IHSS Blog 2019-2020

  Leon Hoang Mr. Roddy IHSS 22 September 2020 Social Interaction and Online Gaming When I started playing online games it was because most of my friends did, and not wanting to feel left out, I decided to join up. At first, my sole focus was to be the best at the game and to get better. However, after a while I finally came to the realization that social interaction through gaming is equally or more important than the game itself. In many online multiplayer games, interaction between players through some way, such as voice chat or text chat is essential. Because of that, I have both made and strengthened friendships over the years. Of course solo gaming is possible, but talking to people while playing is the best form of gaming there is. In fact sometimes if you don’t even enjoy the game, playing with others makes it feel like you do. Furthermore, I found evidence to back up my opinion. “ However, social interaction is a strong motive not only for playing multiplayer games, but als...

  Emilio San Vicente  Mr. Roddy HISS 9/21/20 Social meetings   The article that I found has to do with social reasons, especially when a group of people get together for a specific meeting, whether to eat, go to the movies, have a party, etc. This is something that I will go deeply while we go through. Well, some of the observations that I have managed to think of is that people always have meetings for specific reasons. My observations are that most people do this type of meeting with a reason to strengthen their relationship with family or a friend.  I think this point is very important because it can be appreciated when you are in this type of meeting when people talk about topics which express the interest of other people, such as how are you? Another point and the last one is that I found is the interest that people have when they see that they have something in common. This I just verified with this example: When I got to the United States, my family met...

Animal sacrificing is one of the most important rituals in Ancient Greece. These sacrifices helped humans, gods, and animals maintain an appropriate relationship. The Greeks sacrificed certain animals to certain gods depending on their association of the animal to the god. The most commonly sacrificed animals were sheep and goats. They mainly sacrificed the animals to either honor them, thank them, or request a favor from them. I personally feel that sacrificing animals was not the nicest way to thank the gods or ask them for help. Most of the time, the Greeks sacrificed an animal associated with the god. Wouldn't that make the gods angry at you for sacrificing that animal instead of wanting to help you? I think most of the Greeks thought about this which is why sheep and goats were more commonly sacrificed as these animals were not associated with any of the Olympian gods which were given the most sacrifices. On top of that, it must have been really hard to have to clean up the me...

  Miriam (Isabelle) Saxon Mr. Roddy  IHSS September 14, 2020 Muskawama In IHSS class we have been talking a lot about coming of age rituals, however most of the ritals we discuss the ritual I am writing about is a little closer to home. I spend my summers in northern Wisconsin at a camp called Red Pine. It is an all girls sleep away camp. The camp is 78 years old and one of it’s oldest traditions is Muskawama. Muskawama is a day long ceremony that symbolizes the transition from girl to young women. In which you will go through three main ceremonies one at Sunrise, one at Midday, and the last and most important at Sunset. Most people go through it when they're 13 or 14. I went through it last year when I was 14 and my mom went through it at 13 when she was a camper in the 80’ds. Part of the tradition is the mystery surrounding it you don’t get to know what actually happens on Muskawama until you go through it. If you are at the age when you do go through it you are told at the ...

     Bride kidnapping was originally a ritual, then a tradition, and now illegal. It was a ritual surrounding the customs of marriage, where the woman is snatched from the streets and taken away to their captor's family home. there the captor's family will try to convince the "Bride" to wed their son. Authorities recognized this put may young women in danger of domestic violence, rape, and phycological trauma, in 2013 this custom was made illegal. Although made illegal, in rural areas of the country this practice still happens.      In one part of the article, there was a section talking abo ut how women suppressed other women. Many of the cases were not reported or they were retracted because they " fear public shaming for disobedience" and were pressured by other family member s.  Although there are women who might think this way the article also talked about women who don't stand this practice and are finding ways to engage other women in fighting a...

Sara Avalos-Paez Mr.Roddy IHSS 9/12/2020 Dipo Ghana In the Krobos Tribe of Ghana, the coming of age ritual for girls is Dipo. Dipo has changed over the years, because of Christianity, modernization, formal education, and environmental changes. Before Dipo changed the girls had to prepare for a year, this changed because of formal education and teachers did not allow multiple abscesses, it changed to be a few months, to weeks, and now the preparation is for 4 days, with a parade on the fourth day. The preparation for Dipo isn’t the only thing that has changed, some other things that have changed are the age Dipo is performed, the number of people who still do it, and the way that the girls dress during the preparation. Dipo used to be performed by girls who had their first menstrual cycle so that after the ritual they would be ready for marriage and to have sex. If a girl was proven to have a child before the ritual they were punished and banished from the village. The girls that perfo...

  Nora Mayral Boyle Dr. Roddy IHSS 13 September 2020 Cherry Blossom Festival The Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, generally taking place between the months of March and May, is the ancient Japanese celebration and  tradition of viewing the blossoming cherry blossom trees. In Japan it is known as Hanami, which translates to “viewing flowers”. The origins of this festival lies over 1,000 years ago, inspired by the poems of aristocrats describing these blossoming trees. In current-day Japan, Hanami is a big deal. They drink and eat traditional Japanese meals, and often have picnics underneath the sakura(cherry blossom), making the tradition of something special. ‘The” Cherry Blossom Festival is held in Ueno Park, located in Tokyo, the former grounds of the Kaneiji Temple. The pathways of this park are filled with these cherry blossom trees, usually over 1,000 of them. This seems like a beautiful ritual/ceremony to me. I haven’t experienced or been involved in a festival of the...

 Alex Karni IHSS Mr. Roddy September 13, 2020 En docannibalism  is an ancient ritual that involves eating the flesh of a family member or friend who’s passed away. This ritual is not for survival but instead out of respect. In Papua New Guinea, the Fore tribe have passed down this funeral rite over many generations. They believe that by consuming the flesh of the dead that they can absorb the loved one's wisdom through the ritual. Those who participated had to follow certain protocol; for example, a woman had to eat her brother's brain or the hands of her brother-in-law. Depending on which one they choose symbolized a different attribute. Other areas of the world, such as India, were known to do the same ritual in attempt to gain supernatural powers or immortality. Another is the Wari Tribe from the Amazon, which also practiced endocannibalism. From there, the  spirit could become an animal that would provide food for generations to come....

Baptism has been around for a very long time and billions of people have done it. Many people may have many different definitions of Baptism but it basically boils down to a public display that you take Jesus Christ as your lord and savior. Baptism can be done at any age but is most commonly done to babies as they're the first step into the Christian faith. Different denominations of the Christian faith do Baptisms in different and denominations have even split because of how it is performed. The most common is the sprinkling or pouring of Holy Water on the head of the person getting Baptized as a sign of purification, regeneration and admission to the Christian Church and Christian faith. People may also be fully submerged in water symbolizing their old life being buried and the new life being resurrected in the eyes of God. So why do Christians get baptized? There are many different reasons but the main one is that the Bible commands them too. In the book of Mathew (28:19) it say...

 The "Walk About" ritual is an Aboriginal coming of age ceremony.  It is long and difficult to complete; only males practice this ceremony. The ceremony is one that is highly physical. A boy, who is showing the first signs of puberty and going to be soon seen as an adult in the eyes of everyone, will embark on a six month journey. The ritual itself isn't hard to explain. The boy who is entering manhood has to survive with no human contact as he walks about the land for six months. He must do this before he can return to the tribe. This means he will have to find his own water, hunt his own food, and make his own shelter. He leaves with a loin cloth, his knowledge, and spiritual chants. He is suppose to sing these chants as he walks to connect with the spirits that are to guide him. After going through all this after six months, proves that he is strong enough and is eligible to become a man. Showing that can he survive on his own is the whole ritual. If I were to guess th...

Emilio San Vicente Mr. Roddy  IHSS 9/13/20 Temazcal Ritual   Basically the temazcal is a ritual that is still practiced nowadays and also was already practiced by the Mayans when they were a civilization. The temazcal is a steam bath that was used in Mesoamerica for hygienic purposes and to perform therapeutic and spiritual rituals. As a curious fact the Temazcal comes from the Nahuatl word “temazcalli”, whose literal translation would be “sweat house”.    It is said that the Temazcal symbolizes the purification of the soul, the rebirth and the axis of the Universe where the humans get rid of its shells where you can basically close your eyes and imagine that you are in the womb of a woman or that you are in a magic atmosphere where there is only you. When you leave the temazcal is when your sins and everything bad that you have done in your life is forgiven, referring to childbirth. Now the Temazcal itself is a kind of generally round hut that is between t...

  Ariela Kluk Mr. Roddy IHSS 12 September 2020 Mikveh: A Jewish Ceremony A Mikveh is a ritual-bath which takes place before a Jewish wedding. It is a tradition that the bride has this bath, which supposedly cleanses her before the wedding, and brings her peace. Some grooms have begun to follow this tradition and also have a Mikveh. It is supposed to represent their transition from single to married, however, before being able to go to the Mikveh the bride must be at least 7 days without her menstrual cycle, so that she is fully clean before the bath. She also must shower, brush her teeth, clean her hair, take off all jewelry, clean her nails, untangle her hair, clean her ears and then must be checked by a kosher woman to make sure she is completely clean and then she can enter the Mikveh. The bride visits the Mikveh 4 days before her wedding where she can go alone or invite her close family and friends (must be female) to watch her submerge herself into the Mikveh. The Mikveh is fi...

  Leon Hoang Mr. Roddy IHSS 12 September 2020 The Bull Jumping Ceremony I mentioned this specific ritual in class a few weeks before, but I thought it would be interesting to research it further. The tribe in question are called the “Hamar” or “Hamer”. They inhabit the Hamer woreda (Districts of Ethiopia), in a part of the Omo river valley. As well, they raise lots of cattle and are unique because they do not believe in personal land ownership, rather everything is shared.  In preparation for the bull jumping ceremony, the boy is first covered in sand and his head is shaved. It is believed that sand will remove his sins. He is then smeared with animal feces and bark from trees is tied around him in a shape of a cross. I think it’s interesting to see the many meanings of the cross in different religions.  At sunset the boy is stripped of all of his clothes and begins the ritual. The boy then jumps across the cattle several times showing his skill. If he succeeds, he is giv...

  Alex Gross Mr. Roddy IHSS 12 September 2020 Lip Plating Lip plating is a common ritual among the Mursi tribe, which is an Ethnic group located mostly in Southeastern Ethiopia. Lip plating is when a girl or woman gets a cut on her lower lip, and progressively puts a larger and larger wooden cork in the hole. The healing process of making the hole larger and larger takes 3-4 months. Many girls get theirs to 5 inches in diameter and some choose to keep going. After this they insert a decorated plate into the hole and just leave it there. Much of the reasoning behind lip plating is unknown. It is just a tradition in their culture that is now a society norm for the Mursi. Something I found interesting is that there is a surprising similarity between this tradition and some things in Western Culture. The lip plate is not ate all required by the tribe or necessary to be accepted. Despite this, most girls choose to get the lip plating done around ages 15-17 because of the fact that thi...