anointing

The tradition & historical record

Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or other fat. Scented oils are used as perfumes and sharing them is an act of hospitality. Their use to introduce a divine influence or presence is recorded from the earliest times; anointing was thus used as a form of medicine, thought to rid persons and things of dangerous spirits and demons which were believed to cause disease. In present usage, "anointing" is typically used for ceremonial blessings such as the coronation of European monarchs. This continues an earlier Hebrew practice most famously observed in the anointings of Aaron as high priest and both Saul and David by the prophet Samuel. The concept is important to the figure of the Messiah or the Christ (Hebrew and Greek for "The Anointed One") who appear prominently in Jewish and Christian theology and eschatology. Anointing—particularly the anointing of the sick—may also be known as unction; the anointing of the dying as part of last rites in the Catholic church is sometimes specified as "extreme unction". ¹

The present verb derives from the now obsolete adjective anoint, equivalent to anointed. The adjective is first attested in 1303, derived from Old French enoint, the past participle of enoindre, from Latin inung(u)ere, an intensified form of ung(u)ere 'to anoint'. It is thus cognate with "unction". The oil used in a ceremonial anointment may be called "chrism", from Greek χρῖσμα (khrîsma) 'anointing'. ¹

Anointing served and serves three distinct purposes: it is regarded as a means of health and comfort, as a token of honor, and as a symbol of consecration. It seems probable that its sanative purposes were enjoyed before it became an object of ceremonial religion, but the custom appears to predate written history and the archaeological record, and its genesis is impossible to determine with certainty. ¹

Used in conjunction with bathing, anointment with oil closes pores. It was regarded as counteracting the influence of the sun, reducing sweating. Aromatic oils naturally masked body and other offensive odors. Applications of oils and fats are also used as traditional medicines. The Bible records olive oil being applied to the sick and poured into wounds. Known sources date from times when anointment already served a religious function; therefore, anointing was also used to combat the malicious influence of demons in Persia, Armenia, and Greece. Anointing was also understood to "seal in" goodness and resist corruption, probably via analogy with the use of a top layer of oil to preserve wine in ancient amphoras, its spoiling usually being credited to demonic influence. For sanitary and religious reasons, the bodies of the dead are sometimes anointed. In medieval and early modern Christianity, the practice was particularly associated with protection against vampires and ghouls who might otherwise take possession of the corpse. ¹

Anointing guests with oil as a mark of hospitality and token of honor is recorded in Egypt, Greece, and Rome, as well as in the Hebrew scriptures. It was a common custom among the ancient Hebrews and continued among the Arabs into the 20th century. ¹

In the sympathetic magic common to prehistoric and primitive religions, the fat of sacrificial animals and persons is often reckoned as a powerful charm, second to blood as the vehicle and seat of life. East African Arabs traditionally anointed themselves with lion's fat to gain courage and provoke fear in other animals. Australian Aborigines would rub themselves with a human victim's caul fat to gain his powers. In religions like Christianity where animal sacrifice is no longer practiced, it is common to consecrate the oil in a special ceremony. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Anointing”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

anointing is ritual act of putting aromatic oil on a person, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 17 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²