The village halidom sounds like a Shinto shrine:
a roofed shrine inside a wooden fence covered by colorful, flowering vines;
the altar a granite block "...chiseled with symbols of sun, moon, stars, sea, land, wind, and life." (p. 127);
raked white gravel;
shrubs;
one stone slab, with a carved sign, for each family;
a part-time priest in a sky-blue robe holding a blossom and a smoking incense stick that perfumes the salty air;
Charlie's friend's grandfather addresses the ancestors;
the incense stick lights the blossom which then burns in the altar bowl;
the family kneels in prayer.
I think that standing with raised arms is a more appropriate posture for prayer and worship than kneeling.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Anderson/Dickson are two of the few SF writers who take seriously the idea other intelligent races will very likely have their own religions. I mean, more precisely, they take religion seriously.
As a gesture of humility, I believe kneeling would be thought more appropriate for praying by most humans. And very likely by those other intelligent races, if they exist, with "humanoid" bodies.
Sean
Christians generally used the standing posture for prayer up until about the 4th century. Kneeling was adopted because it was part of the etiquette of approaching royalty, and many religious metaphors drew on monarchic symbolism.
As Nick van Rijn points out at one point, a lot of the standard religious language for addressing God is borrowed from ancient Near Eastern (and later Roman, also Oriental in derivation) court ceremonial and language.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
You are correct, and I should have remembered that standing used to be how Early Christians prayed. AND what Old Nick said in "The Master Key": "I make no blasfuming,... But everybody knows our picture of God comes in part from our kings. If you want to know how Oriental kings in ancient days was spoken to, look in your prayer book."
For that matter I discussed how YOU as well as Anderson used words and gestures of respect in my essay "Andersonian Themes and Tropes." I esp. noted how I found echoes of THERE WILL BE TIME in your book CONQUISTADOR.
Sean
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