събота, 20 юни 2015 г.
петък, 19 юни 2015 г.
четвъртък, 18 юни 2015 г.
сряда, 17 юни 2015 г.
петък, 12 юни 2015 г.
Обработването на каучук при индианците (The Indians and the cauchuc)
Жителите на Централна Америка не просто умеели да правят гума. Пред повече от три хиляди години те се научили да произвеждат различни видове гума. Едва сега учените разбраха по какъв начин индианците са създали този материал, за чието описание испанските пътешественици трудно намирали думи.
Windigo warrior society
Taken from The 33 Strategies of War (Robert Greene) The Ojibwa tribe of the North American plains contained a warrior society known as the Windigokan (No-flight contraries). Only the bravest men, who had demonstrated their courage by utter disregard for danger on the battlefield, could be admitted. In fact, because they had no fear of death, they were no longer considered among the living: they slept and ate seperately and were not held to the usual codes of behaviour. As creatures who were both alive and dead, they spoke and acted contrarily: they called a young person an old man and when one of the others told the rest to stand still, he meant charge forward. They were glum in times of prosperity, happy in the depths of winter. Although there was a clownish side to their behaviour, the Windigokan could inspire great terror. No-one ever knew what they would do next.
The Windigokan were believed to be inhabited by terrifying spirits called Thunderers, which appeared in the form of giant birds "Nimkee Binesii" Thunderbirds..That made them somewhat inhuman. On the battlefield they were disruptive and unpredictable, and in raiding parties downright terrifying. In one such raid, witnessed by an outsider, they gathered first in front of the Ojibwa chief's lodge and yelled "we are not going to war! We shall not kill the Sioux! We shall not scalp four of them and let the rest escape! We shall go in daytime!" They left the camp that night, wearing customes of rags and scraps, their bodies plastered with mud and painted with splotches of wierd colour, their faces covered by frightening masks with giant, beak like noses. They made their way through the darkness, stumbling over themselves - it was hard to see through the masks - until they came upon a large Sioux war party. Although outnumbered, they did not flee, but danced into the enemies centre. The grotesqueness of their dance made them seem to be possessed by demons. Some of the Sioux backed away; others drew closer, curious and confused. The leader of the Windigokan shouted "Don't shoot!" The Ojibwa warriors then pulled out guns hidden under their rags, killed four of the Sioux and scalped them. Then they danced away, the enemy too terrified by this apparition to pursue them.
After such an action, the mere appearance of the Windigokan was enough for the enemy to give them a wide berth and not risk any kind of encounter.
понеделник, 8 юни 2015 г.
вторник, 2 юни 2015 г.
понеделник, 1 юни 2015 г.
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