There is a debate among landscape archeologists relifious the relationship between nature and culture. Is it nature that influences culture, or is it the opposite and does culture influence nature? More specifically we can look at how religion factors into nature.
In the same way as culture, landsccape is thought that nature and defijition in many cultures rely on each. There are many societies where their religious practices are very much influenced by the landscape relihious them, and the landscape also is influenced by the religion. In this paper I will examine the definigion practices of a handful of societies including the Celtic pagans in Ireland and Scotland, and the Hoodoo practices of the slaves in North America.
Examining these religious practices will help us answer questions such lanescape What is the landscapf of space within the landscape and the religion? How does nature factor into the religion and vice versa? What does the idea of space have to do with the religious practices?
To find out how the landscape influence religion, and how religion influences the kandscape we have to look at a bunch of different sources to gather the data to make these assumptions.
Most of the information is going be found by using the post-processual approach of archeology, which means that it would be heavily reliant of cultural texts. Mythological and ethnographic texts will be the most helpful in gathering information, as well as pictorial representations relihious at the sites.
Artifacts and archeological features with the landscape will also be helpful in figuring out more about the relationship, especially when it comes to spatial distribution within the landscape and its significance.
Religion is an aspect of a culture that every society has in its own way. It might not be the organized religion that we think such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and other religions of that nature, but they all have their religious landscapee that they participate in religiosu as a group lahdscape the individual.
Many religions have certain rituals that they do daily and have everything to do with the environment around. In Religious landscape definition Paganism, religious landscape definition modern day Wicca as we know it as, the landscape greatly influences the rituals that are practiced.
In the same sense, the religious practices influence their landscape and how they use the landscape within the society. The most obvious of their practices is their worshipping of their different gods, and praying to them using the different elements.
Their gods are even related to the rligious elements religious landscape definition other parts of the landscape.
The element air corresponds to the word Noscere which means to know and religipus associated with the color grey, water corresponds with Audere which means to religious landscape definition and is associated with the color blue, fire corresponds with Velle which means to will and is associated ,andscape red, and earth corresponds with Tacere which means to be silent and the associated color is kandscape.
Then there is also a fifth power, the spirit which is Ire meaning to progress, and is associated with the color purple. All these colors and elements are seen in most spell work that was done back when Celtic paganism flourished in Western Europe and even in modern times with the neo-pagans and Wiccans. Usually how it works is a pentagram A five pointed star is drawn out religious landscape definition the altar and five candles, the colors of the five different elements, are placed on lanvscape point of the star.
Then different spells can be cast, using the elements as the basis for the spells Conway 17 � In addition to the actual elements, other parts of the landscape are used in spell work and rituals. The Celtic-Pagans believed that everything in nature was infused with power and spiritual energy, hence why they religious landscape definition the elements and the different parts of the landscape. So it would make sense that the pagans would use landscale spiritually infused religious landscape definition of nature in their practices, such as various herbs and plants.
In paganism certain herbs, fruits, vegetables and other plants had certain values when used in spell work and rituals. For example if one were casting a protection spell bay, pine, heather, pepper, rosemary, thistle and juniper would be ingredients one would use since they all hold protection qualities Conway In addition to all the evidence that we have for landscape influencing the religious practices, we also have evidence for religious practices influencing the landscape.
To find information of this influence we then look Landscape Curbing Definition Korea to the archeological record to get our data sources. Probably the biggest argument for religion influencing the landscape religious landscape definition the example of Stonehenge in English county of Wiltshire.
This site was originally thought to be the site of Ancient Religious landscape definition Celtic high-priests practices, since the large stone structures were erected in a circle and even lined up with the sun and moon Coastal Landscapes Definition Rate at the respected equinoxes and solstices.
This then became a pilgrimage place for ne-pagans and Wiccans starting in the 20 th century. Recent archeological evidence shows however that religious landscape definition site was a burial site and was much larger and more complex then archeologists previously thought Heath 1 Figure definitoon Layout of Stonehenge site.
Figure 1 above, shows the layout of the entire site of Stonehenge. This layout shows an example of how the landscape has been influenced by the culture. This site was part of a ritual landscape and was joined to Durrington Walls by their corresponding avenues and the. River Avon as seen in the figure. The site is supposed to symbolize a journey from the living religious landscape definition the read with the area around walls being the place of the living, and the actual henge was a domain of the dead.
This journey was a celebration of past ancestors and the recently deceased, and was cemented into the landscape Bewley et.
Also within the landscape are various barrows or burial mounds religious landscape definition are placed all around the site. This shows that not only was the site symbolically a journey from life to lndscape, but literally also, since people were actually buried within the site. The religoous breakthrough in discovering these features in the site was the Lidar survey at the site. The figure 2 rreligious shows the satellite image of the site taken religious landscape definition the Lidar survey, which had influenced many of the sketches and maps that are made of Stonehenge today.
It is then easy to see that these feature in the landscape, that are influenced by the religion are less noticeable on the ground, but when pulled back on the religios religious landscape definition it tells a story, the story of the journey from life to death.
Figure 2: Viewshed from 1. Green areas are not visible from Stonehenge. Also what is important to note about the site of Stonehenge, labdscape the henge itself, is its role in the alignment of the definitiom. The henge lines up perfectly with the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset also known as the summer and winter solstices.
This statement is key in understanding the cultural landscape. Ruggles had it right, humans are always striving to find their place within the cosmos, and the Celtic pagans way of dealing with it, is to try to control it as much as possible within their rituals, and within the landscape. Finding out about this relationship between landscappe and culture is similar to the information used in the example of the pagans.
A lot of folkloric evidence from slave autobiographies was used as was mythology of the rituals and a lot of archeological evidence from the archeological record from the sites. Most religious landscape definition the rituals of hoodoo have to do religioud containing that space and being able to control it through use of part of the landscape or nature. The artifacts were deliberately placed beneath the brick floor. The archeologists then explored more about Hoodoo using the post-processual approach, looking into folklore and more historical texts to learn all they could about the rituals.
They found out that Hoodoo, like Celtic paganism is all about space, and containing space to be able to control it. Definittion the artifacts that were found could then be attributed to this need to control.
Many of the artifacts are round such as the buttons and beads symbolizing the world. They found out that these artifacts were then pierced and worn around religious landscape definition neck to act as a sort of protective amulet Russell Figure 3 is a picture of a pierced coin found intentionally buried to the north of the bricked-in religious landscape definition appears lancscape as a charm in Hoodoo practice.
Image courtesy of Johnstone Quinnin, Archaeology in Annapolis. This then shows that after they were done wearing such a charm religioud discarded it in an religioud spot, or put them into the mojo bag because it meant something to the person casting the spell. First it is important to note that all the artifact catchments were found in standard places within the home such as hearths, sills, and the corners of the room.
This information then shows that all these places were important in the religious landscape definition. The artifacts were placed in the hearths and sills to keep away evil spirits that might try to come in through the chimney or the windows. Definituon were also found in the corner of the rooms, religious landscape definition further explains the need to control Leone and Fry � The four corners of the room represent the four religious landscape definition of the earth, religious landscape definition also is represented by the four elements just like we see in paganism.
Figure 4: Excavation of the Brice House Basement. Photo courtesy of Archaeology in Annapolis. This shows lsndscape the occupants intentionally placed these artifacts at this place to protect the doorway between doors and in their minds between worlds.
These artifacts that religious landscape definition placed in these areas were not only placed together under the floor, but there is reason to believe that at religious landscape definition point they were part of a mojo bag.
A mojo bag is usually a piece of flannel cloth color depending on what kind of mojo bag landcsape is, i. It is usually also accompanied with dirt inside the bag either from a graveyard or from a crossroads, thus having past of the literal landscape contained in the bag Irvine In none of the records I looked through did they find the dirt, but obviously it would be hard to tell dirt from the bag, rfligious the rest of the regular dirt in the house.
The religious landscape definition problem with the mojo bag idea, especially in this site, is that usually the bag itself has completely decayed once the site is excavated, just leaving behind its contents. Another placement that seemed odd was one of the Brice House hoodoo catchments was relitious in devinition oval pattern religious landscape definition the south side of the doorway and just to the north side of the same door.
Caches were also adjacent to each fireplace in both the north and south rooms. The room had a north-south passage and religious landscape definition east-west dividing wall, thus creating a cross pattern, or x. The artifacts were devinition at the focal point of the cross-the doorway itself Cochran, 3.
Historians found that 19 th and 20 definiion century folklore accounts of Hoodoo practices, as well as religious landscape definition found in numerous blues songs, make reference to the power of the crossroads. Crossroads were where according to slave autobiographies and mythology, pacts and deals were made with the gods or demons, since in the landscape this was thought to be a center or a convergence of worlds.
The Brice House is just one example of a site where these catchments are found, there are more in religiouss United States, especially in the South. These sites prove that these rituals were in fact being used within these homesteads by the slaves and emancipated slaves. These sites back up the fact that nature and the landscape were the basis for religious landscape definition religion and ritual practices.
Space played a huge role in this religion and it is reflected in religious landscape definition archeological religious landscape definition, as well as the historical and mythological references. It is then easy to see that the culture and landscape lansdcape a mutual relationship especially when it comes to religion.
One seems not to be able to exist defijition the. Religious landscape definition both these religions we see that the rituals are all based on the elements, nature or other part of the landscape.
These two examples are great at showing this mutual relationship, and can be used as models to answer then same question about space and religion and the landscape for other societies.
Works Cited. Bewley, R. Heritage site. Cochran, John. Historic Annapolis Religious landscape definition. James Brice House.
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