Ritual System Research Articles

ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТЬ НЕЗАРЕГИСТРИРОВАННОЙ РЕЛИГИОЗНОЙ ГРУППЫ ХРИСТИАН В СМОЛЕНСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ В 1960-1980-Е ГГ.

The article examines the history of the activities of the founder of an unregistered religious group, which initially operated in the Latvian SSR, and then in the Lithuanian SSR. A special role in the group was played by its leader, who, not yet being a believer, had served a sentence for a criminal offense. Then, probably, there was a reassessment of moral values and he became a believer. The activities of the head contradicted the norms of the Soviet criminal legislation. Thus, it was found that the head of a religious group forced believers to perform a whole system of actions and rituals, urged believers to abandon active social life. The head was forced to leave the Baltic States and moved to the Smolensk region. In the new conditions, a religious group was created, which, by the nature of its activities, continued the activities of a religious group in the Baltic States. The religious group operated in the regional center and in one of the district centers. Based on archival material, an idea of the activities of a religious group and its leader is given. Archival materials allow us to draw conclusions about the quantitative composition of a religious group, its religious practices and creed, about the specifics of this group, which defined itself as different from the practices of Baptist and Pentecostal organizations. The leader of a religious group was convicted of violating Soviet legislation in the field of freedom of conscience. After serving his sentence, the head of the group returned to preaching activities, which representatives of a special Soviet body defined as fanatical. The Soviet executive authorities sought to influence the activities of the religious group and its leader. It is concluded that the Soviet state created conditions for the introduction of such groups into the legal field.

Символічні чинники державної ідентичності

Symbolic aspects of the formation of state identity in independent Ukraine are described in the article. Post-socialist transformations of the late 20th – early 21st century in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have been drawing increasing attention to the problems of a new state identity formation. The latter is an effect generated by the collective self-awareness of all ethnocultural communities involved in the political nation creation. In a particular context of Ukraine, the democratic institutions and values are strengthened in public life simultaneously with the overcoming of the heritage of the totalitarian past. The decommunization process has been lasting for more than a decade. Its actual results can be seen in the changed names of many settlements, squares, streets, enterprises, institutions, etc. The Leninfall is a striking indicator of the Soviet worldview matrix negotiation. It is the removal of monuments to V. Lenin and the other characters of the ideological pantheon of the USSR from the civic space. Traditional and professional cultures should be involved in a positive image of the state identity building. The system of new state holidays and rituals is aimed at the people inspiration and unification. Throughout the post-Soviet and post-socialist space the fundamental transformations of recent decades have taken place under the slogans of liberation from the totalitarian past and de-ideologization of all spheres of spiritual and social life. In post-totalitarian Ukraine the Independence Day has largely taken over the former functions of the October Revolution holiday. Neither military threats from Russia nor significant economic difficulties have prevented the bright and solemn celebration of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine Independence. This festival has become a significant indicator of the Ukrainian political nation maturity. The country has chosen the path of formation of a democratic society of the European type. The generally accepted system of holiday traditions forms the backbone of culture and spirituality of each nation. The satisfactory condition of this system influences all spheres of the general state body’s life. The task is to ensure the active importance of festive and ceremonial culture in the processes of Ukrainian independence strengthening, the political nation consolidation and establishment of the civil society with high humanistic values. The state identity of the Ukrainian nation today is at the formation stage. The ethnologists should study this process at the level of collective and individual consciousness.

A Rational Choice Analysis in Offering The Spirit of The Northern Buddhism

Offering the spirits in the ritual system of Northern Buddhism is a ritual performed daily for monks and an opportunity for Buddhists to participate in many different purposes. In it, there is an exchange between gain and loss while performing the ritual of offering the spirit. It could be said that based on the concepts and beliefs about ghosts and demons in Mong Son thi thuc - one of the important rites in the customs of Northern Buddhists - these rituals give us a deeper insight into the act of worshiping the souls. This research investigates the rational choice of Northern Buddhists in Ho Chi Minh City-based on Rational Choice Theory. Qualitative research methods such as fieldwork, in-depth interviews, qualitative analysis, and quantitative research by questionnaires have shown that there is rationality in the choice of worship the souls according to Mong Son thi thuc of Northern Buddhists among believers. In other words, there seems to be a desire to receive one or more benefits from this spirit offering. Rational Choice Theory has shown its applicability in the study of rituals, religions in particular, and in the research of the humanities and social sciences in general, which has received little attention in the past.

The Sacred River: State Ritual, Political Legitimacy, and Religious Practice of the Jidu in Imperial China

This paper focuses on the Jidu 濟瀆 (i.e., the Ji River 濟水), one of the four waterways (sidu 四瀆) in imperial China. Even though it vanished a long time ago, the Jidu had always been a part of the traditional Chinese ritual system of mountain- and water-directed state sacrifices. From the Western Han dynasty to the Qing dynasty, it continuously received regular state sacrifices. However, Western scholars have failed to notice it. Some modern Chinese and Japanese scholars have studied the development of the Jidu sacrifice, but its embodied political and religious significances for the state and local society were largely ignored. To remedy this neglect, I provide here, with new discoveries and conclusions, the first comprehensive study of the Jidu sacrifice in imperial China. Surrounding this coherent theme, this paper draws several original arguments from its four sections. The first section is a brief history of the state sacrifice to the Jidu. In the second section, I analyze the ideas of state authority, political legitimacy, religious belief, and cosmology, as these underlie the ritual performance concerning the Jidu. I argue that the Jidu was not only tightly associated with controlling water but was also a symbol and mechanism of political legitimacy. Relying on concrete official and local records, in the third section I further investigate the role that the Jidu God played in local society. I argue that after the Song dynasty, the Jidu God was transformed into a regional protector of local society and savior of local people in addition to an official water god. In the fourth section, I, for the first time, examine the interaction between the Jidu cult and other religious traditions including Daoism, Buddhism, and folk religion.

Sacrifice to the wind gods in late Shang China – religious, paleographic, linguistic and philological analyses: An integrated approach

There is a bewildering array of rituals and sacrifices performed by the aristocratic, ruling elite in late Shāng China (c. 13th–11th centuries BC). They range from major, regularly scheduled, ritual observances to unscheduled rituals and sacrifices directed to the ancestors and the nature gods such as the wind, rivers, mountains and other deities. They were often accompanied with apotropaic prayers. What might have been their rationale is a question that remains to be answered. Sacrificing to the wind gods, for example, is often encountered in oracle-bone inscriptions. Scholars do not seem to have examined the deeper, ontological problem of the raison d’être of various rituals and sacrifices. A closer reading of the inscriptions containing fēng 風 ‘wind’, fèng 鳳 ‘phoenix’ and other collocated words may restore their original meanings. This paper distinguishes the ‘wind’ as a natural phenomenon from the ‘wind god’, even though they are written by the same graph. It also distinguishes between dì fēng 禘風 ‘dì-sacrifice to the wind (god)’ and níng fēng 寧風 ‘appease (unwanted) winds’. Identifying collocations of the words involved is an effective way for the distinctions we will be making. The paper also explores the need for the wind sacrifices accompanied by various other sacrifices. By addressing these issues, the paper is intended to stimulate further, in-depth discussion of the ritual and sacrificial system of late Shāng China. It covers a wide-ranging topic on late Shāng religious beliefs. They are analyzed in terms of paleography, linguistics and philology in an integrated manner.

Between the patio group and the plaza: Round platforms as stages for supra-household rituals in early Maya society

• Spaces between the domestic and the public yield new information about social organization and complexity. • Multiple ritual systems existed in early Maya society, creating overlapping communities. • Supra-household performances created less hierarchical relationships than did public ceremonies. Low, open, circular platforms were built in residential areas at sites across the Maya lowlands during the Preclassic period (c. 1000 BCE – 300 CE). These structures were probably used for ritual performances, such as dances. Here, we describe three examples excavated at Ceibal, Guatemala. We argue that round structures were used in supra-household rituals that created overlapping communities between the levels of domestic and public. Using the principles of heterarchy and a practice-based approach to ritual, we examine the physical characteristics of the architecture. During the Late Middle Preclassic (c. 700–350 BCE), in the absence of rulers or a strong hierarchy, supra-household rituals at circular platforms in residential areas created different social relationships than did the communal ceremonies in the public plaza. At the transition to the Late Preclassic (c. 350 BCE), ritual practices and spaces were reorganized, becoming more homogeneous across residential and public contexts, and relationships among households changed. We suggest that studies of the practices that bring together social groups at levels between public and domestic can yield more complete views of social complexity that are not based solely on inequality or hierarchy.

Wedding as a form of ceremonial-ritual "entertainment" in the fine arts of Ukraine in the XX-XXI centuries

The purpose of the article consists of considering a wedding as a form of ceremonial-ritual "entertainment" in the fine arts of Ukraine of the XX-XXI centuries. The research methodology consists of the application of the hermeneutic method in the aspect of interpreting a wedding as a form of ceremonial-ritual "entertainment" in the works of Ukrainian artists of the XX-XXI centuries, and as a way to preserve the national cultural code and folk traditions; analytical method - to determine the theoretical foundations of the study of the wedding as a form of ceremonial-ritual "entertainment" in the works of G. Akishina, G. Verbitsky, M. Guyda, T. Danylych, E. Neuman and other Ukrainian artists of the XX-XXI centuries. The scientific novelty of the work is that the first time the wedding is considered as a form of ceremonial-ritual "entertainment" in the works of Ukrainian artists of the XX-XXI centuries, as a means of preserving the national Ukrainian cultural code and Ukrainian folk traditions. Conclusions. Wedding as a form of ceremonial-ritual "entertainment" in the works of Ukrainian artists of the XX-XXI centuries F. Krichevsky, A. Kulchytskaya, M. Primachenko, G. Akishina, I. Verbitsky, G. Galaganov, M. Guyda, I. Ilko, and others, occupied a special place, not only as a rite in the system of family rituals but as one of the elements of preserving the national cultural code, a means of transmitting and preserving Ukrainian folk traditions. The works made in the style of primitivism, realism, socialist realism reflect wedding ceremonies as a dynamic spectacle that carries a magical type of thinking, combining individual self-consciousness and the collective unconscious, preserving the folk traditions of Galicia, Carpathian, and Hutsulshchyna, acquired by numerous generations of Ukrainians. A wedding as a form of ceremonial-ritual "entertainment" acts not only as a plot theme in the visual arts of the XX-XXI centuries, but also art exhibitions, art projects dedicated to the wedding theme in the visual arts, themselves act as "entertainment" since they are accompanied by a corresponding performance that carries the historical meaning of the revival of Ukrainian national traditions. An example is the exhibition of N. Onatsk "Wedding in Poltava region", which was accompanied by an interactive presentation of a fragment of the wedding ritual with the participation of the folk ensemble of Ukrainian music "Roksolania".
 Key words: fine arts, Ukrainian artists of the XX-XXI centuries, "entertainment", wedding, ceremony, ritual, Ukrainian folk traditions.

Practicing Salvation: Meat-Eating, Martyrdom, and Sacrifice as Religious Ideals in the Zhenkongjiao

The Zhenkongjiao is a Chinese sectarian religion that was founded in Jiangxi in 1862. By the 1950s, the movement expanded into the lower Yangzi region, Guangdong province, and among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. Unlike many sectarian religions and Buddhist movements in late-imperial and Republican China, the movement advocated non-vegetarianism and performed animal sacrifice. This article first sheds light on how the Zhenkongjiao’s promoters structured its belief system to address and challenge prevalent discourses of vegetarianism and nonkilling as markers of religious practice. I also propose that the Zhenkongjiao’s repertoire of thaumaturgical rituals—which include animal sacrifice—cannot be studied in isolation, but should be situated within a sectarian religious paradigm where sacrifice was exalted as a soteriological ideal. This study demonstrates the agency exercised by the Zhenkongjiao’s apologists, who appropriated and hybridized dominant religious discourses and cultural images characteristic of Republican China (1911–1949) to justify their beliefs and ritual systems.

신라 여성관인 제도의 성립과 운영

This study examines the process of establishing and operating the female official system in the Silla Dynasty(Silla) The official duties of women in the early Silla Period were recorded in connection with the divine characteristics of royal women. She was worshipped as a female deity and was in charge of ancestral rites as a priest. However, as Silla society developed with the political system of Silla, the political status of royal and upper-class women and public affairs have been differentiated. The official status of Silla''s Court Maid was established under the bureaucracy in the 4th year(664) of King Munmu(文武王). The important role of female officials was to administer and enforce the procedures in the official royal rites of King Sinmun(神文王), especially in royal marriages based on Confucian Ritual Systems(禮制). From King Sinmun(神文王)''s royal wedding, it can be seen that the female official consists of a government official''s spouse, a true aristocratic woman (wife and daughter, etc.), an upper-class woman. As such, the female official of the Silla played a role in proceeding rituals based on Confucian Ritual Systems(禮制) as an upper class. During the Middle Ages of Silla, the BonPiGung(本彼宮) was established, the Sa-mo(私母) was assigned, and the Sa-mo(私母) were placed in charge of female government officials. The BonPiGung(本彼宮) was a government office in charge of various affairs in the Imperial Court, and the BonPiGung(本彼宮)''s Sa-mo(私母) was in charge of two duties in the royal family. One is to administer the duties of implementing royal rites, and the other is to administer the government offices related to textile production in the court handicrafts. The Sa-mo(私母)''s main duties include the education and leadership of female officials and the supervision of government offices belonging to female officials concerning royal rituals and court handicrafts. In addition, the mother(母) and the woman(女子) who are female officials can be seen in the government office of the Interior Ministry. According to the name of the agency, the mother(母) were mainly in charge of textile production, and there were the woman(女子) edical personnel who were in charge of pregnancy and childbirth and treatment of women''s diseases. The BonPiGung(本彼宮) was established in 681 and was in charge of royal affairs, and the Sa-mo(私母) was in charge of preparing and conducting royal ceremonial procedures, and was responsible for managing the government offices and women''s officials. Subsequently, the division of labor and specialization of royal affairs was promoted, which led to the division of government offices belonging to domestic government offices into higher and lower government offices and the establishment of new government offices. For this reason, the Sa-mo(私母) of the palace was a senior female official, and she was mainly in charge of the preparation and progress of royal rituals. Furthermore, the government offices related to textile production and the women''s government offices of the Imperial handicraft industry are gradually positioned as the lower government offices of the government offices related to production and their affiliated with the production.

“Under His Eye”: Religious Appropriation and American Civil Religion in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale

ABSTRACT This study explores how the Hulu streaming series The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-) extends Margaret Atwood’s novel by depicting the aftermath of the transformation of the United States by the fake theocracy of Gilead through visual cues that evoke American civil religion, a performative system of symbols and rituals that reifies national values and unites a pluralistic society. A textual analysis of the episode “Household,” set in Gilead’s capital of a reimaged Washington, D.C., found four main themes regarding the onscreen depiction of Gileadean theocracy and its surface victory over the United States and its accompanying symbols of American civil religion: (a) religion used as a façade, (b) desecration of sacred sites in American civil religion, (c) silencing, and (d) surveillance. This study adds a unique contribution to the study of American civil religion through its examination of visual images in a fictional televisual text.

The Interaction of Virtue and Ritual in Chinese Politics

The word "virtue" is the core idea in Chinese political tradition, while "ritual" is the institutional shell in which the idea is implemented into the real political order. As the primary pair of opposites in political governance, virtue and ritual have been influencing each other and interacting with each other from the moment of their creation. The abstract ideal concept of virtue is constantly externalized into a concrete ritual system, and the external form of ritual constantly acquires abstract meaning. Political governance encompasses almost every aspect of human life, and the concept of virtue eventually becomes an omnipresent spirituality, while rituals become an all-encompassing cultural system in the interaction with virtue.

Tracing Rishism in Kashmir: A Study of Nūr al-Dīn’s Rīshī Family Tree

In the Kashmir Valley, there has always been a group of religion-oriented people who profoundly impacted the Kashmiri society. Because of their religiosity, people commonly knew them by the name of Rīshīs. With the advent of Ṣūfī preachers from Persia and Central Asia in the fourteenth century, a new chapter opened in the Kashmiri religious history. As they came with a humanitarian attitude to spread Islām, by the turn of the sixteenth century, the Valley had a majority of Muslims. Prior to this, Hinduism predominated Kashmir, which was rooted in its traditionally accepted caste structure, ritual system, Kula system, et cetera. Besides Ṣūfī preachers, the indigenous Rīshīs also paved the stage for the transformation of Kashmiri society by opposing Hinduism and providing the masses an alternative. The connection and influence of Ṣūfīs on the local Rīshīs, particularly Shaykh Nūr al-Dīn, commonly known as Nund Rīshī, accounted for two forms within the Rīshī movement, which came to be known as Muslim Rishism and non-Islamic Rishism. Nūr al-Dīn furnished the Kashmiri people with a Rīshī lineage or Rīshī family tree whose originator and founder is none other than the Prophet Muḥammadﷺ himself. The present research will trace and examine this Rīshī family tree in relation to the Rīshī movement in Kashmir until the times of Nūr al-Dīn.

Daoism and the Operation of the Eastern Stronghold Temple in the Late Imperial China

The sacrificial ritual to Mount Yi (Yishan 沂山) or the Eastern Stronghold (Dongzhen 東鎮) was included in the traditional Chinese state ritual system to mountain and water gods, and therefore, originally, it was a Confucian ritual. The Eastern Stronghold Temple was operated by officers and clerks appointed by the government. However, during the late imperial period, the situation changed and the Eastern Stronghold Temple became virtually operated by Daoism, mainly because of the government’s difficulty in maintaining the temple, the growth and power of Daoism, especially the Complete Perfection Daoism popular in northern China, and the further integration of Confucianism, Daoism, and folk beliefs. Daoist priests, who were named “temple guardians”, took responsibilities for guarding temple property, coordinating central and local government’s sacrificial rituals, administrating the daily operation of the temple, conducting reconstruction projects, and incorporating local people’s beliefs. As a result, the temple not only served as an official place of worship but also gained the functions and identity of a Daoist abbey and folk temple. As the first article discussing the Eastern Stronghold Temple in a western language, this study mainly applies the rediscovered source of stone inscriptions preserved in the temple to describe Daoism’s contributions to this religious–political–cultural symbolic site and the complicated relationship between governmental officials, Daoist priests, and local people.

Prateka Sawa Dengan Upacara Ngaben Kanista Pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19 di Kelurahan Abianbase Kecamatan Mengwi Kabupaten Badung

One element of the aspect ceremonial that has recently received attention in religious activities is the ceremony prateka sawa at the ceremony ngaben kanista during the covid-19 pandemic period in Abianbase Village, Mengwi District, Badung Regency. In the current situation, according to government regulations through the relevant health office, if a person dies from the corona virus, the body is immediately handled by Covid-19 officers and taken to the crematorium. Because it is dangerous and can be contagious. Usually, public hospitals in Badung Regency are brought to the Santa Yana creatorium on Jalan Ahmad Yani Peguyangan or directly taken to the Bebalang Bangli Crematorium. The background of theritual prateka sawa during the covid-19 pandemic not only based on bhisama as the most important reason but also strengthened by socio-religious, cultural and economic reasons. This is accompanied by adaptations to strengthen the achievement of goals, strengthen integration and social control in the form of not daring to violate because of being cursed. Theritual system prateka sawa ritual for the diversity of Hindus in Abianbase Village continues with cremation related to the system religious, meaning that there are components such as beliefs, religious emotions, ritual systems, ritual equipment from religious people. These components synergize in a series of processes so as to give birth to the separation of the unification of the spirit into the sublime world with the mention of Dewa Hyang. The ritual of prateka sawa performed by the abianbase community has implications for variations on the abianbase community.

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL BASIC OF DUMA ABOUT OLEKSII POPOVYCH IN THE FOLKLORISTIC VISIONS OF KATERYNA HRUSHEVSKA

The article reinterprets the scientific achievements of K. Hrushevska, in particular, her vision of the cultural and historical basic of Duma about Oleksii Popovych, set forth in the work “Duma about Popovych’s sea adventure. Reasons for studying adventure traditions” (1926). The author suggested that the Ukrainian seafarers had an extensive system of traditions and rituals, which was described in the Ukrainian heroic epic and proves that Ukrainians are seafaring people. K. Hrushevska, having researching the widest comparative material – both folklore and historical-ethnographic – came to the conclusion that Duma reflects the tradition of going to sea, and therefore, with the help of the ethnographer V. Kravchenko, a native of Berduansk at the seaside, she collected the materials about traditions and rituals of local fishermen belonging to the group of transition rituals. Based on the opinion of K. Hrushevska and work of researchers of rituals of passage (Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner, Korniy Chervyak, etc.), as well as fundamental research on the Ukrainian heroic epic of Sofia Hrytsa, the authors of this article came to the conclusion that Duma about Oleksiy Popovych gives information about several other cultural sections, in particular, related to the Cossacks, also described in transition ritual. In particular, every sea campaign of the Ukrainian Cossacks was associated with dangers and involved certain ritual actions. It is described with three-stage transition rituals: separation from society and traditional environment → transition stage of journey, with temporary release from usual social ties and → reaggregation upon returning home. And being far from own land – in the sea, with all its dangers, was liminal (borderline, that is, beyond the border of own world). Dumy also include the Ukrainian society’s ideas about Zaporizhzhia and Zaporozhtsi as a border region and society that was also outside the usual social world. Therefore, we have opposite behavior of the hero during his trip to the Sich, which was obviously not a single incident.

Ancient Beliefs and Traditional Singing of Ukrainians: Gender Differentiation

Gender differentiation in the Ukrainian song tradition is most consistently manifested in the ritual system, and partly – in the epic tradition and lyrical song tradition. The primary attention in the article is paid to the ritual sphere, first of all to the calendar cycle. The paper highlights in detail the traditional distribution of functions between men and women in pre-Christian rituals, during which, according to ancient ideas and beliefs, there was some contact between «that» (sacred) and «this» («profane») worlds.
 Males, or more precisely, boys who were members of the so-called «parubotchi gromady» (young men communities) took an active part in the rites only once a year – at the beginning of the calendar-time cycle that is, in winter (in ancient times this happened in the spring) during the rituals of the yards circumambulation. The main purpose of these actions was to wish good for each family from the dead ancestors for the coming year (verbal magic), and in return, the ancestors received gifts – sacrificial food from representatives of the living world to appease them for the next year.
 Women, as representatives of «this» world, maintained contact with otherworldly forces throughout the entire agrarian period from sowing to harvest, as well as in ceremonies associated with the birth of a child, a wedding, or escorting the deceased to the afterlife. In times of crisis in the development of nature and human life, they turned to their deceased ancestors for help. The magical instrument of this connection was the voice, which filled the ritual texts with specific ritual timbre-intonation.
 The gender distribution in other genres of Ukrainian traditional song is somewhat different. Thus, if in the epic songs the prerogative belongs to men, then the lyric song system is characterized by the joint and almost equal participation of men and women. However, it should be noted that the performers of social songs were predominantly men, and women sang family lyric songs. But the most common was a mixed lineup of singing groups. Even more this property is inherent in the late layer of lyrical song performance.
 The author also draws attention to the age aspect of the performance of ritual and non-ritual songs in the Ukrainian tradition

The Sacrificial Ritual and Commissioners to the South Sea God in Tang China

Previous studies on the Nanhaishen Temple 南海神廟 (Temple of the South Sea God) in Guangzhou in the Tang dynasty focus mainly on the South Sea God as the patron of the Maritime Silk Road, without thoroughly discussing the state ritual and the sacrificial right of the Tang government. This paper illuminates five new points concerning the ritual. First, the sacrificial ritual to the South Sea God developed from the suburban rituals in previous dynasties into both forms of suburban and local rituals, which was also categorized as the medium sacrifice among the three major sacrifices in the state ritual system of the Tang dynasty. Second, the first commissioner who was sent by the central government to perform the sacrificial ritual to the South Sea God was Zhang Jiuling, and henceforth the temporary assignment of court officials to the ceremonies became institutionalized. In the tenth year of Tianbao (751), the South Sea God was entitled Guangliwang 廣利王 (King Guangli), and the commissioner sent on this mission was Zhang Jiuzhang, Zhang Jiuling’s third younger brother, rather than his second younger brother Zhang Jiugao as seen in some records. Third, most of the commissioners were dispatched by the central government in the early Tang, and therefore the sacrifice to the South Sea God was related to the state ritual system; but in the late Tang local officials became dominant in the ritual ceremonies, and thus good harvests and social stability in the Lingnan region became the major concern of the sacrifice. Fourth, the legend that the Buddhist Master Xiujiu 休咎禪師 took over the temple and accepted the South Sea God as his disciple reflected the reciprocity between Buddhism and the South Sea God belief. Last but not the least, the sacrificial ceremonies to the South Sea God established in the Tang dynasty and performed by the officials of both the central and local governments had a significant influence on the ritual in the following dynasties.

Reconstructing Pure Land Buddhist Architecture in Ancient East Asia

Pure land comes from the Indian term “sukha,” which means welfare and happiness. However, in East Asia, Buddhism has been associated with the theological concepts of the immortal realm in the bond of death and afterlife. This study reviews detailed conception of Pure Land architecture in Sanskrit literature, as well as Buddhist sutras. The thesis notes that the conceptual explanation of Pure Land architecture, which describes the real world, becomes more concrete over time. Such detailed expression is revealed through the depiction of the transformation tableau. Hence, through Pure Land architecture situated on Earth, this research shows that Buddhist monks and laypeople hope for their own happy and wealthy settlement in the Pure Land. The building’s expression of transformation tableaux influences the layout and shape of Buddhist temples built in the mundane real world at that time. Moreover, this study notes that Bulguksa Monastery is a cumulative product of U-shaped central-axis arrangements with courtyards, terraced platforms, high-rise pavilions, and lotus ponds, plus an integrated synthesis of religious behaviors by votaries as a system of rituals. Further, it merges pre-Buddhist practices and other Buddhist subdivisions’ notions with Hwaeom thought, in comparison with Hojoji and Byodoin Temples that follow the Pure Land tradition.

고려전기 태묘의 구성과 묘제(廟制) 변화의 의미

The shrine system(廟制) for Goryeo Dynasty’s shrine was composed of 5-shrine(廟) system and King Sungjong(成宗) arranged the ancestral tablet under the method of ‘hyeongje-ilheng(兄弟一行)’. When King Yejong(睿宗) enshrined King Sukjong(肅宗), there was an issue of order disagreement for King Mokjong(穆宗) and King Hyeonjong(顯宗). In response, King Yejong first removed King Mokjong from shrine instead of King Sungjong who was the earliest in order on shrine. However, this resulted in putting ancestral tablets against the order of the Somok(昭穆). Therefore, when King Yejong organized a ritual system under the Confucian ideas, he re-enshrined King Haejong(惠宗). Afterwards King Injong(仁宗) removed King Haejong from the shrine, when he enshrined King Yejong. However, some criticized on removing King Haejong who was regarded as Bulcheonjiju(不遷之主). As a result, Busik Kim(金富軾) enshrined the tablet of King Haejong during the ritual system organization and this can be found in the writings by Yucheong Choi(崔惟淸) included in 『Donginjimun-Saryuk(東人之文四六)』. Therefore, King Haejong was enshrined in shrine once again in 1142. As a result of including King Haejong, the number of ancestors that must be enshrined in shrine increased. Accordingly, King Uijong(毅宗) referred to the case of China and converted shrine system from 5-shrine to 7-shrine. Such conversion was not the result of pursuing Cheonja(天子). Instead, such conversion was the result of modifying the system for the convenience in reflection of Goryeo’s Dynasty.

Virginia Woolf and the police: banality, ideology and the scene of interpellation

ABSTRACT In Between the Acts, Virginia Woolf exposes a bleak and chilling vision of the police. Bulge, an actor disguised as a policeman, presents his work as a ‘whole-time, white man’s job’ supervising the toil and suffering of the oppressed. The violence of this statement begs the question: what was Woolf’s own attitude towards the police? In this respect, it is possible to find a certain continuity in her fiction. Although they mainly appear as banal, sometimes reassuring, background presences, policemen are also keepers of the social order. Their actions are shown to buttress ideological forces, especially those of patriarchy and Empire. However, this paper argues that Woolf’s understanding of the role of the police in relation with these powers evolved throughout her works – from a mere analogy in Jacob’s Room, to a much more concrete system of rituals and interpellations, resembling those theorised by Louis Althusser and Jean-Jacques Lecercle. Furthermore, this change in style accompanied a change in stance: as she realised the extent of ideological power on individuals, Woolf’s notion of resistance also shifted, from a focus on wandering and personal evasion to a more communal and political approach, which crystallised in a form of artistic ‘counter-interpellation’.