African Minkisi and American Culture Essay -- essays research papers

African Minkisi and American Culture I. Introduction African Minkisi have been used for hundreds of years in West Central Africa, This area where they are traditionally from was once known as the kingdom of Kongo, when Europeans started settling and trading with the BaKongo people. Kongo was a well-known state throughout much of the world by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The BaKongo, however, had probably long used minkisi before ethnographers and anthropologists ever recorded them. Minkisi are complex items that are used to heal and to harm people, and there is no equivalent term for nkisi in any European language. A seventeenth century Dutch geographer first wrote of the nkisi, and said that, â€Å"These Ethiopians [that is, the BaKongo] call moquisie [minkisi] everything in which resides, in their opinion, a secret and incomprehensible virtue to do them good or ill, and to reveal event of past and future† (Williams, 13). The term illness, in this context, is quite different than what we refer to illness. Illne ss, to the BaKongo, meant anything from sickness, to loss of property, and the inability to succeed in things like school and work. . â€Å"The perpetual struggle with the unseen forces that cause illness and misfortunes was (and is) called â€Å"war† in Kongo† (MacGaffey, 98). A war is ended when one side of the struggle proves that they have better magic. The objects themselves are extremely complex, and most of them require hours of, â€Å"painstaking labor to construct† (MacGaffey, 33). â€Å"All minkisi, whether in the form of wooden figures, snail shells, raffia bags, or clay pots, are containers for â€Å"medicines† that empowers them† (MacGaffey, 43). â€Å"The usual containers included the shells of large snails, antelope horns, cloth bags, gourds, and clay pots. Although minkisi in museums are usually wooden figurines and statues, containers of this kind may well have been the minority† (MacGaffey, 63). Without medicines, the minki si are nothing, they are not alive, nor can they perform their functions. â€Å"To BaKongo, all exceptional powers result from some sort of communication with the dead† (MacGaffey, 59). Chiefs, witches, diviners/prophets, and magicians could all do this, especially through and with the help of the minkisi. There are rules and ways of doing things with them, to them, that exemplify so many aspects of Kongo cultu... ...t, with a mirror-stoppered cow horn of clairvoyance (vititi mensu), musical instruments used in sacred ritual, and elaborate beaded artwork. A red flag with protective signs hangs on the wall behind the nkisi to protect the altar, its owner and his family from harm. The basic Kongo cosmogram is a cross within a circle, dikenga, that is a symbolic chart of the voyage of the soul. As a miniature of the sun, the soul is thought to have four moments -- birth, efflorescence, fading and the return in the dawn of a coming day. Triangles, diamonds, spirals, or crisscrosses denote this cyclical movement. The soul, which is thought by the Bakongo to reside in the forehead, is often represented in diamond form and can be seen on many African masks. The exhibition includes such masks -- 19th century Punu, Teke (Tsaaye), and Chokwe masks, and a 20th century Vili mask ringed with feathers. In addition, a fully feathered Mardi gras "Wild Man" costume from New Orleans, reminiscent of Kongo feather masks and headdresses worn by healers, is a living example of the creolized Kongo traditions found in the United States. http://www.art3st.com/various_pages/faceofthegods.html

Isobelle Carmody’s “The Gathering” Essay

The book â€Å"The Gathering† by Isobelle Carmody explored the theme of â€Å"Good VS Evil† in such an intricate manner that every aspect of the text, the characters, themes and her own message portrayal, all become involved. This means that the reader can understand the plot of the book, and will be able to clearly read the message being revealed by the three main aspects of it. Other minor things, such as the title of the book itself, contribute to the feelings of the reader, all of which are designed by Carmody to make the book exactly what it is. By using the characters to develop the readers understanding of â€Å"Good VS Evil†, the themes to allow the reader to grasp the message being sent by Carmody and her style of writing, and the purpose of Carmody’s presence in the text itself, â€Å"The Gathering† has proven to be one of the most fascinating book of its kind. The characters in the book â€Å"The Gathering† help us to grasp the message which is being sent by the author, that is, â€Å"Good VS Evil†. Nathanial (Nat) Delaney, who stars in the novel as the main character, depicts the image of the good character. One who has found his place, and has managed to establish himself as a crucial role in the development of his own life, and that of those around him. In the fight against the current Kraken, Nathanial, as a character in the text, has helped the reader understand who the people around him are fighting for, whether it is good or evil. His relation to the book outside the Chain would be very minimal, as most of the text’s relation to him is connected in some manner. His study on Anna Galway as a veteran of Cheshunt exposed the truth about her past, that is, that she was part of a previous Chain, one which failed to do its job. Carmody uses these â€Å"two separate† issues in Nathanial’s life to create a feeling of hope and understanding, but also confusion, as to why that Chain had failed. The characters around Nathanial, although star a very important role in the progression of the story, are not focused on in the same way as that of Nathanial, and therefore are only know through the Chain. They, being Nissa, Indian, Nathanial, Danny and Seth, all relate to the â€Å"Good† side of the story, and the true meaning of being â€Å"Good† is developed in a very intriguing way by Carmody. The use of making these main characters â€Å"Good† rather than â€Å"Evil† creates a connection between the reader and the text. When this connection is made, through a series of hardships and moments  which make the reader realize just what role they are playing in the plot, the reader then begins to feel the same things as are being described by Carmody, the emotions, the desire for everything to turn for the better. The â€Å"Evil† side of the book â€Å"The Gathering† is also shone through the characters, particularly those fighting against what the reader and the Chain desire. While there is â€Å"Evil† present in a physical way through characters like Mr. Karle and Buddha, â€Å"Then the Kraken stepped forward and slapped her across the face. A trickle of dark blood ran from the corner of her mouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  , â€Å"The match landed on his tail and flames swept forward up over him.† , there is still an ever strong emotional, physiological evil. For example, when the final fight between â€Å"Good† and â€Å"Evil† was set up at the abattoir, Mr. Karle uses his advantage of knowing each of the members of the Chain’s mental weakness. By picking at their weaknesses, the reader feels the sympathy and sorrow felt amongst the characters. â€Å"(Nissa) No one could ever love such a creature except out of pity† , â€Å"(Indian) you would recognize the signs of concussive brain damage.† , â€Å"†¦ (Nathanial) her only begotten son is going the way of the father. So terribly sad. So ironic.† , â€Å"(Danny) I think you truly must have damaged your brain in that field. The dogs must have bitten into it† . This makes the reader fully understand how the â€Å"Good VS Evil† is present within the text, as they are fully taken in to the emotions of their own understanding as to what is being done by the Evil. The themes in the book â€Å"The Gathering†, namely love, friendship, suspense, and believability, allow the reader to grasp the concept of â€Å"Good VS Evil†. The theme of love is explored and expressed through the characters of Nathanial and Nissa. Nathanial, throughout the text, has started to develop a fond affection toward Nissa. Although Nathanial initially regarded her as â€Å"†¦a girl up the far side with odd spiky red hair sticking up in all directions.† ,as the story progressed, the Chain was re-created, and issue arose which (to lay to rest) depended on the support and encouragement of one another, Nathanial fell more and more in love with Nissa. This ploy by Isobelle Carmody is an attempt to create a relationship between both them as a couple, and the reader with them as a couple. The reader then feels more for the success of the side in which this couple is committed to. This  connection between reader and characters is then played on by Car mody as they face struggles, and almost an absolute failure as the Chain. Another theme in the text is friendship. This ever strong theme is present throughout the whole book, one which supports the structure and plot of the text. The friendship and trust which is needed to create and hold the Chain was immense, and was evident throughout; â€Å"†You’re not one of us† Nissa was saying to Seth.† â€Å"†Nissa, we’re the Chain,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"†The five of us make up the chain and he’s trying to break Seth away from us!†Ã¢â‚¬  . This shows that through hardship and times of struggle, friendship will bond one another together, and will prevail. Though not as clichà © as love, suspense plays the most important role in the story. Carmody uses suspense throughout the story, specifically when the text is nearing a rise in tension, a chapter conclusion, or a climax. This is so that when the reader has reached any of these points in the text, they do not want to put it down because there is a hook, te lling the reader that more information will be revealed, or leaving them on a â€Å"cliff-hanger†. Suspense is also used in the description of important scenes in the plotline. To do this, Carmody would, momentarily, leave the dialogue to give a description of the surroundings, or such, so that the reader can grasp the importance, or the feeling trying to be sent by her. â€Å"It was a grim joke, considering why I had come. She hummed to herself as she emptied the blackberries into a double boiler.† This shows us how something so irrelevant, as blackberries, can give an effect, and the effect in said situation was the fact that she was just an old woman, a genuine person. The last, but as important as all other themes, is believability. Carmody uses the technique of believability to connect the reader to the text, so that we feel what the characters are feeling, and we feel for them. She does this by making the reader understand the position they are in, and how each character depends on one another. Also, by influencing the reader to love the â€Å"Good† characters of the text, there is then a vile hatred for that that is evil, as with the characters. The contrast is then able to become more evident, between â€Å"Good VS Evil†. Throughout the book â€Å"The Gathering† by Isobelle Carmody has proven to explore the theme â€Å"Good VS Evil† in a very detailed manner, that is, by using things like the themes, characters, and Carmody’s own message, which seeps into the  text all through the story. This is the message of â€Å"Good VS Evil†, it is the message of the superior themes within the story, which help dictate everything from emotion to decisions. The text â€Å"The Gathering† by Isobelle Carmody has, in no doubt, managed to explore and enlighten the reader of the theme, â€Å"Good VS Evil†.

Economic Development - 1870 Words

Introduction Governments the world over have long been investing in infrastructure in the hope of boosting economic development of their country. To study the relationship between infrastructure and economic development, we compared two journals; Infrastructure and Local Economic Development by Rives, J amp; Heaney, M. (1995) and Infrastructure and Economic Growth: The Nigeria Experience 1980-2006 by Enimola, S (2010). We chose these journals as the journal by Rives, J looked at the approach on a community/state level whereas the journal by Enimola, S looked at it at a national level. Hence, we were able to look at the topic at a micro and macro level. We compared the objectives of both journals, along with the methodological†¦show more content†¦DEVELOP = a + b1 INFRA + b2ln DSCITY + b3ln DSINT + b4 TOTAX + b5 EDUCATE + B6 MANEMP + b7 ln POP + E INFRA - average sewer capacity, average water plant capacity, state highway and national highway. DEVELOP - median household income, percent of the labour force employed, population change, assessed valuation per capita (property valuation) DSINT – Distance to an interstate highway DSCITY – Shortest distance to the nearest regional centre TOTAX – Property tax rate. This is measured because there is a negative relationship between tax rate and economic development as firms tend to move to regions where the tax rate is lower. EDUCATE – Percent of high school and college graduates. This measure is taken to account for the human capital stock of the community. MANEMP – is the proportion employed in manufacturing. This is to account for the agglomeration in the community. This is because agglomeration have been known to promote economic growth through greater division of labor, cost saving in bulk purchases, better communication and relationship between managers and the availability of alternative technologies. 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