Coming home after giving a lecture on ritual and theatre in shamanistic and priestly religions for my World Dance/Local Identity class being concurrently taught via the internet for both Latvian Academy of Culture and Idaho State University State students, Jo noted that the individual petals of the fake flower lei hanging off the mirror in the entry way closet each had crosses printed upon them. Imagining that we had stumbled across a bizarre recruitment activity for some fringe cult that appropriated the outward aspects of the most well known Hawaiian expression of welcome in an attempt to make use of the Baltic idealization of the tropical islands as a holiday destination, I quickly got out the trusty Pentax point-and-shoot to record this phenomena. | Upon closer examination (with my reading glasses on this time) I noted that the symbology was of an elk stag with a glowing cross floating between his antlers. Excited that this must be something of a truly arcane spiritual nature I quickly consulted the fount of all knowledge - Google - I found that yes, indeed, this symbol had obscure religious significance; the two Christian patron saints of hunters, Saint Hubertus and Saint Eustace, both of whom converted to Christianity after experiencing a vision in which they saw a Christian cross between the antlers of a stag. The lei must be an artifact from a shamanic ritual where participants enter liminal states through rhythmic music, dance and massive quantities of Jägermeister! |
Speaking of religious organizations within the Christian world that we have a passing but incomplete knowledge of, the book shelf in our living room has about twenty books in Latvian or Russian. There was one English language tome - The Book of Mormon. We have put it in a drawer as having it in the shelves made the apartment fill a bit like any hotel room in Idaho Falls.
Walking along we saw two well-dressed young men walking side-by-side asking each person they passed a question which was politely declined. Speeding up, we passed them and, sure enough, the two young elders were wearing LDS name badges. I wonder, do the Missionaries sent to Idaho or Utah feel a little cheated compared to their peers who get to go to foreign cities....
Walking along we saw two well-dressed young men walking side-by-side asking each person they passed a question which was politely declined. Speeding up, we passed them and, sure enough, the two young elders were wearing LDS name badges. I wonder, do the Missionaries sent to Idaho or Utah feel a little cheated compared to their peers who get to go to foreign cities....
There are wonderful art nouveau buildings throughout the Centre District, not just in the Quiet Centre District. I was unable to get a good shot of the incredible dragons roosting atop of this building but Jo pointed out this delightful chubby bat supporting a column. This grand building features a sun tanning studio, with windows looking like the roadside altars in Italy. |