Mystical Dimension Research Articles

La lutte communautaire contre une endémie tropicale: Croyances surnaturelles et pièges à tsétsé au Congo

Community participation in the control of tropical diseases is of major importance nowadays, particularly for sleeping sickness (Gambian trypanosomiasis). Indeed, the authoritarian measures used with success to control this disease during the colonial period are difficult to apply now. Moreover, in the Congo, cultural and financial restrictions are such that patients sometimes refuse treatment. Thus, it has become highly desirable for vector control to be carried out at the same time as the treatment of patients. Trapping tsetse flies (or Glossina) is an ingenious and effective anti-vectorial method which has been tested in 55 villages of the Congo. The blue-black pyramid trap used does not require insecticide impregnation, and is hung in the branches by means of a capture-bag containing diesel oil. These trials, conducted in the sleeping sickness focus of the Niari river, have demonstrated the feasibility of local communities taking over the responsibility for the traps, while at the same time revealing certain obstacles. Indeed, the efficacy of this method depends on the optimization of trapping. This involves the determination of strategic capture sites by periodically harvesting the flies and moving the traps in order to catch the maximum number of flies. It also involves regular maintenance of the traps (i.e. repairs, checking the capture bag, clearing vegetation...). However, although these activities would appear to be feasible at community level, they are not always carried out satisfactorily. This results in the insufficient viability of the traps and finally to the reinvasion of the treated area by the tsetse. This study presents aspects of the present-day Congolese socio-cultural environment characterized by the revitalization of traditional Bantou mysticism and religious worship. The possessors of the 'Vital Force' or Kundu (sorcerers and healers) are confronted at night in an 'over-reality' consisting of the visible reality together with innumberable beings and objects existing specifically in the invisible state. This nocturnal confrontation may modify the local balance of power and relationships, and is also thought to cause certain symptoms of sleeping sickness and other diseases. During the colonial period, Kundu was prohibited. Under the influence of the Christian church, and because of the progress of modern medicine, the power of the sorcerers and healers gradually decreased. Then, in the 1960s, the eruption of Marxism as an anti-religious theory, modified the balance of power once more.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The Economic Status of A Timurid Sufi Shaykh: A Matter of Conflict or Perception?

The word “Sufi” is believed by some to be derived from the word “suf,” denoting a kind of woolen garment worn by ascetics. The wearing of this garment symbolizes the Sufi's renunciation of material, worldly concerns and his complete absorption in God. Throughout the history of the Sufi orders, this symbol of the humble woolen cloak has often stood in contrast with the actual economic status attained by many Sufi shaykhs. In her book Mystical Dimensions of Islam, A. Schimmel drew attention to this contrast:The history of the political role assumed by mystical leaders in Islamic communities has still to be written. And one enigma remains to be resolved: how so many of those who preached poverty as their pride became wealthy landlords and fitted perfectly into the feudal system, amassing wealth laid at their feet by poor, ignorant followers.

Schimmel's "Mystical Dimensions of Islam"

Schimmel's "Mystical Dimensions of Islam"

Western biomedical and sibundoy diagnosis: An interdisciplinary comparison

In a household survey of 25% of the Sibundoy population, all persons reporting illness were interviewed and examined by a biomedical team and a diagnosis was made. Intestinal disorders were most prevalent in young children, chronic respiratory disorders in adult men, and non-articular rheumatism and chronic headaches in adult women. The same persons were independently interviewed by an anthropologist soon afterwards. The Sibundoy classify illness by manifestations and/or aetiology. Aetiological beliefs include biological, environmental, emotional, social, and mystical dimensions, which are explicitly recognized in their diagnostic categories. An illness may have multiple causes, and reference to mystical causation generally signifies a high level of concern with the illness as well as social disruption. The results of the comparison between biomedical and Sibundoy diagnosis show that the dimensions of illness recognized by the Sibundoy in their classificatory system are more comprehensive in scope than those recognized in the Western classificatory system which is limited to' disease as. such.

Mystical Dimensions of Islam

Mystical Dimensions of Islam

Mystical Dimensions of Islam

Mystical Dimensions of Islam

Mystical Dimensions of Islam.

Mystical Dimensions of Islam.

John Pory, 1572-1636: The Life and Letters of a Man of Many Parts

Mystical Dimensions of Islam presents, for the first time, a balanced historical treatment of the transnational phenomenon of Sufism -- Islamic mysticism -- from its beginnings through the nineteenth century. Through her sensitivity and deep understanding of the subject, Annemarie Schimmel, an eminent scholar of Eastern religions, draws the reader into the mood, the vision, the way of the Sufi in a manner that adds an essential ingredient to her analysis of the history of Sufism.After exploring the origins of the mystical movement in the meditations of orthodox Muslims on the Koran and the prophetic tradition, the author then discusses the development of its different stages, including classical voluntarism and postclassical theosophical mystical trends. Particular emphasis is placed on spiritual education, the different ways of leading the mystic toward the existential realization of the profound mystery of the profession of faith that there is no deity but God. Sufi psychology and Sufi orders and fraternities are comprehensively explored.Through an examination of mystical anthropology, which culminates in the veneration of the prophet and the saints, the questions of free will and predestination, of good and evil, are implied. The main burden of the text, however, is Sufism as reflected in Islamic poetry, and Professor Schimmel examines the various aspects of mystical poetry in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Sindhi, Panjabi, and Pashto. The author skillfully demonstrates how Sufi ideals permeated the whole fabric of Muslim life, providing the average Muslim -- villager or intellectual -- with the virtues of perfect trust in God and the loving surrender to God's will.Professor Schimmel's long acquaintance with Turkey, Iran, and the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent provides a unique emphasis to the study, and the author's personal knowledge of Sufi practice in these regions lends a contemporary relevance to her work.

Mystical Dimensions of Islam

Mystical Dimensions of Islam presents, for the first time, a balanced historical treatment of the transnational phenomenon of Sufism -- Islamic mysticism -- from its beginnings through the nineteenth century. Through her sensitivity and deep understanding of the subject, Annemarie Schimmel, an eminent scholar of Eastern religions, draws the reader into the mood, the vision, the way of the Sufi in a manner that adds an essential ingredient to her analysis of the history of Sufism.After exploring the origins of the mystical movement in the meditations of orthodox Muslims on the Koran and the prophetic tradition, the author then discusses the development of its different stages, including classical voluntarism and postclassical theosophical mystical trends. Particular emphasis is placed on spiritual education, the different ways of leading the mystic toward the existential realization of the profound mystery of the profession of faith that there is no deity but God. Sufi psychology and Sufi orders and fraternities are comprehensively explored.Through an examination of mystical anthropology, which culminates in the veneration of the prophet and the saints, the questions of free will and predestination, of good and evil, are implied. The main burden of the text, however, is Sufism as reflected in Islamic poetry, and Professor Schimmel examines the various aspects of mystical poetry in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Sindhi, Panjabi, and Pashto. The author skillfully demonstrates how Sufi ideals permeated the whole fabric of Muslim life, providing the average Muslim -- villager or intellectual -- with the virtues of perfect trust in God and the loving surrender to God's will.Professor Schimmel's long acquaintance with Turkey, Iran, and the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent provides a unique emphasis to the study, and the author's personal knowledge of Sufi practice in these regions lends a contemporary relevance to her work.

Mystical Dimensions of Islam

Mystical Dimensions of Islam