Name	Kastelorizo
Name local	Καστελόριζο
Caption skyline	The port of Kastelorizo
Lat deg	36
Lat min	9
Lon deg	29
Lon min	35
Elevation min	0
Elevation max	273
Periph	South Aegean
Periphunit	Rhodes
Pop municipality	430
Area municipality	11.987
Population as of	2001
Postal code	851 11
Area code	22460
Licence	ΚΧ, ΡΟ, PK
Website	www.megisti.gr }}

Kastelorizo ( - ''Kastelorizo'', officially Μεγίστη - ''Megisti'') is a Greek island and municipality located in the southeastern Mediterranean. It lies roughly off the south coast of Turkey, about 570 km southeast of Athens and east of Rhodes, almost halfway between Rhodes and Antalya and to Cyprus. Kastelorizo is part of the Rhodes regional unit.

The meaning of its current official name Megisti (Μεγίστη) is "biggest" or "greatest", but at only in area, it is the smallest of the Dodecanese. The name, however, refers to the fact that it is the largest of the small archipelago.

Name and Etymology

The island's official name, Megisti (Μέγιστη), is rarely used in Greek, the traditional name Kastelorizo (Καστελόριζο) being common. There are several hypotheses about the origin of the name Kastelorizo, which is thought to date from Byzantine era. There is wide consensus that "Kastello" is derived from the Latin word "castello", meaning "castle", as this word (in the Greek form), was used frequently by Byzantine Greeks. There is some argument on the second part of the name. The arguments are centered on the following possible origins of the word 'rizo': 1) 'rizo', being derived from the Italian word "rosso" meaning "red", either from the reddish color of the rocks of the island, or from the reddish color of the castle at sunset, or from the color of the coat of arms of the Great Master of the Knights of Rhodes, Juan Fernandez de Heredia, which stood above the gate of the castle; these arguments are widely discredited as the rocks on the island do not contain any red pigment and the name Kastellorizo, pre dates the arrival of the Knights; or

2) 'rizo', being a corruption of the word "Rhoge", one of the ancient appellations of the nearby island of Rho. If this is correct, the island's modern name is actually an amalgam of the separate island names 'Castello' and 'Rhoge'; or

3) 'rizo', being the actual Greek word 'rizon' maintained throughout the centuries, meaning "root", as researched by Greek Historian I.M. Hatzifotis (1996), to signify the "tree roots" of the foothill where the castle was built.

It has gone by several different names in its history, including ''Kastellorizo'' (Greek), ''Castellorizo'' (Greek name with Italian spelling), ''Castelrosso'' (Italian, meaning "Red Castle"), ''Chateau Rouge'' (French translation of Italian name) and , the former deriving from the island's official name in Greek, the latter meaning Red Castle, a translation of the Italian name.

Geography

Kastelorizo is (with the exception of the nearby islet of Strongýli) the easternmost Greek island and is situated in the Eastern Mediterranean. It lies about 2 kilometers from the Anatolian coastal town of Kaş, more or less half-way between Rhodes and Antalya. Cyprus is about to the south-east. It is six kilometers long and three kilometers wide, with a surface of 9.2 km². It has a triangular shape, and is oriented from NE to SW. The island features three capes: Agios Stefanos (north), Nifti (east) and Pounenti (south west); between the first two there is a wide and accommodating bay, the island's main harbor, where one finds the only town on the island. Cape Agios Stefanos, the nearest to Anatolia, is 2250m south of the modern Turkish town of Kaş (Greek: ''Andífli'', the Ancient Greek City of ''Antiphéllos''). Cape Nifti lies some greater distance from the Anatolian coast. The island is mountainous, with high and steep coastlines, which become more difficult to access moving west. The soil is composed of limestone, and produces only small amounts of olives, grapes and beans. On the island there is no source of drinking water. The Municipality of Megísti includes the populated offshore islands of Ro (pop. 15) and Strongýli (9) as well as several uninhabited islets. It has a total land area of 11.987 km².

Geology

The island's geology is almost exclusively limestone laid down at the mesozoic/Cenozoic boundary. Due to the lack of significant flora covering the island, the landscape shows many features of karstification. There are a number of notable sea caves including the so called Blue Grotto which is much larger than its namesake in Capri. Exploration undertaken in 2006 by members of the SELAS Caving club of Greece has revealed vertical caves in many parts of the island. The deepest found so far was surveyed to a depth of -60m in March 2006 and will be the subject of further exploration in the future by the same team.

Description of the island

The houses of the town are slender and characterised by wooden balconies and windows of the Anatolian type. Behind the waterfront, many houses are still in a ruinous state. At the entrance to the harbour, on the east side, stand the single story remnants of the former Italian governate (''palazzina della delegazione''), erected in 1926 by the Italian architect Florestano Di Fausto, who also designed some of the most important buildings of the Italian period in Rhodes. Nearby is the island's former Ottoman mosque which dates from the second half of the 18th century and which has been now restored and re-opened as a museum (2007). From here starts the town's quay, which runs along all three sides of the harbour. The central square —''Plateia Ethelondon Kastellórizou''—lies at the mid-point of the eastern side, near the vessel dock. On the opposite side of the harbour one has a good view from this vantage of ''Pera Meria'', the western quay, and the monasteries of ''Profitis Elías'' and ''Aghia Triadha'', the former now an army base.

Above the quay on the eastern side there is a pathway which leads to the ''Castle of the Knights'' (14th century). Of it remain the curtain wall, part of a square tower, the remains of a cylindrical tower at the east corner, and toward the sea another cylindrical tower. A Doric inscription, carved in the rock, attests to the existence of an earlier fortress here during Antiquity. Inside the tower there is a large covered cistern.

Ascending the steps on the eastern side of the town, one reaches the suburb of ''Horafia'', where there is a square surrounded by the Church of ''Agios Yeorgios'' (1906), with a high dome of Byzantine type, and the Cathedral of ''Agios Konstandinos and Eleni'' (1835). It has three naves divided by monolithic granite columns from the temple of Apollo Lykios in Patara (Anatolia). The columns carry ogival arches. Further east is the small bay known as ''Mandraki'', the secondary harbour of the island.

West of the town, beyond the summit of the island known as ''Vigla'' (270 m), stands ''Paleokastro'' (old castle), the island's ancient acropolis. This fortified elevation has classical origins (see below, history section): its plan is rectangular and measures 60 x 80 m. In its interior stand an ancient tower, built with square limestone blocks, and large water cisterns. Carved on the base of the castle there is also a ''Doric inscription'', dating back to the 4th or 3rd centuries BC, with references to ''Megiste'' (the ancient name of Kastelorizo) and its dependence on Rhodes. On the east side there are remnants of a gateway, or Propylaea.

Transportation

The island is connected with Rhodes by ferry and is served by Kastelorizo Airport. Kastelorizo has 4 boats to Kas, Turkey. There is one small bus in service on Kastellorizo, The bus is used to collect tourists from the airport.

Archipelago between Turkey and Kastelorizo

There are many islets in this area;''Volos'', near Kalkan (in Greek ''Kalamaki''), ''Ochendra'', ''Furnachia'', ''Prassonisi'', ''Rho'', ''Tragonera'', ''Marathi'', ''Strongili'', ''Dhassia'', ''Alimentaria'', ''Kekova'', besides many rocks and cliffs. The most important among these islets is Kekova (also named ''Caravola''), not inhabited, which has an area of 4.5 km² and faces the Turkish village of ''Kaleköy'' (Simena in antiquity). All these islets were subject to dispute between Italy and Turkey until 1932. According to 1932 Convention between Italy and Turkey all these islets - with the exception of Rho and Strongili - were assigned to Turkey.

History

The island was colonised by Dorian Greeks, who named it ''Megiste''. Inscriptions found at the foot of the Knight's castle confirm that during the Hellenistic period the island was ruled by Rhodes, and formed part of its Peraia. The Rhodians sent an overseer, or ''epistatis'', to monitor events on the island. During the period of the Byzantine Empire, Kastelorizo was part of the 'Eparchy of the Islands', the capital of which was Rhodes. In 1306 the island was taken over by the Knights of St. John Hospitaller of Jerusalem, headed by Folques de Villaret. They were on their way from Cyprus to Rhodes, which was conquered three years later, becoming the centre of their Crusader State. They restored the castle, which was thereafter used as prison for disobedient knights. In 1440 the island was occupied by Sultan Djemal-el-din of Egypt, who destroyed the castle. Ten years later it was conquered by Alfonso V of Aragon, king of Naples, who in 1461 rebuilt the castle and dispatched a governor. Naples regained possession of it until 1512, when it was conquered by Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I.

On September 22, 1659 during the war over Crete, the island was conquered by Venice and the castle was destroyed again, but the Ottomans were able to regain it again soon after. Between 1828 and 1833 Kastelórizo joined the Greek insurgents, but after the end of the Greek War of Independence it came back in possession of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1912, during the Libyan war between Italy and the Ottoman Empire, the inhabitants asked General Ameglio, chief of the Italian occupation forces in Rhodes, for their island to be annexed to Italy. This was refused, and on 14 March 1913 the local population imprisoned the Turkish governor and his Ottoman garrison and proclaimed a provisional government. In August of the same year, the Greek government sent from Samos a provisional governor supported by gendarmes. But they, too, were expelled by the inhabitants on 20 October 1915. On 28 December 1915, the French navy led by the cruiser Jeanne d'Arc occupied on the island at the behest of a pro-French local party which feared Turkish reprisals. The French quickly blocked another landing attempted on the same day by a Greek contingent of Evzones. Turkish shore batteries responded to the French occupation by shelling the island, in 1917 succeeding in sinking the British seaplane carrier HMS Ben-my-Chree. Due to the Treaty of Sèvres the island was ultimately assigned to Italy: the Italian navy assumed it from the French on 1 March 1921. Kastelórizo - under the Italian name Castelrosso, was then integrated in the possession of the ''Isole Italiane dell'Egeo''. The 1932 Convention between Italy and Turkey, which defined the sea border between the two powers, assigned all the islets of the small archipelago around Kastelorizo except Rho and Strongili to Turkey. During the 1930s it was a stopover for French and British seaplanes. During the Second World War, on 25 February 1941, in the course of Operation Abstention, British Commandos occupied the island, but Italian forces from Rhodes recaptured it some days later. After the British occupation, fearing a German invasion, some of the inhabitants fled to Gaza in Palestine. When Italy capitulated to the Allies (8 September 1943), the island was occupied again by Allied forces, and it remained under their occupation for the rest of the war. In July 1944, a fuel dump caught fire and spread to an adjacent ammunition dump, thereby destroying half of the homes on the island.

Kastelorizo was assigned to Greece with the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947. In May 1945 it was still under British administration, but on September 15, 1947 effectively came under Greek administration. The island formally joined the Greek State on 7 March 1948 together with the other Dodecanese islands.

The island has become more popular in recent years, among tourists looking for an isolated place in the Dodecanese, thank also to the 1991 Oscar-winning movie ''Mediterraneo'', by Gabriele Salvatores, which is set on the island. Kastelórizo was the only territory of the European Union where the Solar eclipse of 29 March 2006 was visible in its totality.

In 2011, the French ship Dignité-Al Karama, the only member the Freedom Flotilla II that managed to approach Gaza refueled at Kastelorizo. The ship was warmly received by the inhabitants, some of whom remembered about the shelter the island's inhabitants had found in Gaza during World War II.

Demographics and economy

The population and the economy reached its apogee at the end of the nineteenth century with an estimated 10,000 people residing there. At that time, Kastelorizo was still the only safe harbor along the route between Makri (today's Fethiye) and Beirut. Its sailing ships traded products from Anatolia (coal, timber, valonia, pine bark) against Egyptian goods (rice, sugar, coffee, tissues and yarns), and carried Anatolian cereals to Rhodes and Cyprus. On the island there was also a flourishing production of charcoal (much sought after in Alexandria, where it was used for narghile). Fishing industry—mainly sponges—was important too.

At the dawn of the twentieth century the decay of the island's economy set in, accelerated by the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the deportation of the Anatolian Greeks in 1923. In the late 1920s the population of the island had dropped to 3,000, while about 8,000 inhabitants lived abroad, predominantly in Australia, Egypt, Greece and the U.S. At that time the town had 730 inhabited houses, while 675 were already empty, and many ruined.

The population, according to the 2001 census, now stands at 430. Of these, nearly all live in the town of Megísti, with 406 people. The municipality also includes the islands of Rho with 15 persons and Stroggylí, with 9 persons. Many of its emigrants live in Australia (especially in the cities of Perth and Sydney) where they are known as "Kazzies".

Culture

Kastelorizo was famous for the traditions of its inhabitants. Beautiful, rich and magnificent was the women's dress, of at least three different types. It was made with brilliantly colored fabric, and several necklaces, brooches, pendants and earrings made with ancient Venetian or Byzantines gold coins completed the dress.

The women's festive dress was made of: One or more long silky cloaks (''ipokámiso''). The most external one was closed on the front by six large filigreed gold or silver buttons. These buttons was shaped as a half-sphere which was depressed in the middle. To the lowest one was hung a small chain with a cross; A pair of short pants (''katofóri'') whose lower part was made with good quality garment quilted with gold thread; A sleeved jacket (''zepuni'') made with brilliant colored silk or velvet, opened at the front;

Another long underskirt (''kavadi''), laced with gold thread, also opened at the front;

A large scarf (''zosma'') made with three or four silk stripes, quilted with gold or silver thread. It was tied very low on the sides, like a loose belt; A large velvet coat (''gunna'') decorated with gold and silver lace on the hems and on the back, with *fur lapels: It was always kept open; A woolen cap; A quadrangular wrinkled silken shawl (''mandili''), decorated with relieved flowers and fringed hems, coloured in white, red and deep blue. Folded diagonally, it was fixed above the cap, with its longest angle fallen on the back almost to the ground, while the side edges were folded on the front or put above the shoulders; The socks were woven with multicolored wool or silk; The shoes were shaped like tipped slippers, and were made of velvet or silk. They were laced with gold or silver thread and shorter than the foot;

The other types of dress were similar, but not so garish and without fur decorations. The girl dress was simpler. Also different was the dress of single and engaged girls, and the one of married women and widowers.

Religion, Customs and superstitions

The engagement, which was decided by the parents, and the wedding, which lasted 15 days, occurred through prescribed and curious ceremonies, having a symbolic and poetic meaning. The wedding was celebrated on Sunday, in the church of ''Agios Kostantinos'', and an announcement on the main square invited the whole city to participate. Also the baptism and the funeral (with the crying women (''praeficae'') and the dish with oil and wine crushed on the coffin) had a well established ritual.

On December 31 and on New Year, groups of children carrying small paperboard boats adorned with ribbons and small flags go around visiting houses, stores and coffee shops, singing good wishes songs and receiving coins and wheat cakes, while the elderly exchange visits. On the morning of ''Agios Basilios'' day, coming back from Liturgy, the men customarily throw with force a pomegranate against the walls of their home, wishing for abundance and happiness for their family. The more seeds spread around the rooms, the more luck the family will have in the coming year.

During the feast of Agios Elias on February 16 the men jump in the sea several times, and wear the wet clothes the whole day. Those who do not want to participate, are sometimes forced to do so too.

On Easter, the Liturgy of Resurrection takes place in the open, at midnight, the faithful bearing candles. As soon as the bells starts ringing, the young people let off firecrackers, and the people tell each other the ritual words "Christ resurrected". Then everyone enters the church and takes from the hand of the priest the holy fire, then goes home to light the fire in the fireplace. On Easter Monday the whole population gathers in the main square, and they remain there the whole day eating, drinking and singing. In the past single girls had to stay at home, but they were allowed to stay in the entrance, where they sang and played with swings.

On May 1, at dawn, all the girls of the island, in groups, each one carrying a jar, went to get water out of town, but they were not allowed to speak a single word during the route. This water (''Amilito Neró'', "water of silence") was supposed to bring good luck to the family. Everyone washed him/herself with it in that day, and every utensil and wall of the house was splashed with it. When a girl became engaged, she filled a crystal carafe with it and brought it to the future mother-in-law, who gave her in return a special cake and an odd number of gold coins.

When a child fell seriously ill, a woman with knowledge of prayers against the evil eye was invited to her/his home. She drew cross signs on the body of the child with a thurible filled with embers and branches of olive tree which had been gathered in the church on Palm Sunday, pronouncing the following words: "Christ came: then he laid down his stick and chased away the snake and the bad neighbor from our home". After this exorcism, the woman would throw the content of the thurible in a bucket filled with water, and then counted the pieces of wood which did not burn. This number was said to be equal to the number of persons who were supposed to have enchanted the sick child. The enchantment of the child was sure, if the olive leaves burned with a loud crackling. When a man was going to emigrate, gentle, wishful songs were sung to him by his fellows.

Sister cities

Perth, Western Australia, Australia Antalya, Turkey

References

Sources

Report of SELAS Caving Club expedition to Kastelorizo.

External links

Official website

The Greeks of the Northern Territory of Australia

Photoblogs from bRaNdSboRg.CoM

Small Islands in the Near East

Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Category:Mediterranean islands Category:Municipalities of the South Aegean Category:Populated places in Rhodes (regional unit)

ca:Castellroig da:Kastellórizo de:Kastelorizo el:Καστελλόριζο es:Kastelorizo eu:Kastelorizo fr:Kastelórizo gl:Kastellorizo - Καστελλόριζο it:Castelrosso (Egeo Meridionale) he:קסטלוריזו la:Megiste nl:Kastelorizo ja:カステロリゾ島 no:Kastelorizo nn:Kastellórizo pl:Kastelorizo pt:Kastelorizo ru:Кастелоризо sk:Kastelorizo sr:Мегисти fi:Kastelórizo sv:Kastellorizo tr:Meis uk:Кастелорізо

:''For other uses, see Incarnation (Christianity) or Incarnate (disambiguation)'' Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature (generally a human) who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial.

In its religious context the word is used to mean the descent from Heaven of a god, or divine being in human form on Earth.

Ancient Egypt

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were sometimes said to be incarnations of the gods Horus and Ra.

Bahá'í

In the Bahá'í Faith, God is described as a single, imperishable God, the creator of all things, including all the creatures and forces in the universe. The connection between God and the world is that of the creator to his creation. God is understood to be independent of his creation, and that creation is dependent and contingent on God. God, however, is not seen to be incarnated into this world and is not seen to be part of creation as he cannot be divided and does not descend to the condition of his creatures. Instead, in the Bahá'í understanding, the world of creation emanates from God, in that all things have been realized by him and have attained to existence. The Bahá'í concept of the intermediary between God and humanity is expressed in the term Manifestation of God, which are a series of personages, such as Jesus and Bahá'u'lláh, who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization. In expressing God's intent, these Manifestations are seen to establish religion in the world. The Manifestations of God are also not seen as an incarnation of God, but are instead understood to be like a perfect mirror reflecting the attributes of God onto this material world.

Buddhism

In the teaching of the Buddha sentient beings incarnate due to the psychological factors of ignorance, craving and clinging which results in the phenomenon of becoming and rebirth. To be born human is considered a great privilege because unlike other mammals even a person of average intelligence with sufficient effort and proper guidance can walk the path of dharma and become liberated from the cycle of rebirth. The motive force in the process of material incarnation and becoming (popularly known as 'life') is attachment to and identification with matter. This ignorance gives rise to the volitional factors which are called sankharas. These sankharas through the infinite possibilities of worldly desires propel the human being through the pattern of repeated birth and death until the dawning of wisdom (awakening) brings about the desire for liberation.

According to Buddha's teaching the soul (as that structure of sankharas that gives rise to incarnation and animates the body during 'life') is not a fixed entity but in a state of constant flux - being modified over time by actions of body, speech and mind. The constant transmutation and interdependence of phenomena mean that nothing can be said in terms of ultimate truth to have a fixed identity. This is the doctrine of ''anatta'', the no-self doctrine applying to all phenomena (''see'' ''Three marks of existence'').

Liberation in Buddhism is achieved when the stock of accumulated sankharas buried in the unconscious have been dissolved through the practise of the Noble Eightfold Path, a path leading to the experience called enlightenment (''Bodhi'' in Sanskrit and Pali). At enlightenment all the causes for future rebirth have been deleted and the sage abides in a state of being called ''deathlessnes'' (Amaravati or Amrta). Such a one - called an arahant or Buddha is no longer destined for reincarnation after death.

In Tibetan Buddhism, an enlightened spiritual teacher (lama) may choose to reincarnate after death in order to continue to help people. Such a teacher is called a ''tulku''.

Christianity

The Incarnation of Christ is a central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, assumed a human nature, and became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. This foundational Christian position holds that the divine nature of the Son of God was perfectly united with human nature in one divine Person, Jesus, making him both truly God and truly man. The theological term for this is hypostatic union: the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, God the Son, became flesh when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Biblical passages traditionally referenced in connection with the doctrine of the Incarnation include , Colossians 2:9, and .

Hinduism

In Hinduism, incarnation generally refers to an Avatar of Vishnu, the preserver in the Trimurti. Collectively, the 10 avatars of Vishnu are known as the dashavatara. Ganesha and Shiva also have avatars.

Islam

Mainstream Islam

Mainstream Islam completely rejects the doctrine of the incarnation of God in any form, as the concept is defined as Shirk. In mainstream Islam God is one and "neither begets nor is begotten". Islam specifically rejects the Christian idea of Jesus as a divine incarnation, but rather Jesus is seen as a prophet (''nabī'') and messenger (''rasūl'') of God. The Qur'anic text itself seems to fully reject this concept according to mainstream interpretations. Sunnism is the most prominent sect to hold this belief.

Shia

There are some hadiths which tell that Muhammad and his successors carry a divine succession from God. Although not all Shiites claim this view, a rare few think that Imam Ali, believed to be the real caliph after Muhammad, was an incarnation of God and also God itself (see ''Ghulat''). This view is vigorously rejected by Sunnis and non-Ghulati shias. The major conflict source between Sunnis and Shias is the Shias' believing Imam Ali to be the real caliph after Muhammad and accepting 12 "imans" as heirs of his "''welayah''" (rule). However, the Wahabi Muslims defend that some tales about shias incarnation create division between Shias and sunnis (both of whom they call brothers in the Quran). They also accuse the Shias of worshiping metals and woods (in fact the Shias only use them as "''tabarrok''" ("blesseds"/"blessed things"), just like "Hazrate Zahra" had used "tabarrok" first. In Shia philosophy, tabarrok is for showing your love to "''ahle beit''" ("household", the community of the devotees of Ali and Fatima) and requesting "''shafa'at''" (healing) from them because they believe that ''ahle beyt'' where the best God created and they use this method to have a better connection to Allah or to request "''maghferat''" (forgiveness) from God when they want to atone for sins and believe its an easier approach.

Ismailism

The Aga Khan is the leader of the Ismailis and is believed that only he can fully understand and interpret the Quran. The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims take the Aga Khan as an Imam (spiritual leader). In the Shia ''tariqah'', the Light Of God (''Noor'') has always been present. The Islamic prophet Muhammed had this 'Noor'. There is a Hadith stating that Muhammad said "Ali and I are from the same ''Noor''". As the Aga Khan is the direct descendant of Muhammad through Imam Ali and Bibi Fatima, the Noor has been passed down through them to him, since there needs to be a guide of the Ismailis present throughout history to interpret the Quran and give guidance to his followers as time goes by.

Nation of Islam

The founder of the US-based black nationalist Nation of Islam, Wallace Fard Muhammad, is believed by followers to be an incarnation of God, also considered to be the Messiah of Christianity and Mahdi of Islam.

Judaism

Mainstream Judaism totally rejects any doctrine of an incarnation of God and absolutely rejects any concept of an incarnation of God in any form. Jews especially rejected vehemently - even under penalty of death or threats of torture - the Christian idea of Jesus as a divine incarnation of God, and neither see Jesus as a Prophet nor Messiah.

However, some Hasidim believe in a somewhat similar concept. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a prominent Hasidic leader, said that the Rebbe is God's essence itself put into a body of a Tzaddik. While many other Jews find this idea highly controversial, panentheism, i.e. considering everything and everyone as manifestations of God, is the accepted mainstream Hasidic and Kabbalistic doctrine.

The Kabbalah has an idea of ''gilgul'' (reincarnation) as part of the soul's journey to achieve perfection.

Rastafari

The Rastafari movement views Haile Selassie I as God incarnate, who has come the second time as a deliverer.

Serer religion

Serer religion rejects any notion of an incarnation or manifestation of ''Rog'' (the Supreme Deity in Serer religion). Rog is everywhere and nowhere and has no descendants or ancestors. The Serer people who adhere to Serer religion do not make direct sacrifices to Rog, and is considered blasphemous to speak of a Rog incarnate. However, the reincarnation (''"ciiɗ"'' in Serer language) of the ancient Serer saints and ancestral spirits, known as ''Pangool'', is a well held principle in Serer religion. These Pangool (singular : ''Fangool'') act as intermediaries between the living world and the Devine. When the Serers speak of incarnation, it is these Pangool they refer to, who are themselves holy by virtue of their intercession with the Devine

References

External links

Category:Ayyavazhi philosophical concepts Category:Buddhist philosophical concepts Category:Christian philosophy Category:Hindu philosophical concepts Category:Rastafari movement Category:Spirituality Category:Trinitarianism

ar:تجسد bg:Инкарнация ca:Encarnació cs:Vtělení da:Inkarnation de:Menschwerdung Gottes el:Ενσάρκωση es:Encarnación eo:Enkarniĝo ko:화신 id:Inkarnasi ia:Incarnation sw:Umwilisho nl:Incarnatie no:Inkarnasjon nn:Inkarnasjon pl:Inkarnacja pt:Encarnação (religião) ru:Воплощение simple:Incarnation fi:Inkarnaatio sv:Inkarnation