Chauvet caves: Outside reading
In Jean Clottes article “Rhinos, Lions, and Bears (Oh My!), Clottes describes his first experience upon seeing the Lascaux cave paintings. What I found so interesting about this article was the mention to predatory animals on the walls. Rhinos, lion, and bears are found in abundance in the Chauvet cave. Other Paleolithic art usually included hunted animals such as bison and deer. Paintings of these animals were most likely used in hunting rituals and well as an instruction manual to the hunters. The focus on predatory animals, which probably were not hunted, suggests that these animals symbolized something else to the Pateolithic people. Another interesting feature is that the cave floor is scattered with bones of bears. One bear skull is displayed dramatically on a stalagmite.
I have come up with a few ideas as to what the abundance of predatory animals on the cave walls could mean. My more practical explanation is that the paintings are precautionary. These animals were dangerous and it was best to avoid them. But that does not really explain the vast number unless the people were extremely fearful. My second idea is that these animals were their totem. Most oral cultures had founding animal ancestor and protects the tribe. Another option is that ancestral spirits reside in these animals and the paints are used to honor or invoke them. My last idea is that the gods manifest in the rhinos, lions, and bears. Of course these are all guesses without any form of additional research, and I would love to delve deeper into this topic later on.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Alanna Dailey - Dying Oral Cultures
Dying Oral Cultures: Outside Reading
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,973872-1,00.html
In the Time Magazine article “Lost Tribes, Lost Knowledge,” Linden stresses what will be lost when oral cultures absorb into modern society. For, one approximately 3,000 of the world’s 6,000 languages will be lost. Oral cultures also have useful skills and techniques that may be useful for industrialized societies later down the road. Linden fears that global warming will force us into obtaining oral cultures’ techniques, but since this knowledge will be lost, societies will suffer. Sadly, the younger generations of oral cultures voluntarily leave their tribe and are lured into a more Westernized, less labor intensive society. When the young people realize that they are losing valuable knowledge, it is too late to obtain it because the older generation is dying.
Linden also claims that the younger generation is sometimes shamed by their culture. Western societies frown upon oral cultures because they rely on myths, ritual, and religion, and Western societies rely on science and objectivity. I am currently in a Fear and Magic anthropology class here at CNU. We have discussed how our society rejects magic, myths, and ritual because they are not logical in terms of science. However, no one has ever used science to test these magic and ritual. Rejecting without testing completely goes against the concept behind science. To preserve oral cultures we first must erase this stigma and superiority we have over oral traditions.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,973872-1,00.html
In the Time Magazine article “Lost Tribes, Lost Knowledge,” Linden stresses what will be lost when oral cultures absorb into modern society. For, one approximately 3,000 of the world’s 6,000 languages will be lost. Oral cultures also have useful skills and techniques that may be useful for industrialized societies later down the road. Linden fears that global warming will force us into obtaining oral cultures’ techniques, but since this knowledge will be lost, societies will suffer. Sadly, the younger generations of oral cultures voluntarily leave their tribe and are lured into a more Westernized, less labor intensive society. When the young people realize that they are losing valuable knowledge, it is too late to obtain it because the older generation is dying.
Linden also claims that the younger generation is sometimes shamed by their culture. Western societies frown upon oral cultures because they rely on myths, ritual, and religion, and Western societies rely on science and objectivity. I am currently in a Fear and Magic anthropology class here at CNU. We have discussed how our society rejects magic, myths, and ritual because they are not logical in terms of science. However, no one has ever used science to test these magic and ritual. Rejecting without testing completely goes against the concept behind science. To preserve oral cultures we first must erase this stigma and superiority we have over oral traditions.
Alanna Dailey - Myth
Myth: Outside Reading
I love how Mircea Eliade describes myths as “living” in his work Myth and Reality. In US society myths are falsehoods and untruths. We often see magazine articles entitled “10 myths about …” and the article goes on to correct the lies that accompany that particular topic. Eliade explains that “myth” means “true story” and that oral culture rely on the true stories to know how to behave and how the world, animals, humans, and cosmos were created. Also as Americans we tend to be cynical about oral myths. We acknowledge that other cultures see myths as truth, but they are not really Truths and the other cultures just do not know any better.
I also thought the evolution of initiation rites was fascinating. The process goes: 1) the Supernatural kills man, 2) man retaliates and kills the Supernatural, 3) this killing then becomes an induction into a group/ manhood, and 4) the Supernatural is present in the initiation rite in the forms of a sacred object. Coming of age initiations never made sense to me. I did not understand how a person is suddenly a wo/man based on some rite. I related this to birthdays; I felt the same on March 1st as I did on March 2nd (my birthday) when I turned eighteen. When people turn eighteen, they are legally an adult. I did not feel like an adult, nor did I feel as if I reached some miraculous milestone. After reading Eliade, I understood initiation rites better. These rites represent something so much more than a birthday. These rites are living myths and are interactive with its people.
I love how Mircea Eliade describes myths as “living” in his work Myth and Reality. In US society myths are falsehoods and untruths. We often see magazine articles entitled “10 myths about …” and the article goes on to correct the lies that accompany that particular topic. Eliade explains that “myth” means “true story” and that oral culture rely on the true stories to know how to behave and how the world, animals, humans, and cosmos were created. Also as Americans we tend to be cynical about oral myths. We acknowledge that other cultures see myths as truth, but they are not really Truths and the other cultures just do not know any better.
I also thought the evolution of initiation rites was fascinating. The process goes: 1) the Supernatural kills man, 2) man retaliates and kills the Supernatural, 3) this killing then becomes an induction into a group/ manhood, and 4) the Supernatural is present in the initiation rite in the forms of a sacred object. Coming of age initiations never made sense to me. I did not understand how a person is suddenly a wo/man based on some rite. I related this to birthdays; I felt the same on March 1st as I did on March 2nd (my birthday) when I turned eighteen. When people turn eighteen, they are legally an adult. I did not feel like an adult, nor did I feel as if I reached some miraculous milestone. After reading Eliade, I understood initiation rites better. These rites represent something so much more than a birthday. These rites are living myths and are interactive with its people.
Alanna Dailey - Celtic Traditions
Celtic Traditions: Choice
Growing up, I always thought that my family was fairly average. We celebrated holidays and birthdays just like any other family and relied on each other for support and advice. However, I as became older, I realized that we celebrated holidays that others did not; we celebrated the changing of seasons. It was not until about a year or so ago, when I had to write a family roots paper that I realized that this is what we were doing; I just thought they were extra family “get togethers” that everyone enjoys. In spring we have a picnic and Maypole; in the summer we have an epic water-gun battle; and in winter we have a “Christmas cookie baking day” (when I asked about fall, my grandfather told me that Americans celebrate Halloween, so we do not need to do so as a family). My family is Irish Celtic and therefore we celebrate the solstices and equinoxes. From the descriptions above, you can tell that our celebrations (aside from the Maypole and Halloween) are far from the traditional Celtic festivals. I believe each festivals was associated with a Celtic god or goddess and included bon fires, decorating your house with branches of a particular tree (spring), sleeping in the forest (spring), and pouring milk on the ground as a means of thanksgiving (summer) and I cannot remember other rituals.
I wish I could find a connection between my family traditions and the ancient festivals, but alas there is none; they are just activities we like to do as a family during the solstices and equinoxes. One possibility as to why there is such a huge difference between the two is Christianity. My family was/is mostly Roman Catholic and it is known that the Catholics shifted pagan beliefs to Christian beliefs and celebrations. Regardless, I think that it is neat that these celebrations stem from ancient traditions.
Growing up, I always thought that my family was fairly average. We celebrated holidays and birthdays just like any other family and relied on each other for support and advice. However, I as became older, I realized that we celebrated holidays that others did not; we celebrated the changing of seasons. It was not until about a year or so ago, when I had to write a family roots paper that I realized that this is what we were doing; I just thought they were extra family “get togethers” that everyone enjoys. In spring we have a picnic and Maypole; in the summer we have an epic water-gun battle; and in winter we have a “Christmas cookie baking day” (when I asked about fall, my grandfather told me that Americans celebrate Halloween, so we do not need to do so as a family). My family is Irish Celtic and therefore we celebrate the solstices and equinoxes. From the descriptions above, you can tell that our celebrations (aside from the Maypole and Halloween) are far from the traditional Celtic festivals. I believe each festivals was associated with a Celtic god or goddess and included bon fires, decorating your house with branches of a particular tree (spring), sleeping in the forest (spring), and pouring milk on the ground as a means of thanksgiving (summer) and I cannot remember other rituals.
I wish I could find a connection between my family traditions and the ancient festivals, but alas there is none; they are just activities we like to do as a family during the solstices and equinoxes. One possibility as to why there is such a huge difference between the two is Christianity. My family was/is mostly Roman Catholic and it is known that the Catholics shifted pagan beliefs to Christian beliefs and celebrations. Regardless, I think that it is neat that these celebrations stem from ancient traditions.
Alanna Dailey - Indian Mascots
Indian Mascots: Choice
After watching the film about Mato Tipil and sacred place, I was in awe in how Americans really do not understand American Indian culture. They related climbing Matp Tipila to someone climbing on Mt. Rushmore or a church, yet we still climb Mato Tipila. A recent controversy concerns the use of American Indian themed mascots. Two examples that are close to my personal experience are the Richmond Braves and University of William and Mary’s Tribe. As a native Richmonder, I grew up with the Richmond Braves as our minor league baseball team. However, this past summer, the Braves left Richmond and the city voted on the “Flying Squirrels” as our new team mascot. William and Mary’s mascot recently changed from the Tribe to the Griffins.
American Indians find the use of Indian mascots offensive. These mascots often portray American Indian culture inaccurately and in ways that reflect a negative opinion on American Indians. Such negative portrayals include show the Indian as aggressive and wild. Americans do not understand the meaning behind many of the team mascot rituals and therefore should not perform them no matter how cool they may look. Also, “Redskins” is a derogatory word and should not be promoted. This is similar to using the “N” word or “slave” to describe an African American mascot.
Though I am in favor of eliminating the use of Indian mascots, I also understand the pride and identity that is accompanied with the mascots. Fans take it personally when they are told that their favorite team’s mascot is offensive. I went to a high where the mascot was the Rebels – pertaining to the Confederacy. I was mad when I thought they would change the mascot; I thought that the word rebels did not necessarily mean that we were racists. Now I understand that anything related to the Confederacy is painful to many people. So I believe that all Indian mascots should be changed or get American Indian approval. We should swallow our pride and listen to the requests of the American Indians.
After watching the film about Mato Tipil and sacred place, I was in awe in how Americans really do not understand American Indian culture. They related climbing Matp Tipila to someone climbing on Mt. Rushmore or a church, yet we still climb Mato Tipila. A recent controversy concerns the use of American Indian themed mascots. Two examples that are close to my personal experience are the Richmond Braves and University of William and Mary’s Tribe. As a native Richmonder, I grew up with the Richmond Braves as our minor league baseball team. However, this past summer, the Braves left Richmond and the city voted on the “Flying Squirrels” as our new team mascot. William and Mary’s mascot recently changed from the Tribe to the Griffins.
American Indians find the use of Indian mascots offensive. These mascots often portray American Indian culture inaccurately and in ways that reflect a negative opinion on American Indians. Such negative portrayals include show the Indian as aggressive and wild. Americans do not understand the meaning behind many of the team mascot rituals and therefore should not perform them no matter how cool they may look. Also, “Redskins” is a derogatory word and should not be promoted. This is similar to using the “N” word or “slave” to describe an African American mascot.
Though I am in favor of eliminating the use of Indian mascots, I also understand the pride and identity that is accompanied with the mascots. Fans take it personally when they are told that their favorite team’s mascot is offensive. I went to a high where the mascot was the Rebels – pertaining to the Confederacy. I was mad when I thought they would change the mascot; I thought that the word rebels did not necessarily mean that we were racists. Now I understand that anything related to the Confederacy is painful to many people. So I believe that all Indian mascots should be changed or get American Indian approval. We should swallow our pride and listen to the requests of the American Indians.
Alanna Dailey - Home Place Film
American Indian Film: Choice
In class watched a film on Native American and the importance of location. The film showed how modern society is interfering with traditional American Indian beliefs and sacred grounds. For instance, companies are bulldozing mountains, which house sacred sites and shrines, in order to extract mineral to make cement. I was fascinated by the issue regarding Mato Tipila. Mato Tipila has been sacred to the Lakota people for hundreds of years. In recent years, however, Mato Tipila has become a famous site for rock climbing. The Lakota believe that it is disrespectful to allow others to scrape and scar the tower with carabiners and other climbing equipment. They equate this to somebody climbing on the outside of a church. The climbers, on the other hand, state that placing a ban on climbing would be like prevent them from going to church.
Herein lays the problem: one group finds the physical land sacred and the other group finds the act of climbing sacred. Now the climbers could easily climb in a difference location, but some still refuse to do so. This suggests that Mato Tipila is what draws them to climb. Perhaps Americans also think that the physical Mato Tiplia is sacred, but they do not know how to respond to its sacredness and therefore respond with climbing.
In regard to the government not places a ban on climbing, I think of the issue from a sociological perspective. Conflict theory is often used to explain why certain groups are disadvantaged is society. From the first appearance of Europeans to current times, authority leaders have found ways to keep American Indians in inferior positions. Due to this history, the Lakota are powerless to enforce the ban on climbing Mato Tipila. For this perspective, ignoring the Lakota request for a ban is a way to make a profit and keep the minority group in an inferior position. Regardless of conflict theory, Mato Tipila is a location that calls to all people in which they come in contact with the sacred.
In class watched a film on Native American and the importance of location. The film showed how modern society is interfering with traditional American Indian beliefs and sacred grounds. For instance, companies are bulldozing mountains, which house sacred sites and shrines, in order to extract mineral to make cement. I was fascinated by the issue regarding Mato Tipila. Mato Tipila has been sacred to the Lakota people for hundreds of years. In recent years, however, Mato Tipila has become a famous site for rock climbing. The Lakota believe that it is disrespectful to allow others to scrape and scar the tower with carabiners and other climbing equipment. They equate this to somebody climbing on the outside of a church. The climbers, on the other hand, state that placing a ban on climbing would be like prevent them from going to church.
Herein lays the problem: one group finds the physical land sacred and the other group finds the act of climbing sacred. Now the climbers could easily climb in a difference location, but some still refuse to do so. This suggests that Mato Tipila is what draws them to climb. Perhaps Americans also think that the physical Mato Tiplia is sacred, but they do not know how to respond to its sacredness and therefore respond with climbing.
In regard to the government not places a ban on climbing, I think of the issue from a sociological perspective. Conflict theory is often used to explain why certain groups are disadvantaged is society. From the first appearance of Europeans to current times, authority leaders have found ways to keep American Indians in inferior positions. Due to this history, the Lakota are powerless to enforce the ban on climbing Mato Tipila. For this perspective, ignoring the Lakota request for a ban is a way to make a profit and keep the minority group in an inferior position. Regardless of conflict theory, Mato Tipila is a location that calls to all people in which they come in contact with the sacred.
Alanna Dailey - class discussion
Class Discussion: outside reading
In class today we discussed how text influences the way we speak. Charles Dickens’ literature was given as an example. Dickens is known for being difficult to read; his sentences are filled with subordinate clauses. Due to the abundance of subordinate clauses, oral cultures would be unable to understand his narration. I found a lot similarities between this and African American English (AAE/Ebonics). In The Language War, Robin Tolmach Lakoff explains in her chapter on Ebonics (pgs. 227-251) that the origins of AAE are Celtic. Slaves learned English from the whites they had the most contact with – the Irish indentured servants. Having both African and Celtic background, one can argue that AAE is rooted with oral culture traditions. AAE is not slang; it has its own lexicon, phonology, and grammar.
AAE speaking students often have a difficult time in school because they do not fully understand the Standard English that is taught in schools today. This is parallel to oral cultures not being able to understand Dickens. Lakoff suggests that it is the difference in language that puts African Americans at a disadvantage. Another characteristic of oral narration is that stories are not linear; it goes straight into action. This is another similarity between AAE and oral cultures. AAE speakers also use an “indirect” method of storytelling. Lakoff gives examples of this by quoting an AAE speaker in a trial testimony and an AAE speaking child describing her summer activities.
AAE has unique features found oral languages. Though its core is Standard English, a literate language, many of its features originate from other oral languages: African and Gaelic. Two characteristics of oral languages that can be found in AAE are difficulty following written texts due to the abundance of subordinate clauses and the use of non-linear narration.
In class today we discussed how text influences the way we speak. Charles Dickens’ literature was given as an example. Dickens is known for being difficult to read; his sentences are filled with subordinate clauses. Due to the abundance of subordinate clauses, oral cultures would be unable to understand his narration. I found a lot similarities between this and African American English (AAE/Ebonics). In The Language War, Robin Tolmach Lakoff explains in her chapter on Ebonics (pgs. 227-251) that the origins of AAE are Celtic. Slaves learned English from the whites they had the most contact with – the Irish indentured servants. Having both African and Celtic background, one can argue that AAE is rooted with oral culture traditions. AAE is not slang; it has its own lexicon, phonology, and grammar.
AAE speaking students often have a difficult time in school because they do not fully understand the Standard English that is taught in schools today. This is parallel to oral cultures not being able to understand Dickens. Lakoff suggests that it is the difference in language that puts African Americans at a disadvantage. Another characteristic of oral narration is that stories are not linear; it goes straight into action. This is another similarity between AAE and oral cultures. AAE speakers also use an “indirect” method of storytelling. Lakoff gives examples of this by quoting an AAE speaker in a trial testimony and an AAE speaking child describing her summer activities.
AAE has unique features found oral languages. Though its core is Standard English, a literate language, many of its features originate from other oral languages: African and Gaelic. Two characteristics of oral languages that can be found in AAE are difficulty following written texts due to the abundance of subordinate clauses and the use of non-linear narration.
Alanna Dailey - The Meaning Behind Flat Characters
The Meaning Behind Flat Characters: required Reading
As Ong discusses characteristics of oral narratives (Ch. 6), he mentions the development of round characters. Oral narratives usually have flat characters. Each character is only known for one trait – i.e. Odysseus is known for his cleverness. Ong states that Freud and the rise of the rise of the introspection and psychoanalysis is a possible reason for the emergence of round characters. To stem off this theory, I began to think of the connotation behind flat characters. Today, if someone were to call a novel’s characters flat, this would not be a compliment. Flat characters are thought of as simple and underdeveloped. Perhaps if this psychological perspective is correct, we view flat characters as bad because we think of them as simple-minded. The characters themselves are not simple-minded, but their creators. Round characters are complex and therefore it takes an intelligent mind to create them.
This perspective could help explain why our society view of oral cultures is negative. Ong recognizes that we still use flat characters today, but these characters are reserved for children who cannot understand round characters yet. Since oral cultural use flat characters, we automatically think, “your mind is like a child and therefore less intelligent than me.” This helps explain why literate, industrialized societies feel superior towards oral cultural. Flat characters does not mean unintelligent in any way, so this understanding could help with tolerance of other cultures.
As Ong discusses characteristics of oral narratives (Ch. 6), he mentions the development of round characters. Oral narratives usually have flat characters. Each character is only known for one trait – i.e. Odysseus is known for his cleverness. Ong states that Freud and the rise of the rise of the introspection and psychoanalysis is a possible reason for the emergence of round characters. To stem off this theory, I began to think of the connotation behind flat characters. Today, if someone were to call a novel’s characters flat, this would not be a compliment. Flat characters are thought of as simple and underdeveloped. Perhaps if this psychological perspective is correct, we view flat characters as bad because we think of them as simple-minded. The characters themselves are not simple-minded, but their creators. Round characters are complex and therefore it takes an intelligent mind to create them.
This perspective could help explain why our society view of oral cultures is negative. Ong recognizes that we still use flat characters today, but these characters are reserved for children who cannot understand round characters yet. Since oral cultural use flat characters, we automatically think, “your mind is like a child and therefore less intelligent than me.” This helps explain why literate, industrialized societies feel superior towards oral cultural. Flat characters does not mean unintelligent in any way, so this understanding could help with tolerance of other cultures.
Alanna Dailey - herbal Remedies
Herbal Remedies: choice
I went to the American Indian festival and I was surprised at the number of herbs on sale for medicinal purposes. I am not sure why I was so surprised because I knew that herbs and plants were used as medicine, but I guess I thought the use always involved ritual and shamans. A common herb that was on sale was dried sage. If you burn it in a shell, the sage is supposed to remove your anxiety after a stressful day. It can also be ingested to cure migraine headaches and use to relieve sinus congestion and pain.
Herbal remedies have increased in popularity in recent time. We have entire grocery stores devoted to everything natural thanks to the fear of negative consequences from too much synthetic chemicals. It seems we are reverting back/rely on oral cultures for “new” or different types of remedies. The main difference in today’s herbal remedies is that the remedy comes in a pill form.
I went to the American Indian festival and I was surprised at the number of herbs on sale for medicinal purposes. I am not sure why I was so surprised because I knew that herbs and plants were used as medicine, but I guess I thought the use always involved ritual and shamans. A common herb that was on sale was dried sage. If you burn it in a shell, the sage is supposed to remove your anxiety after a stressful day. It can also be ingested to cure migraine headaches and use to relieve sinus congestion and pain.
Herbal remedies have increased in popularity in recent time. We have entire grocery stores devoted to everything natural thanks to the fear of negative consequences from too much synthetic chemicals. It seems we are reverting back/rely on oral cultures for “new” or different types of remedies. The main difference in today’s herbal remedies is that the remedy comes in a pill form.
Alanna Dailey - Writing v. Memory
Orality and Literacy: Writing v. Memory: Required Reading
In the section “From Memory to Written Records” in his work Orality and Literacy (pgs. 95-99), Ong discusses how when the written word first became important, people did not trust it. During medieval times, people were much more likely to person’s oral testimony than written documents. Seeing how authority figures could abuse writing for personal gain in the feudal system, it is easy to see how people would not trust written records. Of course in today’s society we think the opposite. We trust written records over memory. Even in court cases people give more credit to written statements from professionals than to personal accounts of witnesses. I think this trust in written records came about in the Enlightenment period. This era stressed logic, reason, and science over everything else. People saw the records could be accessed years later and the account would still be there in perfect detail.
Another reason why we mistrust memory is because our thinking has changed. In ancient times people memorized everything. I was taught disciples of rabbis were required to the entire Hebrew Bible in memory, and the rabbi would often test his disciples making them reference certain passages. For me, even trying to memorize one book of the Bible is overwhelming, so the thought of learning the entire Hebrew Bible is even more stressful. Logic, reason, and written documents made it so we do not have to memorize everything. To make matters worse, we have scientific test (what we trust above all else) telling us that memory is not that reliable. These tests “prove” that court case witnesses do not have has good of memory as the claim. Our way of thinking has changed from memory to written documents and therefore so has our trust.
In the section “From Memory to Written Records” in his work Orality and Literacy (pgs. 95-99), Ong discusses how when the written word first became important, people did not trust it. During medieval times, people were much more likely to person’s oral testimony than written documents. Seeing how authority figures could abuse writing for personal gain in the feudal system, it is easy to see how people would not trust written records. Of course in today’s society we think the opposite. We trust written records over memory. Even in court cases people give more credit to written statements from professionals than to personal accounts of witnesses. I think this trust in written records came about in the Enlightenment period. This era stressed logic, reason, and science over everything else. People saw the records could be accessed years later and the account would still be there in perfect detail.
Another reason why we mistrust memory is because our thinking has changed. In ancient times people memorized everything. I was taught disciples of rabbis were required to the entire Hebrew Bible in memory, and the rabbi would often test his disciples making them reference certain passages. For me, even trying to memorize one book of the Bible is overwhelming, so the thought of learning the entire Hebrew Bible is even more stressful. Logic, reason, and written documents made it so we do not have to memorize everything. To make matters worse, we have scientific test (what we trust above all else) telling us that memory is not that reliable. These tests “prove” that court case witnesses do not have has good of memory as the claim. Our way of thinking has changed from memory to written documents and therefore so has our trust.
Alanna Dailey - Lost
Lost: Choice
In class we listened to a series of songs with the theme of being lost. “Through Smoke” by Needtobreathe, one of my favorite bands, also has a lost theme. The song is about struggling to find your way through the smoke that blinds you. The lost in this song is mental state of lost. The singer is lost and confused about his own belief systems due to opposing messages from others:
“Who do you believe when you can't get through (through smoke)
When everything you know seems so untrue (through smoke)
When I'm lost in a place that I thought I knew (through smoke)
Give me some way that I might find you (through smoke)”
When we talked about lost in class, we were related it to the home place. “Through Smoke” is not about a physical place/location. It is about finding one’s self pertaining to beliefs and values. Often when a oral culture was driven from their home land, they not only lost their home place, but also their religious home place. Oral cultures were forced to convert to Christianity and forsake their native religion. I imagine that the oral peoples felt similar to the theme in “Through Smoke:”
“I was raised to believe in the power of the unknown
'Cause when the answers and the truth take different sides….
When their whispers have painted pictures that,
Make you doubt what you once believed in,
Paper stories that hide the glory
To keep us searching
Through smoke
They are forced to doubt their own beliefs and accept and foreign religion and make it their own
In class we listened to a series of songs with the theme of being lost. “Through Smoke” by Needtobreathe, one of my favorite bands, also has a lost theme. The song is about struggling to find your way through the smoke that blinds you. The lost in this song is mental state of lost. The singer is lost and confused about his own belief systems due to opposing messages from others:
“Who do you believe when you can't get through (through smoke)
When everything you know seems so untrue (through smoke)
When I'm lost in a place that I thought I knew (through smoke)
Give me some way that I might find you (through smoke)”
When we talked about lost in class, we were related it to the home place. “Through Smoke” is not about a physical place/location. It is about finding one’s self pertaining to beliefs and values. Often when a oral culture was driven from their home land, they not only lost their home place, but also their religious home place. Oral cultures were forced to convert to Christianity and forsake their native religion. I imagine that the oral peoples felt similar to the theme in “Through Smoke:”
“I was raised to believe in the power of the unknown
'Cause when the answers and the truth take different sides….
When their whispers have painted pictures that,
Make you doubt what you once believed in,
Paper stories that hide the glory
To keep us searching
Through smoke
They are forced to doubt their own beliefs and accept and foreign religion and make it their own
Alanna Dailey - Original Visions
Original Visions: Required Reading
A unique feature to oral cultures is their use of binary oppositions. This is different from our society which using thinks in terms of binary pairs. Binary oppositions and binary pairs deal with contrasting concepts. The difference is that binary oppositions are relationship and cyclical, binary pairs are not. Binary pairs include good v. evil, destruction v. creation, etc. The binary pairs state that objects are either this or that (either good or evil). Binary pairs cause segregation, separating us from them. Binary oppositions are written good/evil, destruction/creation, etc. They express that objects can be both good and evil. Binary oppositions enforce the relationship that these concepts have with people and nature.
A good example of a binary opposition is in Carmody and Carmody’s Original Visions. While reading the section on mythical themes in Native Australian and New Zealanders, I learned about the Rainbow Snake (pgs. 88-90). The Rainbow Snake represents both life and death. Carmody and Carmody state that the serpent’s “phallic overtones” contribute to its association with life, and its poisonous bite is associated with death. The Rainbow Snake is also androgynous: the female is nurturing and tender towards her children, but also destroys the children who do not follow the rules; the male can support the healers by giving them power to heal, or not support them and ill remain sick and die.
I love the binary opposition characteristic of oral cultures. It suggests that oral cultures see the world in shades of gray, rather than the black and white. Binary oppositions enforce relationships and moderation. The aboriginals do not reject the Rainbow Snake because of its destructive side; they understand that destruction and death are vital to life. Destruction and death do not exist without creation and life, and life and creation cannot exist without destruction and death.
A unique feature to oral cultures is their use of binary oppositions. This is different from our society which using thinks in terms of binary pairs. Binary oppositions and binary pairs deal with contrasting concepts. The difference is that binary oppositions are relationship and cyclical, binary pairs are not. Binary pairs include good v. evil, destruction v. creation, etc. The binary pairs state that objects are either this or that (either good or evil). Binary pairs cause segregation, separating us from them. Binary oppositions are written good/evil, destruction/creation, etc. They express that objects can be both good and evil. Binary oppositions enforce the relationship that these concepts have with people and nature.
A good example of a binary opposition is in Carmody and Carmody’s Original Visions. While reading the section on mythical themes in Native Australian and New Zealanders, I learned about the Rainbow Snake (pgs. 88-90). The Rainbow Snake represents both life and death. Carmody and Carmody state that the serpent’s “phallic overtones” contribute to its association with life, and its poisonous bite is associated with death. The Rainbow Snake is also androgynous: the female is nurturing and tender towards her children, but also destroys the children who do not follow the rules; the male can support the healers by giving them power to heal, or not support them and ill remain sick and die.
I love the binary opposition characteristic of oral cultures. It suggests that oral cultures see the world in shades of gray, rather than the black and white. Binary oppositions enforce relationships and moderation. The aboriginals do not reject the Rainbow Snake because of its destructive side; they understand that destruction and death are vital to life. Destruction and death do not exist without creation and life, and life and creation cannot exist without destruction and death.
Alanna Dailey - Natural Symbolism
Natural Symbolism: Required Reading
I have always been fascinated with how oral cultures use nature to symbolize concepts. For instance a cave is often used to symbolize a womb and good fertility. In The Ritual Process, Victor Turner describes his understanding of the Isoma ritual. The ritual is to appease a woman’s ancestors who have cursed with barrenness or sick/stillborn children. Before the ceremony, the shaman mixes a medicine composed of various ingredients from nature. Each ingredient is symbolic and correlates to each step of the ritual as well as the conditions of the participants. The wooden of one tree is used to represent health and strength that is to come, and the bark of dead or dying tree is use to represent the present conditions the participants. I find this symbolism clever and it enforces the human and nature relationship. Using nature as representations of what one is and what one could become is fascinating. Essentially, from nature they are learning self- identity (I am like this tree because it is sick) and using it as role models (I want to be like this tree because it is strong and healthy). One really is one with nature if that is where they learn self-identity and expectations.
I have always been fascinated with how oral cultures use nature to symbolize concepts. For instance a cave is often used to symbolize a womb and good fertility. In The Ritual Process, Victor Turner describes his understanding of the Isoma ritual. The ritual is to appease a woman’s ancestors who have cursed with barrenness or sick/stillborn children. Before the ceremony, the shaman mixes a medicine composed of various ingredients from nature. Each ingredient is symbolic and correlates to each step of the ritual as well as the conditions of the participants. The wooden of one tree is used to represent health and strength that is to come, and the bark of dead or dying tree is use to represent the present conditions the participants. I find this symbolism clever and it enforces the human and nature relationship. Using nature as representations of what one is and what one could become is fascinating. Essentially, from nature they are learning self- identity (I am like this tree because it is sick) and using it as role models (I want to be like this tree because it is strong and healthy). One really is one with nature if that is where they learn self-identity and expectations.
Alanna Dailey - Rhythm of Time
Rhythm of Time: Required Reading
In Religion in Essence and Manifestation, Van Der Leeuuw discusses sacred time. Oral cultures do not have linear time. They do not record time in minutes, days, weeks, and years. They do not have a year that ends and begins again. Van der Leeuw describes sacred time as moments and notes in a melody. I like this melody and sacred time metaphor. Both time and melodies have rhythm. Time or “duration” as van der Leeuw calls it, eases from one moment to another. If you were to press a key on a piano and then another and another, the notes flow into one another just as moments flow into one another. This time is continuous and cyclical. For me, summertime as a child is the best example of sacred time. School is out and each day flows into one another. I did not know what date was or even what day of the week is was. During the days I told time by my stomach – I was hungry for lunch and then again at dinner.
Van der Leeuw also discusses the rhythm of the calendar of festivals. These festivals are markers to indicate what “instants of time” are important. For me the Fourth of July (even though it is on a specific linear date) represented the midpoint of summer. Not wanted summer to end, July 4th meant that from that moment on, I had to live each moment to its fullest so that summer would stretch out. Once the weather grew unbearably humid with absolutely no wind, the excitement of summer faded and soon after school would start. Not that I ever wanted summer to end, but I understood this cycle and rhythm of time.
In Religion in Essence and Manifestation, Van Der Leeuuw discusses sacred time. Oral cultures do not have linear time. They do not record time in minutes, days, weeks, and years. They do not have a year that ends and begins again. Van der Leeuw describes sacred time as moments and notes in a melody. I like this melody and sacred time metaphor. Both time and melodies have rhythm. Time or “duration” as van der Leeuw calls it, eases from one moment to another. If you were to press a key on a piano and then another and another, the notes flow into one another just as moments flow into one another. This time is continuous and cyclical. For me, summertime as a child is the best example of sacred time. School is out and each day flows into one another. I did not know what date was or even what day of the week is was. During the days I told time by my stomach – I was hungry for lunch and then again at dinner.
Van der Leeuw also discusses the rhythm of the calendar of festivals. These festivals are markers to indicate what “instants of time” are important. For me the Fourth of July (even though it is on a specific linear date) represented the midpoint of summer. Not wanted summer to end, July 4th meant that from that moment on, I had to live each moment to its fullest so that summer would stretch out. Once the weather grew unbearably humid with absolutely no wind, the excitement of summer faded and soon after school would start. Not that I ever wanted summer to end, but I understood this cycle and rhythm of time.
Alanna Dailey - Language Shapes Reality
http://www.newsweek.com/2009/07/08/what-s-in-a-word.print.html
In a Newsweek article “What’s in a Word,” Sharon Begley explains the phenomenon of how language shapes our thoughts. When the Viaduct de Millau, the largest bridge in the world, was built in the south of France, newspapers from Germany used words such as “elegance,” “breathtaking,” and “lightness” to describe the bridge. French newspapers used words such as “immense” and concrete giant” to describe the bridge. Ironically the word for bridge is masculine in French and feminine in French. Another difference is languages that have more words to describe objects. For example, the Aboriginal Kuuk Thaayorre use compass directions for every special cue rather than right or left. So they would say something like “there is an ant on your southeast leg.” The use of this language allows them to navigate in unfamiliar surroundings better than English speakers.
Going off this article, I think that how we describe nature shapes how we respond to it. For most people, nature and animals is something to be owned or dominated, and most do not find the idea of camping pleasant. Even words that are used to describe nature are sometimes negative: wild, uncivilized, primitive, or a world separate from the human world. I think this help explains our abuse of nature and a reason behind animal extinction. Oral cultures often associate animals and nature with the sacred and their ancestors, therefore their descriptions them are more positive.
In a Newsweek article “What’s in a Word,” Sharon Begley explains the phenomenon of how language shapes our thoughts. When the Viaduct de Millau, the largest bridge in the world, was built in the south of France, newspapers from Germany used words such as “elegance,” “breathtaking,” and “lightness” to describe the bridge. French newspapers used words such as “immense” and concrete giant” to describe the bridge. Ironically the word for bridge is masculine in French and feminine in French. Another difference is languages that have more words to describe objects. For example, the Aboriginal Kuuk Thaayorre use compass directions for every special cue rather than right or left. So they would say something like “there is an ant on your southeast leg.” The use of this language allows them to navigate in unfamiliar surroundings better than English speakers.
Going off this article, I think that how we describe nature shapes how we respond to it. For most people, nature and animals is something to be owned or dominated, and most do not find the idea of camping pleasant. Even words that are used to describe nature are sometimes negative: wild, uncivilized, primitive, or a world separate from the human world. I think this help explains our abuse of nature and a reason behind animal extinction. Oral cultures often associate animals and nature with the sacred and their ancestors, therefore their descriptions them are more positive.
Alanna Dailey - Rhythm of Time
In Religion in Essence and Manifestation, Van Der Leeuuw discusses sacred time. Oral cultures do not have linear time. They do not record time in minutes, days, weeks, and years. They do not have a year that ends and begins again. Van der Leeuw describes sacred time as moments and notes in a melody. I like this melody and sacred time metaphor. Both time and melodies have rhythm. Time or “duration” as van der Leeuw calls it, eases from one moment to another. If you were to press a key on a piano and then another and another, the notes flow into one another just as moments flow into one another. This time is continuous and cyclical. For me, summertime as a child is the best example of sacred time. School is out and each day flows into one another. I did not know what date was or even what day of the week is was. During the days I told time by my stomach – I was hungry for lunch and then again at dinner.
Van der Leeuw also discusses the rhythm of the calendar of festivals. These festivals are markers to indicate what “instants of time” are important. For me the Fourth of July (even though it is on a specific linear date) represented the midpoint of summer. Not wanted summer to end, July 4th meant that from that moment on, I had to live each moment to its fullest so that summer would stretch out. Once the weather grew unbearably humid with absolutely no wind, the excitement of summer faded and soon after school would start. Not that I ever wanted summer to end, but I understood this cycle and rhythm of time.
Van der Leeuw also discusses the rhythm of the calendar of festivals. These festivals are markers to indicate what “instants of time” are important. For me the Fourth of July (even though it is on a specific linear date) represented the midpoint of summer. Not wanted summer to end, July 4th meant that from that moment on, I had to live each moment to its fullest so that summer would stretch out. Once the weather grew unbearably humid with absolutely no wind, the excitement of summer faded and soon after school would start. Not that I ever wanted summer to end, but I understood this cycle and rhythm of time.
The Ordinary as Mask of the Holy reflection- Meghan Herrity
The Mythic Landscapes: The Ordinary as a Mask of the Holy reading had a real impact on me. The reading says that “In order to shield human beings from the unapproachable light of God’s glory, God always remains hidden, veiled by a mask.” To me this meant that God has the power and gave us the ultimate gift of experiencing his glory through other landscapes or objects. For some this may be seeing the glory of God in the face of their child and for other’s it may be through the remarkable and breath taking landscapes that this world beholds. His creations serve as a make concealing him and revealing his glory. For me the ordinary sunrise serves as a mask of the holy. Knowing that though he has the ultimate power to end the world but everyday I wake up to a sunrise once again and get to live another day in this world, to me this is ordinary that is extraordinary. -November 30th
Whitney Swaim - Ong (Class Reading 2)
In Orality and Literacy Ong discusses how a speech given to an audience directly is completely different than a group of people reading that same speech individually. Ong says that when someone is reading, then he enters his own private world. While someone reading a novel might easily be understood as being in a "private world," it seems that someone reading a handout during a speech would be a bit different. However, the isolation that comes with individual reading stretches across the board. Although one written passage has the same words for all, the ways they can be interpreted vary greatly. For instance, emphasis can be placed on different words or even specific syllables of words. When compared to hearing the writer of this passage speaking the words as they were intended, reading is a drastically different experience.
Whitney Swaim - Ong (Class Reading 1)
Ong discusses in Orality and Literacy how the term "oral literature" is losing power. However, he concedes that this self-contradictory term will likely never fade out completely. When I originally read the term "oral literature" before taking this class, I did not see anything unusual about it. It just seemed to mean that oral stories and traditions were written down. However, as time went on, I realized that there is much more to oral cultures that could never be recorded appropriately. Whether or not oral rituals/practices are recorded by video, audio, or writing, the full impact of these events could not be captured. To really grasp the power of oral traditions, one must actually be present. Primal rituals, story-telling, music, etc. involve use of sound that may only be understood by those who actually witness them. The sounds, in particular, involved with oral tradition are intended to be absorbed by someone who is face-to-face with the communicator.
Whitney Swaim - Grand Strategy (Outside Topic 2)
A few weeks ago I attended a lecture by Professor Lawrence Wilkerson, who proposed a grand strategy for America that would improve its economy and global strength. While this seems irrelevant to topics discussed in class, there was one part of Wilkerson's strategy that was quite relevant to the contrasts between primal and modernized societies. Wilkerson supported the ideas of having more concentrated cities/towns with mass transit and walkable routes. With raising energy cost and demand, Wilkerson proposed this type of society in order to help the U.S. become more sustainable. Interestingly enough, this seems quite similar to the ways of indigenous societies that have relationships with their local land. Primal groups utilize local food, building materials, and other resources. This sounds so simple, and it is ironic that modernized society seems to have such a hard time finding its roots. It has created a reality so detached from the natural world that it seems nearly impossible to make a smooth transition back.
Whitney Swaim -Ignoring Reality (Outside Reading 1)
During Monday's lecture we discussed modern society's willingness to ignore reality. I came across an article called "Our True Nature" by Molly Dickinson with a similar message. In this passage she discusses how people ignore their inner voice (their connection to nature) and then allow themselves to pollute the environment, even when they do not realize it. This parallels with the ideas talked about in class, since modernized people have created a new world of technology that exists outside their primary life world. I find it interesting and unsettling that what we usually see as healthy innovation actually has quite a negative effect on the planet and, ultimately, our well-being.
Kelsey Steven - The Individual and the Divine
In the book Original Visions: The Religions of Oral People by Denise Lardner Carmody and John Tully Carmody, the North American Indians' view of the individual and the divine is characterized by the more alone the person is the more connected he is to the divine. When in a group or within the tribe, their is less individualism. The shaman, obviously, has the closest relationship with the divine and became even closer through song. Singing comes from the core of the person and directly connects to the divine. The people also believed one could become closer to the divine through interacting with nature, since they believed the Creator could manifest itself into rocks, trees, birds, flowers, etc.. This oral people live with nature rather than by nature, like most of the modern world does.
Laura Stiles- Nolan Trail
When we went on the Nolan Trail in class a couple weeks ago, it was truly a little sample of communitas. Without the constriction of sitting in desks we were free to converse and learn with anyone we pleased, and we were given a chance to meet our fellow classmates and hear their perspectives on things we’d been learning in class. It was really interesting to get a hands on learning experience about the plants we found. A couple classmates and I even painted our faces with the dye from the berries. Walking the Nolan Trail with friends made the trip even more fun. Even just being out on the trail for a couple hours we acquired so many inside jokes, I can’t imagine how much I would bond with people I spent weeks or even months with in the wilderness when our only entertainment is each other. It was also a nice break to slow down and just be outside, with nothing to focus on or worry about besides the actual nature itself and it was almost a little strange to come back to campus and realized that our everyday realities were still happening. I’m sure the feelings of reentering normal life, after being on a trail for a long period of time, would be completely overwhelming.
Kelsey Steven - The Gutenberg Galaxy
The Gutenberg Galaxy by Marshall McLuhan is a close look at how a new technology will reshape the world. He covers the transition from an oral culture to a written culture, and then from a written culture to an electronic culture. Some people today believe that our move into a culture dominated by electronic media is harmful to our society because it destroys the art of handwriting and makes us lazy. Where this view does have merit, it is ignorant of history. People felt this way when the move into a written society was occurring and worried the the art of memorization would be lost. In a modern world, we could not imagine living without writing. So, who's to say that in a few years time, when electronics have become as normal as writing is today, that it would be arbitrary to argue that electronics are detrimental to society.
Kelsey Steven - Druids
A mysterious people, the Druids of Gaul and Britain practiced Druidism, a religion that is free of dogma and set belief and about living in the real world. Nature is both revered and used for magical practices. Today, those who still practice Druidism, believe in tolerance and respecting nature. Some don't even consider Druidism to even be a religion but more like a way of life in which a person chooses to consider everything around them to be divine or sacred. They also believe that there is a whole other world that is invisible to the human being called the Otherworld. This is where those who have died go on to to reside in. This ancient way of life is similar to other cultures we've learned about, such as American Indians, and how their church is all around them in nature.
Kelsey Steven - Art of Memory
In Plato's works, he discusses how the invention of writing will be the destruction of memory. Memorizing epics used to be an art that few people would do in society and was revered by others. It took a long time to memorize the exact words and inflections. The invention of writing allowed for people to have access to the stories so they could read them anytime they wanted without having to memorize them. The art of memorization would eventually become arbitrary, according to Plato, which, really, it kind of did. Today, we write everything and depend on it to be there. People don't ever expect anyone or even themselves to memorize anything unless it's in the art of acting. So, one could conclude that the main difference between oral and literal cultures is that oral culture requires memorization where the literal culture does not.
“Celebration of the Dead” by Brandon Schall
The day of the dead is the Mexican version of the United States Halloween. However, this holiday is not the same at all. Mexicans celebrate this holiday every year on November 2 to honor the dead. They dance, bring food, and honor those who have fallen in a cheerful way. My question is why can’t the United States have a similar tradition? Our Halloween holiday is more for kids and it does not honor the dead; it is a reason to get candy and dress in fun costumes. In the United States we are sad when someone we love passes and we grieve. Friends and family of the deceased send sympathy cards, flowers and wear black to the funeral. Mexico is proud of its’ dead and honor their deceased family and friends in a happy ritual. I think Americans should honor their dead the way Mexico does. The Mexicans believe that the dead go to a better place when they die, so instead of being sad let’s rejoice and honor their life as well as their death.
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/483058
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/483058
“Special Tree’s” by Brandon Schall
My religion says that Adam and Eve took an apple from a tree, in which they were not supposed to. In other religions trees are also mentioned as special or sacred. This article says that trees have not lost their sacred symbol in the cultures. Trees play a large role in our society to symbolize life or growth or rebirth. They are also important symbols in Japan as well. Trees there represent a symbol of the beauty in that country. Trees provided many valuable things to the people. Some of these things included wood, paper, and oxygen. The reason I decided to write about this specific article is because I believe trees to be a symbol of life. Tree’s provided oxygen to people to be able to live. Every time I see a tree it makes me think about life and this symbol is sacred to me.
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/1177864
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/1177864
“Parks” by Brandon Schall
In Sacred Sites: Nature and Nation in the U.S. National Parks the article makes the argument that since the Civil War the United States has created a connection with parks and views them as sacred. The people of the U.S. view the National Parks as sacred sites and symbols of U.S. culture. It is not the actual park as a whole that is sacred but the experiences that one can have in theses parks. I have often felt that we do not have enough parks in the United States. We need to preserve more open space. Building and progress is great but we need to have parks to relax and enjoy nature. It was nice to see some others have a similar view on parks and the ability for each individual to be able to have a sacred experience in the parks.
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/4140106
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/4140106
”Rice Effect” by Brandon Schall
In the Philippines rice is an important part of their culture. If a meal does not include rice in it then the meal is not complete. When harvesting the rice the people have a colorful ritual that goes with it. The celebration is to encourage the rice to grow. There are two forms of the ritual, the first is the older version which is called the animistic rice ritual. The newer version of ritual is called Christianized rice ritual. Both processes play an important part in making the rice grow. They believe that if one of the rituals is not performed then the rice will not come out properly. This is strange to me because our culture does not eat rice or anything else at every meal. The one thing that makes sense to me is the ritual part because I believe that you can change the outcome of things by continuing to do the same thing year after year.
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/1177363
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/1177363
“Women and Rituals in China” by Brandon Schall
As I read the Article of The Oral and Ritual Culture of Chinese Women specifically the Bridal Lamentations of Nanhui I was shocked because they said women were only allowed to express themselves two times in their life. One was during their marriage rituals; they were allowed to express themselves. Normally they were expected to keep up their home. This is shocking to me because today women in the United States can express themselves whenever they want. For a culture to withhold women’s rights is shocking to me. I believe that women should be allowed to participate in all rituals in life not just during their wedding night.
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/1178916
http://0-www.jstor.org.read.cnu.edu/stable/1178916
“Hot Water” by Brandon Schall
The other day our shower lost all hot water. The experience made me curious as to how people in ancient times manage to take warm baths/showers. During the summer months I am sure the water was warm in rivers and ponds but how about during the winter? Did they clean themselves during these cold months? I had no intention of getting in that cold shower so I left my house and went to friend’s house to shower. How did the people of ancient times get clean? They had to take a cold dip in the river, boiled water to put in a big tub or they didn’t bath at all. We would not have any friends today if we didn’t bath. I believe that I would have had to have been a lot tougher than I am now to survive in ancient times. The ancient people had to make do with what was available. We are all spoiled today with our modern conveniences, and I hope I never have to do without them.
“Drumming” by Brandon Schall
When we went to the park and beat on the drums it was and experience that I had never had before. This was a little bit outside my comfort zone. However, as the class went on, I started to enjoy myself more and more. At the time I did not understand or comprehend what was going on. As I started to look back on the experience I began to feel that the experience was meant for me to learn how to connect with nature and the inner me. Through the ritual I learned to connect with my fellow peers. It was a time to feel free and just enjoy the environment. What made this ritual even more special was the fact that I was with my friends. I got to enjoy something that I had not done in a long time; which was to sit outside and enjoy all nature has to offer and just Be.
”Technology” by Brandon Schall
Yesterday I tried to go without my cell for the entire day. Although I could not go the day without using my computer because I had to check my e-mails and do my school work, I tried not to use my cell phone. I felt really awkward; I do not understand how people survived without technology in an oral culture. It was a feeling of uncertainty when I was not able to talk to my friends. I still met them for lunch and talked to my roommates at home but it was different. It was a lost feeling, I felt like I was no longer in control of my life. People in the past did not have this technological advancement and they survived just fine without it. They had to walk long distances to another person’s village in order to talk to them. It is hard to believe that a person had travel great distances just to carry on a conversation. But, I imagine they valued their friends and family back then more than we do today. I feel that since I depend on current technology it has hindered my ability to communicate through just one on one oral conversation and it is disappointing.
“Beach Day” by Brandon Schall
I was at the beach last week with my friends enjoying the environment. My goal was to enjoy the earth. I feel that many people today don’t stop and take some time to enjoy the earth as the ancient cultures used to because they depended on nature for survival. People used the rivers and the oceans to go to different places. They also used it to clean themselves and to fish for food. Today we go there to swim, play football and get a tan. Things are much different in today’s world. Technology has hindered modern people’s wants and needs and prevented us from fully enjoying the earth’s oceans. I sometimes wish we could go back to the old days and rely more on the earth’s oceans. Since we cannot go back to a time in which this happened, I plan on going to the ocean as much as I can to enjoy the ocean.
“Hockey Rituals” by Brandon Schall
As the new year of hockey begins it is a bitter sweet feeling. This is the first time in 10 years that I will not be playing hockey. I have achieved most things throughout my life that a hockey player would want to achieve. I have made it through 4 years of college hockey. As the season begins I start to get back to my rituals for the season. Although I no longer have to practice and I do not get to play this year I still do the same things with my team that we have always done. Each Tuesday and Thursday we get together for lunch and talk about the game, each Friday and Saturday we relax all day together and watch movies and prepare for the game. Also, on Thursday nights we get together to have a pasta dinner at one of the guy’s houses. Although each team’s rituals are different these are the rituals that have been passed down through our team and we continue follow them today as a team.
“Interesting Ceremony” by Brandon Schall
As I was reading through the Ritual Process I thought the APO Ceremony of the Ashanti was very interesting. It is an eight day ceremony that starts after their New Year on April 18. Their ceremony includes singing, skipping, dancing, Mirth, and Jollity. This holiday is also about expressing how you feel about you and your friends. The purpose of this is to cleanse your soul for the New Year so you can start the year off fresh. I think this could be interesting because the ritual allows you to be honest with one another. Often in our culture we do not want to hurt someone’s feelings by telling them the truth, because it could hurt them. I live in a house with two of my friends and we have it out all the time and tell each other how we feel. However, I know many living situations where people do not say anything and it hurts their relationships. If all cultures were more honest it might help relationships rather than lying to each other.
“How to Remember” by Brandon Schall
When reading Ong I learned something. I had always thought that in oral cultures people memorized stories and information from others telling the story. This is not completely true; often times the people learned the information from text or written documents in order to be able to tell the story orally. They remembered this through repetition until they learn the information. This reminds me of the way I learn for a test that I take in school. Although I hear the information in class orally, I still must write the information down to learn it. This helps me later when I am taking a test on the information because; I am able to read it over until I can remember it. Although I do not have to recite the information orally, it still helps me to learn it so I can write the information during a test. I think it is interesting that people in oral cultures learned the information similarly to the way I still learn the information.
“Oral Knowledge” by Brandon Schall
The invention of writing really had an affect on people. Ong says that lists were used initially to keep track of people. The Romans originally put people’s names on lists by the way that it sounded, not alphabetically. They also used lists to help preserve a permanent record of their oral speech. This has changed greatly, the only time I need to remember anything is when I have to memorize information for a test. I could not recite my paper for a teacher word for word. Our culture has shifted to a culture that is forced to depend on writings, books and technology not on our memory. I think our culture would be more knowledgeable if we were required to remember our work and be able to recite information orally. If schools such as those in England who make their students recite and make an argument on their paper orally were instituted in the United States, it would make us more intelligent as a whole. Being forced to exercise our memory would make Americans more disciplined and help us retain the information we read instead of forgetting it as soon as the test is over.
“Natural Knowledge” by Brandon Schall
As I watched the movie on Tuesday about the Native American Tribes I was shocked at their ability to understand their environment. They moved to different parts of their land to use the resources in their environment. This was interesting to me because I do not have to move from home to home when the seasons change. I do not depend on the environment in order to eat or make my living. This was something new for me to comprehend. The thing that surprised me the most was the way they adapted with technology by using a tractor. This helped them harvest the corn faster. This was crucial to their survival. It amazes me that they instinctively knew when to plant or harvest then move to a new location. I would have no idea how to plant, harvest or when to move to a fresh location. I think people today have lost touch with the environment and we would appreciate our resources more if we had to live off the land. It is sad that we depend too much on technology, and do not enjoy our environment as we should.
“Flower Tokens Response” by Brandon Schall
As I was reading Kelsey’s blog I was inspired to comment. The Neanderthals’ ritual of burying their dead with flowers was a very important way of life to them. It seems today that some people take death as a sad misfortune that just happens. People get very upset in America; however in Mexico they honor the dead. It is called the Day of the Dead. During this ritual people laugh, dance, make food, and put on plays. America as a whole does send flowers as a token to of sympathy. However, some do not just send it once to the funeral home, but later quite frequently to the deceased’s grave site to make sure their resting place is very beautiful. As well as flowers, the families have grave markers and beautiful tombstones to show their honor and respect. This seems to be similar to the beauty that the Neanderthals believe the flowers represent. I do not think people take things for granted today but the present day American people just have different rituals at funerals.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Kelsey Steven - Film
In all our comparing of stories being told orally or literally, where does film go in this discussion? When looked at simply, a film is a story conveyed by moving images and audio soundtrack. So, really, is it an encompassing of both the literal and the oral? I think so. Film is reminiscent of oral storytelling in that it allows us to not think but allow ourselves to be sucked into a story, such as what happens when listening to a person tell a story. However, film has an extra component that oral storytelling does not have -- a visual component. The listener can not only listen to a story, but see it unfold right before their eyes, which is characteristic of a literate style of storytelling. A movie watcher can allow him or herself to be sucked into the story, but he or she can simultaneously analyze the visual aspects of the film like he or she would in reading a novel. Perhaps, then, what a film is, in regards to the orality versus literacy debate, a bridge that allows people to use it as an escape into another world (like listening to an oral story) or as a text that can be studied and discussed (like one would in reading a novel).
Kelsey Steven - Orality and Literacy
In a section of Walter Ong's book Orality and Literacy he discusses that when the novel was becoming popular, the way stories were being told changed dramatically. Orally told stories were usually continuations of the story of one main hero who, in each story, has to overcome some kind of physical obstacle. In the written story, a hero was transformed into the detective, his obstacles becoming psychological and geared toward having closure within the one story. The story became a concrete thing that was characterized by closure rather than continuation. However, I recognized that there is a compromise between the two types of story telling. The novel went back toward the oral style of storytelling when the novel series was invented. A book series follows the trials and trepidation of a hero who endures both physical and psychological obstacles, as well as the novel not being completely characterized by closure because there are multiple stories continuing the adventures, like had been done in oral storytelling. An example is the Lord of the Rings series in which we follow Frodo in his mission to destroy the Ring of Power. He psychologically struggles in bearing the evil ring and he also must fight beasts and malicious creatures along the way -- the mixture of psychological and physical obstacles. There are also three books that make up the story, which encompasses the closure of a written story but also the continuation of an oral story.
Kelsey Steven - Cross-Sexual Joking Ritual
In the book The Ritual Process by Victor Turner, he describes the Wubwang'u ceremony done in the Ndembu's culture, which is a tribe in Africa. This a particular ritual caught my attention and I found it intriguing. The Cross-Sexual Joking Ritual is for men and women to cause sexual arousal in each other by teasing each other about the unique aspects of their sex. The idea is that the more antagonistic and aggressive the men and women are to each other, the higher the sexual drive. They chant songs to each other that make fun of each other's sexual organs and prowess while praise themselves about their own. It is understood as being in good fun and there is an unspoken permission to be disrespectful. This ritual made me think about the fact that an oral culture, like the Ndembu, can share the same quality of a literate culture like ours. We always stressed the differences between the two but there are still core human traits that are present in any type of society. Men and women flirt all the time in our culture, mostly "competing" with each other as a form of attracting each other. Men will poke fun at women and vice versa in our culture just like the Ndembu do in their culture. So, even though there are some differences between an oral and literate culture, there still appears core similarities that all humans share, no matter their culture.
Kelsey Steven - Music and the Divine
In Van Der Leeuw's book Sacred and Profane Beauty: The Holy in Art, music is discussed as being as close to the divine as humans can get. In one particular passage, he describes going to the opera and feeling the music so much, on a higher level than just the plot of the opera, that he felt he was almost seeing the truth of the cosmos and of life itself. When we hear music that fills our hearts to an almost breakable point, we feel that we are so close to understanding the truth but "it is all so infinitely distant, as distant as the stars. It is near to us, and yet we cannot grasp it." This made me think about how the spoken word can make us feel something so much more spiritual than the written word. Like the example Dr. Redick used in class (writing AAH on a piece of paper compared to actually yelling it), hearing words make us feel something on a more organic level similar to what music does for us. I can identify with Van Der Leeuw's claim because there are times when a piece of music will overwhelm me and I feel like there is something just out of reach that I can almost feel but ultimately cannot.
Hilary Kolodziej- Outside reading 5
The final article I read for my final paper was entitled "On the Peyote Road." In this article, Mike Kiyanni and Thomas J. Cordas show the connection between religion and drugs. The Navajo get divine inspiration through the use of peyote. The drug also has healing effects and use it t worship nature and their God. The article also suggests that without the use peyote, the Navajo wouldn't be able to experience their religion or nature in such an intense way.
Hilary Kolodziej- Outside reading 4
The article "Swallowing Frogs: Anger and Illness in Northeast Brazil," shows how women in primal cultures are required to suppress emotions in situations when they might feel anger, jealousy or hate. "Swallowing frogs" seems to cause illnesses like nervos (nerves), mal olhado (evil eye), susto (shock sickness) and peito aberto (open chest). To be cured, women must repair any social errors and perform a ritual.
Hilary Kolodziej- Outside reading 3
One article, "Eyes of the Ngangas: Ethno Medicine and Power in Central African Republic" shows the importance of herbal remedies in primal religions. I read this article for my final paper to show the relationship between witchcraft, illnesses and herbs. The Ngando tribe believe that witchcraft is the leading cause of illness, but cures can be found in herbal remedies.
Hilary Kolodziej- Outside reading 2
Another article I read for my final paper was about Siberian shamans. The author, William Howells, describes how the shamans contain the spirits of animals so that the villagers would find them familiar. The shaman has a great responsibility, it is their job to keep an equilibrium of emotion in the tribe. The shamans are the center of life in Siberian tribes and are considered to be the most powerful member in society.
Hilary Kolodziej- Outside reading 1
For my final paper, I read one article about one type of religious specialists, Shamans. The article noted that Shamans receive their power from the divine, and it is their responsibility to cure their entire extended family of illnesses. Shamans are also mediums- they communicate with spirits and can control them through possession.
Hilary Kolodziej- Technology
For ANTH 310: Fear and Magic, our class was required to write a paper about the American fears that are present in the movie "Paranormal Activity." In the movie, a couple is followed by a spirit and the woman eventually becomes possessed. The central theme of the movie is the American fear of failure, and that technology will fail us. This is evident when the couple locks their door, sets their alarm system, and sets up a video camera every night in hopes of trapping a a ghost. As the movie progresses, the viewer begins to see how technology has failed the couple. The locked doors, and alarm system couldn't keep the paranormal away. Also, the video camera made the occurrences worse.
Hilary Kolodziej- Final Exams
I've been thinking a lot about the technology of writing and its emphasis on my current state. As a senior I have been reading numerous case studies for my Psychology senior seminar in Neuropsychology. Without the technology of writing, I wouldn't be forced to read the seemingly endless articles on brain damage, and furthermore, I wouldn't be required to write about them.
Hilary Kolodziej-Cave
One last review of my notes and I found a little tidbit about cave paintings. In primal religions, and even today, the cave served as a metaphor for the womb. Cave paintings depicted strong men, pregnant women and animals. It is obvious the emphasis is on fertility and the desire to pass genes on to another generation.
Hilary Kolodziej- Vision
Again, I was reviewing my notes for another blog post and I came across the idea of visions. My notes mention that a vision is an ambiguous message, but not a vague message. To me this is interesting, because dreams are the closest experience I have to visions. Almost every morning I wake up with the memory of last nights dream- but to me these dreams are vague.
Hilary Kolodziej-Desert
I was reviewing my notes today to find material for another blog. The information I came across was the characteristics of a desert. In my notes, I wrote how the desert is silent, and filled with emptiness. It is strange, colorless, has no limits. The sky is full and the landscape swallows you. In a desert you feel insignificant, and the stars are exaggerated. Before and even after I jotted these notes down, I felt as though the desert is where I want to be. Sometimes, it might be refreshing to feel a sense of complete solitude.
Hilary Kolodziej- Christmas Gifts
For the holidays, family is especially important. Sometimes the amount of pressure to see everyone you care about and give them a gift can be overwhelming. As I wrap up my Christmas shopping, I began thinking about primal cultures and the contrast between us and them. Our culture places an emphasis on the biggest and most expensive gifts, but in primal cultures- are the gifts of the same importance? Probably not. I would think that gift giving in primal religions would focus much more on the relationship between the people and the practicality of the gift, not the price on the tag and the glamour of it.
Judgement
Ben Moore-Judgement-
In the chapter concerning missionaries in Bruchko I felt dismayed. In the chapter one missionary decribes a man eating a rat as being a non-believer. I was astonished by this because as a Christian we are not to be a judge, but a carrier of his messege. I believe for this man to judge this man of poverty in this way it makes the missionary look worse off than the man. One time my Dad dressed up as a homeless man and went into his new appointed church. To his amazement the church was unwelcoming to him. He then left the church and came back in as being well dressed and in his robes. Then he asked did you allow a homeless man to walk away from this church? They said yes and he stated that that man might need God in is life, but you as the congregation need him more than that homeless man did. I was the homeless man as he stated and why am I know acceptable. Why do we judge when we are to open minded and openhearted. Have we not failed as a Christian for being a judge instead of the disciple?
In the chapter concerning missionaries in Bruchko I felt dismayed. In the chapter one missionary decribes a man eating a rat as being a non-believer. I was astonished by this because as a Christian we are not to be a judge, but a carrier of his messege. I believe for this man to judge this man of poverty in this way it makes the missionary look worse off than the man. One time my Dad dressed up as a homeless man and went into his new appointed church. To his amazement the church was unwelcoming to him. He then left the church and came back in as being well dressed and in his robes. Then he asked did you allow a homeless man to walk away from this church? They said yes and he stated that that man might need God in is life, but you as the congregation need him more than that homeless man did. I was the homeless man as he stated and why am I know acceptable. Why do we judge when we are to open minded and openhearted. Have we not failed as a Christian for being a judge instead of the disciple?
Miracles
Ben Moore-Miracles-
In Bruchko the foreword really spoke to me. It concerned the belief in miracle s and what they do for religion. I believe that religion is based on faith and through miracles that are unexplainable it reassures our faith. I believe miracles enpower us and enable us as believers to stregthen our faith ina multitude of ways. I feel that miracles are one of the few ways that enlighten and show non-believers that there is a possiblity in a higher being. Miracles are thoses events undescrible by human nature and knowledge. I feel without them it is sometimes impossible to reach certain non-believers.
In Bruchko the foreword really spoke to me. It concerned the belief in miracle s and what they do for religion. I believe that religion is based on faith and through miracles that are unexplainable it reassures our faith. I believe miracles enpower us and enable us as believers to stregthen our faith ina multitude of ways. I feel that miracles are one of the few ways that enlighten and show non-believers that there is a possiblity in a higher being. Miracles are thoses events undescrible by human nature and knowledge. I feel without them it is sometimes impossible to reach certain non-believers.
Who is My God
Ben Moore-God who is he?-
In the chapter concerning who is my God in Bruchko, it made me realize the dicrpncies between religions belief. In the chapter it discusses how he debates which God is his. That there is God in different contextualities in the religions that surround his. I believe as a Christian we have to have a strong faith and belief in God as he is presented in the Bible. The reason is because the Bible is the foundation of our belief and it what is the root that allows for the church to be where it is. I feel God can be seen in many aspects, but for you to look for your God I believe you have to look in the Bible, at least for Christians, to see what God is and what he is to you.
In the chapter concerning who is my God in Bruchko, it made me realize the dicrpncies between religions belief. In the chapter it discusses how he debates which God is his. That there is God in different contextualities in the religions that surround his. I believe as a Christian we have to have a strong faith and belief in God as he is presented in the Bible. The reason is because the Bible is the foundation of our belief and it what is the root that allows for the church to be where it is. I feel God can be seen in many aspects, but for you to look for your God I believe you have to look in the Bible, at least for Christians, to see what God is and what he is to you.
Goverment employees are the carriers
Ben Moore-Messengers of the word-
On page seven of the Ritual Process it disscusses how government employees and clerks carrying the messege of a higher God. They were the diciples of the word through their reports. The Ndembu tribe relyed on these reports for their religion in this high God. I believe that the fact that government employees had a say in what to believe in is insane. I believe if that were to happen today we would see religon go towards a more beneficial system for the government. The fact that this tribe was able to go on successfully is incredible and shows just how much difference there is between oral and nonoral religions. The belief steaming from a government employee still astonishes me.
On page seven of the Ritual Process it disscusses how government employees and clerks carrying the messege of a higher God. They were the diciples of the word through their reports. The Ndembu tribe relyed on these reports for their religion in this high God. I believe that the fact that government employees had a say in what to believe in is insane. I believe if that were to happen today we would see religon go towards a more beneficial system for the government. The fact that this tribe was able to go on successfully is incredible and shows just how much difference there is between oral and nonoral religions. The belief steaming from a government employee still astonishes me.
Religion makes us dumb?
Ben Moore-Religion_
On page 1 of the Ritual Process it disscusses how religion deals with a lot of imaginative and emotional nture and that through religion we find some being in a view of intelligence to others. Religion as described in the chapter has certain parts that are not knowledgeable, but are left to the imagination. I feel that it is a not an imagination, but is our belief and faith in that religion that make others feel dumbfounded. They don't know how to intrept a religion so they see it as a figment of imagination because they don't believe in that religon. I think religion enables us to believe in something in higher and for some people that is just imagination, but it all comes down to faith.
On page 1 of the Ritual Process it disscusses how religion deals with a lot of imaginative and emotional nture and that through religion we find some being in a view of intelligence to others. Religion as described in the chapter has certain parts that are not knowledgeable, but are left to the imagination. I feel that it is a not an imagination, but is our belief and faith in that religion that make others feel dumbfounded. They don't know how to intrept a religion so they see it as a figment of imagination because they don't believe in that religon. I think religion enables us to believe in something in higher and for some people that is just imagination, but it all comes down to faith.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Orality and Literacy Quote- Corey Maiden
"The basic orality of language is permanent." (Ong 7)
I read this quote from Ong's, Orality and Literacy and almost immediately began to question whether this is really true. It makes sense if we are talking about literacy in contract to spoken word, but the technology of language has gone far past that point now. The reason I began to doubt the validity of this statement is that we have so many different ways of communicating today that no one will believe a rumor until it is “Facebook official”. And another technology that is a grey area for me is recorded speech. This form of communication is oral but does not carry the same meaning as face to face conversation, and yet it is the only source of information that people consider credible. It seems to me that people are surprisingly willing to sacrifice face to face conversation for the comfort of technology such as computers and cell phones.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
How Advanced-Matthew Winkler15
I guess I would have to say that when I think of Primal religions and oral people's I think of tribes men who live relatively primitive lives. They live in make shift homes if they have any and live at piece with the land. I have heard in my history classes that writing began about 3500BCE. It was rather basic at this time but it was still writing. So over Thanksgiving break I have been watching my fair share of TV and saw this program where they were talking about people that used to live closer to the oceans because sea levels used to be lower. So sea levels were lower during the ice age and as the ice still melts today the ocean levels around the world continue to rise. I think most of us know that there were people who lived in fishing communities. They became displaced as the water levels rose.
So back to what I saw on TV. They have found buildings that are made of sandstone and other stone materials that are about 70 meters or feet under water. Well the program I was watching said that this area would have been underwater since before 10,000BCE. That is well before writing and Sumerians type civilizations had begun. This already calls into question how long man had been doing things like this and brings me to my question. Do you think that you need writing to construct buildings and basic city structure.
One of these places is located off the southern tip of India. In Hindu oral stories there are stories about people who lived from 30,000 to 10,000 years ago under leadership of a deity. The stories goes that there was a fight between deities and the land was flooded. So it has already been around and passed on in the form of oral stories but this TV show was the first time that I have ever heard of this. How long were these civilizations around for? Did they have writing? Can they build these structures without writing? Maybe oral stories should be listened closer too so we can find civilizations that might change our view of how advanced primitive man was.
So back to what I saw on TV. They have found buildings that are made of sandstone and other stone materials that are about 70 meters or feet under water. Well the program I was watching said that this area would have been underwater since before 10,000BCE. That is well before writing and Sumerians type civilizations had begun. This already calls into question how long man had been doing things like this and brings me to my question. Do you think that you need writing to construct buildings and basic city structure.
One of these places is located off the southern tip of India. In Hindu oral stories there are stories about people who lived from 30,000 to 10,000 years ago under leadership of a deity. The stories goes that there was a fight between deities and the land was flooded. So it has already been around and passed on in the form of oral stories but this TV show was the first time that I have ever heard of this. How long were these civilizations around for? Did they have writing? Can they build these structures without writing? Maybe oral stories should be listened closer too so we can find civilizations that might change our view of how advanced primitive man was.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Blog #6--Lost-- Jessica Moore
The discussion we had on "lost" this semester was very interesting to me and whenever I hear the word lost or think about being lost, I am reminded of our discussion. Some things I wrote down on my paper were "something that is unknown, not seen or undiscovered. There is mystery or lack of explanation to the whereabouts or meaning of something or an object. To lose someone by death, to lose your keys, or to lose a child at an amusement park." Some connotations of lost we decided as a class were confused, darkness, fear, stress, anxiety, death, separation, aimless, moral deviance, loss of control, disoriented, and lonely. The word lost really makes me think though. If one isn't lost, what are they? In life, there is always some bit of confusion, misunderstanding, and unknowing. And is one really lost if no one is looking for them? And, how do you know when you are lost? Do you realize you are lost when you finally decide "get found" and you've already been lost for 5 years? If you have no family, friends, or home then can someone ever be lost. Having a home is something we decided was needed for someone to be lost. You can't be lost if you have no where get back to. Lost is such a tricky and interesting word, but it is something that I'm sure none of us enjoy.
Blog #5-- Class film
While watching the film on Wednesday in class, it was really interesting to me the whole dilemma the natives had with "their land" and people intruding and using it for various reasons. The natives' land was a popular place for people to rock climb, ski, snowboard and congregate with friends. The natives had used and lived on this land since as long as they can remember and can't understand why something can't be done to keep people off their land. The natives use and depend on their land for everything and worship whatever comes from it. They obtain their food, perform sacred rituals, create tools to help the tribe, ect. They waste nothing given to them from the earth and are thankful for everything they receive. They said since their land is a place of worship, that the people were basically desecrating it by their acts. Unfortunately, there is no way, at the moment, for the Natives to keep people off "their land" because it technically isn't their official land. The people who work on the land (workers for the park) try to work with the Natives and notify people who come to the park to hike, climb, ski, ect that it is sacred land and that during certain times of the year, the Natives consider it holy. This helps, but the workers can't force people to stay off the land, so some still proceed to "desecrate" it. Currently the debate is still going on and will continue until the Natives get their way. I don't blame them, I wouldn't want someone to come in my church and desecrate it either.
Sharing-Mathew Winkler 14
In my communication text book I learned about sharing personal information. This topic sounded like something that I could relate this class.
Trust is something that all people should have. Some of the oral cultures that are still in practice today do not explain all of their practices to people outside. There practices are a private thing that is to occur with out the peering eyes from the outside world. The topical intimacy within these cultures is rather high. The sense of unity that it creates to not share with the outside world is great. It creates a greater sense of responsibility for the people in these communities. I learned that self disclosure changes as people age. we can see this in our culture but it also makes sense in oral cultures. When we are young we ask lots of questions of the world around us. As we mature we tend to ask fewer questions because to not know would be a sign of weakness. They also do not share what they learn from others. As these individuals get older and approach elder-hood they tell the younger generations all they knew and leave no secrets because they want to remembered as being a giver and not a taker possibly. The lessons learned are then passed on and the cycle tends to repeat itself. This is how the balance is maintained. Letting go of such pent up feelings of possible regret is like the releasing of catharsis. When you release such negative feelings you can feel better about oneself.
Members of a tribe who are the same age need to be able to disclose public information and some private information in order to maintain today. sharing with one another does create a good relationship. There is a limit to how much you should disclose to one another. disclosing too much could lead to the information you tell being used against you. So there is a limit and it is this limit that holds us back in our culture and most likely in other cultures. Being observant and making judgment calls is what life is all about. You got to take risks in order to move forward but you also must not always take risks with the threat of moving backwards.
Trust is something that all people should have. Some of the oral cultures that are still in practice today do not explain all of their practices to people outside. There practices are a private thing that is to occur with out the peering eyes from the outside world. The topical intimacy within these cultures is rather high. The sense of unity that it creates to not share with the outside world is great. It creates a greater sense of responsibility for the people in these communities. I learned that self disclosure changes as people age. we can see this in our culture but it also makes sense in oral cultures. When we are young we ask lots of questions of the world around us. As we mature we tend to ask fewer questions because to not know would be a sign of weakness. They also do not share what they learn from others. As these individuals get older and approach elder-hood they tell the younger generations all they knew and leave no secrets because they want to remembered as being a giver and not a taker possibly. The lessons learned are then passed on and the cycle tends to repeat itself. This is how the balance is maintained. Letting go of such pent up feelings of possible regret is like the releasing of catharsis. When you release such negative feelings you can feel better about oneself.
Members of a tribe who are the same age need to be able to disclose public information and some private information in order to maintain today. sharing with one another does create a good relationship. There is a limit to how much you should disclose to one another. disclosing too much could lead to the information you tell being used against you. So there is a limit and it is this limit that holds us back in our culture and most likely in other cultures. Being observant and making judgment calls is what life is all about. You got to take risks in order to move forward but you also must not always take risks with the threat of moving backwards.
God-Matthew Winkler13
Most religions oral and written have a deity that created the world and the people on it. Some tell of other creatures or beings that used to exist and failed and that is why man is here now. Others say that man sinned and was banished from the garden of eden. Why do they all say that they were created? Why can man not have been around since the beginning of time and had alway been around? Maybe man needs to believe that they are not the highest power. Maybe man needs to believe that it was placed on this planet for a purpose. Each religion has its own purpose for man and what he or she must do. Primal man uses deities to explain why the world is the way it is and why man is around. Having deities explains why man can have a bad harvest or a really plentiful. Could ancient man really handle the fate of them having a good food supply be due to chance? i don't think so. If there was a higher power that determined whether man had a good harvest or not then we could appease them and flatter them to get what we wanted. To honor and make sacrifices and to share what we have with a power greater then us gave man a chance to reap greater rewards. The more you gave to a god the more you should get back. and if there ever was a bad or poor harvest you could probably find an individual that did not do their part so the blame could be placed on him. The harvest deity might had been unimpressed with the actions of one man and thus make the tribe suffer. It would not seem possible that air currents and weather patterns determined whether or not we got the weather required to yield a good harvest. They did realize that rain was needed for their crops but also that too much rain could do just as much damage as no rain.
In Narnia god is represented by a lion named Alsan. He teaches lessons to the people and shows that times may be bad but if you hold true to what you believe then things will work out in the end. Also that there is always a plan and that suffering might have to happen in order for there to have progress. There are temptations from darkness but there is always a catch or some fine print to the deal. Aslan does not work in this fashion and does not lie and lets his subjects know what to do when the time is right. He gives guidence to people but does not directly tell them what to do. The choice is still theirs to make.
I mention this because it shows how in religion their is good and their is evil. both can seem appealing but only one is the write way to go in that scenario. I just find it interesting with all we have learned in class how religions have a similar pattern to them and that worship is required for both oral and literate people.
In Narnia god is represented by a lion named Alsan. He teaches lessons to the people and shows that times may be bad but if you hold true to what you believe then things will work out in the end. Also that there is always a plan and that suffering might have to happen in order for there to have progress. There are temptations from darkness but there is always a catch or some fine print to the deal. Aslan does not work in this fashion and does not lie and lets his subjects know what to do when the time is right. He gives guidence to people but does not directly tell them what to do. The choice is still theirs to make.
I mention this because it shows how in religion their is good and their is evil. both can seem appealing but only one is the write way to go in that scenario. I just find it interesting with all we have learned in class how religions have a similar pattern to them and that worship is required for both oral and literate people.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Suicide Bombings
Ben Moore-Suicide Bombings-
I read an article by Arata Takeda about suicide bombings and how some relate it to devoteness to their culture/religion. Through the research and review the suicide bombings were linked to another cause other than the culture and religion itself. It was found to be a more personal and inside battle through which people decided to take this action. There is now precautions and rules being taken to protect us from suicide bombings. These new regulations allow to keep us safe and still respect the religions of the world. I believe that the bombings are bad, but in a sense give us a look into how we try our hardest to respect everyone's views and beliefs.
I read an article by Arata Takeda about suicide bombings and how some relate it to devoteness to their culture/religion. Through the research and review the suicide bombings were linked to another cause other than the culture and religion itself. It was found to be a more personal and inside battle through which people decided to take this action. There is now precautions and rules being taken to protect us from suicide bombings. These new regulations allow to keep us safe and still respect the religions of the world. I believe that the bombings are bad, but in a sense give us a look into how we try our hardest to respect everyone's views and beliefs.
Atheist
Ben Moore-Atheists-
I read a very interesting article about how Michael Dowd believed that atheists are the wisdom for the religions of the world to succeed. He described how science has proven things throughout time how the world came to be. That God is just a word of reality and for religion to prosper it has to aquire these scientific findings as belief so that the religion can survive. I believ it is all a crock, but that is my opinion. I feel that some stories in Bible are har to relate to modern times as he says in his article, but there are also a lot that we can learn and gain wisedom from. I believe if we as a religion were to take this article into consideration and do it we would fall apart. The foundation would be gone and there would be nothing left to believe in, in regards to God and Jesus.
I read a very interesting article about how Michael Dowd believed that atheists are the wisdom for the religions of the world to succeed. He described how science has proven things throughout time how the world came to be. That God is just a word of reality and for religion to prosper it has to aquire these scientific findings as belief so that the religion can survive. I believ it is all a crock, but that is my opinion. I feel that some stories in Bible are har to relate to modern times as he says in his article, but there are also a lot that we can learn and gain wisedom from. I believe if we as a religion were to take this article into consideration and do it we would fall apart. The foundation would be gone and there would be nothing left to believe in, in regards to God and Jesus.
Survival of the Bemba Oral religion
Ben Moore-Bemba-
I read an article about the Bemba Tribe and their need to continue their oral culutre successfully. The article was by Kevin Maxwell and it was very intriguing because it discussed Walter Ong in the article. Maxwell researched what Bemba tribe had to do so that they would continue on as a oral culture. The culture is carried on primarily by spoken words that as he described give power of presence of the individual. The culture started to see downfall in their oral traditions and they acted upon this by using literate methods to reestablish their orality. The tribe began to switch into Christinatiy and began to use the writing styles as a way to save their culture. I wonder if there are any other cultures that are oral that have had to switch to a literate system just to kep their culture and traditions alive?
I read an article about the Bemba Tribe and their need to continue their oral culutre successfully. The article was by Kevin Maxwell and it was very intriguing because it discussed Walter Ong in the article. Maxwell researched what Bemba tribe had to do so that they would continue on as a oral culture. The culture is carried on primarily by spoken words that as he described give power of presence of the individual. The culture started to see downfall in their oral traditions and they acted upon this by using literate methods to reestablish their orality. The tribe began to switch into Christinatiy and began to use the writing styles as a way to save their culture. I wonder if there are any other cultures that are oral that have had to switch to a literate system just to kep their culture and traditions alive?
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Linking to Myths
Ben Moore-Linking-
I read an article by Frances Harwood that dealt with how certain literate and nonliterate groups spaced themseleves concerning the location to where certain myths take place. She researched the matter because the difference between the groups concerning how far they lived from these special places was incredible. She found that the nonliterate cultures were temporal to the places where myths had taken place, whereas literate cultures were spatial to the locations. I and she both arose the question whether the location of the culture in realtion to where myths in their culture took place actually influeneced the social life of the culture. I found the article interesting and informative because I never really wondered if being to close proximity of where Jesus had died really had any effect on the churches around them.
I read an article by Frances Harwood that dealt with how certain literate and nonliterate groups spaced themseleves concerning the location to where certain myths take place. She researched the matter because the difference between the groups concerning how far they lived from these special places was incredible. She found that the nonliterate cultures were temporal to the places where myths had taken place, whereas literate cultures were spatial to the locations. I and she both arose the question whether the location of the culture in realtion to where myths in their culture took place actually influeneced the social life of the culture. I found the article interesting and informative because I never really wondered if being to close proximity of where Jesus had died really had any effect on the churches around them.
Hinduism
Ben Moore-Hinduism-
I read a article today by Amy Galla that was concerned on how orality in religion was realted to hinduism. It amazed me how the vedas came to be for their religion. The vedas were just chants that were memorized by the priests of the religion. These chants were passed onto their sons that presented a way of preserving the messege and meaning of these chants. The orality of this religion enabled it to transform itself into a written relgion. Those chants had been memorized for generations and because of the successfulness it was able to produce the four books of the vedas that declare how the earth was began and what life is like. If the orality of this religion had failed would it be as stong as it is today and I believe it wouldn't because the story would have varitaions. It amazes how this religion survived throught the transition.
I read a article today by Amy Galla that was concerned on how orality in religion was realted to hinduism. It amazed me how the vedas came to be for their religion. The vedas were just chants that were memorized by the priests of the religion. These chants were passed onto their sons that presented a way of preserving the messege and meaning of these chants. The orality of this religion enabled it to transform itself into a written relgion. Those chants had been memorized for generations and because of the successfulness it was able to produce the four books of the vedas that declare how the earth was began and what life is like. If the orality of this religion had failed would it be as stong as it is today and I believe it wouldn't because the story would have varitaions. It amazes how this religion survived throught the transition.
Homosexuality
Ben Moore-Homosexuality-
Is being a homosexual a sin? This week in my diversity class we touched based on homosexuality and if there was anything in the Bible that stated it was wrong. I was the first to respond yes to the question. There is so much debate as to whether as being"gay" or "lesbian" is a sin. It angers me when people plead that it is socially acceptable and is acceptable by God. I try not to get heated, but when the Bible states as it did on this matter how can one try to change the meaning of that text in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 it states that practicing homosexuals among others will not inherit the kingdom of God. So I ask, How can one debate on the meaning of the Bible inregards to homosexuality when it is black and white presented to them in the text?
Is being a homosexual a sin? This week in my diversity class we touched based on homosexuality and if there was anything in the Bible that stated it was wrong. I was the first to respond yes to the question. There is so much debate as to whether as being"gay" or "lesbian" is a sin. It angers me when people plead that it is socially acceptable and is acceptable by God. I try not to get heated, but when the Bible states as it did on this matter how can one try to change the meaning of that text in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 it states that practicing homosexuals among others will not inherit the kingdom of God. So I ask, How can one debate on the meaning of the Bible inregards to homosexuality when it is black and white presented to them in the text?
Prayer
Ben Moore-Prayer-
Prayer is seen as the time that one devotes to their higher being. During this time the higher being is presented pains, upliftings, concerns, and etc. by a follower. In Christianity there is a strong belief in prayer as the one way line to God, but how much one prays is up for change depending on each person. Lately I have found myself only praying for help through certain situations in my life, and not really uplifting God for what he has done for me. In the Muslim belief they pray five times a day. I believe that is awesome that they believe so strongly in their higher being that they pray five times a day. I believe that if I and other Christians would pray that much our lives and the church would not be in the situations they are in day to day. I feel if we were to pray more often we would see a astronomical difference in our church and in my life espically.
Prayer is seen as the time that one devotes to their higher being. During this time the higher being is presented pains, upliftings, concerns, and etc. by a follower. In Christianity there is a strong belief in prayer as the one way line to God, but how much one prays is up for change depending on each person. Lately I have found myself only praying for help through certain situations in my life, and not really uplifting God for what he has done for me. In the Muslim belief they pray five times a day. I believe that is awesome that they believe so strongly in their higher being that they pray five times a day. I believe that if I and other Christians would pray that much our lives and the church would not be in the situations they are in day to day. I feel if we were to pray more often we would see a astronomical difference in our church and in my life espically.
Faith
Ben Moore-Faith-
Faith is decribed as the trust in God and his promise as made through Christ snd the scriptures by which humans are justified or saved. Can Faith alone though save oneself? I believe that we can have faith in our God Almighty, but it alone cannot save you. As decribed in the defintion above I feel we have to teach and sahre these scriptures and promise to those around us to be saved. I feel we cannot be saved alone by having faith and going to church, but by teaching and spreading his word through decipleship. Then and only then can we be saved by the Lord our God.
Faith is decribed as the trust in God and his promise as made through Christ snd the scriptures by which humans are justified or saved. Can Faith alone though save oneself? I believe that we can have faith in our God Almighty, but it alone cannot save you. As decribed in the defintion above I feel we have to teach and sahre these scriptures and promise to those around us to be saved. I feel we cannot be saved alone by having faith and going to church, but by teaching and spreading his word through decipleship. Then and only then can we be saved by the Lord our God.
Supremacy
Ben Moore-Who is Supreme?-
Today I went a nd listened to my Father's sermon. It was on who is supreme in your life? He preached on how we live our lives day to day following our on decisions. That we don't intially look to our higher being for the judgement on our decisions. It made me wonder in my life, espically as a college student, how I tend not to pay attention to my higher being while I make decisions in my day to day life. I never really realized how much I don't pay attention to my supreme being till today. Throughout my college career I can say that I have really acted as the supreme being in my life, but today that all changed. So I now I wonder how many of you have based your life's decisions on your own personal benefit and how many of you actually put God or your higher being as supreme in your life?
Today I went a nd listened to my Father's sermon. It was on who is supreme in your life? He preached on how we live our lives day to day following our on decisions. That we don't intially look to our higher being for the judgement on our decisions. It made me wonder in my life, espically as a college student, how I tend not to pay attention to my higher being while I make decisions in my day to day life. I never really realized how much I don't pay attention to my supreme being till today. Throughout my college career I can say that I have really acted as the supreme being in my life, but today that all changed. So I now I wonder how many of you have based your life's decisions on your own personal benefit and how many of you actually put God or your higher being as supreme in your life?
Lost
Ben Moore-Lost-
The disscussion we had on "Lost" in class this semester really intrigued me. Lost as Dr. Redick described it to us was the state of unknowingness of the surroundings around one self. It sparked my interest on what i viewed as what lost really meant to me. When he asked us to write on the piece of paper what we felt lost meant symbolicilly, all I came up with was without the knowing of God. There has been multiple times in my life when I felt "lost". At times of losing family members and other instrumental to my life I felt that I didn't know God or why he was doing what he was doing in my life. I think we become lost at many times in our lives, but the only way for us to get out of that state is to search for that light and in my case is God, but for others it is whatever higher being they believe. Being lost can be the most scarey experience of your life because being found is determined by yourself.
The disscussion we had on "Lost" in class this semester really intrigued me. Lost as Dr. Redick described it to us was the state of unknowingness of the surroundings around one self. It sparked my interest on what i viewed as what lost really meant to me. When he asked us to write on the piece of paper what we felt lost meant symbolicilly, all I came up with was without the knowing of God. There has been multiple times in my life when I felt "lost". At times of losing family members and other instrumental to my life I felt that I didn't know God or why he was doing what he was doing in my life. I think we become lost at many times in our lives, but the only way for us to get out of that state is to search for that light and in my case is God, but for others it is whatever higher being they believe. Being lost can be the most scarey experience of your life because being found is determined by yourself.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Conflict-Matthew Winkler12
Conflict-Matthew Winkler12
In one of my other classes we learned about conflict and the different styles of conflict. It got me to thinking about how oral cultures might try to resolve different types of conflicts. The first type of conflict style I learned about was Compete. In this style individuals use power to try and over come an opposing force. This is present when there are multiple suiters for a mate and they must give a better presentation to win a females hand. It is also present when there is a fight between individuals or tribes against other people. The next style was Accommodate. In this style diplomacy and patience is used to smooth over differences and attempt to be fair. An example of this would be when white settlers first came to America and the natives helped them survive to be fair and show respect. the next is avoid and this is when hiding, and denial occur and problems tend to grow. This would be when someone has a problem but is unwilling to confront the issue. This could be when a fraction of a tribe has different views and instead of confronting issue, leave and start their own tribe. Most time when avoidance occurs it signals the end of a relationship. The next style is compromise and it happens when people try to reach together an acceptable solution. this happens when different tribes or literate people reach an agreement using logic to keep the balance. It can also occur when there are limited resources and they might have to figure out how to share but still be able to keep their way of life. The last type of conflict style is to collaborate. This happens when a common ground is established, relationships are improved and the range of possibilities are expanded. this is how i believe tribes survive by learning to adapt to their land learn how to use their land but also give back to it. It also happens when oral and literate cultures make treaties with one another that are honored because both groups came together to find a solution to an issue.Each one of these styles to resolve conflict is useful in its own way one should be looked at as being less useful then another.
Conflict-Matthew Winkler12
In one of my other classes we learned about conflict and the different styles of conflict. It got me to thinking about how oral cultures might try to resolve different types of conflicts. The first type of conflict style I learned about was Compete. In this style individuals use power to try and over come an opposing force. This is present when there are multiple suiters for a mate and they must give a better presentation to win a females hand. It is also present when there is a fight between individuals or tribes against other people. The next style was Accommodate. In this style diplomacy and patience is used to smooth over differences and attempt to be fair. An example of this would be when white settlers first came to America and the natives helped them survive to be fair and show respect. the next is avoid and this is when hiding, and denial occur and problems tend to grow. This would be when someone has a problem but is unwilling to confront the issue. This could be when a fraction of a tribe has different views and instead of confronting issue, leave and start their own tribe. Most time when avoidance occurs it signals the end of a relationship. The next style is compromise and it happens when people try to reach together an acceptable solution. this happens when different tribes or literate people reach an agreement using logic to keep the balance. It can also occur when there are limited resources and they might have to figure out how to share but still be able to keep their way of life. The last type of conflict style is to collaborate. This happens when a common ground is established, relationships are improved and the range of possibilities are expanded. this is how i believe tribes survive by learning to adapt to their land learn how to use their land but also give back to it. It also happens when oral and literate cultures make treaties with one another that are honored because both groups came together to find a solution to an issue.
Each one of these styles to resolve conflict is useful in its own way one should be looked at as being less useful then another.
Each one of these styles to resolve conflict is useful in its own way one should be looked at as being less useful then another.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Lindsey Pritchett - The Inca Rap
In writing my rough draft of my paper, I experience writer's block and frustration at having to cite sources. Thus, I let loose and wrote a little rap that I could, for obvious reasons, not include in my scholarly, academic paper. Here it is:
Machhhhhuuuu PICCHU!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, now gimme a beat homie!
A’ight layin’ it out for you,
it was a city in the mountains, that story never gets old,
and those royal incan homies inlaid all that stone with some GOLD!
they had a temple dedicated to the sun,
and when the rainclouds came, somebody didn’t have fun,
they would sacrifice the innocent in hopes of cloudfree days,
then they would chew some coca and dance through the haze.
They would look at intiwatana, in search for Pleiades,
but when winter came Pachacuti was like OMG CONQUISTADORS PLEASE.
They grew a lot of corn and had a thatched roof, but when the Spaniards came the empire went POOF!
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