A unique analysis of the stories, conversations, gossip, public speeches, and other narratives that shape community and identity among peasant women of the Bolivian highlands.
Ecological spirituality encapsulates the relation between spirituality and nature. Situated within this context, this article offers a Christian response to contemporary ecological threats and draws ...from existing spiritual traditions to propose a Christian ecological spirituality as the basis of and the means to ecological conversion, reformation, healing and renewal. The Story of Creation in the Book of Genesis, is used in exploring the individual roles of God, nature and humans in creation, the initial harmonious balance between them and the loss of this balance due to sin. Environmental exploitation and devastation are then explained in terms of human sin, followed by the need for an ecological conversion. Finally, it posits how God can be rediscovered through ecological spiritual practices inherent in the covenantal, sacramental, ascetic and wisdom traditions, and how these ultimately enable restoration of the harmonious balance between Creator and creation.
Iron Age Myth and Materiality: an Archaeology of Scandinavia AD 400-1000 considers the relationship between myth and materiality in Scandinavia from the beginning of the post-Roman era and the ...European Migrations up until the coming of Christianity. It pursues an interdisciplinary interpretation of text and material culture and examines how the documentation of an oral past relates to its material embodiment.
While the material evidence is from the Iron Age, most Old Norse texts were written down in the thirteenth century or even later. With a time lag of 300 to 900 years from the archaeological evidence, the textual material has until recently been ruled out as a usable source for any study of the pagan past. However, Hedeager argues that this is true regarding any study of a society's short-term history, but it should not be the crucial requirement for defining the sources relevant for studying long-term structures of the longue durée, or their potential contributions to a theoretical understanding of cultural changes and transformation. In Iron Age Scandinavia we are dealing with persistent and slow-changing structures of worldviews and ideologies over a wavelength of nearly a millennium. Furthermore, iconography can often date the arrival of new mythical themes anchoring written narratives in a much older archaeological context.
Old Norse myths are explored with particular attention to one of the central mythical narratives of the Old Norse canon, the mythic cycle of Odin, king of the Norse pantheon. In addition, contemporaneous historical sources from late Antiquity and the early European Middle Age - the narratives of Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, and Paul the Deacon in particular - will be explored. No other study provides such a broad ranging and authoritative study of the relationship of myth to the archaeology of Scandinavia.
Il volume intende rappresentare le principali linee di ricerca sviluppate in ambito accademico italiano da studiosi nazionali e internazionali sulle aree caucasica e centroasiatica. In questa ...prospettiva, il volume presenta una serie di saggi che traggono spunto da interventi effettuati nell’ambito dei principali appuntamenti annuali incentrati sull’area: l’edizione del 2021 del Convegno annuale dell’Associazione per lo Studio in Italia dell’Asia centrale e del Caucaso (ASIAC) e la XV Giornata di Studi Armeni e Caucasici. Per sua natura, il volume ospita dunque contributi di differente matrice disciplinare, che spaziano da studi di carattere storico e filologico fino a studi di taglio linguistico, letterario e politologico.
Thanks to ever-greater digital connectivity, interest in oral traditions has grown beyond that of researcher and research subject to include a widening pool of global users. When new publics consume, ...manipulate and connect with field recordings and digital cultural archives, their involvement raises important practical and ethical questions. This volume explores the political repercussions of studying marginalised languages; the role of online tools in ensuring responsible access to sensitive cultural materials; and ways of ensuring that when digital documents are created, they are not fossilized as a consequence of being archived. Fieldwork reports by linguists and anthropologists in three continents provide concrete examples of overcoming barriers—ethical, practical and conceptual—in digital documentation projects. Oral Literature in the Digital Age is an essential guide and handbook for ethnographers, field linguists, community activists, curators, archivists, librarians, and all who connect with indigenous communities in order to document and preserve oral traditions.
Pekarangan ngajeng (Ngajeng yard) is an open area at the front of the residence. Ngajeng yards are formed based on the division of residential land. The formation of the Ngajeng yard is based on ...tradition. The Ngajeng yard's use is determined by social, religious, traditional, and agricultural factors. The ngajeng yard is still preserved by the Kalang village's Javanese sub-ethnic group, the Kalang. The advantage of the ngajeng yard space as a path for the sun's movement is provided by the Limasap house, where the Kalang people reside, being oriented towards the North and South. Specifically, the objective of the ngajeng yard following the direction of the sun's movement will be covered in this research. The methods used are 1) ethnography, describing traditions related to the Ngajeng yard as well as religious aspects and beliefs of the Kalang people; 2) Analysis of the sun's movement in the East to West trajectory. The orientation of the traditional Limasap omah (house) building influences the existence of the ngajeng yard; 3) The next stage is looking for a belief system through ontology, explanation, prediction, axiology, practice, and epistemology approaches. At this stage, a belief system about the Ngajeng yard is obtained. Thus, it can be concluded that the Ngajeng yard is an open space that has various functions for the Kalang people. These functions are 1) Social function, as a communication, mitigation, and security space; 2) The function of tradition, as a space for the obong tradition to lead ancestors to nirvana; 3) Agricultural function, related to tandur (planting) traditions and harvest traditions. The belief system that is formed is a legacy of tradition related to the implementation of the wong (people) Kalang tradition.
In pursuit of identity-oriented demands from society, the movement with roots in the contemporary West has been one of the primary stage directors imposing the official policy of art, especially in ...academic centers, since the Islamic Revolution. This movement, represented in Iran by Seyed Hossein Nasr, had taken steps to initiate artistic movements before the revolution under the management of Farah Pahlavi's office. After the victory of the revolution, the students and followers of this thought, using the religious and mystical language of the traditionalists, introduced themselves as representatives, claiming the society's demands. They introduced Iran's religion, and in the absence of careful assessment and undervaluation of art by the country's administration, they left a greater impact on the country's art policy compared to its scientific and population size. The determining presence of the adherents of this thought, who are often known as experts and not artists, in the country's political and educational institutions confirms this opinion.According to the traditionalists, the basis of their thought is a set of facts that have an all-encompassing historical and geographical scope. About a century ago, the French philosopher Renégnon created this sect, and then it became a school of theorizing and philosophy of art by Kumaraswamy, a Sri Lankan artist and sage, and Shawan, Lings, Nasr, Palis, etc. The school of traditionalism talks about sacred knowledge and authentic ancient traditions and points to a supernatural, common, and universal truth in the heart of religions and calls it "immortal wisdom or "eternal wisdom." The method adopted by the school of comparative theology is of the contemporary era, and in the Islamic world, it is connected with Sufism and local mysticism. It is also tied to the mysticism of the Far East, which is different from Abrahamic religions. Traditionalists in Iran have theoretical discussion under the title of Islamic art and architecture, and by inventing the terms Islamic art wisdom, religious art, sacred art, and holy art, they have created materials that are poetic, emotional, and far from logical and reasoning, and in certain religious and historical matters, interpretation. They have mixed Islamic art and architecture with self-founded, strange mysteries. Some of the traditionalists became familiar with the form of Islamic art and architecture while traveling to the Arab Maghreb, Egypt, China, and India, relying on the backgrounds they had from Christianity and Judaism, and accepted Islam through Sufi sects. Shawan joined the Shazliyya Tariqat in Algeria. Burckhardt believed in Islam in Morocco, followed the Shazliyyah Tariqah, and joined the traditionalists after meeting Schwan. After familiarizing himself with Eastern teachings and focusing on the East, Guenon deals with the tradition, generality, and general view of Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. In fact, this range of scholars, relying on the philosophy and mysticism of the great religions of the world such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Jain, Taoism, and Shinto, consider them to have a common truth and believe in the inner matter shared by religions. It is obvious that the existing traditions in each of these religions and beliefs have undergone changes and developments, and despite the common points or the common essence, according to the traditionalists (al-hikma al-khalida ), they have gradually gone through tremendous differences. The Islamic Sunnah is different from other Sunnahs according to the text of the Holy Quran and authentic traditions. Looking positively at the activities of Western traditionalists, not much fault lies with them because they got acquainted with Sufi sects and different sects in other countries, and they also experienced the mysticism of the Far East and Hinduism. In a way, they reached the unity of religions, and from the angle of art, architecture, and sanctity, they have told stories based on the appearance of the arts. But how can it be accepted that Dr. Seyed Hossein Nasr, an Iranian Muslim, philosopher, and mystic, endorses these strange and incomprehensible claims and is a disciple of the sectarian and creator of the Marymiya Tariqat? The continuation of the trend of traditionalist thoughts and opinions affected the artistic circles and universities of art and architecture in Iran, and we are still dealing with this problem. Criticism of his opinions will open a window to knowing the truth of the art and architecture of the Islamic era of Iran and the world and highlight the superiority of logic and reasoning over emotions.
What can texts - both written and oral - tell us about the societies that produce them? How are texts constituted in different cultures, and how do they shape societies and individuals? How can we ...understand the people who compose them? Drawing on examples from Africa and other countries, this original study sets out to answer these questions, by exploring textuality from a variety of angles. Topics covered include the importance of genre, the ways in which oral genres transcend the here-and-now, and the complex relationship between texts and the material world. Barber considers the ways in which personhood is evoked, both in oral poetry and in written diaries and letters, discusses the audience's role in creating the meaning of texts, and shows textual creativity to be a universal human capacity expressed in myriad forms. Engaging and thought-provoking, this book will be welcomed by anyone interested in anthropology, literature and cultural studies.
