Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-66).

In Traditional Navajo Sandpainting and John Dewey's Concept of An Experience I argue that the traditional Navajo sandpainting ceremony and John Dewey's concept of an experience mutually inform each other. By looking at traditional Navajo sandpaintings one can understand the type of experience Dewey is talking about when he talks about an experience. By looking at Dewey's concept of an experience one can understand the kind of experience the Navajo have when they participate in the sandpainting ceremonies. These experiences are deeply embedded in the foundation and meaning of life. Dewey argues that art and life are not separate. The traditional Navajo sandpaintings illustrate this. Life and the aesthetic are interwoven and connected. Beauty is part of our everyday lives and fills it with meaning.

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This study primarily sets out to examine the cultural practice of child marriage in Africa with a focus on the comparative study of South Africa and Nigeria. This practice has been prohibited in a number of international human rights instruments such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right on the Rights of Women in Africa. However, overwhelming statistics show that the overall prevalence of child marriage in Africa is still very high and if current trends continue, Africa will become a region with the largest number of the global share of child marriages, by 2050. Different interconnecting factors promote and reinforce child marriage which makes this practice very complex. The challenge of cultural traditional practices and religious beliefs that promote child marriage in Africa are evaluated in this study. The complexities surrounding these cultural practices mainly relate to the conflict that exists between adhering to customs and traditional practices, and promoting the practical implementations and enforcement of human rights standards within communities. In particular, the age at which most girls are given out in marriage conflicts with the minimum legal age of marriage, lack of free and full consent to marriage and the mixed legal system, which mainly comprises of customary law, Islamic law and common or civil law and legislation, that often conflict with one another in most African States. Discussions on these contradictions, as in the case of child marriage, often lead to a seemingly endless debate between the universality of human rights and cultural relativism within African societies. Therefore, this study bears heavily on the debate and relationship between culture and human rights, and the extent to which they can be reconciled in order to achieve a realisation of the fundamental rights of the girl-child. A qualitative research method based on an extensive literature analysis from different disciples is adopted. In addition, is a comparative study of South Africa and Nigeria which seeks to provide insight into the nature and extent of the practice of child marriage, as well as evaluate the adequacy, effectiveness and shortcomings of national legislations that relate to the rights of a girl-child in the context of child marriage, in both jurisdictions.

The Xhosa people of the south-eastern part of South Africa have been involved in migratory labour for three generations and more. This study is concerned with the experience of migrant labour among the Gcaleka, who form part of the Xhosa cluster, and who reside in the Willowvale district of the Transkei. It is primarily an attempt to examine and understand the ways in which conservative ("red") Gcaleka society has adapted to the institution of large scale, oscillating labour migration, by looking at the "meaning" of migrant labour to the people involved, and in terms of the relationship between rural social structure and going out to work in town or mine. Much of this meaning and of the relationship between structure and migration is evident in certain ritual and symbolic actions which are associated with a labour migrant's departure from and return to the community. The bulk of the study, therefore, is taken up with a description and analysis of these "rituals of labour migration". An attempt has been made also to relate the rituals of labour migration to the structural principles of society and to underlying moral and religious beliefs and values, and also to the wider Southern African socio-political framework of which the Gcaleka are part. During fieldwork constant reference was made by informants to (ukwakh' umzi) the importance of "building the homestead" and the role of migrant labour in this. The procedure followed here, therefore, after having dealt with basic "background" material and having given an indication of the economic dependence of Gcaleka on migrant labour, is to take the individual homestead as a central reference point. Certain important aspects of social and religious life (kinship, ward section organization, economic relationships and the ancestor cult) are discussed from the point of view of the homestead and the relationships between homesteads in order to outline basic social organizational principles and to identify the socio-economic importance and cultural meaning of migratory labour to conservative Gcaleka. This leads into a discussion of Gcaleka morality in an attempt to demonstrate that the two basic organizational pr inc iples, patrilineali ty and neighbourhood, and their interrelationship, have a counterpart in moral thought. This discussion involves also some tentative ideas regarding the nature of the relationship between morality and religion in this society. All this, it is hoped, provides a basis for the description and analysis of the rituals of labour migration, which follow and which express, inter alia, the importance of the homestead, the organizational importance of kinship and neighbourhood, and certain basic moral precepts. Particular attention is paid to the most elaborate and spectacular of these rituals, the umsindleko beer drink. A separate section is devoted to an attempted analysis of the rituals in terms of Van Gennep's well known schema of rites de passage. Here the absent migrant is viewed as being one who has been separated from society and who has entered a liminal state, to be incorporated back into society once he returns from work. The extent to which liminality is accompanied by the experience of what Victor Turner calls "communitas" is also considered. The general conclusion is that the rituals of labour migration serve as a cultural device to rigidly separate the world of work from the morally superior home reality, to reinforce acceptance of the culturally determined role of migratory labour and migrant labourers and to relate the migratory experience to rural social structure in such a way that the threat of migrant labour is overcome and the rural structure strengthened. To answer the question of why this standpoint towards labour migration has been adopted, it is necessary to outline the position of the Gcaleka within the political economy of Southern Africa, and it is argued that the maintenance of conservatism and the interpretation of migrant labour in terms of the rural structure is largely a response to this position

This thesis examines the theme of order and entropy in the society, religion, and life of the Telefolmin people of Papua New Guinea, with an emphasis on the interpretation of secret rites and myths of the men's cult. Based on research in Telefolmin in 1974-5, the thesis draws upon the perspectives of Turner, Wagner, and Burridge. In the Telefol view order is a contingent construction which men maintain in the face of the world's drift toward entropy, corresponding to the concept of 'biniman' the process of dissipation and decay, 'becoming nothing'. The struggle against entropy informs several sectors of Telefol life, ranging from marriage practices to food tabus. A major strategy involves the segregation of antithetical acts and states, summarized in the polarization of nurturing and killing, which forms the major axis of the cult division between Taro (gardening, etc.) and Arrow (hunting, warfare, etc.). The anchoring point of the Telefol world is the men's cult house, which youths enter through a series of initiations. The rites are examined in detail, accompanied by an account of secret myths revealed in initiation. Analysis of the logic of secrecy shows that the multi-layered revelatory process illuminates principles of Telefol order while at the same time negating them. Thus the initiatory process highlights the dissonances of Telefol culture, calling "first principles" into question. This extends even to the notion that secret knowledge is capable of making reality transparent, a point underscored by the transcendental role of Magalim, a spirit embodying the notion of entropy. The thesis concludes by suggesting that Telefol religion comments on the possibilities of knowledge, men's hopes, the meaning of human action, and man's nature. Far from escaping life's ambiguities, men encounter them forcefully in Telefol religion. This implies that the anthropology of religion should be prepared to do no less. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

MAAS ( Xitsonga) / Ehansi ka Senthara ya M.E. R. Mathivha ya Tindzimi ta Afrika, Vutshila na Ndhavuko / This study is an investigation of Shangani rituals in the Shangaan communities with specific reference to N’wanedzi and Chiredzi District in Zimbabwe. The study analyses the relevance of Shangaan rituals and how they can be performed and preserved. Rituals are cultural or religious ceremonies performed according to the prescribed social rules and customs. Rituals of various kinds are a feature of almost all known human societies but each community has specific rituals that can be prescribed by the tradition of that community. These rituals are critical to individual and community development. The study also examined the extent to which the Shangaan rituals have disappeared and how the socio-economic lives of the Shangaan communities have been affected. The study also highlighted what best can be done to promote rituals, the attitudes of the Shangaan people towards rituals and importance of reviving them. The study is qualitative in nature henceforth the researcher will employ qualitative approach to collect data. The research technique to be used will be interviews and observations. Although the essence of the study will be generalised to the whole of Shangaan speakers, the field will be delimited to N’wanedzi District in Zimbabwe. Data will be analysed using thematic qualitative method. Through this method of analysing data, a number of themes will be identified conveying the findings and making an interpretation of the meaning of the data. Chapter I focuses on the background, research problem, rationale of the study, aims and objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, theory of the study, definition of terms which were mostly used in the research, and methods of analyising data. Chapter 2 deals with literature review whereby the researcher will explore work done by other scholars related to rituals .Research to be reviewed includes dissertations, thesis books and articles that have addressed issues like the importance of rituals in society. Chapter 3 deals with research methodology and data analysis. Research methodology is the plan for selecting subjects and data collection procedures to answer a research question. The study shall employ two data collection techniques namely interviews and observations. vii Chapter 4 is an analysis of Shangaan rituals, death rituals that is the announcement of death, the burial of chiefs, family head and kids, the unveiling of the tombstone, appeasing of family and national spirits and the reasons for their disappearance among the Shangaan. Chapter 5 is an analysis of Shangaan rituals like the rainmaking ceremony, Christian’s participation in praying for rain, the first fruit festival, male circumcision and girls initiation rites. The chapter also focuses on the attitudes of the Shangaans towards rituals and the importance of reviving them. Chapter 6 provides an overview of entire the study, research findings, conclusions and recommendations.

Baptismal Ceremonies of Christian Churches The diploma thesis Baptismal Ceremonies of Christian Churches deals with baptismal ceremonies of Roman Catholic Church, Greek Catholic Church, Orthodox Church and Czechoslovak Hussite Church; and Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren. The phenomenon of the baptismal sacrament will be taken in of historical view of baptismal ceremonies and itself in the process of baptismal liturgy. The thesis which is on the ground of historical studies and of contemporary forms of worship will demonstrate common and different elements of baptismal liturgy and to what extent the baptismal theology incorporated into ceremonies varies or resembles. Keywords Baptism, the liturgy, baptismal ceremonies

This study describes the public life of Africana religions in New York City, the religions brought to New York City directly from Africa, or from the African Diaspora, particularly from the Caribbean and South America, where traditional African religions brought by the enslaved during the times of the Transatlantic Slave Trade were adapted to the new circumstances. Historically, practitioners of these religions have faced harsh persecution, whether during the time of enslavement when they could face death for their practices or when they came to the United States in the last century, where their religions were seen by many as evil and could lead to persecution by the authorities. Therefore, in the context of the United States, these religious traditions have for a long time been practiced in secret, in basements, and behind locked doors. In the last few decades, however, Africana religious practitioners have been trying to leave their secrecy behind and to become more public and visible. This study suggests that the improvement to the standing of these traditions and their devotees has occurred, and will continue to do so, precisely by occupying space, by actively reclaiming spaces hitherto denied, both physically and metaphorically--a notion that will be understood holistically across several practical and conceptual domains. The first chapter of this study explores the history of Africana religions in the United States and the public attitudes towards them, as they have evolved from facing extreme persecution and stigma to greater acceptance and a more significant public standing. The second chapter discusses in more detail the impact that practicing in secrecy has had on devotees, their rituals, and their religious lives. Also included in this section is an analysis of the ceremonies that are now being practiced in public in New York City and their related spatial reclamation, be it in beaches, in parks, or different types of public venues. The third chapter looks at the way Africana religious presences have manifested through and taken space in the cultural domain, widely defined, and at the way that the diffusion of these presences has impacted on the make-up of the city itself. The fourth and final chapter considers the visibility and popularity Africana religions are now gaining in popular culture and the arts, including in music, concerts, and dance performances; in the visual arts; in public art; and in television and film. This research was conducted from the perspective of a practitioner of Africana religions seeking to advocate for the rights of Africana religious practitioners with respect to equality, visibility, and public presence without discrimination.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / uMkhosi Womhlanga is a traditional ceremony that is celebrated annually. This event attracts event tourists and generates revenue for the host communities of KwaNongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, and South Africa as a whole. It is assumed that the event has a massive tourism potential and platform to yield socio-economic benefits for the local community. Comprehensive planning and management are essential tools for hosting successful events. Event organizers or managers require extensive knowledge, skills, good intuition and an eye for beauty in the planning and management of special events. These are essential factors in this booming events sector of the tourism industry. The premises of this study involve understanding the meaning and objectives of celebrating uMkhosi Womhlanga as a traditional ceremonial event and ascertaining the extent to which uMkhosi Womhlanga is planned and managed in order to realize its full potential as a tourism enterprise. The study also highlights the policy framework that governs the event, the benefits, practices, participation levels and perceptions of all stakeholders linked to this ceremonial event. The research study area is KwaZulu- Natal. This paper has the following objectives: a) To find out whether stakeholders involved understand the origins and meaning of celebrating uMkhosi Womhlanga as a traditional and ceremonial event. b) To find out whether there are policies and procedures in place that govern the planning and management of the event. c) To indicate the extent to which the uMkhosi Womhlanga event is perceived as a tourist attraction in the study area. d) To establish the extent to which stakeholders participate in the uMkhosi Womhlanga event.