Faith by the Spoken Word - Final Post

We inherit many things from our parents. In the process of growing up, we learn to speak their language. We mimic their actions, striving to become like them. We gain this folk knowledge from our parents without needing to be taught explicitly. We simply learn from their example. Perhaps most importantly, we construct our beliefs according the values taught by our parents. Without question, we accept the religion of our fathers. It’s only after we are grown and we enter a larger world that we realize the variety of religious options that exist. Worldwide there are hundreds of religions that have been preserved throughout the years by oral tradition. Arguably, these religions have thrived only because they have been passed down orally. In fact, oral knowledge has had a more powerful effect upon spirituality and religious practice than any other type of knowledge.

And So It Ends

Folk Knowledge

Self-Directed Learning:
For me, folk knowledge is anything that is learned outside of the classroom. I focused my initial studies on symbols and their meanings.  I noticed that the culture greatly influenced a person's understanding of symbols. Also, I learned to knit. Something that I never expected to learn to do. In fact, my roommates were quite shocked when they found me sitting at my desk with the purple knitting needles in hand. (maybe they were even more shocked by the "lengthy" scarf at the end of the needles.)

Brainstorming Individuality

Miles of Aisles

Today I found myself dancing down the library aisles rocking out to my iPod while searching for literature on the history of books. I spent a few hours wandering the shelves searching for the perfect resources. It was quite the adventure!

Palm Fronds

"Oh, and bring something to write on!" How many times have you heard that phrase? Did you ever think to bring something other than paper? Of course not! That's what paper is for! Not once did it even cross my mind to bring a clay tablet or an animal skin, but originally, that's what people wrote on! People used the resources that they had at hand. And for India, that meant palm fronds.

By some estimates, palm leaf books originated in India around fifteenth century BC. Tree leaves were used to record important documents like Buddhist scriptures, law, biographical information, and Sanskrit literature. 

Palm leaves are flattened, dried and smoothed in preparation to make a book. Letters are inscribed by using a needle-like instrument that cuts into the surface. The writing is not all that visible before it is covered over with soot or pigment mixed with oil. They can then be illustrated (some with intricate paintings) and strung together. Two holes are bored though the center of the leaves to bind the book together with a cord. ChinaView shows the process of creating a palm leaf book with a series of pictures. (I highly recommend it!)

Colombia University is trying to identify this text.

Unfortunately, these beautiful books decay rapidly. We have very few surviving copies of palm frond books and those that we have really aren't all that old. Some of them remain untranslated. Colombia University has requested help online to identify and translate an old text written on palm fronds. Even today it is hard to translate some of these old languages because they simply are no longer in use. We lament the loss of these wonderfully crafted texts. I suppose that palm book making has been abandoned because of their short shelf life and the difficulty of making them.

What does the future hold? With the advent of e-books, printed books have become increasingly less popular. Now you can carry around an entire library in your bag! I patiently wait for the day that museums will put my text books on display and everyone will marvel over the fact that we wrote on paper. The day is ever near that the phrase "Oh, and bring something to write on" will no longer refer to paper.

Maps: Shrinking the World

With the advent of writing, the world suddenly got a lot smaller. People no longer depended on first-hand experience or word of mouth to know about far away places. People depended on maps.

Sanskrit: The Priestly Tongue

Sanskrit is an oral language and has no written script of it's own.

What? Then how is it written? Well, with any style of script really. Some examples are shown below.

Sanskrit can be written in a variety of scripts

Law and Religion - Indivisible in India

Last week I posted about my findings while reading from the Mahabharata, an ancient epic poem written in India that contains key beliefs of the Hindu culture. I dedicated this week to reading from the Bhagavad-Gita, a sacred scripture taken from the Mahabharata that is so important to Hinduism that it is often treated as a free standing text. The poem recounts a conversation between Lord Krishna (later revealed to be the Supreme Being himself) and a prince named Arjuna who questions the war he’s fighting against his own cousins. As they stand on the battlefield with both sides ready for conflict, Lord Krishna (often referred to simply as “the Lord”) teaches Arjuna his duties as a warrior in the caste system of India and also instructs him on how to live a righteous life. As such, this text allows us to have a better understanding of Hindu theology and the caste system of ancient India.

Persuading Death (Exploring the Mahabharata)

Those who have a way with words set themselves apart from those who don't. Aptitude for speech and reason gives power to those who possess it. Power to entrance those who hear their voice and fill their souls with emotion - pain, joy, sadness or excitement. Power to convince others to do or believe what the speaker wants. This is the power of rhetoric.

In fact, with enough practice and skill, one can talk their way out of almost anything. But have you ever heard of someone who could talk their way out of death itself? In the Mahabharata, a virtuous woman does just that.

Confession: I was Home Schooled

Folk knowledge is defined as anything learned outside of formally established educational institutions. I received most of my elementary education directly in my home. My mother proved to be an excellent teacher.

SWIM

Learning to kick

Making a list of my talents (aka folk knowledge) was easy. I mean, ever since we entered grade school we’ve been asked to provide a list of our hobbies/talents/pastimes so that our classmates can “get to know us.”

• play volleyball
• swim
• play piano
• ride a pogo stick
• jump rope
• skate on a waveboard
  (The list just gets more desperate from there. Haha)
  

Knitting: A New Experience

Today I learned something new. It’s something that can’t be learned from a textbook. It’s something that can only be learned by doing. It’s something that I never thought that I would learn to do. Today I learned to knit.

Godless

Redefining Symbols

Symbols have always held powerful meanings for those who use them. In an instant they can conjure up strong emotions within the beholder. They can strike fear into the hearts of many. They can rouse entire armies to reckless courage. They can comfort us or give us hope. Symbols accomplish in an instant what words alone can only hope to achieve. Many of the symbols that we see around us have been around for a very long time, but interestingly enough, they probably mean something different to us now than they meant to those who first created them.