Definitions.

Creation myth definitions from modern references:  Religion professor Mircea Eliade defined the word "myth" in terms of creation:  Myth narrates a sacred history; it relates an event that took place in primordial Time, the fabled time of the "beginnings." In other words, myth tells how, through the deeds of Supernatural Beings, a reality came into existence, be it the whole of reality, the Cosmos, or only a fragment of reality – an island, a species of plant, a particular kind of human behavior, an institution.

Meaning and function.

All creation myths are in one sense etiological because they attempt to explain how the world was formed and where humanity came from. Myths attempt to explain the unknown and sometimes teach a lesson.  Ethnologists and anthropologists who study these myths say that in the modern context theologians try to discern humanity's meaning from revealed truths and scientists investigate cosmology with the tools of empiricism and rationality, but creation myths define human reality in very different terms. In the past historians of religion and other students of myth thought of them as forms of primitive or early-stage science or religion and analyzed them in a literal or logical sense. Today, however, they are seen as symbolic narratives which must be understood in terms of their own cultural context. Charles Long writes, "The beings referred to in the myth – gods, animals, plants – are forms of power grasped existentially. The myths should not be understood as attempts to work out a rational explanation of deity."  While creation myths are not literal explications they do serve to define an orientation of humanity in the world in terms of a birth story. They are the basis of a worldview that reaffirms and guides how people relate to the natural world, to any assumed spiritual world, and to each other. The creation myth acts as a cornerstone for distinguishing primary reality from relative reality, the origin and nature of being from non-being. In this sense they serve as a philosophy of life but one expressed and conveyed through symbol rather than systematic reason. And in this sense they go beyond etiological myths which mean to explain specific features in religious rites, natural phenomena or cultural life. Creation myths also help to orient human beings in the world, giving them a sense of their place in the world and the regard that they must have for humans and nature.  Historian David Christian has summarised issues common to multiple creation myths:  Each beginning seems to presuppose an earlier beginning.... Instead of meeting a single starting point, we encounter an infinity of them, each of which poses the same problem.... There are no entirely satisfactory solutions to this dilemma. What we have to find is not a solution but some way of dealing with the mystery... And we have to do so using words. The words we reach for, from "God" to "gravity", are inadequate to the task. So we have to use language poetically or symbolically; and such language, whether used by a scientist, a poet, or a shaman, can easily be misunderstood.

Classification.

Mythologists have applied various schemes to classify creation myths found throughout human cultures. Eliade and his colleague Charles Long developed a classification based on some common motifs that reappear in stories the world over. The classification identifies five basic types:  Marta Weigle further developed and refined this typology to highlight nine themes, adding elements such as "deus faber", a creation crafted by a deity, creation from the work of two creators working together or against each other, creation from sacrifice and creation from division/conjugation, accretion/conjunction, or secretion.  An alternative system based on six recurring narrative themes was designed by Raymond Van Over:

"Ex nihilo".

The myth that God created the world out of nothing – "ex nihilo" – is central today to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides felt it was the only concept that the three religions shared. Nonetheless, the concept is not found in the entire Hebrew Bible. The authors of Genesis 1 were concerned not with the origins of matter (the material which God formed into the habitable cosmos), but with assigning roles so that the Cosmos should function. In the early 2nd century AD, early Christian scholars were beginning to see a tension between the idea of world-formation and the omnipotence of God, and by the beginning of the 3rd century creation "ex nihilo" had become a fundamental tenet of Christian theology.  "Ex nihilo" creation is found in creation stories from ancient Egypt, the Rig Veda, and many animistic cultures in Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America. In most of these stories the world is brought into being by the speech, dream, breath, or pure thought of a creator but creation ex nihilo may also take place through a creator's bodily secretions.  The literal translation of the phrase "ex nihilo" is "from nothing" but in many creation myths the line is blurred whether the creative act would be better classified as a creation "ex nihilo" or creation from chaos. In "ex nihilo" creation myths the potential and the substance of creation springs from within the creator. Such a creator may or may not be existing in physical surroundings such as darkness or water, but does not create the world from them, whereas in creation from chaos the substance used for creation is pre-existing within the unformed void.

Creation from chaos.

In creation from chaos myth, initially there is nothing but a formless, shapeless expanse. In these stories the word "chaos" means "disorder", and this formless expanse, which is also sometimes called a void or an abyss, contains the material with which the created world will be made. Chaos may be described as having the consistency of vapor or water, dimensionless, and sometimes salty or muddy. These myths associate chaos with evil and oblivion, in contrast to "order" ("cosmos") which is the good. The act of creation is the bringing of order from disorder, and in many of these cultures it is believed that at some point the forces preserving order and form will weaken and the world will once again be engulfed into the abyss. One example is the Genesis creation myth from the first chapter of the Book of Genesis.

World parent.

There are two types of world parent myths, both describing a separation or splitting of a primeval entity, the world parent or parents. One form describes the primeval state as an eternal union of two parents, and the creation takes place when the two are pulled apart. The two parents are commonly identified as Sky (usually male) and Earth (usually female) who in the primeval state were so tightly bound to each other that no offspring could emerge. These myths often depict creation as the result of a sexual union, and serve as genealogical record of the deities born from it.  In the second form of world parent myth, creation itself springs from dismembered parts of the body of the primeval being. Often in these stories the limbs, hair, blood, bones or organs of the primeval being are somehow severed or sacrificed to transform into sky, earth, animal or plant life, and other worldly features. These myths tend to emphasize creative forces as animistic in nature rather than sexual, and depict the sacred as the elemental and integral component of the natural world. One example of this is the Norse creation myth described in "Gylfaginning" exactly in the poem Völuspá.

Emergence.

In emergence myths humanity emerges from another world into the one they currently inhabit. The previous world is often considered the womb of the earth mother, and the process of emergence is likened to the act of giving birth. The role of midwife is usually played by a female deity, like the spider woman of several mythologies of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Male characters rarely figure into these stories, and scholars often consider them in counterpoint to male-oriented creation myths, like those of the "ex nihilo" variety. Emergence myths commonly describe the creation of people and/or supernatural beings as a staged ascent or metamorphosis from nascent forms through a series of subterranean worlds to arrive at their current place and form. Often the passage from one world or stage to the next is impelled by inner forces, a process of germination or gestation from earlier, embryonic forms. The genre is most commonly found in Native American cultures where the myths frequently link the final emergence of people from a hole opening to the underworld to stories about their subsequent migrations and eventual settlement in their current homelands.

Earth-diver.

The earth-diver is a common character in various traditional creation myths. In these stories a supreme being usually sends an animal into the primal waters to find bits of sand or mud with which to build habitable land. Some scholars interpret these myths psychologically while others interpret them cosmogonically. In both cases emphasis is placed on beginnings emanating from the depths. Earth-diver myths are common in Native American folklore but can be found among the Chukchi and Yukaghir, the Tatars and many Finno-Ugrian traditions. The pattern of distribution of these stories suggest they have a common origin in the eastern Asiatic coastal region, spreading as peoples migrated west into Siberia and east to the North American continent.  Characteristic of many Native American myths, earth-diver creation stories begin as beings and potential forms linger asleep or suspended in the primordial realm. The earth-diver is among the first of them to awaken and lay the necessary groundwork by building suitable lands where the coming creation will be able to live. In many cases, these stories will describe a series of failed attempts to make land before the solution is found.

A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. While in popular usage the term "myth" often refers to false or fanciful stories, members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of truth to their creation myths. In the society in which it is told, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truths, metaphorically, symbolically and sometimes in a historical or literal sense. They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical myths—that is, they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness.

Des récits originels sont des explications, scientifiques ou mythologiques (mythe des origines), des débuts de l'humanité, de la terre, de la vie et de l'univers (cosmogonie). Ces explications ou croyances peuvent dériver d'investigations scientifiques, de spéculations métaphysiques ou de croyances religieuses. Comme pour tout type de croyances, les opinions concernant la validité des différents récits originels dépendent du point de vue et peuvent grandement varier.


Gameplay.

Battle system.

"Ehrgeiz" differs from most 3D fighting games by drawing heavily from the concepts of wrestling games and Dream Factory's own "Tobal" series, which allows for full 360-degree movement and does not require fighters to be facing one another at all times. This restricts the camera to a more or less fixed position, zooming in and out with the action, but not tracking around the arena as would be common in most other 2D and 3D fighting games. The fast-paced fighting allows for characters to move freely in a 3-dimensional stage which is filled with many interactive objects and changes in elevation, allowing characters to leap on top of crates or use them as weapons, for example.

Quest Mode.

The PlayStation version includes a Quest Mode, similar to "Tobal No. 1" and "Tobal 2", titled "Brand New Quest: The Forsaken Dungeon". Players fight through an extensive dungeon crawl, much like the Blizzard title "Diablo", and can equip different weapons and items. There are also several smaller minigames, such as a race mode, where players run laps around a course while engaging in combat to slow down their opponent, and a board game similar to Reversi.  Quest Mode is a hack and slash action RPG mode of gameplay in Ehrgeiz. It begins in a dungeon in a parallel universe, and later moves to a nearby inn. The player can explore the town and enter the dungeon, which contains randomly generated maps. Somewhere on each floor of the dungeon will be a stairway to the next level downward in the dungeon. Since the main characters are archaeologists, the goal revolves around going as deep in the dungeon as possible in the hopes of finding great artifacts. Two characters are available for this mode: Clair Andrews and Koji Masuda. The player can switch between the two by visiting the inn. If one character dies in the dungeon, the other can "resurrect" him/her by finding the corpse.  The character development system revolves mainly around a five-point chart representing which statistics will be increased in the character upon raising his/her level. Consuming Protein, Vitamins, Minerals, Carbohydrates, or Lipids will in turn increase Attack, Magic, Dexterity, Speed, or Defense, respectively. The diagram points and stretches towards each of these points. As one point is focused on, the diagram will contract on the other points of the diagram. Thus, increasing how much one stat will raise will lower how much the other stats will raise.  A major facet of the Quest Mode is hunger management. Each monster can drop a food item which will fill the hunger bar slightly, and supply the player with one of the previously mentioned nutrients. Eating while the hunger bar is full will increase the maximum size of their stomach (though the actual size of the bar on the screen remains the same, the number of units represented is greater). This effect also applies when drinking health potions while the HP meter is full.  There are several recipe books hidden throughout the Quest portion of the game's dungeon. Wine trading is available after getting the second recipe book and talking to a man in a restaurant in the town. The player can buy and trade wine here much like a stock market, where the value of the wine will go up and down periodically. Players can then trade back the wine either to earn or lose profit.

Plot.

The sword Ehrgeiz, legendarily powerful, was sealed away and could only be opened with the Ehrgeiz stone. This stone was made a prize for a fighting tournament, and whoever won, would take the sword.

"Final Fantasy VII" characters.

In the arcade version, Cloud, Tifa, and Django were revealed after thirty, sixty, and ninety days, respectively, after the initial install and boot of the game.

Development.

"Ehrgeiz" was developed by DreamFactory, who previously developed the "Tobal" fighting games for Square. The game was directed and designed by "Virtua Fighter" and "Tekken" designer Seiichi Ishii. The game's characters, both the original ones and those from "Final Fantasy VII", were designed by Tetsuya Nomura. "Ehrgeiz" was announced as the first project to result from a licensing agreement allowing Square to develop games for Namco's Namco System 12 arcade board. It was released in arcades in 1998 as a joint venture between Square and Namco. After the game's US release on the PlayStation, Square Electronic Arts sponsored the "Ehrgeiz Championship Tour," a series of contests in which players competed against one another playing the game. The contests were held at Electronics Boutique and Babbages stores across America, beginning on July 10, 1999 in New York. In 2000, "Ehrgeiz" was re-released as part of the Square Millennium Collection in Japan. It included a collectable digital clock and character diorama. The PlayStation version of the game featured characters from ‘’Final Fantasy VII’’ as well as several mini games and a new section called “Brand New Quest: The Foresaken Dungeon”.

Music.

"Ehrgeiz Original Soundtrack" contains sixty-one musical tracks from the game. It was composed by Takayuki Nakamura, who previously composed the DreamFactory and Square collaboration Tobal 2. It was released on November 21, 1998 by DigiCube.

Reception.

"Ehrgeiz" sold over 222,000 copies in Japan by the end of 1998, and sold 340,937 copies in Japan by December 2004. It has scored a 32 out of 40 points by the Japanese gaming publication "Famitsu". "IGN" rated the game a 7.5 or "Good", citing the game's beautiful graphics and presentation but noting both its generally simplistic gameplay and very difficult combination move executions. "GameSpot" concurred, writing that the blocking controls were "unintuitive" and generally disappointing mini-games outweighed the games beautiful graphics and Full Motion Videos. In November 2000, the game was ranked #73 on the magazine's top 100 PlayStation games of all time. "Ehrgeiz" currently has an aggregate score of 76% on GameRankings based on twenty-one media outlets. Later reviews reflected the strange use of famous Square Enix characters with "generic moves" and primarily wrestling-based combat.  "Next Generation" reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Technologically speaking, "Ehrgeiz" is an impressive fighter, but it does have balance problems, especially the one-button gameplay of the one-player game. Still, it's good to see developers straying from the accepted formula with new fighting designs that truly work."

, fully titled Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring, is a 3D fighting video game developed by DreamFactory and published by Namco in 1998 for the arcade platform. It was first ported to the PlayStation and published by Square Co. in 1998, then to Japan's PlayStation Network by Square Enix in 2008.

Ehrgeiz est un jeu vidéo de combat développé par DreamFactory, sorti en 1998 sur borne d'arcade et en 1999 sur PlayStation.


Publication and plot.

The poem was published on November 10, 1855, by Ticknor and Fields and was an immediate success. In 1857, Longfellow calculated that it had sold 50,000 copies.  Longfellow chose to set "The Song of Hiawatha" at the Pictured Rocks, one of the locations along the south shore of Lake Superior favored by narrators of the Manabozho stories. The "Song" presents a legend of Hiawatha and his lover Minnehaha in 22 chapters (and an Introduction). Hiawatha is not introduced until Chapter III.  In Chapter I, Hiawatha's arrival is prophesied by a "mighty" peace-bringing leader named Gitche Manito.  Chapter II tells a legend of how the warrior Mudjekeewis became Father of the Four Winds by slaying the Great Bear of the mountains, Mishe-Mokwa. His son Wabun, the East Wind, falls in love with a maiden whom he turns into the Morning Star, Wabun-Annung. Wabun's brother, Kabibonokka, the North Wind, bringer of autumn and winter, attacks Shingebis, "the diver". Shingebis repels him by burning firewood, and then in a wrestling match. A third brother, Shawondasee, the South Wind, falls in love with a dandelion, mistaking it for a golden-haired maiden.  In Chapter III, in "unremembered ages", a woman named Nokomis falls from the Moon. Nokomis gives birth to Wenonah, who grows to be a beautiful young woman. Nokomis warns her not to be seduced by the West Wind (Mudjekeewis) but she does not heed her mother, becomes pregnant and bears Hiawatha.  In the ensuing chapters, Hiawatha has childhood adventures, falls in love with Minnehaha, slays the evil magician Pearl-Feather, invents written language, discovers corn and other episodes. Minnehaha dies in a severe winter.  The poem closes with the approach of a birch canoe to Hiawatha's village, containing "the Priest of Prayer, the Pale-face." Hiawatha welcomes him joyously; and the "Black-Robe chief" brings word of Jesus Christ. Hiawatha and the chiefs accept the Christian message. Hiawatha bids farewell to Nokomis, the warriors, and the young men, giving them this charge: "But my guests I leave behind me/ Listen to their words of wisdom,/ Listen to the truth they tell you." Having endorsed the Christian missionaries, he launches his canoe for the last time westward toward the sunset and departs forever.  The story of Hiawatha was dramatized by "Tale Spinners for Children" (UAC 11054) with Jordan Malek.

Folkloric and ethnographic critiques.

Longfellow used Henry Rowe Schoolcraft as a source of Native American legend. Schoolcraft seems to have been inconsistent in his pursuit of authenticity, as he rewrote and censored sources. The folklorist Stith Thompson, although crediting Schoolcraft's research with being a "landmark," was quite critical of him: "Unfortunately, the scientific value of his work is marred by the manner in which he has reshaped the stories to fit his own literary taste." In addition to Longfellow’s own annotations, Stellanova Osborn (and previously F. Broilo in German) tracked down "chapter and verse" for every detail Longfellow took from Schoolcraft. Others have identified words from native languages included in the poem.  Intentionally epic in scope, "The Song of Hiawatha" was described by its author as "this Indian Edda". But Thompson judged that despite Longfellow's claimed "chapter and verse" citations, the work "produce[s] a unity the original will not warrant," i.e., it is non-Indian in its totality. Thompson found close parallels in plot between the poem and its sources, with the major exception that Longfellow took legends told about multiple characters and substituted the character Hiawatha as the protagonist of them all. Resemblances between the original stories, as "reshaped by Schoolcraft," and the episodes in the poem are but superficial, and Longfellow omits important details essential to Ojibwe narrative construction, characterization, and theme. This is the case even with "Hiawatha’s Fishing," the episode closest to its source. Some important parts of the poem were more or less Longfellow's invention from fragments or his imagination. "The courtship of Hiawatha and Minnehaha, the least 'Indian' of any of the events in "Hiawatha", has come for many readers to stand as the typical American Indian tale." Also, "in exercising the function of selecting incidents to make an artistic production, Longfellow... omitted all that aspect of the Manabozho saga which considers the culture hero as a trickster," this despite the fact that Schoolcraft had already diligently avoided what he himself called "vulgarisms."  In his book on the development of the image of the Indian in American thought and literature, Pearce wrote about "The Song of Hiawatha":

Historical Iroquois Hiawatha.

Apparently no connection, apart from name, exists between Longfellow's hero and the sixteenth-century Iroquois chief Hiawatha who co-founded the Iroquois League. Longfellow took the name from works by Schoolcraft, whom he acknowledged as his main source. In his notes to the poem, Longfellow cites Schoolcraft as a source for a tradition prevalent among the North American Indians, of a personage of miraculous birth, who was sent among them to clear their rivers, forests, and fishing-grounds, and to teach them the arts of peace. He was known among different tribes by the several names of Michabou, Chiabo, Manabozo, Tarenyawagon, and Hiawatha.Longfellow's notes make no reference to the Iroquois or the Iroquois League or to any historical personage.  However, according to ethnographer Horatio Hale (1817–1896), there was a longstanding confusion between the Iroquois leader Hiawatha and the Iroquois deity "Aronhiawagon" because of "an accidental similarity in the Onondaga dialect between [their names]." The deity, he says, was variously known as Aronhiawagon, Tearonhiaonagon, Taonhiawagi, or Tahiawagi; the historical Iroquois leader, as Hiawatha, Tayonwatha or Thannawege. Schoolcraft "made confusion worse... by transferring the hero to a distant region and identifying him with Manabozho, a fantastic divinity of the Ojibways. [Schoolcraft's book] has not in it a single fact or fiction relating either to Hiawatha himself or to the Iroquois deity Aronhiawagon."  In 1856, Schoolcraft published "The Myth of Hiawatha and Other Oral Legends Mythologic and Allegoric of the North American Indians," reprinting (with a few changes) stories previously published in his "Algic Researches" and other works. Schoolcraft dedicated the book to Longfellow, whose work he praised highly.  The U.S. Forest Service has said that both the historical and poetic figures are the sources of the name for the Hiawatha National Forest.

Indian words recorded by Longfellow.

Longfellow cites the Indian words he used as from the works by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. The majority of the words were Ojibwa, with a few from the Dakota, Cree and Onondaga languages.  Though the majority of the Native American words included in the text accurately reflect pronunciation and definitions, some words appear incomplete. For example, the Ojibway words for "blueberry" are "miin (plural: miinan)" for the berries and "miinagaawanzh (plural: miinagaawanzhiig)" for the bush upon which the berries grow. Longfellow uses "Meenah'ga," which appears to be a partial form for the bush, but he uses the word to mean the berry. Critics believe such mistakes are likely attributable to Schoolcraft (who was often careless about details) or to what always happens when someone who does not understand the nuances of a language and its grammar tries to use select words out of context.

Inspiration from the Finnish "Kalevala".

"The Song of Hiawatha" was written in trochaic tetrameter, the same meter as "Kalevala", the Finnish epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot from fragments of folk poetry. Longfellow had learned some of the Finnish language while spending a summer in Sweden in 1835. It is likely that, 20 years later, Longfellow had forgotten most of what he had learned of that language, and he referred to a German translation of the "Kalevala" by Franz Anton Schiefner. Trochee is a rhythm natural to the Finnish language—inasmuch as all Finnish words are normally accented on the first syllable—to the same extent that iamb is natural to English. Longfellow’s use of trochaic tetrameter for his poem has an artificiality that the "Kalevala" does not have in its own language.  He was not the first American poet to use the trochaic (or tetrameter) in writing Indian romances. Schoolcraft had written a romantic poem, "Alhalla, or the Lord of Talladega" (1843) in trochaic tetrameter, about which he commented in his preface: The meter is thought to be not ill adapted to the Indian mode of enunciation. Nothing is more characteristic of their harangues and public speeches, than the vehement yet broken and continued strain of utterance, which would be subject to the charge of monotony, were it not varied by the extraordinary compass in the stress of voice, broken by the repetition of high and low accent, and often terminated with an exclamatory vigor, which is sometimes startling. It is not the less in accordance with these traits that nearly every initial syllable of the measure chosen is under accent. This at least may be affirmed, that it imparts a movement to the narrative, which, at the same time that it obviates languor, favors that repetitious rhythm, or pseudo-parallelism, which so strongly marks their highly compound lexicography. Longfellow wrote to his friend Ferdinand Freiligrath (who had introduced him to "Finnische Runen" in 1842) about the latter's article, "The Measure of Hiawatha" in the prominent London magazine, "Athenaeum" (December 25, 1855): "Your article... needs only one paragraph more to make it complete, and that is the statement that parallelism belongs to Indian poetry as well to Finnish... And this is my justification for adapting it in Hiawatha." Trochaic is not a correct descriptor for Ojibwe oratory, song, or storytelling, but Schoolcraft was writing long before the study of Native American linguistics had come of age. Parallelism is an important part of Ojibwe language artistry.

Cultural response.

Reception and influence.

In August 1855, "The New York Times " carried an item on "Longfellow's New Poem", quoting an article from another periodical which said that it "is very original, and has the simplicity and charm of a Saga... it is the very antipodes [sic] of Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Maud," which is... morbid, irreligious, and painful." In October of that year, the "New York Times" noted that "Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" is nearly printed, and will soon appear."  By November its column, "Gossip: What has been most Talked About during the Week," observed that "The madness of the hour takes the metrical shape of trochees, everybody writes trochaics, talks trochaics, and think [sic] in trochees:...  The "New York Times" review of "The Song of Hiawatha" was scathing. The anonymous reviewer judged that the poem "is entitled to commendation" for "embalming pleasantly enough the monstrous traditions of an uninteresting, and, one may almost say, a justly exterminated race. As a poem, it deserves no place" because there "is no romance about the Indian." He complains that Hiawatha's deeds of magical strength pale by comparison to the feats of Hercules and to "Finn Mac Cool, that big stupid Celtic mammoth." The reviewer writes that "Grotesque, absurd, and savage as the groundwork is, Mr. LONGFELLOW has woven over it a profuse wreath of his own poetic elegancies." But, he concludes, "Hiawatha" "will never add to Mr. LONGFELLOW's reputation as a poet."  Thomas Conrad Porter, a professor at Franklin and Marshall College, believed that Longfellow had been inspired by more than the metrics of the "Kalevala." He claimed "The Song of Hiawatha" was "Plagiarism" in the "Washington National Intelligencer" of November 27, 1855. Longfellow wrote to his friend Charles Sumner a few days later: "As to having 'taken many of the most striking incidents of the Finnish Epic and transferred them to the American Indians'—it is absurd". Longfellow also insisted in his letter to Sumner that, "I know the Kalevala very well, and that some of its legends resemble the Indian stories preserved by Schoolcraft is very true. But the idea of making me responsible for that is too ludicrous." Later scholars continued to debate the extent to which "The Song of Hiawatha" borrowed its themes, episodes, and outline from the "Kalevala."  Despite the critics, the poem was immediately popular with readers and continued so for many decades. The Grolier Club named "The Song of Hiawatha" the most influential book of 1855. Lydia Sigourney was inspired by the book to write a similar epic poem on Pocahontas, though she never completed it. English writer George Eliot called "The Song of Hiawatha", along with Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 book "The Scarlet Letter", the "two most indigenous and masterly productions in American literature".

Music.

Longfellow's poem was taken as the first American epic to be composed of North American materials and free of European literary models. Earlier attempts to write a national epic, such as "The Columbiad" of Richard Snowden (1753–1825), ‘a poem on the American war’ published in 1795, or Joel Barlow's "Vision of Columbus" (1787) (rewritten and entitled "The Columbiad" in 1807), were considered derivative. Longfellow provided something entirely new, a vision of the continent's pre-European civilisation in a metre adapted from a Finnish, non-Indo-European source.  Soon after the poem's publication, composers competed to set it to music. One of the first to tackle the poem was Emile Karst, whose cantata "Hiawatha" (1858) freely adapted and arranged texts of the poem. It was followed by Robert Stoepel's "Hiawatha: An Indian Symphony", a work in 14 movements that combined narration, solo arias, descriptive choruses and programmatic orchestral interludes. The composer consulted with Longfellow, who approved the work before its premiere in 1859, but despite early success it was soon forgotten. An equally ambitious project was the 5-part instrumental symphony by Ellsworth Phelps in 1878.  The poem also influenced two composers of European origin who spent a few years in the USA but did not choose to settle there. The first of these was Frederick Delius, who completed his tone poem "Hiawatha" in 1888 and inscribed on the title page the passage beginning “Ye who love the haunts of Nature” from near the start of the poem. The work was not performed at the time, and the mutilated score was not revised and recorded until 2009.  The other instance was the poem's connection with Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" (1893). In an article published in the "New York Herald" on December 15, 1893, he said that the second movement of his work was a "sketch or study for a later work, either a cantata or opera... which will be based upon Longfellow's "Hiawatha"" (with which he was familiar in Czech translation), and that the third movement scherzo was "suggested by the scene at the feast in Hiawatha where the Indians dance". African-American melodies also appeared in the symphony, thanks to his student Harry Burleigh, who used to sing him songs from the plantations which Dvořák noted down. The fact that Burleigh's grandmother was part Indian has been suggested to explain why Dvořák came to equate or confuse Indian with African American music in his pronouncements to the press.  Among later orchestral treatments of the Hiawatha theme by American composers there was Louis Coerne's 4-part symphonic suite, each section of which was prefaced by a quotation from the poem. This had a Munich premiere in 1893 and a Boston performance in 1894. Dvořák's student Rubin Goldmark followed with a "Hiawatha Overture" in 1896 and in 1901 there were performances of Hugo Kaun's symphonic poems "Minnehaha" and "Hiawatha". There were also additional settings of Longfellow's words. Arthur Foote's "The Farewell of Hiawatha" (Op.11, 1886) was dedicated to the Apollo Club of Boston, the male voice group that gave its first performance. In 1897 Frederick Russell Burton (1861 — 1909) completed his dramatic cantata "Hiawatha". At the same time he wrote "Hiawatha's Death Song", subtitled 'Song of the Ojibways', which set native words followed by an English translation by another writer.  Much later, Mary Montgomery Koppel (b.1982) incorporated Ojibwe flute music for her setting of "The death of Minnehaha" (2013) for two voices with piano and flute accompaniment.  The most celebrated setting of Longfellow's story was the cantata trilogy, "The Song of Hiawatha" (1898–1900), by the Sierra Leone-English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The first part, "Hiawatha's Wedding Feast" (Op. 30, No. 1), based on cantos 11–12 of the poem, was particularly famous for well over 50 years, receiving thousands of performances in the UK, the USA, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. Though it slipped from popularity in the late 20th century, revival performances continue. The initial work was followed by two additional oratorios which were equally popular: "The Death of Minnehaha" (Op. 30, No. 2), based on canto 20, and "Hiawatha's Departure" (Op. 30, No. 4), based on cantos 21–2.  More popular settings of the poem followed publication of the poem. The first was Charles Crozat Converse's "The Death of Minnehaha", published in Boston around 1856. The hand-colored lithograph on the cover of the printed song, by John Henry Bufford, is now much sought after. The next popular tune, originally titled "Hiawatha (A Summer Idyl)", was not inspired by the poem. It was composed by ‘Neil Moret’ (Charles Daniels) while on the train to Hiawatha, Kansas, in 1901 and was inspired by the rhythm of the wheels on the rails. It was already popular when James O'Dea added lyrics in 1903, and the music was newly subtitled "His Song to Minnehaha". Later treated as a rag, it later became a jazz standard.  Duke Ellington incorporated treatments of Hiawatha and Minnehaha in his jazz suite "The Beautiful Indians" (1946–7). Other popular songs have included "Hiawatha’s Melody of Love", by George W. Meyer, with words by Alfred Bryan and Artie Mehlinger (1908), and Al Bowlly's "Hiawatha’s Lullaby" (1933).  Modern composers have written works with the Hiawatha theme for young performers. They include the English musician Stanley Wilson's "Hiawatha, 12 Scenes" (1928) for first-grade solo piano, based on Longfellow's lines, and Soon Hee Newbold's rhythmic composition for strings in Dorian mode (2003), which is frequently performed by youth orchestras.  British rock band The Sweet reference Hiawatha and Minnehaha in their 1972 song "Wig Wam Bam".  Some performers have incorporated excerpts from the poem into their musical work. Johnny Cash used a modified version of "Hiawatha's Vision“ as the opening piece on "Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West" (1965). Mike Oldfield used the sections "Hiawatha's Departure" and "The Son of the Evening Star" in the second part of his "Incantations" album (1978), rearranging some words to conform more to his music. Laurie Anderson used parts of the poem's third section at the beginning and end of the final piece of her "Strange Angels" album (1989).

Artistic use.

Numerous artists also responded to the epic. The earliest pieces of sculpture were by Edmonia Lewis, who had most of her career in Rome. Her father was Haitian and her mother was Native American and African American. "The arrow-maker and his daughter", later called "The Wooing of Hiawatha", was modelled in 1866 and carved in 1872. By that time she had achieved success with individual heads of Hiawatha and Minnehaha. Carved in Rome, these are now held by the Newark Museum in New Jersey. In 1872 Lewis carved "The Marriage of Hiawatha" in marble, a work purchased in 2010 by the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. Other 19th-century sculptors inspired by the epic were Augustus Saint-Gaudens, whose marble statue of the seated Hiawatha (1874) is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Jacob Fjelde, who created a bronze statue, "Hiawatha carrying Minnehaha", for the Columbian Exposition in 1893. It was installed in Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, in 1912 (illustrated at the head of this article).  In the 20th century Marshall Fredericks created a small bronze Hiawatha (1938), now installed in the Michigan University Centre; a limestone statue (1949), also at the University of Michigan; and a relief installed at the Birmingham Covington School, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  Early paintings were by artists who concentrated on authentic American Native subjects. Eastman Johnson's pastel of Minnehaha seated by a stream (1857) was drawn directly from an Ojibwe model. The English artist Frances Anne Hopkins travelled in the hunting country of Canada and used her sketches from the trip when she returned to her studio in England in 1870. She painted her "Minnehaha Feeding Birds" about 1880. Critics have thought these two artists had a sentimental approach, as did Charles-Émile-Hippolyte Lecomte-Vernet (1821–1900) in his 1871 painting of Minnehaha, making her a native child of the wild. The kinship of the latter is with other kitsch images, such as Bufford's cover for "The Death of Minnehaha" (see above) or those of the 1920s calendar painters James Arthur and Rudolph F. Ingerle (1879 – 1950). American landscape painters referred to the poem to add an epic dimension to their patriotic celebration of the wonders of the national landscape. Albert Bierstadt presented his sunset piece, "The Departure of Hiawatha," to Longfellow in 1868 when the poet was in England to receive an honorary degree at the University of Cambridge. Other examples include Thomas Moran's "Fiercely the Red Sun Descending, Burned His Way along the Heavens" (1875), held by the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the panoramic waterfalls of "Hiawatha and Minnehaha on their Honeymoon" (1885) by Jerome Thompson (1814 – 1886). Thomas Eakins made his "Hiawatha" (c.1874) a visionary statement superimposed on the fading light of the sky.  Toward the end of the 19th century, artists deliberately emphasized the epic qualities of the poem, as in William de Leftwich Dodge's "Death of Minnehaha" (1885). Frederic Remington demonstrated a similar quality in his series of 22 grisailles painted in oil for the 1890 deluxe photogravure edition of "The Song of Hiawatha." One of the editions is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dora Wheeler's "Minnehaha listening to the waterfall" (1884) design for a needle-woven tapestry, made by the Associated Artists for the Cornelius Vanderbilt house, was also epic. The monumental quality survives into the 20th century in Frances Foy's "Hiawatha returning with Minnehaha" (1937), a mural sponsored during the Depression for the Gibson City Post Office, Illinois.

Parodies.

Parodies of the "Song of Hiawatha" emerged immediately on its publication. "The New York Times" even reviewed one such parody four days before reviewing Longfellow's original poem. This was "Pocahontas: or the Gentle Savage", a comic extravaganza which included extracts from an imaginary Viking poem, "burlesquing the recent parodies, good, bad, and indifferent, on "The Song of Hiawatha."" The "Times" quoted:  In 1856 there appeared a 94-page parody, "The Song of Milkanwatha: Translated from the Original Feejee". Probably the work of Rev. George A. Strong, it was ascribed on the title page to "Marc Antony Henderson" and to the publishers "Tickell and Grinne". The work following the original chapter by chapter and one passage later became famous:  Over time, an elaborated version stand-alone version developed, titled "The Modern Hiawatha":  In England, Lewis Carroll published "Hiawatha's Photographing" (1857), which he introduced by noting (in the same rhythm as the Longfellow poem), "In an age of imitation, I can claim no special merit for this slight attempt at doing what is known to be so easy. Any fairly practised writer, with the slightest ear for rhythm, could compose, for hours together, in the easy running metre of "The Song of Hiawatha". Having then distinctly stated that I challenge no attention in the following little poem to its merely verbal jingle, I must beg the candid reader to confine his criticism to its treatment of the subject." A poem of some 200 lines, it describes Hiawatha's attempts to photograph the members of a pretentious middle-class family ending in disaster.  1865 saw the Scottish-born immigrant James Linen's "San Francisco (in imitation of Hiawatha)".  During World War I, Owen Rutter, a British officer of the Army of the Orient, wrote "Tiadatha", describing the city of Salonica, where several hundred thousand soldiers were stationed on the Macedonian Front in 1916–1918:  Another parody was "Hakawatha" (1989), by British computer scientist Mike Shields, writing under the pen name F. X. Reid, about a frustrated computer programmer: The poem was also parodied in three cartoon shorts, all of which featured inept protagonists who are beset by comic calamities while hunting. The connection is made plain by the scenes being introduced by a mock-solemn intonation of lines from the poem. The most famous was the 1937 Silly Symphony "Little Hiawatha," whose hero is a small boy whose pants keep falling down. The 1941 Warner Bros. cartoon "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt" features Bugs Bunny and a pint-sized version of Hiawatha in quest of rabbit stew. The 1944 MGM cartoon "Big Heel-watha," directed by Tex Avery, follows the overweight title character's effort to win the hand of the chief's daughter by catching Screwy Squirrel.

The Song of Hiawatha is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his love for Minnehaha, a Dakota woman. Events in the story are set in the Pictured Rocks area of Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior. Longfellow's poem is based on oral traditions surrounding the figure of Manabozho, but it also contains his own innovations.

Le Chant de Hiawatha (Titre original : "The Song of Hiawatha") est un poème épique en vers libres de Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, et est symbolique de la littérature américaine d'inspiration indienne du. Le poème, qui évoque la vie d'un Indien du nom de Hiawatha, puise ses références dans les légendes et les histoires des tribus indiennes nord-américaines, particulièrement celles des Ojibwés du Michigan du Nord, du Wisconsin, et du Minnesota, réunies dans l'ouvrage "Algic Researches and History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States" de l'historien américain Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, explorateur pionnier et ethnographe. Il était de 1836 à 1841 responsable des affaires indiennes pour le Michigan.


Club career.

Dalian Shide.

Sun Jihai started his football career with Dalian Shide in 1995 and made his first appearance on 28 May 1995 against Sichuan Quanxing. Like many of the top young Chinese players of his generation, he wanted to go to the Chinese youth training camp in Brazil that was sponsored by Jianlibao. However, he was not selected as he was not deemed to possess enough potential. Sun showed great character by not letting this huge disappointment derail him and worked very hard to establish himself at his club. Sun enjoyed a successful spell with Dalian as the club won four league titles and one Chinese FA Cup title during his time there.

Crystal Palace.

After three successful years at Dalian Shide, Sun along with Fan Zhiyi signed for Crystal Palace in August 1998. They became the first ever Chinese footballers to play in the English leagues. Sun made his debut for Crystal Palace in a 3–0 loss against Bury in the first leg of a 1998–99 Football League Cup match. He was recalled by Dalian who struggled heavily at the bottom of the league in the 1999 season.

Manchester City.

In February 2002, Sun signed for English side Manchester City from Dalian Shide for £2 million and became the first Asian player to sign for the club. He made his debut for the club in a 4–2 win against Coventry City. His solid defence and dangerous attacking forays won over many City fans. He was voted the best player for the club in September 2002. In October 2002, Sun became the first East Asian footballer to score in the Premier League when he headed home the first goal in a 2–0 win over Birmingham City.  At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, Sun damaged his cruciate ligaments in a tackle with Chelsea striker Eiður Guðjohnsen and missed the rest of the season. After recuperating and following a strict physical regimen devised by his father, Sun re-installed his place as a regular in the club's starting lineup. In the 2006–07 season, Sun was set back yet again by another injury and he made his return on 10 February 2007, against Portsmouth which his side lost 2–1. With the arrival of Sven-Göran Eriksson as the new manager, Sun rarely played in the 2007–08 season. He was replaced by Vedran Ćorluka at right back and Michael Ball played as the defensive substitute instead of Sun.

Sheffield United.

On 2 July 2008, Sun signed a two-year deal with English Championship club Sheffield United. Sun only managed nineteen minutes in his first match for Sheffield United, getting sent off after picking up two yellows in a friendly. He went on to make his full debut in the opening fixture of the 2008–09 season against Birmingham City. He was sent off during a game against Coventry City after a lunging tackle from behind on opposing player Michael Mifsud. The Football Association charged him for his behavior after receiving a red card even with his past good disciplinary record and handed him an additional one-match ban. Having played regularly until November he succumbed to an injury and subsequently failed to force his way back into the first team and made only a handful of appearances in the FA Cup in the second half of the season. Sun was then released from his contract in July 2009 with Sheffield United claiming he had "failed to settle" in Yorkshire.

Return to China.

In July 2009, Sun was loaned to Sheffield United's satellite team Chengdu Blades in the Chinese Super League, hoping to make an impact. He steadily established himself at Chengdu and helped them to achieve the club's best ever league position at seventh place. However, the club was relegated to China League One in the fallout of a match fixing scandal. He returned to Sheffield United after the loan was finished, but his contract ended and was left without a club to play for.  On 8 January 2010, Sun signed a two-year contract with fellow top tier side Shaanxi Chanba. He was promoted as the team captain immediately and he extended his contract for another two years in December 2011. At the beginning of the 2012 season, Sun followed the club when it decided to move to Guizhou and rename themselves Guizhou Renhe. He played nineteen league matches and five Chinese FA Cup matches in the 2012 season as the club achieved fourth place that league season and were runners-up in the cup which gained them entry into AFC Champions League for the first time in the club's history.  On 4 February 2015, Sun moved to fellow top tier side Chongqing Lifan on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club on 8 March 2014 in a 3–0 loss against Beijing Guoan.  On 8 December 2015, Sun returned to second tier side Beijing Renhe on a free transfer.  On 10 December 2016, Sun announced his retirement from football.

International career.

Sun made his international debut for Chinese national team on 6 December 1996 against Uzbekistan. During the 2002 FIFA World Cup in a group stage match against Costa Rica, Sun picked up an ankle injury after a tackle from behind by Mauricio Solís after just 17 minutes. Unable to play, Sun was replaced after 25 minutes and sat out the rest of group stage matches. On 7 June 2008, during a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Qatar, Sun was shown a straight red card for dissent while he was warming up as a substitute on the bench. China lost the match 1–0. He was given a ban of five matches by FIFA and did not receive any call-ups to the national team after this incident.

Honours.

Club.

Dalian Shide  Manchester City  Guizhou Renhe

Sun Jihai (; ; born 30 September 1977) is a Chinese former footballer who played in the English Premier League. He is one of the most well-known footballers in China. He was the first East Asian footballer to score in the Premier League when he scored a goal for Manchester City in October 2002, and also the first Chinese footballer to score in the UEFA Cup. Sun was a member of the Chinese national team that qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the country's only appearance at the World Cup.

Sun Jihai, né le à Dalian, est un ancien footballeur chinois. Ses principaux atouts sont sa vitesse, la force physique, passage à niveau, et des incursions sur les ailes. Il est un joueur très polyvalent qui a joué comme arrière central, un milieu de terrain défensif, et un arrière. Sun est considéré comme une légende et un des acteurs les plus importants dans l'histoire du football chinois, ayant eu une carrière fructueuse à l'étranger.


Etymology.

The etymology of the word "Zion" is uncertain. Mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Samuel (2 Samuel 5:7) as the name of the Jebusite fortress conquered by King David, its origin likely predates the Israelites. If Semitic, it may be associated with the Hebrew root ""ṣiyyôn" ("castle"). Though not spoken in Jerusalem until hundreds of years later, the name is similar in Arabic and may be connected to the root "ṣiyya" ("dry land") or the Arabic "šanā" ("protect" or "citadel"). It might also be related to the Arabic root "ṣahî" ("ascend to the top") or "ṣuhhay" ("tower" or "the top of the mountain"). A non-Semitic relationship to the Hurrian word "šeya" ("river" or "brook") has also been suggested.  "Sahyun" (, "Ṣahyūn" or "Ṣihyūn") is the word for Zion in Arabic and Syriac. A valley called "Wâdi Sahyûn" ("wadi" being the Arabic for "valley") seemingly preserves the name and is located approximately one and three-quarter miles () from the Old City of Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate.  The phrase "Har Tzion", lit. "Mount Zion", appears nine times in the Tanakh. It is spelled with a Tzadi and not Zayin.

The three different locations.

The name "Mount Zion" referred successively to three locations, as Jerusalemites preserved the time-honoured name, but shifted the location they venerated as the focal point of biblical Jerusalem to the site considered most appropriate in their own time.

Lower Eastern Hill (City of David).

At first, Mount Zion was the name given to the Jebusite fortified city on the lower part of ancient Jerusalem's Eastern Hill, also known as the City of David.  According to the Book of Samuel, Mount Zion was the site of the Jebusite fortress called the "stronghold of Zion" that was conquered by King David, then renamed and partially rebuilt by him as the "City of David", where he erected his palace.

Upper Eastern Hill (Temple Mount).

Once the First Temple was erected at the top of the Eastern Hill, the name "Mount Zion" migrated there too.  After the conquest of the Jebusite city, its built-up area expanded northward towards the uppermost part of the same, Eastern Hill. This highest part became the site of Solomon's Temple.  The identification of the pre-Israelite (Jebusite) and Israelite towns on the Eastern Hill is based on the existence of only one perennial water source in the area, the Gihon Spring, and on archaeological excavations revealing sections of the Bronze Age and Iron Age city walls and water systems.  The "Mount Zion" mentioned in the later parts of the Book of Isaiah (), in the Book of Psalms, and the First Book of Maccabees (c. 2nd century BCE) seems to refer to the top of the hill, generally known as the Temple Mount.

Western Hill (today's Mount Zion).

The last shift of the name Mount Zion was to the Western Hill, which is more dominant than the Eastern Hill and seemed to first-century CE Jerusalemites the worthier location for the by-then lost palace of King David. The Western Hill is what today is called Mount Zion.  In the second half of the First Temple period, the city expanded westward and its defensive walls were extended to include the entire Western Hill behind them. Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed the city almost completely around 586 BCE, severing the continuity of historical memory. A long period of rebuilding followed, ending with Jerusalem's second total destruction at the hands of the Romans in 70 CE. Josephus, the first-century CE historian who knew the city as it was before this second catastrophic event, identified Mount Zion as being the Western Hill, separated from the lower, Eastern Hill, by what he calls the "Tyropoeon Valley". It must however be said that Josephus never used the name "Mount Zion" in any of his writings, but described the "Citadel" of King David as being situated on the higher and longer hill, thus pointing at the Western Hill as what the Bible calls Mount Zion.

History since the Late Roman period.

At the end of the Roman period, a synagogue was built at the entrance of the structure known as David's Tomb, probably based on the belief that David brought the Ark of the Covenant here from Beit Shemesh and Kiryat Ye'arim before the construction of the Temple.  During the 1948 war, Mount Zion was conquered by the Harel Brigade on May 18, 1948 and became the only part of the Old City to stay in Israeli hands until the armistice. At first it was linked to the Jewish neighborhood of Yemin Moshe across the Valley of Hinnom via a narrow tunnel, but eventually an alternative was needed to evacuate the wounded and transport supplies to soldiers on Mt. Zion. A cable car capable of carrying a load of 250 kilograms was designed for this purpose. The cable car was only used at night and lowered into the valley during the day to escape detection; it is still in place at what is now the Mount Zion Hotel. The ride from the Israeli position at the St. John Eye Hospital to Mount Zion took two minutes.  Between 1948 and 1967, when the Old City was under Jordanian rule, Israelis were forbidden access to the Jewish holy places. Mount Zion was a designated no-man's land between Israel and Jordan. Mount Zion was the closest accessible site to the ancient Jewish Temple. Until East Jerusalem was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War, Israelis would climb to the rooftop of David's Tomb to pray. The winding road leading up to Mount Zion is known as Pope's Way ("Derekh Ha'apifyor"). It was paved in honor of the historic visit to Jerusalem of Pope Paul VI in 1964.

Biblical references.

The Tanakh reference to "Har Tzion" (Mount Tzion) that identifies its location is derived from the Psalm 48 composed by the sons of Korah, i.e. Levites, as "the northern side of the city of the great king", which Radak interprets as the City of David "from the City of David, which is Zion (1 Kings 8:1-2; 2 Chron. 5:2)". 2 Samuel 5:7 also reads, "David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David," which identifies Mount Tzion as part of the City of David, and not an area outside today's Old City of Jerusalem. Rashi identifies the location as the source of "joy" mentioned in the Psalm as the Temple Courtyard, the location of atonement offerings in the northern part of the Temple complex.  In the New Testament, Mount Zion is used metaphorically to refer to the heavenly Jerusalem, God's holy, eternal city. Christians are said to have “... come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven” (Hebrews 12:22-23 cf. Revelation 14:1).

Landmarks.

Important sites on Mount Zion are Dormition Abbey, King David's Tomb and the Room of the Last Supper. Most historians and archeologists today do not regard "David's Tomb" there to be the actual burial place of King David. The Chamber of the Holocaust ("Martef HaShoah"), the precursor of Yad Vashem, is also located on Mount Zion. Another place of interest is the Catholic cemetery where Oskar Schindler, a Righteous Gentile who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews in the Holocaust, is buried.  Notable burials in the Protestant cemetery on Mt. Zion include a number of prominent individuals from the 19th and 20th centuries. These include explorers and archaeologists such as: Flinders Petrie, Charles Frederick Tyrwhitt Drake, James Duncan, Clarence Stanley Fisher, Charles Lambert and James Leslie Starkey; the architect Conrad Schick; and pioneers in the fields of medicine, education, religion, diplomacy and social services such as James Edward Hanauer, Ernest Masterman, John Nicholayson, Paul Palmer, Max Sandreczky, Johann Ludwig Schneller, Horatio G. Spafford, author of the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul". Also buried in the cemetery are G. Douglas Young, founder of Jerusalem University College, and his wife Georgina (Snook) Young. The cemetery is also the final resting place for a number of soldiers who fought in the First World War, as well as members of the Palestinian Police who served under the British mandate. Several persons buried here were killed in the bombing of the King David Hotel on the morning of 22 July 1946.

Archaeology.

In 1874, an Englishman, Henry Maudsley, discovered a large segment of rock scarp and numerous ancient dressed stones on Mount Zion that were believed to be the base of Josephus's First Wall. Several of these stones were used to construct a retaining wall outside the main gate of the Bishop Gobat school (later known as the American Institute of Holy Land Studies and Jerusalem University College).

Mount Zion (, "Har Tsiyyon";, "Jabal Sahyoun") is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David (, ;, ) and later for the Temple Mount, but its meaning has shifted and it is now used as the name of ancient Jerusalem's Western Hill. In a wider sense, the term is also used for the entire Land of Israel.

Le mont Sion (en arabe : جبل صهيون, en hébreu : הר צִיּוֹן) est une des collines de Jérusalem, située au Sud-Ouest de la vieille ville. Le nom de "Sion" est souvent pris comme symbole de Jérusalem.


Plot.

Hasari Pal (Om Puri) is a rural farmer who moves to Calcutta with his wife Kamla (Shabana Azmi) and three children in search of a better life. The Pals do not get off to a good start: they are cheated out of their rent money and thrown out on the streets, and it's difficult for Hasari to find a job to support them. But the determined family refuses to give up and eventually finds its place in the poverty-stricken city.  Meanwhile, on the other end of Calcutta, Max Lowe (Patrick Swayze), a Houston surgeon distraught after the loss of a young patient, has arrived in search of spiritual enlightenment. However, he encounters misfortune as soon as he arrives. After being tricked by a young prostitute, he is roughed up by thugs and left bleeding in the street without his documents and valuable possessions.  Hasari comes to Max's aid and takes the injured doctor to the "City of Joy," a slum area populated with lepers and poor people which becomes the Pals' new home and the American's home-away-from-home. Max spends a lot of time in the neighborhood, but he does not want to become too involved with the residents because he is afraid of becoming emotionally attached to them. He soon, however, is coaxed into helping his new-found friends by a strong-willed Irish woman (Pauline Collins), who runs the local clinic.  Eventually, Max begins to fit in with his fellow slum-dwellers and become more optimistic. There are many around him whose lives are much worse, but they look on each day with a hope that gives new strength to the depressed doctor.

Reception.

By contrast to some of Joffe's previous successes ("The Killing Fields"), the film was not a box office success, even on its modest budget; According to the Internet Movie Database and Box Office Mojo, the film grossed $14.7 million in the United States. Critically, the film received mixed reviews, with a 53% 'rotten' rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes from 17 reviews.

City of Joy is a 1992 French-British drama film directed by Roland Joffé, with a screenplay by Mark Medoff. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Dominique Lapierre, which looks at poverty in then-modern India, specifically life in the slums. The film stars Patrick Swayze, Om Puri and Shabana Azmi.

La Cité de la joie ("City of Joy") est un film franco-britannique réalisé par Roland Joffé, sorti en 1992. Avec notamment dans les rôles principaux Patrick Swayze, Om Puri, Pauline Collins et Shabana Azmi, le film est une libre interprétation du livre de Dominique Lapierre, également appelé "La Cité de la joie", publié en 1985.


Biography.

While a young law student at the University of Poitiers, Vacher de Lapouge read Herbert Spencer and Charles Darwin. In 1879 he gained a doctorate degree in law and became a magistrate in Niort (Deux-Sèvres) and a prosecutor in Le Blanc. He then studied history and philology at the École pratique des hautes études, and learned several languages such as Akkadian, Egyptian, Hebrew, Chinese, and Japanese at the École du Louvre and at School of Anthropology in Paris from 1883 to 1886.  From 1886 Vacher de Lapouge taught anthropology at the University of Montpellier, advocating Francis Galton's eugenic thesis, but was expelled in 1892 because of his socialist activities (he co-founded Jules Guesde's French Workers' Party and campaigned during 1888 for city mayor in the Montpellier municipal election). He worked later as a librarian at the University of Rennes until his retirement in 1922.

Work and legacy.

He wrote "L'Aryen: son Rôle Social" (1899, "The Aryan: His Social Role"), in which he opposed the Aryan, dolichocephalic races to the brachycephalic races. Vacher de Lapouge thus classified human races: first the "Homo europaeus", Nordic or fair-haired, then the "Homo alpinus", represented by the Auvergnat and Turkic peoples, finally the "Homo mediterraneus", represented by the Neapoletan or Andaluz peoples.  Vacher de Lapouge endorsed Francis Galton's theory of eugenics, but applied it to his theory of races. Vacher de Lapouge's ideas are comparable to those of Henri de Boulainvilliers (1658–1722), who believed that the Germanic Franks formed the upper class of French society, whereas the Gauls were the ancestors of the peasantry. Race, according to him, thus became almost synonymous with social class. Vacher de Lapouge added to this concept of races and classes what he termed "selectionism", his version of Galton's eugenics. Vacher de Lapouge's anthropology was intended to prevent social conflict by defining a fixed, hierarchical social order.  In 1926, he prefaced and translated Madison Grant's publication "The Passing of the Great Race" ("Le Déclin de la Grande Race", Payot, 1926). He also translated one work of Ernst Haeckel into French.  Lapouge had a direct influence on Nazi racial and eugenic doctrine.in his book of "political science" p 464 "the future of the Aryans" he described the Jew as the only competitor of the Aryan, in this he is co-responsible for the destruction of European Jews between 1930 and 1950.

Publications.

Articles  Works in English translation

Count Georges Vacher de Lapouge (; 12 December 1854 – 20 February 1936) was a French anthropologist and a theoretician of eugenics and racialism. He is known as the founder of anthroposociology, the anthropological and sociological study of race as a means of establishing the superiority of certain peoples.

Le comte Georges Vacher de Lapouge, né le à Neuville-de-Poitou (Vienne) et mort le à Poitiers (Vienne), est un anthropologue français. Magistrat, puis bibliothécaire, il est un théoricien de l'eugénisme et une figure de l'anthroposociologie. Athée, anticlérical et socialiste marxiste militant, il est l'un des fondateurs du Parti ouvrier français de Jules Guesde avant de rejoindre la SFIO. Georges Vacher de Lapouge a développé la théorie raciste de Gobineau à la fin du.


Economy.

The single largest employer in the municipality is Volvo, with Volvo Powertrain and Volvo Cars together employing approximately 5,000 people.  Other major employers are the hospital (Skaraborg Hospital, serving the Västra Götaland region), the local regiments (among Sweden's largest) and the municipality itself.

Education.

University of Skövde is the largest university in the town. It is ranked 21 in the nation's ranking. Informatics and computer science along with Bio-informatics and molecular biology are some of the chief international students picks.

Elections.

Riksdag.

These are the local results of the Riksdag elections since the 1972 municipality reform. The results of the Sweden Democrats were not published by SCB between 1988 and 1998 at a municipal level to the party's small nationwide size at the time. "Votes" denotes valid votes, whereas "Turnout" denotes also blank and invalid votes.  Blocs  This lists the relative strength of the socialist and centre-right blocs since 1973, but parties not elected to the Riksdag are inserted as "other", including the Sweden Democrats results from 1988 to 2006, but also the Christian Democrats pre-1991 and the Greens in 1982, 1985 and 1991. The sources are identical to the table above. The coalition or government mandate marked in bold formed the government after the election. New Democracy got elected in 1991 but are still listed as "other" due to the short lifespan of the party. "Elected" is the total number of percentage points from the municipality that went to parties who were elected to the Riksdag.

Skövde Municipality ("Skövde kommun") is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Skövde.

La commune de Skövde est une commune suédoise du comté de Västra Götaland, peuplée de habitants. Son chef-lieu se situe à Skövde.


Taxonomy and phylogeny.

The zebra finch was first collected in 1801 during Nicolas Baudin's expedition to Australia. It was described in 1817 by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in his "Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle", where he gave it the scientific name "Fringilla guttata". The Australian subspecies was then described in 1837 by John Gould as "Amadina castanotis". Its current genus, "Taeniopygia", was described in 1862 by Ludwig Reichenbach. It is placed in the tribe Poephilini, along with the genus "Poephila", which it was previously included in; the split between "Taeniopygia" and "Poephila" is justified by 1987 study using protein electrophoresis and chromosomal banding.  There are two subspecies of the zebra finch:  The zebra finch likely evolved in Australia, with either northern or southeastern Australia postulated as two places where the genus arose. The present-day distribution of the subspecies "T. g. guttata" is likely due to a Pleistocene glaciation event where the sea level dropped between about, putting the coasts of Timor and Australia closer. This allowed birds swept out to sea by cyclones to see mountains near the west coast of Timor, which prompted them to make landfall on the island.  The morphological differences between the subspecies include differences in size. "T. g. guttata" is smaller than "T. g. castanotis". In addition, the "T. g. guttata" males do not have the fine barring found on the throat and upper breast and have smaller breast bands.

Habitat and distribution.

The zebra finch has the most extensive mainland distribution of the Australian estrilids, being found in about 75% of mainland Australia, as the subspecies "Taeniopygia guttata castanotis". This subspecies is generally not found on the coasts, except for the arid western edge. As the subspecies "T. g. guttata", it is distributed from the islands Lombok and Sumbawa in the Lesser Sundas east to Luang and Sermata, and south to Sumba, Sawu, Dao, Roti, Semau, and Timor.  The zebra finch (or at the very least, the subspecies "T. g. castanotis") is generally found in more arid areas. The areas it chooses to occupy are close to water, and places where rain is concentrated after it falls. However, this is likely more related to the abundance of vegetation than the abundance of water as a resource in itself. Within these areas, it is found in grasslands with scattered trees and shrubs, and in open or grassy woodlands. It is also found in cultivated areas, such as rice fields It usually stays confined to the low coastal areas of the islands it inhabits, but it can move to elevations up to to exploit expanding cultivation and grasslands.  Although zebra finch breeding, for example, is initiated by rainfall, Klaus Immelmann proposed that sustained heavy precipitation is detrimental to the zebra finch. This is supported by the observation that the nest does not shield the chicks or eggs from rain, and rainfall can sometimes result in clutches being abandoned. Furthermore, it is supported by Immelmann's finding that zebra finches left Wyndham after the first heavy rains in November 1959, but returned to breed in April. It is hypothesised that birds in parts of northern Australia migrate inland during the wet season from October to May, and return to the coastal regions during the dryer months.

Life cycle.

The life expectancy of a zebra finch is highly variable because of genetic and environmental factors. The zebra finch may reach up to five years in its natural environment. If they are kept caged, they normally live for 5 to 9 years but may live as long as 12 years, with an exceptional case of 14.5 years reported for a caged specimen. The greatest threats to captive zebra finch survival are predation by cats and loss of natural food.

Song and other vocalisations.

Zebra finches are loud and boisterous singers. Their calls can be a loud "beep", "meep", "oi!" or "a-ha!". Their song is a few small beeps, leading up to a rhythmic song of varying complexity in males. Each male's song is different, although birds of the same bloodline will exhibit similarities, and all finches will overlay their own uniqueness onto a common rhythmic framework. Sons generally learn the song of their fathers with little variation. There is a critical sensitive period during which juvenile males learn their songs by imitating a mature, male tutor. Subsong (early, poorly structured vocalisations) evolve into 'plastic song'. This plastic song is variable between renditions but begins to incorporate some recognisable elements of tutor songs. A study conducted by Nottebohm et al., has shown that birds were able to successfully imitate their tutor's song after relatively short exposure (40 playbacks of the motifs lasting 30 seconds total) over the duration of their sensitive learning period. These birds eventually form a “template” of what their correct song should sound like. They rely on auditory feedback for both song learning and practice as juveniles and song maintenance as adults. Adult birds maintain their songs by correcting any deviations from their target song template. During adulthood, by around 90 days, the bird's song goes through a crystallisation phase where their song template is stable and it no longer changes.  Male zebra finches begin to sing at puberty, while females lack a singing ability. This is due to a developmental difference, where in the embryo, the male zebra finch produces testosterone, which is transformed into estradiol in the brain, which in turn leads to the development of the nervous system for a song system. There are multiple areas of the brain involved in the production of song. When a bird is singing a learned song, the HVC projects to the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA), which itself projects to the hypoglossal motoneurons. These motoneurons control the muscles of the trachea and syrinx. When learning a new song, the HVC sends efferents to Area X in the lobus parolfactorius, which connects to the medial nucleus of the dorsolateral thalamus (DLM). This structure connects to the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (LMAN), which projects to the RA, and continues like a normal learned song would. The function of the various areas involved in learning is still being investigated. Area X is likely involved in the acquisition of a new song, whereas the LMAN likely serves a key role in the plasticity necessary for learning. Activation of song behaviour later depends on androgens.  Because zebra finch males learn their songs from their surroundings, they are often used as avian model organisms to investigate the neural bases of learning, memory, and sensorimotor integration. For example, studies have investigated the role of FoxP2 in song learning and have found that in young finches both knockdown and overexpression of FoxP2 in the striatal song control nucleus, Area X, prevents accurate song learning and tutor imitation. These studies also have implications for human speech. Individuals heterozygous for a point mutation in FOXP2 manifest a speech disorder. Because of similar expression patterns between humans and songbirds, the zebra finch is used as a model to study FoxP2 expression and function. The zebra finch genome was the second bird genome to be sequenced, in 2008, after that of the chicken.  The zebra finch uses an acoustic signal to communicate to embryos. It gives an incubation call to its eggs when the weather is hot—above —and when the end of their incubation period is near. This call alters the growth and behaviour of the chicks, with chicks that were given an incubation call having less mass at the end of the nestling phase when they experienced higher nest temperatures. This contrasts with chicks that were not given an incubation call, which have a higher mass at the end of nestling after being exposed to high nest temperatures. Additionally, the chicks called to as an embryo are more likely to call after experiencing high nest temperatures.  Calling behaviour is used by zebra finches to negotiate parental care duties. In an experiment that delayed the return of the males to the nest, it was found that the resulting duets were shorter and calls were made more often. This is the first species that vocal negotiation over parental care has ever been reported.

Behaviour.

Breeding.

The zebra finch generally breeds in loose colonies of up to 50 nests (although the number of individuals in a colony can be up to about 230 when breeding, and around 350 when not), but it may nest solitarily. It usually places its nest in a thorny shrub or tree, although it will nest in other structures, natural and artificial. Often, there are multiple nests in one shrub.  In non-arid parts of Australia, colonies are often occupied year-round. During cold days in the non-breeding season, members of these colonies usually feed in flocks for about two hours, breaking up into small groups to rest, preen, sing, and court before foraging again in a large flock until about one hour before sunset, when they return to the colony. On warmer days, some of the small groups return to the colony to build nests and perform their normal activities. During the breeding season, finches finding or building a nest often return after about an hour of feeding, and on cold days they are joined by those incubating or brooding young. Pairs that have not yet laid their eggs sometimes elect to court and mate in special "courting trees" before joining the flock. In the afternoon, most pairs engage in social activities, which often take place at "social trees". The zebra finch frequently does not breed where it was born; of the ringed birds that bred in the Danaher breeding colony () from 1985 to 1989, 24% of them were hatched from the colony or in the immediate vicinity. This natal dispersal is not sex-biased, unlike in most passerines. However, males between 36 and 50 days of age are more likely to disperse than females, although after this age, more females disperse than males. Predation is likely a major factor in coloniality; nests in the main colony suffer less predation than nests further away. Pairs with preyed-upon nests are significantly more likely to nest in a bush more than away from their previous nesting plant. Another large factor is where others nest: individuals are more likely to nest closer to conspecifics. In addition, reproductive success of conspecifics may play a role in where individuals nest; a study published in 2012 found that this finch was more likely to breed near nests with chicks older than six days (used as a proxy for reproductive success because they fledge about 87% of the time).  The zebra finch builds both a roosting and breeding nest. The former is dome-shaped, has a large entrance on the side, and lacks an entrance tunnel. This nest helps the zebra finch conserve body heat (likely through its roof and walls and by allowing birds to huddle together): an individual in a roosting nest saves about 18% of the energy of one outside. The breeding nest (which generally ranges from about in length) has a small entrance followed by a tunnel about in diameter and up to in length, which conceals the contents of the nest, leading to the egg chamber, which has (from the outside) a diameter of ; the latter two are separated by a raised lip, preventing eggs from rolling out. This chamber often sits on an old nest; otherwise, a foundation consisting of many short, stiff stems over horizontal branches is constructed. The walls of the nest range in thickness from, with an outer layer of longer stiff and rough grass stems and an inner layer of shorter soft and fine stems. The egg chamber is also lined with soft material, such as wool and feathers. Both sites are defended during the day; but while a desperate bird is sometimes let in to the roosting nest during the night, the breeding nest is always guarded.  The zebra finch is an opportunistic breeder, initiating reproductive behaviour about one to three months after water becomes available. This is so that the young hatch when semi-ripe and ripe seeds (their primary food) become available. This finding is in line with the food quality hypothesis of zebra finch breeding, which states that dry grass seed is inadequate as a food source for nestlings, and that higher quality food (like ripening seeds) is needed to sustain them. Thus, in captivity, it can breed year round when provided with sufficient water, and it may attempt to breed several times per breeding season. Zebra finches are socially monogamous, with pair bonds lasting until the death of one of the partners, after which the widowed bird re-pairs. Extra-pair copulation, mating with individuals other than one's mate, occurs occasionally, with females usually soliciting it. Extra-pair parentage is relatively rare in the wild, accounting for about 2% of young. Attempts at forced extra-pair copulations by males occur frequently (about 43.8% of the time in one study); but, females can always successfully resist forced copulations if they so choose. There are multiple hypotheses as to why extra-pair copulation might have evolved. One theory is the good genes theory, which states that a female chooses extra-pair copulation if the extra-pair male grants its offspring direct benefits as a result of the male's alleles. There are results that seem to support this; a 1992 study found a correlation between the song rate of a male and the attractiveness of it (measured on the basis of how much time the female spent with the male). However, a 2007 study found that the responsiveness of a female (measured by behaviours indicating an intent to copulate or rejection) was not significantly related to the male's beak colour or its song rate. Song rate was instead hypothesised to draw female's attention to males. According to the author, this meant that the validity of the conclusions of the 1992 experiment needed to be reexamined. Combined with the lack of influence that certain morphological traits have, the large control of females over copulation could indicate chase-away sexual selection, where an exaggerated trait is evolved to counter increased resistance by the female to that feature. An additional theory as to why extra-pair copulation might evolve is the between-sex genetic correlation theory. This theory is based on the lack of definite female benefits in extra-pair copulations, and the benefits that males have by being promiscuous. It states that extra-pair mating behaviour could arise from the same set of loci, and thus that strong selection for extra-pair mating behaviour would indirectly select for promiscuous behaviour in females. There are several traits correlated with increased extra-pair copulations. Spending time with a mate is important; even more important than the attractiveness of a male (as judged by other females; attractiveness as judged by one female was positively correlated with the judgements of other females). Symmetry of both plumage, like chest bands, and artificial features, like leg bands, are preferred by the female, as measured by how often the male is displayed to. Because of the prevalence of extra-pair paternity, males have evolved various mechanisms to try and assure their paternity of a clutch. The male guards its mate by following it and stopping extra-pair copulation attempts. Sperm competition, where two or more males attempt to inseminate a single egg, also occurs. This is indicated by the male in a pair copulating with its mate more often the day before egg-starts. This is because the last male to copulate with a female before the next egg has a 70% to 80% chance of fertilising the egg in question. Another adaptation to sperm competition is the male ejaculating up to seven times more sperm in extra-pair copulations. The increased amount of sperm occurs because of the combination of ejaculate size being controlled by the time between previous copulations, and the fact that extra-pair copulations occur in the male after its period of within-pair copulation period is complete.  The number of eggs ranges from two to eight eggs per clutch, with five being the most common number. These eggs are white or pale greyish blue in colour, and have a size of about. They are incubated for 14 to 16 days. From about 5% to 11% of offspring are the result of intraspecific brood parasitism, and in cases of parasitism, there is usually only one parasitic egg per nest. Additionally, parasitised nests often have one more egg than non-parasitised nests. The female may follow a mixed strategy with relation to brood parasitism (being parasitic in addition to incubating its own clutch). From about 32% to 58% of females do this, and almost all (about 96%) lay parasitic eggs before incubating their clutch. Unpaired females sometimes lay parasitic eggs, but paired females do not rely solely on parasitism. A female that parasitised a nest in the past is more likely to do so in the future. Most of these eggs are unsuccessful; that is, the host abandons its otherwise empty nest after a parasitic egg is laid. Additionally, successful parasites are more likely to have future success from parasitism. At least during late incubation, the female zebra finch can distinguish its own eggs on the basis of odour. This method of distinction arises from the visual similarity between parasitic and non-parasitic eggs, and the cost associated with raising an egg other than one's own. When a bird is parasitised during a nesting attempt, it is less likely to be parasitised again during that season and, at the very least, during the next season (although this could be statistical noise).  Young zebra finches fledge about 17 to 18 days after hatching. They feed themselves by around 35 days after hatching, although they are still socially dependent on their parents during this time; the young become socially dependent between 36 and 50 days after hatching. They also develop sexually dimorphic plumage during this period. These finches are quick to attain sexual maturity, with most first attempting to form pair bonds and breed when they get close to 80 days in age. During the second half of the breeding season at the Danaher breeding colony, 44% of pairs attempting to breed were formed by individuals that were born earlier in the season.  Males and females are very similar in size, but are easily distinguished from one another after reaching maturity, as the males usually have bright orange cheek feathers, red beaks (as opposed to the orange beaks of females), and generally more striking black and white patterns.

Inbreeding.

Inbreeding causes early death (inbreeding depression) in the zebra finch, although it does not seem to affect fertility. Embryos have a much lower survival rate, with a study finding fertile eggs from sibling pairs had only about a 25% survival rate, compared to about 41% for unrelated pairs. This early difference in survival eventually becomes null after fledging, with about equal survival rates for offspring from both sibling and unrelated pairs. Inbreeding depression mostly arises due to the expression of deleterious recessive alleles.

Diet.

The zebra finch primarily eats grass seeds, feeding mostly on semi-ripe and ripe seeds (although it also takes dry seeds). The seeds are all dehusked, and are found on stems and the ground, with most being taken, at least in the nominate subspecies, from the latter. The grasses they are taken from are commonly between about in length, and larger and easily dehusked seeds are preferred. It supplements its diet with insects (mainly ants and termites) caught in short flights from lookout perches, in addition to flowers of the genus "Chenopodium". The nestlings diet consists almost entirely of half-ripe and ripe seeds, in addition to green plant material. There are two main reasons why grass seeds are the dietary staple of the zebra finch: they are an abundant and relatively stable food source in this finch's preferred climate, and they are convenient to, for example, dehusk. In some areas, such as the eastern arid zone in Australia, the seeds taken are consistent, whereas in others, like northern Victoria, there are annual changes in the diet, as different species become abundant. The diet of this finch is generally low in species diversity; at Sandringham, Queensland 74% of the seeds eaten over a 15-month period were from "Panicum decompositum", for example.  The zebra finch generally forages for seeds on the ground, taking them individually. But, it also eats seeds on the heads of standing grass. To do this, it either flies and pecks out seeds one at a time, or it perches on a nearby branch. It may also take the head to the ground by jumping up and seizing it with its bill or feet. In times of scarcity, the zebra finch can use its bill to dig into the ground to find buried seed. These seeds are generally taken from patches which have fewer husks (when compared to the number of whole seeds) and are larger and more dense. A seed patch may be checked for many months after its supply of seed is depleted. Additionally, colonial roosting and nesting and foraging in flocks can help birds discover new patches of seed.  This bird commonly forages in flocks, although it sometimes forages in pairs or by itself. In the breeding season, small or medium-sized flocks are common, but in the non-breeding season, flocks of up to about 500 birds may be formed. It occasionally forms mixed-species flocks with other estrildids. A feeding flock can be formed by individuals joining those already feeding, or by individuals landing on the ground together. Birds that arrive in this flock later are more likely to rely on scrounging, or taking food from competitors, whereas early arrivals are more likely to find food for themselves. Individuals that tend to explore more may be more dominant (measured by factors such as in what order individuals accessed a food source), at least in a study that had relatively low food availability and a single source where food could be taken from. These individuals may also be less successful in a scramble competition, where there are multiple points where food can be found. The reason for the latter is hypothesised to be a result of a trade-off between faster speed in sampling an area and lower accuracy in detecting seeds.  Foraging activity in the zebra finch peaks in the first hour after sunrise and the second to last hour before sunset. In the first instance, the increase foraging is generally achieved through many short bouts of foraging, whereas the latter comes from a few long bouts. When food becomes less available, like from August to September in northern Victoria, there is more feeding in the afternoon, less time spent on patches of food before leaving, and the distance between places where food is available is longer. There are generally two groups of individuals based on foraging behaviour. In the first group, the probability of starting or stopping a feeding bout is constant through time, and short meals are more usual. Most birds in this group have longer bouts when the gap between the previous bout is longer. In the second group (which may consist of more birds), the longer a gap is, the more likely the individual is to start feeding again. Additionally, for most birds in this group, the same is true of the stopping of a bout; the longer it is, the more likely it is to be stopped. Feeding is also usually cyclical for the second group.

Drinking and bathing.

The zebra finch generally consumes about 24% to 28% of its body weight (or about ) in water per day at a temperature of. When at a higher temperature of, it may drink from of water per day. The zebra finch also extracts water from seeds, and can get water from metabolising its food. This metabolic water consumption can equal the amount of water that is lost when temperatures are below, although only for birds that are gradually dehydrated. Suddenly dehydrated birds must be in temperatures below before the water lost is equal to that produced by the metabolism. This finch can survive periods of low water consumption; one study that gradually reduced the amount of water given over a period of a few months to just per week at temperatures from found that the zebra finch could survive these conditions. Additionally, more than half of birds survived in a total water deprivation experiment that ran 513 days long.  When water is close, the zebra finch drinks regularly during the day; if it is over about away, visits generally peak at midday. It prefers to drink from small puddles or other collections of water, especially those with gently sloped banks. Additionally, exposed drinking areas are preferred to more enclosed ones. It can also drink from dew on the tip of leaves. Due to the danger of predation, the zebra finch gathers in flocks in a bush or tree near a waterhole, only going to drink after the group is large enough. It then only drinks for a few seconds. After drinking, the zebra finch generally bathes for around a minute. Then, it dries off and re-oils its plumage in a warm sheltered spot.  The zebra finch only needs an average of 3.6 seconds to drink of water. This short amount of time per bout is achieved by this finch's drinking method. It swallows the water it gets while its bill tip is still submerged, unlike most birds that bring their bill tip up to swallow. This unique action is accomplished by having the tongue scoop water into the pharynx. Then, the front of the larynx forces the water into the oesophagus, which, through peristalsis, takes the fluid to the crop. This method could have evolved because the adaptations necessary were already there because of the need to quickly dehusk and swallow seeds. It allows for water to be drunk faster and taken from more diverse sources, such as drops of dew and cattle troughs; the latter requires the bird to drink upside down.

Temperature regulation.

The body temperature (as measured from the ) of the zebra finch may vary from, rising with increasing air temperatures. Body temperatures over can cause death within an hour. This finch first cools itself by covering its plumage with water, not moving, and holding its wings out to allow more thinly feathered regions to be exposed. It also has a large capacity for evaporative cooling through the lungs and skin, with measurements of heat lost through evaporative cooling over heat produced being as high as 1.37 at. This can occur as a result of panting, which starts to occur when body temperatures reach (although this may start when the air temperature is as low as ). This can cause dehydration and may put birds into a lethargic state. Additionally, the zebra finch's simple "rete mirabile ophthalmicum" (found in the head) makes it unable to cool the brain as effectively as other birds, like the common kestrel. This lacking ability to cool the brain, in combination with dehydration, may cause the mass die-offs found during prolonged periods of high temperatures. For example, in January 1932, temperatures were between for 16 days in northern Southern Australia, causing upwards of tens of thousands of this bird to die, with many being found in dams.

Predators.

Nest predators of the zebra finch include the tiger snake, brown snake, dragon lizard, pygmy mulga monitor, singing honeyeater, grey-crowned babbler, yellow-throated miner, little crow, Torresian crow, black rat, and house mouse. Carnivorous marsupials are also nest predators, and barn owls take roosting adult zebra finches.

The zebra finch ("Taeniopygia guttata") is the most common estrildid finch of Central Australia and ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool moist south and some areas of the tropical far north. It can also be found natively on Timor island. The bird has been introduced to Puerto Rico and Portugal.

Le Diamant mandarin ("Taeniopygia guttata") est une espèce d'oiseaux de la famille des Estrildidé. Parfois nommé Mandarin tout court, c'est le membre de cette famille le plus commun et le plus familier du centre de l'Australie. Il existe un dimorphisme sexuel : le mâle a des joues orange, une poitrine possédant des rayures horizontales et une barre sombre, ainsi que des flancs roux ponctués de points blancs, attributs que la femelle ne possède pas. Les spécimens sauvages sont souvent plus petits que leurs homologues domestiques. Existent également les diamants mandarins de Timor, plus petits que les diamant mandarins « classiques ».