191-521: John Michael Safran ( Hebrew : יְהוֹשֻׁעַ ספרן , Yehoshua Safran ; born 13 August 1972) is an Australian radio personality, satirist, documentary maker and author, known for combining humour with religious, political and ethnic issues. First gaining fame appearing in Race Around the World in 1997, Safran went on to produce a series of documentaries, television shows and host radio programs. Safran
382-417: A lwa . The oungan and manbo conduct initiatory ceremonies whereby people become ounsi , oversee their training, and act as their counsellor, healer, and protector. In turn, the ounsi are expected to be obedient to their oungan or manbo . One of the ounsi becomes the hungenikon or reine-chanterelle , the mistress of the choir. They are responsible for overseeing
573-414: A prèt Vodou ("Vodou priest"). Priestesses are termed manbo , alternatively spelled mambo . Oungan numerically dominate in rural Haiti, while there is a more equitable balance of priests and priestesses in urban areas. The oungan and manbo are tasked with organising liturgies, preparing initiations, offering consultations with clients using divination, and preparing remedies for
764-457: A sosyete soutyen ( société soutien , support society), through which subscriptions are paid to help maintain the ounfò and organize the major religious feasts. Another ritual figure sometimes present is the prèt savann ("bush priest"), a man with a knowledge of Latin who is capable of administering Catholic baptisms, weddings, and the last rites , and who is willing to perform these at Vodou ceremonies. In rural areas especially,
955-721: A "neo-African religion", and Markel Thylefors called it an "Afro-Latin American religion". Several other African diasporic religions found in the Americas formed in a similar way, and owing to their shared origins in West African traditional religion, Vodou has been characterized as a "sister religion" of Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé . Vodou has no central institutional authority, no single leader, and no developed body of doctrine . It thus has no orthodoxy , no central liturgy, and no formal creed. Developing over
1146-728: A Catholic priest who was featured in John Safran vs God . The 12-part series broadcast on SBS Television and began on 7 November 2005. Safran spent portions of 2007 in Los Angeles shooting a pilot entitled John Safran Saves America for American MTV in which he tried to convince emos to fight in Iraq, visited therapists who claim they can cure people of racism, and attempted to become gay to increase his standing in Hollywood. Safran stated in an interview that he had not heard back from
1337-685: A Hebrew form. Medieval Hebrew added 6421 words to (Modern) Hebrew. The approximate number of new lexical items in Israeli is 17,000 (cf. 14,762 in Even-Shoshan 1970 [...]). With the inclusion of foreign and technical terms [...], the total number of Israeli words, including words of biblical, rabbinic and medieval descent, is more than 60,000. In Israel, Modern Hebrew is currently taught in institutions called Ulpanim (singular: Ulpan). There are government-owned, as well as private, Ulpanim offering online courses and face-to-face programs. Modern Hebrew
1528-522: A black sombrero, and in another by a statue of Star Wars -character Darth Vader . In Port-au-Prince, it is common for Vodouists to include human skulls on their altar for the Gede. In ounfòs where both Rada and Petwo deities are worshipped, their altars are kept separate. Various spaces other than the temple are used for Vodou ritual. Cemeteries are seen as places where spirits reside, making them suitable for certain rituals, especially to approach
1719-595: A century ago, was fluent enough in this idiom to be able to follow the Mishna Berurah without any trouble." Hebrew has been revived several times as a literary language, most significantly by the Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement of early and mid-19th-century Germany. In the early 19th century, a form of spoken Hebrew had emerged in the markets of Jerusalem between Jews of different linguistic backgrounds to communicate for commercial purposes. This Hebrew dialect
1910-500: A congregation may consist of an extended family. Here, the priest will often be the patriarch of that family. Families, particularly in rural areas, often believe that through their zansèt (ancestors) they are tied to a premye mèt bitasyon (original founder); their descent from this figure is seen as giving them their inheritance both of the land and of familial spirits. In other examples, particularly in urban areas, an ounfò can act as an initiatory family. A priest becomes
2101-595: A copywriter for Mazda , Village Roadshow and Sea World , where he wrote the company's jingle. During his final year in high school, Safran formed the hip-hop group Raspberry Cordial with his friend Chris Lumsden. They played to some success, receiving high rotation airplay on the city's community radio, playing many gigs in Melbourne and coming second in the RMIT Battle of the Bands competition. After winning
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#17327938578272292-661: A corollary Hebrew ceased to function as a spoken language around the same time. Moshe Zvi Segal , Joseph Klausner and Ben Yehuda are notable exceptions to this view. During the latter half of the 20th century, accumulating archaeological evidence and especially linguistic analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls has disproven that view. The Dead Sea Scrolls, uncovered in 1946–1948 near Qumran revealed ancient Jewish texts overwhelmingly in Hebrew, not Aramaic. The Qumran scrolls indicate that Hebrew texts were readily understandable to
2483-679: A curse, previously placed on the Australian national football team by a now-deceased witch doctor, lifted. He and former Australian football team captain Johnny Warren were covered in chicken's blood in the process. Subsequently, on 16 November 2005, Australia qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974. In 2005 and 2006, Safran co-hosted a television talk show entitled Speaking in Tongues with Father Bob Maguire ,
2674-404: A display (highlighting little-known Disney "facts" such as Walt Disney's alleged early support for Adolf Hitler ) and got a Catholic priest to review death metal music. Safran's segments scored well with both the judges and the public audience, Safran topped the viewer poll. He was, however, disqualified for a segment taped in a confessional booth (the program forbade hidden camera footage);
2865-579: A distinct style of philosophical Hebrew. This is used in the translations made by the Ibn Tibbon family. (Original Jewish philosophical works were usually written in Arabic. ) Another important influence was Maimonides , who developed a simple style based on Mishnaic Hebrew for use in his law code, the Mishneh Torah . Subsequent rabbinic literature is written in a blend between this style and
3056-445: A gift from Bondye that can be revealed to the individual through visions or dreams. Many priests and priestesses are often attributed fantastical powers in stories told about them, and may bolster their status with claims to have received revelations from the lwa , sometimes via visits to the lwa 's own abode. There is often bitter competition between different oungan and manbo . Their main income derives from healing
3247-503: A government youth music initiative, they followed up with Taste Test , of which 500 copies were pressed. Of those only 93 sold, so the remaining 407 had to be crushed. He said that the world just "wasn't ready for white rappers then" and Raspberry Cordial "broke down the wall that Eminem's been able to walk through", referencing the well-known Caucasian rapper Eminem and his success in an industry predominantly African-American. Safran's first experience of national fame came via Race Around
3438-594: A gradually accepted movement. It was not, however, until the 1904–1914 Second Aliyah that Hebrew had caught real momentum in Ottoman Palestine with the more highly organized enterprises set forth by the new group of immigrants. When the British Mandate of Palestine recognized Hebrew as one of the country's three official languages (English, Arabic, and Hebrew, in 1922), its new formal status contributed to its diffusion. A constructed modern language with
3629-443: A home for the spirits. After the period of seclusion in the djèvo , the new initiate is brought out and presented to the congregation; they are now referred to as ounsi lave tèt . When the new initiate is presented to the rest of the community, they carry their pot tèt on their head, before placing it on the altar. The final stage of the process involves the initiate being given an ason rattle. The initiation process
3820-468: A literary language down through the Byzantine period from the 4th century CE. The exact roles of Aramaic and Hebrew remain hotly debated. A trilingual scenario has been proposed for the land of Israel. Hebrew functioned as the local mother tongue with powerful ties to Israel's history, origins and golden age and as the language of Israel's religion; Aramaic functioned as the international language with
4011-536: A literary language, especially in Spain, as the language of commerce between Jews of different native languages, and as the liturgical language of Judaism, evolving various dialects of literary Medieval Hebrew , until its revival as a spoken language in the late 19th century. In May 2023, Scott Stripling published the finding of what he claims to be the oldest known Hebrew inscription, a curse tablet found at Mount Ebal , dated from around 3200 years ago. The presence of
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#17327938578274202-485: A nicotine gum manufacturer. Safran drove a remote controlled seagull with a cigarette onto the MCG pitch during a match. He was arrested for " pitch invasion ", but the charges were dropped. In 2002, Safran launched his documentary series John Safran's Music Jamboree . On one occasion Safran and his crew stormed the courtyard of his former school and amid shocked religious students and teachers, he and his crew began to dance to
4393-427: A one-on-one game is a "game of skill" instead of a "game of luck". He also owns all the comprehensive Scrabble dictionaries . Furthermore, Safran has a Scrabble Rug, a Scrabble board costume, Michael Groves Special Edition Scrabble , Hebrew Scrabble , CD-Rom Scrabble , Keyring Scrabble and a Scrabble watch. John Safran was painted by Yvette Coppersmith and entered in the 2009 Archibald Prize . The painting
4584-589: A parody of Baz Luhrmann 's song " Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) " entitled " Not the Sunscreen Song ", which includes lines such as "Never live in Adelaide , it's a hole" and "Remember, you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex". It peaked at No. 20 in 1998 and was nominated for an ARIA . In Triple M 's 2005 Greatest Songs Ever Written and Performed Since the Beginning of Time poll, "Not
4775-520: A prominent role. Vodou developed among Afro-Haitian communities amid the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. Its structure arose from the blending of the traditional religions of those enslaved West and Central Africans brought to the island of Hispaniola , among them Kongo , Fon , and Yoruba . There, it absorbed influences from the culture of the French colonialists who controlled
4966-429: A regular host of Melbourne community radio station 3RRR (Triple R) on its morning show "Breakfasters". Additionally, he co-hosted the weekly radio show Sunday Night Safran on national youth radio station Triple J with Father Bob Maguire . After a lengthy hiatus late 2008 due to a busy filming schedule, Sunday Night Safran returned to the airwaves on 12 July 2009. The program ended at the end of 2015. The program
5157-434: A room or corner of a room devoted to Erzuli Freda. Some ounfò will also have additional rooms in which the oungan or manbo lives. The area around the ounfò often contains objects dedicated to particular lwa , such as a pool of water for Danbala, a black cross for Baron Samedi, and a pince (iron bar) embedded in a brazier for Criminel. Sacred trees, known as arbres-reposoirs , sometimes mark
5348-531: A seatbelt and it’s just like it’s fun. Like so basically religion is a bit like – trying to ban religion is like trying to ban snowboarding or something. It’s just like the rituals are just – can be really fun". He thinks that organised religion "gets a pretty good break in Australia", as they don't have to pay as much tax and are allowed to preach against homosexuals. Safran publicly stated that religious education should be allowed in schools, and disagrees that it
5539-548: A set of dialects evolving out of Late Biblical Hebrew and into Mishnaic Hebrew, thus including elements from both but remaining distinct from either. By the start of the Byzantine Period in the 4th century CE, Classical Hebrew ceased as a regularly spoken language, roughly a century after the publication of the Mishnah, apparently declining since the aftermath of the catastrophic Bar Kokhba revolt around 135 CE. In
5730-668: A spoken language, it continued to be used as a lingua franca among scholars and Jews traveling in foreign countries. After the 2nd century CE when the Roman Empire exiled most of the Jewish population of Jerusalem following the Bar Kokhba revolt , they adapted to the societies in which they found themselves, yet letters, contracts, commerce, science, philosophy, medicine, poetry and laws continued to be written mostly in Hebrew, which adapted by borrowing and inventing terms. After
5921-450: A thousand lwa , although certain ones are especially widely venerated. In Rada ceremonies, the first lwa saluted is Papa Legba , also known as Legba. Depicted as a feeble old man wearing rags and using a crutch, Papa Legba is the protector of gates and fences and thus of the home, as well as of roads, paths, and crossroads. In Petwo rites, the first lwa invoked is usually Mèt Kalfou . The second lwa usually greeted are
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6112-704: A thousand lwa . Serving as Bondye's intermediaries, they communicate with humans through their dreams or by directly possessing them. Vodouists believe the lwa are capable of offering people help, protection, and counsel in return for ritual service. Each lwa has its own personality, and is associated with specific colors, days of the week, and objects. Particular lwa are also associated with specific human family lineages. These spirits are not seen as moral exemplars for practitioners to imitate. The lwa can be either loyal or capricious in their dealings with their devotees; they are easily offended, for instance if offered food they dislike. When angered,
6303-472: A truly Semitic vocabulary and written appearance, although often European in phonology , was to take its place among the current languages of the nations. While many saw his work as fanciful or even blasphemous (because Hebrew was the holy language of the Torah and therefore some thought that it should not be used to discuss everyday matters), many soon understood the need for a common language amongst Jews of
6494-558: A vernacular in Judea until it was displaced by Aramaic, probably in the 3rd century CE. Certain Sadducee , Pharisee , Scribe , Hermit, Zealot and Priest classes maintained an insistence on Hebrew, and all Jews maintained their identity with Hebrew songs and simple quotations from Hebrew texts. While there is no doubt that at a certain point, Hebrew was displaced as the everyday spoken language of most Jews, and that its chief successor in
6685-554: Is sèvitè ( serviteurs , "devotees"), reflecting their self-description as people who sèvi lwa ("serve the lwa "), the supernatural beings that play a central role in Vodou. Many words used in the religion derive from the Fon language of West Africa; this includes the word Vodou itself. First recorded in the 1658 Doctrina Christiana , the Fon word Vôdoun was used in
6876-518: Is 8198, of which some 2000 are hapax legomena (the number of Biblical Hebrew roots, on which many of these words are based, is 2099). The number of attested Rabbinic Hebrew words is less than 20,000, of which (i) 7879 are Rabbinic par excellence, i.e. they did not appear in the Old Testament (the number of new Rabbinic Hebrew roots is 805); (ii) around 6000 are a subset of Biblical Hebrew; and (iii) several thousand are Aramaic words which can have
7067-644: Is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family . A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages , it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period ) and Samaritanism . The language was revived as a spoken language in the 19th century, and
7258-498: Is a religion. More specifically, scholars have characterised it as an Afro-Haitian religion, and as Haiti's "national religion". Its main structure derives from the African traditional religions of West and Central Africa which were brought to Haiti by enslaved Africans between the 16th and 19th centuries. Of these, the greatest influences came from the Fon and Bakongo peoples. On the island, these African religions mixed with
7449-540: Is also considered sympathetic to gay people, with many gay and bisexual individuals holding status as Vodou priests and priestesses, and some groups having largely gay congregations. Some Vodouists state that the lwa determine a person's sexual orientation. The lwa Èzili Dantò is sometimes regarded as a lesbian, and is also seen as the patron of masisi (gay men). The anthropologist Alfred Métraux described Vodou as "a practical and utilitarian religion". Its practices largely revolve around interactions with
7640-577: Is called an ounfò , varyingly spelled hounfò , hounfort , or humfo . An alternative term is gangan , although the connotations of this term vary regionally in Haiti. Most communal Vodou activities centre around this ounfò , forming what is called "temple Vodou". The size and shape of ounfòs vary, from basic shacks to more lavish structures, the latter being more common in Port-au-Prince. Their designs are dependent on
7831-411: Is considered a high ethic. Among Vodouists, a moral person is regarded as someone who lives in tune with their character and that of their tutelary lwa . In general, acts that reinforce Bondye's power are deemed good; those that undermine it are seen as bad. Maji , meaning the use of supernatural powers for self-serving and malevolent ends, are usually thought bad. The term is quite flexible; it
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8022-567: Is fighting to stop businesses from using only English signs to market their services. In 2012, a Knesset bill for the preservation of the Hebrew language was proposed, which includes the stipulation that all signage in Israel must first and foremost be in Hebrew, as with all speeches by Israeli officials abroad. The bill's author, MK Akram Hasson , stated that the bill was proposed as a response to Hebrew "losing its prestige" and children incorporating more English words into their vocabulary. Hebrew
8213-413: Is generally expensive, complex, and requires significant preparation. Prospective initiates are for instance required to memorise many songs and learn the characteristics of various lwa . Vodouists believe the lwa may encourage an individual towards initiation, bringing misfortune upon them if they refuse. Initiation will often be preceded by bathing in special preparations. The first part of
8404-403: Is known for his television stunts, which include placing a fatwa on Australian television host Rove McManus , sneaking nine young men into an exclusive Melbourne nightclub by disguising them as members of American nu metal band Slipknot , running through Jerusalem wearing nothing but the beanie and scarf of St Kilda Football Club , driving a remote-controlled seagull with a cigarette onto
8595-558: Is linked with mango trees, and Danbala with bougainvillea . Selected trees in Haiti have had metal items affixed to them, serving as shrines to Ogou, who is associated with both iron and the roads. Spaces for ritual also appear in the homes of many Vodouists. These may vary from complex altars to more simple variants including only images of saints alongside candles and a rosary . Many practitioners will also have an altar devoted to their ancestors in their home, to which they direct offerings. Drawings known as vèvè are sketched onto
8786-439: Is manipulation. It’s like saying if you’re going to listen to heavy metal albums you’re going to go on shooting sprees. It’s not like having a chaplain in your school like it’s the only influence that’s going to be on the kid. [...] You’re just going to jump into strange people, so you bump into the chaplain and he’s teaching you all that strange stuff and then, I don’t know, you grow up and then you’ve got these cool stories about
8977-606: Is one of several languages for which the constitution of South Africa calls to be respected in their use for religious purposes. Also, Hebrew is an official national minority language in Poland , since 6 January 2005. Hamas has made Hebrew a compulsory language taught in schools in the Gaza Strip. Haitian Vodou Haitian Vodou ( / ˈ v oʊ d uː / ) is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between
9168-460: Is one of the most popular deities in the pantheon. Danbala and his consort Ayida-Weddo are often depicted as a pair of intertwining snakes. The Simbi are understood as the guardians of fountains and marshes. Usually seen as a fanmi rather than a nanchon , the Gede are associated with the realm of the dead. The head of the family is Baron Samedi ("Baron Saturday"); he is associated with
9359-596: Is responsible for Haiti's poverty , a view that in turn has been accused of being rooted in European colonial prejudices towards Africans. Although Vodou permeates every aspect of its adherent's lives, it offers no prescriptive code of ethics. Rather than being rule-based, Vodou morality is deemed contextual to the situation, with no clear binary division between good and evil. Vodou reflects people's everyday concerns, focusing on techniques for mitigating illness and misfortune; doing what one needs to in order to survive
9550-661: Is seen to have ended when the new initiate is first possessed by a lwa . Initiation is seen as creating a bond between a devotee and their tutelary lwa , and the former will often take on a new name that alludes to the name of this lwa . Finally, after the kouche , the new initiate may be expected to visit a Catholic church. The creation of sacred works is important in Vodou. Votive objects used in Haiti are typically made from industrial materials, including iron, plastic, sequins, china, tinsel, and plaster. An altar, or pè , will often contain images (typically lithographs ) of Roman Catholic saints. Since developing in
9741-707: Is sometimes used synonymously with nanchon or alternatively as a sub-division of the latter category. It is often claimed that there are 17 nanchon , of which the Rada and the Petwo are the largest and most dominant. The Rada lwa are seen as being 'cool'; the Petwo lwa as 'hot'. This means that the Rada are dous or doux , or sweet-tempered, while the Petwo are lwa cho , indicating that they can be forceful or violent and are associated with fire. Whereas
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#17327938578279932-436: Is the lwa of vegetation, and because he is seen to give healing properties to various plant species is considered the lwa of healing too. Ogou is a warrior lwa , associated with weapons. Sogbo is a lwa associated with lightning, while his companion, Bade , is associated with the wind. Danbala is a serpent lwa and is associated with water, being believed to frequent rivers, springs, and marshes; he
10123-573: Is the only successful large-scale example of linguistic revival . It is the only Canaanite language, as well as one of only two Northwest Semitic languages, with the other being Aramaic , still spoken today. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE. Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew , with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around
10314-457: Is the primary official language of the State of Israel. As of 2013 , there are about 9 million Hebrew speakers worldwide, of whom 7 million speak it fluently. Currently, 90% of Israeli Jews are proficient in Hebrew, and 70% are highly proficient. Some 60% of Israeli Arabs are also proficient in Hebrew, and 30% report having a higher proficiency in Hebrew than in Arabic. In total, about 53% of
10505-508: Is thus a term primarily used by scholars and outsiders to the religion; many practitioners describe their belief system with the term Ginen , which especially denotes a moral philosophy and ethical code regarding how to live and to serve the spirits. Vodou is the common spelling for the religion among scholars, in official Haitian Creole orthography, and by the United States Library of Congress . Some scholars prefer
10696-517: Is to echofe ("heat things up"), thus bringing about change, whether that be to remove barriers or to facilitate healing. Secrecy is important in Vodou. It is an initiatory tradition, operating through a system of graded induction or initiation. When an individual agrees to serve a lwa , it is deemed a lifelong commitment. Vodou has a strong oral culture, and its teachings are primarily disseminated through oral transmission, although many practitioners began to use texts after they appeared in
10887-471: Is traditionally depicted with snakes, or with Moses , whose staff turned into serpents. The Marasa, or sacred twins, are typically equated with the twin saints Cosmos and Damian . Scholars like Desmangles have argued that Vodouists originally adopted the Roman Catholic saints to conceal lwa worship when the latter was illegal during the colonial period. Observing Vodou in the latter part of
11078-547: Is used to pronounce the Hebrew Bible; however, properly it should be distinguished from the historical Biblical Hebrew of the 6th century BCE, whose original pronunciation must be reconstructed. Tiberian Hebrew incorporates the scholarship of the Masoretes (from masoret meaning "tradition"), who added vowel points and grammar points to the Hebrew letters to preserve much earlier features of Hebrew, for use in chanting
11269-520: Is usually used to denigrate other Vodouists, although some practitioners have used it as a self-descriptor in reference to Petwo rites. The extended family is of importance in Haitian society, with Vodou reinforcing family ties, and emphasising respect for the elderly. Although there are accounts of male Vodou priests mistreating their female followers, in the religion women can also lay claim to moral authority as social and spiritual leaders. Vodou
11460-650: The Chayei Adam in Hebrew, as opposed to Yiddish , as a guide to Halacha for the " average 17-year-old" (Ibid. Introduction 1). Similarly, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan 's purpose in writing the Mishnah Berurah was to "produce a work that could be studied daily so that Jews might know the proper procedures to follow minute by minute". The work was nevertheless written in Talmudic Hebrew and Aramaic, since, "the ordinary Jew [of Eastern Europe] of
11651-470: The gwo bonnanj is thought capable of leaving the head and travelling while a person sleeps. Vodouists believe that every individual is connected to a specific lwa , regarded as their mèt tèt (master of the head). They believe that this lwa informs the individual's personality. Vodou holds that the identity of a person's tutelary lwa can be identified through divination or by consulting lwa when they possess other humans. Some of
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#173279385782711842-412: The lwa Danbala-Wedo. The caye-mystéres is also used to store clothing that will be worn by those possessed by the lwa during rituals. If space is available, the ounfò may also have a room set aside for the patron lwa of that temple. Many ounfòs have a room known as the djévo in which the initiate is confined during their initiatory ceremony. Every ounfò usually has
12033-489: The lwa are believed to remove their protection from their devotees, or to inflict misfortune, illness, or madness on an individual. Although there are exceptions, most lwa derive their names from the Fon and Yoruba languages and originated as deities venerated in West or Central Africa. New lwa are nevertheless added to the pantheon, with both talismans and certain humans thought capable of becoming lwa , in
12224-419: The lwa call an individual to become an oungan or manbo , and if the latter refuses then misfortune may befall them. A prospective oungan or manbo must normally rise through the other roles in a Vodou congregation before undergoing an apprenticeship with a pre-existing oungan or manbo lasting several months or years. After this apprenticeship, they undergo an initiation ceremony,
12415-432: The lwa of agriculture, is for instance associated with Saint Isidore the farmer. Similarly, because he is understood as the "key" to the spirit world, Papa Legba is typically associated with Saint Peter , who is traditionally depicted holding keys in Roman Catholic imagery. The lwa of love and luxury, Èzili Freda, is associated with Mater Dolorosa . Danbala the serpent is often equated with Saint Patrick , who
12606-422: The lwa , and incorporate song, drumming, dance, prayer, possession, and animal sacrifice. Practitioners gather together for sèvices (services) in which they commune with the lwa . Ceremonies for a particular lwa often coincide with the feast day of the Roman Catholic saint which that lwa is associated with. The mastery of ritual forms is considered imperative in Vodou. The purpose of ritual
12797-403: The lwa . Vodou also promotes a belief in destiny , although individuals are still deemed to have freedom of choice. This view of destiny has been interpreted as encouraging a fatalistic outlook, something that the religion's critics, especially from Christian backgrounds, have argued has discouraged Vodouists from improving their society. This has been extended into an argument that Vodou
12988-434: The nanchon ("nations"), most notably the Rada and the Petwo , about whom various myths and stories are told. This theology has been labelled both monotheistic and polytheistic . An initiatory tradition, Vodouists commonly venerate the lwa at an ounfò (temple), run by an oungan (priest) or manbo (priestess). Alternatively, Vodou is also practised within family groups or in secret societies like
13179-455: The nanm , or sometimes the espri , which is divided in two parts . One of these is the ti bonnanj ("little good angel"), understood as the conscience that allows an individual to engage in self-reflection and self-criticism. The other part is the gwo bonnanj ("big good angel") and this constitutes the psyche, source of memory, intelligence, and personhood. Both parts are believed to reside within an individual's head, although
13370-462: The ounfò places particular focus on a lwa whom they are devoted to, or that they are impressed by the oungan or manbo who runs the ounfò in question, perhaps having been treated by them. Vodou is hierarchical and includes a series of initiations. There are typically four levels of initiation, the fourth of which makes someone an oungan or manbo . There is much variation in what these initiation ceremonies entail, and
13561-431: The ounfò 's external boundary. Hanging from these trees can be found macounte straw sacks, strips of material, and animal skulls. Various animals, particularly birds but also some mammal species such as goats, are sometimes kept within the perimeter of the ounfò for use as sacrifices. Forming a spiritual community of practitioners, the ounfò 's congregation are known as the pititt-caye (children of
13752-400: The papa ("father") while the priestess becomes the manman ("mother") to the initiate; the initiate becomes their initiator's pitit (spiritual child). Those who share an initiator refer to themselves as "brother" and "sister." Individuals may join a particular ounfò because it exists in their locality or because their family are already members. Alternatively, it may be that
13943-727: The Ancient Greek Ἑβραῖος ( hebraîos ) and Aramaic 'ibrāy , all ultimately derived from Biblical Hebrew Ivri ( עברי ), one of several names for the Israelite ( Jewish and Samaritan ) people ( Hebrews ). It is traditionally understood to be an adjective based on the name of Abraham 's ancestor, Eber , mentioned in Genesis 10:21 . The name is believed to be based on the Semitic root ʕ-b-r ( ע־ב־ר ), meaning "beyond", "other side", "across"; interpretations of
14134-493: The Bizango . A central ritual involves practitioners drumming, singing, and dancing to encourage a lwa to possess one of their members and thus communicate with them. Offerings to the lwa , and to spirits of the dead, include fruit, liquor, and sacrificed animals . Several forms of divination are utilized to decipher messages from the lwa . Healing rituals and the preparation of herbal remedies and talismans also play
14325-547: The Canaanite group of languages . Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages. Hebrew was the spoken language in the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the period from about 1200 to 586 BCE. Epigraphic evidence from this period confirms the widely accepted view that the earlier layers of biblical literature reflect the language used in these kingdoms. Furthermore,
14516-572: The Gospel of Matthew . (See the Hebrew Gospel hypothesis or Language of Jesus for more details on Hebrew and Aramaic in the gospels.) The term "Mishnaic Hebrew" generally refers to the Hebrew dialects found in the Talmud , excepting quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The dialects organize into Mishnaic Hebrew (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which
14707-495: The Latin alphabet of ancient Rome . The Gezer calendar is written without any vowels , and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places in which later Hebrew spelling requires them. Numerous older tablets have been found in the region with similar scripts written in other Semitic languages, for example, Proto-Sinaitic . It is believed that the original shapes of the script go back to Egyptian hieroglyphs , though
14898-682: The Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE) and the emergence of the Hasmonean kingdom , the Great Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE), and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE). The nationalist significance of Hebrew manifested in various ways throughout this period. Michael Owen Wise notes that "Beginning with the time of the Hasmonean revolt [...] Hebrew came to the fore in an expression akin to modern nationalism. A form of classical Hebrew
15089-456: The Marasa or sacred twins. In Vodou, every nanchon has its own Marasa, reflecting a belief that twins have special powers. Another important lwa is Agwe , also known as Agwe-taroyo, who is associated with aquatic life and is the protector of ships and fishermen. Agwe is believed to rule the sea with his consort, La Sirène . She is a mermaid , and is sometimes described as Èzili of
15280-749: The Melbourne Cricket Ground , and his confrontation with A Current Affair host Ray Martin . He currently works as a journalist and author . He released his latest book, Squat , in October 2024. Safran was born in Melbourne to Jewish parents. His maternal grandparents were Polish Jewish Bundists . Safran's mother, Gitl, was born in Uzbekistan as they were fleeing their home country for Australia. She died in 2003. His paternal ancestors were German Jews and left shortly before
15471-536: The Second Aliyah , it replaced a score of languages spoken by Jews at that time. Those languages were Jewish dialects of local languages, including Judaeo-Spanish (also called "Judezmo" and "Ladino"), Yiddish , Judeo-Arabic and Bukhori (Tajiki), or local languages spoken in the Jewish diaspora such as Russian , Persian and Arabic . The major result of the literary work of the Hebrew intellectuals along
15662-462: The literary and liturgical language into everyday spoken language . However, his brand of Hebrew followed norms that had been replaced in Eastern Europe by different grammar and style, in the writings of people like Ahad Ha'am and others. His organizational efforts and involvement with the establishment of schools and the writing of textbooks pushed the vernacularization activity into
15853-620: The official language of the State of Israel . Estimates of worldwide usage include five million speakers in 1998, and over nine million people in 2013. After Israel, the United States has the largest Hebrew-speaking population, with approximately 220,000 fluent speakers (see Israeli Americans and Jewish Americans ). Modern Hebrew is the official language of the State of Israel, while pre-revival forms of Hebrew are used for prayer or study in Jewish and Samaritan communities around
16044-543: The ostraca found near Lachish , which describe events preceding the final capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian captivity of 586 BCE. In its widest sense, Biblical Hebrew refers to the spoken language of ancient Israel flourishing between c. 1000 BCE and c. 400 CE . It comprises several evolving and overlapping dialects. The phases of Classical Hebrew are often named after important literary works associated with them. Sometimes
16235-607: The 10th century BCE at the beginning of the Monarchic period , the traditional time of the reign of David and Solomon . Classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew , the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The Gezer calendar (named after the city in whose proximity it was found) is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the Phoenician one that, through the Greeks and Etruscans , later became
16426-630: The 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism . There is no central authority in control of the religion and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Vodouists, Vodouisants, or Serviteurs. Vodou teaches the existence of a transcendent creator divinity, Bondye , under whom are spirits known as lwa . Typically deriving their names and attributes from traditional West and Central African deities, they are equated with Roman Catholic saints. The lwa divide into different groups,
16617-555: The 1980s in the USSR , Hebrew studies reappeared due to people struggling for permission to go to Israel ( refuseniks ). Several of the teachers were imprisoned, e.g. Yosef Begun , Ephraim Kholmyansky , Yevgeny Korostyshevsky and others responsible for a Hebrew learning network connecting many cities of the USSR. Standard Hebrew, as developed by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, was based on Mishnaic spelling and Sephardi Hebrew pronunciation. However,
16808-611: The 19th century was a lexical modernization of Hebrew. New words and expressions were adapted as neologisms from the large corpus of Hebrew writings since the Hebrew Bible, or borrowed from Arabic (mainly by Ben-Yehuda) and older Aramaic and Latin. Many new words were either borrowed from or coined after European languages, especially English, Russian, German, and French. Modern Hebrew became an official language in British-ruled Palestine in 1921 (along with English and Arabic), and then in 1948 became an official language of
16999-407: The 20th century, Donald J. Cosentino argued that by that point, the use of Roman Catholic saints reflected the genuine devotional expression of many Vodouists. The scholar Marc A. Christophe concurred, stating that most modern Vodouists genuinely see the saints and lwa as one, reflecting Vodou's "all-inclusive and harmonizing characteristics". Many Vodouists possess chromolithographic prints of
17190-543: The 20th century, growing emigration spread Vodou abroad. The late 20th century saw growing links between Vodou and related traditions in West Africa and the Americas, such as Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé , while some practitioners influenced by the Négritude movement have sought to remove Roman Catholic influences. Most Haitians practice both Vodou and Roman Catholicism, seeing no contradiction in pursuing
17381-604: The 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity . For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Lashon Hakodesh ( לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶש , lit. ' the holy tongue ' or ' the tongue [of] holiness ' ) since ancient times. The language was not referred to by the name Hebrew in the Bible , but as Yehudit ( transl. ' Judean ' ) or Səpaṯ Kəna'an ( transl. "the language of Canaan " ). Mishnah Gittin 9:8 refers to
17572-766: The Aramaized Rabbinic Hebrew of the Talmud. Hebrew persevered through the ages as the main language for written purposes by all Jewish communities around the world for a large range of uses—not only liturgy, but also poetry, philosophy, science and medicine, commerce, daily correspondence and contracts. There have been many deviations from this generalization such as Bar Kokhba 's letters to his lieutenants, which were mostly in Aramaic, and Maimonides' writings, which were mostly in Arabic; but overall, Hebrew did not cease to be used for such purposes. For example,
17763-687: The British Mandate who at the turn of the 20th century were arriving in large numbers from diverse countries and speaking different languages. A Committee of the Hebrew Language was established. After the establishment of Israel, it became the Academy of the Hebrew Language . The results of Ben-Yehuda's lexicographical work were published in a dictionary ( The Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew , Ben-Yehuda Dictionary ). The seeds of Ben-Yehuda's work fell on fertile ground, and by
17954-480: The Ginen, or ancestral spirits, while the ti bonnanj proceeds to face judgement before Bondye. This idea of judgement is more common in urban areas, having been influenced by Roman Catholicism, while in the Haitian mountains it is more common for Vodouists to believe that the ti bonnanj dissolves into the navel of the earth nine days after death. The land of the Ginen is often identified as being located beneath
18145-526: The Great conquered Babylon, he allowed the Jewish people to return from captivity. In time, a local version of Aramaic came to be spoken in Israel alongside Hebrew. By the beginning of the Common Era , Aramaic was the primary colloquial language of Samarian , Babylonian and Galileean Jews, and western and intellectual Jews spoke Greek , but a form of so-called Rabbinic Hebrew continued to be used as
18336-432: The Hebrew name of god , Yahweh, as three letters, Yod-Heh-Vav (YHV), according to the author and his team meant that the tablet is Hebrew and not Canaanite. However, practically all professional archeologists and epigraphers apart from Stripling's team claim that there is no text on this object. In July 2008, Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa that he claimed may be
18527-602: The Hebrew Bible. The Masoretes inherited a biblical text whose letters were considered too sacred to be altered, so their markings were in the form of pointing in and around the letters. The Syriac alphabet , precursor to the Arabic alphabet , also developed vowel pointing systems around this time. The Aleppo Codex , a Hebrew Bible with the Masoretic pointing, was written in the 10th century, likely in Tiberias, and survives into
18718-454: The Israeli population speaks Hebrew as a native language, while most of the rest speak it fluently. In 2013 Hebrew was the native language of 49% of Israelis over the age of 20, with Russian , Arabic , French , English , Yiddish and Ladino being the native tongues of most of the rest. Some 26% of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and 12% of Arabs reported speaking Hebrew poorly or not at all. Steps have been taken to keep Hebrew
18909-483: The Lizardman Erik Sprague , African-American pro-Israel political activist and Zionist Chloé Valdary , Jewish activist against child sexual abuse Manny Waks , psychic Lisa Williams and John Safran's dad, Alex. After discovering that a subject of his series Race Relations , "Mississippi's most notorious white supremacist" Richard Barrett had been murdered, Safran returned to Mississippi to cover
19100-477: The Middle East was the closely related Aramaic language, then Greek , scholarly opinions on the exact dating of that shift have changed very much. In the first half of the 20th century, most scholars followed Abraham Geiger and Gustaf Dalman in thinking that Aramaic became a spoken language in the land of Israel as early as the beginning of Israel's Hellenistic period in the 4th century BCE, and that as
19291-566: The Philippines. Safran was crucified in Barangay Kapitangan, Paombong , Bulacan, just outside Manila along with three other men and one woman. He had nails driven through his hands and feet and hung on the cross for five minutes before being taken down and given medical treatment in a nearby tent set up for the purpose. It was nominated for a 2010 Logie Award in the category of Light Entertainment. As of 2002, Safran had been
19482-604: The Rada are generally righteous, their Petwo counterparts are more morally ambiguous and associated with issues like money. The Rada owe more to Dahomeyan and Yoruba influences; their name probably comes from Arada , a city in the Dahomey kingdom of West Africa. The Petwo derive largely from Kongo religion, although also exhibit Dahomeyan and creolised influences. Some lwa exist andezo or en deux eaux , meaning that they are "in two waters" and are served in both Rada and Petwo rituals. Vodou teaches that there are over
19673-454: The SBS television network. The first seven episodes were typical Safran informative satire. The series' finale featured Safran being exorcised of demons which had supposedly possessed him during his dabblings with world religions. The exorcism was performed by well-known Christian fundamentalist Bob Larson . In an interview with an Australian radio personality, Safran said that he "felt something
19864-557: The Sunscreen Song" came in at #706 – one spot above " Superstition " by Stevie Wonder . Safran also presented segments for the Seven Network 's now defunct The Late Report , some were also screened in the United Kingdom with Channel 4 's Disinformation program. Safran attained police attention for a stunt to try and coerce cricketer Shane Warne into breaking a "no smoking" clause in an advertising contract with
20055-621: The Talmud, the Gemara , generally comments on the Mishnah and Baraitot in two forms of Aramaic. Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later Amoraic Hebrew, which occasionally appears in the text of the Gemara, particularly in the Jerusalem Talmud and the classical aggadah midrashes . Hebrew was always regarded as the language of Israel's religion, history and national pride, and after it faded as
20246-460: The Talmud, various regional literary dialects of Medieval Hebrew evolved. The most important is Tiberian Hebrew or Masoretic Hebrew, a local dialect of Tiberias in Galilee that became the standard for vocalizing the Hebrew Bible and thus still influences all other regional dialects of Hebrew. This Tiberian Hebrew from the 7th to 10th century CE is sometimes called "Biblical Hebrew" because it
20437-608: The United States with modern Paganism . Vodou has also absorbed elements from other contexts; in Cuba, some Vodouists have adopted elements from Spiritism . Influenced by the Négritude movement, other Vodouists have sought to remove Roman Catholic and other European influences from their practice of Vodou. In English , Vodou's practitioners are termed Vodouists ; in French and Haitian Creole , they are called Vodouisants or Vodouyizan . Another term for adherents
20628-474: The Waters because she is believed to bring good luck and wealth from the sea. Also given the name Èzili is Èzili Freda or Erzuli Freda, the lwa of love and luxury who personifies feminine beauty and grace, and Ezili Dantor , who takes the form of a peasant woman. Azaka is the lwa of crops and agriculture, usually addressed as "Papa" or "Cousin". His consort is the female lwa Kouzinn. Loco
20819-460: The West African kingdom of Dahomey to signify a spirit or deity. In Haitian Creole, Vodou came to designate a specific style of dance and drumming, before outsiders to the religion adopted it as a generic term for much Afro-Haitian religion. The word Vodou now encompasses "a variety of Haiti's African-derived religious traditions and practices", incorporating "a bundle of practices that practitioners themselves do not aggregate". Vodou
21010-498: The World , a television competition for young documentarians run by the ABC . In his audition tape, Safran was required to submit ten seconds of black, but instead he submitted ten seconds of Black Sabbath . Safran started the race off timid and tame, being locked inside an Osaka subway station in his first entry. However, he quickly broke what he called the "fear barrier" to film his now famous segments. He ran streaking naked through
21201-488: The ability to speak the language and attempted to promote its use. According to the Jerusalem Talmud , Megillah 1:9: "Rebbi Jonathan from Bet Guvrrin said, four languages are appropriate that the world should use them, and they are these: The Foreign Language (Greek) for song, Latin for war, Syriac for elegies, Hebrew for speech. Some are saying, also Assyrian (Hebrew script) for writing." The later section of
21392-478: The above phases of spoken Classical Hebrew are simplified into "Biblical Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 10th century BCE to 2nd century BCE and extant in certain Dead Sea Scrolls) and "Mishnaic Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE and extant in certain other Dead Sea Scrolls). However, today most Hebrew linguists classify Dead Sea Scroll Hebrew as
21583-506: The average Jew, and that the language had evolved since Biblical times as spoken languages do. Recent scholarship recognizes that reports of Jews speaking in Aramaic indicate a multilingual society, not necessarily the primary language spoken. Alongside Aramaic, Hebrew co-existed within Israel as a spoken language. Most scholars now date the demise of Hebrew as a spoken language to the end of the Roman period , or about 200 CE. It continued on as
21774-547: The beginning of the 20th century, Hebrew was well on its way to becoming the main language of the Jewish population of both Ottoman and British Palestine. At the time, members of the Old Yishuv and a very few Hasidic sects, most notably those under the auspices of Satmar , refused to speak Hebrew and spoke only Yiddish. In the Soviet Union, the use of Hebrew, along with other Jewish cultural and religious activities,
21965-407: The child of a particular lwa , their mèt tèt . This is followed by a period of seclusion within the djèvo known as the kouche . A deliberately uncomfortable experience, it involves the initiate sleeping on a mat on the floor, often with a stone for a pillow. They wear a white tunic, and a specific salt-free diet is followed. It includes a lav tèt ("head washing") to prepare
22156-597: The colony of Saint-Domingue , most notably Roman Catholicism but also Freemasonry . Many Vodouists were involved in the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to 1801 which overthrew the French colonial government, abolished slavery, and transformed Saint-Domingue into the republic of Haiti. The Roman Catholic Church left for several decades following the Revolution, allowing Vodou to become Haiti's dominant religion. In
22347-602: The composition of 1 Maccabees in archaizing Hebrew, Hasmonean coinage under John Hyrcanus (134-104 BCE), and coins from both the Great Revolt and Bar Kokhba Revolt featuring exclusively Hebrew and Palaeo-Hebrew script inscriptions. This deliberate use of Hebrew and Paleo-Hebrew script in official contexts, despite limited literacy, served as a symbol of Jewish nationalism and political independence. The Christian New Testament contains some Semitic place names and quotes. The language of such Semitic glosses (and in general
22538-410: The content of Hebrew inscriptions suggests that the written texts closely mirror the spoken language of that time. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a spoken vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile when the predominant international language in the region was Old Aramaic . Hebrew was extinct as a colloquial language by late antiquity , but it continued to be used as
22729-776: The course of several centuries, it has changed over time. It displays variation at both the regional and local level —including variation between Haiti and the Haitian diaspora —as well as among different congregations. It is practiced domestically, by families on their land, but also by congregations meeting communally, with the latter termed "temple Vodou". In Haitian culture, religions are not generally deemed totally autonomous. Many Haitians thus practice both Vodou and Roman Catholicism, with Vodouists usually regarding themselves as Roman Catholics. In Haiti, Vodouists have also practiced Protestantism , Mormonism , or Freemasonry; in Cuba they have involved themselves in Santería, and in
22920-409: The details are kept secret. Each initiatory stage is associated with a state of mind called a konesan ( conaissance or knowledge). Successive initiations are required to move through the various konesans , and it is in these konesans that priestly power is believed to reside. The first initiation rite is the kanzo ; this term also describes the initiate themselves. Initiation
23111-406: The details of which are kept secret from non-initiates. Other oungan and manbo do not undergo any apprenticeship, but claim that they have gained their training directly from the lwa . Their authenticity is often challenged, and they are referred to as hungan-macoutte , a term bearing some disparaging connotations. Becoming an oungan or manbo is expensive, often requiring
23302-568: The dialects of Classical Hebrew that functioned as a living language in the land of Israel. A transitional form of the language occurs in the other works of Tannaitic literature dating from the century beginning with the completion of the Mishnah. These include the halachic Midrashim ( Sifra , Sifre , Mekhilta etc.) and the expanded collection of Mishnah-related material known as the Tosefta . The Talmud contains excerpts from these works, as well as further Tannaitic material not attested elsewhere;
23493-476: The disqualification of the segment and subsequent loss of points meant that he finished last in the first season of Race Around the World . After this brush with fame, the ABC commissioned two 30-minute TV pilots from Safran. One pilot called John Safran: Media Tycoon focused on the media industry, airing in 1998. It became famous for a segment involving Ray Martin , then host of tabloid current affairs TV show A Current Affair , where Safran harassed him in
23684-423: The earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating from around 3,000 years ago. Hebrew University archaeologist Amihai Mazar said that the inscription was "proto-Canaanite" but cautioned that "[t]he differentiation between the scripts, and between the languages themselves in that period, remains unclear", and suggested that calling the text Hebrew might be going too far. The Gezer calendar also dates back to
23875-513: The earliest speakers of Modern Hebrew had Yiddish as their native language and often introduced calques from Yiddish and phono-semantic matchings of international words. Despite using Sephardic Hebrew pronunciation as its primary basis, modern Israeli Hebrew has adapted to Ashkenazi Hebrew phonology in some respects, mainly the following: The vocabulary of Israeli Hebrew is much larger than that of earlier periods. According to Ghil'ad Zuckermann : The number of attested Biblical Hebrew words
24066-532: The early 6th century BCE, the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered the ancient Kingdom of Judah , destroying much of Jerusalem and exiling its population far to the east in Babylon . During the Babylonian captivity , many Israelites learned Aramaic, the closely related Semitic language of their captors. Thus, for a significant period, the Jewish elite became influenced by Aramaic. After Cyrus
24257-481: The fame and reputation of individual priests and priestesses can vary widely. Respected Vodou priests and priestesses are often literate in a society where semi-literacy and illiteracy are common. They can recite from printed texts and write letters for illiterate members of their community. Owing to their prominence in a community, the oungan and manbo can effectively become political leaders, or otherwise exert an influence on local politics. A Vodou temple
24448-711: The first Middle East printing press, in Safed (modern Israel), produced a small number of books in Hebrew in 1577, which were then sold to the nearby Jewish world. This meant not only that well-educated Jews in all parts of the world could correspond in a mutually intelligible language, and that books and legal documents published or written in any part of the world could be read by Jews in all other parts, but that an educated Jew could travel and converse with Jews in distant places, just as priests and other educated Christians could converse in Latin. For example, Rabbi Avraham Danzig wrote
24639-478: The floor of the peristil using cornmeal, ash, coffee grounds, or powdered eggshells; these are central to Vodou ritual. Usually arranged symmetrically around the poto-mitan , these designs sometimes incorporate letters; their purpose is to summon lwa . Inside the peristil , practitioners also unfurl ceremonial flags known as drapo (flags) at the start of a ceremony. Often made of silk or velvet and decorated with shiny objects such as sequins,
24830-406: The generic term for these passages is Baraitot . The dialect of all these works is very similar to Mishnaic Hebrew. About a century after the publication of the Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew fell into disuse as a spoken language. By the third century CE, sages could no longer identify the Hebrew names of many plants mentioned in the Mishnah. Only a few sages, primarily in the southern regions, retained
25021-420: The house). They worship under the authority of an oungan or manbo , below whom is ranked the ounsi , individuals who make a lifetime commitment to serving the lwa . Members of either sex can join the ounsi , although most are female. The ounsi 's duties include cleaning the peristil , sacrificing animals, and taking part in the dances at which they must be prepared to be possessed by
25212-570: The iconography of European-derived traditions such as Roman Catholicism and Freemasonry , taking the form of Vodou around the mid-18th century. In combining varied influences, Vodou has often been described as syncretic , or a "symbiosis", a religion exhibiting diverse cultural influences. As formed in Haiti, Vodou represented "a new religion", "a creolized New World system", one that differs in many ways from African traditional religions. The scholar Leslie Desmangles therefore called it an "African-derived tradition", Ina J. Fandrich termed it
25403-509: The incident, calling Safran a "serial pest". The second pilot was titled John Safran: Master Chef . This pilot focused on the food industry. Notably, it featured a cooking segment where Safran prepared a beef dish. The twist comes when he arrives at an abattoir and shows detailed footage of cows being slaughtered to complete the dish. Though all unsuccessful, the pilots became hits via the Internet among university students. Safran also recorded
25594-474: The initiate for having the lwa enter and reside in their head. Voudoists believe that one of the two parts of the human soul, the gwo bonnanj , is removed from the initiate's head, thus making space for the lwa to enter and reside there. The initiation ceremony requires the preparation of pot tèts (head pots), usually white porcelain cups with a lid in which a range of items are placed, including hair, food, herbs, and oils. These are regarded as
25785-407: The initiation rite is known as the kouche or huño , and is marked by salutations and offerings to the lwa . It begins with the chire ayizan , a ceremony in which palm leaves are frayed and then worn by the initiate. Sometimes the bat ge or batter guerre ("beating war") is performed instead, designed to beat away the old. During the rite, the initiate comes to be regarded as
25976-462: The language as Ivrit , meaning Hebrew; however, Mishnah Megillah refers to the language as Ashurit , meaning Assyrian , which is derived from the name of the alphabet used , in contrast to Ivrit , meaning the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet . Hebrew ceased to be a regular spoken language sometime between 200 and 400 CE, as it declined in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Bar Kokhba revolt , which
26167-465: The language spoken by Jews in scenes from the New Testament) is often referred to as "Hebrew" in the text, although this term is often re-interpreted as referring to Aramaic instead and is rendered accordingly in recent translations. Nonetheless, these glosses can be interpreted as Hebrew as well. It has been argued that Hebrew, rather than Aramaic or Koine Greek, lay behind the composition of
26358-471: The language. The revival of the Hebrew language as a mother tongue was initiated in the late 19th century by the efforts of Ben-Yehuda. He joined the Jewish national movement and in 1881 immigrated to Palestine , then a part of the Ottoman Empire . Motivated by the surrounding ideals of renovation and rejection of the diaspora " shtetl " lifestyle, Ben-Yehuda set out to develop tools for making
26549-576: The latter case through their strength of personality or power. Vodouists often refer to the lwa living in the sea or in rivers, or alternatively in Ginen, a term encompassing a generalized understanding of Africa as the ancestral land of the Haitian people. The lwa divide into nanchon or "nations". This classificatory system derives from the way in which enslaved Africans were divided into "nations" upon their arrival in Haiti, usually based on their African port of departure rather than their ethno-cultural identity. The term fanmi (family)
26740-434: The liturgical singing and shaking the chacha rattle which dictates the rhythm during ceremonies. They are aided by the hungenikon-la-place , commandant general de la place , or quartermaster , who is charged with overseeing offerings and keeping order during the rites. Another figure is le confiance (the confidant), the ounsi who oversees the ounfò 's administrative functions. Congregants often form
26931-410: The living. Vodou ethical standards correspond to its sense of cosmological order, with a belief in the interdependence of things playing a role in Vodou approaches to ethical issues. Serving the lwa is central to Vodou and its moral codes reflect the reciprocal relationship that practitioners have with these spirits; for Vodouists, virtue is maintained by ensuring a responsible relationship with
27122-891: The mad chaplain at your school. Safran's first date was with a girl called Meg whom he was doing work experience with at the Australian Jewish News in Year 10. They saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade together. At university he began a relationship with a Bolivian girl, but it ended because Safran was "obsessed with [his] creative work", and at 19 Safran did not want the relationship to turn into something more serious. Safran dated playwright Lally Katz . Hebrew language Hebrew ( Hebrew alphabet : עִבְרִית , ʿĪvrīt , pronounced [ ʔivˈʁit ] or [ ʕivˈrit ] ; Samaritan script : ࠏࠨࠁࠬࠓࠪࠉࠕ ʿÎbrit )
27313-420: The mid-19th century, chromolithography has also had an impact on Vodou imagery, facilitating the widespread availability of images of the Roman Catholic saints who are equated with the lwa . Various Vodouists have made use of varied available materials in constructing their shrines. Cosentino encountered a shrine in Port-au-Prince where Baron Samedi was represented by a plastic statue of Santa Claus wearing
27504-473: The mid-20th century. The terminology used in Vodou ritual is called langaj . Unlike in Santería and Candomblé, which employ Yoruba as a liturgical language not understood by most practitioners, in Vodou the liturgies are predominantly in Haitian Creole, the everyday language of most Vodouists. Male priests are referred to as an oungan , alternatively spelled houngan or hungan , or
27695-727: The newly declared State of Israel . Hebrew is the most widely spoken language in Israel today. In the Modern Period, from the 19th century onward, the literary Hebrew tradition revived as the spoken language of modern Israel, called variously Israeli Hebrew , Modern Israeli Hebrew , Modern Hebrew , New Hebrew , Israeli Standard Hebrew , Standard Hebrew and so on. Israeli Hebrew exhibits some features of Sephardic Hebrew from its local Jerusalemite tradition but adapts it with numerous neologisms, borrowed terms (often technical) from European languages and adopted terms (often colloquial) from Arabic. The literary and narrative use of Hebrew
27886-682: The phallus, the skull, and the graveyard cross, the latter used to mark out his presence in a Haitian cemetery. His consort is Gran Brigit, who has authority over cemeteries and is mother to many of the other Gede. The Gede regularly satirise the ruling authorities, and are welcomed to rituals as they are thought to bring merriment. The Gede's symbol is an erect penis, while the banda dance associated with them involves sexual-style thrusting, and those possessed by these lwa typically make sexual innuendos. Most lwa are associated with specific Roman Catholic saints. These links are reliant on "analogies between their respective functions"; Azaka,
28077-534: The phonetic values are instead inspired by the acrophonic principle. The common ancestor of Hebrew and Phoenician is called Canaanite , and was the first to use a Semitic alphabet distinct from that of Egyptian. One ancient document is the famous Moabite Stone , written in the Moabite dialect; the Siloam inscription , found near Jerusalem , is an early example of Hebrew. Less ancient samples of Archaic Hebrew include
28268-536: The phrase si Bondye vle ("if Bondye wishes"), suggesting a belief that all things occur in accordance with this divinity's will. Vodouists regard Bondye as being transcendent and remote; as the God is uninvolved in human affairs, they see little point in approaching it directly. While Vodouists often equate Bondye with the Christian God , Vodou does not incorporate belief in a powerful antagonist that opposes
28459-418: The pillar through which the lwa enter the room during ceremonies. It is around this central post that offerings, including both vèvè patterns and animal sacrifices, are made. However, in the Haitian diaspora many Vodouists perform their rites in basements, where no poto mitan are available. The peristil typically has an earthen floor, allowing libations to the lwa to drain directly into
28650-591: The present day. It is perhaps the most important Hebrew manuscript in existence. During the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain , important work was done by grammarians in explaining the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew; much of this was based on the work of the grammarians of Classical Arabic . Important Hebrew grammarians were Judah ben David Hayyuj , Jonah ibn Janah , Abraham ibn Ezra and later (in Provence ), David Kimhi . A great deal of poetry
28841-570: The primary language of use, and to prevent large-scale incorporation of English words into the Hebrew vocabulary. The Academy of the Hebrew Language of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem currently invents about 2,000 new Hebrew words each year for modern words by finding an original Hebrew word that captures the meaning, as an alternative to incorporating more English words into Hebrew vocabulary. The Haifa municipality has banned officials from using English words in official documents, and
29032-431: The production company Reveille Productions whether the program has been purchased for production or not but as time went by, "the answer isn't getting any yesser". In 2009 John Safran's Race Relations , an eight-part comedy documentary television series, was picked up by the ABC . As part of this series, on 10 April 2009, John Safran took part in a devotional crucifixion , an annual event occurring on Good Friday in
29223-407: The purchase of ritual paraphernalia and land on which to build a temple. To finance this, many save up for a long time. Vodouists believe that the oungan 's role is modelled on the lwa Loco; in Vodou mythology, he was the first oungan and his consort Ayizan the first manbo . The oungan and manbo are expected to display the power of second sight , something regarded as
29414-457: The religion's priests and priestesses are deemed to have "the gift of eyes", capable of seeing the identity of a person's tutelary lwa . Vodou holds that Bondye has preordained the time of everyone's death, but does not teach the existence of an afterlife realm akin to the Christian ideas of heaven and hell . Instead, a common belief is that at bodily death, the gwo bonnanj join
29605-428: The resources and tastes of the oungan or manbo running them. Each ounfò is autonomous, and often has its own unique customs. The main ceremonial room in the ounfò is the peristil , understood as a microcosmic representation of the cosmos . In the peristil , brightly painted posts hold up the roof; the central post is the poto mitan , which is used as a pivot during ritual dances and
29796-674: The rest of the Middle East; and eventually Greek functioned as another international language with the eastern areas of the Roman Empire. William Schniedewind argues that after waning in the Persian period, the religious importance of Hebrew grew in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and cites epigraphical evidence that Hebrew survived as a vernacular language – though both its grammar and its writing system had been substantially influenced by Aramaic. According to another summary, Greek
29987-610: The rise of Nazi Germany . He has one older sister, Margaret. He grew up in Balwyn North and attended North Balwyn Primary School, Balwyn High School and Yeshivah College from Year 8 onwards. He describes himself at Yeshivah, an all-boys Orthodox Jewish school, as being "the least religious kid in the most religious school in Australia". After school he studied journalism at RMIT University . He eventually dropped out without completing his degree and began work in advertising for Clemenger Harvie. During this time he also worked as
30178-404: The saints, while images of these Christian figures can also be found on temple walls, and on the drapo flags used in Vodou ritual. Vodouists also often adopt and reinterpret biblical stories and theorise about the nature of Jesus of Nazareth . Vodou holds that Bondye created humanity in its image, fashioning humans from water and clay. It teaches the existence of a soul, usually called
30369-500: The sea, under the earth, or above the sky. Some Vodouists believe that the gwo bonnanj stays in the land of the Ginen for a year and a day before being absorbed into the Gede family. However, Vodouists usually distinguish the spirits of the dead from the Gede proper, for the latter are lwa . Vodou also teaches that the dead continue to participate in human affairs, with these spirits often complaining that they suffer from hunger, cold, and damp, and thus requiring sacrifices from
30560-399: The sick, supplemented with payments received for overseeing initiations and selling talismans and amulets. In many cases, oungan and manbo become wealthier than their clients. Oungan and manbo are generally powerful and well-respected members of Haitian society. Being an oungan or manbo provides an individual with both social status and material profit, although
30751-401: The sick. There is no priestly hierarchy, with oungan and manbo being largely self-sufficient. In many cases, the role is hereditary. Historical evidence suggests that the role of the oungan and manbo intensified over the course of the 20th century. As a result, "temple Vodou" is now more common in rural areas of Haiti than it was in historical periods. Vodou teaches that
30942-403: The soil; where this is not possible, libations are poured into an enamel basin. Some peristil include seating around the walls. Adjacent rooms in the ounfò include the caye-mystéres , also known as the bagi , badji , or sobadji . This is where stonework altars, known as pè , stand against the wall or are arranged in tiers. Also present may be a sink dedicated to
31133-430: The song " Footloose ". He was also able to gain entry into an exclusive Melbourne night club by dressing up nine men as the band Slipknot . Screened on SBS on Saturday nights, it opened Safran's work to youth 12 to 20 years old, who had not seen the original Race Around the World material. The show won the AFI award in 2003 for "Best Comedy Series". In August 2004 he debuted his new show John Safran vs God , also on
31324-426: The southern villages of Judea." In other words, "in terms of dialect geography, at the time of the tannaim Palestine could be divided into the Aramaic-speaking regions of Galilee and Samaria and a smaller area, Judaea, in which Rabbinic Hebrew was used among the descendants of returning exiles." In addition, it has been surmised that Koine Greek was the primary vehicle of communication in coastal cities and among
31515-402: The spellings Vodoun , Voudoun , or Vodun , while in French the spellings vaudou or vaudoux also appear. The spelling Voodoo , once common, is now generally avoided by practitioners and scholars when referring to the Haitian religion. This is both to avoid confusion with Louisiana Voodoo , a related but distinct tradition, and to distinguish it from the negative connotations that
31706-512: The spirits of the dead. In rural Haiti, cemeteries are often family owned and play a key role in family rituals. Crossroads are also ritual locations, selected as they are believed to be points of access to the spirit world. Other spaces used for Vodou rituals include Christian churches, rivers, the sea, fields, and markets. Certain trees are regarded as having spirits resident in them and are used as natural altars. Different species of tree are associated with different lwa ; Oyu, for example,
31897-413: The spoken language of the Russian Jews, should be treated as their only national language, while Hebrew was to be treated as a foreign language. Hebrew books and periodicals ceased to be published and were seized from the libraries, although liturgical texts were still published until the 1930s. Despite numerous protests, a policy of suppression of the teaching of Hebrew operated from the 1930s on. Later in
32088-408: The streets of Jerusalem wearing only the scarf and beanie of his favourite football club, St Kilda , to prove that God is Jewish (St Kilda's only Grand Final win fell on the same day as Yom Kippur ). He was baptised and placed a Voodoo curse on his ex-girlfriend in the Ivory Coast . He sneaked into Disneyland via a work area and attached information plaques he made about founder Walt Disney to
32279-445: The style characteristic of A Current Affair by sorting through his bin, which was later satirised by comedian Shaun Micallef . Martin had set up members of the Paxton family. Safran and one of the victims, Shane Paxton, turned up to Martin's home. Martin and his wife Dianne physically threatened Safran. Martin's wife ripped apart Safran's papier mâché hat and Ray grabbed Safran by the collar, prompting Shane Paxton to intervene. Martin
32470-459: The supreme being akin to the Christian notion of Satan . Vodou has also been characterized as polytheistic . It teaches the existence of beings called the lwa , a term varyingly translated into English as "spirits", "gods", or " geniuses ". These lwa are also known as the mystères , anges , saints , and les invisibles , and are sometimes equated with the angels of Christian cosmology. Vodou teaches that there are over
32661-455: The term Voodoo has in Western popular culture . Vodou is monotheistic , teaching the existence of a single supreme God. This entity is called Bondye or Bonié, a name deriving from the French term Bon Dieu ("Good God"). Another term for it is the Gran Mèt , borrowed from Freemasonry. For Vodouists, Bondye is the ultimate source of power, the creator of the universe, and the maintainer of cosmic order. Haitians frequently use
32852-414: The term "Hebrew" generally render its meaning as roughly "from the other side [of the river/desert]"—i.e., an exonym for the inhabitants of the land of Israel and Judah , perhaps from the perspective of Mesopotamia , Phoenicia or Transjordan (with the river referred to being perhaps the Euphrates , Jordan or Litani ; or maybe the northern Arabian Desert between Babylonia and Canaan ). Compare
33043-453: The trial. In 2013 Penguin Books published Safran's memoir of his experiences on this trip, Murder in Mississippi (published as God'll Cut You Down in the US). In 2014 he received a Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime for the book. Safran writes for a number of newspapers, including the Sydney Morning Herald and Vice News . Safran has also written a book about extremism in Australia, titled Depends What You Mean By Extremist . It
33234-421: The two different systems simultaneously. Smaller Vodouist communities exist elsewhere, especially among Haitian diasporas in Cuba and the United States . Both in Haiti and abroad Vodou has spread beyond its Afro-Haitian origins and is practiced by individuals of various ethnicities. Having faced much criticism through its history, Vodou has been described as one of the world's most misunderstood religions. Vodou
33425-580: The upper class of Jerusalem , while Aramaic was prevalent in the lower class of Jerusalem, but not in the surrounding countryside. After the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt in the 2nd century CE, Judaeans were forced to disperse. Many relocated to Galilee, so most remaining native speakers of Hebrew at that last stage would have been found in the north. Many scholars have pointed out that Hebrew continued to be used alongside Aramaic during Second Temple times, not only for religious purposes but also for nationalistic reasons, especially during revolts such as
33616-455: The word Habiru or cognate Assyrian ebru , of identical meaning. One of the earliest references to the language's name as " Ivrit " is found in the prologue to the Book of Sirach , from the 2nd century BCE. The Hebrew Bible does not use the term "Hebrew" in reference to the language of the Hebrew people; its later historiography, in the Book of Kings , refers to it as יְהוּדִית Yehudit " Judahite (language)". Hebrew belongs to
33807-424: The world today; the latter group utilizes the Samaritan dialect as their liturgical tongue. As a non- first language , it is studied mostly by non-Israeli Jews and students in Israel, by archaeologists and linguists specializing in the Middle East and its civilizations , and by theologians in Christian seminaries . The modern English word "Hebrew" is derived from Old French Ebrau , via Latin from
33998-421: Was a spoken language , and Amoraic Hebrew (also called Late Rabbinic Hebrew or Mishnaic Hebrew II), which was a literary language . The earlier section of the Talmud is the Mishnah that was published around 200 CE, although many of the stories take place much earlier, and were written in the earlier Mishnaic dialect. The dialect is also found in certain Dead Sea Scrolls. Mishnaic Hebrew is considered to be one of
34189-481: Was a finalist. A portrait by Avraham Vofsi titled John Safran as David and Goliath was a finalist in the 2022 Archibald Prize . Safran has stated that he believes in a force or unifying spirit, and has some "supernatural beliefs". He went on to explain that he doesn't think "these things have to be absolutely true to sort of be invigorating". Furthermore, he thinks mysticism is "a bit like trying to see how long you can hold your breath underwater or like driving without
34380-406: Was carried out against the Roman Empire by the Jews of Judaea . Aramaic and, to a lesser extent, Greek were already in use as international languages, especially among societal elites and immigrants. Hebrew survived into the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy , rabbinic literature , intra-Jewish commerce, and Jewish poetic literature . The first dated book printed in Hebrew
34571-438: Was going on", and that "there was something about the expression on my face". In an interview on Andrew Denton 's Enough Rope program, he claimed that he had no memory of the events during the exorcism, and stated that the footage shown on the show was merely the most interesting from hours of footage. John Safran vs God won a 2005 AFI Award for "Best Comedy Series". Before the exorcism, Safran went to Mozambique to have
34762-1029: Was iconic because the co-hosts talked to each other for much longer than instructed to (one such incident involved Fr Bob and Safran looking up the word monstrance in a dictionary following a dispute) and referring to the audience as "Dear Listeners". By Safran's own admission, Maguire and he "only seem to talk about Scrabble and White Supremacists". During the program's run, Safran and Maguire were able to get interviews from people such as religious scholar Reza Aslan , Julian Assange's mother Christine, The Exorcist star Linda Blair , philosopher and School of Life founder Alain de Botton , writer, retired prison doctor and psychiatrist Theodore Dalrymple , West Memphis Three Damien Echols , antitheist Christopher Hitchens , conspiracy theorist David Icke , former white supremacist skinhead Frank Meeink , pro-euthanasia doctor Philip Nitschke , The Act of Killing director Joshua Oppenheimer , journalist and writer Jon Ronson , true crime writer and Ted Bundy co-worker Ann Rule ,
34953-421: Was in contact with the ABC and specifically warned Safran in the segment that he had spoken to Roger Grant, who was then Head of Corporate Affairs at the ABC. Martin's connection with this executive at the ABC is suspected to be a reason the series never made it to air. The Ray Martin segment was later played on Media Watch , John Safran: The Lost Pilot and on YouTube. In 2014, Martin still appeared bitter about
35144-438: Was now a more significant written language than Aramaic within Judaea." This nationalist aspect was further emphasized during periods of conflict, as Hannah Cotton observing in her analysis of legal documents during the Jewish revolts against Rome that "Hebrew became the symbol of Jewish nationalism, of the independent Jewish State." The nationalist use of Hebrew is evidenced in several historical documents and artefacts, including
35335-406: Was published by Abraham Garton in Reggio ( Calabria , Italy) in 1475. With the rise of Zionism in the 19th century, the Hebrew language experienced a full-scale revival as a spoken and literary language. The creation of a modern version of the ancient language was led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda . Modern Hebrew ( Ivrit ) became the main language of the Yishuv in Palestine , and subsequently
35526-465: Was published in May 2017. His investigation into Big Tobacco, Puff Piece was published in August 2021. It was shortlisted for the 2022 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Nonfiction. His book Squat , released in October 2024, describes his experience squatting in a Los Angeles mansion owned by Kanye West . Safran's favourite board game is Scrabble . However, he prefers to play one-on-one compared with four or more players, as he considers that
35717-470: Was revived beginning with the Haskalah movement. The first secular periodical in Hebrew, Ha-Me'assef (The Gatherer), was published by maskilim in Königsberg (today's Kaliningrad ) from 1783 onwards. In the mid-19th century, publications of several Eastern European Hebrew-language newspapers (e.g. Hamagid , founded in Ełk in 1856) multiplied. Prominent poets were Hayim Nahman Bialik and Shaul Tchernichovsky ; there were also novels written in
35908-479: Was suppressed. Soviet authorities considered the use of Hebrew "reactionary" since it was associated with Zionism, and the teaching of Hebrew at primary and secondary schools was officially banned by the People's Commissariat for Education as early as 1919, as part of an overall agenda aiming to secularize education (the language itself did not cease to be studied at universities for historical and linguistic purposes ). The official ordinance stated that Yiddish, being
36099-437: Was the language of government, Hebrew the language of prayer, study and religious texts, and Aramaic was the language of legal contracts and trade. There was also a geographic pattern: according to Bernard Spolsky , by the beginning of the Common Era, " Judeo-Aramaic was mainly used in Galilee in the north, Greek was concentrated in the former colonies and around governmental centers, and Hebrew monolingualism continued mainly in
36290-408: Was to a certain extent a pidgin . Near the end of that century the Jewish activist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda , owing to the ideology of the national revival ( שיבת ציון , Shivat Tziyon , later Zionism ), began reviving Hebrew as a modern spoken language. Eventually, as a result of the local movement he created, but more significantly as a result of the new groups of immigrants known under the name of
36481-570: Was written, by poets such as Dunash ben Labrat , Solomon ibn Gabirol , Judah ha-Levi , Moses ibn Ezra and Abraham ibn Ezra , in a "purified" Hebrew based on the work of these grammarians, and in Arabic quantitative or strophic meters. This literary Hebrew was later used by Italian Jewish poets. The need to express scientific and philosophical concepts from Classical Greek and Medieval Arabic motivated Medieval Hebrew to borrow terminology and grammar from these other languages, or to coin equivalent terms from existing Hebrew roots, giving rise to
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