African Indigenous Religions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter E.A. van Beek
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Indigenous Religion ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
The World ◽  
Other World ◽  
Indigenous Religions ◽  
The Village

There is not one African indigenous religion (AIR); rather, there are many, and they diverge widely. As a group, AIRs are quite different from the scriptural religions the world is more familiar with, since what is central to AIRs is neither belief nor faith, but ritual. Exemplifying an “imagistic” form of religiosity, these religions have no sacred books or writings and are learned by doing, by participation and experience, rather than by instruction and teaching. Belonging to specific local ethnic groups, they are deeply embedded in and informed by the various ecologies of foragers, pastoralists, and horticulturalists—as they are also by the social structures of these societies: they “dwell” in their cultures. These are religions of the living, not so much preparing for afterlife as geared toward meeting the challenges of everyday life, illness and misfortune, mourning and comforting—but also toward feasting, life, fertility, and togetherness, even in death. Quiet rituals of the family contrast with exuberant public celebrations when new adults re-enter the village after an arduous initiation; intricate ritual attention to the all-important crops may include tense rites to procure much needed rains. The range of rituals is wide and all-encompassing. In AIRs, the dead and the living are close, either as ancestors or as other representatives of the other world. Accompanied by spirits of all kinds, both good and bad, harmful and nurturing, existence is full of ambivalence. Various channels are open for communication with the invisible world, from prayer to trance, and from dreams to revelations, but throughout it is divination in its manifold forms that offers a window on the deeper layers of reality. Stories about the other world abound, and many myths and legends are never far removed from basic folktales. These stories do not so much explain the world as they entertainingly teach about the deep humanity that AIRs share and cherish.

scholarly journals MAKNA GERAK TORTOR MANGONDAS DALAM UPACARA KEMATIAN SAUR MATUA PADA MASYARAKAT BATAK TOBA DI KABUPATEN SAMOSIR

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rinda Turnip
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Social Value ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Good Luck ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Other World ◽  
The Village

Tortor Mangondas is an expression of sorrow that was created to meet the needsof indigenous meaningful honor the dead (and of the spirit / tondi man and tondithe first death) and is a communication between the real world and the other world(deceased) for application of this world can be given to the fathers and good luck /blessing of them can be given to people who live mainly heirs.This study aims tofind out what the meaning contained in Tortor Mangondas in Toba Batak society.The theoretical foundation of this research uses one theory, the theory of meaningand understanding tortor mangondas and death ceremonies.Location and time the research was conducted in Samosir and time for twomonths, the sample population figures there are some dancers and artists as wellas traditional leaders. The author conducted field observations, with videocapture, documentation, and conduct interviews with sources, as well as completethe data through research at the Village Siopat bill SamosirThe results based on the data that has been collected can be seen that TortorMangondas never appears solely as a form of dance in any society. But themotion-motion can still be explained the meaning of each movement performed.Tortor Mangondas created because someone who has died Saur matua not have achance to talk to the family to deliver the parting words and all expressions heartscontent. The social value as a society Batak Toba Mate Saur Matua wherebyTortor Mangondashasuhutan held with the objective of respect for parents and atthe same time submit a request to Mulajadi Nabolon prayer.

Household Structures and Activities

1973 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 271-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matina Weinstein
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Village Women ◽  
The Village

The study lasted two months during the summer of 1972 (19th July–14th September) and was approached by means of three techniques:1. participant observation;2. observation;3. interviews.The first consists in the researcher entering the household, establishing contact with the family, and then studying the everyday life by direct observation and participation in the activities. This technique allows freer access to the household than would normally be possible utilizing other techniques, and thus facilitates the collection of detailed data. This technique was applied to one household (referred to as the “study household”) in the village. Although data were collected on many aspects of daily life, special emphasis was placed on obtaining information about those activities which it was felt would have some relevance to archaeological problems in general.The second approach involves general observations of the village women at work, and in particular, observations of five other village households with which other members of the project co-operated.The third approach involved questioning the “study household” and the other five on general topics, such as the length of time taken to perform certain activities.

Social Imaginaries and Politics in the Narratives on the World-beyond and the Supernatural

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihwa Choi
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Imaginaries ◽  
Political Messages ◽  
Traditional Belief ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Other World ◽  
Wang Anshi

During the period when official and public discourse was frequently used for political purges, stories about the affairs of the world-beyond were used as a convenient vehicle for delivering political messages. After the death of Wang Anshi, a supporter of stronger monarchical power, a series of eyewitness accounts of his ill fate in purgatory were widely spread. In contrast, Han Qi, a critic of Wang, was reported to have become a god in glory who was in charge of the other-world tribunal court. The abundance of narratives on the social imaginaries of the world-beyond and the supernatural reveals that the Confucian maxim of keeping silent on that topic was widely defied. At the same time, scholar-officials in their public discourse with their authorship tended to defend Confucian traditional belief in Heaven as the ground of ethics, and to reject any counter-imaginaries.

The Rhythms of Character in Katherine Mansfield’s ‘Miss Brill’

2017 ◽  
pp. 181-192
Author(s):  
Helen Rydstrand
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
The Self ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Theatrical Production ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Indirect Discourse ◽  
Prose Style ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Multiple Levels

This chapter investigates the ways that Katherine Mansfield’s ‘Miss Brill’ is constructed through textual rhythms. Specifically, it argues that the story is distinguished by an arrhythmic duality created largely by the way that Miss Brill’s resolutely cheerful voice, which reaches us via free indirect discourse, is repeatedly undercut by a discordant undertone of melancholy. This contributes to a pattern of self-deception repeated at multiple levels of the story, culminating in a fantasy about her everyday life being part of a theatrical production. Mansfield’s mimetic use of rhythm serves a profoundly ethical purpose, using rhythm to sympathetically portray the depth of its subject’s loneliness and to expose the social structures that lead to it. The story also shows the influence on modern prose style of the relatively new field of psychology in its exploration of consciousness, emotion, and the relation between the self and the world. Beyond its ethical concerns, Mansfield’s experiment with rhythms for mimetic purposes also aims to deepen our understanding of the subtle cadences and confluences of inner and outer experience. In this, she contributes to the broader ontological and aesthetic conversations surrounding rhythm in her time.

scholarly journals Social Criticism on Works of Contemporary Women Story Writers

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Masoomeh Mahmoodi
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Social Criticism ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
The World ◽  
Made In

Goldmann's genetic structuralism approach is one of the literary critique approaches and believes that the literary text are derived from the ideology governing the classes of society, and focuses on study of stories and their structures to know the social structures. A review of the changes made in the themes and subjects of the works of the Iranian story writers that most of them are from the middle class of society, indicates the growth of awareness and understanding of Iranian women about their identity and individuality and the achievement of conditions beyond what they are. Although in popular stories, most Iranian female storytellers are still interested in the reproduction of traditional gender stereotypes, but female storywriters in the field of transcendental literature have entered the changes made in their cognitive realm to the actions of characters of their stories. This reveals that they seek to understand their own self and place in the world around them. Love and loneliness resulted by the confrontation between men and women are a common theme in these works that have been narrated on the various issues arising from the family and social relationships of women.

KONSEP DIRI “ I “ DAN “ME” TOKOH HIROKO DALAM NOVEL NAMAKU HIROKO KARYA NH.DINI

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Besin Gaspar
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Main Character ◽  
Fictional Character ◽  
Social Customs ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Village ◽  
The City

This research deals with the development of  self concept of Hiroko as the main character in Namaku Hiroko by Nh. Dini and tries to identify how Hiroko is portrayed in the story, how she interacts with other characters and whether she is portrayed as a character dominated by ”I” element or  ”Me”  element seen  from sociological and cultural point of view. As a qualitative research in nature, the source of data in this research is the novel Namaku Hiroko (1967) and the data ara analyzed and presented deductively. The result of this analysis shows that in the novel, Hiroko as a fictional character is  portrayed as a girl whose personality  develops and changes drastically from ”Me”  to ”I”. When she was still in the village  l iving with her parents, she was portrayed as a obedient girl who was loyal to the parents, polite and acted in accordance with the social customs. In short, her personality was dominated by ”Me”  self concept. On the other hand, when she moved to the city (Kyoto), she was portrayed as a wild girl  no longer controlled by the social customs. She was  firm and determined totake decisions of  her won  for her future without considering what other people would say about her. She did not want to be treated as object. To put it in another way, her personality is more dominated by the ”I” self concept.

Sectarian struggle in the Middle East and the new Alliances

2019 ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
Harith Qahtan Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
The Other ◽  
New Era ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
The World ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Other World ◽  
Islamic Civilization ◽  
New Formation

Our Islamic world passes a critical period representing on factional, racial and sectarian struggle especially in the Middle East, which affects the Islamic identification union. The world passes a new era of civilization formation, and what these a new formation which affects to the Islamic civilization especially in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. The sectarian struggle led to heavy sectarian alliances from Arab Gulf states and Turkey from one side and Iran states and its alliances in the other side. The Sunni and Shia struggle are weaken the World Islamic civilization and it is competitive among other world civilization.

Social Glocalisation and Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Hobelsberger
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Practical Theology ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Local Effects ◽  
Local Identities ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Work Health

This book discusses the local effects of globalisation, especially in the context of social work, health and practical theology, as well as the challenges of higher education in a troubled world. The more globalised the world becomes, the more important local identities are. The global becomes effective in the local sphere. This phenomenon, called ‘glocalisation’ since the 1990s, poses many challenges to people and to the social structures in which they operate.

Benson and Miller in Perspective

1979 ◽  
Vol 3 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 242-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Kuklick
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Applied Science ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Knowledge ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Stock Of Knowledge

Despite differences in coloration Miller and Benson are birds of a feather. Although he is no Pollyanna, Miller believes that there has been a modest and decent series of advances in the social sciences and that the most conscientious, diligent, and intelligent researchers will continue to add to this stock of knowledge. Benson is much more pessimistic about the achievements of yesterday and today but, in turn, offers us the hope of a far brighter tomorrow. Miller explains Benson’s hyperbolic views about the past and future by distinguishing between pure and applied science and by pointing out Benson’s naivete about politics: the itch to understand the world is different from the one to make it better; and, Miller says, because Benson sees that we have not made things better, he should not assume we do not know more about them; Benson ought to realize, Miller adds, that the way politicians translate basic social knowledge into social policy need not bring about rational or desirable results. On the other side, Benson sees more clearly than Miller that the development of science has always been intimately intertwined with the control of the environment and the amelioration of the human estate.

IMPACT OF CYSTIC FIBROSIS ON FAMILY FUNCTIONING

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1964 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
Juanita Turk
Keyword(s):  
Cystic Fibrosis ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Psychological Functioning ◽  
Sick Child ◽  
The Other ◽  
Family Needs ◽  
Entire Family ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Service Agencies

This study was undertaken to determine whether families of children with cystic fibrosis were experiencing difficulties in meeting family needs and in maintaining normal family relationships. It was found that families were not deprived of the essentials of living, but they were not able to maintain their usual pattern of family relationships. Time and energy precluded carrying on activities with each other and with the children; and there was breakdown in their ability to communicate adequately between themselves and the children regarding important family issues. In order to preserve the family as a functioning unit, someone has to be concerned about the entire family. Of necessity, the family has focused on the sick child, leaving the physician, the nurse, the social worker and/or the social agencies to help the family refocus on its total situation, rather than just a part of it. Traditionally, the mother takes care of the sick child. It is she who takes the child to the doctor's office and is responsible for carrying out his recommendations. In the care of a CF child, she assumes a heavy burden and frequently is fatigued from this responsibility. Because she is so tired and so occupied, she may misunderstand or distort what she is told by the physician, and may not be able to tell her husband or the children what they need to know in order to participate in family activities and in the care of the CF child. This situation can easily lead to misunderstanding and tension within the family. To avoid this, both parents could be encouraged, at some point, to come together to the physician's office for discussion. Such discussions could lead to more consideration and appreciation being given to each other. It might lessen the tendency for each to blame the other for the child's illness and could avoid the feeling voiced by one mother, "I would like to blow him out of his chair so that he would help me and understand what I go through." We also need to realize that the CF child is frequently aware of the demands he makes on the family. If these demands are not discussed freely, then everyone is caught in a "web of silence" revolving around his own feelings of frustration. This creates a burden for everyone, including the CF child, and if not discussed it can impair the psychological functioning of all members. The CF child needs to be encouraged to participate in his own care program and to assume some responsibilities for himself. He should not reach the age of seven being unable to tie his own shoes or dress himself, as has been observed in some CF children. It would seem feasible, therefore, that the CF child should have an awareness of what is wrong with him, and what his abilities and limitations are. The other siblings should also be given as much explanation as possible because they, too, are part of the family and attention and care is being diverted from them. This explanation could make for more understanding on the sibling's part. While it would still be difficult for him to accept some of the decisions made (such as why the parents could not get home from the hospital in order for him to use the family car for a senior prom), he would know that it was the situation that was causing the decrease in attention and care rather than rejection of him by the parents. In order to give these families as much assistance as possible, the community's resources should be utilized. Frequently, the parents are unaware of these or need encouragement to avail themselves of services. The homemaker service or visiting nurse service could free the family from constant care; the local youth program could be helpful to the siblings in the family, and Family Service Agencies could be used for counseling on family problems. In summary, this study points up the need for the total family to have an understanding and awareness of CF and to share such knowledge with one another; that all problems of the family have to be considered and not just those of the CF child; and that help from other professional people should be utilized along with sources of the community.

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