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CONF./CFP- Sacral Viewed by "Lay People" and "Initiated", Moscow, June 2004

First Announcement and Call for Papers

Dear colleagues!

We inform you that International interdisciplinary scientific-practical
Congress "Sacral viewed by 'lay people' and 'initiated'" will be held in
June 21-27, 2004 in Moscow (close suburbs).  Its program consists of 
three parts: scientific-theoretical, informational-acquainting, 
practical-training (see below).

The Congress organizer is N. N. Miklukho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology 
and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Center for Studying 
of Shamanism and Other Indigenous Spiritual Beliefs and Practices).

Those who are wishing to participate in the work of the congress are
suggested to submit preliminary applications for papers and 
presentations in round-table discussions before March 1. After your 
paper is accepted you'll get further information. Participants wishing 
to join the work of the congress without paper or published presentation 
should also submit the application before March 1.

Application should contain information about the author (short CV), 
short (up to 20 lines) abstract of paper or presentation, the name of 
the preferred round-table discussion or plenary talk, suggestion/wish to
participate in the scientific-practical program.

Working languages of the Congress: Russian and English.

Papers up to 0.5 author's sheet (20,000 characters) and texts of the
presentations - 0.25 author's sheet (10,000 characters) will be accepted 
by the Organizing Committee before April 15 in one of the working 
languages of the congress with the detailed abstract in the other 
language (for a paper - 2,000 characters, for the presentation - 1,000 
characters). Please, send your texts via e-mail as an attachment in 
RTF-format.

If you have suggestions and additions to the topics of the sessions and
scientific-practical events (including suggestions on their organization 
and invitation of particular people to join our work) we ask you to 
contact the Organizing Committee as soon as possible.

Special information for the participants making presentations:  The
Organizing Committee insists on matching the texts of the papers and
presentations: 1) to the general topic of the congress and 2) strictly 
to the topic of the chosen session or round-table discussion.  The work 
will be organized on the basis of preliminary published materials as the 
discussion of the specific topic in  the session or round-table 
discussion with presentation of the abstracts and short reports that 
will be followed by the open discussion on the suggested topic (not in 
the way of discussion of the full-size presentations!).

Organizing questions:

The congress will be held in the health resort in the close Moscow 
suburban area.  Housing in the sanatorium (5 meals per day, pool, sauna, 
etc.) costs
(today prices):
One place in a double room with conveniences - 850 rubles per day,
in a single room - 1450 rubles per day; with partial conveniences 
(shower and W.C. on the floor but not in the room)
- 750 rubles per day, 1200 rubles per day.
Prices can change slightly. Preliminary reservation and advance payment 
will help you avoid the rise of the prices.
For those wishing to live in Moscow transportation every day from the 
station "Skhodnya" of the Oktyabrskaya railway to health resort will be 
organized.

Organization fee for the participants of the congress - 6,000 rubles
(including the cost of the published materials, meeting of foreign
participants at the airport Sheremetievo and railway terminals in 
Moscow, translation service, tea and coffee break during the work of the 
congress).

Those who are willing to attend the Altai conference on burkhanism (it 
will be held right after the congress in the Altai Republic) together 
with the organizers of the congress should inform the Organizing 
Committee about this intention before: you can get assistance in buying 
tickets with discounts for a trip to Altai Republic as well as help with 
other matters related to this trip.

Up to this moment the Organizing Committee of the coming congress 
elaborated a program that further can be changed slightly in 
consideration of the suggested presentations and applications for the 
round-table discussions.

The congress' working group (Dr Valentina Kharitonova, Dr Dmitrij Funk,
Elena Piterskaya) can be reached at the following address: 119334 
Russia, Moscow, Leninskij prospect, 32a. Institute of Ethnology and 
Anthropology, RAS, Organizing Committee of the International Congress 
"Sacral viewed by "lay people" and "initiated";
Tel. Office: (095)938.18.71 (Tuesday, Thursday), (095)938.57.19, home - 
(095)531.69.78 (Kharitonova/ Funk), Fax: (095) 938-0600,
or E-mail:  d_funk@iea.ras.ru & elenasp2003@mail.ru

Preliminary Program

Part I
"Sacral viewed by 'lay people'"

- Plenary talk No. 1
  "Methodological aspects of study of sacral in the culture"
- Plenary talk No. 2
  "Three sciences in one ethnographic field": problems of study of the 
sacral by aboriginal, foreign researchers and representatives of other 
culture".
- Plenary talk No. 3 / round-table discussion
  "'Lay people' and 'initiated': search of the mutual understanding"

"Sacral in the monodisciplinary and complex research: problems,
difficulties, peculiarities"

- Round-table discussion No. 1
  "Ethnographer in the environment he studies: ways and opportunities of 
comprehension of the sacral"
- Round-table discussion No. 2
  "Folklorist and linguist: work with the texts of the sacral practices"

"Sacral in the interdisciplinary research: search of the methodological
basis and methodic working principles, results of the collaboration"

- Round-table discussion No. 3
  "Sacred basis of the creativity and the process of the creation of the 
sacral"
- Round-table discussion No. 4
  "Sacral in the therapy and therapy by the sacral"

"Ways of the study of the unknown"

- Round-table discussion No. 5
  "Suicide as problem of the sacral: research approaches and 
opportunities of
   the problem solution"
- Round-table discussion No. 6
  "Sacral... state of consciousness: ASC-transformations and their 
consequences"

The third part of the every day work includes: demonstration of the 
video films, special trainings, experimental workshops, visit to Moscow 
theaters.

Part II
"Sacral viewed by the initiated"

This part of the congress is informational and demonstrative. It is 
planned for 4 working days, with the representation of shamanistic art 
and traditional ritual practices of a peculiar region for every day.
Acquaintance with the Buryat tradition (see the first working day 
schedule, others are similar), Yakut (Sakha) Republic, Sayano-Altai 
region, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District tradition is planned.

"Buryat shamanism today" - information seminar No. 1
- "Contemporary Buryat shaman practices in Aginsk Buryat Autonomous
   District (ABAD)"
- "Shaman revival in the Buryat republic"
- "Buryat shamans in Moscow and Moscow suburbs"

Round-table discussion - interview No. 1
- Shamanic center of B. Ts. Rinchinov (ABAD), Ts.Ts. Rabdanova (ABAD), 
N.V. Angaraeva - center "Baikal" (Ulan-Ude), etc.

Creative assembly (studio) No. 1
demonstration of the Buryat shaman practices

Special suggestion: if the number of participants of the congress 
willing to participate in shaman seminars-trainings will be sufficient 
from June 28 up to June 30 such trainings on various shaman techniques 
will be held by shamans: shaman travel (Khakass shaman, PhD in 
Psychology V.S. Topoev), incorporation by the spirit (Buryat shaman B. 
Ts. Rinchinov), shaman cleansing rituals, etc. (The cost of such seminar 
will be paid separately).
Looking forward for your suggestions related to the issues of 
organization of practical seminars, including the list of shaman 
techniques.

Extra information:

The topic of the congress is the continuation of the International
interdisciplinary scientific-practical seminar-conference "Sacral in the
traditional culture: methodology of research, methods of fixation and
processing of field, laboratory, experimental data", that was held in 
Moscow and Altai Republic in July, 2003. we remind you the main topics 
of the seminar (these topics are considered basic for the future work, 
though program suggests other "broader" formulations):

1. "We'll study our culture ourselves" - Problems of contacts and 
scientific work with colleagues of another ethnic background.
2. "We know better what should be written about us!" - Peculiarities of
contacts, field and laboratory work with representatives of the 
"national revival" and highly-educated informants.
3. "Native among natives" - The problem of work of the national 
researchers and the leaders of the "national revival" in their 
traditional environment (age and sex limitations to the knowledge 
acquisition, taboo of the cared places, etc.).
4. "Translator is not always right" - The problem of research in
another-language environment (command of the mother-tongue and the
mediator language).
5. "External and internal interpretations: is there much difference?"  - 
The problem of research in another ethnic environment (knowledge of the 
cultural context and psychomental complex (PMC) of the local population).
6. "Native among aliens" - The problem of the "involvement into the
environment" and sacral initiations.
7. "Alien among natives" - "Initiated" among the lay people and
representatives of other culture.
8. "Is it possible to preserve the worldview while changing the 
psychical orientation?" - The problem of the anthropological study of 
rituals and practices with the mandatory immerse into the altered state 
of mind (the necessity to try altered state of mind techniques drug and 
hallucination substances, etc.).
9. "Is it possible to fix and measure altered states of mind and special
states of body?" - Problems of the "physical and psychological 
anthropology": use of devices for the measurement of the altered      
states of mind and special states of the body. - The problem of      
ojectivization and formalization during study of the sacral in the   
culture.
10. "Magic, mystic, religion and "extra sciences" in the contemporary 
world"
  - Methodic and methodological aspect of research of the contemporary
  religious situation.

Main presentations of the seminar-conference held in 2003 published as
Working materials in Russian and English could be found on the web-site 
of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS www.iea.ras.ru