In Elders, Shades, and Women, Richard T. Curley describes the ceremonial life of a Nilotic community in northern Uganda and traces the alterations in its ceremonial activities from the turn of the twentieth century to the beginning of extensive contact between the Langi and Europeans in the 1960s. Setting his analysis within the broad context of Lango social organization, Curley discusses the makeup of the community and shows how the innovations of the colonial period led to changes in kinship relations and residential patterns. He is particularly attentive to the husband-wife relationship and to the changing status of women within a patrilineal system. After describing Lango social organization and the changes that it has undergone, Curley turns to the three complexes of Lango ceremonial activity. One of these, traditionally performed by older men, has virtually disappeared, a victim of altered political relationships. The second set, comprising eight separate ceremonies performed for married women, concerns the problem of incorporating a women into her husband's lineage while recognizing that she was born in her father's. The third complex, centering on spirit possession, has become increasingly popular, and women participate to a much greater extent than men. The author treats his religious material within the framework of structural-functionalism by concentrating on ceremonial activities rather than on belief and by relating the ceremonies to social processes. He departs from structural-functionalism, however, in borrowing heavily from work on the analysis of symbols, and he attempts to describe change rather than analyzing Lango religious activity at a single point in time. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1973.
An Analytical Approach to Assessing Social Protection Effectiveness provides the conceptual and analytical framework for assessing social protection and labor programs, as well as presenting a guide for individuals seeking to conduct SP performance analysis.
This paper reports on proceedings from an international workshop on social funds, held on May 21-24, 1997, in Washington, DC. The objectives of the workshop were to take stock of a decade's implementation experience of social funds with a view to assessing their impact on poverty reduction; establish a broad consensus on their main achievements, weaknesses, and risks; generate a set of recommendations for improving existing operations as well as for the design of future social funds; and facilitate the integration of international and regional networks of social funds.
While it began as a mystical interpretation of Jewish scriptural texts, today Qabalah is much more. As John Bonner writes in his introduction, "Qabalah is a metaphysical philosophy, or rather a theosophy, that sets out to answer a series of vital questions regarding the nature of God, His creation, and the place of man in His divine plan." It is a living, growing system of personal development. In addition, much of contemporary Western magick is founded on the work of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which based its ritual and teachings firmly in Qabalah. This scholarly introduction explores the mysteries of Qabalah through the symbolism of the Tree of Life and its four distinct elements: the three Pillars of Manifestation, the ten Holy Sephiroth, the Paths that run to and from the Sephiroth, and the Veils. For each Sephirah, Bonner provides detailed information on magical, astrological, and tarot correspondences - as well as how different religious traditions relate to the concepts contained in each.
Oathbound The Silverlands Book Two For lovers of epic fantasy We have some time before the Ancient Evil can reach into Argenterra. We are not the Ungiven Land yet… Sophy lies frozen within a crystal prison. Protected by her oathbond to Oakheart, the minion of the Ancient Evil, Rufus, cannot touch her or the GIVEN magic she is leaching from Argenterra. Forced to leave Sophy to fulfil his oath, Oakheart returns the stolen child, Gillcress, to Princess Aria at Valley Keep. The weakening of the GIVEN magic has repercussions: oaths are beginning to fade, GIVEN magic is harder to summon and darkness has festered in Prince Dellbright’s heart. Oakheart is reluctant to leave Aria and Gillcress with Prince Dellbright, yet he must return swiftly to free Sophy before the jewel she is trapped within drains the GIVEN completely from the land. Accompanied by an adept and the forest folk, he sets out to rescue her. The order from Crystal Mountain Retreat is, if Sophy cannot be freed, she must be destroyed… Yet there is even more treachery afoot…