Fatalism, Superstition, Religion, and Culture: Road User Beliefs and Behaviour in Pakistan
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O-Iwa's Curse
O-Iwa’s Curse Apparitions and their After-Effects in the Yotsuya kaidan Saitō Takashi 齋藤 喬 Nanzan Institute for Religion & Culture In traditional Japanese theater, ghosts appear in the shadowlands between the visible and the invisible. They often try to approach those who harmed or abused them in life to seek revenge with the aid of supernatural powers. In such scenes, the dead are visible as a sign of impending doom only to those who are the target of their revenge. An examination of the Yotsuya kaidan, one of the most famous ghost stories in all of Japanese literature, is a case in point. The story is set in the Edo period, where the protagonist, O-Iwa, is reputed to have put a curse on those around her with catastrophic results. Her legend spread with such effect that she was later immortalized in a Shinto shrine bearing her name. In a word, so powerful and awe-inspiring was her curse that she not only came to be venerated as a Shinto deity but was even memorialized in a Buddhist temple. There is no doubt that a real historical person lay behind the story, but the details of her life have long since been swallowed up in the mists of literary and artistic imagination. In this article, I will focus on the rakugo (oral performance) version of the tale (translated into English by James S. de Benneville in 1917) and attempt to lay out the logic of O-Iwa’s apparitions from the viewpoint of the narrative. ho is O-Iwa? This is the name of the lady of Tamiya house, which appeared in the official documents of Tokugawa Shogunate. -
Evil Eye Belief in Turkish Culture: Myth of Evil Eye Bead
The Turkish Online Journal of Design, Art and Communication - TOJDAC April 2016 Volume 6 Issue 2 EVIL EYE BELIEF IN TURKISH CULTURE: MYTH OF EVIL EYE BEAD Bilgen TUNCER MANZAKOĞLU [email protected] Saliha TÜRKMENOĞLU BERKAN Doğuş University, Industrial Product Design Department [email protected] ABSTRACT Evil eye belief is found in many parts of the world and it plays a major social role in a large number of cultural contexts. The history of evil eye bead usage dated back to ancient times, but upon time it’s meaning have been re-constructed by culture. This paper focused on an amulet based commodity “evil eye bead” used against evil eye and for ornament in Turkey. In order to analyze the myth of evil eye bead, two-sectioned survey was conducted. First section determined evil eye belief rate, participant profile and objects against evil eye. In the second section, the semantic dimensions of evil eye bead was analyzed in the myth level encompassing its perception and function as a cultural opponent act. This paper interrogated the role of culture, geography, and history on the evil eye bead myth. Keywords: Evil Eye Bead, Culture, Myth, Semiology. TÜRK KÜLTÜRÜNDE NAZAR İNANCI: NAZAR BONCUĞU MİTİ ÖZ Nazar inancı dünyanın bir çok bölgesinde bulunmakta ve kültürel bağlamda önemli bir sosyal rol üstlenmektedir.Nazar boncuğunun kullanımı antik zamanlara dayanmakla birlikte, taşıdığı anlam zaman içerisinde kültür ile birlikte yeniden inşa edilmiştir. Türkiye’de hem süs eşyası hem de kem göze karşı kullanılan nazar boncuğu bu makalenin ana konusudur. Nazar boncuğu mitini analiz etmek için iki aşamalı anket çalışması yürütülmüştür. -
A Re-Examination of the Omamori Phenomenon
The Hilltop Review Volume 7 Issue 2 Spring Article 19 April 2015 Ancient Magic and Modern Accessories: A Re-Examination of the Omamori Phenomenon Eric Mendes Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/hilltopreview Recommended Citation Mendes, Eric (2015) "Ancient Magic and Modern Accessories: A Re-Examination of the Omamori Phenomenon," The Hilltop Review: Vol. 7 : Iss. 2 , Article 19. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/hilltopreview/vol7/iss2/19 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Hilltop Review by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact wmu- [email protected]. 152 Ancient Magic and Modern Accessories: A Re-Examination of the Omamori Phenomenon Runner-Up, 2013 Graduate Humanities Conference By Eric Teixeira Mendes Fireworks exploded, newspapers rushed “Extra!” editions into print and Japanese exchanged “Banzai!” cheers at news of Japan`s crown princess giving birth to a girl after more than eight years of marriage… In a forestate of the special life that awaits the baby, a purple sash and an imperial samurai sword were bestowed on the 6.8 pound girl just a few hours after her birth - - along with a sacred amulet said to ward off evil spirits. The girl will be named in a ceremony Friday, after experts are consulted on a proper name for the child. (Zielenziger) This quote, which ran on December 2, 2001, in an article from the Orlando Sentinel, describes the birth of one of Japan`s most recent princesses. -
Performing Shakespeare in Contemporary Taiwan
Performing Shakespeare in Contemporary Taiwan by Ya-hui Huang A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire Jan 2012 Abstract Since the 1980s, Taiwan has been subjected to heavy foreign and global influences, leading to a marked erosion of its traditional cultural forms. Indigenous traditions have had to struggle to hold their own and to strike out into new territory, adopt or adapt to Western models. For most theatres in Taiwan, Shakespeare has inevitably served as a model to be imitated and a touchstone of quality. Such Taiwanese Shakespeare performances prove to be much more than merely a combination of Shakespeare and Taiwan, constituting a new fusion which shows Taiwan as hospitable to foreign influences and unafraid to modify them for its own purposes. Nonetheless, Shakespeare performances in contemporary Taiwan are not only a demonstration of hybridity of Westernisation but also Sinification influences. Since the 1945 Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party, or KMT) takeover of Taiwan, the KMT’s one-party state has established Chinese identity over a Taiwan identity by imposing cultural assimilation through such practices as the Mandarin-only policy during the Chinese Cultural Renaissance in Taiwan. Both Taiwan and Mainland China are on the margin of a “metropolitan bank of Shakespeare knowledge” (Orkin, 2005, p. 1), but it is this negotiation of identity that makes the Taiwanese interpretation of Shakespeare much different from that of a Mainlanders’ approach, while they share certain commonalities that inextricably link them. This study thus examines the interrelation between Taiwan and Mainland China operatic cultural forms and how negotiation of their different identities constitutes a singular different Taiwanese Shakespeare from Chinese Shakespeare. -
Amulets and the Material Interface of Beliefs in Seventeenth-Century Prague Burgher Homes
chapter 10 Amulets and the Material Interface of Beliefs in Seventeenth-Century Prague Burgher Homes Suzanna Ivanič This chapter shows how amulets were part of a broad arsenal of religious ob- jects that helped early modern men and women negotiate the divine in daily life. The emphasis here is on understanding amulets specifically as ‘religious’ objects, and as artefacts that acted as a material interface between religion, medicine and ‘folk’ belief. Research has shown that from the perspective of the early modern laity stark divisions between religion and magic or superstition were largely absent from daily life.1 Spells have been found bound into French religious prayer books, for example, and ‘popular’ healing rituals in southern Italy incorporated prayers and invocations.2 This chapter builds on these ear- lier studies to explore how small amulets kept at home and used in everyday contexts reveal that these were not just discrete beliefs held simultaneously, but deeply interconnected ones. This material perspective can help recalibrate our understanding of the spiritual world of early modern men and women, and cast light onto a lived belief system that often slips from the textual record. Amulets were exceptionally popular items owned by men and women of all social strata in early modern Europe. However, so far they have only been treat- ed as marginal to history. They form side notes to studies of magic, superstition or enchantment.3 They are referred to in specialist works on so-called ‘magical 1 Geertz H., “An Anthropology of Religion and Magic, I”, Journal of Interdisciplinary History 6 (1975) 71–89 and Thomas K., “An Anthropology of Religion and Magic, II”, Journal of Interdisciplinary History 6 (1975) 91–109; Tambiah S., Magic, Science, Religion, and the Scope of Rationality (Cambridge: 1990) 23, 31; Kieckhefer R., “The Specific Rationality of Medieval Magic”, The American Historical Review 99, 3 (1994) 813–836: 836; Clark S., Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (Oxford: 1997) 458. -
An Energetic Example of Bidirectional Sino-Japanese Esoteric Buddhist Transmission
religions Article From China to Japan and Back Again: An Energetic Example of Bidirectional Sino-Japanese Esoteric Buddhist Transmission Cody R. Bahir Independent Researcher, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA; [email protected] Abstract: Sino-Japanese religious discourse, more often than not, is treated as a unidirectional phe- nomenon. Academic treatments of pre-modern East Asian religion usually portray Japan as the pas- sive recipient of Chinese Buddhist traditions, while explorations of Buddhist modernization efforts focus on how Chinese Buddhists utilized Japanese adoptions of Western understandings of religion. This paper explores a case where Japan was simultaneously the receptor and agent by exploring the Chinese revival of Tang-dynasty Zhenyan. This revival—which I refer to as Neo-Zhenyan—was actualized by Chinese Buddhist who received empowerment (Skt. abhis.eka) under Shingon priests in Japan in order to claim the authority to found “Zhenyan” centers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and even the USA. Moreover, in addition to utilizing Japanese Buddhist sectarianism to root their lineage in the past, the first known architect of Neo-Zhenyan, Wuguang (1918–2000), used energeticism, the thermodynamic theory propagated by the German chemist Freidrich Wilhelm Ost- wald (1853–1932; 1919 Nobel Prize for Chemistry) that was popular among early Japanese Buddhist modernists, such as Inoue Enryo¯ (1858–1919), to portray his resurrected form of Zhenyan as the most suitable form of Buddhism for the future. Based upon the circular nature of esoteric trans- mission from China to Japan and back to the greater Sinosphere and the use of energeticism within Neo-Zhenyan doctrine, this paper reveals the sometimes cyclical nature of Sino-Japanese religious influence. -
Pietilla 1 (Talisman Energy USA Inc.)
STATE OF NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION In the Matter of the Integration of Interests Pursuant to Environmental Conservation Law (AECL@) ' 23-0901(3) Within an Individual Spacing Unit Known As DEC Order No. DMN 07-05 Well Name: Pietilla 1 (the AWell@) API Number: 31-015-23925-00-00 Well Operator: Talisman Energy USA Inc. Whereas: 1. The Department of Environmental Conservation (ADepartment@) issued a well permit as defined by ECL 23-0501(1)(b)(3) for the subject well on November 10, 2006, establishing a spacing unit for the Black River formation. A map of the spacing unit is attached as Exhibit A, and a tabulation of tracts therein is attached as Exhibit B. The Well is presently owned and operated by Talisman Energy USA Inc. (ATalisman@ or Athe well operator@). 2. In accordance with ECL 23-0901(3), the matter of integration of interests within the spacing unit was heard before the Department on January 9, 2007, at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 625 Broadway, Room PA-129, Albany, New York 12233 (Acompulsory integration hearing@). The affidavit of publication attached as Exhibit C attests that notice of this hearing was provided pursuant to ECL 23-0901(3)(c) and DEC Program Policy DMN-1. 3. Objections were stated at the compulsory integration hearing that raised substantive and significant issues regarding notice, elections, or integration of interests in the spacing unit as set forth on Exhibit D. 4. Pursuant to ECL 23-0901(3)(d), the matter was referred to the Department’s Office of Hearings and Mediation Services for adjudicatory proceedings under 6 NYCRR part 624. -
THAI CHARMS and AMULETS by Q>Hya Anuman Cflajadhon Acting President, Royal Lnstitztte
THAI CHARMS AND AMULETS by q>hya Anuman Cflajadhon Acting President, Royal lnstitztte Tbe belief in and use of charms and amulets as magical protec tion against dangers and misfortunes, and also to bring love, luck and power is a world-wide one. It is not confined to primitive races on! y, but also to be found among modern peoples of every nation and faith. In fact "the thought and practice of civilized peoples can not be cut off as with a knife from the underlying customs and beliefs which have played a determining part in shaping the resulting products, however much subsequent knowledge and ethical evaluation may have modified and transformed the earlier notions". 1 For this reason, every faith and religion has in one form or another certain cui ts and formulas, as inherited from the dim past and handed down from generation to generation, from the old belief of magic and superstition, which are paradoxically contrary to the real teaching of the religion's founder. This is inevitable; for the mass of humanity that forms the woof and warp of the woven fabric of faith of the great religions, is composed of many levels of culture. A.B. Griswold says in his "Doctrines and Reminders of Theravada Buddhism" that "within the Theravada there are two very different sorts of Buddhist rationalists and pious believers."2 This may be applied equally to other religions: there are always implicitly two sorts of believers within the same religion, the intellectuals and the pious people. It is with the latter that one can :find abundant phenomena of charms and amulets in belief and practice. -
Ancient Magic and Modern Accessories: Developments in the Omamori Phenomenon
Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 8-2015 Ancient Magic and Modern Accessories: Developments in the Omamori Phenomenon Eric Teixeira Mendes Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Asian History Commons, Buddhist Studies Commons, and the History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons Recommended Citation Mendes, Eric Teixeira, "Ancient Magic and Modern Accessories: Developments in the Omamori Phenomenon" (2015). Master's Theses. 626. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/626 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ANCIENT MAGIC AND MODERN ACCESSORIES: DEVELOPMENTS IN THE OMAMORI PHENOMENON by Eric Teixeira Mendes A thesis submitted to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Comparative Religion Western Michigan University August 2015 Thesis Committee: Stephen Covell, Ph.D., Chair LouAnn Wurst, Ph.D. Brian C. Wilson, Ph.D. ANCIENT MAGIC AND MODERN ACCESSORIES: DEVELOPMENTS IN THE OMAMORI PHENOMENON Eric Teixeira Mendes, M.A. Western Michigan University, 2015 This thesis offers an examination of modern Japanese amulets, called omamori, distributed by Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines throughout Japan. As amulets, these objects are meant to be carried by a person at all times in which they wish to receive the benefits that an omamori is said to offer. In modern times, in addition to being a religious object, these amulets have become accessories for cell-phones, bags, purses, and automobiles. -
OMEN Laptop 15-Ek0019nr
OMEN Laptop 15-ek0019nr Turn heads wherever you game A thin and light premium gaming experience in an elevated design so you can play everyday. Product overview Additional product features • Big things come in small packages: The OMEN 15 is a perfect example of how there can never be • Single access panel: Easy access to your PC’s internals make upgrades and maintenance simple. too much of a good thing. With a powerful Intel processor and NVIDIA® graphics cooled by OMEN • Effortlessly connected: Enjoy a smoother wireless experience with Wi-Fi 6 (2x2) and Bluetooth® Tempest Cooling, it makes you think how it all fits into such a tiny little package 5.0 combo, all your connections are solid and up to 3x faster file transfer speeds than • Looks do matter: We don’t need to tell you how good it looks and feels to play on, but we’re going Wi-Fi 5.(19e)(19f)(26) to do it anyways. It’s easy on the eyes with a luscious design and fast display. Crafted with Audio by • Gigabit Wi-Fi: Ultra-fast Wi-Fi supporting gigabit speeds.(7) Bang & Olufsen and super long battery life, so that means you won’t stop farming those wins or • DTS: X® Ultra Technology: Authentic, spatially accurate 3D sound to provide the best those admiring looks. entertainment experience.(47) • Customized to your settings: The OMEN 15 doesn’t just stop at having powerful specs and an • An exceptionally rich audio experience: HP Dual Speakers, HP Audio Boost, and expert tuning by amazing look. -
Omens of the Deep
My dear friend Harold, it is with great regret that I must inform you that the almanac about which I previously wrote you was lost to the depths when the Kaiser Drake sank beneath the waves. With its loss, I fear we may never know the location of the lost city of R'lyeh. ® However, it is some matter of consolation that the leader of the expedition did survive the wreck. Upon his recovery, he presented me with a strange amulet, an unusually vibrant jewel inlaid in one of its sockets. While normally I would not consider such a trinket worth mention, something about its presence worries me. We must meet in person...and soon. - Dr. MasonPhillips Expansion Overview Based on The Call of Cthulhu expansion for the Elder Sign: Omens digital application, Elder Sign: Omens of the Deep challenges intrepid investigators to uncover the secrets of a mysterious amulet and seal away the eldritch threat that lurks within the corpse-city of R'lyeh. Components 6 60 PACIFIC 4 SPECIAL 3 ANCIENT 8 INVESTIGATOR 40 STAGED ADVENTURE CARDS ADVENTURE CARDS ONE CARDS CARDS MYTHOS CARDS 12 SKILL 3 COMMON 3 UNIQUE 3 ALLY 3 SPELL 1 “THE ULTIMA THULE” CARDS ITEM CARDS ITEM CARDS CARDS CARDS ENTRANCE CARD 3 BROKEN 1 OMEN 5 MISSION 15 MONSTER 8 INVESTIGATOR AMULET TOKENS TOKEN MARKERS MARKERS MARKERS 1 SCENARIO CARD 1 Using This Expansion OMENS OF THE DEEP EXPANSION ICON Omens of the Deep provides a new way in which to enjoy Most components in this expansion Elder Sign—the R'lyeh Rising game mode. -
13-Week Cash Flow Forecast
Your First CFO The Accounting Cure for Small Business Owners By Pam Prior Difference Press McLean, VA Copyright ©Pam Prior, 2017 Difference Press is a trademark of Becoming Journey, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews. Published 2017 ISBN: 978-1-68309-170-7 DISCLAIMER No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, or transmitted by email without permission in writing from the author. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slight of any individual or organization is purely unintentional. Brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. This publication is designed to provide competent and reliable information regarding the subject matter covered. However, it is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not rendering legal, financial, or other professional advice. Laws and practices often vary from state to state and if legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a professional should be sought. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any liability that is incurred from the use or application of the contents of this book. This book is not intended to create, and purchase does not constitute, an accountant-client relationship. Readers are advised not to act upon this information without seeking the service of a professional accountant.