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Unit Two Web Resources

links verified Feb 14, 2005

Myth, Oral Tradition and Folklore

	Myths and Legends One of the largest and most complete links collections for this topic.
	Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman University of Pittsburgh

Native American Spirituality

	Native American Spirituality Resources at the University of Florida
	Native American Resources at Rutgers
	Native American Sacred Texts and Legends
	Ailanto: Native Americans Large links collection

African and African-Influenced Religion

	African Sacred Texts and Legends
	Yoruba Myth and Pantheon (Nigeria) National University of Singapore's Postcolonial Web  (More material on Nigerian religion)

The Dogon people are animists with Muslim influence.  Their isolated, cliff-dwelling lifestyle was developed as a defense and escape from the Islamic culture.  Now they use these old cliff dwellings for the burial of their dead.  

	Outstanding photographic portrayal of the Dogon.  (also of Niger and Lobi) If you go to one website on this entire page, go here.  It is large, beautiful and shows the geography, architecture and people.   By Huib Blom of Switzerland.
	Dan Heller's Photographs of Mali (Dogon) and other nearby parts of West Africa.
	Dogon at Encyclopedia Britannica
	Dogon blacksmiths.  (good site for images of modern Dogon people).  Dogon domestic architecture.
	Dogon funeral: Written in the style of an oral story, at the WorldTrek.org "The Odyssey" site.
	Dogon Funeral Music--the Dogon people.  Informative essay.  From the web site of Wesleyan University's Anthony Braxton--trans-African ethnomusicologist/musician.

 

	Dogon people and Dogon Theory of Creation: this page is belongs to a New Age therapist.  The information about the Dogon people is common "knowledge" in Neopagan and Afrocentrist circles.  It is perhaps most interesting in light of the multicultural (eclectic), sci-fi Gnostic discourse in the New Age movement.  The idea has been thoroughly debunked by Carl Sagan and others. One of the strongest evidences against the extraterrestrial theory is the fact that the Dogon myth involved a 1920's vintage cosmological error, which it seems unlikely that extraterrestrials would make.  In other words, the story probably has human origins.
	Voudou, Santería, Lucumí links--wide variety of sites, some good, some bad.
	Vodou: Mambo Racine Sans Bout Good site on Haitian Voodoo (non-academic, so watch out)

Some Primal Religions not Covered in Chapter Two

Australian Aborigine

	Australian Aborigine Sacred Folktales/myths

Shamanism

	Introductory essays at "Sacred Texts"
	Summary of Eliades' Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Start with this page, scroll to bottom, then select "next summary" to proceed through the text. University of Michigan
	Hmong Shamanic traditional religion
	Bon-Po shamans of Tibet
	Ailanto: Native Americans Large links collection
	Schizophrenia & Shamanism a rather unusual site maintained by a self-proclaimed schizophrenic. Useful resources for mental illness, in particular, alternative perspectives thereon.
	Paleolithic Cave Paintings at "Sacred Texts"

Europe

Legends and Sagas (Celtic, Teutonic, Icelandic, Spanish, etc.)

Ancient Near East: Mesopotamia

	Rutgers University Resources on Ancient Near East
	Mesopotamian Religion Resources at Rutgers
	Fordham University's Mesopotamian resources at Paul Halsall's most excellent Internet History Sourcebooks Project
	Sacred Texts of Ancient Mesopotamia
	Gateways to Babylon on Ancient Mesopotamia

Egypt

	Egyptian Sacred Texts
	The Egyptian Book of the Dead EAW Budge translation   Neil Parker translation
	Egyptian Religion Resources at Rutgers
	Egyptology Resources--resources for Ancient Egypt Cambridge University
	Egyptian gods--non scholarly, but provides a great list to get started.
	Splendors of Ancient Egypt  Museum exhibition
	Cleopatra a non-academic biography and history provided by Egyptian travel agency.
	Monuments in Egypt (images and text)
	Image of a Coptic magical papyrus at the Duke University Papyrus archive.  Excellent close-up image of the material upon which the Egyptians wrote.  The ink is probably made from soot (lampblack).

examples of Modern Egyptian occultism

These sites should not be considered appropriate for presentation of Egyptian religion.  I have provided them to give examples of what sorts of materials not to use, and to give examples of Egyptian religion continues to influence people in modern times.  These might be useful for Unit 6 presentations.

	Kemet.org
	Egyptian Religion at Hermetic Fellowship--many links
	Akhet Home Page

Greece and Rome

	Rutgers University Resources on Greece and Rome
	Sacred Texts of Classical Paganism (Greece and Rome)
	Perseus Tufts digital library of Greek & Roman documents.  Outstanding resource (Homer to Plato & Hesiod to Cicero, Ovid.  Links also to art museums on-line.)
	Theogony of Hesiod (primary text of Greek religion)
	St. Augustine's Confessions (HTML or pdf format) While he is an important philosopher of early Christianity, this book tells the story of his intellectual journeys through most all of the dominant religions of the late Classical period before finally converting to Christianity.  Highly recommended reading.  Likewise, other early Christian figures left interesting comments on the pagan traditions of their times.  Perhaps one of the most picturesque is Clement of Alexandria's Exhortation to the Greeks.  He gives many descriptions of popular pagan religions in Greece and Egypt during this nascent period of Christian religion.  For a bio of Clement, click here.