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Tradition in the Frame: Photography, Power, and Imagination in Sfakia, Crete (New Anthropologies of Europe)
by KONSTANTINOS KALANTZISSfakians on the island of Crete are known for their distinctive dress and appearance, fierce ruggedness, and devotion to traditional ways. Konstantinos Kalantzis explores how Sfakians live with the burdens and pleasures of maintaining these expectations of exoticism for themselves, for their fellow Greeks, and for tourists. Sfakian performance of masculine tradition has become even more meaningful for Greeks looking to reimagine their nation’s global standing in the wake of stringent financial regulation, and for non-Greek tourists yearning for rootedness and escape from the post-industrial north. Through fine-grained ethnography that pays special attention to photography, Tradition in the Frame explores the ambivalence of a society expected to conform to outsiders’ perception of the traditional even as it strives to enact its own vision of tradition. From the bodily reenactment of historical photographs to the unpredictable, emotionally-charged uses of postcards and commercial labels, the book unpacks the question of power and asymmetry but also uncovers other political possibilities that are nested in visual culture and experiences of tradition and the past. Kalantzis explores the crossroads of cultural performance and social imagination where the frame is both empowerment and subjection.
Tradition in the Frame: Photography, Power, and Imagination in Sfakia, Crete (New Anthropologies of Europe)
by Konstantinos KalantzisAn ethnographic study of a Greek island community’s culture in the face of modern times.Sfakians on the island of Crete are known for their distinctive dress and appearance, fierce ruggedness, and devotion to traditional ways. Konstantinos Kalantzis explores how Sfakians live with the burdens and pleasures of maintaining these expectations of exoticism for themselves, for their fellow Greeks, and for tourists. Sfakian performance of masculine tradition has become even more meaningful for Greeks looking to reimagine their nation’s global standing in the wake of stringent financial regulation, and for non-Greek tourists yearning for rootedness and escape from the post-industrial north. Through fine-grained ethnography that pays special attention to photography, Tradition in the Frame explores the ambivalence of a society expected to conform to outsiders’ perception of the traditional even as it strives to enact its own vision of tradition. From the bodily reenactment of historical photographs to the unpredictable, emotionally-charged uses of postcards and commercial labels, the book unpacks the question of power and asymmetry but also uncovers other political possibilities that are nested in visual culture and experiences of tradition and the past. Kalantzis explores the crossroads of cultural performance and social imagination where the frame is both empowerment and subjection.“In this original, beautifully written, and often moving monograph, Konstantinos Kalantzis has produced a lasting contribution to the anthropological study of contemporary Europe. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, Tradition in the Frame explores with exquisite detail a number of timely themes—the social life of photographs, conflicting tourist and local images of Crete, the performance of gender stereotypes, and the complex tension between tradition and modernity. The author’s ability to view the world through the eyes of natives and foreigners, and to deconstruct visual signs and symbols, is nothing short of stunning. For anyone interested in Europe and the Mediterranean world today, this richly documented and theoretically sophisticated volume is a must read.” —Stanley Brandes“Tradition in the Frame is a richly innovative ethnography focusing on the visual dimensions of modern Cretan mythmaking, and especially on the material reproduction and negotiation of time-honored stereotypes of warrior masculinity. Writing of a society that has largely shifted its economy from shepherding to tourism, Kalantzis incisively demonstrates how the realities of commercial exploitation and socio-political change re-frame familiar images of a society at once proudly central to the symbolism of national identity and yet also still reluctant to accept the merest hint of intrusive authority.” —Michael Herzfeld
Tradition in the Twenty-First Century: Locating the Role of the Past in the Present
by Trevor J. Blank Robert Glenn HowardIn Tradition in the Twenty-First Century, eight diverse contributors explore the role of tradition in contemporary folkloristics. For more than a century, folklorists have been interested in locating sources of tradition and accounting for the conceptual boundaries of tradition, but in the modern era, expanded means of communication, research, and travel, along with globalized cultural and economic interdependence, have complicated these pursuits. Tradition is thoroughly embedded in both modern life and at the center of folklore studies, and a modern understanding of tradition cannot be fully realized without a thoughtful consideration of the past’s role in shaping the present. Emphasizing how tradition adapts, survives, thrives, and either mutates or remains stable in today’s modern world, the contributors pay specific attention to how traditions now resist or expedite dissemination and adoption by individuals and communities. This complex and intimate portrayal of tradition in the twenty-first century offers a comprehensive overview of the folkloristic and popular conceptualizations of tradition from the past to present and presents a thoughtful assessment and projection of how “tradition” will fare in years to come. The book will be useful to advanced undergraduate or graduate courses in folklore and will contribute significantly to the scholarly literature on tradition within the folklore discipline. Additional Contributors: Simon Bronner, Stephen Olbrys Gencarella, Merrill Kaplan, Lynne S. McNeill, Elliott Oring, Casey R. Schmitt, and Tok Thompson
Tradition in the Twenty-First Century
by Trevor J. Blank Robert Glenn HowardIn Tradition in the Twenty-First Century, eight diverse contributors explore the role of tradition in contemporary folkloristics. For more than a century, folklorists have been interested in locating sources of tradition and accounting for the conceptual boundaries of tradition, but in the modern era, expanded means of communication, research, and travel, along with globalized cultural and economic interdependence, have complicated these pursuits. Tradition is thoroughly embedded in both modern life and at the center of folklore studies, and a modern understanding of tradition cannot be fully realized without a thoughtful consideration of the past's role in shaping the present.Emphasizing how tradition adapts, survives, thrives, and either mutates or remains stable in today's modern world, the contributors pay specific attention to how traditions now resist or expedite dissemination and adoption by individuals and communities. This complex and intimate portrayal of tradition in the twenty-first century offers a comprehensive overview of the folkloristic and popular conceptualizations of tradition from the past to present and presents a thoughtful assessment and projection of how "tradition" will fare in years to come. The book will be useful to advanced undergraduate or graduate courses in folklore and will contribute significantly to the scholarly literature on tradition within the folklore discipline.Additional Contributors: Simon Bronner, Stephen Olbrys Gencarella, Merrill Kaplan, Lynne S. McNeill, Elliott Oring, Casey R. Schmitt, and Tok Thompson
The Tradition of Household Spirits: Ancestral Lore and Practices
by Claude LecouteuxExamines how the ancient customs of constructing and keeping a house formed a sacred bond between homes and their inhabitants • Shares many tales of house spirits, from cajoling the local land spirit into becoming one’s house spirit to the good and bad luck bestowed by mischievous house elves • Explains the meaning behind door and window placement, house orientation, horsehead gables, the fireplace or hearth, and the threshold • Reveals the charms, chants, prayers, and building practices used by our ancestors to bestow happiness and prosperity upon their homes and their occupants Why do we hang horseshoes for good luck or place wreaths on our doors? Why does the groom carry his new bride over the threshold? These customs represent the last vestiges from a long, rich history of honoring the spirits of our homes. They show that a house is more than a building: it is a living being with a body and soul. Examining the extensive traditions surrounding houses from medieval times to the present, Claude Lecouteux reveals that, before we entered the current era of frequent moves and modular housing, moving largely from the countryside into cities, humanity had an extremely sacred relationship with their homes and all the spirits who lived there alongside them--from the spirit of the house itself to the mischievous elves, fairies, and imps who visited, invited or not. He shows how every aspect of constructing and keeping a house involved rites, ceremony, customs, and taboos to appease the spirits, including the choice of a building lot and the very materials with which it was built. Uncovering the lost meaning behind door and window placement, the hearth, and the threshold, Lecouteux shares many tales of house spirits, from the offerings used to cajole the local land spirit into becoming the domestic house spirit to the good and bad luck bestowed upon those who seek the help of the “Little Money Man.” He draws on studies and classic literature from old Europe--from Celtic lands and Scandinavia to France and Germany to the far eastern borders of Europe and into Russia--to explain the pagan roots behind many of these traditions. Revealing our ancestors’ charms, prayers, and practices to bestow happiness and prosperity upon their homes, Lecouteux shows that we can invite the spirits back into our houses, old or new, and restore the sacred bond between home and inhabitant.
Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the Modern Era: A Natural and Applied Science Perspective
by David R. Katerere Wendy Applequist Oluwaseyi M. Aboyade Chamunorwa TogoWhile there is talk of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, old and new challenges bedevil the world – climate change, nutrition, and health poverty being at the top of the list. In seeking solutions to these and other problems which afflict the modern era, it is worthwhile to look into our collective past, to the traditions and knowledges of our ancestors. Such knowledge continues to exist in many parts of the world, though now marginalized by homogenous, Eurocentric ontolology and epistemology. This book presents a compilation of reviews, case studies, and primary research attempting to locate the utility of traditional and Indigenous Knowledges in an increasingly complex world. It assembles chapter authors from across the world to tackle topics ranging from traditional knowledge-based innovations and commercialization, traditional medicine systems as practiced around the world, ethnoveterinary practices, and food innovation to traditional governance and leadership systems, among others. This book is an important resource for policymakers; scholars and researchers of cultural studies, leadership, governance, ethnobotany, anthropology, plant genetic resources and technology innovation; and readers interested in the history of knowledge and culture, as well as cultural activists and political scientists. Features: Unique combination of social science and anthropological aspects with natural science perspectives Includes summaries aimed at policymakers to immediately see what would be relevant to their work Combines case studies illuminating important lessons learned with reviews and primary data Multidisciplinary in the scope of the topics tackled and assemblage of contributors Global footprint with contributions from Africa, Europe, North America, Asia, and the West Indies David R. Katerere, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa Wendy Applequist, William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, Missouri Oluwaseyi M. Aboyade, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa and Nutritica SA, The Innovation Hub, Pretoria, South Africa Chamunorwa Togo, The Innovation Hub, Pretoria, South Africa
Traditional Anglo-American Folk Music: An Annotated Discography of Published Sound Recordings (Routledge Library Editions: Folk Music #2)
by Norm CohenOriginally published in 1994. Filling a gap in the sound recordings of traditional Anglo-American folk music this volume covers both vocal and instrumental material from the 1920s to the 1990s. The listings have also been limited to performers native to the tradition rather than "revival" performers. The album selection is grouped into field recordings and commercial (pre-1942) recordings, with subdivisions into individual recordings or anthologies. The discography not only reflects its author’s in-depth knowledge of Anglo-American folk music’s historical development but charts a valuable step forward in the evaluation, as well as select lissting, of available sound recordings.
Traditional Chinese Folk Tales
by C.Chin Yin-LienA collection of twelve traditional tales from various parts of China.
The Traditional Chinese Iron Industry and Its Modern Fate (Nias Reports #No.32)
by Donald B. WagnerThis book explores the economic history of the traditional Chinese iron industry in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with particular emphasis on the interactions among technological, economic and geographic factors. The traditional technology of iron production is described together with the ways in which it changed and developed in response to upheavals wrought by foreign competition, war and revolution and by the growth in China of a modern iron industry.Many of the book's findings are counter-intuitive, and will provide food for thought in the study of Third World industrial development. The author has written widely on the history of science and technology in China, and is currently engaged in writing the volume on ferrous metallurgy for Joseph Needham's Science and Civilisation in China.
Traditional Chinese Leisure Culture and Economic Development
by Huidi Ma Er LiuThis book explores the history of leisure in Chinese culture by tracing the development of Chinese philosophy and leisure values in Chinese tradition and civilization. It addresses the tremendous changes in Chinese society brought about by the country's rapid economic development and the impact on Chinese culture and leisure. It considers the social, political and economic challenges facing China, from corruption to sharpening inequalities, from ecological crisis to the need for a revival of Chinese culture and for political democratization. It suggests that leisure can exert an invisible and formative influence on people's lifestyle and value system and considers ongoing trends in the development of leisure activities as they relate to modern Chinese society and social reform.
Traditional Chinese Medicine: The Human Dimension
by Big LeungTraditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a great treasure of China's ancient history and culture. Written for health professionals, researchers, social scientists and educators, this book elaborates a view that TCM is embodied in diverse and complex human dimensions and meanings in Chinese culture. Encircling Cultural Meaning includes the TCM concept 'Qi', the holistic approach, which embodies culture in medicine. The book identifies intricate human dimensions of TCM in: the life stages of youth, adulthood and old age, as family connections, as identity, as balancing /harmonising life, as complementary and knowledge transmission roles. In particular, TCM is seen through the lens of leadership - as refining human relationships, as self, as moral practice, as good management practice, and as embracing the cultural environment. Underlying these categories, shared meanings are revealed, as well as core values and health beliefs in Chinese culture. The complex human dimensions of TCM are shown to be deeply rooted in social, cultural and historical contexts in the Chinese diaspora. The Spirit of Chinese Culture: its Human Centredness Conceptions of Leadership in Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM for Youth, Adults and the Elderly TCM in Family Connectedness Chinese Identity, Body Image and Gender Balance/Harmony/Knowledge Underlying Beliefs and Roles Social-Cultural Significance The author draws from and extends her PhD research on lived Chinese experiences and conceptions of TCM across diverse individuals, populations, two focus groups in Australia, and three focus groups in Macau and Hong Kong. Encircling Cultural Meaning reveals rich and profound values in Chinese culture manifested at all levels of life, including: the reciprocal care of filial piety, trust, respect, considerations for others, the quest for self understanding, and the strive for peace and harmony. These inner virtues in human relationships offers a soothing refuge and solution to the modern world which is often punctuated with imbalance, the overdependence on material acquisition, distrust, violence, and man's inhumanity towards man.
Traditional Chinese Medicines: Molecular Structures, Natural Sources and Applications
by J Zhou G Xie X Yan G W A MilneThis title was first published in 2003. In laboratories around the world the active principles in traditional herbal medicines are being isolated and characterized. A systematic effort at the Chinese Academy of Sciences is underway to identify the structure-activity relationships that result from the link between chemistry and medicine that is permitted by this data. This book, which provides the only systematic English-language description of the chemical structures and pharmacological effects of compounds active in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), is now in its second edition. The new edition provides English-language monographs on over 9000 chemicals isolated from nearly 4000 natural sources used in Chinese medicine and features the addition of in-depth bioactivity data for many of the compounds. Effects and indications of the medicines are included. Extensive indexing permits cross-referencing among English, Chinese and Latin names for natural medicinal sources, effects and indications, and the chemical components of the medicines. The second edition of Traditional Chinese Medicines includes 2300 new compounds, 2400 additional plant sources, more CAS Registry Numbers, and more pharmacological data. The structure of the book has been extensively reorganised to make cross referencing the data much simpler. This new edition is therefore a substantial improvement on the first edition of this important reference on the structural chemistry of traditional Chinese medicines.
Traditional Chinese Villages: Beautiful Nostalgia
by Xin Wang Linping Xue Xi Pan Honghong ZhouThis book uses the concept of the region to introduce traditional Chinese villages in ten typical areas. Most of the villages have been included in the World Cultural Heritage List or the Tentative List and reflect the diversity of rural and traditional life. Richly illustrated with pictures of architectural decorations, dwellings, day-to-day country life and aerial views of settlements, it not only enhances readers’ knowledge of China’s traditional architectural culture but also provides inspiration for architectural creation. It is a valuable resource for graduate students, lecturers and researchers in the field of traditional villages, heritage conservation and Chinese architectural culture.
Traditional Churches, Born Again Christianity, and Pentecostalism: Religious Mobility and Religious Repertoires in Urban Kenya (Christianity and Renewal - Interdisciplinary Studies)
by Yonatan N. GezIn Kenya's vibrant urban religious landscape, where Pentecostal and traditional churches of various orientations live side by side, religious identity tends to overflow a single institutional affiliation. While Kenya’s Christianity may offer modes of coping with the fragilities of urban life, it is subject to repeated crises and schisms, often fueled by rumors and accusations of hypocrisy. In order to understand the unfolding of Kenyans’ dynamic religious identities, and inspired by the omnipresent distinction between ‘religious membership’ and ‘church visits,’ Yonatan N. Gez considers the complementary relations between a center of religious affiliation and expansion towards secondary practices. Building on this basic distinction, the book develops a theoretical innovation in the form of the ‘religious repertoire’ model, which maps individuals’ religious identities in terms of three intertwined degrees of practice.
Traditional Communities in Indonesia: Law, Identity, and Recognition (Routledge Law in Asia)
by Lilis MulyaniThis book explores the ambiguous legal status of traditional – adat – communities in Indonesia and their informal, traditional rights to communal – ulayat – land. It discusses the lack of recognition of adat communities and their legal rights in the Indonesian constitution, surveys legal consideration of informal legal rights both in Indonesia and elsewhere, and examines how thinking about these issues has evolved over time in Indonesia. It provides an in-depth study of the ways that government policies on adat communities are developed, changed and implemented, and how different actors give meaning to these policies, particularly government bodies with authority to manage land and forests, which exercise discretion as to the operational implementation of ideas about adat groups as legal persons and ulayat land rights as land title, thus enabling their exploitation by government and business. The book highlights how these issues are becoming more pressing as problems relating to legal personhood and rights to traditional customary land are increasingly giving rise to violent conflict, dispossession and marginalisation. It also demonstrates how adat communities can take action, and are doing so, to protect their legal positions.
Traditional Dietary Culture Of Southeast Asia: Its Formation and Pedigree
by Akira MatsuyamaFirst Published in 2002.Foodways can reveal the strongest and deepest traces of human history and culture, and this pioneering volume is a detailed study of the development of the traditional dietary culture of Southeast Asia from Laos and Vietnam to the Philippines and New Guinea from earliest times to the present. Being blessed with abundant natural resources, dietary culture in Southeast Asia flourished during the pre-European period on the basis of close relationships between the cultural spheres of India and China, only to undergo significant change during the rise of Islam and the age of European colonialism. What we think of as the Southeast Asian cuisine today is the result of the complex interplay of many factors over centuries. The work is supported by full geological, archaeological, biological and chemical data, and is based largely upon Southeast Asian sources which have not been available up until now. This is essential reading for anyone interested in culinary history, the anthropology of food, and in the complex history of Southeast Asia.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Georgia: A Short History of the Caucasus (Routledge Focus on Environment and Sustainability)
by Zaal KikvidzeThis multidisciplinary book develops a synthesis of traditional ecological knowledge in the Caucasus region in Georgia – a hotspot of natural and cultural diversity. Traditional ecological knowledge connects the knowledge of natural phenomena with the culture of a given human society, and Georgia is an excellent case study for observing this knowledge. The Caucasus region in particular is notable for its natural and ethnocultural diversity and this book weaves together the disciplines of history, environment and ethnography to develop a synthesis of traditional ecological knowledge. Tracing the history of Georgia through two main phases, the hunter and gatherer bands and the agrarian phase, the author examines important events such as the breeding of naked hexaploid wheat, the domestication of the grapevine and the development of viticulture. By utilising this historic perspective it allows us to clearly see how traditional ecological knowledge has increased in sophistication during the long prehistory of Georgia, and most importantly how this type of knowledge underpins the social and economic progress of traditional societies, not only in Georgia, but throughout the world. This book will be of great relevance to interdisciplinary-minded scholars and students who have an interest in the relationships between nature and human society, including anthropologists, historians, biologists, ecologists, botanists, sociologists and ethnographers.
Traditional Ethics and Contemporary Society of China
by Guojie LuoBased on the ethical thinking of the pre-Qin Dynasty, this book discusses the formation and development of traditional Chinese ethics, the refinement of the Confucian ethical normative system and the establishment of its orthodoxy, as well as the deepening and maturation of feudal ethics. The book is simple in style and clear in context. It contains not only the essence of traditional Chinese morality but also the achievements of modern civilization. It analyzes the implications of traditional Chinese ethics on the governance and moral construction of modern society and can be used as a reference for governance and revitalization of the country and moral development.
Traditional European Breads: An Illustrative Compendium of Ancestral Knowledge and Cultural Heritage
by Marco Garcia-Vaquero Kristian Pastor Gul Ebru Orhun Anna McElhatton João Miguel F. RochaThis text comprehensively covers the rituals, traditions and receipts of ancestral processes of bread making from multiple countries, including the scientific and technological character of the science of bread making and sourdough biotechnology. Individual chapters cover the scientific aspects of bread making in different cultures and traditions as well as the technological phenomena occurring during the bread making process, utilizing the full network of SOURDOMICS from the COST initiative.Pictures and illustrations are used to explain the science behind bread making processes and the cultural, historical and traditional elements associated with bread making in multiple countries. Authored by bread making experts from the breadth of Europe, the process of bread fermentation in each country and region is covered in detail. The traditions surrounding bread making are simply the empirical know-how passed between generations, and this book's main purpose is to perpetuate these traditions and know-how.Provides a description of the culture of European peoples with respect to the technology of bread making and sourdough biotechnology;Explains the process of bread fermentation using simple language combined with scientific rigor;High quality pictures and illustrations enrich the scientific and cultural elements mentioned in each chapter.
Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge
by John A. Parrotta Ronald L. TrosperExploring a topic of vital and ongoing importance, Traditional Forest Knowledge examines the history, current status and trends in the development and application of traditional forest knowledge by local and indigenous communities worldwide. It considers the interplay between traditional beliefs and practices and formal forest science and interrogates the often uneasy relationship between these different knowledge systems. The contents also highlight efforts to conserve and promote traditional forest management practices that balance the environmental, economic and social objectives of forest management. It places these efforts in the context of recent trends towards the devolution of forest management authority in many parts of the world. The book includes regional chapters covering North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Australia-Pacific region. As well as relating the general factors mentioned above to these specific areas, these chapters cover issues of special regional significance, such as the importance of traditional knowledge and practices for food security, economic development and cultural identity. Other chapters examine topics ranging from key policy issues to the significant programs of regional and international organisations, and from research ethics and best practices for scientific study of traditional knowledge to the adaptation of traditional forest knowledge to climate change and globalisation.
Traditional Islamic Principles of Built Environment
by Hisham MortadaWritten with the non-Muslim reader in mind, this book analyses the principles and values established by Islamic tradition to govern the social and physical environments of Muslims.The picture of Islam that emerges from this work is of a way of life with social ideals. Relying on the Qur'an and Sunna, the basic sources of Islamic law, and using examples of the built environment of early Muslims in North Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia, the author explains how following these ideals can create an urban environment that responds to social and environmental variables.Islamic views on the controversial issue of modernisation are also examined.This book will be of interest to people in the fields of urban planning, architecture, sociology, anthropology, housing and built environment, as well as Islamic studies.
Traditional Knowledge and Climate Change: An Environmental Impact on Landscape and Communities
by Ana Penteado Shambhu Prasad Chakrabarty Owais H. ShaikhThis edited book uses a methodology that includes multidisciplinary collaboration to approach climate issues from several disciplines involved in climate governance. The main aim is to showcase collaborative research designed from the point of view of experiences associated with Indigenous Knowledge from an assumption of the equitable importance of its practices, methods of search, and cultural background that Indigenous Peoples custodians have maintained through time immemorial. In showing their applied ethics and activism to protect their traditional land, this book’s mission is to advocate the concept of climate justice absent from our mainstream academic and legal discourse. Their investigation into some real-life examples and local practices organised by Nature as their main element offers, inter alia, a detailed account of Indigenous Knowledge’s duty of care towards local biodiversity that can potentially be adopted in policy formulation on environmental management and governance. These selected essays represent an international human rights approach, a human understanding of genetic resources that existed for centuries alongside the First Nations and their strategies to mitigate the contemporary climate crisis afflicting all of us. The book revolves around Indigenous Knowledge of First Peoples, tribal and local communities in the Global South. In climate justice, Indigenous Peoples’ advocacy to protect our local biodiversity must be crucial change mitigation.
Traditional Knowledge in Modern India: Preservation, Promotion, Ethical Access and Benefit Sharing Mechanisms
by Nirmal SenguptaThis book demonstrates how traditional knowledge can be connected to the modern world. Human knowledge of housing, health and agriculture dates back thousands of years, with old wisdom developing and becoming modern. But in the past few decades, global communities have increasingly become aware that some of this valuable knowledge has fallen by the wayside. This has sparked systematic efforts at the local, national and global levels to connect this neglected knowledge to the modern world.It discusses the origin of the topic, its importance, recent developments in India and abroad, and what is being done and still needs to be done in order to preserve India’s traditional knowledge. The discussions address a broad range of fields and organizations: from Basmati rice to Ayurvedic cosmetics; from traditional irrigation and folk music to modern drug discovery and climate change adaptation; and from the Biodiversity Convention to the WHO, WTO and WIPO.
Traditional Magic Spells for Protection and Healing
by Claude LecouteuxAn in-depth collection of ancient spells and magic practices drawn from rare and newly discovered texts • Presents more than 600 magical prescriptions for healing and protection from both pagan and Christian sources • Examines the practice of diagnosing illness through magic and explores ancient beliefs about curses and other evil spells and about devils, demons, and ghosts • Includes spells from the heavily guarded gypsy tradition of magic and healing, drawn from newly discovered materials Since the beginning of history, people have sought remedies for the many ills that have beset them, from illnesses afflicting the body to threats posed by evil and hostile individuals. In many folk healing and pagan traditions, it was believed that one must gain the assistance of the guardian spirit of a healing plant or substance through prayers or offerings before its chemical properties would be effective. The Church decried these spells and practices as pagan superstition but did not seek to exterminate these beliefs, instead transferring the responsibility for their healing powers to the apostles and saints. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of ancient texts, Claude Lecouteux presents more than 600 magical prescriptions from both pagan and Christian sources from the last 2,000 years, covering everything from abscesses and shingles to curses and healing animals. He examines the practice of diagnosing illness through magic and looks at the origins of disease according to the evolving beliefs of magic practitioners over the centuries. He explores ancient beliefs about curses and about devils, demons, and ghosts and provides an in-depth look at protection magic, including protection of health, animals, and cultivated land, protection against curses, witchcraft, bad weather, and beasts, protection of a home, and protection while traveling. He includes spells from the heavily guarded gypsy tradition of magic and healing, drawn from newly discovered materials collected by two Romanian ethnologists who lived and traveled with gypsies in Transylvania in the mid-19th century. The author also reproduces rare texts on magic healing from the 14th and 15th centuries. Revealing the vitality of these practices in the remoter areas of Eastern Europe, Lecouteux shows how the influence of this pagan worldview is still detectable in the work of modern folk healers in France and Scandinavia. He also shows how the condemnation of unorthodox methods of healing has not vanished from the contemporary world: the medieval legislation against healing by wizards and bonesetters is echoed in modern health codes that challenge the authority of naturopaths and faith healers.
Traditional Malay Monarchy (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)
by Haji Awg MailThis remarkable book brings to an English-speaking audience detailed scholarship originally conceived and written in the Malay language and with a Malay perspective. It examines the nature of monarchy in the Malay world, which includes present-day Malaysia and Indonesia, before and during the onset of Western colonialism when the Malay world was ruled by a large number of separate Muslim sultanates. It highlights that monarchs were the highest authority in the social, political, legal and economic system, rather than the government of a clearly defined territory; the notion of Dewaraja (god-king) and what a model monarch’s attributes should be; and how the monarch’s role related to Islamic principles, including the Islamic ideal of the Caliph of God meting out fair judgement and punishment. Two prominent and pivotal concepts of traditional Malay society, that of daulat (sovereignty) and derhaka (disloyalty) are here analysed and evaluated against the background of the period of absolute monarchy. Moreover, this volume also discusses the parts played by leading ministers and viziers, who often exercised enormous power, explores the role of monarchs in managing and regulating economic activity, and outlines differences between the different sultanates.