Introduction  Most animals have ways of communicating  Human communication is the most complex  We use symbols to discuss abstract topics or ideas  Future events, supernatural, emotions, etc.  Define what a symbol is and give examples…

What is a Symbol?  Something that stands for something else  Everyone in community has to agree to its meaning  Bald eagle = America  Skull and crossbones = poison or danger  Characteristics:  Displacement: symbols that refer to remote things  Arbitrary: symbols that have no direct connection to what they symbolize  Openness: can create new symbols  Symbols can be physical items, songs, sounds, movement, etc.

Religious Symbols  Many religious ceremonies center on symbols  Statues  Masks to impersonate gods  Words, chants  Music and dance

Video  Watch the following video on a Roman sarcophagus and list symbolism discussed  history/ancient-mediterranean-AP/AP-ancient- rome/v/battle-of-the-romans-and-barbarians-- ludovisi-battle-sarcophagus---c c-e

More Practice  Try to identify the religious symbols

JudaismBuddhismBuddhismHinduism ChristianityIslamRastafarianismWicca (St. Peter’s Cross) ShintoZoroastrianismIslam Christianity (from Galatians)

 Shinto: spiritual practice of ancient Japan (based on ancestral spirits)  Zoroastrianism: ancient Iranian religion with dual aspects: Illuminating Wisdom and Destructive Spirit  Rastafarianism: Ethiopian sect of Christianity  Wicca: Modern witchcraft and pagan rituals; connection to Mother Earth

Religious Symbols  What symbol is this?  What does it mean to you?

Religious Symbols  It is actually an ancient symbol from Sanskrit meaning “good” “to exist”  Used in Buddhism and Hinduism  Used in Navaho art to represent creation myth of Whirling Log  How did the Nazis change and take control of this symbol?

Religious Symbols  What is this symbol?  What does it mean to you?

Religious Symbols  It is actually a pagan symbol representing the sacred fruit of the apple  Is used to represent the five books of the Torah (Pentateuch)  Did not represent evil until Witchcraze  Wiccans use it to represent earth, air, fire, water, and spirit

Religious Symbols  Now linked to Satanic worship  See the difference?

Religious Symbols  Christian symbols also have many varieties  The cross was not accepted for many centuries  Now linked to different denominations

Religious Symbols  Roman Catholic  Body of Christ  Protestant  No body of Christ (he is risen)  Methodist  2 flames: Christ and Holy Spirit  Orthodox  3 bars: inscription, arms, footrest

Religious Symbols  The most important early Christian symbol was the fish  Apostles are “fishers of men”  Acrostic of Greek work icthus (“Jesus Christ of God the Son and Savior”)  Password for early persecuted Christians

Video: Swastika 

Color as a Symbol  Connects to culture and religious beliefs  What color is associated with weddings in US? Funerals?  In China, the bride wears red

Meaning of Color  English has eleven basic color terms: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, pink, black, white, and grey  We define colors narrowly and have specialized terms  Blue  turquoise, navy, teal, sky, etc.  Industrialized societies have more basic color terms than languages in less complex societies  Why?

Meaning of Color  Color is a symbol!  What does “blue” mean? Is it the same as “azule”? Or as “navy?”  It depends on context  Navaho think turquoise is the ideal blue color  It has religious significance and is important in their culture

Meaning of Color  The Yoruba of Nigeria have only three color terms  Funfun ~ white, silver, gray  Pupa ~ red, pink, orange, deep yellow  Dudu ~ black, blue, purple, green, brown, red-brown, dark gray Yoruba beaded artwork

Meaning of Color  In English, colors can be emotions:  What are the emotions for:  Red  Green  Yellow  Blue

Use of Time and Space  Symbols are used to create sacred realities  Supernatural  Sacred space  Divisions of time

Use of Time and Space  Idea of time is related to culture  People make recurring units of time that are based on observable events (sun, moon)  We then divide these into phases  But we also make units that are completely arbitrary  Time is connected to rituals and religious ceremonies

Time and Space  Mayan:  Calendar based on sun (365 days) but 18 months of 20 days and one month of 5 days  Second calendar (260 days) that ran simultaneously  18,980 combinations of days  52 years to go through all combinations  Used to predict events (remember end of the world in 2012?)

Time and Rituals  Many rituals performed in cycles: periodic rituals  Usually celebrate or commemorate important event  Ex. Ramadan is 9 th months of Islamic calendar  When Qur’an was sent down from heaven to Mohammad  Lunar calendar  Means date of Ramadan is different each year

Time and Rituals  Jewish high holy days  Lunar calendar  Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) until Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)  A 13 th month is added sometimes to keep dates from varying too much  Shiva is the time after a person dies  Family or friends stay with the body and mourn/pray  Similar to a wake in Christian ritual

Music and Dance  These play special roles in religious rituals  A lot of variation  Tell stories or myths through music and movement

Music  Very important part of ritual  Set the mood or tone  (think organ playing at funeral)  Tell religious stories  important in oral traditions  Helps with memorization  Way for humans to communicate with gods

Music  Since music is connected to culture, musical meaning is not universal  Early missionaries found that indigenous people did not connect to their hymns and Westerners often do not connect to indigenous music  Now people fuse traditional music with contemporary music in a way called syncretism

Music in Ritual  Four types of instruments  Idiophones  Shaken, struck, or rubbed (rattles, marimbas, xylophones)  Membranophones  Taut skin (drums)  Cordophones  Plucked or strummed (harp, violin)  Aerophones  Air blown into or across (pipe)

Music in Ritual  Music can be used in hunting rituals or in healing rituals  Used in initiations  Membranophones are very important in storytelling and rituals  Rhythm is critical 

Dance  Not very common in American rituals  In other cultures can represent supernatural, tell stories, show entering another realm, be offerings to deities  Dance is a system of patterned movements  Varies by culture  Culturally determined meaning  Spirit can enter the human body to make movement  Voodoo  Pentecostal  Whirling Dirvishes

Assignment  ICA #2: Making Joyful Noise (with videos)

Videos (dance/music)   