Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 1983. / Index of references to illustrations, leaves 643-646. Includes bibliographical references (v. 1, leaves 442-483).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2001. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 310-320).

This dissertation asks how Muslims in north India today understand four paradoxical aspects of Sufi saint shrine traditions. The shrines of Sufi saints are sometimes regarded as apolitical, sacred, all-inclusive, and anti-elite religious spaces. At the same time, they are sites that are politicized, illegally bought and sold as commercial real estate, fuel for Islamic sectarian divisions, and often controlled by upper-caste Muslim elites. Based on the analysis of historical archival materials and twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), this dissertation argues that shrines are sites that straddle the dīn-duniyā distinction in Islam. Dīn (understood as “religion” in the modern period) is the atemporal, immaterial domain of true spirituality, whereas duniyā (“world”) is the realm of this-worldly material concerns and temporal impermanence. As sites imbued with the ethereal barakah (love of God manifest as the power of a blessing) of Sufi saints that aid individuals in drawing near to God by transcending “worldly” desires and also material commodities that are aggressively competed over by adversarial stakeholders (e.g., the state, real estate mafias, sectarian rivals), these shrines are paradoxically both of dīn and of duniyā. When asked how one can differentiate between dīn and duniyā—for example, when a Sufi politician is acting a religious manner or in a worldly manner—many of my interviewees explained that one can distinguish between these two domains based on the material presence of money. In this dissertation, I argue that the concept of money (paisā; also, “money” in English) acts as a symbol to help Muslims in Lucknow navigate this paradoxical quality. By attributing to the materiality of money those aspect of shrine operations associated with duniyā, interviewees effectively identified the boundary line dividing dīn from duniyā, thereby resolving the ostensibly contradictory nature of, for example, the politicization of an apolitical space. As a key signifier in the broader neoliberal context of Lucknow and the global politics of Sufism, money is an important concept by which Muslims make sense of the social, economic, and political complexities of Muslim life in the north India.

Pilgrimage to sacred places of religious meaning has taken place since the early days of mankind. In the last few decades pilgrimage travel has experienced a world-wide boom due to modern means of transportation. Though pilgrimage is most commonly referred to in the context of the major world religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), there is some indication of pilgrimage-like travel among Mormons.This thesis looks at Mormon pilgrimage behavior among Mormon visitors to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. The study undertaken has revealed considerable differences between Mormon and non-Mormon motivations, behavior and visiting patterns visitors to Temple Square. Though there is no formal doctrine for Mormons concerning pilgrimage, these differences give evidence of pilgrimage-like activity among Mormons, indicating that Mormon visitors to Temple Square are religiously-motivated travelers and a part of a pilgrimage-tourist phenomenon.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The training to become a traditional healer has been under scrutiny because of the symptoms that are experienced during ancestral calling. Ancestral calling usually presents itself in the form of a mysterious physical or psychological illness that will not ordinarily respond to western treatment. The Eurocentric perspective interprets the symptoms of ancestral calling and the resultant process to become a traditional health practitioner as a manifestation of some psychological disturbance. The researcher embarked on a journey with traditional health practitioners to understand their lived experiences and explored the psychological meanings of Vhavenda ancestral calling with a view to identifying and documenting the psychological meanings embedded in this culturally entrenched practice. A qualitative research method located within the interpretative paradigm was used. A descriptive phenomenological research design was adopted to explore the lived experiences of traditional health practitioners who have gone through the process of ancestral calling. Both snowball and purposive sampling methods were used to recruit 17 participants until saturation was researched in the findings. The six major themes that emerged are: a) signs of ancestral calling; b) meaning attached to ancestral calling; c) help-seeking pathway following an ancestral call; d) responding to the ancestral call; e) roles of the master healer; and f) post training realities and experiences. The findings of the study revealed that there are several symptoms that are indicative that one has an ancestral calling. These symptoms are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed when interpreted from the Eurocentric perspective. However, accepting the ancestral calling and going through training is linked with identity formation. The findings also revealed that ancestral calling is a life-transforming and therapeutic experience and a journey of self realisation / South African Humanities Deans’ Association and the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:21:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eronildo Jose da Silva.pdf: 51425409 bytes, checksum: c23d1d8f0ad8e5dbc46d6813a3604664 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-26 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The study Maringá of all saints: presence of Afro-Brazilian religions seeks, from the observation of the denial of the black presence in Maringá, to reveal that presence, hidden as it is in its religious expressions. The Afro-Brazilian religious universe in Maringá is, still today, little known by most people. Our interest, in this study, is to reveal it through the shrines active in the city, their origins, filiations (lineage), their priests and followers, how they face prejudice that is, in fact, still very strong, and the relations between shrine groups and society. Revealing the presence of those religions, the study seeks to contribute not only to the knowledge of the origins and path of the Afro-Brazilian religions in Maringá, but also of their capability of resistance and affirmation in a notoriously adverse religious scene / A pesquisa "Maringá de todos os santos: presença das religiões afrobrasileiras" busca, a partir da observação da negação da presença negra em Maringá, revelar tal presença, escondida que está em suas expressões religiosas. O universo religioso afro-brasileiro em Maringá ainda hoje é pouco conhecido pela maior parte das pessoas. Nosso interesse nesta pesquisa é revelá-lo através dos terreiros atuantes na cidade, suas origens, suas filiações (linhagem), seus sacerdotes e adeptos, como eles (elas) encaram o preconceito, que, de fato, ainda é muito forte, e as relações entre os terreiros e a sociedade. Ao revelar a presença destas religiões, a pesquisa busca contribuir para o conhecimento não só das origens e a trajetória das religiões afro-brasileiras em Maringá, mas também da sua capacidade de resistência e afirmação num campo religioso francamente adverso

Dix-neuf édifices cultuels ont été mis au jour dans la ville grecque d’Europos-Doura (Syrie). L’étude est consacrée aux treize sanctuaires polythéistes bâtis avant l’occupation romaine de la ville (165-256 ap. J.-C). Elle est composée d’un catalogue et d’une synthèse. Le catalogue met à jour les informations concernant ces sanctuaires, en comparant les publications souvent lacunaires ou superficielles déjà disponibles et les nouvelles observations de terrain réalisées dans le cadre de la Mission Franco-Syrienne d’Europos-Doura (MFSED). La synthèse, divisée en quatre parties, permet quant à elle de considérer les caractéristiques de l’ensemble de ces édifices. La première partie est consacrée à l’analyse architecturale des sanctuaires douréens. La deuxième partie étudie les différentes influences stylistiques qui se manifestent au travers de ces édifices. La troisième partie montre comment les dieux et les fidèles occupent l’espace sacré. Enfin, la quatrième partie s’intéresse aux pratiques cultuelles de la ville. Au terme de cette étude, un nouveau visage de la religion douréenne apparaît. / Nineteen religious buildings have been excavated in the Greek town of Europos-Dura (Syria). The dissertation examines the thirteen polytheistic shrines built before the Roman occupation of the city (165-265 AD). It is composed of a catalogue and a general study. The catalogue updates what we know about these temples, comparing often incomplete or superficial publications already available and new field observations made in the framework of the Franco-Syrian Mission of Europos-Dura (MFSED). The general study, divided into four parts, considers the features of all these buildings. The first part deals with the architecture of the monuments. The second part consists in the study of the different stylistic influences which can be observed in the buildings. The third part shows how the gods and the believers occupied the sacred space. Finally, the fourth part presents the ritual practices of the town. This study therefore reveals a new aspect of the religion of Europos-Dura.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:54:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eronildo Jose da Silva.pdf: 51425409 bytes, checksum: c23d1d8f0ad8e5dbc46d6813a3604664 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-26 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The study Maringá of all saints: presence of Afro-Brazilian religions seeks, from the observation of the denial of the black presence in Maringá, to reveal that presence, hidden as it is in its religious expressions. The Afro-Brazilian religious universe in Maringá is, still today, little known by most people. Our interest, in this study, is to reveal it through the shrines active in the city, their origins, filiations (lineage), their priests and followers, how they face prejudice that is, in fact, still very strong, and the relations between shrine groups and society. Revealing the presence of those religions, the study seeks to contribute not only to the knowledge of the origins and path of the Afro-Brazilian religions in Maringá, but also of their capability of resistance and affirmation in a notoriously adverse religious scene / A pesquisa "Maringá de todos os santos: presença das religiões afrobrasileiras" busca, a partir da observação da negação da presença negra em Maringá, revelar tal presença, escondida que está em suas expressões religiosas. O universo religioso afro-brasileiro em Maringá ainda hoje é pouco conhecido pela maior parte das pessoas. Nosso interesse nesta pesquisa é revelá-lo através dos terreiros atuantes na cidade, suas origens, suas filiações (linhagem), seus sacerdotes e adeptos, como eles (elas) encaram o preconceito, que, de fato, ainda é muito forte, e as relações entre os terreiros e a sociedade. Ao revelar a presença destas religiões, a pesquisa busca contribuir para o conhecimento não só das origens e a trajetória das religiões afro-brasileiras em Maringá, mas também da sua capacidade de resistência e afirmação num campo religioso francamente adverso

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