Object placed or left somewhere for religious purposes
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.
While some offerings were apparently made in anticipation of the achievement of a particular wish, in Western cultures from which documentary evidence survives it was more typical to wait until the wish had been fulfilled before making the offering,
[
citation needed
]
for which the more specific term
ex-voto
may be used. Other offerings were very likely regarded just as gifts to the deity, not linked to any particular need.
In Buddhism, votive offering such as construction of
stupas
was a prevalent practice in Ancient India, an example of which can be observed in the ruins of the ancient
Vikramshila University
[1]
and other contemporary structures. Votive offerings have been described in historical Roman era and Greek sources, although similar acts continue into the present day?for example, in traditional
Catholic culture
and, arguably, in the modern-day practice of tossing coins into a
wishing well
or fountain. The modern construction practice of
topping out
can be considered an example of a votive practice with ancient roots.
In
archaeology
, votive deposits differ from
hoards
; although they may contain similar items, votive deposits were not intended to be recovered.
Ancient offerings
[
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]
In
Europe
, votive deposits are known from as early as the
Neolithic
, with polished
axe
hoards
, reaching a peak in the late
Bronze Age
. High status
artifacts
such as armor and weaponry (mostly
shields
,
swords
,
spears
and arrows), fertility and
cult
symbols, coins, various treasures and animal statuettes (often dogs, oxen and in later periods horses) were common offerings in antiquity.
The votive offerings were sacrificed and buried or more commonly cast into bodies of water or peat
bogs
, whence they could not possibly have been recovered. In certain cases entire ships have been sacrificed, as in the Danish bog
Nydam Mose
. Often all the objects in a ritual hoard are broken, possibly 'killing' the objects to put them even further beyond utilitarian use before deposition. The purposeful discarding of valuable items such as swords and spearheads is thought to have had ritual overtones. The items have since been discovered in rivers, lakes and present or former
wetlands
by construction workers, peat diggers, metal-detectorists, members of the public and archaeologists.
A saying by
Diogenes of Sinope
as quoted by
Diogenes Laertius
, indicates the high level of votive offering in Ancient Greece:
[2]
When some one expressed astonishment at the votive offerings in
Samothrace
, his (
Diogenes
) comment was,
'There would have been far more, if those who were not saved had set up offerings.'
The
Treasuries at Olympia
and
Delphi
(including the
Athenian Treasury
and
Siphnian Treasury
) were buildings by the various Greek city-states to hold their own votive offerings in money and precious metal. The sites also contained large quantities of votive sculptures, although these were clearly intended to glorify each city in view of its rivals as well as to give thanks to the gods. Votive offerings were also used as atonement for sins committed against a god or goddess. The offerings were in certain cases created by a separate person due to the gifter having an injury or other circumstances, which was allowed.
[3]
Some Greek offerings, such as bronze tripods at
Delphi
, were apparently displayed for a period and then buried in groups. At
Olympia
many small figurines, mostly of animals, were thrown onto the huge pile of ashes from
animal sacrifices
at the altar outside the
Temple of Zeus
. Much of our knowledge of
ancient Greek art
in base metal comes from these and other excavated deposits of offerings. Arms and armour, especially helmets, were also given after a victory.
In
Mesoamerica
, votive deposits have been recovered from the
Olmec
site of
El Manati
(dated to 1600?1200 BC) and the
Maya
Sacred Cenote
at
Chichen Itza
(850?1550 AD).
Archaeologists have recovered some votive offerings in ancient Sparta from the 5th century BC. These votive offerings give evidence to the presence of literacy in Spartan culture. Placing greater emphasis on inscriptions which seem to have been made by the individual making the offering, archaeologists can interpret that, of the early dedicators, there were very few in number and that most, if not all, were from the upper classes. One piece of pottery was found that may have had measurement signs on it. This would indicate an everyday literacy among the Spartans if this is true. Unfortunately, scholars have not recovered any other piece of pottery with a similar inscription to support that single find.
The 13 Ancient
Votive Stones of Pesaro
were unearthed in 1737 on a local
Pesaro
farm in the
Province of Pesaro e Urbino
,
Italy
, and date to pre-Etruscan times. They are inscribed with the names of various
Roman gods
such as
APOLLO
,
MAT[ER]-MATVTA
,
SALVS
,
FIDE
, and IVNONII (
Juno
).
[4]
Curse tablets
[
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]
A
curse tablet
or
defixio
is a small sheet of tin or lead on which a message wishing misfortune upon someone else was inscribed. Usually found rolled up and deliberately deposited, there are five main reasons for dedicating a curse tablet:
[5]
1
? Litigation,
2
? Competition,
3
? Trade,
4
? Erotic Ambition,
5
? Theft
Of those in Britain the vast majority are of type 5. The two largest concentrations are from the sacred springs at
Aquae Sulis
, where 130 examples are recorded, and at Uley, where over 140 examples are visible.
The use of the curse-tablet in seeking restoration of stolen property is strong evidence of invoking divine power through a non-traditional religious ceremony, often involving some form of water-deposition. The usual form of divine invocation was through prayer, sacrifice and altar dedication
[6]
so access to this information provides useful insights into Roman provincial culture.
Threats
[
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]
Many unrecovered ancient votive offerings are threatened in today's world, especially those submerged in wetlands or other bodies of water. Wetlands and other aquatic sites often protect and preserve materials for thousands of years, because of their natural occurring
anaerobic
environments. However, many seabeds have been disturbed, rivers and streams have been stretched out or re-routed in the landscape, and many wetlands have been fully or partially drained or landfilled for various reasons in the last 100?200 years. Therefore, many remaining objects are in danger of oxidation and eventual rapid deterioration. The leading causes of the disturbances are
dredging
,
bottom trawling
fishing boats, agricultural activities, peat cutting, groundwater extraction by water wells and establishments of larger infrastructural facilities like expressways, water treatment plants, and in some instances, large-scale nature re-establishment projects.
[7]
[8]
Judaism
[
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]
The
Torah
makes provision for "free-will offerings" which may be made by any individual. These are different from votive offerings which are linked to a vow. cf Leviticus 22.23 where the Hebrew root letters for a freewill offering are ??? (nadab), but for a votive offering are ??? (nadar). In this verse a clear differentiation is made between the two. See Strongs numbers H5068 where the Hitpael is to volunteer, or make a free will offering and H5087 where the Qal is to vow a vow.
When
Solomon
built the first temple he provided a number of furnishings above and beyond what had been commanded to
Moses
on
Mount Sinai
(see
Temple of Solomon
).
Oral tradition
in
Rabbinic Judaism
also speaks of a huge golden grape vine
artifact
outside of the holy site of the
Temple in Jerusalem
before its destruction by the Romans.
[9]
Christianity
[
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]
The tradition of votive offerings has been carried into Christianity in both the East and the West. The particular type of the
votive crown
, originally Byzantine, was also adopted in the West.
Eastern Christianity
[
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]
According to
Sacred Tradition
, after
Constantine the Great
's conversion and subsequent victory at the
Battle of the Milvian Bridge
, he donated one of the crosses he carried in battle to the Church. This cross is reputed to be preserved on
Mount Athos
.
One of the most famous
Orthodox
votive offerings is that by
Saint
John of Damascus
. According to
tradition
, while he was serving as
Vizier
to
Caliph
Al-Walid I
, he was falsely accused of treachery and his hand was cut off. Upon praying in front of an
icon
of the
Theotokos
his hand was
miraculously
restored. In thanksgiving, he had a silver replica of his hand fashioned and attached it to the icon (
see image at right
). This icon, now called "
Trojeru?ica
" (The Three-handed) is preserved at
Hilandar
Monastery on
Mount Athos
.
Orthodox Christians continue to make votive offerings to this day, often in the form of
tamata
, metal plaques symbolizing the subject of their
prayers
. Other offerings include,
candles
,
prosphora
, wine, oil, or
incense
. In addition, many will leave something of personal value, such as jewelry, a
pectoral cross
or
military decoration
as a sign of devotion.
Western Christianity
[
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]
Roman Catholicism
[
edit
]
In the
Roman Catholic Church
, offerings were made either to fulfill a
vow
made to God for deliverance, or a thing left to a Church in gratitude for some favor that was granted. Today, votives can be lit
votive candles
, offered flowers, statues, vestments and monetary donations. Traditional special forms of votive offering
ex votos
include small silver models of the afflicted part of the body, inscribed stone tablets,
folk art
paintings of an incident of danger
such as the
votive paintings of Mexico
and model ships donated by sailors who have survived a dangerous voyage. In the Spanish-speaking world a
milagro
is a small metal offering, equivalent to the Orthodox
tamata
.
Many Catholic churches still have areas where such offerings are displayed.
Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, Paris
, displays over 10,000, with a military specialization and including many military decorations given by their recipients. The
Votive Church, Vienna
is a late example of many churches which are themselves votive offerings, in this case built to give thanks for a narrow escape from assassination by Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria
in 1853.
Medieval examples include:
Especially in the Latin world, there is a tradition of votive paintings, typically depicting a dangerous incident which the offeror survived. The
votive paintings of Mexico
are paralleled in other countries. In Italy, where more than 15,000 ex-voto paintings are thought to survive from before 1600, these began to appear in the 1490s, probably modelled on the small
predella
panels below
altarpieces
.
[10]
These are a form of
folk art
, typically painted on tin plates salvaged from packaging. Other examples may be large and grand paintings, such as
Titian
's
Jacopo Pesaro being presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter
, given in thanks for a naval victory.
Lutheranism
[
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]
The practice of votive offerings in
Lutheran Churches
, such as the
Church of Sweden
, continued after the Reformation.
[11]
Buddhism
[
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]
In
Buddhism
, votive offerings usually take the form of a small clay or
terracotta
tablet bearing Buddhist images, usually
Buddharupa
and contain text. These tablets are left in sacred Buddhist sites by devotees as an offering during their pilgrimage. An example are Buddhist Tibetan votive tablets made for a pilgrimage to
Bodhgaya
. Votive tablets served both as meritorious offerings and as souvenirs. Most were made of clay, while a more rare and expensive tablet was made from metal.
[12]
Historically, votive tablets can be found in Asian Buddhist lands, from Japan,
[13]
India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Indonesia and Malaysia. In Thailand, votive tablets are known as
Thai Buddha amulets
, a kind of Thai Buddhist blessed item used to raise temple funds by producing the amulets.
Jainism
[
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]
Ayagapata
is a type of
votive
slab associated with worship in
Jainism
. Numerous such stone tablets were discovered during excavations at ancient Jain sites like
Kankali Tila
near
Mathura
in India. Some of them date back to the 1st century. These slabs are decorated with objects and designs central to Jain worship such as the
stupa
,
dharmacakra
and
triratna
.
[14]
A large number of
ayagapata
(tablet of homage) votive tablets for offerings and the worship of
tirthankara
were found at
Mathura
.
[15]
These stone tablets bear a resemblance to the earlier
Shilapatas
, stone tablets that were placed under trees to worship
Yakshas
. However, this was done by indigenous folk communities before
Jainism
originated, suggesting that both have commonalities in rituals.
[14]
A scholar on Jain art wrote about an
Ayagapata
discovered around Kankali Tila: "The technical name of such a tablet was
Ayagapata
meaning homage panel."
[16]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"The Glorious Heritage of Vikramshila University ? Travel News India"
.
Travel News India
. 2017-02-14
. Retrieved
2017-02-24
.
- ^
Diogenes Laertius,
Lives of the Eminent Philosophers
, Book VI, Chapter 2, 59, on
Perseus Digital Library
- ^
Mikalson, Jon (2009).
Ancient Greek Religion
. Chisester: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 1?31.
- ^
"History of Pesaro, Italy"
.
www.italythisway.com
.
- ^
Mattingly, David
(2004). "Being Roman: Expressing Identity in a Provincial Setting".
Journal of Roman Archaeology
.
17
: 5?25.
doi
:
10.1017/S104775940000814X
.
S2CID
160115205
.
- ^
Warrior, V. (2006).
Roman Religion
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
0-521-82511-3
.
- ^
Sunken Stone Age
World Archaeology
- ^
"Home - Wetlands International"
.
Wetlands International
.
- ^
Midot
iii. 8.
- ^
Laven, Mary (2016).
"Recording Miracles in Renaissance Italy"
.
Past & Present
.
230
(Suppl 11): 191?212.
doi
:
10.1093/pastj/gtw026
.
An account of the shrine of the
Madonna dell’Arco
near Naples.
- ^
Rønning, Ole-Albert; Sigh, Helle Møller; Vogt, Helle (2017).
Donations, Inheritance and Property in the Nordic and Western World from Late Antiquity until Today
. Taylor & Francis.
ISBN
9781351725989
.
- ^
"Buddhist Votive Tablet"
.
The Walters Art Museum
. Retrieved
2020-02-02
.
- ^
"The world of senjafuda"
.
Mellon Projects
. Retrieved
24 November
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Ayagapata"
. Encyclopædia Britannica
. Retrieved
18 April
2012
.
- ^
Jain & Fischer 1978
, pp. 9?10
harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJainFischer1978 (
help
)
- ^
"An ayagapata or Jain homage tablet, with small figure of a tirthankara in the centre and inscription below, from Mathura"
. British Library
. Retrieved
18 April
2012
.
References
[
edit
]
- Alan Dundes.
The Walled-up Wife
. University of Wisconsin Press (1996).
- John V. Robinson
(2001).
"The 'topping out' traditions of the high-steel ironworkers"
.
Western Folklore
, Fall 2001.
- Weinryb, Ittai (ed.).
Ex Voto: Votive Giving Across Cultures
(New York, 2016)
- Weinryb, Ittai (ed.),
Agents of Faith: Votive Giving in Time and Place
(New York, 2018)
- Mikalson, Jon (2009).
Ancient Greek Religion
. Chicester: Wiley-Blackwell.pp. 1?31.
External links
[
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]