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▶ sacred sites

introduction

Probably the fi rst sacred sites were aspects of the natural world

that people identifi ed with the supernatural. Large forma-

tions, such as big rock outcrops, mountains, lakes, and rivers,

all could serve as impressive sources of spiritual power. Moun-

tains are imposing not only because of their size but also be-

cause they seem closer to the sky. Many cultures have placed

shrines or altars atop mountains in the belief that people could

be better heard by gods when they were nearer the sky than

when they were at the bases of mountains. Rock outcrops of-

ten have the advantage of having faces on which sacred images

could be painted or carved, allowing people to show in their

images what is special about the sacred place. Lakes and riv-

ers frequently are associated with the life force, because water

is believed to be part of the life force; aft er all, people quickly

die without water. Lakes and rivers were thought to have gods

dwelling in them, and many ancient peoples made sacrifi ces to

lakes and rivers in the hope of making the gods there happy or

to persuade the gods to help with crops or wars.

A place in a dense forest where light cannot penetrate

past the branches and leaves of trees could be construed as

a place where forest spirits would gather or dwell. Shrines in

such places might not have survived if they were wooden or

consisted of no more than the space among the trees, but his-

torical records suggest that ancient cultures in Europe, Af-

rica, Asia, and America had such places, where good and evil

spirits were thought to dwell.

Sacred places can be associated with historical events or

important people. Where a special person received enlight-

enment about the supernatural or spoke with spirits can be-

come a holy place to which the faithful will make pilgrimages.

Shrines could be built to mark locations where a single reli-

gious leader received or proclaimed divine k nowledge over his

or her lifetime, with the shrines marking stations for religious

pilgrimages of the followers of the religious leader or of the re-

ligion of which the religious leader’s revelations became a part.

Th e locations of great battles that were important sites in my-

thology sometimes were commemorated with altars, shrines,

temples, or tombs. Th ere were so many such places that some

ancient people wrote tour guides to the sacred sites.

Otherwise ordinary places could be made sacred by

people. One way was to deposit a sacred relic, such as a frag-

ment of hair, bones, fi ngernail clippings, or a personal item

worn or used by a sacred or holy person. Great mounds could

be built over the relics, or temples could be erected to house

them. Another way to make a place sacred was through ritual.

Sometimes ancient cities were made sacred and even objects

of worship by depositing icons of gods in central temples or

through ritual blessings of the cities. Sometimes the ground

on which a city was to be built was consecrated through ritu-

als, making the new city a sacred place that was set apart from

the ordinary world.

AFRICA

BY ROBERT SHANAFELT

Sacred sites in ancient Africa include special areas of the nat-

ural landscape such as mountains, caves, forests, and springs

and human constructions such as mounds, tombs, and pyra-

mids. Th e continent contains some of the oldest sites in the

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