英文摘要 |
This article discusses the purification ritual in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The author first discusses the relationship between water and daily life, and the symbolic meaning of water. The main part of the article is devoted to the discussion of purification rituals in religious ceremonies. The author maintains that although on the material side purification ritual is only the cleansing of body and environment, it becomes symbolic of spiritual purity after ritualization and sanctification. Religiously, purity and pollution are a set of opposite concepts, and the goal of the discussion of purification ritual is to see how the ideas of purity and pollution were established, what are their meanings, and how to achieve the state of purity. Sociologically, the purification ritual could also be seen as a way to establish a special social and religious status, for it is only with the possession of certain special conditions, whether economic or religious, that the state of purification could be reached. Those who have gone through the purification ritual gained a new status, and are given a new domain to perform the power accorded by the new status. This is one of the foundations of religious authority. |