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MANA photo (For Wellington)

In Maori language: authority, power; secondary meaning: reputation, influence > 100 Maori words

From Wikipedia: "Mana is a traditional term that refers to a concept among the speakers of Oceanic languages, including Melanesians, Polynesians, and Micronesians. It is an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects and that instills in the appreciative observer a sense of respect or wonder. In anthropological discourse, mana as a generalized concept has attained a significant amount of interest; often understood as a precursor to formal religion. It has commonly been interpreted as "the stuff of which magic is formed", as well as the substance of which souls are made. (...) In Polynesian culture (for example, Hawaiian and MÇori) mana is most similar to the English concept of respect; sharing elements of respect, authority, power and prestige; however, it shares aspects of responsibility, balance and purity as well. The word’s meaning is complex because mana is a basic and important foundation to the Hawaiian concept of spirituality, religion, society and the whole of reality.

Similar concepts are those of Chi in Chinese, Prana in Hindu philosophy or, to some extent the philosophical concept of Ether.

suburb of Porirua city north-west from Wellington > www.poriruacity.com

Island in New Zealand. Mana is an abbreviation of Te Mana o Kupe ki Aotearoa translating as 'the ability of Kupe to cross the ocean to Aotearoa' or 'the prestige of (the explorer) Kupe in discovering New Zealand'. Kupe is reported to have made Mana his home while he explored this region > www.doc.govt.nz | ourworld.compuserve.com | www.manaisland.org.nz

In Havaiian language and philosophy of Huna it means energy of life or life force energy, the same as Chi in Chinese or Shakti/Prana in Sanskrit language. > www.huna.com

In Bhuddism (India) mana means conceit and misconceiving/wrong estimation > www.accesstoinsight.org | www.webcom.com 

MANHATTANphoto (Recent Forgeries)

Manhattan Island -- the smallest of the five boroughs (districts) of New York City. One of the commercial, financial, publishing, and cultural centers of the world.

 

MARIEL

see Hacia Mariel

 

MARRAKESH photo (45301)

(pop. 672,506), is one of the largest cities in Morocco, one of the country's traditional capitals. Once it was the capital of a vast Berber empire. The city was founded by the Berber ruler Yusuf ibn Tashfin in 1062 and reached the height of its prosperity in the 1400's. Its importance declined when a succession of Arab rulers replaced the Berbers in Morocco. Set of Hidalgo. > source: IBM World Book Multimedial Enyclopedia > wikipedia.org

 

MEDIUM photo (CoM)

Means in the middle

A method or way of giving information to many people (TV, Press)

A substance for carrying or sending something (medium for electricity)

Methods/techniques of artistic expression (oil painting, drama, etc.)

A person considered be able to exchange messages with the dead > The Penguin English Student's Dictionary

 

MERZOUGA photo (THiG)

A village in Morocco, set of Hidalgo > i-cias.com | www.moxon.net

 

METRO SECTION photo (Recent Forgeries)

The Section of the Los Angeles Times which discusses local (City and County) news as oposed to the first section of the paper that discusses national and international news. > www.latime.com

 

MIDTHUNDER photo and dedication in Miyelo

David Midthunder, Native American actor, (Assiniboine-Sioux), Hidalgo cast member in Hidalgo > us.imdb.com

 

MINERVA painting Red Minerva (Recent Forgeries)

One of the most important goddesses in ancient Roman mythology, resembled the Greek goddess Athena and like her was a virgin goddess. Favorite child of Jupiter, the king of the gods. One myth tells of her being born out of Jupiter's head, fully grown and dressed in armor.
Minerva had a variety of functions. Originally, she represented skill in handicrafts, particularly those associated with women, such as spinning and weaving. Later, Minerva came to symbolize general skill. Still later, the Romans worshiped her as the goddess of wisdom. The owl has traditionally been considered wise because it was the bird of Minerva.
The Romans, who believed that warfare involved the higher mental powers, worshiped Minerva as the goddess of the intellectual aspect of war. Most artists showed her wearing armor and a helmet. Minerva carried a magic shield or breastplate called the aegis. > source: IBM World Book Multimedial Enyclopedia

Minerva Josephine Chapman (1858 - 1947), American painter, known best for miniatures on ivory, impressionist landscapes and still lifes with oils. She is listed in the Women of Courage, Ten North Country Pioneers in Profile, published first in 1989 by the St. Lawrence County, NY Branch, AAUW. (Canton, NY, the hometown of Viggos college, St. Lawrence University, is a part of St. Lawrance County -- maybe that's the link?) Added on 7. July 2004: Minerva Chapman is mentioned on the "Thank you" page in Recent Forgeries, so there is definetely a connection. > askart.com | humber.northnet.org

Minerva K. Teichert (1888-1976), American painter, truly passionate about the art since she was a child, with an impressing biography. The first woman sent to an art school with the official blessing of the LDS (Mormon) Church leadership. Many of her paintings were dealing with the history of Mormons. > askart.com | www.binggallery.com

A city in Ohio, USA.

A name of an Amarylis' sort. A red one...> www.tucsongardener.com

A Chestnut mare (Peruvian Paso) which was for sale on the Ten Mountain Ranch (Oregon, USA) in 2002, by accident(?) her mother's name was Amarylis...

 

MIRAMAR photo (For Wellington exhibition)

A Peninsula east of Wellington, NZ, domicile of Peter Jackson's Film Studio > www.miramar.co.nz

Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, San Diego, CA, USA

Miramar Records - US music label

 

MITAKUYE OYASIN photo (Miyelo)

In Lakota it means All My Relations, We are All Related or We Are All One, although the literal translation does not explain its complexity. An universal prayer / invocation / mantra, used in rituals like the Sweat Lodge; used also as greeting, with a function comparable maybe to "God bless you" in Christianity). It is ment to remind us that we all are parts of the same Universe. (oyasin = all; takuye = relative; mitakuye = my relative) > www.home.earthlink.net

"... a phrase, used prayerfully, to remind us of our place and responsibility in the world. The indigenous peoples of North America are as aware and serious about bringing balance and peace to the planet (the Mother) now as we were hundreds of years ago" > www.orgsites.com

"To pray this prayer is to petition God on behalf of everyone and everything on Earth. Mitakuye Oyasin honors the sacredness of each person's individual spiritual path, acknowledges the sacredness of all life (human, animal, plant, etc..) and creates an energy of awareness which strengthens not only the person who prays but the entire planet. Soon after I first learned this prayer, I saw that it represented all that needed to be said. It was a prayer of respect, honor and love for all of mankind, and for the Earth. It was a prayer that said 'I wish goodness and peace for all. I would leave no one out. I pray for all.' It was a prayer that crossed the barriers of religion and could be prayed by one of any faith. It was a prayer that united, instead of dividing.
It is a prayer of oneness and harmony with all forms of life: other people, animals, birds, insects, trees and plants, and even rocks" > www.healthynewage.com 

...a salutation to all living things... > www.greatleap.org

Mitakuye Oyasin means EVERYTHING... Including US!! It is said that all things that cast a shadow possess Spirit, and all Spirit comes from our maker, therefore we are all undeniably related. > www.gatheringofnations.com

This powerful word (...), for which there is no equivalent in English, is a recognition of the unity innate in the universe. Even more, it is a salutation, a prayer for all creation to commune in the harmony and balance that bridge the diversity of our lives.> www.suite101.com

A book at www.amazon.com

A Native American columnist? A singer/group?

 

MIYELO / MIELO photos (45301, Miyelo)

means: This is I in Lakota (Sioux) language, from Lakota Ghost Dance Song

Ghost Dance (text © by Naja/FOP) a central ritual of the messianic religion instituted in the late 19th cent. by a Paiute named Wovoka. The religion prophesied the peaceful end of the westward expansion of whites and a return of the land to the Native Americans. The ritual lasted five successive days, being danced each night and on the last night continued until morning. Hypnotic trances and shaking accompanied this ceremony, which was supposed to be repeated every six weeks. The dance originated among the Paiute c.1870; later, other Native Americans sent delegates to Wovoka to learn his teachings and ritual. In a remarkably short time the religion spread to most of the Western Native Americans. The ghost dance is chiefly significant because it was a central feature among the Sioux just prior to the massacre of hundreds of Sioux at Wounded Knee, S.Dak., in 1890. The Sioux, wearing shirts called ghost shirts, believed they would be protected from the soldiers' bullets.

The Ghost Dance was a religious movement that spread rapidly among many Native American tribes in 1889. Wovoka, it's Messiah was a Paiute who never left his native Mason Valley (Nevada) but the religion he founded spread over a large part of the United States. It didn't come completely out of nowhere. Wovoka's ideas were based on an earlier prophets who had preached similar ideas among the Paiute in the 1870's, in fact some of the principles of the Ghost Dance religion can be traced back to the 17th century, the time of the first mass-colonization of the American continent.

The basic doctrine was simple: The time will soon come when all Native Americans, living and dead, will be reunited upon the regenerated earth to live again in the traditional way, free from death and disease, the buffalo and other wildlife will return. The white race will disappear.

The time of this great renewal was set for next spring, when the earth would shake and be newly covered in a fresh layer of soil. All but the faithful would be swallowed by the earth. All this would be brought about by a spiritual power known as the Father, without need of human assistance. To make it happen the followers of the religion were to dance the Ghost Dance and sing the songs as instructed by the Messiah and his emissaries: "You must not fight. Do no harm to anyone. Do right always" and wait for as long as it would take for the renewal to happen; The Messiah was quite clear this would be in the immediate future. (If you think this sounds a lot like Jehova's witnesses expecting the end of the world or fundamentalist Christians awaiting the Rapture you are right, even at the time the similarity to Christianity was noticed)

The dance was circular, performed by men and women together and lasted several days at the time, ideally resulting in trance and visions. The Songs of the Ghost Dance are hypnotizing and repetitive, [and together with] exhausting dancing going on for days, probably helped to bring about the desired trance.

Those who fell into a trance frequently reported they had met and spoken with the dead who were soon to return to earth. Sometime during the spread of the religion the Ghost Dance Shirt became a part of the ritual. It is not in the original doctrine as taught by Wovoka, but it was an integral part of the cult among the Lakota. The Ghost Shirt was a white cloth shirt, painted with symbols and decorated with eagle feathers. It was supposed to make the wearer invulnerable to the white man's weapons.

The explanation for the great success and rapid spread of the Ghost Dance is simple. By 1889 Native Americans had seen their culture and way of life destroyed by the seemingly insatiable hunger for land of the White Man, most were forced to live in overpopulated reservations where, without the means to support themselves they were dependent on rations supplied by the government. In 1889, these rations were drastically reduced resulting in famine. Many (although not all) officials responsible for the reservations were incompetent if not criminally corrupt.

Suddenly, here was a cult that promised restoration of all that had been taken from them: the Buffalo would return, the dead would live again and the White Man would disappear from their world.

The misunderstanding of the Ghost Dance religion by authorities and the mismanagement of events in the Lakota reservations of South Dakota ultimately led to the horrible massacre at Wounded Knee.

> www.infoplease.com | www.geocities.com | indiana.edu | Ghost Dance by Karen M. Strom

read also: James Mooney: Photographing the Ghost Dance

more about Miyelo photos

 

MORA photo Buddha In Mora (Signlanguage)

City in Minnesota ci.mora.mn.us

The County Seat of Kanabec County, Minnesota.

Home of the "Santa World" in Sweden www.santaworld.se

City in Spain

MO TE UPOKO-O-TE-IKA Title of book and exhibition

means For Wellington, but literally translates into a gift for the Head of the Fish. It relates to a Maori legend about Maui (a semi-god) and his brothers who went fishing in their waka (canoe) which became the South Island of New Zealand. Maui used a magic fish hook made from the jaw bone of his grandmother. He hit himself on the nose and smeared blood on the hook and casting out this sacred hook snared a great beautiful fish, the North Island! Maui told his brothers to stay in the waka while he made his peace with the fish and thanked the Gods but the impatient brothers ran all over the back of the fish which became angry, thrashed about and left the land forever cut into valleys and mountains. Wellington is at the head of that fish.
> thanks to Aoraki for providing the information

 

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OBISPO >photo (45301)

San Louis Obispo - city in Californina, USA > www.ci.san-luis-obispo.ca.us

Hernán Obispo (1967 - 2002) -- Argentinian tango dancer and teacher, died in a car accident. > Totango.net | Totango.net 2

 

ODENSE photos (For Wellington)

Main city on the Danish isle Fynn, where the exhibition Ephëmeris took place in June 2003.

The name means Odin's Sanctuary/Shine (Odins Vi) in Danish(?).

> Odense - City of Hans Christian Andersen
> Visit Odense
> Odense Tourist Information
> wikipedia

ORLANDOphoto (Signlanguage Exhibition)

Male first name, Spanish and Italian form of Roland, the Norman French form of a Germanic name, Hrodland, meaning Famous Land, from hrod (famous) and landi (land) > www.geocities.com

Orlando Bloom -- actor starring in LOTR as the Elven prince Legolas. Born 1977 in Canterbury, Kent, England, UK. His other movies: Black Hawk Down (2001), Ned Kelly (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), The Calcium Kid (2004), Troy (2004) > IMDb.com

Character in Shakespeare's As you Like It> Shakespeare Resources

Main character in a novel by Virginia Woolf, and a movie by Sally Potter. From Virginia Woolf resource materials at www.mantex.co.uk: a character who changes sex part-way through the book - and lives from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. Using this device (which is strangely credible) Woolf explores issues of gender and identity as her hero-heroine moves from life as an emissary to the Court of St James, through friendships with Swift and Alexander Pope, through to motoring through the west end of London in the 1920s. The character is loosely based on Vita Sackville-West, who at one time was Woolf's lover. > Virginia Woolf- Orlando | Orlando: the Story | IMDb.com

City in Florida, U.S., so called from 1857, supposedly in honor of a U.S. soldier, Orlando Reeves, who was killed there in 1835 by Seminoles. > www.cityoforlando.net | www.orlandoinfo.com

Capo d'Orlando -- a cape at northern coast of Sicily, Italy. > www.agatirno.it