Fill This Form To Receive Instant Help
Fill This Form To Receive Instant Help
Homework answers / question archive / PHL205: World Religions, Dr
PHL205: World Religions, Dr. Townsend Religious Site Visit Writing Assignment During your visit to a religious site/community, you will be a participant observer, that is, you should participate in the activities of the community (on whatever level you feel comfortable with) and deeply observe your surroundings and what other people are doing and saying, and how they are acting. You should jot down 'scratch notes' (in a small notebook, on your phone, etc.) to remind you of things that you observed, and then—ideally, later on the same day—you should write a short, but rich, descriptive, narrative about your experience. The purpose of this assignment is for you to connect what you’ve been learning in class— through lectures, discussions, and readings—with what you experience in-person in a local religious community. To that end, you should be incorporating terms and ideas that you have learned from the class in writing this paper (when applicable). Your paper should be not less than 3 full pages, double-spaced, in 12 point ‘Times New Roman’ font, with 1 inch margins and only your name as a header. You will turn your paper in through D2L Dropbox. See the syllabus for the due date of your paper based on the date of your site visit. Here are some questions you can use to help you write (you don’t have to answer every single one): • Setting and surroundings: Where is this religious site? Was the building constructed to be a religious site? How does the site fit with its surroundings? What does the outside of the building look like? What does the inside of the building look like? How are the inside and outside made to look or function like a religious site? • What Ritual activities were happening during your visit? What did you see religious people doing? Are certain scriptures recited? How did people act/conduct themselves? • Use your senses: How are images and symbols employed? How is sound used? Smell? Taste? Touch? Are religious narratives enacted physically or visually? • What are the demographics of this site? What kind of people visit this site? Are people divided into groups in any way? Are there ways that differences in gender, age, class and ethnicity are particularly evident? How are people dressed? Who are the religious ‘specialists’ or ‘experts’ here (i.e. priests, monks, etc.)? What are they doing? • Based on what you have learned about the religion of the site you visited, were the site itself and the activities at the site what you expected? What surprised you (if anything)? What was it that most interested you or caught your attention during your visit? Why? Be mindful that the plagiarism policy of the course syllabus applies to this and all written assignments in the class. You do not need to consult internet sources or any other outside sources. The assignment is to write a paper that demonstrates your writing skills through analyzing and interpreting your own direct observations at a religious site in light of your knowledge from the class. An 'A' paper will be very well written (spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc. count), demonstrate thoughtful engagement with the site visit, and make relevant connections with the class. PHL 205 Virtual Sites links Encyclopedia Britannica: Kumbh Mela Wikipedia: Kumbh Mela PBS Sacred Journeys: Kumbh Mela Emic Documentary on the Kumbh Mela Interviews at the Kumbh Mela
Religious Site Visit
• Setting and surroundings:
The religious site I visited is in Norwalk, where I attended the Kumbh Mela at Excelsior Grounds at Norwalk held on April 1 to 30, 2021. The site is definitely constructed to be a religious place as it has a temple and a river where religious acts and rituals occur. The site fits with its surroundings because it has an extensive field where most of the rituals and religious practices occur. The outside of the major building for the religious function is a well-maintained field, the Excelsior Grounds. The inside of the building is fairly decorated with images of Amrita and other goddesses. Amrita is primarily the main deity celebrated in the event as it offers humans immortality and long life. The inside is designed like a religious site because it has several carvings and sculptures of gods and goddesses. These elements display the religious foundation and deities in Hinduism.
• Ritual activities:
One of the rituals conducted during the religious event is bathing. The congregants bath in flowing river water as a form of cleansing for their sins and challenges in life. The bathing can also be substituted with a dip in river water. The bathing is usually accompanied with prayer, where congregants offer prayers to their god. It is also worth noting that congregants remove most of their clothing, only remaining with a small sheath of cloth to cover the most critical parts of their bodies. The congregants also engage in a long marching procession that culminates in the bathing ritual. During the march, congregants carry around symbols of deities such as Dattatreya, Ganesha, Hanuman among others. It is worth noting that some of the congregants also smear themselves with ashes known as bhasma. The congregants also move with flags, banners, horses, and elephants along the procession. One of the notable acts was that monks led the procession before other visitors and congregants entered the water for the commencement of the bathing ritual. Another notable act during the religious event was shaving of the head known as mundan.
The congregants also offer flowers, coconut, and milk. I was lucky to note that the bathing was most recommended for individuals that have sinned and need cleansing and forgiveness. It is worth noting that people were generally calm and composed throughout the procession and bathing sessions. Another ritual practice that was evident during the religious event was fasting. Most pilgrims to the event only ate one meal the whole day as part of adherence to vrata, whereas some practiced full vrata that requires complete fasting from morning to evening. The congregants also shared a community meal as a sign of togetherness in a ritual known as mahaprasada. It is worth noting that most of the meals during the religious events are by charitable donations and the event is purely vegetarian.
• Use your senses:
The congregants employed the use of symbols of various gods and goddesses as a form of honoring them. Individuals carried symbols of gods and goddesses of the deities they revered most or the ones they sought blessings or favors from. Sound is mostly used during singing –kirtan, as well as recitation of prayers, where each congregant engages in personal prayer according to their special need. Smell and taste were not actively used during the religious activity. However, touch was used in the celebration because congregants needed to smear themselves with ash and running water as a form of cleansing from their sins and suffering. It is worth noting that religious narratives were mainly enacted physically. This is because congregants needed to engage in physical activities as part of the process of renewal and healing. After bathing, the congregants engage in religious discussions to reaffirm their faith and religious convocation. The religious discussions are called Shastrartha.
• Demographics of this site
Monks, sadhus – who are the religious leaders and pilgrims, are the frequent visitors to the site. People are divided into groups with sadhus and monks taking the lead in the procession and bathing sessions. Women and children are also separated into their own categories. Gender is a major dividing factor in the congregation since men and women proceed in different zones of the river for bathing. Men and women also occupy different processions during matching. Age, class, and ethnicity did not influence the categorization or engagement in the event since all people lined up in the procession irrespective of their age, class, and ethnic background. People were dressed partly, with most individuals covering only the most critical parts of the bodies. The specialists during the religious event are sadhus. They are responsible for leading the congregation throughout the procession, in singing, as well as in bathing rituals. They are the guide and lead people in the event. The sadhus also help congregants to shave their hair as art of the renewal exercise.
• Based on what you have learned about the religion of the site you visited,
An evaluation of the religious events at Excelsior Grounds and comparing with information obtained from class readings, it is evident that the activities at the site are exactly as I expected. The congregants marched in procession, recited prayers, bathed in the river, and shaved their heads as I anticipated. What surprised me the most was the reliance on vegetarian meals, a fact I had not encountered during class readings and in historical books. It was also surprising to note that some individuals engaged in complete fast during the event. The most interesting ritual during my visit was head shaving, which I did not know thrived on complete removal of all hairs on the head. Congregants entered the shaving chamber full of lengthy hair and left the chamber as bald men and women. It was a thrilling and exciting to see that beautiful women entered the shaving chamber and left as bald. It was fascinating to note that although most women and girls strive to keep long and well-groomed hair, they easily gave up their lengthy hair during the religious event.
