Ritual Nature Research Articles

Power and Responsibility: Royalty and the Performing Arts in Asante-Ghana

AbstractIn all Akan polities, ancestral Black Stools, which belong to the matriclan, are the source of political power and legitimize kingship. Due to the sacred and exclusive nature of stool rituals, Ampene argues that it is the performing arts which define and enhance the power of rulers in the public domain. This ethnographic narrative of the 2014 Grand Worship provides a rare opportunity for the performing arts to project the power and responsibility of the Asantehene when he participates in musical performances and dances.

Discourse on the Linguistic Implementation of the principles of Political Correctness in German Political Linguistics

The article dwells upon the discourse on the linguistic implementation of the principles of political correctness (hereinafter PC discourse) in the German political linguistic culture. Like the concept of ‘political correctness’ itself, the key characteristics of the PC discourse came to Germany from the USA. However, Germany has a rich tradition of criticism of language use in politics, including a tradition of public reflection on the use of language by totalitarian ideologies. One might assume that the discussion about the linguistic implementation of political correctness in Germany will become part of this general critical discourse. These considerations served as the starting point for this study. The purpose of the presented article is to identify the specifics of PC discourse in Germany against the back-ground of other phenomena of German political linguistic culture. Discourse is understood as a corpus of texts united by reference to a common object of reality, in other words, a way of speaking about a socially significant topic that is formed in society in a certain historical period. On the basis of this interpretation, the empirical base of the study was compiled, obtained through the continuous sampling method from electronic versions of leading German newspapers and magazines, as well as from linguistic monographs devoted to the linguistic implementation of political correctness. Through the method of descriptive discourse analysis, significant methods of discursive interpretation of political correctness have been identified, which are the specifics of PC discourse. The main technique is metaphorical modeling of political reality. For almost thirty years of its existence, the German PC discourse has developed a stable framework of evaluative metaphors that set the perspective of the vision of political correctness. This framework consists of the metaphorical core, which relates political correctness to the conceptual field of “danger”, and additional metaphorical meanings, which actualize the conceptual field of “game”. The uniformity of the metaphorical frame-work reflects the ritualized nature of the argumentation of both supporters and opponents of political correctness. The latter set the dominant discursive strategy - the strategy of imaginary defense, due to which strong emotional pressure is achieved on the participants in the discourse. The metaphorical framework provides discursive unity, which is especially necessary in the context of the semantic diffuseness of the key concept ‘politische Korrektheit’.

Cultural Identity and Aesthetics in Indian Folk Dance Thidambu Nritham: A Performance Outlook

Thidambu Nritham is an ancient Indian folk dance performed in villages of North Malabar in Kerala state. The performance follows several rules of Natya shastra, and at the same time, has influenced the cultural and social life of Malabar due to the ritualistic nature. According to the background and history, Kolathiri dynasty has introduced Thidambu Nritham as a part of temple rituals, the art form being seven-century old. Thidambu Nritham is deep-rooted in the civilization of north Kerala, as it has close links with agrarian culture and harvests in the region. The elements used for rituals and ceremonies in Thidambu Nritham connect with soil fertility and prayers for an enhanced crop yield. The aesthetics of Thidambu Nritham is related to the colourful decorations of thidambu using flowers and drumming in four rhythms. The culture of temple procession and worshippers joining the celebration could be traced from the prehistoric Indian tradition and heritage.

The Practical Solution to Attract Youth toward Prayer (Case study: Students in Ardabil Province)

According to sociologists, one of the dimensions of religiosity is the ritual dimension, and praying is one of the most important indicators of the ritual nature of religion. Prayer is the highest manifestation of the need, which has a wide connection with different dimensions of human life. The research method is survey and the sample size is equal to 300 students. Prayer has a great influence on the individual and social life of a person, and his conditions and conventions regulate and correct the entire system and human relationships. In today’s word that cultural breakthrough heavily has threatened the health and safety of many societies, every day we see an uproar and rebellion and it is only the prayer and trust in God and non-help relives that can be the savior of the fall in the scriptures of sins. The family, which is the fundamental unit and the center of human growth and excellence, play an important role in attracting the youth to prayer. In the present studies results obtained from statistical and analytical research that has been done among all of the elementary, first and second period students of high school in Ardabil province, their parents from - among the various components – have dedicated the highest statistics to themselves (46.3 percent) in attracting the youth to the prayer. So, the role of parents has been undeniable in encouraging their youth to prayer and mosques for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing the Islamic and national identity of the family and society. The present research also seeks to provide effective working methods for parents to achieve this goal.

고려 인종 원년(1123) 설행 대송 외교의례의 구성과 특징

Examined in this article are the “Sujo” and “Yeon-rye” chapters inside Goryeodogyeong, with the intention to reconstruct individual steps as well as the general structure of diplomatic rituals that were observed for the Song Envoy, which visited Goryeo in King Injong’s first year on the throne. Their characteristics are also explored here.<BR> The aforementioned chapters of Goryeodogyeong, “Sujo” and “Yeon-rye,” display contents in a considerably chaotic fashion, as they are positioned quite arbitrarily by compiler Seo Geung, the Song envoy. Yet careful examination of the dates, places and nature of individual events reveal that the diplomatic protocols prepared for the visiting Song envoy in 1123 was comprised of two distinct phases: Sujo(受詔) ritual, and Baepyo(拜表) ritual.<BR> The Sujo ritual observed at this time was composed of two subsets, the Yeongjo-rye and Yeon-rye steps, while the Baepyo ritual was composed of three: Baepyo-rye, Baepyo-yeon and Munjeon. Yet both rituals shared basically the same procedure, from the envoy members’ leaving their quarters, to their entrance into the predesignated venue for ritual, then to the main official event and a private ceremony, and their eventual exiting from the scene.<BR> What should be noted is that the place and position of the Goryeo king in these Sujo and Baepyo rituals do not correspond with the usual practices that had been observed in East Asia and reflected traditional perception of rituals. It is indeed difficult to ascertain what was the general stance of the Goryeo king, and what he chose to prioritize. Yet it seems obvious that the Goryeo king intentionally shifted his own positions and appearances, by sitting in different places and performing different acts, according to the nature and venue of rituals he was attending (whether it was either official functions such as Yeongjo-rye or Baepyo-rye, or more private occasions as the Yeon-rye, Baepyoyeon and Munjeon, which involved banquets), in order to feature himself as both a vassal of the Song Emperor and a Goryeo king as he saw fit and necessary.

Hoarding at Megiddo in the Late Bronze and Iron I

The article focuses on Megiddo hoards dating to the Late Bronze Age and Iron I. As many as 17 such hoards have been discovered thus far. One particular hoard, as yet unpublished, is presented. The remaining 16 hoards, several of which have never been identified as such, are cataloged. A classification of the hoards based on their ritual versus non-ritual nature is presented, as well as an analysis of other aspects of hoarding activity at Megiddo.

ФЕНОМЕН ШВЕДСКОГО МАСОНСТВА В РУССКОЙ И ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ ИСТОРИИ

The purpose of the article is to study the history of one of the little-known Masonic organizations - the Swe-dish Rite of Freemasonry. A significant part of the work is devoted to the Swedish system development in Russia and the ties between Russian and Swedish Freemasonry. The author pays attention to the specific nature of the Swedish ritual, which differs in many respects from traditional Freemasonry. These con-cerns, first of all, the legend about the origin of Swe-dish Freemasonry from the medieval Knights Templar order. Based on this legend, the analysis of the hierarchy of Swedish ritual degrees is given and their inter-nal content is revealed. This article can become the basis for a great scientific research of the Swedish Masonic system and the peculiarities of its existence in various European countries.

СУБЪЕКТИВНОСТЬ ВОСПРИЯТИЯ ВРЕМЕНИ В МИФОТВОРЧЕСТВЕ СОВЕТСКОЙ ЭПОХИ

Time is the basic concept of modern cultural and socio-cultural knowledge. Being a part of the chronotope, the concept of time in the history of culture becomes self-sufficient and is represented at different levels. The discourse of time sets an axiological system of coordinates and cultural codes that allow us to reveal the essential characteristics of different types of culture. The most representative transformation of ideas about time is represented in Soviet culture, which claims to model a new picture of the world. The article deals with the mythological discourse of time, which reveals the temporality of human existence in the Soviet era. The author analyzes the structure and semantic content of the definition of mythological time, determines the vectors of subjectivization of time in the process of myth-making. Mythological time cycles and holidays created during the Soviet period are outlined, and the futuristic and utopian nature of the time paradigm is revealed. When discussing the topic, the author turns to the representation of the perception of time in artistic and everyday practices, and notes the transformation and evolution of the discourse of timein relation to theoretical models of temporality. The author notes the ritual nature of Soviet culture, in which time becomes not only a condition for the existence of the ritual, but also its content aspect. The time paradigm becomes the ontological basis for the formation of the Soviet canon in art. The article outlines the continuity and originality of the subjectivization of time in the myth-making of the Soviet era, which can become the basis for understanding the evolution and paradoxical nature of the temporal discourse of modernity.

Peter Lombard’ın “Sentences”ı Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme

Yüzyıllar boyunca Batı Hıristiyan dünyasında teoloji ders kitabı olarak okutulan “Sentences” adlı eserin yazarı Peter Lombard olarak bilinir. İncil’in yanı sıra teolojik açıdan irdelenen eserler arasında daha fazla yorumun konusu olmuştur. Bu eser her ne kadar eski kaynakların bir derlemesi olarak görülse de asıl önemi, teolojik materyalin organizasyonu, sunum yöntemi ve birçok önemli alanda doktrini ele alma biçiminde yatmaktadır. Bu öneme rağmen eserin yazarının yaşamı ve düşüncesine dair herhangi bir giriş ne yazık ki yoktur. Eser Hıristiyanlık geleneğinin nasıl geliştiğini ortaya koyarak başlar ve sonrasında Lombard’ın yaşamını ve çalışmalarını ortaya koyar. Tanrı, üçleme, yaratılış, angeloloji, insan doğası, etik, ayinlerin doğası ve nitelikleri, Hıristiloji de dahil olmak üzere ana konular eserde yorumlanmaya çalışılır. Orta Çağ’daki en önemli teolojik ders kitabı olarak kabul edilen “Sentences”, kilise babalarının ve sonrasında ortaya çıkan yorumcuların bir dizi teolojik konudaki derlemelerinden meydana gelmiştir. Dört kitap halinde ayrıştırıldığında aşağıdaki gibi ifade edilebilir. Teslis inancının gizemi / Yaratılış üzerine / Enkarnasyon üzerine /İşaretler Doktrini (ayinler ve ayinsel işaretler üzerine).

Symbol of Mouse in Slavonic and Chinese Linguocultures

The article describes in comparative aspect the main symbolic meanings of the zoononym mouse in Slavic and Chinese linguocultures. The study of animal symbolism in Russian (wider - Slavic) and Chinese cultural traditions is one of the current trends in modern linguistics, which, on the one hand, has a pronounced anthropocentric orientation, and on the other, is characterized by a noticeable increase in interest in the Chinese language and culture of China in different countries of the world. Turning to the study of complex and ambiguous symbolism of the mouse is quite timely and taking into account the confinement of 2020 to the year of the White Rat / Mouse. The purpose of the study is to identify similar and specific for each culture features of perception and characteristics of the mouse as an animal, which has a significant impact on everyday life. The tasks of the work include identifying the sources of the appearance of a negatively connotated mouse image in culture, determining the ambivalent nature of rituals, customs and ritual actions, the object of which are mice, as well as revealing the contents of the “Mouse Wedding” custom in Chinese and South Slavic traditions. The analysis of the actual material (stable phrases, folklore texts, ethnocultural records, traditional drawings) showed, on the one hand, the mostly negative symbolism of the mouse in the Slavic spiritual culture, and on the other, the perception of the mouse as an animal, bringing material wealth and prosperity, in the traditional picture of the world the Chinese. At the same time, it was established that both the Slavs and the Chinese use a number of magic tricks aimed at fighting mice that cause considerable damage to the peasant economy. Significant for the linguoculturological analysis of the mouse image is the appeal to oriental folklore texts, as well as to traditional popular prints of Chinese and Russians, reflecting differently the symbolism of mice and their relation to the main enemy - the cat.

Camelid consumption at the Inca ceremonial site Maucallacta–Pampacolca. Zooarchaeological analysis of the “Basural 2” deposit

AbstractThe site of Maucallacta (Pampacolca district, department of Arequipa, Peru), identified with the Inca oracle of the sacred mountain Coropuna, was probably an important religious centre in this region during the Late Horizon. The zooarchaeological examination, the results of which are presented in this article, covered the finds from the largest deposit containing animal bones discovered in Maucallacta (Basural 2). Although the presence of shell and—probably—bird offerings has been observed, the vast majority of animal remains belong to Andean camelids. The anatomical selection of camelid remains in Maucallacta, as well as numerous traces of cooking and tool marks, corresponding to butchering methods known from ethnographic observations, indicate that the animals were consumed. The article considers the possibility of the ritual nature of this consumption, such as ceremonial feasts, mentioned in written ethnohistorical sources regarding Inca customs.

A Ritual Feature with Bell Beaker Elements in a Late Neolithic Hunter-Gatherer Campsite in North-Eastern Poland

The ephemeral nature of religious practices and rituals makes them challenging to trace in the archaeological record of Late Neolithic hunter-gatherer communities in central and eastern Europe. A ritual feature with Bell Beaker elements discovered in north-eastern Poland, a region occupied by hunter-gatherer groups of the Neman cultural circle, is thus exceptional. Its syncretic character indicates its role as a harbinger of wider cultural change that led to the emergence in this region of the western group of the Bronze Age Trzciniec cultural circle.

Economic and symbolic role of animals during the Late Chalcolithic period of Areni-1 Cave, Armenia

Areni-1 Cave in Armenia is a special-purpose site that provides a unique window into human-animal interactions in the Chalcolithic period (ca. 5200–3400 BCE) of the southern Caucasus. Areni-1 is known for its extensive funerary and votive practices characterised by exceptional preservation. But the people who used the cave also engaged in animal exploitation for subsistence-related purposes. We use contextual taphonomy to explore differences in the depositional history of bones in areas of the cave where symbolic ritual activities and domestic activities were most concentrated. Our contextual taphonomic analyses as well relative abundance measures confirm field observations about the ritual nature of activities deep inside the cave. We show that wild animals, such as canids and possibly wild cattle, were more common in these ritual contexts, and that bones from these contexts were buried relatively faster than in the areas of mixed domestic-ritual activities at the mouth of the cave. We also demonstrate that people who used the cave herded a mix of sheep, goat, and cattle for a range of their primary and secondary products. Finally, craft production activities inside the cave included manufacturing leather shoes from the hide of pigs and/or boars; but caprines, cattle, and possibly foxes were also skinned and processed for their hide and hair.

Understanding the ethical implications of the rituals of medicine.

Rituals may be understood broadly as stereotyped behaviours carrying symbolic meanings, which play a crucial role in defining relationships, legitimating authority, giving meaning to certain life events and stabilising social structures. Despite intense interest in the subject, and an extensive literature, relatively little attention has been given to the nature, role and function of ritual in contemporary medicine. Medicine is replete with ritualistic behaviours and imperatives, which play a crucial role in all aspects of clinical practice. Rituals play multiple, complex functions in clinical interactions and have an important role in shaping interactions, experiences and outcomes. Longstanding medical rituals have been disrupted in the wake of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Medical rituals may be evident or invisible, often overlap with or operate alongside instrumentalised practices, and play crucial roles in establishing, maintaining and guaranteeing the efficacy of clinical practices. Rituals can also inhibit progress and change, by enforcing arbitrary authority. Physicians should consider when they are undertaking a ritual practice and recognise when the exigencies of contemporary practice are affecting that ritual with or without meaning or intention. Physicians should reflect on whether aspects of their ritual interactions are undertaken on the basis of sentiment, custom or evidence-based outcomes, and whether rituals should be defended, continued in a modified fashion or even abandoned in favour of new behaviours suitable for and salient with contemporary practice in the interests of patient care.

Dark Side Archaeology: Climate Change and Mid-Holocene Saharan Pastoral Adaptation.

High-resolution paleoenvironmental research allows us to pinpoint the tempo and amplitude of past climate changes. Abrupt climate events have axiomatically triggered cascades of adjustments, in vegetation, fauna, humans, and pathogens. This essay focuses on the abrupt end of the African Humid Episode (9000–6000 cal BP), ca. 5000 cal BP in the Sahara. Neolithic pastoralists, practicing transhumance between sandy lowlands and Saharan mountains, adopted new cultural practices: cattle burials and livestock bone deposits in built installations. Their ritual nature is indisputable. But ritual for what? If considered from the perspective of livestock zoonoses, such practices may point to the “dark side” of cultural adjustments—strategies to counter human and livestock diseases. Livestock zoonoses are constant sources of emerging infectious diseases (EID) in the present, as they were in the past. Sustained research on livestock and human health are of paramount importance given the accelerating rate of world urbanization.

Small gods, rituals, and cooperation: The Mentawai water spirit Sikameinan

Cognitive and evolutionary research has focused on the powerful deities of large-scale societies, yet little work has examined the smaller gods of animist traditions. In a study of the water spirit Sikameinan of the Mentawai people (Siberut Island, Indonesia), we address three questions: (1) Are smaller gods believed to enforce cooperation, especially compared to bigger gods in larger-scale societies? (2) Do beliefs in these deities encourage people to engage in behavior otherwise perceived as costly? and (3) Does ritual reinforce beliefs in these deities? Drawing on interview responses, data from healing ceremonies, and ethnographic observation, we show that Sikameinan is believed to punish people who violate meat-sharing norms and that people ‘attacked’ by Sikameinan pay shamans to conduct healing rituals. The public nature of rituals, involving prestigious individuals apologizing to Sikameinan for the patient's stinginess, reinforce onlookers' beliefs about Sikameinan. The most widely shared beliefs about Sikameinan are represented in rituals while beliefs not represented vary considerably, indicating that ritual may be potent for cultural transmission. These results suggest that moralizing supernatural punishers may be more common than suspected and that the trend in the cultural evolution of religion has been an expansion of deities' scope, powers, and monitoring abilities.

Religious Rituals as Civil hexis

Abstract In their attempt to question the assumption that rituals are merely symbolic, Talal Asad and Saba Mahmood tried to show that rituals have functioned as instruments. In Asad’s study of medieval Christianity and Mahmood’s work on mosque women, rituals function to make selves. These instrumentalist readings stand outside the usual modernist representational readings. For these anthropologists, the distinction between representational and instrumental understandings of rituals seems to be very clear. Nationalist modernist readings of Islamic rituals seem to confirm the representational logic, which apparently falls entirely outside the instrumental framework. In this paper, I intend to disturb this clear-cut distinction, and demonstrate that in many occasions the instrumental understanding is preceded by a representational interpretation, while the representational may, in turn, help create a civil subject. My evidences come from the Iranian Islamic literature in 1960s and 70s, viz. Mortaza Motahhari, Ali Shariʾati, Mehdi Barzargan, and the authors of Maktab-e Islam monthly. Although some of these intellectuals emphasized the instrumental nature of rituals in making the pious subject, others proposed different rationalizations—medical benefit, collective solidarity and order, and existential meaning. For these thinkers or their audience, there was no clear distinction between these justifications. It is true that many of them had a representational logic; but they contributed to making a proper civil subject. Hence, the instrumental-representational binary cannot always be maintained. Asad’s and Mahmood’s critiques of anthropological readings of rituals have yet to be qualified to take into account the prior interpretations and theological context of religious rituals, to highlight the conflation of the representational and instrumental frameworks in many modern rituals, and to note that deciding on the instrumentality of a particular ritual is not only significant when it is about constructing the interior of the private self, but may be involved in building larger communities.

Court rituals and etiquettes: Title, flag, drum, robes of honour under the great mughals

The nature of rituals and etiquettes referred the nature of sovereignty. These etiquettes and rituals were designed to enhance the power and prestige of the mughal emperor in the eyes of the various types of the officials of the state as well as the people at large. Nobles were rewarded by the mughal emperors for their distinguished services by the grant of titles. Ordinarily a title also signified the status of a person in the mughal official hierarchy. Rewards and distinctions were given to nobles for their valuable services by the mughal emperor from time to time and it included cash, jewels and other valuable things. And the nobles also received distinction in the form of titles, robes of honour, kettle drums and standards and ensigns. It was an elaborate system, the details of which were carefully worked out by the mughal emperors from time to time and all them used to confer titles on the nobles. Occasionally the mughal emperors in order to raise the status of some amirs conferred upon them the title of Khan in case of Muhammadans and rai and raja when he was a Hindu. The mughal emperors presented the imperial servants with khillats, awards in the form of flag, drum, jewelled dagger etc. on special occasions. These gifts were given to them in accordance with their rank and status and also the nature of achievements or success of the person concerned. It remained as a custom throughout the mughal period. It may however, be mentioned that the court rituals did not extinguished the existing identities and ties. Rather the actual self-perception of the individuals involved differed in many ways or cases from that depicted in the court rituals. Babur and his successors continued this type of practices. And some of the titles conferred by the mughal emperors upon their amirs were Rukan-ud-daulah, Saif-ud- daulah, Nasir-Jang, Shujaat Khan, Sardar Khan, Rustam Ali Khan, Izzat-ud- daulah, Muzaffar Khan, etc. Many of these titles had references to the distinguishing qualities of the recipient. These amirs not only enjoyed high sounding titles but also in receipt of very handsome emoluments. With the introduction of mansabdari system-the title of Beg was changed to that of amir. During Akbaras reign all the officers of the state, holding a mansab of 200 and above, was called an amir. During Shahjahanas reign an officer holding a mansab of 500 or above was entitled to be called an amir. Some titles as their meaning also suggests could be bestowed only on one amir at a time but in reality this rule was not always observed and it seems to have been held by more than one person at a time or simultaneously. In the beginning some nobles considered themselves equal in every respect to the mughal emperors and wanted to be co-partner in respect of sovereignty. Officials were also awarded flag, kettle drum etc. by the mughal emperors however, they could with-hold this right if the behaviour of a noble did not justify this honour. The right to carry the flags and similar ensigns before the emperor was conferred on some high nobles. These ensigns were only found at the entrance of the audience hall and were carried on elephants before the mughal emperor, were called the Qur. And the officer who was placed in-charge of the Qur was known as Qur-Begi. So the nobles were awarded titles by mughal emperor at the time of their performance e.g. in war, administration, days of celebrations i.e. festivals, birthdays and other occasions of happiness and also on those who supported him in the war of succession to the throne, etc. and it gave physical form to the function of the emperor as axis-mundi.

The impact of the environmental crisis on the purchasing power of consumers

The subject of the article is purpose of consumer behavior and its direct connection and interaction with ecological situation in the world. Several examples show that consumption which exceeds the normal level is determined by irrational goals and motives. These motives have essentially the nature of public ritual. They are supported by the social imitation instinct rather than by conscious individual goal setting. The irrationality and arbitrariness of consumption purposes therefore means also the irrationality of the goals and meaning of the production. The conclusion is that an economic system which is based on another alternative ultimate goals and meanings may be more effective in the face of a growing environmental crisis.

Court rituals and etiquettes: presents (1526–1707)

The mughal court rituals and etiquette have been referred to in the contemporary court chronicles in the context of various events which form an interesting theme in understanding the mughal polity, society and administration. Rituals and etiquettes defined and expressed the emperor's relationship with the ruling elite and also with the subjects in general. Infect the nature of rituals and etiquettes referred the nature of sovereignty. Broadly speaking the mughal rituals and etiquette evolved from two sets of components, what the mughals brought with them from central Asia and what they found in Hindustan. One of the major objects of these rituals and etiquettes was to enhance the power and prestige of the emperor. Thus they strengthened the ties between the emperor and the imperial servants. The practice of accomplishing presents to the mughal emperor remained as a custom throughout the mughal period. These etiquettes, rituals and customs were designed to enhance the power and prestige of the mughal emperor in the eyes of the various types of the grandees of the state as well as the people at large. They are found in Akbar's liberal, broad and humane outlook and earned a broader acceptance of the subjects for the mughal polity but it took a long way in shaping a distinct mughal polity and culture in India which articulated kingship of higher order than that of earlier Turkish Sultans of Delhi. The outlook of Akbar's successors also reflected in their court rituals and etiquettes, however, brought some changes in Akbarid traditions. Most valuable presents were given to the emperor Jahangir by his nobles and the magnificence of the court increased considerably in Shahjahan&bdquo;s reign. The hall mark of the Aurangzeb's reign was his puritanical outlook guided by his religious bent of mind as he stopped some Hindu customs. Such departures from Akbar's liberal and broad outlook based traditions were not without results. The beliefs and assumptions about the nature of mughal sovereignty and polity are well defined in the mughal court rituals and etiquettes. Infect the nature of rituals and etiquettes reflected the nature of sovereignty. The presents meant for the nobles were not of much value. But the presents offered to the king were very valuable and rare and costly things. It was expected that the worth and glitter would enhance the splendor of the imperial court and that person might win the imperial favour after giving his presents. Nazr was less substantial and was offered in thanks giving on felicitous occasions of lesser importance. It had only a nominal amount whereas the peshkas must have imposed a real burden on the nobles. These presents may be regarded as an investment because on the occasions when the emperor received the nobles‟ offerings he also in return gave away valuable gifts to them in the form of jagirs, appointments, promotions sometimes in cash and things like jewels, elephants, horses and sets of robes. The visit of the emperor to an amir was an honour and was always an occasion for the later to make valuable presents. The court rituals, thus, established and defined the relationship of the emperor with the imperial servants and the subjects and also strengthened the ties between the emperor and his officers.