Maṇḍalas

Chapter 8 continues the translation of Netra Tantra Chapter 6 as the topic shifts from oblation to maṇḍala. The theoretical basis for this analysis relies on understanding the nature of mantras from Chapters 1 and 2 and the initiation rites of Chapter 5. Because the Netra Tantra itself offers only practical information about maṇḍala use in ritual, the analysis turns to two other texts, the Mālinīvijayottaratantra and Cakrasamvara Tantra, to examine the written form of the mantra and colors of the maṇḍala. The chapter shows how the embodied mantra is placed onto the maṇḍala, thus activating it. Again, proper performance is necessary for the correct outcome. The colors of the ritual objects and maṇḍalas point to their efficacy.

Evolution of initiation rites during the Austronesian dispersal

As adaptive systems, kinship and its accompanying rules have co-evolved with elements of complex societies, including wealth inheritance, subsistence, and power relations. Here we consider an aspect of kinship evolution in the Austronesian dispersal that began from about 5500 BP in Taiwan, reaching Melanesia about 3200 BP, and dispersing into Micronesia by 1500 BP. Previous, foundational work has used phylogenetic comparative methods and ethnolinguistic information to infer matrilocal residence in proto-Austronesian societies. Here we apply Bayesian phylogenetic analyses to a data set on Austronesian societies that combines existing data on marital residence systems with a new set of ethnographic data, introduced here, on initiation rites. Transition likelihoods between cultural-trait combinations were modeled on an ensemble of 1000 possible Austronesian language trees, using Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RJ-MCMC) simulations. Compared against a baseline phylogenetic model of independent evolution, a phylogenetic model of correlated evolution between female and male initiation rites is substantially more likely (log Bayes factor: 17.9). This indicates, over the generations of Austronesian dispersal, initiation rites were culturally stable when both female and male rites were in the same state (both present or both absent), yet relatively unstable for female-only rites. The results indicate correlated phylogeographic evolution of cultural initiation rites in the prehistoric dispersal of Austronesian societies across the Pacific. Once acquired, male initiation rites were more resilient than female-only rites among Austronesian societies.

THE SYMBOLISM OF AZHDAKHA IN THE FOLKLORE AND BELIEFS OF THE BASHKIRS

The article is devoted to the analysis of one of the key serpentine characters – Azhdakha in the folk art and religious and mystical representations of the Bashkirs. The purpose of the work is to analyze the ideas associated with the image of Azhdakha basing on folklore and field materials, and to try to identify its origins. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that this work is the first attempt to study the reasons for the veneration of the image of Azhdakha among the Bashkirs. And this makes it possible to recreate certain aspects in the ethnic history of the Bashkir people, helps to identify the historical and genetic roots of their spiritual culture. The methodological basis of the research is the principle of analytical and retrospective analysis of literary, folklore and linguistic sources. This paper is the first to systematize and analyze historical-ethnographic and folklore-linguistic materials on the topic under consideration. Folklore information and field materials of the author, first translated into Russian by the author, are introduced into scientific circulation. The practical significance of the research lies in the fact that the presented materials contribute to the disclosure of the genetic roots of snake deification in the folklore and mythology of the Bashkirs, and can be used by ethnographers and folklorists in their comparative historical studies. Having studied the problem, the author came to the conclusion that in the Bashkir religious-mythological and folklore tradition, the image of Azhdakha was formed on the basis of further evolution of primitive totemic ideas about the snake-totem, totemic ancestor and patron spirit and is a consequence of its sacralization. In the religious and mystical visions of the Bashkirs, this image became a negative character as a result of defeat in ethno-cultural and interreligious clashes, as well as due to descendants’ inadequate perception of the most ancient totemic incarnation-initiation rites and speculations. Formation of ideas about the image of Azhdakha among the Bashkirs occurred not only under the influence of Indo-Iranian folklore and mythological traditions. In this process, in addition to the ancient Aryan hunters and gatherers (cattlemen and grain-growers), the ancestors of the Afrasian peoples, as well as the Dakho-Turan-Turkic tribal formations, took part.

Liminal minds

The concept of liminality was first introduced by Arnold van Gennep in Rites de Passage in 1909. There, he observed the rites of passage or transformative rituals of social life (such as weddings, funerals, initiation rites, etc.). Liminality was described as the psychic and emotional state in-between one social status and another, in a state of ambiguity, disorientation and loss of fixed identity. In my research, I adopt the concept of liminality not in the classical anthropological sense but rather in a personal sense. I am interested in personal journeys, often secret transitions and transgressions, usually accompanied by dreams and visions placing persons outside of the society, alienating and excluding them. Yet, I believe liminality to be the state of creativity and I am interested in its transformative potential.

Corinthian cult of Medea's children

The myth of Medea and her children is commonly known as the story of the mother who kills her own children for the sake of vengeance to her husband. Most often, she is remembered from the eponymous tragedy of Euripides. However, different authors can describe other circumstances of the demise of children. In these variations of the story, Medea does not kill the children, but becomes the cause of their demise, trying to prevent them from it. According to one of the versions, she tries to make them immortal, but her attempts fail. Although, as a matter of fact the children of Medea acquire immortality in the form of cult. Another blames the Corinthians. Children seek salvation in the Temple of Hera Akraia, where they have been murdered by angered Corinthians. This story is reflected in the myths associated with the redemption cults. The murder entails condemnation of the community – pestilence, appeal to the oracle, sacrifices, and establishment of the permanent cult. The analysis of components of the cult and comparison with other cults, which consist of a combination of initiation rights and heroic offerings, suggests that the Corinthian cult of Medea’s children implied both, the mourning that requires redemption and initiation rites.

Decolonization, freemasonry and the rise of ‘homosexuality’ as a public issue in Cameroon: The return of Dr Aujoulat1

Relating to academic debates on the emergence of moral panics over homosexuality in several parts of Africa, this article examines rumours on homosexuality as a political issue that connects colonial pasts and postcolonial struggles in Cameroon. We link current struggles over homosexuality to broader debates about the question of Cameroon’s decolonization from France. The article focuses on the figure of Dr Louis Paul Aujoulat, a French colonial official in Cameroon who played a crucial role in the country’s decolonization in the 1950s. Aujoulat died in 1972, but recently, he made a ‘return’ in rumours and public debates in a new role: he is now accused of having ‘sodomized’ the emergent new elite of Cameroon, thus introducing homosexuality; moreover, he is linked to Freemasonry and occult initiation rites. Our aim was to show how a particular decolonization trajectory—very rocky in the case of Cameroon—is related to the present-day moral panic about a supposed proliferation of homosexuality. Freemasonry and its special history on the African continent—notably its role in maintaining the coherence of Françafrique between France and its former colonies—is a severely understudied topic. Its linkages to same-sex practices and illicit enrichment give the Cameroonian case a wider relevance. We argue that the new rumours on Dr Aujoulat define him as a key figure in linking Freemasonry, homosexuality and illicit enrichment to present-day issues of state governance, citizenship and elite misrule in Cameroon.

Social Rituals of Pain: The Socio-Symbolic Meaning of Violence in Gang Initiations

Much of criminological scholarship on street gangs focuses on the deviant and delinquent aspects of gang violence. Although the research tradition acknowledges that violence is central to the life in a gang, it often labels this form of violence as an “anti-social” behaviour. This article challenges this conceptualisation of gang violence and proposes instead that gang violence is a social performance. By using the example of gang initiation rites, this article suggests that violence in such rites possesses a socio-symbolic and performative function that informs about the social status of gang members. This article draws on Jeffrey Stevenson Murer’s theory of the performative and communicative function of violence as well as on Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of social field, habitus and social capital in order to demonstrate that violence during gang initiation rites is an inherently social act that reinforces and strengthens the social ties and bonds among the members of a gang. The aim of this piece is to broaden scholarship on gangs towards a more critical theorisation of the performative and communicative functions of gang violence. We suggest that a stronger engagement with critical social theory on collective identity, violence and social capital can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the socio-symbolic and cultural processes that underlie gang membership.

The Moon and Planets Among the Incas and Other Pre-Hispanic Andean Peoples

Although the Inca state (ca. 1200–1572 ce) was called the Empire of the Sun, the Moon was, in some respects, an equally important divinity in the official state cult. The regulatory function of the phases of the synodic cycle of the Moon in different kinds of social activities, especially those framed in calendrical systems but also military campaigns, is well documented. As far as the orientation of architectural structures is concerned, the researchers focus their attention almost entirely on the position of the Sun. However, a more accurate analysis of two well-known sites—the caves of Intimachay and Inkaraqay—may provide evidence of their function as observatories of the lunar 18.6-year cycle. Those results may confirm the hypothesis, presented some years ago, that the Incas had elaborated a rudimentary method of predicting lunar eclipses. The determination of the exact role of Venus and other planets in the Inca worldview encounters a serious limitation: in contrast to Mesoamerica, in Tahuantinsuyu and the Andes, there are no important “first-hand” sources such as the calendrical-astronomical data of the Maya or the Aztecs. Only Venus seems to have enjoyed a cult of Pan-American range. The morning appearance of Venus was apparently related to the puberty initiation rites of male adolescents, while its appearance as Evening Star seems to have been closely symbolically related to the Inca sovereign and his military activities. Putting aside the information available on Venus and its cult, there is an almost complete lack of data on the other planets. Another problem must be considered: To what extent did the Incas inherit their knowledge from their predecessors, the Chimus, or even earlier cultures?