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 GreekJames Strong, The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1990) Heb. No. 4899 Gr. No. 5547. 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".
Name
The present verb derives from the now obsolete adjective anoint, equivalent to anointed.Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "anoint, v." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1884. The adjective is first attested in 1303, derived from Old French , the past participle of , from Latin ,Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "† aˈnoint, adj." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1884. an intensified form of . It is thus cognate with "unction".
The oil used in a ceremonial anointment may be called "chrism", from Greek () .Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "chrism, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1889.
Purpose 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.
Health
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.
Hospitality 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.
Religion
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.
Egypt According to scholars belonging to the early part of the twentieth century (Wilhelm Spiegelberg,1 W. Spiegelberg, "Die Symbolik des Salbens im A.gyptischen," Recueil de travaux relatifs... (RT) 28 (1906): 184-85 Bonnet,10 H. Bonnet, Reallexikon der dgyptischen Reli gionsgeschichte (Berlin, 1952 Cothenet," E. Cothenet, "Onction," in L. Pirot, A. Robert, H. Cazelles, eds., Dictionnaire de la Bible, Suppld ment, vol. 6 (Paris, 1960 Kutsch,12 E. Kutsch, Salbung als Rechtsakt (Berlin, 1963), pp. Martin-Pardey13 E. Martin-Pardey, "Salbung," LA, vol. 5, cols. 367-69) officials of ancient Egypt were anointed as part of a ceremony that installed them into office. This assumption has been questioned by scholars like Stephen Thompson, who doubt such anointing ever existed:After a review of the evidence for the anointing of officials in ancient Egypt as a part of their induction into office, I must conclude that there is no evidence that such a ceremony was ever practiced in ancient Egypt. Attempts to trace the origin of the Hebrew practice of anointing kings to an Egyptian source are misdirected. The only definite case in which an Egyptian king anointed one of his officials is that of EA 51. In this instance, it is probable that Thutmosis III was engaging in a custom common among Asiatics, rather than that he was introducing an Egyptian custom into Syria-PalestineAnointment of the corpse with scented oils was however a well attested practice as an important part of mummification.
India
In Indian religion, late Vedic rituals developed involving the anointing of government officials, worshippers, and idols. These are now known as abhisheka. The practice spread to Indian Buddhists. In modern Hinduism and Jainism, anointment is common, although the practice typically employs water or yoghurt, milk, or (particularly) butter from the holy cow, rather than oil. Many devotees are anointed as an act of consecration or blessing at every stage of life, with rituals accompanying birthing, educational enrollments, religious initiations, and death. New buildings, houses, and ritual instruments are anointed, and some idols are anointed daily. Particular care is taken in such rituals to the direction of the smearing. People are anointed from head to foot, downwards. The water may derive from one of the holy rivers or be scented with saffron, turmeric, or flower infusions; the waste water produced when cleaning certain idols or when writing certain verses of scripture may also be used. Ointments may include ashes, clay, powdered sandalwood, or herbal pastes.
Buddhism Buddhist practices of anointing are largely derived from Indian practices but tend to be less elaborate and more ritualized. Buddhists may sprinkle assembled practitioners with water or mark idols of Buddha or the Bodhisattvas with cow or yak butter. Flower-scented water is also used, as are ink-water and "saffron water" stained yellow using saffron or turmeric.
Judaism
In antiquity, use of a holy anointing oil was significant in the Hebrews' consecration of priests, the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), and the sacred vessels. Prophets and the Israelite kings were anointed as well, the kings from a horn. Anointment by the chrism prepared according to the ceremony described in the Book of Exodus was considered to impart the "Spirit of the Lord". It was performed by Samuel in place of a coronation of both Saul and David. The practice was not always observed and seems to have been essential only at the consecration of a new line or dynasty.
Because of its importance, the High Priest and the king were sometimes called "the Anointed One". The term—, —gave rise to the prophesied figure of the Messiah (q.v.) and a long history of claimants.
The expression "anoint the shield" which occurs in Isaiah is a related or poetic usage, referring to the practice of rubbing oil on the leather of the shield to keep it supple and fit for war. The practice of anointing a shield predates the anointing of other objects in that the "smearing" (Hebrew ) of the shield renewed the leather covering on a wooden shield. A victorious soldier was elevated on his shield by his comrades after a battle or upon his selection as a new king. The idea of protection and selection arose from this and was extended to the idea of a "chosen one" thus leading to the modern concept of a Messiah (Hebrew for the one who was anointed.)
Christianity
Christianity developed from the association of Jesus of Nazareth with the Jewish prophecies of an "Anointed One". His epithet "Christ" is a form of the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew title. He was not anointed by the High Priest in accordance with the ceremony described in Exodus, but he was considered to have been anointed by the Holy Spirit during his baptism. A literal anointing of Jesus also occurs when he was lavishly oiled by Mary of Bethany.; also , , and . Performed out of affection, the anointment is said by Jesus to have been preparation for his burial.
In the New Testament, John describes "anointing from the Holy One" and "from Him abides in you". Both this spiritual anointment and literal anointment with oil are usually associated with the Holy Spirit. Eastern Orthodox churches in particular attach great importance to the oil said to have been originally blessed by the Twelve Apostles.
The practice of "chrismation" (anointing with oil) has antecedents in earlier Jewish practices of anointing, which are described in the Hebrew Bible in religious and ritual contexts, including the consecration of priests and kings and the anointing of prophets (e.g., Exodus 29:7; 1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Kings 19:16). As a distinct Christian practice, chrismation appears to have developed in the early church, with evidence for its formalization emerging by the late 2nd century and its use as a symbol of Christ, rebirth, and inspiration. The earliest surviving account of such a Christian practice seems to be the letter written "To Autolycus" by Theophilus, bishop of Antioch. In it, he calls the act "sweet and useful", punning on khristós (, "anointed") and khrēstós (, "useful"). He seems to go on to say "wherefore we are called Christians on this account, because we are anointed with the oil of God",Theophilus of Antioch, "To Autolycus", 1.12. and "what person on entering into this life or being an athlete is not anointed with oil?" Chrismation is also discussed by Hippolytus in his "Commentary on the Song of Songs" and by Origen in his "Commentary on Romans". Origen opines that "all of us may be baptized in those visible waters and in a visible anointing, in accordance with the form handed down to the churches".Origen, "Commentary on Romans", 5.8.3.