Sandalwood and Carrion

Sandalwood and Carrion PDF Author: James McHugh
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199916322
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
James McHugh offers the first comprehensive examination of the concepts and practices related to smell in pre-modern India. Drawing on a wide range of textual sources, from poetry to medical texts, he shows the deeply significant religious and cultural role of smell in India throughout the first millennium CE. McHugh describes sophisticated arts of perfumery, developed in temples, monasteries, and courts, which resulted in worldwide ocean trade. He shows that various religious discourses on the purpose of life emphasized the pleasures of the senses, including olfactory experience, as a valid end in themselves. Fragrances and stenches were analogous to certain values, aesthetic or ethical, and in a system where karmic results often had a sensory impact-where evil literally stank-the ethical and aesthetic became difficult to distinguish. Sandalwood and Carrion explores smell in pre-modern India from many perspectives, covering such topics as philosophical accounts of smell perception, odors in literature, the history of perfumery in India, the significance of sandalwood in Buddhism, and the divine offering of perfume to the gods.

Sandalwood and Carrion

Sandalwood and Carrion PDF Author: James McHugh
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199916322
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345

Get Book Here

Book Description
James McHugh offers the first comprehensive examination of the concepts and practices related to smell in pre-modern India. Drawing on a wide range of textual sources, from poetry to medical texts, he shows the deeply significant religious and cultural role of smell in India throughout the first millennium CE. McHugh describes sophisticated arts of perfumery, developed in temples, monasteries, and courts, which resulted in worldwide ocean trade. He shows that various religious discourses on the purpose of life emphasized the pleasures of the senses, including olfactory experience, as a valid end in themselves. Fragrances and stenches were analogous to certain values, aesthetic or ethical, and in a system where karmic results often had a sensory impact-where evil literally stank-the ethical and aesthetic became difficult to distinguish. Sandalwood and Carrion explores smell in pre-modern India from many perspectives, covering such topics as philosophical accounts of smell perception, odors in literature, the history of perfumery in India, the significance of sandalwood in Buddhism, and the divine offering of perfume to the gods.

An Unholy Brew

An Unholy Brew PDF Author: James McHugh
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199375933
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
Books about the global history of alcohol almost never give attention to India. But a wide range of texts provide plenty of evidence that there was a thriving culture of drinking in ancient and medieval India, from public carousing at the brewery and drinking house to imbibing at festivals andweddings. There was also an elite drinking culture depicted in poetic texts (often in an erotic mode), and medical texts explain how to balance drink and health. Not everyone drank, however, and there were sophisticated religious arguments for abstinence.The first book on alcohol in pre-modern India, An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian Religion and History uses a wide range of sources from the Vedas to the Kamasutra to explore drinks and styles of drinking, as well as rationales for abstinence from the earliest Sanskrit written records through thesecond millennium CE. McHugh begins by surveying the intoxicating drinks that were available, including grain beers, palm toddy, and imported wine, detailing the ways people used grains, sugars, fruits, and herbs over the centuries to produce an impressive array of liquors. He outlines myths andepics that explain how drink came into being and how it was assigned the ritual and legal status it has in our time. The book also explores Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain moral and legal texts on drink and abstinence, as well as how drink is used in some Tantric rituals, and translates in full a detaileddescription of the goddess Liquor, Sura, Cannabis, betel, soma, and opium are also considered. Finally, McHugh investigates what has happened to these drinks, stories, and theories in the last few centuries.An Unholy Brew brings to life the overlooked, complex world of brewing, drinking, and abstaining in pre-modern India, and offers illuminating case studies on topics such as law and medicine, even providing recipes for some drinks.

Indian Sandalwood

Indian Sandalwood PDF Author: A. N. Arunkumar
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811665656
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 542

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Book Description
i="" This book provides a global perspective of Indian Sandalwood categorized as ‘Vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It deals with history, distribution, propagation, chemistry, utilization, improvement, trade, and conservation in the present context. This book explores ways and means for restoring its past glory by creating awareness for its conservation and sustainable utilization. The content encompasses informative tables, appropriate graphs and figures, and illustrations with photographs and line drawings. This compendium would be useful for foresters, forestry professionals, botanists, policymakers, conservationists, NGOs, and researchers in the academia and the industry sectors.

Homemade Perfume

Homemade Perfume PDF Author: Anya McCoy
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
ISBN: 1624145868
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
Create Custom Perfumes the Natural Way This unprecedented, comprehensive guide from renowned perfumer Anya McCoy is an inspiring resource for anyone interested in creating artisanal perfume at home. Discover simple step-by-step methods for making perfume without harsh chemicals. Jump right in, using local plants and common household ingredients. Soon you’ll be building your own scent collection and creating unforgettable gifts for friends and family. This book covers a variety of techniques for capturing fragrances from natural materials, making it easy to choose the project that works for your schedule and experience level. Source your own organically grown botanicals, and enjoy the earth-friendly benefits of creating your own essential oils and extractions sustainably. Make your own all-natural perfumes, room and linen sprays, body butters, massage oils, and more. Explore the nuances of scent blending to create delightful fragrances that are unique to you. Packed with easy methods and expert guidance, this book will become an indispensable reference as you grow into a confident scent designer.

The Sense of Smell in the Middle Ages

The Sense of Smell in the Middle Ages PDF Author: Katelynn Robinson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042981593X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
Odors, including those of incense, spices, cooking, and refuse, were both ubiquitous and meaningful in central and late medieval Western Europe. The significance of the sense of smell is evident in scholastic Latin texts, most of which are untranslated and unedited by modern scholars. Between the late eleventh and thirteenth century, medieval scholars developed a logical theory of the workings of the sense of smell based on Greek and Arabic learning. In the thirteenth through fifteenth century, medical authors detailed practical applications of smell theory and these were communicated to individuals and governing authorities by the medical profession in the interests of personal and public health. At the same time, religious authors read philosophical and medical texts and gave their information religious meaning. This reinterpretation of scholastic philosophy and medicine led to the development of what can be termed a medically aware theology of smell that was communicated to popular audiences alongside traditional olfactory theory in sermons. Its impact on popular thought is reflected in late medieval mystical texts. While the senses have received increasing scholarly attention in recent decades, this volume presents the first detailed research into the sense of smell in the later European Middle Ages.

Sandalwood and Carrion

Sandalwood and Carrion PDF Author: James McHugh
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780199980260
Category : India
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
James McHugh offers the first comprehensive examination of the concepts and practices related to smell in pre-modern India. Drawing on a wide range of textual sources, from poetry to medical texts, he shows the deeply significant religious and cultural role of smell in India throughout the first millennium CE.

Sacred Space, Sacred Thread

Sacred Space, Sacred Thread PDF Author: John W. Welch
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532635249
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
The insightful studies contained in this book will be of significant value to anyone interested in experiencing more deeply the intersections between materiality and spirituality. Part 1 introduces readers into Egyptian, Israelite, Christian, and Hindu temples, shrines, or sanctuaries. Part 2 helps readers understand how items of colored fabrics, clothing, robes, and veils, convey ritual meanings. Part 3 reports two panel discussions that exemplify the pathway of fruitful conversation. Matter and spirit might seem to some to be polar opposites. But as these studies by distinguished and diverse scholars demonstrate, spiritual experiences are constructively defined and refined within the coordinates of place and time. Sacred space, as well as sacred cloth, define borders, but not necessarily boundaries, between the sacred and the profane. These material coordinates physically enclose and also spiritually disclose. They both symbolize and synergize, as they encompass and expansively inspire. These original and enjoyable presentations will help all readers to hold tenaciously to the tenets and also the tensions inherent in physical spiritual experiences.

The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in HIstorical Outline

The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in HIstorical Outline PDF Author: D D Kosambi
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000653471
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
First published in 1965, The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline is a strikingly original work, the first real cultural history of India. The main features of the Indian character are traced back into remote antiquity as the natural outgrowth of historical process. Did the change from food gathering and the pastoral life to agriculture make new religions necessary? Why did the Indian cities vanish with hardly a trace and leave no memory? Who were the Aryans – if any? Why should Buddhism, Jainism, and so many other sects of the same type come into being at one time and in the same region? How could Buddhism spread over so large a part of Asia while dying out completely in the land of its origin? What caused the rise and collapse of the Magadhan empire; was the Gupta empire fundamentally different from its great predecessor, or just one more ‘oriental despotism’? These are some of the many questions handled with great insight, yet in the simplest terms, in this stimulating work. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology, archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies, South Asian studies and ethnic studies.

Art Scents

Art Scents PDF Author: Larry Shiner
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190089822
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
Although the arts of incense and perfume making are among the oldest of human cultural practices, it is only in the last two decades that the use of odors in the creation of art has begun to attract attention under the rubrics of 'olfactory art' or 'scent art.' Contemporary olfactory art ranges from gallery and museum installations and the use of scents in music, film, and drama, to the ambient scenting of stores and the use of scents in cuisine. All these practices raise aesthetic and ethical issues, but there is a long-standing philosophical tradition, most notably articulated in the work of Kant and Hegel, which argues that the sense of smell lacks the cognitive capacity to be a vehicle for either serious art or reflective aesthetic experience. This neglect and denigration of the aesthetic potential of smell was further reinforced by Darwin's and Freud's views of the human sense of smell as a near useless evolutionary vestige. Smell has thus been widely neglected within the philosophy of art. Larry Shiner's wide-ranging book counters this tendency, aiming to reinvigorate an interest in smell as an aesthetic experience. He begins by countering the classic arguments against the aesthetic potential of smell with both philosophical arguments and evidence from neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, history, linguistics, and literature. He then draws on this empirical evidence to explore the range of aesthetic issues that arise in each of the major areas of the olfactory arts, whether those issues arise from the use of scents with theater and music, sculpture and installation, architecture and urban design, or avant-garde cuisine. Shiner gives special attention to the art status of perfumes and to the ethical issues that arise from scenting the body, the ambient scenting of buildings, and the use of scents in fast food. Shiner's book provides both philosophers and other academic readers with not only a comprehensive overview of the aesthetic issues raised by the emergence of the olfactory arts, but also shows the way forward for further studies of the aesthetics of smell.

The Shadow Saint

The Shadow Saint PDF Author: Gareth Hanrahan
Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 0316525340
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 597

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Book Description
Thieves, dangerous magic, and a weapon built with the power to destroy a god clash in this second novel of Gareth Hanrahan's acclaimed epic fantasy series, The Black Iron Legacy. "This is genre-defying fantasy at its very best... Insanely inventive and deeply twisted" (Michael R. Fletcher). Enter a city of spires and shadows . . . The Gutter Miracle changed the landscape of Guerdon forever. Six months after it was conjured into being, the labyrinthine New City has become a haven for criminals and refugees. Rumors have spread of a devastating new weapon buried beneath the streets - a weapon with the power to destroy a god. As Guerdon strives to remain neutral, two of the most powerful factions in the godswar send agents into the city to find it. As tensions escalate and armies gather at the borders, how long will Guerdon be able to keep its enemies at bay? "A groundbreaking and extraordinary novel . . . Hanrahan has an astonishing imagination" (Peter McLean). The Shadow Saint continues the gripping tale of dark gods and dangerous magic that began with Hanrahan's acclaimed debut The Gutter Prayer.