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Article: transmigration of souls
- Article from:
- The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
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Copyright informationThe Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information)
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transmigration of souls or metempsychosis [Gr.,=change of soul], a belief common to many cultures, in which the soul passes from one body to another, either human, animal, or inanimate. The Australian aborigines believe that an infant is a reincarnation of deceased ancestors and that the soul is continually reborn. Some Indonesian peoples hold that ancestral souls reside in sacred animals, sometimes in preparation for a new incarnation. Similarly, several tribes in western Amazonia avoid eating certain animals, such as deer, because they believe ancestral souls have entered the animals' bodies.
Metempsychosis is a fundamental doctrine of several religions originating in India. In
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Article: Body and Soul.
Poetry;
July 1, 2002 ;
274 words
...BODY AND SOUL They grow up together but they aren't even fraternal...to do, the body complains about having to carry the soul everywhere as if it were some helpless cripple, and the soul snipes that it can go places the body never dreamed...
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