Ancestor worship


(in certain societies) the veneration of ancestors whose spirits are frequently held to possess the power to influence the affairs of the living.
Historical Examples

From this has arisen the most powerful cult, ancestor worship, that at present exists in China.
Sidelights on Chinese Life J. Macgowan

The basis, however, of Chinese religious thought is ancestor worship.
From Pole to Pole Sven Anders Hedin

Herbert Spencer has insisted that all religion is ancestor worship, that is, it grows out of the family group.
The Evolution of the Country Community Warren H. Wilson

ancestor worship may be said, indeed, to be the true religion of the Chinese.
From Pole to Pole Sven Anders Hedin

Possibly there is a trace of ancestor worship even here; but the two usages have diverged.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 Various

ancestor worship, or reverence for the dead, was a third factor.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 Various

Modern taste has removed from sight what were once the common people’s symbols of the god-way, that is of ancestor worship.
The Religions of Japan William Elliot Griffis

It finds expression in the ceremonies known as ancestor worship.
Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol I. (of 3) Charles Eliot

Revile as you may and wrongly call it “ancestor worship,” the spirit that prompts the act is entirely praiseworthy.
A Japanese Boy Shigemi Shiukichi

Ghasiya tribe, ancestor worship, I. 176; barring the ghost, II.
The Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India, Vol. II (of 2) W. Crooke

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    a person from whom one is descended; forebear; progenitor. Biology. the actual or hypothetical form or stock from which an organism has developed or descended. an object, idea, style, or occurrence serving as a prototype, forerunner, or inspiration to a later one: The balloon is an ancestor of the modern dirigible. a person who serves […]

  • Ancestral

    pertaining to ; descending or claimed from : an ancestral home. serving as a forerunner, prototype, or inspiration. Contemporary Examples She turned that ancestral home into a school—and is fighting to give girls a better future. A Fashionista’s India Dream: Indrani Changes the Fate of Forgotten Girls Abigail Pesta July 9, 2012 Even tony Greenwich, […]

  • Ancestress

    a woman from whom a person is descended. Historical Examples He had a tale to tell about one ancestress, whose dark beauty seemed as that of a flower of the south. Shirley Charlotte Bront The girl read and re-read the description of this ancestress, then gasped. The Roof Tree Charles Neville Buck The family name […]

  • Anatomic

    of or relating to . Contemporary Examples Should thrombosis occur in this anatomic area, a patient might have headaches, dizziness, or even stroke-like symptoms. How Serious Is Hillary Clinton’s Blood Clot and Hospitalization? Kent Sepkowitz December 30, 2012 Though the risks for the new oral cancer and its anatomic location have changed fundamentally, one epidemiologic […]

  • Shcharansky

    (Natan) Anatoly [nah-tahn an-uh-toh-lee;; Russian uh-nuh-taw-lyee] /nɑˈtɑn ˌæn əˈtoʊ li;; Russian ʌ nʌˈtɔ lyi/ (Show IPA), born 1948, Soviet mathematician and human-rights activist, in Israel since 1986.


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