"El devorador de sueños" es un cuento de Lafcadio Hearn, Koizumi Yakumo, publicado en 1903 en Kott?, una colección de leyendas del folclore japonés recopiladas a partir de fuentes orales y libros tradicionales. Aquí, Hearn nos presenta la criatura del Bakú, un ser mitológico creado por los dioses con las partes sobrantes de otros animales tras la Creación. Su origen se remonta a China, donde se creía que se alimentaba de malos espíritus. Al llegar a Japón, mantuvo esta función, (...) mutando, poco a poco, en un devorador de sueños malignos, de pesadillas, que protegía a los soñadores de la mala fortuna. El Bakú es un yokai cuya clara impronta en la cultura japonesa aún es visible, por ejemplo, se cantan canciones de cuna sobre él antes de dormir o es posible encontrar amuletos tallados con su figura. No siendo más, presentamos esta destacada historia de Hearn cuyo propósito fue presentar al lector occidental la sacralidad del Bakú, su relevancia e influencia en la vida cotidiana nipona y la profunda conexión espiritual de los japoneses con dioses, espíritus y seres sobrenaturales. (shrink)

In Black Panther, T'Challa and Erik "Killmonger" Stevens experience audiences with their departed fathers. Careful analysis of the second and especially the third Ancestral Plane visits downplays the metaphysical, leading toward a metaphor for better understanding one's place in the world. M'Baku fights gallantly, but T'Challa prevails, and bolsters his worthiness for the throne by sparing M'Baku's life. T'Challa rises from the ground, not in the entombed Hall of Kings, but in what appears to be an African savanna where the (...) sky is rippled in majestic blues and purples, giving off a twilight ambiance. Ingesting it increases one's strength, speed, agility, and stamina. It is akin to Captain America's super soldier serum, which reminds us of that awesome footrace between T'Challa and Steve in Avengers: Infinity War. The Heart Shaped Herb potion, then, helps T'Challa and Killmonger achieve greater focus on each man's past and allows a better perspective on who each one. (shrink)

In 1654 Zen Master Yinyuan traveled from China to Japan. Seven years later his monastery, Manpukuji, was built and he had founded his own tradition called Obaku. The sequel to Jiang Wu's 2008 book Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China, Leaving for the Rising Sun tells the story of the tremendous obstacles Yinyuan faced, drawing parallels between his experiences and the broader political and cultural context in which he lived. Yinyuan claimed to have inherited the (...) "Authentic Transmission of the Linji Sect" and, after arriving in Japan, was able to persuade the Shogun to build a new Ming-style monastery for the establishment of his Obaku school. His arrival in Japan coincided with a series of historical developments including the Ming-Qing transition, the consolidation of early Tokugawa power, the growth of Nagasaki trade, and rising Japanese interest in Chinese learning and artistic pursuits. While Yinyuan's travel has been noted, the significance of his journey within East Asian history has not yet been fully explored. Jiang Wu's thorough study of Yinyuan provides a unique opportunity to reexamine the crisis in the continent and responses from other parts of East Asia. Using Yinyuan's story to bridge China and Japan, Wu demonstrates that the monk's significance is far greater than the temporary success of a religious sect. Rather, Yinyuan imported to Japan a new discourse of authenticity that gave rise to indigenous movements that challenged a China-centered world order. Such indigenous movements, however, although appearing independent from Chinese influence, in fact largely relied on redefining the traditional Chinese discourse of authenticity. Chinese monks such as Yinyuan, though situated at the edge of the political and social arenas, actively participated in the formation of a new discourse on authenticity, which eventually led to the breakup of a China-centered world order. (shrink)

Ecological and livable cities need an objective method to be judged. This paper is in search of a method to determine the level of livability, ecology, and energy efficiency, beginning with ecovillages, ecocities, ending with Tirana capital of Albania. Examples chosen for this methodology are: Ecovillages: 1. Auroville; India; 2. Sieben Linden, Europe; 3. Ecovillages at Ithaca, USA; 4. Ecoovila, Brazil; 5. Mbam and Faoune, Senegal. Ecocities: 1. DongTang, Shangai, China; 2. Masdar, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 3. Arcosanti, Arizona, (...) USA; 4. Chang Chun, China; 5. Zira island, Baku Azerbaijan; 6. Globe Town, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. A special device is introduced for comprising analyze of this paper. Weighing and final score are evaluated in the conclusion. The livable city should be merged with the overall development, ecological progress, sustainable, passive, and bioclimatic design in order to withstand the test of time. Ecological and sustainable cities need to properly make up for the existence weakness of cities construction under fine ecological environment. The intention of this comparative study is an attempt to assess, even improve the lives of the citizens of Tirana, Albania. There are some attempts nowadays to environmentally render the city but due to the lack of a genuine ecological and renewable energy study in Tirana, the city suffers the consequences. The first settlements which consider the renewable energies are known as Ecovillages. They demonstrate their impact on the community and the energy consumption. Ecovillages have evolved into ecocities of the future, most of them not completed yet or in design phase. For both groups (ecovillages and ecocities) tables of matrixes are constructed in order to better understand their potential and functionality, and their special features and characteristics. This chapter is in search of analyzing the eco-potential and renewable energies for further development of future cities, considering ten case studies all over the world and ending with Tirana. The fossil fuel age is quickly coming to an end, so, the world must be prepared for the implementation strategies and utilization of renewable and alternative energies. (shrink)

A. Klimczuk, Cultural Diversity, Multiculturalism, and the Challenge of the Ageing Population, [in:] H. Qarasov, Materials of International Scientific Conference "Multiculturalism and Human Rights" Dedicated to the Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, NURLAR, Baku 2017, pp. 150-152.

In the past few years, the growing presence of veiled women in Azerbaijan, particularly in the capital city, Baku, has been striking. This article traces the background to Islamism in Azerbaijan under the state dogma of atheism, and the post-Soviet changes that have facilitated a resurgence of religion in the country. It examines the motivations and the generational divide among women who have recently adopted veiling. Notions of `traditional' and `modern' are questioned here, pointing out the impact of identity politics (...) and foreign Islamic forces on Azerbaijani society in today's increasingly globalized world. Furthermore, the article reveals the tensions and insecurities in the independent era that have reinforced the rise of Islamic ideology in the country and the contradictions involved in new veiling for Azeri women. (shrink)

The demise of the two federal communist states, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, was the major cause of the appearance of a new kind of state entity, unheard of since the end of feudalism in Europe. While the 15 Union Republics of the Soviet Union became independent from the old center (Moscow) as well as detached from each other, some ethnically different or mixed parts of the newly independent republics, deprived of federal protection, felt uncomfortable within the new framework and (...) emerged as separate or detached entities. It should be remembered that this separatist movement predates the disintegration of the Soviet Union and is parallel to Gorbachev's ‘perestroika’. In the Trans-Caucasus, the separatist forces within the republics began to act as soon as Moscow loosened its grip and the national republics began to assert themselves. The half-hearted and limited use of force by Moscow in order to prevent the disintegration of the Soviet Empire (in Baku, Tbilisi, Vilnius) succeeded no better than attempts by individual republics to stop separatism within their own borders. Georgia and Azerbaijan were most affected, with several ‘quasi-states’ appearing within their borders: Nagorno-Karabagh in Azerbaijan, Abkhazia and Ossetia in Georgia. With the direct support of the Armenian republic and covert Russian assistance, the Armenian majority in the former Nagorno-Karabagh Autonomous Region split from Azerbaijan, expelled the Azeri minority, occupied a substantial chunk of Azeri territory, and created a ‘state’ of its own. The Abkhazian minority (less than one-fifth of the total population), with Russian assistance, split Abkhazia from Georgia, expelled the Georgian majority, and established its own ‘state’. South Ossetia declared itself a ‘sovereign republic’, while Adjaria and parts of Georgia proper became practically independent from Tbilisi. Political mistakes and chauvinist acts on the part of the Azeri and Georgian Popular Front governments that initially came to power contributed to local separatism. (shrink)

Wakandan women can play stereotypically male roles because of the political construction of Wakandan identity. Wakandan women emerge, for starters, in a radically different cultural context than women of color in other countries and cultures. Despite their tacit representation of feminist ideals, Wakandan women resist the full‐throated feminism we associate with the modern era: the no‐husband, no‐children feminism championed by the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. In 1966 Black Panther, the Marvel comic superhero, made his debut during the height of (...) second‐wave feminism. Back in Wakanda, M'Baku's renouncement of Shuri's non‐domestic activities makes an implicit appeal to the feminine mystique. Recognizing feminist and womanist elements within Wakanda helps explain the masculine and feminine performances of Wakandan women. Demystifying Wakanda requires us to recognize and reckon with The Panther Mystique : uncoerced appropriations of masculine and feminine norms for the sake of collective, communal freedom. (shrink)

This paper investigates the history, color photos, and illustrations of the paper notes printed by the Military Consumption Society under the Caucasian Shooting Division for the first time in early 1924. Considering that there has not been sufficient research on this area and the uniqueness of the materials, the authors obtained new scientific findings by providing detailed notaphilic information. In the initial section, the paper presents the history of the First Iron Shooting Regiment named after 26 Baku Commissars and the (...) Third Caucasian Shooting Regiment, pertaining to the Azerbaijan Shooting Division, as well as discusses the role of the Military Consumption Society in providing financial support to the staff members of the division. It also includes photos of personalities distinguished by their activities and services. In the following sections of the paper, the issuers, denominations, characteristics, and various aspects of the main factual material of the research are covered. Materials added to these sections are the crest stamp of the First Iron Shooting Regiment Model Unit on loan checks printed in early 1924, additional stamps, and illustrations of the check of the Third Caucasian Shooting Regiment under the Azerbaijan Shooting Division. The paper catalogues, which has never been done before, the banknotes belonging to the Military Consumption Society of the Azerbaijan Shooting Division. Paper money tokens consumed by the Military Consumption Society of the Azerbaijan Shooting Division in 1924 are rare and unique facts. In modern collection circulation, such materials and copies are few, and those in complete condition are rare (especially checks of the Third Caucasian Shooting Regiment). They were in circulation for a short period of time, and at a later stage, they were taken out of use and completely destroyed. (shrink)

The policy of genocide carried out by Armenian nationalists against Azerbaijanis has a history of more than 200 years. The goal of this insidious policy was the expulsion of Azerbaijani people from their historical lands and the creation of a mythical state of “Great Armenia” in these territories. On March 31, 1918, under the leadership of the Dashnaktsutyun party with the help of the Red Army of Soviet Russia, the Azerbaijani population of Baku was subjected to genocide. The corpses of (...) 57 Muslim women, whose ears and noses were cut off, and their bellies were torn open, were found in one of the neighborhoods in Baku. Armenians threw people alive into water wells, burning ovens, and oil wells, ripped apart pregnant women's bellies with bayonets, killed children with bayonets, nailed babies to walls, raped women, young girls, and old women. They hung men upside down by their legs, cut them in half with swords, crucified some of them on wooden beds, wrapped them in carpets and rugs and burned them alive, cut off people's hands and feet, and forced them to eat their own flesh under bayonets. Wild Armenian gangs burned Muslim clerics in the fire of bonfires lit from the Koran, the holy book of Islam. This was the true face of the Armenian nationalists who loudly shouted about “self-determination”, “autonomy” and “genocide”. The cruelty of Andranik, who made “necklaces” from children’s eyes, and other Armenians, knew no bounds. In March 1918, up to 20 thousand Azerbaijanians in Baku, and in 1917-1920 on the territory of Azerbaijan, more than 400 thousand Azerbaijani people were subjected to “genocide” by the Armenians. As the world ignores these atrocities, they are increasing. (shrink)

One particularly interesting example can be found in the character M'Baku, a mountain warrior whose abstention from meat runs afoul of stereotypes about what a vegetarian looks like and, in so doing, challenges racist iconographies of Black masculinity. As Carol Adams argued in her landmark work, The Sexual Politics of Meat, in the United States, meat‐eating is a highly visible reminder and reinforcer of patriarchal dominance. Erik Killmonger comes to Wakanda as a conqueror, taking up his late father's mission to (...) end the country's isolationist foreign policy and stage armed insurgencies the world over. The irony of Killmonger's plan, wielding the master's tools to dismantle the master's house, is palpable. Killmonger's violence is similarly deliberate and, in its own way, is meant to honor the rage, yearnings, and aspirations of all those subjugated to, and displaced and discarded by, colonialism. (shrink)

T'Challa, seemingly risen from the dead after having suffered grievous wounds and a fall from a high cliff, openly challenges Erik Killmonger's right to be called King of Wakanda. With T'Challa's return, Killmonger orders W'Kabi to "kill this clown," but Okoye decides to follow tradition, not Killmonger, saying to her husband W'Kabi that "the challenge is not complete." The same principle is at work when, earlier in the film, T'Challa engages in ritual combat against M'Baku, leader of the Jabari Tribe. (...) T'Challa, occupying the most privileged position, can smile bemusedly and shake his head at Shuri's outburst, and a child in the crowd can innocently slap his hand to his forehead in disbelief; but the adults present are not amused at Shuri's transgressions. Shuri may be the most visible gadfly, but the harshest – and, ultimately, most effective – critics of Wakanda's kings are Killmonger, Nakia, and T'Challa himself. (shrink)

This article analyses mechanisms of heritagisation that transformed oil from a natural to a cultural resource through the case study of the Branobel corporation, which operated in Azerbaijan from the late nineteenth century, and by reflecting on the role of the Branobel corporate narrative in heritagisation of oil and in justification of the world order based on fossil fuels. The narratives developed by the Branobel corporation introduced their business legacy as a part of global heritage. In the article I refer (...) to the ‘The Thirty Years of Activity of the Oil Production Association of the Brothers Nobel. 1879–1909’ published in 1909, that not only reports on Branobel’s industrial achievements, but promotes the history of oil, propagating its civilisational importance, while describing the company as an evolutionary part of this history. In their branding strategy, Branobel referred to the ancient religious cults and mythologies of Azerbaijan, for example in the case of the world’s first oil-tanker ‘Zoroaster’, designed by Ludvig Nobel. The images of Ateshgah, ‘The Fire Temple of Baku’, were used on the company’s emblems to connect symbolically the industrial oil mining with the ‘eternal fires’ worshipped at the Absheron Peninsula as ‘the lights of life’. (shrink)

During the Soviet period, the media served as one of the main propagandist tools of the authoritarian regime, using a standardized and monotype media system across the Soviet Republics. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, 15 countries became independent. The transition from Soviet communism to capitalism has led to the reconstruction of economic, socio-cultural, and political systems. One of the most affected institutions in post-Soviet countries was the media. Media have played a supportive role during rough times, when there (...) was, on the one hand, the struggle for liberation and sovereignty, and, on the other hand, the need for nation building. It has been almost 30 years since the Soviet Republics achieved independence, yet the media have not been freed from political control and continue to serve as ideological apparatuses of authoritarian regimes in post-Soviet countries. Freedom of speech and independent media are still under threat. The current study focuses on media use in Azerbaijan, one of the under-researched post-Soviet countries. The interviews for this study were conducted with 40 participants living in Nakhichevan and Baku. In-depth, semi-structured interview techniques were used as research method. Findings are discussed under six main themes in the conclusion. (shrink)

This article describes the fight of transnational civic networks to influence business development strategies and counter the threats to environmental and labor rights posed by the construction and exploitation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in Transcaucasia. The article starts by discussing the role of civil society in the global struggle for sustainable development. Then a brief overview of the geopolitical significance of the Transcaucasian-Caspian region in today’s oil and gas markets is presented. The case study looks at how the (...) actions of international and domestic nongovernmental organizations influenced the BTC’s main shareholder and operator company, British Petroleum, as well as host countries’ governments, to switch to more environmentally cognizant and socially responsive practices. The article discusses internationalization of civil society networks in response to the looming environmental crisis in the region, using the BTC case as an illustration. The article concludes by generalizing from this particular case study to the broader issue of transnational civic activism as a risk-mitigating factor in the world dominated by industry-related threats presented by globalization of the extractive technologies. (shrink)

In this article are mentioned the educational history, institutions and activities of the Mountain Jews living in Azerbaijan in private religious schools and state schools in the period after the independence of the Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and Azerbaijan. In addition mentioned, the Religious Education Centers whic established by the Mountain Jews by their communities in the 19th century Tsarist Russia and the secular schools of the state. In the religious schools called Talmudhuna and Nobuhunde, mostly male students were (...) educated by rabbi, reznik and religious teachers. With the opening of modern style schools, Mountain Jewish children in many regions of Tsarist Russia started to enroll in these schools. While mostly male students were enrolled in these schools, girls received religious and traditional education in their families. During the Soviet Union, Religious Education Centers were completely closed, only public schools continued education. Enrollment and attendance at schools has been made compulsory. Mountain Jewish children continued their education in public schools like the children of other nations. After Azerbaijan gained its independence, Mountain Jews continued to receive education in public schools and gained the right to open their own religious education institutions. In this new period, Mountain Jews expanded their opportunities by opening new educational institutions, especially in Baku and Quba cities, with the support of the Azerbaijan State and the help of their coreligionists in other countries. Mountain Jewish children in these cities receive education in both public and private religious schools. (shrink)

Leonhard Swidler, guru besar teologi Katolik di Universitas Temple di Philadephia dan pendiri Institute for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, termasuk teolog Katolik Amerika Serikat sangat terkenal. Delapan tahun lalu ia menerbitkan buku yang pantas diperhatikan. Judulnya saja mengagetkan: Jesus was a Feminist. Namun kita tidak perlu berprasangka. Buku ini bukan salah satu dari pelbagai tulisan ideologis. Yang dimaksud Swidler dengan feminis Yesus seorang feminis sangat radikal (h. 33) adalah bahwa Yesus vigorously promoted the dignity and equality of women in the (...) midst of a very male-dominated society (ibid.). Swilder juga menyebut Yesus androgynous karena dalam kepribadiannya terdapat fusion and balance of so-called masculine and feminine psychological traits (h. 34). Seni Swidler adalah bahwa ia mengajak kita bersama membaca keempat injil dan, itulah kehebatannya, kita dibuat Swidler melihat sesuatu yang sebetulnya selalu kita baca, tetapi sekurang-kurangnya oleh penulis ini tidak diperhatikan (Swidler kadang-kadang sedikit menjemukan, karena ia membahas semua teks satu-satu dalam empat injil di mana perempuan muncul sehingga pengulangan tidak dapat dihindari). Swidler menunjukkan betapa tegas Yesus berdiri di pihak para perempuan, dan bahwa itu merupakan kontras keras terhadap sikap dalam lingkungan bangsa Yahudi, lingkungan Yesus sendiri, yang patriarkal. Feminisme Yesus menjadi mencolok karena sikap-sikap Yesus terhadap kaum perempuan berlawanan total dengan kebiasaan dan pandangan budaya Yahudi zaman itu, dan khususnya juga dengan sikap resmi pustaka Rabinistik. Suatu contoh ada di Lukas 36 50 (wanita pendosa yang mencuci kaki Yesus dengan tetes tangisannya): Ada Yesus yang begitu peka terhadap curahan hati perempuan itu dan ada sikap tak mengerti, bahkan tersinggung tamu-tamu lain. Dalam agama Yahudi jelas dan eksplisit perempuan diberi peran sekunder terhadap laki-laki, perempuan harus taat pada suami, ia tidak dapat menjadi saksi, dalam sinagoga ia harus diam. Atas latar belakang itu sikap Yesus terhadap perempuan, dan sikap keempat penginjil terhadap semua perempuan yang muncul, amat kontras.... Tulisan Swidler betul-betul sebuah pembuka mata. Artinya, sesuatu yang selama ini sudah selalu dibaca dalam injil, tetapi tidak diperhatikan, mendadak menjadi mencolok dan ternyata penting. Orang akan membaca Injil dengan mata baru. Ia menyadari suatu dimensi yang dalam seluruh ajaran dan spiritualitas Gereja tidak pernah diberi perhatian. Kesadaran akan patriarkat serta tuntutan agar harkat kemanusiaan perempuan diakui, sesuatu yang sejak pertengahan abad lalu diperjuangkan oleh feminisme, lahir dari luar Gereja. Justru karena itu keyakinan Swidler bahwa pengembalian martabat perempuan merupakan unsur amat penting dalam kabar gembira Yesus adalah begitu penting. Orang tidak perlu sependapat dengan Swidler dalam semua hal, tetapi penegasan bahwa bagi Yesus pengakuan terhadap martabat perempuan yang tak kalah dengan martabat laki-laki merupakan tantangan yang wajib diperhatikan oleh setiap teolog. Sudah waktunya bahwa hampir 2000 tahun kebutaan Gereja terhadap dimensi feminis dalam pewartaan Yesus diakhiri. Sebagai catatan akhir: Swidler tidak memasuki pertanyaan ten-tang apakah Gereja berhak menahbiskan perempuan menjadi imam dan uskup. Tetapi ia menyinggungnya. Menurutnya implikasi dari sikap Yesus terhadap perempuan maupun cerminan sikap itu dalam tulisan empat penginjil adalah bahwa penolakan terhadap penahbisan perem-puan tidak dapat mendasarkan diri pada suatu ajaran Yesus. Alasan mengapa masalah imamat perempuan tidak muncul lebih jelas dalam Perjanjian Baru adalah bahwa tatanan hirarkis pimpinan Gereja menurut slagorde uskup, imam dan diakon baru menjadi baku sejak akhir abad ke-2 dan pada waktu itu nada feminis maklumat Yesus sudah tenggelam dalam prasangka budaya patriarkal umat Kristiani. (Franz Magnis-Suseno, Guru Besar Ilmu Filsafat Emeritus, Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara, Jakarta). (shrink)