SYMBOLISMSymbolic Representation of time-

Leach

Huma Ayaz KhanSyeda Rabia ZiaNimra Mumtaz

Sumra IqbalSman Asim

SYMBOLISM• Symbolism is something which stand for or

represent something.• Symbolism is using of symbols to signify ideas

and qualities by giving them symbolic meaning that are different from their literal sense

• It is an object to represent other to give it different meaning that is much deeper and significant

Kinds of Symbolization• The most important kinds of symbolization is • LANGUAGE• RELIGION

• LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLS• 8000 year ago human were using symbols to

represent words and concepts

CONT….• Symbols occur in different form verbal and

non verbal, written and unwritten, explicit and implicit

• Our ancestors represent their groups by • Cloths • Colors• Symbols are cultural representation of reality

Religion and symbols• Religious symbols is an iconic representation

intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a religion

• The Christian cross has traditionally been a symbol representing Christendom as whole

• Religious symbols are sacred or holy• Both intellectual and emotional significance to

the people who hold them

Conti…• Clifford Geertz point out that religious symbols

both• Models of reality• Models for reality• Models of reality express the culturally defined

conception of the way the is actually organized and models for reality represent the way it should organized as man can influence it.

Symbolic Representation of Time Edmund R. Leach

Leach’s two short essays appeared in the Toronto University publication Explorations.

a) CRONUS AND CHRONOSb) TIME AND FALSE NOSES

What is TIME?• What is the nature of time? • Notion of Repetition• Notion of non-Repetition

• Whithead says, ‘’Time is the sheer succession of epochal duration’’

• Oscillations

GREEK MYTHOLOGY Explaining Time

Symbolic representation of time

Greek mythology

Cronus was regarded as a symbol for time

• Cronus KINGS OF TITAN • Cronus was youngest of

the titans • He spouse his own sister

rhea• Cronus kill his father• Scared of being by their

own kids• He devour his kids • One kid zeus remain alive

Cont…• Zeus overthrow his

father• Cronus vomit out his

devour five kids• Zeus and Cronus fought

for ten year • Zeus become supreme

god

Time back again • One day the age of Zeus will come to end • Age of Cronus no women• There was no women no strife • Time will repeat again• Rituals of Cronus

Cronus an appropriate symbol of time

• Interrelated concept of time • Endless continuum from past to future • Born, Swallowed, Vomited up Frazer & Jane Harrison • Corn spirits and year spirits• Harvest is logically end of sequence of time • symbolized by Reversal of social roles

Greek ideas about time• Ideas about times underwent considerable

development • Active and inactive • Good and bad • Empty time and period of active time

Cont…• According to leach third elements which

oscillate this third element is in concrete form which is semen

• Rain zeus• Fire hepheastos

• Last symbolic elemnt “phallus” • Which distinghuish female from male • Connect this phallus symbol with time • Cronus myth does “make him creator of time

The myth is the creation of myth not story of beginning of world but the story of beginning of

time beginning of becoming

Radcliffe-brown & Levis Strauss

• Rad cliffe doctrine Concerning with the identification of alternating generation tend to exhibits “solidarity” in opposition of intervening father

• Levis staruss place upon marriage as a symbol of alliance

Abstract Algebraic Forms

• A.1 B.1

A.2 B.2

Cont…

• In Radcliffe brown argument the As and Bs are opposed but linked

• In levis Strauss the As and Bs are the males of contending kin groups allied by interchange of women

Eduman R. Leach Arugument

• Greek tended to conceptualized the time process as a zigzag of this same type

• In a structural sense Cronus myth represent separation of A from B

• Beginning of life also beginning of death • Leach said all primitive people necessarily

think about time in way “kachin” (women are root of all evil)

Time and False Noses

Introduction :In this topic it is said in all over the world people mark calendars by mean of festivals. Everyone having variety of festivals Some are same and some are curiously contradictPeople dress up differently some dress up in uniform ,in funny clothes etc and showing special behavior Mark individuals social development with festivals, symbols and rituals Then writer further asked a question why should we demarcate time in this way ?

TIME• How we observe and recognize time ? we experiences time ,but not with our senses .we don’t see it,

touch it,smell,it taste it , hear it … how then ? we experience time in three ways 1) We recognize repetition time is defined here with intervals , time intervals duration

always begin and end with same thing 2) We recognize aging , we recognize time as it never repeat itself , time is irreversible. 3) Thirdly time concern the rate at which time passes the rate of time varies at in different stages of life , time is

having irregular flow

From all these facts it is declared that time is not an intrinsic but this is man made projection fits into environment for own purposes. Primitive people measures time like years round itself ,annual sequence of economic activities etc. Considered astrology as erratic even you can never know what stars are going to get up next.

Why shouldn’t time slow down and stop occasionally ,or even go into reverse n the basis of experiences suggest that time must necessarily flow past a even go into constant speed , why?Time is going on processSome people take time as going on and on.Going round and roundAnd some of people take it as going back and forth. Resembling it as pendulum With pendulum view of time sequence of things is discontinuous ,intervals are distinguished as repeated opposites , tick tock tick tock ,day night ,hot cold, wet dry.

Direction of time flow• The direction of time flow is man made. It is

ordered by the societies which participate in festal rites. These rites are sacrificial in nature, these rites are the techniques for changing the status of person from profane to sacred or from sacred to profane.

• In the diagram there are four phases of a moral person.

Direction of time flow

Phase B Phase C

Phase A

Phase D

Sacred

Profane

Phase A: The phase is called as rite of sacralization. It means that a person is transferred from profane world to the sacred world, he “dies”Phase B: The state in which the person is in the sacred condition. The man social life has stopped.Phase C: The rite of desacralization. The person is brought back from sacred to profane, it means the person is reborn his secular time starts.Phase D: This is the state of normal secular life.

Types of behavior• The types of behavior which we encounter on

ritual occasions are:• Formality• Masquerade • Role reversal

Types of behavior Formality: The type of behavior in which formality is increased , men adopt formal uniform , differences of status are defined by dress and etiquette ,moral rues are obeyed. Examples:

An English Sunday, The Church Ceremony, University Degree Taking Ceremonies ….etc.Masquerade :Masquerade means pretend to be something or someone that you are not. In this the individual , instead of emphasizing his social personality and official status , he seeks to cover it. The world goes in a mask , the formal rules are forgotten.Example : Fancy Dress Party

Cont…Role reversal: This behavior is in very few instance. The behavior is an extreme form of celebrations in which the participants play-act at being the opposite to what they really are. In these festivals the normal social life is played in reverse.Examples:Men act as women , women act as men, servants act as masters, kings act as beggars.

Cont…

These behaviors are conceptually distinct but they are in practice closely associated. It means the rite which starts from formality is likely to ends in masquerade (e.g. A Wedding) or the rite which starts from masquerade is likely to end in formality(e.g. New Year’s Eve)

• Formality and masquerade are therefore contrasted opposites in term of diagram to contrast between phase A and phase C. It is symbolic of a complete transfer from profane to sacred , normal life has stopped , sacred time is played in reverse , death is converted into birth.

• The role reversal behavior is not common in our societies but is common enough in ethnographic literature and in Medieval Europe . Such behaviors are associated with funerals, rite de passage or with year’s end.

Any QUESTIONS? THANK YOU!