AWA Ancient Wisdom Atlas texts, motifs, patterns

Comparative mythology corpus

Ancestor Rites and Feeding the Dead

26 tagged occurrences across 10 traditions.

Ritual care, feeding, invitation, appeasement, or dismissal of dead souls or ancestors to maintain proper relations between living and dead.

26total occurrences
26child motifs
10traditions present
800 BCE to 1200 CEknown era range
Reading Note

These counts are generated from tagged extraction evidence. Similarity means structural or thematic recurrence unless a source record explicitly supports historical contact.

Child Motifs

Child MotifRelationshipOccurrencesTraditions
Descendant Mediated Afterlife Status ritual_variant 1 1
Drink Offering Reaches The Dead ritual_variant 1 1
Feeding And Dismissing The Souls Of The Dead ritual_variant 1 1
Memorial Feast Used As A Trap functional_variant 1 1
Memorialization Of A Revered Dead Teacher functional_variant 1 1
Propitiation Of The Underworld Dead ritual_variant 1 1
Ritual Washing Of The Dead Body ritual_variant 1 1
Sacred River Funerary Libation For A Father ritual_variant 1 1
Ancestor Or Founder Sepulchre Veneration ritual_variant 1 1
Burial By Ancestors Or Ancestral Land ritual_variant 1 1
Food Placed On Corpse As Possible Sin Eating Survival funerary_ritual_variant 1 1
Foundation At An Ancestral Or Sacred Burial Site functional_variant 1 1
Funeral Worship Of Deities For Deceased Progenitors ritual_variant 1 1
Funerary Duty Beside The Waters ritual_variant 1 1
Landscape Made Alive By Ancestral Memory uncertain 1 1
Miracle Working Tomb Or Shrine functional_variant 1 1
Mirror Used To Maintain Bond With Dead Parent functional_variant 1 1
Missed Voyage Caused By Burial Duty ritual_variant 1 1
Pilgrimage Like Prayer At The Teacher’s Tomb ritual_variant 1 1
Prayer For A Distant Deceased Convert ritual_variant 1 1
Pure Dead Aid The Living role_variant 1 1
Sacred Lock Cut For Death ritual_variant 1 1
Sacred River As Place Of Rites For The Departed ritual_variant 1 1
Sacred Tree Associated With Graves Of The Dead symbolic_variant 1 1
Southern Orientation In Rites For The Dead ritual_variant 1 1
Successors Praying For Purified Communal Memory uncertain 1 1

Tradition Frequency

Relative bars compare traditions inside this family.
Hindu 6 Sufi 6 Islamic 4 Comparative 2 Japanese 2 Roman 2 Celtic Irish 1 Greek 1 Indigenous Australian 1 Islamicate Folklore 1

How Each Tradition Tells It

Evidence is collapsed by default so the page stays scannable.
Hindu

How This Tradition Tells It

6 occurrences

In Hindu, this family appears through Descendant Mediated Afterlife Status (1), Sacred River Funerary Libation For A Father (1), Funeral Worship Of Deities For Deceased Progenitors (1). The strongest concentration is currently in The Ramayan of Valmiki and Maha-bharata. This is a deterministic summary of 6 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
Maha-bharata BOOK X / KARNA-BADHA / BOOK XI / SRADDHA; lines 6115-6263 high Sacred River As Place Of Rites For The Departed record
The Ramayan of Valmiki Canto LXXX. The Way Prepared. / Canto LXXXI. The Assembly. / Canto LXXXII. The Departure. / Canto LXXXIII. The Journey Begun.; lines 21738-21906 high Sacred River Funerary Libation For A Father record
The Ramayan of Valmiki Canto XCVIII. Lakshman Calmed. / Canto C. The Meeting. / Canto CI. Bharata Questioned. / Canto CIII. The Funeral Libation.; lines 24124-24238 medium Southern Orientation In Rites For The Dead record
The Ramayan of Valmiki Canto XLV. The Departure. / Canto XLVII. The Return. / Canto L. The Enchanted Cave. / Canto LII. The Exit.; lines 44055-44194 medium Funerary Duty Beside The Waters record
The Ramayan of Valmiki H. H. WILSON. / THE SUPPLIANT DOVE. / INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES; lines 62332-62449 medium Descendant Mediated Afterlife Status record
The Ramayan of Valmiki H. H. WILSON. / THE SUPPLIANT DOVE. / INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES; lines 63467-63548 high Funeral Worship Of Deities For Deceased Progenitors record
Sufi

How This Tradition Tells It

6 occurrences

In Sufi, this family appears through Drink Offering Reaches The Dead (1), Memorialization Of A Revered Dead Teacher (1), Ritual Washing Of The Dead Body (1). The strongest concentration is currently in The Mesnevi and The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam. This is a deterministic summary of 6 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
Mystics and Saints of Islam CHAPTER VII / CHAPTER VIII / CHAPTER IX / CHAPTER X; lines 2767-2865 high Pure Dead Aid The Living record
The Mesnevi FROM THE WORK ENTITLED / THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS / CHAPTER I. / CHAPTER II.; lines 937-987 medium Pilgrimage Like Prayer At The Teacher’s Tomb record
The Mesnevi JAMES W. REDHOUSE, M.R.A.S., ETC. / CONTENTS. / INTRODUCTION.--PLAINT OF THE REED-FLUTE 1 / CONCLUSION 289; lines 208-312 low Memorialization Of A Revered Dead Teacher record
The Mesnevi SELECTED ANECDOTES / FROM THE WORK ENTITLED / THE ACTS OF THE ADEPTS / CHAPTER I.; lines 593-714 high Miracle Working Tomb Or Shrine record
The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam LXXIV. / LXXV. / TAMAM SHUD. / NOTES.; lines 1699-1823 high Drink Offering Reaches The Dead record
The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam STANZA / STANZA / STANZA / STANZA; lines 4988-5043 medium Ritual Washing Of The Dead Body record
Islamic

How This Tradition Tells It

4 occurrences

In Islamic, this family appears through Ancestor Or Founder Sepulchre Veneration (1), Burial By Ancestors Or Ancestral Land (1), Prayer For A Distant Deceased Convert (1). The strongest concentration is currently in The Koran (Al-Qur'an). This is a deterministic summary of 4 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
The Koran (Al-Qur'an) A TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS / THE KORAN. / PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE / SECTION I.; lines 1514-1566 medium Ancestor Or Founder Sepulchre Veneration record
The Koran (Al-Qur'an) CHAPTER II. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER III. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 12180-12215 medium Prayer For A Distant Deceased Convert record
The Koran (Al-Qur'an) CHAPTER LVIII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER LIX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 35739-35815 medium Successors Praying For Purified Communal Memory record
The Koran (Al-Qur'an) CHAPTER XI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 20884-20904 high Burial By Ancestors Or Ancestral Land record
Comparative

How This Tradition Tells It

2 occurrences

In Comparative, this family appears through Feeding And Dismissing The Souls Of The Dead (1), Food Placed On Corpse As Possible Sin Eating Survival (1). The strongest concentration is currently in The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) and The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2). This is a deterministic summary of 2 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE.; lines 4265-4343 high Feeding And Dismissing The Souls Of The Dead record
The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 13496-13616 low Food Placed On Corpse As Possible Sin Eating Survival record
Japanese

How This Tradition Tells It

2 occurrences

In Japanese, this family appears through Memorial Feast Used As A Trap (1), Mirror Used To Maintain Bond With Dead Parent (1). The strongest concentration is currently in Japanese Fairy Tales. This is a deterministic summary of 2 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
Japanese Fairy Tales THE FARMER AND THE BADGER / THE ADVENTURES OF KINTARO, THE GOLDEN BOY / THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO DID NOT WISH TO DIE / THE BAMBOO-CUTTER AND THE MOON-CHILD; lines 3502-3611 high Mirror Used To Maintain Bond With Dead Parent record
Japanese Fairy Tales THE HAPPY HUNTER AND THE SKILLFUL FISHER / THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER / THE JELLY FISH AND THE MONKEY / THE QUARREL OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB; lines 5295-5401 medium Memorial Feast Used As A Trap record
Roman

How This Tradition Tells It

2 occurrences

In Roman, this family appears through Foundation At An Ancestral Or Sacred Burial Site (1), Sacred Lock Cut For Death (1). The strongest concentration is currently in The Aeneid of Virgil and The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV. This is a deterministic summary of 2 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
The Aeneid of Virgil BOOK THIRD / THE STORY OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WANDERING / BOOK FOURTH / THE LOVE OF DIDO, AND HER END; lines 2710-2746 high Sacred Lock Cut For Death record
The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE FIFTEENTH.; lines 12042-12141 medium Foundation At An Ancestral Or Sacred Burial Site record
Celtic Irish

How This Tradition Tells It

1 occurrences

In Celtic Irish, this family appears through Landscape Made Alive By Ancestral Memory (1). The strongest concentration is currently in Gods and Fighting Men. This is a deterministic summary of 1 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
Gods and Fighting Men WITH A PREFACE BY W.B. YEATS / DEDICATION TO THE MEMBERS OF THE IRISH LITERARY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK / AUGUSTA GREGORY. / PREFACE; lines 419-501 high Landscape Made Alive By Ancestral Memory record
Greek

How This Tradition Tells It

1 occurrences

In Greek, this family appears through Propitiation Of The Underworld Dead (1). The strongest concentration is currently in The Republic. This is a deterministic summary of 1 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
The Republic BOOK I. / BOOK II. / BOOK III. / BOOK IV.; lines 14071-14242 medium Propitiation Of The Underworld Dead record
Indigenous Australian

How This Tradition Tells It

1 occurrences

In Indigenous Australian, this family appears through Sacred Tree Associated With Graves Of The Dead (1). The strongest concentration is currently in Australian Legendary Tales: folk-lore of the Noongahburrahs as told to the Piccaninnies. This is a deterministic summary of 1 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
Australian Legendary Tales: folk-lore of the Noongahburrahs as told to the Piccaninnies ANDREW LANG. / APPENDIX / DINEWAN BOOLLARHNAH GOOMBLEGUBBON / GLOSSARY; lines 3375-3525 medium Sacred Tree Associated With Graves Of The Dead record
Islamicate Folklore

How This Tradition Tells It

1 occurrences

In Islamicate Folklore, this family appears through Missed Voyage Caused By Burial Duty (1). The strongest concentration is currently in The Arabian Nights Entertainments. This is a deterministic summary of 1 tagged motif occurrences, not a claim of historical transmission.

TextLine RangeConfidenceChild MotifExtraction
The Arabian Nights Entertainments The Arabian Nights Entertainments; lines 6769-6889 high Missed Voyage Caused By Burial Duty record
Converges

Shared Structure

The convergence is broad rather than concentrated in one child motif: traditions repeatedly tag passages into this family while emphasizing locally different scenes.

Diverges

Local Emphasis

Islamic leans toward Ancestor Or Founder Sepulchre Veneration; Hindu leans toward Descendant Mediated Afterlife Status; Sufi leans toward Drink Offering Reaches The Dead; Comparative leans toward Feeding And Dismissing The Souls Of The Dead; Roman leans toward Foundation At An Ancestral Or Sacred Burial Site; Celtic Irish leans toward Landscape Made Alive By Ancestral Memory.

Comparison Mode

Reading Rule

structuralthematiccontact not inferred

Timeline

Approximate eras from the cultural timeline index.
ca. 800-300 BCE

The Upanishads

Hindu - Vedic and early philosophical Sanskrit tradition - 6 tagged occurrences

ca. 750-400 BCE

Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica

Greek - Archaic Greek poetic and hymnic tradition - 1 tagged occurrences

ca. 750-650 BCE

The Iliad

Greek - Archaic Greek heroic epic tradition - 1 tagged occurrences

ca. 200 BCE-200 CE

The Song Celestial; Or, Bhagavad-Gita

Hindu - Sanskrit epic and devotional-philosophical tradition - 6 tagged occurrences

ca. 610-632 CE

The Koran (Al-Qur'an)

Islamic - Early Islamic revelation corpus - 4 tagged occurrences

ca. 800-1200 CE source traditions; 1905 retelling

Gods and Fighting Men

Celtic Irish - Medieval Irish mythic and heroic material - 1 tagged occurrences