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Ædiculan i Lunds domkyrkas norra transept. En undersökning av skulpturen och dess bemålning
Get PDFMany authors have considered Lund cathedral, its mediaeval history and its sculptures, sometimes at considerable length. From an iconographical point of view, however, much of the earliest phases of the building’s construction and the sculptural programme still remain obscure. Hardly any of the early mediaeval sculptures can be found today in the places for which they were initially intended, and the original context of many of them seems to be irretrievably lost. Through the centuries, countless individual artworks have been destroyed and sculpture groups dismembered, sometimes for inclusion in new constellations. A good example of such an assortment is the aedicule in front of the northern transept’s eastern chapel. It consists of a number of elements, produced by different hands or workshops, that have at some moment in time been assembled to form the present assemblage. Various dates, chronologies and positions have been proposed for its different components, but so far none that are really convincing. This article presents the results of a study of the painted relief decorations on the canopy and the adjacent chapel – and also contains photographic documentation of its various components. The findings are compared and discussed in relation to previous research
Shamanistic and postshamanistic terminologies in Saami (Lappish)
No full textThe study of the lexicon of a language, of special semantic fields, changes in the meaning of words and comparisons between the lexicon or parts of it in different dialects can provide valuable complements to other types of sources. This is nothing new, and the study of Saami cultural history is in this respect no exception. A number of papers have thus dealt with different parts of the Saami lexicon, central for the understanding of various aspects of Saami culture. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to a problem of source criticism that faces the student of Saami shamanism and is caused by the changes of meaning which words used in the shamanistic context underwent in the period of religious change, i.e. the 17th, 18th and (to some extent) 19th centuries. These changes of meaning render our possibilities of understanding the shamanistic aspects of the pre-Christian Saami religion more difficult as they make it hazardous to draw conclusions about shamanism from what we know about the use and meaning of these words in the later terminologies of magic. The sources from the 17th and 18th centuries derive almost exclusively from persons whose mission in life was to replace the Saami religious rites and conceptions with new ones. A special problem with the shamanistic terminology in Saami has to do with the negative connotations by which even the earliest sources are marked. For example, the Saami words have been translated with 'conjure', `enchantemein', 'sorcerer', 'sorcery', 'witchcraft', 'wizard' etc., a tendency that has coloured the general view of the noaidi
From cultural domains to cognitive models: inference and explanation in cognitive anthropology
No full textThe author examines the patterns of inference and explanation utilized in cognitive anthropology of religion. The aim is twofold: first, to explicate their complementary roles in anthropological inquiry, and second, to discuss whether religious data, or people's perception of fundamental questions, pose any specific questions that should be taken into account. These examples highlight the kinds of religious models that have been prominent in the author’s own fieldwork, carried out in the Peruvian Amazon and Western Finland. With the help of examples, the author discusses, not only the problem of inference and explanation, but also the nature of religiosity and fundamental questions, and will propose the notion of quasi-religious attitudes in order to deal with diverse phenomena. After this the author brings up some questions inherent in the search for models, namely the multitude of possible models and pertinent doubts about under-determination. Finally, the author sets for the search for religious models: what they are, where they reside, on what features they should be grounded
The Noajdie and his ecstasy: a contribution to the discussion
No full textIt is obvious that the trance state of the noajdie (the Saami shaman) and his supposed abilities to discover hidden and unknown things have fascinated the neighbours of the Saamis ever since the first contacts were established. The view of the Saamis as the wizards (trollkarlar) has been dominant in the history of the Saamis from time immemorial right up to the present day, a history that has been written for example by the Scandinavians. From the Viking sagas, we know that a noajdie had an aura of sorcery, and that the "Finns", meaning the Saamis were in general looked upon as skilled in the arts of magic. In the historical sources, as well as in the archives, there are also documents from the time of the colonization of the Saami area, in which amazement at, and dread of, Saami sorcery is profoundly expressed by the intruders
Does the 'old' media's coverage of religion matter in times of 'digital' religion?
No full textThe study of digital religion and religion in the ‘new’ media, especially in tracing the transformation of communities, ideas, practices and forms of interaction which people tend to classify as religious, has already proved fruitful. What is not well-justified is the assumption that the ‘old’ media does not really matter anymore. This is something to be examined, although the structures and business models of the mainstream media are changing because of the ‘new’, digital media. Furthermore, we need to explore the interactions between ‘old’ and ‘new’ media, what emerges from their convergence, and start theorising about its implications in the context of religion. Some of the things that will be dealt with apply to the media in general. Only some are religion-specific. However, the intention is not to repeat what media scholars have already said about intermediality, media convergence and the relationship between ‘old’ and ‘new’ media. The reflections shared here are rather based on empirical research of religion in the media, especially in the ‘old’ mainstream mass media in Britain and Finland
Methodological integration in the study of religions
No full text"Religions" constitute a field of study and accordingly "the study of religion (or religions)" is a discipline. What is a discipline, that is, in the scientific sense? It is no more, and no less, than a methodically ordered approach to the study of a field. The field "religion(s)", no less than any other fields, requires a methodically ordered approach for its study. The methodically ordered approach, the discipline, takes on particular characteristics as required for the best study of the field. Consequently, the discipline of the study of religion(s) is not necessarily quite the same as the discipline required for the study of other fields, though it may be rather similar to the discipline required for the study of closely related fields. The disciplined study of religion cannot be split down the middle, for example between history and ethnology, just because some people prefer to work with a certain kind of source material or prefer a certain kind of professional badge. It is an unduly easy alibi to say that the study of religion is "interdisciplinary", even if this is helpful in a preliminary way. All too often an emphasis on "interdisciplinarity" seems to suggest an openness to a variety of methods while it in fact allows the challenge of methodological reflection to be avoided. By contrast, as has been seen above, the discipline of the study of religions both requires and can find its own specific methodological integration
The traditional symbolism of the Sun Dance Lodge among the Wind River Shoshoni
No full textOf all the North American Indian religious ceremonies no one is as spectacular and as well-known as the Sun Dance of the Plains Indians. The information collected on the subject since the turn of the century is quite extensive. However, while there is a mass of materials on the outer features of the Dance, on behavioural and ritual aspects, there is very little information on its religious aspects, in particular the meaning of the ritual.The following account is an attempt to view the religious symbolism of the Wind River Shoshoni Sun Dance lodge in a "meaningful" perspective. Attention is paid not only to the ideology of the Dance as such but also and foremost to the concrete elements of the Sun Dance structure which together throw further light on this ideology. A particular place in the analysis will be devoted to a new scholarly interpretation according to which the Shoshoni Sun Dance serves as a revitalization cult
"Everything Created by God Is Pure". The Image of God in Emanuel Vigeland's Programme of Art in His Tomba Emmanuelle in Oslo
No full textQuicquid Deus creavit purum est — Everything created by God is pure. The Norwegian artist Emanuel Vigeland (1875-1948) had these words inscribed above the entrance to his mausoleum, Tomba Emmanuelle, in Oslo. They may be interpreted as a type of creed, exemplified and illustrated by the paintings and sculptures on the theme of Vita (life) which Vigeland had completed in the mausoleum from 1927 up until his death more than 20 years later. In this article, the author attempts to explain the nature of the image of God visualized by Emanuel Vigeland when he carried out the artistic decoration of the burial chamber-to-be. The author describes and interprets the large painting on the far wall as well as the accompanying text. To start with, she offers a brief description of the artist's background, with special attention to his upbringing and childhood environment, which can be seen as crucial in the development of his view of life. This presentation is based on many years' study of original sources concerning Emanuel Vigeland's life and works
Editorial note
No full textEditorial note based on papers presented at the symposium “Encounters between Religions in Old Nordic Times and Cultic Place-Names” in Åbo (Turku), Finland on August 19-21, 1987
III. Divine retaliation
No full textThis part deals with the life history, religious and philosophical interests of botanist Carl Linnæus