ANCESTOR-WORSHIP. Though a person may be dead, his spirit, it has been widely held, is still active. And since the spirits of the dead may be harmful or helpful, It is important to make sure of their friendship, and If necessary to propitiate them by offerings, etc. Moreover, a proper treatment of ancestral spirits is a filial duty to one who still protects his family. In China, for instance, ancestor-worship plays a dominating role in religion. Ancestors are worshipped even in their life time. On their death, when they are regarded as pro tectors of their family or tutelary deities, there is naturally no abatement in this worship. The soul of an ancestor, which still lives in the grave or In ancestral tablets, has to be propitiated. The Hindu seeks happiness in a similar way; he is careful to make offerings to the fathers (" pitaras"). The Romans worshipped their ancestors as household patrons. The worship of ancestors was common among the ancient Teutons. The Swedes are said also to have worshipped men. King Dricus, for instance, was made one of the company of the gods. The worship of ancestors has been found also in North and South America, in Tanna, Tasmania, Tonga, New Zealand, the Malay Islands, Africa, Ceylon, Japan, etc.
When a Zulu sneezes, he believes the sneezing is caused by the presence of the ancestral spirit. Sneezing is a good and healthy sign. He therefore praises the spirit, and asks various blessings. Some of the dark-skinned races, when white men have visited them, have thought that they were their own deceased kindred come back to them in a new form. The Divine Ancestor or First Man is naturally regarded as chief of the other ancestors. and so as a superior deity. He is then either closely connected with the Creator, as in the mythology of Kam chatka, or identified with him, as among the Zulus, though here his remoteness has lost him the respect of the worshippers. The Hindu Yama appears as First Man, solar God of Hades, and Judge of the Dead. See E. B. Tylor, P.C.; J. J. M. de Groot, R.S.C:; P. D. Chantepie de La Saussaye, Rcl. of the Teutons, 1902; Monier-Williams, Brahmanism, 1891.