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"Native American celebrations are packed with symbolic gestures and intriguing details. A kind of party called a potlatch, staged by native peoples of the Pacific Northwest, was marked by guests receiving gifts, not giving them, and were sometimes observed to get back at an enemy. This appealing volume about a high-interest aspect of native cultures highlights several celebrations like the potlatch as well as ceremonies important to Native Americans across North America. Thought-provoking fact boxes, historical images, and modern-day customs will engage readers of all levels. A concluding graphic organizer and critical-thinking questions encourage readers to consider the book's key ideas"--

This work examines the relationship between adolescents' passage to adulthood and community adaptation, resiliency, and survival. It reviews the literature on initiation and rites of passage along with relevant concepts from community psychology, especially the notion of a psychological sense of community. Cross-cultural ethnographies and case studies offer examples of traditional initiation rites. Elements central to a psychological sense of community and community-oriented rites of passage are explored.

1. Title slide -- 2. The Darwin Oval (Darwin Fire Brigade) -- 3. The Darwin Oval (A display by parachutists) -- 4. The Darwin Oval (An army band) -- 5. The Darwin Oval (A royal guard) -- 6. The Darwin Oval (The Administrator) -- 7. The Darwin Oval (During the ceremony) -- 8. The Darwin Oval (The Chief Minister) -- 9. The Dawin Oval (The new Northern Territory Flag) -- 10. The Darwin Oval (The Northern Territory flag) -- 11. The Darwin Oval (As the flag is raised) -- 12. The Darwin Oval (The Australian Air Force) -- 13. The Darwin Oval (The final event) -- 14. Nightcliff Primary School (In celebration) -- 15. Nightcliff Primary School (Special concerts) -- 16. Bathurst Island (The new Northern Territory Flag) -- 17. Bathurst Island (Two Children) -- 18. Bathurst Island (As part of the celebrations) -- 19. Finke (Flag raising ceremonies) -- 20. Final Slide. ; Visual material. Acknowledgements Photographs : Dennis Milkins and John O'Keefe. This is a production of The Northern Territory Department of Education ; Made available by the Northern Territory Library via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).

Depuis le milieu du siecle dernier, plusieurs auteurs des sciences humaines s'interrogent sur la place et les fonctions des rites dans les societes modernisees. Les rites connaissent des mutations considerables, mais ne disparaissent pas. Il est plus juste de souligner qu'ils ont ete refaçonnes, recomposes, remis au goût du jour. Ils sont en phase avec la modernisation acceleree des moeurs qui suit la Seconde Guerre mondiale. L'etude des rites et de leurs ritualisations doit tenir compte du contexte de l'individualisation et des nouvelles libertes acquises au cours des dernieres decennies. Le rite represente une forme standard et instituee des comportements alors qu'une ritualisation en est la pratique singuliere dans une situation precise à un moment precis. Le rite est un modele de comportement exemplaire plutôt fige, normatif, fixe par les traditions, mais chaque ritualisation est unique parce que les conditions de son actualisation sont toujours changeantes. Une ritualisation est une signature, c'est-à-dire une marque identitaire distinctive. Les rites sont des activites symboliques ; ils nous inondent de sens. Ceux et celles qui se demandent encore aujourd'hui s'il est pertinent d'etudier les rites auront compris qu'ils permettent de prendre en compte la dimension symbolique dans les activites humaines. À cet egard, les auteurs de ce collectif proposent, à partir d'exemples choisis, differentes manieres de considerer les liens entre rites et ritualisations

Ritual deposition is not an activity that many people in the Western world would consider themselves participants of. The enigmatic beliefs and magical thinking that led to the deposition of swords in watery places and votive statuettes in temples, for example, may feel irrelevant to the modern day. However, it could be argued that ritual deposition is a more widespread feature now than in the past, with folk assemblages - from roadside memorials and love-lock bridges, to wishing fountains and coin-trees - emerging prolifically worldwide. Despite these assemblages being as much the result of ritual activity as historically deposited objects, they are rarely given the same academic attention or heritage status. As well as exploring the nature of ritual deposition in the contemporary West, and the beliefs and symbolisms behind various assemblages, this Element explores the heritage of the modern-day deposit, promoting a renegotiation of the pejorative term 'ritual litter'.

秦漢時代的國家制度和意識形態對後世影響深遠,而祭祀制度是國家制度的重要組成部份,也代表了國家所倡導的思想規範。地方祭祀包括地方政府主導的官方祭祀和民衆自發的信仰活動,是國家禮儀制度和社會風俗信仰的交叉地帶。秦漢的國家祭祀體系隨著統一的深入發生了從覆蓋全國的神祠到集中於南北郊的改革,儒家思想確立為主流意識形態;地方祠祀在此過程中的地位升降和面貌變化成為國家禮制和意識形態變動、確立的一個標誌。 ; 以天地日月、社稷五穀、自然現象、物怪神怪等為對象的地方祠祀與山川祭祀、人神祭祀共同構成了地方祭祀的圖景。山川神具有求雨、保護神、個人禱祀等不同面向的作用;地方官員對山川祭祀的參與、利用與反對,則是政治需求與社會實際的影響。人神祭祀的信仰對象包括先王仁人、地方名人、神仙和厲鬼等,人神祭祀的性質多存在轉換,官方祭祀與民間信仰互相吸收和借鑑;地方官員鼓勵地方賢人祭祀,反對妖巫祭祀,作為實施教化的手段。 ; 地方政府的祭祀是國家制度的一部分,中央機關也對地方政府的祠祀有監管作用。隨著國家祭祀的成立與變革,地方祭祀在國家祭祀中的地位先升後降,官方祭祀和民間信仰在地方祠祀處交會,東漢時期的地方祭祀有許多呈現官方和民間相結合的特徵。儒家式國家禮制的成立使得祀典與淫祀有了明確的邊界,但是這一界線受到經濟、社會等多種因素的影響,存在著相當的彈性。「禮俗合一」是儒家式的社會理想,士人試圖通過對地方祭祀的管理實施教化,移風易俗;但是祭祀活動的實踐與諸多現實因素有關,還有個人與偶然因素的作用,社會信仰始終包含多重屬性,以「禮俗合一」為理想,卻始終多種社會意識並存,成為中國古代社會的重要特徵。 ; As the beginning of a united empire, Qin and Han Dynasties had established the elementary state institution for dynasties hereafter. Qin and Han Dynasties absorbed and reconciled various religious traditions, including religions of all social classes and different regions in their efforts to set up a sacrificial system; and then turned to a Confucian-oriented sacrificial system with the reverence for Confucianism. Local cults, containing popular beliefs and sacrificial practice of local governments, stood in the overlapped place of state sacrificial system and popular beliefs, therefore the shifts of status and sacrificial practice of local cults can be a representative of the settlement of official ritual system. ; Miscellaneous Gods were worshiped throughout the empire. The groundwork of this research is to investigate the existence of different kinds of local cults and the sacrificial practices. Worship to mountains and rivers were indispensable in both official religion and popular belief, and all levels of sacrifices had multiple functions in local society. The approval or opposition of sacrificial ceremonies by local officials mostly depended on social reality. Human gods accounted for a large part in local cults, who were worshiped in different motivation and social surroundings. The proportion of respectable officials and ...

The power of ceremony -- What is ceremony -- Envisioning your ceremony -- Preparing for your ceremony -- Performing your ceremony -- Additional guidelines for your ceremonial work -- Sacred transitions -- Turning points and rites of passage -- Honorable closure -- Ceremonies to create energetic balance -- Releasing blocking energies -- Working in the unseen realms -- Life as a ceremony -- Blessing and healing for people -- Blessing and healing ceremonies for places -- Transforming your dreams into reality -- Join together to bless our community

Claims and counter-claims. Accusations and allegations. NSA spying and suppressed evidence. Cover-ups and threats. Documented connections and intrigue. Suggestions of a New World Order. Are we to believe the coincidences are mere chance? Might the paranoid be on to something? Who really holds the levers of power? History admonishes us to be vigilant of hidden plots and nefarious agendas of governments and the powerful. Shedding light onto sometimes sinister and coercive groups, Secret Societies: The Complete Guide to Histories, Rites, and Rituals is packed with details on nearly 200 organizations, their histories, found members, backgrounds, and suspected conspiracies. It uncovers and examines the hidden, overlooked, and buried history of some of the most notorious groups, including the Illuminati, the Freemasons, Skull and Bones, World Bankers, the Secret Government, and extraterrestrial invaders, to name a few. Tracing the chilling and corrosive affects of powerful cliques and their plots, it exposes their deep reach into the operations of today's world. Providing gripping details, presenting the facts, and letting the reader decide, this revealing work probes the hidden agendas and agreements of secret cabals and associations. Along the way, it debunks myths and presents the evidence on an invisible world of influence and power

筆者在徽州田野考察時,發現當地人常表達出兩套關於祖先的觀念:第一,徽州人的祖先,就是神明;第二,即使祖先和神明身份重疊,當地人卻能清楚分辨祭於祠堂的祖先,和祭於廟宇的祖先,不會混淆祭祀的場所。這兩套觀念,其實表達出徽州人在宋明間祖先形象的變化。箇中的變化並不單純是「祖先」、「神明」此等稱謂的改變,而是一套與王朝政策息息相關的祭祖儀式漸漸出現。 ; 自南宋遷都杭州後,徽州的地位在宋朝政府變得非常重要,冊封徽州地方神明這套禮儀是王朝與地方建立關係的重要手段。同時,這些受王朝賜封神號和廟額的神明,亦被視為徽州人的祖先,供奉在廟宇,享受地方信眾的香火和經濟捐贈;元朝時期徽州士人開始流行以譜系追溯遠祖,這套文字方式將神明祖先及其後裔一代一代的聯繫起來,但卻不見於應用在祭祀儀式上;到了明朝,政府推行的戶籍登記以及後來的賦役改革,迫使地方社會要仔細劃分神廟祭祀和祠堂祭祀,否則難以確保祭祀場所和祭產的擁有權。 ; 盡管在祠堂祭祀祖先的儀式在明朝中葉普及起來,但並不表示神明祭祀的傳統因而消失,所以在徽州地方社會上,同時存在著在廟宇祭祀神明祖先的禮儀和在祠堂祭祀宗族祖先的禮儀。 ; 筆者的研究方法,是以歷史人類學的視野,結合歷史學對時間變遷的敏感和人類學對地方社會的細膩觀察,利用族譜、碑文、地方志、文集和田野考察所得的資料,重構徽州地方社會這段獨特的發展,展示出徽州人對祖先的理解,如何由神明拉近至放在村內祠堂祭祀的木主。 ; In my visits to Huizhou, I was attracted by the interesting phenomenon that there are two different kinds of concepts about ancestor in Huizhou. The first concept is that some ancestors are recognized as deities in government gazette, genealogy and document. They got a double image. In second concept, although those ancestors are recognized as deities, the difference between the rituals of ancestral worship in temple and of deity worship in ancestral hall is very clear. One of the most interesting cases is Wang Hua, who had been remaining an important regional god and an ancestor of the Huizhou Wangs since the Sung dynasty, but who also came in the Ming dynasty to be worshiped as the ancestors in ancestral hall, separated from the worship of deity Wang Hua in temple. This thesis examines this phenomenon by studying the transformations of Huizhou society from the Song through the Ming. ; This thesis argues that the gradual shift in Huizhou society from the worship of gods in temples to the worship of ancestors in halls is a long process of integration between local society and the state. This process, which reached a now-agreed upon turning point in a 1536 decree of the emperor Jiajing, followed different paths in different parts of China. In Huizhou, various lineages gradually came into existence that was based on the foundation of worship of gods in temple. They at first worshiped their ancestors together with ...

"The History of Death explores the compelling subject of death, burial, and the afterlife in varied cultures, societies, and ages. Examines the various approaches to funerals, from sky burials in Tibet and mummification in Egypt, to being left to rot in the family home in Indonesia. Balances grim facts with intriguing details, such as remarkable burial requests, extravagant funerals, human sacrifice, and ritual killings. Illustrated throughout with photographs and artworks of representations of death and funerary rituals throughout history up to the present day"--Back cover