Electronic Library of Scientific Literature
Electronic Library of Scientific Literature
Volume 8 / No. 1 / 1999
Marián Gálik
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
The aim of this study is to show how the first extensive Chinese
article on J.W. Goethe's Faust was written and to point
out in this way the typical features of modern Chinese literary
criticism in the age of transition between the old and modern
treatment of literary problems.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 3-16
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Michael H. Dietrich
Stitzenburgstraße 17, D-70182 Stuttgart, Germany
"Little Eyes" on a Big Trip - Star Navigation as
Rongorongo Inscriptions
An attempt is made here to prove that rongorongo does not reproduce
coherent texts, creation chants, rituals, etc., as has been conjectured
so far. All signs are symbols of stars and planets, quaters, winds,
the moon, the guiding stars, etc.
The new endeavour to analyse the rongorongo signs is based on
the accessible astronomical knowledge of Micronesia and Polynesia.
The body of rongorongo signs consists of tropical descriptions
of single stars, planets, zodiacal signs and other constellations.
What has been registered are particular nights and, on the smaller
tablets, general data on astronomical itineraries. The all in
all about 12,000 rongorongo signs convey exclusively instructions
for sidereal navigation within the Pacific.
This article deals with the signs which are supposed to represent
the Pleiades (matariki) in rongorongo. More than half of
all signs can only be understood through the astronomical knowledge
of the New Zealand Maori. The present approach, then, provides
the possibility to explain nearly all existing rongorongo signs,
which hitherto was held to be an illusion.
This is the second part of the study; the last part will appear
in the next issue.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 17-50
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Viktor Krupa
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
This paper is a description of nominal paticles in Marquesan.
Most examples are quoted from Récits marquisiens collected
by H. Lavondes. Problems of low phonetic redundancy and orthography
are also discussed.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 51-61
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Anna Rácová
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
The category of aspectuality reflects a viewpoint of progression
or of functionality of verbal action. From the viewpoint of aspectuality,
the following features of the Slovak Romani verb are considered
essential: duration of action, iterativity, intention, and specification
(beginning, end, suddenness, completion, space specification,
etc.) of verbal action. All of these features are expressed by
different grammatical means, mainly suffixes.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 62-66
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Shinji Ghaeyri Ido
The School of Asian Studies, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006,
Australia
This paper attempts to find systematic correspondences among
some Turkish mimetic words. Mimetic words semantically related
to one another are examined. The examination reveals certain phonological
correspondences among them. Alternations of particular sets of
vowels and consonants as well as addition of certain `extenders'
expressing subtle shades of meaning in Turkish mimesis are proposed.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 67-73
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Ladislav Drozdík
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
The study surveys main structural properties of the Egyptian
Arabic relative clauses and examines some critical border-lines
of their grammaticalness.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 74-82
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Gabriel Pirický
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
This paper is an attempt to analyse the thoughts and activities
of Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the Turkish religious order
called after him the Fethullahciler. Within the modernist
framework he offers an alternative to the rejectionist tendencies
in Islam and provides an Islamically based rationale for religious,
social and educational reform in Turkey. Also, through Gülen's
personality the transformation of sufi religious orders
into faith movements becomes more apparent. Whereas so called
Islamic fundamentalism is normally used to prove that Islam and
politics means almost the same, this article tries to uncover
those modernist trends which claim that politicizing of Islam
means an insult to religion.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 83-90
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Hasen Said
Dolnozemská 1, c.i. 909, 852 19 Bratislava, Slovakia
Information about the contribution of Sub-Saharan Africa to
the diversity of world culture is either missing or very insignificant.
The author found it vital to point out some facts regarding the
history of cultural heritage care in Sub-Saharan Africa, to identify
the current problems and propose some possible means to overcome
the existing problems. After assessing the alarming situation
how the number of representatives of cultural heritage personnel
from Sub-Saharan Africa decreases at international conferences,
symposia and congresses, the paper also tries to propose how to
kill two birds by one stone, i.e. to establish one department/training
centre for related subjects as Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
care in Sub-Saharan African countries.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 91-100
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Marián Gálik
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
The aim of this review article is to introduce to literary
comparatists, especially those interested in Western and East
Asian genetic-contact relations or typological affinities, the
first two volumes, published recently (1997_1998) by the University
of Sydney World Literature Series.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 101-109
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Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 1, 110-116
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