Tag: Culture
-
R.C. Ex-votos
R.C. Ex-votos Here then votive offerings that accompany the requests made to the catholic Saint Francis Xavier whose preserved body is kept in the Bom Jesus church in Old Goa, India. He attracts believers from all over India and the world, and many make use of the opportunity to ask him for relieving their distress.…
-
Tamata
Tamata τάματα is the Greek word for vows and votive offerings, referring to a popular practice among the faithful of most if not all religions. I have shown and written about this fascinating phenomenon earlier on this blog in a series of posts dedicated to the local Hindu god Golu Devta in Kumaon, India, and the…
-
Ossuarium
Ossuarium In one of the orthodox churches of Paleochora I saw to my surprise a big open stone reservoir filled with human bones: an ossuary inside the church in full view! I have understood that ossuaries came into use in places where graveyard space is scarce. After a few years in the ground the remains…
-
Aegina – Paleochora
Aegina – Paleochora The old town of Aegina had always been at the coast of the island, next to the harbour where it is situated now again. But in the 9th century the town was shifted inland where it could be defended better against the attacks of the Saracens. In the 18th century there were…
-
3-D Devotion
3-D Devotion Going through the Herkyna gorge south of Livadia, a town in Boeotia, Greece, one passes the Fountain of Memory and the Fountain of Forgetfulness, the ancient Mnemosyne and Lethe of which Pausanias speaks. For me the water of Mnemosyne has done its work because I remember well first having seen from down the…
-
The invitation
The invitation Come and join me under my veil … Is that what she wants to tell me with her inviting look? A woman can use her veil to guard herself against the looks of others, but also on the contrary, to secretly make contact. The way she lifts her veil and reveals what should…
-
One to see, one to touch
One to see, one to touch Two Infants Jesus, one inside the stable, the other in front. That’s how this church meets the strongly felt need among believers to touch the new-born Infant in his manger. Maybe they think some of his infinite love will thus pour from the plaster figure into their own veins.…
-
Spitting image
Spitting image That is to say, the spitting image of the pan chewer who embellishes with his creations the pavements, roads, platforms, corridors, staircases, and, if you are lucky enough in passing a chewer at the right moment, your clothes or shoes. Temples and shrines are generally spared. That’s why tiles with images of gods…
-
Zen sense
Zen sense A small space that feels large. It is, above all, a matter of the mind. Japanese Zen masters are experts at making the most of small spaces. Take a look at this small, enclosed garden: a striking rock, a stone water basin, a raked gravel bed, a few shrubs and small trees, a…
-
Natura Artis Magistra
Natura Artis Magistra With this title I am not aiming at the Zoo in Amsterdam, but at the meaning of the words: nature is the teacher of art. Nature as source of inspiration for the arts. I took the photo just outside the wall of Chisaku-in, a temple in Kyoto. It looks like a nice…
καιρός remembered 