synonymGenital worship(Genital worship) generally refers to reproductive worship
Reproduction worship refers to the respect and admiration for reproduction[1]It is a common phenomenon among primitive people all over the world, and it is the concept expression of human survival instinct.Reproduction worship is one of the main contents of sex worship. Just as the primitive people could not explain the external natural phenomena, they also did not understand themselves, especially their own sexual behavior, reproductive phenomena, genitals and the relationship between the three, which resulted in a mysterious and awe psychology of sex, which is collectively called sex worship,Sex worship can be divided into sexual intercourse worship, reproductive worship and genital worship according to its specific content and different emphasis.[2]
The worship of reproduction was first embodied in the worship of mothers.At first, human beings did not understand why women were able to have children, so they regarded childbearing as a unilateral role of women and worshipped it limitlessly.Among them, female childbirth is regarded as a sacred thing and is worshipped and prayed. If a woman dies in childbirth, the ethnic group will bury her like a hero.In the production and life of the early people, the psychology of reproduction worship and land worship existed at the same time, and people had the idea that there was a link between female fertility and land output, thus expanding the worship of the vulva to the entire reproductive system of the universe, becoming the worship of the earth mother[4]。Therefore, in the matriarchal society, the early people regarded the fields, rivers and earth as the symbols of the vulva and women.Thus, in ancient China, the myth of Nuwa "taking loess as human" came into being;For another example, Jiang Yuan, the goddess of the earth, gave birth to a son named "Ji". Later, the "She" formed by piling up earth evolved into the god of land, and the "Ji" generated by the earth evolved into the god of grain. The "She" and "Ji" together are called "She Ji", symbolizing the country.The relationship between reproduction worship and land worship is also reflected in other civilizations.For example, symbolic farm work such as seeding needs women to undertake, and is accompanied by a series of mysterious rituals.In East Prussia, it is a custom for women to sow seeds in the fields naked;In Finland, there is a phenomenon that women use menstrual covers to hold seeds;The sowing work of Germanic people is undertaken by married women, preferably pregnant women;In some places, people even pour their breast milk directly into the land in order to harvest.
In the history of countries around the world, legends and idols about women abound.For example, the mythical image of Nuwa in China;Many primitive goddess idols have been unearthed in France, Austria and other European countries.An important common feature of these idols is that they do not pay attention to facial depiction, but mainly portray plump and large trunks, highlighting the large breasts, large bellies and genitals.These depictions reflect the great enthusiasm of primitive people for reproduction.Another feature is that mythical mothers are usually virgins.For example, in Chinese mythology, Xia Zuxiu had swallowed the divine pearl and gave birth to Yu, Shang Zu Jian Di swallowed the divine bird egg and gave birth to a contract, and Zhou Zu Jiang Yuan stepped on giant footprints and gave birth to millet.
Reproductive worship related to men
When people found the role of men in childbirth, men's status in production and childbirth is increasingly strengthened.When people think of seeds, they think of men more naturally than women;It is believed that it is men's sowing that makes women fertile, just as the harvest of the land.Especially when people know the relationship between reproduction and male and female genitals, reproductive worship is combined with genital worship, resulting in a series of related customs.For example, in ancient China, the early people associated the male genitalia with the land, and called the symbol of the male root "Tian Zu" and "Tian Owner".For another example, in Java, in the season of rice booting and flowering, farmers will take their wives to visit the fields and have sex on the ground, believing that this behavior can promote the growth of crops.
The Causes of Human Reproduction Worship
The concept of reproduction worship is rooted in the instinct of biological reproduction and the strong relationship between the primitive people and their own ethnic reproduction.
In the primitive era, people were faced with the challenge of harsh natural environment and their own ability limitations. The infant mortality rate was high, the survival rate was low, and the average life span of human beings was short. Only with a high fertility rate can we maintain the survival and development of the race and the continuity of genes.Therefore, reproduction worship is an inevitable phenomenon and psychological feature.In this regard, Engels, the representative figure of materialism, believes that "the decisive factor in history, in the final analysis, is the production and reproduction of direct life. However, there are two kinds of production itself. On the one hand, it is the production of means of life, namely food, clothing, housing and the necessary tools for this purpose; on the other hand, it is the production of human beings themselves, namely the reproduction of species."His views are recorded in the book "The Origin of Family, Private Ownership and State".
The History and Representation of Reproductive Worship in World Civilizations
The procreation worship of primitive people is a historical phenomenon all over the world, resulting in a culture of procreation worship that is rich in content, unique in expression and far-reaching in influence.When people understand the role of genitals in reproduction, the culture of reproductive worship is mostly embodied in the worship of genitals.[5]
China
Female Genitalia Worship in the Primitive Society of China
ØThe symbolic meaning of fish pattern:Fish patterns are painted or engraved on pottery unearthed from many matriarchal clan social sites in China.Wen Yiduo once believed that the symbol of fish originated from the strongest fecundity of fish, and was closely related to the reproductive worship of primitive humans and the emphasis on racial reproduction;Li Zehou believes that the fish pattern and fish bearing human face of Yangshao Banpo painted pottery contain endless blessings for the clan's descendants.On this basis, some scholars concluded that because the outline of the fish, especially the outline of Pisces, is similar to the outline of the vulva, and the belly of the fish has many children and has strong fertility, the fish pattern is a symbol of female genitalia in the culture of reproductive worship (see Figure 1).The ancestors of Banpo derived the culture of reproduction worship from this symbol, including primitive sacrificial rites "fish sacrifice", related primitive painting and plastic arts, and "image number thinking" and other primitive thinking and concepts.
Abstract fish pattern with the nature of simulating vulva
ØThe symbolic meaning of frog pattern and the myth of the moon:Frog pattern (toad pattern) is the second basic pattern in the social and cultural heritage of Chinese matriarchal clan.It appears later than fish patterns and is more widely distributed. It has vivid, freehand, abstract and concentrated patterns. It is rare in the world because of its rich and colorful patterns, gorgeous and harmonious colors (see Figure 2).Seen from the appearance, the belly of the frog is similar to that of the pregnant woman, which is also round and swollen;In terms of connotation, frogs have strong fecundity and a lot of offspring. They can breed in groups after a night of spring rain.Therefore, frogs were used by primitive people to symbolize the womb (belly) of a woman's pregnancy, and the lower part of some painted pottery frog patterns was specially painted with a circle to symbolize the vulva.The worship of external genitalia and vulva has developed into the worship of pregnant uterus, which reflects the deepening of human understanding of female reproductive function and reproductive process.
(Figure 2)
Frog pattern
ØFlower pattern and other symbolic meanings:Floral patterns and other plant patterns are also a kind of important patterns left in the social culture of Chinese matriarchal clan, which is a manifestation of women's reproductive worship in ancient times (as shown in Figure 3).Because some petals, leaves and fruits can be shaped like vulva, and plants bloom and bear fruits once a year, with numerous flowers and leaves, they have strong reproductive capacity.Therefore, the ancient people worshiped the plants with blooming flowers, luxuriant branches and leaves, and abundant fruits as the symbol of the vulva, in order to make their own lives prosperous and multiply.Some scholars believe that just as the ancestors who used fish to symbolize the vulva held a "fish offering", the ancestors who used frogs to symbolize the uterus held a "frog offering", and the ancestors who used plants to symbolize the vulva held a "gao mei" offering. After the rise of male root worship, some clans still used the name of this offering.
Flower patterns symbolizing the vulva
Male Genitalia Worship in the Primitive Society of China
ØThe symbolic meaning of bird pattern:There was male genital worship in Chinese patrilineal clan society, but male root worship actually occurred in the late, even mid matrilineal clan society.Among the cultural relics of the late matriarchal society in China, bird pattern is the most common and important pattern (Figure 4).The reason why birds become male root symbols is complicated.Seen from the appearance, birds (especially the head and neck that can stretch and stretch) can be shaped like male roots;In terms of connotation, ancient humans did not understand the role of men in reproduction at first, but after observing the reproductive process of birds (namely, the first egg, the second hatching, and there is a time process), the ancestors associated the testicles of male genitalia with the shape of birds' eggs, and also associated the protein with semen,The babies born after sexual union are wrapped in afterbirth. Therefore, the ancestors believed that the birth of children was the result of the sperm of male eggs entering the female abdomen and hatching, thus recognizing the unique reproductive function of men.In addition, men have two testes, which means that birds lay more eggs.Therefore, the ancient ancestors took the bird as a symbol of male root in order to reproduce and prosper.
ØThe symbolic meaning of lizard patterns
Among the cultural relics of the late matriarchal society in China, lizard, tortoise, snake and other patterns also exist (see Figure 5).The common characteristics of these animals are: first, the head and neck can be shaped like a male root, and today the front end of the penis is still called "glans";Second, they are all laid from eggs, which is similar to the "eggs" of male testes, and the number of eggs is more.
Lizard Statue and Turtle shaped Pot in Yangshao Culture
ØJade Cong and other symbolic meanings
In matriarchal society, the early people only worshiped female genitalia for a long time, and thus used various cultural means to express female genitalia;When the early people realized the role of men in human reproduction, their worship consciousness of male genitalia gradually rose, and related cultural representations also appeared.In the patriarchal clan society, the worship of male genitalia is mainly popular, but because people realize that reproduction and reproduction are the result of sexual intercourse, the long tradition of worship of female genitalia has not been interrupted.Therefore, when people began to use jade to make genital symbols, they first used jade to make female genital symbols (see Figure 6), such as jade fish, jade rings, and jade walls;Later, people began to use jade to make male genital symbols, such as jade birds and fish turtles. It was a new topic for the early people to use jade instead of pottery and stone to reproduce male roots roughly.
Big Jade Wall of the Eastern Han Dynasty
Indian Civilization
The culture of reproduction worship is widely reflected in many ancient Indian documents, books, paintings, sculptures, and architectural designs.For example, statues showing the combination of men and women are kept in the temple, and reliefs showing the attitude of men and women copulating are inlaid on the stone walls of the grand temple, and the millstone shaped stone carving symbolizing the vulva is combined with the cylindrical stone symbolizing the male root.These images show the sacred value of reproduction in the hearts of ancient Indians in a primitive and straightforward way.
Hand painted tripartite statue of Shiva
The ancient Indian reproduction worship culture was introduced into China together with Buddhism.For example, the joyful Buddha who shows the sexual intercourse between men and women is not only a symbol of people praying for reproductive prosperity, but also has the function of hoping for a bumper agricultural harvest and the prosperity of livestock.In addition, Indians use Mani beads to refer to the clitoris, and Chinese people use fire beads to refer to the clitoris (see Pat the Table Surprise). The two have some similarities.
African Civilization[6]
In Africa, the vestiges of many male root imitations reflect the prevalence of the ancestors' reproductive worship culture.For example, the tall stone penis in southern Ethiopia, the prehistoric megalith in West Africa, the Yin shaped tombstone in East Africa, and the penis shaped jewelry in Rhodesia.
Some African wood carvings also reflect the strong sense of reproduction worship of the ancestors. The wood carvings are mainly divided into the shaping of the image of the mother, the portrayal of male and female copulation, and the exaggeration and emphasis on the sexual genitals.In addition, people will also use some symbolic symbols to indicate their expectations for human fertility and their wishes for the fertility of all things. For example, the vines on the body symbolize the fertile and powerful women, hold the breasts tightly to emphasize the characteristics of women's life feeding, and use the prominent navel and surrounding tattoos to indicate that the belly is the source of all things.Among the statues shaping the image of mother, Senufu's "mother and son" and "mother's support" are representative.
The Influence of Reproductive Worship on People's Behavior and Choice
The study found that under the influence of the culture of reproductive worship, traditional Chinese people pay attention to family inheritance, hope to have more children, and value boys over girls;The ancient Chinese also tended to marry early and have children early, so that they could have more offspring.[7]
Related research
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Research on reproductive worship exists in cultural anthropology, religion, body philosophy, literary research, art research and other fields.
Ideas and views on sex education
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(1) Reproductive worship is a psychological feature of human beings in the primitive period, which has important cultural significance.However, the worship of reproduction is based on the lack of human cognition of nature and themselves. Many associations are false (for example, there is no direct connection between female fertility and crop harvest), and the action guided by false cognition is correspondingly lack of scientific basis (for example, sexual intercourse in the field to promote crop growth).In modern society, we should treat it with scientific thinking.
(2) The worship of reproduction originated from the worship of female genitals. It was not until the early people realized the role of men in reproduction that the worship of reproduction related to men began to rise.This change is based on the change in people's understanding of the role of gender in fertility.In modern society, we should scientifically understand the physiological differences and social division of labor between the sexes. Gender equality is the consensus and bottom line of a civilized society.
(3) Compared with the reproductive worship of primitive people, modern society pays more attention to reproductive health and reproductive rights (also known as "reproductive rights").Reproductive right is a basic human right. The 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women stipulated in the form of an international convention that men and women "have the same right to freely and responsibly determine the number and spacing of children".[8]Reproductive health refers to all matters related to the reproductive system and its functions and processes, including physical, mental and social health, not just the absence of disease or weakness.These two concepts emphasize the basic rights and health of human beings, which means that people can have a satisfactory and safe sexual life, have normal fertility and have the freedom to decide whether, when, how much and the interval between births.It is required that people should be able to know, obtain and choose safe, effective, affordable and acceptable fertility regulation methods, have access to adequate reproductive health care and health care services during pregnancy and childbirth, so that women can be pregnant safely, give birth safely, and get a healthy baby.
