Funeral Rites Research Articles

The Pandemic, Mining Violence, and the Case of the Sanöma/Yanomami People.

In Brazil, the health emergency unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic must be understood in the context of the government administration of the former president, Jair Bolsonaro. The new coronavirus was turned into a war machine, something already seen in other moments of the history of indigenous peoples, when epidemics were strategically used to promote indigenous genocide and usurp their territories. The Sanöma, a subgroup of the Yanomami language family, assert that Covid-19 did not leave individualized traces of 'sequelae' but made itself felt in the deaths that could not undergo the traditional funeral rites due to the sanitary measures, generating a cosmological and existential tension for the collective as a whole. It was also felt in the invasion of their lands by thousands of miners who brought violence and malaria to the communities, debilitating their food sovereignty, and in the dismantling of public health services in the indigenous land. Time was suspended, and the infection continued with the accompanying violation of rights, with a divergent understanding of who is recovered or who is healthy. This article is the result of a Covid-19 researchproject conducted in partnership with the Sanöma leaders. Based on reports from the Sanöma themselves, reports about the Yanomami and the government of former President Bolsonaro, interviews with indigenous leaders in newspapers and reports produced by indigenous organizations and their supporters, a set of information about Covid-19 among indigenous peoples and violations of human rights among the Sanöma people were systematized and analyzed and now make up this article.

Images and Motifs on Painted Ceramics Type C and D in Predynastic Egypt

The image of the Great Mother, whose cult can be traced back to the time of the Badari culture and the early phases of the Nagada culture, was carried by historical memory through the millennia of the existence of ancient Egyptian culture. Painted vessels of type C and D and the images on them represent the image of the Great Mother and her semantically identical symbols in compositions that reveal a number of motifs associated with the maternal aspect, sacred marriage with a social leader, and funeral rites. In the dynamics of the development of religious and mythological ideas, this image was embodied in the images of goddesses with a maternal aspect, primarily the heavenly goddess Nut, who preserved in the hieroglyphic spelling of her name the oldest image of a round vessel nw, which in predynastic times, along with water, served as a semantic identity of the image of the Great Mother in her functions of birth, protection, feeding, care. The iconography of the image of the cow goddess, who became the Heavenly Cow Nut, who raised the solar god Ra, has also been preserved. In Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead, she appears as the Sacred Eye of Ra, which gives birth to the solar Ra every morning. The image of the Sacred Eye is involved in the water and fire elements of the cosmic top, like her distant ancestor the Great Mother, who created an integral, diverse world, all the elements of which, be it heavenly bodies, ground and underground objects, natural and social, are her children, her creations.

‘Let the dead bury the dead’ (Mt 8:22): An African theological funeral thought

In Africa, life, death and burial are issues of survival. There is a perceived connection and dialogue between the living and the dead; hence, life continues after death. Although one seizes to live in this material world, life continues in the spirit world. Like any other rite of passage, funerals are key aspects of African life. The living has a responsibility of decently burying their dead or the living dead. Failure to respect the dead during and after burial is believed to be a curse that disrupts life for the future generations. This article seeks to articulate the understanding of Matthew 8:22, considering the African understanding of death and funeral rites among Africans. There is a need to interpret Jesus’ hyperbolic statement that emphasises the need for unwavering dedication to engage in the ministry of Christ in the context of caring for one’s parents and loved ones even when they die and need burial.Contribution: The study attempts to address the dilemma that some Christians are faced with, when being advised not to consider attending funerals as an important matter of building faith and relationships, with the use or misuse of biblical verses like Matthew 8:22. This study further seeks to demonstrate that community building via funerals is one of the African- rich practices.

The Church and African Mortuary Rites

There is no doubt that there is an existential conflict between African funeral rituals with certain Christian religious beliefs and social norms. Conflict over burial rituals and especially among the Agiriama people has led to tension between the community and Christian churches andparticularly the Catholic Church in Kilifi, Kenya. In order to avoid such conflicts, this article set out to explore the possibilities of enculturating some funeral rites, such as ‘Nyere za Mwezi,’ a cardinal post-burial ritual among the Agiriama community. The latter has continued to practice their traditions and culture associated with burial and funeral despite their conversion to Christianity and Islam, the two dominant religions in the region. This article primarily aims to analyze the Agiriama funeral rites, their symbolic meanings, and their significance to the community.It extends the discussion by examining the Roman Catholic Church's interpretation of those rituals such as ‘Nyere za Mwezi.’ It concludes by examining the challenges and opportunities for inculturation of‘Nyere za Mwezi,’ one of the most significant post-burial rituals that enhanced the community well-being. The article relied on both secondary and primary data based on informed interviews with 30 respondents, mainly priests, Kaya elders, and lay Christians.

Grief Responses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study in Spain

IntroductionThe recent COVID-19 pandemic led to a rise in the number of people bereaved by the death of a loved one. There are many pandemic-related stressors that may have further complicated grief in these people. The aim of this research was to conduct an in-depth the experience of illness and death during the pandemic, as well as obstacles to and factors facilitating grief in people who had lost a loved one during this period, whether due to COVID-19 or to natural or sudden causes. MethodThe sample consisted of 42 participants who had lost loved ones to COVID-19 or other causes (both natural and sudden). An inductive approach using grounded theory with open, axial and selective coding was used to analyse the semi-structured open-ended interviews. ResultsThe resulting theory was structured around a central category: “Processes of Loss and Grief in Pandemics”. The other relevant and related categories were: disease processes during the pandemic, emotional responses to the loss, factors facilitating the grieving process and obstacles to the grieving process. The various analytical categories were then further classified with reference to the Dual Process Model. ConclusionThis study highlights the main features of grief during the pandemic, including the impact of restrictive measures on disease processes; the funeral rituals performed and subsequent coping; responses such as intense shock, anger, fear or loneliness; and the way in which factors facilitating the grief process were adapted to the circumstances.

Funerary Rites and Christianization Issues of the Indigenous Population in the Taz Arctic

Funerary Rites and Christianization Issues of the Indigenous Population in the Taz Arctic

The Experiences of Grief in Bereaved Women Following the Death of Their Husbands During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Qom, Iran: A Phenomenological Study

Background and Objectives: The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult and stressful life events in the world. The effects of death caused by COVID-19 on the mental health of individuals and families are of great importance. This study aims to elucidate the experience of grief in bereaved women following the death of their husbands due to COVID-19 in Qom, Iran. Methods: In this phenomenological study, 12 bereaved women were selected using a purposive sampling method. The information was collected using semi-structured interviews until reaching data saturation. Results: The data analysis led to the extraction of 3 main themes and 10 sub-themes: Complicated grief (ambiguous loss, farewell with no embrace, grieving alone), unconventional grief (strange death, deviation from religious burial customs, virtual mourning), and grief outcome (spiritual experiences, moral panic, social stigma, distrust in healthcare providers). Conclusion: The grief of bereaved women due to the death of their husbands by COVID-19 differs from their mourning for the death caused by other diseases in two aspects. Firstly, according to the majority of women, the cause of death was unclear. This situation intensified their grieving and mourning. Secondly, due to the specific nature of COVID-19 and the necessity of quarantine, they were restricted from having funeral and religious mourning rituals according to the prevalent culture, which resulted in an incomplete mourning process. Gaining spiritual experiences is one positive aspect of grief in women. It is recommended to provide support and care by the healthcare system during pandemics for families, especially bereaved women, to reduce the negative effects of grief.

Dark Deeds, Broken Bodies

In the year 250/864–65, Baghdad’s governor Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir ordered the defilement of a prisoner’s corpse and grave site. The prisoner, Isḥāq b. Jināḥ, had been a criminal magistrate serving the rebel leader Yaḥyā b. ʿUmar, who had led a failed revolt in Kufa against the Abbasid caliphate (132–650/750–1258). According to the fourth/tenth-century historian al-Iṣbahānī, the governor demanded that the deceased Isḥāq b. Jināh not receive a funerary prayer, corpse-washing, or a burial shroud. Moreover, he ordered the corpse to be immersed in water in a grave and buried at a Jewish ruin. The governor’s intentional neglect of proper Islamic funerary rituals is shocking but not entirely surprising. Medieval Islamic political chronicles, biographical dictionaries, and social commentaries abound with darkly salacious reports of corpse neglect and even violence, shining a light on the efforts of the living to affect the dead. Why would anyone seek to “harm” a corpse? And what purpose did medieval Islamic historical narratives of necroaggression serve? This article addresses the narrative power of corpse violence in Greater Iraq during the mid-third/ninth and early fourth/tenth centuries, investigating the political meanings inscribed on bodies unmade by others. Viewing necroaggression as a type of performative political act, the article examines a vibrant polemical discourse that toyed with administrative concerns over coercion as well as popular anxieties over possible sensations experienced postmortem.

To the issue of identifying multi-temporal complexes in urban cultural layer (based on excavations of Sophia-Uspensky Cathedral, Tobolsk Kremlin)

The paper describes archaeological complexes identified among materials of the excavations inside Sophia-Uspensky Cathedral in Tobolsk Kremlin. The archaeological works were imposed on the cape. The cape hosted the town, the Kremlin and, later, the residency of the highly placed clergyman. History of these processes is kept as records. It helps compare the processes with archaeological materials and distinguish multi-temporal complexes among them. The excavations revealed traces of an ancient settlement. The settlement dated back to the early Iron Age – early Middle Ages and had existed long before the town was established. The research apparently identifies the cultural layer dated the late 1500s – middle 1600s. This layer refers to the activities of the first Russian settlers in Siberia. The same period applies to discovered burials of the Orthodox Christian cemetery by the wooden Church of Our Savior. The researchers especially highlight layerings and objects from the construction of brick Sophia-Uspensky Cathedral (late 1600s). They reflect the beginning of stone construction in Siberia. In the excavations, the researchers discovered several brick tombs. These tombs were made for burying highly placed clergymen known by their names. The findings and multi-temporal complexes allow to describe main phases of Troitsky cape development. They also show how the status of this territory changed. The archaeological materials are a valuable source of information about the material culture, funeral rites, stone architecture of both the town and the whole vast Siberian region.

Social vulnerability to food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa: exploring the connection between climate change, funeral rites and food insecurity in rural Ghana

ABSTRACT Climate Change and food security remain one of the topical issues discussed globally. In Ghana, the literature has reported on the effects of climate change on the food consumption patterns of many households due to low adaptive capacity and inefficient food production systems. In addition to climate change as a threat to food security, funeral rites also play a major role in household food insecurity. However, the link between climate change, funeral rites and food security as indices of social vulnerability has been less investigated. Using a qualitative-dominance approach to research with 8 key informant interviews, 4 focus group discussions (FGDs) and a questionnaire, the analysis revealed that climate change and funeral rites are critical determinants of food insecurity in the Kassena Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region of Ghana. The results show that while climate change affects the food production systems, the poorly harvested farm produce and livestock are used for the funeral rites of the deceased’s household family. While being sensitive to the cultural aspects of the uses of farm produce and livestock for funeral rites, and given the prevailing climatic conditions, the study recommends the need for traditional authorities and households to consider holding less expensive funeral rites which do not expend future food needs and resources. Again, localised climate change adaptation strategies need to be developed by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to support the activities of agriculture in the municipality which is widely known to be susceptible to climate change.

A spectral cavalcade: Early Iron Age horse sacrifice at a royal tomb in southern Siberia

Abstract Horses began to feature prominently in funerary contexts in southern Siberia in the mid-second millennium BC, yet little is known about the use of these animals prior to the emergence of vibrant horse-riding groups in the first millennium BC. Here, the authors present the results of excavations at the late-ninth-century BC tomb of Tunnug 1 in Tuva, where the deposition of the remains of at least 18 horses and one human is reminiscent of sacrificial spectral riders described in fifth-century Scythian funerary rituals by Herodotus. The discovery of items of tack further reveals connections to the earliest horse cultures of Mongolia.

Mesolithic Burials of the Volga-Urals

For the Mesolithic era, experts have identified two zones of ritualism: the northern with an elongated posture of skeleton and the southern with a crouched posture. Until recently on the territory of the Volga-Urals, Mesolithic burials were almost unknown. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to analyze the complexes for their attribution to the Middle Stone Age. The paper relevance is due to the low degree of the Mesolithic burials study in the territory under consideration. Methods and materials. The objects of the study were the materials of the monuments Mayak I, Syezhe I, Chekalino IV and Davlekanovo. In order to achieve the goal, the archaeological context of each monument was analyzed. To identify several objects of study, planigraphic and stratigraphic methods were used. The typological analysis was applied when structuring the funeral rite and the inventory. Lack of inventory in some burials made cultural and chronological attribution difficult. The radiocarbon method was aimed at establishing the chronological framework of the burials. Anthropological analyses were aimed at identifying morphological characteristics of the buried. Outcomes. Based on the results of the study, two traditions of the burial rite were revealed. The Mayak I and Syezhee I monuments depict the pose of the buried stretched out on their backs, while the Chekalino IV and Davlekanovo monuments show a crouched position on the right side. Radiocarbon values record the chronological differences between these groups. Anthropological characteristics are included in a wide range of variants of the proto-Uraloid or the Old Ural type. These differences can be explained both by the territorial peculiarity of the Volga-Ural region and by the fact that the monuments belong to different periods of the Mesolithic.

A High-Status Middle Sarmatian Burial from the Kovalevka Burial Complex in the Volgograd Region

The article is devoted to the archaeological materials publication from the kurgan 25 excavations of the Kovalevka burial complex. The accompanying inventory, marking a high status of the buried, was found in an individual burial made in the tradition of the Middle Sarmatian funeral rite. The bronze cauldron broken in antiquity and placed upside down was found in the cache. Cauldrons of this type existed in the first century AD. Iron bits with two-hole psalms, widespread among the nomads of the steppe zone starting from the turn of the eras and silver-plated iron plaques from the horse bridle jewelry lay nearby. The set of three phalars, which can be functionally defined as breast and shoulder plates of a horse harness, was found on the other side of the cauldron. The phalars made of forged silver sheet traces of gilding on the surface. The multi-figure compositions of animals, birds and floral ornaments were depicted on the obverse, in low relief. Such phalars in Sarmatian monuments were widespread since the turn of the era and exist within the first half of the first century AD. On both sides of the cauldron there were two gray-clay pottery jugs made in Kuban pottery centers. They became widespread in the burial grounds of the Kuban and the Lower Don starting from the turn of the eras, although they were occasionally encountered at the end of the Early Sarmatian time. Two paired long militant knives were placed along the right leg; these finds are well known in the Sarmatian burials of the turn of the first centuries AD, and are found, as a rule, in high status complexes along with horse harness, bronze cauldrons and other prestigious items. All of the above allows us to assert that the buried individual belonged to the nomadic elite, whose burials during that period were concentrated in the Volga-Don interfluve.

Revisiting the Issue of Attribution of Some Catacomb Monuments Groups from the South of Eastern Europe in the Late 3rd – early 5th Centuries

The catacomb funerary ritual had a widespread occurrence among the southern Eastern European population in late Roman times and at the beginning of the Great Migration Period. The Alan culture monuments of the 2nd – 4th centuries AD from the North Caucasus and the “Alans-Tanaites” nomadic culture of the late 3rd – 4th centuries AD feature the burial ritual most widely and vividly. Evidently, the migration occurred in a westerly direction from the “Alan-Tanaitian” culture area in the late 3rd century, resulting in the appearance of a group of under-kurgan burials in the steppe zone of the Dniester-Danube interfluve. It is possible that the people who left these kurgans in the 4th century were assimilated by the Chernyakhov culture bearers and switched to a sedentary lifestyle, having lost the kurgan funeral ritual (Belen’koe burial ground) but retained the catacomb burial structure of almost predominantly type II. The catacomb burials under the kurgans graphically feature the Alans-Tanaites fate after the encounter with the Huns, who defeated and subjugated the Alans-Tanaites, partly incorporating the vanquished population into their military and political union. The Alans-Tanaites took part in the campaign in Transcaucasia and Western Asia as part of the Hunnic army (395–398), as evidenced by the specific forms of the catacombs in the kurgans of the Palasa-Syrt burial ground from the Western Caspian region. A group of kurgan catacombs in the Middle Don and the Left Bank of the Dnieper features the partial outflow of the Alans-Tanaites from the Volga-Don steppes under the pressure of the Huns in the course of their expansion. A part of the Alans-Tanaites participated in the movement of the Huns to the west, as evidenced by the catacombs in the Budzhak steppe dating back to the last quarter of the 4th century.

Some style tendencies of Hellenism which formed the basis for the pictorial canon of Eastern church rite

The article systematically presents and substantiates the stylistic concept of some unique artistic tendencies of Hellenism, which share a common sacred nature with the pictorial canon of eastern churches. It also proposes updated retrospective artistic principles to reassess the role of these tendencies. This finding allows us to reveal additional roots of the pictorial canon and review the cause-and-effect relationship between the narrative-symbolic-decorative attributes of ancient funeral rituals and the spiritual-philosophical foundations of early Christian art. It suggests filling the gaps in art history and cultural studies within the framework of relevant themes by introducing modeled and unified conceptual-categorical constructions into scientific circulation. The purpose of the research. The main purpose of the article is to rethink and systematize some artistic and stylistic tendencies of the Hellenistic’s era in late antiquity, from which all Eastern church pictorial traditions drew their conceptual and stylistic foundations during their formation period. The methodology. A combination of specialized methods was applied: historical-comparative method for identifying key artistic tendencies; cultural-deductive method for formulating artistic categories; abstraction method for delineating key stylistic features of sacred attributes, as well as for identifying differences and similarities; expert artistic assessment method for theoretical characterization, substantiation, and expansion of conceptual-categorical components; stylistic correlation method for unifying newly discovered stylistic connections of Hellenistic artistic products and the Christian tradition. The combination of the listed methods allows us to reveal the concept of the stylistic basis for the pictorial tradition in the church paraphernalia of the Eastern rite and to systematize the existing authoritative evidence base regarding to origins of the pictorial canon of the Egyptian and Greco-Roman periods. Conclusions. Our analysis shows that in the broad context of the formation of the pictorial canon, peculiar to the churches of the Eastern rite, some artistic trends of the first centuries of the new era turned out to be an unchanging and stable conceptual basis for the pictorial canon in a complex artistic and philosophical coordinate system. Thus, the artistic canon of the Eastern churches, formed between the VI and IX centuries, is nothing more than a borrowed status-functional category for the multi-level gradation of Christian value aspects with specific techniques and means of Hellenistic fine art of the times of ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman syncretism. Their intermedial nature and appellative character in relation to the Theogony of the ancient world limit the traditional interpretation of the Christian symbolism of the vast majority of canonical images in the artistic plane. The scientific novelty. For the first time our research analyzed the cause-and-effect relationship between canonical Christian stylistic attributes and Greco-Roman and Egyptian features as the ideological basis of the latter for the formative role of the former. It reassessed and re-evaluated some Hellenistic artistic tendencies in terms of their significance and complexity. A number of expanded cultural and art historical concepts and categories of the ancient world are proposed and substantiated.

Female sex bias in Iberian megalithic societies through bioarchaeology, aDNA and proteomics

Uncertainties regarding traditional osteological methods in biological sex estimation can often be overcome with genomic and proteomic analyses. The combination of the three methodologies has been used for a better understanding of the gender-related funerary rituals at the Iberian megalithic cemetery of Panoría. As a result, 44 individuals have been sexed including, for the first time, non-adults. Contrary to the male bias found in many Iberian and European megalithic monuments, the Panoría population shows a clear sex ratio imbalance in favour of females, with twice as many females as males. Furthermore, this imbalance is found regardless of the criterion considered: sex ratio by tomb, chronological period, method of sex estimation, or age group. Biological relatedness was considered as possible sociocultural explanations for this female-related bias. However, the current results obtained for Panoría are indicative of a female-centred social structure potentially influencing rites and cultural traditions.

Interpretation of Chemical Compositions and Making Techniques for Ancient Glass Beads from Suchonri Tomb Complex in Gongju, Korea

The Suchonri tomb complex in Uidang of Gongju has been excavated several times, and the remains and artifacts from various periods have been unearthed. Tomb No. 8, known as a Baekje Kingdom, collected a large quantity of blue-colored glass beads, quartz bead and gold-gilded glass beads. In this study, we analyzed the occurrences, internal textures and chemical compositions of representative glass beads, and interpreted the making techniques based on the study. As a result, quartz bead, which are different from glass, were confirmed, and the glass beads were classified into potassium, sodium and gold-gilded beads. The internal texture of the glass beads contained a mixture of bubbles and unmelted additives. The additives consisted of fluxes, stabilizers and colorants compositions, and were observed in various crystals and shapes. Based on internal textures, arrangement of bubbles and shape of impurities within the glass beads, it seems that various making techniques such as the winding, the drawing and the molding methods were applied. In this way, the glass beads used in a single location have slightly different characteristics suggests the diversity of the manufacturing site, materials used and producers, as well as the possibility of external introduction. It can also be interpreted that the beads were likely procured and assembled for the funeral rites to serve the purpose of the interred individual.

Burial of a Golden Horde Nomad from the Kovalevka Kurgan Cemetery

Introduction. The article introduces into scientific circulation the archaeological and anthropological materials from the Golden Horde burial of the Kovalevka Kurgan Cemetery. Kurgan No. 35 dating back to the early Iron Age was studied in the course of the fieldwork carried out by the Volgograd State University expedition in the Oktyabrsky district of the Volgograd region in 2021. The Kurgan is located in the southern part of the cemetery on the upper terrace of the right bank of the river Aksai Esaulovsky in an arable field. Methods and materials. Two burials were examined because of the archaeological excavations. The main burial No. 2 dates back to the late Sarmatian period, while the intake burial No. 1 dates back to the middle age period. Analysis and results. New anthropological materials were obtained in the course of the excavations, which complement our understanding of the nomadic population from the Lower Volga region. The bone remains belonged to a male individual of mesomorphic build of about 164.5 cm tall with a long and narrow skull. A set of pathological conditions were recorded on his bones, appearing because of an active lifestyle and professional activity. The outcomes of the archaeological study of the Kurgan No. 35 from the Kovalevka Kurgan cemetery as of 2021 can be used in the museum and local history work, as well as in studies of the Lower Volga regional ancient history. Authors’ contributions. In this study, V.I. Moiseev and V.Yu. Moiseeva prepared a descriptive part of the archaeological material, carried out the funeral rites and grave goods analyses, and prepared conclusions based on the results of the research. E.V. Pererva conducted a study of anthropological material and defined the craniological, osteological, and pathological features of the individual from burial 1 of the Kurgan No. 35.

Funerary Rituals in Greece: From Antiquity to the Time of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Handling the body of the deceased is a social event which is almost solidly connected with the Orthodox Christian tradition in modern Greek society. In the last few years handling the body of the deceased was mainly constricted to the Orthodox funeral and burial until recently and that collides with the practical commands which reinforced the issue of cremation/ burning of the body of the deceased.

An Analysis of the Transmission Content of the Dance Culture of the Jiajong Tibetan "Kasdawen" in Western Sichuan, China

Background and Aim: Cultural communication is a kind of cultural continuity that has existed since the beginning of human civilization. "Kasdawen" dance is the most distinctive folk dance of Jiarong Tibetan people in western Sichuan, China. From the initial sacrificial hunting and production activities, it has gradually evolved into a folk sacrificial singing and dancing activity in funeral rites, and festival celebrations to worship Buddha and pray for peace. Taking the Tibetan folk dance "Kasdawen" in Heishui County, west Sichuan, China as a case study, this paper analyzes the communication content from three aspects: performance ceremony, performance form, and cultural connotation. Materials and Methods: This study adopts the qualitative research method of literature method, observation method, and interview method, and analyzes the data content. Most of the literature materials come from the county cultural centers or literature and history research centers in the research area, a small part comes from the library of Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China Knowledge Network, and a small part comes from the people. The interviews mainly come from folk artists and outstanding contribution dancers and observe Tibetan social life. Results: In the research results, the communication contents of the "Castaven" dance performance ceremony are mainly divided into festival ceremony and sacrifice ceremony; The communication content of the dance performance form is mainly divided into dance form, style feature, and rhythm feature. The communication content of cultural connotation is mainly divided into patrilineal culture, Wuwu dance culture, and religious belief culture. Conclusion: The dissemination of "Kasdawen" dance culture is to spread the spirit and belief of Jiarong Tibetan nationality, and it is also hoped that the dissemination of the substantive content and spiritual value of "Kasdawen" dance culture will help protect and inherit Tibetan culture.