Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts

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Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226618501
Total Pages : 408 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (266 download)

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Book Synopsis Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts by : Wendy Doniger

Download or read book Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts written by Wendy Doniger and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1982-11-15 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An important, provocative and original work, of great interest to Indian scholars, historians of religions, psychologists and historians of ideas, but accessible also to the cultivated reader. Even if one does not always agree with the author's interpretation, one cannot but admire her vast and precise learning, her splendid translations and exegesis of so many, and so different, Sanskrit texts, and her uninhibited, brilliant, and witty prose."—Mircea Eliade, University of Chicago "This is . . . a book which is as rich in detail as the carvings of the great Hindu temples. It shares with them a delight in the interplay of myth and mundane experience, and above all an empathy with the Hindu preoccupation with the meaning of human existence in all its complexity."—G. M. Carstairs, Times Literary Supplement

Queen of the Night

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Publisher : Weiser Books
ISBN 13 : 9781578632848
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (328 download)

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Book Synopsis Queen of the Night by : Sharynne MacLeod NicMhacha

Download or read book Queen of the Night written by Sharynne MacLeod NicMhacha and published by Weiser Books. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Queen of the Night helps readers understand the role and power of the moon in the ancient religions, folklore, and mythology of Ireland and the British isles and then discover how to tap that power in their daily lives. Queen of the Night is a journey into the world of Celtic cosmology, shamanism, and sacred animals, as well as Celtic language, art, and culture, to discover the power and centrality of the moon. Since the earliest times, from stone circles and passage graves to the rites and customs of Druids, the moon has been the symbol of the Goddess and has played a crucial role in worship and celebration. In 13 chapters representing the moon's monthly and annual cycles, NicMhacha tells the story of Celtic moon mythology, as well as touching upon Greek, Hindu, and Norse traditions. Each chapter sets forth the role of the moon in Celtic tradition and culture and includes poetry, quotes, or prayers honoring the moon. At the end of each chapter, she offers meditations, ceremonies, and exercises to help readers connect with the moon and apply its power to their lives. From the world of fairies to bards, seekers, and shamans; from the moon's role in the secret meetings of women spinners to the role of sacred animals and mythic beings, Queen of the Night is a lively, informative, and transformative book for anyone who wants to understand and experience the power of the moon.

In Search of the Swan Maiden

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Author :
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 0814750680
Total Pages : 387 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (147 download)

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Book Synopsis In Search of the Swan Maiden by : Barbara Fass Leavy

Download or read book In Search of the Swan Maiden written by Barbara Fass Leavy and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenges the conventional interpretations of the worldwide folktale in which a swan maiden is captured, forced to marry and serve a human man, and eventually finds the key (usually her old skin) and escapes. Leavy (English, City U. of New York) considers the motive in the context of other animal brides, and animal grooms, and finds women socializing other women in a man's world, how myths of feminine evil spread, and how ominous meanings are obscured by traditional happy endings. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Lord Who Is Half Woman

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791488853
Total Pages : 211 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis The Lord Who Is Half Woman by : Ellen Goldberg

Download or read book The Lord Who Is Half Woman written by Ellen Goldberg and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating study from a modern feminist perspective of an androgynous Hindu god in Indian culture.

Women, Religion, and Social Change

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Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 9780887060687
Total Pages : 536 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (66 download)

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Book Synopsis Women, Religion, and Social Change by : Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad

Download or read book Women, Religion, and Social Change written by Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1985-01-01 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: De bijdragen in dit boek onderzoeken welke rol vrouwen van diverse religieuze achtergronden hebben gespeeld in revoluties en sociale veranderingen. Er wordt nagegaan hoe religies de deelname van vrouwen aan het sociale veranderingsproces stimuleren of belemmeren. Alle grote wereldgodsdiensten en hun verschillende lokale invullingen komen aan bod.

Gemini and the Sacred

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Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1786735911
Total Pages : 569 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (867 download)

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Book Synopsis Gemini and the Sacred by : Kimberley C. Patton

Download or read book Gemini and the Sacred written by Kimberley C. Patton and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-10-06 with total page 569 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do twins remain uncanny to those born alone-in other words, most of us? Even with the rise of IVF and an increase in multiple births, why do we still do “a double take” when we encounter twins? Why has this been a near-universal response throughout human history, and how has it played out in religion and myth? Through the work of leading scholars in religion, folklore and mythology, history, anthropology, and archaeology, Gemini and the Sacred explores how twinship has long been imagined, especially in the complex relationship of sacred twin traditions to “twins on the ground” in biology and lived experience. The book considers the multiple ways in which the “doubling” of a human being may be interpreted as auspicious and powerful-or suppressed as unstable and dangerous. Why has this been so and how does it affect living twins today? Treating both famous and lesser-known twins-including supernatural animal twins-in the ancient Near Eastern and classical Mediterranean worlds; early Christianity and Gnosticism; Vedic, Hindu, West African, Black Atlantic, and native American traditions; ancient Mesoamerica, Celtic Roman Britain, and Scandinavia; and in the special, fraught bond shared by all twins, the book offers a variety of perspectives on this topic of great cultural significance.

The Rig Veda

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin UK
ISBN 13 : 0141923989
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (419 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rig Veda by : Wendy Doniger

Download or read book The Rig Veda written by Wendy Doniger and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2005-03-31 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas, and the first extensive composition to survive in any Indo-European language, the Rig Veda (c. 1200-900 BC) is a collection of over 1,000 individual Sanskrit hymns. A work of intricate beauty, it provides a unique insight into early Indian mythology, religion and culture. This selection of 108 of the hymns, chosen for their eloquence and wisdom, focuses on the enduring themes of creation, sacrifice, death, women, the sacred plant soma and the gods. Inspirational and profound, it provides a fascinating introduction to one of the founding texts of Hindu scripture - an awesome and venerable ancient work of Vedic ritual, prayer, philosophy, legend and faith.

Animals as Religious Subjects

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Publisher : A&C Black
ISBN 13 : 0567445216
Total Pages : 182 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (674 download)

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Book Synopsis Animals as Religious Subjects by : Celia Deane-Drummond

Download or read book Animals as Religious Subjects written by Celia Deane-Drummond and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-08-01 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines one of the most pressing cultural concerns that surfaced in the last decade - the question of the place and significance of the animal. This collection of essays represents the outcome of various conversations regarding animal studies and shows multidisciplinarity at its very best, namely, a rigorous approach within one discipline in conversation with others around a common theme. The contributors discuss the most relevant disciplines regarding this conversation, namely: philosophy, anthropology, religious studies, theology, history of religions, archaeology and cultural studies. The first section, Thinking about Animals, explores philosophical, anthropological and religious perspectives, raising general questions about the human perception of animals and its crucial cultural significance. The second section explores the intriguing topic of the way animals have been used historically as religious symbols and in religious rituals. The third section re-examines some Christian theological and biblical approaches to animals in the light of current concerns. The final section extends the implications of traditional views about other animals to more specific ethical theories and practices.

Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism

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Publisher : A&C Black
ISBN 13 : 9781563383311
Total Pages : 488 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (833 download)

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Book Synopsis Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism by : Karen L. King

Download or read book Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism written by Karen L. King and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2000-09-01 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essays on the feminine face of God in Gnostic philsophy and theology are collected in a fascinating introduction to this early and often persecuted strand of Christian thought. Original.

The Sea Can Wash Away All Evils

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Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780231138062
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis The Sea Can Wash Away All Evils by : Kimberley Christine Patton

Download or read book The Sea Can Wash Away All Evils written by Kimberley Christine Patton and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kimberley Patton examines the environmental crises facing the world's oceans from the perspective of religious history. Much as the ancient Greeks believed, and Euripides wrote, that "the sea can wash away all evils," a wide range of cultures have sacralized the sea, trusting in its power to wash away what is dangerous, dirty, and morally contaminating. The sea makes life on land possible by keeping it "pure." Patton sets out to learn whether the treatment of the world's oceans by industrialized nations arises from the same faith in their infinite and regenerative qualities. Indeed, the sea's natural characteristics, such as its vast size and depth, chronic motion and chaos, seeming biotic inexhaustibility, and unique composition of powerful purifiers-salt and water-support a view of the sea as a "no place" capable of swallowing limitless amounts of waste. And despite evidence to the contrary, the idea that the oceans could be harmed by wasteful and reckless practices has been slow to take hold. Patton believes that environmental scientists and ecological advocates ignore this relationship at great cost. She bases her argument on three influential stories: Euripides' tragedy Iphigenia in Tauris; an Inuit myth about the wild and angry sea spirit Sedna who lives on the ocean floor with hair dirtied by human transgression; and a disturbing medieval Hindu tale of a lethal underwater mare. She also studies narratives in which the sea spits back its contents-sins, corpses, evidence of guilt long sequestered-suggesting that there are limits to the ocean's vast, salty heart. In these stories, the sea is either an agent of destruction or a giver of life, yet it is also treated as a passive receptacle. Combining a history of this ambivalence toward the world's oceans with a serious scientific analysis of modern marine pollution, Patton writes a compelling, cross-disciplinary study that couldn't be more urgent or timely.

Thicker Than Water

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135342008
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (353 download)

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Book Synopsis Thicker Than Water by : Melissa Meyer

Download or read book Thicker Than Water written by Melissa Meyer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blood is more than a fluid solution of cells, platelets and plasma. It is a symbol for the most basic of human concerns--life, death and family find expression in rituals surrounding everything from menstruation to human sacrifice. Comprehensive in its scope and provocative in its argument, this book examines beliefs and rituals concerning blood in a range of regional and religious contexts throughout human history. Meyer reveals the origins of a wide range of blood rituals, from the earliest surviving human symbolism of fertility and the hunt, to the Jewish bris, and the clitoridectomies given to young girls in parts of Africa. The book also explores how cultural practices influence gene selection and makes a connection with the natural sciences by exploring how color perception influences the human proclivity to create blood symbols and rituals.

Encyclopedia of Women's Folklore and Folklife [2 volumes]

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 0313088136
Total Pages : 864 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis Encyclopedia of Women's Folklore and Folklife [2 volumes] by : Pauline Greenhill

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Women's Folklore and Folklife [2 volumes] written by Pauline Greenhill and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-12-08 with total page 864 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the stone age to the cyber age, women and men have experienced the world differently. Out of a cosmos of goddesses and she-devils, earth mothers and madonnas, witches and queens, saints and whores, a vast body of women's folklore has come into bloom. International in scope and drawing on more than 130 expert contributors, this encyclopedia reviews the myths, traditions, and beliefs central to women's daily lives. More than 260 alphabetically arranged entries cover the lore of women across time, space, and life. Students of history, religion and spirituality, healing and traditional medicine, literature, and world cultures will value this encyclopedia as an indispensable guide to women's folklore. In addition, there are entries on women's folklore and folklife in 15 regions of the world, such as the Caribbean, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe. Entries provide cross-references and cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected bibliography of print and electronic resources. Students learning about history, world cultures, religion and spirituality, healing and traditional medicine, and literature will welcome this companion to the daily life of women across time and continents.

From the Margins of Hindu Marriage

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0195081188
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (95 download)

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Book Synopsis From the Margins of Hindu Marriage by : Lindsey Harlan

Download or read book From the Margins of Hindu Marriage written by Lindsey Harlan and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1995 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing a unique and intimate view of Hindu marriage, the essays in this collection explore points at which the margins of marriage are traversed or transgressed. Rather than focus on normative expectations within marriage, they examine times in which norms are tested or rejected. Using stories, songs, and narrated accounts, the essays treat such topics as widowhood, adultery, levirate, divorce, and suttee, as well as the subversion of marriage by devotion to deities and by alternative constructions of conjugal duty and marital experience.

A Bull of a Man

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Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674054431
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis A Bull of a Man by : John Powers

Download or read book A Bull of a Man written by John Powers and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-02 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The androgynous, asexual Buddha of contemporary popular imagination stands in stark contrast to the muscular, virile, and sensual figure presented in Indian Buddhist texts. In this groundbreaking study of previously unexplored aspects of the early Buddhist tradition, John Powers skillfully adapts methodological approaches from European and North American historiography to the study of early Buddhist literature, art, and iconography, highlighting aspects of the tradition that have been surprisingly invisible in earlier scholarship.

Singing Archaeology

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Publisher : Wesleyan University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780819563422
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (634 download)

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Book Synopsis Singing Archaeology by : John Richardson

Download or read book Singing Archaeology written by John Richardson and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 1999-03-31 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Illuminates the aesthetics of a major American composer.

Hayagrīva in South India

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9047413040
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (474 download)

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Book Synopsis Hayagrīva in South India by : Kamala Elizabeth Nayar

Download or read book Hayagrīva in South India written by Kamala Elizabeth Nayar and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2004-03-01 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about how mythology may be purposively adapted in the service of theology. It does so at the hand of Hayagrīva, since the 14th century C.E. revered as a full form of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu in the local Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition of South India, but originally a relatively minor pan-Indian deity. Convincingly laying bare the complexity in respect of the pan-Indian images of Hayagrīva, it makes clear that there is no single unilinear history of this deity. It subsequently reconstructs the ‘Śrīnivaiṣṇava History’ of Hayagrīva, and brings out the selectivity involved in borrowing materials from the pan-Indian and local levels. Amidst the incredible complexity encountered here, this study exposes, however, that the emblems and functions of different images show continuity, although a god’s status may change according to the sect.

Trans Talmud

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Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520397398
Total Pages : 261 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (23 download)

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Book Synopsis Trans Talmud by : Max K. Strassfeld

Download or read book Trans Talmud written by Max K. Strassfeld and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-10-03 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trans Talmud places eunuchs and androgynes at the center of rabbinic literature and asks what we can learn from them about Judaism and the project of transgender history. Rather than treating these figures as anomalies to be justified or explained away, Max K. Strassfeld argues that they profoundly shaped ideas about law, as the rabbis constructed intricate taxonomies of gender across dozens of texts to understand an array of cultural tensions. Showing how rabbis employed eunuchs and androgynes to define proper forms of masculinity, Strassfeld emphasizes the unique potential of these figures to not only establish the boundary of law but exceed and transform it. Trans Talmud challenges how we understand gender in Judaism and demonstrates that acknowledging nonbinary gender prompts a reassessment of Jewish literature and law.