Eduard Nielsen's Oral Tradition Sixty Years After

ABSTRACT

When Eduard Nielsen’s Oral Tradition appeared in 1954 the author’s main motivation for writing it was frustration with what was felt to be serious shortcomings in current methods of Old Testament research. Influ-enced by “Scandinavian” scholarship (above all Pedersen, Nyberg, and Engnell), Nielsen wishes to replace historical critical approaches with more adequate, updated methods. In particular, he wants to integrate insights into the oral processes that lead to the creation of the literature of the Hebrew Bi-ble into his exegetical techniques. For comparative purposes, Nielsen utilizes texts from ancient cultures where orality was predominant. He discusses above all Greek, Mesopotamian, and Old Norse sources. In view of the huge interest in orality and memory in academia today it is obvious that Nielsen was far ahead of his time. It is more than regrettable that so little attention has been paid to this pioneering work.     

Omstrede Land – Die Historiese Ontwikkeling van die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondvraagstuk, 1652-2011

Abstract

This article aims to analyse the water policy of the French Protectorate in Morocco (1912–1956). After the proclamation of the protectorate, actions on the part of the new rulers affected both the modern and traditional water sectors. The authorities aimed to regulate water resources to help economic growth and favour the settlers living in the occupied areas. On the management side, they tried to adapt traditional institutions and practices to those of metropolitan France, while respecting tradition to some extent. During the first half of the 20th century, these colonial interventions caused profound changes in the established order, which can still be seen at the heart of water management systems used today in this part of the Maghreb. For the purposes of this article, we have adopted evolutionary and institutional theories and applied a methodology based on historical and anthropological analysis, with contributions from the fields of law, economics and geography.     

An Ongoing Tradition: The Use of Russian Metal Dishware in Ob Ugrian Rites

The article focuses on foreign elements in the traditional cultures of northwestern Siberia. The sources of this study are silver and copper saucers mostly bearing representations of hunting scenes, which were manufactured by Russian craftsmen in the 18th–19th centuries for the needs of alien ethnic groups. Ways in which the saucers were used in Ob Ugrian rituals are described along with the specific features and attributions of these objects. The use of Russian metal dishware is viewed in the context of the long cultural tradition of using metal vessels, made in other ethnic environments (Iran, western Central Asia, Volga Bulgaria, Kama region, etc.) as well as in the religious and ritual practices of the Khanty and Mansi.     

Religious Pluralism

Abstract

This essay aims to lay out standards, personal and communal, for openness about religious diversity, without declining into a patronizing or trivializing relativism and without succumbing to the kindred weakness of skepticism. It is not inconsistent, I argue, to hold fast to one's religious convictions and practices while respecting and learning from other religious (and non-religious) traditions. Critical appropriation is the key here. For states and communities as well, openness and indeed support are warranted. But here too critical scrutiny is called for. Social harmony does not require unanimity or consensus, nor does diversity entail incommensurability, let alone inevitable tragedy. Sharp divisions between faith and practice are often artificial and unnecessary for a wholesome pluralism. The bien pensant reduction of all religious commitments to an imagined common core is unhelpful and often rightfully unwelcome. But equally unhelpful is the romantic if admiring stereotyping of the exotic. What's recommended here, societally, is the even-handed fostering of religious traditions (based on voluntary affiliation and support), on the grounds that, like education and the arts, religious communities promote human flourishing. But the same reasoning cautions against support for those religious trends that thwart or stymie human well-being. Societies do not require the level of coherence that individuals may pursue. But neither can they afford, for their own sake and that of their members, to ignore dangerous and destructive claims upon the human spirit.     

Heritage and rural gentrification in Spain: the case of Santiago Millas

Although gentrification has been mostly understood as an urban phenomenon, the permanent establishment of urban dwellers in rural areas is becoming a widespread trend across the world. Despite its relevance to postindustrial societies, rural gentrification has been largely overlooked by heritage scholars, and has been explored very little in the context of Spain. In this article, I examine the relationship between heritage and rural gentrification through the case study of Santiago Millas, a village located in the Maragatería region of Spain. Based on long-term ethnographic engagement with different actors (newcomers, local residents, and public officials), I examine a specific instance of the globalizing phenomenon of rural gentrification, highlighting the key role heritage plays in this phenomenon, including (1) the impact on local governmentalities based on heritage discourse; (2) the refurbishing of houses and changes in the social spaces of villages; and (3) the transformation of social life and rituals into metacultural discourses of heritage. I emphasize the urgency to carry out more research in order to improve our understanding of the complex and multifaceted phenomenon of rural gentrification from a heritage perspective.     

Western technical traditions of pottery making in Tang Dynasty China: chemical evidence from the Liquanfang Kiln site,Xi'an city

This study is based on the SEM-EDS and LA-ICP-AES analyses of a sample of twenty-nine Tang sancai sherds unearthed from the Liquanfang site, Xi'an city. The results indicate that ceramics with yellowish bodies are calcareous and those with red bodies were made of ferruginous clays. The use of calcareous clay in Tang sancai bodies is otherwise unknown in Chinese history, which suggests that the technique of Tang sancai making at this site might have been influenced by ceramic technology from the Near East or Central Asia. The paper therefore argues that the traditional approach of treating calcareous clay as the main characteristic of pottery made in the ancient Near East or Central Asia is not necessarily accurate. It is likely that some calcareous Tang sancai ceramics were made in the capital city of the Tang dynasty.     

穿行在历史与现实之间的地缘学术思想——《贵州：学术与思想的世界》前言

贵州学术思想的发展,不但与中央王朝凭借国家力量开发和经营帝国西南疆域的历史进程一致,而且也与以儒学为主体的大传统文化向滇黔两省的扩散传播同步。它既有赖于士大夫社会的形成,也有赖于知识精英的产生,最终则经、史、子、集四部均各有大量撰述,直接以地缘文化的形式丰富了祖国的学术文化宝库。任何具有价值的理解或诠释都必然包含着历史与现实的沟通,传统学术思想通过亲切而具体的创造性衔接亦可成为未来文化继续发展的动力资源。     

对华北地区旧石器两大文化传统的反思

贾兰坡先生提出华北地区旧石器存在分别以大型石器与小型石器为特征的两大文化传统.本文通过对华北地区主要的旧石器遗址和地点文化特征的总结分析,发现石料的分布和两大文化传统的分布是完全重合的.所以,这种大小石器的分布区域不是文化因素的结果,而是自然资源(石料)分布差异的结果.所谓华北旧石器两大文化传统,是在受到原料制约的情况下自然产生的文化面貌.     

口碑史料厘定

口碑史料是史料的四大类型之一。现代概念上的口碑史学在中国尚未真正建立起来 ,史学界对口碑史料的认识相当模糊。为纠谬补苴 ,使口碑史料与其他类型的史料彻底区别开来 ,笔者主张把口碑史料定义为 :由历史研究者亲自采访得来的、仅供自己使用的口耳相传的史料。它应包括口述回忆、口头传说和专用口语三部分。