Smells and Bells

When JBK asked us what our favorite scent was in class, I responded with “smell”, because I can definitely appreciate a good scent. But after giving it some more thought, I think that the combination of sight and touch is what grounds me, and makes me the most calm. The idea of going into a sensory deprivation chamber totally freaks me out! I’d be scared that I would literally lose *touch* with reality. In the third chapter of The Deepest Sense by Constance Classen, Painful Times , Classen explains how blindness due to disease, malnutrition or accident was not uncommon in the middle ages (Classen 51). She also explains that a few blind individuals from this time became renowned craftsmen, their sense of touch heightened by relying on senses other than sight. Unfortunately, many blind people from this time were hired on construction sites as tradewheel operators, since they would not be scared by the sight of the sheer drop that was below them. This was a very dangerous job as the whee...

It was deeply interesting and upsetting to learn through Diana Eck that before the early 20th century, the common reaction of Westerners to Hindu idols was repugnance. The amount of effort and intention that goes into creating the massive and elaborate idols, in my opinion, deserves to be respected and appreciated. Moreover, what Hindus choose to do with the idols they created, should be entirely up to them. Eck explains that over a hundred years ago, most Westerners had a “biblical mindset”. They thought that idolatry was worshipping a created thing rather than worshipping the creator. I guess I thought that this was kind of silly, because if they had educated themselves on the perspective of the Hindus, then they would know that the idols were only meant to be temporary representations of their deities, and they did not consider it disrespectful to dispose of these creations after they served their purpose. I had no idea how big a role idols and representations of holy religious b...

  Anne Rasmussen's Women, the Recited Qur'an, and Islamic Music in Indonesia Courtesy: University of California Press      Through reading Anne Rasmussen's Women, the Recited Qur'an, and Islamic Music in Indonesia I was really fascinated by the differences in Qur’an recitation cross-culturally. Learning about the significance of Indigenous Indonesian styles of music and Arabic poetry traditions was certainly eye-opening. The way that the Qur’an is used and honored by Muslim people are vast, complex, intimate yet public.       A very damaging misconception about Islam is that women are not allowed to participate in activities or express themselves in any way. While it is unfortunately true that many Muslim women are subject to abuse and control, this absolutely does not automatically apply to all Islamic communities. The Indonesian Islamic songs sung by women that we listened to in class, particularly Al-Quran, were inspiring, emotive and empoweri...

Image Courtesy: https://ashepamicuba.com/en/que-son-los-orishas/ Elizabeth Peréz’s Religion in the Kitchen opened my eyes to a culture I was unfamiliar with, and I was amazed by what I learned. I knew very little about Black Atlantic religions, and I felt that this book, with it’s rich descriptions of the kitchen as a place of religious practice, the preparation and use for the food, and the roles and micropractices of everyone involved, was an excellent and thorough introduction to Lucumí culture (as thorough as can be without actually going to Chicago and breathing it all in). At times I was surprised by the intensity, attention to detail, social hierarchies and traditions that were associated with the food prepared for the orishas and other members of Ilé Laroye. I think this is because I was not raised in a particularly religious environment, and as a child I rarely ever thanked God or a high power for a meal. In my house, food was mainly just cooked for necessity, and only fo...

  CW: Accidental death. Mira and her two cats, Keko and Cuddles Before reading Deborah Green’s The Aroma of Righteousness , I was really excited to learn about the different scents mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and what they were associated with. I hadn’t realized the rich, religious histories behind, and uses for, some of my favorite scents: myrrh, frankincense, balsam, rose, flowers, etc. Amanda’s post on Green’s analysis of women and smell in Rabbinic texts definitely inspired me to think about the highly debated “scent of women”. My best friend Mira lives in a house with her mom and grandmother, two lady cats and a female yorkie terrier named Bella. I have spent a lot of time at this house filled with ladies and the scent of their perfume, cigarette smoke, candles, nail polish, incense, shampoo, lotion, and food on the stove. Mira’s Nana smokes Winston Reds inside, and it makes its way into everything in every room of the house. It’s faint, but it’s her signature touch! When I ...

  Courtesy: iStock The Smoke Ghost. October 2018 Ever since I was little, I have always enjoyed watching movies and TV shows and reading books about paranormal phenomena. For one of my birthdays as a kid, I got a book all about New England ghost stories, and was obsessed with looking at the creepiest, grittiest photos that it featured. Jeffrey Kripal’s chapter from Authors of the Impossible included just the sorts of stories, theories and concepts that I obsessed over as a child. I was really intrigued by the idea that there is more to our world than what we see every day, and especially intrigued by those who frequently experience the paranormal.  Haunted New England by Charles G. Waugh.  Published: Yankee Books, 1988 I’ll come out and say it: I was and still am a believer!! I have heard stories from loved ones (who I consider to be reliable narrators) that send shivers up my spine, and while I haven’t seen a ghost or alien right in front of me (as far as I know), I hav...

Before reading the first chapter of Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses , I hadn’t given much thought to the history of the sense of smell, the thousands of scents that we can smell, and the lasting impression they leave on us. Ackerman describes tagging butterflies in California, and smelling fragrant eucalyptus trees in the forest around her. It transported her back to her childhood, when her mother would rub Vick’s vapor rub on her chest. It amazes me how scents stand the test of time for decades. My sophomore year, pre-COVID, I let a girl drink out of my water bottle. I was very embarrassed when she exclaimed “Your water bottle smells like the penguin ride at Story Land!”. I was grossed out, but she seemed nostalgic. I hope she meant plastic-y, but I still have no idea what she meant.  I love smells, and reading about smells, so this chapter was definitely a treat. Years ago, I read a book set in the 1950s called The Coldest Night by Robert Olmstead. There was a sc...