Religious objects

human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it represents

upright=1.35|thumb|Thangka painting of Manjuvajra mandala upright=1.35|thumb|The Womb Realm mandala. The center square represents the young stage of Vairocana. He is surrounded by eight Buddhas and [[bodhisattvas (clockwise from top: Ratnasambhava, Samantabhadra, Saṅkusumitarāja, Manjushri, Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, Amoghasiddhi and Maitreya)]]

A fetish (also spelled fetich) is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent non-material value, or powers, to an object. Talismans and amulets are related. Fetishes are often used in spiritual or religious context.

thumb|Hungarian goulash in a traditional "bogrács" (cauldron)

thumb|Late medieval chalice in silver-gilt with enamels of Saints and Scenes from the Life of Christ thumb|Diagram showing the parts of a liturgical chalice.

thumb|Icelandic grimoire, "Galdrabók" (), belonging to [[Swedish History Museum (signum: ATA Ämb 2 F16:26)]]

thumb|300px|Reliquary Shrine (de Touyl)| Reliquary Shrine, French, –50, [[The Cloisters, New York]] thumb|Inside the shrine of St. Saint Boniface| Boniface of Dokkum in the hermit-church of [[Warfhuizen in the Netherlands. The little folded paper on the left contains a bone fragment of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the folded paper on the right a piece of the habit of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The large bone in the middle (about 5 cm in length) is the actual relic of St. Boniface.]]

type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences

thumb|300px|Antinous holding the thyrsus while posed as Dionysus ([[Museo Pio-Clementino)]]

Tibetan religious item

specially prepared human head

right|thumb|upright=1.3|Bullroarers from Africa in the Pitt Rivers Museum

thumb|A Western-style aspergillum thumb|Aspergillum in a silver aspersorium or situla

thumb|Catholic thurible, or chain censer, designed for swinging thumb|Censer from Tibet, late 19th century, silver

thumb|200px|A sample generic Mărțișor Mărțișor () is a tradition celebrated at the beginning of Spring in March, involving an object made from two intertwined red and white strings with hanging tassel. It is practiced in Romania and Moldova, and very similar to Martenitsa tradition in Bulgaria, Martinka in North Macedonia and traditions of other populations from Southeastern Europe.

Japanese doll

right|thumb|Rushnyk - Ukrainian embroidery|Ukrainian embroidered and woven ritual cloth. [[Pereiaslav, Ukraine.]] A rushnyk or rushnik ( ; ; , ; ) is a decorative and ritual cloth. Made of linen or cotton it usually represents woven or embroidered designs, symbols and cryptograms of the ancient world.A Language of Their Own

thumb|upright=0.6|A study-dedicated . The logo above denotes a Shinto shrine dedicated to the Tenjin.

The kirpan (; pronunciation: [kɪɾpaːn]) is a blade that Khalsa Sikhs are required to wear as part of their religious uniform, as prescribed by the Sikh Code of Conduct. Traditionally, the kirpan was a full-sized talwar at around 76 cm (30 inches) long; however, British colonial policies and laws introduced in the 19th century reduced the length of the blade, and in the modern day, the kirpan is typically a dagger between 5 to 12 inches. According to the Sikh Code of Conduct, "The length of the sword to be worn is not prescribed", but must be curved and single edged (as its original sword form

Wiccan book

thumb|A Māori people|Māori man painting a tattoo on a carved wooden tiki at [[Whakarewarewa model village, New Zealand, ]] thumb|upright|Hawaiian kii at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park thumb|upright|Tiki statuette from the [[Marquesas]]

instrument in training elephants

thumb|upright=1.4|Maya chacmool from Chichen Itza, excavated by Le Plongeon in 1875, now displayed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City A chacmool (also spelled chac-mool or Chac Mool) is a form of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican sculpture depicting a reclining figure with its head facing 90 degrees from the front, supporting itself on its elbows and supporting a bowl or a disk upon its stomach. These figures possibly symbolised slain warriors carrying offerings to the gods; the bowl upon the chest was used to hold sacrificial offerings, including pulque, tamales, tortillas, tobacc

thumb|265px|An athame, used in Wiccan ritual practices An athame or athamé (, , , or ) is a ceremonial blade, generally with a black handle. It is the main ritual implement or magical tool among several used in ceremonial magic traditions, and by other neopagans, witchcraft, as well as satanic traditions. A black-handled knife called an arthame appears in certain versions of the Key of Solomon, a grimoire dating to the Renaissance.

thumb|upright|Ancient shield illustration from Nordisk familjebok

thumb|A Scientology E-Meter

East Asian ceremonial sceptre

perfume used to anoint the vessels of the Jewish Tabernacle

textile covering for an altar

A cuauhxicalli or quauhxicalli (, meaning "eagle gourd bowl") was an altar-like stone vessel used by the Aztec in sacrificial ceremonies, believed to be for holding human hearts. A cuauhxicalli would often be decorated with animal motifs, commonly eagles or jaguars. Another kind of cuauhxicalli is the Chacmool-type, which is shaped as a reclining person holding a bowl on his belly.

The term eulogia (, eulogía), Greek for "a blessing", has been applied in ecclesiastical usage to "a blessed object". It was occasionally used in early times to signify the Holy Eucharist, and in this sense is especially frequent in the writings of St. Cyril of Alexandria. The origin of this use is doubtless to be found in the words of St. Paul (1 Corinthians 10:16); to poterion tes eulogias ho eulogoumen. But the more general use is for such objects as bread, wine etc., which it was customary to distribute after the celebration of the Divine Mysteries. Bread so blessed, we learn from St. Augu

thumb|Power Figure: Male (Nkisi). Created circa 1800-1950, DRC, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 ' or ' (plural varies: , , , or ) are spirits or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently applied to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa, especially in the Territory of Cabinda that are believed to contain spiritual powers or spirits. The term and its concept have passed with the Atlantic slave trade to the Americas.

Heritage of Bhutan

thumb | right | alt=churinga | churinga A tjurunga, also spelt churinga and tjuringa, is an object considered to be of religious significance by Central Australian Aboriginal people of the Arrernte (Aranda, Arunta) groups. The word derives from the Arrernte word Tywerenge which means sacred or precious. Tjurunga often had a wide and indeterminate native significance. They may be used variously in sacred ceremonies, as bullroarers, in sacred ground paintings, in ceremonial poles, in ceremonial headgear, in sacred chants and in sacred earth mounds.

thumb|Many fūrin at Nyoirin-ji (Ogori)|Nyoirin-ji with colorful tanzaku paperA is a small, bowl-shaped Japanese wind chime typically hung during the summer. A piece of paper called tanzaku (短冊) is usually hung from each fūrin to cause it to ring even with just a slight breeze. The sound of the fūrin and the sight of the paper blowing in the wind are seen by many Japanese people as having a cooling effect during the hot Japanese summer.　 thumb|Sound of fūrin in a slight breeze

five fables of ancient Greek origin that deal with the statue of Hermes

state triremes with religious functions in Athens

traditional North American Indian container for various items of supernatural power

thumb|Tchitcheri sakab of the Moba people A tchitcherik or tchitcherik sakwa (plural: tchitcheri sakab) is a statue of the ancestors of the Moba of northern Togo and Ghana.

sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother-goddess Asherah, consort of El

container for carrying fire, usually earthenware

The boline (also spelled bolline, pron.: boh-leen) is a white-handled ritual knife, one of several magical tools used in Wicca, mainly for the cutting of herbs and inscribing candles.

type of incense burner

sacred tokens in ancient Rome

thumb|4th-century relief of the investiture of the Sasanian Empire|Sasanian king [[Ardashir II (centre). Mithra (left) stands on a lotus flower holding a barsom.]] thumb|right|A 4th-century BCE depiction of a priest bearing a barsom. From the Oxus Treasure. The present-day barsom is much shorter, and made of wire.

Artifact created in wood using thread

wrapped collection of sacred items, held by a designated carrier, used in indigenous American ceremonial cultures

stake or stick used in ritual practice

processional idols in Hinduism

stores specializing in the supply of religious material