Ritual purification

ritual prescribed by a religion by which a person about to perform some ritual is considered to be free of uncleanliness

thumb|alt=Refer to caption|The '''' at Ryōan-ji temple in Kyoto

thumb|Night misogi under a waterfall at Tsubaki Grand Shrine

hut made of natural materials, used by indigenous peoples for a purification ceremony

thumb|227x227px|Romans sacrificing a pig, a sheep, and a bull during a suovetaurilia Lustratio was an ancient Greek and ancient Roman purification ritual. It included a procession and in some circumstances the sacrifice of a pig (sus), a ram (ovis), and a bull (taurus) (suovetaurilia). The name is the source of English "lustration" (a purification).

thumb|260px|Temazcal at the Joya de Cerén archaeological site, El Salvador A temazcal is a type of sweat lodge, which originated with indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica. The term temazcal comes from the Nahuatl language, either from the words (to bathe) and (house), or from the word (house of heat).

thumb|Chōzu-ya at rural Make-jinja thumb|A sign (read right-to-left) explains how to do chōzu thumb|Inside a pavilion, performing chōzu is a Shinto water ablution pavilion for a ceremonial purification rite known as temizu or . The pavilion contains a large water-filled basin called a .

' or ' ( or ) is the general term for ritual purification in Shinto. is one of four essential elements involved in a Shinto ceremony. The purpose is the purification of pollution or sins () and uncleanness (). These concepts include bad luck and disease as well as guilt in the English sense.

thumb|Chōzubachi at a temple thumb|Performing temizu from a domestic chōzu-bachi, 1910s. A , or water bowl, is a vessel used to rinse the hands in Japanese temples, shrines and gardens. Usually made of stone, it plays an important role in the tea ceremony. Guests use it to wash their hands before entering the tearoom, a practice originally adapted from the custom of rinsing one’s mouth and cleansing one’s body in the chōzuya before entering the sacred precincts of a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple.

is the Japanese term for a state of pollution and defilement, important particularly in Shinto as a religious term. Typical causes of kegare are the contact with any form of death, childbirth (for both parents), disease, and menstruation, and acts such as rape. In Shinto, kegare is a form of tsumi (taboo violation), which needs to be somehow remedied by the person responsible. This condition can be remedied through purification rites called misogi and harae. Kegare can have an adverse impact not only on the person directly affected, but also to the community they belong to.

Sufi practice of penance and solitude

thumb|Ōharai on the last day of the year, at Daiichi-Torii-Nai-Haraedo, Naiku

Norito in Shinto rituals

attributes in Mesopotamian art

Social or religious concept