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Prehistoric ReligionIt would appear that religion in some form or other has been an essential element in the life and culture of humankind throughout the ages, going back far beyond the threshold of history. Moreover, many of the beliefs and practices of the later and higher religions, both ancient and modern, are rooted in their prehistoric prototypes of the Old Stone Age, a period lasting roughly from about 500,000 BC to 10,000 BC. This phase therefore has its place and significance in any study of the religions of the world, past or present. The difficulty, however, about such an inquiry is that nearly all the available data are confined to those concrete survivals like graves, sacred places and their contents, sculptures, bas-reliefs, engravings and paintings that have escaped the ravages of time. Their interpretation must be to some extent conjectural, but much of the material has survived, little changed, in everyday occurrence among the peoples who live today under conditions very similar to those of early humans. If employed with proper caution such evidence can afford useful and illuminating clues to the purpose and meaning of prehistoric religion.Since of all mysterious events the most prominent, puzzling, disturbing and arresting is that of death, it is not surprising that centred on what was to become a highly developed cult. Various forms of this seem to go back in China to a very early period in the Old Stone Age, estimated by Professor Zeuner as being in the region of 500,000 years ago. Thus, in the caves near Peking, indications have been found of the cutting off and preserving of the heads of some of those interred, either to keep them as trophies or to abstract their contents to be eaten in order to obtain the vitality of the deceased. And this is by no means an isolated instance, skulls having been treated in a similar way in Europe before the arrival of the species homo sapiens, towards the end of the fourth phase of the Pleistocene Ice Age, about 70,000 BC.Skulls found in the Placard cave in Charente in France had been made into drinking cups, which suggests that they were used for sacramental purposes. Similar vessels have been found in the Dor-dogne, near the village of Les Eyzies, now well known as a centre for decorated caves, and again at Puentc Vicsgo not far from Santander in Spain, in a cave called Castillo, full of paintings.In this phase of the Old Stone Age the corpse was often laid in a grave containing red ochreous powder, sometimes with quantities of shells and other objects in bone and ivory. The ochre represented blood, the life-giving agent, and there were often shells, like cowries, in the grave, shaped in the form of the portal through which the child enters the world. These emblems were associated with the female principle, and were widely used as fertility charms and givers of life. Therefore, if the dead were to live again in their own bodies, to colour the bodies red was an attempt to revivify them and make them serviceable to their occupants in the hereafter.Near Nordlingen in Bavaria, nests of skulls have been found, twenty-seven in each of two caves, and six in another. The heads had been intentionally cut off the trunk with flint knives after death, and then, dried and ceremonially preserved in the nest with the faces looking westward. Some were crushed, and had apparently been added later.It was not only the skull which received this ritual mortuary treatment however. A number of skeletons have been discovered, ceremonially interred with very great care and supplied with grave goods. At Le Moustier in the Dordogne, a great centre of mid-Palaeolithic culture, the skeleton of a youth was laid to rest on its right side with the forearm under the head and the cranium resting on a pillow of flint chips. Near the left hand was a fine oval axe, and a scraper was placed not far away with the burnt bones of a prehistoric ox above the skull, suggesting a funeral feast.In a low-roofed cave close to the village of La Chapelle-aux-Saints in the Department of Correze, a well-preserved Neanderthal skeleton was deposited with its face to the west in a pit dug in the middle of the marly floor, and wedged into position by several stones. The legs were folded, and near the hand was the foot of an ox, with the vertebral column of a., the outward expression of one of the most vital aspects of prehistoric religion, can be found in the treatment of the dead the earliest traces of religious belief and practice have clustered round the burial of the dead,.. Having little understanding of natural processes and their laws beyond their own observations, early people felt the need of establishing friendly and beneficial relations with the ultimate reality behind the mysterious phenomena around them, however this may have been interpreted. In all probability it constituted their conception of divine providence, the transcendent universal good, greater than themselves and the source of all bounty and beneficence, controlling their destiny. This concept of deity at once above and within the world was not very far removed from what in our idiom could be described as both transcendent and immanent.The Concept of DeityThis speculation was in line with the evolutionary thought of the period in which it arose, but it has now become apparent that it was too neat and tidy, too specialized and intellectualized an approach to explain accurately the origin and development of religion and of the concept of deity.The recurrence of this conception of deity in all states of culture and phases of religious development from prehistoric times onwards suggests that it arose spontaneously. It was the expression of some inborn thought and feeling, rather than a developed kind of knowledge about the universe and natural phenomena. Its highest expression undoubtedly has been in its monotheistic idea of god as the sole creator and sustainer of all things. So far from polytheism passing into monotheism, speculation about the cosmos and its processes led to the peopling of the natural order with a multitude of spirits and gods, making the supreme being a very vague and inoperative figure obscured in the mist of animism and polytheism, unless it became a pantheistic impersonal absolute “Every religion is a product of human evolution and has been conditioned by social environment’ In order to appreciate the essence of ‘religion’ it is required to be aware of the social and natural setting that has made it. Religion as a mode of expressing gratitude, fear, and submission, to some unknown power is an organized method developed by man. Following Hopkins, we will, in this chapter, attempt a study of the relation between the three major forces of -nature-society-religion to man. The idea I wish to maintain here is not ‘religion’ as something abstracted from society, but as a vital element of cultural activity. My focus will be on the study of religion across a range of different cultures, or a cross-cultural investigation, with a view to determine the underlying unity of all religions. The natural environment in which early man found himself was also his first social environment. Man and nature stood face to face in direct interaction, experiencing intimately all natural phenomena and changes. He was another member in the natural setting as all other biotics and a biotics. He was nature’s subject and not its master. As nature was evolving, so was man. The mystery of nature was yet undiscovered, unknown and so evoked a mixed feeling of awe and wonder! Man submitted to this power. This accord with a power that was beyond him, whose presence he experienced and whose assistance he needed was the initiation of religion. Hence, religion is one of the earliest, the most constant, and the deepest and most engrossing forms of human reaction towards nature. Nature therefore is man’s first religion and nature worship, as we will see, his first religious act. This chapter is concerned with the ‘religion of man’. Religion in some form or other has been an indispensable element in the life and culture of humankind throughout the ages. Going far beyond the doorsill of history, the focus of this chapter will be on the prehistoric forms of religion, look for a comprehensive definition of, try to understand its nature, its various modes of expression, discuss the religious types, and question the need and impact of religion in the modern society. A comparative study of the religious life of ancient civilizations will be necessary to prove or disprove the fact that all religious beliefs are rooted in the instinct for self- preservation. If religion appeared first as a necessity, does it continue to be so? Has there been a shift in the role religion played in contriving the course of human history?Another important inquiry will be to appraise the responsibility of Universal religion in fostering world peace. It will also be a worthwhile to estimate the importance of tribal religions in making the diverse cultures of the world. We will start with an attempt to define ‘Religion The starting point of religion must be sought in something more comprehensive: in a belief in a sacred power which transcends the universe, and is its ground and support. This may not have been personified, and so it would seem to have been a vague conception of providence as a creative and recreative power operating in the food quest, sex, fertility, birth, death and the sequence of the seasons. When the idea of this potency acquired an independent life of its own in its various aspects and functions, it found expression in spiritual beings, ghosts of the dead and departmentalized divinities. These had many different shapes and forms, and characteristic features and functions of their own, emerging from a common providential source, incalculable, strong and good, determining the operations of nature and the destinies of humanity, at once above and within the world of time and space. The starting point of religion must be sought in something more comprehensive: in a belief in a sacred power which transcends the universe, and is its ground and support. This may not have been personified, and so it would seem to have been a vague conception of providence as a creative and recreative power operating in the food quest, sex, fertility, birth, death and the sequence of the seasons. When the idea of this potency acquired an independent life of its own in its various aspects and functions, it found expression in spiritual beings, ghosts of the dead and departmentalized divinities. These had many different shapes and forms, and characteristic features and functions of their own, emerging from a common providential source, incalculable, strong and good, determining the operations of nature and the destinies of humanity, at once above and within the world of time and space.
Whether or not the mother-goddess was actually the earliest attempt to give expression to the concept of deity, as we have seen, her symbolism was the most prominent feature in this aspect of prehistoric religion in the Upper Palaeolithic Age with its sculptured 'Venuses' and other emblems in the decorated caves. Subsequently, this life-symbol became the central feature in the cult of the Great Mother in the Ancient Near East, the Aegean, Crete and Western Asia, and when the king was identified with the sky as the source of transcendental vitality and beneficence, the queen was equated with the earth as the immanent principle essential to the bestowal of providential bounty. Therefore, as he was reborn as the gods he embodied by his consecration, so his consort became the mother-goddess in one or other of her several capacities as the creatrix, having been the dominant figure in the earlier cult.
As the Great Mother became more clearly defined, and consciousness of the duality of male and female in procreation was recognized increasingly, from being the Unmarried Mother personifying the divine principle in maternity she became associated with the young god as her son and consort. Then, while she remained the crucial figure, the goddess cult assumed a twofold aspect in the ancient seasonal drama in which both the partners in generation played their respective roles of creative energy, the one female and receptive, the other male and active. From Neolithic times onward phallic emblems were increasingly prevalent, though maternal imagery was predominant in Western Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, where in the first instance the male god was subordinate to the goddess





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. Definition of Religion. Etymologically, religion is derived from the Latin word ‘re,ligare, which means ‘to tie, to bind. This can be interpreted as that which binds human beings to each other and as a force or power to uphold and integrate. It is also an indication that through religion we are bound to God, that religion is the way which endeavors to lead us back to the world soul from Whom they are led astray. It generally indicates faith or belief concerning the supernatural, sacred or divine. Prof Gustav Mensching in ‘Structures and patterns of Religion’ defines religion as “Religion is experiential encounter with the sacred and the responsive action of man affected by the sacred.” (pg.5.MDS1976) This definition distinguishes the two basics of all religion. ‘Encounter with the sacred’, is acquaintance or coming into contact with the revered. This experience can happen through religious insights, through a vision as occurred to Moses in Mount Sinai, in an experience of faith which Swami Vivekananda witnessed, in the hearing of the word, to which Sree Chaitanya answered, when he left home, in inner enlightenment, like Gautama Buddha. . The objects through which this communiqué with the revered takes place can be anything though the most common is “Nature, with its variegated abundance of forms and its deeply mysterious ways…besides events in ones personal life, words and deeds of great religious men can also be objects of religious divination”. (pg.6) The responsive action of man affected by the sacred, his reaction to the divine call can be expressed through his whole life, like the Sufi saint Kabir, or Mirabai, as well as through folklore, mythology and various forms of arts. Religion is there for man and can be best understood through human activity, through life. Religion is also associated with practices, values, and institutions related with such beliefs given to explain humankind’s relationship with the universe, his desire to explain the inexplicable. In agreement with his philosophical analysis, Kant defines religion as fulfillment of all our duties as divine commands. Religion for Kant is just the performance of our moral duties to the neglect of sentiments and emotions. In contrast to “Religion within the limits of Reason,” Schleiermacher defines religion as the contemplation of and feeling for the Universe. He never lost sight of the importance of feelings and treated the feeling-experience as fundamental to religion. “Religion”, says James, “shall mean for us the feelings , acts and experiences of the individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine”(Varieties of religious experience pp34-35). Max Muller termed religion “a mental faculty or disposition which enables man to apprehend the infinite. Prof. E.B.Taylor in ‘ Primitive Culture’ defines religion as “a belief in spiritual beings.” Prof Menzies, in History of Religion states that religion is the worship of spiritual beings from a sense of need. Religion can also be defined as Man’s faith in a power beyond himself whereby he seeks to satisfy emotional needs and gain stability of life, and which he expresses in acts of worship and service not only towards the divine but also towards the society. A good definition of religion is yet to emerge, as there is a staggering amount of data, phenomena of human experiences and expressions, that might be characterized in one culture or another, by one criterion or another as religion. So, there are different forms of religion. What this study seeks is whether there is any arrangement of thought that links all the various forms, the historical development of modern religion from the natural, examine the influence society and religion exerts on each other and subsequently, responsibility of religion as a harbinger of world peace. Yet, we can undertake
only a rapid sketch, but such as is necessary for the proper working of the general theme. We will first consider the general trait of religion, as outlined in the ‘Encyclopedia of Philosophy’, and ‘Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics’. All religion, from the ani mistic to the modern, (a) believe in something sacred, something supernatural. (b) Make a distinction between the sacred and the profane. (c) Consists of certain ritualistic acts, focused on the sacred object. This can include anything, from igniting the holy fire, sacrifice, physical austerities, or simply meditation. (d) As religion is by definition a binding and preserving force, it enjoins a moral code for all its followers, who believe it to be sanctioned by the gods. This code has a positive and a negative aspect. The positive function, it congregates all those who abide by the same idea of the Holy. Negatively, it segregates all other forms of belief. It will not be wrong if religion were termed an integrating and disintegrating force’. The truth of this is witnessed throughout the globe. Every religion carries with it a special feeling ‘the religious feeling’ (awe, sense of mystery, passion, despondency, total submission, guilt, adoration), awakened in the presence of the Sacred Object, or during the practice of rituals. The universal characteristic of religion is prayer. It is the simplest method of communication with the Divine. Prayer can be a personal affair, or it can be a public event as the ‘Diwali’, the ‘Durga Puja’, and ‘Christmas’, which has an important social influence. A very common and central subject of all religions is ‘Cosmology’. the first verse of the Christian Bible ("In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth") indicates the only self-existent entity is God with all other things deriving from GodThe Babylonian creation myth is described in Enûma Elish. It existed in various versions and copies, the oldest dating to at least 1700 B.C.Ecosmogenies in Egyptian mythology, corresponding to at least three separate groups of worshippers. cosmogenies in Egyptian mythology, corresponding to at least three separate groups of worshippers.
· The Ennead, in which Atum arose from the primordial waters (Neith), and masterbated to relieve his lonelyness. His semen and breath became Tefnut (moisture) and Shu (dryness), respectively. From Shu and Tefnut, were born Geb (earth), and Nuit (sky), who were born in a state of permanent copulation. Shu separated them, and their children were Osiris (death), Set (desert), Isis (life), and Nepthys (fertile land). Osiris and Isis were a couple, as were Nepthys and Set.

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In the poem, the god Marduk arms himself and sets out to challenge the monster Tiamat. Marduk destroys Tiamat, cutting her into two halves which become the Earth and the sky. Later on, he also destroys Tiamat's husband, Kingu, and uses his blood to create mankindIncan account of creation is known based on what was recorded by priests, from the iconography on Incan pottery and architecture, and the myths and legends which survived amongst the native peoples. According to these accounts, in the most ancient of times the earth was covered in darkness. Then, out of a lake called Collasuyu (modern Titicaca), the god Con Tiqui Viracocha emerged, bringing some human beings with him. Then Con Tiqui created the sun (Inti), the moon and the stars to light the world. It is from Inti that the Sapa Inca, emperor of Tawantinsuyu, is descended. Out of great rocks Con Tiqui fashioned more human beings, including women who were already pregnant. Then he sent these people off into every comer of the world. He kept a male and female with him at Cuzco, the "navel of the world." In Islam all creation is attributed to Allah (the proper name for God in Arabic), the one and only God for Muslims. He is clearly identified as the "first cause" at numerous places in the Qur'an. Three instances follow:
(13:16) … Say: Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Supreme
(57:3) … He is the First and the Last and the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is Knower of all things
(112:1) … Say: He, Allah, is One
(112:2) … Allah is He on Whom all depend

As religion revolves round a focal point, ‘ God’ creation and the place of the individual in it are explained with reference to ‘him’. The world is not uncaused “In the beginning rose Hiranyagarbha, born Only Lord of all created beings.
He fixed and holdeth up this earth and heaven
By him, the heavens are strong and earth is steadfast, by him, light ‘s realm and sky-vault are supported. The pre-creative state
described in the Nasadya Sukta, as ‘…neither being nor not being. The atmosphere was not, nor the sky above it…No sign
was there, the day’s and night’s divider…Darkness was thereat first, concealed in darkness this all was indiscriminate chaos.
All that existed then was void and formless….’(RV x.129.). To bring order and harmony to the chaotic mass was the task of
Viswakarma ‘the sole god producing heaven and earth’ Dhatar, the great creator who formed in due order Heaven and Earth
., the regions of the air and light. a similar undefined pre-creative state of the universe in Egyptian cosmology ‘not yet, was the heaven, not yet the earth, men were not, not yet born were the gods, not yet was death…’(Pyramid of Peppy 1., 1.663). In ancient Greece, this
initial formless state of the universe is ‘chaos In Hermopolis, a creation myth stated that the world began in a cosmic egg, laid
by the colossal gander, Sibu.The egg is a sacred symbol representing fecundity, In Nordic mythology Yimir,the cosmic world
giant, came into existence and the body of Yimir was used to make the world; "From the flesh of Yimir the world was formed,
From his bones were mountains made,
And Heaven from the skull of that frost cold giant,
From his blood the billows of the sea".(o.Bray,The Elder Edda,p.47 This picture contains some specifications of an over-all purpose or point of the world and an indication of how the individual fits into it. The Babylonian creation myth is described in Enûma Elish. It existed in various versions and copies, the oldest dating to at least 1700 B.C.E.
In the poem, the god Marduk arms himself and sets out to challenge the monster Tiamat. Marduk destroys Tiamat, cutting her into two halves which become the Earth and the sky. Later on, he also destroys Tiamat's husband, Kingu, and uses his blood to create mank ind
Religion is a means which relates or binds man with some power, higher or Supreme, which we call God.Religion, establishes the union between man and God. The whole nature of man is involved in such a union-through cognition,emotion and volition. The nature of such a union is spiritual because the supreme is pure consciousness the ‘sat-chit-ananda’.
Any body of thought ,belief or activity ,to be termed religious must have (a)belief in something sacred.
(b) a distinction between divine and profane.
© Ritual acts focused on the sacred objects.
(d) a moral code believed to be sanctioned by the Gods.
(e) characteristically religious feelings (awe, sense of mystery, guilt, adoration, which tend to be roused in the presence of sacred objects and during the practice of the rituals.
(f) prayer and other forms of communication with the sacred
(g) a world view , or a general picture of the world as a whole
(h)a theory of creation
(i)a place of worship









A social group bound together by a common faith.
Almost all these traits are present with individual modifications in all religions, ancient or modern. To be declared a religion then there must be belief in a supernatural power regarded as sacred, ways and means to seek its protection and benevolence, an accepted code regarding food marriage and other social activities, a common notion regarding death, soul and life thereafter. The difference between the various religions as we will have occasion to witness, is only in form not content. Why then do we not have a common religion and why did certain religions perish? How then do we distinguish between ancient and modern religions? To get a comprehensive view of ‘Religion’, I have divided the study in the following manner:
Religion of the ancient world -Animism
Tribal religion-Totemism
Ethnic Religion-Egypt, Babylonia, Mionia, Maya
Modern Religion- Buddhism, Christianity, Islam.
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Religion of the ancient world
The primeval man ,in presence of the moving spectacle of nature, conceived to be the expression of living power, felt an awe in which fear, wonder, reverence were mingled. Early man lived in the unity of an undivided and unreflected life. He stood not against the natural world but lived in harmony with it. The manifold powers that animate the world also enlivened him. This was a stage when subject and object, as well as object and object were not exactly distinguished. Man essentially participated in everythingand in the depths of all things felt an essential identity which he expressed through his religion.
Animism is the oldest known religious attitude, with its origin likely dating to the Paleolithic age. Etymologically derived from anima meaning breath or soul, it was a system of thinking based on the belief that what is active is alive and that being alive is having the spirit that is the seat of life (activity). It is the reflection of the natural environment conditioned by man’s incessant struggle for self-preservation and every day struggle for existence. From the standpoint of both culture and religion, animism may be described as that root which sinks deepest in human experience and continues even today. No stage of culture, no great religion has been able to disown some of the commonest heirlooms left by this primitive mode of thinking. Animism explains all the phenomena of nature by attributing them to a spiritual agency. The concepts that humans have souls and those souls have life apart from human bodies before and after death are central to animism It is that stage of human history when, any object, rock, river, plant, was believed as possessing emotional, volitional and act ional potency like man himself. For anything to be alive is to have the same sort of life force, which man believes he possess.. In the animistic worldview, the human being is a member of the natural community and share the realm with others including plants animals, minerals, and natural phenomena. It is significant that the objects of worship did not cross the limits of mundane life. They were mainly those which aroused his curiosity or generated the emotion of fear .As Professor Hopkins observed that it may seem that the ancients worshipped a bewildering jumble, yet he never worshipped anything “…save what he imagined behind these phenomena…. power”(Hopkins Origin and Evolution of Religion P13). In the Germanic tribe, a big oak tree was supposed to have super-human power. In ancient China, human beings were considered as child born between heaven and earth, where heaven was the father and earth mother. In the South Pacific, primitive communities, as well as in India the earth is believed to have a soul and is revered as the ‘mother’ from which everything springs. “On whom are the ocean and the river, the waters; on whom food plo
wings came into being; on whom quickens this that breathes, that stirs….On whom the people of old formerly spread themselves ;on whom the gods overcame the Asuras; the station of kine, of horses, of birds-let the earth assign us fortune, splendor”(Atharva Veda 12.3,5).The Mother Goddess the symbol of the earth’s fertility and creative force of nature was worshipped under many names; Astarte (Syria)Ceres (Rome), Cybele (Phrygian), Demeter (Greece), Ishtar (Babylon) and Isis (Egypt)..
. The worship of animals was simultaneous with those of natural objects and the two existed side by side. The animist attributed to animals the same sorts of ideas, the same soul, the same mental processes as himself, which may] also be associated with greater power, cunning, or magical abilities.It is partly based on the fact that animals possess qualities that humans lack or have in lesser measures, such as strength or speed, and which inspire fear. Another factor is the mysteries that surround certain animals and this also gives cause for worship.An example is the snake. It is feared, yet in many cultures it is held sacred; it has healing properties or is associated with healing (it is the symbol of the healer god) and it is a symbol of immortality (the shedding and renewing of the skin). Important snakes in mythology are the Egyptian z, the world-serpent Jormungand, Ananta of the Hindus, and of course the great Quetzalcoatl of the Aztec.The Hebrews worshiped serpents down to the days of King Hezekiah, and the Hindus still maintain friendly relations with their house snakes. The Chinese worship of the dragon is a survival of the snake cults. The wisdom of the serpent was a symbol of Greek medicine and is still employed as an emblem by modern physicians. In Hindu religion and mythology, the snake is one of the most significant and frequently recurring symbols. Strangely, it is the symbol of both birth and death, reconciling these contradictions within itself. Snake worship precedes idol worship, and while practices have evolved to focus more on deities conceived as superhuman, snake worship is still prevalent in all parts of India
. The Indus Valley civilization of 3000 B.C. gives evidence of the popularity of snake-worship. In modern India, serpent worship is performed in all parts of the country. Battis Shirala is a tiny, obscure village in the south of Maharashtra. It is said that this area has a greater snake population than anywhere else in the world. The festivities are at their most colourful in this village. In Kerala, snake temples are crowded on this day and worship is offered to stone or metal icons of the cosmic serpent Ananta or Sesha. Puja rooms in many Kerala homes have silver or copper cobra that is worshipped and offered milk. In West Bengal and parts of Assam and Orissa, the snake deity worshipped on Naga Panchami is the Goddess Manasa. The cow is referred to as Gomata. She represents the Earth, the nourisher, ever-giving, undemanding provider. In the Indian tradition, the cow is honored, garlanded and given special feedings at festivals, most importantly the annual Gopashtama festival. The Rig Veda says “May the wind blow upon our cows with healing; may they eat herbage full of vigorous juices. May they drink water rich in life and fatness: (10.159.1) Animals are frequently regarded as the abode, temporary or permanent, of the souls of the dead. Respect for them is due to two main reasons: (a) the kinsmen of the dead desire to preserve the goodwill of their dead relatives: (b) they wish at the same time to secure that their kinsmen are not molested and caused to undergo unnecessary suffering. The geographical character of a place largely determines the worship of animals. Thus, the bear enjoys a large measure of respect East Asia among the Siberian tribes. The bear is traditionally associated with Bern in Switzerland, and in 1832 a statue of Artio, a bear goddess, was dug up there to connect the Greek goddess Artemis with a cult of the bear; girls danced as "bears" in her honor, and might not marry before undergoing this ceremony.
Another animal worshipped and protected is the elephant and more so the white elephant. Just before the birth of the Buddha Mayavati dreamt of a white elephant and throughout South east Asia, India, Ceylon it is believed that a white elephant may contain the soul of a dead person, perhaps a Buddha. If one is captured animal cannot be bought or sold.. In some parts of Indo-China, the belief is that the soul of the elephant may injure people after death; a whole village therefore fetes it. In Cambodia, it is held to bring luck. Religion is an expression of the social and economical circumstances in which man finds himself and is largely shaped by the drive to survive. Acknowledging the benefits received from animals and admitting their natural instincts, animals were regarded as sacred. Their power, their cunning, their keen sense of smell, their ability to see in the dark, were regarded as symbolic of supernatural guidance. They also honored the animal's superior strength, speed, and fertility, and the animal became recognized as symbolizing these powers. These people always held the animal sacred because it shared a vital part of their lives, and they recognized their dependency upon the animal. It is not surprising to find that many people respect and even worship animals, often regarding them as ancestors of there clan.or protector of their community. The Egyptians believed that specific species were adored by each god or goddess, and by honoring that animal, they would please the god. Animals were believed to be the incarnation of the god or goddess. Upon the animal's death, a young replacement was found to represent the god or goddess. Dead animals are sometimes credited with a knowledge of how their remains are treated, potentially with the power to take vengeance on the hunter if he is disrespectful The human race was not considered superior to the animal world. Both had been created by the gods to share the earth as partners.
.. Among other objects of worship were creatures that were regarded as half human and half animal, such as centaurs and mermaids.