Kispu or kispum was an
ancient Mesopotamian ritual in which the
ancestors
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from w ...
were
venerated
Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...
, nourished and cared.
The ritual included regular offering of food and drinks to the deads. Textual evidence for the kispu were found from as early as the
3rd millennium BC
File:3rd millennium BC montage.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: Pyramid of Djoser; Khufu; Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; Cuneiform, a contract for the sale of a field and a house; Enheduana, a high pr ...
; these evidence indicate the ceremony included
sacrifices
Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving.
Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks ...
and offerings.
The textual evidence allow identification of archaeological findings, such as masses of dining vessels near
secondary burial
The secondary burial (German: ''Nachbestattung'' or ''Sekundärbestattung''), or “double funeral”Duday, Henri, et al. ''The Archaeology of the Dead: Lectures in Archaeothanatology''. United Kingdom, Oxbow Books, 2009. (not to be confused with ...
skeletons the royal
hypogeum
A hypogeum or hypogaeum ( ; plural hypogea or hypogaea; literally meaning "underground") is an underground temple or tomb.
Hypogea will often contain niches for cremated human remains or loculi for buried remains. Occasionally tombs of th ...
at
Qatna
Qatna (modern: , Tell al-Mishrifeh; also Tell Misrife or Tell Mishrifeh) was an ancient city located in Homs Governorate, Syria. Its remains constitute a tell situated about northeast of Homs near the village of al-Mishrifeh. The city was an ...
, with the kispu.
See also
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Lofani
In Mandaeism, the lofani, laufani, or laufania () is a type of ritual meal commemorating the dead. It is etymologically related to the word '' laufa'' ("spiritual communion"), since lofani meals symbolize the connection of the souls of the living ...
in Mandaeism
Further reading
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References
{{Death-stub
Veneration of the dead
Mesopotamian religion