Conclusion

The Conclusion examines the conception of the body in medieval India. This body was vulnerable to demons and reliant on deities for its continued existence. For the Tantric practitioner, the divinized body is part of a psychophysical organism. The protective rites of the Netra Tantra reveal that the name of an individual overcome with illness works as a ritual substitute for that person. This is not to say that the physical body of the person is not important. The body is central to ritual practice. When the mantrin places the mantra upon the body (nyāsa), he creates a Tantric body that itself becomes a ritual tool. The body and the mantra become fused. This allows the mantra to heal the body.

Passage from Youth to Adulthood in Japan

Coming of age, as one of the major transitions in the human life cycle, marks the threshold between childhood and adulthood. This transition involves the physical and psychological, as well as the social maturity of the individual. The present article discusses the contemporary practice of the Japanese coming of age ritual, known as seijinshiki, which although it is a relatively modern invention, is nourished by a century-long tradition of coming of age rituals as well as by the traditional world-view on the human life cycle. Today, the ceremony is facing a new challenge due to the upcoming changes in the age of legal adulthood in Japan. Seijinshiki is an excellent example of how change is integrated as well as reflected throughout ritual practice. It vividly reflects social processes as well as mirroring several problems that Japanese society has been facing in our own time. The paper will examine some of these problems together with the major changes that affected the various forms of coming of age rites in Japan across history. The paper also demonstrates that ritual continues to be regarded in Japan as a valid social and individual instrument to treat passages in human life.

Philosophical Value of the Confucian Treatise "Kong-Zi Jia Yu"

This article reveals the philosophical value of the Confucian treatise "Kong-zi jia yu," it examines issues of the theoretical importance for the history of world sinology. In the historicо-philosophical tradition, this text has long been attributed to the Confucian scientist Van Su (3rd century), however, not so long ago the situation changed significantly. In the modern scientific community, disputes around the authorship and time of writing this treatise continue. The content of "Kong-zi jia yu" is composed of stories from the life of Confucius, his conversations with his closest students, as well as prominent political figures of that time. These conversations are philosophical dialogues, they concern the most important ontological, ethical, aesthetic and epistemological issues, such as: harmonization of the Tianxia on the basis of virtuous management, the philosophical need for ritual practice, cosmological device of the Tianxia, issues traditional for early Confucianism of a pedagogical and educational nature, moral self-improvement. The diverse theme of "Kong-zi jia yu" is a valuable source that reveals the essence of the philosophy of early Confucianism. Individual fragments of "Kong-zi jia yu" coincide with the classic Confucian monuments "Shang shu," "Lun yu," "Xiao jing," etc. Although "Kong-zi jia yu" for a number of reasons, is not considered a classic text of Confucianism, but it carries an enduring philosophical value. The study of "Kong-zi jia yu" seems to the author of this work to be an urgent scientific task, the solution of which can expand the arsenal of world philosophical knowledge, as well as contribute to the dialogue of the philosophical cultures of the East and West.

New data on human skulls from the ritual complex of the Bystrovka-2 Early Iron Age burial ground

Various kinds of postmortem manipulations with the bodies of the dead were widespread in the ritual practice of the Scythian tribes of Eurasia. One of the evidences of such practice is finds of isolated skeletal bones or skulls buried in an unusual context. One of the sites where such finds was discovered is the Bystrovka-2 burial ground of the Kamenka archaeological culture in the Novosibirsk Ob region. In the kurgan 9 of this site, a ritual complex containing the burial of three human skulls, previously displayed on stakes or poles was excavated. In this article we present the results of recent anthropological analyzes of these skulls and discuss the question concerning the origin of the sacrificed people. The analyzed data allow us to say that in the Kamenka society, putting heads on poles rather had an apotropic function than was connected with military cults. The sacrificed people were selected from the strongest and healthiest young people. The condition of the bones of the skull and dentition of the examined individuals definitely indicates a relatively low level of biological stress. Comparison of the skulls from Bystrovka-2 with the skull found at the Kulayka settlement of Bolshoi Log in Omsk showed the possibility of coincidence of some mythical and ritual practices among the Kamenka and Kulayka archaeological cultures. The intentional lesions found on the skulls from these two sites are functionally and anatomically fully identical. The first group of injuries observed at the base of the skull are traces of postmortem decapitation, the second found on the cranial vault is technological holes for fixing the head on a pole. The central element of the ritual in both cases was precisely placing the head on a pole and thus creating an apotrope indicating the border of the “clean” territory.

The Annah Rais Pratuokng and the Practical Appearance of Re-invented Musical Instruments

The Annah Rais pratuokng is a traditional musical instrument of the Bidayuh. It is also known as a simple idiochord chordophone. It is made of a petung bamboo, and the sound faculty is equivalent to the functions of the Bidayuh community gong set. The sound radiator meaning is made up of tawak, satuk and canang. A similar tube zither made of bamboo, named pretong or sretong, is used by the Bidayuh of Bau. The three-string sound radiators are kromong, canang, gong, plus the tawak and gedabak. Pratuokng sound radiators are like the gongs of the Bidayuh. According to Horsbourgh's observation, "... gongs... are both a musical instrument and a representation of wealth”2. The Annah Rais Bidayuh gong set, privately owned by the villagers, can be typically played every year for ritual practice as well as for entertainment during the Gawai celebration on the first and second June. The audio collection of the Ethnology Section of the Sarawak Museum provides similar recordings from other occasions than played duringGawai Panggah. Also, some groups’ celebrations among the Bidayuh Biata, Bidayuh Selakau, and Lara, Bidayuh Lara were recorded. Few recordings were collected in Annah Rais between 1988 and 1998, which still maintain the same settings as those recorded in Kupuo Saba of Annah Rais to this date. In the context of the use of gongs during celebrations, the representations of gong tones can also be found on a pratuokng. One point of debate in the literature about tube zithers is, whether the voice functions found in the gong collection mimic the string voices found on the pratuokng or the other way round. Does this fact serve as a featured phenomenon to the actual appearance of re-invented musical instruments? Does it contribute to its sustainable appearance today?

Reforming the Israeli–Arab conflict? Interreligious hospitality in Jaffa and its discontents

This ethnography analyzes three Israeli Reform Jewish rituals as manifestations of interreligious hospitality. The Daniel Reform congregation invites Muslim residents of Jaffa to participate in rituals incorporating Arabic and Muslim clergy and prayers. The egalitarian and pluralistic Jewish symbols and narratives promote neighborly relationships. Nevertheless, some participants’ responses reaffirm popular suspicions and prejudices, which the ceremony seeks to overcome. Interreligious hospitality here is not so much an act of theological reconciliation, but a political act also directed toward other actors – like the Israeli right-wing and Israeli society, which grant the Orthodox a monopoly on Judaism. While the shared ritual practice offers a dialogical model that engages broader publics through doing, the analytic frame of hospitality sensitizes us to the importance of space and language in the power relationships of hosts and guests. It helps explain the challenges to the messages of coexistence, which the rituals are designed to confirm.

ЭТНОГРАФИЯ АБХАЗСКОГО РОДОВОГО КУЛЬТА: МОЛЕНИЕ АДЛЕЙБОВЫХ

На основе полевых этнографических материалов автора в работе исследуется один из многочисленных родовых культов абхазского народа– Анцәахаҵарa (Аncºaxaҫara)– важный институт традиционной религии. Культ присутствует в современной духовной жизни данников, правда, уже в упрощенной форме. Сложилась ситуация, когда господствующее в стране христианство, принятое народом в качестве официальной религии еще в самом начале раннего Средневековья, не является помехой для бытования автохтонной обрядовой культуры. В статье выявляются исторические корни Анцәахаҵараa, подробно описывается его ритуальная практика, интерпретируется основной круг действий, выполняемых в рамках отправления культа. Based on an ethnographic field study carried out by the author in various regions of Abkhazia, the article examines one of the many clan cults of the Abkhazians– Antsvakhatsara (Ancºaxaҫara)– which is an important institution of traditional religion. It still exists in the modern spiritual life of the worshipers, although in a somewhat simplified form. Christianity, the dominant confession in the country adopted as an official religion at the beginning of the early Middle Ages, does not preclude the autochthonous ritual culture. The article aims to identify the historical roots of the cult, describe its ritual practice in detail and interpret the main ritual actions.