The sacred liquid – living water Cover Image
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Lichidul sacru - apa vie
The sacred liquid – living water

Author(s): Zoia Maxim, Ioana Bădocan
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Archaeology, Ethnohistory, Ancient World, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
Published by: MUZEUL ETNOGRAFIC AL TRANSILVANIEI
Keywords: ethnoarchaeology; Neolithic; sacred water; living water; symbol;

Summary/Abstract: Water is the origin of life, a means of purification and the element of regeneration. It is the symbol of fertility, wisdom, divine grace. As the origin and vehicle of any form of life, it represents the vital breath and can become the support of any energy. It can be endowed with antithetical properties, it can be purifying, or poisonous. Water can be structured according to the actions performed on it (prayer, magic formula), or the interference with the surrounding energies (objects, animals, plants). Ritual washings have a special place in all rites of passage, or initiation. The water used in these ceremonies is “living water”, endowed with magical powers. Immersion in the ritual water represents a symbolic death and at the same time a return to the beginning, to the origins, a new birth in a cleansed body. Romanian fairy tales and legends remind of various creatures, which bring “living water” to the hero who is in trouble. Also, bathing in living water rejuvenates the elderly and energizes the young.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 12
  • Page Range: 191-201
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Romanian
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