Our class has gone into great detail on various initiation rights and rituals from all over the world and our discussions have reminded me of an interesting thoughts both self generated and others that I attribute to Mark Twain.
Our class have often focused on physical aspects that mark an initiation but I think that their are mental aspects and I have been contemplating their influence. I would like to explore two of my musings "realization of death" and "Understanding of a subject that leads to a change in an individuals perception". They are very different topics but both can be entirely internalized and are very much private initiation events, both focused within an individual.
Realization of death, This event is I think a major milestone in an individual's life. I think of this event as the time in an individuals life when they realize that death is part of their life and will eventually claim their own life. This event can take many forms to a person and the individual's response can be extremely varied. The event may happen only once or may recur in an individual's life. But I think several aspects can be present in any individuals life, a common example and likely most notable is the death of a friend or family member. This event has a huge impact and at least in my life has influenced me to reevaluate my life and my priorities. Childhood ideally is free from this realization but inevitability I believe that every individual is faced at some time with mortality. Its often not a pleasant realization but I do consider it an initiation that can (and should?, (I think so)) have a great influence on an individuals life. This initiation of understanding marks a change in an individuals life, but this change is often internal.
Understanding of a subject that leads to a change in an individuals perception. This seems like an extremely complex statement but can simplify it using two examples from a work of Mark Twain. This concept was first introduced to me when reading one of his writing for an English class several years ago. The novel focused on several stories that I understand are based on actual events from the authors life when working on a steamboat, (I believe that is where he acquired his pen name Mark Twain). The author brought up the idea that as an individual gains understanding about any subject he also loses some of the how he was initially able to observes the subject. For the authors retelling he focused on two examples.
The Steering of the steamboat requires a lot of river knowledge so that the vessel can be steered away from shallow water and other dangers. Initially the young apprentice has a great love for the rivers beauty and form, but as he gains this vital knowledge on water, its paths, currents, and behaviors his perception of the river is altered. The young helmsman describes it with a sense of loss, when he now views the water he sees the currents and sandbars and his understanding is forever altered. His initial appreciation of the river can never be regained his gained knowledge helps and hinders his perception. When the young helmsmen expresses his feelings on the subject to the senior helmsman he further describes this concept with pity for a male doctor. I paraphrase here " when the medical doctor looks a lovely young lady does he still see her beauty? or does he instead see her face as a collection of healthy tissues and proper bone structure, does he see her lovely eyes or does he examine them (even at an unconscious level) for proper vision?" The author seemed to state that understanding can and often does take away some of the wonder that was the initial spark in an individuals life to pursue the understanding. The young helmsman loved the river and now that he understands the river feels that this understanding hinders him from appreciating the rivers beauty.
I think that this is a personal initiation a change in an individuals life that makes them forever different, the understanding cannot be removed returning things to how they were before. I entered the study biology because I loved plant life and feel that this is especially true in my life. If I look at a beautiful flower before I would have seen only its beauty, now I sees its beauty through a fog of knowledge, its structure, family group, and above all its genetics because that is my specialty.
I think that initiations of this internal nature are just as important if not more important in an individuals life, Because they mark a change in the mind. The part of an individual that leads their behaviors, thoughts, and character. I also think that they are most interesting because the initial event that triggers this change can be entirely internalized only indirectly influencing actions due to a change in character. I realize that in life individuals (myself included) continually experience initiations or changes in their life and these have great influence on a person's internal character dictated by how the individual responds to the initiation.
But these are just my thoughts
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Some Thoughts on Coming of Day Rituals. Why have they came into being?
I was most interested to listen to the many ways that initiation rights can be performed, and especially noteworthy is that this idea of a passages marked by trial and ceremony are very widespread. Yet I wonder why these transitions are often marked, especially in separate cultures.
I in my thought process will explore and consider the question "what are the benefits of marking a point in an individuals life?" In transitions I think their are two extremes "No mark whatsoever of transition" compared to a "Life changing trial that leaves some permanent reminder of the transition"
In these musings a transition can represent any important event in an individual's life such as (but certainly not limited to) adulthood, marriage, acceptance into a group and lastly leadership position.
In many cultures these events are marked with events and rituals, but why should these events be noted. I think the rituals are to mark and or place cultural importance on these events. For example if marriage is important to an individual (or their culture) they tend to want to make it a noteworthy event, (or the culture tends to put pressure on the individual to make it a noteworthy event).
I have some thoughts on this
I think this comes from a notion that routine or average life is separate from change or that change is more important than average events. When events and happenings stay the same the daily requirements of an individual are also the same, each day is much like the last. But when a transition happens the daily routine changes, now what was expected of the individual can be different.
For example with marriage two separate individuals transition from living apart to living together they may even start a family. The individuals daily lives are very much different than they were before and the individuals is expected to have different behaviors and responsibilities. It would not do for a married man (in most cases in western culture) to continue to live as though he was not married. Once a man is married in western culture it is expected that his behaviors and responsibilities will change to match those expected of a married man in that culture.
The same idea can be applied to rituals that mark manhood. The rituals often mark the point when a child is an adult and their fore expected to act and fulfill the responsibilities of an adult. For example many of the adult hood initiation rituals presented in class noted that after the transition the now adult man could take a wife. Some of the rituals were particularly harsh (by my cultural standards) on the individual. I think this is because the culture places a lot of importance on the transition, and on the individuals new expectations and requirements.
I think that this idea of changing responsibilities and expectations can be applied in some form to any ritual that marks a transition. I think that the rituals purpose to place cultural importance on this transition and the new expectations and requirements on the individual.
I think becoming president of the united states is a transition that places new expectations and responsibilities on an individual, and I will explore this further as a concept in my current musings.
In the United States of America the president is culturally considered to be greatly important, and because of this I think a initiation ritual has been created to mark this transition.
The United States of America incoming president traditionally performs a ceremony when he becomes president, it is referred to as the inauguration of the president of the United States. The official requirements are an oath of office by the entering president. The event has evolved over the years so that it now has become much larger including many new traditional elements including parades, speeches, a ball, as well as other events. I find the oath particularly notable as the technically only required element. (The oath is required by the the constitution)
I think that this event is to primarily mark the new expectations on the entering president. I also think that the reason that the event has become larger over time is due to the cultural expectations on the entering president . The president is now given a lot of responsibility and has many expectations placed upon him. I think the weight of these changes in the individuals life combined with cultural expectations are the reason that the ritual has come into being.
But these are just my thoughts
I in my thought process will explore and consider the question "what are the benefits of marking a point in an individuals life?" In transitions I think their are two extremes "No mark whatsoever of transition" compared to a "Life changing trial that leaves some permanent reminder of the transition"
In these musings a transition can represent any important event in an individual's life such as (but certainly not limited to) adulthood, marriage, acceptance into a group and lastly leadership position.
In many cultures these events are marked with events and rituals, but why should these events be noted. I think the rituals are to mark and or place cultural importance on these events. For example if marriage is important to an individual (or their culture) they tend to want to make it a noteworthy event, (or the culture tends to put pressure on the individual to make it a noteworthy event).
I have some thoughts on this
I think this comes from a notion that routine or average life is separate from change or that change is more important than average events. When events and happenings stay the same the daily requirements of an individual are also the same, each day is much like the last. But when a transition happens the daily routine changes, now what was expected of the individual can be different.
For example with marriage two separate individuals transition from living apart to living together they may even start a family. The individuals daily lives are very much different than they were before and the individuals is expected to have different behaviors and responsibilities. It would not do for a married man (in most cases in western culture) to continue to live as though he was not married. Once a man is married in western culture it is expected that his behaviors and responsibilities will change to match those expected of a married man in that culture.
The same idea can be applied to rituals that mark manhood. The rituals often mark the point when a child is an adult and their fore expected to act and fulfill the responsibilities of an adult. For example many of the adult hood initiation rituals presented in class noted that after the transition the now adult man could take a wife. Some of the rituals were particularly harsh (by my cultural standards) on the individual. I think this is because the culture places a lot of importance on the transition, and on the individuals new expectations and requirements.
I think that this idea of changing responsibilities and expectations can be applied in some form to any ritual that marks a transition. I think that the rituals purpose to place cultural importance on this transition and the new expectations and requirements on the individual.
I think becoming president of the united states is a transition that places new expectations and responsibilities on an individual, and I will explore this further as a concept in my current musings.
In the United States of America the president is culturally considered to be greatly important, and because of this I think a initiation ritual has been created to mark this transition.
The United States of America incoming president traditionally performs a ceremony when he becomes president, it is referred to as the inauguration of the president of the United States. The official requirements are an oath of office by the entering president. The event has evolved over the years so that it now has become much larger including many new traditional elements including parades, speeches, a ball, as well as other events. I find the oath particularly notable as the technically only required element. (The oath is required by the the constitution)
I think that this event is to primarily mark the new expectations on the entering president. I also think that the reason that the event has become larger over time is due to the cultural expectations on the entering president . The president is now given a lot of responsibility and has many expectations placed upon him. I think the weight of these changes in the individuals life combined with cultural expectations are the reason that the ritual has come into being.
But these are just my thoughts
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Momote Shiki a Japanese archery ritual, part of the coming of day or Seijin-no-Hi tradition
Brief description of the tradition
This tradition is part of a larger set of traditions and is celebrated as part of Seiji-no-Hi or the comming of days. This is a milestone for individuals in Japanese traditions. Seiji-no-Hi is celebrated the first monday of January and on this day many 20 and 21 year olds celebrate a transition into adulthood. Young (20 ish) individuals often go to Shrines and other places to pray and reflect, along with other traditions.
Momote Shiki is a ritual archery competition that occurs as part of the coming of days traditions. Individuals from the Ogasawara-Ryu (one of the oldest schools of Japanese-style archery) take part in this event. It is my understanding that the event has evolved from earlier training exercises. The shift of the rituals is no longer on necessarily hitting the target but instead it has a distinctive spiritual focus. The focus is on how archery can be used in self improvement for mind and soul. It is most interesting to watch how each movement seems coordinated and flows from one to the next.
The ritual seems follows a simple format
Those participating where traditional clothing and unusual hat (the hat is associated with governing officials).
A priest cleanses and or purifies the archery range.
Then he fires a special arrow that has a unusual head that whistles as it flies. This arrow is thought to originally be used in wartime signals but is now used to scare away evil spirits into the four directions.
Then the archers line up and fire as individuals, not at the same time but in a sequence.
after the 100 arrows are fired the ceremony is ended with a small glass of sake.
I was especially interested to know that hitting the targets is not a focus for the event. I was also surprised by how solemn the participants. The event seems some how sacred and definitely seemed to be very important to those participating.
A poem was mentioned that seemed to describe the rituals focus.
A Zen Master of the Kamakura Period once wrote:
No target's erected
No bow's drawn
And the arrow leaves the string;
It may not hit,
But it does not miss!
This tradition is part of a larger set of traditions and is celebrated as part of Seiji-no-Hi or the comming of days. This is a milestone for individuals in Japanese traditions. Seiji-no-Hi is celebrated the first monday of January and on this day many 20 and 21 year olds celebrate a transition into adulthood. Young (20 ish) individuals often go to Shrines and other places to pray and reflect, along with other traditions.
Momote Shiki is a ritual archery competition that occurs as part of the coming of days traditions. Individuals from the Ogasawara-Ryu (one of the oldest schools of Japanese-style archery) take part in this event. It is my understanding that the event has evolved from earlier training exercises. The shift of the rituals is no longer on necessarily hitting the target but instead it has a distinctive spiritual focus. The focus is on how archery can be used in self improvement for mind and soul. It is most interesting to watch how each movement seems coordinated and flows from one to the next.
The ritual seems follows a simple format
Those participating where traditional clothing and unusual hat (the hat is associated with governing officials).
A priest cleanses and or purifies the archery range.
Then he fires a special arrow that has a unusual head that whistles as it flies. This arrow is thought to originally be used in wartime signals but is now used to scare away evil spirits into the four directions.
Then the archers line up and fire as individuals, not at the same time but in a sequence.
after the 100 arrows are fired the ceremony is ended with a small glass of sake.
I was especially interested to know that hitting the targets is not a focus for the event. I was also surprised by how solemn the participants. The event seems some how sacred and definitely seemed to be very important to those participating.
A poem was mentioned that seemed to describe the rituals focus.
A Zen Master of the Kamakura Period once wrote:
No target's erected
No bow's drawn
And the arrow leaves the string;
It may not hit,
But it does not miss!
My sources were primarily found using internet searches on Google
I wanted to put up a web page that was particularly helpful, I used a combination of other sources as well but this page seemed to have a nice amount of useful information.
as well as this video that was in my opinion well done and nicly shows the ritual
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nik5nrC-aXI
I think that such rituals are important to society as milestones for an individuals life and that such traditions should not be forgotten
But these are just my thoughts
I think that such rituals are important to society as milestones for an individuals life and that such traditions should not be forgotten
But these are just my thoughts
Monday, October 7, 2013
Image of Dine Bahane
When in class our teacher mentioned that a created work of art to illustrate our creation myths I was initially excited. I have for many years considered myself an artist and look forward to creating some art to illustrate the creation myth. But as many artists or other creators are sure to know sometimes it is hard to find inspiration. To use an appropriate expression my muse was not with me. I had looked at many of the creation myth images depicted on the useful internet, and liked the unusual styles depicted in what must be the art styles of the Navajo Native Americans (or first peoples).
I decided that such a stile may be interesting to try, (I have a great fondness of experimentation with new techniques and or art styles). Yet did not seem to make progress towards creating.... anything. I just seemed stuck until sometime later when I found another image. I have noticed that forcing creativity doesn't necessarily work for me. I tend to do best when I let it flow at its own pace. I think several things changed when I saw that image. I was struck by its creativity and its great talent. But also I was surprised by its uniqueness. it was very unlike any of the images I had seen before. I think I needed that inspiration to jump start my own creativity. I may have become too attached to replication of a unfamiliar style and just got into thinking to much on the mechanics of the project.
I feel much more free no when I realized I can use this as an opportunity to create something of my own style pulling things from any source of inspiration. Yet I must make sure that my own creation is in some way drawn from myself. From my own inner being I need to pull part of my creation. I find it hard to put into words these contemplations, this experience may be unique to me, but I suspect that others artists feel the same about creation. When you create its using a bit of oneself in the creation. One's self is not used up by the creation more like channeled, or maybe made permanent. The expression that comes to mind is " a candle loses none of its light by lighting another candle". I have started to sketch out possible designs for some sort of project, maybe a painting. All this rambling is because this image helped me to understand something. My art can be influenced by other artwork but for it to mean anything to me I need to pull some of the art from myself.
But these are just my thoughts.
Image from http://dgeiu3fz282x5.cloudfront.net/g/l/lgwiz01546+navajo-creation-myth-john-stephens-poster.jpg With great thanks
When in class our teacher mentioned that a created work of art to illustrate our creation myths I was initially excited. I have for many years considered myself an artist and look forward to creating some art to illustrate the creation myth. But as many artists or other creators are sure to know sometimes it is hard to find inspiration. To use an appropriate expression my muse was not with me. I had looked at many of the creation myth images depicted on the useful internet, and liked the unusual styles depicted in what must be the art styles of the Navajo Native Americans (or first peoples).
A very nice image from http://www.navajolegends.org/navajo-creation-story/
I decided that such a stile may be interesting to try, (I have a great fondness of experimentation with new techniques and or art styles). Yet did not seem to make progress towards creating.... anything. I just seemed stuck until sometime later when I found another image. I have noticed that forcing creativity doesn't necessarily work for me. I tend to do best when I let it flow at its own pace. I think several things changed when I saw that image. I was struck by its creativity and its great talent. But also I was surprised by its uniqueness. it was very unlike any of the images I had seen before. I think I needed that inspiration to jump start my own creativity. I may have become too attached to replication of a unfamiliar style and just got into thinking to much on the mechanics of the project.
I feel much more free no when I realized I can use this as an opportunity to create something of my own style pulling things from any source of inspiration. Yet I must make sure that my own creation is in some way drawn from myself. From my own inner being I need to pull part of my creation. I find it hard to put into words these contemplations, this experience may be unique to me, but I suspect that others artists feel the same about creation. When you create its using a bit of oneself in the creation. One's self is not used up by the creation more like channeled, or maybe made permanent. The expression that comes to mind is " a candle loses none of its light by lighting another candle". I have started to sketch out possible designs for some sort of project, maybe a painting. All this rambling is because this image helped me to understand something. My art can be influenced by other artwork but for it to mean anything to me I need to pull some of the art from myself.
But these are just my thoughts.
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