#funerary relics

[jennycalendar]

comic reboot calendiles im kissing u on the mouth btw

[thesilicontribesman]

Anglo-Saxon Cremation Pots from Cleatham Cemetery, North Lincolnshire Museum, Scunthorpe

[voiceoutofstars]

Fan narration of a Relic entry in HSR’s Data Bank. This is the story of both pieces of the Broken Keel set.

Music is “A Long Way” by SergePavkinMusic.

[egypt-museum]

Amenhotep I or Ramesses II wearing the Khepresh

This striding statuette of a New Kingdom king, depicts the king in a kilt (shendyt) adorned with an elaborate belt, a usekh collar around his neck, and most notably, the "Blue Crown of War", known to the Egyptians as the "Khepresh" upon his head, which is given a realistic glisten by the addition of rounded blue faïence.

The statue is often associated with Amenhotep I, but others, including the Louvre, where this statue now resides, label this piece as Ramesses II. This may be confusing, but it was not uncommon for kings to reuse or usurp relics from past monarchs, in fact Ramesses II is very well known among scholars for his usurping of past monuments and statues, especially those made during the reign of king Amenhotep III.

However, a further reason for this confusion when it comes to identifying this piece may or almost certainly comes from the deification of Amenhotep I within the Deir el-Medina region, where this piece was found.

Both Amenhotep I and his mother Ahmose-Nefertari became deified after their deaths. Ahmose-Nefertari outlived her son by approximately a year at the least, and became worshipped alongside her son for centuries after. Therefore, depictions of both Amenhotep I and his mother Ahmose-Nefertari are found in tombs and among other types of relics and funerary items dating from much later from their life-times. Thus, explaining statues and other depictions of either of the two dating from later king's reigns.

Read more

[blueiscoool]

A 2,600-Year-Old Unopened Etruscan Tomb Discovered in Italy

Community leaders and archeologists in central Italy recently gathered in the municipality of Montalto di Castro for the opening of a tomb that dates back more than 2 1/2 millennia, the municipality announced in a social media post last week.

"Today … we witnessed the opening of an ancient Etruscan tomb buried at the Osteria Necropolis in Vulci," the municipality of Montalto di Castro, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea about 100 miles northwest of Rome, wrote Oct. 27 on Facebook, calling the grand unveiling "a day of culture and history" in a translated statement.

Historians say the Etruscans built their civilization on a portion of the land that is now modern-day Italy, beginning as early as 900 B.C., and operated as a network of city-states not completely unlike the Roman Republic that came after it. The Etruscans dominated Italy until falling, as a result of the Roman-Etruscan wars, to the then-expanding Roman empire around the 4th century B.C.

Vulci, an archaeological site in the northern Lazio region not far from Montalto di Castro, was once a rich Etruscan city. Its ruins have become a popular spot for tourist visits and as well as a place of interest for archaeological excavations.

The tomb discovered there earlier this year was found remarkably intact when it was officially opened at the end of October, for the first time in about 2,600 years, according to the Italian online magazine Finestre sull'Arte, which focuses on ancient and contemporary art. It was opened and explored following the opening of a similar tomb in the area this past April, the magazine reported. Montalto di Castro Mayor Emanuela Socciarelli attended the opening along with Simona Baldassarre, the councilor of culture for the Lazio region, Simona Carosi, the manager of the Superintendency of Archaeology for the province of Viterbo and southern Etruria, and Carlos Casi, the director of the Vulci Foundation, which helped lead the excavation alongside archeologists.

Archaeologists found a collection of long-lost treasures inside the ancient tomb, including a collection of pottery and amphorae, which are tall jars with two handles and a narrow neck typically associated with ancient Greek or Roman cultures. The jars contained wine from Greece, likely from the island of Chios, Finestre sull'Arte reported. It could be a relic of the wine trade happening at that time in history.

Utensils, cups, iron objects, and a variety of ceramics and decorative accessories were also found inside the tomb in perfect condition, as was a tablecloth that may have been used for a funerary ritual offering called "the last meal" or "meal of the dead." A bronze cauldron was also found.

The stockpile of personal belongings found inside the tomb suggests the family for whom it was constructed was probably quite wealthy in their day.

The complex structure and layout of the burial site is also important to archeologists and historians, Casi told the Italian news outlet Il Messaggero, noting that the tomb "appears to be characterized by a partition saved in the rock which creates a passage arch between the dromos, i.e. the short corridor with steps, and the vestibule, from which the two rooms were accessed, the front one and the one on the left: the usual one on the right is missing, evidently because the space had already been occupied by other tombs."

By EMILY MAE CZACHOR.

[segretecose]

I'm not squeamish and I'm not bothered by bones but I genuinely don't get why you'd put them on display especially in the context of a church.

well the way death is perceived (and by extension human remains, burial practices/rituals and funerary art) just changes a lot throughout history and across cultures and societies doesn't it. it doesn't just depend on religion and the concept of earthly life/afterlife but also on culture (e.g., what is considered respectful), current philosophy, aesthetics, sensibilities etc.

obviously christianity puts emphasis on the afterlife and as a consequence earthly remains are just that – remains. by following that logic it's not disrespectful to put them on display as a memento mori or as a relic. i would also argue that the culture of death in the middle ages (and in general in pre-modern medicine times) was fundamentally different from today's.

to us, death is a concept we are periodically confronted with whereas in the middle ages it was a much more tangible, inescapable reality due to the circumstances. just think about the impact the black death plague(s) had on art and literature (like the whole danse macabre genre for instance).

we don't like to be confronted with the concept of death, so the sight of a human skull can be deeply upsetting to us, especially in contexts where we wouldn't normally expect to see one. they, on the other hand, didn't really have a choice. they saw death everywhere all the time (wars, famines, death in childbirth, infant mortality, illness...). so i guess to them the sight of a human skull was just a reminder of something they were already well acquainted with, rather than something shocking

[scotianostra]

June 7th 1329 saw the death of our most famous King, Robert I, "The Bruce".

Much has been said about King Robert and his prowess in battle, I'll try and highlight some of his other traits and how it was he who was first given the no de plume Braveheart.

The Bruce is said to have spoken several languages, Scots, Gaelic, Latin, and Norman French, and was an avid reader who loved studying the lives of previous monarchs. According to a parliamentary brief from around 1364, Robert the Bruce "used continually to read, or have read in his presence, the histories of ancient kings and princes, and how they conducted themselves in their times, both in wartime and in peacetime.” In his free time, he would recite tales from history, with the likes of Charlemagne and Hannibal being two of his favourite subjects he shared.

Robert the Bruce’s physician, Maino de Maineri, criticized the king’s penchant for devouring eels. “I am certain that this fish should not be eaten because I have seen it during the time I was with the king of the Scots, Robert Bruce, who risked many dangers by eating [moray eels], which are by nature like lampreys," de Maineri wrote "It is true that these [morays] were caught in muddy and corrupt waters.” (Notably, overeating eels was considered the cause of King Henry I England’s death.)

Treasure hunters speculate that in the 14th century, the Knights Templar fled to Scotland with a trove of valuables because they received support and protection from King Robert the Bruce. Thanks to his help, they say, the Knights were able to hide gold and holy relics—from ancient Gospel scrolls to the Holy Grail—in secret spots across the country, including in Rosslyn Chapel and it's not just through the Da Vinci Code, I remember my mum talking about the Holy Grail possibly being hidden within the Apprentice Pillar.

After the death of his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, Robert the Bruce decreed to give the Auld Kirk in Cullen, Scotland—now the Cullen and Deskford Parish—a total of five Scots pounds every year. That's because, in 1327, Elizabeth had died after falling off a horse, and the local congregation generously took care of her remains. Robert was so touched by the gesture that he promised to donate money “for all eternity.” To this day, his bequest is still paid to the kirk.

The Kirk was not the only thing to benefit from The Bruce. He moved about Scotland he was a frequent visitor to Aberdeen , his first arrival being in 1306.

In the month of September 1319, King Robert, had again visited the city, where he stayed for some time, lodging in William the Lion's Palace in the Green.

The citizens of Aberdeen , many of whom were his former comrades-in-arms, gave Bruce a tremendous welcome. The King went south well pleased with the reception he had received, and at a Parliament in Berwick on 10th December 1319 , made his most generous benefaction to Aberdeen . He gave the burgesses in perpetual feu, and for a nominal payment of £213:6/8d, the whole of the Stocket Forest . From this remarkable gift the city's ‘Common Good Fund' may be said to have originated. The fund has accumulated over the years and has assets worth millions of pounds; the cities citizens still enjoy the benefits to this very day.

The Bruce died just a month before his 55th birthday, about the same age I am just now. The cause of his death has been a source of much discussion, and disagreement, but most modern scholars believe that he succumbed to leprosy. His funeral was a rather elaborate affair that required nearly 7000 pounds of candle wax just for the funerary candles. Following the fashion for royalty, he was buried in multiple places. His chest was sawed open and his heart and internal organs removed: The guts were buried near his death-place at the Manor of Cardross, near Dumbarton; his corpse interred in Dunfermline Abbey; and his heart placed inside a metal urn to be worn around the neck of Sir James Douglas, who promised to take it to the Holy Lord. The reason his guts were taken and buried first was to stop the rest of the corpse did not rot before it's "spiritual" burial at the Abbey in Dunfermline.

Unfortunately, Sir Douglas never made it to the Holy Land: He got sidetracked and took a detour to fight the Moors in Spain, where he was killed. Before his attackers reached him, Douglas reportedly threw the urn containing the king’s heart and yelled “Lead on brave heart, I’ll follow thee.” The heart was later returned to Scotland and it was not until 1921 it was rediscovered on an archaeological dig at Melrose Abbey. The Casket was opened to find the mummified heart, it was photographed at the time, but I can't find these pics online, however it was unearthed again in 1996.

After the casket had been fully examined, several different ideas were put forward about what should happen to it next. There were some suggestions of sending the casket to the National Museum of Scotland, or creating a new museum for the heart at Melrose Abbey.

In the end, in accordance with Scots Law and respect for the dead, the casket was enclosed inside a time capsule, and reburied in a private ceremony.

Although this heart hasn't 100% been proven to be that of King Robert it doesn't really matter. The casket and the heart are symbols of the man himself and shall always remain so.

[luke-r-gillespie]

May 14 - Ueno Park and Tokyo National Museum / Akihabara

Freewriting

Today started a little later than usual with our class assembly taking place at 10 instead of 9 due to the prior nights Bunraku performance running late (thank you professor Smith!) I skipped the hotel breakfast, instead opting to eat two croissants from 7/11 (they were pretty good, all things considered.) The first stop of the day was Ueno Park, which was within walking distance so we skipped the train for the first few activities. After arriving at Ueno park, we visited Shinobazunoike Benten-do Temple (try saying that five times fast.) The shrine had a snake motif but it was really cool to see a shrine in the middle of a national park!

After walking through the park, our next stop was the Tokyo National Museum! The museum was probably one of my favorite stops of the trip so far, there were so many cool pieces of history on display, alongside some truly breathtaking art.

My favorite piece in the museum was probably a family heirloom bow of the Sereta samurai clan (pictured below.) The skill and strength required to effectively use such a weapon must have been truly astounding. Its size and striking red color really drew me in.

After exploring the rest of the museum, we left for Akihabara where I had a really good pork bowl for lunch. After a little bit of exploring and a little time spent in the arcade, I headed back to Shibuya to do some shopping. I went in a few stores, but once again Tokyo's fashion district prices strike again (I'm trying to ball on a budget and Tokyo is not working with me I'm afraid.) Walking around with some friends was still fun though and after some ramen for dinner, I hopped on a train back to Hotel Edoya (where I wrote my WHOLE last blog before tumblr deleted it out of existence forcing me to rewrite it.) Overall, another long but great day in Tokyo!

Academic Reflection

The Tokyo National Museum had a number of haniwa on display. Haniwa are terracotta figures, often depicting warriors that were made to be used in funerary rituals during the Kofun period of ancient Japan. These figures of humans, animals, common objects, and more would be buried alongside warriors. I feel extremely lucky to have been able to see some of these ancient relics with my own eyes. One particular haniwa that stood out to me at the Tokyo National Museum, was one of a chicken. Only the head remained intact after thousands of years but the craftsman ship was still very well done. To be able to craft such a precise object so long ago with so few reliable tools was very impressive to me.

Walking around Akihabara, the moe culture heavily discussed by both Azuma and Saito was palpable. There were characters on every building and they were advertising anything and everything. Many of these character's designs also lacked any concise narrative, incorporating seemingly random elements into their character designs for no apparent reason. There were also a number of people who I would perceive as "otakus" at a passing glance, reinforcing the sentiments of Saito. However, many of them seemed polite and were making their best efforts to keep to themselves.

[kaylinasher]

9

A short piece as Lucifer makes sure that Kaylin get safely to her suite, even if mentally she is a mess..

Lucifer walked the old and empty halls that had once been his residence as he escorted Kaylin to her chambers, their footsteps softly echoing off the stone walls and floors that quietly surrounded them as if a tomb.   In  a way he guessed that was a fitting comparison.  The halls they were walking now were relics of when he had ruled and been King.  Just a few short years, yet seemingly a lifetime ago.  Now the memories and objects that were within these walls were like funerary objects left to symbolize his reign and celebrate that life.

Kaylin was still trembling next to him as they walked, his arm around her shoulders at times the only thing that kept her upright.  He didn’t have to ask what had happened at her father’s castle, he knew.  The silver and obsidian pieces that she wore had connected her to him the instant that she had put them on.  The rage that was burning within him would not be quenched till his son’s blood flowed like water around him. From his grandson’s reaction to seeing Kaylin and Asher, he would not be the only one to greet Damien with a less than friendly welcome should he show up at the Palace.  If he knew his son, and he did all too well, the confrontation would be soon and it would be epic.  They should all prepare for war. 

Soon they came to the doors of the suite that had always been, and always would be, hers.  Everything was as it had been left the last time that she had visited, even though it had been a few years prior.  She had come since he had been freed from his confinement on the wall of the ballroom, but had not stayed as she had when he ruled.  Their relationship slightly evolving with the fallout with her father due to the rise in power of Abbadon and Abriella at the time.  He had feared for her then, and it seemed with very good reason.  There were few times when Lucifer hated being right, and this was one of those times.

“Here, my darling, everything is as it should be.  Asher will be along shortly, I am sure.  Until he is, is there anything you need?  Anything at all that I can help with?”  Since they left the gardens, Kaylin had made not a sound, and he worried for her.  To not only have endured the beating she had received, but to know that Asher had been tortured by her father…he did not know how that was affecting her.  While they have may have thought it a secret, it was obvious to anyone with eyes what they truly felt towards one another.  All it took was to see them around one another for a few moments and you could see it in their eyes as at they looked at one another, in the way the light touches that they exchanged, probably without even realizing it, and the way that their voice slightly changed when they spoke to one another.  If you knew them, it was so obvious that you would have had to try hard NOT to see it.

Kaylin’s head lightly shook as she finally raised her eyes from looking at the polished marble floors to look at his worried brilliant blue eyes.  “No, papa.  I don’t even know what I would ask for.  I…” she trailed off.  What did she want?  How did she feel?  Could she even say herself?  She wasn’t sure. “I just want to know Ash is ok.  Daddy…he..”  Her breathing started to get erratic again as the memory of how he looked when she had found him in that cell flooded her mind once more and threatened to destroy her.  Blood…there had been so much blood…the floor painted golden yellow from it, and Asher’s pants had been staine from it as well.  Because of her, all because of her, he had almost been killed.

“He is fine.  Mithos and Arioch are both strong healers and were there as soon as I was.  They are just making sure that there is nothing the Seraph demons missed.  I assure you, he will be with you shortly, darling.”  Kaylin was pulled tight to Lucifer’s chest, a kiss placed atop her head.  “And your father will never hurt you again.  Never. Again.”  His eyes closed and he made a vow to his father that he would avenge what had been done.  A promise, that unlike the ones he had broken at the dawn of time that had damned him from Heaven, this one he would not break.

“It’s my fault.  Papa, he’s going to hate me. I wanted him to shift from his dragon form.  To lay with me in the bed.  If he’d stayed a dragon…”  Her voice broke as she sobbed against his shoulder.  Her hands fisting in the robes he was wearing as she clung to her grandfather as if letting go of him would end her existence.  Lucifer was her only tether to reality, to sanity, to any hope for redemption for almost ending the man that she loved, had loved since childhood but had denied because….because…she couldn’t even explain why she had anymore.  Foolishness?  Pride?  Ego?  To prove that she needed no one?  But she did.  She needed him. “Then your father would have lost his mind over it at a later time.  Do you think that I did not know this would happen?  Why do you think I had those pieces made and gifted them to you?”  Lucifer’s voice was quiet, comforting, and most unlike what those who knew him were used to, it was loving.  He held the trembling Kaylin to him, wishing with a desperation that rivaled only his to reconcile with his father, that he could ease her pain and erase the worry in her mind that Asher would abandon her after what happened.  He knew the male and, unless he had sorely misjudged him, the male was probably feeling he’d failed her as much as she felt she’d failed him. “You did nothing for him to hate you.  Do you think he would have shifted if he did not want to?  He was aware of the dangers of being caught with you.  Neither you nor he are responsible for the evil actions of my son.”  He could not bring himself to call Damien her father, for the male did not deserve such title.  Unfortunately he had sired the male, so would forever be burdened with that knowledge. Kali be damned.

[zmeu-ra]

A deep-dive on the design of a Mega Man X boss who dies after two scenes

Does anyone remember Incentas? He dies wrestling a sexy gambler in Mega Man X: Command Mission. whatever.

Most Mega Man X bosses are anthropomorphic animals or plants or mythical creatures, but wtf is Incentas supposed to be? He's got six hands and three faces, and his body is made of energy.

Well, I have deduced an answer!

First of all: in his boss fight, Incentas has three different elemental forms. They're called Burning Genie, Lightning Genie, and Dancing Genie. So I guess he's a genie, but there's a lot more to him than that.

See, Incentas' three forms each use different parts of his body: 1 mask and 1 pair of hands. These faces and hands are all given unique names in his concept art, translated by Udon for the Complete Works book.

Burning Genie form uses the Ra Head and Egypt Hands.

Lightning Genie form uses the Jade Head and Barenke Hands.

Dancing Genie form uses the Baron Head and Bali Hands.

You may immediately notice that there's a theme in Burning Genie's limbs: Ra is an Egyptian god of the sun, connecting this form to ancient Egypt. He even has big calm eyes, a beard, and an uraeus (the cobra headpiece) like the famous Mask of Tutankhamun.

That's neat. But what about his other two forms?

Lightning Genie has the Jade Head and Barenke Hands... the reference here is not immediately apparent. Let's look at the original Japanese concept art:

The word Barenke is written (パレンケハンド) in Japanese. You know what else can be written that way? Palenque, an ancient Maya city-state located in modern-day Mexico. This reference was totally lost in translation.

It's compounded by the Jade Head, since one of the most famous ancient Mayan relics is the Death Mask of Pacal the Great, which was discovered in Palenque. Said death mask is made of jade, perfectly aligning the head and hand inspiration. His Jade Head has the same green color and kinda sad-looking eyes. Also, it's a royal funerary mask like the previous one.

Now for the last one: the Dancing Genie with its Baron Head and Bali Hands. We get a big hint with the word Bali, a province of modern-day Indonesia. That's a third ancient kingdom for Incentas. But what is the Baron Head supposed to be?

Again, it was lost in translation. Baron is written (バロン) in the Japanese concept art, which is also the same way that the Balinese Barong is spelled. The Barong is a panther-like character, a king of good spirits which is included in the traditional Barong dance with a huge mask. Hence this form's Dancing Genie title, and the round eyes and tusks of its Baron Head.

These three inspirations - Egypt, Maya, and Bali - show that Incentas is really based on royal masks from ancient civilizations. All three were once powerful kingdoms with long-lasting relics, architecture, and customs. He really doesn't have much to do with genies at all, as djinn are from pre-Islamic Arabian cultures.

For this reason, I find that the alternative translation of Incentas - "Ancientus" - is a much more fitting name. That's what he was called in the game's E3 demo, so why was his name was changed? Possibly because it's a bit difficult to pronounce in English.

Speaking of his name, in the Japanese concept art he's called "Rouid Ancientus" (ルイード・エンシェンタス). This is likely a draft name, since his fellow bosses have some leftover draft names in their concept art too. But still, what could that first word mean? Could it be a corruption of the English word ruined, reflecting his ancient inspirations? I'm still so curious.

Anyway, Incentas Ancientus has an underrated design, and I hope his designer knows that we acknowledge and appreciate all their hard work and research.

[jennycalendar]

like it will NEVER EVER STOP BEING HILARIOUS that jenny left town and giles was like “i have a gut feeling she’ll come back” and then she didn’t and the series ended. and i know this was likely because of the writer switch but it is truly the most perfect calendiles ending ever. galaxy brain take is jenny being like “i’m leaving” and giles just sitting there like “ok :)” waiting for her to come home because that is what she always does. i refuse to believe that she doesn’t at some point after the end of the comics but IF SHE DOES NOT IT IS SO FUNNY because there is this existing implication that she’s done this so many times he cannot POSSIBLY take it seriously

[thesilicontribesman]

Anglo-Saxon Funerary Pottery, The Collection, Lincoln

[dawn-of-worlds]

Who Lives Ten Thousand Lives May Die Ten Thousand Deaths

(This is Laneth's turn 16, but to establish the context we're backing up to turn 14 to set the scene a bit.)

In the dewy sunrise of humanity, Pai was an important town, the birthplace of the Order of the Last Hearth and home of its first works. Today in these twilit hours of the Second Age, it is a sort of relic, a town whose necropolis outstrips its habitations, home to many illustrious dead. At the centre of the necropolis lies Teiri's Retreat, the tomb of the Order's founder -- long empty, pilfered for relics, but still a sacred site of pilgrimages. But Pai itself has become a town embalmed: it consists now in the schools and monasteries of the Order, the necropolis, and the necessary housing to support tourism, pilgrimages, and new construction. It could have stayed this way forever, a testament to the funerary arts of the Order, if not for the intrusion of new kinds of life, and new kinds of death.

The first sign of the trouble to come, years before the threat that now wracks Incarien, was an omen from abroad: in the coastal cities of Incarien, many tombs had shattered at once, and given up their dead. The Order sent emissaries to Pai, where the elders concluded that this was a sign that their gifts had been neglected, and they quickly dispatched teams to Wera, Unimaa, and other cities struck by the omen, to preside over rites that might satisfy the unquiet dead. Through this, the Order, already rich, enriched itself further. None could argue that the funerists of Pai were the utmost masters of their craft.

But not all were pleased with this resolution: for those watching carefully, the breaking of the tombs was only one of a hundred omens sent by the god Haebarik to warn of worse fates to come. Among those left uneasy was Armannen, a humble landscaper of tombs learning her craft in Pai, who had heard sailors' whisperings of strange tidings off the coast -- odd debris washing ashore, ominous sightings of Kuollut Kulma, that isle legendary to the order, and stranger things besides. By the will of the gods, she followed her disquiet to Wera at the moment of the Deep One Kǎlkayer's attack, and only then realized the messager the gods had been sending to humanity.

Beseiged, Wera was cut off from northern Incarien for more than a year, and even then, trade was limited: a city beseiged can offer little but glory, and many sailors feared Kǎlkayer's forces. But gradually, trade and travel resumed; not only to Unimaa and the rest of free Incarien, but to the Azure Reach, ancient ally of Wera and also a stronghold of the Order of the Last Hearth. And so Armannen heard news of the world.

The Last Order rose to defend its tombs, considering the Deep One's animation an affront to the dead, and it turned its skill with stonework to help build fortifications; but it did little more in this period, and Armannen grew frustrated, resenting that the Order had grown rich by failing to heed the gods' omens. For years she brooded in the midst of the stalemate, until at last she devised a scheme that was a match to her talents: from the Order's branch in Palk she secured a cutting of that rarest of plants, the white-leafed bush of the womb of Laeran, which held the secret to the ultimate art of killing: the Noble Poison, bane of kings and demigods.

It was not hard to gather the sympathetic links to Kǎlkayer needed to cultivate his bane: the Bone Wastes were strewn with them. But it was, all the same, a difficult task, as only passion and intrigue could feed these plants. Armannen and a few co-conspirators of the order returned to Pai, supposedly to assist in its defenses, and from there, they cultivated the plant in secret, filling tombs and caverns with it, feeding it by the secrecy of their work.

And much time passed, and Wera held, and Armannen's conspiracy did its work in secret; and she did not live to see it reach completion. But eventually, it was completed. One day, when few humans alive still remembered the time before Wera was beseiged, the descendants of those first conspirators set sail back to Wera with a hold full of Noble Poison, lethal to Kǎlkayer but harmless to all others.

A Deep One cannot be killed entirely by killing its drones; but the drones can be killed, and it can be made to feel death. And so, with this poison in hand, the people of Wera were at last able to push out into the wastes, strewing the land with it, devastating the skeletal forces near the city. Chastened by the pain of death, Kǎlkayer pulled away from Wera -- not enough to open a land route to the rest of the continent, but enough to give its forces room to manoeuvre. With this weapon in hand, the stalemate at last is broken, and the frustration and grief of a hundred years' siege spills out into Incarien once again.

[indomitablekushite]

How and why did Africans convert to Christianity? Or what does the Ring Shout mean to this process

“The preceding discussion, while offering a chronology of black conversion to Christianity at some variance with perceptions both popular and scholarly, really begs two fundamental questions: How and why did Africans convert to Christianity, especially in the absence of any measurable pressure to do so well into the nineteenth century? In response, it will be necessary to revisit the ring shout. Other areas of exploration include the relationship of water baptism to conversion, as well as the role of funerary rites in both conversion and the movement toward a collective identity based upon race. Why Africans converted is obviously related to how they did so, and a reexamination of Howard Thurman’s work will shed further light on this query. In addition, a recontextualization of the concept and practice of hoodoo in the colonial and antebellum South will not only help answer the basic questions but also assist in making the connection to the African antecedent more viable. Related to an examination of all these phenomena, of course, is the unfolding of social strata within the black community. What follows attempts to uncover the general contours of this relationship.” “Stuckey effectively makes the case for cultural continuity and attendant transformation within the African-based community in his Slave Culture. Drawing upon folklore and contemporary accounts, he argues that the ring shout was one of the most important vehicles for the perpetuation of West and West Central African religious beliefs. In these regions, ‘an integral part of religion and culture was movement in a ring during ceremonies honoring the ancestors.’ Although the circle’s ‘ancestral function’ was important in West Africa, it was even more so in West Central Africa, where it was ‘so powerful in its elaboration of a religion vision that it contributed disproportionately to the centrality of the circle in slavery.’ In fact, the ring shout was of significance that it is possible to posit that ‘it was what gave form and meaning to black religion and art.’ The ring shout was observed in the 1940s and 1950s in places as widespread as Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia, and can still be observed.” “For all of its significance as a principal medium of cultural transfer, Stuckey is saying something more about the ring shout, something that goes to the core of the present inquiry. For when he writes that the ‘ring in which Africans danced and sang is the key to understanding the means by which they achieved oneness in America,’ he is addressing directly the question of the transition from ethnicity to race and the transformation of the African American identity. That the ring shout could have been so instrumental in the process is intriguing and demanding of further investigation. In addition to the sources employed by Stuckey, the present effort is informed by a reexamination of the WPA interviews, especially those collected along the coast of Georgia.”

“Ring ceremonies associated with religion are commonplace wherever people of African descent are found in the Western Hemisphere. In a study of Haitian religion, for example, Deren points out that it is a composite of West and West Central African influences. Deren then goes on to make a subtle yet crucial comment: ‘At dances for the divinities… there is, to be sure, no ritual choreography apart from the general counterclockwise direction of the floor-movement around the center-post. This reference to a counterclockwise ring ceremony in Haiti recalls Puckett’s earlier discussion of the ‘slavery time ‘shout’’ of southern black culture, which ‘consisted of moving about in a ring, shuffling the feet along inch by inch, sometimes dancing silently, but more frequently singing spirituals.’ Puckett went on to make a conjecture consistent with Deren’s findings: ‘It is possible that the whole ceremony is a relic of some native African dance.’ The comments of these two independent investigations are so similar that it is possible to apply Deren’s analysis to the American South and Puckett’s to Haiti absent significant alterations. That is, the ceremonies were clearly derivative of the same origins.”

“Stuckey has cited numerous examples of how the ring shout functioned in the South. One of the most vivid illustrations was provided in 1862 along the South Carolina coast, where and when Thomas Wentworth Higginson observed what he called ‘the monotonous sound of that strange festival, half pow-wow, half prayer-meeting, which they know only as a ‘shout.’’ Before actually describing the shout, Higginson re-creates the context by employing evocative language to refer to the place of meeting: ‘These fires are usually enclosed in a little booth, made neatly of palm leaves and covered in at top, a regular native African hut, in short, such as is pictured in books.’ Having established, wittingly or unwittingly, Africa as the source of the ceremony, Higginson proceeds to describe how black men filled the ‘tent’ and sang ‘at the top of their voices, in one of their quaint, monotonous, endless, negro-Methodist chants… all accompanied with a regular drumming of the feet and clapping of the hands, like castanets.’ With this accomplished, the shout takes flight: ‘Then the excitement spreads: inside and outside the enclosure men begin to quiver and dance, other join, a circle forms, winding monotonously round someone in the centre; some ‘heel and toe’ simultaneously, others merely tremble and stagger on, others stoop and rise, others whirl, others caper sideways, all keep steadily circling like dervishes, spectators applaud special strokes of skill; my approach only enlivens the scene; the circle enlarges, louder grows the singing, rousing shouts of encouragement come in, half bacchanalian, half devout, ‘Wake’em, brudder!’ ‘Stan up to’em, brudder!’ and still the ceaseless drumming and clapping, in perfect cadence, goes steadily on. Suddenly there comes a sort of snap, and the spell breaks, amid general sighing and laughter. And this not rarely and occasionally, but night after night.’

“Higginson found the entire experience not only strange and amusing but also alarming. His allusion to the African hut reveals his assessment of the ritual’s source, but beyond this boundary he does not cross. Ostensibly repulsed, he was clearly drawn to the overt and subliminal sensuality of the ceremony, as ‘night after night’ the shout ended ‘suddenly’ after a gradual increase in excitement.” “The testimony of those outside of the circle could only be approximate. Contrary to what Higginson believed, black folk were not at all interested in performing the shout for whites. For that matter, the African-based rural community was more closed than open to outsiders regarding most aspects of their lives.” Michael A. Gomez“Exchanging Our Country Marks: The Transformation of African Identities in the Colonial and Antebellum South”Pg. 263 

[blueiscoool]

A Rare Western Han Dynasty Tomb Found in Southwest China

A well-preserved tomb, dating back to the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-25 AD), with a clear recorded year has been discovered in Wulong District of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the Chongqing Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute said Tuesday.

This archaeological project is a rescue excavation and protection work carried out to forge cooperation with the Baima project, the last of a cascade of hydropower stations on the section of the Wujiang River in Chongqing.

With the approval of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the Chongqing Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute set up a work team of more than 20 people from different archaeology research institutes and universities to excavate the site in March this year.

According to Huang Wei, the leader of the archaeological project, a collection of tombs dating from the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) to the Six Dynasties period (222-589) were newly discovered as part of this project. Among them, the tomb dating back to the Western Han Dynasty was the most important, and more than 600 precious cultural relics such as lacquerware, wood ware, bamboo ware, pottery and bronze ware were unearthed from the tomb.

Due to the tomb being filled with water throughout the year, it remains undisturbed and unharmed, and the funerary objects in the tomb are well preserved.

"What is exciting about this discovery is not just the large number of unearthed artifacts but also the list of burial items containing a precise year record, which has been verified as 193 BC, providing clarity on the tomb's burial timeframe. An unearthed jade ware from the tomb shows the prominent position of the tomb owner," Huang said.

The list of burial items found in the tomb is complete and clearly records the name, quantity and size of the funerary objects.

The tomb discovered this time is the one containing the largest quantity of lacquered wood and bamboo wares ever found at one time in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China, said Bai Jiujiang, head of the Chongqing Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.

Based on publicly available information, it is also the earliest tomb of the Western Han Dynasty found in China, with a clear recorded year, according to Bai.

This is a major archaeological discovery regarding the Qin and Han Dynasties in the Wujiang River Basin, offering physical evidence and important basic research materials for future study of burial customs and the comparative analysis of famous artifacts from the early Western Han Dynasty, according to the archaeologists.

[daohuai]

given the relic "wooden hairstick" i believe that this little hairpin on the back of blade's hair is meant to pair with it & to me it shows that when he first awoke again , blade attempted to fashion his hair into a ji ( the bun featured ) using the twig as a zan ( hairstick ) . he likely gave up once his hair starting getting very very long , & continues to let it grow as a form of mourning ( see : confucian funerary mourning rites )