mesopotamia - part one

Mesopotamian religion has been very interesting to study so far. certain aspects of it's structure are hard to conceptualize to someone outside of their mythological traditions. before i go too far, however, i have to say that this is not a polished, finished research report - as I've read about the beliefs of the Mesopotamians, i realize that I'm really only scratching the surface of a very complex polytheistic belief system. having said that, let's jump right in-

"in the beginning" as Christians would say, there was a watery chaos. from this chaos emerged Taimat and Abzu, who then created the four creator gods, The highest of the 4 gods was the sky-god An, the over-arching bowl of heaven. Next came Enlil who could either produce raging storms or act to help man. Nin-khursag was the earth goddess. The 4th god was Enki, the water god and patron of wisdom. there is a marked difference in the nature of these gods and the god of Christianity. while we may see god as influencing the weather,to Mesopotamians, enlil didn't control the weather, enlil was the weather. the Mesopotamians believed that their gods were continuously present with them (notably, this phrase sounds familiar to Christians, but is meant in a MUCH more literal way) these four gods were supported by a host of 50 advisor gods, each having their own role in the universe. however, the lines between god and spirit and transcendent presence were blurred to the point that while An was the highest god, the flowers in the field or the thunder accompanying the storm or the stream by your village could in its own sphere, be a god.

this fluidity of definition - a wide open canon - bears a close relationship to the oral nature of their belief system. I'm not going to try to guess which led to the other - stories of things experienced leading to social lore of gods of nature, or belief in the presence of gods all around them leading to stories shared around fires of the actions of the gods witnessed in their lives. the continual conversation between the young and the old, the community coming together to share these stories, forming a series of rites and rituals over time. the method of transmission in this case definitely affected the content of that knowledge.

how do you think the method of transmission of our religious beliefs affects the content thereof? and how does that compare to other modern religions? or to the religions you are studying?

"They mock me. Gods of Thebes!"

Ancient Greek religion sets itself in polytheist beliefs, with gods ranging from the mighty Zeus, ruler of all the gods, to Hades, the guardian of the Underworld. The ancient Greeks devoted their rituals to worshipping and pleasing the gods through animal sacrifices, temple-building, and other offerings. These ancient rituals were passed down orally from one to another partly through the context of dramas and comedies.

the Treasures of Darkness

seeing as how no one is scheduled to post from our group on Monday, i thought i would post a "progress" update on my research so far. i found a book on Google scholar that the library happened to also have titled "the treasures of darkness: a history of Mesopotamian religion" (awesome title, right?) well, in the first little bit, Jacobson(the author) talks about some general stuff that goes with our entire group, not just my civilization.


"basic to all religion... is, we believe, a unique experience of confrontation with power not of this world. Rudolph Otto called this confrontation "numinous" and analyzed it as the experience of a myseterium tremendum et fascinosum, a confrontation with a "wholly other" outside of normal experience and indescribable in its terms; terrifying, ranging from sheer demonic dread through awe to sublime majesty; and fascinating, with irresistible attraction, demanding unconditional allegiance. it is the positive human response to this experience in thought( myth and theology) and action (cult and worship) that constitutes religion.
since the Numinous is not of this world it cannot in any real sense of the word be "described"; for all available descriptive terms are grounded in worldly experience and so fall short. at most, as Otto points out, it may be possible to evoke the human psychological reaction to the experience by means of analogy, calling upon the suggestive power of ordinary worldly experiences, the response to which in some sense resembles or leads toward the response to the Numinous, and which thus may serve as ideograms or metaphors for it"

Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness: a History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale UP, 1976. Print.

Once Upon a Bathtub

People keep themselves clean. this is a rather safe assumption to make about our society. every once in a while, you'll walk past someone or someone will sit next to you in class, and you'll think - man, that guy needs a shower. but in reality, i don't think anyone at BYU showers less than twice a week. it's just not done. now check out this quote straight out of the 18th century. "I bore it better than i expected, not having been wett all over att once, for 28 years past." an upstanding citizen of Philadelphia, Elizabeth Drinker, said this of her first experience using the revolutionary product her husband had installed a year before - a shower box.

now, i don't know to what extent a 1790's shower box resembles the shower each of us uses every day, but that's not entirely the point. the point is, that this socially active and well-liked woman had gone 28 years without being immersed in water. the eeewwww factor intensifies as you realize that at elizabeth's time, a "bath" did not include soap, but was an immersion in either cold water or mineral water (the cold water was thought to constrict the blood vessels near the surface of the skin, then a vigorous rubbing with a towel would reopen them, giving a "vivifying" sensation).

bathing has always been associated with medicine - doctors of elizabeth's day recommended dunking an infant in cold water once a day for the first several months of life, and recommended cold baths to those whose constitutions were "liable to nervous, hysteric, and hypochondriacal affections, as well as to frequent attacks of flatulency and consequent indigestion" while warm water baths were prescribed to treat other ailments.

as medical knowledge increased, so did the general population's understanding of the benefits of cleanliness(starting with the upper echelons of society, of course). heightened understanding of the oil producing qualities of the epidermis, and the nature thereof to acquire "scum and vapor" led some to buy tin bathtubs for their homes, and to include soap as a part of the daily washing routine. others, such as Elizabeth, acquired these habits and knowledges as a part of the proverbial struggle to "keep up with the joneses". suddenly, personal cleanliness was a sign of status, a prerequisite to being accepted as normal in society. the ability of folk knowledge to be a group distinguishing thing (hunters vs farmers vs weavers)(the rich who bathe and the poor who can't afford to/wouldn't know how to operate a bathtub if they owned one) is clear to see in this example.

so, i think i like this example because it helps us see the origin of a folk knowledge that we all seemingly take for granted. one of my biggest questions for every folk knowledge post i've read is "so who came first, the chicken or the egg" who was the guy who just figured it out one day? in this case, it was some scientist sitting in a stuffy lab looking through a microscope who found out your skin makes gross stuff. that led to a chain of social disgust, fears and expectations that has landed us at the point that we "[crawl] around the house scrubbing and waxing and spraying germ killer on the kids."

response to pokatok

i've actually been to the ruins of one of the pokatok courts - on our honeymoon, my wife and i went to the ruins of Coba, home of the tallest Mayan pyramid still in existence. (chichen itza is the one most people think of when they think myans) but anyways, i wanted to post a few pics and a video, and couldn't really do that in the comments box.


the real response i have to crystal's post is another thing we learned on the same tour - we also visited Tulum, a Mayan port city, and there was a building there, with small dark corridors near ground level leading back to little rooms, big enough for one person. these were the Myan equivalent of the maternity ward. our tour guide told us that the mayans viewed childbirth as a battle that the mother had to fight between life and death. he said that they also believed that this battle had to be fought alone if the mother and child were to be truly victorious - so, armed with nothing but advice from her mother and a rope to wrap around her stomach to provide a little extra push, a pregnant mother would enter one of these rooms when her water broke, and either emerge alive with a newborn baby, or lose the battle. i thought this might be an interesting tidbit of folk knowledge, since Dr.Petersen mentioned midwifery, but to my knowledge no one has done a post on that.

NOTE: so after writing this, i looked up the Wikipedia article on Mayan midwifery, which seems to explain an experience much different than described by my tour guide. the difference may be that the guide was talking about pre-conquistador traditions, whereas the Wikipedia article seems to focus on post-conquistador and modern traditions

Pokatok

"The ball game was literally a matter of life and death for ancient Mesoamericans." This sentence is true of the game Pokatok, played by the ancient Mayans. I remember seeing this game (stop at 3:40)  in the DreamWorks film The Road to Eldorado. While it presented it in a comical and not all together true way, it still remained to intrigue me. I remember later watching a Mayan documentary while in a Spanish class and became further interested in the the Mayans culture and customs. Because of this small amount of information I had of them, it was enough to whet my appetite so I decided to expand it and learn about their popular ballgame: Pokatok.

Did I ever tell you that I'm half Greek?

My mother was born in Nebraska, but her parents came straight from Greece. It's caused me to be very curious from time to time about my Greek heritage. In my most recent research, I realized how the ancient Greeks viewed the mother tongue and father tongue.

Approaches to Teaching Folk Knowledge

I've noticed three approaches to teaching folk knowledge so far:

1. I'm proud of this.
2. I love this.
3. I didn't know I was doing that!

I know I landed in category number one. I got quite excited to share my little hobby with someone--but I think this approach can easily leave the learner...unfulfilled. It lends itself to the Father Tongue: knowing this is prestigious, sharing it is an act of condescension. Sound a little...stilted?

Love of the topic is extremely effective in teaching. Ted loves chapjae, and his roommate loves food (I suspect ;), and it sounds like the communication of this cooking skill was received on both ends with enthusiasm. Rachel loves to knit, and that made it a much more natural (Mother Tongue?) flow of information, even as I attempted to tie myself up with the yarn. Even in the academic institutions of the world, I have found that teachers that love their subjects brighten my day and are easier to learn from.

The best examples of folk knowledge--as well as the most effective transmission of it--all fall in the third category. Jared found himself accidentally teaching a his nephews one of his favorite pastimes: baseball. No artificial efforts had to be put into it, it wasn't 'just a hobby'--it was real life in action. The kids lapped it up, and the uncle just uncled along. I think it's fair to say he was teaching a lot more than baseball, too: his mannerisms, his patience, his enthusiasm, and his culture were all available for young sponges to lap up.

My Humble Opinion

The first form can build acquaintances, the second friendships, and the third families. This is why I think the Mother Tongue persists in spite of "Father"ly disdain. This is why English developed and stuck in spite of invasion after invasion--the foundations of the society were cast in it by the mothers and others that passed knowledge. (Man! Poking around about the history of English on Wikipedia alone makes my head spin... I liked this chart and this fairly concise and readable history. Beowulf is also a fascinating study from the dawn of English.)

What have you noticed about how you teach or learn 'the little things,' or more generally, 'folk knowledge?'

HowTo: Comment Notification

So it's nice to visit the blog once in a while, checking in on what has happened since we were here last, but our class tends to require a bit closer attention than that. Here's how to get notifications of comments in addition to your favorite post keep-up technique.

Slipsticks

My Pickett N901-T, set to show 1.5 x 4 = 6

As long as man has had money, man has been counting. From counting, simple arithmetic followed, and soon after that mathematics (the study of structure in numbers) was born. As far back as Babylon and Egypt we know they used algebra and geometry to do taxes, finances, engineering, astronomy, and other tasks. How did they do it without calculators?

March to the beat of your own drum

Last night I was taught how to play the drums. It wasn't like any normal jam session which would include a legitimate drum set and sticks but one where I was able to learn how to go to the basics of drumming by learning and creating beats and rhythms.

With our humble array of pots, pans, tupperware, and spoons as sticks, my lessons began. My personal opinion on drums always seemed to be that anyone who could create a beat could play the drums. And while this is somewhat true, there are definitely more to drums than simply banging on a drum to your own beat. There are various rhythms and techniques used in so many different ways. For instance, the basic beat my willing teacher Elyse taught me was: "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and." While hitting one drum consistenly with that pattern, I was to hit a different drum on beats 1 and 3 by "double drumming" (Drums). Being a former piano student, I thought that I would be able to easily carry a beat with these drums but as we went on I realized that it takes much focus and more than simply rhythm and the ability to count. One has to be able to understand which drums you're hitting, the noise it creates, the speed that sounds the best. It is much more complex than I realized, and yet so simple at the same time.

Drums have been around for centuries. While there have been many guesses as to when it began, it is impossible to place the date of emergence of this basic talent. It's utility in different cultures has varied greatly as centuries pass and societies change. Today in society, drums are largely used for music and dancing, yet in older cultures, it was used for things as important as warfare where drums were used as signals for soldiers and to impose fear on the enemy (Cadre). Drums and their various uses have created a universal organization of sound that stems from one drum or a whole group of drums. They come with the ability to be played by musicians to mere common folk who enjoy tapping their feet to the beat of any song.

In learning about these drums through folk knowledge I have gained more appreciation for folk knowledge and the insights it gives once one becomes aware of what folk knowledge is and it's incredible effects. It teaches you so much about the how and when of learning as well as the different outcomes of it because of its influences.

By learning this skill, I can somewhat appreciate and pick out drums and beats within songs or even the simple beat to someone walking down the street. It helped me to realize that music is everywhere, in pots and pans, in falling raindrops, and nearly in every action that creates a sound. All in all I had great fun banging on the various pots and pans from my cupboards and learning how to create a beat from my own homemade drums.

Sources:

(Cadre): http://www.cadre-online.ca/drumhistory.html

(Drums): http://penz4.tripod/historyofdrums.html

Image #3: http://www.afrikayadrums.co.uk/page14.php

Knitting Perls of Wisdom

"Out of all the incredibly awesome facets of folk knowledge," one might ask, "why did you pick knitting?"

me, knitting; Rachel with her project

A few answers come to mind. For one, it is a skill of fabrication. I may be able to troubleshoot and repair electronics, configure and maintain servers, and elicit desirable behaviors from the Linux kernel, but I can't do much in the real world. A knit cap can really keep the real you warm! It's almost magic to me when raw materials are brought to life as finished goods.

Another reason is that it's a soft reminder of my recently departed mom. She loved knitting--it's what kept her sitting still during Relief Society.

Yet another motive is belied by the facts that I consider it a feminine activity and that I'm normally physically awkward: knitting is outside of my comfort zone. (Rachel's husband mentioned that, had he any extra time, he would teach me the much-more-masculine art of crochet. :) It was quite entertaining to get guff from my roommates when I returned to my apartment carrying a large spool of yarn and a pair of shiny fuchsia no. 5 knitting needles.

the manly art of wrestling

"Control your body, then control the body of someone else your size." "wrestling is dancing" After just a few minutes of instruction, both these statements make sense. Jake, my instructor, who in high school was ranked #2 in the nation in his weight class, was perfectly able to put me on the floor with a few quick movements . So, i don't mean to look like an arrogant jerk, but I'm pretty confident in my abilities to defend myself. i played offensive and defensive line on the varsity football team in high school. I'm in better shape than i look and years of weight lifting (off and on) make me feel like I'd stand a pretty good chance against pretty much anybody in class. (except ted) so getting thrown around like a little girl was definitely humiliating.

to start with, i know a bit about athletics from football, so we discussed the differences between a football stance and a wrestling stance. once i have the stance down, we did a basic leg attack. this was followed by a "high crotch" (it's not as awkward as it sounds) which allows you to gain control of your opponent's leg. finally, the slide by. this is a move where you use your opponent's stance against him. in a standard grappling position, you grab the back of their neck and hit their arm up with your other elbow. you then pull them towards you and pivot on the balls of your feet, pulling them down by their neck, twisting them to their back as they fall.

the knowledge that wrestlers have isn't a memorized list of moves to use against their opposition. it is an integral understanding of how the body works. the point of wrestling, as explained to me by Jake, is to take the way your opponent moves and use it against him. the way i could go from feeling perfectly balanced, stable and in control to on the floor in a second was excruciatingly unsettling.

the history of wrestling is so old that the style Jake practiced was grecco - or the Greek style of wrestling. it is one of the oldest folk knowledges around that is still in the same form it was thousands of years ago.

Teaching How to Make Chapjae (잡채)

As it turns out, you really can get Italians to fall in love with Korean food.

Failed Folk knowledge/ Sibo Gomero

Whistling has been the bane of my existence since i can remember. my father is capable of producing one of the loudest, most explosive whistles I've ever heard. when i was young, i wanted to be just like my dad, so whenever he would use his whistle to call us in for dinner from down the street, i would again recommit myself to perfecting the art. i can't count the number of times i asked my dad to help me learn how. but it never worked. i am finally capable of whistling quietly, but my hopes for producing the ear shattering sound of my dad has vanished. i was going to write about other kinds of folk knowledge that sometimes don't successfully get transmitted, when i stumbled upon this video: (fast forward to 2:10)

i quickly realized that i had stumbled across a nugget of folk knowledge gold. the majority of us know how to whistle, and this is usually learned in a pretty standard folk knowledge way. we have also talked about how language relates to folk knowledge. this, however, is the synthesis of these two. a practical skill, whistling, was transformed into a method of communication by the nomadic ancestors of the gomeran people who needed a way to communicate across the rough terrain of their island.
language is one of the most central forms of folk knowledge - we all learned a language as an infant - so i don't really know why i find this simple language so fascinating. maybe it's because i would be the town mute if i lived there, but then just when i thought i had no link to whistled speech, i found this..."In popular culture whistled languages are common in robots. R2-D2 is a well-known whistler from the Star Wars series of films who uses modulated whistles to communicate with other droids and express emotion. The emotions articulated in the film are understood by the human audience without the aid of facial expressions."(wiki) There are several cultures throughout the world who use whistled languages. these usually arise in conditions like that of the sibo gomero - low population density, rough terrain environments. this makes me wonder if Darwin would see this as a species adapting to its environment.
the final thing i would like to mention is that the spanish government recognized both that this language was a valuable piece of culture, and that it was disappearing rapidly (who's gonna whistle across the valley when you can text?), so they passed a law requiring it to be taught in gomeran schools, thus making the shift from this being a form of folk knowledge to an institutionalized form of knowledge like math and science.
learning about this amazing language makes me wonder, though - is this language a dialect of the father tongue, the mother tongue or is it it's own whistle-tongue?

Twirling Baton

As embarrassing as it may sound, and look for that matter, I used to twirl baton. You may usually hear from your friends how their parents enrolled them in gymanstics, basketball, or piano lessons. And while I participated in a few of those activites, my main focus was baton twirling. I would perform at fairs, in pageants, community events, all while wearing hand-sewn crushed velvet and sequenced outfits with frilly skirts and fringe. Yeah, I was a big deal. So I gathered up a few of my roommates, grabbed my baton case, and tried to teach them how big of a deal I was.

Oops! i'm knowledging!

so a really interesting thing happened this weekend. My nephews spent the night at our house Friday night. any of you who know a child probably know that two boys, ages seven and four, will not do well if they are kept in an apartment designed for two people for a long time.

Learning the Art of Taekwondo (태권도)

Middle Kick---Block! Side Kick---Block! Head Kick---Block! This is Taekwondo---the Korean national Martial Art, also represented in this video.

Don't Stand Your Chopsticks Up in the Rice Unless Someone Died!

According to Korean tradition, if you were to stick your chopsticks up in your rice bowl you are signifying that you are honoring a deceased relative. You are symbolically asking them to come and eat rice with you. This is only one of the many practices done at 추석 (Chusok), or the Korean Thanksgiving. These are all learned through the mother tongue from the time of birth.

Chusok is the 15th of August on the Lunar Calendar. This year, Chusok fell on September 11th---only two days ago! This Korean Thanksgiving is more than a holiday, it is a day to give offerings to deceased ancestors and thanking them for the good harvest. The ancestors are believed to still be around and can either protect the family or punish the family, depending on their commitment to respect them. These practices are believed to have begun in the Silla Dynasty (57 BC-AD 935) possibly from shamanistic rituals involving the harvest moon. There are several customs involved for giving a proper offering to ones' ancestors.

Bad news...

So, due to some scheduling conflicts I had to completely rearrange my class schedule and needed to transfer to a difference Civilization class this semester. I'm so sorry! Hopefully me leaving won't cause too many problems, but I'm really sorry if it does - I wish I didn't have to switch. It's been awesome being in a group with y'all and I wish you the very best! - Kristil Manuel

Psst!

Can you keep a secret?

"Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy"

A friend showed me this clip the other day and I immediately thought: "I need to put this on our blog!"

It makes you really wonder if we DO take technology/knowledge for granted. We talked one day in our group about how the "old way" of doing things (i.e. the cotton gin, the letter press, candles) are now only hobbies. They seem to be done only nostalgically. The comic Louis C. K. comments that many people take cell phones and airplanes for granted sometimes. I am certainly guilty of that at times. Before my mission I thought I could never live without a cell phone and a laptop, but my mission made me get over that for the most part.

In connecting this clip to the father tongue and the mother tongue, he mentions only how we take the sophisticated father tongue for granted. But do we ever take the mother tongue for granted? I suppose LeGuin argues that we most certainly do. She states that those living in the father tongue have "stone ears" to the mother tongue.

Have you ever taken the mother tongue for granted?

Prayer

One of the most important aspects of attaining knowledge, especially at BYU, is prayer. Every culture and religion that ever existed uses prayer in some way – it’s a crucial part of tradition as well as a treasured tool for those seeking knowledge or comfort.

By definition, prayer is “a devout petition to God or an act of worship…as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession” (Dictionary.com). By most prayer is considered an act of communication between mortals and some higher power, oftentimes God.
However, I would argue that prayer does not necessarily mean solely attempting to implore higher powers, but the consistent feeling of hope and devotion a person can have within our hearts – a hope for success, safety, guidance, knowledge, or really anything else.

Different cultures pray in unique ways and to a number of different beings. To the
ancient Greeks and Egyptians, prayer was a strict, patterned ceremony to a number of deities. The Mayan prayer of Seven Directions requires one to face specific directions while saying each part of the prayer, in order to draw in positive energies. Others have prayer only at certain times of day or at routine times, such as before meals. Ancient Aztec cultures had two types of prayer: one of thankfulness and one of supplication. There is also the Salah, an obligatory ritual prayer performed by Muslim peoples that is measured by the movement of the sun; repetition of established actions and words are done five times a day, and if a prayer is skipped it must be done later. These practices have been passed on through generations in order to preserve the knowledge of one’s culture.

I could be wrong here – but to be honest, I doubt it – but I’m pretty positive every student has had some kind of prayer in their hearts, whether it was formulated into words
or just a glimmer of hope and supplication in their minds, as they pursue higher levels of learning and education. For many, it’s a reliable source of comfort. If we have done all we can do to perform to the best of our ability, many of us [students] hold to the hope that God will do what we cannot. He will take us that extra few inches towards a successful assignment or test if we only do the best we can.

Prayer has been used in times of joy and sorrow throughout history. People gather to pray together often. Some of my most spiritual memories come from cast prayers done right before a theatre performance: friends of differing upbringings and backgrounds come together to pray to one, simple God. During historical calamities such as Hurricane Katrina or 9/11, prayer was a unifying point that brought the people together. The ancient practice of prayer is a strength that is drawn upon daily, by millions of people across the globe - and it is the ultimate tool of seeking knowledge.

thanks to william from "institutionalized freedom" for the tip!!

I outsmarted this website!

Here is the HTML code to put a link in your comment. Simply type this out and then replace the URL with the linked site's URL and then replace TEXT with the display text to click on within the comment to navigate to the linked site...

Posted by William Myers

The Hunter Diaries

a few notes introducing this video - first, my friend brent was allowed to look over the questions, but i didn't explain the things we were talking about in class. second, i was super stoked about my super awesome idea to interview someone for a blog post - then Dr. Burton suggested it in class. there goes my thunder.


So first off, thanks to Brent for being a trooper - the bobcat pelt hat was his idea. I think he gives us alot of great insights into folk knowledge from the perspective of someone who isn't examining it the way we are. first, he talked about how hunting was a big deal for his family - i got the impression that it wasn't just something they did, but it was an integral part of their family identity, it is a part of who they are. next, i think it is interesting that he mentions how it was probably frustrating for his dad at times - i immediately thought of the bison Dr. Petersen spoke of dealing with a mouse or young bear as this education is passed on. I also find it interesting that he said that because he knew his dad so well, he was able to learn more through observation. fourth, i found it interesting that he said most of the knowledge he has would be something all hunters would know. i think this may be one way in which hunting differs from other types of folk knowledge. Next, the differences in hunting today and that of the past were mainly advances in technology. In my mind, this is one of the common themes with all folk knowledge - they are passed from parent to child, but each generation of children adds to the knowledge gained from their parents. Finally, the idea of putting a value on the knowledge he has gained through years of hunting was hard to do. the utility, sentimental value and role it plays in our personal and family identities make the folk knowledges we have an invaluable resource.



<----- Brent and his dad hunting when he was younger (that's a cougar in the tree behind them)

Deciduous Tongues

So I was thinking the other day, Why is the "mother tongue" looked down on? Why isn't it more evident in the sciences? (I was in the Clyde building at the time, right after an electrical engineering class.)

It occurred to me that perhaps the Mother Tongue isn't as precise. Engineering requires precision, clarity, and concreteness!

Well, that's wrong on its face: when a mother comforts her child, a child learns to keep house, or we learn to get along with others, precision, clarity, and concreteness help immensely. Navigating the oceans of emotions and thoughts sailed by the human psyche is an art that very few master. We call the pupils of this discipline "good at listening" and tell them "you always know the right thing to say." It's a skill.

I would posit that the difference lies in decision, not precision. I attended a seminar some years ago that pointed out that decision, decide, and deciduous share a common root: cutting off. Perhaps in the Father Tongue's world, one must cut off possibilities, prune one's path, and seek The Right Way (oh, and can this language argue!), while the Mother Tongue understands the infinite nature of the future and seeks to join paths, knowing that traveling together is always easier.

(Sorry, this has been rattling around in my head for a day or two and I didn't find a better place for it. It'll be out of date by Tuesday...I think.)

Preserving Knowledge

In my family, as our garden becomes plentiful with fruit and vegetables each season, we gather our jars of all sizes, clear the counter off, put on our aprons, and prepare for the day or week full of canning and preserving.



As this ritual is performed each year, I learn something new every time. I learn from watching my mother slice the cucumbers or cook the tomatos. Or having her tell me the best way to peel the peaches. At my young age, going through this process was simply habitual and something to expect, I understood the "how" of canning, but not yet the "why." As I grew though, I began to realize more the "why" part of the procedure. We did it to build up our food storage, and preserve our food.

Looking into the history of canning and bottling, some reasons my family has for our actions remains the same throughout history. In reading more of the history, canning and bottling came about in the early 1800's when the French were trying to find an effective way to preserve food in order to feed their armies. The government offered and award of 12,000 francs to whoever invented the said method. Nicholas Appert then discovered a way to preserve food by placing the food in an air tight jar with and unbroken seal to prevent the growing of bacteria. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canning)
As time progressed, so did the quality of canning and bottling. Households and factories started to create more effective ways of preserving food. And it all stemmed from the basis idea of Nicholas Appert. Those who watched him create this preserving method continued it and found ways to improve the system, which then created a chain reaction that lead us all the way to canned goods that can be bought in a grocery with a shelving date that may outlive us.

It is always interesting to see the progression of ideas and inventions that stem from necessity. Because there was a need, someone found a way to create and from there, others found ways to constantly be passing on the information and constantly improving the way canning and preserving is done. As I grow up and have kids, I hope to pass along the knowledge that I have learned from my mom about canning and preserving food and maybe even improve the way that I carry out the work. It is a folk knowledge that didn't just start from my mom, but from a man in the 1800's who saw a need and addressed it.

주입식---Learning by Injection

I got back from serving a mission in Korea Seoul about a month and a half ago. It is one of the best experiences of my life, to say the least. Living in a different country was like living in a dream for a while. Everything seemed similar, yet slightly different at the same time. I remember some of the things that seemed different for me. Korean traditional foods, such as kimchi (김치), bokkeum bab (볶음밥), bibim bab (비빔밥), etc. are often vegetable and rice-based. The streets are crowded with people and buildings. 911 is 119. 411 is 114. Being white and pale is a sign of wealth and beauty. Having even a small face is a sign of aesthetics. Even the methods of learning seemed to be different to the Korean people.

The Korean way of life and methods of learning are influenced greatly by the Confucius teaching methods. Confucianism at its core is based on a hierarchy. It is based on these five relationships:

1) Ruler to Ruled

2) Father to Son

3) Husband to Wife

4) Elder Brother to Younger Brother

5) Friend to Friend

In education, there is a tradition among Confucius teachers called 주입식 (Ju ip-shik), or, literally, "learning by injection". I asked a good Korean friend what this kind of learning was like when he was in school in Korea. He said: "When I was in school, they just talked and said 'Memorize this!'". To the right is a picture of a teacher and his students. Aren't they the perfect students? The teacher is wearing his signifying hat. The students are all attentively watching, not slacking off. They are writing down the teacher's words as if they are the most important words in the universe---and they don't questions them either. They respect the hierarchy.

This kind of teaching permeates into folk knowledge as well. Even if you are only one year older than me, I am not allowed to call you my "friend". You are my "older sister" or "older brother," or maybe I will call you "uncle" or "aunt", or maybe just "teacher". These relationships go really deep. If you are the older one in the relationship, you have all the power. You can tell the younger one what to do. As the younger one, you must respect your senior. They have the power. They might have the money, or the influence. Most importantly, they are just older than you. You do everything for them. But, in return, the older one completely looks after the younger one. (This is starting to seem a lot like what we talked about on Tuesday with the bison and the mouse.) Symbolically, it makes the younger one the pole of an umbrella (keeping the umbrella up), and the older one the umbrella (protecting the umbrella). And if you are my friend, then we speak to each other in the lowest form of speech possible. . .we don't even call each other by names, just "you" or "hey!".

The Western society prides itself on using the Socratic Method---debate and discussion; argument and compromise; sharing of knowledge and experiences; etc. How many times have you heard in church or class: "Now, I don't want to just talk the whole time. Please don't be afraid to ask questions. I want to hear what YOU think."? To the Koreans, this is a foreign way of learning. (Imagine what it was like to teach the gospel. . .) However, to them, they believe that keeping that hierarchy in place is the only thing that keeps the umbrella up.

a little favor....

hey ted, do you think you could forward me dr burton's emails for a while, i'm not getting all of them for some reason - thanks!!

jared

Swimming

I went swimming with a friend today. It was a very educational experience. This individual was quite willing to talk me through the various actions, techniques, and principles involved with performing the freestyle crawl. (Apparently this is one of the most basic strokes in existence...)

In the end, you know what really helped? Listening, sure, but watching and then doing. As I attempted what was being described and demonstrated, not only was my instructor able to iteratively suggest improvements, but also I was able to learn by trial and error what I was doing wrong (and right). Tip your body further down when you kick off. Kick, stroke, and breathe--don't just pick two. Line your head up with your shoulders like so when breathing.

This, to me, is a splendid example of a simple folk knowledge (hereafter "folklore") transmission. While I can go to a class and 'learn' swimming or read one of the many textbooks written on the subject, the process of learning is inherently human-to-human and actually has quite a history.

Language - A Key to Knowlege

One of the most important parts of Knowlege, and one that can reinvent it, is language. Language can make the passing of knowlege either progress or stop. Language can limit who gets knowlege. Like the Tower of Babel, language is a controlling factor in how knowledge and action is passed, from one person to the other, and preserved. Rather than consider all aspects of communication, I would like to focus on the spoken word. The spoken word is an incredibly unique and broad part of folk knowlege. Not only can actual language differ, such as Japanese versus German, but phrases considered common in a specific culture may seem baffling to another. After living in the Western part of the United States most of my life, I move to Dacula, Georgia in 2008 - a city just north of Atlanta. I quickly learned the value of language and understanding different phrases and sayings. For example, being told to put something "up" rather than to put it away, or to say "book bag" rather than backpack - even using the word "y'all". Although this was, at first, confusing and new to me, I quickly picked up a few Southern sayings, and even find myself confusing people at BYU when I use them! It's incredible how language can differ from place to place, and how it can affect communication and knowledge as a whole, depending on location, culture, or any number of factors.

Welcome

Welcome to the wonderfully witty and wisdomatic blog of Group Five. We explore the various ways knowledge has been acquired, stored, and distributed throughout history. We will discuss together how knowledge has, essentially, been "reinvented" through many mediums and cultures. Crista, Kristil, Jared, Jon, and Ted will post weekly. Please feel free to comment.