cahya/wikipedia-simple-en huggingface dataset:
James MacMillan

James MacMillan (born July 16, 1959) is a composer and conductor.

MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland.  He studied music at the universities of Edinburgh and Durham.  He writes a lot of music for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. They play music at schools so that children can listen and join in with his music.

Important music

The Confession of Isobel Gowdie (1990)  about a woman who lived in the 1600s. Many people believed in witches then.  In 1662 Isobel Gowdie was accused and tried for witchcraft. It was an unusual trial. She confessed without torture, There is no record of an execution. She walked away after confessing.

Veni, veni, Emmanuel (1992) is like a percussion concerto.  It is a piece for one percussion player who plays lots of percussion instruments, and an orchestra.  The main tune is the medieval hymn tune Veni, veni, Emmanuel (also sung as O come, O come Emmanuel).  Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie played it at a BBC Prom in 1992.

Quickening is music for a counter-tenor, two tenors, and baritone soloists; children’s choir, mixed choir, and large orchestra.  It is about birth and new life.  The children’s choir sing the words of the unborn baby.  They stand on a balcony or somewhere far away from the other choir and the orchestra.  Some of the words are “Glossalalia” (nonsense words).  It was performed at a BBC Prom in 1999.

Other websites 
James MacMillan at Boosey & Hawkes

MacMillan, James
MacMillan, James
1959 births
Living people
Scottish musicians
Federated States of Micronesia

Micronesia, officially the Federated States of Micronesia, is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, northeast of Papua New Guinea. The country is a sovereign state in free association with the United States. The capital city of Federated States of Micronesia is Palikir.

The Federated States of Micronesia were formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a United Nations Trust Territory under US administration. In 1979, they adopted a constitution, and in 1986 independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, and overdependence on U.S. aid.

The Federated States of Micronesia is hundreds of small islands divided in seven territories in Micronesia. The term Micronesia may mean the Federated States or to the region as a whole. This area is in Oceania.

History 
The first people here lived about 3000 years ago. Spain colonized the islands in 1886, but sold them to Germany 3 years later.

Related pages
Federated States of Micronesia national football team
List of rivers of the Federated States of Micronesia
Micronesia at the Olympics

References

Other websites 

 Newspapers
Pär Lagerkvist

Pär Lagerkvist (1891 May 23 – 1974 July 11) was a man from Sweden who wrote many books. In 1940, he was elected as a member of Swedish Academy. And in 1951, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

1891 births
1974 deaths
Swedish writers
Ahimsa

Ahimsa (also ahiṃsā, ahinsa, Sanskrit:अहिम्स) is a Sanskrit word which means "non-violence” or "non-injury". The practice of ahimsa is an important aspect of religions like Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. A person who practices ahimsa generally eats vegetarian foods. A religious person who practices ahimsa does not take part in animal sacrifice.

In twentieth century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther King each followed a path of Ahimsa, though in different ways. They struggled without fighting, while asking for the rights of their followers.

Buddhism
The concept of ahiṃsā forms the base of Buddhism. In Buddhism, the first of the five basic vows (precepts) that are undertaken voluntarily by those who practice, is "I undertake the training rule to abstain from killing". In Buddhism, killing any living being out of passion is considered 'hiṃsā' (injury) and abstaining from such act is 'ahiṃsā' (non-injury or nonviolence).

References

Citations
 

Hinduism
Jainism
Buddhism
Kabir

Kabir also known as Kabir Das' was born and brought up in a Muslim weavers family by Niru and Nima. He was a mystic poet and a musician and was one of the important saints of Hinduism and also considered a Sufi by Muslims. He is respected by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.  He was a disciple of Saint swami Ramananda. He was never formally educated and was almost completely illiterate. According to legend, the only word that he ever learned how to write was "Rama".

Poetry
It is because of poetry that Kabir is held in high esteem all over the world. Another beauty of Kabir's poetry is that he picks up situations that surround our daily lives. Thus, even today, his poetry is relevant and helpful in both social and spiritual context. Following him means understanding one's inner self, realizing oneself, accepting oneself as is, and becoming harmonious with one's surroundings .
Kabir das has written much poetry and song. All of his recorded verses are in Hindi. His lyrics are characterised by a free use of the vernacular, and is unfettered by the grammatical bonds of his day. It is this quality which has made his philosophy accessible to generations of Indians.He always help others

Dohe
Saint Kabir's Dohe is full of meaning and teachings. He believed God is one and people just worship him with different names and nicknames Kabir has written the famous Dohe in Hindi. Kabir's poems were in vernacular Hindi, borrowing from various dialects including Awadhi, Brij, and Bhojpuri.

References 

Hindu saints
1440 births
1518 deaths
Asian Sufis
Mystics

2. List of more indian poems
Jagannath

Jagannath is a form of the God Shri Krishna. The biggest temple of Jagannath is in Puri, Orissa state, India. He is worshipped in Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, and some parts of eastern India.

Hinduism
Patanjali

Patañjali (fl. 150 BC or 2nd century BC) lived in the 2nd century. He was an Indian. He wrote the first grammar of Sanskrit language. He also wrote books about yoga.
He is also the author of the Mahabhyasa, a commentary on Katyayana's varttikas on Panini's Astadhyayi as well as an unspecified work of medicine (Ayurveda).

References

Yoga
Hinduism
Indian people
Ravana

According to hindu epic, Ravana (IAST : Rāvaṇa; / ˈrɑːvənə) was a demon king of the island of Lanka.

In the Ramayana, Ravana is described as a symbol of evil, though a learned scholar well versed in the Vedas. He appears as the primary antagonist, and is said to be the most revered devotee of Shiva, with his image being associated with him at some places. He also appears in several Buddhist and Jain texts.

Pedigree 
 Grandfather(maternal) - King Sumaali
 Mother - Princess Kaykasee
 Grandfather(paternal) - Saint of Pulasthi
 Father - Saint of Waishrawa
 Wife - Princess Mandhodharee
 Son - Meganaadha (Indrajith)
 Brothers - Kuweara, Kumbhakarna, Vibheeshana
 Sister - Suparnakaa
 Father in law - Saint of Kaalaneam

Kindom 
Capitol - Lankapura

Alakamandhaawa, Thapo wanaya, Gokannaka

Written Books 
 Arka prakaasha
 Kumaara thanthraya
 Rasarathnaakaraya
 Watikaa Prakaranaya

References 
 http://www.hindustantimes.com/Ravana-is-a-hero-for-Sinhala-nationalists/Article1-249335.aspx 
 https://wiralfeed.wordpress.com/2015/11/08/facts-about-ravana/

Notes

Hindu mythology
History of Sri Lanka
Ayurveda

Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system from the Indian subcontinent. Ayurveda is [scientific]. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) says the practice of modern medicine by Ayurveda is quackery. Ayurvedic texts say that the gods of Hindu mythology gave medical knowledge to legendary Hindu philosophers, who then gave the knowledge to human physicians. The word "ayurveda" is from the , , and means knowledge of life and longevity. 

Ayurveda therapies have varied and evolved over more than two millennia.Therapies include herbal medicines, special diets, meditation, yoga, massage, laxatives, enemas, and medical oils. Medicines are typically based on complex herbal compounds, minerals, and metal substances (perhaps under the influence of early Indian alchemy or rasa shastra). Ancient Ayurveda texts also taught surgical techniques, including rhinoplasty, kidney stone extractions, sutures, and the extraction of foreign objects.

In Ayurveda, the story is that Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of Ayurveda, made himself into a human king by incarnation. He was king of Varanasi, and taught Ayurvedic medicine to a group of physicians. One of these physicians, named Sushruta, wrote the Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta's Compendium), an Ayurvedic text that has this story in it. 

Most Ayurvedic therapies are made from chemical compounds taken from plants, from minerals, and from metals. In ancient India, Ayurvedic texts gave explanations for surgeries and for the stitching of wounds to help wound healing. The ancient Indians knew how to take out kidney stones and how to do rhinoplasty (plastic surgery for the nose). People have used many different Ayurvedic therapies through the history of India. Ayurveda has changed for more than two thousand years. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ayurveda also changed for consumption in the Western world.

Some people say Ayurveda comes from Prehistory. Some ideas in Ayurveda may have been in existence at the time of the Indus Valley civilization, during the Bronze Age in India. During the Vedic period, Ayurveda went through many developments. Outside the tradition of the Vedas, Buddhism and Jainism also shared some ideas with the Ayurvedic texts from ancient India. By around two thousand years ago, Ayurveda had developed some of its ideas for surgery and drugs.

There is no good evidence that works or helps for any disease. Some Ayurvedic products have lead, mercury, and arsenic in them. In 2008, nearly 21% of Ayurvedic products sold on the internet and made in India and the United States had in them lead, mercury, and arsenic (heavy metals) in quantities that are toxic. There may be public health dangers that result from this, but that is not known.

References

Cited references 

 
  (Republished by National Informatics Centre, Government of India.)
 
 
 
 
 

 

Indian culture
Pseudoscience
Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb

Halima Sadia () was an Arabic Beduin woman. She was a foster mother and took care of the prophet Muhammad for the first six years of his life. Halimah and her husband were from the tribe of Sa'd b. Bakr (a large North Arabian tribe).

Relationship with Muhammad 
Foster mothers came to Mecca to feed children. It was the custom at that time in Makkah that families send their children to live for a while with a nurse who lived in the desert. This was healthier for their bodies to be around a natural environment instead of living in the city. They preferred that the fathers of the children they took care of were still alive. Although Muhammad's father was dead, Halimah took him just eight days after he was born. He grew up in Hudaybiyah, then in Medina before he was returned to his mother, Aminah bint Wahb.

Years after Muhammad's mother died and he became married to Khadijah, Halimah came to him complaining of her poverty. He asked Khadijah to give her 40 sheep. After Muhammad got his first revelation, Halimah and her husband came to Muhammad and embraced Islam. When she came to Muhammad on the day of Hunayn, he took off his robe and put it on the ground for her to sit.

So when the group of foster mothers arrived at the Makkah city and they picked up most of the children, the last nurse arrived with her husband (Al-Harith) riding a donkey and old camel. She found only one orphan boy who had no father to pay her. She was ready to go back but she did not want to return without a baby. She decided to go back and pick up the orphan.

As soon as she lifted that boy, her life changed and became filled with immense good fortune and blessings. The old camel, which had not given a drop of milk, was soon over flowing with milk. Although she was the last women leaving makkah on her donkey, she passed her friends. This was indeed a great blessing for her and for this poor Bedouin family.

After two years, Muhammad was returned to his mother Amina. She told Amina about the great blessings that she had received when Muhammad was in her care, but soon, Amina was persuaded by Halima and her husband (Al-Harith) to return the child back with them for another two years to protect him from a spreading disease in Makkah.

References 

Muslims
6th-century births
Year of death unknown
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid () (555 - 619) was the first wife of the Muhammad, an Islamic prophet. Her nickname was Khadijah al-Kubra. She was the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad and Fatimah bint Za'idah. Khadijah is widely known as the first person to convert to Islam. Khadijah is known as Umm-al-mu'minin which means "the Mother of the Believers"

Children 
Khadijah had six children with Muhammad.
 Qasim ibn Muhammad, died in 605 CE, before his second birthday
 Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad,  died in childhood in 615 CE
 Zainab bint Muhammad, married to her maternal cousin Abu al-Aas ibn al-Rabee
 Ruqayyah bint Muhammad, married to Uthman ibn Affan
 Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad, also married to Uthman ibn Affan after Ruqayyah's death
 Fatimah, married to 'Ali bin Abi Talib

555 births
619 deaths
Muslims
Family of Muhammad
Saraswati

Saraswati is one of the Hindu goddesses. The Vedas also mention her name. She is the goddess of speech, learning and knowledge. The legend states that she created the Sanskrit language and invented the vina, a musical instrument similar to a lute. The legend also says that she is the wife of Brahma, one of the gods of the Hindus.

Birth 

Mata Saraswati was born from the Samudra Manthan that arranged between the Devatas and the Asuras. She was born from the sea and was married to Lord Brahma thereafter. In another legend, Brahma created her by his imagination. However, she turned out to be so beautiful that he could not takes his eyes off her. Since he had five heads - four in the four cardinal directions - and one on top, his head kept turning in whichever direction Saraswati went.

Saraswati is mentioned in the Vedas, the Brahmans, the Aranyaks, the Upanishads and the Mahabharat. She is dressed in white, carries a book and a lotus. Her favorite instrument is a lute and she rides a swan. Generally, an image or a statue of Saraswati shows her with four arms. Two arms hold the vina. In other arms she holds a book and a lotus flower.

Other websites

Hindu gods and goddesses
Holi

Holi is one of the major festivals of Hindus. It is celebrated in South Asian countries, especially in India and Nepal. Hiranyanaksap wanted to kill his son, so he called his sister, Holika. She had a magic robe. This robe had the power to save the wearer from burning in fire. Hiranyakashyap ordered his sister to sit on a burning fire along with Prahlad. He thought that his sister would not be harmed by the fire of the magic robe and Prahlad would be burnt to death. But the result was the opposite of what the evil demon king planned.

Thus Prahlad came out of the burning fire safely and Holika was burnt to death. Holi is the festival of colours. It is celebrated with colors to mark the victory of virtue and goodness over evil.

The festival is celebrated for two days. The 2nd day, Rang Panchami marks the closing day of the Holi festival.

People are seen with different varieties of colors on Holi. They put colors on each other, sing, dance. They worship Lord Krishna and put colors on his idol.

Families gather together and Parvi the whole day.

References

Other websites
 
 How to practice safe Holi, Government of India
 Holi in pictures from The Guardian

Hindu festivals
Indian culture
Maharashtra
Religious holidays
Sikhism
Suriname
Reggae

Reggae is a music genre that began in Jamaica in the late 1960s. Most music from Jamaica comes from the reggae style.

The music has regular chops on the back beat (off-beat).  These are called “skank”, and are played by a rhythm guitarist.  The bass drum hits on the second and fourth beat of each measure (each bar). These are called the “drop”. Reggae bands also use a bass, a keyboard or organ, and horns.

Reggae music is often used by Rastafarian groups. They are usually songs about religion, love and social problems. Bob Marley (1945-1981) was a famous reggae artist.

Famous instruments in reggae music are drums, guitar, saxophone, trumpet and trombone.

Reggae was started in 1960 but became famous in the 1970s.

Reggae songs often have lots of backing singers.

Rapper Snoop Dogg released an album of reggae music in 2013.

Some recent songs, like Cheerleader and Rude are reggae.

Reggae is related to ska and dancehall.

References

 
Pop music
Refugee camp

When there is a war or some other armed conflict in a country, many people will try to flee (run away) from that country. They will go to other countries, around the country where there is no war. Because they fled, they are called refugees.

If there are just a few refugees coming into a country it is generally no problem to get housing for them somewhere. However, if there are many (or if the government of a country expects many) refugees, it may build what is called a refugee camp. This is usually done by putting many tents, and a few toilets and showers on an unused plot (stretch) of land. This is usually land where no one wants to live.

Usually the governments hope that conflicts get resolved soon, and that those camps are only temporary.

This has not been the case for the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, for example. Those camps have existed since the mid 1970s.

Related pages
 Tent city
 Burj el-Barajneh refugee camp in the Lebanon 
 Transitional shelter
 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

Other websites

Camp Management Toolkit  published by Norwegian Refugee Council
Shelter Library  Resource for organisations responding to the transitional settlement and shelter needs of displaced populations
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants' Campaign to End Refugee Warehousing  in refugee camps around the world, people are confined to their settlement and denied their basic rights.

Forced migration
War
Rubber

Rubber is a material, which can stretch and shrink. It is a polymer. It can be produced from natural sources (e.g. natural rubber) or can be synthesised on an industrial scale. Many things are made from rubber, like gloves, tires, plugs, and masks. A few things can be made only from rubber. Sometimes the word means only natural rubber (latex rubber). Natural rubber is made from the white sap of some trees such as the Hevea brasiliensis (Euphorbiaceae). Other elastomers, called synthetic rubbers, are made by chemical processe..

Properties 
 Rubber can stretch and shrink.
 Rubber can contain gases.
 Rubber can fetch off lightning And/or electricity.

Producers 
Hevea brasiliensis is the tree that most rubber comes from. Other plants that have the special sap (called latex) are figs (Ficus elastica), Castilla (Panama rubber tree), euphorbias, lettuce, the common dandelion, Taraxacum kok-saghyz (Russian dandelion), Scorzonera tau-saghyz, and Guayule.

In the 1800s, most sap to make rubber came from South America. In 1876, Henry Wickham got seeds from rubber trees in Brazil, and took them to Kew Gardens, England, and sent them to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Indonesia, Singapore and British Malaya. Later, Malaya (now Malaysia) made the most rubber. People tried to grow rubber in India, in year 1873 at the Botanical Gardens, Kolkata. The first Hevea farms in India were made at Thattekadu in Kerala in 1902. The Congo Free State in Africa also grew a lot trees for rubber at the start of the 20th century, and most of the people who worked on those farms were forced labor. Liberia and Nigeria also started growing trees to make rubber.

Industrial development 
Charles Marie de La Condamine presented samples of rubber to the Académie Royale des Sciences of France in 1736. In 1751, François Fresneau read a paper to the Académie (eventually published in 1755), which described many of the properties of rubber. This has been referred to as the first scientific paper on rubber.

In 1770, British chemist Joseph Priestley noticed that rubber was very good for removing pencil marks on paper. Natural rubber melts in heat and freeze in the cold.

In 1844, Charles Goodyear found a way to improve natural rubber, in a chemical process known as vulcanization, which made it useful in many more products including, decades later, tires.

Synthetic material 
In the 20th century, synthetic (artificial) rubbers such as Neoprene began to be used. They were much used when World War II cut off supplies of natural rubber. They have continued to grow because natural rubber is becoming scarce and also because for some uses they are better than natural rubber.

Uses of rubber 
Rubber moulded products are widely used industrially (and in some household applications) in the form of rubber goods and appliances. Rubber is used in garden hoses and pipes for small scale gardening applications. Most of the tyres and tubes used in automobiles are made up of rubber. Therefore, rubber plays a very important role in the automobile industry and the transportation industry. Rubber products are also employed in matting and flooring applications.

References 

Natural materials
Polymers
2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq (March 20, 2003 - May 1, 2003) was the war fought by the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Poland and some other countries against Iraq, to end the rule of Saddam Hussein. The main reason that the war started was said to be because the British and American Governments believed that Iraq had dangerous weapons of mass destruction (such as chemical or nuclear weapons) that could be used against other countries. This turned out after the invasion to not be true.

Another reason for the start of the war was that many people thought that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, one of the leaders of al-Qaeda, was hiding in Iraq after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Though Saddam Hussein was not involved in the planning of the September 11 attacks, many people accused him of giving al-Qaeda a safe place to hide from the United States. The war was extremely controversial. Many British and American people blamed British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the American President, George W. Bush.

Paratroopers landed in the far north of Iraq and a few soldiers attacked from the sea, but most invaded from Kuwait in the south. 4,734 NATO soldiers were killed in Iraq war including 4,600 U.S. servicemen, 179 UK servicemen and 139 Other NATO soldiers with a total of 4900 casualties. 31,882 U.S. servicemen and over 3,600 UK servicemen were wounded in Iraq. More than 100,000 Iraqi civilians who were not soldiers were also killed.

Aftermath

On December 30 2008, US soldier Christopher Lotter was killed in Tikrit as retaliation for Saddam's execution on December 30 2006 .
On April 18 2010, ISIS leaders Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi were killed in a raid  of Tikrit in a safe house.

The United Nations Secretary-General said that, "[F]rom our point of view and from the Charter point of view [the war] was illegal."

References

Other websites 
Encyclopedia Britannica's Article on 2003 War
Architects of Illegal American-Iraq 2003 war: George Bush jr, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld found guilty of war crimes!
 War Report. More than 5,000 articles, documents and analyses of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, updated four times a week—Project on Defense Alternatives.
 CIA’s final report 
 Occupation of Iraq Timeline at the History Commons
 Morgues so full, bodies turned away 
 The War In Context News aggregator
 ProCon's examination of Iraq Invasion 
 by Professor Dr. Sedat Laciner, "Ten Impasses of the Resistance in Iraq" 
 Amnesty International Report on Iraq 

2003 in Asia
Iraq War
21st century in Iraq

fi:Liittouman hyökkäys Irakiin vuonna 2003
Helmet

A helmet is a hard or cushioned hat which is worn to protect a person's head. There are many different types of helmets. Some helmets are made from metal. Other helmets are made from plastic. Helmets often have fabric cushions inside and fabric straps to hold the helmet on a person's head.

Soldiers wear steel helmets to protect their heads from explosions and flying bits of metal.  Construction workers wear plastic helmets to protect their heads from falling objects.  Welders wear special helmets with a dark window that lets less light through.  This protects their eyes from the bright light of welding.  People who ride bicycles or horses wear plastic helmets with foam, to protect their heads in case they have an accident.  Motorcycle riders wear similar but stronger helmets.  People who rock climb wear helmets in case they fall.  Cavers wear helmets to protect their heads from bumping into rocks in a cave.  Helmets are also worn for protection by participants of numerous sports including horse racing, baseball, ice hockey, and cricket.

Images

Protective clothing
Headgear
Coonskin cap

A coonskin cap is a hat made from the fur of a raccoon. Usually, the tail of the racoon is attached to the back of the hat. The coonskin cap is a symbol of the early United States frontier. Coonskin caps were first worn by the Native Americans who lived around Tennessee and Kentucky. The American settlers who moved to this area liked the caps and wore them themselves.  Some famous American pioneers who wore coonskin caps are Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone.

Other websites 

http://www.coonskincap.com/

Headgear
1720



Events 
 The Town on Queen Anne's Creek, North Carolina is renamed Edenton in honor of North Carolina Governor Charles Eden.  It is later incorporated in 1722.
 The Tuscarora fled North Carolina as a result of European colonisation
 Edmond Halley appointed Astronomer Royal
 The Academia Real da Historia is founded in Lisbon, Portugal
 Jonathan Swift begins Gulliver's Travels
 Emperor Kangxi announced that all western businessmen could only trade in Guangzhou.
Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic about Rama and Sita. It is one of the two most important ancient epics of India, the first one being the ancient Mahabharata. The epic was originally written by sage (rishi) Valmiki of Ancient India. The book has about 24,000 verses and is divided into seven parts.

The story of the Ramayana is about Prince Rama who has been exiled from his kingdom of Ayodhya. He goes on to kill king Ravana of Lanka in a long battle to get back his wife Sita.

Seven different versions of the book are available. It has been translated into all the major languages of the world. 

The different parts of the Ramayana are also called books. These seven parts or books are noted below:

 The first book is Balakand, meaning the book of childhood.
 The second book is Ayodhyakanda, meaning the book of Ayodhya.
 The third book is Aranyakanda, meaning the book of the forests.
 The fourth book is Kishkindhakanda, meaning the book of Kishkindha.
 The fifth book is Sundarakanda, meaning the book beautiful.
 The sixth book is Yuddhakanda, meaning the book of the war.
 The seventh book is Uttarakanda, meaning the book of after events.

There are different views about the time the Ramayana was written. Some people believe that it was written 2,500 years ago. Others think that it was written around 1,800 years ago. All agree that the book is very old and was written before the Mahabharata.

The Ramayana is still very popular today. Every autumn the Ramlila (Rama play) is performed at the festival of Dassehra. A huge model of Ravana is set alight. This symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness. It is also believed that he turned in to Krishna and also many more things are believed.

A Tamil version of the book was written between the 9th and 10th centuries. The writer of this book was Kamban. This version is known as Iramavataram, which means the coming of Rama. In the 16th century, Tulasidas wrote a Hindi version of Ramayana. This was named Ramacharitmanasa. Over many centuries, the story of Rama reached places in other countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. The Ramayana has been translated into most of the major languages of the world.

The Ramayana was used in Ancient India for the teaching of young children. It was mainly used for acting out their religious beliefs so that their children knew that they were to worship the main Hindu beliefs that were: Brahman, Multiple Gods, Dharma, Samsara, and Karma.  

Hindu texts
Hajj

The Hajj ("pilgrimage") is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the most holy city of the Muslims, and a Fard or mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, and Sawm. The Hajj is the largest annual gathering of people in the world. The state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called istita'ah, and a Muslim who fulfills this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah). The word Hajj means "to intend a journey", which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions.

The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th (or in some cases 13th) of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year. Ihram is the name given to the special spiritual state in which pilgrims wear two white sheets of seamless cloth and abstain from certain actions.

The Hajj is associated with the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time of Abraham. During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Ka'aba (the cube-shaped building and the direction of prayer for the Muslims), runs back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, drinks from the Zamzam Well, goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, spends a night in the plain of Muzdalifa, and performs symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing stones at three pillars. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three-day global festival of Eid al-Adha.

Pilgrims can also go to Mecca to perform the rituals at other times of the year. This is sometimes called the "lesser pilgrimage", or Umrah. However, even if they choose to perform the Umrah, they are still obligated to perform the Hajj at some other point in their lifetime if they have the means to do so, because Umrah is not a substitute for Hajj.

As an industry
Saudi Arabia's economy greatly benefits from Hajj tourism and has invested in hotel businesses as well as infrastructure to accommodate and profit from Hajj and Ummrah tourism.

References

Islam
Mecca
Religion in Saudi Arabia
Worship
Zakat

Zakat () is one of the five most important aspects of Islam. Zakat means giving charity to the poor. Generally, a Muslim is expected to give zakat as long as they are able. Through Zakat wealth reaches to the poor class of the society. It is considered to be a personal responsibility for Muslims to help those in need and eliminate inequality. It is often 2.5% of what the Muslim has.

References

Related pages 
 Altruism
 Five Pillars of Islam

Islam
Giving
Salat

Ṣalāt (, ) is the practice of prayer in Islam. It is one of the five most important duties for Muslims. To perform Salat, a person's mind must be in a state of ritual purity, which comes from ritual ablution, wuḍūʾ.

Sunni
For Sunni Muslims, salat must be performed at five periods each day. These periods are measured according to the movement of the Sun. The call to prayer is essential before every obligatory prayers. Muhammad said: "The one who responds to Azan out of faith and seeking Allah's pleasure will be admitted to paradise."

In the ritual prayers each individual Muslim is in direct contact with Allah. There is no need of a priest as an intermediary. (While there is a prayer leader in the mosque - the imam - they are not a priest, simply a person who knows a great deal about Islam.) Muslims can pray anywhere, but it is especially good to pray with others in a mosque. Praying together in a congregation helps Muslims to realise that all humanity is one, and all are equal in the sight of Allah. The prayer ritual, which is over 1400 years old, is repeated five times a day by hundreds of millions of people all round the world.

Quranist 
Quranist prayer is set three times a day. This is similar to the combined prayer into 3 by Shias. In Islamic countries, the public call to prayer from the mosques sets the rhythm of the day for the entire population, including non-Muslims. Carrying it out is not only highly spiritual, but connects each Muslim to all others around the world, and to all those who have uttered the same words and made the same movements at different times in Islamic history.

Prayer for a Quranists involves uniting mind, soul, and body in worship; so a Muslim carrying out these prayers will perform a whole series of set movements that go with the words of the prayer. Quranists make sure that they are in the right frame of mind before they pray; they put aside all everyday cares and thoughts so that they can concentrate exclusively on God. If a Quranist prays without the right attitude of mind, it as if they had not bothered to pray at all.

Shia 
There are different subsets of Shia Islam. Some of them pray 3 times combined, others 5 times. Allah does not need human prayers because he has no needs at all. Muslims pray because God has told them that they are to do this, and because they believe that they obtain great benefit in doing so.

Ritual washing 
Muslims must be clean before they pray. They make sure of this by performing ritual washing, called wudhu. Mosques have washing facilities.

References

 
Worship
Fasting in Islam

Fasting in Islam or Sawm () is the practice of abstaining, usually from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity. Fourth of the Five Pillars of Islam, Sawm is observed between dawn and nightfall during the holy month of Ramadan.

Islam
Some exceptions or accommodations for Sawm are made in the case of pregnancy, illness, travel, and for young children.
Cowpox

Cowpox is a disease. This disease affects the skin. It is caused by a virus (Cowpox virus) that is related to the Vaccinia virus. People (or animals) who have the disease have red blisters. The disease can be spread by touch from cows to humans. The virus that causes cowpox was used to perform the first successful vaccination against another disease. The disease vaccinated against was the deadly smallpox. Smallpox is caused by the related variola virus. Therefore, the word "vaccination" has the Latin root vaca meaning cow.

In 1798, the English physician Edward Jenner made a curious observation. Jenner lived in the countryside, not in the city. 
Some of his patients had gotten cowpox, and recovered from it. He observed that those patients did not get the disease again, they seemed to be immune against it. What was more, they also seemed to be immune against smallpox. Smallpox was a deadly disease then, that killed most of the people it infected. So he used the fluid he got from cowpox lesions, and scratched it into healthy people. That way, he could make those people immune against smallpox.

The Cowpox (Catpox) virus is found in Europe and mainly in the UK.  Human cases are very rare and most often contracted from domestic cats.  The virus is not commonly found in cows; the reservoir hosts for the virus are woodland rodents particularly voles.  It is from these rodents that domestic cats get the virus.  Symptoms in cats include lesions on the face, neck, forelimbs, and paws, and less commonly upper respiratory tract infection.  Symptoms of infection with cowpox virus in humans are localized, pustular lesions generally found on the hands and limited to the site of introduction.  The incubation period (the time between an infection and the first signs of the disease) is 9–10 days.  The virus can be found mostly in late summer and autumn.

Historical use
Cowpox was the original vaccine of sorts for smallpox. After infection with the disease, the body (usually) gains the ability recognise the similar smallpox virus from its antigens and so is able to fight the smallpox disease much more efficiently.

Later, and still today, another vaccine was used: vaccinia. Vaccinia is similar to cowpox, but not the same.

Related pages
Chickenpox
List of diseases

References

Diseases caused by viruses
Animal diseases
1535



Events 
 January 18 – Lima, Peru founded by Francisco Pizarro
 April – Jacques Cartier discovers the Iroquois city of Stadacona, Canada (now Quebec) and in May, the even greater Huron city of Hochelaga
 June 24 – The Anabaptist state of Münster (see Münster Rebellion) is conquered and disbanded.
 May 19 – French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail for his second voyage to North America with 3 ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's 2 sons  (who Cartier kidnapped during his first voyage).
 October 2 – Jacques Cartier discovers Montreal, Quebec.
 October 4 – The first complete English-language Bible is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.
 Combined Swedish and Danish fleets defeat the Hanseatic navy.
 Manco II appointed puppet Inca Emperor by Spanish Conquistadors
 Second unsuccessful attempt by Spanish forces to conquer Yucatán
 Carlos Quinto conquers Tunis
 Anabaptist rebellion in some cities in the Netherlands, including a famous incident of seven men and five woman walking nude in the streets of Amsterdam.
 The Charterhouse London is closed, as part of Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries.
532



Events 
January 11 – Nika riots in Constantinople; the cathedral is destroyed. They are put down a week later by Belisarius and Mundus; up to 30,000 people are killed in the Hippodrome.
Justinian I orders the building of a new cathedral – beginning of the construction of the Hagia Sophia.
Justinian  signs a peace treaty with the Sassanian shah Chosroes I.

Births 
Áedán mac Gabráin, king of Dál Riata

Deaths 
October 17 – Pope Boniface II
1658



Events 
 January 13 – Edward Sexby, who had plotted against Oliver Cromwell, dies in Tower of London
 February 6 – Swedish troops of Charles X Gustav of Sweden cross The Great Belt (Storebælt) in Denmark over frozen sea
 May 1 – Publication of Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial and The Garden of Cyrus by Thomas Browne
 September 3 -Oliver Cromwell dies. His son Richard assumes his father's former position as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
 The peace between Sweden and Denmark was concluded in Roskilde with Treaty of Roskilde.
 France joins England in the war against Spain, which began in 1654. The Spanish were defeated at the Battle of the Dunes in June. England was then given Dunkirk for their assistance in the win.
 Portuguese traders are expelled from Ceylon by Dutch invaders.
 After his father Shah Jahan completes the Taj Mahal, his son Aurangzeb deposes him as ruler of the Mughal Empire.
408



Events 
In the summer of this  year, the usurper Constantine III captures Spain, destroying the loyalist forces defending it.
September – Alaric, king of the Visigoths, lays siege to Rome.
1696



Events 
 April – Fire destroys the Gra Bet (or Left Quarter) of Gondar, the capital of Ethiopia.
 August 22 – Forces of Venice and Turkish troops clash near Molino
 October 29 – Fuller Baptist Church founded in Kettering, England.
 December 24 – Inquisition burns number of Marrano Jews in Evora, Portugal
 Peter the Great becomes sole tsar of Russia.
 Polish replaces Ruthenian as an official language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
 A famine wipes out almost a third of the population of Finland.
 Abington, Pennsylvania, is settled.
 William Penn offers an elaborate plan for intercolonial cooperation largely in trade, defense, and criminal matters.
 The Second Pueblo Revolt took place
 Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville captured and destroyed St. John's, Newfoundland.
1647



Events 
 March 14 – Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm.
 April 3 – In England, letter from the Agitators of the New Model Army, protesting delay of pay, is read in the House of Commons
 May 29 – The Rhode Island General Assembly drafts a constitution that separates church and state, and permits public  referenda and initiatives on legislation.
 August 8 – The battle of Dungans Hill, Irish forces are defeated by British Parliamentary forces.
 August – Peter Stuyvesant appointed Director of New Amsterdam by the Dutch West India Company.
Johann von Werth tried to take his troops over the Austrian border, but they refused
Margaret Atwood

Margaret Eleanor Atwood  (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian writer. She is best known for writing novels. She has also published 15 books of poetry. The Edible Woman was her first novel, published in 1969.

Her novel The Handmaid's Tale was the first winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, in 1987. The sequel, The Testaments, was released on September 10, 2019.

Her book The Blind Assassin won the 2000 Booker Prize.

References

1939 births
Living people
Canadian novelists
Agnostics
Award winning writers
Booker Prize winners
Canadian activists
Canadian feminists
Canadian poets
Children's writers
Feminist writers
Harvard University alumni
Canadian science fiction writers
Rainbow Brite

Rainbow Brite was a 1980s animated television show in the United States based on a series of Hallmark cards. It involves a girl called "Rainbow Brite" and the "Color Kids" who are in charge of bringing color to the world. It was produced by DiC Entertainment, Cookie Jar Entertainment, Optix Digital Pictures, Super Sonics Productions, The Canadian Film or Production Tax Credit, Shaw Rocket Fund, Canadian Television Fund, and Nick Jr. Productions in its Kideo TV package.

A tie-in movie, Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer, came out in 1985.

Animated television series
English-language television programs
1046



Events 
 First contact between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuks.
 Vatha Pagan Revolt in Hungary – Gerard Sagredo martyred in Budapest.
 Pope Gregory VI accused of simony at Council of Sutri – abdicates
 Henry III crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II.
 March 5, Naser Khosrow begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he would later describe in his book Safarnameh.
Tonality

Music has tonality if it uses the notes of a major or minor scale. Such music is tonal. It is in a particular "key". Nearly all Western music is tonal.

All tonal music is based on a major or minor scale. If the tune “Twinkle, twinkle little star” is played starting on the note C, the notes of a C major scale will be used. The note C will sound like the home note (the “tonic”) and, indeed, the tune finishes on a C. The tune could have started on any other note (C sharp, D, E flat, E etc.) but a knowledge of scales would be needed as some sharps or flats (black notes) will be required. When singing the tune there is no need to think about the sharps and flats: the singer does them quite naturally.

A piece of tonal music will usually modulate after a while. This means that it changes key. But the music will not sound finished until it goes back to the original key. If one sings The Star-Spangled Banner and stops after the words “our flag was still there” the song sounds as if it has stopped in mid-air. It will not sound finished until it goes back to the first key in the last two lines.

Most Western music from about 1600 onwards is based in a major or minor key. This system of tonality was used by all the great composers up to the 20th century and in popular music and most folk music. Listening to a symphony by Beethoven is like going on a journey through various key areas, always returning to the original tonic at the end. In some cases, such as Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, it may start in the minor and finish in the major. This is because minor keys can sound disturbed, full of tension, but major keys sound happier and more relaxed.

The opposite of “tonality” is atonality. An atonal piece is one where there is no feeling of a home key. Playing lots of random notes will sound atonal. Schoenberg was one of the most famous composers of atonal music. Of course, his music is not just random notes (although it may sound like it to the listener at first), so he had to find another way of giving his music shape. That is why he invented the twelve-tone system.

Music theory
Toucan

The toucan is a South American bird in the family Ramphastidae. This social bird lives in small flocks in lowland rainforests in countries such as Costa Rica. It flies short distances between trees. Toucans rest in holes in trees. They mostly eat fruit, but sometimes they also eat insects and small lizards.

They are brightly marked and have large, often-colorful bills. The family includes five genera and over forty different species.

Toucans are resident breeders and do not migrate. Toucans are usually found in pairs or small flocks. They sometimes fence with their bills and wrestle, which scientists think is to find out who is the top bird amongst them.

Beak 
Toucans are known for their huge beaks, which can grow larger than their bodies. They use their beaks for reaching over and plucking fruit from branches of trees. The bright colors (usually orange) on the beak may help the toucans to recognize each other, and to scare off other birds.

References 

Piciformes
Emilio de Villota

Emilio de Villota Ruíz (born in Madrid, July 26, 1946) is a former racing driver from Spain.  He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on May 2, 1976.  He scored no championship points.

In 2005, he participated in Formula Palmer Audi driving a Mapfre's car (nº7)

1946 births
Living people
Spanish sportspeople
Formula One drivers
Technological singularity

The technological singularity is the idea that a machine or computer, or a group of machines and computers, will one day be smarter than humans.

Because it has not happened yet, nobody really knows what the technological singularity will do, or if it will even happen. Nonetheless, the technological singularity has been a subject in many science fiction works, such as The Terminator, The Matrix, and the Borg in Star Trek. In most depictions of the singularity, machines have consciousness and humans are considered to be useless. The futurist (who studies about the future) and inventor Ray Kurzweil believes the Singularity will happen about the year 2045.  The major impetus driving toward the singularity, according to Kurzweil, is that according to Moore's Law, computers are doubling in memory capacity every 18 months. According to Kurzweil, by 2029, computers will be as intelligent as human beings (see artificial intelligence).

Related pages
Emerging technologies
Innovation

References

Other websites
Technological Singularity subreddit
The Technological Singularity and Merging with Machines - BigThink.com

Technology
Marseille

Marseille (Occitan: Marselha) is a city in the south of France in the Bouches-du-Rhône department. About 1.7 million people live in the metropolitan area, and about 850,000 in the city itself. This makes it the second largest city in France by number of people. Its commercial port  is the biggest in France and one of the most important in the Mediterranean sea.

Although part of the region of Provence, Marseilles has its own history.  This city is the oldest in France and probably the most complex.  The city was started around 600 BC by Greek sailors from Phocaea (modern day Foça, near İzmir).  This was a Greek colony in Asia Minor that is in what is now Turkey.

Marseille has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in the Koeppen climate classification).

Education 
 École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies
 Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées
 Kedge Business School

References

Departmental capitals in France
 
Regional capitals in France