Religious Syncretism

The 2nd Global African Indigenous and Derived Religions Conference provided a platform for scholars of African Indigenous Religions and African-derived religions to critically appraise the status, nature and role of global African Indigenous and Derived Religions, bringing together academics, practitioners and 'activists' in civil society, from Africa and the Afro-American diaspora with special emphasis on Brazil, as one of the major countries of African culture. This aimed to provide a forum for trans-Atlantic exchange, also in the southern hemisphere, which is very neccesary. The conference encouraged research and explored avenues for the documentation and preservation of African indigenous and derived religions, both as a matter of intrinsic value as with regard to their lasting influence on Christianity, Islam and on Esotericism in the 'West'. The special importance of the study of Africa Indigenous Religion - in the forms it has developed in Africa and in the Americas - for the affirmation and further development of African and Afro-Descendant identities, in terms of politics of identity in many fields has been recognized.

Nabigyan ng pagpapahalaga ang komprehensibong pagdalumat sa relasyong Tsino at Pilipino sa buhay at kamatayan sa isang aklat na pinamagatang Himlayan, Pantiyon, Kampo Santo, Sementeryo: Exploring Philippine Cemeteries (2016) na pinamamatnugutan ni Dr. Grace Barretto-Tesoro ng Programa sa Araling Arkeolohiya ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. Ito ay binubuo ng isang daan at apatnapu’t dalawang (242) pahina at limang (5) kabanata-- [1] Angels on Earth: Investigating Infant and Children Burials in Manila Cemeteries ni Grace Barreto-Tesoro (pah. 1-39); [2] Angels and Dragons in the Manila Chinese Cemetery nina Donna Mae N. Arriola at Eleanor Marie S. Lim (pah. 41-80); [3] Ang Mamatay ng Dahil sa iyo: Patriots’ Graves at Manila Cemeteries and Neighboring Provinces ni Andrea Malaya M. Ragragio (pah. 81-153);[4] Death, Grief, and Memorial: A Review of the Boy Scouts Tragedy of 1963 nina Kathleen D.C. Tantuico at Omar K. Choa (pah. 155-168); at [5] Colonial Period Cemeteries as Filipino Heritage ni Michelle S. Eusebio (pah. 169-197). Sa limang kabanatang ito, mas higit na binigyan ng pansin at lapatan ng anotasyon ang ikalawa dahil tahasan tumatalakay ang artikulong ito sa mayaman at makakultural na ugnayan ng Pilipinas at Tsina bilang mga Asyanong bansa pagdating sa konseptwalisasyon ng kamatayan.

Religious sects were affected upon the political system changes in many countries as a historical factor, on the earth, time to time. Some sects failed, but some of them were successful. In fact, some of their leaders came to power or established a dynasty. Historically, there were two prominent religious and syncretic sects on the earth, which lead a revolt and established their dynasties: First, White Lotus and Red Turban Movement in the fourteenth century in China; second, the Shi'ite Safavids in the sixteenth century in Iran. In this article, shortly, both will be compared as historical factors, and inquired that their ways of coming to power, taking their lead of the revolts and establishing their dynasties 1.Religious Sects and "Syncretism" Religious sects had not symbolized a character of a whole religious system as a historical point of view, because mainstream religious institutions had been converted into a political tool by the ruling class or the monarch. Thus, it was emerged two (or more) separated belief approachment within a religion which each one was able to eclectic. Also, religious sects became popular and independently faith-based organizations which mixed with old local beliefs and spread to different places in a country. On the other hand, there had been some sects with a mixed character of various belief systems in a religion, as historically. This was called "syncretism".

Guest contribution for the blog 'Urban-rural migration and rural revitalization in Japan' funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and hosted by Professor Cornelia Reiher from the Institue of Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. ベルリン大学日本社会学科管理のブログに、鳥取で行っている山岳信仰に関わる現場調査から得た成果やフィールドワークの現況についてくゲスト投稿. https://userblogs.fu-berlin.de/urban-rural-migration-japan/2021/10/29/guest-contribution-revitalization-attempts-of-buddhist-temples-in-the-rural-regions-of-tottori/

One of the places where there is an assumed manifestation of the Beloved Community is the Black church. However, church hurt is a phenomenon that has plagued the Black community. Marginalization, isolation, and even the adoption of a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude have been inferred habits and practices for Black congregants whose sexual lifestyle, mental stability, or sexual or emotional trauma may not fit neatly into the church doctrine. The inability to fit neatly within the doctrinal norms leaves many members of the Black community feeling abandoned spiritually and in a desperate search for belonging and acceptance. Using Black liberation theology, womanist thought, autoethnography, and Afrocentricity as a metatheory, this article seeks to discuss the impact of liberationist ideology and womanist ethics within the practices of an Afrocentric rite of passage community based in Atlanta, Georgia, with a satellite branch in New York, New York.

This Handbook offers an authoritative and up-to-date survey of original research in the study of religion. Its fifty-one chapters, written by authors from twelve countries, are organized into seven systematic parts. Part I (“Religion”) comprises chapters on definitions and theories of religion, history/translation, spirituality, and non-religion. Part II (“Theoretical Approaches”) reviews cognitive science, economics, evolutionary theory, feminism/gender theory, hermeneutics, Marxism, postcolonialism, semantics, semiotics, structuralism/poststructuralism, and social theory. Part III (“Modes”) addresses communication, materiality, narrative, performance, sound, space, and time. Part IV (“Environments”) relates religion to economy, law, media, nature, medicine, politics, science, sports, and tourism. Part V (“Topics”) discusses belief, emotion, experience, gift and sacrifice, gods, initiations and transitions, priests/prophets/sorcerers, purity, and salvation. Part VI (“Processes”) de...

Review of the film "Same God." Directed by Linda Midgett. Produced by Abigail Disney (executive producer), Kathleen Bolthouse Treat (executive producer), David Vanderveen (executive producer), Lesley Kubistal (editor/co-producer). Midgett Productions, 2018. Shared with permission

Исследование посвящено основным идеям, текстам и формам практики синкретического даосского направле-ния Чунсюань-пай-«парного сокровенного», получившего развитие в VII-X вв. Из буддизма оно заимство-вало ряд логических построений Мадхьямики, в том числе систему четырехуровневого диалектического от-рицания, а также идею абсолютного «опустошения сознания» для преодоления привязанностей как в миру, так и к любым ментальным концепциям. Частично эти идеи нашли отражение в особой даосско-буддийской медитативной традиции, ярким примером которой стал «Канон чистоты и покоя» (Цинцзин цзин). Несмотря на вполне традиционную структуру, тематическую связь с «Дао дэ цзином» и наставления, приписываемые Лао-цзюню, этот текст обращает особе внимание на технику «внутреннего взора» (нэй гуань), которая также тяготеет к буддийской практике вишашьяны и призвана устранить бинарные оппозиции («чистое-загрязненное», «движение-покой») в сознании практикующего. «Канон чистоты и по-коя» и сегодня высоко почитается в даосских школах центрального Китая. Медиативная практика на его ос-нове заключена в поэтапном прохождении «взирания внутрь», «взирания вовне», «взирания вдаль» и «прозре-ния пустоты». Высший этап «опустошения пустоты» приводит к деактуалитзации «эго» и обрыву всех связей миром. Таким образом, экзегетическая идея «двойного сокровенного» реализуется как одна из форм практики в даосизме при влиянии буддийских идей. Ключевые слова Китай, религия, культура, даосизм, буддизм, «парное сокровенное», Чунсюань, «Канон чистоты и покоя», сю-аньсюэ, медитация, логика Для цитирования Маслов А. А. Буддийско-даосский синкретизм в школе «парного сокровенного» и медитация «чистоты и покоя» // The papers are dedicated to the concepts, main ideas, texts, and forms of practice of the syncretic Taoist movement Chongxuan-pai – “Twofold mystery”, which was developed in the 7–10th centuries. This school borrowed a number of logical constructions of Madhyamika Buddhism, including the system of four-level dialectical negation, as well as the idea of absolute “emptying of consciousness” for overcoming attachments both to mundane life and to any mental concepts. In part, these ideas are reflected in the Taoist-Buddhist practice of attaining “purity and quietness, a specific tradition of meditation, with its most important text “Canon of Purity and Quietness” (Qingjing jing) (given in this article in the author’s translation). Despite its traditional structure, thematic allusions with “Dao De Jing” and precepts attributed to Lao Ching, this Canon pays special attention to the technique of “inner contemplation” (nei guan), which also gravitates to the Buddhist practice of vipasyana and is called to eliminate binary opposition (pure-polluted, movement-rest) in the practitioner's consciousness. The “Canon of purity and Quietness” is still highly revered in central China’s Taoist schools today. The basis of the meditative practice according to this Canon is the gradual ascending from “looking inward”, “looking outward” and “looking away” to «contemplation of emptiness". The highest stage of “emptying the emptiness” leads to the complete deactualization of the ego and the breaking of all ties with the world. In this way, the exegetical idea of the “Twofold mystery” is realized as a form of Taoist practice influenced by Buddhist ideas.

Yirminci yüzyılın ikinci çeyreğinde yapılmaya başlanmış olan araştırmalar, Yunan mitosuyla Ortadoğu mitos ve düşüncesi arasındaki benzerliklerin, sadece psikolojik bir yaşantı benzerliği ile izah edilemeyeceğini, bu benzerliğin veya paralelliğin bir kültürel etkileşme ile daha kolay ve ikna edici bir şekilde izah edilebileceğini ortaya koymuştur. Ünlü Oxford sözlüğüne göre 1618 yılından bu yana İngilizcede ve diğer büyük Avrupa dillerinde yer almış bulunan syncretism kelimesi, kavram olarak, farklı hattâ birbirine aykırı düşebilecek unsurları, felsefi ve dinî inanç ve uygulamaları bağdaştırmayı (birleştirmeyi veya bütünleştirmeyi) ifade etmek üzere kullanılmış olan bir kelimedir. Benzer bir kelime olarak eclectism, herhangi bir sistem için çeşitli kaynaklardan en iyi olabileceği düşünülen bir seçim yapmayı içerdiği halde syncretism, farklı, hattâ birbirine aykırı olan felsefî ve dinî inanç ve pratikleri gevşek bir bağ ile bir araya getirmeyi veya birbiri ile bağdaştırmayı, tutarsız diyebileceğimiz bir eklektizm işlemine tâbi tutmayı ifade eden bir kelime veya kavram olarak algılanmaktadır. Her iki bütünleşmenin altyapısını oluşturan genelleştirme, evvelce farklı olarak kabul edilen bir grup verinin birlikte sahip olduğu özellikleri bir araya getirme işlemidir. Kognitif bir mekanizma olarak genelleştirme, obje âlemini düzene koymayı amaçlayan bir süreçtir; aynîleşme ise bu sürecin sonunda ortaya çıkan, tatmin edici bir safhaya işaret etmektedir. Yunan mitolojisinde ünlü kahramanların öykülerini anlatmayı amaçlamış olan tiyaro, roman, sinema senaryosu, opera librettosu yazanlar veya şiir inşad edenler çoğu zaman eklektizmi, bir çelişkiye yer vermeyecek şekilde, kamunun dikkatine sunmayı başarmışlar; Yunan Mitolojisinde Aşk adlı kitabımızda bu söylediklerimizin uygun, hattâ parlak örneklerinin bulunduğunu ortaya koymuşlardır. Kutsal telâkki edilen alanlarda ise, insanoğlu daha dikkatli, hattâ çekingen davranmak ihtiyacını duymuş, olanı olduğu gibi ele almayı, korumayı tercih etmek zorunda kalmış; bağdaşmayan unsurları gerçeğe uygunluk açısından bir irdelemeye tâbi tutamamıştır.

中国宗教看似杂乱无章，难以理解，外人不知就里，在庙堂道观看见满天神佛，主殿看见佛像，旁边是吕祖，堂前是孔圣尊像，儒释道似是共融合一，难以区分。有些道堂印刷经文，经文卷首写上佛号，内文却是记述道家内丹的修炼心诀，道释相混，玄密艰深。宗派学说交叠相合，紊乱深奥，棱角模糊，实难判别教派所属。今人该如何理清中国宗教复杂结构？当中可有逻辑秩序依循？本文先比较“单元”与“组合体”概念，析述中国教派古来互相依存，未尝一教独大，是故中国宗教当属“组合体”而非“单元”。又，辅以粤北打醮祭坛、台湾鸾堂典籍、越南高台教、各地先天道等例，阐述细节，划分中国宗教“组合体”的数个类别，勾勒箇中组合结构与整合逻辑，类别有三，分别为：“功能”、“内外”与“宗教场域”。中国宗教内藏玄密，表里不一，复杂难明，但用心研究，认清外在皮相，始见内里分工细致，不难理解。尝用“组合体”概念读通中国宗教，当知道中国各宗各派互为表里，圆融无碍，应可解昧。

Volgens activisten komt Zwarte Piet voort uit de racistische Amerikaanse blackface-traditie. Maar zijn wortels zijn veel ouder: door heel Europa heeft Sint-Nicolaas zwart geschminkte knechten, die wellicht teruggaan op een prehistorische sjamanistische traditie. Een verhandeling aan de vooravond van het Sinterklaasfeest. door Arnold-Jan Scheer Bekentenissen van een Zwarte Piet HP/DE TIJD 11/2020 3 2 ZWARTE PIET 11/2020

This article is a critique of the neologism “Daoist medicine” (daojiao yixue 道教醫學) that has recently entered scholarly discourse in China. It provides evidence that this expression is an anachronism which found its way into scholarly discourse in 1995 and has now become so widely used that it is seen as representing an undisputed “historical fact.” It demonstrates that the term has no precursor in the pre-modern record, and critiques two substantive attempts to set up “Daoist medicine” as an analytical term. It reviews earlier scholarship on Daoism and medicine, or healing, within the larger context of religion and medicine, and shows how attention has shifted, particularly in relation to the notion of overlap or intersection of these historical fields of study. It proposes that earlier frameworks grounded in epistemology or simple social identity do not effectively represent the complexity of these therapies. Practice theory, on the other hand, provides a useful analytic for unpacking the organisation and transmission of curing knowledge. Such an approach foregrounds the processes and dynamics of assemblage, rather than theoretical abstractions. The article concludes by proposing a focus on the Daoing of medicine, that is, the variety of processes by which therapies come to be known as Daoist, rather than imposing an anachronistic concept like Daoist medicine.

In Chinese communities in the Asia Pacific region, religion constitutes an integral element of Chinese cultural identity. However, in Singapore's ethnically mixed environment, religious synthesis is becoming increasingly common with Chinese vernacular religion integrating beliefs and practices from neighbouring ethnic groups. Government policy in Singapore on the management of ethnic groups has been shaped by the aspiration to construct a multicultural nationalistic state, inadvertently fuelling religious acculturation, appropriation, interpenetration, transfiguration, hybridisation and cultural borrowing between ethnic and religious groups. An analysis of the interrelationship between the socio-political and religious arenas highlights varied catalysts that trigger these "technologies of new religious synthesis," and provides illustrations of their fundamental role as "self-perpetuating mechanisms" in multi-faith religious landscapes.

Abstractum:

Synkretyzm religijny w tekstach chrześcijańskich, hermetycznych oraz papirusach magicznych greckich, na przykładzie problemu genezy zła

Celem pracy jest omówienie problematyki związanej z synkretyzmem religijnym w wybranych dziełach literatury chrześcijańskiej, hermetycznej i greckich papirusach magicznych. Analizie poddane zostały zwłaszcza teksty związane z hermeneutyką demonologii i angelarium, pseudoepigrafy o charakterze eschatologicznym, a także greckie traktaty magiczne. Podstawowe pytanie, jakie stawiam, odnosi się do elementu doktrynalnego religii: w jaki sposób synkretyzm może pomóc określić naturę zła oraz bytów złośliwych? Całość została osadzona w ramach religioznawczych, którego jednymi z głównych zadań są: egzegeza, ukazanie podobieństw pomiędzy doktrynami religijnymi oraz krytyczna analiza porównawcza omawianych tekstów.

słowa kluczowe: synkretyzm, demonologia, angelologia, gnoza, religia, Bóg, bóstwa, magia, anioły, demony, chrześcijaństwo, kultura, antyk, mitologia, mity, polityka, filozofia, religioznawstwo, religiologia, hermeneutyka, geneza, historia, hermetyzm, hermetycyzm, alchemia, czary, ewokacje, inkantacje, Biblia, PGM, lingwistyka, łacina, koiné .



Religious Syncretism in Christian and Hermetic texts and in the Papyri Graecae Magicae by the example of the Problem of the Origin of Evil

The purpose of the work is to discuss the problem of the relationship with religious syncretism in selected works of Christian and Hermetic literature and Greek magical papyri. The main subjects analyzed were texts related to hermeneutics of demonology and angelarium, pseudepigrapha and eschatological features as well as the Greek magic treatises. The basic question to guide the strategies taken is: how can syncretism help us to understand evil and malicious entities? The whole was embedded within the cross-section of religion, that some of the main tasks are: exegesis, showing similarities between religious doctrines and critical comparative analysis of the discussed texts.

keywords: sincretism, demonology, angelology, gnosis, religion, God, deities, magic, angels, demons, christianity, culture, antic, mythology, myths, politics, philosophy, religious studies, religiology, hermeneutics, genesis, history, hermetism, hermeticism, alchemy, spells, evocations, incantations, Bible, PGM, lynguistics, lingua latina, koiné.
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ad.1: artykuł jest fragmentem szerszego tekstu i stanowi część pracy dyplomowej autora.
red. Emilia Żybert-Pruchnicka

Bethel Church in Redding, Kalifornien, und ihr Pastor Bill Johnson sind Teil eines apostolischen Netzwerks, dessen Einfluss über die Grenzen der evangelikalen Gemeindebünde hinaus in Deutschland schnell wächst. Johnson begrüßt es offen, Erkenntnisse des New Age mit christlichen Überzeugungen zu verschmelzen. Er nennt New-Age-Praktiken “Werkzeuge, die Gott uns für den Erfolg im Leben und im Dienst gegeben hat”.  Das Buch The Physics of Heaven, das von der Bethel Church mit Artikeln von Johnson und seiner Frau Beni beworben wird, lädt Christen zu einem Abenteuer mystischer Entdeckungen und Begegnungen ein, um “Wahrheiten aus dem New Age zurückzuerobern, die eigentlich den Bürgern des Reiches Gottes gehören.”  Wenn sich jedoch religiöse Elemente, die der Bibel fremd sind, mit dem christlichen Glauben vermischen, kommt es zu Synkretismus, der die Kraft des Evangeliums, das Leben zur christlichen Reife zu verwandeln, schwächt (Eph 3,16–19; 4,13–14).  Diese Konsequenz des Synkretismus wäre das Gegenteil von dem, was Bethel als eine beispiellose Bevollmächtigung für eine wundersame Zukunft mit übernatürlichen Phänomenen durch die Übernahme der New-Age-Ideologie anpreist. Evangelikale und pfingstlich-orientierte Christen in Deutschland stehen vor der provokanten Frage, ob der Anspruch der Bethel Church auf neues und mystisches Wissen die Aufnahme von New-Age-Überzeugungen in den christlichen Glauben rechtfertigt. Eine Analyse der Art, des Ausmaßes, der Anwendung und der Autorität von mystischer Erkenntnis in der Bethel Church aus evangelikaler Sicht trägt zu dieser Entscheidung und einer theologischen Differenzierung bei. Darüber hinaus beleuchtet ein Vergleich der entsprechenden Themen im New Age die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen den religiösen Bewegungen. Letztendlich werden Gemeindeleiter entscheiden müssen, ob die Integration von New Age innerhalb der grundlegenden evangelikalen Affirmationen, wie in der quadrilateralen Definition von Evangelikalismus durch Bebbington ausgedrückt, bleibt oder unzulässige Formen des Synkretismus darstellt.  Jede der beiden Schlussfolgerungen wird die Beziehungsnetze prägen, die sich zwischen den Gemeindebünden und den Diensten von Bethel bilden. Ein historischer Rückblick auf die Bethel Church und ihren wachsenden Einfluss in Deutschland geht der Diskussion über mystischer Erkenntnis voraus.

Preserving indigenous culture and practices remains a great challenge for indigenous groups living in a pluralistic, westernized, modernized/post-modernized, and globalized society. With the different elements of social change interacting with the traditional knowledge , systems and practices, it is imperative to look at the risks and changes experienced by indigenous groups in relation to its culture. This paper narrates the presence of syncretism of traditional and contemporary practices in the rituals and music of the Ibaloi community and tries to present the possibility of harmonious interface between the modern quotidian and indigenous life in an attempt to pose minimal risks in the relationship. Rituals in the culturally pluralistic society in the Philippines – Loakan, Baguio City – are still executed and observed at present but the elements of which and other preparations are being lessened because of practicality and shift in beliefs. Nonetheless, these systems and practices still exist because of the meanings attached by the people and their socio-cultural function – as social structures and institutions of social coherence and solidarity – and their outlook about the changes and preservation of performances and rituals in the Ibaloi society.

The article proposes a reflection on a mythological theme found by the early evangelizers of the American people in the pre-Hispanic Nahua tradition, in which the first survivors of a flood in some respects similar to that of the Bible, offend the gods and are transformed into dogs, which in turn give origin to some of the peoples of Mesoamerica. A narrative motif that, blended with the arch-testamentary version of the ark, persists in the oral narrative of many indigenous groups in contemporary Mexico. By comparing and analyzing the early versions of the Aztec tale of the flood and those recently collected in an indigenous community in Oaxaca, the article offers some considerations about the reasons for the persistence of some narrative elements and the criteria that have inspired their re-elaboration and adaptation into the current version of the Huave flood story.

For a long time, after her appearance to the Indian Juan Diego in 1531, the Virgin of Guadalupe has been conceived – by the evangelizing Mexican clergy - as the Christian antagonist of pre-Columbian pagan gods, such as the monstrous Coatlicue, the Earth goddess with a skirt of snakes whose colossal statue (discovered at the end of the eighteenth century) has since been the emblem of the incomprehensible and bloody religious otherness of the Amerindian peoples. With the re-evaluation of the native religious expressive forms, following the theological-pastoral turning point of the Second Vatican Council, and the new interpretations of the Nican Mopohua – a Nahuatl document narrating the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe – She has become the pivot around which revolves the pastoral enterprise concerning the conspicuous indigenous population of Mexico and the Americas. Through the examination of the texts produced by members of the so-called Indian Theology (a current of the Mexican clergy), and the ethnographic material collected from some indigenous communities, I propose to explain and analyze how - through a peculiar exegetical process – the Virgin of Guadalupe may end up being identified precisely with its ancient pagan antagonist.

I enjoy watching movies, as well as critiquing them. The movie I chose for this review is a multi-awarded adventure-drama film: The Life of Pi. Based on the novel written by Yann Martel, the movie follows “Pi” Patel, an Indian teenager, who is the lone survivor of a shipwreck trying to survive adrift in the Pacific Ocean (but he is accompanied by a Bengal Tiger). In the novel, Martel discusses themes of religion and spirituality through Pi’s exposure to Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism at an early age. He said in the interview that the book can be summarized in three statements “Life is a story"; "You can choose your story"; "A story with God is the better story" (Renton, 2013). These themes are reflected in the movie, as I will argue that: Unlike in other mainstream movies, The Life of Pi is a strong film that shows its audience how one’s faith in the divine is significant towards perseverance.

There is fundamentally more to Baul spirituality and scripture than merely the music and lyrics that one comes by, and conceivably nobody can ‘delve deep’ into the music form without having some basic understanding and concepts about its tottyo. This book
is an attempt to understand and explain the intricacies of the Baul scriptures. The esoteric couplets, sentences and arguments that usually have moral or historical over tone, the pointed reminders, the signature lines, and the over all thrust of arguments within a very short periphery of time, the alankar (embellishments), all mesh in and combine to create a completed aura of ethereal munificence. Baul music with exceptions follows different traditions and Guru’s in every district of Bangladesh, and sometimes each has its own unique Guru Shishya parampara (student/teachers discourses), leading on to birth of newer, progressive and more challenging schools of thoughts.

While Fakir Lalon Shah is the most celebrated of sages of Bangladesh, the schools of Baul thought encapsulates perhaps several hundred more sages and men of great wisdom, whose writings and philosophies continue to inspire and whose graves
more often than not, take on the shape of shrines, usually devoid of any religious or sectarian symbolism. Being an oral tradition Baul music ironically is also one of our near extinct heritages as most of the works have either disappeared or have been claimed by
unscrupulous people over time. Studies on authorship of many Baul songs (including those of Lalon) and their relevance to original scores and or manuscripts remains a very complicated process and is mired by many unfortunate controversies. To top it off, it is believed that while there were over 300 different types of Baul melodies or tunes; today we are left with scarcely 35. While researching the Bauliana album, I could identify only 20 authentic tunes.

The essays ‘Bauliana: Worshipping the Great God in Man’ in 2003 were written through a feeling of guilt and remorse. While I did receive praise for my work for the musical album of 1996, troubling me intently was a feeling of not been able to share the many
words of wisdom that were imparted to me by the Baul’s over the years to a wider audience, teachings I was sure would benefit a lot of later day enthusiasts. I had made scores of notes at the time, as also consigned most of the teachings to memory but there was always a deep apprehension, that unless my writings were passed on hand to
hand; all the hard work that went into it, will fail my original intention i.e. opening newer dimensions into reading on Baul music, lyrics, philosophy and way of life.

Vodou’s rites and the sacred songs that are sung in the course of their services are in Haitian Creole but they contain many lexical items that stem from West African languages like Fon, Yoruba, Ewe, and Igbo, in addition to West Central African languages like Kikongo. Lexical items with an African origin in Haitian Vodou form a significant part of the religion’s lexicon. The identification of the African lexical sources of the religion allows for hypotheses about the origins of Vodou traditions, sheds light on the history of the French slave trade, and provides clues about the ways in which Vodou took form in colonial Saint-Domingue and independent Haiti. The presence of diverse African cultural and linguistic influences in Haitian Vodou demonstrates the religion’s emergence as a system that syncretized various African traditions into a cohesive whole. This African religious fusion is especially strong in the Asogwe Vodou (Kanzo) tradition, whose stronghold is the Department of the West (i.e. Port-au-Prince and Léogâne) in Haiti. I attempt a preliminary reconstruction of the history of the syncretism of diverse African religious traditions and argue that the “African syncretism” represents the fundamental process that gave rise to Asogwe Vodou in Saint-Domingue and Haiti. I will suggest that the phenomenon of spirit migration within the rites of Haitian Vodou sheds light on the Founder Principle (Mufwene 1996): a few important spirits served in the rites that originate in the Bight of Benin have migrated into the rites of West Central African origin, a process that seems to have taken place in Haiti but draws from a deeper African tradition of spirit-migration between neighboring cultures. This process provides evidence that the religion’s founders from the Bight of Benin exerted a central influence even if pan-African religious inclusivity is a dynamic element of the system they created, Asogwe Vodou.

"The Qur'an before the Qur'an. Some reflections on religious syncretism in Central Arabia", In in Azaiez (Mehdi) (sous la direction de), avec la collaboration de Sabrina Mervin, Le Coran. Nouvelles approches, Paris, CNRS Editions, 2013, p. 145-187 [actes des Journées d’études : « Les études coraniques aujourd’hui : Méthodes, enjeux, débats », Paris, IISMM (Institut d'études de l'Islam et des sociétés du monde musulman)/EHESS (L'École des hautes études en sciences sociales), 26-29 novembre 2009]
I. Introduction. II. Réflexions sur quelques avatars de l'imaginaire prophétique. III. Le terreau originel du lectionnaire arabe de La Mecque. 1. Les vrais chrétiens sont ceux qui sont restés muslimun ou le deviennent. 2. Premières représentations musulmanes des divisions du christianisme. 3. Le Coran, Jésus, Maire, etc. IV. Débat sur l'ascétisme à la veille de l'islam. V. Conclusion

Abstractum:

Synkretyzm religijny w tekstach chrześcijańskich, hermetycznych oraz papirusach magicznych greckich, na przykładzie problemu genezy zła

Celem pracy jest omówienie problematyki związanej z synkretyzmem religijnym w wybranych dziełach literatury chrześcijańskiej, hermetycznej i greckich papirusach magicznych. Analizie poddane zostały zwłaszcza teksty związane z hermeneutyką demonologii i angelarium, pseudoepigrafy o charakterze eschatologicznym, a także greckie traktaty magiczne. Podstawowe pytanie, jakie stawiam, odnosi się do elementu doktrynalnego religii: w jaki sposób synkretyzm może pomóc określić naturę zła oraz bytów złośliwych? Całość została osadzona w ramach religioznawczych, którego jednymi z głównych zadań są: egzegeza, ukazanie podobieństw pomiędzy doktrynami religijnymi oraz krytyczna analiza porównawcza omawianych tekstów.

słowa kluczowe: synkretyzm, demonologia, angelologia, gnoza, religia, Bóg, bóstwa, magia, anioły, demony, chrześcijaństwo, kultura, antyk, mitologia, mity, polityka, filozofia, religioznawstwo, religiologia, hermeneutyka, geneza, historia, hermetyzm, hermetycyzm, alchemia, czary, ewokacje, inkantacje, Biblia, PGM, lingwistyka, łacina, koiné .



Religious Syncretism in Christian and Hermetic texts and in the Papyri Graecae Magicae by the example of the Problem of the Origin of Evil

The purpose of the work is to discuss the problem of the relationship with religious syncretism in selected works of Christian and Hermetic literature and Greek magical papyri. The main subjects analyzed were texts related to hermeneutics of demonology and angelarium, pseudepigrapha and eschatological features as well as the Greek magic treatises. The basic question to guide the strategies taken is: how can syncretism help us to understand evil and malicious entities? The whole was embedded within the cross-section of religion, that some of the main tasks are: exegesis, showing similarities between religious doctrines and critical comparative analysis of the discussed texts.

keywords: sincretism, demonology, angelology, gnosis, religion, God, deities, magic, angels, demons, christianity, culture, antic, mythology, myths, politics, philosophy, religious studies, religiology, hermeneutics, genesis, history, hermetism, hermeticism, alchemy, spells, evocations, incantations, Bible, PGM, lynguistics, lingua latina, koiné.
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ad.1: artykuł jest fragmentem szerszego tekstu i stanowi część pracy dyplomowej autora.
red. Emilia Żybert-Pruchnicka

The social, academic and intellectual construct given to the Baul  movement ofBengal for centuries have been attempts by the elite status quo to box-in the music, lifestyle and philosophy of Fakirs, Sadhus and Sages of our time, thereby limiting them to easily explainable parameters and expected norms, practices of spirituality.

Baul philosophy is however unique in that it challenges these constructs in the epochal tangents setting it apart from other ‘religions’ or beliefs. Our dominant heritage culture, especially those practised by the marginalised majority, the construed ‘subalterns’ has therefore traditionally been in conflict and at odds with the city centers The objective of this essay is to give readers a concise yet coherent understanding to the basis of the Baul creed, its history, philosophy, complex spirituality and lofty ideals. It also aims to present us an opportunity to appreciate why the teachings of Fakir Lalon Shah has become so pertinent in present day Bangladesh which is beset with sectarian strife of an unimaginable magnitude, and perhaps lessons we may inculcate to the way forward..