Walker's latest three novels address in some way walker's notions of spirituality and her idea that many people suffer from a type of spiritual sickness which prevents them from realizing the fullest extent of their spirituality. The well as with themselves. Possessing the Secret of Joy doesnot discuss Walker's thoughts on spirituality as much as her earlier works. Instead, the book focuses on Tashi, the main character, who suffers a form of physical mutilation which leads to her spiritual suffering.By looking at Walker's novels and by reading other works, both fictional and nonfictional, including the influential work The Great Cosmic Mother by Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor, I have developed a theory of Walker's spirituality. Using this idea about spirituality, I then examined Walker's novels for evidence of forms of spiritual sickness in her characters and studied the ways in which the characters overcame their respective spiritual difficulties. / Department of English

<p>This dissertation investigates Iron II Judean pillar figurines and their place in Judean ritual. First, the project identifies major trends in the interpretation of figurines and evaluates them using ancient Near Easter texts, archaeological context, the Hebrew Bible, and iconography. Second, it focuses on the significance of major iconographic shifts in figurine production, using the various types of data to understand these shifts and their implications for figurine function. </p><p>The dissertation first analyzes four major trends in the study of these statuettes, showing that interpreters begin with assumptions based upon figurine iconography and only then take into account Israelite religion, biblical texts, and archaeology (Chapter 2). The study then explores textual descriptions of figurine rituals from the Neo-Assyrian Empire. These suggest that figurine rituals were highly complex and that the absence of accompanying ritual texts is a barrier to interpretation (Chapter 3). </p><p>Chapters 4-7 examine the archaeological contexts and technological characteristics of the figurines. Chapter 4 focuses on Kathleen Kenyon's excavations in Jerusalem, Chapter 5 focuses on Yigal Shiloh's excavations in the same area, Chapter 6 describes the results of a new petrographic study of Jerusalem figurines, and Chapter 7 summarizes the data and compares them with the archaeological contexts of figurines found in other areas of Judah. The analysis demonstrates that the majority of figurines were found as random trash in domestic structures, that figurines were used by people from various socio-economic levels, that most figurines were not associated with domestic shrines, and that figurines have no significant correlation with artifacts associated with women's activity areas. The data also have important implications for the understanding of iconography in Jerusalem and surrounding areas.</p><p>Turning to the Hebrew Bible, Chapter 8 explores the descriptions of clay objects and idol production in biblical texts. This survey of passages shows that production from clay was never prohibited in the biblical text and that concerns over the production of idols focus on images from stone, wood, and metal. It also demonstrates that clay, as a production material, had a unique ability to bridge the gap between sacred and profane realms. </p><p>Chapter 9 investigates the various components of the figurines through stylistic analysis and comparative iconography. The chapter argues that the figurines were probably associated with protection and healing. It also discusses the rise of the pillar figurine style in Judah and Jerusalem, the significance of its regional adaptation, and the importance of the image's ambiguity for its function and dissemination. </p><p>Finally, Chapter 10 locates the figurines in their socio-historic context within Iron II Judah, as a part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The chapter evaluates the likelihood that the Neo-Assyrian Empire provided the cultural context for the spread of figurine rituals associated with healing and protection in the Iron II. It also summarizes biblical depictions of healing rituals and the role of divine intermediaries, closing with a final evaluation of the dominant interpretive paradigms and a summary of figurine development and function.</p> / Dissertation

This is a study of the development of the myth of the White Goddess in the work of Robert Graves, a subject related to the wider field of the place of myth in modern culture. It begins by looking at the conditions which promoted Graves' interest in myth, principally his experience of the Great War. The responses of other writers are examined to provide a context for understanding Graves' transition from Georgianism to myth, as reflected in his early poetry, autobiography and writings on psychology. Before looking at how Graves' myth was formed, the history of the concept of myth is examined, from primitive peoples to civilized religion. Focus is centred upon the dual tendency of myth to reinforce and to undermine authority. Some of the figures behind Graves' interest in myth and anthropology are subject to scrutiny. An account of the relations between myth, literature and psychology permits the survey of Graves' gradual transition from psychological theory to mythographic speculation. The gradual emergence in his poetry of devotion to a Love Goddess can also be traced. Detailed interpretation of The White Goddess, its arguments and procedures, brings to light Graves' theories of the single poetic theme and the primitive matriarchy, both of which can then be evaluated and set in the context of his dedication to non-rational forms of thought. This leads into a close reading of Graves' major mythological poems, followed by reflections upon the myth's application in his critical writings and cultural commentaries. Finally, consideration is given to Graves' later writings, especially his attraction to Orphism and the adoption of mythic personae in his verse. The influence of the Black Goddess of Wisdom over these later works is interpreted and assessed.

Ma thèse est consacrée aux Brahmanes du complexe de temples de Kamakhya; et plus particulièrement sur les dynamiques socio-politiques et sur les enjeux économiques internes de la communauté de Brahmanes. J'analyse la logique qui organise et hiérarchise la vaste gamme d'activités que seul les Brahmanes peuvent entreprendre; les aspects économiques de ces activités ; et la façon dont les Brahmanes conçoivent et légitiment leurs activités et leur statut. Les Brahmanes sont impliqués dans deux séries d'activités: celles liées au culte publique et celles liées au culte privé (dans leurs rapports avec leurs pèlerins, les Brahmanes ayant droit délèguent certaines activités auxBrahmanes de l'extérieur). Considérer les deux sphères d'activités des Brahmanes m'a permis d'analyser l'importance respective des deux sphères d'activités au niveau des conceptions et au niveau des pratiques entreprises par les Brahmanes ayant droit. Les chapitres de cette thèse démontreront qu'un écart important existe entre ces deux niveaux. Le culte public est la seule activité qui (en théorie] devrait être exécutée chaque jour, ainsi que pendant les fêtes. En même temps, à présent, le complexe de temples reçoit chaque jour des milliers de pèlerins ; cela a un impact profond sur l'organisation interne et l'action de la communauté des Brahmanes. Une des taches de ma thèse sera alors de repérer les dynamiques spécifiques au complexe de temples de Kamakhya que le flux de pèlerins contribue à mettre en place, comme par exemple l'enrichissement de certains Brahmanes et l'émergence de différences économiques importantes au sein de la communauté, avec les inimités auxquelles on peut s'attendre dans une telle situation. La dernière partie de la thèse explore le rôle des Brahmans ayant droit dans l'administration du complexe de temples. A travers J'analyse d'une dispute actuellement en cours, j'explore Ia façon dont les différents acteurs voient la relation entre la distribution des taches rituelles et la hiérarchie qui en résulte et le pouvoir politique. / This thesis studies the Brahmans of the Kamakhya temple complex; and in particular the social, economic and political issues agitating the priestly community. My interest concerns all Brahmans active at the temple complex. l analyze the logic that organizes and hierarchizes the wide range of activities restricted to Brahmans; the financial aspect of these activities; and the way Brahmans conceptualize and legitimize their activities and standing. The Brahmans are basically involved in two sets of activities: those connected to the public worship and those connected to their relations with pilgrims and the private worship (in dealing with pilgrims, the rights—holder Brahmans delegate certain activities to the Brahmans from outside the Nilachal). Considering both the spheres of activity allowed me to analyze the relative significance of the two spheres at the level of concepts and at that of the practices undertaken by the Brahmans. The chapters of this thesis will show that a significant gap can be detected between the two levels. The public worship is the only activity which (in theory) should be undertaken every day and is understood to be the essential activity of the temple complex. On the 0ther hand, at present the temple complex receives thousands of pilgrims every day; as will be shown, that has a profound impact on the internal organization and agency of the Brahman community. One 0f the main tasks of this thesis will be to find 0ut the specific ways in which the flow of pilgrims contributes to shaping new models of relationships between the Brahmans of the Kamakhya temple complex, to orientating the Brahmans' choices and actions, and to creating significant economic differences among the Brahmans. The last part of the thesis explores the role of the Brahmans in the administration of the temple complex. Through the analyse of a seventeen—year—old dispute l explore the way different actors answer the question whether the political sphere should be informed by ritual ranking among Brahmans and between Brahmans and non—Brahmans or not.

Submitted by Viviane Lima da Cunha (viviane@biblioteca.ufpb.br) on 2016-12-21T11:40:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1555797 bytes, checksum: 063ae5f4dd1ed3591350e393890fa193 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-21T11:40:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1555797 bytes, checksum: 063ae5f4dd1ed3591350e393890fa193 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-16 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The origin of mythic narrative is recognized in all ancient traditions. During this period its relationship with the sacred was intrinsically present in everyday acts, without any distinction between the sacred and the profane because their activities were conditioned with divine in such a way that in the early stages the relation of the cultivation of plants and everything that came from the groud, the earth for the survival, was a depiction, a portrayal of Mother when she was related to fertilizing streghth. This way we find the Mother as a divine portrayal, the same way as there is also an identification of animals in such a way when they are food, nourishment. Their sacrifice indicated a sacral idea and that episode ocurred in a ritual, ceremony. Our main objective was to analise the mythic serpent in four semitic texts: the hymn to Ptah; The Gilgamesh epopee; The Elish enema and , The hebraic myth of creation. Therefore we historically contextualized the semitic traditions, especially the Egiptian, the Mesopotamia, (Sumerian, Babylon) and Israel. Consequently, we have also started a research on the mythic serpent on these traditions in evidence. The myths about the origin give us support to understand the serpent archetype, as we have seen that its symbolic representation indicates the polarities as well as a cyclical journey. To do só it was applied the yunguian analitic instrumentation when it develops the archetype concept, mainly in the title: “The archetypes and the collective unconsciousness.” Methodologically, it was used the comparative and symbolic hermeneutics of Mircea Eliade, mainly in its titles “The sacred and the profane” and “The myth of the eternal return”, as well as an effort to interlace the vision that leads, indicates according to Carlo Ginsburg in the interpretative understanding of critique hermeneutics, in other words, throughout the clues found in the texts. / Reconhecemos nas tradições antigas a origem das narrativas míticas. Neste período a relação com o sagrado estava intrinsecamente presente no cotidiano, não havia distinção entre o sagrado e o profano, pois suas atividades se condicionavam ao divino de tal modo que nos primórdios a relação da criação das plantas, tudo o que surgia da terra para a sobrevivência era representada pela Mãe quando a associavam ao poder fecundante. Deste modo encontramos a Mãe como representação divina, assim como também há uma identificação dos animais quando são reverenciados pela sua força e também quando são o alimento. O seu sacrifício indicava uma sacralidade e este episódio se dava ritualmente. Nosso objetivo foi analisar a serpente mítica em quatro textos semíticos: o hino a Ptah, a Epopeia de Gilgamesh, o Enuma Elish e o Mito hebraico da criação. Portanto contextualizamos historicamente as tradições semitas, especificamente o Egito, a Mesopotâmia (Suméria, Babilônia) e Israel. Por sequência pesquisamos a serpente mítica nestas tradições e por fim descobrimos o arquétipo da serpente nas tradições que destacamos. Os mitos de origem nos dão respaldo para compreensão arquetípica da serpente, pois vemos que a sua representação simbólica indica as polaridades assim como uma jornada cíclica. Para tanto aplicamos a instrumentação analítica junguiana quando desenvolve o conceito de arquétipo, principalmente na obra: “Os arquétipos e o inconsciente coletivo”. Metodologicamente utilizamos da hermenêutica simbólica e comparada de Mircea Eliade principalmente em suas obras: “O sagrado e o profano” e “O mito do eterno retorno” e buscamos entrelaçar a visão indiciária conforme Carlo Ginsburg com a intelecção interpretativa da hermenêutica crítica, ou seja, através das pistas interpretamos os textos.

Orientador: Ivan Esperança Rocha / Banca: Andrea Lucia Dorini de O. C. Rossi / Banca: Margarida Maria de Carvalho / Resumo: O culto da deusa Ísis foi importante na religião egípcia, especialmente com relação às características de maternidade e de fertilidade. Este culto foi levado para fora das localidades egípcias, por diversos motivos, sendo inserido em outras culturas e identificado com as divindades locais. Na cultura romana, o culto isíaco esteve mais presente com o festival Navigium Isidis e com os rituais de iniciação nos mistérios da deusa, não perdendo as características que giram em torno da fertilidade e maternidade. / Abstract: The worship of goddess Isis was important to the Egypt religion specially related to the characteristics of maternity and fertility. This worship was taken outside from Egypt, for many reasons and it was incorporeted to others cultures and identified with local goddess. In the roman culture, the isiac worship was more presented in Navigium Isidis festival and with ritual of iniciation in the mysteries of the goddess, not losing the characteristics that are related to fertility and maternity. / Mestre

Orientador: Marilia Vieira Soares / Acompanha 1 DVD-ROM / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T23:14:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Salvador_GabrielaDiDonato_M.pdf: 7209946 bytes, checksum: b01da16c64aa04be3c9377484d89dfb8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo:A presente dissertação trata do processo de criação e construção do corpo cênico em dança, inspirado no mito da Deusa Kali - deusa feminina pertencente ao Hinduísmo, considerada uma das representações da natureza vital da existência do ser humano, a quem são atribuídas a destruição e a recriação do universo através de seu poder de transformação. Abordaremos a relação entre tais aspectos da deusa presentes no inconsciente coletivo e ressaltaremos o aspecto feminino figurado no arquétipo da "Grande Mãe", por ela representado. Teoricamente, apresentaremos a reflexão sobre as relações entre inconsciente, estados alterados de consciência e a preparação do corpo cênico em dança, segundo os pressupostos básicos da teoria de Carl Gustav Jung - psiquiatra suíço, fundador da psicologia analítica - e seus desdobramentos segundo Neumann - psicólogo, aluno e seguidor de Jung. Como suporte prático para a construção cênica, foi utilizada a Técnica Energética, sistematizada pela Profa. Dra. Marília Vieira Soares do Instituto de Artes da Unicamp. / Abstract: This dissertation deals with the process of creation and construction of the scenic body in dance inspired by the myth of the Kali Goddess - the female Goddess that belongs to Hinduism, considered one of the representations of the vital nature of human existence, to whom is assigned the destruction and recreation of the universe through its power of transformation. This work addresses the relationship between these aspects of the Goddess that are present in the collective unconscious, emphasizing the feminine archetype portrayed in the "Great Mother" that she represents. Theoretically, I present the reflections about the relations between unconscious, modified states of conscience and the preparation of the scenic body in dance, according to the basic assumptions of the theory of Carl Gustav Jung - swiss psychiatrist, founder of analytical psychology - and what was after developed by Neumann - psychologist, student and follower of Jung, along with the practical support the scenic construction of the Energy Technique, systematized by Prof. Dr. Marília Vieira Soares, of the Art Institute at Unicamp. / Mestrado / Mestre em Artes

Cette étude a pour objet d’explorer une figure d’origine mythologique réactualisée et réinterprétée dans la première moitié du XXe siècle par des ouvrages anthropologiques d’abord, puis à leur suite par certaines œuvres poétiques : il s’agit de la Grande Déesse de l’Antiquité, devenue tout simplement chez certains « la déesse ». De la construction anthropologique à la réécriture littéraire, la déesse apparaît comme une figure composite à la fois de la mère et de la mort. En tant que femme, elle s’oppose à l’homme, en tant que déesse-mère, au dieu-père. Autour d’elle se développe tout un réseau de récits et de représentations d’origines diverses : récit de la quête du héros affrontant la déesse, théorie du matriarcat originel, révélation à la fois sexuelle et spirituelle, énigme de la poésie. A travers elle, c’est en réalité la question des rapports problématiques entre le sexe féminin et l’humain qui se pose. / The object of this study is to explore a figure of mythological origin which has been actualized and reinterpreted in the first half of the XXth century by anthropologists first and then, in their wake, by a few poetic works – the Great Goddess of Antiquity, now popularized as the Goddess. From anthropological construction to literary rewriting, the goddess appears as a composite figure, embodying both the idea of the mother and of death. As a woman, she is opposed to man, as a mother-goddess, to the father-god. A whole network of diversely originated representations and narratives develops around her: the narrative of the hero’s confrontation with the Goddess, the theory of prehistoric matriarchy, revelations both sexual and spiritual, the enigma of poetry. Through her, the question of the problematic relations between female gender and humanity is ultimately raised.

Diploma thesis deals with gender analysis of semi-structured interviews depicting the experience of women who have attended women's spirituals workshops. The theoretical part presents an essentialistic and constructivist approach to sexuality, deals with ecofeminism and spirituality that does not correspond to traditional religious systems, and presents concepts of the goddess. The practical part represents how the participiants of the research assume their femininity, embodiment, sexuality and spirituality. It also deals with the aspect of power and meaning of the spirituals workshops for women.

The musical neo-matriarchy is linked to the growing popularity of Neo-Paganism. This pseudo-religious scene is based on romantic heritage, real or invented folk traditions and more or less serious historical, theological and anthropological studies of neo-matriarchy. In the focus of the scene stands the veneration of the Great Goddess and its worshipers are exclusively women. The main ideas of this eco-feminist movement are being conveyed also through (popular) music. My contribution encompasses the origins of the musical neo-matriarchy, the mythology it is based on, the message of the songs for the Great Goddess, the musical characteristics of the material collected, the use of typical instruments, and the dissemination of (musical) knowledge as the rather ‘modern’ way of distribution and consumption of the allegedly ‘archaic’ issues.