soulsocially constituted groups. Their doctrines are esoteric, often direct their
devotion to ancestors, and possess an experiential character that gives
members a more direct contact with the divine. The cult of Mithras, for
instance, symbolically expresses group fellowship by sharing a sacrament
of bread and wine.Further reading: Berger (1969); Bourdieu (1990); Rappaport (1999); Wach
(1944); Weber (1930, 1963); Yinger (1970)SOUL
Westerners owe the concept of the soul (psyche) to the ancient Greeks,
where Plato sharply distinguishes it from the body. The soul is immortal
and transmigrates to a new body when it perishes at death. A more ambig-
uous conception of the soul is evident among ancient Hebrews who do not
sharply distinguish the body and soul. The Hebrews refer to three terms
that provide something similar to a soul: spirit (ru’ah), animating breath
(nefesh), and vitality (neshāmah), which early Christians transform into
the Greek psyche (soul) and pneuma (spirit). In contrast, the Buddha
teaches that there is no permanent soul that transmigrates from one life to
another, as the Hindus believe in the ancient Upanishadic texts.
Many religions believe that an individual consists of multiple souls An
example is the Yoruba of Africa with their belief in a life-breath given by
god at one’s birth, a shadow soul that leaves the body during sleep, and
the ori (literally head). The ori contains two complementary aspects: the
ori located in the head constitutes the essence of one’s personality or ego
and another one, located in the heavens, constitutes one’s guardian soul
called the guardian ancestor. It is the ancestor ori that chooses one’s
destiny before birth, determines one’s character, occupation, success in
life, and time of death.
Likewise, the Native American Sioux believe in multiple souls: breath
(ni), which leaves the body at death; guardian spirit (sicun), which is a
power possessed by all supernatural beings and animate and inanimate
objects; and the shadow or shade (nagi). The guardian spirit, a kind of
potency, is an immortal aspect created in every animate object, which
helps one to ward off evil and returns to the supernatural beings at death.
It is possible for one person to borrow the sicun of another person, which
can be invested through ritual and be accumulated and shared with oth-
ers. The shadow (nagi) is an eternal counterpart of all animate and inan-
imate objects, which lingers after death upon a person losing their breath.