Hospitium is an ancient Greco-Roman concept of hospitality as a divine right of the guest and a divine duty of the host. It was of twofold character: private and sacred. In ancient Greece, offering hospitality to a guest was seen as an act of virtue and honor, and has passed into our DNA from one generation to the next for millennia. In Christianity and Islam, hospitality is fundamental to the spiritual life. It is not only expressed in acts we perform and gifts we give — it is, more importantly, a state of mind.
Hospitium is an ancient and sacred custom in Westeros, going back thousands of years to the First Men. When a guest, be they commonborn or noble, eats the food and drinks the drink off a host’s table, guest right is invoked. The gods will that if a stranger comes knocking, the host must offer them fresh clothing, food, and lodging. The sacred laws of hospitality are also found in ancient Greece, classical India, and the Fiji Islands.
Hospitality rites, as described in Purana, involve ceremonial acts performed to honor Krishna upon his arrival. In contrast, Kavya defines hospitality rites as ritualized friendship. Xenia (Greek: ξενία) is an ancient Greek concept of hospitality, almost always translated as “guest-friendship” or “ritualized friendship”.
In conclusion, hospitium is an ancient Greco-Roman concept that emphasizes the sacred duty of hospitality and the importance of sharing it with others. This concept has been passed down through generations and continues to be a significant aspect of the spiritual life in various cultures.
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Cecil Isaac explains what smudging is and why it’s important Follow the FIRST NATIONS CENTRE Facebook: …
What is the main idea of hospitality?
The term “hospitality” has its etymological roots in the Latin word “hospes,” which translates to “host,” “visitor,” or “stranger.” In its most basic sense, it denotes the act of welcoming guests or providing a home away from home.
What is the spiritual meaning of hospitality?
Christian hospitality is a form of love that focuses on serving guests, rather than impressing or creating obligation. As hosts become more sanctified, their hospitality will become an expression of love for specific guests. Biblical hospitality aims to show love in ways that each guest can recognize and feel, speaking to them in their own language, just as God does to us. This involves considering each guest’s situation, such as grieving, celebrating, or suffering from morning sickness.
By meeting their known needs, we can love each guest and serve them well. Practicing biblical hospitality is part of walking by faith, not by sight. The fruit of Christian hospitality is a sense of love and service, allowing us to be a welcoming and loving environment for our guests.
What are the 6 rules of hospitality?
During the fourth trimester, it is recommended to make eye contact, smile, and introduce oneself. In the postpartum period, it is advisable to consider potential emergencies and whether Semaglutide offers protection against the adverse effects of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). A subcutaneous injection of Lenacapavir is administered on a biannual basis to prevent the acquisition of HIV infection.
What is the spirituality of hospitality?
The Bible emphasizes the importance of hospitality as a divine mandate, inviting us to practice it as recipients of God’s grace, mercy, and warmth. Jesus embodied hospitality, asking us to do likewise. The call to care for the marginalized, such as the hungry, thirsty, stranger, and imprisoned, is a call to radical hospitality, reflecting the abundant grace we receive from God.
Hospital can change the world by encouraging us to welcome strangers who move into our communities, cities, and countries. It encourages us to create tables to share our foods, welcoming people of different ethnicities, backgrounds, and religions. Sharing bread makes it difficult for enemies to fight, making hospitality a must for survival as a human community.
In light of pressing global challenges, the act of welcoming the stranger takes on profound moral and spiritual significance. The United States faces the challenge of responding to the increasing number of refugees and immigrants seeking asylum within its borders. How we choose to receive these individuals will shape our national identity and reflect the depth of our commitment to living out Christ’s call to love our neighbors.
The warmth and hospitality of church leaders, friends, professors, students, laity, and strangers in Australia have made a significant difference in how the author experienced and enjoyed their time away from home.
What are the sacred hospitality rules?
Hosts and guests must respect each other and be hospitable, providing them with necessary amenities such as baths, food, drinks, gifts, and safe transportation. It is considered rude to ask guests questions before they have finished their meal. Guests should be courteous and not a threat or burden, and are expected to share stories and news from the outside world. Xenia was considered important in ancient times when people believed that gods mingled among them, and poor hostility could lead to the wrath of a disguised deity.
Notable examples include Zeus, also known as Zeus Xenios, who was a protector of strangers. This normalized theoxeny or theoxenia, where humans demonstrated their virtue by extending hospitality to a humble stranger who turned out to be a disguised deity. These stories caution mortals that any guest should be treated as if potentially a disguised divinity, as they valued generosity and welcoming attitudes towards strangers.
What is the rite of hospitality?
During the High Republic Era, the tradition of Thelj’s Rite of Hospitality was a somewhat antiquated custom that permitted guests to warm themselves at a lodging for an hour, unless the host extended an additional invitation.
What are the 4 P’s in hospitality?
The hospitality industry is known for creating memorable experiences for guests, and businesses must effectively communicate their offerings using the 4 Ps of Marketing. These elements include Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Product encompasses the entire guest experience, from the room to check-out, including the quality of accommodations, amenities, staff service, atmosphere, and local activities. Businesses must tailor their product offering to cater to specific demographics or interests, such as family-friendly amenities or romantic getaways.
Price is crucial for hospitality businesses, considering factors like target audience, operational costs, competitor pricing, and seasonal demand fluctuations. They can use strategies like offering packages that bundle accommodation with meals or activities or implementing dynamic pricing based on real-time demand. The key is to strike a balance between maximizing revenue and ensuring the perceived value of the experience justifies the price for the guest.
What is sacred hospitality?
Hospitium is an ancient art of hospitality, defined as the sacred right of the guest and the divine duty of the host. It is considered indecent for guests to set fire to the host’s curtains or poison the guest’s meal. The content of Libby, Nico, and Gideon is phenomenal, with 5 stars for their amazing performances. Gideon and Max observed Nico’s sleeping form, observing him flinging one arm over his head and into the tres leches cake. They remarked on Nico’s cuteness when he sleeps.
What is the sacred duty of hospitality?
The East’s people believe that a person who becomes their guest is sent by God, making hospitality a sacred duty. This belief is evident in the way Abraham entertained Westerners and the three angels he entertained. Abraham’s enthusiasm in receiving guests indicated his belief that those he was to entertain were sent by the Lord.
Friends are always welcome to receive hospitality in the East. The Romans of New Testament times had a token of hospitality between two friends, consisting of a tile of wood or stone divided in half. Each person wrote their name on one of the pieces and exchanged it with the other person. This custom was often kept and handed down from father to son.
Strangers as guests are also considered welcome. Bedouin Arabs and Abraham of old would sit in the entrance way of their tents to be on the watch for stranger guests. The apostle Paul gave command concerning hospitality to this type of guest, stating that “be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”. Paul’s Greek word for hospitality, “fil-ox-en-ee-ah”, means “love to strangers”.
What does God say about hospitality?
It is imperative to demonstrate unwavering hospitality to others, as it can serve as an efficacious conduit for entertaining celestial beings and receiving divine blessings. As evidenced in Romans 12:13 and Hebrews 13:2, bestowing blessings upon others can result in blessings being bestowed upon oneself by God.
Why is hospitality sacred?
Offering hospitality is a sacred act that connects us with the divine. It involves welcoming strangers with warmth, providing food and drink, and sharing time. Scripture suggests that welcoming strangers could be entertaining angels. Praying for God of Welcome and Hospitality, we are reminded of His examples of hospitality throughout salvation history. We should strive to be more generous and hospitable, and never shy away from the Gospel call to welcome strangers. Acting generously and sharing time, food, or space with others can help us encounter Christ and experience the importance of hospitality.
📹 A God in Disguise? Pagan Lessons in Hospitality
In traditions around the world we see the same mythological trope of a god disguised as a beggar so that he can test mortals.
This reminds me of Marcus Luttrell’s story in Afghanistan. A wounded navy seal that sought refuge in a random afghan village. The village leader saw Marcus as a guest and treated him with hospitality and tended to his wounds. Even though Marcus, an American could be easily considered an enemy. The Taliban demanded that the village hand over Marcus. But the village leader flatly refused on the grounds that it was dishonourable to disservice his guest, costing several villagers lives for a man that came from half way around the world..
This reminds me of an encounter I had in Nepal. I was having tea with an expat near Boudha stupa when an eldery Hindu women came up to me. She had wanted a blessing from me and gave me a flower. After she prostrated and left I was surprised by the encounter. My friend who had lived there for thirty years told me that it was a practice of considering a stranger as a god. It left a long term effect on me and I still like to think of random people possibly being gods.
My grandmother once fed 15 local thieves of the village who broke into the house late at night . They asked her to give them some part of the produced wheat and mustard ( money wasn’t something that was stolen back in her days ) . She said she won’t be able to do so because she was a single mother of 6 children ( my paternal grandfather died of snakebite ) . They agreed . But, she still fed them dinner . Before parting,they gifted her money and touched her feet (performative way of paying respect ) . It’s really surreal to listen to such stories today . Maybe because something like that wouldn’t happen today .
I doubt I’m your typical audience, if you have one – regardless, this is excellent, thanks! M.L. West points out another commonality between Greece and India, the idea that the gods sometimes grant mortals the ability to recognize them. So whereas in the Iliad, Athena removes the “fog” from the eyes of Diomedes, in the Mahabharata, the god Yama shouts “Arjuna, Arjuna, behold us!… We bestow on you eyesight, for you are worthy of seeing us.” (Indo-European Poetry and Myth, p. 134)
Hospitality is a form of empathy, as at some point in our lives we end up wandering in strange lands or among strange people. We treat others with the same respect and kindness that we expect to be treated with in that situation. The politicization of hospitality and the abuse of empathy have negative implications for societies. I supported and walked along causes and issues that were not affecting me, but I did it out of mere empathy (not as an Instagram Activist™), as time passed I saw how one demand became ten more, many of them unrelated to the actual issue. People’s empathy, good will and naiveté are exploited, abused and manipulated to achieve hidden agendas… a few years ago my empathy ran dry. I still help people whenever I can, that’s how I was raised, but I follow common sense, which is what you said at the end of the article, hospitality and empathy are not never ending, undefined contracts or even serfdom to one person or a group of people, they´re defined by clear rules, set for specific situations, they cannot come at the expense of abuse, exploitation or destruction of the host. I’m afraid that at the end of all this craziness most people will run out of empathy because of all the abuse and manipulation, and that would make the world even harsher.
One of my only good memories of public school was buried in an ignored section of an elementary or intermediate school reading textbook was a summarized version of the story of Baucis and Philemon. I was raised (for the better part) by my grandparents and to see their sentiments exactly mirrored in ancient story had an effect I only understand now.
In my country there is a Christmas tradition. I recently learned how deeply pagan the celebration was, before it got christianified. The festivity was celebrated by acting out the wild hunt, a bearded man with long white hair on a white horse marches through the streets, followed by a mass of black painted men with twig bundles, black to symbolize death. These represented spirits of fallen warriors. They would chase women and children to hit them. After this festivity you are supposed to sing to this bearded man, and leave him offerings occassionally. The morning after you sang there would be gifts. One of the songs is about being visited at night by this bearded man, coming as a stranger. It’s about hospitality to him. I remember the song well I sang it every year. This event is about to be cancelled, Christianity made the black men into n-words and now it’s racist. This age old tradition will disappear. But the virtue of hospitality still lives in me 🙂
when I was a kid, my parents ran a motel in a fishing village. There was this old couple who would come stay a few times a year and trade a sheep for their room instead of paying cash. Every time they were there we would spit-roast the sheep and invite the whole town (about 200 people). Everyone who could afford it brought a dish of food or a bottle of wine and anyone who couldn’t was welcome to everything. Hands down, best time I’ve had in my life.
My grandma told me of an old woman who knocked on her door once. When she answered the door the old woman asked her for a bite to eat. She said sure and told her to wait, then got inside to grab some bread and yogurt. By the time she walked back outside not even a minute had passed, but upon reaching the door step my grandma said she couldn’t see the old woman anywhere. Edit: It’s been nearly 2 decades since she died and i remembered it wrong. My mom just told me that it actually was an old man in all green clothes, that my grandma saw. Anyone know anything about that?
Very interesting topic. From a spiritual perspective, I personally think that the concept of the beggar stranger is a symbol for not judging the “book by it’s cover”. Even the lousiest looking individual can give you divine wisdom. Unfortunately many persons are superficially dismissing some individuals who actually might be geniuses. Many of my most interesting conversations in life, I had with persons with somewhat unusual looks. We need to remember that the among the very most extreme spiritual devotees within several Indo-European traditions, were those who were seen as outlaws and outcasts. E.g. the Shivaite Vratyas in India (as you mention) and also the members of various Männerbünde, e.g. Oðinnic berserkir or úlfheðnar. All which aimed to imitate the actions and attributes of their main deity, to become the god.
The Norse take in large amounts of refugees because of these morals. My earliest ancestors in the US were Norwegian immigrants to Minnesota. As the Native Americans’ hunting lands were sectioned off more and more by the US government, they often unknowingly wandered onto farmland. My ancestors’ neighbors shot these Natives and chased them off. My ancestors, however, let them stay in the barn and brought them food. They taught them how to rotate crops in the early autumn in the tumultuous Midwestern climate. Eventually, a brutal winter came and the Natives were starving. They raided all the farms in the area… except my ancestors’. They would occasionally leave my family gifts and they now knew how to rotate crops in this new country. Odin visited my early ancestor’s and they passed the test
I once met a group of travellers on my way home from work, who had a pitbull named Bruno with one brown eye and one blue. They had a car and their pets not much else, so after talking to them a bit I asked if they’d be there the next day, they said yes hopefully buying a van I wished them luck. I came back the next day on my way home from work and bought a bucket for their dog and some essentials, offered them to use my laundry and shower. They gave me an interesting conversation, and read my tarot. The sweetest people, and so interesting I wonder if Odin and Frigg tested me?
I worked in Yellowstone Forest (22 miles in the wilderness). The man who worked with his wife showed me the most gracious hospitality he mended my chaps and spirs they fed me sausage potatoes and a warm drink before my hour horse back ride to camp. Lost hikers tired horses and sour mules all welcomed to his cabin. He came one night to check on us palyed guitar prayers given for a successful hunt and was off. A great man.
It’s amazing really, the theme of “God disguised as beggar,” is all over the Christian Bible (both Testaments). From your articles, I gather you already know that, but I just wanted to say it publicly here, for others. This article in particular brought immediately to mind the story of Christ, when after His resurrection, He appeared in disguise to several of His disciples at various points (in one case having a long conversation with them on the road to Emmaus, where He also gave them wisdom, explaining the Scriptures in regard to Himself). That is not even to mention God appearing to Abraham, Lot (before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah), as well as Samson’s parents. In each of those cases, God also seemed to be testing on grounds of hospitality (among other reasons), and were usually met with offerings of food, etc. I love your articles man, thank you so much.
In Hawai’i we have a few stories just like those indo European ones. Even on Hawai’i island we still have stories today of Pele, the Goddess of fire and volcanoes, appearing at someone’s house in the guise of an old woman just before a volcanic eruption. If she is treated with hospitality, when the volcano erupts the lava flow will miss the house. If treated poorly a portion of the lava flow will break off and burn said house down.
There’s a story in the Mahabharata similar to this I was told as a child. When Karna is about to fight Arjuna in the battle, Indra (Thunder) comes disguised as a sage in the morning. Karna was the son of Surya (Sun), and had a divine obligation to give whatever was asked of him when the Sun was rising. Indra is Arjun’s father, and obviously had to do everything to protect his son because he knew Arjun would not last in a battle against Karna. Karna was born with a Solar armour that was invincible and attached directly to his body, he was quite literally born with it, attached to his flesh. So, Indra disguised as a sage asks him for his armour. He couldn’t break his word, and takes a knife and cuts his entire torso and gives him his armour with his pieces of flesh attached to it. Indra is completely humbled by this sacrifice and reveals himself and offers to return back the favour and Karna asks him for the Brahmastra (a powerful celestial weapon, sort of like a mythological nuclear strike). Indra hesitant, still gives it to him. In the battle, Karna’s chariot wheel gets stuck in a pit while he is battling Arjun. He gets down the chariot to fix his wheel and tells Arjun to follow the laws of battle where a man on a chariot could not fire on a foot soldier. Krishna then reminds Arjun that Karna killed his son and tells him to ignore the laws of war and fire upon a vulnerable Karna. Arjun’s arrow slices Karna’s throat and he is vanquished on the battlefield.
This tradition was still alive in its explicit form in the mountains of Albania until late 20th Century. It is also explicitly referred to in the Albanian Mountain Laws (Kanuns). English travellers like Edith Durham wrote about encountering it (High Albania), Rose Wilder Lane is another (Peaks of Shala).
I’m not even a Pagan. I am a Traditional Catholic, still LOVE this website. Very Indo European. I have definitely noticed the pattern in European religion of the gods/God disguising themselves and I think it definitely speaks to our nature as people and as a race. I’ve had several experiences that genuinely made me wonder if I was speaking with a holy being.
My Father, when he was younger told me a story one time. How an old homeless man came into the house, already knew my mother and his name, thanked them for the food and started to leave. He left something behind so my father went to give him his coat back but he vanished from the street in seconds. It was God 🤙🏻
I had a dream when I was 16 or so- dreamed that I was half way between my mums house and my dads- three beggars stopped me. One approached me and asked for some money for food, but I instead cut him off and asked him to tell me something about the occult. He looked confused and then saw I was serious and then smiled and said “It’s not the words we hear from the prayers, but the intention (the energy).” I was about to ask him who he was and I had a sudden understanding it was Zeus and behind him, the other two, were Athena and Demeter in disguise. He said, “Don’t stop here…” (as in don’t stop with just what others have found with knowledge) “… keep searching”, and I looked up at the sky and I saw beings coming from other places to Earth, I was shocked- and I woke up to his fading laugh. Looking back afterwards, its interesting that maybe they could of also represented Mind (Athena), Body (Demeter) and Spirit (Zeus). Also that symbolism of meeting half way between two places I called home where there’s a gate/fence I’d open to get through, that they were there.
Thank you for this article. You make a very important point near the end. The hospitality does NOT extend to everyone in the world. This is idiotic idealism and is of course impossible. It can only be interpreted as virtue signalling and should be frowned upon and called out. However, you do have an obligation to help those who come to you, stranger or not.
To show true hospitality you need a high trust society with common values. We no longer have that. Very few people will invite a stranger into their home after a lifetime of consuming stories of horrific crimes in the media and Hollywood movies where the stranger is more likely to hack you to pieces than thank you for your kindness. We’ve grown to fear the other, often justifiably so.
Just yesterday I was working the closing shift at the store I work at, when suddenly there was a man playing guitar and singing outside. He wasn’t there when I came in to work two hours before I saw him, and I never saw him walk over or set up. Strange, because I work right next to the front windows. His guitar case was open in front of him with a sign saying “PLEA”. I am only paid minimum wage and I don’t get many working hours, so I hadn’t much money, only $1.50 with which I planned to buy myself a soda. Instead, I quickly walked out front and put it in his guitar case. He explained that he wandered the country to film scenery and lives on the money he plays guitar on the street for. He was literally a wandering beggar. I didn’t explain to him my religion, but in truth i always feel it my duty as a Pagan to accommodate the wanderer or the poet as best I can. I do not believe the man was Woden in disguise or anything. But he may have crossed my path or I may have crossed his due to the will of Woden. I have, however, been visited at work one time by an old man with one eye who, after I helped him with three things, complimented my hospitality and willingness to help him even though he was elderly and needy. I never saw him again. It’s been a year. That one may have been someone more than just a needy old man…
The story of Baucis and Philemon, when I first read it, really made me question the supposed origins of the Bible. You make it really easy to understand from your summary for all who didn’t get it initially. The myth of Christ turning wine into water stems both from this myth and the relevant myths of Dionis. The flood myth from the old testament is dominant in the story as well. People being punished for a sin, a righteous few being exempt from the flood and rewarded… In its core it is a cautionary tale, instructing us that principles are more valuable than life. Seems like we were fed regurgitated mush of our own stories with false actors and premises. Oddly enough, that might be a reason why we bought it. Imagine you had to rewatch 1989 Batman over and over for 20 years…. and then, one day, someone shows you Batman Begins
So now I know where I get my strong sense of hospitality. I have certainly been known to open my home to take in those in need, even to such extent that my friends and family were concerned about me. Not long after I got my first apartment, I had a guy that I worked with, who had to be at least twice my age stay in my spare bedroom for a couple of months. I had given him a ride home one day before that and saw the abhorant state of the building where he was renting a room. It was more like an old barn that was very poorly fixed up. The place definitely should have been condemned because of how close it was to falling in and especially because of the plainly visible mold. Praise the Lord, when he left, he moved onto a much better place. Another time, I offered a spare room to another fellow about my age who was an intern at the company l worked for. He was from Nepal and was studying at Louisiana Tech. He told me while we were at work one day that he was renting a room for something like $200 a week from some guy that wouldn’t even let him use the kitchen. I told him “the hell with that, I’ll rent you my extra room for less than a quarter of that and you can do whatever you want!” I must have taken in at least half a dozen people over the years. It was never for just a night or two though.
My mom had a strange encounter in hospital. She was due to have some tests because of a shadow on her lung. It was greatly worrying her, especially considering she had to go into hospital on her own (Covid UK). A woman was sat next to her and just said out the blue “you will be fine” then proceeded to look into my mom’s mind. This woman spoke about my mom’s life and then told her she needed to make changes in order to be happy (I won’t go I think the specifics). My mom just shrugged it as a strange experience, but I tell her, it was one of the gods and that she should listen. But as a Christian she doesn’t listen to me.
The Seder is a lovely example of this trope. A place is set at the table for Elijah, because he’s coming back one of these days, and it might be this year, and it might be to our Seder, so be ready. If a stranger comes by, s/he will be offered Elijah’s seat. I attended a Seder at my Quaker Meeting. It was a memorable experience.
I’m some sort of Hindu catholic pagan shaman and I will often give the less fortunate some weed and food/water because I’m always like is this Odin or is this shiva trying to humble me. The majority of the experiences has just been me meeting really interesting people down on their luck which makes you grateful for your lot in life
Remember though, the applicable limits as set and observed by The Gods Themselves, and stated eloquently in this vid. Hospitality is a duty to others of one’s OWN cultural community alone; people who also understand and honour the same code and so value not only the customary rights a guest enjoys, but also respect the attendant obligations.
I was in Maastricht in 2004 walking near the pond in the park near the outer wall ruin. A dirty man wearing old clothes came up to me and asked if I could take him somewhere he could sleep comfortable. I said yes and asked him to hangout with me and get something to eat. I said I wanted to take him to a nice cafe that I know of in the platz. We crossed over the bridge and noticed that they were not open. I said to him “they are not open yet let us wait in the park then go” He said “that is ok they would not let me in anyway because of my bad clothes” I said “come on to my car and I will loan you a nice shirt” He looked at me with a large smile. He was full of gratitude. Then it started getting very warm and he turned into small purple blocks that evaporated to a grainy dust then completely evaporated. I had been up all night doing drugs and was still high as all get so not sure if it was real but it was a cool experience that I remember like it was a real experience but I do not know what to think of it exactly because it is so far out and the explanation defies logical understandings soo…
Survive the jive, could you please explain to me why Anglo-Saxon surnames/cities often have the suffix root word of pool (for instance liverpool) in them. I have done some research on my last name and it is very interesting to learn about. It would be nice to see you go into depth regarding Anglo-Saxon surnames and how they all originate from Proto-Germanic words in a podcast.
My great-great grandmother and great-great grandfather would house gypsies in Asturias. Though my great-great grandfather would question her about housing people they did not know, especially when being woken in the morning by the banging of pans. She would respond with “The Virgin Mary was turned away by several people when looking for shelter.”
I have to tell this story. I live in a nice suburban neighborhood. No weird stuff ever happens.one night I went out to smoke a cigarette in the front, which I never do. It was dark and cold and about to rain. Suddenly I heard a woman’s voice but I didn’t see anybody. I heard it again and she said, “do you have a spare cigarette.” I looked into the dark street and finally made out the silhouette of a woman . I answered and approached and shared a cigarette. I asked her name. She turned away from me, leaned back and looked at me upside down and said, ” I’m sky. 🙃” . I was completely bewildered by her behavior. I asked where she came from as our cigarettes burned in our hands. She said, “I come from nowhere. I just wander here and there until a nice stranger lets me stay in their home and then I stay until it’s time to move one. You don’t happen to have a nice warm place for me to relax relax a while do you?” I was totally freaked out by this woman I regarded as probably a crackhead. I avoided directly rejecting her but made it clear that she was not going to be invited into my home. Once I did so, she said, “oh, you’re one of them. Well, gotta go.” And she ran off down the street in the dark, in the rain, and I never saw her or anyone like her again.
There is a few stories with this theme in Hawai’i where the volcano Goddess Pele comes disguised as an old Woman, begging for food and shelter or for lei, or other precious things. In one tale, she encounters women preparing food for the High Chief to eat, and as an old Woman ask each for food being refused by each a shooed away, but the last one, fed the old Woman even giving her pieces of the Chiefs food and the sweetest coconut water, and offered her perfumed water to wash with and fragrant lei to adorn her. In that moment Pele the old Woman, that because the other women did not observe the custom of ‘Aloha they will be punished, and told her to plant Ti leaves in the four owners of her house and draw the boundaries with turmeric, for the night will bring great peril, and only she will be spared because of her observing the rule of ‘Aloha and to not come out of her house until the morning light shines through. So that night after she set her boundaries and planted the Ti leaves she gathered her family, and everyone stayed inside not leaving, not even peeking out of curiosity. And just as the old lady had said, disaster struck. A lava flow consumed the entire village except for her house and the High Chiefs house, whose very food was offered to Pele and was also the relative of Pele. That morning when the woman and her family emerged from thier home, it was only then she realized who the old woman was….
Although not a visit in the flesh, I was paid a visit by an old bearded and hooded man with a staff in my dream a while ago, who sought my hospitality as he was a homeless, familyless hermit. Mind you in this dream I was dressed as a peasant from a few centuries ago with typical Macedonian villager clothes, but since I am not Christian I have been wondering just which god this might have been. Zeus, Perun, Odin? I have no clue. But I would appreciate it if a stranger who was wiser than me helped out in the comment section lol.
I greatly enjoy hearing these stories and learning about the traditions and customs of different peoples. Great virtues to be learned and good words to remember. I understand not wanting to bend to any invading people but wouldn’t casting out a whole people of whom the majority are tolerant and peaceful just create more division and strife in this world? There is much to be learned from all cultures I believe. The creation and current state of any culture we identify with can at least partially be attributed to the mixing of different cultures in the past. Blending of cultures and peoples is just the way the world works. The problem is that not enough people emphasize preserving all cultures and their best aspects.
I have often seen that those who have the least, are the first to give, and comparative to their income, give the most. The story about the poor old couple’s unstinting hospitality: if Zeus drowned everyone but the old couple, who was left to worship them in their tree form! I find the reason for the hospitality in a lot of these beliefs a bit sketchy: because they might be gods? What about doing it because of compassion, because it’s the right thing to do?
this is like fresh air after forty years of smog. It’s quite astounding that the beliefs, traditions and more esoteric practices of our forebears are so studiously ignored, when those very things form the basis, the very bones of indo-european culture, philosophy and morality. Like so many behaviours that were born out of the Enlightenment, a terrible confusion and volte face between the meanings of the words “thought” and “dogma” has happened, with the brain-dead result that anything that smacks of religion, esoteric thought & practice and even of oral based history are by academia put at a level with Winnie the Pooh and Mother Goose, and we are subsequently vastly undervaluing the one resource from history that is Most availabe and Intact. Anyone who has witnessed How the oral histories are passed down in most such societies will note the presence of rhyme and metre in their teaching; ie: if you get it wrong, it Sounds Wrong! By this simple mechanism the Brahamans have been able to pass down entire tracts of the vedas faultlessly for thousands of years. We have Beowulf, The Song of Roland, and countless other works by the very same methods, but we still overvalue writing because we can touch it, presumably. How thickly thick can thickness get? By limiting our sources we limit how much we can LEARN
A man with one eye was party to someone robbing me at gunpoint. A few months later a man in a blue hoodie with the hood up walked over a river bank I was hiking along the peak of, came through trees so thick you can’t see the river and asked me for money and I told him I didn’t have any but I really had like a little cash on me. Seems like I was visited twice but the punishment came before my chance to prove myself lol. Both happened before I even knew how to recognize Odin! Life’s not fair.
It’s interesting how elements of this also appear in the Bible, prominently the Old Testament. God appears as a normal man on the road and Abram invites him into his home and washes his feet. This was a test of morality and helped God choose Abram to become Abraham, the Father of Nations later. Presumably if he’d been inhospitable he’d have been looked over and probably punished.
Disguised themselves as women too. This is evident in the Hawaiian belief of Madam Pele, the Fire Goddess. She would Be seen at times as an old lady asking for food. It was thought that if you gave her food you would be blessed but if you turn her away, you would have bad luck or your house might be taken by the lava. This belief is still alive today as is Madam Pele.
In the Iliad, the gods Poseidon and Apollo present themselves as journeymen labourers to king Laomedon and agree to build the Trojan wall. After the work is completed, the king refuses to pay them the agreed upon wages, threatening instead to bind them before cutting off their ears and noses before selling them off as slaves in the surrounding islands (Il.446-460).
One correction. A vratya is a person who did not undergo the upanayana ceremony despite being born a Brahmin, a Kshatriya or a Vaishya. He is unfit for ceremonies and hence ritually impure and shunned. But he can repent and recover his lost status by undergoing the upanayana. Also, Adi Shankara was born a Brahmin but since he became a monk,he was obliged to discard his caste.
I remember that one day, a drunken person started talking with me late at night in the middle of the street. At first, he was talking nonsense, but at a point he said to me: “are you troubled by your girlfriend, son?”, and I was at the time in the process of breaking up with my couple, he then guessed my age, he said I was 22 years old, and in deed that was my age. I kept vaguely responding at his questions, which became nonsense once again, but I was somewhat amazed. My bus came, and never had I seen the drunken man once more. Maybe it was just a boozy dude who just happened to accurately guess my age and my personal problems, but after perusal this article, I’m opened to some other possibilities.