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| 19 Aug 2008 04:35:18 pm |
 Kunta Kinte to Barak Obama |
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Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge
Alex Haley the Pulitzer Prize winning author best known for his outstanding historical novel Roots tells the story of 39 million Americans of African descent. Kunta Kinte who was the central character of his 1976 book believed to be born in 1750 in Gambia West Africa and caught by a slave trader when Kunta Kinte was just 17 years old. He was taken to America (Maryland) by the ship Lord Ligonier in 1767. Worked as a slave undergoing many inhuman experiences Kunta Kinte died in 1810 without seeing freedom. Kunta’s generation lived in America until they searched for a new identity and freedom.
The American author Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin which was published in 1852 had profound effects on the attitude towards slavery in the United States. Many moderate Americans felt that the slavery was evil. The American Civil War erupted mainly due to the slavery issue. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 and declared the freedom of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America.
During the American Civil War tens of thousands of enslaved African Americans escaped to Union lines for freedom. The U.S. government formed regiments known as the United States Colored Troops, composed of black soldiers led by white officers. These black soldiers were nicknamed as Buffalo Soldiers. Many of these soldiers fought the enemy with courage and honor. Black soldiers like Peter Salem who demonstrated bravery and courage in the Bunker Hill Battle was hailed many decades after his death.
After the Civil War the organizations like KKK were formed by the white extremists with racial prejudice. Economic hardships during the Great Depression negatively affected the racial harmony. The tension was escalating after the WW2.
The American Civil Rights Movement from 1955 to 1968 was aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African Americans and eempowering them achieving political, economic and social success. The Movement worked against Racial Segregation, Disenfranchisement, Exploitation and Violence. The Civil Rights Movement in America highlighted the racial discriminations faced by the colored people and Martin Luther King Jr. became one of the principal leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement and a prominent advocate of nonviolent protest adopting Gandhi’s methods.
Although Elijah Mohammad and Malcolm X proclaimed an eye for an eye mode of struggle Martin Luther King Jr. believed in racial harmony and co existence. King's challenges to segregation and racial discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s helped convince many white Americans to support the cause of civil rights in the United States. Later Malcolm X renounced violence and realized the importance of co existence with the fellow white Americans.
The American civil rights activist Jesse Jackson participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches with Dr Martin Luther King in 1965. He achieved wide fame as an African American leader and as a famous spokesman for civil rights issues. Jesse Jackson was a candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 feels that America has moved forward, based in large part on his own experiences.
Despite the isolated events and some racially biased issues America is walking towards multicultural society which values the ethnic harmony and tolerance. In 2001 Colin Powell became the first African American to become the Secretary of States. The new development comes with Barack Obama.
Barack, Obama a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and a Senator from Illinois is the presumptive Presidential nominee for the Democratic Party in 2008. Hence Obama become the first black man to run for President in the United States. He has focused on tackling the challenges of a globalized, 21st century world with fresh thinking.
The Americans proved that they can change from Kunta Kinte to Barak Obama and this gives a positive view to other nations who face ethnic conflicts and racial or religious intolerance. Therefore communities do not need to live in eternal conflicts and hatred forever. People can change. They can change constructively. |
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Category : Politics
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| 18 Jul 2008 10:40:40 am |
| Conduct Disorder in Children |
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Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge
Children with conduct disorder repeatedly violate the personal or property rights of others and age-appropriate social standards and rules. Conduct disorder has a multifactorial etiology that includes biological, psychosocial and familial factors. Associated features of conduct disorder include an inability to appreciate the importance of others' welfare and little guilt or remorse about harming others. The etiology of conduct disorder involves an interaction of genetic/constitutional, familial and social factors.
Children with Conduct Disorder often view the world as a hostile and threatening place and they have difficulty maintaining friendships. They often have low self-esteem and low frustration tolerance. Peers and family members become negative and irritated with their misbehavior which leads to a vicious cycle. The literature abounds with studies indicating the comorbid relationships between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Learning Difficulties, Mood Disorders, Depressive symptoms, Anxiety Disorders and Communication Disorders.
Conduct disorder is more common among boys than girls, with studies indicating that the rate among boys in the general population ranges from 6% to 16% while the rate among girls ranges from 2% to 9%. According to research cited in Phelps & McClintock (1994), 6% of children in the United States may have conduct disorder.
The onset of conduct disorder may occur as early as age 5 or 6, but more usually occurs in late childhood or early adolescence Studies have found that neurological abnormalities are inconsistently correlated with conduct disorder. This disorder not only affects the individual, but his or her family and surrounding environment. Conduct disorder appears in various forms, and combinations of factors appear to contribute to its development and maintenance.
Symptoms of conduct disorder
· Aggressive behavior that harms or threatens other people or animals;
· Destructive behavior that damages or destroys property;
· Vandalism
· Poor peer relationships
· Lying or theft
· Truancy or other serious violations of rules
· Early tobacco, alcohol, and substance use and abuse; and
· running away from home
· Precocious sexual activity
A diagnosis of conduct disorder is likely when symptoms continue for 6 months or longer. Children who exhibit these behaviors should receive a comprehensive evaluation.
Risk Factors of the Development of Conduct Disorder
· Early maternal rejection
· separation from parents, without an adequate alternative caregiver;
· Early institutionalization;
· Family neglect;
· Abuse or violence;
· Marital conflicts and unfavorable home atmosphere
· Parental substance abuse
· Parental mental illness;
· Poverty.
Illustrative Case 1
Master N is 15 year old boy from a leading school punished by the sectional head for destroying school property and assaulting a prefect. Previously he was caught while smoking a cigarette in a classroom by one of the teachers. His academic skills are deteriorating and Master N got low marks for the recent term test.
According to his mother he is stubborn at home and does not listen to her. His behavior gradually changed after his father went to Italy one and half years ago. He associates friends who are older to him and spends time with them. Often he refuses to go to school. He became more isolated and hostile. On one occasion he ran away from home and stayed two nights at a friend s place.
Illustrative Case 2
Master P who is an eleven year boy has following behavioral features.
1 . He often bullies and intimidates his peers
2 . frequently initiates physical fights and assaults school mates
3. He was warned by the class teacher for using bad words at the classroom
4. He is cruel to animals especially to the cat which lives in their house
5. Whenever he finds the opportunity he steals money from the father s wallet
6. He refuses to go to school and sometimes keeps away from lessons
7. He never does homework or does not show any interest in studies
Master P has mood swings and sometimes engages in age inappropriate behavior. Recently a parent complained that he tried to remove the trouser of another boy at the school. When he was questioned by the teacher he simply denied the accusation. His teacher finds that Master L is becoming intolerable at the classroom. His peers are afraid of him and they try to avoid him. At home when he gets angry he damages the house property. His father stated that a few weeks a go he dashed the TV.
Treatment for Conduct Disorder
Treatment of children with conduct disorder can be complex and challenging. Treatment can be provided in a variety of different settings depending on the severity of the behaviors. Childhood conduct disorder, left untreated, has a poorer prognosis. Therefore the treatment is essential. The research indicates that in about 40 percent of cases, childhood-onset conduct disorder develops into adult antisocial personality disorder.
The treatment consists of medication and psychotherapy. Medications may be useful for co-morbid disorders or for controlling impulsive behavior or irritability. Some doctors prescribe antidepressants, mood stabilizers and these medications may help specific symptoms. Also the medication may improve children's capacity to benefit from other psychosocial interventions.
Cognitive-behavioral approaches especially CBT or Cognitive-Behavior Therapy are often used. CBT is to improve problem solving skills, communication skills, impulse control, and anger management skills. Behavior modification therapy acts positively with the conduct disorder. Positive reinforcement for desirable behavior will reduce reliance on punishment. The child s disrupted behavior can be modified and new skills can be taught. Hence the child gains an insight and gradually minimizes dissocial behavior.
Parental counseling and awareness of the illness is vital. Following parental counseling they find a way to deal with the child s problem. Family therapy often enhances the disrupted family communication. Family therapy is often focused on making changes within the family system and improving family interactions.
As a mode of psychotherapy some therapists prefer to use cyber therapy which reduces stress factors and diminish the free floating aggression in the child. As a stress breaker music therapy has shown its efficacy in conduct disorder.
Children with conduct disorder may have academic difficulties. Therefore educational therapy is needed to improve their underlying learning difficulties. Some therapists recommend concept developmental learning aid programs and strategies to improve reading skills.
Conduct disorder has a complex nature. In this condition not only the child even the parents, siblings, peers, and teachers are affected by the child s disturbed behavior. It’s vital to understand that the illness is causing such disturbances and not the child him self. Therefore companionate approach would be needed to manage the Conduct disorder. |
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Category : People & Earth
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| 09 Jul 2008 10:45:50 am |
| Schizophrenia From a Pychological Point of View |
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Written and Compiled by Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge
There is always this element of concealed accusation in neurosis, the patient feeling as though he were deprived of his right-that is, of the center of attention - and wanting to fix the responsibility and blame upon someone.
-Alfred Adler
Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality and relates to others. Schizophrenia has an altered perception of reality. Research suggests that schizophrenia may be a developmental disorder resulting from alterations in the usual maturing process of the nervous system. Around 1 in 100 people will develop schizophrenia during their lifetime, and this figure is the same all over the world.
Kraepelin and Dementia Praecox
Schizophrenia was originally called the senility of youth by Kraepelin in 1911. Kraepelin originally called schizophrenia Dementia Praecox. He believed that the typical symptoms were due to a form of mental deterioration which began in adolescence. Symptoms are mainly disturbances of thought processes but also extend to disturbances of behavior and emotion. He called the illness schizophrenia, meaning split mind or divided self in which the personality loses its unity. Kraepelin believed that dementia praecox was primarily a disease of the brain.
Types of schizophrenia
There are several types of schizophrenia. In Paranoid schizophrenia the patient has delusions and auditory hallucinations. The delusions can often be about being persecuted unfairly or being some other person who is famous like Napoleon Bonaparte or Albert Einstein . They can exhibit anger, unfriendlyness, anxiety, and argumentativeness. Disorganized schizophrenia is characterized by speech and behavior that are disorganized or difficult to understand, and flattening or inappropriate emotions. Patient’s disorganized behavior may disrupt normal activities. In Catatonic-type schizophrenia disturbances of movement can be observed. In Undifferentiated-type schizophrenia a mixed picture is often seen.
Schizophrenia and Cognitive Dysfunctions
People with schizophrenia can have certain type of cognitive dysfunctions. The cognitive dysfunctions are acurately detected by neuropsychological tests. Some patients loss the ability to absorb and interpret information and make decisions based on that information. They have inability to sustain attention, and problems with working memory or to keep recently learned information.
With schizophrenia the person's inner world and behavior change notably. These bhavioral changes might include social withdrawal, intense anxiety and a feeling of being unreal (Depersonalization), poor self care , experiencing hallucinations, sense of being controlled by outside forces , delusions, or making up words without a meaning (neologisms). Schizophrenia makes it difficult for a person to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, to think logically, to have appropriate emotional responses to others and to behave appropriately in social situations.
Sigmund Freud on Schizophrenia
For schizophrenia Freud sometimes uses the term "dementia praecox. Freud’s early consideration of schizophrenia as a non psychotic continuation of mental disorders, he later concluded that some of its aspects could be comprehended from a psychological point of view. Freud seems to suggest here that narcissism is a later stage in human development than auto-eroticism, the ideas of "ego-libido" (inward-directed libido invested in the ego) and "object-libido" (libido directed outward toward objects, including other people) have value for Freud because they are derived from direct observations of the nature of psychological processes in patients.
Freud's (1911) hypothesis explains the basic disorder in schizophrenia consists in the patient's inability to maintain the libidinal cathexis of objects. The fact that patients suffering from the two principal types of schizophrenia present signs of real and fantasy object relationships has been taken as evidence that the illness cannot be based on a decathexis of object representations. This contradiction is easily dispelled if account is taken of the real likelihood that these object relationships, which are mostly of a pathological kind, represent a spontaneous tendency towards recovery. They are therefore secondary to the primary disorder and a reaction to it.
In the original theory Freud (1911) described the flight of the libidinal cathexis from the love object in schizophrenia as a form of repression. After the introduction of the structural theory (Freud, 1923) he dropped this term. Freud concludes that the libido theory does not help to explain schizophrenia. The psychoanalytic sense of "libido," which Freud describes as an energy that can be directed to human beings or, as in the case of the anchorite in the example, sublimated and directed toward non-human objects such as God or nature. The ascetic can sublimate and redirect his or her sexual desires for other human beings, but that does not mean that the libido is directed toward the ego, as in Freud's conceptualization of the etiology of schizophrenia.
The psychodynamic model is due to a regression to an infantile stage of function. Freud calls this the oral stage. Freud believes that there are three stages of the oral stage, the id, the ego and the superego. The id wants immediate gratification, the ego tries to control the id and apply a reality principle, and the superego which is the conscience which controls guilt and morality uses defense mechanisms when the ego has too much pressure. Freud believes schizophrenia occurs when the ego becomes overwhelmed by demands of id or besieged by unbearable guilt from the superego. The ego cannot cope so it uses defense mechanisms to protect itself which is regression. The schizophrenic’s fantasies become confused with reality which gives rise to hallucinations and delusions. Freud is suggesting that the schizophrenic is dreaming and the hallucinations are not really happening, but they cannot tell the difference between dreams and reality.
Freud concluded that schizophrenia, like homosexuality was due to nurture. But the contemporary researchers do not support this argument.
Schizophrenogenic families
In the 1950's and 1960's it was thought that schizophrenia was caused by a dysfunction of communication in the family. Fromm Reichman in 1948 used the term schizophrenogenic families to describe families with high expressed emotion. This means families with emotional tension, many secrets, close alliances and conspiracies. Bateson et al in 1956 suggested the double bind situation where children are given conflicting messages from parents who express care but are also critical. He thought that this led to self doubt, confusion and eventually withdrawal. This theory went into decline in the 1970's as there was more convincing evidence for a genetic predisposition in schizophrenia
Treatment of Schizophrenia
Antipsychotic drugs have proven to be crucial in relieving the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia – hallucinations, delusions, and incoherence Antipsychotic medications have been available since the mid-1950s. They have greatly improved the outlook for individual patients. These medications reduce the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia and usually allow the patient to function more effectively and appropriately. Psychotherapy is not a substitute for antipsychotic medication,
Carl Jung and Treatment of Schizophrenia
The psycho analyst Carl Jung deeply studied the schizophrenic patients. Supervised by Bleuler, Jung and a group of therapists originated the idea of symbolic communication to comprehend schizophrenic patients. Their method helped to improve the communication skills of the patients.
Psychotherapy of Direct Confrontation
The Psychotherapy of Direct Confrontation evolved from an eclectic theoretical orientation originated by Rosberg, but the technique suggests basic suppositions that give grounds to the therapy of the chronic schizophrenic.
According to Rosberg schizophrenia can be treated with psychotherapy as a supportive therapy. The schizophrenic patients feel rejected, despised, detested in their significant interpersonal relationships. To decrease the suffering therapeutic acceptance is fundamental. In psychological context Rosberg argues that Schizophrenia is a survival mechanism and the symtomatology is a way for the schizophrenic to be distant from others, to decrease suffering and the fear of rejection.
In this mode a strong therapeutic alliance between the patient and the psychotherapist is established and the patient is encouraged to engage in positive interpersonal relations. The psychotherapist must be tolerant with the problems of negative transference and be able to utilize and manage the anger to break the psychotic defenses. In the Psychotherapy of Direct Confrontation the therapist gets involved in a communicative interaction with the patient.
The therapist tries to persuade the patient to abandon his negative symptomatology and learn more effective and more appropriate mechanisms for a positive life. Rosberg believes that many factors may cause schizophrenia. He does not deny the possibility of it being organically based. The main task of the therapist is to help the patients to live a reasonable, meaningful and productive life.
For Rosberg, the defense mechanisms in the schizophrenic patients are conscious and unconscious. Rosberg suggests that the chronicity of schizophrenia is based on the organization and systematization of the delusional system. Rosberg thinks nobody is totally schizophrenic. In his therapy technique, he constantly seeks a way of finding the healthy basic nucleus. Rosberg says “I believe that there is some healthier life in the internal world of every schizophrenic". (Rosberg 1982).
Integrated psychodynamic Approach
Integrated psychodynamic approach can be used in treating schizophrenia. Professor Yrjo O. Alanen introduced a therapy based on an integrated psychodynamic approach. For nearly forty years of psychotherapeutic involvement with schizophrenic patients in Finland he created the Turku Schizophrenia Project that helps schizophrenic patients immensely.
Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy
Schizophrenia results in distorted perceptions of the world, including self, and disordered or disorganized thinking. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is effective in the treatment of schizophrenia.
The basic premise of cognitive therapy is that beliefs, expectations, and cognitive assessments of self, the world, and the nature of personal problems in the world affect how patients perceive themselves and others, how they approach problems, and ultimately how successful they are in coping in the world and in achieving their goals. The misinterpretation of events in the world is common in schizophrenia. The treatment goal, for the cognitive therapist, is not to "cure" schizophrenia, but to improve the client's ability to manage life problems, to function independently, and to be free of extreme distress and other psychological symptoms.
Individuals with schizophrenia often make incorrect assessments of cause and effect. Also, they often do not learn as well from experience because of their disordered and disorganized thinking. Behavior therapy teaches them the social skills they never learned, and helps them understand when to apply those skills to problems in the world.
Individual psychotherapy
Individual psychotherapy involves regularly scheduled talks between the patient and a mental health professional. The sessions may focus on current or past problems, experiences, thoughts, feelings, or relationships. By sharing experiences with a trained empathic person – talking about their world with someone outside it – individuals with schizophrenia may gradually come to understand more about themselves and their problems. They can also learn to sort out the real from the unreal and distorted. Recent studies indicate that supportive, reality-oriented, individual psychotherapy, and cognitive-behavioral approaches that teach coping and problem-solving skills, can be beneficial for outpatients with schizophrenia.
Social Support for the patients
Adolph Meyer expressed that schizophrenia could be understood as logical reactions to psychiatric disorders, but maladapted to everyday life. A patient's support system may come from several sources, including the family, doctor, counselor or friends. There are numerous situations in which patients with schizophrenia may need help from people in their family or community. In a relapse of the illness the patient should be given a helping hand by this supportive network. The family, friends, and peer groups can provide support and encourage the person with schizophrenia to regain his abilities and self esteem.
When patients with schizophrenia are discharged from the hospital into the care of their family the family members should learn the nature schizophrenia and understand the difficulties and problems associated with the illness. It is also helpful for family members to learn ways to minimize the patient's chance of relapse. In supportive family environment patients learn various coping strategies and problem-solving skills. This social support network contributes to an improved outcome for the patient.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation includes a wide array of non-medical interventions for those with schizophrenia. Rehabilitation programs emphasize social and vocational training to help patients and former patients overcome difficulties in these areas. Programs may include vocational counseling, job training, problem-solving and money management skills, use of public transportation, and social skills training. These approaches are important for the success of the community-centered treatment of schizophrenia, because they provide discharged patients with the skills necessary to lead productive lives outside the sheltered confines of a mental hospital.
A Schizophrenic
(By Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge)
My world is limited
Filled with wired sounds
I see Rocky Marciano
Fighting with Woody Allen
Long time ago
Aliens abducted me
They fixed wires in to my brain
Then sucked out my brain substance
I cannot control my thoughts
Because thoughts control me
Some kind of energy is inside me
Giving continuous commands
I hate to go to the Bush House London
Where the BBC transmits my thoughts
People often express amusement
When they read my thoughts
A man with a black jacket
Is an agent from the KGB
He is spying and tries to track me down
May be he wants to take me to Moscow
I was in Lubianka
Questioned by Lorenthy Beria
I was released by the NKVD
Then planted in Pennsylvania
When JFK was murdered
I knew the secret plot
No one took it seriously
Not even my psychiatrist
When the Deep Throat revealed his identity
All the president's men pardoned him
I cannot reveal my secrets
It would lead to a catastrophe
I bear top secrets
I know all the classified information
The world cannot survive without my skills |
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Category : People & Earth
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| 02 Jun 2008 04:26:31 pm |
| Psychological Reflections of Vincent Van Gogh’s Art |
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I know for sure that I have an instinct for colour, and that it will come to me more and more, that painting is in the very marrow of my bones." - Vincent Van Gogh
Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge
Vincent William van Gough a famous Dutch artist whose work often associated with Post-Impressionism and later transformed in to Expressionism. Vincent Van Gogh, was one of the most important predecessors of modern painting. He was an outstanding mostly self taught artist who used color for its “symbolic and expressive values” rather than to reproduce light and literal surroundings. Vincent van Gogh’s artistic work deeply analyses his unconscious mind. The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud viewed art as a privileged form of neurosis where the analyst-critic explores the artwork in order to understand and unearth the vicissitudes of the creator's psychological motivations. In this context van Gough’s art represent a profound psychological sketch.
Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Netherlands. Since his childhood Van Gogh had an immense passion for art. Van Gogh’s emotional state highly affected his artistic work. Van Gogh’s most famous works include: Starry Night, Cafe Terrace at Night, Terrasse, Houses At Auvers, Restaurant De La Sirene At Asnieres, Sunflowers, Irises, and several self-portraits, amongst others. Most of his best-known work was created in the last two years of his life.
Though Van Gogh had little financial success as an artist during his lifetime and often lived in poverty, his fame grew dramatically after his death. Today van Gough’s name is considered to be one of the world’s most renowned, respected, and influential artists. But he could not live long enough to see his fame. His life was filled with misery and desolation and this suffering was painted in an artistic way.
Van Gogh suffered from complex psychiatric ailments. Apart from the illness excessive use of tobacco and alcohol made a negative impact on his mental health. The mental illness that plagued him affected his art immensely. Van Gough painted his anguish and despair on canvas. His brushwork became increasingly agitated. The striking colors, crude brush strokes, and distorted shapes and contours, express his disturbed mind. He suffered two distinct episodes of reactive depression, and there are clearly bipolar aspects to his history. Both episodes of depression were followed by sustained periods of increasingly high energy and enthusiasm.
Van Gogh's inimitable art was defined by its powerful, dramatic and emotional style. The artist’s concern for human suffering is in somber, melancholy study of art. Maybe he tried to explain the struggle between the man and the human nature, the reality and his unconscious mental conflicts. Van Gogh once said: "We spend our whole lives in unconscious exercise of the art of expressing our thoughts with the help of words."
His life was full of mental conflicts. He fought with his inner mind. This dual nature was observable. He had attacks of melancholy and of atrocious remorse. His colors lost the intensity His lines became restless. He applied the paint more violently with thicker layers. Van Gogh was drawn to objects in nature under stress: whirling suns, twisted cypress trees, and surging mountains. Although van Gogh’s illness emerged more violently he produced brilliant works as The Reaper, Cypresses The Red Vineyard, and his famed Starry Night.
In Starry Night (1889) the whole world seems engulfed by circular movements. The Starry Night is undoubtedly van Gogh’s most mysterious picture. The Starry Night which resides as his most popular work and one of the most influence pieces in history. The swirling lines of the sky are a possible representation of his mental state. The Starry Night embodies an inner, subjective expression of van Gogh's response to nature. Vincent van Gogh once said "Looking at the stars always makes me dream. We take death to reach a star."
From the beginning of Van Gogh's artistic career he had the ambition to draw and paint figures. For Vincent van Gogh color was the chief symbol of expression. Contemporary artists admired van Gogh’s passionate approach to art. But he viewed his life as horribly wasted, personally failed and impossible. On the contrary he was able to produce deeply moving images while living a life of ultimate desperation in an increasing state of mental imbalance.
Suicidal gestures by Vincent depicted in his last paintings. He painted immense fields of wheat under dark and stormy skies, commenting, "It is not difficult to express here my entire sadness and extreme loneliness" . In one of his last paintings, Wheat Field With Crows, the black birds fly in a starless sky, and three paths lead nowhere.
In 1888 Vincent’s mental health was very unstable. His state of mind was very weak and during a breakdown, he mutilated his ear. After a few weeks he was able to paint Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear and Pipe, which shows him in serene composure. Vincent van Gogh had an unconventional personality and unstable moods, suffered from recurrent psychotic episodes during the last 2 years of his life, and committed suicide in 1890 at the age of 37. Despite the mental illness he suffered Vincent remained marvelously creative until his death. Although he lived a relatively short period he left behind an astonishing body of work which included several hundred paintings.
The lyrics of Don McLean’s hit song Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) describes a comparison to Van Gogh's Actual Life and references to Van Gogh’s paintings.
Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Don McLean articulates Vincent van Gogh's tragic death and points out that even though he loved painting, his paintings could never love him back.
For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you. |
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Category : People & Earth
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| 23 May 2008 08:39:11 am |
| Thor Heyerdahl and the Kon-Tiki Expedition |
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Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge
Thor Heyerdahl - a world renowned Norwegian explorer best known for his famous voyage Kon-Tiki expedition practically showed that ancient people could have crossed much greater distances through ocean for trade and cultural exchange. He was convinced that the ocean was only a barrier to man as long as our ancestors were strictly pedestrians, but it became a conveyor for cultural contact and the growth of diversified civilizations from the moment the first sea-going watercraft was invented. Heyerdahl once stated that "man hoisted sail before he saddled a horse. He poled and paddled among rivers and navigated open seas before he traveled on wheels along roads.
Thor Heyerdahl was born in 1914 in Norway. As a young boy he was interested in biology and had a dream to become an explorer and travel to exotic countries far away. During 1937 - 1938 Thor Heyerdahl received a zoological grant to research animal life on the Marquesas Islands. This journey had a great influence on his life. His interest soon turned as to how these Islands and Polynesia in general, had become populated. He was highly interested in marine migration and studied the cultural diffusion which occurred through ancient sea roots.
Thor Heyerdahl speculated that the food plants cultivated in aboriginal Polynesia appeared to have spread from South America prior to European arrival. This idea was condemned by the eminent archeologists’ claming that there were no possible sea travel between the South America and Polynesia. Also they emphasized that the Peruvian balsa rafts could not have floated there in pre-Columbian times.
Heyerdahl studied the cultural similarities of ancient Peru and Polynesia and formed a theory which was highly controversial at that time. He proclaimed that Polynesian Islands had been populated from South America. The main argument against Heyerdahl's theory was the lack of evidence of Pre-Colombian Indians in South America having had sea-going vessels capable of crossing the expanse of ocean between South America and Polynesia. According to the accepted theory Polynesian islands had been populated from the east, from Indonesia. But Thor Heyerdahl challenged this theory and decided to prove that the ancient Peruvians traveled to Polynesia by small rafts. This new theory he called “American Indians in the Pacific".
Heyerdahl claimed that in Incan legend there was a sun-god named Con-Tici Viracocha who was the supreme head of the mythical fair-skinned people in Peru. The original name for Virakocha was Kon-Tiki or Illa-Tiki, which means Sun-Tiki or Fire-Tiki. Kon-Tiki was high priest and sun-king of these legendary "white men" who left enormous ruins on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The legend continues with the mysterious bearded white men being attacked by a chief named Cari who came from the Coquimbo Valley. They had a battle on an island in Lake Titicaca, and the fair race was massacred. However, Kon-Tiki and his closest companions managed to escape and later arrived on the Pacific coast. The legend ends with Kon-Tiki and his companions disappearing westward out to sea. Heyerdahl proposed that Tiki's neolithic people colonized the then-uninhabited Polynesian islands as far north as Hawaii, as far south as New Zealand, as far east as Easter Island, and as far west as Samoa and Tonga a
round A.D. 500. But many scholars refused to adopt this theory.
In order to prove his controversial theory Thor Heyerdahl and five fellow adventurers went to Peru, where they constructed a 45 foot pae-pae raft from balsa wood and other native materials. They called this raft Kon Tiki. The Kon-Tiki expedition was inspired by old reports and drawings made by the Spanish Conquistadors of Inca rafts, and by native legends.
In 1947 along with Heyerdahl five companions left Callio harbor- Peru and traveled 8000 km across the Pacific Ocean. After 101 days they reached Polynesia (Raroia atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago). Hence Heyerdahl and his crew demonstrated that early contact between South Americans and Pacific Islanders was technically possible. Kon Tiki expedition practically proved that the ancient Peruvians could have reached Polynesia by small balsa rafts.
Kon-Tiki demonstrated that it was possible for a primitive raft to sail the Pacific Ocean with relative ease and safety, especially to the west with the wind and there was no technical reasons to prevent people from South America from having settled the Polynesian Islands.
Thor Heyerdahl was a practical scientist; iconoclast and a courageous explorer visited Sri Lanka in mid eighties. The international promoter of cooperation and understanding between people across the globe Thor Heyerdahl died in 2002, at the age of 87.
In 2007 after five years of Heyerdahl ‘s death evidence was released by the University of Auckland showing that a specific mutation in chickens native to Samoa and Tonga was seen in chicken bones found in Chile and dated to about 1400 AD. This provides very strong evidence that there was trade between Polynesia and South America. |
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Category : People & Earth
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