any object used in a ritual or a religious ceremony.

The association on the same site of four natural elements (mountain, tree, stone, and water) is supposed to constitute a sacred whole (a quarternity of perfection), a sacred landscape or “geography” similar to the world of the gods. Such sites, in many civilizations, were the initial points of departure for pilgrimages or for the establishment of places of worship. In some instances the natural sacred places were gradually adapted for religious use (e.g., the oracle at Delphi, in Greece), but in others the earlier natural sites were artificially recreated by using man-made symbolic equivalents. An artificial or natural hill, such as a barrow, mound, or acropolis (elevated citadel), often served as a base for the temple, but in many instances the temple itself has been an architectural representation of the mountain, as were the bamot (high place) (“high places,” usually constructed with stones) of the ancient Hebrews, the ziggurats (ziggurat) (tower temples) of the ancient Babylonians, and the pyramidal temples of Cambodia, Java, and pre-Columbian Mexico. A branchless tree has often been transformed into a cultic object: a sacrificial post, such as the Vedic (Vedic religion) yūpa; the central pole of a nomadic tent in Siberia and Central Asia, the yurt, or initiation hut; or a parasol shaft (chattrāvalī) in the Buddhist s (stupa) (reliquary buildings) and the Japanese and Chinese pagodas (pagoda). If represented in stone, the tree evolved into a column gnomon (a perpendicular shaft), such as the Buddhist lāṭ, the sacred pillar (matzeva) of the ancient Hebrews, or the obelisk of pre-Hellenistic Egypt (before the 4th century BC, especially from the 3rd millennium to the early 1st millennium BC). Stone, transformed into an altar, has been used either to support or seat the image or symbol of the deity, or to receive sacrifices, burnt offerings, plant offerings, or aromatic perfumes. water, because to it is generally ascribed a power that is purifying or even curative or miraculous, almost always plays an important role in or near sacred places. The whole assemblage of actual or symbolic mountains, trees, stone, and water is usually arranged architecturally within an enclosed space. An example of this arrangement is the typical Christian (Christianity) church, with its raised chancel (the mountain), the cross or crucifix (the tree), the altar (usually stone, but sometimes wood), and the baptismal font or tank (water).

This widespread scheme is almost everywhere bound up with a cosmology (theory of the universe) that establishes a symbolic identity between the divine world and the temple. This identity holds true in all stages of culture; e.g., the sacred sites of the Algonquin, Sioux, and Blackfoot North American Indian tribes; the templum (temple) of the Etruscans in ancient Italy; the temple of Bel at Palmyra (in Syria); the Mithraic crypts centring on devotion to the Iranian god Mithra throughout the Roman Empire; the kiva (a circular, partly underground ceremonial room) of the Pueblo villages; the Temple of Heaven at Peking and that at Hue (Vietnam); the Buddhist stūpa; and Brahmanic, Buddhist, and Mexican mountain temples. The cosmic character of the Israelite king Solomon's Temple, of the 10th century BC, constructed on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Temple of), was not given such an interpretation, however, until Hellenistic times (3rd century BC–3rd century AD), as in the writings of Philo of Alexandria and Josephus. That of the Muslim mosques is very subdued, although the Kaʿbah of Mecca, which contains the black stone, is believed by Muslims to be the centre of the cosmos. The cosmological scheme has been applied to Christian basilicas and churches—with square floor plans, an overarching dome, and symbolic ornamentation—from as far back as the 6th and 7th centuries.

Summoning devices are played either alone, as objects to accompany prayers or litanies, as in Tantric Buddhism, or as instruments in a temple orchestra. Their size and form and the materials used to make them vary according to locale. Generally viewed as sacred, they are often worshipped, as in West Africa, Malaysia, and Burma, and partake of divine attributes, as in Brahmanism, Mahāyāna (Greater Vehicle, or northern) Buddhism, and Tantrism. Drums (drum) vary greatly in both size and form. The two-skinned ḍamaru (drum) of Śaivism (devotion to the Hindu god Śiva) and Tantrism, believed to be effective in communicating with the divine world, is shaped like an hourglass and fitted with two pellets that hang from cords and that strike the skins when the drum is twirled. Gongs (gong) usually are suspended metallic disks, with or without a central protuberance. The gongs of ancient and contemporary China, however, are of varied form, with cutout designs, and may be made of resonant stone or of jade. Cymbals (cymbal) are very widespread and were used in the Hellenistic (Hellenistic religion) mystery (salvatory) religions, such as those of Dionysus (a god of wine) and the Eleusinian mysteries (centred on devotion to Demeter, a seasonal-renewal goddess). They were the only instruments played in the Temple of Jerusalem, where they were known as metziltayim or tzeltzelim. The sistrum, used in pre-Hellenistic Egypt in the worship of the goddesses Isis and Hathor and in Rome and Phoenicia, as well as among the Hebrews, is composed of a handle and frame with transverse metal rods and mobile disks. Producing a sharp ringing sound, it was regarded as particularly sacred and was carried to the temple by women of high rank. There are countless types of bells (bell); the Indian ghaṇṭā, or Tibetan dril-bu, a metal handbell with a handle shaken during prayers in order to attract beneficent spirits and to frighten away evil ones, is used particularly during Brahmanic and Mahāyāna Buddhist ceremonies.

Statues of human or animal (animal worship) figures are the most explicit of the objects representing the divine order. In most iconic (image-using) religions the gods are generally anthropomorphic, half man, half animal (as in Egypt and India) or often entirely animal. In most cases the statues conform to an ideal physical type that is symbolic and conventional. The formulation of the ideal is governed by precise aesthetic and iconometric (ritual image proportion) rules, as well as by iconographic (image-representation) requirements, as in Egypt, Greece, and India. All such standards and requirements guarantee conformity to the divine model and, therefore, the effective presence of the god in his statue. Typical in this regard are the sculptured animals of the Hindu pantheon, such as elephants, lions, horses, bulls, and birds, which—erected at sacred places in India and other Hindu-influenced countries—serve as ever-ready sacred mounts (vāhana) for the journeys of the corresponding gods.

There are several other objects pertaining to prayer—in addition to the rosary, which is principally a mnemotechnic (memory-technique) device. One example is the Lamaist prayer wheel ('khor-lo), which varies widely in size. It is a cylinder, generally of chased metal, rotating on an axis and containing prayers inscribed on strips of paper, fabric, or parchment. Weighted by two balls suspended externally on small cords, the prayer wheels are set in motion when a hand rotates a handle extending from the axis or when the prayer wheels are aligned along a common axis. Some are driven by hydraulic power and others even by electrical power. There is some evidence of the use of prayer wheels among other peoples, such as the Japanese, the ancient Celts and Bretons, the ancient Greeks, and the ancient Egyptians. The idea of permanent prayer through the agency of objects is found in the candles lit in churches, in the perpetually burning lamps (chōmyōtō) of Buddhist Japan, and in Tibetan prayer flags, with sacred formulas painted on them, which wave in the wind around temples, houses, and villages. The phylacteries (tefillin (phylactery)) worn by traditional Jews during weekday morning prayers consist of two leather cases bound by leather straps to the forehead and left forearm; they contain parchment citations from the Pentateuch enjoining this as a reminder of God's commandments. An amuletic function has been attributed to them, but this is disputed. Among protective objects associated with prayer are Muslim prayer rugs (prayer rug), the rectangular shape of which symbolizes the sacred area of the mosque, and the fringe-trimmed prayer shawl ( ṭallit) worn by devout Jews during synagogue services.

circumcision in pre-Hellenistic Egypt and among the Hebrews, Muslims, Ethiopians, and certain primitive peoples was and is performed with a flint-blade knife, with some other kind of sharp knife, perhaps of metal, with a razor, or (as in Africa) with a pair of scissors. Among the Zulus and other African tribes, bull-roarers were launched on such an occasion of initiation. In the Brahmanism, Zoroastrianism, and Parsiism of the Indo-Iranian world, a sacred cord (Pahlavi kuṣṭī; Sanskrit yajñopavīta) is the mark of initiation; in Iran and among the Parsis (Zoroastrians in India), the kuṣṭī is wound around the torso, and in India the yajñopavīta is passed diagonally from shoulder to waist. Among the Parsis, including the women, the cord is made of strands of lamb's wool or of goat's or camel's hair, and in India the material varies according to caste and may be cotton, hemp, or wool. In addition, the Zoroastrians and Parsis wear a sacred shirt (sudra) made of two pieces of white cambric stitched together. For ordination, a shawl, a cotton veil (padān) to cover the nose and mouth, and a mace are added; the Brahmanic (Vedic) initiate also receives a tall staff and a black antelope skin. In Sikhism (an Indian religion combining Hindu and Muslim elements, founded by Gurū Nānak in the 16th century), initiations of novices formerly included drinking water into which sugar had been mixed with the blade of a dagger (khaṇḍā).

Bodies have been and still are sometimes buried without coffins, as in Rome, where they were put into pit tombs. Among primitive and prehistoric peoples, ancient Egyptians, and the people of the Harappā civilization (c. 2500–1700 BC) of the Indus (Indus civilization), the corpse was wrapped in a mat made of plant fibres. Coffins (coffin) are sometimes carved or painted, and the crudest ones—such as those used by ancient Romans and primitive peoples—are made from hollowed-out tree trunks. Some coffins are modeled according to the human form, such as the colourful wooden coffins of pre-Hellenistic Egypt or the Chinese coffins covered with jade mosaic of the 2nd-century-BC Han dynasty. The majority, however, are oblong and made of wood; in ancient Greece, coffins were made of cypress. Tibetan coffins (ro-sgam) and Japanese Buddhist and Shintō coffins, however, are cubical, with the corpse placed in a sitting or crouching position. Among certain coastal peoples—e.g., the Vikings—the deceased is either buried in his boat or put out to sea and cremated with it. Sarcophagi (sarcophagus)—used in many civilizations—were made of various materials; terra-cotta in Etruria, Greece, southern India prior to the 2nd century BC, and Japan; wood and stone in Japan; and marble in late Rome and in the Christian world. They are often richly decorated with symbolic or allegorical carvings and are frequently very colourful. In ancient Egypt (Egyptian religion) the viscera were placed separately in canopic (canopic jar) (burial) jars. The Etrurians also used such jars, the covers of which were decorated with the portrait of the deceased.

James Hastings (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, 13 vol. (1908–26, reprinted 1955), although outdated, is a very complete general source. See also the Histoire générale des religions, 2nd ed., 2 vol. (1960); Symbolisme cosmique et monuments religieux, 2 vol. (1953), texts and illustrations from an exhibit at the Musée Guimet, Paris; and Le Symbolisme cosmique des monuments religieux (1957), the proceedings of an international conference of the Istituto per il Medio ed Estremo-Oriente, Rome. For the ancient period, see Charles V. Daremberg and Edmond Saglio (eds.), Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines . . . , 5 vol. (1877–1919); Pierre Lavedan, Dictionnaire illustré de la mythologie et des antiquités grecques et romaines (1931); and Mircea Eliade, Le Mythe de l'éternel retour (1949; Eng. trans., The Myth of the Eternal Return, 1954, reissued 1989).Jeannine Auboyer, Introduction à l'étude de l'art de l'Inde (1965), is a basic work on the Holy Place; for the principal components, see James Fergusson, Tree and Serpent Worship, 2nd ed. (1873), which uses Indian facts as a base but makes many comparisons with data from antiquity. This work is complemented by Odette Viennot, Le Culte de l'arbre dans l'Inde ancienne (1954). Jeannine Auboyer, Le Trône et son symbolisme dans l'Inde ancienne (1949), makes many references to the role and the morphology of the throne (royal and divine) in ancient and modern civilizations. D.R. Shastri, Origin and Development of the Rituals of Ancestor Worship in India (1963), is helpful. Jean Przyluski, “Le Symbolisme du pilier de Sarnath,” in Mélanges d'Orientalisme, vol. 2 (1932), deals with the gnomon and the cosmic pivot. See also Leopold M. Cadiere, Croyances et pratiques religieuses des Annamites dans les environs de Hue, 2 vol. (1918–19).For architectural symbolism, George Coedes, Pour mieux comprendre Angkor, rev. 2nd ed. (1947; Eng. trans., Angkor: An Introduction, 1963), contains pertinent information in the chapters on temples and tombs and on architectural symbolism. Rolf A. Stein, “Architecture et pensée religieuse en Extrême-Orient,” Arts Asiatiques, 4:163–186 (1957), deals with tents used in Central Asia, especially Siberia, and Rupestral temples.Icons and ritual symbols are discussed in J.N. Banerjea, The Development of Hindu Iconography, 2nd ed. (1956), particularly ch. 2, “The Antiquity of Image-Worship in India,” ch. 5, “Deities and Their Emblems on Early Indian Seals,” and ch. 8, “Canons of Iconometry”; George Coedes (op. cit.), ch. 3; and Pierre Francastel (ed.), Emblèmes, totems, blasons (1964), an exhibition catalog produced by the Musée Guimet, Paris.Cultic and ritual objects are discussed in Henriette Demoulin-Bernard, Masques . . . exposés dans l'annexe du Musée Guimet en décembre 1959 (1965); for Judaism, see James Hastings, A Dictionary of the Bible, rev. ed. (1963); for Christianity, Historia Religionum, vol. 1, Religions of the Past (1969); and Oscar Cullmann, Urchristentum und Gottesdienst, 2nd ed. (1950; Eng. trans., Early Christian Worship, 1953); for Hinduism, The Cultural Heritage of India, vol. 1, Vedic Rituals, rev. ed. (1958); and Paul E. Dumont, L'Aśvamedha: descriptions du sacrifice solennel du cheval dans le culte védique (1927); for Buddhism, Hôbôgirin: dictionnaire encyclopédique du Bouddhisme . . . , 4 vol. to date (1937–67); and George P. Malalasekera (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Buddhism (1961– ), appearing in fascicles; for the Indian world, Jan Gonda, Die Religionen Indiens, 3 vol. (1960–64); for Indonesia, Waldemar Stoehr and Piet Zoetmulder, Die Religionen Indonesiens (1965); for the Islāmic world, the Encyclopaedia of Islam, 5 vol. (1908–38; new ed., 1960– ); for Tibet, Robert B. Ekvall, Religious Observances in Tibet (1964); Helmut Hoffmann, Symbolik der tibetischen Religionen und des Schamanismus (1967); Rolf A. Stein, La Civilisation tibétaine (1962); and Turrell Wylie, “Apropos of Tibetan Religious Observances,” Journal of the American Oriental Society, 86:39–45 (1966); and for Japan, William G. Ashton, Shinto (1905).