Deus Otiosus

Deus Otiosus

DEUS OTIOSUS. The Latin term deus otiosus (pl., dei otiosi), meaning literally "god at leisure" or "god without work," denotes a god who has withdrawn or retired from active life. The paucity of detailed descriptions of these deities, when coupled with their widespread appearance in cultures around the globe, presents a puzzle for the study of religions. Athough the outline of these divine personalities is usually sketchy, they maintain a firm hold on the religious imagination. The study of gods who have retired from their arena of activity has provoked deep reflection on the meaning and function of symbols, especially of divine forms, in religious life.

Celestial Associations

Many African creation myths involving dei otiosi recount how the divine sky lay flat on the earth at the beginning of time. Nuba and Dogon myths, for example, describe how the chafing of the sky against the earth stunted human growth and disrupted normal routines of work. (R. C. Stevenson, "The Doctrine of God in the Nuba Mountains," in African Ideas of God, ed. E. W. Smith, London, 1950, p. 216; Marcel Griaule, Masques Dogons, Paris, 1938, p. 48). "In particular, women could not pound their grain without knocking against the sky, and so close relations finally ended when the sky's anger at the annoying blows of the women's pestles caused it to withdraw from the earth" (Dominique Zahan, The Religion, Spirituality, and Thought of Traditional Africa, Chicago, 1979, p.

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