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Sacrality and worldmaking: new categorial perspectives
No full textThe category of the sacred in particular and the role of transcultural concept-formation in general have undergone an obvious crisis. For the most part, "the sacred," if not an empty label, has been linked with theologism, and transcultural concepts have been condemned for their general non-comparability and colonialist intent. The author approaches the matter of transcultural templates through an analysis of certain concepts of sacrality. With some exceptions, the discourse of sacrality has indeed been dominated by a single model, where "the sacred" became a reified noun—a substantive term for a supernatural reality, a label for the transcendent, or even an epithet for divinity, mystery, the wholly other. As such, the expression has functioned to bestow a sense of unity to the diversity of cultures, link that unity with a transcendent reality, and offer a simple way of making sense of otherwise foreign beliefs and practices by giving them a familiar, generic referent
Religion und gesellschaftlicher Wandel in Finnland der 60er und Anfang 70er Jahre des 20. Jahrhunderts
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The Role of the Temple Mount / Al-Haram Al-Sharif in the Deterioration of Muslim–Jewish Relations
No full textFor both Jews and Muslims the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem constitute highly important religious, cultural, political and national centres. For centuries Jews in the diaspora prayed in the direction of Jerusalem, vowed never to forget it (‘If I forget thee Jerusalem, may my right arm wither’); and blessed one another ‘Next year in Jerusalem’. The Zionist-Jewish movement (since the 1880s) – although predominantly secular – has considered Jerusalem (Zion) as the political and cultural centre of the Jewish people.By comparison, the Palestinian-Arab national movement has, since the 1920s established its national and political-cultural centre in East Jerusalem, while the Haram al Sharif, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque, has continued to be a top religious shrine for Muslims. They termed it Awla Al-Qiblatayn (the first prayer direction before Mecca); Thani Masjidayn (the second mosque after Mecca); a place where Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven (Isra’ and Mi’raj).This article will examine the changes in Muslim–Jewish mutual relations, especially since 1967, at both government and public levels. Special attention will be given to the development of both Islamic Judeophobia and Jewish Islamophobia, which have been associated with the dispute over the Temple Mount and East Jerusalem.
Absorption Enhancing Excipients in Systemic Nasal Drug Delivery
Get PDFIntranasal drug delivery is becoming an increasingly important form of drug administration for chronic and chronic-intermittent diseases. Important new applications in development include drugs for diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, certain types of convulsive disorders, migraine headaches, symptomatic pain relief, nausea, and anxiety, among others. Transmucosal absorption across the nasal mucosa is generally limited to molecules under 1,000 Da in size. Systemic delivery of molecules larger than this requires formulation with a suitable transmucosal absorption enhancer. More than one hundred potential transmucosal absorption enhancing excipients have been tested to date. Nearly all have failed to be practical due to poor effectiveness or unacceptable toxicity to mucosal tissue. Alkylsaccharides, cyclodextrins, and chitosan's have emerged as the leading candidates for potential broad clinical applications and are allowing development of convenient, patient-friendly, needle free formulations of small molecule drugs, as well as peptide and protein drugs that can be administered at home, at work, or in other public and private settings outside of the doctor’s office or hospital environment
'Dead Clay and Living Clay': Máirtín Ó Cadhain's criticisms of the work of the Irish Folklore Commission
No full textIn Ireland the creation of one of the world’s largest collections of oral traditions by the Irish Folklore Commission (1935−70) was intimately bound up with the declining fortunes of the Irish language as a spoken vernacular and the young independent Irish state’s efforts to revive that language. This paper deals not with the Trojan achievements of the Commission, but with certain criticisms of its work levelled against it by someone with impeccable Irish-language credentials and someone who was also steeped in the Irish-language oral tradition since childhood; namely the creative writer and intellectual Máirtín Ó Cadhain. In this paper I will outline some of Ó Cadhain’s criticisms of the work of the Irish Folklore Commission as well as place them in context
Vernacular Beliefs and Official Traditional Religion: The position and meaning of Mari worldview in the current context
No full textVernacular religion connected with the clan was expected to adapt in the context of globalisation and the vanishing ideals of traditional (tribal) societies. But at the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries a revival of European ‘paganism’ has appeared. A return to vernacular beliefs is not only happening in the mass religious mind of some Eastern European and Asian people, but also in the romantic mythologemes which are being created by national elites. Lithuanians, who were Christianised in the fourteenth century – the last nation in the Baltic region to undergo this process – recall their heathen roots; Ukrainians revive their rodnoverie – indigenous beliefs – in an attempt to resist the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Apart from this there are other pre-Christian faith organisations in Latvia, Estonia, Germany and England. The traditions of the pre-Christian societies attract people through their apparent proximity to communal peasant culture. Followers of some of these beliefs are interested in popularising Viking mythology. The activities of druids and adherents of the Northern European Asatru religion revive ancient festivals and ceremonies. The popularisation of these movements can be seen as an attempt to resist an encroachment of the modern, globalised, urbane society
The Role of Theory in Folkloristics and Comparative Religion
No full textLauri Honko (1932–2002), the Finnish professor of folkloristics and comparative religion was a prolific and multi-talented researcher, whose topics of research ranged from the study of folk beliefs, folk medicine and Ingrian laments to the general theories of culture, identity and meaning. Honko studied Finno-Ugric mythologies, Karelian and Tanzanian folk healing, and South Indian oral traditions. Lauri Honko was known for his originality and theoretical innovations: he constructed multiple approaches to the study of culture that are still relevant in folkloristics and comparative religion.In this paper I aim at explicating and analysing Honko’s views about the roles of theory in folkloristics and comparative religion. More precisely, I will cover two themes. First, I will look at how Honko constructed and utilised theories during the different stages of his career. Second, I will explicate one of the central elements underlying Honko’s theory of culture, namely, functionalism, which provided the framework for his innovations such as the ecology of tradition and folklore process, and for conceptual constructs such as the ‘pool of tradition’ and ‘systems of culture’. I will conclude by assessing the future relevance of Honko’s theories in folkoristics and comparative religion
