KALINOVSKY CROSS. A RESONANT MIRACLE OF 1923 IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FOLKLORE NARRATIVES

2021 ◽  
pp. 120-140
Author(s):  
Olga V. Belova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Life ◽  
General Level ◽  
Sacred Objects ◽  
Holy Places ◽  
Folk Stories ◽  
Ritual Practices

The publication considers the main motifs of evidences about the so-called Kalinovka miracle that took place in the summer of 1923 in Ukraine (Podolia province). Analyzing folk stories about the “Kalinovka miracle” that are contemporary to the event, one can show how the evidences of miracles that occurred around the Kalinovsky cross correlate with the traditional plot schemes of folk legends about sacred objects and with ritual practices that arise and develop around venerated holy places. As it is shown in the legends, memorates, and folklore texts of other genres that were popular in 1923, the fact of the “Kalinovka miracle” became significant for society in the context of other phenomena, including rumors generated by the renewal of sacred objects or the general level of religious sentiment in that period of time. The influence of subjects related to the “Kalinovka miracle” not only on the folklore tradition of Podolia and Volyn’, but also on the traditions of other regions of Ukraine and Russia, is confirmed by the fixation of numerous versions of folklore texts that reflect this fact of religious life.

Where is the tantric mainstream? Discussions with a Bengali Brahmin god-maker in Kolkata

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-200
Author(s):  
James Samuel Bradbury
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Religious Life ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Religious Culture ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Family ◽  
Ritual Practices

Abstract The idea of Hindu Tantra as an esoteric, transgressive, or otherwise fringe practice has been revised to account for a ‘tantric mainstream’ in Indian religious life. However, this tantric mainstream has been faintly reflected in the ethnographic record, which would be otherwise well--suited to explore how religious categories are formed in broader social contexts. The religious world of the Bhattacharyas, a Śākta Brahmin family from East Bengal that now lives in suburban Kolkata, evinces some of the challenges in identifying ‘the tantric’ while suggesting alternative framings of ritual practices. Tapan Bhattacharya, a member of the family in his sixties, not only conducted pūjās to the tantric goddess Dakṣiṇā Kālī in their household shrine; he also sculpted the clay statues of deities (pratimā) that were used in local community rituals. Tapan’s nephew, Souvik, drew upon tantric classifications to explain the relations between mainstream household and community pūjās on one hand, and transgressive rituals on the other. Tantra, as understood by members of this household, encompassed a much wider set of relations than conventional binaries of tantra/not-tantra have allowed for. Taking their cue, I locate mainstream Śākta Tantra within the broader contexts of their religious world and the categories that make sense therein, while ultimately recognising that this family’s framings of contemporary religious culture will be matched by other, competing perspectives.

scholarly journals Custodians of Holy Places in Central Asia and Russian State (1865-1917)

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 781-792
Author(s):  
Vladimir P. Litvinov
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Real Income ◽  
Sacred Objects ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Holy Places ◽  
The Government ◽  
Revolutionary Period ◽  
Holy Place

The article discusses the institution of custody of holy places in Central Asia in the pre-revolutionary period (1865-1917). It is indicated that despite the fact that this institution was not legitimatized in Muslim Law (Sharia), nevertheless, custody was quite widespread in the region. It is stated that the sheikhs-custodians were surrounded with mystical worship of the faithful who attributed to them supernatural abilities in the fulfillment of a variety of desires and healing of various diseases. The custody of holy places has always and everywhere been associated with the acquisition of income from pilgrimage. In Central Asia around a holy place, as a rule, a waqf complex was also formed, which made additional significant income to the sheikhs-custodians of holy places. The hereditary order of custody succession, with significant ownership holy places had, often was the cause of conflicts among relatives who had rights to sacred objects. After Russia came to Central Asia, this problem became one of the most important for the government of Turkestan. It was important for Russia to solve the property problem of holy places. In their attempts to solve it, the authorities of Russian Turkestan could not build a clear and understandable system of relations with custodians of holy places. Even after half a century of presence in the region, the authorities had little idea of the number of holy places and real income of their sheikhs-custodians. The author concludes that the reason for such an ineffective activity of Russian authorities in the region in solving problems of holy places was the fear of destroying the order that took shape over the centuries. It, in their opinion, could lead to an increase in anti-Russian feelings in the region.

Landscape and World View: The Survival of Yucatec Maya Culture Under Spanish Conquest

1980 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Clendinnen
Keyword(s):  
American Indian ◽  
World View ◽  
Religious Life ◽  
Yucatec Maya ◽  
Spanish Conquest ◽  
Sacred Objects ◽  
Indian Religion

The religions of contemporary Middle American Indian communities fall neatly enough under the descriptive category we call ‘syncretic’. Myths and rituals, integrated experiences for the participant believers, betray to the outside observer their Spanish and Indian antecedents. This indicates a methodology of analysing the ongoing flow of religious life into its smallest constituent parts—colours and gestures, sacred objects and sacred locations, the structure and language of invocations—the more precisely to identify the ingredients of the ‘mixed’ religion we see being lived out. When enquiry moves to the process of imposition and selection by which the mix was initiated, in the early days of Spanish-Indian contact, the same familiar methodology lies ready to hand: Spanish Catholicism, and what is known of the traditional Indian religion, can be analysed into elements, those elements arranged in parallel, and the likely ease of transferance inferred, being judged to be the highest where a match seems good and where evidence from the ethnographic present appears to offer confirmation.

scholarly journals Regional Features of Some Traditions and Customs in Modern Islam

REGIONOLOGY ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-321
Author(s):  
Maxim Yu. Bareev ◽  
Ruslan R. Agishev
Keyword(s):  
Religious Life ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Religious Ritual ◽  
Regional Features ◽  
Cultural Diffusion ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Muslim Culture ◽  
Ritual Practices

Introduction. The relevance of the issues raised is due to the contradictory nature of the evolution of religious and pseudo-religious rites of Muslims, as well as the ambiguous attitude towards them from the Muslim Ummah of the region. The objective of the study is to explore the regional features of some religious and ethnic cult practices of Muslims residing in the Republic of Mordovia. Materials and Methods. The study considered such materials as the data of the sociological survey “Muslim Traditions and Rites of the Tatars in a Region” employing the method of semi-formalized interviews (47 people), which assessed the level and the intensity of religiosity. The content and specificity of the rites, religious and ethnic rituals were analyzed. The canonicity of the rituals was assessed. Results. Various religious traditions and rites having regional specifics and observed by Muslims in the Republic of Mordovia have been analyzed. These include: a Dua prayer performed over water, the rite of ‘iskyat’, cult of Wali, the rite of ‘bashkoda’ preceding a marriage, and a memorial rite for deceased. An analysis of the religious ritual practices of Muslims in the Republic of Mordovia has made it possible to ascertain the presence of elements of cultural diffusion in some religious practices. Discussion and Conclusion. Despite certain disagreement regarding the performance of a number of religious rites within the regional Muslim Ummah, most of the considered forms of religious life in the minds of people are inseparable from the Muslim tradition and are perceived as part of the original Muslim culture. The materials of the article will be useful for the authorities to improve the regional ethno-confessional policy.

scholarly journals Pilgrimage movement in Galicia in the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century in the reports of the Galician press

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 121-135
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Biesiadecka ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Religious Life ◽  
Holy Land ◽  
National History ◽  
National Tradition ◽  
Holy Places ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Mass Events

The subject of the research undertaken in the article is the picture of pilgrimages of Galicians and the inhabitants of other partition in the Galician press. Pilgrimages constituted an important aspect of religious life in Galicia and in the second half of the 19th century they started to become mass events. Galician pilgrims travelled not only to holy places located within the partition but also courageously went on pilgrimages to Rome and the Holy Land. The authors of articles pointed out not only the religious dimension of the described Polish pilgrimages but also showed them as the opportunity to cultivate unity and the national tradition and to become more familiar with the national history.

In the Church and at Home

2019 ◽  
pp. 106-124
Author(s):  
Caterina Pizzigoni
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Colonial Mexico ◽  
Sacred Objects ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Church ◽  
New System ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Ritual Practices ◽  
At Home

This chapter assesses ritual change in colonial Mexico. The arrival of the Spaniards catalyzed the transformation. They brought with them a new faith and a matching package of ritual practices, not least among them the veneration of saints. Indigenous populations themselves had strong beliefs about the right layout of the home and the place of sacred objects within it. They absorbed the cult of the saints into their own frame of understanding, welcoming images of Jesus and Mary into the household first and then more personalized figures over time. All the while, Spanish officials policed how the images were fabricated and made use of in order to ensure that there was no straying from orthodox belief. From this encounter, sometimes repressive though not always so, a “new cult” was formed, the absorption of imported rituals over time enfolding indigenous peoples into a new system of belief—Christianity.

scholarly journals Management of Sacred Heritage Places in Tanzania: A Case of Kuumbi Limestone Cave, Zanzibar Island

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-88
Author(s):  
Maximilian F. Chami ◽  
Felix A. Chami
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Religious Life ◽  
Sacred Sites ◽  
Limestone Cave ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
Customary Laws ◽  
Crucial Part ◽  
Ritual Practices ◽  
Site Managers

The use and management of sacred sites that are still in use provide challenges to site managers since visitors fail to abide by rules established for the sacred area. In this study, it was revealed that there are ritual practices, strict taboos and customary laws put in place to control access to cave areas which are regarded as sacred to the locals. The habit of visitors not adhering to the established regulations when visiting caves and their areas have created a disconnection between people and their traditional religions and actually caused some of them to join mainstream religions such as Islam. The article proposes measures to be adopted by the antiquities authority, and other heritage managers in Zanzibar and Tanzania, in general, to provide the best practice for cave visitors and enable the communities to continue using the caves as a crucial part of their religious life without any molestations.

scholarly journals Factors of formation and specific aspects of syncretic processes in Meroe religion

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 921-937
Author(s):  
E. E. Kormysheva
Keyword(s):  
Time Scale ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Religious Life ◽  
Main Subject ◽  
World Religions ◽  
The World ◽  
Religious Teaching ◽  
History Of ◽  
Archaeological Cultures ◽  
Ritual Practices

The author explores specific manifestations of the phenomenon of syncretism in theMeroereligion, as well as the factors, which did significantly contribute to it. She traces these factors on a wide time scale starting from the early archaeological cultures of theNileValleyto the Hellenistic time. The main subject of research is the cult of the gods, as well as the myths and rituals, which did accompany worship. The article deals with concepts of ‘unity and multitude’, which were instrumental for creation of local concepts of Egyptian deities. According to the author, this was the beginning of syncretism. Both the subsequent adaptation and acculturation can be seen in rethinking and creating images that retained many primordial Egyptian features. The Meroe ‘friend or foe’ concept could be traced on specific forms of adaptation of ‘enemy’ images to the Meroitic culture and the subsequent perception of them as “own” or “local”. One can identify this process as “inversion”, which run in two directions: the “alien”, i.e. Egyptian gods in fullness of time became “own” gods inMeroe, the gods ofKush, in their turn became part of the Egyptian pantheon. The results of the process, which culminated in creation of a syncretic culture can be seen in emergence of new hitherto unknown deities, which were distinguished by combination of various Greek, Egyptian and Meroitic features. The Hellenistic features ofMeroedeities came to this culture viaEgypt. The formation of the syncreticMeroereligion up to the beginning of the Christian era was marked by the mutual influence and coexistence of “borrowed” deities as well as those, which came into being in course of the process of “borrowing”. The phenomenon of syncretism was spread through many aspects of religious life covering not just individual images of deities or various ritual practices, but also the whole theological system ofEgypt. In the history of the world religions this was the first recorded spread of religious teaching beyond its historical borders and the subsequent adaptation to an “alien”, Sudanese culture.

scholarly journals Reviewing the sacred object. Vassiliy Barskiy as the first Russian researcher of the Christian East

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulia N. Buzykina
Keyword(s):  
Sacred Places ◽  
Russian Scientific ◽  
Sacred Objects ◽  
Holy Places ◽  
Sacred Object ◽  
Russian Researcher

The article deals with the origins of the Russian Christian Archaeology namely with pilgrim notes of Vassiliy Barskiy. The author is reviewing Barskiy’s text as one of the first scientific descriptions of the sacred places, wonder-­working icons and holy places. His descriptions of sacred objects are structured, they include illustrations, information from written and verbal sources as well as critics of these sources. He makes conclusions about relevance of information and relics themselves. Based on this, the author believes Vassiliy Barskiy schould be recognized not only one of the sources of Russian scientific tradition, but the first Christian archaeologist.

The historical continuum of Jerusalem: the inseparability of time and space, past and present, history and politics

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-120
Author(s):  
Farda Muharram Asadov
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Political Status ◽  
Religious Doctrine ◽  
Sacred Objects ◽  
Holy Places ◽  
History Of ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The City

Over the long centuries and nowadays the historical concept and political status of Jerusalem remain the most acute problem of relations between the peoples and states of the Middle East, Arabs and Jews, Israel and the Arab Palestinian state. The poignancy of the problem, the arguments of the opposing sides, are mainly rooted in conflicting interpretations of the history of Jerusalem and its holy places. The article presents a view of the history of Jerusalem as a process that began before the formation of the historical consciousness of the Arabs and Jews but used to continuously influence its shaping during the struggle for the city between powerful political forces standing behind the claims of various congregations. The article examines the written evidence of the shrines of Jerusalem that existed before the construction of the First Temple; selected archaeological data are used for additional verification of written sources. Recent proposals for a solution to the political status of Jerusalem are placed in the context of ideas about its cultural and historical significance.  Particular attention is paid to the importance of Jerusalem in the history of the formation of religious doctrine and ritualism in Islam; a distinctive opinion is substantiated by the author concerning the reasons of the initial orientation of the Muslim prayer ritual towards Jerusalem; the existence of perceptions of the shrines of Jerusalem as sacred objects, recognized in the religious and ritual traditions of the Semitic peoples – the ancestors of Jews and Arabs – is established. On the ground of research findings the inseparability of history, culture, spatial limits and political status of the city of Jerusalem as an organic whole and a system is argued, the breach of the balance of which is claimed to inevitably destroy the integrity of the characteristics of Jerusalem in the history of the region, various peoples and all of humanity. The search for a solution to the Jerusalem problem is seen as interaction and the development of a model that recognizes and balances three factors of influence: 1) ideas about the importance of Jerusalem in the national historical narrative of Arabs and Jews; 2) the concept that asserted the consideration of the beginning of the cultural history of Jerusalem as a common Middle Eastern religious centre; and 3) the range of various political solutions proposed for the settlement of the problems of disputed territories in international relations with the assumption of the feasibility of fundamentally new models of solution.

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