Tara
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Tara is the most important female bodhisattva, particularly in Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia where Vajrayana Buddhism is practiced. She is the consort of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and like him is a bodhisattva of compassion. Tara has two main forms: Syamatara (Green Tara) and Sitatara (White Tara). In all her forms, Tara is a maternal and merciful figure who brings prosperity and happiness.
Avalokiteshvara
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Avalokiteshvara is one of the most popular bodhisattvas, as he is a great compassionate and merciful being who saves people from suffering and misery. He resides in a transcendent paradise and enters the world to rescue living beings from their difficulties and guide them to paradise where they can readily gain enlightenment.
Maitreya
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Maitreya (“the friendly one”) is the Buddha of the Future, who is thought to reveal the completion of the Buddha’s teaching 5,000 years after Siddhartha Gautama. He will be reborn from the Tushita heaven, in which he currently dwells, to usher in an age of peace and prosperity.
Maitreya highlights the cyclical world view held by Buddhists.
Roman Sarcophagi
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Like portrait sculpture, the popularity of carved marble sarcophagi for burials in the Roman Empire reflected religious beliefs. The Romans of the Republican Period burnt their dead and buried the ashes in urns, which were left in family tombs.
Datu
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Traditionally, aside from the rajas or kings, the most important persons in Batak society (of northern Sumatra) were the datu or priest-magicians. Persons of powerful personae and spiritual insight would seek to undergo rigorous training to become a datu.
A Wider Worldview in Traditional Indonesian Cultures
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Everywhere in Indonesia, but most especially in the west, one encounters a consistent worldview. The cosmos is made up of a middle realm in which we live, and above and below it an upper world and an underworld, both realms inhabited by gods, spirits, and demonic creatures.
Manjushri
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Manjushri is the bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom (prajna). He is mentioned in early Mahayana texts and is thought to be the oldest bodhisattva. Manjushri is typically depicted carrying a sword to cut ignorance and a Buddhist sutra. At times he carries a lotus. Manjushri is often shown riding a lion, highlighting his fearlessness and nobility.
Women's Art Making in Timorese Cultures
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Textile production on Timor—along with pottery and basketry (often combined with beading)—was preeminently a female occupation. From an early age, girls would start weaving textiles that were used for all sorts of purposes.
Men's Art Making in Timorese Cultures
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Throughout Timor, the crafting of containers and ritual implements, the construction of houses and their architectural environs, the carving of ancestor statues, and the making of weapons were typically male endeavors. Aesthetically comparable to the most accomplished textiles, which were preeminently produced by women, are the beautifully decorated containers used for storing stimulants such as tobacco and betel,
Traditional Arts in Timorese Cultures
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In the past, ethnological fieldwork on Timor has been carried out only on a very small scale, and field research into the material culture has been extremely scarce. Earliest information comes from colonial civil servants in Dutch territory and also from Dutch missionary workers. Missionary and ethnologist Dr. B. A. G. Vroklage made the first outstanding contributions in his fieldwork and publications.