Download or read book Wisdom and Initiation in Gabon written by Bonaventure Mvé Ondo and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2013-12-05 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wisdom and Initiation in Gabon: A Philosophical Analysis of Fang Tales, Myths, and Legends is a study of the philosophical significance of Fang mythology and the rituals of Initiation that lead to Wisdom. Bonaventure Mvé Ondo argues that Fang tales, myths, and legends are components of the foundation of a worldview that sustains and protects a unique, historical Fang identity. For Mvé Ondo, the contemporary challenges to the existence and identity of the Fang require, perhaps more than ever, recognition of the central role of mythology. At an historical moment when Africans are faced with the challenges of westernization, the metaphysics of the Fang, illustrated and preserved by tales, myths, and legends, is a critical element of Fang survival. Mythology is far more than a collection of amusing or awe inspiring stories, they are profoundly important moral lessons for the Fang in their continuing encounters with such contemporary challenges as materialism and, as the “stories” in this book illustrate, the constant struggle to live lives of purpose and meaning. For Mvé Ondo, the critical, central issue for the Fang is to focus on the distinction at the heart of his analysis, i.e., the crucial distinction between “to have” and to “to be.” The lessons transmitted from generation to generation by these marvelous stories are, Mvé Ondo argues, central to living lives that reflect and perpetuate the eternal truths of the Fang experience.
Download or read book Wisdom and Initiation in Gabon written by Bonaventure Mve Ondo and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Wisdom and Initiation in Gabon: A Philosophical Analysis of Fang Tales, Myths, and Legends is a study of the philosophical significance of Fang mythology and the rituals of initiation that lead to wisdom. Bonaventure Mvé Ondo argues that Fang tales, myths, and legends are components of the foundation of a worldview that sustains and protects a unique, historical Fang identity. For Mvé Ondo, the contemporary challenges to the existence and identity of the Fang require, perhaps more than ever, recognition of the central role of mythology. At an historical moment when Africans are faced with the challenges of westernization, the metaphysics of the Fang, illustrated and preserved by tales, myths, and legends, is a critical element of Fang survival. Mythology is far more than a collection of amusing or awe inspiring stories, they are profoundly important moral lessons for the Fang in their continuing encounters with such contemporary challenges as materialism and, as the "stories" in this book illustrate, the constant struggle to live lives of purpose and meaning. For Mvé Ondo, the critical, central issue for the Fang is to focus on the distinction at the heart of his analysis, i.e., the crucial distinction between "to have" and to "to be." The lessons transmitted from generation to generation by these marvelous stories are, Mvé Ondo argues, central to living lives that reflect and perpetuate the eternal truths of the Fang experience."
Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Gabon written by Douglas A. Yates and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-12-28 with total page 641 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of Gabon brings up to date the political affairs of the country, since the accession to power of Ali Bongo, eldest son of Omar Bongo, the former president-for-life, who died in 2009 after the publication of the third edition. Themes of “continuity” and “change” are present throughout the entries, not only as the Bongo family continues its half century of dynastic rule (there are a dozen Bongos in this new edition), but as the rare primeval tropical rainforests continue to dominate the landscape yet are menaced by destructive logging and palm oil plantations, and as this former French colony after independence continues to collaborate with the French African sphere of influence yet seeks new partners from America and Asia (China, Singapore), and as the country’s numerous ethnic groups perpetuate a multicultural mosaic that is nevertheless threatened by globalization of communications and cultural convergence. This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Gabon contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Gabon.
Download or read book Of Water and the Spirit written by Malidoma Patrice Some and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1995-05-01 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maliodoma Patrice Some was born in a Dagara Village, however he was soon to be abducted to a Jesuit school, where he remained for the next fifteen years, being harshly indoctrinated into european ways of thought and worship. The story tells of his return to his people, his hard initiation back into those people, which lead to his desire to convey their knowledge to the world. Of Water and the Spirit is the result of that desire; it is a sharing of living African traditions, offered in compassion for those struggling with our contemporary crisis of the spirit.
Download or read book World Mythology written by David Seal and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2021-08-16 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mythology and religious-studies teachers will appreciate World Mythology for its thematic approach, historical background information, commentary, and discussion questions provided for each myth from a range of geographic regions. For the same reasons, any reader interested in mythology will enjoy the contents and format of the book.
Download or read book African Goddess Initiation written by Abiola Abrams and published by Hay House, Inc. This book was released on 2021-07-20 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sacred feminine initiation of self-love and soul care rituals, tools, and exercises. Spiritual teacher, intuitive coach, and award-winning author, Abiola Abrams invites you to activate African goddess magic to transmute your fears and limiting beliefs, so that you can create more happiness, abundance, and self-acceptance. Africa is a continent of 54+ countries, and her children are global. There is no one African spiritual tradition. Our ancestors who were trafficked in "The New World" hid the secrets of our orishas, abosom, lwas, álúsí, and god/desses behind saints, angels, and legendary characters. From South Africa to Egypt, Brazil to Haiti, Guyana to Louisiana, goddess wisdom still empowers us. Writes Abiola, "Spirit told me, "We choose who shows up." And if you are holding this book, then this sacred medicine is meant for you. In this book, you will meet ancient goddesses and divine feminine energy ancestors, legendary queens, and mystical spirits. As you complete their powerful rituals, and ascend through their temples, you will: . Awaken generational healing in the Temple of Ancestors; . Manifest your miracles in the Temple of Conjurers; . Release the struggle in the Temple of Warriors; . Embrace your dark goddess self in the Temple of Shadows; . Heal your primal wounds in the Temple of Lovers; . Liberate your voice in the Temple of Griots; . Open your third eye intuition in the Temple of Queens; and . Surrender, meditate, and rise in the Temple of High Priestesses. Welcome to your goddess circle!
Download or read book The Wisdom of the Ancient One written by Antón Ponce de León Paiva and published by Verdechiaro Edizioni . This book was released on 2015-02-18 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In her book It's All in The Playing, Shirley MacLaine introduces us to Anton Ponce de Leon Paiva as a researcher of the UFO phenomenon, but in this book The Wisdom of the Ancient ONE he tells the story of his initiation into an ancient Inca tradition. It is the first book to document this tradition of ancient pre-Inca knowledge, a tradition still alive in the hidden regions of the Andes today. The book provides the reader with a deep understanding of the Solar Brotherhood mystical school of life, as well as an approach by which this understanding can be incorporated into one's daily life. Anton meets here the master Nina Soncco, spiritual head of the Hermandad Solar of the Intic Churincuna and he tells about his 7 days initiation in this ancient brotherhood of the Andes.
Download or read book To Write the Africa World written by Achille Mbembe and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2022-12-01 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In October 2016, thirty intellectuals and artists from Africa, its diasporas, and beyond gathered together in Dakar and Saint-Louis, Senegal, to reflect on the present and future of Africa in the midst of transformations that are sweeping through the contemporary world. The aim was to take stock of the renewal of Afro-diasporic critical thought and to discuss the new perspectives emerging from the ongoing projects constructing political, cultural, and social imaginaries for and from the African continent. This book brings together and makes available to the English-speaking world the material presented at the 2016 Ateliers de la pensée – Workshops of Thought – in Dakar. The authors deal with a wide range of issues, including decolonization, the development of social utopias, and the pursuit of new forms of political, economic, and social production on the African continent. Running throughout is a constant concern to interrogate the categories and frames of meaning that have served to characterize the dynamics of the African continent and a shared desire to produce new frames of intelligibility through which to see Africa’s present realities and its future. The contributions also attest to the view that there is no African question that is not also a global question, and that the Africanization of the global question will be a decisive feature of the twenty-first century. To Write the Africa World and its companion volume The Politics of Time will be indispensable for anyone interested in Africa – its past, present, and future – and in the new forms of critical thought emerging from Africa and the Global South.
Download or read book Lega Culture Art Initiation and Moral Philosophy Among a Central African People written by Daniel P. Biebuyck and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1973 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A young Highland boy discovers he has the gift of Second Sight.
Download or read book 2012 written by Daniel Pinchbeck and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Draws on cosmological phenomena of the modern world as well as the author's own research into shamanic and metaphysical belief systems to support the Mayan theory about an unprecedented global shift predicted for the year 2012.
Download or read book Ozain the Secrets of Congo Initiations and Magic Spells Palo Mayombe Palo Mont written by Carlos De Bourbon-Galdiano-Montenegro and published by . This book was released on 2012-05-18 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Afro-Caribbean religious initiation ritual into the mysteries of the African Spirit Ozain is one of the most important religious ceremonies that can be received by initiates of Palo Mayombe, Palo Monte and Kimbisa. This book contains the complete ritual instructions of how to correctly prepare and make the FUNDAMENTO DE OZAIN (The Fundamental Elements of Ozain).This initiation ceremony gives the initiate the spiritual right to be able to work and invoke the powerful magical mysteries of the spirit Ozain.
Download or read book Ritual written by Andrew Strathern and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-05-15 with total page 613 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume consists of a number of carefully-selected readings that represent a wide range of discussions and theorizing about ritual. The selection encompasses definitional questions, issues of interpretation, meaning, and function, and a roster of ethnographic and analytical topics, covering classic themes such as ancestor worship and sacrifice, initiation, gender, healing, social change, and shamanic practices, as well as recent critical and reconstructive theorizing on embodiment, performance, and performativity. In their Introduction to the volume, the Editors provide an overall survey and critical consideration of topics, incorporating insights from their own long-term field research and reflections on the readings included. The Introduction and readings together provide a unique research tool for those interested in pursuing the study of ritual processes in depth, with the benefit of both historical and contemporary approaches.
Download or read book The Ritual Process written by Victor Turner and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, Victor Turner examines rituals of the Ndembu in Zambia and develops his now-famous concept of "Communitas." He characterizes it as an absolute inter-human relation beyond any form of structure.The Ritual Process has acquired the status of a small classic since these lectures were first published in 1969. Turner demonstrates how the analysis of ritual behavior and symbolism may be used as a key to understanding social structure and processes. He extends Van Gennep's notion of the "liminal phase" of rites of passage to a more general level, and applies it to gain understanding of a wide range of social phenomena. Once thought to be the "vestigial" organs of social conservatism, rituals are now seen as arenas in which social change may emerge and be absorbed into social practice.As Roger Abrahams writes in his foreword to the revised edition: "Turner argued from specific field data. His special eloquence resided in his ability to lay open a sub-Saharan African system of belief and practice in terms that took the reader beyond the exotic features of the group among whom he carried out his fieldwork, translating his experience into the terms of contemporary Western perceptions. Reflecting Turner's range of intellectual interests, the book emerged as exceptional and eccentric in many ways: yet it achieved its place within the intellectual world because it so successfully synthesized continental theory with the practices of ethnographic reports."
Download or read book Expanding Mindscapes written by Erika Dyck and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2023-11-21 with total page 533 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first collection of its kind to explore the diverse and global history of psychedelics as they appealed to several generations of researchers and thinkers. Expanding Mindscapes offers a fascinatingly fluid and diverse history of psychedelics that stretches around the globe. While much of the literature to date has focused on the history of these drugs in the United States and Canada, editors Erika Dyck and Chris Elcock deliberately move away from these places in this collection to reveal a longer and more global history of psychedelics, which chronicles their discovery, use, and cultural impact in the twentieth century. The authors in this collection explore everything from LSD psychotherapy in communist Czechoslovakia to the first applications of LSD-25 in South America to the intersection of modernism and ayahuasca in China. Along the way, they also consider how psychedelic experiments generated their own cultural expressions, where the specter of the United States may have loomed large and where colonial empires exerted influence on the local reception of psychedelics in botanical and pharmaceutical pursuits. Breaking new ground by adopting perspectives that are currently lacking in the historiography of psychedelics, this collection adds to the burgeoning field by offering important discussions on underexplored topics such as gender, agriculture, parapsychology, anarchism, and technological innovations.
Download or read book Seeding Consciousness written by Tricia Eastman and published by Bear. This book was released on 2024-11-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reveals how psychedelics can help us plant new beliefs, awaken latent gifts, and cultivate individual and collective change • Provides a blueprint for responsible and effective use of psychedelics and plant medicines to transform pain and trauma into profound connections with ourselves, nature, and the spirit world • Shares exercises to help readers plant the seeds of transformation in their own consciousness, navigate altered states of consciousness and ego death, work with the shadow, and integrate fragmented parts of the self • Explores ancestral teachings on the interconnectedness of all life, drawing on the author’s studies with indigenous elders, including Bwiti initiations with iboga Presenting a deep dive into the world of psychedelic initiation and ancestral wisdom, Tricia Eastman demonstrates the power of plant medicine and psychedelic journeys for planting new beliefs, healing trauma, and cultivating latent gifts within us—an inner alchemical process she calls the “seeding of consciousness.” Drawing on her studies with indigenous elders, including a decade of iboga initiations with the Bwiti of Gabon, Africa, Eastman provides a blueprint for responsible and effective use of entheogens to transform pain and trauma into profound connections with ourselves, nature, and the spirit world. She explores ancient teachings on the interconnectedness of all life and the forces of nature and shows how colonization and modern culture have disconnected us from our spiritual foundations. She shares exercises to help readers seed their own consciousness, navigate altered states of consciousness and ego death, work with the shadow, and integrate fragmented parts of the self. She also examines how to respectfully engage with these potent transformative substances and ancient traditions, including honoring the wisdom keepers who have safeguarded these traditions across the millennia. Revealing how to prepare the fertile soil of the mind for mystical experience, this book presents a psychedelic path to awakening that simultaneously facilitates personal transformation and collective societal change.
Download or read book Breaking Open the Head written by Daniel Pinchbeck and published by Crown. This book was released on 2003-08-12 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A dazzling work of personal travelogue and cultural criticism that ranges from the primitive to the postmodern in a quest for the promise and meaning of the psychedelic experience. While psychedelics of all sorts are demonized in America today, the visionary compounds found in plants are the spiritual sacraments of tribal cultures around the world. From the iboga of the Bwiti in Gabon, to the Mazatecs of Mexico, these plants are sacred because they awaken the mind to other levels of awareness--to a holographic vision of the universe. Breaking Open the Head is a passionate, multilayered, and sometimes rashly personal inquiry into this deep division. On one level, Daniel Pinchbeck tells the story of the encounters between the modern consciousness of the West and these sacramental substances, including such thinkers as Allen Ginsberg, Antonin Artaud, Walter Benjamin, and Terence McKenna, and a new underground of present-day ethnobotanists, chemists, psychonauts, and philosophers. It is also a scrupulous recording of the author's wide-ranging investigation with these outlaw compounds, including a thirty-hour tribal initiation in West Africa; an all-night encounter with the master shamans of the South American rain forest; and a report from a psychedelic utopia in the Black Rock Desert that is the Burning Man Festival. Breaking Open the Head is brave participatory journalism at its best, a vivid account of psychic and intellectual experiences that opened doors in the wall of Western rationalism and completed Daniel Pinchbeck's personal transformation from a jaded Manhattan journalist to shamanic initiate and grateful citizen of the cosmos.
Download or read book Cultural Sociology of the Middle East Asia and Africa written by Andrea L. Stanton and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2012-01-05 with total page 1977 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These volumes convey what daily life is like in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Entries will aid readers in understanding the importance of cultural sociology, to appreciate the effects of cultural forces around the world.
