Homa (ritual)

Not to be confused with Haoma.

For other uses, see Yagya.

A Shingon Buddhist goma fire ritual in Japan

In Indian religions, a homa (Sanskrit: होम), also known as homam (plural: homams) or havan, is a fire ritual performed on special occasions. In Hinduism, by a Hindu priest usually for a homeowner (grihastha: one possessing a home). The grihastha keeps different kinds of fire including one to cook food, heat the home, among other uses; therefore, a yajna offering is made directly into the fire.<ref name=richardpayne2>Richard Payne (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–3. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref><ref>Hillary Rodrigues (2003). Ritual Worship of the Great Goddess: The Liturgy of the Durga Puja with Interpretations. State University of New York Press. pp. 329 with note 25. ISBN 978-0-7914-8844-7.</ref> A homa is sometimes called a "sacrifice ritual" because the fire destroys the offering, but a homa is more accurately a "votive ritual".<ref name=richardpayne2/> The fire is the agent, and the offerings include those that are material and symbolic such as grains, ghee, milk, incense, and seeds.<ref name=richardpayne2/><ref name=axelmichaels237/>

It is rooted in the Vedic religion,<ref name="Witzel2015p143"/> and was also adopted in ancient times by Buddhism and Jainism.<ref name=richardpayne2/><ref name=axelmichaels237>Axel Michaels (2016). Homo Ritualis: Hindu Ritual and Its Significance for Ritual Theory. Oxford University Press. pp. 237–248. ISBN 978-0-19-026263-1.</ref> The practice spread from India to Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.<ref name=richardpayne2/> Homa rituals remain an important part of many Hindu ceremonies, and variations of homa continue to be practiced in current-day Buddhism, particularly in parts of Tibet and Japan.<ref name="Witzel2015p143"/><ref name="mushashit126"/> It is also found in modern Jainism.<ref name="Witzel2015p143"/><ref name=phyllisgranoff399/>

A homa is also called yajna in Hinduism, sometimes for larger public fire rituals, or jajnavidhana or goma in Buddhism.<ref name=axelmichaels237/><ref>Richard Payne (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. pp. 30, 51, 341–342. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref> In modern times, a homa tends to be a private ritual around a symbolic fire, such as those observed at a wedding.<ref>Axel Michaels (2016). Homo Ritualis: Hindu Ritual and Its Significance for Ritual Theory. Oxford University Press. p. 246. ISBN 978-0-19-026263-1.</ref>

Etymology

The Sanskrit word homa (होम) is from the root hu, which refers to "pouring into fire, offer, sacrifice".<ref>Wilhelm Geiger (1998). Culavamsa: Being the More Recent Part of Mahavamsa. Asian Educational Services. p. 234 with footnotes. ISBN 978-81-206-0430-8.</ref><ref name="axelmichaels231"/><ref>[1], Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 1899, via Koeln University, Germany</ref>

History

Homa traditions are found across Asia, from Samarkand to Japan, over a 3000-year history.<ref name="Witzel2015p143">Timothy Lubin (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. pp. 143–166. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref> A homa, in all its Asian variations, is a ceremonial ritual that offers food to fire and is ultimately linked to the traditions contained in the Vedic religion.<ref name="Witzel2015p143"/> The tradition reflects a reverence for fire and cooked food (pākayajña) that developed in Asia, and the Brahmana layers of the Vedas are the earliest records of this ritual reverence.<ref>Timothy Lubin (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. pp. 143–145, 148. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref>

Inner Homa, body as temple

<poem> Therefore the first food which a man may take, is in the place of Homa. And he who offers that first oblation, should offer it to Prana, saying svaha! Then Prana is satisfied. If Prana is satisfied, the eye is satisfied. If eye is satisfied, the sun is satisfied. If sun is satisfied, heaven is satisfied.

</poem>

— Chandogya Upanishad 5.19.1–2<br>Transl: Max Muller<ref name="M?ller">Friedrich Max Muller (2004) [1879]. The Upanishads. Oxford University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-177-07458-2.</ref><ref>Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, page 153, for context see pages 143–155</ref>

The yajñā or fire sacrifice became a distinct feature of the early śruti rituals.<ref name="Witzel2015p143"/> A śrauta ritual is a form of quid pro quo where through the fire ritual, a sacrificer offered something to the gods and goddesses, and the sacrificer expected something in return.<ref>Richard Payne (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref><ref name="Michael Witzel 2008 78">Witzel, Michael (2008). Gavin Flood (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. John Wiley & Sons. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-470-99868-7.</ref> The Vedic ritual consisted of sacrificial offerings of something edible or drinkable,<ref>Michael Witzel (2008). Gavin Flood (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. John Wiley & Sons. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-470-99868-7.</ref> such as milk, clarified butter, yoghurt, rice, barley, an animal, or anything of value, offered to the gods with the assistance of fire priests.<ref>Sushil Mittal; Gene Thursby (2006). Religions of South Asia: An Introduction. Routledge. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-1-134-59322-4.</ref><ref name=mdhavamony107>M. Dhavamony (1974). Hindu Worship: Sacrifices and Sacraments. Studia Missionalia. Vol. 23. Gregorian Press, Universita Gregoriana, Roma. pp. 107–108.</ref> This Vedic tradition split into śrauta (śruti-based) and Smarta (Smṛti-based).<ref name="Witzel2015p143"/>

The homa ritual practices were observed by different Buddhist and Jaina traditions, states Phyllis Granoff, with their texts appropriating the "ritual eclecticism" of Hindu traditions, albeit with variations that evolved through medieval times.<ref name="Witzel2015p143"/><ref name=phyllisgranoff399>Laughlin, J. (2000). "Other people's rituals: Ritual Eclecticism in early medieval Indian religious". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 28 (4): 399–424. doi:10.1023/A:1004883605055. S2CID 171077173.</ref><ref>Christian K. Wedemeyer (2014). Making Sense of Tantric Buddhism: History, Semiology, and Transgression in the Indian Traditions. Columbia University Press. pp. 163–164. ISBN 978-0-231-16241-8.</ref> The homa-style Vedic sacrifice ritual, states Musashi Tachikawa, was absorbed into Mahayana Buddhism and homa rituals continue to be performed in some Buddhist traditions in Tibet, China, and Japan.<ref name="mushashit126">Musashi Tachikawa (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. pp. 126–141. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref><ref name="Indian Fire Ritual">Musashi Tachikawa; S. S. Bahulkar; Madhavi Bhaskar Kolhatkar (2001). Indian Fire Ritual. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 2–3, 21–22. ISBN 978-81-208-1781-4.</ref>

Hinduism

A homa altar with offerings

The homa ritual grammar is common to many samskara (rite of passage) ceremonies in various Hindu traditions.<ref name=frazierintrop2>Frazier, Jessica (2011). The Continuum companion to Hindu studies. London: Continuum. pp. 1–15. ISBN 978-0-8264-9966-0.</ref><ref>Sushil Mittal; Gene Thursby (2006). Religions of South Asia: An Introduction. Routledge. pp. 65–67. ISBN 978-1-134-59322-4.</ref><ref>Niels Gutschow; Axel Michaels (2008). Bel-Frucht und Lendentuch: Mädchen und Jungen in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 54–57. ISBN 978-3-447-05752-3.</ref> The Vedic fire ritual, at the core of various homa ritual variations in Hinduism, is a "bilaterally symmetrical" structure of a rite.<ref name=hollyg47/> It often combines fire and water, burnt offerings, and soma; fire as masculine, earth and water as feminine, the fire vertical and reaching upward while the altar, offerings, and liquids being horizontal.<ref name=hollyg47/> The homa ritual's altar (fire pit) is itself a symmetry, most often a square, a design principle that is also at the heart of temples and mandapas in Indian religions.<ref>Titus Burckhardt (2009). Foundations of Oriental Art and Symbolism. Routledge. pp. 13–18. ISBN 978-1-933316-72-7.</ref> The sequence of homa ritual events similarly, from beginning to end, are structured around the principles of symmetry.<ref name=hollyg47>Holly Grether (2016). Homo Ritualis: Hindu Ritual and Its Significance for Ritual Theory. Oxford University Press. pp. 47–51. ISBN 978-0-19-026263-1.</ref> ).<ref name=hollyg47/>

The fire-altar (vedi or homa/havan kunda) is generally made of brick or stone or a copper vessel, and is almost always built specifically for the occasion, being dismantled immediately afterward. This fire-altar is invariably built in square shape. While very large vedis are occasionally built for major public homas, the usual altar may be as small as one foot square and rarely exceeds three feet square.

A ritual space of homa, the altar is temporary and movable.<ref name=richardpayne2/> The first step in a homa ritual is the construction of the ritual enclosure (mandapa), and the last step is its deconstruction.<ref name=richardpayne2/> The altar and mandapa is consecrated by a priest, creating a sacred space for the ritual ceremony, with recitation of mantras. With hymns sung, the fire is started, offerings collected. The sacrificer enters, symbolically cleanses himself or herself, with water, joins the homa ritual, gods invited, prayers recited, conch shell blown. The sacrificers pour offerings and libations into the fire, with hymns sung, to the sounds of svaha.<ref>John Stratton Hawley; Vasudha Narayanan (2006). The Life of Hinduism. University of California Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-520-24914-1.</ref> The oblations and offerings typically consist of clarified butter (ghee), milk, curd, sugar, saffron, grains, coconut, perfumed water, incense, seeds, petals, and herbs.<ref>Hillary Rodrigues (2003). Ritual Worship of the Great Goddess: The Liturgy of the Durga Puja with Interpretations. State University of New York Press. pp. 224–231. ISBN 978-0-7914-8844-7.</ref><ref>Natalia Lidova (1994). Drama and Ritual of Early Hinduism. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 51–52. ISBN 978-81-208-1234-5.</ref>

The altar and the ritual is a symbolic representation of the Hindu cosmology, a link between reality and the worlds of gods and living beings.<ref name=axelmichaels231/> The ritual is also a symmetric exchange, a "quid pro quo", wherein humans offer something to the gods through the medium of fire, and in return expect that the gods will reciprocate with strength and that which they have power to influence.<ref name=axelmichaels231>Axel Michaels (2016). Homo Ritualis: Hindu Ritual and Its Significance for Ritual Theory. Oxford University Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-19-026263-1.</ref><ref name="Michael Witzel 2008 78"/>

Buddhism

Shingon Buddhist priests practice homa ritual, which sometimes includes beating drums and blowing horagai (lower, conch).<ref name=stephencovel2/><ref name="SwansonChilson2006p241">Paul Loren Swanson; Clark Chilson (2006). Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 240–242. ISBN 978-0-8248-3002-1.</ref>

The homa (護摩, goma) ritual of consecrated fire is found in some Buddhist traditions of Tibet, China, and Japan.<ref name="mushashit126"/><ref name="Indian Fire Ritual"/> Its roots are the Vedic ritual, it evokes Buddhist deities, and is performed by qualified Buddhist priests.<ref name=mushashit126/><ref name=charlesorzech267>Charles Orzech (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). Homa in Chinese Translations and Manuals from the Sixth through Eighth Centuries, in Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. pp. 266–268. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref> In Chinese translations of Buddhist texts such as Kutadanta Sutta, Dighanikaya, and Suttanipata, dated to be from the 6th to 8th century, the Vedic homa practice is attributed to Buddha's endorsement along with the claim that Buddha was the original teacher of the Vedas in his previous lives.<ref name=charlesorzech267/>

In some Buddhist homa traditions, such as in Japan, the central deity invoked in this ritual is usually Acalanātha (Fudō Myōō, 不動明王, lit. "Immovable Wisdom King"). Acalanātha is another name for Vajrapani or Chakdor in Tibetan traditions, and of Sotshirvani in Siberia.<ref>John Maki Evans (2011). Kurikara: The Sword and the Serpent. North Atlantic. p. xvii. ISBN 978-1-58394-428-8.</ref><ref>Charles Russell Coulter; Patricia Turner (2013). Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Routledge. p. 1113. ISBN 978-1-135-96397-2.</ref> The Acala Homa ritual procedure follows similar Vedic protocols found in Hinduism, with offerings into the fire by priests who recite mantras being the main part of the ritual and the devotees clap hands as different rounds of hymns have been recited.<ref>Musashi Tachikawa (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). The Structure of Japanese Buddhist Homa, in Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. pp. 134–138, 268–269. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref> Other versions of the homa (goma) rituals are found in Japanese Buddhist traditions, namely Tendai and Shingon, as well as in Shugendō and Buddhist-Shinto syncretism in Japan.<ref>Richard Payne (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. pp. 3, 29. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref><ref>Ryûichi Abé (2013). The Weaving of Mantra: Kukai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse. Columbia University Press. pp. 347–348. ISBN 978-0-231-52887-0.</ref><ref>Helen Josephine Baroni (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-8239-2240-6.</ref> In China, the homa ritual was widely performed by the Zhenyan tradition of Chinese Buddhism, and many historical records document its performance especially during the Tang (618-907) and Song dynasties (960-1279).

In most Shingon temples, this ritual is performed daily in the morning or the afternoon, and is a requirement for all acharyas to learn this ritual upon entering the priesthood.<ref>Richard Payne (2015). Michael Witzel (ed.). Homa Variations: The Study of Ritual Change Across the Longue Durée. Oxford University Press. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-19-935158-9.</ref> The original medieval era texts of the goma rituals are in Siddham Sanskrit seed words and Chinese, with added Japanese katakana to assist the priests in proper pronunciation.<ref>Michael R. Saso (1990). Tantric Art and Meditation: The Tendai Tradition. University of Hawaii Press. pp. xv–xvi. ISBN 978-0-8248-1363-5.</ref> Larger scale ceremonies often include multiple priests, chanting, the beating of Taiko drums and blowing of conch shell (horagai) around the mandala with fire as the ceremonial focus.<ref name=stephencovel2>Stephen Grover Covell (2005). Japanese Temple Buddhism: Worldliness in a Religion of Renunciation. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 2–4. ISBN 978-0-8248-2856-1.</ref><ref name="SwansonChilson2006p241"/> The ritual is also performed in modern Zhenyan temples in China, Taiwan and other Chinese communities after the revival of esoteric lineages via the re-importation of Shingon practices and teachings in contemporary times. Homa rituals (sbyin sreg) widely feature in Tibetan Buddhism and Bön and are linked to a variety of Mahayana Buddhas and tantric deities.<ref>Halkias, Georgios T (2016). "Fire Rituals by the Queen of Siddhas". In Halkias, Georgios T (ed.). Homa Variations. pp. 225–245. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199351572.003.0008. ISBN 9780199351572. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)</ref>

Jainism

Example of traditional wooden homa and yajna implements used during rituals

Homa rituals are also found in Jainism.<ref name="Witzel2015p143"/><ref name=phyllisgranoff399/> For example, the Ghantakarn ritual is a homa sacrifice, which has evolved over the centuries, and where ritual offerings are made into fire, with pancamrit (milk, curd, sugar, saffron, and clarified butter) and other symbolic items such as coconut, incense, seeds, and herbs.<ref name="Cort2001p166">John E. Cort (2001). Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India. Oxford University Press. pp. 165–166. ISBN 978-0-19-803037-9.</ref><ref name="Shah1998p206"/> The mantra recited by Jains include those in Sanskrit, and the 16th-century Svetambara text Ghantakarna Mantra Stotra is a Sanskrit text which describes the homa ritual dedicated to Ghantakarna Mahavira in one of the Jaina sects.<ref name="Cort2001p166"/><ref>Kristi L. Wiley (2009). The A to Z of Jainism. Scarecrow. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-8108-6821-2.</ref>

The Adipurana of Jainism, in section 47.348, describes a Vedic fire ritual in the memory of Rishabha.<ref>Helmuth von Glasenapp (1999). Jainism: An Indian Religion of Salvation. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 452. ISBN 978-81-208-1376-2.</ref> Traditional Jaina wedding ceremonies, like among the Hindus, is a Vedic fire sacrifice ritual.<ref name="Shah1998p206">Natubhai Shah (1998). Jainism: The World of Conquerors. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 205–206. ISBN 978-81-208-1938-2.</ref><ref>Helmuth von Glasenapp (1999). Jainism: An Indian Religion of Salvation. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 458. ISBN 978-81-208-1376-2.</ref>

See also

• Dhuni
• Holocaust (sacrifice)
• Kupala Night
• Lag BaOmer
• Walpurgis Night
• Yajna