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536 results for "oral tradition" — page 12 of 27
D_3_07 — Nan Madol — Megalithic City on the Reef
Nan Madol is a ruined megalithic city located off the southeast coast of Pohnpei (formerly Ponape), Federated States of Micronesia, in the western Pacific Ocean. Built on a series of ~92 artificial islets constructed on
B_4_18 — African Secret Societies (Poro, Sande, Ogboni)
West Africa's secret societies — Poro (men's), Sande (women's), and Ogboni (elder council) — represent some of the most powerful and enduring socio-religious institutions in the region, governing initiation, education, c
B_2_14 — Undead and Revenant Traditions Beyond Vampires
The revenant — a corpse that returns from death to interact with the living — is one of the most ancient and widespread categories in world folklore, distinct from (though overlapping with) the vampire tradition treated
B_2_09 — Shadow People, Sleep Paralysis Entities, and Dark Figures
Shadow people, dark figures, and night-visiting entities represent one of the most consistently reported anomalous experiences across human cultures. The phenomenon centers on sleep paralysis — a state where the body rem
B_2_12 — Doppelgängers, Spirit Doubles, and the Ka
The experience of encountering one's own double — or a spectral duplicate of another person — is one of the most unsettling and widely reported phenomena in human experience. Ancient Egyptian religion formalized the conc
B_2_16 — Dwarf and Gnome Traditions: Norse Dvergar, Knockers, Menehune
Dwarves, gnomes, and analogous "small people" of the underground — beings associated with mining, metalwork, hidden knowledge, and subterranean realms — constitute a remarkably consistent entity category across European,
B_1_02 — Thoth — Egyptian God of Writing, Wisdom, and Cosmic Order
Thoth (Egyptian: Ḏḥwty, conventionally vocalized as Djehuty) is the Egyptian deity of writing, wisdom, measurement, the moon, magic, and cosmic order — the divine scribe who records the judgment of the dead, invents hier
B_3_03 — Mami Wata and Pan-African Water Spirit Traditions
This document examines Mami Wata and Pan-African Water Spirit Traditions, a topic within the Beings and Entities research area. Key areas of investigation include Overview of the Tradition, Etymology and Naming, Visual I
B_3_09 — Dragon Typology — Cross-Cultural Serpent-Dragon Traditions
Dragons and giant serpents appear in nearly every major mythological tradition worldwide — European fire-breathing dragons, Chinese lóng (beneficent celestial beings), Mesoamerican feathered serpents, Australian Aborigin
L_2_07 — European Genetics and Three Ancestral Populations
The genetic history of Europe has been revolutionized by ancient DNA, revealing that most present-day Europeans can be modeled at a broad level as mixtures of three major ancestral components assembled over the past ~10,
L_2_03 — Ancient African Genetics
Africa harbors the greatest human genetic diversity on Earth — a direct consequence of being the continent of human origin, where populations have accumulated genetic variation for ~300,000+ years. Modern African populat
L_2_06 — South Asian Genetics and Population History
South Asia harbors one of the most genetically diverse and internally structured population histories of any world region, reflecting deep settlement, repeated admixture, and long periods of extreme endogamy. The best-su
L_3_03 — Lactase Persistence and Gene-Culture Coevolution
Lactase persistence — the ability of adults to digest the milk sugar lactose — is the most thoroughly documented case of gene-culture coevolution in the human species. The ancestral mammalian condition is lactase non-per
L_5_04 — Ancient Microbiome and Paleomicrobiology
Paleomicrobiology — the study of ancient microorganisms through the application of molecular techniques (ancient DNA extraction, metagenomics, proteomics) to archaeological and paleontological material — has revolutioniz
Y_2_05 — Near-Death Experiences: Cross-Cultural Analysis
Near-death experiences (NDEs) — profound subjective experiences occurring during clinical death, cardiac arrest, or perceived proximity to death — have been reported across virtually all cultures and historical periods.
Y_3_01 — Kundalini and Serpent Energy Traditions
Kundalini ("coiled one" in Sanskrit) describes a dormant serpent-like energy said to reside at the base of the spine, which, when "awakened" through meditation, breathwork, or spontaneous experience, rises through a cent
Y_3_04 — Mystical Experience — Neuroscience of the Numinous
Mystical experiences — characterized by unity consciousness, noetic quality, ineffability, transcendence of time and space, and deep positive affect — have been reported across every known culture and religious tradition
Y_3_09 — Prayer, Contemplation, and the Neuroscience of Religious Experience
The neuroscientific study of prayer and religious experience — sometimes termed neurotheology (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1999) — has moved from philosophical speculation to empirical investigation using neuroimaging, EEG, and
Y_3_06 — Awe, Wonder, and Transcendent Emotions
Awe — the emotional response to perceived vastness that requires accommodation (cognitive restructuring of existing mental schemas) — has emerged as a frontier topic in affective neuroscience, positive psychology, and ph
Y_3_07 — Music, Consciousness, and Altered States
Music is one of the most powerful modulators of conscious experience available without pharmacological intervention. Neuroimaging reveals that music engages an extraordinarily distributed network: auditory cortex (superi
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