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Santería

(Encyclopedia)Santería sănˌtərēˈə, sänˌ– [key], religion originating in W Africa, developed by Yoruba slaves in Cuba, and practiced by an estimated one million people in the United States. Blending Afric...

Bacchus

(Encyclopedia)Bacchus băkˈəs [key], in Roman religion and mythology, god of wine; in Greek mythology, Dionysus. Dionysus was also the god of tillage and law giving. He was worshiped at Delphi and at the spring f...

blue laws

(Encyclopedia)blue laws, legislation regulating public and private conduct, especially laws relating to Sabbath observance. The term was originally applied to the 17th-century laws of the theocratic New Haven colon...

Babism

(Encyclopedia)Babism bäˈbĭzəm [key], system of doctrines proclaimed in Persia in 1844 by Ali Muhammad of Shiraz. Influenced by the Shaykhi Shiite theology that viewed the Twelve Imams as incarnations of the Div...

Uni

(Encyclopedia)Uni o͞oˈnē [key], fl. c.2300 b.c., Egyptian official of the VI dynasty. His career is known through his private inscription. After rising from an obscure court position to a position of command, he...

Sesostris II

(Encyclopedia)Sesostris II sĭsŏsˈtrĭs [key], d. 1878 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, of the XII dynasty. He was the son of Amenemhet II, first his coregent (1900 b.c.), then his successor (1897–1878). His son Se...

Hawaii, island, United States

(Encyclopedia)Hawaii, island (2020 pop. 200, 629), 4,037 sq mi (10,456 sq km), largest and southernmost island of the state of Hawaii and coextensive with Hawaii co.;...

Coffin, Henry Sloane

(Encyclopedia)Coffin, Henry Sloane, 1877–1954, American Presbyterian clergyman, b. New York City. He was pastor of the Madison Ave. Presbyterian Church in New York City (1905–26), lecturer (1904–9), associate...

Chaos

(Encyclopedia)Chaos kāˈōs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, vacant, unfathomable space. From it arose all things, earthly and divine. There are various legends explaining it. In one version, Eurynome rose ...

penates

(Encyclopedia)penates pənāˈtēz [key], in Roman religion, household gods, primarily guardians of the storeroom. Theirs was the chief cult of every Roman household, especially in early times. They were worshiped ...
 

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