Iconography of Termites' Nests and Termites: Symbolic Nuances of Formlings in Southern African San Rock Art

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siyakha Mguni
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
Spirit World

Formlings, now better understood to depict termitaria (termites' nests) and termites, are a pervasive category of San (Bushman) rock art north of the River Limpopo. This article investigates the associations of termites' nests in San thought, belief, and ritual, in an attempt to explain formling symbolism and why termites' nests, and not other subjects, were chosen for depiction. Unequivocal ethnographic testimonies of San spiritual world-view are compounded with iconographic analysis to show nuances of San understanding and perception of the spirit world. In turn, this ethnographic hermeneutic reveals a significant but previously unexplored facet of spirit-world imagery which evokes notions of creative and transformative power. This newly highlighted vignette of San cosmology unlocks aspects of San imagery, such as the interface between the natural and the metaphysical, that have hitherto been less understood.

A Scientific World-View of Nature and Environmental Problem with a Special Concentration on Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Understanding of Environmental Sustainability (Perspektif Sains terhadap Krisis Alam dan Persekitaran: Pemikiran Seyyed Hossein Nasr tentan)

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-328
Author(s):  
Md. Abu Sayem
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
World View ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Ecological Crisis ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
World Views ◽  
Renaissance Humanism ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
Scientific World ◽  
European Renaissance

The present paper attempts to expose how the scientific world-view of nature contributes to the present environmental crisis. Alongside this, it relates European Renaissance, humanism, secularism, the scientific and industrial revolutions, modern philosophy, scientism, technology-based modern life, consumerism-based modern society, etc. with current environmental problems. By focusing on Nasr’s traditional understanding of nature, the paper explores how materialistic and mechanistic world-views are deeply connected with the present ecological crisis. It also offers a critical analysis of Nasr’s spiritual and religious world-view of nature and examines its relevance. In doing so, it aims to highlight some demerits of the present world-view, and to call to reform current perceptions of nature by revitalizing traditional wisdom in order to protect the environment from further degradation. Thus, the paper is scholarly addition to the ongoing discourse on the issue of religions and the environment. Keywords: Eco-theology, Environmental Degradation, Materialistic and Mechanistic Views of Nature, Scientism, Spiritual Crisis of Modern humans, Religious and Spiritual World-Views.   Abstrak Kertas kajian ini menerangkan bagaimana pandangan saintifik telah menyumbang kepada krisis alam sekitar semasa. Disamping itu, kertas ini akan menhubungkaitkan Gerakan Revolusi Humanisma di Eropah, sekularisme, revolusi  sains dan perindustrian, falsafah moden, saintisme, kehidupan moden yang berasaskan teknologi, masyarakat moden yang berasaskan consumerisme, etc. dengan krisis alam sekitar yang berlaku dewasa ini.  Dengan memahami pandangan Nasr terhadap alam sekitar, kertas ini akan merungkai bagaimana pandangan materialistik (kebendaan) dan mekanistik mempengaruhi krisis ekologi masa kini. Ia juga akan menganalisa pandangan spiritual dan agama Nasr terhadap alam sekitar secara kritikal dan akan menilai sejauh mana kesesuaiannya. Dengan sedemikian dapat menyedarkan manusia tentang kecacatan pandangan semasa, yang kemudiannya akan membawa kepada pembaharuan persepsi mereka terhadap alam sekitar dengan cara menghidupkan semula nilai-nilai tradisional demi mengelakkan kemerosotan alam sekitar. Kertas ini akan memuatkan idea-idea para cendiakawan dalam membincangkan isu  berkaitan agama dan alam sekitar. Kata Kunci: Eko-Teologi, Kemerosotan Alam Sekitar, Pandangan Materialistik dan Makanistik terhadap Alam, Saintisme, Krisis Spiritual Manusia Moden, Perspektif Spiritual dan Agama.

Continuing Writings on Stone

2019 ◽  
pp. 47-64
Author(s):  
Camina Weasel Moccasin
Keyword(s):  
Rock Art ◽  
Art Making ◽  
Intangible Heritage ◽  
Spirit World ◽  
Traditional Sense ◽  
Provincial Park

This chapter explores the concept of contemporary rock-art making as a form of repatriation. According to Blackfoot culture the making of rock art is considered a sacred act that involves communication with the spirit world. Current policies help protect existing, tangible rock art, but at the expense of continuing the intangible heritage of communicating with the spirit world. Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is in the process of creating a new policy which would allow the making of contemporary rock art in a traditional sense.

MATHEMATICS AND MAGIC: THEIST AND ATHEIST IDENTIFICATION WITH THE SPIRITUAL MUSIC OF KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN

Tempo ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (288) ◽  
pp. 59-69
Author(s):  
Ian Parsons
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Compositional Techniques ◽  
Spiritual Beliefs ◽  
Karlheinz Stockhausen ◽  
Alain Badiou ◽  
Broad View ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
The World ◽  
Human Awareness

AbstractStockhausen's idiosyncratic spiritual beliefs, and the vigour with which he expressed them in his compositional processes, have sometimes been an obstacle to both musicians and audiences in engaging with his music. I explore the extent to which the ability to appreciate Stockhausen's music is predicated on a sympathy with his spiritual world view. I pose a broad view of Stockhausen's spirituality, not reliant on theism, through drawing on three key sources: the composer's own commentary on spirituality and its connections with his serialist compositional techniques; Rudolf Otto's notions of an intrinsically human awareness of ‘the holy’; and the connections of mathematics with human truth drawn by Alain Badiou. I argue that a broader understanding of Stockhausen's spirituality enables a pathway into his music that can be shared by both theists and atheists, and that this can produce a rich fodder for each in their curiosity about human place in the world.

scholarly journals Healing and coping with life within challenges of spiritual insecurity: Juxtaposed consideration of Christ’s sinlessness and African ancestors in pastoral guidance

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vhumani Magezi ◽  
Christopher Magezi
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Proper Understanding ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
Life Challenges ◽  
African Spirituality ◽  
Life Issues ◽  
Inherent Problem ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Relationship

Spiritual insecurity among African Christians is a huge challenge. The insecurity among other things arises from African people’s former traditional African ancestral world view of ancestral veneration. The ancestors promote or hinder African Christians’ reliance on Christ because they have presupposedly acquired the supernatural power that enables them to provide diagnoses and solutions to life challenges. The inherent problem in the ancestral world view, however, is that the ancestors are both respected and feared by their descendants because they can either bless or harm depending on the state of the relationship between the surviving human beings and the ancestors. The basis of the unpredictable influence of ancestors lies in the fact that they (ancestors) are considered as human beings who carry their human qualities to the spiritual world. In light of this situation, one constructive approach that can be advanced to address the challenges of African Christians’ spiritual insecurity is a proper understanding of Christ as a sinless representative of humanity. This approach maintains that healing and coping with life within the challenge of African spirituality in the context of threatening life issues can be addressed by an appropriate understanding of Christ’s sinlessness. The article argues for the foundational status of Christ as a sinless representative of humanity as the controlling framework. In doing so, Christ’s sinlessness and the sinfulness of natural ancestors are juxtaposed to compare the two ontologies in order to draw some pastoral guidelines for African Christians. This approach pays close attention to the factors and mindset that sustain people who adhere to ancestral worship and assess them through a lens of Christology focusing on Christ’s sinlessness as an exemplary doctrine.

The role of religion in suicide prevention work in Uganda

2021 ◽  
pp. 69-76
Author(s):  
Emilio Ovuga ◽  
Jed Boardman
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
World View ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Spirit World ◽  
Mass Killings ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Over Time

Themes of traditional religious practice in Uganda have been the role of a creator, an understanding of life in an integral sense, and maintenance of contact with the spirit world. Christianity was introduced to Uganda in the nineteenth century and was associated with the colonial powers. Present expressions of cosmology mainly involve a strong sense of the collective and its responsibility, the breakdown of which plays a central role in suicide. The recent rise in suicide in Uganda may be the result of substantial social and economic changes, and long-term strife affecting the population. Associated with this have been mass suicide and internal wars, which resulted in mass killings that may have roots in traditional and non-traditional religious beliefs. An understanding of the traditional world view of Ugandans, and how this has changed over time, may help in developing strategies for the management and prevention of suicide in Uganda.

scholarly journals Retracing Deep Ecology in the reorientation of Naga identity with special reference to the select works of Easterine Kire Iralu

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhra Roy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Deep Ecology ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Equal Importance ◽  
The World ◽  
Spirit World ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Independent Entity

The Naga myth of origin underscores the co-existence of and the interconnectivity between the human and the natural world. It is believed that the Nagas once lived in Makhel and a tree stands there as the witness and symbol of Naga origin and unity. The Angami Nagas used to believe that before their dispersal to different parts of the world, three monoliths were erected at Makhrai-Rabu, and these structures represent the Tiger, the Man and the Spirit which stand for the flora and fauna, the human society and the spirit world. With the fall of the first monolith the destruction of the world is initiated and with the fall of the last one the earth witnesses complete doom. It has been reported that only one of these monoliths is standing erect, and it would not be too naive to say that it reminds us of the impending doom that perhaps has already been previewed in the form of natural disasters and other life threatening diseases. In the Naga cultural milieu, nature existed as an independent entity that breathed life into Naga myths, folklores and way of life. In short, it used to define the identity of the primordial Nagas, until their animist world view was replaced by that of Christianity. It was followed by the Indo-Naga conflict, and the Nagas were soon left with confused identities and crises that ran deep into their psyche. Easterine Kire Iralu, the author from Nagaland, tries to reorient the Naga identity by reclaiming the age-old myths and rituals.She tries to retrace the inherent Naga faith in deep ecology that gives equal importance to the distinct parts of the ecosystem that function as a whole.

scholarly journals ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЙ ПОТЕНЦИАЛ ОБЪЕКТНОЙ КЛАССИФИКАЦИИ СОВРЕМЕННЫХ ЛИТЕРАТУРНЫХ ЭКСКУРСИЙ

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Galkina
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Object Classification ◽  
Theme Parks ◽  
Future Teachers ◽  
Functional Characteristics ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
Complex Approach ◽  
The Way

Необходимость выявления и осмысления педагогического потенциала литературных экскурсий обусловлена потребностью формирования компетенций будущего педагога, направленных на использование окружающей среды в качестве образовательного и воспитательного пространства. При этом необходимо различать педагогический потенциал каждого экскурсионного объекта исходя из его функциональных характеристик. Предлагаемая объектная классификация литературных экскурсий, критерием которой выступает персонификация формирующих содержание экскурсии объектов, позволяет выделить три группы объектов: прижизненные, послежизненные и искусственные. Следуя функциональным характеристикам этих объектов (у прижизненных – подлинность, у послежизненных – мемориальность, увековечение памяти, у искусственных – досуг), предлагается создавать комплекс литературных экскурсий. Такой комплексный подход позволяет узучать жизнь и творчество литераторов, погружаясь сначала в биографические материалы (прижизненные объекты: дома, квартиры, музеиусадьбы, музеи-заповедники), затем в эстетику мемориальных памятников и некрополей (послежизненные объекты) и знакомясь с воссозданными фантазиями (искусственные объекты: тематические парки под открытым небом и музеи). Таким образом, путь осмысления педагогического потенциала различных литературных экскурсий (литературно-биографических, историко-литературных, литературно-краеведческих, литературно-художественных) будет способствовать формированию духовного мировоззрения будущего педагога.The need to identify and understand the pedagogical potential of literary excursions is based on the need to form the scope of competence for future teachers which is aimed at using the environment as an educational space. It is necessary to distinguish the pedagogical potential of each excursion object on the basis of its functional characteristics. The suggested object classification of literary excursions, the criterion of which is the object personification forming the excursion content, allows dividing these objects into three groups: lifetime, afterlife and artificial objects. It is suggested to create a complex of literary excursions following functional characteristics of these objects (lifetime – authenticity, afterlife – memorialization, artificial – leisure). This complex approach allows to study the life and work of writers plunging first into biographical materials (lifetime objects: houses, apartments, estate museums, reserve museums), then into the aesthetics of memorial monuments and necropolises (afterlife objects) and, finally, into getting to know recreated fantasies (artificial objects: open-air theme parks, museums). Thus, the way of pedagogical potential understanding of various literary excursions (literary and biographical, historical and literary, literary and regional, literary and artistic) will contribute to the spiritual world view formation of future teachers.

scholarly journals Where Is the Money? The Intersectionality of the Spirit World and the Acquisition of Wealth

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suleman Lazarus
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Theoretical Treatment ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
Spirit World ◽  
Social Security Benefits ◽  
Wealth Generation

This article is a theoretical treatment of the ways in which local worldviews on wealth acquisition give rise to contemporary manifestations of spirituality in cyberspace. It unpacks spiritual (occult) economies and wealth generation through a historical perspective. The article ‘devil advocates’ the ‘sainthood’ of claimed law-abiding citizens, by highlighting that the line dividing them and the Nigerian cybercriminals (Yahoo-Boys) is blurred with regards to the use of magical means for material ends. By doing so, the article also illustrates that the intersectionality of the spirit world and the acquisition of wealth (crime or otherwise) is connected with local epistemologies and worldviews, and its contemporaneity has social security benefits. Therefore, the view that the contemporary manifestations of spirituality in cyberspace signify a ‘new-danger’ and an ever-increasing outrage in Nigerian society is misplaced. I conclude that if people believe all aspects of life are reflective of the spiritual world and determined by it, the spiritual realm, by implication, is the base of society, upon which sits the superstructure comprised of all aspects of life, especially wealth. Inferentially, this conceptual position that the spirit world is the base of society is an inversion of Orthodox Marxist’s theory of economic determinism.

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