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Eftychia Stavrianopoulou - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • ensuring ritual competence in ancient greece a negotiable matter Religious Specialist
    2007
    Co-Authors: Eftychia Stavrianopoulou
    Abstract:

    Anyone is good enough to be a priest", claimed the Attic orator Isocrates in the 4th century BCE, and meant that the functions of the priestly office required no particular talent, in contrast to the office of a King. The same criticism and mistrust of the role of ritual Specialists in ancient Greek cults, which one can detect in this statement, can be observed in the research literature since the publishing of Jules Martha's book on the Athenian priesthood in 1882. Religious matters were thus considered political and were supervised as such, since only the orderly course of Religious life could guarantee an orderly course of individual life for the politai and the politeia. This chapter traces some answers concerning the profile of a Greek priest as well as the interactions between the Religious Specialists, the cult participants and the community as a whole.Keywords: Greek priest; Jules Martha; Religious life; sacrificial ritual

Gaukroger Louise - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Independent Diviners in Classical Greece (5th and 4th centuries B.C.): A Study
    2016
    Co-Authors: Gaukroger Louise
    Abstract:

    The main aim of this thesis is to establish as firmly as possible the importance of independent diviners in classical Greece. Independent diviners were the mobile means of communicating with the divine and as such were essential to the everyday practices of the ancient Greeks. Historical events unfolded as a direct result of the recommendations made by independent diviners and their interpretations were key considerations in the decision making processes of leading statesmen, generals and even kings. It is essential to establish independent diviners firmly in their appropriate context by exploring their origins in myth and the achievements of the earliest seers, through to the evolution of the role and their influence during the classical period. This thesis is an original contribution to our understanding of independent diviners as it is a comprehensive study reevaluating the need for, the importance of, and the expectations of seers in ancient Greece during the classical period. This work aims to improve not only our understanding of these individuals, but also our understanding of divination, ancestry, tradition, decision-making, the balance of power where seers are concerned, and ancient Greek attitudes towards them. In this thesis I treat two types of Religious Specialist, known more specifically as a ??????????? and a ??????. I refer to both throughout the work under the general title of an independent diviner for ease of communication. This topic will be approached comparatively by exploring the role and expectations of seers in myth and evaluating how this appeared to change by the end of the classical period. After considering the definition, ancestry and acquisition of mantic ability, the evolution and application of the role, the divinatory methods involved in practising the ????? and the treatment and reception of independent diviners within the scope of this study, it is hoped that this thesis will have emphasised the importance of both divination and independent diviners as the means by which divine communication was implemented and interpreted, and in turn, how decisions of remote importance were settled upon

Pitek Emily - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Mundurucu
    Database of Religious History (DRH), 2020
    Co-Authors: Pitek Emily
    Abstract:

    The Mundurucu live in the Amazon valley of Brazil. This entry focuses specifically on the Mundurucu village of Cabrua--located in what is now known as the Tapanjós River region of the Brazillian state of Pará--around the time of 1850. Mundurucu villages are autonomous, but come together for activities such as warfare and important ceremonies. Most Mundurucu villages have at least one Religious Specialist, known as a shaman, who has a close connection to the supernatural world and is the only individual capable of communicating with supernatural beings. The three categories of supernatural beings are souls of the dead, various malignant/mischievous beings, and the spirit mothers of game animals. The most important category is the spirit mothers of game animals, which include the generic spirit mother of all game animals, as well as specific mothers of various species. These spirit mothers are propitiated through ceremonies (led by shamen) in order to maintain the well-being of the community. For the Mundurucu, religion permeates most aspects of life. Consequently, this entry considers the Religious group to be coterminous with society itself.Non UBCUnreviewedResearche

  • Semang
    Database of Religious History (DRH), 2020
    Co-Authors: Pitek Emily
    Abstract:

    The Semang are native inhabitants of the Malay Peninsula. The Semang have little formal social organization or administrative units; the individual family is the primary social unit, followed by the local group (sub-tribe/group). These subgroups do not possess a higher level of jurisdictional hierarchy. “At least nine distinct cultural-linguistic subgroups still exist: Kensiu of eastern Kedah (near Baling) and southern Thailand (Yala Province); Kintak of northwestern Perak (near Gerik); Jahai of northestern Perak and northwestern Kelantan; Lanòh of northwestern Perak (near Gerik); Mendriq of central Kelantan; Batèk Dè' of southeastern Kelantan and northern Pahang; Batèk Nòng of central Pahang (near Jerantut); Mintil of north-central Pahang (near Cegar Perah); and Mos (or Chong) of the Pattalung-Trang area in southern peninsular Thailand” (Endicott and Abate, 2009). This entry focuses specifically on the Jahai (alt. sp. Jahay) around the time of 1925, and uses the terms Jahai and Semang interchangeably. The Semang do not possess a formal leadership office, either Religious or secular. However, a Religious Specialist is present, and is called hala’. The hala’ has the special abilities of communicating with the supernatural realm, and serves as medicine-man. An individual becomes hala’ either through a dream, hereditary transmission, or taking possession of the Ćebu stone (which has ritual importance). The term Orang hidop refers to supernatural beings, and is best translated as “the immortals”. The orang hidop include spirits of the dead--who linger for several days but ultimately travel to the realm of the dead--as well as other, non-human beings. Of primary importance is the supreme high god Karei, god of thunder, followed by Ta Pen’n. Also present are Karei’s wife Manoij, their sons and daughter, Karei’s servants, and the Ćenoi (celestial spirit-beings closely related to the hala’). The Semang’s most important Religious ritual is the blood sacrifice ceremony, during which individuals must draw and sacrifice their own blood in order to appease Karei either after breaking a taboo, or during thunderstorms to prevent further catastrophes. For the Semang, Religious aspects of life are not differentiated from the secular. Consequently, this entry considers the Religious group to be coterminous with the society itself.Non UBCUnreviewedResearche

Sarah H. Jacoby - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Relational Autonomy in the Life of a Contemporary Tibetan Ḍākinī
    2016
    Co-Authors: Sarah H. Jacoby
    Abstract:

    pon first meeting her, Khandro Rinpoche (b. 1954) appears to be a clear example of an autonomous female Religious special-ist active in Tibet today in the sense that she is unaffiliated with any major Religious institution.1 Usually accompanied by a few attendants, she travels widely in order to give teachings and perform rituals and meditation retreats in caves, mountain hermitages, and monasteries in the eastern Tibetan region. Nevertheless, observing her daily activities and listening to her life narrative underscores the im-portance of a dense network of relationships with other humans, dei-ties, and sacred lands that make her position as an autonomous fe-male Religious Specialist possible. This article therefore posits that her “autonomy ” can best be understood as an example of what some fem-inist philosophers call “relational autonomy”, or “the conviction that persons are socially embedded and that agents ’ identities are formed within the context of social relationships and shaped by a complex of intersecting social determinants, such as race, class, gender, and eth-nicity”.2 This article pays particular attention to how this constellation of relationships with others, namely Khandro’s family, main guru, fellow Religious devotees, ḍākinīs, and disciples, as well as generative associations with particular sacred lands, catalysed her apotheosis from laywoman to ḍākinī. Literally meaning “sky-going woman”, khandromas (mkha ’ ’gro ma) are notoriously elusive and multivalent female figures with a long 1 I would like to thank Khandro Rinpoche for her time and for allowing me to pub-lish her story. Thanks also to Chogtul Rangrig Dorje for sharing his perspectives. Britt Marie-Alm helped me (re-)discover Khandro Rinpoche in Serta after our ini-tial busride acquaintance, and Antonio Terrone made research at Vairotsana Cave much more feasible. Sincere thanks to Mona Schrempf, Nicola Schneider, and To-ni Huber for inviting me to participate in the symposium “Women as Visionaries

Walsh Robyn - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Paul the Apostle
    Database of Religious History (DRH), 2018
    Co-Authors: Walsh Robyn
    Abstract:

    Paul was a well-educated (i.e. elite) Jewish Pharisee who understood the Galilean teacher Jesus of Nazareth to be the "Christ" or Messiah predicted in the Hebrew Bible. He traveled throughout the Mediterranean, primarily to urban hubs, offering his unique interpretation of the Jewish scriptures, what he called "pneumatic demonstrations," and details of his divinatory experiences to those with means to sponsor him as a Religious Specialist and self-styled "apostle." After leaving these urban areas, he would continue contact via formal letter writing. Some of these letters still survive and constitute our evidence for Paul's efforts. The degree to which the groups to whom he writes were bounded and cohesive is debated by scholars. These letters have also been preserved somewhat idiosyncratically and represent hundreds of years of editing and translation by various parties.Non UBCUnreviewedFacult