Electronic Library of
Scientific Literature Electronic Library of
Scientific Literature
Volume 8 / No. 2 / 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 point out the history of Mao Dun’s relation to Nietzsche on the basis of his essays, translations and other foreign and Chinese intellectuals, from the beginning of his critical career as a young Chinese man of letters during World War I up to the end of 1970s, two years before his death.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 2, 117–147
Annette Bierbach and Horst Cain,
Museum für Völkerkunde, Abteilung Südsee, Arnimallee 27, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Stimulated by recent publications this short article proposes to strengthen the awareness and criticize disregard of the fact that language command, however perfect and although an important cognitive factor in studying ideological systems, is a useful, but not a sufficient prerequisite for adequate analyses of ideological concepts. Moreover, its scholarly usefulness is only given, if the speaker of a particular language speaks it consciously and if command of a language is combined with linguistic and philological competence. Attempts by an author whose mother tongue is Tahitian, to analyse a number of key Tahitian religious terms, are dealt with in a critical and ironic way. It is shown that the attempts blatantly fail to fulfil the required linguistic and philological competence. They are only caricatures of scholarly analyses. This kind of would-be scholarship only results in would-be results which never enlighten anyone but dim the light which might have dawned on one or another here and there. Hoc erat demonstrandum.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 2, 148–163
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 last part of the study.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 2, 164–190
Viktor Krupa
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Klemensova 19, 813
64 Bratislava, Slovakia
This paper is an attempt at a preliminary survey of Marquesan verbal particles that mark tense and aspect. They are discussed upon the background of analogous particles in closely related Polynesian languages.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 2, 191–201
Dušan Magdolen
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Klemensova 19, 813
64 Bratislava, Slovakia
The article discusses the question of identity of the ancient Egyptian deity carved into relief on the sundial found at Gezer.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 2, 202–205
Jarmila Drozdíková
Záhrebská 6, 811 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Considerable scholarly as well as popular attention has been concentrated on a tiny segment of the population of Ethiopia, the Judaistic Falashas. Much of this interest is due to sentiments resulting from the Western religious and cultural environment. In the second half of the 19th century the Falashas became the objects of missionary activities, both Protestant and Jewish, the latter trying to introduce them to rabbinical Judaism. Finally recognized as genuine Jews, and having fled their homes in the turmoils of the post-revolutionary Ethiopia, they were transported to Israel where they had to grapple with the complexities of modern Western society.
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 2, 206–222
Asian and African Studies, 8, 1999, 2, 223–232