Ķīniešu (haņ tautības) bēru rituāli

Tradicionālo kultūru pētījums saistīts ar specifisku komponentu un pazīmju noturību laika gaitā. Cilvēku etniskās savdabības vienotības organizācija izpaužas visos līmeņos: sociālajā, politiskajā, ekonomiskajā, tiesiskajā un citos līmeņos. Cilvēku pasaules uztveres normas ir balstītas uz vienotu un nemainīgu vērtību sistēmu un nosaka socializācijas un etnosa tradīcijas nepārtrauktību. Tradicionālās kultūras aspekti izpaužas ne tikai mitoloģiskos tekstos, bet arī citos žanros, kuri savukārt sakņojas mītos un leģendās. Pētot šos tekstus, ņemot vērā konkrētās tradīcijas, to struktūru un loģiku, mēs varam dziļāk izprast rituālu būtību un saprast to darbību dinamikā. Pētot apbedījumu un piemiņas rituālus, ir iespējams pieskarties pašam ķīniešu tradicionālās kultūras kodolam. Rakstā ir aprakstīti visi rituāli, kas saistīti ar cilvēka miršanu, apglabāšanu un sērām. Atsevišķa daļa tiek veltīta ar nāvi saistītām paražām un ticējumiem.

Tibetiešu lūgšanu kreļļu mālā (tib. phreng ba) iespējamās semantiskās saknes

Tibetiešu lūgšanu kreļļu mālā semantikas analīze ir attiecināma uz mūsdienās aktuālo reliģijas un materiālās kultūras jeb materiālas reliģijas pētniecības jomu. Pirmajā raksta daļā ir apspriesta jaunās reliģijpētniecības apakšnozares specifika, t. i., pētniecības objekts, pētniecības metodes un faktori, kas ir par iemeslu materiālajam pavērsienam reliģijzinātnē. Otrajā raksta daļā esam pieskārušies formāliem jautājumiem, kas skar mālā, pievēršot padziļinātu uzmanību izejmateriāliem, no kuriem mālā ir darinātas, it īpaši cilvēka kaulam. Diskusija par cilvēka kaula izmantošanu tantriskajā rituālajā praksē atklāj tibetiešu lūgšanu kreļļu jaukto semantisko lauku, kas savukārt norāda uz Tibetas reliģiskās eklektikas savdabību.

Vjetnamiešu saskarsmes kultūra. Antropoloģisks ziņojums

Vjetnamiešu kopiena Latvijā ir kvalitatīvi jauns fenomens, kas parādījies tagadējā sociālā un ekonomiskā formā pēc neatkarības iegūšanas. Imigrācijas temps ir salīdzinoši liels, un vjetna­miešu sociālās vides izpēte ir tuvākās nākotnes aktualitāte. Ikviens antropoloģisks lauka pē­tījums sākas ar attiecīgā etnosa sociālās uzvedības normu apguvi. Šī publikācija ir pirmais solis vjetnamiešu saskarsmes kultūras izpētē, kas ir nepieciešams ne tikai zinātniekiem, bet arī tiem, kas veic konkrētu darbu ar imigrantu kopienām no Latvijā reģistrētām nevaldības organizācijām vai arī oficiālām valsts institūcijām. Pētījums ir veikts kā komandas darbs ar orientālistikas studentu piedalīšanos.

Reviewing Japanese Dream Culture and Its History: Where Ancient, Medieval and Modern Times Meet

‘Dream’ is an important keyword in the study of cultural history. Dreams relate profoundly to various cultural phenomena, so that the aspects of this relationship are broad and diverse. Japanese dreams are also represented visually in many different cultural contexts, in various styles and media, and their representation changes according to social and historical situations. In particular, pictorialization of dreams offers interesting possibilities. For example, the ‘speech balloon’ (or bubble) is a popular device for depicting speech acts in picture books and manga, and a significant symbolic image in contemporary culture such as LINE messages in Japan. Historically, however, speech balloons also seem to have a close relationship with the visualization of dreams. In this paper, I would like to trace and review the Japanese dream culture and its history, to consider where or how ancient, medieval and modern times encounter in the history of East Asian cultural representation.

Orientalisms and Occidentalisms: Evolution of Concepts and Divergence of Connotations

During the most part of its long history, the term ‘Orientalism’ has had several interrelated meanings with neutral or positive connotations, some of which are still preserved, for instance, in art, architecture, design, and music, where it refers to Oriental influences and works inspired by Oriental themes and sounds rather attractive and romantic. As an academic term, it was used to denote the European tradition of Asian studies, suggesting a thorough exploration of Eastern cultural heritage, in particular, languages, literature, and artifacts. After the publication of Edward Said’s Orientalism in 1978, the term gained new negative meanings, related to postcolonial theory where it denotes mainly the biased, haughty attitude of the West towards an essentialized East and manifestations of Western colonial discourse in literature, science, and politics, such as the justification of Western imperialism, colonialism, and racial discrimination. The redefinition of the term by postcolonial theorists raised a debate about the about the so-called Western approach to history, sociology, and Asian studies as well as about the permissibility of division of the world into binary opposites, “the Orient” and “the Occident”. By the end of the 20th century, the term ‘Orientalism’ was adapted for the use by anthropologists, and its counterpart, ‘Occidentalism’ emerged, referring to the essentialized, dehumanized image of the West created by non-Western societies. Currently, most of the mentioned meanings have survived, each to some extent, and interfere in various fields of knowledge, creating complex sets of contradictory connotations.

The Influence of Sufism on the Sudanese Belt

As of the last decade of the 20th century, the Middle East and Africa have been the birthplace of extremist organizations espousing a radical ideology, which encourages violence against the dissenters and branding them apostates. Organizations like Al-Qā’ida and Dā’ish/ISIL performed numerous terrorist acts around the world, but especially in the Middle East. Other Salafi organizations like Boko Haram also gained recognition in international media disproportionate to their actual size. This discourse was behind the coinage of the term ‘Islamic Terrorism’, which casts a shadow of suspicion on any member of the Muslim community worldwide and served as an impetus for the writing of this paper as a means of shedding light on other Muslim organizations, which arguably are much larger in scope and influence. At the same time, these organizations are peaceful in nature and characterized by an incomparable level of tolerance. In my quest for sources of both narratives, I traced the history of the advent and dissemination of Islam in Africa – such a diverse geographic, cultural, ethnic and religious setting. I discovered that whereas the advent of Islam in the northern part of the region (North Africa) unfolded relatively quickly through invasion, it entered the Sudanese Belt (an area from the red sea shore of modern-day Sudan in the East to today’s Mauritania by the Atlantic Ocean in the West) more gradually via trade relations and the influence of Sufi sheikhs. They lived with the people indigenous to the area and seamlessly weaved themselves into the fabric of the societies they came to counsel. This paper argues that the areas where Sufi Islam is present have been largely shielded from extremist ideologies, and the reverse is true for North Africa, where Islam arrived in a relatively short period of invasion. The argument is presented by looking at the example of modernday Sudan, which leads me to examine the phenomenon of Sufi orders entering political life through direct involvement by establishing political parties, which propelled them into direct confrontation with representatives of a different branch of the Islamic movement in politics, namely, the Islamists. Arguably, the strongest Islamist party in the Middle East and Africa of today is the Muslim Brotherhood. I look at the diverging values of the two. Where the Muslim Brotherhood is arguably seeking absolute political power through a rigid organizational structure, the Sufi orders have been integrating into the political life of the country of residence. I argue that this example constitutes an opportunity to renegotiate the social contract between different factions of the society and lay the foundation for a different Islamic narrative. One based on pluralism, tolerance and understanding, which has the potential to gradually transform the sociopolitical environment of the entire Sudanese Belt in this direction.

Cilvēks un terorisms: terorisma kritiskā pētniecība, taisnīga kara mācība un humānisms

Rakstā ir aplūkots terorisma pētniecības un taisnīga kara mācības sastatījums ar cilvēkzināšanām. Pēc pasaulē un Latvijā vadošo tendenču īsa pārskata ir izklāstīti ierastās terorisma pētniecības trūkumi – analītiskais vājums un metodoloģiskā paviršība jeb pārlieka paļaušanās uz sekundārajiem materiāliem, strukturālā sajūgtība ar drošības un pretnemieru nozari, kā arī atkarība no valsts pārvaldes un militārās industrijas, epistemoloģiski principiālā “nezināšana” un metodiskā “problēmrisināšana”. Tālāk ir aplūkots cita terorisma pētniecības virziena – terorisma kritiskās pētniecības – piedāvājums, kas savukārt uzsver kultūras, sabiedrisko un politisko kontekstu. Iekļaujot kritiskās teorijas atziņas, šis virziens terorisma problēmu risina paplašināti, proti, no cilvēkzinātņu skata punkta, kā arī uzsver emancipējošo nolūku (cilvēka vērtības universālums) un problematizē valsts lomu terorisma pētniecībā. Aktualizējot cilvēkzinātņu un humānisma principu nozīmīgumu, rakstā sniegts ieskats taisnīga kara mācībā, kas ierasti pievērsusies starpvalstu kariem, bet mūsdienu apstākļos arvien biežāk ir pārinterpretējama, lai terorismu skatītu jēgpilni. Mainoties sabiedriskās organizācijas kārtībai, tāpat kā karš, transformējas arī terorisms. Līdz ar to ir kritiski jāizvērtē šo vardarbības formu izpratne. Humānisms kā cilvēka atbildības atzīšana organizētas vardarbības kontekstā gluži vienkārši ir metodoloģisks pamatnosacījums, kas mudina pētnieciskajā darbā ņemt vērā cilvēka aktivitāšu, tostarp vardarbības, cilvēciskos raksturojumus.

Christianity in Korea or Korean Christianity?

Taking into account all pros and cons, Christianity, which came into Korea from the West can be truly qualified as ‘Korean Christianity.’ It has by no means weakened Korea’s specific identity; instead, it has absorbed many local traditions (including Korean shamanistic practices), promoted Korean national self-confidence during its colonisation by Japan, given impetus to the modernisation of society through the dismantling of the class system, and thus also allowed the Korean tradition of Confucianism to be reborn under new circumstances.

Environmental Strategies and Preservation of Ancient Traditions in Contemporary Japanese Gardens with Focus on “Suzaku no niwa” (朱雀の庭) “Red Phoenix Garden” in Kyōto and “Suikei-en” 「水景園」“Water Mirror Garden” at Keihanna Commemorative Park, Nara Prefecture

This article is dedicated to two contemporary gardens: “Suzaku no niwa” (朱雀の) “Red Phoenix Garden” in Kyōto and “Suikei-en” 「水景園」 “Water Mirror Garden” at Keihanna Commemorative Park, Nara Prefecture both designed by landscape artist Yoshida Masahiro 吉田昌弘. The author analyses the gardens from the aspect of incorporation of environmental strategies in contemporary Japanese gardens, as well as preservation of ancient traditions and merging them with new technologies and innovative approaches.

Online Sanskrit-English Glossaries of Ayurveda, Yoga and Indian Music Terminology (Survey and Critical Assessment)

In 2017, a major Effective Collaboration Project, titled “Sanskrit-English-Latvian Online Glossary of the Basic Terminology for Indic Sciences (Ayurveda, Yoga, and Indian Music)” was launched at the University of Latvia. It is planned to include 1000 entries – Ayurveda (400), Yoga (400) and Indian Music (200). Accordingly, there are 5 expert groups – medical doctors (Ayurveda), yoga instructors and teachers, musicologists and musicians, Sanskrit language experts and linguists, and IT specialists. The program of tLex is used as a basic system for the input of words. Furthermore, several independent experts and organizations are being consulted during the compilation process, for example, State Language Centre of Latvia. This article constitutes a part the above-mentioned project. The main objective is to find out current offer of similar open-access Ayurveda, yoga or Indian music online glossaries that would use Sanskrit and English languages as bases. Printed versions, online journals or books, pdf- or xlsx-format lists and alike are not be included. The analysis consists of a description of each site, a critical assessment of advantages / disadvantages, and a com-parison with the on-going Glossary project at the University of Latvia (further in text – UL Glossary). The objective of the article is a descriptive, topical and structural analysis with an interdisciplinary approach. It does not aim at a thorough linguistic analysis. Therefore, Sanskrit words are given in simplified English transcription (mainly according to their usage in relevant webpages)