The myths and legends of the Māori people of New Zealand offer an interesting perspective on the island’s origins and the creation of Earth as a whole. There are plenty of stories about native gods (known locally as ngā atua), mythical Kiwi creatures, nature, war and astronomy in Maori culture to explore. Here are 10 popular myths that will get you better acquainted with this interesting native culture.
Did you know that the Ancient Egyptians believed in more than 2,000 different gods? These fascinating people had deities dedicated to everything from their duties to dangers to keep their daily lives in balance.
Evolving from isolated groups to communities, societies, and later civilisations, these oldest civilisations may no longer exist in their original form, but they were no less important to the progress of mankind. Join us as we explore the world’s oldest civilisations.
As the largest religion in the world with over 2.3 billion adherents, Christianity has had one of the largest roles to play in the forming of the modern world and much of human history. Christianity is neither the more diverse religion nor the oldest, but its widespread nature across much of the world and its many variants makes it a fascinating subject to scholars of both history and theism.
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world, dating back thousands of years. In that time, Hinduism transformed into a localised belief system into a major religious sect that incorporates many countless gods and deities, with some Hindus believing that there are, in fact, millions of different gods in the pantheon, each with their own story to tell. Hinduism is also a religion that has spread across the world, and millions of people that don’t live in India…
Since the dawn of recorded history, humankind has been worshiping a deity in one form or another.
Sikh means disciple or learner and was originally founded in the 15th century in Northern India by Guru Nanak Dev Ji and is unlike Islam and Hinduism. Guru Nanak emphasised love and that God was universal and not limited to a religion, colour, race or gender. This religion is monotheistic, it emphasises that men and women are equal and has three basic fundamentals: meditating on God’s name, earning a living honestly by working or even winning big with sports betting…
The 12 centuries of Ancient Roman civilisation were defined by a religion which developed from a local, pantheistic animism and was incorporated into the early institutions in the city. As the Empire and the Republic advanced, the Roman religion adopted the Greek pantheon and took on Emperor worship before eventually embracing Christianity in the final years of the Empire’s rule. Much like many pagan faiths, success in life was only possible through having a good relationship with the gods. The…
The practice of Shamanism centres on practitioners reaching altered states of consciousness in order to interact with what they believe to be the spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into our plane of existence. Through typically entering into a trance-like state, Shamans are regarded as having access to, and influence upon, the world of both benevolent and malevolent spirits and are able to perform divination and healing. Shamans are said to enter supernatural realms and dimension which in turn…
Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world and has over 500 million practitioners worldwide. Said to be started by Buddha himself, Buddhism is a spiritual tradition founded over 2,000 years ago. In Nepal, a young man sat beneath a Bodhi tree to meditate and after becoming enlightened he began to lay down the foundations of this ancient spiritual tradition. What Does ‘Buddha’ Mean? In Sanskrit – the classical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism – the word…