Anointing

To anoint is to grease with perfumed oil, fat, or melted butter, a process employed ritually in all religions and among all races, civilized or savage, partly as a mode of ridding persons and things of dangerous influences and diseases, especially of the demons (Persian drug, Greek κηρες, Armenian dev) which are or cause those diseases; and partly as a means of introducing into things and persons a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit or power. The riddance of an evil influence is often synonymous with the introduction of the good principle, and therefore it is best to consider first the use of anointing in consecrations.

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The Australian natives believed that the virtues of one killed could be transferred to survivors if the latter rubbed themselves with his caul-fat. So the Arabs of East Africa anoint themselves with lion's fat in order to gain courage and inspire the animals with awe of themselves. Such rites are often associated with the actual eating of the victim whose virtues are coveted. Human fat is a powerful charm all over the world; for, as R. Smith points out, after the blood the fat was peculiarly the vehicle and seat of life. This is why fat of a victim was smeared on a sacred stone, not only in acts of homage paid to it, but in the actual consecration thereof. In such cases the influence of the god, communicated to the victim, passed with the unguent into the stone. But the divinity could by anointing be transferred into men no less than into stones; and from immemorial antiquity, among the Jews as among other races, kings were anointed or greased, doubtless with the fat of the victims which, like the blood, was too holy to be eaten by the common votaries.

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Butter made from the milk of the cow, the most sacred of animals, is used for anointing in the Hindu religion. A newly-built house is smeared with it, so are demoniacs, care being taken to smear the latter downwards from head to foot.

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Among the Hebrews, the act of anointing was significant in consecration to a holy or sacred use: hence the anointing of the high priest (Exodus 29:29; Leviticus 4:3) and of the sacred vessels (Exodus 30:26).

Related Topics:
Hebrews - Consecration - Holy - Exodus - Leviticus

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Unction is another term for anointing. The oil may be called chrism.

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