Supernatural World Research Articles

Luo Cultural Shrines: The Hembko of Got Ramogi, Kenya

Got Ramogi in Kenya is a hill shrouded with many mysteries and awe-inspiring cultural beliefs and practices. He hill has attracted the interests of archeologists, geologists, historians, ethnographers, foresters, herbalists, worshippers, politicians and tourists in equal measure. Ramogi Ajwang’, the founder father of the Luo nation, is believed to have settled on the strategichill when his people arrived in Kenya through Uganda from the southern Sudan. The objective ofthe study was to establish the number of cultural sites and shrines (hembko) at the hill, the cultural beliefs and practices associated with them, and the spiritual significance of each shrine on the spirituality and he future of the Luo community in Kenya and the diaspora. The information discussed in his paper was obtained through internet library research using the Google search engine. Google is considered to be the most popular and the best search engine due to its advanced algorithms and vast database. The search was able to identify nine (9) cultural shrines or hembko in Dholuo. Each of these shrines had unique name and function in the cultural and spiritual heritage of the people. The Luo offered spotless animal rituals to their God Nyasaye to propitiate or placate the supernatural world for continued prosperity and posterity. Further research should be conducted on Ramogi Hill to discover even more unearthed shrines.

Keadilan Restoratif Sebagai Upaya Penyelesaian Tindak Pidana Dalam Sistem Hukum di Indonesia

The justice that has been taking place in the criminal justice system in Indonesia is retributive justice, while what is expected is restorative justice, namely a process where all parties involved in a particular criminal act work together to solve the problem, how to deal with the consequences in the future, not yet regulated by strict norms that prevent criminal cases from having to be resolved outside of court using restorative justice. Based on the background above, researchers are very interested in studying: 1) How is the development of restorative justice in the Indonesian legal system? and 2) What are the principles of restorative justice in resolving criminal cases in Indonesia? The type of research used in this research is normative legal research. The development of restorative justice in the Indonesian legal system is based on the lack of satisfaction from the existing criminal justice system process, where it is felt that it does not meet the needs of the community, because in a criminal justice system process the parties in conflict are not involved but only involve between perpetrators and the state. Victims and the community are not involved in conflict resolution, in contrast to the principle of restorative justice where victims and the community are also involved in conflict resolution. The principle of restorative justice in resolving criminal cases in Indonesia is not something relatively new in Indonesia because it is a dispute resolution model which is one type of alternative punishment in the criminal law system in line with the aim of criminal sanctions according to the concept of customary law, namely restoring cosmic balance, balance between The world was born with the supernatural world, to bring a sense of peace between fellow citizens or between members of society and their community.

Locus of Control and Mental Health: Human Variation Complicates a Well-Established Research Finding.

Locus of control (LoC) refers to one's expectation that life outcomes and (mis)fortune are driven largely by one's own actions or abilities (internal LoC) or by external factors (e.g., powerful others, chance; external LoC). There is a large literature demonstrating an association between internal LoC and positive mental health outcomes. However, this research is conducted mostly in high-income, Global North settings, with limited consideration of cross-cultural variability. This short report explores how LoC relates to mental health when considered in a less-studied context: in a setting of stark structural violence and in relation to supernatural agents. I conducted a community-based survey in rural Haiti (n = 322) that assessed sent spirit-related locus of control (LoC-S) and mental health. Among individuals experiencing higher levels of daily stressors, depressive and anxiety symptoms were high regardless of LoC-S. However, for individuals facing low-to-moderate daily stressors, external LoC-S (believing one does not have control in relation to sent spirits) was associated with lower depressive and anxiety symptoms, though this interaction did not hold for anxiety after controlling for covariates. Though initially a nonintuitive finding, I contextualize this outcome in relation to ethnographic work in Haiti, showing that the ability to explain misfortune via the supernatural world can serve as a form of blame displacement. In a context where extreme structural violence means that individuals realistically have little control over their lives, an external LoC better reflects lived experience, helping explain the association with better mental health outcomes.

Representation of Shamanism in the Film "The Medium" (Semiotic Analysis of Chaerles Sanders Pierce)

The Medium is a supernatural horror film, produced by Showbox from South Korea and GDH 559 from Thailand, directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, who also serves as a producer alongside Na Hong-Jin, the director of the film The Wailing. This research aims to understand the presence of shamanism or witchcraft in Indonesia and Thailand, as well as the depiction of shamanism in Indonesia through the semiotics of Charles Sander Pierce, by connecting signs, objects, and meanings in accordance with what is portrayed in the film The Medium. This research uses a descriptive qualitative method with data collection techniques such as observation, analysis, and literature review, based on the semiotic analysis of Charles Sanders Pierce. The research findings show that shamanism in the Isan community in Thailand is portrayed as a bridge between humans and the supernatural world, with the shaman acting as a mediator. During the ritual process, the shaman uses various tools such as white thread, candles, incense, and statues. Mantras are used as a form of communication, the worship space serves as a place of worship, dance accompanied by music is a form of worship, ritual scars are a form of shamanic impact, the use of blood and cow heads is a way to ward off evil spirits, and traditional Thai clothing represents the local culture and traditions.

The Anvil, the Ascent, and Enoch

First Enoch, a pseudepigraphical work from the Second Temple period, contains visions of the natural and supernatural world that cause the visionary, Enoch, to understand anew the beyond-human world. Written during a time of environmental devastation, 1 Enoch can be a resource for helping today’s readers rewild our religious imaginations, our understanding of worship, and our relationship with nonhuman creation. This essay offers a reflection on how the Book of the Watchers in 1 Enoch and the author’s failed attempts to reach a mountain peak helped the author better understand the unseating of humanity as the center of creation as an experience of grace.

Legend Categories and Structure in Nagari Sungai Limau Dharmasraya District and Its Implications for Indonesian Language Learning

Folklore as a source of cultural information for a community group needs to be studied, which then needs to be introduced and socialized to other community groups. Legends have the potential and role as cultural treasures. Legends also have educational value that can be appreciated, pondered and appreciated. This research aims to describe the categories and structure of legends in Nagari Sungai Limau, Dharmasraya Regency and the implications for learning. This type of research is qualitative using descriptive methods. The source of research data is a legend in Nagari Sungai Limau, Dharmasraya Regency. Research data collection techniques use observation, data, interviews and data techniques. Data analysis techniques are carried out by classifying or grouping data, analyzing categories and legend structures, drawing conclusions from the entire research work process, and compiling and reporting research results. The results of the research are: first, there are two categories of legends, namely local legends consisting of the Lubuk Tagadih legend and Lubuk Tosau legend and supernatural world legends consisting of Wang Binun (Binun People) and the Plisit legend. Second, the structure of legends in Nagari Sungai Limau, Dharmasraya Regency generally contains theme, plot, characters, setting and message. Third, the implication in learning is in the Basic Competency that it examines the structure and language of local fables/legends that are read and listened to. Therefore, the current study can be concluded that a category includes local legends and supernatural legends, the structure of the legend which includes theme, plot, characters, setting, and message.

African Approaches to the Protection and Conservation of the Environment: The Role of African Traditional Religions

Abstract In Africa the environment is sacrosanct and treated with great respect, particularly in communities where traditional beliefs and practices prevail. The sacredness of the environment is based on the African people’s fundamental belief that the spiritual and the secular worlds are two sides of the same coin endowed with divine power and presence. As a result, the line of demarcation between the two worlds is blurred. They complement each other in the sense that each derives its meaning, significance and importance from the other. Since the natural world is imbued with the divine, it is considered an extension of the supernatural world. In the absence of written legal frameworks, the environment, in indigenous communities, is protected through religious beliefs and practices. This article analyses the basic approaches of the African people towards nature and their fundamental belief that the environment is an integral part of God’s creation and must therefore be preserved and conserved for future generations. The article notes that in contemporary Africa the emphasis on material values is leading towards the total destruction of the environment, thus putting humanity at the intersection of self-destruction – something that needs to be avoided at all costs.

Visits to the Palace of the Sea God in Ancient and Medieval Japan

Visits to the palace of the sea god are a recurring theme in premodern Japanese narratives, and comparing these stories across time periods reveals shifting perceptions of the supernatural world. The earliest sources for narratives of travel to the palace of the sea god in Japan date from the eighth century, most notably in the stories of Luck of the Mountain and Urashima Tarō. In these stories, the descriptions of the sea god’s palace, the relationship of the sea god to the natural world, and even the location of the palace were tied to eighth-century understandings of kingship, weather, and geography. Later adaptations of these stories incorporate features of Buddhist geography, Chinese architecture, Buddhist narrative motifs, and even an alternative vision of supernatural time. These alterations occurred because the eighth-century narratives required adaptation to fit a new political, social, and religious reality. This comparison demonstrates that our vision of the supernatural world is inextricably tied to our understanding of the natural. When our fundamental grasp of the nature of reality changes, our imagination of the supernatural transforms in turn.

Evil in Turkish Muslim horror film: the demonic in “Semum”

The aim of the following study is to offer a better understanding of the Turkish religious consciousness. Turkey is a secular country with a Muslim majority. Movie characters with different attitudes towards religion and their relationship to supernatural evil within Islamic cosmology will be examined. This will provide better insights into the religiosity among Turkish Muslims and their relationship with religious metaphysics in a secular world through the popular horror movie “Semum” (2008). “Semum” is unique by not utilizing jinn, but a devil as the chosen monster. By that, “Semum” conceptualizes an entity of what is perceived as evil in contrast to the moral greyness presented in jinn-horror movies. It reflects a supernatural world of good and evil to its audience, in which metaphysical questions are addressed. Turkey, as a Muslim-majority society, is less often examined when it comes to theological/metaphysical matters regarding the Islamic faith, than when it comes to social issues. For an accurate understanding, this paper first investigates the director’s own statements about his monster. Afterwards, Islamic sources will be compared to the movie’s depiction of said monsters. Next, the roles of the main characters and their relationships towards the demonic will be explained. By that, it will be seen how the roles of the characters allegedly deal with evil. It will be shown that secularism is considered to be insufficient to deal with possible threats to humanity. Yet, the director asserts that science and religion should co-exist to deal with mankind’s fears.

Ecology of the ‘Other’: A Posthumanist Study of Easterine Kire’s When the River Sleeps (2014)

In Posthuman Ecology, anthropocentrism, based on the binary division between the privileged human and the ‘other’, gets deconstructed, leading to an acknowledgment of humans as essentially tangled in an intricate web of the natural world. In such ecologies, boundaries between the human and the more-than-human (non-human) worlds become porous, creating fluid identities and conditions of being within a framework of active interplay between the human and the non-human world. The ecology of folktales is replete with Posthumanism, as their narratives consistently break the unbridgeable gap between the human, non-human, and the spiritual and/or supernatural worlds and present certain non-naturalist ontologies that are mostly at odds with naturalism or modern empirical science. Such tales provided much-needed templates for sustainable development in the time of the Anthropocene. This paper attempts to study Easterine Kire’s When the River Sleeps (2014) as a posthumanist narrative where Vilie (a hunter) goes on a fantastical journey to find a fabled magical stone from the bottom of the ‘sleeping river’. Vilie’s journey comes out as a playground for both mundane and fantastic elements. He grows as a human being, and this happens as he transacts with the non-human and the supernatural world and comes across deep metaphysical questions and presents keys to understanding balance-in-transcendence.

The Shape of Water

The quatrefoil motif, a widespread symbol in ancient Mesoamerica, is associated with caves and serves as a portal to the supernatural world, enabling communication with gods and ancestors. This article investigates the undeciphered Maya logogram T510cd, commonly referred to as the quatrefoil glyph due to its distinctive shape. Through a comprehensive analysis of inscriptions featuring T510cd, complemented by selected iconographic, archaeological, and ethnographic investigations, this article sheds new light on previous attempts to decipher the quatrefoil glyph. The study reveals that logogram T510cd likely represents the Maya word "ch’en," signifying openings or holes in the earth, often indirectly related to pools and caves.

The Visualization of Spirits in The Digital World as Creative Commodities in Indonesia

This study analyzes the visualization process of spirits in the supernatural world that are seen by humans in the physical world through digital contents as creative commodities. Spirit content is still promising as a creative commodity in Indonesia. This content has a lot of curious fans because it can be facilitated visually. The content, which is believed to have different worlds, is able to unite the physical world and the energy world. The energy world includes the digital world and the supernatural world. Thus, the differences between the worlds are interesting to analyze for creative process development. This study uses the qualitative method, the virtual theory from Rob Shield used to map the position of spirits, humans, and platforms. The communication theory is used to see the visual transfer process to society, and Sasmita explores the signs that appear in the content. The findings indicate that representing intangible entities through locally relevant visual symbols proved beneficial for content creators, enabling the production of innovative content that enhances audience interaction. This was achieved by conveying messages to the audience through the construction of symbols and leveraging visual perception.
 Keywords: creative commodities; digital world; spirits content; visual process.

Youth Suicide, Supernatural Beings and the Shamanic Response in Hunza: Northern Pakistan.

In recent years, Hunza has seen a surge of suicide cases among youth. This paper attempts to decipher the multiple layers of meanings entailed in suicide cases. The dominant perception among the natives is the attribution of influence to supernatural beings. This paper attempts to provide insights into the supernatural cosmology and its relationship to youth suicide among the Burushaski speakers of Hunza. Using qualitative research methodology, this paper describes the local perception of supernatural beings, and their classifications as well as the role of local shamans, known in Burushaski as bitan. In this scenario, suicide is not seen as a self-destruction, but is rather a punishment by the supernatural beings owing to the violation of the sacred supernatural social order imposed by the spirits connected to the supernatural world. For the natives, both the terrestrial and supernatural spheres share common habitats and mountain ecology; however, the latter is perceived to have more powers than the former. Therefore, breach of this order is highly discouraged and bears dire consequences. What appears as mere supernatural and human conflict actually carries deeper references to social and ecological disruptions.

Spectre and Speculation: Haunting and Uncanniness in Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree by Niq Mhlongo

Niq Mhlongo's collection of short stories, Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree (2018), does not perhaps immediately present itself as speculative fiction. The collection, however, gives the supernatural world of African indigenous knowledge as much weight in shaping characters' lives and experiences as it does contemporary socio-political realities. It troubles established genre distinctions in that it can be seen as a work simultaneously belonging to magical realism, social realism, and horror. This article contends that it is precisely owing to the work's use of supernatural and uncanny aspects that this collection can be viewed as a form of social or sociological realism, which aims at depicting the peculiar contemporary and subjective (sur)realities of many young black South Africans. It is faithful to the contradictory worlds of tradition and globalisation that many South Africans straddle, as well as to the spectres of colonialism and Apartheid, that impinge on the present in both material and immaterial forms. In many ways the collection stages the difficulty of decolonisation and the subjective spectres and doppeigängers that such a process unleashes. This paper will make use of the work of Sigmund Freud, Avery F. Gordon, Eve Tuck and C. Ree to explore instances of haunting and the uncanny in Mhlongo's collection.

The case of the transposition of the São Francisco River, or the environmental practices and indigenist policy of leftist governments in Brazil

This article presents the results of research whose objective was to evaluate the environmental and cultural impact of the work of the transposition of the São Francisco River, which began in 2007, on Indigenous peoples directly affected by the construction in their territories.We conducted dozens of interviews with the chiefs and leaders of the Truká people, in Cabrobó, state of Pernambuco, Brazil, where the waters of the river were removed for transposition. The discourses reveal that the impact of this work does not only affect the lands and way of life but confronts Truká’s cosmology and representations they have about nature and the supernatural world always being in close connection. From the official developmental perspective, we raise the alternatives presented by those who rejected the construction of this work: the NGOs, social movements, and the Indigenous peoples (riverside fishermen). We understand the construction of the transposition in the context of developmental works of great magnitude, within the framework of a political project that has been unfolding in Brazil over the last decade. Finally, we dismantle the official justifications about the need for the work and raise questions about the real motives that led to the proposal of this megaproject despite popular resistance and technical difficulties that have prevented its inauguration.

Women as witness, victim and villain: multifaceted role-play in Fatal Frame II

ABSTRACT In 2003 Japanese folk horror game Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly directed by Makoto Shibata, the protagonist bears witness to an ancient tradition of a community linked to the ritual sacrifice of twins, which results in the female victim becoming a malevolent spirit. Gradually the player, as Mio, equipped with the Camera Obscura, transitions from observer to participant in the cycle of events that results in sacrificing their own twin sister. This article focuses on establishing the game within the folk horror subgenre, before examining three female characters: Mio, the protagonist, who shifts from witness/voyeur to participant; Mayu, their twin, who transitions from unwilling to willing sacrifice; and Sae, the victim of the original ritual and antagonist. In Fatal Frame II, the Camera Obscura, which captures the supernatural world, is the lens through which past and present blur as the player is confronted by the twisted beliefs of the village. Through analysis of the game’s narrative, ludic elements, and visual aesthetics, I examine how these roles fit within the context of folk horror, gender and Japanese folklore.

‘Dying for nothing` or ‘dying for something’? Understanding suicide in Igboland

In the modern world, suicide is frequently attributed to various factors such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse. However, this study identified other intrinsic factors that might induce suicidal feelings. These often-neglected factors, which are more spiritual than physical, relate to the idea of ‘dying for something’ and/or ‘dying for nothing’. The study aimed to explore the understanding of suicide among the Igbo people of Nigeria. Since Igboland is a large area, the study adopted the culture area method of interpretation. The reason for this method is to avoid the error of over-generalization, hence, what obtains in one subculture may not be the same in another subculture. The area of concentration of the study is the central sub-cultural area of Igboland, which is Ugbaike Enugu-Ezike of Southeast Nigeria. Data for the study was generated from both event reviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Following a qualitative analysis, the findings show that, first, suicide is considered a taboo topic among Igbo people. It is very clear that, traditionally, the Igbo conceptualize suicide as an abomination against the gods, meaning that taking one’s life is not permitted by any human or spiritual agents. The study also identified the reasons for suicide, which intrinsically varied according to space and time. Generally, suicide stirs up discomfort in the supernatural world and to escape from the wrath of the supernatural powers, an expiatory sacrifice must be performed.

Проблема вербализации живого знания в философии С.Л. Франка

The article changes the problem of verbalization of living knowledge in the philosophy of S.L. Frank. On the material of philosophical kids. Frank divides into two levels – reality and reality. It is revealed that the Russian philosopher understands the reality as the metaphysical, spiritual level of being with the inclusion of the supernatural world in faith in the concept of meaning, while the key figure of spiritual reality in the philosophy of S.L. Frank is God – the Absolute, possessing both personal and prepersonal izneme. It is distinguished by the presence of its own spiritual experience in S.L. Frank. is revealed from the fact that knowledge of the spiritual reality is possible due to living knowledge, knowledge-experience, the article reveals the ideas of expression, the transfer of living knowledge opened as a result of contact with the spiritual reality. It is noted that the interest of S.L. Frank to the proposed problem is fixed in the work of different years. The methodology of the Possible Verbalization of living knowledge throughout the Whole Frank is analyzed and systematized. It is concluded that according to S.L. For Frank, knowledge about the Absolute as the quintessence of living knowledge is not absolutely inexpressible, however, the verbalization of the strategy still turns out to be limited in the exceptionally strong otherness of the spiritual level of being. It is important that the evaluation of the results of living knowledge is possible thanks to verbalization: with the help of metaphor, apophatic and paradoxical, antinomic method, as well as with the help of poetry that rejects to the Absolute.

Pengaruh Nilai dan Norma Terhadap Tradisi Ruwat Bumi di Desa Guci, Kabupaten Tegal, Jawa Tengah

Values ​​and Norms in the Ruwat Bumi Tradition in Guci Village, Tegal Regency, Central Java have a significant urgency for the process of social life. The values ​​and norms contained are basically a reflection of the teachings of the ancestors or ancestors which occurred due to the process of assimilation between Islam and Hinduism. This happens because there are cultures that interact with each other to produce existing systems of values ​​and norms. This tradition is a sacred tradition to preserve and protect what the earth has given to the local community, as well as respect for ancestors, religious ceremonies, giving offerings, slaughtering animals, sowing flowers, and celebrating the struggle for vegetables into a series of processes of the Ruwat Bumi Tradition carried out once a year to be precise in the month of assuyro. The method in writing scientific papers uses the descriptive literature method so that the data obtained is data sourced from scientific journals, books, and others that are relevant to the topic of writing. The results of writing this scientific work are basically the Ruwat Bumi Tradition in Guci Village, Tegal Regency, Central Java, which has a meaning that plays a role in maintaining the balance of life between the natural world and the supernatural world. Existing values ​​and norms are not far from what God has given for human survival. Respect for ancestors, diversity and tolerance, preservation of nature, religiosity, spiritualism, a sense of togetherness, respect and continuity are the basis for the formation of this culture. All of this cannot be separated from the role of the ancestors in responding to and appreciating what the earth has given them at that time. Ruwat Bumi in Guci Village is a symbol of togetherness, pride has a distinctive characteristic to make Guci Village rich in existing culture. The values ​​and norms contained in this ceremony should be able to be implemented and applied in social life so that a sense of unity and harmony between the nation and the state is created properly.

Origins of Moral-Political Philosophy in Early China: Contestation of Humaneness, Justice, and Personal Freedom, by Tao Jiang

One important question to ask when either writing or reviewing is: what is the ideal audience for this book? I would not recommend Tao Jiang’s Origins of Moral-Political Philosophy in Early China as an introductory book for non-specialists. Some of the best parts of this book are the opening accounts of the methodological disputes between Sinologists and philosophers (pp. 1-26), the discussions of how Chinese philosophy ties into issues of identity politics and ‘Orientalism’ (pp. 26-34), and the summary of recent archaeological discoveries and how they might inform our understanding of the received canon (pp. 97-111, 185-90). However, these sections will, in my opinion, be most interesting to those already conversant with Chinese philosophy. This book is also pitched to cognoscenti in its presentation of Chinese philosophers. For example, early in the book, Jiang informs the reader, ‘For Confucius, the Zhou [dynasty] institution of ritual and music represented the most legitimate and effective way of organizing the sociopolitical world’ (p. 54). However, the reader is not given an account of what ‘ritual’ refers to until later in the chapter. After quoting at length another author who gives a very abstract description of ritual, Jiang adds, ‘Simply put, in the ancient Chinese context, ritual was the general structure through which human beings interacted with each other as well as with the natural and the supernatural worlds’ (p. 68). But there is no specific example of what a ritual is until even later in the chapter (p. 73). My sense is that most general readers (and most philosophers) will need more examples of rituals and a clear explanation of why one might take ritual seriously as a tool of social control.