The Sacred and the Profane
Mr. Eliade is quite the verbose theologian. He weaves a great deal of technical jargon into his prose that makes it a tad difficult to digest. However, I did find a few of his ideas on the subjects of sacred space and doorways.
One of his distinctions between sacred space and non-sacred space is the idea of homogeneity, or sameness. If I am understanding correctly, Eliade is saying that while each of the two categories of space are homogeneous in regards to each other, they are not part of the same space; that they are two distinct forms of space. This echos his chaos and cosmos theory that we have been discussing, and he does mention that later on in the book.
Aside from this idea, I was very interested in the section about doorways, specfically doorways into sacred spaces. He states that while the door acts as a boundary, a definite border between spaces, it simultaneously acts as a place where the two spaces can and do interact, and also provides a mean for people to enter the sacred from the profane. With this idea in mind, I got to thinking about other doorways to other religious institutions. What about a rectory, or a monastary? I would think that those would be considered sacred spaces, but is the space restricted to certain areas like a chapel, or garden with a statue of the Virgin Mary?
Eliade also talks about signs communicating where sacred spaces are. Sometimes they are given by a deity, others are given in certain animal rituals; either way, the decision to make a sacred space is not the result of a person’s decision. This got me thinking about the question about sacred spaces that are open, that dont have definitive doors and/or threshholds. I thought specifically of Stonehenge and the Steps of Ahilyabai Ghat into the Ganges river. When does the space in Salisbury Plain become sacred space? Does the sacred space of the Ganges stop at the point where water no longer breaks on the stairs?
As I thought about this, I pictured a globe in my mind. Religion is something that has help various cultures together over the the years of human existence. From this assumption it can be drawn that there are various sacred spaces covering the globe. Some of them are closed, like churches, synagogues, mosques, etc. But there are also a great deal of open ones as well, and therefor no walls to separate. This critique (for the lack of a better word) is aimed at Eliade’s assertion that sacred and profane space do not mesh together; that they are separate entities.
I don’t know that there is an answer to any of the questioned that I posed. I am finding myself more and more interested in this idea of space that is real, but not what we regularly expereience.
Leave a Reply