History of ‘Pouring One Out’ and in Pop CultureĪs we mentioned above, pouring one out entered the national consciousness thanks to the film Boyz in the Hood. » MORE: Honor a loved one with an online memorial. Regardless, many similarities exist between these ancient practices and the current tradition of pouring one out. Not every culture did this in honor of the dead - some did it as offerings to gods. Not every culture used alcohol - some used water or poured out grains like rice. This includes ancient China, indigenous tribes in South America and countless African cultures.
There are documented libation practices spanning millennia from all over the world. Several other cultures incorporate libation rituals as ways to honor the dead.
They even incorporated interactive stone carvings into sarcophagi to be used as part of the ritual. As in ancient Greece, Roman libations were made to honor the dead, and as an offering to the gods. Īncient Rome took cues from ancient Greece and adapted their own ways of making a libation. It is also specifically referenced in Book VI of Homer’s The Iliad. This practice is documented in The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. However, as in ancient Egypt, milk and honey were sometimes used. Libations in ancient Greece typically did consist of alcohol - namely, wine. In spondai libation rituals, a measured amount of liquid was poured out in honor of the gods. In choai libation rituals, the entire vessel of liquid was poured out, in honor gods, heroes, and as well as the dead. This may explain why they had two fairly distinct ways of making a libation. For as you do for your parents, your children will do for you.” Ancient Greece and RomeĪncient Greeks in general heavily espoused rituals. Do not forget to do this even when you are away from home. “Pour libation for your father and mother who rest in the valley of the dead. The Papyrus of Ani, when translated, contains the following passage:
The Papyrus of Ani was originally put together for Ani, a scribe from Thebes. Ancient Egyptians had a tradition of compiling an individualized book of the dead, designed to guide the deceased through the afterlife. We know so much about the ancient Egyptian tradition thanks to the Papyrus of Ani, a scroll dating back to around 1250 B.C. Once the vessel they drank from was empty, they tended to break them on the ground. Their general practice was to pour out a little of whatever liquid they were consuming, then drink the rest. These included milk and honey, as well as wine and other types of alcohol. However, on certain other occasions, ancient Egyptians did pour out other liquids in honor of the dead. Water was symbolic, considered as a life-giving liquid. There, they often used water instead of alcohol. The earliest documented instances of pouring one out seem to have originated in ancient Egypt. Here are some of the cultures where pouring one out - or making a libation - originated. The word libation is used by most people nowadays as a fancy word for a drink.īut the original definition was more specific, meaning to pour out a drink in offering to a deity. The ceremony is more formally known as making a libation. Several cultures have had some varying traditions on the concept of pouring one out.
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