Libation

A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today.

Various substances have been used for libations, most commonly wine or other alcoholic drinks, olive oil, honey, and in India, ghee. The vessels used in the ritual, including the patera, often had a significant form which differentiated them from secular vessels. The libation could be poured onto something of religious significance, such as an altar, or into the earth. On the other hand, one or more libations began most meals and occasions when wine was drunk in Greco-Roman and other ancient societies, mostly using normal cups or jugs.

Etymology

The English word "libation" derives from the Latin libatio, an act of pouring, from the verb libare, "to taste, sip; pour out, make a libation" (Indo-European root *h₂leybʰ-, "pour, make a libation").

Religious practice

Antiquity

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt provides some of the earliest and most continuous archaeological and textual evidence for libation practices in the ancient world. Libation was a fundamental ritual practice in ancient Egyptian religion, involving the pouring of liquids as offerings to deities, sacred ancestors, the deceased, living persons who were ritually absent, and the natural environment. Archaeological evidence indicates that libation practices were already established in the Predynastic period, particularly during Naqada I and II (c.