The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia
Subtitle: A Reconstruction Based on the Safaitic Inscriptions
By: by Ahmad Al-Jallad
Series: Ancient Languages and Civilizations, Volume: 1
Publisher: Brill
Published: 2022-03-24
Language: eng
Format: Hardback
Number of pages: 164
ISBN-13: 9789004504264
Copyright date: 2022
Description: This book approaches the religion and rituals of the pre-Islamic Arabian nomads using the Safaitic inscriptions. Unlike Islamic-period literary sources, this material was produced by practitioners of traditional Arabian religion; the inscriptions are eyewitnesses to the religious life of Arabian nomads prior to the spread of Judaism and Christianity across Arabia. The author attempts to reconstruct this world using the original words of its inhabitants, interpreted through comparative philology, pre-Islamic and Islamic-period literary sources, and the archaeological context.
Table of contents: label: Preface
title: ix; label: List of Illustrations
title: xi; label: Sigla
title: xiii; label: 1
title: Introduction
pagenum: 1; label: 1
title: Religion and the Inscriptions of the Pre-Islamic Nomads: From Thamudic B to Safaitic
pagenum: 5; label: 2
title: Scope and Methodology
pagenum: 6; label: 2.1
title: Previous Works and Present Goals
pagenum: 14; label: 2
title: Rites
pagenum: 17; label: 1
title: Animal Sacrifice
pagenum: 17; label: 1.1
title: Sacrifice before/during Dangerous Activities
pagenum: 20; label: 1.2
title: Seasonal Sacrifices
pagenum: 21; label: 1.3
title: Location of Sacrifice: The ṣamd
pagenum: 22; label: 1.4
title: Thanksgiving?
pagenum: 26; label: 2
title: Erection of the nṣb Stone
pagenum: 26; label: 2.1
title: The nṣb, nfs, and Mortuary Installations
pagenum: 30; label: 3
title: The Ritual Shelter
pagenum: 37; label: 3.1
title: Statues
pagenum: 40; label: 4
title: The Pilgrimage
pagenum: 41; label: 4.1
title: Time Period of the Pilgrimage
pagenum: 42; label: 4.2
title: Pilgrimage Sites
pagenum: 43; label: 5
title: Ritual Purity
pagenum: 44; label: 6
title: Offerings
pagenum: 46; label: 6.1
title: Unspecified Offerings
pagenum: 47; label: 6.2
title: Burnt Offerings and Libations
pagenum: 48; label: 6.3
title: Images
pagenum: 49; label: 7
title: Vows and Oaths
pagenum: 53; label: 8
title: Sacred Water
pagenum: 54; label: 3
title: Divinities and Their Roles in the Lives of Humans
pagenum: 56; label: 1
title: Location of the Deities
pagenum: 59; label: 2
title: The Gadds
pagenum: 60; label: 3
title: The Gods and Their Worshippers
pagenum: 60; label: 3.1
title: Travel
pagenum: 62; label: 3.2
title: Far from Home and Reunion
pagenum: 62; label: 3.3
title: Assistance and Justice
pagenum: 63; label: 3.4
title: Curing Illness and Prolonging Life
pagenum: 65; label: 4 Sin, Obedience, and Repentance?
title: 66; label: 4.1 Forsaken by the Gods
title: 70; label: 5 Malignant Magic
title: 71; label: 4
title: Fate
pagenum: 73; label: 5
title: Afterlife
pagenum: 78; label: 1
title: Burial Installations
pagenum: 79; label: 2
title: Invoking the Names of the Dead
pagenum: 81; label: 6
title: Visual Representation of Deities and the Divine World
pagenum: 84; label: 7
title: Amplification and Why Write
pagenum: 87; label: 8
title: Worldview—A Reconstruction
pagenum: 91; label: Appendix 1: Glossary of Divinities
title: 93; label: Appendix 2: Previously Unpublished Inscriptions
title: 100; label: Bibliography
title: 132; label: General Index
title: 144; label: Index of Inscriptions
title: 146