Natib Qadish

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This article is about the modern religion. See Ancient Semitic religion for the historical religion.

Natib Qadish is also known as Canaanite Paganism, Canaanite Neopaganism, or Canaanite Reconstructionism.

Contents

[edit] Definition

Natib Qadish is a modern polytheistic religion based upon the religious practices of ancient Canaan and the veneration of the Canaanite Deities. This religion is often included under the “umbrella” category of modern Paganism, Neopaganism, or Reconstructionism.

To the ancient Canaanites, religion was inherently a part of life such that they did not have a separate word that means “religion.” “Natib” in the ancient language of Ugaritic means “path,” while “qadish” means “sacred,” thus the name means “sacred path.” This phrase is a modern construction from an ancient language.

Sometimes a Canaanite Pagan is called a “Qadish” (“Qadishuma,” plural) simply referring to the belief that we are all sacred.

[edit] Geography

Ancient Canaan corresponded with areas which are now part of the modern-day Middle-Eastern countries of Syria, Palestine, Israel and Lebanon.

[edit] History

For detailed notes regarding the history of Canaan, please see Canaan, Ugarit, Ebla, Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos.

The Phoenicians are one of the daughter cultures of Canaan, and Carthage was a daughter-colony of the Phoenicians. Some modern practitioners blend Phoenician religion into their Canaanite religious practices.

The Hebrew people are probably also descended from the Canaanites, and the early polytheistic roots of the Hebrew religion demonstrate a close tie to the ancient Canaanites. However, it should be noted that Natib Qadish, Canaanite Paganism is not the same religion as that of the Hebrews, and it is also not the same religious path as Judeo-Paganism, Ceremonial Magic or practices involving the Kabbalah, although some Canaanite Pagans may choose to incorporate these a part of their own personal practices.

The modern religion has not been established long enough to have much written about it in a history section. An early self-proclaimed Canaanite-Phoenician Pagan is Lilinah biti-Anat who, with three other friends in California, began to practice a form of Canaanite-Phoenician Paganism. Lilinah biti-Anat’s site Qadash Kinahnu was the first site concerning the subject in some depth. The first networking online group for Canaanite Pagans was started in the late 1990s by Qadash Kinahnu, but due to lack of participation was dissolved several years later. The most active current online networking group is the Natib Qadish Canaanite Paganism Discussion Group.

Natib Qadish: Canaanite Paganism is a newer site that concentrates more upon Canaanite and Ugaritic practices.

[edit] Deities

Many of the Deities revered by Canaanite Pagans include the Deities listed in the Ugaritic texts found in modern-day Ras Shamra around 1928. Some of these Deities include:

  • Ilu, the benevolent King of the Deities
  • Athirat, wise Queen of the Deities
  • Anat, impetuous adolescent Goddess of war and passion
  • Ba’al-Hadad, also known as Ba’lu; God of the Storms
  • Kothar-wa-Khasis, God of Crafting and Magic, his name may mean “skillful and clever”
  • Shapshu, also known as Shapash, Goddess of the Sun
  • Yam, also known as Nahar; serpentine God of the Seas
  • Mot, God of Death and Sterility
  • Rashap, God of Plague, and perhaps healing
  • Athtartu, also known as Athtarat; a Goddess who is often paired with Anat
  • Gapan and Ugar, Gods of Vine and Field, respectively; are helpers of Ba’al
  • Choron, also known as Horon; God of Treaties, Curses, and perhaps healing venomous bites and stings
  • Yarikh, God of the Moon
  • Nikkal-wa-Ib or simply Nikkal, Goddess of Orchards, and perhaps a former Mesopotamian Moon deity
  • The Kathirat, also written as Kotharat: the seven bird-like Goddesses who ensure human fertility
  • Athtar, an astral God and/or a God of Irrigation
  • Shachar and Shalim, the dawn and dusk
  • The kkbm (perhaps “kakabuma”); this may refer to “Star Gods” or simply “stars”

[edit] Sacred texts, legends, epics

Much of what we know of the mythology of Canaan comes from the fragmentary clay tablets from Ugarit. The tablets date around 14th-13th Century BCE, and were rediscovered 1928 CE. The clay tablets were written using an alphabet, perhaps the earliest alphabet in human history, and utilizing a style of writing known as cuneiform. The transcribed stories were probably a part of oral tradition that may predate their writing by a few hundred years.

One of the more lengthy set of stories details the adventures of Ba’al: Ba’al versus Yam, Ba’al Builds His Palace, and Ba’al versus Yam. In Ba’al versus Yam, Ba’al fights Yam for dominion over the earth. Upon winning the battle, with some help from Kothar-wa-Khasis’s magic weapons, Ba’al needs to build a palace. The building a Palace was a symbol for the establishment of Ba’al’s rightful rule. After establishing his palace, Ba’al then battles with Mot in order to retain his kingship.

An old scholarly theory explored the idea that the tales of Ba’al were a part of a mythological seasonal cycle. This theory, however, is problematic. Modern scholars are now viewing the Ba’al tales as a metaphor for only the end of summer and the beginning of the rainy season, and more so as a tale exploring the ideas of kingship. In another tale, the tale of King Kirtu, we see a king bereft of family and heirs. As such, he would have no one to care for him in his dotage, carry on his family, nor retain the kingship. In a dream, Ilu grants Kirtu instructions on obtaining a wife.

The tale of the Wedding of Yarikh and Nikkal, Yarikh makes arrangements to wed Nikkal. This text may have been written exclusively for a wedding that transpired in the city of Ugarit.

Aqhat meets a bloody end in the tale of Prince Aqhat. He has acquired a special bow made by Kothar-wa-Khasis. Anat covets the bow and eventually kills him for it. The bow breaks and Anat mourns—perhaps mourning not just the breaking of the bow, but for the death of Aqhat. Aqhat’s death leads to the sterility of the fields.

[edit] Beliefs and practices

[edit] Offerings, sacrifices, and libations

In Natib Qadish, there are three basic kinds of offerings:

  • Burnt Offerings: offering, usually foodstuffs, is completely burned. This is a very rare kind of offering.
  • “Peace” Offerings: offering is made complete and whole. Food or material items may be then used in service of the Deities, buried, or—if food—left for the animals. Libations can be consumed in service of the Deities at a communal meal, or may be poured into the earth. “Peace” offerings are the most common of offerings.
  • Performance Offerings: often consist of dance, recitation of myth, or artistic creation to be used in service to the Deities.

[edit] Ethics

The ancient Canaanites had a concept of “sin,” but it is different from the now-common Jewish or Christian concepts. To the Canaanites, it did not necessarily mean a disobedience to a Divine mandate. Instead, it meant that one committed an act that caused social and universal imbalance. In order to free oneself of sin, one would do an act to repair the imbalance, and/or perform acts to cleanse and purify oneself, and perform certain incantations. See also Seven Components.

[edit] Holidays and observances

Natib Qadish celebrate holidays at certain times of the year, as well as observing the phases of the moon.

[edit] Shanat Qadish

The Shanat Qadish is a reconstructed Canaanite festival calendar based upon the Ugaritic texts from roughly 14-13th Century BCE found at Ugarit, upon the Gezer Calendar written in roughly 925 BCE, and upon the seasonal occurrences in this part of the world during the Bronze Age.

The word “Ashuru” means “festival” or “feast”:

  • Ashuru Mathbatu: Festival of Dwellings, new moon of month of Autumnal Equinox
  • Marzichu: Funerary Celebration, sometimes placed at new moon in November-December
  • Ashuru Aru: Festival of Light, Winter Solstice
  • Ashuru Shamnu: Festival of Oil, seventh day after the new moon after winter solstice
  • Ashuru Gannu: Festival of the Garden, Spring Equinox
    • Ashuru Liyatu: a Festival of Garlands. The only note we have for a holiday occurring around this time is a note in the Gezer calendar stating that this is a month of “harvest and feasting.” This holiday may occur on the full moon of May-June.
  • Ashuru Zabru: Festival of Pruning (of grape vines), Summer Equinox. Some Canaanite Pagans prefer using the Ba’al Epic as a seasonal calendar, and mourn the “Death of Ba’al” during Summer Equinox.
  • Ashuru Ra’shu Yeni: Festival of the New Wine, seven-day holiday beginning at full moon.

[edit] Lunar observances

  • Chudthu: New Moon. (the “ch” is pronounced like the “ch” in “Chanukah”). We often observe the new moon of each month with meditation, discussion, study, and rest.
  • Yamu Mlatu: Full Moon, although the phrase literally means “full tide.” Full moon is often marked with offerings to the Deities.

[edit] Misconceptions

A misconception, especially within the greater Pagan community is the confusion of Canaanite Paganism/Natib Qadish with Judeo-Paganism. Natib Qadish and Judeo-Paganism are two different paths. Although Judeo-Paganism share some themes in common, the focus and practices of these paths often differ considerably. Judeo-Paganism is often based on Judaism, research concerning the early Jews, and Jewish traditions. Natib Qadish is focused upon practices of the ancient Canaanites and their mythological literature, including the literature of the city-state of Ugarit.However,since one must do nothing more than identify oneself as such, it is certainly possible to be both a "Jewitch" and Canaanite Pagan.

Natib Qadish is open to anyone regardless of age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, or sexual orientation.

[edit] See also

[edit] Resources

[edit] Further reading

  • Bottero, Jean. Translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan. The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2004.
  • Jack Sasson et al., eds., Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1995.
  • Campbell, Joseph. The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology. Arkana, The Penguin Group, New York, 1964, 1991.
  • Cohen, Mark E. The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East. CDL Press, Bethesda, Maryland, 1993.
  • Coogan, Michael David. Stories from Ancient Canaan. The Westminster Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 1978.
  • Curtis, Adrian. Ugarit (Ras Shamra). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985.
  • Del Olmo Lete, Gregorio. La Religión Cananea Según la Liturgia de Ugarit. Editorial Ausa, Barcelona, 1992.
  • Friedrich, Johannes. Extinct Languages. Barnes and Noble Books, New York. 1993.
  • Gaster, Theodor H. Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East, 2nd Revised Edition. Double Day, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1961.
  • Gibson, John C.L. Canaanite Myths and Legends, 2nd Edition. T. and T. Clark, Ltd., Edinburgh, 1978.
  • Gordon, Cyrus. The Ancient Near East, 3rd Edition, Revised. W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., New York, 1965.
  • Gray, John. Near Eastern Mythology. Hamlyn Publishing Group, Ltd., New York, 1969.
  • Handy, Lowell K. Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Indiana, 1994.
  • Hooke, S. H. Middle Eastern Mythology. Penguin Books, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1963.
  • Moscati, Sabatino, editor. The Phoenicians. Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., New York, 1999.

Pardee, Dennis. Ritual and Cult at Ugarit. Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, Georgia. 2002.

  • Parker, Simon B., ed. Ugaritic Narrative Poetry. Society of Biblical Literature, U.S.A., 1997.
  • Pritchard, James B., editor. The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1958.
  • Rabinowitz, Jacob. Faces of God: Canaanite Mythology as Hebrew Theology. Spring Publications, Woodstock, Connecticut, 1998.
  • Segert, Stanislav. A Basic Grammar of the Ugaritic Language. University of California Press, Berkeley. 1984, 1997.
  • Smith, Mark S. The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, Volume I: Introduction with Text, Translation and Commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2. E.J. Brill, Leiden, the Netherlands, 1994.
  • Storm, Rachel. Egyptian Mythology: Myths and Legends of Egypt, Persia, Asia Minor, Sumer, and Babylon. Lorenz Books, New York, 2000.
  • Young, Gordon D., editor. Ugarit in Retrospect: Fifty Years of Ugarit and Ugaritic. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Indiana, 1981.

[edit] Internet resources

[edit] Online communities

  • The Courtyard A Place for Natib Qadish community, featuring a Bulletin Board for Discussion, News, and a Calendar of Events
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