The social context of iron forging on the Kenya coast

Africa ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chapurukha M. Kusimba
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Power ◽  
High Status ◽  
Detailed Understanding ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ambiguous Position

Ironsmiths occupy an important yet ambiguous position in many African societies. They are both revered and feared, because they wield social power which arises from their access to occult knowledge, not only of metallurgy but of healing, divination, circumcision and peacemaking. In some societies smiths enjoy high status and are the wealthiest people. In others they are feared, covertly maligned, and blamed for societal misfortunes. In still others the smiths' position is often marginal except when they are needed to intercede on their society's behalf to solve natural or cultural predicaments. The forge or smithy plays a central role in the community as tool-making centre, a place of refuge from violence, of purification, and for healing. This article examines the social context of iron forging among the ironsmiths of the Kenya coast, focusing on the role of iron forging in the coastal economy, the forge, the smiths' life cycle, the institution of apprenticeship, the ritual and technical power of smiths, the role of women in the smiths' community, and the future of iron forging on the coast. It is argued that, while coastal smiths are marginal and despised, they hold important ritual and spiritual powers in coastal society. The article concludes that a detailed understanding of the traditional crafts historically practised on the coast can do much to illuminate the complex history of coastal society.

Socialist Neighborhoods after Socialism

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 486-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Elman Zarecor
Keyword(s):  
Construction Technology ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Architectural Style ◽  
Architectural Practice ◽  
Grant Programs ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Physical Degradation

The Czech Republic’s socialist-era neighborhoods are largely intact twenty years after the end of Communist Party rule. These buildings will be rehabilitated, but not replaced, because of financial and logistical constraints. In the context of the country’s accession to the European Union in 2004 and the recent global economic crisis, this essay questions what can and should be done in an effort to make these neighborhoods better places to live in the present and the future. It starts with a brief history of postwar housing construction and socialist-era design methodologies, exploring postwar architectural practice and innovations in construction technology that were connected to the industrialization of housing production. The role of the Baťa Company in the development of panelák technology is described. In the context of post-socialist rehabilitation efforts, the discussion addresses current housing policy including regulated rents and the shift in emphasis from renting to ownership. Government subsidies and grant programs are considered, as well as problems such as physical degradation and social segregation. The essay proposes that for the future the social and spatial ideas that were part of the original designs may be more important than the architectural style of individual buildings.

СARVERS OF GINGERBREAD BOARDS: TRADITIONS OF THE PAST AND THE PRESENT

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-154
Author(s):  
M. I. Sergeeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
High Status ◽  
Whole Process ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Folk Ritual ◽  
Household Ritual

This article is devoted to the traditions and features of the craft of gingerbread boards' carvers of Tver. As known, the history of the emergence and the development of the printed gingerbread is inextricably linked with the folk cultural tradition. From the first steps, the gingerbread started to be actively introduced into the folk ritual practice, not only in the calendar agrarian ritual zone, but also in the family household ritual circle, often replacing other forms of ceremonial baking. The whole process of making gingerbread was sacred, including the manufacture of a carved board, the preparation of the gingerbread and its functioning in the ceremony. That is what explains the high status of the printed gingerbread, which it acquired in the social life of our compatriots, although its meanings have partly changed nowadays. The importance of making a gingerbread board was due not only to the sacred nature and patterns that the carver applied, but also to the price of work and material. However, the value of gingerbread was provided primarily by the magical role of dough ingredients, such as flour (obtained from grain), honey, floral spices, but at the same time it was largely determined by the cost of gingerbread. Unfortunately, the cultural zones of the folk gingerbread tradition are poorly and unevenly understood. One of the little-studied pages in the history of printed gingerbread is the work of masters-carvers of gingerbread boards, who largely determined the plan for expressing the mythological and poetic sacred meanings of the traditional gingerbread.

The problem of periodization of the history of religion

1997 ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Borys Lobovyk
Keyword(s):  
Religious Studies ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Religious Development ◽  
History Of Religion ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Role Of Religion

An important problem of religious studies, the history of religion as a branch of knowledge is the periodization process of the development of religious phenomenon. It is precisely here, as in focus, that the question of the essence and meaning of the religious development of the human being of the world, the origin of beliefs and cult, the reasons for the changes in them, the place and role of religion in the social and spiritual process, etc., are converging.

ABOUT CUSTOMS BUSINESS IN TURKESTAN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19th -EARLY 20th CENTURY

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 38-47
Author(s):  
Chinpulat Kurbanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Stage Development

The author in this scientific article examines the stage-by-stage development and formation of customs in Turkestan in the second half of the 19th -early 20th centuries. The author studied the history of customs in Turkestan and its role in establishing a single customs line in the future with neighboring khanates. The author focuses on the role of Russia in the establishment of a single customs line and the development of customs in Turkestan

Female Christian prose today: A failed search for new women’s subjectivity?

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-149
Author(s):  
E. Chelpanova
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social System ◽  
Family Values ◽  
The State ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Conservative Approach ◽  
Female Subjectivity ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

In her analysis of books by Maya Kucherskaya, Olesya Nikolaeva, and Yulia Voznesenskaya, the author investigates the history of female Christian prose from the 1990s until the present day. According to the author, it was in the 1990s, the period of crisis and transformation of the social system, that female Christian writers were more vocal, than today, on the issues of the new post-Soviet female subjectivity, drawing on folklore imagery and contrasting the folk, pagan philosophy with the Christian one, defined by an established set of rules and limitations for the principal female roles. Thus, the folklore elements in Kucherskaya’s early works are considered as an attempt to represent female subjectivity. However, the author argues that, in their current work, Kucherskaya and other representatives of the so-called female Christian prose tend to choose different, objectivizing methods to represent female characters. This new and conservative approach may have come from a wider social context, including the state-imposed ‘family values’ program.

Cartographic production in Russia: main stages and trends

2020 ◽  
Vol 963 (9) ◽  
pp. 30-43
Author(s):  
M.Yu. Orlov
Keyword(s):  
Chronological Order ◽  
Xviii Century ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Current State ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Enterprises ◽  
Further Development

Studying the current state of cartography and ways of further developing the industry, the role of the map in the future of the society, new methods of promoting cartographic products is impossible without a deep scientific analyzing all the paths, events and factors influencing its formation and development throughout all the historic steps of cartographic production in Russia. In the article, the history of cartographic production in Russia is considered together with the development of private, state and military cartography, since, despite some differences, they have a common technical, technological and production basis. The author describes the stages of originating, formation and growth of industrial cartographic production from the beginning of the XVIII century until now. The connection between the change of political formations and technological structures with the mentioned stages of maps and atlases production is considered. Each stage is studied in detail, a step-by-step analysis was carried out, and the characteristics of each stage are described. All the events and facts are given in chronological order, highlighting especially significant moments influencing the evolution of cartographic production. The data on the volumes of printing and sales of atlases and maps by commercial and state enterprises are presented. The main trends and lines of further development of cartographic production in Russia are studied.

The Role of Oil and Gas in the Economic Development of the Global Economy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Oil And Gas Producers ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Factor Inputs ◽  
The Impact

This chapter is concerned with the role of oil and gas in the economic development of the global economy. It focuses on the context in which established and newer oil and gas producers in developing countries must frame their policies to optimize the benefits of such resources. It outlines a history of the issue over the last twenty-five years. It considers oil and gas as factor inputs, their role in global trade, the role of oil prices in the macroeconomy and the impact of the geopolitics of oil and gas. It then considers various conventional views of the future of oil and gas in the primary energy mix. Finally, it challenges the drivers behind these conventional views of the future with an emphasis on why they may prove to be different from what is expected and how this may change the context in which producers must frame their policy responses.

scholarly journals Modeling Syntactic Change under Contact: The Case of Italiot Greek

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Cristina Guardiano ◽  
Melita Stavrou
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Syntactic Change ◽  
The Social ◽  
Linguistic Structures

In this paper, we investigate patterns of persistence and change affecting the syntax of nominal structures in Italiot Greek in comparison to Modern (and Ancient) Greek, and we explore the role of Southern Italo-Romance as a potential source of interference. Our aim is to highlight the dynamics that favor syntactic contact in this domain: we provide an overview of the social context where these dynamics have taken place and of the linguistic structures involved.

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