Hindu Temples in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal

As a student of religious studies and philosophy I of course am fascinated with various religions. As I traveled throughout India I took several opportunities to explore the Hindu (and other) temples. This video shares a small portion of a couple of the Devi Goddess Temples in New Delhi. As I walk through be sure to look at all the art in the highly decorative Hindu culture.


This video consists of two separate ceremonies. The first half is a ceremony from a village near Bishnapur in West Bengal and the second is from Madhya Pradesh. For more insight into what is going on be sure to check out my YouTube page to see (and join in) the conversation with a Bengali man in response to this video. He has some great insight.

Though I have not posted them to my YouTube account, I plan to have at least one more pooja video in addition to several videos from a guided Khajuraho tour.

I will continue to share many more videos from my time in India so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube account as well as my Facebook and Art Blog to actually see how India impacted me and my art. As I share more and more of my artwork inspired by my travels in India I am sure that these videos will help you understand where this new inspiration is coming from.

4 More Interesting Topics Surrounding Voodoo

Voodoo Dolls binding people to Haiti, to a family or to another.

Have you ever heard about Voodoo Dolls, Zombification or wondered about the rolls of the Catholic Church and Jazz in Voodoo? Well here are some basics on these four topics.  Click the links for information form the Voodoo museum in New Orleans (keep in mind New Orleans Voodoo is not the same as Haiti's Voodoo).

The voodoo doll - I actually saw some of these and talked to a man who was had a spell cast on him by the woman (whom he had never met) who is now his wife.  These dolls are typically used to bind someone.  In this example the wife bound the man to her, after the binding ceremony, they met and got married.

Zombification - My understanding is that a zombie is created once a spell is cast, the person looses life signs but is not dead (possibly due to a powder), is buried, and brought back.  The zombie is now under the spell that is cast.

Jazz - Voodoo is a world that means to dance.  Music and dance are integral to Voodoo religion.  Music interacts with the possessing spirit.  Different spirits have different beats that accompany them.

Catholicism - During colonization Catholicism was the dominant religion forced onto those who were captured as slaves.  As would be expected African beliefs were kept but adapted to the only religion they were allowed and forced to practice.

Moving Like Bernie (a parody of a zombificaiton scene in Weekend at Bernie's)

Make it Plain: Art Exhibition

RSVP on Facebook

I am proud to announce that Make it Plain will be a part of the 16th Annual Shepard Symposium on Social Justice this year.

For those of you who do not know, Make it Plain is my art exhibition focusing on African American religious culture and history.  You can check out more information and see more images on my Art + Design blog.

The opening for my solo exhibition will be held in the 234 Gallery (in the University of Wyoming Union) on Wednesday, March 28 from 6-8pm directly follow a talk by Tim Wise (one of my favorite social justice speakers out there).  I have created some posters in response to Time Wise...Be sure to look for those.

The show will be up from Monday March 19 - 31.

If you missed my Make it Plain solo exhibition the first time around, be sure to check it out now.  I am proud to say that the first showing was quite a success and I believe this one will be as well.


If you can not make it be sure to check out my Art on Facebook and like the page.

Happy Birthday Black Jesus!

For Christmas I would like to share some of my recent artwork dealing with Jesus Christ.

Happy birthday Jesus!!!

I pray that you will be with the poor, the lonely, the humble, 

and the weak on this beautiful day.

I also pray that people will be willing to help those in need,

just a Jesus of the oppressed would (and did) do.

Amen!

A Black Jesus

This poster, with an image of a Black Jesus, is designed to represent James Cone's theology in my Make it Plain art exhibition.  James Cone was a theologian who made the idea of a black Jesus famous.  Cone was responding to the images of a white Jesus and a white God that supported the oppression, murder, enslavement, and oppression of blacks. James Cone responded with the idea that Jesus represents the oppressed peoples, and Jesus therefore was seen as black.

Cone combined the ideas of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.  He took Malcolm's ideas of self love and a added them to Kings philosophy of loving others.  Cone  used MLK Jr's Black Christian theology.  James Cone is known as the founder of Black Liberation Theology (which still had some grit if you read his actual sermons).

The church responded to Cone with the idea "God is not black; God is race-less."  Keep in mind before Cone, God was seen as white often with blonde hair and blue eyes....sorry, God is not European (don't worry I know Jesus was not biologically African either).

For Christmas I would like to wish Jesus a happy birthday and thank him for teaching us to love those our society sees as bad, evil, poor and untouchable. 

European Jesus from Sodahead.com

People who have heard of James Cone in response to the anti Obama campaigns, have heard incredibly distorted views of what black Liberation Theology actually is saying.  These same people seem to forget the circumstances that men like James Cone and Malcolm X were responding to and living with on a daily basis.

Visit my art blog to see more art work from this Make it Plain

Click here to listen to James Cone on NPR.

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Update: I don't believe the BLT is 100% perfect, anything that is "Jesus +" is not the true Gospel. Nor do I believe that Jesus was actually black. This poster was a component of a larger art exhibition.

15 Thoughts on Syncretism or the Mixing of ContradictoryReligions

15 thoughts in response to my trip to Haiti and the mixing of religions...I am not sure that any of these thoughts are accurate or TRUE but they are fun to think about and challenge my beliefs.

1. According to the pastor we worked with…Almost everyone in Haiti will call themselves Christians. Christian in Haiti has a similar meaning to human. Instead of saying “yes, I am a human being,” like we would in America, many Haitians would say “yes, I am a Christian being.” It has the same meaning. This is why the term Evangelical is important.

2. From what pastor Mark said, most Haitians also believe in Jesus and the Bible, but do not understand the importance of excepting Jesus or believing that he is their one true savior.

3. This seems to be true in America too.  Many people believe that Jesus was a great prophet, but not much more.  My husband and I were talking about the act of accepting Jesus and what "excepting Jesus" actually means just a few days ago.  We seem to agree that it should be a conscious decision, but there are certainly exceptions (especially individuals with developmental disabilities and those in other countries who may not have heard).  It is a tough subject.

4. It was fascinating to see how a Voodoo temple would be right across the street from a Evangelical Christian church.

5. The Voodoo priest would come hang out at the Church Under The Tree (Evangelical Christian). My pastor and I were there sharing the gospel once when he came by.  The kids giggled because they knew the irony of the situation.

6. Another time when the pastor was sharing the gospel (using the EvangeCube) nearly every child rose their hands saying they believe. I am now wondering if that means they believe the story of Jesus or if they have accepted Jesus or believe that he is their savior or if they simply believe he was a good man.

7. The Europeans forced their religion on the African slaves in America, Brazil, Haiti, and Cuba. In response the Africans often times kept their beliefs and added aspects of Catholicism (or Christianity) to their original beliefs. A common example was the use of the imagery of the saints to represent African gods. According to Haitian pastor Mark, in Haiti Catholicism still has deep voodoo ties.  Voodoo is the mix of Catholicism and African Animism specific to Haiti.

8. The effects of Colonialism on world religion may be another example of the mixing of religion or at the very least a corruption of Christianity.  The gospel of colonialism was not Christ-like at all.

Possession

The first day leaving the village, I saw the voodoo priest standing outside one of the houses. I knew instantly that there was something going on and knew he was the voodoo priest. I could tell when I looked into his eyes.

The voodoo priest had the same look in his eyes that a client I worked with in the past. She would sit up in the middle of night and look around while asleep. It was always scary because sometimes the voices she heard would tell her to attack staff and other times she would be just fine. The staff always wondered if she was possessed but the senior staff decided it was simply schizophrenia (though I still am not sure if some "disorders" have spiritual explanations (or if spiritual matters have clinical explanations).  Either way it was the same look and a look you don't forget.

Possession is a main aspect of Voodoo.  The Voodoo gods or Orishas are asked to possess those who practice the religion.

A voodoo ceremony
This area is very similar to the natural springs we saw.



For more on Voodoo check out my Background on Voodoo and Voodoo Basics posts.

Haiti Journal Entry: Voodoo

Alter

After my class last semester, I was excited to learn more about voodoo in the community of Thomazeau and throughout Haiti. There were a variety of opportunities to learn about this fascinating religion.  Some of these opportunities included talking with local pastors about their experiences with those who practice voodoo as well as those who were members of the church, in the past. Those currently practicing were not as willing to communicate with us.  This may have been because of the language barrier and the fact that the man that took my friend and I around to look at these temples was not that confident in his English.  he could read and speak wonderfully but asking questions was difficult because he didn't understand as much as he could speak.

We were able to see one of the main temples as well as a voodoo altar. It was fascinating to see in more detail much of what I had learned from my class last semester.  At times this alter (above) would have images on the back wall and the cloth bags would be filled with offerings and taken to the temple.  The temple is the room with the pole in the center (left).  There are two rooms on each side of this building (right).  The rooms are where some specific ceremonies take place.  I will need to reread about what ceremonies would take place in those rooms, though I think they might be used for isolation.  This part of the conversation did not translate from English to Creole and back very well.

Voodoo Dolls and binging ceremonies

Later in the week we went to visit the natural springs which were full of evidence of voodoo ritual and practice. The springs consisted of voodoo dolls and remnants of other Voodoo ceremonies. The majority of the voodoo dolls we saw were used to bind people, either to the country or to someone else. The man telling us about this tree where individuals were bound, met his wife because she had bound him to her. Though his words needed to be translated, his facial expressions and intensity of his experience did not.

I am not sure what this was but was told it was "voodoo"

As we were leaving Haiti we met a man, named Juan, in the airport. He grew up in Haiti, but currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He talked to us about some of his experiences growing up in a voodoo home. He had been bound to the ceremonies and his family who practice voodoo. He remembered running and hiding in friend’s house but still being scared of the spirits. When he was finally old enough to make his own decisions he had accepted Jesus and was a Christian. When he told some of his family members, they tried to bind him to Haiti but he was able to escape because, as he said, “Jesus could now protect him, and Jesus was stronger than the demons,” that were being used to bind him.

This trip was an interesting contrast to the much more academic approach I had experienced in my class on the religions of the African Diaspora.  My class was excellent and gave me a deep understanding of what those who practice Voodoo believe and the history of the religion and Haiti, but the class did not allow me to fully understand the power of the Vooddo spirits from a Christian perspective.  The trip certainly did help me to gain this understanding.

Artwork inspired by Haiti

Haiti Journal Entry: My Class and Backgrond on Voodoo

Voodoo Alter on the back of a house

I took a couple African American and Religious Studies courses last semester that related directly to my time spent in Haiti.  The one class focused on religions such as Voodoo, Santeria, Candomble, Revival Zion, and the Black Church in America.  We began the class by looking at Yoruba tradition.  Then spent one week looking at the history of a given area that Africans were moved to, through the slave trade.  Then we transitioned into how the spirituality of those from Africa morphed into what it is today through both the mixing of religions and cultures (typically European Catholic and African Yoruba).  Haiti was the first place that we focused on and voodoo was a religion that we spent an extra week studying. 

The class gave me a basic academic understanding of the religions, ceremonies and the importance of spirituality to those who dispersed because of the African Diaspora.  My time in Haiti helped to solidify the information from the class and see some of the details I read about.  My trip to Haiti took the religion of voodoo from the realm of the academic world to the realm of the very real spiritual world.  The trip also helped me to understand spiritual warfare (from a  Christian perspective) in a much deeper way.  Some of the conversations with those who used to be in the voodoo church and with those who work closely with its members helped me to see that there is an extreme power associated with Voodoo that is completely real.  I will post more about these conversations in future posts...

Voodoo Temple

Here is a past post on Candomble.  Candomble (in Brazil) is not the same as Voodoo but there are some similarities especially when it comes to the use of dance and the importance of the spirit.

If you are interested in learning more, our main book for the class was Working the Spirit: Ceremonies of the African Diaspora.  This book does not look at the history of the countries or the slave trade as close as we did in the class.  This book covers the details of the ceremonies, the view on community, and the way that the spirit interacts with the individual. 

Religion vs. Spirituality

Critical Thought Tuesday

I was trying to argue the difference between religion and spirituality in one of my papers for my African American Religious Culture class and this was my professors response…

“I understand the word “spiritual” to be the “innocent” word that people like to use because they think it frees them from dealing from institutional religion.”

Interesting…What do you think the difference is? Is there a difference? Do you agree?

Is Hip Hop Religious?

Well this question has caused some great debate in my African American Religious Culture class.  Instinctively many people do not think that hip hop is/or can be religious.  I understand why people don't think that hip hop is a religion or even religious; however, there are some pretty strong reasons why hip hop is often seen as both a religion and religious (even secular rap) part of life, especially when we use Charles Long's definition of religion (I will post some on this and add a link soon). 

There is a really interesting book at the library. (I read half of it last year but never finished it.) Its called “The Soul of Hip Hop: Rims, Timbs and a Cultural Theology” and it argues that “yes, hip hop is a religion.” It starts with a brief history of hip hop and then breaks down the theology into a theology of suffering, community, the hip hop Jesuz, social action and justice, and the profane. It relates these areas back to the Bible and religion in general. The book finishes with the hip hop missions (which I never got to). From what I remember, it compares hip hop to church and some of the artists being like pastors. It also talks about the vulgarity as being a necessary, and real, aspect of life for kids in the ghetto.

The Soul of Hip Hop (pt. 1)


Another example of how hip hop could be a religion comes from slam poets and a few artist that have performed in Laramie (Saul Williams, Slam NUBA and Mo Brown). It seems like some of them immerse themselves in it so deeply, it is a major aspect of who they are beyond just music but in a deep spiritual sense as well. The workshop with Slam NUBA was kind of about how art comes from the soul and truth.
Blog post about Slam NUBA and workshops

Another Slam NUBA video


Adrian Molina (Mo Brown) and Saul Williams also have work that incorporate religion and spirituality.

More on Mormons - The Unattainable Goal A.K.A. The Jesus Plus Program

It seems that Mormons have the idea that it is faith plus works (Jesus Plus) that gets you into heaven.  This is a blatant contradiction with non-Morman Christians (I don't know enough about Catholicism but I think this sentence should also say non-Catholic Christians, but like I sad, I am not sure). Edits in Red. Thanks to those of you who have helped me understand the beliefs in the Mormon church. I certainly don't want to offend or hurt any who practice Mormonism I simply want to learn more. 

I know this topic is heavily debated amongst various churches. My only position is that any church or view that is works based is 100% wrong (read Galations for clarification). I do not claim to know that Mormons believe works in the currently life get you to the afterlife or adhere to legalism while on earth. Rather I want to learn more about the debate.

It is important to note that even though Mormons use Christianese, many of the significant theological terms have completely different meanings (This is true with Islam as well...It can take 45 minutes of using a term in a conversation to realize that the meaning is completely different). It is difficult to fully comprehend the differences when you are used to hearing terms used in one context, but once you grasp some of these ideas, you will see some extremely significant differences. The entire gospel in one of these religions is not only different but the exact opposite of the others. Here are some theological vocab examples.

Repent – Mormons believe that repentance is turning away from, and never sinning again.

Non-Mormon Christians believe that after we repent we will sin again and that Christ’s grace is sufficient to cover all, even individual sin, regardless of our actions.  This can be seen in Romans 7:15.

Mormon Scriptures

Doctines and Covenants 58:42-3 the term forsake means to completely give up. How was Jesus forsaken? Repent means to stop your sinning completely. This contradicts the heart of non-Mormon Christianity.

Moroni 10:32 This verse has the if/then clause that “if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness…then his grace is sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” which takes us back to the idea that you must be perfect first.

2 Nephi 25:23 states that “we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

Heaven – these viewpoints are discussed in my Eternal Progression post in the chart.  "Jesus Christ Is the Way" talks about salvation and the role that Jesus Christ plays in the church.

Lets look at some key points from this article on LDS.org:

The first paragraph says that “the scriptures say that His Spirit cannot be with us if we are sinful.” This is talking about how must repent and not be sinful. We are cleansed of our sins when we reach perfection.

Physical death is the first death where you go to one of two places depending on whether you believe in Jesus. Your perfection determines in part where you go after here.  One of these options is understood as the Mormon hell. For more information see my Eternal Progression chart and my Eternal Progression blog post.

Spiritual death is the second death (see Eternal Progression) where we will either go to eternal damnation (non-Mormon Hell) or have the opportunity to “be resurrected just like Christ was and live forever in perfected [by our own works] bodies after we leave this life.”

Mormon salvation is what everyone experiences because of Christ after physical death. But we “must do our part to overcome spiritual death.”

From my research, Mormon forgiveness is based on the “need to repent [fully by never sinning again] and increase out faith in Jesus Christ throughout our lives. We will not be saved simply because we get baptized or say we believe in Jesus Christ. It takes work…”

Am I missing something?   Can any Mormons out there explain some of this to me?  Why does it seem that Jesus not enough?  Thanks in advance guys! And thanks for the great responses since this post. There have been some very insightful responses.

I don't know a lot about the Mormon church and I realize that there is misinformation all over the place. Please share your views below. Especially if you disagree...That is the only way to learn. I am certainly not anti-Mormon.

More on Mormons - Eternal Progression Chart

 

This chart lays out the basics of Eternal Progression.  The spirit world is where the spirits live.  Christ and Satan were brothers, this is where the battle between the two play a role. 

In order to become humans spirit babies need a body.  Born according to merit refers to what role the spirit of the person played in the battle.  Satan (Lucifer) and his followers are denied a human body.  One step up were those who remained neutral in the battle; they were born with black skin.  The great warriors for God were born to Mormon families here on earth.

Leaving earth is considered the first death or a physical death.  You either go to Paradise or hell (spirit prison).  This is one area where confusion between non-Mormon Christians and Mormons may arise.  Mormons consider Spirit Prison to be Hell where non-Mormons refer to Second Death, or Outer Darkness, as Hell.  After the split after the physical death everyone (except Satan and his followers) face judgment.  They will then go to Second Death (non-Mormon Hell) or to one of the three heavens.  Sons of Perdition are ex-Mormons.  The wicked of the world could be seen as Hitler and Jack the Ripper.  Honorable non-Mormon Christians would go to the Terrestrial Kingdom (Jesus sometimes visits), and Mormons would be split up between the three levels of the Celestial Kingdom.

**Please help me understand if my understanding/interpretation is not what is actually believed.

Here is a more complete account of the theology. 

Site where the charts below come from.

How Much do you Know About Religion?

Here are my scores for a quiz I took on a variety of religions.  I missed a question about Ramadan (that I should have known) and the other was about the Bible in schools (I guessed on that one).

The sad thing is that (13 out of 15) 87% isn't that great : (

Here is the survey site.

Try the test yourself and let me know what you score in the comment section

See stats from a variety of groups below.  It is pretty nerdy but interesting.

More on Mormons - Eternal Progression

From LDS.org.  Does this image illicit a good feeling?  It should.

First of all, I am not Mormon and am unsure of the exact beliefs and what they mean to those who practice the religion. That being said I am sure that I don't have it all perfect. These posts are simply my research. I would love to read the explanations of those who practice Mormonism. Thank you!

An important terminology difference is the idea of being saved vs. the idea of eternal life.  If a non-Mormon Christian and a Mormon are having a discussion, the non-Mormon idea of being saved is what a Mormon will call eternal life.  This is because Mormons believe that everyone is “saved” from the first death, which I will address later.  One way that this distinction will become clear is through the question “if you were to die today, do you know that you would spend eternity with your father in heaven?”  The answers of the two religions will vary in response to this question.

Another difference is the expressed in this quote “As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become.”  It appears that, Mormons not only believe in the one God, but also a bunch of other Gods.  When you die the second death you may get a chance to become a God. (If this is not true, please help me understand in the comments)

Here are some excepts from Journal of Discourse 3:3 – 4  

"God himself was once as we are now, and is exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens.  That is the great secret…for I am going to tell you how God came to be God.  We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take away a do away with the vail, so that you may see…and to know that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself the Father of us all, dwelt on earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did…Do you believe it? If you do not believe it, you do not believe the Bible…Here, then, is eternal life – to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you…until you arrive at the station of a God and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before you." 

The LDS church understands Yahweh (LORD) as being a separate entity from Elohim (God).  As shown about there is also the possibility of individuals becoming Gods.  Non-Mormon Christians see Yahweh and Elohim as the same being based on the phrase "the LORD your God."  Using Bible Gateway, I found several hundred examples of this phrase.

Isaiah 44:6-8

1 King 19:10 

Our Eternal Life  - A brief explanation of eternal life from LDS.org (goes with the image at the top). 

More on Mormons - The Heavens are Open

They Saw the Heavens Open - Walter Rane

Brigham Young said, “I would rather have living oracles than all the writing in the books.”

The Heavens are Open, or the term Continuing Revelation, refers to the belief that the prophets of today are more relevant than the old prophets even if there is a contradiction. There are conferences, within the Mormon church, where the prophets of today speak and reveal these new rules and revelations (some of the most recent were no second earring holes and no sandals in church).  Like any Christian conference, the Mormon conferences (if they are the same conferences) have inspirational speakers as well.  I have links below.

This idea of Continuing Revelation consists of two important sub categories 1) Eternal Progression and 2) Plural Marriage. I will discuss these in separate posts, as I think they may get long.

It seems to me that there is a difference between prophets of today holding more precedence than the Old and New Testaments and the prophets of today speaking truths that already align with the ancient text.  I have a hard time with any person who is speaking on behalf of God contradicting the Old or New Testament. 

What do you guys think about the ability of today's Mormon prophets being seen as having the authority to make statements on behalf of God that could potentially contradict old Biblical beliefs?  Do you agree with this idea?  Why or why not?  I would love to see both sides.

Here is an article about Continuing Revelation from Mormon Beliefs.org 

October 2010 Conference Sessions.
By the way...I am not Mormon and am unsure of the exact beliefs and what they mean to those who practice the religion. That being said I am sure that I don't have it all perfect, or even close in places. These posts are simply my research. I would love to read the explanations of those who practice Mormonism. Thank you!

More on Mormons - Introduction and Church History

One depiction of The Sacred Grove

I went to a seminar with my church this past weekend.  There were breakout events where we had the options of choosing from various sessions.  I went to the sections on Mormonism and learned a lot.  I learned about some of the history as well as some of the differences between Non-Mormon Christianity and the Mormons.  I was not expecting the differences to be as stark as they were.  I think I will create several posts on these differences.  Please comment if you have any more information.  The point of these posts is for me to continue learning.

For this post, I will start with some of the history of John Smith.  He was from the “burned-over district” in New York.  This specific area of New York was ‘burned-over” with religious revivals including Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, occultism, spiritualism, Millerites, Shakers, and the Oneida Soceiety.  Soon, LDS can be added to this list.  John Smith being in the midst of all these religions (and branches of Christianity) saw a vision in the Sacred Grove.  There were two (the number varries) angels.  John Smith asked which church he should join and the angels responded that “none of the surrounding religions are correct” and he was going to be the father of the true religion.

Here is some more research on the history of the Mormon church.

Later on, Joseph Smith found/was given gold plates that only he could translate.  The process he used to decipher these plates included using a “seer stone.”  He placed the stone in his hat and had visions on the inside of his hat, one page at a time.  The visions did not pass on to the next page until he read them back aloud.  This is how we know that the Book of Mormon is “the most correct book on earth.”  This practice was common among some of the occult religions in the “burned-over district,” which is most likly where he learned it.

The original version was later revised to correct the incorrect old English grammar and some other wording.  John Smith also rewrote the Old and New Testaments (JST) because he was told that the Bible had been corrupted after Jesus and the disciples died.  We now know that this is not true, due to findings such as the dead sea scrolls.  I believe that most Mormons use the original King James Bible with Smith’s changes in the foot notes.

Facts I never knew about John Smith - Everybody has Their Dirty Little Secrets

Another depiction of the Sacred Grove

1. John Smith practiced Polygamy and Polyandry

            He had 34 wives

            Polyandry is where a woman has more than one husband.  John Smith married women whose husbands were away.  The difference between their first marriages and the marriage with JS is that his was said to be “forever and eternity.”   That meant that his was a marriage in heaven, and the woman’s first marriage was just on earth.  I think this goes back to the idea of marrying the deceased for eternity, so you are married in heaven.  Does anyone know how this works?

2. John Smith committed bank fraud by printing money with no gold to back it up.

3. Joseph Smith was martyred while in prison.  He fired several shots in self defense, missing all but one person.

4. In addition to the "seer stones" John Smith used a "Jupiter Talisman" to find buried treasure.  I would like to research more about this practice because I don't know much (Here is some YouTube research, see 3:48 in the video below or click the link).  Not only was JS involved in occultism but he was also involved in Freemasonry.  This article from the Institute for Religious Research explores Smith involvement in Freemasonry and the Mason symbolism in the Mormon Church.

Images from What Mormons Believe and Truth and Grace
I really didn't look at these sites - I am only linking to them to site where the images came from.

The information about the Jupiter Talisman lines up with what the speakers (from a church in Salt Lake City, Utah) at the seminar I attended.

And finally, I am not Mormon and am unsure of the exact beliefs and what they mean to those who practice the religion. That being said I am sure that I don't have it all perfect. These posts are simply my research. I would love to read the explanations of those who practice Mormonism. Thank you!

Research for Possible Graphics project

After all this research, I think I will do another poster series, or some other graphics/art project, on African American history and culture.

Some possible topics could be:

1. The importance of African American hair and its history.  Why people started relaxing their hair.  Why it is seem today as good or bad.
- Black is Beautiful
- Intro to Black Hair  - Coil Review
- My Natural Hair Journey

2. Various activists
- Assata Shakur
- Marcus Garvey
- Sojouner Truth

3. African music, art and poetry.  Though I have not posted much here are some artists, I found interesting.
- Slam NUBA
- African American Reading List   (Secret Life of Bees, From Strength to Love, Black Power and Black Theology, and Bullets (from Slam NUBA))
- For Colored Girls (should be added to my reading list)

4. "Black is Beautiful," "Black Pride" or "My Black is Beautiful." One of the main issues that I found on this topic is the debate between relaxed and natural hair and what it says about an African American woman.
- My Black is Beautiful


5. African religion and spirituality
African Spirits in the Diaspora

6. White Privilege and Light-Skinned Privilege (you get some for ex. I don't get followed at wall mart but still cant see myself in a wedding magazine to see what a dress would look like on me.) This topic could also talk about how all (most) people have privilege and how to use those privileges to stand up for others.

7. I am not sure how this would be used in a project, but the importance of Black Liberation Theology.


These are just some possibilities for research that I can use in future graphics projects...

African Spiris and the Diaspora

I am currently in a class called African Spirits in the New World. In this class we are discussing African spirituality/religion and tracking the spirit as the African Diaspora travels to various locations. We have talked about Vodou and Voodoo in Haiti, Candomble in Brazil. We will also be looking at Cuban and Cuban American Santeria, Revival Zion in Jamaica and the Black Christian church in the United States. One thing that all of these traditions have in common is the influence of the traditional African spirit and the origin of slavery.

These two videos show a bit about Candomble in Brazil. Though the traditions are different I would like to make some connections with the vocabulary and definition of Candomble.
What is Candomble?

Candomble is a religion that arose from the large African population in Brazil. The slave population in Brazil was huge, as it was the last place to end the enslavement of African people. (Their slavery was slightly more humane because slavers were much more valuable because they were no longer unlimited numbers as there in Haiti. It was easier to kill a slave and get a new one than to put up with any nonsense. Click here to learn more about Haitian history).  Candomble consists of many long ceremonies to become a leader. Here is a video of certain aspects of these ceremonies.

Click here to see the video on YouTube


If we look at the correct grammatical way to use the term Candomble as well as compared the idea of the Candomble to the idea of the church (Christianity). I think that using the idea of the Chrisian church will help those of us who understand Christianity to understand the many ways that the word Candomble can be used.

The idea of the church referring to both the body of Christ, comprised of many members (Rom 12), and the actual building that the church body (members of the church) meets in. I think that sometimes this distinction is missed and leads to a misunderstanding of what the church (in Christianity) is and is not. It is not just a building or a once a week event. It is everything from the relationships that make up the body of members, to the service (including dance, music, and worship), to the meeting place. (not always a fancy building, church can be held on a ski mountain, or around a campfire.) The church is the spirit thst is living inside a Christians as well (1 Cor, Rom 12 etc.).

In the same way the Candomble represents the community, the service, dance or worship, and at the same time a space. The members of the Candomble (community) would have their own individual roles in the body (mother similar to a priest etc.), and the Candomble (place) is where the Candomble (worship) takes place.
It is fascinating that two religions, often seen as so different (and are doctrinally) can have so many significant similarities when it comes to human nature and the nature of religion.

Click here for YouTube


Well I am back to studying the specifics of the rituals for my test tonight...with me luck

Afrikan Education and the Three Rs

Afrikan Independent Education - A different cultural grounding, a different world view (the way we see and interact with the world.)

- Make it Plain vid.


I’m not as big of a fan of the two hosts as I am the people that are interviewed.

I really like the interviews. It is great that they speak with people in the education field. The teacher (she seems like an art teacher, but is a Social Studies teacher and has art in the background) is my favorite. I love that she compares the African to American values of relationship and knowledge (2:40). The breakdown of the way people see the world (4:20).

I also agree with the math teacher. We don’t need more math in the “boarding worksheet kind of way,” lets start a chess club where we break down the math.

I do think that programs like Central High School has for Native Americans are essential.
“Its not about getting a job…”

education part 1



I don’t think that most education systems are as bad as the one in this video. I can not argue about the race part. I have never been in a black public school. I also am not a huge fan of this video but I will point out some of the more interesting quotes and through out some random comments.
I agree that schools should stay a local issue.

The three Rs.
reading, remembering and regurgitating
I know that it is bad when the schools teach our kids things that we don’t want them to believe, it is bad. I understand this and don’t disagree but I do also believe that staying home with our kids will do more for them than changing the school system. If the school isn’t doing its job of making kids think for themselves, the parents need to step in and teach the kids to think and learn on their own. It is true that you get educated at home.

The language thing is a silly argument, here and in relationship to the Internet and texting. Kids can separate the two.  But in response to my solution to the problem, I might have to say that the kids might need to work harder.  It stink but sometimes you need to work harder to get the same grades as others.  I am not trying to be mean and I realize that this isn't always realistic but when it is possible, do it.

I agree we should have more arts infused into other subjects. Math and science wont do any good without creativity and the ability to think critically for your self. The best Geometry project we had was to design a racetrack. We then voted on our favorite and drew it in the parking lot. We raced remote control cars for extra credit. I still remember how on ramps and exit ramps were created from that project.

I disagree with them about MLK Jr.  I think that both the Panthers (and other similar groups) and MLK were necessary for the battle but I think that MLK did more good than harm.  I would also say the same about the Panthers, Malcolm X, James Cone and many other famous African American activists.  You need the balance (through variety) for a social movement to end well.

How would you change education, the education system, or the way you responded to the education system?  Do you think it needs changes?  What can you do to actually solve or better a problem that you see?  It can be in regard to race, religion or anything else.

Marcus Garvey

The official Marcus Garvey website
The Influence of Marcus Garvey Video series
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

I had little knowledge about Marcus Garvey and the details of his life. Some of the things that I did know about him prior to these videos include the “Back to Afrika” movement and that he had involvement in Rastafari.

Wikipedia has some great information about the man.

Garvey played a large role in the African American religious scene in the 1920s, some even claimed that he was the reincarnation of John the Baptist and was preparing the way for Haile Selassie 1 of Ethiopia.  I will post about Rastafari in the future (though probably not for Black History Month).

I think that I will also post on the significance of these flags at some point.  I used to know what the colors specifically represent (both the slang and the traditional symbolism, but I do not remember).