The Holocene And the Agro-Pastoral Emergence

ABSTRACT
This lecture introduces the concept known as the Holocene, a climactic condition that began around 10,000 BCE As a result o! the global warming, we see the emergence o! se"eral new cultural !ormations #ne o! these is the salmon culture that spanned the northern hal! o! the Paci!ic !rom the $omon in $apan to the Haida in Canada %eanwhile, in &orth A!rica and 'est Asia, we see the emergence o! pastoral and agro-pastoral traditions The lecture compares the di!!erent house and settlement t(pes

KEY PEOPLES
$omon )$apan* Haida )Canada* %aasai )+en(a* Hammer )Ethiopia) Holocene ,eciduous -orest Taiga -orest Pit House )also Earth .odge* Hogan Agro-pastoralism Pastoral /ocieties Plant-Tending /ocieties Bull and Cow Cults Hathor /acri!ice /orghum

KEY CONCEPTS

KEY PLACES
%(sore, 0ndia +en(a Haida 1waii, Canada

NOTES ON SELECT TERMS

The /iting o! a Haida House The line transecting the sea and the !orest constitutes a hori2ontal world a3is unto its own that runs !rom the beach through the center o! the house out the back to the !orest #n it are arranged the house !rontal pole, the !ireplace, the back wall screen which separates o!! the chie!4s apartment and the interior house pole The area behind the house was a more !orbidding 2one leading to the !amil( mortuar( house Another a3is runs along the beach and on it are located all o! the hearths o! the "arious houses in the "illage /tars are e3plained as light o! the sun coming through holes in the roo! o! the celestial house The earth consists o! two islands, Haida .and )the 5ueen Charlotte 0slands* and /eaward Countr( )the mainland* The !ormer is supported b( a supernatural being called /acred-#ne-/tanding-and-%o"ing, which rests on a copper bo3 #n his breast is a pole or pillar that supports Haida .and and e3tends through a hole in the top o! the !irmament into the sk( abo"e This pole unites the three 2ones o! the cosmos Power !lows through the world pole and attached to the top are strings that reach to e"er( "illage in Haida .and Pulling these strings results in rain, snow or sleet, depending on the season ,uring a potlatch, a cord is stretched !rom the !rontal pole to the beach to s(mboli2e the shining string o! hea"en

and no one is allowed to cross o"er this string The imaginar( world pole is s(mboli2ed b( the house pole, which is also thought to be a ceremonial conduit o! power The lower world is s(mboli2ed b( the pit in the center o! the house The world o! the here-and-now is de!ined b( the house itsel! and the area abo"e the smoke hole is seen as belonging to the celestial part The !ire at the center o! the pit is the main conduit between the "arious worlds #!!erings are put into the !ire with the hissing being interpreted as a sign o! its reception b( the ghosts who communicate with the li"ing ,ashain 0n late /eptember and earl( #ctober, the &epalese people celebrate ,ashain, the longest and most important !esti"al in the &epalese annual calendar, celebrated b( all caste and creed throughout the countr( The celebration lasts !i!teen da(s and occurs during the lunar !ortnight ending on the da( o! the !ull moon The goddess ,urga is worshiped with o!!erings and thousands o! animal sacri!ices !or the ritual hol( bathing, thus drenching the goddess !or da(s in blood The e"ent commemorates the "ictor( o! the gods o"er the wicked demons Eid al-Adha )

) or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is an

important religious holida( celebrated b( %uslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness o! Abraham to sacri!ice his son 0shmael as an act o! obedience to 1od, be!ore 1od inter"ened to pro"ide him with a ram to sacri!ice instead The meat is di"ided into three parts to be distributed to others The !amil( retains one third o! the share, another third is gi"en to relati"es, !riends and neighbors, and the other third is gi"en to the poor 6 need( According to the 5ur7an 889:;9 <0t is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches 1od 0t is (our piet( that reaches Him < The sacri!icial animal ma( be a lamb, a sheep, a goat, a camel or a cow The animal must be health( and conscious %aasai )+en(a* Among the %aasai, new homes are built !rom time to time, most o!ten when the !amil( mo"es in search o! greener pastures The( rarel( sta( !or more than a !ew months in the same place %aasai homes are oblong in shape, t(picall( 8 meters b( : meters in si2e, with rounded corners and low ceilings The( are built b( women and usuall( when the( ha"e =ust become pregnant Construction t(picall( takes !our to eight da(s -irst, building materials must be collected> and this in"ol"es tra"el to nearb( !orests or man( trips across the sa"annah in search o! the right timber !or posts The best branches come !rom the leleshwa bush, which is resistant to termites There is one door and no windows The structures are relati"el( low, in that one cannot stand up on the inside A mi3ture o! cow dung and cla( is applied to the outside The posts are dug into the ground close together and range !rom ?0 to 1@0 cm in height Cattle dung is used to moisten the sides o! the holes9 and, taking each one in turn, the woman uses a rock or hea"( piece o! timber to hammer the post into the ground The poles are then tied together at the top, to pieces o! wood arranged hori2ontall(> and there is usuall( another line o! hori2ontal ties lower down To !orm the cur"e o! the roo!, thin saplings are wedged between the top hori2ontal bars and bent o"er to !orm a bridge towards the opposite wall /aplings !rom the other walls are bent o"er in the same wa( and tied together with "ines to !orm the hump-backed roo! t(pical o! %aasai homes /maller branches, twigs, lea"es and grass are used to !ill in the gaps between both posts and ra!ters, and the outside o! the house is then plastered with a mi3ture o! mud )made !rom cla( and water* and cow dung -- with a !inishing coat o! cow dung applied to the roo! The straw in the dung helps bind the plaster together