over hail, thunder, lightning, and even rain. He is also associated with caves, springs, and mountains, most specifically the sacred mountain where he was believed to reside. Cerro Tláloc is very important in understanding how rituals surrounding this deity played out. His followers were one of the oldest and most universal in ancient Mexico.
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly existed before that. Evidence of ritual human sacrifice can also be found back to at least pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica as well as in European civilizations. Varieties of ritual non-human sacrifices are practiced by numerous religions today.
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spread of Christianity in Late Antiquity, and continue in some cultures or religions today. Human sacrifice, where it existed, was always much rarer.
Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peoples. It was replaced by Christianity and forgotten during the Christianisation of Scandinavia. Scholars reconstruct aspects of North Germanic Religion by historical linguistics, archaeology, toponymy, and records left by North Germanic peoples, such as runic inscriptions in the Younger Futhark, a distinctly North Germanic extension of the runic alphabet. Numerous Old Norse works dated to the 13th-century record Norse mythology, a component of North Germanic religion.
Traditional Sámi spiritual practices and beliefs are based on a type of animism, polytheism, and what anthropologists may consider shamanism. The religious traditions can vary considerably from region to region within Sápmi.
The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the Shekhinah appeared. According to Hebrew tradition, the area was defined by four pillars that held up the veil of the covering, under which the Ark of the Covenant was held above the floor. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Ark contained the Ten Commandments, which were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The first Temple in Jerusalem, called Solomon's Temple, was said to have been built by King Solomon to keep the Ark.
Blót or geblōt are religious ceremonies in Germanic paganism that centred on the killing and offering of an animal to a particular being, typically followed by the communal cooking and eating of its meat. Old Norse sources present it as a central ritual in Old Nordic religion that was intimately connected with many wider aspects of life. Large blót are often described as taking place in halls, organised by the rulers of the region who were expected to carry out the practice on behalf of the people. Blót were central to the legitimacy of rulers and Christian rulers refusing to hold them were at times replaced by more willing alternatives and driven out of the land. Smaller, household blót were sometimes recorded as being led by women. Beyond strengthening legitimacy for the ruling elites, the performance of blót was often in order to ensure the fertility of the land, a good harvest and peace, although they are also recorded as being performed for divination or to achieve desired results in legal matters.
Sacrifice was a religious activity in Maya culture, involving the killing of humans or animals, or bloodletting by members of the community, in rituals superintended by priests. Sacrifice has been a feature of almost all pre-modern societies at some stage of their development and for broadly the same reason: to propitiate or fulfill a perceived obligation towards the gods.
The Aztec religion is a polytheistic and monistic pantheism in which the Nahua concept of teotl was construed as the supreme god Ometeotl, as well as a diverse pantheon of lesser gods and manifestations of nature. The popular religion tended to embrace the mythological and polytheistic aspects, and the Aztec Empire's state religion sponsored both the monism of the upper classes and the popular heterodoxies.
The Barbar Temple is an archaeological site located in the village of Barbar, Bahrain, considered to be part of the Dilmun culture. The most recent of the three Barbar temples was rediscovered by a Danish archaeological team in 1954. A further two temples were discovered on the site with the oldest dating back to 3000 BC. The temples were built of limestone blocks, believed to have been carved out from Jidda Island.
Capacocha or Qhapaq hucha was an important sacrificial rite among the Inca that typically involved the sacrifice of children. Children of both sexes were selected from across the Inca empire for sacrifice in capacocha ceremonies, which were performed at important shrines distributed across the empire, known as huacas, or wak'akuna.
Ukonkivi is located on the island of Ukonsaari in lake Inari, Finnish Lapland. The Inari Sami name for the island is Äijih. The area of the lake is called Ukonselkä. Ukonkivi was considered by the local Inari Sami to be an extremely important sieidi, or sacred natural formation, and was used as a sacrificial site, perhaps as recently as in the 19th century. The names "Ukko" and "Äijih" refer to sky deities in the Finnish and Sami mythologies, respectively.
Gråträsk is a village in Sweden. It is located in the western part of Piteå kommun in the south of Norrbotten close to the Lappmarksgränsen, at an isthmus between the lakes Gråträsket to the east and Pjesker to the west. At the southernmost point there is a small lake, Vitsjön. At Notviken of Gråträsket is a bath place with a pier. The village is along the Military Road.
The Okhotsk culture is an archaeological coastal fishing and hunter-gatherer culture that developed around the southern coastal regions of the Sea of Okhotsk, including Sakhalin, northeastern Hokkaido, and the Kuril Islands during the last half of the first millennium to the early part of the second. The Okhotsk are often associated to be the ancestors of the Nivkhs, while others argue them to be identified with early Ainu speakers. It is suggested that the bear cult, a practice shared by various Northern Eurasian peoples, the Ainu and the Nivkhs, was an important element of the Okhotsk culture but was uncommon in Jomon period Japan. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Okhotsk culture proper originated in the 5th century AD from the Susuya culture of southern Sakhalin and northwestern Hokkaido.
During the pre-Columbian era, human sacrifice in Maya culture was the ritual offering of nourishment to the gods and goddesses. Blood was viewed as a potent source of nourishment for the Maya deities, and the sacrifice of a living creature was a powerful blood offering. By extension, the sacrifice of human life was the ultimate offering of blood to the gods, and the most important Maya rituals culminated in human sacrifice. Generally, only high-status prisoners of war were sacrificed, and lower status captives were used for labor.
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made to gain favor with supernatural forces.
Rijkuo-Maja or Rika Maja was a Sámi noaidi from Mausjaur. She was known for her influence and wealth in the contemporary Sámi community and became a famous figure of the Sámi history and the subject of several legends.
Madjedbebe is a sandstone rock shelter in Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia, possibly the oldest site of human habitation in Australia. It is located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the coast. It is part of the lands traditionally inhabited by the Mirarr, an Aboriginal Australian clan of the Gaagudju people, of the Gunwinyguan language group. Although it is surrounded by the World Heritage Listed Kakadu National Park, Madjedbebe itself is located within the Jabiluka Mineral Leasehold.
Mount Vottovaara is a rock formation of the West Karelian Upland, located in the territory of the Sukkozero rural settlement in the southeastern part of the Muezersky district in the central part of the Republic of Karelia.