Hull House neighborhood

After looking at the maps of the living quarters for the different nationalities, it was clear that people of one nationality lived within close proximity of people of another. In one of the articles talking about these representations of nationalities within the Hull house area, it talks about how this proximity existed but that there were still larger groups of one nationality within the diverse arrangement, and that whenever a Russian or Polish Jew moved into a building occupied by some other nationality, that that other group of people would move somewhere else if they could, obviously an indication of prejudice. Also,it was noted that there were not very many African Americans living on the west side, two to be exact, while the majority were situated elsewhere.

As for meeting places, these were pretty hard to find. The alleys and roads were the main places that people would meet. These were also the places that children would play, which proved to be dangerous because of all the waste and lack of sanity that existed there. In the Hull house compound itself, there does seem to have been gathering places outside after the expansions were built later on, and inside in places like the coffee houses.

What can be said, is that Hull house was an attempt at diffusing the cultural prejudices that existed by creating a common ground facility where anyone could participate in activities and learning that would help make life easier in America.

Jane Adams and the religious factor

The general sense that I got out of the Hull house reading was that Jane Adams established this settlement to provide aid and opportunities to people who were in poverty not because any of mental disability or tendency towards crime but because of their social situation, life crisis, and circumstances that placed them there unfairly. Basically she wanted to help those who were unfairly treated.

Although I don't think that Jane Adam's work was framed around a religious context, I do think that religion had a supportive role in her mission. In several passages there are references to religious activities or beliefs that I don't think Adams would have included if they didn't have any significance. For example, we know that most of the people at the Hull house were Christian because she mentions that they celebrated christmas at one point, and that candy canes were passed out at another. This occurrence should serve as some indication of Jane Adam's moral leanings towards a christian way of living. Later in the reading, she references a labor movement in which she joined people singing the hymn:

 When wilt Thou save the people,

O God of Mercy, when!

We have seen this theme before in the Psalms, that God will help the just, and I think that this is the main connection that can be made to the religiosity of Jane Adam's undertakings because of how she is acting like a Godly figure, in helping those who are just but in an unjust situation.

Even though these connections can be made, I also think that this kind of social work can be done without any specific guidance from a religion because empathy and the desire to help others is not exclusive to religious teachings.

Rasta and "Perceptions of Conveniece"

I have been very interested in Rasta culture, first off because my brothers used to listen to Bob Marley a long time ago and started me on it when I was about 12 or so. Now being able to interpret the lyrics accurately I can appreciate his music more, and connect them to the history and culture of Rastafari. 

I noticed, as in the last readings this term, that "perceptions of convenience" were very common in Rasta as well. It is my overall philosophy that any lifestyle that employs perceptions of convenience is practically immune to destruction. What I mean by this is that, whenever a belief or tradition is presented with de-validating information, it comes up with an alteration of the original belief that fits in to that original belief. In Rastafari, the death of Hailie Selassie was viewed as a potential harm to the movement, but instead it did not have that effect because he was perceived as having moved back into the spirit world from whence he came, a substitution for accepting his death. His human form was only a tool to relay his message to the Rastafarian people, which was an idea that enabled followers during his lifetime to continue their beliefs and customs after it. Another example is the story of the Queen of Sheba, which is one of the determining factors of why Ethiopia is of such great importance in Rastafari. I think that without being able to change history and the present to fit in with beliefs, few religions would have a system of symbols strong enough to gain support and a following.

Youtube video and Rastas

While watching this video it was as if being listed the things that the book went over, the obvious components being the biblicism, the view of Ethiopia and Africa as the promise land, black as good an white as bad, and dreadlocks. Some new aspects that were introduced however, would be the wearing of the turbins, the Bobo, and the idea of centralization. 

The Bobo is a concept already mentioned in the book on Rastafari, just presented in a different way. It is a term used to describe the children of Africa, whom Rastas view themselves as being, which is the reason, as is the case in this movie, that the return back to Africa is mentioned. I found it interesting when the women mentioned that way was opened for them, because I remember in the book the mention of Hailie Selassie having set aside a piece of land for blacks in the west who supported him against the Italian invasion and were interested in migrating to Ethiopia...I wonder if that land is still open? probably not, just a thought.

How the turbin represented a crown was interesting to me, as if the Rastas viewed themselves as nobility, being the chosen people of God (Hailie Selassie) 

Most of the information in this short video seemed to go along with what is written in our book, excluding the idea mentioned near the end, when the man mentions that the goal of Rastafarians is centralization. The book speaks of Rastafari as the exception to the institutionalization of charismatic movements, saying that it doesn't need that aspect because it has become a way of life integrated with society, and here this man is saying that one of the points of Rastafari is to centralize the movement. I'm not trying to say that either view is right, just wondering if the overall perception of Rastafari being well off being decentralized has changed among Rastas.

I liked the movie, and it showed imagery which I wouldn't have immediately have associated with Rastafari, but that isn't saying much since I never really was acquainted with it before.

History and Rastafari

One of the most interesting aspects of Rastafari, for me, is how deeply imbedded it is within biblical history and the connections people made to that history. In class we talked about how Haili Selassie was regarded as a divine figure and a messianic one as well. His position as a savior and protector of the African people came to be for two reasons: one was that he was considered the descendant of Soloman and the Queen of Sheba as mentioned the story that we read in class; Two, because of his name, which translated to the "King of Kings, Lord of Lords," and "Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah."(36) These biblical proofs were enough evidence for Jamaicans who had already believed in African and Afro-christian faiths-which espoused Jamaica as a Babylonian resting place and Ethiopia as the paradisiacal homeland- to take the next step into Rastafarianism.

The fact that Haili Selassie's enthronement was such a major catalyst in Rasta culture makes me wonder how the movement would have been different were no Haili Selassie to have been enthroned emperor of Ethiopia, or, on the other side, if there had been no references in the Bible to the Queen of Sheba or the King of Kings. In my opinion, this movement would not have come about with any resemblance to the way it did, because already, Rasta was connected very closely to the beliefs held by African and Afro-christian faiths, and so without those it would not have had the foundation on which it grew.

Ethiopia

In class we talked about how the fact that the Ethiopians claimed to hold the ark of the covenant instilled within Ethiopians a certain sense of purpose as being the protectors of christianity. In the reading, this idea is perpetuated because of the grandeur of the Queen of Ethiopia and her relation to the Great King Solomon. The majority of the reading was about the interaction between King Soloman and the Queen of Ethiopia and how he converted her to the God of Israel, but the display of this previously mentioned idea is most apparent in the first few paragraphs. 

The first paragraph and second paragraphs talk about how the kingdom of the world was given to the King of Rom and to the emperor of Ethiopia. It then states that both were the son of Solomon but then mentions that the Emperor was the first born and oldest son, therefore establishing his superiority over the other son. In the paragraph that follows, it mentions the Queen of Ethiopia as almost a messianic figure like that of Jesus whom will arise on the judgement and condemn those who did not follow the word of God. 

Further into the reading, Solomon has a dream which, briefly stated, portrays the sun as leaving Israel and moving to Ethiopia, an attempt, in my view, to transfer God's chosen land and people from Israel to the land and people of Ethiopia. 

All of these examples show how the Ethiopians may have viewed themselves, and may still view themselves, as an essential component of christianity and God's chosen people.

Church and Sky

When I went looking for pictures on flickr.com I shuffled through a lot of pictures that had images of crosses and Jesus, which were good but too obvious a connection could be made for me to find them that interesting. This photo of a church with a bright sky above caught my attention because of the artistry of the photo, and how the photographer caught the light of the sky, which in a way inspired me. For this reason, I saw the photo itself, and not only the contents, as a symbol.

The church, the sky and the photo itself act to create religious "moods and motivations" in the viewer through the representation of the heavens and the presence of a church. One of the parts of Geertz's definition of religion stated that symbols that exist in a religion create a feeling of undeniable truth. I think that this idea is present in this photo because of the specific reference to the christian church and to the heavens, as though the church is the only way of getting to heaven. Although each aspect of the photo holds its own importance, the true significance, I think, is the association of the two as I mentioned earlier. 

Something I'd like to add to he point above and how Geertz mentions "a system of symbols," is that religion cannot be A symbol, but many. I think that the many symbols in religions support each other and help to complete the "general order of existence" so as to make them seem, or actually, be representing reality. 

Rural Religion