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Ājīvika

Ajivika (आजीविक, IAST: ) is one of the nāstika or "heterodox" schools of Indian philosophy. Believed to have been founded in the 5th century BCE by Makkhali Gosāla, it was a Śramaṇa movement and a major rival of Vedic religion, early Buddhism, and Jainism. Ājīvikas were organized renunciates who formed discrete communities. The precise identity of the Ājīvikas is not well known, and it is even unclear if they were a divergent sect of the Buddhists or the Jains.

Original scriptures of the Ājīvika school of philosophy may once have existed, but these are currently unavailable and probably lost. Their theories are extracted from mentions of Ājīvikas in the secondary sources of ancient Indian literature. The oldest descriptions of the Ājīvika fatalists and their founder Gosāla can be found both in the Buddhist and Jaina scriptures of ancient India. Scholars question whether Ājīvika philosophy has been fairly and completely summarized in these secondary sources, as they were written by groups (such as the Buddhists and Jains) competing with and adversarial to the philosophy and religious practices of the Ājīvikas. It is likely that much of the information available about the Ājīvikas is inaccurate to some degree, and characterizations of them should be regarded carefully and critically.

The Ājīvika school is known for its Niyati ("Fate") doctrine of absolute fatalism or determinism, the premise that there is no free will, that everything that has happened, is happening and will happen is entirely preordained and a function of cosmic principles. The predetermined fate of living beings was the major distinctive doctrine of their school, along with withholding judgement on how to achieve liberation (moksha) from the eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, instead believing that fate would lead us there. Ājīvikas further considered the karma doctrine as a fallacy. Ājīvika metaphysics included a theory of atoms, which was later adapted in the Vaiśeṣika school, where everything was composed of atoms, qualities emerged from aggregates of atoms, but the aggregation and nature of these atoms were predetermined by cosmic laws and forces. Ājīvikas were mostly considered as atheists. They believed that in every living being there is an ātman—a central premise of Vedic religion and Jainism.

Ājīvika philosophy, otherwise referred to as Ājīvikism in Western scholarship, reached the height of its popularity during the rule of the Mauryan emperor Bindusara, around the 4th century BCE. This school of thought declined but survived for nearly 2,000 years through the 13th and 14th centuries CE in the Southern Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Ājīvika philosophy, along with the Cārvāka philosophy, appealed most to the warrior, industrial, and mercantile classes of ancient Indian society.

Etymology and meaning
 means "Follower of the Way of Life". Ajivika (Prakrit: 𑀆𑀚𑀻𑀯𑀺𑀓, ; आजीविक, IAST: ) or adivika (Prakrit: 𑀆𑀤𑀻𑀯𑀺𑀓, ) are both derived from Sanskrit आजीव which literally means "livelihood, lifelong, mode of life". The term Ajivika means "those following special rules with regard to Iivelihood", sometimes connoting "religious mendicants" in ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts.

The name Ajivika for an entire philosophy resonates with its core belief in "no free will" and complete niyati, literally "inner order of things, self-command, predeterminism", leading to the premise that good simple living is not a means to salvation or moksha, just a means to true livelihood, predetermined profession and way of life. The name came to imply that school of Indian philosophy which lived a good simple mendicant-like livelihood for its own sake and as part of its predeterministic beliefs, rather than for the sake of after-life or motivated by any soteriological reasons.

Some scholars spell Ajivika as Ajivaka.

Origins
Ājīvika philosophy is cited in ancient texts of Buddhism and Jainism to Makkhali Gosala, a contemporary of the Buddha and Mahavira. In Sandaka Sutta the Ājīvikas are said to recognize three emancipators: Nanda Vaccha, Kisa Saṅkicca, and Makkhali Gosāla. Exact origins of Ājīvika is unknown, but generally accepted to be the 5th century BCE.

Primary sources and literature of the Ājīvikas are lost, or yet to be found. Everything that is known about Ājīvika history and its philosophy is from secondary sources, such as the ancient and medieval texts of India. Inconsistent fragments of Ājīvika history are found mostly in Jain texts such as the Bhagvati Sutra and Buddhist texts such as the Samaññaphala Sutta and Sandaka Sutta, and Buddhaghosa's commentary on Sammannaphala Sutta, with a few mentions in Hindu texts such as Vayu Purana.

The Ājīvikas reached the height of their prominence in the late 1st millennium BCE, then declined, yet continued to exist in south India until the 14th century CE, as evidenced by inscriptions found in southern India. Ancient texts of Buddhism and Jainism mention a city in the 1st millennium BCE named Savatthi (Sanskrit Śravasti) as the hub of the Ājīvikas; it was located near Ayodhya in what is now the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. In later part of the common era, inscriptions suggests that the Ājīvikas had a significant presence in the South Indian state of Karnataka, prominently in Kolar district and some places of Tamil Nadu.

The Ājīvika philosophy spread rapidly in ancient South Asia, with a Sangha Geham (community center) for Ājīvikas on the island now known as Sri Lanka and also extending into the western state of Gujarat by the 4th century BCE, the era of the Maurya Empire.

Classification in Hindu philosophy
Riepe refers to Ājīvikas as a distinct heterodox school of Indian tradition. Raju states that "Ājīvikas and Cārvākas can be called Hindus" and adds that "the word Hinduism has no definite meaning". Epigraphical evidence suggests that emperor Ashoka, in the 3rd century BCE, considered Ājīvikas to be more closely related to the schools of Vedic's than to Buddhists, Jainas or other Indian schools of thought.

Biography of Makkhali Gosala
Makkhali Gosala (Pali; Sanskrit Gośala Maskariputra, c. 484 BCE) is generally considered as the founder of the Ājīvika movement. Some sources state that Gosala was only a leader of a large Ājīvika congregation of ascetics, but not the founder of the movement himself. The Swedish Indologist Jarl Charpentier and others suggest the Ājīvika tradition existed in India well before the birth of Makkhali Gosala, citing a variety of ancient Indian texts.

Gosala was believed to be born in Tiruppatur of Tiruchirappalli district in Tamil Nadu and was the son of Mankha, a professional mendicant. His mother was Bhaddā. His name Gosala "cowshed" refers to his humble birthplace.

"While Bhaddā was pregnant, she and her husband Mankhali, the mankha, came to the village ... of Saravaṇa, where dwelt a wealthy householder Gobahula. Mankhali left his wife and his luggage ... in Gobahula's cowshed (gosālā) ... Since he could find no shelter elsewhere the couple continued to live in a corner of the cowshed, and it was there that Bhaddā gave birth to her child.'"

Gosala is described in ancient texts as a contemporary of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, and of Gautama Buddha. The Jain Bhagavati Sutra refers to him as Gosala Mankhaliputta ("son of Mankhali"). The text depicts Gosala as having been a disciple of Mahavira's for a period of six years, after which the two had a falling out and parted ways. According to the Bhagvati Sutra, Makkhali Gosala met with Mahāvīra again later in life, but Gosala asserted to Mahavira that he was not the same person. Makkhali Gosala referred to the example of a sesame plant which "had been pulled up, and had temporarily died, but it had been replanted and thus reanimated, becoming once more living, while the seven pods had developed". Gosāla declared that the original Gosāla, who was Mahavira's companion, was once dead and that the soul now inhabiting the apparent Gosāla in front of him was a reanimated, different Gosala. This argument was declared a form of sophistry by Mahavira, and this led to a significant break in the relations between the two.

Inscriptions and caves
Several rock-cut caves belonging to Ājīvikas are dated to the times of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (r. 273 BCE to 232 BCE). These are the oldest surviving cave temples of ancient India, and are called the Barabar Caves in Jehanabad district of Bihar. The Barabar caves were carved out of granite, has a highly polished internal cave surfaces, and each consists of two chambers, the first is a large rectangular hall, the second is a small, circular, domed chamber. These were probably used for meditation.

The Ashokan dedications of several Barabar Caves to the Ajivikas were engraved during the 12th year and the 19th year of his reign (about 258 BCE and 251 BCE respectively, based on a coronation date of 269 BCE). In several instances, the word "Ājīvikas" (𑀆𑀤𑀻𑀯𑀺𑀓𑁂𑀳𑀺, Ādīvikehi) was later attacked by the chisel, probably by religious rivals, at a time when the Brahmi script was still understood (probably before the 5th century CE). However, the original inscriptions being deep, they remain easily decipherable.

Decline
After the decline of the Maurya Empire in the 2nd century BCE, the Ajivikas find only occasional mentions in the Sanskrit literature and do not appear to have been serious rivals to other sects. The final version of the Buddhist and Jain scriptures were compiled at a later period, but the description of Ajivikas in these texts likely represents the conditions of the Maurya and pre-Maurya times.

In northern India, Ajivikas may have become insignificant by the Shunga period (1st century BCE), although they may have survived until the 15th century, as suggested by stray references to them in various texts. References in the Vayu Purana suggest that during the Gupta period (fourth-6th century CE) the Ajivika practices had changed substantially, and their sect was declining rapidly.

The Brhaj-jataka of Varahamihira (6th century) mentions the Ajivikas (among other major ascetic groups) in an astrological context, stating that a person born under a certain planetary influence becomes an Ajivika ascetic. According to the 9th-10th century commentator Utpala, "Ajivika" in this context refers to the Vaishnavite Ekadandin ascetics. However, according to historian Ajay Mitra Shastri, Varahamihira indeed refers to the Ajivikas, who may have existed as an influential sect in the 6th century. A.L. Basham notes that there are several such instances of Ajivikas being confused with other major sects: for example, the commentator of Achara-sara believes them to be Buddhist, and in Neelakesi, the Ajivika leader clarifies that his followers should not be mistaken for Digambaras. According to Basham, this suggests that the surviving Ajivikas adopted some of the beliefs and customs of the more popular faiths and possibly merged with them.

The Jain commentator Mallisena, who wrote Syadvada-manjari (1292 CE), suggests that the Ajivikas existed during his time; he may have been aware of the Ajivikas of southern India. At least 17 inscriptions from southern India suggest that a tax was imposed on Ajivikas or Acuvas (believed to be a Tamil form of Ajivikas) there. These inscriptions range from the time of the Pallava king Simhavarman II (c. 446 CE) to the 14th century. The last of these inscriptions are dated to 1346 CE (Shaka 1268), found at three different places around Kolar. E. Hultzsch and Rudolf Hoernlé theorized that the term Ajivika (Acuva) refers to Jains in this context, and some others—such as A. Chakravarti—doubt the equivalence of the terms "Ajivika" and "Acuva". However, Basham believes that these inscriptions indeed refer to the Ajivikas and that they may have survived there until the 15th century, as suggested by the writings of Vaidyanatha Dikshita. The Ajivikas may have completely declined because of the growing Hindu, Buddhist and Jain influence.

The 14th century Sarva-Darshana-Sangraha, a compendium of the Indian philosophical systems, makes no mention of Ajivikas, which indicates the decline of their sect.

Reliability of sources
Ājīvikas competed with and debated the scholars of Buddhism, Jainism, and Vedic's. The Ājīvika movement is primarily known from historical references left behind in Jain and Buddhist sources, that may therefore be hostile to it. It is unknown to what degree the available non-Ājīvika sources reflect the actual beliefs and practices of the Ājīvikas. Most of what is known about them was recorded in the literature of rival groups, modern scholars question the reliability of the secondary sources, and whether intentional distortions for dehumanization and criticism were introduced into the records.

More recent work by scholars suggests that the Ājīvika were perhaps misrepresented by Jain and Buddhist sources. "[ Johannes Bronkhorst's ] claim is that, whereas the Jains teach that one can both stop the influx of new karma and rid oneself of old karma through ascetic practice, Gosāla taught that one could only stop the influx of new karma. [...] Ascetic practice can be effective in preventing further karmic influx, which helps to explain the otherwise inexplicable fact that the Ājīvikas did practice asceticism. [...] [T]he popularity of the Ājīvika doctrine in ancient times, such that it could rival that of both Jainism and Buddhism, also make sense if this doctrine was really not so radically different from these traditions as its presentation in Jain and Buddhist sources suggests."

Paul Dundas states that the Jain and Buddhist texts cannot be considered reliable source of Ājīvika history and philosophy, because "it seems doubtful whether a doctrine [of Ajivikas] which genuinely advocated the lack of efficacy of individual effort could have formed the basis of a renunciatory path to spiritual liberation", and that "the suspicion must be that the Jains and Buddhists deliberately distorted Ajivika doctrine for their own polemical purposes". In contrast, other scholars suggest that at least the common elements found about Ājīvikas in Jain and Buddhist literature may be considered, because Jainism and Buddhism were two different, competing and conflicting philosophies in ancient India.

Absolute determinism and no free will
The problems of time and change was one of the main interests of the Ajivikas. Their views on this subject may have been influenced by Vedic sources, such as the hymn to Kala (Time) in Atharvaveda. Both Jaina and Buddhist texts state that Ājīvikas believed in absolute determinism, absence of free will, and called this niyati. Everything in human life and the universe, according to Ajivikas, was pre-determined, operating out of cosmic principles, and true choice did not exist. The Buddhist and Jaina sources describe them as strict fatalists, who did not believe in karma. The Ajivikas philosophy held that all things are preordained, and therefore religious or ethical practice has no effect on one's future, and people do things because cosmic principles make them do so, and all that will happen or will exist in future is already predetermined to be that way. No human effort could change this niyati and the karma ethical theory was a fallacy. James Lochtefeld summarizes this aspect of Ajivika belief as, "life and the universe is like a ball of pre-wrapped up string, which unrolls until it was done and then goes no further".

Riepe states that the Ajivika belief in predeterminism does not mean that they were pessimistic. Rather, just like Calvinists belief in predeterminism in Europe, the Ajivikas were optimists. The Ajivikas simply did not believe in the moral force of action, or in merits or demerits, or in after-life to be affected because of what one does or does not do. Actions had immediate effects in one's current life but without any moral traces, and both the action and the effect was predetermined, according to the Ajivikas.

Makkhali Gosala seems to have combined the ideas of older schools of thought into an eclectic doctrine. He appears to have believed in niyati (destiny), svabhava (nature), sangati (change), and possibly parinama, which may have prompted other philosophical schools to label him variously as ahetuvadin, vainayikavadin, ajnanavadin, and issarakaranavadin. According to him, all beings undergo development (parinama). This culminates in the course of time (samsarasuddhi) in final salvation to which all beings are destined under the impact of the factors of niyati (destiny), bhava (nature), and sangati (change). As such, destiny does not appear as the only player, but rather chance or indeterminism plays an equal part in his doctrine. He thus subscribed to niyativada (fatalism) only in the sense that he thought that some future events like salvation for all were strictly determined.

Ajivikas and theism
Ajivika was an atheistic philosophy. Its adherents did not presume any deity as the creator of the universe, or as prime mover, or that some unseen mystical end was the final resting place of the cosmos.

In later texts, the Tamil Nīlakēci, a story of two divinities, Okkali and Ōkali, relates the Ājīvikas instructed men in the scriptures.

Ajivikas believed that in every being, there is a soul (Atman). However, unlike Jains and various orthodox schools of Hinduism that held that the soul is formless, Ajivikas asserted the soul has a material form, one that helps meditation. They also believed the soul passes through many births and ultimately progresses unto its pre-destined nirvana (salvation). Basham states, that some texts suggest evidence of Vaishnavism-type devotional practices among some Ajivikas.

Atomism
Ajivikas developed a theory of elements and atoms similar to the Vaisheshika school of Vedic's. Everything was composed of minuscule atoms, according to Ajivikas, and qualities of things are derived from aggregates of atoms, but the aggregation and nature of these atoms were predetermined by cosmic forces.

The description of Ajivikas' atomism is inconsistent with those described in Buddhist and Vedic texts. According to three Tamil texts, the Ajivikas held there exists seven kayas (Sanskrit: काय, assemblage, collection, elemental categories): pruthvi-kaya (earth), apo-kaya (water), tejo-kaya (fire), vayo-kaya (air), sukha (joy), dukkha (sorrow), and jiva (life). The first four relate to matter, the last three non-matter. These elements are akata (that which is neither created nor destroyed), vanjha (barren, that which never multiplies or reproduces) and have an existence independent of the other. The elements, asserts Ajivika theory in the Tamil text Manimekalai, are made of paramanu (atoms), where atoms were defined as that which cannot be further subdivided, that which cannot penetrate another atom, that which is neither created nor destroyed, that which retains its identity by never growing nor expanding nor splitting nor changing, yet that which moves, assembles and combines to form the perceived.

The Tamil text of Ajivikas asserts this "coming together of atoms can take diversity of forms, such as the dense form of a diamond, or a loose form of a hollow bamboo". Everything one perceives, states the atomism theory of Ajivikas, was mere juxtapositions of atoms of various types, and the combinations occur always in fixed ratios governed by certain cosmic rules, forming skandha (molecules, building blocks). Atoms, asserted the Ajivikas, cannot be seen by themselves in their pure state, but only when they aggregate and form bhutas (objects). They further argued that properties and tendencies are characteristics of the objects. The Ajivikas then proceeded to justify their belief in determinism and "no free will" by stating that everything experienced—sukha (joy), dukkha (sorrow), and jiva (life)—is a mere function of atoms operating under cosmic rules.

Riepe states that the details of the Ajivikas theory of atomism provided the foundations of later modified atomism theories found in Jain, Buddhist, and Vedic traditions.

Antinomian ethics
Another doctrine of Ajivikas philosophy, according to Buddhist texts, was their antinomian ethics, that is there exist "no objective moral laws". Buddhaghosa summarizes this view as, "There is neither cause nor basis for the sins of living beings and they become sinful without cause or basis. There is neither cause nor basis for the purity of living beings and they become pure without cause or basis. All beings, all that have breath, all that are born, all that have life, are without power, or strength, or virtue, but are the result of destiny, chance and nature, and they experience joy and sorrow in six classes".

Despite this ascribed premise of antinomian ethics, both Jain and Buddhist records note that Ājīvikas lived a simple ascetic life, without clothes and material possessions.

Tamil literature on Ajivikas suggests they practiced Ahimsa (non-violence) and a vegetarian lifestyle. Arthur Basham notes that Buddhist and Jaina texts variously accuse Ajivikas of immorality, unchastity, and worldliness, but they also acknowledge the confusion among Buddhists and Jainas when they observed the simple, ascetic lifestyle of Ajivikas.

Scriptures
The Ajivikas had a fully elaborate philosophy, produced by its scholars and logicians, but those texts are lost. Their literature evolved over the centuries, like other traditions of Indian philosophy, through the medieval era. The Pali and Prakrit texts of Buddhism and Jainism suggest that Ajivika theories were codified, some of which were quoted in commentaries produced by Buddhist and Jaina scholars.

The main texts of the Ajivikas included the ten Purvas (eight Mahanimittas, two Maggas) and the Onpatu Katir. The Mahanimittas of Ajivikas claims Bhagavati Sutra was extracted from the teachings Gosala received from Mahavira when he was a disciple.

The belief of Ajivikas in absolute determinism and influence of cosmic forces led them to develop extensive sections in their Mahanimittas texts on mapping the sun, moon, planets, and stars and their role in astrology and fortune telling.

Influence
Isaeva suggests that the ideas of Ajivika influenced Buddhism and various schools of Vedic thought. Riepe provides an example of an influential Ajivika theory, namely, its theory on atomism. Basham proposes that Ajivikas may have possibly influenced the doctrines of the Dvaita Vedanta sub-school of medieval Vedic philosophy.

Conflict between Ajivikas, Buddhists and Jains
According to the 4th century Buddhist legend Ashokavadana, the Mauryan emperor Bindusara and his chief queen Shubhadrangi were believers of this philosophy, which reached its peak of popularity during this time. Ashokavadana also mentions that, after his conversion to Buddhism, Bindusara's son Ashoka issued an order to kill all the Ajivikas in Pundravardhana, enraged at a picture that depicted Gautama Buddha in a negative light. Around 18,000 followers of the Ajivika sect were supposedly executed as a result of this order. The entire story may be apocryphal and fictitious as Ashoka himself contributed for the growth of Ajivikas sect by constructing four caves for Ajivakas at Barabar.

An earlier Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, similarly mentions a debate, disagreement, and then "coming to blows" between factions led by Mahavira and by Gosala.

title: Ājīvika


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Ir Amim

Ir Amim (עיר עמים; "City of Peoples" or "City of Nations") is an Israeli activist non-profit founded in 2004 that focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Jerusalem. It seeks to ensure the "dignity and welfare of all its residents and that safeguards their holy places, as well as their historical and cultural heritages."

Organizational activities
Ir Amim works from several angles to further its goals:

Legal and governmental policy
Ir Amim regularly provides information to Knesset members and members of the Jerusalem Municipal Government about actions in East Jerusalem that they believe to undermine Jerusalem's stability, impede parity amongst residents, or threaten the possibility for future final-status negotiations in Jerusalem (such as settlement building in Palestinian neighborhoods). The organization also brings cases to the Supreme and Municipal courts on topics such as building permits and social services in East Jerusalem. An example of this is in May 2016, when Ir Amim filed a petition asking the High Court of Justice to prohibit the Jerusalem Day flag parade from entering the Muslim Quarter, arguing that previous parades have resulted in violence to residents, vandalism, and racist provocations and that in 2016 the parade would coincide with the holy days of Ramadan. The High Court rejected the petition.

Monitoring and reporting
Ir Amim daily monitors the situation in East Jerusalem, and exposes key developments and in-depth analysis in its reports almost monthly. This type of monitoring and reporting is the basis for the legal and policy activity of Ir Amim, as well as the media work.

Jerusalem Policy Forum
The Jerusalem Policy Forum is a joint project of Ir Amim and the Palestinian NGO, the Peace and Democracy Forum.

Public outreach
Ir Amim's public outreach is primarily aimed at the Israeli public, with the goal of re-orienting the public discourse on the issue of Jerusalem. The organization encourages the public to evaluate both the current realities and the ongoing developments in Jerusalem with regard to the possible long-term ramifications for Israel. Ir Amim's public outreach centers around study tours, media work, briefings, house meetings, and educational programs. Ir Amim also maintains a blog on the Huffington Post.

Study tours
Ir Amim offers study tours of East Jerusalem to both individuals and organizations. The tours focus on the historical background as well as the Ir Amin view of current political and socio-economic developments in East Jerusalem. The tours travel along the Separation Barrier and through Jerusalem neighborhoods, discussing Israeli policies and their impact on Israelis and Palestinians and on a possible political resolution in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem Moments
Jerusalem Moments is a film project sponsored by Ir Amim. It is a collection of short documentaries directed by young filmmakers, both Israelis and Palestinians, which reflect the complexity of daily life in Jerusalem, in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The films in the 2008 collection are:
 * Bus Station, by Lily Sheffy
 * You Don't Live Here Anymore, by Nizar Abu Zayyad
 * The Third House, by Yoram Ron
 * The Largest Mammals in Jerusalem, by Nitsan Shorf Domidiano
 * Archaeology of Ownership, by Noga Almi Hantke
 * Children's Story, by Daniel Gal
 * Boulders, by Eran Sahar
 * Two Houses and a Longing, by Dorit Naaman
 * Noor and Nar, by Saeed Khairaldeen
 * Home, by Marwah Jabara Tibi

The films in the 2009 collection are:
 * The Little Western Wall, by Liviu Babich
 * In Israel's Custody, by Radwan Duha
 * Prince of Jerusalem, by Shabaneh Momen
 * Hamamm al-Ayn and Me, by Nihad Sabri Markesto
 * Bus, by Yasmine Novak
 * Nine to Five, by Daniel Gal
 * Ghetto Town, by Amber Fares and Avi Goldstein

Supporting grassroots civil society
Ir Amim has worked with several Palestinian non-profit organizations to help to strengthen civil society in East Jerusalem. Emphasis is placed on organizations that work to improve infrastructure (sanitation, water, roads, sidewalks), street utilities (streetlamps, bus stops) or neighborhood services (clinics, emergency services, mail delivery, waste collection). An example of one such organization is Nuran, which provides emergency ambulance service in East Jerusalem.

Issues
Some of the issues that Ir Amim engages with include:
 * Jewish construction in East Jerusalem
 * Home demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem
 * The Separation Barrier in Jerusalem
 * Excavations in the Old City and Historic Basin (including Silwan)
 * E-1
 * Freedom of Movement in Jerusalem
 * Planning and Construction in East Jerusalem
 * Education in East Jerusalem
 * Municipal Services in East Jerusalem, such as sewage, electricity, and trash collection

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Ir Amim


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Regina Halmich

Regina Halmich (born 22 November 1976) is a German former professional boxer. She is among the most successful female boxers of all time and helped popularise female boxing in Europe.

Amateur career
Halmich was German champion in kickboxing as an amateur in 1992, 1993 and 1994, a year in which she also earned the European title.

Professional career
As a professional, she has boxed in the Jr. Flyweight, Flyweight, Jr. Bantamweight, Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions. Halmich was the WIBF's world champion in the Jr. Flyweight, Flyweight and Super Flyweight divisions. Halmich made her professional debut on 4 March 1994, in her hometown of Karlsruhe, defeating Fienie Klee of the Netherlands.

Regina Halmich has defeated several quality boxers during her career. She defended her Flyweight title with success against Delia Gonzalez, Yvonne Caples, Johanna Peña-Álvarez and numerous others, once only with a draw against Elena Reid. She also faced Daisy Lang, against whom she won in a fight for the vacant IWBF world Super Flyweight title.

On 15 January 2005, she defeated Marylin Hernandez by a ten-round unanimous decision defending the world Flyweight title. On 16 April 2005 she also defeated Hollie Dunaway in ten rounds defending her title. In her 50th professional fight, she defended the title against María Jesús Rosa Reina from Spain. She held the title for more than ten years. In December 2005 she won the rematch against Elena Reid.

On 9 September 2006, Halmich won her 53rd pro fight, defeating Ria Ramnarine of Trinidad and Tobago by TKO in the sixth round. Her pro boxing record now stands at 52 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.

Halmich faced Reka Krempf of Hungary on 13 January 2007 at the Brandberg Arena in Halle (Saale), defeating her by a unanimous decision for the 44th successful title defense.

Retirement
Halmich announced her retirement after her farewell fight on 30 November 2007, in which she beat Hagar Finer of Israel by majority decision (96–94, 97–94, 95–95).

Outside the ring
In addition to her boxing career, Halmich has branched out into the world of business, as she became one of the first women boxers to have her own line of cosmetics. She has posed as a model for some German magazines and websites. Halmich became famous on German television with a promotional fight against German TV host Stefan Raab, in his show TV total in March 2001. The fight was rather chaotic, the referee intended to end it more than once because he felt that Stefan Raab's health was in danger, but show host Raab kept convincing him to continue the fight. Although Halmich broke Stefan Raab's nose during the fight, he at least managed to go the distance with her. A second fight between these two took place in 2007, and Halmich won again.

The EP "All We Are – The Fight" by metal band Warlock is subtitled "A Tribute to Regina Halmich", because this version of the title track "All We Are" was originally performed on 30 March 2006 on German TV as the entrance song for Regina Halmich, who was also Doro Pesch's best friend.

International recognition
She is not a stranger to American boxing fans, and, in 1996, American boxing publication Ring Magazine published the first of a number of articles about her in that magazine. In January 2016 the Ring magazine considered her the 2nd best female boxer of all time.

title: Regina Halmich


text:
Talk:Fahrenheit 9/11½

Hoax?
Hoax? i found nothing relevant anyway. The external link in the Internet Movie Database was written by "anonymous".

I found some comments and the original article but no others informations even at http://www.michaelmoore.com/ no more ;-) --Neuromancien 02:41, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Move to Fahrenheit 9/11½
Can an admin move this to Fahrenheit 9/11½ ... thanks!--Sonjaaa 00:05, Jun 6, 2005 (UTC)

Wrong info
On Michael moore's page it says this planned for 2006 release, here it says 2007.--60.226.28.35 10:31, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Does it matter? It's crystal ball and should've been deleted as such.  Grue   12:30, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

information vs propaganda
I do agree that Moore's "stuff", might show a strong opinion, but propaganda is not the right term for it, as it implies a judgment. I'd rather use "information" because it's more generic (you can have good or bad information), and sticks to Wikipedia's policy of NOT giving an opinion. Hiding "propaganda" into "opinionated commentary" might also sound tricky. For these reasons I did reverted - again - the edit to Fahrenheit 9/11½. Nova77 23:21, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

Why is this protected?
Pointless Could someone please amend the text to the following: Thanks. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 09:40, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
 * 1) REDIRECT Fahrenheit 9/11

title: Talk:Fahrenheit 9/11½


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Cotroceni Palace

Cotroceni Palace (Romanian: Palatul Cotroceni) is the official residence of the President of Romania. It is located at ''Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1'', in Bucharest, Romania. The palace also houses the National Cotroceni Museum.

The Cotroceni Monastery (1679–1682)
In 1679, a monastery was built by Șerban Cantacuzino on Cotroceni Hill in the first year of his rule on the place of an old wooden hermitage. The plans of this new monastery kept many of the traditional architectural elements found in the principalities of Romania at the time. The Cotroceni monastery was completed in 1682, and has since been visited frequently by many pilgrims and documented in various Chronicles.

The royal palace (1883–1895)

Cotroceni Hill was also the place of residence of many of Romania's rulers for a time until 1883, when King Carol I of Romania received the residences and ordered them demolished with plans to build a much larger edifice in their stead which would serve to house the future heirs to his throne.

Construction of this new royal palace was commissioned to begin in the year 1893, the project being placed under the direction of French architect Paul Gottereau.

The north wing (1915–1926)

During the rule of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie, further improvements were made to the royal palace. At the request of Queen Marie, the north wing of the palace was completed with the space that would be used to house the maids of honor and adjutants in duplex apartments of sorts. A gymnastics hall at the semi-basement was also built, taking up the space where it is assumed that a chapel would have resided on the ground floor. In October 1915, the space was refitted to accommodate central heating.

In 1925, architect Grigore Cerchez began his work on the Cotroceni Palace by adding a living room with a gazebo on the first floor. On the second floor, he added a small terrace on the northern face along with an additional gazebo. Cerchez continued to work on the two adjacent salons on the first floor of the north wing, as well as the Grand Reception Hall that distinguished this part of the building, until 1926.

In 1929, Cerchez achieved the functional completion of the north-eastern corner of the palace, having created a loggia at the library's level. Above the library, a large storage area was built as an annex to the royal dormitory.

The socialist occupation (1947–1948)
On 30 December 1947, King Michael I was forced to abdicate by the communists. At that point, the new government had control of the palace which was then uninhabited by the royal family.

On February 13, 1948, the new government held a meeting in which the destiny of the palace would be decided while an inventory of the royal goods was taking place. There were multiple requests for different functions the palace could serve, from the location of the University of Medicine to the headquarters for the National Union of Romanian Students. On May 26 that year, decree number 38 was issued, in which the Presidium of the Great National Assembly of the People's Republic of Romania decided that "all goods and estates that were found from the date of March 6, 1945 in the possession of the former king Mihai and other members of the former royal family shall be passed into the possession of the Romanian state." Finally, on June 18, 1948, the Council of Ministers has decided that the Cotroceni Palace, its "five bodies, 150 rooms, park, the property of the state" would be placed under the administration of the Ministry of Interior. The same decree stipulated that other valuables found within the palace would be redistributed among various ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health.

After the new administrator of the palace has settled in, around 1,000 objects, including paintings, sculptures, icons, furniture, rugs, draperies, dishes, and other decorative items were missing. They were taken by the Ministry of Art and Information at the proposal of a special commission "to take objects of art from the Cotroceni Palace." The majority of the remaining objects were redistributed to various institutions and organizations, including the press arm of the Ministry of Art and Information, the "Bee" Society (Societatea "Albina"), and the restaurant union "Ambasador".

The "Pioneers' Palace" (1949)
On April 30, 1949, a school children's program called the "Pioneers" was about to receive its first group ceremony, which would mark a moment in the Cotroceni Palace's history in which it would be re-purposed for the use of these children who were preparing to become "dignified citizens devoted to their homeland and The Romanian Worker's Party." It was around this time when the Cotroceni Palace took on another name – Palatul Pionierilor, known in English as The Pioneers' Palace (also known as young communists).

The retrofit was to take place in four stages, during which the building would allocate rooms for a bigger library and centers or workshops for chess, miniature aircraft, automobiles, radiophony, photography, painting, choreography and dance, history, and ceramics.

In addition to the retrofits, the palace was also to be used as a cinema and auditorium. The Pioneers' Palace, however, was not inaugurated until June 1, 1950 — approximately one year after it was meant to be inaugurated.

Modifications by the socialist regime (1949–1976)
After the abdication of King Michael I, the new government made several well-documented changes to the palace:

On the ground floor

 * Hanging lamps from the principal entrance were unmounted.
 * Plaster ornaments – as well as the anthropomorphic gable over the stairs of honor – were either detached, forced down, or broken.
 * Stucco marble pilasters and boards were covered with clay and paint. They were also perforated for the mounting of electrical cords or piping for heat.

On the first floor

 * The neo-German-style living room and the Golden Salon were destroyed.
 * All of the Ruse stone columns from the White Salon (known also as the Cerchez salon) were painted with dark ash polyvinyl paint.
 * All of the space within the new living room (planned by Grigore Cerchez) and kitchen were transformed.

On the second floor

 * All of the spaces used by the children of the royal family – as well as the loggia area towards the principal courtyard – were emptied of any finishes.
 * The dormitory of Ferdinand I was completely destroyed.
 * All of the spaces between the Ferdinand I's dormitory and Maria's painting salon, save for the cherry wood stairs, were dismantled.

On the third floor

 * The spaces on this floor have all been modified radically.

In 1976, during the regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Cotroceni Palace once again changed its purpose after its transfer to the State Protocol (Protocolul de Stat). Its new function would be as a residential building – a guest house.

1977 Vrancea earthquake
In 1977, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Vrancea County and damaged several buildings in Bucharest. The Cotroceni Palace was among those buildings, and suffered such extensive damage that a project had to be commissioned for restoration and consolidation.

National Cotroceni Museum
The Cotroceni National Museum is the old Royal Palace, built in 1895. In 1991 the palace became the headquarters of the Romanian Presidency and the old wing of the ensemble was opened to the public as Cotroceni National Museum, envisioned as an insight into past ages.

Many of the palace's function rooms were decorated to the taste of Marie, the English wife of Carol's heir, his nephew Crown Prince Ferdinand. Her extensive art collection is also on display.

The Hall of Honour
Largely kept intact since the 1890s, the Hall of Honour, built in the French style of Napoleon III, boasts an original Italian marble staircase. The decorations are inspired by the French Opera Garnier.

The German Living Room
Decorated in the German Neorenaissance style, the German Living room was a place of daily reunion for the royal family. King Carol I was a most enthusiastic advocate of this style and no doubt wished to impose it in the rooms of Cotroceni.

The Hunting Room
Built in 1926 under the guidance of the Czech architect Karel Liman, the Hunting Room showcases some of King Ferdinand's personal trophies.

The Flowers' Room
The Flowers' Room was named the Golden Room in the times of Queen Marie. The rich stucco flower decoration was, at the time, gilded.

The Library
Also known as King Ferdinand's private study room, the library still sports the original elm wood panelling and, even today, houses part of King Ferdinand's collection of books.

The Great Hall of Receptions
Built by the architect Grigore Cerchez in the Neo-Romanian style, the Great Hall of Receptions today also functions as a place for specific activities hosted by the museum, such as concerts, book launches or art exhibitions.

The Royal Dining Room
The Royal Dining Room is situated in a wing also designed by Cerchez in the Neo-Romanian style, and features a Neo-Byzantine round table, an original design by Queen Marie.

The Apartments
The second floor houses the private apartments of the members of the royal family, such as King Ferdinand's apartment, Queen Marie's apartment or the German apartment.

Collections
Comprising approximately 20,000 objects, the collection of the Cotroceni National Museum has been continuously enriched through transfers from other institutions and museums (The National Commission for Administrating State Heritage, The Peles National Museum, the National Arts Museum of Romania) and particularly through acquisitions and generous private donations.

The collection of the National Cotroceni Museum is divided into the following domains: plastic arts (Romanian and international paintings, graphic arts, Romanian and foreign sculpture, religious art), decorative arts (ceramics, glass, metal, textile, furniture), numismatics, medals, history, archaeology.

The plastic arts domain is divided into the following collections: religious arts (wood painted icons), which is representative for the late period of Romanian religious arts (18th- 19th century) and Russian workshops.

The Romanian painting collection gathers paintings by famous Romanian painters of the end of the 19th century up to now. The vast majority of these painters were trained in the renowned Arts school of Bucharest and Iasi while others had the privilege of studying abroad in the famous European schools. After returning, some of them became professors, thus contributing to the improvement of plastic arts and educating a new generation of painters.

Lately, one of the priorities in the heritage acquisitions of Cotroceni National Museum have been the works of artists in the Artistic Youth society, whose activity was prominent at the beginning of the 20th century and encouraged by Queen Mary. Among them: Leon Al. Biju ("Balcic Landscape"), Kimon Loghi ("Balcic coffee shop"), Nicolae Grant ("Landscape").

The graphic arts collection includes numerous drawings, watercolours and engravings from the 19th and 20th century, and Japanese prints. This particular collection was extended through acquisitions and donations of Romanian modern and contemporary graphics.

The decorative art domain is well represented in the permanent exhibitions and includes furniture, ceramics, glass, metal and textiles. The furniture collection is one good reminder of the variety of European styles and evolving techniques. In terms of interior pieces of furniture one can notice wood tables and chairs (Neoromanian style), specific ensembles (Empire, Napoleon the 3rd, Napoleon 3rd, Louis 15th and 16th and oriental furniture).

The ceramics collection include valuable pieces of renowned workshops in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Russia. The Sèvres, Meissen, and Kuznetzov porcelain is truly remarkable.

The glass collection includes valuable artistic and historical pieces : the table set of Queen Mary (Neo Byzantine style) and Italian and French workshops.

The textile collection includes carpets of famous workshops of Buchara, Sumak Shirvan.

The collection of the museum also comprises a number of Art Nouveau objects, created by the artistic movement of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

Visiting hours
Visiting hours are Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. The church can be visited with no prior reservation, from Wednesday to Saturday, 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM and on Sunday, the Liturgy can be attended. Visits are made only within a guided tour. There are two types of tours: the "classic" tour takes 60 minutes and includes the first and second floors, while the "complete" tour, which lasts 100 minutes, also includes the medieval areas of the Palace, the church and the cellars. Museum reservations have to be made 48 hours beforehand.

title: Cotroceni Palace


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Cotroceni

Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania, located around the Cotroceni hill, in Bucharest's Sector 5.

The nearest Metro stations are Eroilor, Academia Militară, and Politehnica.

History
The Hill of Cotroceni was once covered by the forest of Vlăsia, which covered most of today's Bucharest. Here, in 1679 a monastery was built by Șerban Cantacuzino, later to be transformed into a palace in 1888 by King Carol I. Houses were built in the area near the palace by the royal servants and by high-ranking military personnel. Carol I also build a royal train station named Gara Cotroceni near the palace. The train station was relocated by the communist regime and was later used for transporting materials for the construction of Casa Poporului.

Notable people
Important Romanian figures who lived in this neighborhood: Ion Barbu, Nicolae Herlea, Ion Minulescu, Marin Preda, and Liviu Rebreanu.

Landmarks

 * Cotroceni Palace, the official residence of the President of Romania, is located in this neighbourhood
 * Bucharest Botanical Garden
 * Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy
 * The Bucharest Opera building
 * University Hospital Bucharest
 * New St. Eleftherios Church
 * Saint Elisabeth Chapel, Bucharest
 * Casa Radio

title: Cotroceni


text: User talk:130.13.118.49

title: User talk:130.13.118.49


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Tamburica

Tamburica ( or  ; sometimes written tamburrizza or tamburitza; tamburica) or tamboura (tambura; ταμπουράς) refers to a family of long-necked lutes popular in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, especially Serbia (in Vojvodina, Mačva and Posavo-Tamnava), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia (of which it is the national string instrument), Slovenia, and Hungary (predominantly amongst its ethnic South Slavic minority groups). It is also known in Burgenland, Austria. All took their name and some characteristics from the Persian tanbur but also resemble the mandolin and guitar in the sense that its strings are plucked and often paired. The frets may be moveable to allow the playing of various modes. The variety of tamburica shapes known today were developed in Serbia and Croatia by a number of indigenous contributors near the end of the 19th century.

History
There is little reliable data showing how the tamboura entered Central Europe. It already existed during Byzantine Empire, and the Greeks and Slavs used to call "pandouras" (see pandoura) or "tambouras" the ancestor of modern bouzouki. The instrument was referred to as θαμπούριν, thambourin in the Byzantine Empire (confer Digenis Akritas, Escorial version, vv. 826–827, ed. and transl. Elizabeth Jeffrey).

It is said it was probably brought by the Turks to Bosnia, from where the instrument spread further with migrations of Šokci and Bunjevci above the Sava River to all parts of Croatia, Serbia and further, although this theory is not consistent with the generally accepted view that the ancestor of the tamboura is the ancient Greek pandouris.

Until the Great Migration of the Serbs at the end of the 17th century, the type of tambura most frequently used in Croatia and Serbia had a long neck and two or three strings (sometimes doubled). Similar string instruments include the Czech bratsche, Turkish saz and the sargija, çiftelia and bouzouki. The oldest surviving and authenticated tambura known, which is still kept in a museum in Osijek, dates from 1847 and was owned by Pajo Kolarić of Osijek, who was also the founder of the first amateur tamburica orchestra. In honour of him, a festival called tamburitzan is held every year in Osijek.

The development process of the modern tamburica was initiated by several Serbian and Croatian citizens over a period of time. The original long neck, pear shaped tamburica was called the samica and it came in a small or larger size. The kontra, which had 4 strings tuned in an upper A chord was used only as an accompaniment instrument, it originated in Dalmatia. During the autumn of 1875, after a rebellion in Bosnia had broken out, many refugees arrived in Sremski Karlovci. Among these refugees was a man named Marko Capkun who brought two tamburas with him. He called the small one icitel and the larger one sarkija. These tamburas did not use wire strings but rather gut strings pulled through little holes on the neck and tied behind. A woodworker, Josif, in Sremski Karlovci began to make Marko's tamburas, but instead of the traditional pear shape, he made them into the shape of a little guitar. A bird catcher named Joza built a large tambura-much bigger than a guitar in 1877 or 1878. It stretched two thicker and two thinner strings on it and Joza called it the bas or berdon. They developed an orchestra with a little tambura called the prima , 5 kontra and 1 bas.

Types of tamburica
The number of strings on a tamburica varies and it may have single or double-coursed strings or a mixture of both. Double-coursed strings are tuned in unison. The basic forms of tamburica are (Serbian and Croatian name is given with Hungarian name in the parenthesis, if different):

 * The Samica – is a solo instrument that is rarely found as a part of the standard tamburica orchestra. The samica is thought to be the ancestor of the modern tamburica and usually consists of two doubled strings. The samica is traditionally played in Slavonia, Baranja and Vojvodina.
 * The Dangubica - Also known as a "Razbibriga", "Kozarica", "Tikvara", "Potpalac" or "Kuterevka" is another solo instrument very similar to the samica in both shape and sound. It is predominantly played in and around the region of Lika. It is typically larger than the samica and tuned to a lower note.
 * The Tambura Trožica - is a lesser known tambura with three strings (hence the name "trožica" lit. "three stringed"). It was played in the Bosanska Krajina and kozara.
 * The prim (prím) – The prim comes in a lot of shapes. Sometimes it has a different tune, or it has 6 strings instead of five. The standard that most students use has five strings (one double and three single) But sometimes it has six strings (two doubles and 2 singles). It's the smallest in the family ( (about 50 cm long), but is very loud. It is mostly used as a lead instrument or harmonizing instrument. The bisernica (from Serbian and Croatian "biser" meaning "pearl") is another name for the "prim". It's also referred to "Tamburica". The name comes from the Croatian diminutive of the word "Tambura"
 * The brač or basprim (brács or basszprím) – It has one double string and three single strings. (basprim), a slightly bigger, lower instrument than the bisernica but played in a similar fashion.
 * The čelović – originally has one double string and three single strings. It's a deeper version of the basprim.
 * The bugarija or kontra (brácsó or kontra) – It has four single strings, similar to a guitar, mostly plays chords on the "back beat" for rhythm. A bugarija has four strings, the bottom pair are D, the middle string is A and the top two are tuned F# and F#.
 * The čelo (cselló) – It is similar to the bugarija, but it plays in the bass key, there are no chords and the head is similar to the contrabass, but you play it like any other tambura in the family.
 * The čelo-berde or the standing čelo- it has four strings and it is played vertically, but you sit while you play. It is used for the bass but it is not a very popular instrument in the tambura family.
 * The bas or berda (tamburabőgő), also called begeš (bőgős) – four strings. It is the largest instrument in the tamburica family, and is similar to contrabass. It can only be played standing and is used for playing bass lines. It could also be played sitting down by using a bar stool or a Double Bass Chair, & the advantage is it allows the instrument to sit flat against the stomach.

There is a view that the first tambura orchestra was formed in Hungary in the 19th century. The instruments' names came from the Hungarian names of the musical instruments of the symphony orchestra ("cselló" meaning cello, "bőgő" meaning contrabass) and from the Hungarian Gipsy bands (bőgős, prím, kontra). These orchestras soon spread to what is now Bosnia, Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Parts of tamburica
The tamburica is made in three parts; body, neck and head. The body (sound box) was pear-shaped until the middle of the nineteenth century CE, and was built by scooping out the log. Today they are mostly built in the way of the guitar and even the smallest, the bisernica, has a constructed box. The fingerboard has frets (prečnice, krsnice, pragovi). The head (čivijište, fej) usually had a sharpened form, which can be found still on some bisernicas, but the "snail" design later got the supremacy. The snail headstock design dates from at least the 19th century and the Viennese guitars of Johann Georg Stauffer.

Composers and ensembles

Tamburica orchestras can have various formats from a trio to a large orchestra. A basic trio consists of a prim, a kontra and a čelo. Larger orchestras also have bas-prims and bass-prim-terc tamburas.

The first major composer for the tamburica was Pajo Kolarić, who formed the first amateur tamburica orchestra in Osijek in 1847. Kolarić's student Mijo Majer formed the first tamburica choir led by a conductor, the "Hrvatska Lira", in 1882. Croatian composers for the tamburica include Franjo Ksaver Kuhač, Siniša Leopold and Julije Njikoš. The instrument is associated with Croatian nationalism. Vinko Žganec, an associate of Béla Bartók, collected more than 19,000 Croatian folk songs.

The Grand Tamburica Orchestra of Radio Novi Sad was founded in 1951 under the leadership of Sava Vukosavljev, who composed and arranged many pieces for tamburica orchestra and published a comprehensive book Vojvođanska tambura ("The Tambura of Vojvodina"). There are also orchestras of Radio Belgrade and Radio Podgorica, Radio Kikinda etc. Janika Balaž, a member of the Radio Novi Sad orchestra who also had his own octet, was a popular performer whose name became synonymous with the tamburica. Famous tamburica orchestras of Serbia include those of Maksa Popov and Aleksandar Aranicki.

The village of Schandorf in Austria, whose Croatian-speaking inhabitants are descended from 16th Century Croatian immigrants, is the home of a tamburica orchestra, a reflection of its ethnic heritage. The orchestra performs frequently, often outside the village.

Films about tamburicas

 * The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago (1978)
 * Directed by Jill Godmilow, Martin Koenig and Ethel Raim. Produced by Mary Koenig, Ethel Raim and Jill Godmilow.
 * Ziveli! Medicine for the Heart (1987)
 * Filmed and directed by Les Blank. Produced by Flower Films in association with the Center for Visual Anthropology, University of Southern California. Based on ethnography by Andre Simic. El Cerrito, California: Flower Films & Video. ISBN 0-933621-38-8.

Publications
Svet Tambure, a magazine about tambura music, published triannually in Serbia.

Music samples

 * "Ugrós, lassú és friss csárdás", from Bátmonostor, Hungary
 * "Aki leány akar lenni" (csárdás), from Bogyiszló, Hungary Publikált népzenei felvételek -- On-line adatbázis
 * "Lassú csárdás", from Dávod, Hungary Publikált népzenei felvételek -- On-line adatbázis
 * "Zvečera se šečem", Tamburica ensemble "Ivan Vuković", Parndorf, Austria Tamburaško društvo Ivan Vuković Pandrof - Shop
 * Z. Tonković: "Sjene" (Croatia)
 * Janika Balaž and his orchestra: "Fala" (Croatia/Zagorje) audio&foto
 * "Deronjski valcer", from Deronje, Serbia audio&foto

title: Tamburica


text:
Ometz LeSarev

Ometz LeSarev (אומץ לסרב, Courage to Refuse) is an organization of reserve officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who refuse to serve beyond the 1967 borders, but "shall continue serving in the Israel Defense Forces in any mission that serves Israel's defense." These conscientious objectors refer to themselves as refuseniks, a reference to the refusenik Jews of Soviet Russia. In 2004, Courage to Refuse and one of its founders, social activist David Zonsheine, were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by 1992 winner Rigoberta Menchú and 1996 winner Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.

History
The movement began in January 2002 at the initiative of social activist and IDF reserve officer David Zonsheine and his fellow officer Yaniv Iczkovits, who drafted, then published an ad in the Israeli mainstream-left daily Haaretz signed by a nucleus of 51 reserve officers and soldiers. This would later come to be known as "The Soldiers' Letter" or "The Combatants' Letter." Three years later the number of signatories had reached over 600.

The group started within the period of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

By the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, the founders were divided. Now writer Iczkovits, while still critic of the occupation and Netanyahu governments, rejoined the army to fight Hamas. Zonsheine, with relatives among the Israeli dead and kidnapped during the Hamas attack, asks for a ceasefire. Tamir Sorek, in retrospect, sees the language of the letter as "too patriotic" and inappropriate towards a joint Israeli-Palestinian activism.

Reception
At first, the IDF responded by sentencing any refusenik who refused to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to jail. Seeing that this was not a deterrent and only raised awareness of refusal within the populace, it has stepped down its efforts and has simply stopped calling on the refuseniks or sent them to alternate duties within the 1967 borders – those borders that existed prior to the 1967 Six-Day War.

There are differing opinions in the Israeli public regarding the organization. The right wing opposes the movement, claiming its activities amount to treason during wartime and that activists' refusal to serve encourages Palestinians to step up suicide bombings in order to break Israeli society.

The left wing, which opposes the occupation, is split between those who see refusal as a legitimate political tool and those who believe that it is unlawful and only serves to undermine the IDF's and the Israeli peace camp's standing within the populace. Israeli left-wing activist professor Amnon Rubinstein has warned that the refusal to serve by soldiers on the left could encourage the refusal by soldiers on the right to remove Israeli settlements.

Courage to Refuse and one of its founders, David Zonsheine, were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

The refusenik letter

 * We, reserve combat officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, who were raised upon the principles of Zionism, sacrifice and giving to the people of Israel and to the State of Israel, who have always served in the front lines, and who were the first to carry out any mission, light or heavy, in order to protect the State of Israel and strengthen it.
 * We, combat officers and soldiers who have served the State of Israel for long weeks every year, in spite of the dear cost to our personal lives, have been on reserve duty all over the Occupied Territories, and were issued commands and directives that had nothing to do with the security of our country, and that had the sole purpose of perpetuating our control over the Palestinian people. We, whose eyes have seen the bloody toll this Occupation exacts from both sides.
 * We, who sensed how the commands issued to us in the Territories, destroy all the values we had absorbed while growing up in this country.
 * We, who understand now that the price of Occupation is the loss of IDF's human character and the corruption of the entire Israeli society.
 * We, who know that the Territories are not Israel, and that all settlements are bound to be evacuated in the end.
 * We hereby declare that we shall not continue to fight this War of the Settlements.
 * We shall not continue to fight beyond the 1967 borders in order to dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire people.
 * We hereby declare that we shall continue serving in the Israel Defense Forces in any mission that serves Israel's defense.
 * The missions of occupation and oppression do not serve this purpose – and we shall take no part in them.

title: Ometz LeSarev


text:
Talk:Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film

Untitled
Any speculation yet? --Reubot 09:13, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC) nnnnnndj                   jas rules

Dates correct?
Checking the 2000 and 1999 awards in the IMDb, the dates on this page seem to be a year out. Who's right? Jihg 18:45, Jan 20, 2005 (UTC)

 * You are right: the dates are a year out. In 1942, the award goes to "Churchill's Island" and in 1943, there were 4 winners. The page must be updated. Mahogaia (talk) 10:36, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

 * The Internet Movie Database uses the year of the award ceremony. Wikipedia uses the year of the film's release, so they are both right. -ErinHowarth (talk) 00:21, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Grammer?
Should the word "awards" in the first sentence read "award"? Or say ">>one of<< the most prestigious awards"?

recipient
ARe these awards presented to the producer or the director? Shouldn't they also be listed? -ErinHowarth (talk) 00:22, 13 February 2010 (UTC)
 * How about we use the source, http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1976 shows the producers F. R. Crawley, James Hager and Dale Hartlebe and even has a picture of them choking their Oscars.
 * I will change the information that shows the directors Bruce Nyznik and Lawrence Schiller. Kid Bugs (talk) 01:52, 30 September 2015 (UTC)

1942: who won in what category: feature of short?
1942 winner for best documentary feature is "The Battle of Midway" - and the same film is also the winner of "Best Documentary (Short Subject)". Which did it win? Only in one I think?--Nedergard (talk) 10:00, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Cash Prize?
Is there a cash prize for this award - if so how much? I can't find this information in this article or in the general Academy Awards article — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.209.77.97 (talk) 06:34, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Academy Awards which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 13:17, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

Formatting of this page
What is going on with the formatting of this page? Some things are in tables and some are not.  Jennica Talk 04:59, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

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wrong wikipedia link for a film
The item "The White Eagle" for 1942 incorrectly links to the wikipedia page for a 1928 silent film. (I did not find a wikipedia page for the correct film.) The imdb page for what I believe is the correct film is https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035554/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 100.1.177.75 (talk) 22:13, 3 May 2018 (UTC)

shortlist
can we include shortlist?--Spacejam2 (talk) 15:31, 23 January 2019 (UTC)


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Figgy Duff

Figgy Duff was a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland, Canada. They played a major role in the Newfoundland cultural renaissance of the 1970s and 1980s. Formed in 1976 by Noel Dinn, who named the band after a traditional pudding, Figgy Duff travelled across Newfoundland, learning traditional songs and performing them with distinct elements of rock and roll.

The band relied heavily on the research of ethnomusicologist Kenneth Peacock's 1965 3-volume Songs of the Newfoundland Outports as a resource for songs that they adapted into a new rock-based sound called “trad-rock” — an amalgamation of rock music and traditional folk music of unknown authors.

They began working with Island Records early, though the album that resulted has yet to be released. Instead, they released their independent self-titled debut album: Figgy Duff in 1980. The album was also released by Ottawa-based Posterity Records. It was followed by After the Tempest in 1982.

Through the next thirteen years, Figgy Duff continued touring and released three more albums: Weather Out the Storm (1989), Downstream (1993) and the compilation Retrospective (1995).

The band's line-up changed several times, but the core of Noel Dinn and Pamela Morgan, singer-songwriter, stayed the same. Weather Out the Storm was nominated for a 1991 Juno Award. Dinn died of cancer in 1993, and Morgan disbanded Figgy Duff soon after.

The band has since reunited three times, once in 1999 for a silver anniversary tour, again in summer 2008 to celebrate the release of a CD of live recordings from the bands' previous reunion, and for the 2016 Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, featuring Aaron Collis on accordion.

Discography

 * 1980: Figgy Duff
 * 1982: After the Tempest
 * 1989: Weather Out the Storm
 * 1993: Downstream
 * 1995: Retrospective
 * 2008: Figgy Duff Live Silver Reunion

title: Figgy Duff


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Silly Sisters

The Silly Sisters is an English folk music duo, formed in 1976 by Maddy Prior and June Tabor. Both of their albums were well-received by reviewers.

History
Prior and Tabor met at Oxford in the 1960s. At first, they performed together under their own names. They released their first album, Silly Sisters, in 1976, and later took this name as the name of their duo. They toured together in the 1980s, and released a subsequent album No More to the Dance in 1988, on the Shanachie Records label. "The Silly Sisters was conceived as a one-off project," Tabor explained in 1990. "We said, let's see if we can still sing together, and we could." A Chicago Tribune review of this second album called it "nearly flawless", "elegantly understated" and "brazenly witty".

In 2009 the song Hedger and Ditcher from No More to the Dance was included in the Topic Records 70th anniversary boxed set Three Score and Ten, as track 17 on the seventh CD.

Discography

 * 1976: Silly Sisters (as "Maddy Prior & June Tabor")
 * 1988: No More To The Dance

title: Silly Sisters


text: Category:Bill Clinton

title: Category:Bill Clinton


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Template talk:Sandboxpaste

Note: to use this template correctly, you must prefix the template entry with 'subst:' i.e.  . This allows the addition of a comment to the wikisource of the sandbox, cautioning users not to delete the template link.

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Poon Lim

Poon Lim BEM (8 March 1918 – 4 January 1991) was a Chinese seafarer. He was born on the island of Hainan, China. In 1942–43 he survived 133 days alone in the South Atlantic.

Lim was Second Mess Steward on SS Benlomond (1922), a British cargo ship that the GS U-172 sank on 23 November 1942. He survived on an 8 ft wooden raft with supplies. When the supplies ran low, Lim resorted to fishing, catching seabirds, and rainwater collection.

On 5 April 1943, three Brazilian fishermen rescued Lim as he neared the coast of Brazil. After Lim returned to the United Kingdom, King George VI awarded him the British Empire Medal. After the Second World War, Lim emigrated to the United States.

Shipwreck
In 1942 Lim was Second Mess Steward on the Ben Line cargo ship Benlomond, which was en route from Suez to New York via Cape Town and Paramaribo. Her officers were British, but most of her crew was Chinese. Benlomond was capable of about 12 kn. She was defensively armed, but her voyage was unescorted.

On 23 November, U-172 intercepted and hit Benlomond with two torpedoes at position 0.3°N, -38.45°W, about 250 mi north of the coast of Brazil. Lim, who was in his cabin, took his life jacket and went to his boat station, where two officers and a seaman were trying to launch one of the lifeboats. They had raised the boat off its chocks, and were about to lower it, when Lim was washed overboard. The ship sank within about two minutes of being hit, and Lim was dragged underwater. When he resurfaced, he found only a few planks floating, one of which he used for extra buoyancy.

Lim was spotted by the crew of U-172 but instead of rescuing him, they laughed at him and waved him away. After about two hours in the water, Lim found and boarded a wooden life raft. In the distance he saw another raft, carrying four or five men, who waved to him to join them. Lim thought they were some of the ship's DEMS gunners. But Lim had no means to propel his raft, and the two rafts drifted apart.

Survival
The raft was stocked with a can of fresh water containing 10 impgal, six boxes of hardtack, 2 lb of chocolate, ten cans of pemmican, five cans of evaporated milk, one bottle of lime juice, and one can of massage oil. It also had flares, two smoke pots, and a flashlight, with which to signal for help.

Lim at first kept himself alive by drinking the water and eating the food on the raft, but later resorted to fishing, catching seabirds, and collecting rainwater in a canvas life jacket covering. He could not swim well, and often tied a rope from the boat to his wrist in case he fell into the sea. He took a spring from the flashlight and made it into a fishhook, unravelled hemp rope to make a fishing line, and crushed pieces of hardtack to make bait. He dug a nail from the boards on the wooden raft to make a stronger fish hook. When he caught a small fish, he used it as bait to catch bigger fish. He improvised a knife from part of a pemmican can. The water tank had an iron key, which Lim also used as a tool. When gulls settled on his raft, he caught and killed them. He soaked their meat in seawater to salt it, then dried it on deck to make jerky.

When Lim saw sharks, he caught one, using the remnants of gulls he had caught as bait. Lim had braided his fishing line to double thickness, and had wrapped his hands in canvas to give them a little protection. The shark attacked him after he hauled it aboard the raft, so he used a water container to beat it to death. Lim cut it open and sucked the blood from its liver. This quenched his thirst, since it had not rained and he was out of water. He sliced off the fins and let them dry in the sun.

Lim had lost all of his clothes except his shirt and vest. He made a skirt from a hessian bag that had contained the lime juice bottle. The raft had four poles and a canvas tarpaulin, which he rigged as a canopy. This both protected him from the sun and caught rainwater.

Occasionally, the crews of cargo ships saw him but did not pick him up or even greet him despite his proficient shouts in English. Lim contended that they would not rescue him because he was Asian and they may have assumed he was a stricken Japanese sailor, although another explanation is that German U-boats were rumored to set a "survivor" on a raft as a trap to get a rescuing ship to stop, which made it a sitting duck to be sunk.

Once or twice, United States Navy patrol planes did see him, and one dropped a marker buoy in the water. The plane reported back to US Navy authorities in Belém, Brazil, but a storm hit the area at the same time and he was lost again.

At first, he counted the days by tying knots in a rope, but later decided that there was no point in counting the days and simply began counting full moons.

Rescue
By April 1943, Lim realized that he was nearing land, as the color of the sea was no longer a deep ocean blue. He had drifted westward about 750 mi. On 5 April three Brazilian fishermen found him, about 16 km off the coast of Pará, east of Salinas. He was the sole survivor from Benlomond. Her Master, Captain John Maul had died, along with 43 of her officers and men, and all eight of her gunners.

Lim had lost 20 lb in weight. He was so weak that his rescuers had to lift him off his raft. But he ate well, and when the fishermen landed him at Belém, three days later, he was able to walk again, although he was still weak.

On 10 April the British Consul in Pará telegraphed a report to the Ministry of War Transport in London, seeking confirmation of the loss of Benlomond. After two weeks in a Brazilian hospital, Lim was fit enough to travel. The Consul arranged for him to go to Britain via Miami and New York.

Aftermath
At a ceremony at the Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey in New York on 16 July 1943, the Acting British Consul told Lim that King George VI was to award him the British Empire Medal. His citation states that "Poon Lim displayed exceptional courage, fortitude and resource in overcoming the tremendous difficulties with which he was faced during the long and dangerous voyage on the raft". At the same ceremony, Ben Line presented Lim with a gold wristwatch. The Royal Navy incorporated his tale into manuals of survival techniques.

After being in the hospital for 35 days he left Brazil via plane going to Miami and later New York. He would end up getting a job for Curtiss-Wright in New Jersey working there until World II ended in 1945 with the plant closing. When the plant closed he went back to being a sailor becoming a messman for the United States Lines and worked for them until retiring in 1983 as a Chief Steward.

After the war, Lim wanted to emigrate to the United States, but the quota for Chinese immigrants had been reached. However, because of his fame and the aid of Senator Warren Magnuson, he received a special dispensation and eventually gained citizenship in 1952. After becoming a US citizen he was prohibited coming back to where he was from as travel was not permitted to the now People's Republic of China, so he had to ask his parents to go to Hong Kong to visit. Lim would get married with the daughter of one of his former shipmates who served on the S.S. Tanda in 1952 having 3 daughters and a son together. Lim applied to join the US Navy. His application was declined because he had flat feet. His son George Poon died from cancer in 2020.

When told no one had ever survived longer on a raft at sea, Lim replied, "I hope no one will ever have to break that record". People have since lived longer lost at sea: three Mexican sailors floated for 10 months from 2005 to 2006 in the Pacific Ocean in a disabled fishing boat. In a similar situation, José Salvador Alvarenga, a fisherman from El Salvador, was apparently lost for 439 days, floating from Mexico to the Marshall Islands. , no one has broken Lim's record on a life raft.

The writer Alfred Bester later stated that Lim's ordeal was used in his novel The Stars My Destination, which opens with a man stranded in space.

Lim died in Brooklyn on 4 January 1991, aged 72.

title: Poon Lim


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Ota, Ogun

Ota (alternatively spelled Otta) is a town in Ogun State, Nigeria with an estimated 163,783 residents. Ota is the capital of the Ado–Odo/Ota Local Government Area. The traditional leader of Ota is the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi AbdulKabir Obalanlege. Historically, Ota is the capital of the Awori Yoruba tribe.

As of 1999, Ota has the third largest concentration of industries in Nigeria. It also possesses a large market and an important road junction, found just north of the tollgate on the Lagos – Abeokuta Expressway. Ota is well known because it is home to Obasanjo Farms Nigeria Limited belonging to the former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

Otta is known as the home of some Yoruba ancient deities and festivals. Festivals usually celebrated in Otta includes Egungun festival, Iganmode Cultural Festival, Gelede Festival, etc.

History
Ota is an ancient Awori kingdom whose existence dated back several millenniums ago. The town is acknowledged to be the first kingdom in the entire Awori land, a sub- Yoruba ethnic group, known as the Awori Kingdom of "Ota" and equally ranks as one of the earliest or oldest kingdoms in Yoruba land. As an enviable and great kingdom of note, it has very strong, sacred, and, of course, fortress traditions of origin, custom, culture, history and anthropology spiced with ethnological settlements and certified prudence spanning several centuries.

Ota's existence dates back to at least the period of  Orunmila (a contemporaneous with the Orunmila) as an established and organized human habitation or community with Obaship institution that no one could ascribe any specific date thus since the BC era. There were very few settlements then what is known as Yorubaland today. Apart from Ile-ife, the first place or source, Ota is a very, very ancient city ranking behind Ile-Ife only that Orunmila first visited. Other few places Orunmila visited after Ota, for one reason or the other, included Ado-Ekiti, Irun Akoko, Ilawe and Ifon. No doubt, Orunmila visited Ota at least on three occasions as confirmed by Ifa-Irete Olota (Owonrin) Corpus and Odu Osa Meji (Odu Eleye).

There had been Awori before Awori, and Ota stands the first long before arrival or emergence of Ogunfunminire and his Group between 15th and 17th centuries. Aworis are many, not all  the Aworis are children or descendants of Ogunfunminire or Olofin of Iseri Olofin. We had Olofins in Ota whose periods of migrations to Ota from Ife predated Iseri Olofin and others. The earliest Ota people set a fetish bowl according to Ifa divination on then river or stream, and sank on a river at Ota when others had not existed including Ogunfunminire, the progenitor of Isheri people but not the entire Aworiland because some Aworis denied vehemently the suggestion that their ancestors got to Isheri before moving to their present settlements. Nonetheless, Aworis are culturally linked up despite the differences in their mode or waves of migratory movements to what is known as Aworiland, Apart from Ota, there are other Awori towns whose ancestors bear Olofin not of Isheri, such towns include; Iworo, Imeke, Ado-odo, etc.

John Thabiti Willis in 2018 further adduced to the oral traditions known as Irete Olota (Owonrin) and Osa Meji in (Odu Eleye), IFA offers an alternative accounts of the originality and founding of Otta by the Terrestrial mothers commonly known as witches-Eleye or Iyami Osoronga; and have since domiciled Otta from antiquity offering strong support for the fact that a human community or existence preceded the migrations to Otta by Ife Oodaye and related people. These traditions, however chronicle the historical journey of Orunmila to Ota, the revered settlement of the renowned witches, Ilu Aje (or Ilu Olori Eleye Osoronga), typically translated as the city of "Terrestrial mothers". Furthermore, to corroborate the above assertion on the traditions origin and founding of Otta, “The Archive of sound and vision, institute of African studies, University of Ibadan, the guiding and preservation of Irete Olota (Owonrin)

Ota today has grown from the ancient settlement founded by the Terrestrial mothers commonly known as witches-Eleye or Iyami Osoronga  into a thriving economic hub in Ogun State and Nigeria. Ota began to grow into the industrial city it is today due to the economic development planning and lobbying by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and Chief Bisi Onabanjo, former governor of Ogun State. This led to the official designation of Ota as an industrial town, and the state government began to encourage industries to locate in and around the city.

Education
Traditionally, Ota only had a few schools, and all were sponsored by various Christian religious organizations. The Muslim community responded by forming a school operated by the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society. State schools began to be formed in the late 1970s, and there are now several private schools in the area. Iganmode Grammar School is the oldest, founded in 1960. Other notable schools include Ansar-Ud-deen Comprehensive College, Bells Comprehensive Secondary School and Faith Academy Secondary School.

There are also two universities in Ota: Covenant University and Bells University of Technology. And a private polytechnic, Allover Central Polytechnic.

The Nigerian Navy's School of Music is also located in Ota.

Economy
Sections of the town are dominated by industries including Lagos - Abeokuta road and Idi-iroko road. Beginning in the early 1970s, many businesses began building factories in Ota partly because it was less congested than the industrial estates in Lagos. Businesses with facilities in Ota include:
 * Farmex Meyer Limited
 * Nigerian Breweries
 * De United Foods Industries Limited
 * Unique Pharmaceuticals
 * Intercontinental Distillers Limited.
 * Honda Manufacturing (Nigeria), Ltd
 * Veepee Industries Limited

Demographics
The indigenes are predominantly Yoruba of the Awori dialect group. They trace their ancestry down from Ile-Ife and consider Iganmode as their patriarch. Other Aworis are located in the neighboring Lagos State.

The main occupation of Ota residents is trading and farming. The town's proximity to Lagos and proximity to the border town of Idiroko have led to the creation of two large markets: Kayero Market in Sango and Oba T.T. Dada Market along Idiroko Road. These markets are each so large that they blend together and are more commonly just referred to as Sango-Ota Market.

Egungun Festival
Ota is referred to as the mecca of Egungun deity and festival in Yoruba land. The Egungun festival is part of the yoruba religious system sometimes referred to as Orisa.

Egugun festival in Ota is usually ushered in ceremoniously, via a night before the d-day- tagged "Igbagan Day", meaning, a special night of blessing. The next day (Abode Oko) usually witnesses a jamboree of egungun with well over 178 notable family masquerades that will dance around the town under the leadership of the Ege- which is the head of the egunguns; and finally converged at the Oju Sango beside Enu-Owa in the evening. At this arena, the entire masquerade gave an insight into their acquired new skills and magical performances that were later displayed one after the other in a carnival-like environment.

Notable masquerades in otta numbering about 178 were classified into about 6 categories; in line with their functions and performances, namely: the Ege - which appeared to be the most beautiful, being the head of the masquerades came out in a well knitted expensive, colourful attire and covering it up with a highly decorated crown as a symbol of its authority.

But before proceeding to the square, the Ege, accompanied by the Egungun Alagbadas, would head to Iga Elerinko to pick the sere abalaye (ancestral bell charm) which will be used in making supplications for the city. Subsequently, it will return it and pick sere ide (decorative bell charm). With the sere ide, the Ege moves round the town along with other Egungun and participants, singing and dancing to the Bata drum.

It must be reiterated at this point that the Ege only comes out on this day. This is because it has performed its leading role at the commencement of the festival. This is closely followed by about 26 Alagbadas- whose appearance is also very expensive, fascinating and artistically colorful along with peculiar dancing steps and a demonstration of some magical dexterity. They are: Ayoka- Ibile, Ariwoola, Afebioye, Ayelabola, Ibu- owo, Labo Idire, Oya-Ogba, Ajofoyinbo (Iyesi), Owolafe, Ajofoyinbo (Ota), Obalolaye and Ayoka-Ese. Others are: Owolani, Eiyeba, Lebe-Oke, Labo-Ilawe, Lebe-Itimoko, Oya–Ijemo and Oya–Ikotun, all of which are danced and performed satisfactorily in quick succession at the square (Okede).

There are 38 other special masquerades called Olooguns. These sets of masquerades outfits are not really attractive. In fact, they are scary with sculpted artworks on their heads, but they are special in magical performances, thus cannot be easily ignored. There are also about 15, Baba-Mukomuko who are like prayer warriors and who also delivers messages from the dead to the living. The next in line are about 6 Alaredes - which specializes in dance and general entertainment of the people.

Iganmode Cultural Festival Iganmode Cultural Festival
Iganmode Cultural festival (also known as Odun  Omo Iganmode) is an annual festival celebrated by the Awori Yoruba people of the ancient city of Ota in Ogun State, Nigeria. The week long annual festival usually takes place in December of every year, to showcase the cultural, spiritual and mystical heritage of the Ota Awori people. The festival is also a spiritual bugle, a home coming call for a cultural renaissance and re awakening call to all sons and daughters of Awori sub-nationality, in Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Republic of Benin, diaspora and wherever they be may be on the face of earth.

History
The first edition of the festival was held in 1992 when the festival was then referred to as Iganmode Day. Over the years, the festival has hosted many prominent Nigerians and dignitaries, such as former Nigerian president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigeria Attorney general and minister of justice the late Chief Bola Ige. others include former governors of Ogun State Chief Olusegun Osoba, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Ibikunle Amosun and the present Governor and Deputy Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun and Engr. Noimot Salako Oyedele (a native of Ota). Taiwo Ajayi Lycett amongst others. The festival has also been chaired by a number of eminent personalities such as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Sir Kesington Adebukunola Adebutu and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro

Key Highlights
One of the major highlights of the festival is the display by Egungun Masquerades in Ota Masquerade traditions are very sacred to the awori yoruba people of Ota

Tourism
The festival is supported by the Ogun State Government. The events of the festival are done with the spiritual and traditional blessings of the Olota of Ota. The festival also seeks to promote the tourism potentials of Ota, Ogun State and Nigeria

It allows people to see different cultural displays and visits to tourist locations like the second storey building in Nigeria

Other

 * Ota Traditional Chiefs

title: Ota, Ogun


text: User talk:63.190.144.23

title: User talk:63.190.144.23


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Elisha Perkins

Elisha Perkins (January 16, 1741 – September 6, 1799) was a United States physician who created a fraudulent medical device, the Perkins Patent Tractors. Although they were made of steel and brass, Perkins claimed that they were made of unusual metal alloys. Perkins claimed his rods cured inflammation, rheumatism and pain in the head and the face; he applied the points on the aching body part and passed them over the part for about 20 minutes. The device was later the subject of the first placebo research.

Biography
Elisha Perkins was born 1741 in Norwich, Connecticut. He was educated by his father Joseph Perkins in Plainfield, Connecticut, where he later practiced medicine with success. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Elisha Perkins served as a surgeon for the Continental Army during the Battle of Bunker Hill in the Siege of Boston. During the late 18th century, the progression of medicine due to the Enlightenment increased the consumer demand for new therapies, such as therapeutic devices and inventions. Consequently, around 1795–96, Perkins invented his "Tractors", for which he took out a 14-year patent on February 19, 1796. The tractors consisted of two 3-inch metal rods with a pointed end; the term is from the old meaning of tractor, "that which pulls", as in the term 'tractor beams'. Although they were made of steel and brass, Perkins claimed that they were made of unusual metal alloys. Perkins claimed his rods cured inflammation, rheumatism and pain in the head and the face. He applied the points on the aching body part and passed them over the part for about 20 minutes. Perkins claimed they could "draw off the noxious electrical fluid that lay at the root of suffering".

The Connecticut Medical Society condemned the tractors as "delusive quackery", and expelled Perkins from membership on the grounds that he was "a patentee and user of nostrums". Perkins nevertheless managed to convince three US medical faculties that his method worked. In Copenhagen, Denmark, twelve surgeons at the royal Frederiks Hospital also began to support the method. Even George Washington bought a set. Other physicians' criticisms were met with charges of elitism and professional arrogance. Perkins boasted of 5,000 cured cases. The cures were certified to by eight professors, forty physicians, and thirty clergymen. Of the purchase made by Washington, Perkins' son, Benjamin Perkins, said that the "President of the United States, convinced of the importance of the discovery from experiments in his own family, availed himself of its advantages by purchasing a set of the Tractors for their use."

Benjamin Perkins was a bookseller and introduced the tractors to London. There a Perkinsian Institution for the benefit of the poor was founded under the presidency of Lord Rivers. In 1798, Benjamin published The Influence of Metallic Tractors on the Human Body. In October 1799, an advertisement in The Times said that "The tractors, with every necessary direction for using them in Families, may be had for 5 guineas the set, of Mr. Perkins, of Leicester Square; or of Mr. Frederic Smith, Chemist & Druggist, in the Haymarket".

Aylmer Bourke Lambert, a British botanist, is on record as having written in January 1800 to Richard Pulteney of Blandford (now Blandford Forum), in the English county of Dorset, as follows:

"I breakfasted with Sir Joseph [Banks] on Monday morning who is recovered from the Gout and in high Spirits. We had a good deal of laughing about the Tractors. Perkins has published several Cases communicated by my Father, and presented me with a copy of his Book."

Shortly before his death Elisha Perkins also invented purported antiseptic medicine and used it for dysentery and sore throat. Perkins also claimed to have discovered a cure for yellow fever. This consisted of vinegar with muriate of soda which he tested in New York City during an outbreak in 1799. The cure had no effect and Perkins contracted the fever and died.

After Perkins' death, British physicians began to have doubts about his tractors. In 1799, Dr. John Haygarth conducted a test in which he treated five rheumatic patients with wooden tractors that were made to resemble the metallic ones. Four of them reported that the pain was relieved. The next day the patients were treated with metallic tractors with the same results. Dr. Haygarth reported on his findings in a publication entitled On the Imagination as a Cause & as a Cure of Disorders of the Body. Attempts to use the tractors to cure animals proved futile.

By this time, Perkins had numerous influential supporters and the sale of the tractors continued. In 1803, Thomas Green Fessenden published his poem "Terrible Tractoration" in favor of Perkins and as a satire on other physicians. Perkins' son died in 1810. After that the popularity of the tractors began to wane.

In 1932, Morris Fishbein commented that "[u]nfortunately no one has yet been able to determine whether Elisha Perkins was merely a somewhat deluded physician or actually a great impostor."

Perkins was the father of Sarah Bushnell Perkins, who is remembered for her pastels.

title: Elisha Perkins


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Category talk:Spirituality

Moved from category page
In recent years, "spirituality" has often carried connotations of the believer's faith being more personal, less dogmatic, more open to new ideas and myriad influences, and more pluralistic than the faiths of established religions. Those given to speaking of "spirituality" rather than "religion" are apt to believe that there are many "spiritual paths" and that there is no objective truth about which is the best path to follow —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gary D (talk • contribs)

title: Category talk:Spirituality


text: User talk:200.74.9.137

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James Morison (physician)

James Morison (1770 – 3 May 1840) was a British quack-physician who sold Hygeian Vegetable Universal Medicine, a would-be cure-all.

Life

Morison was born at Bognie, Aberdeenshire, in 1770, the youngest son of Alexander Morison, 4th Baron of Bognie. After studying at Aberdeen University and Hanau in Germany, he established himself at Riga as a merchant, and subsequently in the West Indies, where he acquired property. Ill-health obliged him to return to Europe, and about 1814 he settled at Bordeaux.

After "thirty-five years' inexpressible suffering", and experimenting with every imaginable course of medical treatment, he accomplished "his own extraordinary cure" about 1822 by the simple expedient of swallowing a few vegetable pills of his own compounding at bed-time and a glass of lemonade in the morning. His success led him to set up in 1825 as the vendor of what he called "vegetable universal medicines", commonly known as "Morison's Pills", of which the principal ingredient was said to be gamboge. His medicines soon became highly popular, especially in the west of England, and in 1828 he opened an establishment for their sale in Hamilton Place, New Road, London, which he dignified with the title of "The British College of Health".

Morison believed that bad blood was the cause of all disease and that purgation from vegetable laxatives was the only cure. He advertised his pills as curing all disease. He bought a pleasant residence at Finchley, Middlesex, called Strawberry Vale Farm, but later lived in Paris. It was said that the profits from the sale of his medicines in France alone were sufficient to cover his expenditure there. From 1830 to 1840, he paid £60,000 to the British government for medicine stamps.

In 1836, his business received heavy criticism as an apothecary Robert Salmon was indicted for the manslaughter of John M'Kenzie by administering large quantities of Morison's pills. Morison died in Paris on 3 May 1840. His body was deposited in a substantial mausoleum in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Personal life
Morison married twice, and left four sons and several daughters. The only surviving child of his second marriage (with Clara, only daughter of Captain Cotter of the Royal Navy) was James Augustus Cotter Morison.

Works
Morison's writings were simply puffs of his medicines. They included:
 * Some Important Advice to the World (with supplement entitled More New Truths), 1825
 * A Letter Addressed to the Honorable the Court of Directors of the United East India Company; proposing an Easy and Safe Remedy for Prevention and Cure of the Cholera Morbus of India ..., 1825
 * The Hygeian Treatment of the Most Prevalent Diseases of India, and of Warm Climates Generally, 1836

His essays were collected together in a volume called Morisoniana, or Family Adviser of the British College of Health (2nd edition 1829; 3rd edition 1831), which was translated into several European languages. Prefixed to the volume is a portrait of the author from a picture by Clint.

Popular culture

 * In Robert Wilkie's farce, the Yalla Gaiters (1840), the hero is fascinated by the vocal powers of a countryman who is singing a ballad in praise of Morison's "Vegetable Pills"; the verses are printed in Notes and Queries.
 * Thomas Carlyle's Past and Present (1843) makes frequent scornful references to Morison's pills.

title: James Morison (physician)