Socio-religious Life Research Articles

МЕНТАЛЬНОСТЬ И КУЛЬТУРА, СОХРАНЁННАЯ В ТРАДИЦИОННЫХ ПРАЗДНИКАХ (По этнографическим материалам Аджарии)

The problems with political and socio-religious life have arisen in Adjara, the historical community of Georgia, since the late Middle Ages. The internal development of culture has further deteriorated during the rule of Russians and Communist atheism, when the ideological machine became active, claiming that allegedly „the Adjarian is not Georgian“. This situation could not replace those socio-psychological factors, which ensured the development in accordance with national-ethnic sign. This is also confirmed by discovered ethnographic material on Georgian traditional holidays full of numerous rituals („Kvirikoba“, „Lazaria“, „New Year“, „Shuamtoba“, „Chkvanaroba“, „Kvishinaroba“, „Mareteloba“, „Chalaoba“) (using the comparative method, we apply to the realities reflecting the regularities of the self-consciousness function and ethnic feelings in everyday life and social relations of returnees settled in Ianeti). The results of a complex and ethnohistorical study of new and the latest ethnographic material on the villages of Didachara, Skhalta, Khikhani and Mareti Valley are as follows: 1. Despite the fact that the imposed circumstances brought from another religion established the ethno-national lifestyle in accordance with the developments, the benchmark of national consciousness is not close to the dangerous points in Adjara. Sense of national identity among the deportees after settling in Ianeti was low (they used to say that they are of Meskhetian nationality or Georgian Muslims); 2. From the outset, the Georgian mentality has come to realize that freedom of religion is not only the rights, freedom or declarations, but also the need for preserving the own traditional religious knowledge, fitting it with the imposed belief and responsibilities. Thus, the goal of foreigners to change the mentality made the Georgians even strengthened the will of Georgians to maintain the social and spiritual balance („come to Gamonatlevi, Gonio, Skhalta“, „always remember that Oshki, Tbeti and Khakhuli are our places“); 3. During the Communist regime, they occasionally changed the names of these holidays, and they were celebrated on non-working days established by the Government. They were aimed at maintaining faith and Georgian traditions and customs; 4. The need for holidays is explained by the principles of „awaiting“ and „cause-and-effectiveness“. The approach is as follows: „If you want to have a healthy and prosperous life, you have to be in faith and devote your several days to the service of God“ your several days not regret God“; 5. Religious and folk festivities, along with the strengthening the unity, have been the guarantee of the preservation of a moral and ethical lifestyle that we inherited from our ancestors. The study confirms the full preservation of Georgian mentality in the Mareti Valley

Existence of Bali Aga community religion

The research is aimed at exploring how the belief system of Bali Aga community? how the strategy for retention the identity of the Bali Aga community? and (3) how the implications of preserving the identity of the Balinese Aga community?. The grand theories used in the present study included structural functionalism, phenomenology, and religious. Data were collected through observation techniques, in-depth interviews, and document studies. Having analyzed data is conducted interpretive description techniques. Based on the results of the research conducted in Pedawa Village, it was found that the people currently still preserve their ancestral cultural heritage in the sense that the traditions and religious systems. They inherit are still functional in managing their socio-religious life. The adjustments are indeed conducted in order to preserve the continuity of the traditions that they do. The concept of AGIL namely Adaptation, Goal, Integration, and Latency shows its existence in the field. The study also found that there was an exciting kind of awakening to strengthen the religious system and traditions. They inherited unlike reviving the sacred dances they had, and the tradition of planting of gaga rice had been increasingly difficult to find. It is one of the important facilities in the Bali Aga ritual system.

ڈیرہ غازیخان کی مذہبی و معاشرتی زندگی میں صوفیا کرام کی تعلیمات کے اثرات

Islam is the religion of peace and love for the humanity. It always ordered to his followers to treat other with kind and tolerance. The Holy prophet always proved himself the prophet of mercy as the Holy Quran Said, but we sent you as a mercy to the worlds. Islam spread through politeness. In Subcontinent the advent of Islam is a great achievement of the noble saints and sufis. D۔G Khan which was a purely Hindu area in the past and the several sufis came to this part of Punjab in the initial stage of Islam. They played glorious role in the advent of Islam in the region. Sufism is a deter-mine effort towards unity. His main purpose is to bring humanity close with one another, separated as it is into so many different units, closer together in the deeper understanding of life. The main task is to bring about brotherhood among races, nations and faiths and to respect one another's faith, scripture and teacher. Sufi is to confer Sympathy on these lives, to impart Love, Compassion and Kindhearted-ness on all creations .The Sufi message is the resonance of the same Divine message which has always come and will always come to inform humanity. This research paper highlights the services of sufis who influenced on socio religious life of the people of D۔G Khan.

Ołtarze okazjonalne wznoszone w czasie procesji Bożego Ciała w kolonialnym Cusco

During the colonial period, the celebration of secular and religious feasts became a crucial element of socio-religious life in Latin America. Such festivals were one of the tools that facilitated evangelisation. Additionally, it should be remembered that any religious holiday in colonial Peru and Mexico, especially in the areas dominated by the indigenous peoples, constituted a cultural blend of Catholic customs (brought from Europe by the Spanish) and the traditions of native Indian tribes. The feasts celebrated in the 17th and 18th centuries can be divided into one-time and cyclic. The former included beatifications and canonisations, enthronements, proclamations, and exequies, while the recurring celebrations were connected with the liturgical year and particular Marian and Christological devotions, or related to individual saints, thus having a rather local character. This paper focuses on the architecture of procession altars erected in Cusco for the celebrations of Corpus Christi in the colonial period, the first celebration of which, according to Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, took place in 1555. Its procession intended to celebrate the triumph of the new religion brought from Spain, while still observing local traditions. This festival was and still remains one of the most important events of the liturgical year. Another important event was the incorporation of Corpus Christi into the 1572 Ordinances of Viceroy Toledo for the City of Cuzco (Ordenanzas del virrey Toledo para la ciudad del Cuzco). The most significant source materials facilitating the research on Cusco’s ceremonial architecture include paintings of the time, and the preserved archival documentation and chronicles. Among the former, the most useful is the famous series of works portraying a Corpus Christi procession, which are believed to have been painted in the final quarter of the 17th century, at the request of Bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y Angulo. Even though some paintings only show procession figures carried on carts, others present sculptures of saints mounted on andas and carried by cargadores, with altars and triumphal arches in the background. The most important source documentation includes agreements concluded between benefactors and contractors stored in Archivo Reginal del Cusco. Other helpful materials are the church inventories preserved in the archbishop’s archives, church construction logbooks (libros de fabrica) and documents related to confraternities operating at various churches in Cusco, which can be accessed in Archivo Arzobispal del Cusco. Based on these materials, it was possible to conduct an analysis of the ceremonial architecture in Cusco, taking into account the following three aspects: the form and the building materials of the researched objects, and their iconography. The altars erected in Cusco for the purposes of Corpus Christi processions had a predetermined form. The vast majority were pyramidal compositions with lavish ornamentations, whose aim was not only to add splendour to religious celebrations, but also to manifest the wealth and religious piety of the originators, benefactors, and also the artists themselves. Most materials used to construct and decorate procession altars were already known in Europe, including miscellaneous types of fabrics, textiles and expensive silver and tortoiseshell, but occasionally also such typically Andean materials as maguey (ligneous parts of the agave used in sculpting figures) and feathers. The dominating iconographic motif presented in the altars is related to the establishment, worship and triumph of the Blessed Sacrament, with the major representations including the Eucharistic Adoration and the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Eucharist, the Defence of the Eucharist, scenes from the Transfiguration of Jesus, and images of the Christ Child. These and other altar representations are based on famous painting compositions popular among the representatives of the Cusco School.

Kiai Muhaimin and His Outreach Activity of Dakwah for Promoting Moderation and Preventing Conflict: Seeding Pluralism vis-a-vis Preaching Religion

Dakwah (English: Preaching) by Kiai (English: Javanese terminology referring to a Muslim cleric) commonly takes place in mosques, Islamic Boarding Schools, Majlis Taklim, or other Islamic religious forums. The dakwah is practiced mostly by inviting adherents of Islam to be a truly Muslim (Muslim Kaffah), or evoking non-Muslims to convert their religion into Islam for the sake of their salvation in the hereafter. However, a kiai in Yogyakarta who is familiarly called Kiai Muhaimin has practiced a unique style of dakwah. He preaches Islam not only in his in-group communities and habitual places but also in churches and other religious places of worship. His dakwah thus has been reaching a wide range of places of worship of besides Islamic ones. He did not call for non-Muslims to convert to Islam. Rather, he has promoted tolerance and a better understanding of pluralism. Likewise, he aims his religious standpoints on Islam in Muslim communities for seeding actual pluralism among Muslims. He has formulated a conceptual framework of Islamic moderate dakwah as a philosophical basis for building tolerance and coexistence in Indonesian multicultural society and socio-religious life. Through the organization he established, i.e., FPUB (Interfaith Brotherhood Forum), he put into practice such an Islamic moderation.

SAMAN DANCE OF THE ACEH PEOPLE: IDENTITY AND ACTUALIZATION

AbstractThis study aims to analyze the Saman dance of the Aceh people that focuses on the analysis of the function of Saman that becomes the identity of the Gayo people. The identity and the actualization of Saman in accordance to the religion and customs of the Gayo people include some aspects that create the dance of the Aceh people, such as: socio-religious life, philosophies, symbols, norms and ethics. In the analysis, Saman has some values that make it as the identity of the Aceh people in the present and future life.Keywords: Saman Dance, Identity, Actualization

Gerakan Pesantren Kombos di Manado dalam Merespon Arus Post-Nasionalisme

Pesantren Kombos was established in 1977. From the new order era to reformation, pesantren Kombos have contributed to socio-religious life in multicultural society in Manado (Islam 128.483 %, Christian 254.912 %, Catholic 20.602 %, Hindu 692 %, Buddha 2.224 %, and Konghucu 499 %). Since the 9/11 attacks in the United States and the Bali bombings in October 2002 in Indonesia, pesantren have been the focus of international attention. Foreigner called Islamic education as breeding grounds for terrorist. Acts of radicalism and terrorism (postnasionalism) commited by Abu Bakar Baa’syir and Abdullah Sungkar has made pesantren become training institutions of jihad against the West under Jamaah Islamiyah group as Sidney Jones’s observation. Other religions are taught from the perspective of a particular religion. This model of religious education has been challenged especially after the 1998 political reform. Through literature study, the result of this research indicates that the situation in Manado looks stable even not trapped in actions of radicalism and global terrorism. To respond postnasionalism, pesantren Kombos in Manado build three major movements, namely ideology-political movement, demographic-accomodative movement, and programmatic-assosiative movement. Those three movements are using humanist, rational, and functional approach. Thus, in summary, pesantren Kombos has a cosmopolitan character that is actualized in the system Torang Samua Basudara and Si Tou Timou Tumou Tou.Keywords : Movement, Pesantren Kombos, Postnasionalism

Kiai vis a vis Media Logic: Revisiting the Power of Internet and Kiai in Pandalungan Muslim Community

Abstract 
 Internet becomes an integral part of current Indonesian society‘s life. Meanwhile, the figure of kiai clearly cannot be separated from the history of Indonesian socio-religious life up until recently. Both the kiai and Internet are inseparable parts of current Indonesian social reality, in which, each of them possessed their particular share of power and ran according their own logics. Focusing on the case of Pandalungan Muslims community, where the kiai‘s authority is greatly acknowledged, this paper will shed the lights on the logic behind those two powers and the contestation (for authority) occurred between them. This paper concludes that the logic of the kiai-ness is the logic of culture and media logic is in the logic of culture. This made the kiais‘ authority is still standing strong in current media life.

Secularism, sovereignty, and religious difference: A global genealogy?

This essay draws on one of the chapters of my new book Religious Difference in a Secular Age: A Minority Report published by Princeton University Press. In this book, I argue against the oft-repeated claim that the recent violence we have witnessed against religious minorities in the Middle East is a product of age-old Islamic hierarchies and religious antagonisms that characterize the region. Instead, I suggest that, while Islamic concepts are important, modern secular governance has played a crucial role in exacerbating religious tensions in the region, hardening interfaith boundaries and polarizing religious differences. This claim may appear counterintuitive to those who believe that secularism is a solution to the problem of religious strife rather than a force in its creation. My book challenges this assessment by examining the career of four cornerstones of secularism--political and civil equality, minority rights, religious freedom, and the legal separation of private and public domains-in the colonial and postcolonial Middle East, with a particular focus on Egypt. Far from securing a separation between religion and state, I argue, these concepts have made religious identity more rather than less consequential to national politics, amplified religious differences, and consecrated majoritarian religious values and norms within the laws of modern polities. My analysis here is indebted to the burgeoning field of secular studies that has, over the past two decades, definitively challenged the conventional account of secularism as the separation between church and state, religion and law, and ecclesiastical and political authority (Asad, 2003; Agrama, 2012; Bauberot, 2000; Connolly, 1999; Fernando, 2014; Fessenden, 2006; McLeod, 2000; Modern, 2011; Taylor, 2007). Scholars from a variety of disciplines have argued that modern secularism is far more than this minimalist formulation allows; it entails fundamental shifts in conceptions of self, time, space, ethics, and morality, as well as a reorganization of social, political, and religious life. The secular, in other words, is not the natural bedrock from which religion emerges, nor is it what remains when religion is taken away. Instead, it is itself a historical product with specific epistemological, political, and moral entailments-none of which can be adequately grasped through a nominal account of secularism as the modern state's retreat from religion. Broadly speaking, this emergent scholarship explores two distinct, albeit related, dimensions of the secular: political secularism and secularity. Secularism pertains to the modern state's relationship to, and regulation of, religion, while secularity refers to the set of concepts, norms, sensibilities, and dispositions that characterize secular societies and subjectivities. (1) This essay is concerned with political secularism, which, following Talal Asad (2006), I conceptualize as the modern state's sovereign power to reorganize substantive features of religious life, stipulating what religion is or ought to be, assigning its proper content, and disseminating concomitant subjectivities, ethical frameworks, and quotidian practices. The state's sovereign power to define and regulate religious life is neither monolithic nor predetermined. Rather, it is shot through with a generative contradiction. On the one hand, the liberal state claims to maintain a separation between church and state by relegating religion to the private sphere, that sacrosanct domain of religious belief and individual liberty. On the other hand, modern governmentality involves the state's intervention and regulation of many aspects of socioreligious life, dissolving the distinction between public and private and thereby contravening its first claim. This does not mean that the liberal state's ideological commitment to keep church and state apart is false or specious, or that secularism constrains religion rather than setting it free. …

Studies on Existing Indigenous Rice Landraces and their Survival Strategies at Old Alluvial Region of North and South Dinajpur, West Bengal, India- A Case Study

The excellent rice biodiversity of old alluvial region of North and South Dinajpur district in West Bengal had a long history and it had been developed through evolutionary process over a long period of time and sustained through ages by maintaining a perfect interaction with the environment and ecosystem. However, that rich rice biodiversity is under threat as most of the varieties are extinct only with some exception. The existing indigenous rice landraces have been studied based on their associated ethnic cultivation techniques, adaptation, stress tolerance, morphological and physiological characters, overall production and current existence status. The landraces are well adapted under various agro-ecological conditions. Diversity can be observed in their morphological and physiological characters, tolerance to stress and response to different traditional agro techniques. The existence of these varieties are either because of their extra ordinary adaptation or stress tolerance character or excellent grain quality and therefore, high market price. Involvement of certain cultivars in ethnic and socio-religious life also plays an important role towards the survival of these landraces under the scenario of a disappearing indigenous rice biodiversity in this region. Suitable market oriented cultivation in terms of organic crop, promoting commercially as holistic food, processed product, aromatic quality rice etc. can increase demand and market price of these cultivars. Side by side, conservation and research work should be enhanced for these underutilized varieties. With such strategies cultivars can find their way of survival.

“Tarekat Popoler” dalam Fenomena Pembacaan Selawat Nârîyah

The recitation of Selawat Nârîyah, as a religious ritual, performed by the Muslim community in Larangan Tokol Village, Pamekasan, East Java, has its own uniqueness within the process of its implementation and has an exceptional function from socio-religious-psychological point of view for its reciters. This article focuses its discussion mainly on the perception and motivation of the people in Larangan Tokol in recitation of Selawat Nârîyah. The article also observes the implication of recitation of Selawat Nârîyah for their socio-religious and psychological life. To Larangan Tokol people, Selawat Nârîyah has become a new religious tradition which should be maintained. It has been found that there is no such an obligation to adhere to certain Sufi order (tarekat) in order to perform the recitation of the selawat. However, there is a sort of psychological bond of guru (murshid) and murîd found in the membership (koloman) of recitation activity through what so-called tawassul. The tawassul is recited prior to the recitation of Selawat Nârîyah. The recitation of Selawat Nârîyah performed by Larangan Tokol people can be considered “a new genre of tarekat”. The writer tends to call it “Popular Tarekat” (an anonymous tarekat), i.e. an open Sufi order with no certain process of bay‘ah but it has unabridged narration (sanad mutâwatir) to the Prophet Muhammad.

Sacred Groves: Floristic Diversity and their Role in Conservation of Nature

Sacred Groves, one form of nature worship, are considered as “Sacred Natural Sites”. Indian sacred groves represent a diverse spectrum of ecosystem. Groves are present amidst the barren landscape or grassland (e.g., in Meghalaya), hill slope (Nagoni in Himalaya), amidst the agricultural landscape (in West Bengal, Karnataka), coastal plain (e.g., Edayilekkadu in Kerala) and Rajasthan desert. With the rapid ongoing changes in society and land use patterns, nowhere except groves one can expect regional ecosystem characteristics which can be served as models or replica for researchers and educators. The importance of sacred grove in nature conservation has been increased manifold in recent time especially after the declaration of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Community based conservation initiatives are one of the prime agendas for CBD for which sacred grove tradition can be portrayed as role model. The importance of sacred groves in socio-religious life as well as livelihood security has been felt by the indigenous communities from time immemorial which are actually substantiated by numerous local customs, folk lore, social and religious taboos throughout India.

Bamboo Art and Structure of the Dhurwa Tribals

This Research paper deals with the Bamboo Arts of the Dhurwa Tribals. The Dhurwa tribes are located in the Bastar, Chhattisgarh. The data were collected from the Darbha Block of Bastar District where Dhurwa's are resided. The data were collected mainly from the four villages namily Chhindawada, Chandragiri, Mangalpur and Chitapur. Though, Dhurwa are now a day's mordnized yet, they practicing Bamboo work as a livelihood. They make different type of Pot types of basket, Basketries, Fishing trap, Bow & Arrow etc. with the help of Bamboo, they use bamboo in Socio-Religious life practices. Bamboo does also play an important role in their Economy, Social and Religious life.

Kebangkitan Tarekat Kota

This article tries to analyze the revival of mystical order (<em>tarekat</em>) in urban areas. Experiences reveal that the development of mystical orders in the Muslim world is not free from criticism, either from the insiders or the outsiders. However, mystical orders still exist, and this fact is characterized by the development of different mystical groups in various cities. Political, social and economic factors influence the fluctuation of mystical orders. This article argues that in a number of countries and in Indonesia, the mystical orders have contributed significantly to the socio-religious life of Muslims. The mystical orders become stronger as they are supported by the involvement of middle class group, media publication, and internal strength embedded in the very tradition of mystical orders. The influx of middle class Muslims to the networks of tarekat brings the fresh wind of change since their engagement provides the internal dynamic of <em>tarekat</em> which encounters external influences on the one hand, and the continuing drive to develop on the other.

Makna Kultural Mitos dalam Budaya Masyarakat Banten

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This article discusses various myths spread in several areas of Banten. How Bantenese society understands and believes in myths that have spread and are still maintained from generations to generations and how the roles and functions of myths for Bantenese society constitute the main focus of this article. This article is field research using ethnographical methods based on in anthropological perspective. To analyze the data, the researcher uses a structural-functional approach. Library research, participant-observation, and depth-interview are methods used to collect the data. Myth is a part of folklore that appear in almost every culture of the world, especially in traditional or pre-literate cultures. Various researches, especially conducted by Western scholars, show how myths appear in various socio-religious activities of the society. Myths are also considered have moral values for the society that believes in them. The existence of myths in Bantenese society has influenced, more or less, the socio-religious life of the Bantenese. Myths, in some cases, also play significant roles and functions for Bantenese society such as strengthening something, maintaing cultural identity and solidarity of the society, and keeping prestige and social status. Key-words: myth, cultural meaning, Banten

Living Islamically in the Periphery: Muslim Discourse, Institution, and Intellectual Tradition in Southeast Asia by Iik Arifin Mansurnoor (review)

Reviewed by: Living Islamically in the Periphery: Muslim Discourse, Institution, and Intellectual Tradition in Southeast Asia by Iik Arifin Mansurnoor Mahani Musa Living Islamically in the Periphery: Muslim Discourse, Institution, and Intellectual Tradition in Southeast Asia Iik Arifin Mansurnoor Jakarta: UIN Jakarta University Press, 2011. 450 pp. ISBN: 978 602 8033 40 4 This volume is a compilation of the author's essays which were previously published in journals and edited books. These essays are grouped into four sections: Parts one and two focus on Brunei; Part three on Madura, while the discussion on Islam in Southeast Asia is covered in the final section. Under the theme of 'Keeping the faith and developing community and state', Part one embraces three chapters. The first chapter discusses the development of Kampong Ayer until the founding of a land-based settlement. The British Residency was introduced in 1906 and British Residents were influential in the state but with the state patronage. The sultan was firmly in control of all matters relating to Islam. This enabled Kampong Ayer to expand as an urban Muslim settlement despite the British plan in 1908 to move the capital to a land-based settlement. The role of the sultan as the paramount symbol of Islam in Brunei is covered in Chapter 2, entitled 'Historiography and religious reform in Brunei during the period 1912-1959'. The author stresses that the sultan's decision to place Brunei under the protection of Great Britain in 1888 and 1905/06 had a significant impact on the socio-religious life of the people of Brunei. The glory of the Ottoman empire, the development of tariqa orders in Southeast Asia, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 which meant the availability of more religious books from Mecca, and the return of trained scholars from Mecca, had opened up Brunei to changes for the first time since the nineteenth century. Interestingly, it was during the British Residency that many Islamic reforms took place, such as the prominence of Islamic law (sharia') in matters relating to family law and the clarification of the roles of religious officials in the judiciary (i.e. the introduction of local religious officials, kadi, to deal with cases relating to family law only). In the 1930s there were major changes in religious education when the sultan became the patron of all Islamic education reforms. In 1948 major institutional changes started and these were accelerated in the 1950s following the ascendency of Sultan Begawan to the Brunei throne. He incorporated foreign influences into his reforms (e.g., he followed Johor in the introduction of afternoon religious school) and established the Islamic Law Council in 1954. In the third chapter, entitled 'Socio-religious changes in Brunei after the Pacific War' the author continues his discussion on the Islamic reforms after 1945. On 1 July 1954, the Department of State Customs, Religion and Social Welfare was established and following the 1959 Constitution, the department was reorganized into the Department of Religious Affairs and the Department of State Customs and Social Welfare. This clarified the position of Islam as the official state religion while the implementation of the 1955 Enactment on Islamic Affairs, State Customs and Kadhi's Court manifests the strength of Islam in Brunei. [End Page 111] Part two of the book covers the theme 'Bringing Islam to individual and public: Education and intellectual tradition in Brunei'. The first chapter discusses the intellectual tradition through historical and religious text and the role and contribution of ulama in spreading knowledge among the population. In the second chapter 'Islamic education, state, and society in Brunei Darussalam', the author focuses his discussion on the development of religious tradition since the twentieth century through religious figures who, at the same time, served as state officials. They established religious network through students and a new balai. Iik divides the development of Islamic education into three phases: the early stage of development during British Residency in the first phase; the second phase covers the bureaucratization and institutionalization of religious education which took place after the Pacific War; and the third phase, the indigenization and maturation of religious education in the 1960s through Brunei scholars who had graduated from...

It’s hard to be down when you’re up: interpreting cultural heritage through alternative media

Heritage places are characteristically imbued with a multiplicity of meanings contingent on the specificities of the society, time and space in which such places are perceived. The interpretation of places also depends on the affordances of the representational medium through which these places are perceived and the ways in which such a medium is socially deployed and interpreted. Using the ancient settlement of Sirkap, located in modern-day Pakistan, as a case study, the present article demonstrates that a change in the representational medium entails a change in the interpretation of archaeological records. Most conventional historical accounts of Sirkap use two-dimensional site maps and city plans as the primary media to represent the urban fabric of the ancient settlement. These media lend themselves to interpreting the Block D Apsidal Temple complex as the dominant socio-religious structure in the affluent northern parts of the settlement. When the authors developed an interactive three-dimensional reconstruction of Sirkap using gaming technology – a medium that allows users, through their avatars, to explore the settlement from the standpoint of a pedestrian – it was immediately obvious that the aforementioned Block D Apsidal Temple complex did not demand such an interpretation. Instead, the authors argue that, at least in the affluent northern parts of the settlement, the northern gate, its adjacent fortifications, and the Block A stupa court were the dominant structures. Such an interpretation leads the authors to question the canonical understanding of the role of the state and its military apparatus in the socio-religious life of Sirkap.

ISLAM, PLURALITAS AGAMA, DAN PEMBENTUKAN MASYARAKAT MADANI DI INDONESIA

Plurality is inevitable in Indonesia. Plurality of religions is an asset of Indonesia. Plurality covers various aspects of social and religious life for both are related and inseparable . The socio-religious life has had many variety and is not always associated with positive values based upon the reality in the society. Friction and conflicts also occasionally occur, both among religious followers, and also fellow believers which commonly ends with disagreements. In order to result in positive impacts upon plurality or diversity, a good conflict management is needed. In relation to the establishment of civil society in Indonesia, good conflict management will provide a wide range of sphere for each individual to develop their creativeness and ideas for a better social and religious life.

Impact of Industrialization on Socio-cultural and Health Aspects of Tribal Groups of South Bihar, India

Tribes. of Bihar present a picturesque perspective TX ‘life and activities. They are to be found at diversified levels of cultural development- The paper aims to look into the impact of industrialization on tribals of Jamshedpur belt Due o industrialization the social, cultural and ecological changes lave occured in tribals. The traditional tribal communities who had so far depended solely on agriculture and forests as means of livelihood, are now facing the challenge of machine technology. The industrialization has resulted net only in the change in their socio-religious life but also in pattern of settlement and health status. Owing to the impel of various industrial forces the simple natural tribal folks have been exposed to new cultural experiences which res liled in the exertion of a short cultural shock. Besides. industrialization has brought in large number of alien disseats. On the whole industrialization is one of the major factors in the destabilization. and therefore, tribal population needs special attention. Industrialization, urbanization. deforestation and immigration of non-tribal have resulted in Deteriorations of ecology. socio-curial and health status of tie tribal groups. These factors have also led to increased exchanges of genes between tribal and non-tribal populations.

The Traditional Role of the Mithan or Gayal Among the Aka of Arunachal Pradesh, India

The mithan or gayal (Bos [Bibos] frontalis), a domesticated bovine found previously to play an unusual role in the socio-religious life of various hill tribes of the Indo-Burma borderlands, is considered as it fits into the life of the Aka, a tribal people of Arunachal Pradesh, India.