The Sacred Body Research Papers (original) (raw)

Generative Anthropology as espoused by Eric Gans and the works of religious historian, Mircea Eliade, cross paths many times in the same abstract territory to do with the origins of humanity & symbolic culture, myth & ritual, and the idea of the sacred. Whether we find contrast and disagreement or agreement and synthesis in their views will largely depend on what we are looking for when we begin. In this brief report, I will make an effort to identify both similarities and differences in their perspectives. To further limit the scope of this investigation, I shall focus mainly on the concept of the sacred, especially as it manifests itself in the lived reality of prehistoric humanity, though the above themes (origin of the human mind, myth & ritual) are related enough to be mentioned as well. With my limited time, the presentation itself will be an abstract of what could become and (hopefully) will become a larger study.

The elaborate Major sakkos of Metropolitan Photios of Russia (1408-31) is one of the finest surviving examples of medieval liturgical vestments. In this paper, the shape, architectonics, and decoration of this canopy-like object is compared to the church and to the holy tent known from Mosaic traditions, thereby raising questions of materiality and conceptual framing of the sacred. By analyzing ritual performance within a Byzantine-rite church and practices of defining sacred space with specific materials, this paper suggests the transferability of the architectonics of textile and masonry canopies into sakkos. When Metropolitan Photios wore this conspicuously superb “garment of glory and beauty,” he reenacted the “living icon of Christ,” Jesus as the High Priest, and His mystical re-birth in the sanctuary. Within this “spatial living icon,” the sakkos framed the ritual and spiritual transformation of the human body as well as the dynamics within the performative spaces of God’s manifestations.

- by jelena bogdanovic
- •
- Christianity, Aesthetics, Visual Studies, Iconography

This paper examines the rhetorical capacity of architecture, and in particular, “the rhetoric of architecture” rather than the usually examined “rhetoric about architecture.” In this work, the rhetoric of architecture is understood as codified visual and architectural conventions as a series of transpositions that frame specific meanings other than and beyond visible and spatial. Here the proposed “rhetoric of architecture” is also more about its capacity as a “mnemonic tool” and about the “craft of composition” rather than about persuading others or about representation based on exact likeness. This concept is particularly significant in the creation of the sacred. By focusing on the architecture of the critical building of the Holy Sepulchre that enclosed the Tomb Shrine in Jerusalem as described by Patriarch Photios in the ninth and Abbot Daniel in the early twelfth centuries, this paper argues for the recognition of the mnemonic links that the Byzantines may have used not only for remembering the Tomb of Christ, but also for their several reconstructions of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem as well as for embedding the meaning of Jerusalem and New Jerusalem in their churches built elsewhere.

- by jelena bogdanovic
- •
- Christianity, Visual Studies, Art History, Rhetoric

This essay focuses on a paradoxical transformation that happened within Soviet ideological discourse at the very end of perestroika, around 1990-91. The Party's attempts to revitalize Soviet ideology by returning to the original word of Lenin unexpectedly produced the opposite result. The unquestionable external Truth from which Soviet ideological discourse drew its legitimacy-and that had always been identical with Lenin's wordsuddenly could no longer be known. This shift launched a rapid unraveling of the Soviet communist project. At the center of this unexpected transformation was the search for the true Lenin-a kind of Lenin that Soviet party theorists, bureaucrats, historians, and scientists hoped was still hidden in the midst of his unpublished texts and unknown facts of his biology, life, and death.

This paper examines the theme of the vision of St. Peter Archbishop of Alexandria (300-311) in order to exemplify the importance and interdependence of both the spiritual and the material aspects of light in the creation of spatial icons in a Byzantine church. The proposed analysis of the Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria emphasizes the role of “body image,” memory, and the dynamic, ontological construct of sacred space on multiple levels. More than 55 various representations of the Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria in churches in the territories of former Byzantine Empire and modern day Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Romania, Russia, and Serbia have been examined for the sake of bringing forward statistically relevant conclusions rather than for the sake of searching for their origins or of explaining the various iconographic types, a variety that confirms individuality rather than exact likeness as a Christian value. It is prominent that the location of these images is usually in the “liminal” spaces (nartheces and pastophoria) of the churches, even if the monumental program as a whole is never exactly the same in any of the churches studied. The location of the Vision within these transitional spaces of nartheces and parekklesia adjacent to the naos (the structural and functional core of the church) or diakonica and protheses that frame the sanctuary (the liturgical and performative core of the church) coincides with the programmatic formulation of the Middle and Late Byzantine church and the time when these images are historically attested. The proper understanding of sacred space in the light of the Vision of St. Peter of Alexandria requires shifting back from the purely representational in order to include the performative idiom. The juxtaposition of the typical design of a Byzantine church with the position of the depicted image of the Vision and its performative (including liturgical) counterparts within the church space suggest multiple ways in which the Vision facilitated a better understanding of the holy. When the creation of sacred space in the Byzantine culture is examined within its relevance for theoretical and methodological studies, it can be shown how in this highly sophisticated creative and philosophical construct, the signifier becomes the signified, strengthening the essence of Christian Orthodoxy that individuals seek to attain the uncreated light not as a sign of Christ but as Christ. This last remark warns against the split between representational and performative, which is characteristic of the positivistic, and especially of the structuralistic and to some extent post-structuralistic theoretical approaches that prevailed in Byzantine studies in the last century.

- by jelena bogdanovic
- •
- Christianity, Cultural Studies, Aesthetics, Visual Studies

That which is most profound in the human being is the skin."

The unabridged version of my poetic hagiography of 9th century girl- goddess -poet Andal as told by Tamil mystic Periyalwar, saint and 'father' of Andal. This fictionalized personal narrative was published in Andal The Autobiography of a Goddess with collaborator Ravi Shankar by the feminist press Zubaan in 2015. Conventional hagiographies are predicated on a given and absolute truth while first person narratives propose fragility of knowledge and intimacy of belief. Thus, history, fiction and faith merge to remain true to the form's intent: to reveal the life of the saint. In this case, both of Andal's transformation into a girl- mystic and Periyalwar, her saint 'father'.

In Simone Weil, Georges Bataille, and Laure (Colette Peignot) we find an indecent inversion of materialised holiness, a notion of the sacred as sick, defaced body that consists in an embodied passion for contradiction – a perduring, crucifictory desire that seeks not resolution, but a participation in the vicissitudes of corporeal existence. However, such framings must not be read as latent body hostility or (sado-)masochist imprint; on the contrary, all three plea for the preciousness of the continually precarious state in which all human bodies exist, permanently exposed to decay, infection and mutilation.

- by Thomas Sojer
- •
- French Literature, Philosophy, Theology, New Testament

The energy of sexuality and erotic sensual attraction is a physical expression of the sacred energy of love, or the urge for union, and the actual experience of union, or intimate communion of our energies at every level of our being. The urge for physical intimacy with another individual can naturally be united to, and enhanced or deepened by, intimate contact or sacred connection at other levels of our indivisible whole being, including our spiritual core, as well as emotional, mental, bioenergetics, kinetic, and other forms of energetic and experiential connection. Sexual and erotic contact becomes shallow and unsatisfying when divorced from deeper intimate communion, caring experiential connection, or loving empathic attunement at the level of heart, mind, and bioenergetics.

- by Barry Hammer
- •
- Sex and Gender, Sexuality, Sexuality and chivalry/courtly love, Masculine Sexuality

The body and the space are the fulcrums of dynamic relationships creating cultures, identities, societies. In the game of interactions between individuals, groups and space religions play a crucial role. During a ritual performance takes place a true genesis of a sacred space, not a simply symbolic featuring, but the birth of the environment for deep experiences involving both groups and whole cities. This work analyzes the theme from a historical point of view, with a focus
on Christianity and particularly on medieval Latin liturgies. Indeed, for Christian theology the body has a primary value: related with the dogma of the Incarnation, the flesh is itself the place of the manifestation of the sacred; the sacraments make the presence of God real in the material; individuals and community are involved in the ritual participation. Christian liturgy makes present, generated and gives with life a new body. Together it generates a space. This space is in
the city, interacts with the entire urban society, inside the eschatological dialectic between earthly and heavenly city. The heart centuries of the Middle Age (between 9th and 12th specifically) has been a great liturgical laboratory, in a period of violent political and social changes. The book introduces some case studies of medieval memorial liturgies, processions and stational celebrations: their codifying highlights the interactions between the rite and the city and the capacity of the Christian community to integrate different religious groups in
the same general ritual context. Resilience and ability to transfer the changes of the society in the liturgy and in a symbolic space are also evident. The cases are referred to Jerusalem and Rome, two cities that, thanks to their liturgical heritage, became emblems for the whole Christianity and models to be imitated everywhere in the Christian oicumene.

- by jelena bogdanovic
- •
- Cultural Studies, Byzantine Studies, The Sacred Body, Slavic Studies

An analysis of historical understanding of how anatomy was used or appropriated in the Qur'an. Classical scholars of the Qur'an understood the anatomical terms in terms of faith, imagery, poetry, and other figurative ways to ensure the... more

- by Qamar-ul Huda
- •
- Religion, Theology, Hermeneutics, Theological Hermeneutics

Din; hayatı düzenleyen, kuşatan ve sembollerin kaynağı olan bir fenomendir. Bunun yanında insanları aynı çatı altında toplayan sınırsız gücün bir tezahürüdür. Bu tezahür kendini kutsal aracılığıyla açığa çıkarır. Dini bir fenomen olarak... more

- by Fatih Eroğlan
- •
- The Sacred Body, Functional, Manifestation, Kutsal

&amp;amp;quot;This work in the sociology of the body deals ethnographically with social change in Colombia as it is expressed in the celebration of Afro-Colombian masses in the city of Bogota. Topics such as the ritual, the social actors of the celebrations, and how ethnic and political discourses are interrelated with religious discourse, are discussed in the text. Another important concern has to do with how rituals and religious celebrations are occasions to establish new social relations in a different, urban environment, and how the performance of Afro dances in the ritual lead to think of the body as a sort of “frontier”, that is, a space in which ruptures and encounters with the other takes place. Thus, around the Afro-Colombian body a number of representations and imaginaries are woven, both at Afro-Colombian masses and at the ensuing youth workshops. RESUMEN El trabajo monográfico se inscribe en el área de la sociología del cuerpo, la cual a su vez es articulada al ejercicio etnográfico para analizar la manera, cómo el cuerpo se convierte en un elemento transformador de las relaciones sociales de los actores que asisten a misas católicas afrocolombianas en la ciudad de Bogotá. La investigación se remonta al surgimiento de dichas celebraciones en la capital colombiana, explora los espacios y tiempos de las celebraciones, discute alrededor de los actores sociales que asisten y organizan estas misas, y examina los discursos étnicos y políticos que se unen y transforman con el discurso religioso. No obstante, el objetivo principal es el de analizar en estas ocasiones sociales, a influencia del cuerpo en la construcción de unas nuevas relaciones sociales, las diferentes conductas que adopta en estos encuentros y su oscilación de acuerdo con los momentos mismos que propone las misa, lo cual conducirá a pensar el cuerpo, como un cuerpo frontera, un espacio en el que se producen encuentros y rupturas con el otro. De este modo, se ponen en evidencia una serie de representaciones e imaginarios alrededor del cuerpo de las personas negras, esto se manifiesta en las relaciones cara a cara que tienen lugar durante la ejecución de las celebraciones y en otras ocasiones sociales tales como las presentaciones culturales y los talleres con jóvenes afrocolombianos.&amp;amp;quot;

- by Luis Carlos Castro Ramírez
- •
- Ethnography, The Sacred Body, Anthropology of Religion

In Other Words The British Journal for Literary Translation

Stefan Nemanja (1113? – 1199), the sainted founder of the Serbian medieval dynasty, was entombed at Hilandar as monk Simeon most likely following the practices established for the members of Byzantine high aristocracy, founders of the monasteries and abbots. By comparing available evidence from Hilandar, Vatopedi, Great Lavra and Zigos monasteries, this paper examines the possibility that the original tomb of St. Simeon might have been either within the separate funerary chapel or within the mesonyktikon of the older katholikon. The so-called “St. Simeon’s cell,” which is physically detached from the present katholikon, may have been also originally connected with the older katholikon. If this hypothesis is sustainable, then the original Hilandar katholikon may have been south of the surviving fourteenth-century katholikon, which was re-built under St. Simeon’s great-grandson, King Milutin (r. 1282 – 1321) possibly between 1311 and 1316. On that occasion, more than hundred years after transfer of St. Simeon’s remains from Hilandar to the Studenica monastery in Serbia, and within a huge building campaign, King Milutin may have honored the memory of his sainted great-grandfather, by preserving the physical location of St. Simeon’s grave at Hilandar, but enclosing it within an altered architectural solution following the pattern of the Nemanjić burials, in the southwestern bay of the church naos. Such a disposition was still foreign to the Athonites but not to the already established tradition in Serbia. The already noticed highly unusual architecture of King Milutin’s katholikon, which lacks subsidiary spaces, in that case would be a result of programmatic mixture of these two traditions. The proposed reconstruction of the initial and altered architectural settings for St. Simeon’s tomb in Hilandar simultaneously revises our understanding of the active role of Hilandar monastery in the transmission of spiritual and architectural ideas from and to Mt. Athos.

- by jelena bogdanovic
- •
- Christianity, Architecture, Mediterranean Studies, Cult of Saints

Abstract:
Vietnam’s official position on cultural policy is “the preservation of national identity should be associated with the fight against backwardness, outdated customs and old practices” (Resolution of Communist Party of Vietnam 16th July, 1998). Consequently, minority ethnic groups in Vietnam’s Central Highlands in general and Jarai people in particular have been labeled as “backward,” “superstitious,” and “wasteful” by the country’s mass media and cultural studies scholars from the majority ethnic group – the Kinh people. While many Jarai people have internalized these prejudices in the economic sphere, through their beliefs and ritual practices related to the sacred, they are challenging the dominant opinions propagated by the state. Adopting an anthropological approach, we examine these beliefs and related ritual behavior as fundamental elements of Jarai ethnic identity in a comparative perspective. The paper argues that the Jarais in the Central Highlands (1) are actively involved in the dynamics of cultural change, and (2) are reflecting on “the sacred” as a cultural pillar to help them identify their status in the context of cultural imposition by the dominant and majority ethnic group. Our research contributes to the understanding of ethnic cultural diversity and cultural dynamics in a multi-ethnic nation like Vietnam.

- by Mi Thieu
- •
- The Sacred Body, Cultural Dynamics

Translating the 9th century girl mystic Andal's songs from Classical Tamil took me almost a decade, from 2006-2015. In this early paper I explore my growing fascination with ancient Tamil Sangam poetics which allows for three levels of interpretation of each verse, of which only the literal is given, the other two levels require to be uncovered and intuited by the translator. My translations of Andal's intense, scared and erotic songs are experimental in approach yet deeply researched. She continues to have me in her thrall. The book was published by the feminist press, Zubaan , with collaborator Ravi Shankar , in 2015 and won the Muse India Translation Prize in 2016.

In medieval China, talismans (fu) and sacred diagrams (tu) were ubiquitous elements in religious texts. Since they were composed of divine illegible esoteric patterns, meaning was not produced by the markings talismans and diagrams bore; it was, rather, displaced onto the objects themselves, whether they were two-dimensionally represented in scriptures and ritual manuals or externalized and materialized onto physical supports. In this respect, the objecthood and palpable materiality of talismans and diagrams made them shorthand tokens for direct access to the supernatural. Drawing on emblematic yet understudied
scriptures of medieval Daoism and esoteric Buddhist, the present study considers talismans and diagrams as paratextual objects, bringing to light the fact that they not only passively frame the reading of a text but in many instances also constitute the primary and determining level of “text” that is read. In this way, sources in which talismans and diagrams featured prominently were approached first and foremost through their material aspects, namely paratexts. What is more, the talismans and diagrams that appeared in texts were often meant to be externalized and materialized, in some cases onto the bodies of adepts or visualized in their mind’s eye, thereby conflating paratextuality, materiality, and corporeality. In a pair of striking examples, practitioners are instructed to embody and become actual ritual objects, blurring the boundaries between text, object, and body in one single divine locus.

- by Dominic Steavu
- •
- Daoism, Chinese Religions, Chinese Buddhism, The Body

This paper looks at the role of art and material culture in the rituals of birth, first taking into con-sideration research on material culture in traditional rituals of birth and then turning to the pri-mary topic, which is how art in the contemporary rituals of birth often holds sacred meaning even when the ritual is of a nonreligious nature. A discussion about the sacred in the context of a non-religious ritual hinges upon an understanding of that which is “sacred”; thus, the paper looks at research on modern theology and the sacred to examine the term in the context of birth as a con-temporary rite of passage. Giving examples of how material culture has been important in several traditional birth rituals from different cultures, the paper then traces a similar occurrence in which participants in contemporary nonreligious rituals of birth also uphold art and material culture as sacred elements of the rituals. The paper provides the reader with description of a rich array of art and material culture used across cultures in different rituals of birth. Taking into consideration the numerous contributions that scholars have made to the emerging field of birth and religion, including the interdisciplinary importance of theories related to birth as a rite of passage, the paper also presents new research on the materiality of the contemporary rituals of birth.

- by Anna Hennessey
- •
- Secular Humanism, Contemporary Art, Embodiment, Study of Religions
- by Chiara Guerzi
- •
- Art History, Contemporary Art, The Sacred Body, Sacred (Religion)

Svi smo samo jedno tijelo": društvenost relikvijara i slika svete zajednice u Boki Kotorskoj Tokom 17. i 18. vijeka, u tada venecijanskom zalivu Kotora, veliki broj relikvija svetitelja dobija svoje novo "tijelo". Relikvijaru glave svetog Tripuna, patrona grada, poklanja se zlatna kalota, prostor kapele u kojoj se čuvaju relikvije dobija novo, mermerno ruho, iz Venecije pristižu srebrni djelovi tijela koji će udomiti pažljivo čuvane kosti mučenika. Čak, do nas danas