spirits

(noun)

The undying essence of a human. The soul.

Related Terms

Examples of spirits in the following topics:

  • Animism

    • Animism is the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, either intrinsically or because spirits inhabit them.
    • In Shinto, spirits of nature, or kami, are believed to exist everywhere.
    • Unlike supernatural forces, animist spirits may be inherently good or evil.
    • In pantheism, everything shares the same spiritual essence—there are no distinct spirits and/or souls.
    • In animist societies, ritual is considered essential to win the favor of the spirits that ward off other malevolent spirits and provide food, shelter, and fertility.

  • African Art and the Spirit World

    • Beliefs about the spirit world are deeply embedded in traditional African culture, but were heavily influenced by Christianity and Islam.
    • In some societies, artistic talents were themselves seen as ways to please higher spirits.
    • The masks themselves often represent an ancestral spirit, which is believed to possess the wearer of the mask.
    • In the Kingdom of Kongo, nkisi were objects believed to be inhabited by spirits.
    • Discuss the role of African masks, statues, and sculptures in relation to the spirit world.

  • Masks in the Kalabari Kingdom

    • Culture and artistic festivities of the Kalabari Kingdom involve the wearing of elaborate outfits and carved masks to celebrate the spirits.
    • Veneration of ancestors plays a central role in Ijaw traditional religion, while water spirits, known as Owuamapu, figure prominently in the Ijaw pantheon.
    • Ijaw religious beliefs hold that water spirits are like humans, having personal strengths and shortcomings, and that humans dwell among the water spirits before being born.
    • Each year, the Ijaw hold celebrations lasting for several days in honor of the spirits.
    • Particularly spectacular masqueraders are believed to be possessed by the particular spirits on whose behalf they are dancing.

  • Economic Sociology

    • Max Weber's book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is the archetypical representation of the works of economic sociology's classical period .
    • The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is representative of classical economic sociology in that it uses sociological data on religion to explain the economic phenomenon of northern Europe's embrace of capitalism.
    • This picture shows the cover to the 1934 edition of Max Weber's The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

  • Mendé Masks

    • The bells on the necklaces are of the type believed capable of being heard by spirits, ringing in both worlds, that of the ancestors and the living.
    • Masks represent the collective mind of the Mendé community; viewed as one body, they are seen as the Spirit of the Mendé people.
    • The standard set of Mendé maskers includes about a dozen personalities embodying spirits of varying degrees of power and importance.
    • The neck rolls are an indication of the health of ideal women; they have also been called symbols of the pattern of concentric, circular ripples the Mendé spirit makes when emerging from the water.
    • The holes at the base of the mask are where the rest of the costume is attached; a woman who wears these masks must not expose any part of her body, or it is believed a vengeful spirit may take possession of her.

  • Kongo

    • The nganga gathers materials, called nlongo (plural bilongo, milongo, or concord with mi-), which when assembled, will become the home of a spirit.
    • The nganga then either becomes possessed with the spirit or places the finished nkondi in a graveyard or other place where spirits frequent.

  • Historical Returns: Market Variability and Volatility

    • Furthermore, market variability and volatility can be the cause of what John Maynard Keynes called animal spirits.
    • Animal spirits are the emotions felt by investors who affect markets.

  • New Guinean Wood Carvings

    • A bisj pole is a ritual artifact that can be erected as an act of revenge, to pay homage to the ancestors, to calm the spirits of the deceased, and to bring harmony and spiritual strength to the community.
    • The Asmat believed that if a member of the community had been killed, his spirit would linger in the village and cause disharmony.
    • Bisj poles were erected in order to satisfy these spirits and send them to the afterlife (known as Safan) across the sea.
    • Canoe prow symbols represented a metaphorical boat that would take the deceased spirits away to the afterlife; the human figures would represent deceased ancestors.

  • Facts, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom

    • (For our purposes, we will accept facts in the spirit of its Latin roots.

  • Death

    • The Dogon people of Mali place kneeling statues of protective spirits at the head of the dead, in order to absorb spiritual strength and to accompany the deceased into the world of the dead.
    • People of the Kongo empire were known for their nkisi, objects believed to be inhabited by spirits.