Characterizing Water Use at Mosques in Abu Dhabi

In areas where Muslims constitute much of the population, mosques can account for a significant portion of overall water consumption. Among the various uses of water at mosques, ablution (i.e., ritual cleansing) is generally assumed to be the largest, by far. As part of an initiative to reduce water consumption at mosques in Abu Dhabi, we collected data on ablution and other end uses for water from hundreds of mosques in and around Abu Dhabi City. This paper takes a closer look at how water is used at mosques in Abu Dhabi and presents a set of water use profiles that provide a breakdown of mosque water consumption by end use. The results of this research indicate that cleaning the mosque (primarily the floors) and some of the other non-ablution end uses at mosques can account for a significant portion of the total water consumption and significantly more than was anticipated or has been found in other countries.

Impressions and Identity

This chapter describes the hamam’s different identities and the impressions it left on its users: its religious function of ritual cleansing, based on the Qur’an and the Hadith (the collected sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad); its social function as a place to gather and exchange news, and as a place for important rituals such as the bride’s bath; its place in sexual fantasies as well as sexual encounters; its medical function in the treatment of certain diseases, as laid out in Ottoman medical treatises; and its urban function to convey a sense of architectural splendour and to promote the imperial dynasty by demonstrating its concern for the city inhabitants’ well-being;.

Protection and Purity: Symbolic Functions of the Iron Age Saunas of the Iberian Northwest

Iron Age saunas, unique to the Castro Culture of northwestern Iberia, have puzzled archaeologists since the nineteenth century. Initially interpreted as kilns, crematoriums, or ovens, their function has since been established as bathing structures; however, the social significance of these saunas has yet to be firmly established. This study provides a new approach to understanding the ways in which Castro communities utilized specialized buildings to serve specific needs related to ritual cleansing and protection. Through an analysis of their placement, structure and decoration, I argue that these buildings functioned to purify and protect people of Castro communities from spiritual and physical danger. Members of Castro society inhabited a world buffeted by the shifting political and economic powers of the Iron Age. The bath structures under study, covered in apotropaic symbols, functioned in liminal spaces to cleanse and prepare Castro people for the dangers that awaited them beyond the walls of their communities and neutralized any potential spiritual contamination they may have acquired upon their return.

Friendships and Fellowship: Living koinonia, martyria and diakonia in the Corinthian Church of South Africa – from the perspective of social capital

In this article, I argued that the rituals of baptism, After–burial ritual cleansing ceremonies, and the burning of the heifer [isitshisa], performed by members of the Corinthians Church of South Africa based in Durban and Phepheni, near Kokstad, generate friendships and fellowship [koinonia], and that these in turn promote witness [martyria] and service [diakonia] to the community.

Were Hittite Kings Divinely Anointed? A Palaic Invocation to the Sun-God and Its Significance for Hittite Religion

The aim of this paper is to improve our understanding of a difficult Palaic invocation to the Sun-god, and to elucidate its implications for the study of Hittite religion. The first part of my account contains linguistic and philological discussion that concludes with a new translation of the scrutinized fragment. According to my interpretation, the Sun-god is requested to anoint the Hittite king and to exalt him. This is the only clear evidence that the gods were thought to be personally responsible for the anointment of Hittite kings. A counterpart to this nontrivial concept is well known from the Hebrew Bible and is inherited by the Christian tradition.The second part of this paper, which is meant to be accessible to all the historians of religion, discusses the anointment as a rite of passage among the Hittites, as well as the relevant parallels in other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. I am arguing that anointment with oil was extended to both Hittite priestly kings and certain other categories of Hittite priests, and that the underlying purpose of this act was ritual cleansing. The spread of this rite to those cultures where kings were not at the head of the religious hierarchy boosted the secondary association of divine anointment with empowerment rather that purification.