Kelsey Brooks - Supernatural

I found it interesting in the article, The Concept of Supernatural in Primal Religions, that religion could not be defined without the term 'supernatural'. Supernatural is a key concept in defining the term religion. This was interesting to learn because when I think of 'supernatural' I think of bad, ghostly, things and not religion. I have a hard time relating the world 'supernatural' to a religion. In future years, I would like to explore this concept more and see what other people have to say other than the Professor that wrote the article.

Kelsey Brooks - Symbolism of the 'Centre'

While reading Images and Symbols by Mircea Eliade, I found it interesting to learn the symbolism of the 'centre'. The most widely distributed variant of the symbolism is the Cosmic Tree. It is situated in the middle of the Universe. The 'primitive' religions along with many others held different versions of the Cosmic Tree. It was interesting to learn the different meanings behind what each religion held for the purpose of the Cosmic Tree. One religion said the roots were in Hell. This was an interesting symbol because it is like the tree started in Hell, but then began to grow and expanded into the Heavens. I pondered a lot of thoughts on the many different symbols of the Cosmic Tree.

Kelsey Brooks - Fate

In the book 'Oral tradition as History', describes that in Rundi oral traditions and their perception on the future, it always comes true. They call this fate. This is put into an "ultimate reality." This is the reality that includes religion and the unseen along with the visible world. This was interesting to read because in order to have fate, one must believe. This can teach a lot of people that belief of a higher power can lead to greater things. Some people might have a hard time believing in something, but with faith it is possible. There is always something greater to what is unseen to the eye.

Kelsey Brooks - Storytelling

I was researching different oral traditions and came across African Storytelling. This was a very interesting topic because it was part of the African tradition. Most Africans today are still primal peoples. It was interesting to learn they still try to carry out traditions to this day. They are more "in touch" with nature than we as Americans can be. It seems Africans have more respect and represent their country well. Africans still tell different stories from generation to generation.

Kelsey Brooks-Religious Growth

In The Ritual Process by Victor Turner, I thought it was interesting about religious growth. Turner states that religion deals largely with the imaginative and emotional nature, and consequently with uncertain elements of knowledge. In order to believe in a higher power, we must think beyond ourselves. We must also connect with a higher power in an emotional state. For example, Christians pray to God to "connect" with him and try to feel that emotional presence. We must imagine Him in existence and perceive what we feel is reality.

Katrina Thralls-Religion throughout my Day

It fascinated me to learn that most primal cultures don’t think of “religion” the same way we do. It isn’t an aspect of their lives, but infused into every aspect of their lives. So today, I tried to infuse my spirituality into every moment of the day, no matter what I was doing.

I started off eating my breakfast. Knowing that it all comes from the Earth, I thought a few words of gratitude for not only the wheat that made the bread, the chickens who laid the eggs, and the cow that gave the milk, but to the farmers who harvested the ingredients, and everyone along the way that helped get it to me this morning so that I could be nourished.

Next, I took my medication, and I realized that I was ingesting not only the helpful ingredients, but the work of people gathering ingredients, people working for years to find the right combinations, and people working with me to give me what I need.

Next, I got on my computer to do some work, and instantly got on the internet. Suddenly I was privy to almost any information I could possibly want, but more importantly, I was connected to everyone else in the world that was at that moment on the internet. We could look at the same pages, talk to the same people, and feel the same things as we watch human experiences unfold.

It’s only midday, and already I feel a connection to everyone on the planet. It’s amazing what a little awareness can do.

Katrina Thralls-Christianity without Writing

If Christianity were to exist without a system of writing, it would look very different than it does today. The most obvious reason is the lack of a Bible. There could be some of the same Old or New Testament, but it would be held within people, trained to recite the stories of the Bible. This may shift the religion from having so many who follow the Bible as a strict, literal set of rules to having more who follow the stories as allegory used to show moral guidelines and the love of God. The Bible would probably no longer be the ultimate authority. Either there would be something like the Pope or a shaman, where you would have a religious leader to be the authority, or the individual would be the authority, accountable directly to God. Of course, there would also not be the incredible theological library to study the faith, which I think is a necessary part of human nature.

Katrina Thralls-Drum Circle Reflection

I was hesitant to participate in the drum circle, for a lot of reasons. Firstly, it was an inconvenient time, right between two other classes, so I was very tied to my feeling of anxiety about making it to my next class on time. Secondly, I’ve done drum circles before, and never really gotten much out of them. Thirdly, I was dressed up for a presentation I had had earlier in the morning. Finally, it was cold.

With the reassurance that I would be given enough warning to get to my next class on time, I reluctantly took the plunge and took off my shoes, sitting carefully on my jacket so that I didn’t mess up my dressy clothes, and immersed myself into the experience. Much to my surprise, I enjoyed it. I was shocked how early 5 o’clock came, and how I wished I could stay longer.

Katrina Thralls-Technology as Stereotypically Gendered

It’s interesting to me that the stereotypes of men and women relate to a literate and oral society respectively. Men are considered on the cusp of technology, which is why most of the engineers in this country are men. Women, on the other hand, are considered to be excellent at communicating orally, which is part of why you see so many women in the humanities. Women are also seen as the nurturers and seen as more spiritual, which are things that are focused on in primal cultures. Of course, these are only generalizations which say nothing about an individual’s ability in either capacity, but these are images you see in society.

Katrina Thralls-Ways to Eat

Helping to create bread made me stop and think about the fact that there’s a lot of different ways people eat:

There’s the average American, who eats mostly over-portioned, greasy, high-sodium fast food prepared by other people.

There are pescetarians, who exclude meat except for fish.

There are vegetarians, who exclude all meat.

There are vegans, who exclude all animal products.

There are fruitarians, who exclude animal products, vegetables, and grains.

There are raw foodists, who eat food in its natural, raw state.

There are those who eat what they make themselves.

Now this last type flourished when the economy hit rock bottom, when people started making their own fruit and vegetable gardens. This is nothing compared to those who do so in primal cultures, where one must do every part of any sort of processing needed. If it’s an animal, that includes killing it. You have to be very connected with your food in a way that even most fruitarians and raw foodists are not.

Katrina Thralls-Rituals

Mol, Hans. Meaning and Place: an Introduction to the Social Scientific Study of Religion. New York: Pilgrim, 1983. Print.

“Yet ‘ritual’ is not confined just to the transcendent. Down-to-earth habits can have a similar effect on personal well-being or sense of integrity. If ritual deals with the reenactment of sameness and wholeness, one can find it in such worldly acts as having a cup of tea every afternoon at three o’clock, getting up every morning at seven, the Sunday afternoon ride in the car with an ice cream cone at the end, or the wifely kiss on return from work” (54-55).

Normally we tend to think of rituals as far away ceremonies that primitive people do for gods we don’t understand, but this puts ritual much closer to home. Thinking of it this way, many things in our daily lives are rituals. My nightly cup of hot cider is not just a way for me to fall asleep; it is a ritual that gives me peace.

Not only that, but my daily procrastinations are a ritual, in a way. Doing other things instead of my work makes me happier for the time being, and it gives me a routine. I always end up doing certain work at certain times on certain days because it is the point at which I can no longer procrastinate. It is almost as if the whole process is a ritual, a repeated dance—first I procrastinate, then I do the work, then I feel relieved because it’s done, then I receive another assignment, and I begin the motions again.

Katrina Thralls-Idea of the Good

Otto, Rudolf. The Idea of the Holy. Trans. John W. Harvey. London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1958.

“Plato did indeed make a powerful contribution towards the rationalization of his religion, for according to his philosophy the deity had to become identical with the ‘Idea of the Good’, and consequently something wholly rational and conceivable. But the most remarkable characteristic of Plato’s thought is just that he himself finds science and philosophy too narrow to comprise the whole of man’s mental life” (94-95).

I love this quote, because I love the idea that the diety had to become identical with the “Idea of the Good.” Even if you do not buy into god being something rational and conceivable, even if you think that the essence of god is exactly the opposite of that, I think that most people around the world can buy into the “Idea of the Good.”

The most popular religion in the world by size is Christianity, with 2.1 billion as of 2005. They believe in an all-loving, all-powerful God who is both transcendent and imminent. To me, this speaks to an “Idea of the Good.” The same goes for Islam (1.5 billion). The next largest group are non-religious individuals (1.1 billion), but this includes secular humanists, theists, and atheists, who can probably see the “Idea of the Good” either in this world or another. Finally, Hinduism (900 million) has many gods with humanlike characteristics and faults, some of whom are dark and murderous, but Hindus see the good in them and worship even the destroyers devotedly, and they especially see the “Idea of the Good” in Brahman, their Ultimate.

I had one unanswered question: if science and philosophy are too narrow to comprise the whole of man’s mental life, what is there to fill the gaps?

Katrina Thralls-Awakening as Salvation

Eliade, Mircea. Myth and Reality. Trans. Willard R. Trask. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1975.

“Since Hypnos is a brother to Thanatos, we see why, in Greece as in India and in Gnosticism, the act of ‘awakening’ had a ‘soteriological’ meaning (in the broadest sense of the word). Socrates awakens those who will talk with him, even though against their will” (126).

It is interesting to connect an awakening to a concept such as salvation. Certainly, the imagery and metaphor are there in the background of our collective mind. In the case of Socrates, he gave others salvation by awakening them from their own closed-off perceptions through his arguments. Another way this could be interpreted, however, is that every time we awaken, we are saved, and given another chance and a new day and a clean spirit. This means, that with the start of a new day, people are fundamentally good and have the potential to do good for one another on a huge scale. I think is an interesting philosophy that is rarely explored.

Katrina Thralls-Ministry Survey

Berger, Peter L. A Rumor of Angels: Modern Society and the Rediscovery of the Supernatural. New York: Anchor Books, 1969.

“[A minister] decides to do a little do-it-yourself sociological research and hands out a questionnaire. The answers come back and show that the greater part of the congregation do not seem to have heard his preaching at all. They agree and disagree, on the questionnaire, with things he never said” (41).

As a future minister myself, reading this particular passage was difficult. Imagine, finding out that everything you think you do, day in and day out, was not actually getting accomplished. Imagine that you stood up in front of people, week after week, bearing your soul, only to find out that you were ignored.

It strikes me that this would be no issue in a primal culture. A shaman is held in the highest of respects and is needed for rituals in everyday life. Of course, in a primarily oral culture, this sort of honest blind survey could not exist, because the writing is what enables the identities to be concealed. Without complete anonymity, congregants might feel pressured to agree with every question asked, because a minister is an authority figure.

With technology comes increasing distractions. Our minds have to work differently with new technology, and to some extent, I think it might be to blame for this minister’s shocking discovery. Perhaps quieter, more focused minds with nothing to worry about at that moment except what their minister was trying to give them would be able to better listen and that would reflect better in the survey.

Katrina Thralls-The Eternal Thou

Buber, Martin. I and Thou. Comp. Gary E. Kessler. Philosophy of Religion: toward a Global Perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub., 1999. 171-76. Print.

“Every particular Thou is a glimpse through to the eternal Thou; by means of every particular Thou, the primary word addresses the eternal Thou” (173).

If everyone participated in I-Thou relationships and related through encounters and not just experiences, I think the entire system of living as we know it would change. First, the obvious, there would be no wars, because you cannot kill someone you relate to on that deep level. That could easily extend downwards in scale far enough to mean that there would be no abuse.

On a more complicated level, I think it would change the entire system of education that exists here in the United States, because I think that glimpsing “the eternal Thou” in each encounter with a child would make it hard to judge them as “below average.” Instead, there would be interpersonal dialogue to teach what the child is missing while respecting their strengths.

Each religion could stay basically the same with the key obvious difference that they would have a much more humanist view of this world through glimpsing god in every person. Alternatively, this viewpoint could make religions much more connected.

Katrina Thralls-Spontaneous communitas

Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. New York: Aldine De Gruyter, 1995.

“Thus, it is necessary to distinguish between: (1) existential or spontaneous communitas—approximately what the hippies today would call ‘a happening’… (2) normative commmunitas, where, under the influence of time, the need to mobilize and organize resources , and the necessity for social control among the members of the group in pursuance of these goals, the existential communitas is organized into a perduing social system; and (3) idealogical communitas, which is a label one can apply to a variety of utopian models of societies based on existential communitas” (132)

While it seems unfair, I cannot help but judge that the first time of communitas, existential or spontaneous communitas, seems to be the most significant, the most real, and the most representative of what I think of as communitas. Perhaps it is because I have been a part of “a happening,” and that makes me biased towards that form of communitas.

I went to a youth conference for teenagers of my religion when it was in high school, and it was organized by the youth of the church it was held at. But once you arrived, it didn’t feel organized at all. There was a buzz in the air and conversation flowed naturally from one person to the next to the next. Everyone seemed to be in perfect sync. There were a few organized activities, but mostly, there was just flow. This continued not just for the night, but for three whole days, and when we left, everyone could feel that everyone else was somehow moved by the experience.

Katrina Thralls-Lists

Ong, Walter J. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. New York: Routledge, 1982.

“Lists began with writing” (121).

I know it is a simple fact and it makes sense, but reading this made me reevaluate how much writing plays into my life. My life revolves around calendars, grocery lists, to-do lists, packing lists, lists of books I need, Christmas lists, and I’m currently making a list of lists in my life. I think in lists sometimes. This blog, as we speak, is going from being at the top of my list of assignments to being crossed off. This means that I’ll be able to have more space on my three different calendars to do other things. If I didn’t have lists, I would never be able to get anything done, especially with my ADD. There’s even a couple lists in my blogs.

Katrina Thralls-Arguments against Computers

Ong, Walter J. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. New York: Routledge, 1982.

“Most persons are surprised, and many distressed, to learn that essentially the same objections commonly urged today against computers were urged by Plato in the Phaedrus (274-7) and in the Seventh Letter against writing” (78).

What’s interesting here, other than that Plato objected to writing in writings, is that these issues from so long ago are still applicable today, where we are beyond the choice of using writing, since it is so integral to our society. It is interesting to think about the other arguments against computers to see if they could have been used against writing. So here are the arguments Dr. Schweig gave as to why we could not have computers in his classroom:

1. It is unnecessarily noisy to type.

Anybody who has ever heard the sound of three dozen pencils scratching on paper understands that this is applicable. Thinking is silent, and speaking is at least a noise that is not usually considered annoying.

2. It is easier to get distracted while using a computer.

Even without the use of the internet to be distracting, while writing, one’s thoughts can wander in a “freewriting” sort of mode, or one can doodle, or be otherwise distracted.

Katrina Thralls-Bruchko

Olson, Bruce. Bruchko. Lake Mary: Creation House, 1973.

“He smiled and nodded. ‘Bruchko,’ he said. He turned and happily told it to one of the other men near him. ‘Bruchko.’ The fellow repeated it tentatively. ‘Bruchko.’ Soon the entire group had spread it around. ‘Bruchko,’ they repeated, pointing at me. So I was Bruchko” (90).

This says something about the Motilone Indians, but something more about society. The Motilone wanted to be just like Bruce and were excited to correctly mimic him (even though they didn’t). Why is it that the more primal culture always wants to move closer to the more technological, and never the other way around? And is it so far of a stretch to say that in this mimicry, they might lose their own way of doing things?

On the other hand, concealed within that quote is a willingness to sacrifice for the Motilone Indians, but only if necessary. He tries to correct them as they mispronounce his name, but when he sees no hope left of changing what they say is his name, he finally sacrifices it. This is a large sacrifice, as most people find labels, and especially names, to be of great importance. In most societies, the name is something you become attached to, something that forms a part of your identity.

Katrina Thralls-Humans as Sacred

Carmody, Denise L. and John T. Carmody. Original Visions: The Religions of Oral Peoples. New

York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1993.

“Human beings were the offspring of divine forces, in this case of the evening and morning stars. Behind the imagery lay the intuition that human beings could not explain themselves, and also the desire to give men and women a sacred origin” (32).

This quote brings up millennia of people wanting to believe that they are sacred, from primal religions to those we think of as the big world religions. Christianity believes that they are God’s children, as well as that they are filled with the Holy Spirit, which is one of God’s forms. Hinduism says that Brahman, the Ultimate in their worldview, is not only apart from them, but it is also within them.

More importantly, though, this brings up questions. Are we sacred? Should we act as though we are sacred? What would that look like? Should we be selfish or altruistic? Is there a way to treat others like they are sacred while treating yourself as sacred? Can you treat yourself as sacred and still be humble?

Kelsey Brooks - Everyday Miracles

In reading a chapter in Bruchko by Bruce Olsen, it talked about miracles. A man was bitten by a poisonous snake and the family was out of anitvenim. However, with prayer the man was able to get healed with God's healing power. We know God is Mighty and Strong and no matter what He will forgive us for our sins. I believe miracles happen everyday. Miracle's are one of God's greatest gifts and we must learn to trust in Him. That particular passage had a big influence on me. We must always believe in miracles no matter what life brings.

Kelsey Brooks- Myths

I am currently conducting research for the research paper. My topic is that myths help form reality. While searching for possible books, I found one that really addresses my topic. the book is called American Anthropologists. It describes that myth can be the formation of reality. I was immediately grasped by this because it completely concluded my paper and solved the issue at topic. Many people might not realize that myths can form reality. However, if we sit back and think about it, how did some values and traditions come about? When comparing this to today, we look at television. I believe today television can shape reality. It provides us with unrealistic statistics especially on crime and can provide false information. We must rely on scholarly books and journals for proper knowledge.

Kelsey Brooks - Love

Some people might not ever get the chance to know what love feels like. However, I am lucky enough to know. In class we have talked about sex and the meaning behind it. I remember someone saying that it does not have a meaning behind it. However, I disagree. I believe sex can have multiple meanings, but it all depends on the person and their relationship. Sex is a form of communication between two romanticized people. It expresses how much they love each other and care for one another. Some people might not look at it in this way, but we must respect people's decisions and listen to their meaning behind it. Love is a strong word and we all must learn how to deal with it. I have been in a relationship for six years. Therefore, I am pretty sure I know what love is and what is meant behind it.

Kelsey Brooks - Holidays

Every year I look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas because it is when I am able to see my family. Over the Holidays people become more sincere and caring. Why can't people be like that everyday? We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and A Merry Christmas. We should take these practices and everyday someone should take five minutes out of their time and just have a basic conversation with someone and that could change that person's day. I work at Food Lion and a customer recently came in with Teret's Syndrome. He had little verbal communication because he was so nervous. By using symbols and hand gestures we were able to communicate with him and we made a difference in his life. We should use our knowledge of symbols and hand gestures more often to be able to better communicate with others.

Kelsey Brooks - The Future

I recently had to interpret a quote for my BUSN 440 class. The quote talked about the future and how today was the seed time. This made me think of the Native Americans. They did not know what the future was to hold for them. They lived day by day and managed to live and still keep their heritage. I believe we should learn how to live more like the Native Americans. Instead of worrying about what the future holds, we should sit back and take each day at a time. For we do not know what could happen tomorrow. Life would be so much easier if there were no worries about anything.

Whitney Swaim - Folklife Festival

Blog 1
In October I attended the Newport News Festival of Folklife. As soon as I arrived, I noticed that the whole event was centered around an important topic from class, how indigenous peoples cultivate relationships with their local land. Perhaps the most interesting part of this festival was visiting the various exhibitors. The festival was set up in a walk-through fashion, and there were numerous tents along the path that you could visit. Many of these tents featured local craftsmen and artists who handmade various goods and decorative items. One woman was making rugs out of materials she grew and dyed herself. She was using a simple peddling machine at the festival, continuing to make new products to sell. I was in awe of the detail of these rugs, and I respected the woman greatly for taking so much time to complete each one. This reminded me of primal peoples who are in touch with their local land. The rug woman, as well as many other sellers, took pride in her creations, no matter how simple they appeared. I was glad to see that in such a modernized society there are still indigenous local artisans who share a relationship with the earth.

Kelsey Brooks - Communication

I am involved in many group projects this semester. As we all know group projects involve a lot of communication. Without the invention of technology, my group and I would never be able to communicate properly. I am always amazed at the use of the Internet and texting. A lot of us do not pick up the telephone and call people. We have become an unpersonalized society. We rather do things the easy way out. This includes emailing and texting others. As I have mentioned in previous posts, we would be nowhere without the alphabet. Communication is a big key in society today. We have to provide an effective use or else many of us would be "lost." There are many ways to be "lost" as we have discussed in class. You can interpret it in the way you think it may mean. I believe that many of us need to take a step back and become a more personalized society.

Meridith Berson - Lie to Me*

November 10, 2010

I was watching this TV show that I had never seen before the other night called "Lie to Me.*" I didn't think much of it at first, it had the guy with the British accent calling out people who he thought were lying by studying their reactions, facial expressions, and emotions. Although I admittedly did not think of it then, as I sit here and write this now I am wondering how Primal cultures dealt with lying. Since, as discussed in class, so much of their culture is based orally, where do lies come in? It seems that they would have much more weight then lies today, especially if they were embedded within a story about the culture.
I am sure they had their white lies too that were less of an issue, but without any type of written truth that could be used to verify information, a lie would stick and possibly change the course, or the remembered past, of a culture. It seems dangerous to me to have so much depend on oral traditions and makes me wonder how embedded lies are in both oral and written traditions.

Meridith Berson - Chinese Privacy

November 10, 2010

I was reading an article on the difference between Chinese Privacy and American Privacy and it reminded me of our class discussions today on privacy. Dr. Redick mentioned how much the conceptions of privacy have changed since he was in middle school and I thought it might be interesting to explore the topic a little more in depth. In the article it points out that privacy in America includes doctor-patient privacy that the Chinese do not recognize. What we see as a sacred confidentiality they usually have friends and family with them during the diagnosis.
I know in the Primal religious cultures privacy was not usually paramount, especially since they shared teepee's and would have sex in front of people if they happened to be in tent with them. But it makes me wonder when in the timeline between them and now we became so protective of our privacy. I certainly don't personally mind it, I like the idea that I can choose who knows what about me, but if the Chinese still observe a different sense of privacy then Americans, I wonder why people differ so much in their views of privacy and what causes it to happen.

work cited:
Fang, Chen. "Chinese and American Views on Privacy." US-China Foreign Language 5.4
(2007): n. pag. Web. 10 Nov 2010.

Meridith Berson - Bruchko

November 10, 2010

I was reading the prologue of the class reading, Bruchko, trying to get an idea of what the book was about. It explains the nine months of captivity of the Christian Missionary Bruce Olsen and how in times of sickness he would imagine himself outside of his physical body to escape the pain that was so common in the jungle where he was. This made me think of two points. One, that the strength of his will must have been unbreakable to be able to separate himself like that. Two, when I think of primal religions I seems oddly stuck in an American primal view. I cease to imagine the tribes in the dense jungles of Columbia (where the book takes place) or the freezing environments of Canada (like we discussed in class today.) To have to deal with illness on a regular basis would dictate life in the tribe. Death seems so much more of a reality as well as the daunting idea that you will not be able to hunt (thus eat) if you are always sick. Religion would also take a front seat as it usually does when humans feel powerless. I think understanding their reality helps us understand their ways of life so much better.

Meridith Berson - Lack of a Line

November 10, 2010

I was doing some reading to try to think of something to write for this blog and I ran across something that pointed out that in primal religions there is not a distinct line between the physical and the spiritual, as there is in our everyday lives. I don't know if this would be an advantage or a disadvantage. It seems obvious and easy to say that it would be better to be united with our souls in the physical state. But I want to argue the opposite. The physical is not always a place and in the attempt to perfect a soul, I think the ability to shield it from the physical helps it. I am not saying to completely never let the spiritual side (which I am calling the soul) come into the physical, for it seems it must. I am arguing that sometimes we need to go about the physical, the boring, the repetitive and not let our souls fall victim to our bodily chores. The soul should sour, to bring it into the physical seems to handicap it.

On the other side, uniting the two allows for the mundane to become more than mundane. I'm afraid that there will always be mundane chores though, so I must agree with my previous argument.

work cited:
Hoare PhD., Timothy D. "Some Basic Concepts in Primal Religion." Johnson County Community College, n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2010. .

Meridith Berson - Hopi Conceptions

November 9, 2010
My roommate came home from an English class the other day claiming that the Hopi tribes do not use any type of numbers. I was curious about this so I went ahead and did a little more research and found out from the book Cultural Anthropology: the Human Challenge, that they do use numbers for things such as counting but not to conceptualize things like time. To say that there are 3 apples is something that they use, but to say that three weeks ago you exercised for thirty minutes is completely foreign to them. The past does not matter and therefore the present and physical is what is important.
I think its important to use numbers in the way that we do because conceptualizing something so widely I feel, expands our horizons of what we are able to conceptualize. It seems like we are taught time at such a young age that we are better able to grasp the metaphysical and other things that will eventually come into use later on in life.

work cited:
Haviland, William A, and Harold E.L. Prins. Cultural Anthropology: the Human
Challenge. Cengage Learning, 2007. 113. Print.

Meridith Berson - Logic and Ethics

October 21, 2010

I was reading a book for my ethics class and it dawned on me that it would be much harder to have a firm set of ethics if we were an oral peoples. Ethics depends on the past, on writings from Plato to Mill, Aristotle to Kierkegaard. Without these recorded arguments little progress would be made.
The same applies to logical reasoning. Without an actual recording of the way to go about logic, we would never progress. Without Aristotle's categories recorded, we would not have the genus/species set up we do today. I feel like in class we focus on stories and traditions, not so much logic, ethics, and science. Without writing it would be hard to progress as a civilization. Writing things down that are not emotionally charged allows the living to continue the work of someone who has passed on. It seems that this is something we have overlooked in class, as far as the importance of the written language. Oral is important and carries what is important in tradition, not science.

Meridith Berson - "Whatever."

October 21, 2010
In Ong's book, Orality and Literacy, he argues on page 42 that verbal cultures are unable to disconnect words from emotions. For example, a list of people, politicians for example, removes them completely from any type of human action context (as Ong puts it.) It is simply a list, devoid of what comes with oral communications. If I was to read the list I would have some type of reaction. It may be a facial expression, body language, or the tone of my voice that would show something more then just names on paper would.
I like this argument for a series of reasons. The most prominent of these is how strong of an argument that it is, as well as being associated to everyone. I feel that a lot of issues we have today are started by the technology of writing. Text messages and emails have a way of wrongly expressing what the person is trying to say. Tone is lost as is the emotion of the person. For example, saying "whatever" to someone in a text message may come across as with an attitude, when in person it could be more in the tone of "oh, it's whatever. Anything is fine with me." I feel like Ong has really created a valid argument in this section.

Magic in Primal Religions- Hilary Kolodziej 10/20/10

For my final paper, I have been researching the role of magic in primal religions. To my surprise, there is a lot more information on the topic than I expected. One source I was reading is a textbook entitled "Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion: An Anthropological of the Supernatural" which really dives deep into several cultures who use magic as a form of healing. One society in particular has a concept of "swallowing frogs," where women repress any negative emotion. This repression eventually leads to serious illnesses, and women end up being forced to follow rituals and smooth over any social disagreements before they can be healed. This excerpt really made me think about the cultural context of illness and how different societies react to ailments.

Meridith Berson - Between the Gods and the Earth

Meridith Berson - October 9, 2010 (Happy birthday, John Lennon)

The other day in class, Dr Redick read a poem to us at the beginning of the period. There was one line that struck me. Excuse me if I wrote it down wrong, but it alluded to something like this, "I am between the gods and the earth... I am alive." The repetition of "I am alive" in itself was a statement that held a powerful message. Although I know this can be interpreted in a million ways, it seems as if its this self realization of being. Not "The Being," but simply existence. The fact that every second we are alive and have not had the powers of death succeed over us is amazing.

The line that I mentioned above was the one that hit me the hardest. It almost seems to capture that idea that the gods, a symbol of the infinite and perfect, is closer then I always feel. But on the other side we are still here, part of this earth, and have reason to be here. It's inspiring, and calming. Although I lack any belief in divinity within ourselves, it seems so peaceful and completely entrances me.

Kelsey Brooks - Plumbing Issues

As my roommates and I were doing our homework, we heard a strange gurgling sound coming from our toilet. We went to check it out and little did we know our toilets didn't flush. We have two bathrooms so we checked out the second one and little to our knowledge the shower is overflowing. We currently can not use any plumbing. To relate this to class, we are somewhat experiencing oral practices. We do not have the luxury of the plumbing system. We were joking around having to use the bathroom outside. This reminded me of the discussion we had in class one day about the way oral people used the bathroom. I really hope our plumbing gets fixed by tonight, but is not looking like it is in our future. So, we might have to come in touch with nature and dispose of our waste outside.

Meridith Berson - Sources

Meridith Berson - October 4, 2010.

In Ong's book Orality and Literacy he talks about Homer's readings and how it is controversial whether he actually wrote them. In Homer's time people were polytheistic and piety toward the gods was important which is the important part of the debate. Whether Homer wrote them or if it was a collection of people or someone unaccredited, doesn't really seem to matter. The culture that we take from it and the story behind it is the only part that we should be focusing on. This is much like Shakespeare's writing.

I bring this up because oral people didn't seem concerned about where their stories started from, they accepted them as truth. I think our overly high criticism of who the author is is important, but I think that in a lot of readings we should just accept the overarching meaning of the traditions. To make an analogy, its like watching a philosophically charged movie. First you need to understand the storyline and all the intricacy within the plot and characters before you should start picking apart the theories. To enjoy it you must relax and take it in.

I doubt Ong would agree with me on these points, but to argue about Homer seems utterly pointless. The Odyssey and Iliad were and still are revered works. Enjoy them for the story, not who wrote it.

Kelsey Brooks - Touch

In class on Monday, September 27 we watched a video. Dr. Redick pointed out the emphasis of the two oral people touching. I thought about the different aspects from the oral culture and today's world. Oral people communicate by touch. They might have been showing love or just warning each other of something to come. Today, we mainly see that type of hand holding in an intimate relationship. You do not see us standing in a line holding hands intimately. Some days when I leave class, I realize how many things we take for granted and don't realize what we have. Oral people were nature lovers as some poeple are today. How do you see this intimate type of hand holding? Is it just a way of their culture or do you believe it is an intimate relationship?

Kelsey Brooks - Alphabet

In Ong's Orality to Literacy book, he mentioned Julian Jaynes Theory. Jaynes theory said the main shift from orality to literacy was the right hemispher was producing uncontrollably voices. These voices were processed into the left hemisphere of the brain as speech. He said these voices began to lose their effectienesss. This period led to the invention of the alphabet. I found it interesting that how someone could just invent letters in a specific order due to the uncontrollable voices in their brain. I believe if the alphabet was not created, we wouldn't have anything written down today. There would be no books, religious texts, writing, etc. I believe we would be more "in touch" with the Earth as oral people were. Oral people spoke to each other through touch. There way of writing was much different than ours. The different practices they had represented who they were as a perosn and their culture. Today, we do not have that because we have too many resources. We rely too much on texts to tell us what to do and what not to do. I ask you this, "What would life be like today without any kind of books or writing?"

Meridith Berson - Time Line

Meridith Berson - September 28, 2010

In class we were talking about how real time has no division, no experience of today as a separate thing from yesterday. I actually just had to read Aristotle's categories in another class and I thought that I could use this opportunity to relate them. The oral peoples that we are studying seem to see the earth a time in a different way. They lived for the hunts, the harvests, and ceremonies that celebrated different aspects of life. They were not preoccupied with time as we are today.

Aristotle's categories claim that there is a middle ground between every point. To get from point A to point B you must hit all the halfway's in between. I feel like the life that the Oral People's lived were defined by the halfway's. The points in between the ceremonies and the hunts were their lives full of belief and unity with the earth. I wonder if their relation to the divine parts of the earth is because they didn't live in point A or B, but in what comes in between.

Meridith Berson - Movie Reflections

Meridith Berson - September 28, 2010

The movie that we watched in our special religion class on Monday showed a clip of the women making beaded necklaces. Dr. Redick made a comment that the beads were text. In there own way they were recording their beliefs. He also mentioned the same thing for dancing. This got me thinking about text as more of a legacy then anything else. Books can explain the "why's" of a civilization, explain the details of the habits, but the other texts, such as the beads, show something that the writing text cannot do. It expresses who people were, what mattered to them, who and what they believed in, in a way that words are inadequate in explaining.

The dancing is a little different, but it is still a legacy. Although we can't see them doing it now, the fact that they danced as a community shows their union in a real way. Not just describing that they were united. I think it also shows that that beliefs are not something that can be described in a book but something that is experienced.

Meridith Berson - Superior Language

Meridith Berson - September 26, 2010

In Ong's book Orality and Literacy, Ong argues that human beings communicate through both writing and speaking but that the oral language is so much more important. He claims that only 106 languages have ever been written down and today only 78 of over 3000 languages that are spoken today have a literature. I think the Ong makes a good point. By far the spoken language succeeds the written in popularity and practicality. But I would like to argue that the written is what makes a civilization what it is. While oral language allows the people of the tribe to communicate with each other, it takes something in writing to communicate with those to come. Without writing, stories and histories that shape our past and continue to give humans a forward progression in evolution would be lost. As shown by Gutenburg's invention of the printing press, written word allows for education and power to those not predisposed to it. Everything we know about past civilizations, their inventions and history alike, are because of written records. The Rosetta Stone was such an amazing discovery because it allowed the archeologists to understand a people that they had not yet understood.

Oral language is important in the now. But to claim, as Ong does, that it is somehow more important, I must disagree with. I must admit that many stories are past down through families that define the culture. But they will eventually die out without any written record.

Meridith Berson - Sacred Sounds

Meridith Berson - Septemeber 19, 2010
I was doing some reading on the importance of music in the traditions of oral peoples and the reading explained how music was a show of caste, as well as that of worship, warning, gathering, and festivities. With emphasis on the drums, each culture had their own types of instruments and used them in different ways. Some instruments were seasonal and were only used on a few occasions, such as a flute after a good harvest. Drums were the most diverse and varied the most. Some used sticks to beat on the heads of the drums while others used their hands. Some drums even had ropes along the sides that allowed the musician to change the sound of the drum by how hard the squeezed it between their arm and their ribcage.
What I found most interesting in the article is how the instruments themselves symbolized things. For example, the heads of the drums were usually made out of sheepskin. The reason for that is because sheep are the most "talkative" of the animals. I thought this was really interesting how the drums which were used to replace the deficient words were in and of themselves supposed to symbolize speech.

Bibliography:
Clark, Nicole. "Music and Oral Traditions." Senegal Orientation. N.p., 08 Aug 2003. Web. 19 Sep 2010. .

Kelsey Brooks - Flower Tokens

While reading a passage in The Original Visions, I found it very interesting the different practices of the Indigenous Peoples. Specifically, the Neanderthals. The Neanderthals buried their dead very cautiously with flowers. They believed these flowers were tokens because they believed the dead should be buried with the beauty they enjoyed on Earth. I thought about this passage and what it meant today. Today, people send flowers out of instinct because it is the "right" thing to do. Many of us see the flowers as a token of sympathy instead of a token as beauty. Some Neanderthals believed the dead would enter a new form existence and the flowers would resonate more than they did in previous life. We have a more broad view today. The funeral takes place with the flowers surrounding the casket. Days past and we begin to throw the flowers away. Why do we not think of flowers as a token of beauty like the Neanderthals? Do people take more things for granted today rather than appreciate what we have?

Meridith Berson - Private Lives

The other day I watch a House episode that incorporated someone who blogged about everything. Her and her boyfriends fights, as well as medical decisions, were broadcasts via the internet to people all over the world. I have never been one for blogging because usually what is in my head is sovereign there. It's private and putting it out there allows for criticisms that seem based on just the issue, not who I am or who I am interacting with. But amid my own criticisms of this girl who broadcast everything, I began to relate it to being "lost," as discussed in class.
Whether we choose to broadcast our problems to a anonymous viewers or keep them between us and a couple of close friends, I think it goes to show how "lost" we are (as discussed in class.) As a generalization, our culture is extremely dependent on each other. From superficial "jokes" about needing a friends advice before buying something to problems with faith, family, and friends, we constantly ask each other for advice. It seems that we have fallen into a "blind leading the blind" type of scenario. Those who are able to keep their problems under the radar are usually those who are seen as having it the most under control and the most wise, when they may be the most lost, so much so they are unable to even begin to verbalize it.
Although we are all lost in different ways, our dependence on each other is blatant and obvious. However, I would argue it is not shameful. The fact that we are all lost give us a type of fraternity and interdependence that also makes life worth living. This brings me to the question of whether those that we trust we shouldn't also be friends with because a betrayal of friendship could so easily tip a scale and open your personal issues to the world.

Meridith Berson - Divine Song

Meridith Berson - September 12, 2010 (in lieu of the assigned reading "The Self and Divinity, pg 30 in "Original Visions.")
I was raised in a Christian environment where praising God was not so much an act of gratitude but a requirement for salvation. Whether or not that was what the leaders intended to teach or not is unclear, but it was the message that was relayed. The way that praise was done was mostly through singing, such as the Native North American Shaman. The singing was a sacred ritual that would allow them to tap into the divine, immaterial, world that as humans we cannot seem to fully grasp. The book makes a point to show that even when there was no healing to be done the Shamans still sang, needing a constant touch with something divine.
This leads me to a more open view of religion. Not one that demands something of the person, but like the Shaman's song, it is something with an addictive counterpart. The more you participate in forms of worship the more intoxicated with it you become. Questions arise and are answered or settled on, and the part of the mind that cannot be silenced with math and science strives on what little evidence and what great faith others have in a type of divine being, or a basic divinity of any type. My question is this: is the song that the shaman's sang to reach the divine a beginning to the worship we have now, something that has been passed down? Or is it a basic instinct to sing when words limit us to our simple vocabulary?

Colleen Cook-Dreams

The other day in class we were talking about the difference between subjective and objective selves. We talked about how when one is a subject they are aware of their emotions and feelings. Being an object is having senses that we are able to use to know the world around us such as having a physical body and being able to touch other objects. Dreams were brought up and we talked about how they may seem real to us because it is our objective self in the dream living but it is in a different world where our feelings may or may not be real. Is it our same physical self experiencing our dream? I don't see it as our bodies being in the dream as our more our mind making up these thoughts in our head. As we talked about this I was thinking about the night before where a few friends and I watched Nightmare on Elm Street. It was ironic that I had just watched this because the characters have extremely intense dreams that BECOME real. Somehow Freddy goes from just an illusion in their dream to actually taking their lives away from them. It was crazy to me how this was possible. Obviously, it was "just a movie" so it wasn't a true reality but it has much to do with what we talked about. What related the most to us talking about our physical bodies/minds being within our dreams was at the end of the movie where the main character realizes she can control her dream. She was able to capture Freddy's physical body and pull him out with her when she woke up from her sleep. He comes into her reality, her objective world, and is destroyed. Crazy!

Reading and Reflection: The BaMbuti Faith

Hilary Kolodziej- Native Africans
Today, I was thinking about the reading I did in the Original Visions text. There was one piece of information in particular that caught my attention. The author mentioned the Pygmies of the BaMbuti faith and their focus on optimism. He wrote how they remained positive, even in times of pain and death. By singing to the forest, they were certain the trees heard and understood their troubles. These songs reveal vulnerability and showed their "deepest self." Also, he mentioned that by remaining optimistic and cherishing every stage of life, they have successfully made family connections the most important part of their life.

Redick Welcome

Post your blogs here for the 2010 Primal Religions Class.