bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The traditional symbolism of the Sun Dance Lodge among the Wind River Shoshoni
Authors: Hultkrantz Åke
Published: August 2018

Of 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.
The symbolism of Mesopotamian cult images
Authors: Ringgren Helmer
Published: August 2018

Is. 44: 12-20 contains a satirical description of the way the pagans, i.e., the Babylonians, make their "gods", i.e., their idols. "The ironsmith fashions it and works it over the coals; he shapes it with hammers, and forges it with his strong arm ... The carpenter stretches a line, he marks it out with a pencil; he fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, he plants holm trees and oaks and lets them grow. Some he uses for fuel to warm himself or to bake bread, of others "he makes a god and worships it. With these and similar words the prophet ridicules those who make cult images. This might of course be an independent literary creation—and perhaps it is—but interestingly enough there is a Babylonian text that could well have served as the prophet's model. In a ritual for the akitu festival in Babylon from Seleucid times we read about the third day as follows: "When it is three hours after sunrise, he shall call a metalworker and give him precious stones and gold from the treasury of the god Marduk to make two images for (the ceremonies of) the sixth day. He shall call a woodworker and give him (some) cedar and tamarisk (pieces). He shall call a goldsmith and give him (some) gold." It is obvious that the images in question are not cult images in a real sense, i.e., images to be set up in a temple to receive sacrifices and worship, but images intended to be used in a "magical" ceremony: they represent evil forces that shall be annihilated by means of destroying their images in fire. At the same time, the text shows that it was well known how these images were made, but also that this did not detract from their symbolic, or magical, value.
Symbolism and magical acts
Authors: Bjerke Svein
Published: August 2018

Why do people believe in the efficacy of magical acts? And how can we explain this belief? Various answers have been given to these questions, but in this paper the focus is on the presentation and criticism of one particular analytic framework closely associated with the discipline of social anthropology; a "symbolist" approach because its adherents consider magical and religious actions and beliefs to be systems of messages cast in symbolic codes, about the social (and in some cases also the natural) order. The study of magical acts and ideas provides us with a touch-stone for probing the validity of the symbolist approach in general.
Mystical experience and the emergence of creativity
Authors: Geels Antoon
Published: August 2018

Since the turn of the century, mystic researchers have pointed to the similarities between mystics on the one hand, and artists, poets, mathematicians, musicians, in short, all those who are involved in creative activity. One common denominator, using the terminology of the day, is a state of inspiration, a sort of creative ecstasy, an immediate insight of some form. However, the question of what psychological processes can activate "inspiration" seemed to be unanswerable. The word inspiration says something of the suddenness and unexpectedness of the creative process. This process can be understood as a daily phenomenon, albeit on a lower level of intensity. A crucial question is whether there exists a common model for understanding the similarities which many researchers have hinted at, between religious and profane creativity. This question is intimately linked with another extremely central but little discussed problem within mystic research: with which psychological concepts should one describe the special knowledge and experiences which mystics say they have? Various researchers believe that the experience of the suprahuman cannot occur via "ordinary perceptive processes", via the senses, but only immediately, intuitively. It therefore seems clear that mystic research, if it is to progress, is in need of a model for different (un)conscious perceptual and cognitive processes including insight into how they are activated.
Gnosis and mysticism as illustrated by Eugnostos the Blessed
Authors: Podemann Sørensen Jørgen
Published: August 2018

The Letter of Eugnostos or Eugnostos the Blessed as the text is usually called, has come down to us in two copies, one in NagHammadi Codex III and another less well preserved in Codex V. The text has aroused considerable interest as a possible sample of so-called pre-christian gnosis. Writing under the programmatic name Eugnostos and the more common Makarios, the author addresses his pupils or adepts to teach them about god. He starts by refuting three propositions about the nature of the world which to him represent the basic shortcomings of contemporary philosophy, or perhaps of philosophy as such: (1) the world is governed by itself, (2) by a providence, or (3) is subject to predestination. His refutation is neither philosophical in the proper sense of that word, nor does it deal with the implications of these propositions in detail: That which is from itself leads an empty life, providence is foolish, and that which is subject to destiny or fate is something that does not attain knowledge. According to Eugnostos, real insight is not reached through philosophy; what matters is to be able to refute the propositions of philosophy and by means of another proposition to gain access to and reveal the god of truth. The attainment of this, he says, means to be immortal amidst the mortals.
Ecstasy and vision
Authors: Hultgård Anders
Published: August 2018

In this paper we shall present some observations on the role played by ecstasy in the activity of the seer, as he emerges in ancient Jewish and Iranian texts. In the Jewish religious literature of the Hellenistic-Roman period, visions are described on almost every page, and visions were the most important means of divine revelation. Specific techniques for inducing the ecstatic state are not recorded in the Jewish sources. Some elements in the pattern leading up to the vision may be interpreted as parts of a method for inducing the final ecstasy; i.e. fasting and prayer. The Iranian material shows clearly the importance of ecstasy in the activity of the seer. The ecstatic seeing also means that the visionary shares with Ahura Mazda a divine quality, the "wisdom of omniscience". The granting of the "wisdom of omniscience" appears as a temporary and it conveys to the visionary a supernatural seeing. There is evidence to suggest that chanting was an important method of inducing ecstasy within the early Zoroastrian community.  We do not find in the Jewish material a clear correspondence to the Iranian notion of "omniscient wisdom".
On the continuity of old Saami religion
Authors: Kjellström Rolf
Published: August 2018

The purpose of my paper is to draw attention to the fact that old Saami religion is not entirely extinct. For example, sacrificial traditions, continued to live on long after the arrival of missionaries and other such activities among the Saamis. The question now is whether such sacrificing customs and similar traditions were current even later than what research has suggested and if so, how late in time. I wish to cast some light on this problem by presenting a number of examples taken in part from the literature about the Saamis, in part from personal communications from other scholars and in part from my own interviews observations in the field. What we can note is that certain traditional elements of Saami religion—at least in a few individual cases and in part perhaps in somewhat changed form—have continued to exist right up to quite recent times and, indeed, still live on, above all in the southerly parts of the region inhabited by the Lapps. In cases where the practice of making offerings ceased, the people still continued to show respect and veneration for the religious sites and could even experience something of the force emanating from them. They therefore felt a need to shield themselves from these forces and consequently followed the traditional practices. Early Saami religion and Christianity undoubtedly continued to exist side by side. It is possible that in their traditional livelihoods and even in life in general they resorted to their former well-tried religion, especially when all else failed.
Einige Termini der lappischen Mythologie im sprachgeographischen Licht
Authors: Korhonen Olavi
Published: August 2018

The article contributes to the research on Sami mythology by presenting an analysis of a selected number of concepts frequently used in Sami mythology. In comparing different texts for possible variations in dialect, the author develops a methodology that is influenced by research conducted both within comparative linguistics and within comparative religion.
On time-reckoning in old Saami culture
Authors: Norlander-Unsgaard Siv
Published: August 2018

Time-reckoning in old Saami culture was an orientation towards macrocosmos and microcosmos, conditioned by factors in the ecological environment affecting the course of man's practical activity. In a society or a culture where hunting and fishing and breeding animals were the chief occupations, the concepts were influenced by the circumstances surrounding these activities. The concepts of time and time-reckoning were connected with a special content—winter and summer—caused by the biocosmic rhythm. Fauna and flora gave the indications of the coming season. Among these the bear' s hibernation was a stable and prominent sign, due to his extreme sensitivity towards the biocosmic rhythm. We can call this an ecological measuring of time, well-fitting to the different occupations of a hunter, his settlement and life-style of the main seasons. As the bear was linked to the points of time when light and darkness were shifting, the bear became an important factor in old Saami culture for the orientation on both macrocosmic and microcosmic level.
Shamanistic and postshamanistic terminologies in Saami (Lappish)
Authors: Rydving Håkan
Published: August 2018

The 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.
Die Samen in der UdSSR
Authors: Lukjantschenko Tatjana
Published: August 2018

The article offers a chronological overview of Sami people living in the area of the USSR, focusing on demography and population growth, from the earliest records dating to the ninth century until the 1980-ies.
Contrary to nature : Inuit conception of witchcraft
Authors: Merkur Daniel
Published: August 2018

The present contribution to the phenomenology of witchcraft will depend for its data on the traditional conceptions, rites, and folklore of witchcraft among the Inuit (Eskimo) of Čanada and Greenland. A phenomenological definition of witchcraft may be obtained through recognition of its position within Inuit religion. Like many native North Americans, the Inuit epitomized their religion in the concept of balance. The Polar Inuit understood religion to have the function "to keep a right balance between mankind and the rest of the world". Without exception, the rites of Inuit witchcraft were rites of Inuit religion that were made unnatural, through the alteration of one or more features. Because counterclockwise ritual motions were specific to witchcraft, the expression "contrary to nature" may be understood to epitomize the Inuit's own appreciation of witchcraft. Whether witchcraft depended on deliberate violations of traditional observances, on malicious uses of magic formulae and songs, and/or on ritual motions, witchcraft proceeded "contrary to nature". Thus, witchcraft can be defined as special practices, which together with the beliefs and folklore surrounding them, are believed to be innately disruptive of the balance between mankind and the numina. Because it is contrary to nature, witchcraft is innately anti-social. The disruption of the balance of mankind with the numina is not the private act of the witch against a victim, but a danger for the entire community.
Editorial note
Authors: Ahlbäck Tore
Published: August 2018

Editorial 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.
Der Runen-Stein von Rök und Snorri Sturluson - oder 'Wie aussagekräftig sind unsere Quellen zur Religionsgeschichte der Wikingerzeit?'
Authors: Meulengracht Sørensen Preben
Published: August 2018

The article contributes to the discussion on source criticism within the research field of Old Norse religion. It examines the common assumption that archaeological sources are always to prefer above written sources from the Middle Ages where the Viking Era is described as such accounts are invariably tendentious and biased. Influenced by theories from the field of social anthropology, however, the article argues for the worth of written sources as a complement to the material ones. As an example, the effort to interpret the inscriptions on the runic stone from Rök are introduced. The article suggests that different kinds of source material offer a spectrum of possibilities out of which none alone, but rather all taken together, can deepen the researcher’s knowledge about the object under study.
Der Runenstein von Tanum - ein religionsgeschichtliches Denkmal aus urnordischer Zeit
Authors: Grønvik Ottar
Published: August 2018

The article offers a critical analysis of the inscriptions on three runic stones: the Rök stone from the early Viking Era (800-820), the stone from Stentoften (550-580/699) and the stone from Tanum (200-500). According to the author, all three runic stones seem to have filled a cultic function and can thus shed light on the Old Norse religion.
The position of the individual gods and goddesses in various types of sources - with special reference to the female divinities
Authors: Mundal Else
Published: August 2018

In the written sources the gods are arranged in a patriarchal family structure with Odin on the top.  If we try to rank the gods in order of precedence on the basis of the number of instances in the toponymic material, Odin would be found a good way down the list. Generally, we should expect gods connected with the cult of fertility and the agricultural society to be overrepresented in the toponymic material in comparison with a god of war. If we consider our literary sources and ask which of the goddesses' names are most frequently used as basic words in kenningar for women, we see that many of the more "unknown" goddesses are very well represented in this material. In the toponymic material, it was the leading goddess who was considered to be the leading god's wife, but not necessarily. Both Frigg and Freyja belong to the type of fertility goddess.
Nordic and Celtic: religion in southern Scandinavia during the late bronze age and early iron age
Authors: Görman Marianne
Published: August 2018

By means of modern archeological research it is today possible to gain much information even from non-written material, This paper covers the late bronze age and early iron age, ca. 1000 B.C. —O. It is based on material from Denmark, the Southwest of Sweden, and the Southeast of Norway. This region formed a cultural unity since the sea bound the area together. Our main sources of knowledge of Nordic religion during this time span are votive offerings and rock-carvings. During the bronze age and early iron age the Nordic peasant population had intensive contacts with the Southeastern and Centralparts of Europe. A great quantity of imported objects bear evidence of widespread connections. The inhabitants of the Nordic area not only brought home objects, but also ideas and religious conceptions. This is clearly reflected in the iconography. The cultures with which connections were upheld and from which ideas were introduced were those of Hallstatt and La Tène. They were both Celtic iron age cultures prospering in Central Europe at the same time as the late bronze age and early iron age in the Nordic area. This means that the new symbols in the Nordic area come from a Celtic environment. Consequently, Celtic religion such as it may be found in the pre-Roman period, can clarify the meaning of the conceptions, linked with these symbols.
Einige Personennamen und Götternamen in schwedischen Ortsnamen
Authors: Benson Sven
Published: August 2018

This article aims at shedding light on the religious conditions of Sweden during the first millennium CE, especially the centuries during which Old Norse religious practices were gradually paralleled and replaced by Christian customs, by analyzing names of persons and gods that are included in places names deriving from this era. The statistical investigation shows that the names of the most common Nordic gods – Oden, Tor, Frö and Fröja – are significantly more common as parts of place names than the most common male names of that time: Anders, Karl, Erik, Bengt and Jon.
Aschw. Lytis- in Ortsnamen: ein kultisches Element oder ein profanes?
Authors: Elmevik Lennart
Published: August 2018

This article deals with the Old Swedish name Lytis, which figures in five place names in the eastern parts of Sweden. Previous research has suggested that they are related to the God name Lytir and that the names thus may refer to ancient cultic places. The article supports this idea and suggests that the most probable connection would be to the deity Frö.
An excursion on Linneaeus's drum from Sorsele
Authors: Lundmark Bo
Published: August 2018

When Linnaeus made his journey to Holland in 1735, a Saami drum was included in his baggage. The original owner of the drum was the Saami, Anders Nilsson Pont of Granbyn, who was denounced for the possession and use of drums. In this way Linnaeus received greetings from Lycksele lappmark, where he had never set foot. The most likely explanation is that Linnaeus got the drum from Georg Wallin the younger, who made a visit of inspection in 1715.
Different ways of classifying drums with reference to illustrations and positioning of drum illustrations
Authors: Kjellström Rolf
Published: August 2018

The focus of this paper is on the traditional Saami hunting in relation to the animal and hunting motifs on their drum, more specifially the southern Saami drums. One may wonder if it is possible for anyone to interpret a picture unconditionally. One has a certain ground of one's own to stand on and the question arises of whether this is the correct position, when -as in the present case — we approach another culture. We naturally include the experiences of our own culture in interpretations of another culture. The animal which is the commonest species on the southern Saami drums, is the reindeer. Other animals that occur are elks, wolves, beavers, foxes, snakes, among others. Considering the Saamis' hunting weapons, the most important of these were the bow and arrow, and the spear or spear shaft. Of these weapons it is the bow which is most often portrayed on drums. Also some trapping implement like a gin may appear on a drum, but in general we have little or no information about hunting or trapping methods at all.
The sound picture of the Saami shamanic drum
Authors: Kristoffersson Rolf
Published: August 2018

Research on the Saami shamanic drum has mainly concerned the pictorial world of the drumhead. Therefore, studying the sound picture may give new insights into the Saami Shamanic drum. In my study of the Saami drum I have tried to find the answer to two questions: 1) Is it possible to detect the sound pictogram from some of the drums preserved? 2) Are there marks of usage which might indicate what kind of sounds the users preferred? A comparison of the different drums shows that the signs of usage are surprisingly consistent. The drum sounds reach the receptive organs in the human ear in a range of low but strong tones, with low frequencies but high amplitude. This means that more energy is transferred into the nervous system than with various other types of instrumental sounds.
A Note on the Psychology of Dhikr. The Halveti-Jerrahi Order of Dervishes in Istanbul
Authors: Geels Antoon
Published: August 2018

Ritual prayer (salat), performed five times a day, belongs to the fundamental obligations of all Muslims. In addition to this fact, there is another type of prayer, associated with mystical orders in all Islamic countries. Repetitive prayer (dhikr) in mystical Islam (Sufism) belongs to the most central activities of the orders. Despite the geographic spread of the Sufi orders (turuq), accounts of the dhikr in the literature are rare. Psychological commentaries are even more scarce. The aim of this paper is to describe this ritual as it exists today within the Halveti-Jerrahi order of dervishes in Istanbul, Turkey, and to present a preliminary psychological analysis of the ritual.
Forced Migration and Muslim Rituals: An Area of Cultural Psychology?
Authors: Ahlberg Nora
Published: August 2018

The psychological foundation of rites de passage have long been debated within the history of religion and related areas. The significance of such rites in facilitating emotional readjustment to a new life situation have been particularly stressed. Emotional reactions on the individual level largely remain outside the competence of anthropologists, despite their awareness of the general influence of culture on this as on other areas of human endeavour. Focusing on traumatized female refugees from Iran, a critical question is whether the changing living conditions which have provoked traumatic experiences in the lives of these refugees have been in any way related to Muslim ritual requirements or rites de passage.
Art, Music and Religious Experience in Libation Pouring of Akan Religion
Authors: Ayim-Aboagye Desmond
Published: August 2018

The Akans of Ghana are traditionally accustomed to celebrating different rituals which are enshrined in their cultural life. Libation pouring, which accompanies the celebration of great rituals, amidst the subsidence of the sound of music and dance, can display a special art in religion. The primary objective of this paper is to examine libation as a ritual experience, and in so doing to draw attention to its art forms and relevance as regards the psychological significance for the Akan society which practises it. What beliefs connect the pouring of libation in Akan society? What are the occasions for practising this ritual? Are there some distinctions in the artistic prayer of libation? These questions lead directly to the proposition which states that libation is able to generate some forms of religious experience. It is then argued that libation ritual has psychological consequences beneficial to the group and the individual who privately engages in it.
The Necklace as a Divine Symbol and as a Sign of Dignity in the Old Norse Conception
Authors: Görman Marianne
Published: August 2018

Neck-rings are frequent in finds from the Early Bronze Age, ca. 1000-550 B.C. Far later necklaces are mentioned in the Old Icelandic literature. For instance, thegoddess Freyja was the owner of the Brisingamen necklace, according to Snorri Sturluson in his Edda, written in the 13' century A.D. He also tells that the god Ööinn was in possession of the ring Draupnir, from which eight new rings fell every ninth night. Thus, necklaces appear in three quite distinct eras: the Early Bronze Age, the Migration Period, and the early Middle Ages. Is this interest of our ancestors in neck-ornaments concentrated on these periods, or were they used continuously during this long space of time? What meaning did the neck-ring have for prehistoric man? The finds indicate that the ring was not only used for decoration, but served other purposes as well. It might have been used as a sign of prestige or it might have had a religious significance. A necklace and a ring are the attributes of Freyja and Minn. Is it possible to find a connection between these divine accessories and the neckornaments which appear so abundantly in the finds from earlier periods? Could such a connection contribute to the understanding of the religion of the Viking Age?
Dance as Aggressiveness
Authors: Hamrin Tina
Published: August 2018

The woman who founded Tenho-kötai-jingii-kyö, Kitamura Sayo (1900-1967), publicly announced in July 1945 that the world was coming to an end and that she had been chosen by the absolute deity Tensho Kotai Jingu to be the savior of the world. People began to gather to her banner, a religious organization was formed, and legal incorporation of the group as a religious juridical person took place in January 1947. Teaching that regret, desire, hatred, love and other emotional antipathies were the cause of all misfortune, the founder urged people to free themselves of such restraints by praying earnestly until they attained a state in which the self was completely forgotten. Since the members of the group perform a ritual dance and fall into an ecstatic condition at the group meetings, the movement is called the Dancing Religion.
Can a Buddha Image be Untrue? The Grahi Buddha and the Way to Make Buddha Images in Southeast Asia
Authors: Karlsson Klemens
Published: August 2018

What exactly is a Buddha image? Why does a Buddha image take the particular shape it has, rather than some other form? Is it realistic to assume that someone has consciously composed an image like the Grahi Buddha? Has it, instead, been made by mistake, by mere chance or ignorance? There have been some attempts to explain the Grahi Buddha before. One aim with this paper is to elucidate these interpretations and see how valid they are, and if necessary work out an alternative interpretation of this unusual image. To do this and answer the questions above, we must examine the religious tradition behind Buddha images, both within historical times and in Southeast Asia today. A second aim is to be acquainted with this, not so well-known Buddhist tradition. The first thing we have to do is to ask the statue itself. Unfortunately, the inscription on the image does not mention the unusual shape of the image. It can however give us some information about the context in which the statue was made. A Buddha image is a complex object withholding different aspects, and taken in isolation it can be understood in many different ways, but its religious meaning becomes clear only when it is considered as a part of the religious tradition and the society at large.
The Salpinx in Greek Cult
Authors: Nordquist Gullög
Published: August 2018

The salpinx is not often treated by scholars of ancient Greek music, because it was mainly a military instrument. The instrument was usually not used for musical purposes, only for giving signals. In Greece the salpinx is known from the 8th century onwards. The Greek salpinx was an aerophone, usually made of bronze, and consisted of an 80 to 120 cm long, straight, tube with cylindrical bore, and with a conical or more often bell-shaped final, kodon, which could be made of bone. The bone had to be fired in order to get the right acoustic qualities, according to Aristotle. Salpinx is usually translated as "trumpet", but the type of sound generator it may have had has been discussed.
The Vallipuram Buddha Image "Rediscovered"
Authors: Schalk Peter
Published: August 2018

When, at the end of the 19th century, the Visnu kovil in Vallipuram, in Vatamaracci, in northern Ilam (Lanka) was (re)built, a Buddha statue was unearthed close to this temple, 50 yardsnortheast of it. It remained in the lumber room of this temple until 1902, when it was set up in Old Park at Yalppanam under a bo-tree. In 1906, the Vallipuram Buddha image was presented by Governor Sir Henry Blake to the King of Siam, who was particularly anxious to have it, as it was supposed to be of an archaic type. This event together with the statue, was forgotten for almost 90 years. All Tamilar and Sinhalese born after 1906 have never seen the Vallipuram Buddha image, provided they have not gone to and found it in Thailand. The study of the religious significance per se, in its historical setting, of the statue is important. The Vallipuram Buddha image is a typical creation of Amaravati art, the spread of which documents the spread of Buddhism to Ilam, where it exercised a decisive influence on the first period of the development of Buddhist art in the Anuratapuram school. We get then a geographical triangle of a cultural encounter between Amaravati, Anuratapuram in its first phase, and Vallipuram. This happened at a time when Buddhism was still not identified as Sinhala Buddhism, but just as Buddhism. The study of the Vallipuram statue is thus a way of transcending or at least suspending for some time polarising ethnic identities, not ethnic identities as such.
Cognitive aspects of religious ontologies: how brain processes constrain religious concepts
Authors: Boyer Pascal
Published: August 2018

A cognitive study of religion shares some of its concerns with traditional approaches in cultural anthropology or the history of religion: It aims to explain why and how humans in most cultural groups develop religious ideas and practices, and why these have recurrentand enduring features. By contrast with other approaches, however, a cognitive approach centres on one particular set of factors that influence the emergence and development of religion. The human mind is a complex set of functional capacities that were shaped by natural selection and evolved, not necessarily to build a coherent or true picture of the world and certainly not to answer metaphysical questions, but to solve a series of specific problems to do with survival and reproduction. A crucial aspect of this natural mental make-up is that humans, more than any other species, can acquire vast amounts of information through communication with other members of the species. A cognitive study takes religion as a set of cultural representations, which are acquired by individual minds, stored and communicated to others. In this paper the author presents some general features of the cognitive study of religious concepts, and then presents in detail a framework that emphasizes the role of universal cognitive constraints on the acquisition and representation of religious ontologies, and presents anthropological and cognitive data that supports the model.
Misreading and re-reading: interpretation in comparative religion
Authors: Gothóni René
Published: August 2018

Religion should no longer only be equated with a doctrine or philosophy which, although important, is but one aspect or dimension of the phenomenon religion. Apart from presenting the intellectual or rational aspects of Buddhism, we should aim at a balanced view by also focusing on the mythical or narrative axioms of the Buddhist doctrines, as well as on the practical and ritual, the experiential and emotional, the ethical and legal, the social and institutional, and the material and artistic dimensions of the religious phenomenon known as Buddhism. This will help us to arrive at a balanced, unbiased and holistic conception of the subject matter. We must be careful not to impose the ethnocentric conceptions of our time, or to fall into the trap of reductionism, or to project our own idiosyncratic or personal beliefs onto the subject of our research. For example, according to Marco Polo, the Sinhalese Buddhists were 'idolaters', in other words worshippers of idols. This interpretation of the Sinhalese custom of placing offerings such as flowers, incense and lights before the Buddha image is quite understandable, because it is one of the most conspicuous feature of Sinhalese Buddhism even today. However, in conceiving of Buddhists as 'idolaters', Polo was uncritically using the concept of the then prevailing ethnocentric Christian discourse, by which the worshippers of other religions used idols, images or representations of God or the divine as objects of worship, a false God, as it were. Christians, on the other hand, worshipped the only true God.
On divination: an exercise in comparative method
Authors: Podemann Sørensen Jørgen
Published: August 2018

Some comparative methods aim at establishing universals, others seek human causes that will account for cross-cultural or transhistorical resemblance. The sole aim of the comparative method presented here is to improve our questionnaire. All theories, including those claiming universals, contribute to our professional questionnaire; and that is how, in spite of the theoretical monsters we have to kill every year, our discipline has been making some progress throughout its history. Time may have come, then, to concentrate our comparative endeavours on questions to ask. Divination is the production, observation and interpretation of signs in order to obtain a religious basis for decision and action. This working definition excludes ecstatic prophecy and straightforward clairvoyance and concentrates on what is sometimes called inductive divination. We shall consider a few divination systems from different parts of the world', but before doing so we should make clear what we are after. If we want to arrive at an idea of divination as a religious pattern, we should study the structure and content of each  divination procedure, giving priority to the question of how it makes sense to its users as a true basis for making decisions.
The Muslim mystic who fasted in his cradle – what does a 19th century MS tell of the 13th century saint?
Authors: Hallenberg Helena
Published: August 2018

In this paper, the author discusses the problem of interpreting literary sources, using one specific example, namely that of a Muslim saint of the 13th century, as depicted in a 19th century manuscript. The problem is examined on three different levels: 1) the form, 2) the contents, and 3) the context. We can see that the 19th century Muslim saint does not tell so much of a 13th century saint but of the 19th century ideals — and that this statement is due to a 20th century re-reading of the sources.
Eric Hermelin and mystical hermeneutics: interpretation beyond itself
Authors: Hamrin Tina
Published: August 2018

Eric Hermelin (1860-1944) translated more than 10.000 pages Persian Sufi poetry, German texts by Jakob Böhme and Latin texts by Emmanuel Swedenborg. In the translation process Hermelin shaped his strategies and perceptions in ways which served their patterns of desire, and what they constructed reflected and served their own unique identity. Added up, the devices which constitute strategies of reading set in motion by the selfs defense of its identity are: Defenses, Expectations, Fantasies, and Transformations. Hermelin's mystical hermeneutics produced not only understanding of texts, but often no less produced an increased awareness, with appropriate hermeneutical sensitivity, of self-perception and self-identity. A self-awareness and a strengthening of an individual and corporate identity as one who has a stake in the texts and that to which they bear witness constitutes an important reader-effect in this case of Sufi poetry. But without any principle of suspicion, in Gadamer's terminology a premature fusion of horizons will take place before Hermelin has listened in openness with respect for the tension between the horizons of the text and the horizon of Hermelin. The textual horizon has col-lapsed into that of Hermelin's narrative biography, and is unable to do more than to speak back his own valnes and desires. Something socio-pragmatical was after all woven into the controversial bon vivant, when he used literary works to replicate himself. At the same time, the texts spoke from beyond the self.
Source criticism and cultural models: constructing life histories of women missionaries
Authors: Helander Eila
Published: August 2018

Research work is an interpretive enterprise. The variety of sources poses some central methodological questions for constructing religious life histories. There is an apparent discrepancy between the source categories concerning the content of the information. Private diaries and letters provide information on women's work and life which is not available in official reports and letters. They reveal dates, events and individuals which are not mentioned elsewhere. In histography the question of discrepancy is normally solved by comparing the sources with an aim to arrive at the "true picture" of how things have been. Such a picture is believed to portray not only the true life situation of the individual or group in question but, depending on the nature of the data, also the epoch and time situation itself. From the viewpoint of social sciences and comparative religion one will ask: could the variety of sources be approached and utilized in some other way? The second question posed by the data concerns the content of each source category. The information can be located on the continuum "highly subjective — stereotyped". Subjective information, including reflections on personal experiences may not be the best source e.g. for constructing the flow of historical events, but it is of uttermost importance if we want to show how individuals respond to social constraints and actively assemble social worlds.
How to study of religion in the Muslim world: reflection on a field work experience in the middle of Morocco
Authors: Moundib Abdelrhani
Published: August 2018

The proposition in this paper is that there are some specific fieldwork techniques the researcher, be it a foreigner or a native, has to implement if s/he wants to overcome the difficulties and risks of field research which are associated with the status of religion, the area under investigation, in Islamic societies such as the Moroccan society. This proposition is based on the author’s fieldwork experience which can be summed up in three particular experiences. First experience: studying the role and status of saint shrines in Doukkala, Morocco. Second experience: studying Islamic books and their readers in the middle of Morocco. Third experience: studying popular religiosity of the Moroccans in Doukkala. It is also based on other foreign researchers' fieldwork experiences in Morocco.
Fragments of the past: how to study old Norse religion
Authors: Näsström Britt-Mari
Published: August 2018

The state of the sources of the Old Norse religions presents a great problem. Most of them were written down two hundred or even three hundred years after the Christianization of the North, based on an oral tradition going back to the pre-Christian ages. This situation has led to an intense discussion about the Christian influence or even interpolations in the text or what are genuine proofs of Old Norse religion. The examples represent varying methods of overcoming source problems show that it is necessary to put new questions to the source material such as: What was the purpose of the sacrifice? Who sacrificed and who received it? Which sacrifices took place in calendar rites, in rites of passage or in crisis? And what are the areas of purification or avoidance in the sacrificial situation? A combination of methods encompassing both the comparative and the linguistic aspect provides an opportunity to overcome the difficulties encountered by the students of Old Norse mythology, especially the problems with the sources.
Aesthetic manifestations in religious practice – a basic grammar
Authors: Nyberg Lisa
Published: August 2018

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some aspects on function in relation to aesthetic manifestations in religious practice. The main point of argument is that the relationship between the meaning of the aesthetic object and its subject can successfully be described by using the grammatical terminology of the pronoun. This creates a taxonomy with an open enough structure to allow interpretations from various fields of research to be compared on equal grounds on their merits as interpretations. The following discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of iconographic method of analysis versus function is accompanied by an example from the Christian context chosen on several merits, one being that the subject matter appears to have been clearly established.
Methodological remarks on studying prehistoric Greek religion
Authors: Pakkanen Petra
Published: August 2018

This paper presents a methodological approach to the study of Greek religion of the period which lacks written documents, i.e. prehistory. The assumptions and interpretations of religion of that time have to be based on archaeological material. How do we define religion and cultic activity on the basis of primary archaeological material from this period, and which are the methodological tools for this difficult task? By asking questions on the nature and definition of religion and culture scholars of religion have provided us with some methodological apparatus to approach religion of the past in general, but there are models developed by archaeologists as well. Critical combination of these methodological tools leads to the best possible result. Archaeology studies the material culture of the past. History of religion studies the spiritual culture of the past. In the background the two have important theoretical and even philosophical speculations since they both deal with meanings (of things or practices) and with interpretation.
Understanding anorexia: an hermeneutic approach as a methodological alternative for the field of contemporary anorexia research
Authors: Puuronen Anne
Published: August 2018

Theories of anorexia nervosa have mainly been dominated by psychiatry and concentrate upon its physiological aspects, both in diagnosis and treatment. This has led to a search for organic causes behind anorectic conditions, instead of seeing it as molded and shaped both by the individual and the socio-cultural context. This "medicalisation" has been an impediment to a more complete conceptualisation of the experience of discipline and of the ascetic modes of action in anorexia. The intension is to approach anorexia as lived process. The focus is not in explaining what cause anorexia, but is centered on the contents of living experience as such. Thus, the author proposes a phenomenological approach to anorexia as a methodological alternative compared to the dominant medico-psychological approaches to anorexia of today. If we consider the body of an anorectic person as an intersection in which the subject's relationship to social reality will be materialized and verified, we are able to see first how accurate a picture of the dual meanings, double bindings and paradoxical commitments of our present culture and its relation to a woman's body anorexia will draw up. Also, because the fact is that anorexia is a predominantly "women's" illness we have to take in account that the construction of subjectivity and in this context the construction of a lived anorectic experience of discipline, is not a gender-neutral process.
Rooms of their own: old rituals in new settings: women between Sufism and Islamic activism in contemporary Istanbul
Authors: Raudvere Catharina
Published: August 2018

This paper deals with how rituals, deeply rooted in local tradition, can be used to legitimize new forms of activism in complex modern societies. The empirical material comes from fieldwork in Istanbul, where the author has studied a small Muslim women's group. The women have organized their activities in the form of a religious foundation, offering regular prayer meetings and basic religious education to other women in the vicinity. The women's use of the term vakif  comprises both the formal organisation and the meeting place as such. The weekly performance of the repetitive and intense zikir-prayer constitutes the core of activities and the teachings of the leading women and their theology is clearly based on sufi, tasavvuf, thought. They identify themselves as the keepers of sufi traditions, but without any formal connection to any established order, tarikat. Many of the formal aspects of their religious life follow established patterns, but the social and cultural setting in the mega-city of Istanbul is a novelty. From the conditions of modern urban life follows a wider complexity in individual intention and interpretation of the rituals.
Focusing on fieldwork: Edvard Westermarck and Hilma Granqvist – before and after Bronislaw Malinowski
Authors: Suolinna Kirsti
Published: August 2018

The purpose of this essay is to look at the results of two Finnish fieldworkers, with the history of the social anthropological research as background. By Finnish norms Edward Westermarck's academic career was impressive, but his pupil Hilma Granqvist was obliged to work mostly outside the academic world. Both of them did their fieldwork in countries, where the Islamic religion had a strong influence. Westermarck worked in Morocco, and Granqvist in Palestine. All in all both Westermarck and Granqvist made a strong contribution to research with the methods that were available to them. Prior to Malinowski doing his fieldwork Westermarck emphasized the importance of learning the local languages and of getting thoroughly acquainted with the environment, in which one did research. Granqvist independently took the initiative to report results of observations, and to give statistical information about the society, where she did her research. Both published a lot and our evaluation should not be blinded by differences in style or ways to record the results.