Images for Lecture September 26

Click below for the lecture slides for September 26:

Terms of the Day for September 26

• Islam – a monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur'an.  The religion is based on submission to a single, indivisible God (Allah), whose Prophet, Mohammad, lived in the 6th and 7th centuries AD.
• Qur’an – meaning “the recitation” the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be the verbatim word of Allah. It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language.
• Mosque – a place of worship for followers of Islam.
• Batik – a technique of decorating textiles by applying wax to resist dye.
• Barung –  a thick, leaf-shaped, single-edged blade sword. It is a weapon used by Islamic tribes in the Southern Philippines.
• Keris – an asymmetrical dagger most strongly associated with the culture of Indonesia and Malaysia, and the Philippines. It is famous for its distinctive wavy blade and elaborate decoration.

September 24

There are no terms or slide images for today, September 24.  However, you should still come to class prepared to take notes.  Today will be a little different than most, but you will still get important information.

Here is the video we watched in class Monday:

Terms of the Day for Septembe 19

• Pagoda – a general term for a multiple-tiered tower sometimes applied to religious monuments with a relic chamber such as the Shwezigon.
• Prang – in Thai cultures of Khmer, Sukhothai, and Ayutthayan, a tall, narrow monument representing the many levels of heaven in Buddhist belief.
• Ubosot - a building in a Buddhist Wat, considered the holiest prayer room, that serves as the assembly hall where new monks are ordinated.

Images for Lecture September 19

Click below for the lecture slides for September 19:

Study Guide for Quiz # 1

Below are 9 images from which I will choose the five slides for the quiz:

Funerary Pot

Van Chiang, Thailand

c. 300 BC-200 BC 

 Ceremonial Tampan

Sumatra

19th century

 Tau-Tau Figure

Unknown Torajan Carver

1879

  Padung Padung Ear Pendants

Nothern Sumatra

c. 19th-Early 20th Century

 Hinggi (man's shawl) With Crayfish and ‘Coat of Arms' Design

East Sumba

c. 1970

 Dancer From Tra Kieu

Champa

10th Century

Candi Jawa

East Java

13th Century 

 Borobudur

Central Java

9th Century

The Shwezigon

Pagan, Burma

Completed in 1102

Below are the three essay questions from which I will choose the one on the quiz:

1. Define symmetry and explain how the importance of symmetry in Southeast Asia can be seen in examples of art we have discussed in class.
2. What is Mt. Meru?  Give some examples of how the influence of Mt. Meru can be seen in the architecture of Southeast Asia.
3. Define stupa and explain how the stupa form was transformed in maritime Southeast Asia, citing specific examples.

Terms of the Day for September 12 and 17

September 12:

• Hinduism – a religion including the worship of several gos and a belief in reincarnation, the law of karma, and a universal spirit.
• The Ramayana – an ancient Sanskrit epic that forms an important part of the Hindu canon. Through a series of stories, it depicts the duties of relationships; portraying ideal characters like the ideal father, ideal servant, ideal brother, ideal wife, and the ideal king.
• The Mahabharata - one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.  Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandava princes, the Mahabharata contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life".

September 17:

• Buddhism –a religion strongly connected with Hinduism that is largely based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help people end suffering through eliminating ignorance and desire to reach nirvana.
• Buddah – meaning, “the awakened one”, a being which has reached the perfect state of enlightenment or nirvana.  THE Buddha typically refers to Siddhartha Gautama.
• Bodhisattva – (bode-hee-SAHT-vah) in Buddhism, one who has delayed attainment of buddhahood and nirvana in order to teach others.
• Stupa – (STOO-pah) a bell- or mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship.  Originally, these were earthen domes, but were later constructed.

Images for Lecture September 17

Click below for the lecture slides for September 17:

Images for Lecture September 12

Click below for the lecture slides for 9-12:

Terms of the Day for September 10

• Hinduism – a religion including the worship of several gods and a belief in reincarnation, the law of karma, and a universal spirit.
• Champa Kingdom – (CHUM-pah) the land of the Chams situated in what is now central Vietnam, lasting from the end of the 2nd to the start of the 19th century.
• Khmer Empire – (kuh-MEH) one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew to power in the first millennium AD, at times ruled over parts of modern-day Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia.
• Angkor – (ANG-core) meaning “Holy City”, a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire.  The region flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries.
• Mount Meru – (meh-ROO) in Hindu belief, a mountain at the center of the cosmos and home of the gods, around which the entire universe revolves.

Images for Lecture September 10

Click below for the images for September 10:

Terms of the Day for September 7

• Symmetry – the quality of being made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis.
• Padung-Padung – (peh-DANG peh-DANG) Sumatran traditional earrings made of folded silver wire shaped to resemble both male and female genitalia.  They symbolize the shifting power relations between a husband and wife.
• Hinggi Cloth – (hen-GHEE) a traditional Indonesian cloth, generally worn by men, whose patterning is representative of social, religious, and political structures within village life.

Images From Lecture September 7

Click below for the images for September 7:

Images from Lecture September 5

Click below for the images for September 5:

Terms of the Day for September 5

• Motif – A decorative design or pattern or distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition.
Kenyalang – a traditional carved and painted wooden figure representing a hornbill. In Southeast Asian cultures, the hornbill is emblematic of the upper realm, masculinity, and warrior skill. 
• Pua Kumbu – a traditional patterned multicolored ceremonial cotton cloth used by the Iban culture, made and used in Sarawak, Malaysia. They are woven by women and are considered to be sacred objects. They are used for lifecycle rituals, special events, and funerals. 
• Tampan – a small, rectangular cloth used in areas of Southern Sumatra in Indonesia usually designed using a ship motif. They were used in transitional ceremonies, such as weddings, births, and funerals; the ship is said to signify transition and act as security during these transitory times. 
• Adu Zatua – a wooden figure representing an ancestor. The adu zatua is usually carved upon the death of the individual and emphasizes the person’s rank in society. 
• Tau-tau – meaning “man-statue”, a type of effigy made of wood or bamboo. The effigy represents a deceased loved one and is clothed and maintained in memory of the deceased.

A Little Sample of Eastern Thought

Ochre

To more adequately answer the questions that came up on Friday about ochre, here's some info:

From Wikipedia:

Ochre ( /ˈoʊkər/ oh-kər; from Greek: ὠχρός, ōkhrós, pale) is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues. Because of these other hues, the color ochre is sometimes referred to as "yellow ochre" or "gold ochre".

Ochres are among the earliest pigments used by mankind, derived from naturally tinted clay containing mineral oxides. Chemically, it is hydrated iron (III) oxide, mineralogically known as limonite. Modern artists' pigments continue to use the terms "yellow ochre" and "red ochre" for specific hues.

...

The earliest potential evidence for complex human culture comes from the site of Blombos Cave in South Africa, where two pieces of ochre engraved with abstract designs have been found, often considered to be the world's first known art, along with shells pierced for use as jewelry and a complex toolkit including finely crafted bone tools. The ensemble is dated to around 75,000 years ago.

This is the engraved piece of ochre we talked about in class.