Indo-Parthian stone palette, illustrating a fire worship, possibly of a Zoroastrian nature.

Agni the Hindu deity of fire, has a very prominent place among Rigvedic deities.

Worship or deification of fire (also pyrodulia, pyrolatry or pyrolatria) is known from various religions. Fire has been an important part of human culture since the Lower Paleolithic. The earliest known traces of controlled fire were found at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel and dated to an age of 790,000 years,^[1] and religious or animist notions connected to fire must be assumed to reach back to such early pre-Homo sapiens times. In the animal kingdom, the controlled use of fire is restricted to human species. As fire has also destructive capabilities, the worshipping of fire is necessarily ambiguous. This is indicated in proverbs such as "Fire is a good servant but a bad master".

Indo-European religions[link]

In Indo-European languages, there were two concepts regarding fire: that of an animate type called *egni- (cf. English ignite from Latin ignis, and Russian ogon), and an inanimate type *paewr- (cf. English - fire, Greek pyr, Sanskrit pu). A similar distinction existed for water.^[2]

Archaeologically, the earliest evidence for Indo-Iranian fire worship is found at the transition from the Sintashta-Petrovka to the Fedorovo culture around 1500 BC, together with first evidence of cremation. While cremation became ubiquitous in Hinduism, it came to be disavowed in Zoroastrianism.

Although the term "fire-worshippers" is primarily associated with Zoroastrians, the idea that Zoroastrians worship fire is originally from anti-Zoroastrian polemic. Instead, fire — even in a Fire temple (the Zoroastrian terms are more prosaic and simply mean "house of fire") — is considered to be an agent of purity and as a symbol of righteousness and truth. In the present day this is explained to be because fire burns ever-upwards and cannot itself be polluted. Nonetheless, Sadeh and Chaharshanbe Suri are both fire-related festivals celebrated throughout Greater Iran and date back to when Zoroastrianism was still the predominant religion of the region.

In Vedic disciplines of Hinduism, fire is a central element in the Yajna ceremony, with Agni, "fire", playing the role as mediator between the worshipper and the other gods. Related concepts are the Agnihotra ritual, the invocation of the healing properties of fire; the Agnicayana ritual, which is the building of a fire altar to Agni; and Agnistoma, which is one of the seven Somayajnas. In the Vaishnav branch of Hinduism, Agni or Fire is considered the tongue of the Supreme Lord Narayana, hence all the sacrifices done even to any demigod ultimately is a sacrifice to the Supreme Lord Narayana.^[3]

Fire worship in Graeco-Roman tradition had two separate forms: fire of the hearth and fire of the forge. Hearth worship was maintained in Rome by the Vestal Virgins, who served the goddess Vesta, protector of the home, who had a sacred flame as the symbol of her presence in the city (cf. Sacred fire of Vesta). The Greek equivalent of the goddess was Hestia, whose worship is less well attested. The fire of the forge was associated with the Greek god Hephaestus and the Roman equivalent Vulcan. These two seem to have served both as craft-guild patrons and as protectors against accidental fires in cities. Also associated with fire is the titanic god Prometheus, who stole fire for humans from the gods. Most forms of worship in Graeco-Roman religion involved either cooking or burning completely an animal on a fire made on an altar in front of a temple (see hecatomb).

In Norse mythology, Surtr is associated with fire itself, because he is a fire giant who rules over Muspelheim, the world of eternal flame. His name translates to "black" or "the swarthy one". It is quite obvious that J. R. R. Tolkien was inspired by Sutr when he wrote about his Balrog in the Lord of the Rings epic. This name was inspired by the Proto-norse word balrók meaning "fire-god" or "fire-power".^[4] In swedish, bål means large fire or bonfire and rök means smoke.

Celtic mythology had Belenus, whose name, "shining one", associated him with fire.

In Slavic mythology, Svarog, meaning "bright and clear", was the spirit of fire. The best known and dramatic among numerous Slavic Pagan fire rituals is the jumping over the bonfire on the Ivan Kupala Day.

Semitic religions[link]

Fire is an element of theophany in the Hebrew Bible's burning bush, pillar of fire, and the Eternal flame of the Menorah.

The highest form of sacrifice is the Korban Olah, performed twice-daily, which is an animal sacrifice completely consumed by fire.

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is manifested as "tongues of flame".

The Qarmatians, a branch of Ismailism (in turn a branch of Shia Islam) claimed to have found the Mahdi in the 10th century and appointed him caliph, but later deposed him because of an ensuing power struggle. Among his so-called heretical beliefs were fire worship and book burning of religious texts.

Modern times[link]

This section requires expansion.

Fire continues to be a part of many human religions and cultures. For example, it is used in cremation and bonfires; candles are used in various religious ceremonies; eternal flames are used to remind of notable occasions; and the Olympic Flame burns for the duration of the games.

Holy fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been consecutively documented since 1106 A.D.^[5] It is considered by many to be the longest-attested annual miracle in the Christian world.

See also[link]

• Black Sun (mythology)
• Bonfire of the Vanities
• Book burning
• Cremation
• Immolation (disambiguation)
• Lightning, thunder god
• Nature worship
• Pyromania
• Sun worship

References[link]

Aziza Mustafa Zadeh
Aziza plays her "Shamans" song at Baku Jazz Festival 2007 - Final Concert
Background information
Born	(1969-12-19) 19 December 1969 (age 42) Baku, Azerbaijan
Genres	Vocal jazz Instrumental jazz Scat singing Jazz fusion
Instruments	Piano
Years active	1988–present
Website	www.azizamustafazadeh.de

Aziza Mustafa Zadeh (Azeri: Əzizə Mustafazadə; born December 19, 1969), also known as "The Princess of Jazz", or "Die Prinzessin des Jazz" or as "Jazziza", is an Azerbaijani singer, pianist and composer who plays a fusion of jazz and mugam (a traditional improvisational style of Azerbaijan) with classical and Avant-garde influences. Reviewers have said that her style also shows some influence from Keith Jarrett.^[1] She currently resides in Mainz, Germany, with her mother, Eliza Mustafa Zadeh, who is also her manager. Her two favorite leisure activities, she says, are painting and sleeping. She is a vegetarian. She believes in God even though she does not consider herself as belonging to any religion. ^[2] Since 1991, Aziza has sold around 15 million albums worldwide.

Biography[link]

Aziza was born in Baku to musical parents Vagif and Elza Mustafa Zadeh. Vagif was a pianist and composer, famous for creating the mugam-jazz fusion in which his daughter now plays. Elza is a classically trained singer from Georgia.^[3]

They first noticed their daughter's sensitivity to music when she was eight months old. Aziza recalls the story as her mother tells it:

Aziza enjoyed all forms of art, especially dancing, painting and singing. At the age of three, she made her stage debut with her father, improvising vocals. She began studying classical piano at an early age, showing special interest in the works of famous composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Frédéric Chopin. Soon thereafter, she showed a growing talent for improvisation. As a teenager, she was musically trained by Rafig Babayev.^[4]

On December 16, 1979, Aziza's father died of a severe heart attack in Tashkent at the age of 39, three days away from Aziza's tenth birthday. (The chronology of important family dates here is very strange. Aziza's birthday is the 19th, her mother's is the 17th. Vagif died on the 16th and was buried on the 18th. Aziza says, "So all those dates - 16, 17, 18, and 19 - are such a mixture of joy and sadness for us and such a philosophical paradox - life and death juxtaposed upon each other like that.") In order to help her daughter cope with this blow, Aziza's mother gave up her career as a singer to help nurture her daughter's own musical talents.

In 1988, at the age of 18, Aziza's mugam-influenced style helped her win third place together with American Matt Cooper in the Thelonious Monk piano competition in Washington, D.C.^[5] It was around this time that she moved to Germany with her mother.

Aziza released her debut album, Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, in 1991. Her second album, Always, won her the Phono Academy Prize, a prestigious German music award, and the Echo Prize from Sony. She has since performed in many countries with many jazz and traditional luminaries and released several more albums, the most recent being Contrasts II, released in 2007.

Baku Jazz Festival 2007[link]

Aziza returned to Azerbaijan in June 2007 for the Baku Jazz Festival, starring in her own concert at the Opera and Ballet Theater and headlining the end-of-festival concert at the open-air Green Theater. Here she presented a remarkable rendition of "Shamans", involving harmonising with her own echo.

Trivia[link]

• The title of Aziza's fifth album, Jazziza, is her own nickname given to her by her father when she was a child. She has a number of songs and titles that pay tribute to him.
• Aziza has an older half-sister, Lala, who is also a pianist.

Discography[link]

• Aziza Mustafa Zadeh (1991)
• Always (1993)
• Dance of Fire (1995)
• Seventh Truth (1996)
• Jazziza (1997)
• Inspiration – Colors & Reflections (2000)
• Shamans (2002)
• Contrasts (2006)
• Contrasts II (2007)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site of Aziza Mustafa Zadeh
• Azerbaijan International article
• AllAboutJazz.com: Aziza Mustafa Zadeh: Body and Soul and Mugam!
• Listen to Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, Music Section of Azerbaijan International