Folk Narratives: Rituals and Performances reflects the world-view of the traditional societies and it is considered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of a particular community or society. This study investigates the culture, in a particular sociocultural context, of the multifaceted Tamil society through numerous rituals, offerings, vows, customs, practices, belief systems, performing folk arts, fairs and festivals, dance and music, material culture, etc. which are deeply rooted in ...

A succession of Chinese emperors constructed over the course of a century a fantastical garden, the basis of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan,” to which governing of the country was in time transferred from nearby Peking. A microcosm of China, with palaces, pavilions, and other edifices set among hills and valleys and a network of rivers and lakes, the reality of this garden is employed as the setting for two fictional stories of unrequited love, one between a Jesuit missionary and an...

Destiny Chosen by Life tells the story of a young man embarking on a journey of self-discovery and overcoming personal struggles. The story follows his fight to understand and accept his identity while grappling with an incredible secret that ultimately transforms his life upside-down. Along the way, he develops an incredibly strong character, even as he faces the grief of losing someone dear. Amidst the sorrow, he finds surprising and unexpected support from someone who has been close to ...

Noted poet Jorge Lujan and South Africa's illustrious illustrator Piet Grobler teamed up to produce this exquisite celebration of color.As day turns into night, we are given fleeting, evocative glimpses of the qualities inherent in a range of colors. An antelope and some children are pictured inhabiting this delicate world.This bilingual, bicultural book presents us with a beautiful vision of a planet in which nature, words, and the rising and setting of th...

Every man is being shaped by some kind of wisdom. The key question is–what type of wisdom is guiding us? Scripture doesn't suggest every form of wisdom produces a better, more flourishing life. In fact, it warns us of the opposite condition–we ought to be mightily aware of the possibility that we may be digesting and guided by worldly wisdom, which eventually leads to our own downfall, devastation, and death–yet it will feel so satisfying going down.The Man You're Meant...

They say the deepest encounters don't happen through the body… but through the soul. One hides behind silence. The other beneath a suit of armour. Distance separates them — and, paradoxically, brings them closer. Between typed-out messages, old wounds, and gestures that never touch, an unlikely bond is born… capable of reopening everything they thought was lost. What if it were possible to love without seeing? What if someone, on the other side of the internet, could understand us better t...

This is the story of Stan, a brilliant young graduate student, his girlfriend, and his AI companion united by a daring mission: to change the world, one act of Virtual Justice at a time.At the heart of their work is Stan's groundbreaking invention: a neural patch. Placed at the base of the neck, it allows thoughts to flow in and out of the brain and true telecommunication between minds.Stan and his team intend to use this device in a radical way: to confron...

This book asks an important question:If you were born in rural England in 1837 and died in 1901 and never travelled more than thirty miles in any direction would you have seen a hippopotamus before you died?The answer is, surprisingly, yes.In fact, the roads of England were thronged with all manner of creatures. There were even exotic butterfly farms. Kangaroos hopped around the lawns of stately homes, tigers prowled the backstreets of the East End, a tapir terroris...

This book offers a new appraisal of the ancestry and career of Godfrey of Bouillon (c.1060-1100), a leading participant in the First Crusade (1096-99), and the first ruler of Latin Jerusalem (1099-1100), the polity established by the crusaders after they captured the Holy City. While previous studies of Godfrey’s life have tended to focus on his career from the point at which he joined the crusade, this book adopts a more holistic approach, situating his involvement in the expedition in th...

This volume has been created by scholars from a range of disciplines who wish to show their appreciation for Professor John France and to celebrate his career and achievements. For many decades, Professor France’s work has been instrumental in many of the advances made in the fields of crusader studies and medieval warfare. He has published widely on these topics including major publications such as: Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade (1994) and Western Warfare in...

This book presents and describes an innovative method to simulate the growth of natural fractural networks in different geological environments, based on their geological history and fundamental geomechanical principles.The book develops techniques to simulate the growth and interaction of large populations of layer-bound fracture directly, based on linear elastic fracture mechanics and subcritical propagation theory. It demonstrates how to use these techniques to model the nucleat...

'For the first time, fish became our companions and a corner of many a Victorian parlour was given over to housing tiny fragments of their world enclosed in glass.'The experience of seeing a fish swimming in a glass tank is one we take for granted now but in Victorian England this was a remarkable sight. People had simply not been able to see fish as they could with the invention of the aquarium and everything that went with it.Goldfish in the Parlour looks at the ...