HEAVEN, CULT of. - In the various religions, heaven can be of considerable importance above all for three reasons: it may be conceived as a divinity; it may lend its characteristics to some divinity; finally, it may appear as the dwelling-place of the divinity. Among these three principal forms, and their variants, the boundaries are not always clear-cut. A divinity may be called Heaven and dwell in heaven; others may dwell in heaven without having particular celestial attributes; of still others, despite their evident connections with heaven, no celestial dwelling-place is explicitly mentioned. The very fluctuation of the boundaries among the various forms makes it plausible that the distinction
between them is later and secondary, whereas the origin of the relationship between divinity and heaven must be sought in a period in which human thought was not accustomed to precise and abstract distinctions. Indeed, heaven and the Celestial Being, a god with celestial attributes and a god dwelling in heaven, are originally inseparable ideas, and only in certain developments of the religious mentality (e.g., anthropomorphic polytheisms and monotheisms) are the relations of divinity with heaven limited to certain attributes or to its dwelling-place.
The Celestial Being or the god Heaven appears, it may be said, in all spheres of primitive civilizations. In these, its idea often interferes with another religious idea: that of the Supreme Being. The existence, in the religions of uncultivated peoples, of the concept of a Supreme Being has long been noted; its position among the other divinities and spirits of worship and mythology is entirely particular and distinct: the historical-
Of the countless Celestial Beings of primitive peoples, it will suffice here to cite a few examples, in order to show the universality of the idea and the variety of its forms. a) Australia: The Baiame of the Kamilaroi and related peoples, like the Daramulun of the Yuin, dwells in the sky, governs meteorological phenomena, and is all-seeing. The Bungil of the Kulin, a creator dwelling in the sky, likewise sees everything. Atnatu, esoteric god of the Kaitish, is also characterized by his numerous wives, who are the stars. b) Asia: The Puluga of the Andaman Islanders is omniscient, but only by day; he punishes with lightning, dwells in the sky, and his name perhaps means “thunder.” The Kari of the Semang (Malacca) is defined by his name, which means “sky.” c) Melanesia: Ndengei, in the Fiji Islands, has a name meaning sky; by closing his eyes, he produces darkness. d) Polynesia: Rangi, the sky, in New Zealand, is not a Supreme Being, but merely one of the divinities of a rich polytheistic system; his spouse is Papa, the earth. e) Africa: Control of meteorological phenomena, celestial dwelling, and omniscience characterize the Kaang of the Bushmen, the Tsui-Goab of the Hottentots, and the Tilo of the Ba-ronga. Nzambi among the western Bantu, and Mulunga among the eastern Bantu, bear in their names the meaning “sky.” The same is true of the figure of Marvu among the Eve negroes, in whom characteristics deriving from the visual impression of the sky are found. f) North America: The Sing of the Haida Indians is the luminous sky. Among the Bellachula, Qamaitis is the sky, but is a goddess. The celestial character of the Supreme Being of the
Pawnee, Tirawa, is attested by a rich colour symbolism in worship. g) South America: Kamuscini, among the Caribs, is called sky by the natives, who regard him as the first cosmogonic being. The Pillan of the Araucanians is a Supreme Being who manifests himself chiefly in meteorological phenomena.
A special position among the other divinities also distinguishes the divinity of the sky in the religions of the various higher civilizations. The divinity which, by its name, mythology, iconographic features, etc., reveals an identity or at least a particularly close connection with the sky, often appears as father of all, omniscient, omnipotent, king of the gods, governor of the cosmic and moral order.
In the religions of peoples speaking Indo-European languages, more than one divine figure connected with the sky is encountered. In Vedic religion, Dyaus, whose name means “sky,” and Vāruna share the essential attributes of the sky; but whereas the former has a more limited cult and is chiefly cosmogonic in character, Vāruna is a supreme divinity of anthropomorphic type. In Greece, on the other hand, Uranus, whose name corresponds to that of Vāruna, bears in his name and mythology a complete identity with the sky, but has an extremely limited cult, whereas Zeus, corresponding to Dyaus, is the supreme divinity, though not devoid of evidently celestial attributes: dwelling in the sky, he sends rain, lightning, and thunder. The same figure dominates the Roman religious world under the name Iuppiter, a name whose second part implies the paternity attributed both to the Indian Dyaus and to Greek Zeus. The Tiu of the Germans, etymologically corresponding, is of less prominent importance and has an altered character.
In Babylonia, Anu (= sky), though not possessing a very popular cult, was considered king and father par excellence. In Egypt, on the other hand, the sky is a goddess, Nūt, whereas the earth, which in other primitive and cultivated religions appears for the most part as the divine spouse of the sky, here appears in the functions of the husband. Although a goddess, Nūt retains the characteristics proper to the divinity of the sky: she is mistress and mother of all, mother also of the sun, and it is she who sends rain.
A perfect identity between sky and supreme divinity is found in the most ancient religion of China. Ti'en (= sky), also called Shang-ti (Supreme Emperor), is the central divinity, guarantor of the order of the universe. The emperor, considered his son, offers him an annual sacrifice for the welfare of the country at a round altar oriented according to the cardinal points, on the day of the winter solstice.
In monotheistic religions the sky remains the dwelling-place of the divinity: thus, in Zoroastrianism Ahura Mazda, and in Islām Allāh, are conceived as dwellers in the sky.