Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / A organizaÃÃo polÃtica de grupos indÃgenas e quilombolas trouxe a questÃo Ãtnica para a pauta do dia no debate entropolÃgico fazendo-nos repensar os conceitos de idendidade e etnia e articulÃ-los com o conceito de performance A identidade à vivida de forma performativa O ato de manifestaruma identidade pressupÃe uma performatividade no nÃvel do discurso e das prÃticas orais e corporais A questÃo que motiva minha pesquisa consiste em desvendar como os Tremembà estÃo re-significando seus rituais de cura em meio ao processo de reelaboraÃÃo cultural que atravessam desde que se mobilizaram politicamente em torno da reivindicaÃÃo Ãtnica Como a voz e o corpo sÃo os dois principais elementos desses rituais procurarei articular tais itens lanÃando-me à descriÃÃo e anÃlise dos trabalhos de encantados praticados entre os Ãndios Tremembà de Almofala Vivenciar essa performace pe teatralizar a prÃpria realidade social à o momento em que a a sociedade reflete sobre si mesma Na medida em que os membros do grupo idenfiticam os trabalhos das pajÃs como relacionados a uma ancestralidade indÃgena os rituais praticados por eles reforÃam a afirmaÃÃo da identidade Ãtnica pois os remetem a um passado comum

This study explores the creative aspects of creating new rituals and what it tells us about humans as cultural beings. It focuses on individual stories from participants who through interviews and questionnaires have told their experiences of creating or re-shaping rituals for individual purposes. Emphasis is on the practical shaping of the ritual and the participants thoughts on it.The results points to the creating of new rituals as experimenting and as a creative expression. With theories and prior research in ritual psychology, phenomenology and ritual criticism the study shows how individual stories of creation show worldviews and phenomenon through ritualization.

Most South African cities bear the mark of Apartheid planning; with large sectors of society being geographically isolated from job opportunities. Tshwane is one such city; developing over time from a system of segregation and social exclusion, to a policy of integration under the formation of the Government of National Unity in 1994. Countless commuters travel to the city over distances reaching as far as Soshanguve and Khadubeng. Unsurprisingly “many new projects built with post-apartheid public funding work around points of mobility such as transport interchanges” (le Roux, 2003:17). Improving public transport facilities is the most apparent symbol of integration. This dissertation aims to exploit the concept of social integration and advancement of previously disadvantaged people through designing an adequate public transport facility. Situated north-west of Pretoria (the Tswane CBD area), Marabastad is an area that presents the opportunity for a development of this kind. Aligning with important nodes and major routes passing through the city, not only poses potential for development in the public transport sector but also the promotion of Marabastad as a significant symbol of the rich cultural heritage of South Africa. The current precinct is extremely run down and viewed as a slum by its inhabitants and visitors alike. Public open space is deficient, no facilities are provided for hawkers and homeless people and basic services such as water and sanitation are non-existent. The Pretoria ISDF (1999:2) identifies Marabastad as an area in need of “urgent urban intervention”. The building will be designed to accommodate evolving functions, generated from the rituals associated with transport interchanges. Acting as a gateway to the city, the building is functionally diverse. It offers access to public toilets, opportunities for informal trade, an informal overnight sleeping area, formal taxi ranking facilities, and a social gathering place. The development will also include a community hall, storage facilities, rentable office space, an eatery, mechanics workshop, and other public amenities associated with taxi ranking. A program is generated for a building through the superimposition of existing rituals and processes occurring on and around the site. A sense of place is naturally spawned from existing fabric over time. This process of creating place can be directed by designing facilities that offer opportunities for evolution and appropriation. The project will focus simultaneously on the formal and informal aspects of places for social gathering, such as transport interchanges. The challenge lies in the incorporation of the formal and informal to create a social facility with a sense of place for the community, as well as a sense of permanence and integration. The building acts as an envelope creating spaces which allow activities to develop unofficially and spontaneously while bearing a great sense of formality and certainty. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Architecture / unrestricted

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Small anthropomorphic figures, most often referred to as “Charlie Chaplins,” appear in ritual deposits throughout the ancient Maya sites of Belize during the late Preclassic and Early Classic Periods and later, throughout the Petén region of Guatemala. Often these figures appear within similar cache assemblages and are carved from “exotic” materials such as shell or jade. This thesis examines the contexts in which these figures appear and considers the wider implications for commonly held ritual practices throughout the Maya lowlands during the Classic Period and the similarities between “Charlie Chaplin” figures and anthropomorphic figures found in ritual contexts outside of the Maya area.

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Thesis (PhD) -- Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media & Philosophy, Department of Anthropology, 2006. / "December 2005". Bibliography: leaves 327-357.

The currently popular approach to conceptualizing feasting practices in the archaeological record leaves little room for diversity in motivation or identity. At the moment, the only social actor given attention in the literature concerning feasting events is hypothesized to be a self-aggrandizing, elite-aspiring male. The narrow conception of who was responsible for feasts, and the reasons for holding them, shuts out the multitude of other standpoints and motivations which have the potential to broaden our understanding of these important social events. Through the intersection of the ancient Maya ritual ballgame, associated feasting, and gendered participation, I demonstrate the necessity of accounting for, and incorporating, a variety of perspectives and motivations when considering the feast as an important form of social interaction. / text