Ritual Spheres Research Articles

Models of the lipovans’ integration into the multi-ethnic environment of bukovyna: from preservation of ethno-cultural identity to non-ethnic and globalization impacts

The article under study highlights the process of resettlement and adaptation of Old Believers in the multi-ethnic environment of Bukovyna in the late 18th – early 20th centuries. The representatives of the Austrian administration of the region were active supporters of involving the Lipovans, motivating their perspective for Vienna officials by the fact that the new settlers, owing to their hard work and practical farming skills, will be able to influence positively the economic development of Bukovyna.
 The author verifies the evidences of contemporaries who confirm that the anticipations of local officials were largely satisfied – the Lipovans were quite successfully integrated into the economic life of their new homeland. The Old Believers were promptly associated with hard-working and enterprising people, who generally led a healthy lifestyle, preserving their ethno-cultural identity.
 The researchers affirm that quite a lot of traditional elements of material and spiritual culture were preserved for a long time, although certain changes took place in the course of time under the influence of non-ethnic factors in the environment of the Lipovans of Bukovyna. The main factor that facilitated the preservation of the traditional way of life of the Old Believers was the system of prohibitions and prescriptions of a religious and moral-ethical nature. Simultaneously, under the influence of scientific and technical progress, there is a partial recession of clearly regulated canons among the Lipovans, a gradual attachment to the technical benefits of civilization.
 The consequences of the globalization processes influence can be considered as a recess of an isolated way of life, contacts with representatives of other ethnic groups and confessions, which resulted in certain changes in the everyday and ritual spheres, the spreading of the practice of marriages with non-believers, the transition to Orthodoxy of the Nikon’s model, etc.

Therianthropes in a Cartesian and an Animistic Cosmology: Beyond-the-Pale Monsters versus Being-in-the World Others

The nature of human-animal hybrid beings (or therianthropes) is examined in an Animistic (traditional San Bushman) and a Cartesian (Early Modern Western) cosmology. In each ontological ambiguity is imagined and conceptualized in different terms. One of them is through monstrosity, which, in the Western schema, is equated with human-animal hybridity. This equivalence threatens the boundaries and categories that buttress western cosmology, through a being – the human-animal hybrid – deemed a conceptual and epistemological abomination. It elicits a category crisis that is as much cerebral as it is visceral as the were-beings it conceives are feared and demonized. No such valences attach to therianthropes in the cosmology described in this paper. It is an “entangled” cosmology shot through with ambiguity and fluidity in which human-animal hybridity is neither abominable nor feared. Instead, as a pervasive and salient theme of San world view and lifeways, especially its expressive and ritual spheres, along with hunting, ontological mutability becomes an integral component of people’s thoughts and lives and thereby normalized and naturalized. Beings partaking of this state are deemed another species of being with whom humans engage as other-than-humans, on shared social terms. Monsters are beings who negate or transgress the moral foundation of the social order. San monstrosity, conceptually and phenomenologically, becomes thereby a matter of deviation from social (moral) pre/proscriptions rather than from classificatory (ontological) ones. This basic conceptual difference notwithstanding, we also find a fundamental commonality: the inversion, through monsters and monstrosity, of each cosmology’s underlying epistemic matrices, of structure and ambiguity, respectively.

Sociokulturel betydning af tragtbægerkulturens tidligneolitiske flintøkser

Sociokulturel betydning af tragtbægerkulturens tidligneolitiske flintøkser

Examining the Ritual Landscape of Bronze Age Crete through the Lens of Archaeobotany

This paper investigates plant remains at three ritual sites from Bronze Age Crete: Kophinas, Knossos Anetaki and Petras. To date, ritual contexts on the island have been little investigated from an archaeobotanical standpoint. Analysis of the plant material from these three sites provides new data for the use of plants in ritual activities in both mortuary and non-mortuary contexts. The results are discussed from a semiotic and emotive perspective, allowing for a better grasp of the potential plant-related rituals responsible for the creation of these archaeobotanical assemblages, including instances of plant sacrifice, symbolic plant sacrifice and the ritual deposition of intentionally charred plant remains. These findings are then integrated with previously published data from Crete and Mainland Greece in order to provide a broader picture of ritual plant use for the island, as well as the Aegean region. The recurrent evidence for the intentional charring of plant material and the presence of taxa commonly associated with everyday contexts indicates that fire was an important aspect of ritual activities involving plants and that the same suite of plant remains was engaged in the social activities of both the domestic and ritual spheres.

“A Part of the People”: Human-Dog Relationships among the Northern Coast Salish of SW British Columbia

Many Indigenous People value dogs as hunting aides, draft animals, sources of fiber and food, protectors, and as companions. To better understand the close human-dog relationship among the Northern Coast Salish Tla'amin, we bring together several lines of evidence, including ethnographic information, interviews, and ancient DNA of archaeological dog burials. All indicate that dogs were an important part of ancestral Tla'amin culture and society. Local knowledge, including oral traditions, reflects the long-term social importance of dogs in mundane and ritual spheres. Tla'amindog relationships were focused on special breeding and training practices that enhanced the hunting skill of dogs and reinforced the bond between dog and owner. Ancient DNA analysis of 17 skeletal dog remains (3500–430 BP) from six archaeological sites confirmed that domestic dogs have a long and continuous history in Tla'amin territory, culture, and identity. DNA analysis of the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA revealed haplotypes that were shared across broad regions and others that were unique to more localized culture areas, reflecting gene flow between dog populations via ancient social networks. Our study highlights the value of integrating archaeological data, genetic studies, and local knowledge to achieve a fuller understanding of the close relationship between dogs and humans.

Prehistory and prerequisites of the creation of the Mari national theatre (1907–1919)

Introduction. Alongside with other cultural initiatives, the development of the theatre movement as a forerunner of the creation of the Mari national theatre was the result of the development of Mari cultural nationalism in the early twentieth century. The purpose of this article is to consider the facts of the prehistory of the creation of the Mari national theatre, which was set up in November 1919, and the factors that influenced the development of the theatre movement among Mari people. Materials and Methods. To achieve the goals, the author reviewed the first Mari periodicals, research and publications on the history of the Mari theatre and the development of the national movement, and the protocols of the Mari congresses. The systematic analysis of sources for the reviewed period, an attempt to restore events in chronological order allows us to formulate the most objective answers to the research problems. Results and Discussions. One of the key factors that influenced the development of the Mari theatre movement and interest to the theatre was the movement for the national and cultural education and development of the Mari people, initiated by Mari cultural nationalists that gradually developed since the beginning of the twentieth century. Prehistory of the creation of the Mari national theatre in November 1919 goes back about ten years and it is linked with the publication of the first periodical in the Mari language “Marla calendar”, development of literary creativity in the Mari language, and the first amateur initiatives to stage performances. The climax of this prehistory was the decisions made by the first Mari forums on theatre issues, and the rapid development of interest to the theatre among the people in 1917–1919. Along with this factor, the cultural and social specific features of Mari played an important role: a theatrical tradition in the festive and ritual spheres and the low level of literacy of the people in this period. Conclusion. The processes of development of modern Mari national culture, began with the publication of “Marla calendars”, were crucial for the entire Mari people. The ideological contradictions that appeared with the development of Soviet power among the Mari intelligentsia did not immediately begin to influence the work of the first Mari playwrights. The supporters of different ideological movements were the colleagues for many years. Although they had disagreements, they acted in a single direction in the development of their native people, in particular in support of the theatre movement. Newspaper publications and increased dramatic creativity clearly indicate that the Mari activists intuitively, and sometimes purposefully, fuelled interest in theatrical creativity, promoted and, thus, preceded the appearance of their own national professional theatre.

«We live in peace and friendship, we have learned to cook beshbarmak»: typological models of interethnic interactions in Samara Trans-Volga Region

The paper presents the experience of study of interethnic interactions in Samara Trans-Volga region on the example of Belozerki village of Krasnoyarskiy District of the Samara Region. Theoretical and methodological approaches were determined by the concept of ethnic boundaries, taking into account differential features in the cultural codes of the contacting groups, as well as some other factors (historical, social, demographic, ecological, etc.) that influence the formation of interethnic relations. The purpose of the study was to identify the mechanism of ethnic groups interaction historically living in the village in situations of interethnic contacts (including contacts with migrant communities), factors determining the formation and maintenance of ethno cultural identity of groups and ethnic boundaries between them, to determine the nature of mutual socio-cultural adaptation of groups. During the study the situation of interethnic interaction in the language, socio-economic and ethno-cultural spheres was analyzed taking into account a historical factor; characteristics of ethnic dichotomies (ethnic markers) were given, mainly on the example of predominant groups of the Russians, the Chuvash and the Mordovians. The results of the study showed the presence of ethnic boundaries, determined by the history of Belozerki settlement, as well as cultural specifics, features of language behavior and ethnic identification, the nature of socio-economic contacts of groups, and determined the change of various models of interethnic interaction during half a century history and their diversity at present. The factors that support the group identity of the Mordovians and the Chuvash are the language, functional in the family and domestic sphere, intra-ethnic contacts in everyday, but more often in festive and ritual spheres. The study is based on archival, published sources and field materials of the authors (2018).

La obsidiana como un bien de intercambio entre el valle de Toluca y sus regiones circunvecinas durante el Clásico

<p>La relación entre Teotihuacan, Estado que dominó durante siglos una vasta región mesoamericana, y el valle de Toluca, que formó parte de su hinterland, ha sido fundamental para esclarecer los procesos históricos de este valle. Dicha relación se hace presente en la cultura material por múltiples manifestaciones, desde la vida cotidiana hasta la cosmovisión. Este estudio se centra en torno a la problemática rela-<br /> cionada con la circulación de la obsidiana, la cual constituye uno de los temas relevantes para lograr una aproximación correcta a los procesos históricos del Altiplano central de México. Se ha propuesto que el control sobre algunos yacimientos y la circulación de esta materia prima, considerada insustituible en las sociedades prehispánicas, ha sido primordial para el desarrollo del Estado teotihuacano. El presente escrito estudia el vínculo que se establece entre el valle y el gran Estado con base en los análisis de la obsidiana de diversos yacimientos identificados mediante la revisión macroscópica, así como por la aplicación del INAA y XRF al material proveniente de excavaciones de los sitios con cronología comprendida entre el Clásico y el Epiclásico: Santa Cruz Atizapán y San Mateo Atenco. Éste se compara, a su vez, con el material de algunos contextos teotihuacanos con el fin de esclarecer la implicación histórica en la relación entre ambas regiones en el ámbito del intercambio.</p><div> </div>

HISTORICAL PRINCIPLES OF HOSPITALITY DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

The aim of the work. The article examines the essence of the hospitality concept. It determines the main historical principles of its development in the territory of Kyivan Rus, outlining the influence of the Christian tradition on the Ukrainian hospitality formation. The methodology of research. To conduct the study such methods as analytical; systemic; historical; logical; culturological were applied. The scientific novelty is a systematic study of the hospitality’s historical principles development as a socio-cultural phenomenon in Ukraine. Conclusions. Hospitality as a sociocultural phenomenon is a specific moral behavior model of a certain ethnic community members based on the system of its customs and rituals, morality norms and law. For many centuries adherering to its own traditions in the ordinary, ritual and everyday spheres of activity, every ethnos creates a system of advantages that penetrate into an everyday life, stipulating certain standards of the utilitarian behavior. Ethnic and national features of hospitality and its functioning are predetermined by a heterogeneous level of the the social culture development in different regions of the world and by the influence of local customs, rituals and tastes.

The Establishment of the Approach of Chanting Amitābha’s Name and the Proliferation of Pure Land Buddhism in Late Chosŏn

The establishment of the course of the Three Gates, incorporating meditation, doctrinal learning, and recitation of the name of Amitābha, as well as the organization of a monastic educational system characterized by the dual cultivation of meditation and doctrinal learning, demonstrates the synthetic character of Buddhism in the late Chosŏn period. The approach of reciting Amitābha’s name included in the system of the Three Gates encompassed both a meditative practice symbolized by the “Pure Land of the Mind-only” and the “Amitābha of the Self-nature” and as faith in the efficacy of chanting Amitābha’s name concentrated on the Pure Land of Extreme Bliss in the West. After the establishment of the approach of reciting the name of Amitābha, chanting Amitābha’s name gradually became prevalent and the gates to the Pure Land expanded. The publication of a number of Pure Land texts created diverse demands within the ritual, literary, and religious spheres. In addition, in relation to the spread of the approach of chanting Amitābha’s name, debates arose over the very existence of a Pure Land of Extreme Bliss or concerning the construct conceptually.

Práctica social, memoria y ritual en Cogotas I: esbozo teórico para un enfoque renovado

This paper examines the ritual and symbolic spheres of the Cogotas I Culture focusing on the social practices implicated in its material record. Taking some confusing historiographic themes as a starting point, a more relational and synoptic sociological framework is presented, inspired by non-positivist proposals. Highlighted is the particular “historical” and interactive relationship kept by such communities with their past, as well as the importance of the everyday ritualized activities in the reproduction of their cultural values. The paper requires a trial of new methods for studying the Cogotas I archaeological record, whose formation and legibility would be the product of such structured and repetitive patterns. As an example, “pit sites” understood as palimpsests, the filling of the pits and the pottery with “Boquique” decoration are reexamined. Such ordinary and daily elements, embedded in long-term cultural traditions, are seen as mnemonic resources, with an important role in the enculturation of the social agents.

A Revision of Corded Ware Settlement Pattern –New Results from the Central European Low Mountain Range

The excavation of the Wattendorf-Motzenstein Corded Ware settlement in Franconia (Germany) has yielded new information with regard to the architecture, economy, and ritual activities, as well as the social organisation of Final Neolithic groups in Central Europe. The settlement is dated to 2660–2470 cal BC and was an agrarian community. Detailed analyses of the material culture combined with biological and pedological parameters allowed new interpretations regarding Corded Ware economies as well as domestic and ritual spheres. The settlement contained about 35 individuals at most, who were organised in fewer than eight households. The exceptional results obtained call for further research strategies to be developed.

The De-territorialization of Ritual Spheres in Contemporary Taiwan

This article considers the transformations over time of ritual networks centered on the town of Beigang, Taiwan in dialogue with earlier treatments of ritual and social organization. The case of this pilgrimage center supports observations on contemporary Taiwanese ritual and belief spheres, but it also complicates the understanding that contemporary trans-local political and economic processes have strengthened pan-island belief spheres at the expense of local communal ritual organization. Ritual networks in contemporary Taiwan are increasingly de-territorialized, but in Beigang they remain linked to locality, even as worshippers and natives become de-territorialized as individuals in their relationship to Beigang Mazu. Thus, I argue, if a trans-local cult is strong enough, the deity's perceived powers serves to bolster the local ritual community, as well as to bring outsiders into the fold and keep sojourners linked to it.

Inequality and Radical Land Reform: Some Notes from West Bengal

THIS ESSAY DISCUSSES some aspects of the problem of land reform in conditions of great inequality almost total in scope, encompassing economic, social, ritual, coercive and political spheres, such as those prevailing in the relations between poorer peasants and landlords in West Bengal. A turbulent issue in West Bangal politics is the survival of bargadar (sharecroppers) as bargadar. The issue, in the first place, is a direct consequence of attempts to achieve radical land reform in an unequal society. The West Bengal Land Reform (Amendment) Act of 1970 was radical enough to threaten the interests of the landlords but wholly ineffectual in the execution, thereby exposing the bargadar to fierce retaliation by the landlords. I examine the implementation and consequences of the Act, and argue, first, that a reduction in political inequality is an indispensable precondition for such reform to be effective, and second, that in certain circumstances radical reform can end up as a half measure and a detriment to the interests of the peasants, in this case the bargadar. The concept of land reform includes at least three different sectors in agrarian structure: land tenure (ownership or title to land); pattern of cultivation (e.g., market/subsistence); and terms of holding and scale of operation (e.g., large scale/small scale, fixed share/fixed amount as rent).' The Act of 1970, together with its later amendments, sought to modify both tenure and the terms of tenancy. The power to evict a

Culture and Human Fertility in India.

Examines the social and cultural underpinnings of human fertility in rural India through sociological studies of village communities published in secondary sources. It is stated that a severe limitiation of the present study is the fact that the village studies were initially conducted with a totally different purpose in view. Such studies have not dealt seriously with fertility behavior and the demographic research has failed to place fertility behavior in its proper social and cultural context. Social behavior is broken down into the domestic sphere which includes within it the ritual and religious spheres; the economic spheres; and the political sphere. The focus is on those factors which can be shown to influence fertility behavior rather than on social institutions such as kinship and marriage postpartum taboos childraising practices and socially sanctioned abstinence all of whose effect on fertility is merely incidental. Many questions are raised as a result of this review. A major issue is whether or not people consciously assess the number of children they might desire. Related to this is the question of which factors enter into the calculation which determines the optimum number of children. Finally there is the question of how people go about achieving this norm. Implications for research and policy regarding family planning programs in Indian villages are discussed.

Dominant Male Ideology and Female Options: Three East African Case Studies

Opening ParagraphThe aim of the essay is to highlight gaps in existing knowledge of African women and bring to light new queries. The argument being presented is that African women assert their individuality by exploring the options available within their respective societies. While it is unsafe to generalize about Africa, the dominance of men in the public, especially the political and ritual spheres, is well illustrated by ethnographies on Africa. Women are on the whole invisible or shadowy figures except in a handful of ethnographies that take a woman's perspective (for example, Leith-Ross, 1939; Kaberry, 1952; and Paulme (ed.), 1963). The ideology of male dominance is taken for granted as representative of the true state of affairs between men and women in Africa. Whereas every researcher probably knows that ideologies are not realities, somehow that knowledge becomes insignificant when dealing with African societies.

Migration, Agrarian Reform, and Structural Change in Rural Peru

This paper explores the relationship between agrarian reform, migration, and structural change. Data come from fieldwork in 1971--72 in a Quechua-speaking peasant community in southern Peru. An increase in the rate of return of migrants is related to a clause in the 1969 agrarian reform law prohibiting indirect usufruct. Upon return to the community, migrants have been active in the ritual and political spheres. Migrant behavior is analyzed in terms of the implications of return migration for class mobility. The political field is associated with the 1969 agrarian reform.