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Subtyping Breast Cancer: Genome Analysis Opens Door to New Era in Targeted Therapies
Published Online: Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Charles M. Perou, PhD
Current Treatment ParadigmsCurrently, clinicians recognize the following forms of disease: luminal A and luminal B, two cancer subtypes that express the estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PR, respectively); human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive tumors, which express the HER2 protein; and basal-like tumors, which lack HER2, ER, and PR (often referred to as triple-negative breast cancers [TNBCs], but approximately 25% of TNBCs fall into other micro-RNA subtypes).
Surgery and radiation represent frontline options for patients with breast cancer. Typically, a chemotherapeutic regimen including a taxane is then given to systemically suppress the regrowth of the tumor and prevent metastasis. During initial diagnosis, hormone receptor and HER2 expression are also determined. When the ER and PR status is positive, anti-hormone drugs such as tamoxifen are often indicated. Trastuzumab (Herceptin), a monoclonal antibody against HER2, can be used in HER2-positive disease. In addition, targeted therapeutics have improved the prognosis of patients with these specific cancer subtypes.
Despite the advances in targeted therapy, significant limitations persist. Anti-hormone compounds in hormone receptor-positive disease are able only to suppress the growth of cancer cells. They do not kill these cells, and this gives the tumor time to circumvent hormone signaling and resume unchecked growth, often leading to relapse and resistance. Anti-HER2 therapy is successful in treating a large number of patients, but the development of resistance is a common feature of HER2-positive disease. In addition, roughly half of HER2-positive patients with previously untreated metastatic disease do not respond to trastuzumab when used in combination with chemotherapy . The reason for this lack of response is unclear. No approved targeted therapies yet exist for the basal-like breast cancers, since they do not express any known targetable proteins. This leaves only the nonspecific chemotherapy option for patients with this disease.
An Expanded Analysis of Breast Cancer SubtypesThe TCGA network, through its pivotal new work, ultimately may help to expand the treatment options for breast cancer by increasing the understanding of the subtypes. The network, launched in 2006 through a collaboration of the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute, brings together researchers from approximately 15 institutions, including centers at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where Ellis is based.
In the breast cancer study, the researchers combined a variety of techniques using tumor samples from 825 patients in an effort to definitively characterize the breast cancer subtypes. They also hoped to elucidate specific pathways of disease to improve the current standards of care. Six features of genes across the entire exome were analyzed, including DNA copy number, mutation, DNA methylation, mRNA expression, micro-RNA expression, and protein expression.
Overall, the team concluded that diverse genetic and epigenetic alterations in breast cancers could be classified into the four major biological subtypes, and that "much of the clinically observable plasticity and heterogeneity occurs within, and not across," those subtypes.
Snapshot of Mutated Genes in Breast Cancer Subtypes
The TCGA study included an analysis of the significantly mutated genes in 498 tumor samples correlated with genomic subtype. Adapted from Cancer Genome Atlas Network. Comprehensive molecular portraits of human breast tumours [published online ahead of print September 23, 2012]. Nature. 2012;490(7418):61-70. doi: 10.1038/nature11412.
New Findings in HER2-Positive Breast CancerThe study elucidated distinct subtypes of HER2-positive cancer. Nearly half of the samples revealed the classically-defined HER2-positive disease where mRNA and protein levels were elevated. In the other half, the gene expression signature indicated strong similarity to the luminal subtype.
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Hellboy II, Clone Wars On DVD/Blu-ray, Chuck, Supernatural On Blu-ray And More
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY On DVD And Blu-ray
The roughest, toughest, most unlikely hero of all is back in HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY, available in 3-disc special edition DVD and 2-disc Blu-ray on November 11, 2008 from Universal Studios Home Ent.
With bigger muscle, badder weapons and more ungodly villains than ever before, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY is available in multiple home entertainment versions. In standard definition DVD, fans can purchase either a widescreen or full frame single disc version for $29.98 SRP. For a limited time, fans can take home a widescreen 3-disc special edition DVD ($34.98 SRP) or 2-disc Blu-ray ($39.98 SRP), featuring a digital copy of the film and hours of additional in-depth bonus features that take fans deep inside the movie's extraordinary creative process -- all encased in 3-D packaging.
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY is also available in a limited edition collector's set featuring all of the bonus features of the 3-disc special edition plus a collectible Golden Army statuette, limited edition poster, director's production journal and certificate of authenticity. This set is priced for collecting and gift giving at $64.98 SRP for standard definition DVD and $69.98 SRP for Blu-ray.
Del Toro returns audiences to the exhilaratingly original world of HELLBOY. Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones and Jeffrey Tambor reprise their roles from the groundbreaking first Hellboy film, joined by Luke Goss as Nuada, a renegade elvish prince, and more than 30 startling new creatures drawn from del Toro's untamed imagination. Based on characters created by Mike Mignola for Dark Horse Comics, HELLBOY has become one of the most successful independent comic books of all time, bursting with outlandish creatures, over-the-top action and unexpectedly comedic moments.
After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures. Now, it's up to the planet's toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it's time to call in Hellboy (Perlman). Along with his expanding team in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development -- pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz (Blair), aquatic empath Abe (Jones) and protoplasmic mystic Johann -- the BPRD will travel between the surface strata and the unseen magical one, where creatures of fantasy become corporeal. And Hellboy, a creature of two worlds who's accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons him.
The movie was the largest character animation project ever undertaken by lead vfx vendor Double Negative. The facility had just delivered Grawp for HARRY POTTER & THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, as well as the saber toothed tiger and the terror birds for 10,000 BC, so lessons learnt from these prior projects were incorporated into the nascent creature pipeline.
"The real challenge here was to gather all the different pieces of a creature pipeline developed on other shows," says co-CG Supervisor Andrew Chapman. "We had to form a complete character pipeline that would handle the vast array of different creatures we were animating, as well as a very high volume of creatures within a single scene, up to about 5,000 Tooth Fairies in some shots."
Double Negative's pipeline was modeled in Maya, ZBrush and XSI; rigging and lighting were done in Maya; effects work were done in both Maya and Houdini; rendering was done in RenderMan through a proprietary Maya-RenderMan tool called Rex; and compositing was done in Shake.
The Blu-ray, single- and 3-disc DVDs all feature the following bonus content:
--Feature Commentary with Director Guillermo del Toro--Feature Commentary with Cast Members Jeffrey Tambor, Selma Blair and Luke Goss--Set Visits: Seven mini documentaries provide viewers with unlimited access to the HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY set.--Troll Market Tour with Guillermo del Toro: Using sketches and backstage video, del Toro walks the audience through the creation of one of the film's most distinctive sets, the legendary Troll Market.--Animated Zinco Epilogue Comic--Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary by Director Guillermo del Toro
In addition, the Blu-ray and 3-disc special edition DVD also include the following in-depth features:
--Prologue: A special introduction to the DVD from director Guillermo del Toro.--Pre-Production Vault:* Director's Notebook: Exclusive interviews, image scans and text from Guillermo del Toro's personal notebook.* Concept Art Gallery: Original designs and concepts for HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY's costumes and sets.--Hellboy: In Service Of The Demon: Over two hours of footage that takes fans into the creation of this film.--Production Workshop: Professor Broom's Puppet Theatre: A special look inside the opening sequence of the film including storyboards and animatics.--Image Gallery Featuring Teaser Banners, One-Sheets and Poster Explorations--DVD Rom: HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY Script
Exclusive Blu-Ray Bonus Features:
--BD-Live:*My Chat: Using your Internet-connected player, host a text chat with your friends who also own HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY on Blu-ray while you watch the movie in synchronization.*Sneak Peek of WANTED: Watch never-before seen footage from WANTED, starring Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy.*My Scenes Sharing: Show your friends your favorite scenes from HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY via BD-Live.--Comic Book Builder: Create an original downloadable HELLBOY adventure by selecting still images from the movie, dropping them into comic book layouts and adding text. The result can be e-mailed to friends or published via BD-Live buddy lists.--U-Control: Universal's exclusive signature feature U-Control allows viewers to delve into the making of the film with the click of the remote without ever leaving the movie.*Scene Explorer: Schufften Goggle View: View scenes from the film as it progresses from storyboards and early renderings of the visual effects to the final film.*Director's Notebook: Fans will get an interactive glimpse at the director's personal journal and view how early thematic concepts evolved into the final film. Includes an introduction by Guillermo Del Toro.*Set Visits: Interactive vignettes provide information about key moments in the film.*Comic Book Back-Story Interactive Feature: Clickable motion pages provide backstories of the film's characters.
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS On DVD And Blu-ray
Lucasfilm Animation and Warner Home Video present the theatrical release of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS. As the Clone Wars sweep through the galaxy, the heroic Jedi Knights struggle to maintain order and restore peace. More and more systems are falling prey to the forces of the dark side as the Galactic Republic slips further and further under the sway of the Separatists and their never-ending droid army.
Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano find themselves on a mission with far-reaching consequences, one that brings them face-to-face with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. But Count Dooku and his sinister agents, including the nefarious Asajj Ventress, will stop at nothing to ensure that Anakin and Ahsoka fail at their quest.
"George [Lucas] put Jabba in it," concedes director Dave Filoni, who serves as supervising director of the series and previously directed the AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER series. "It wasn't really the original plan, but when the master of the universe says it's going to be Jabba's son, you make it work.
"The movie has a lot of action and is a self-contained story [during this time of war]. We are trying to emphasize Anakin as a hero and good guy. We deal with his attachment issue [he loses his mother, he loses the droids], which brings him down and destroys the galaxy, by furthering the master/apprentice relationship. We give him a protege to help him mature and take responsibility and not be so reckless. I took a lot of pages from Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. I described him to the crew and writers as a grease monkey like Han, but he's naive like Luke. It also brings in more of the Princess Leia element: the brassy girl that likes to snark at the boys."
Special Features Include:
--Deleted scenes--Behind-the-scenes footage--Sneak preview of season one of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS TV series on Cartoon Network
Blu-ray Exclusives Include:--Hologram Memory Challenge game--Filmmaker video commentary
CHUCK: The Complete First Season On Blu-ray
Chuck Bartowski, ace computer geek at the BuyMore, is not in his right mind. That's a good thing. Ever since he unwittingly downloaded stolen government secrets into his brain, action, excitement and a cool secret-agent girlfriend have entered his life. It's a bad thing, too. Because now Chuck is in danger 24/7. Exec producers Josh Schwartz and McG merge techno-gadgetry, martial-arts smackdowns, narrow escapes and gorgeous spies in short shorts into this action comedy about a millennium Everyguy.
The three-disc collector's set will be releases on Blu-ray on November 11 and includes all 13 episodes, along with two fabulous featurettes, a file of declassified scenes, a hilarious gag reel, and more. CHUCK: The Complete First Season is priced at $49.99 from Warner Home Video.
Zoic Studios handles the bulk of vfx work for CHUCK and Andrew Orloff details his company's involvement with the series. "Starting with the pilot, the Visual Effects Supervisor/Coordinator Mike Leone and I worked together with production to find the overall vfx credo. McG, who is the exec producer and the director of the pilot, was very interested in having it playing like an old-fashioned James Bond spy drama. He didn't want to do anything too overt or crazy, but there was a lot of work designing the cool, retro-look to a lot of the stuff in the pilot."
"Pilot""Chuck Versus the Helicopter""Chuck Versus the Tango""Chuck Versus the Wookie""Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp""Chuck Versus the Sandworm""Chuck Versus the Alma Mater""Chuck Versus the Truth""Chuck Versus the Imported Hard Salami""Chuck Versus the Nemesis""Chuck Versus the Crown Vic""Chuck Versus the Undercover Lover""Chuck Versus the Marlin"
Blu-ray Special Features Include:
--Declassified Scenes--Chuck's World -- An inside look at character development and casting sessions--Chuck on Chuck -- Series stars Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez join creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedek for some point/counterpoint--Chuck vs. the Chuckles -- a.k.a: The Gag Reel--Chuck's Online World -- Gallery of Web-originated mini-featurettes
SUPERNATURAL: The Complete Third Season on Blu-ray
The yellow-eyed demon is vanquished, but at a terrible price. The battle that brought him down released hundreds of demons from Hell into an unsuspecting world and cost Sam his life. But a grief-stricken Dean made a deal with the Crossroads Demon -- his soul in exchange for Sam's resurrection. Now Dean has just one year to live. One year to fight the unholy, the twisted, the ghoulish. One year to say farewell to Sam, and one year for Sam to search desperately for some way to save his brother. Mind-bending adventure awaits as the Winchester brothers continue their astonishing odyssey into the supernatural... and their personal odyssey into destiny. The three-disc collector's set features all 16 one-hour episodes and over an hour of special features, including a special effects featurette, gag reel, and commentaries, plus a bonus offer for a Digital Copy of the entire season. SUPERNATURAL: The Complete Third Season will be available on Blu-ray on November 11 and is priced at $79.98 SRP from Warner Home Video.
For season two and beyond, SUPERNATURAL employed an in-house vfx team, work on the pilot was done by Entity FX and work in season one by Stargate Digital.
"The mandate for vfx on our show has always been to achieve the 'real supernatural'," says vfx supervisor Ivan Hayden. "It's not over-the-top, glowy vfx. We want to get the fear of the monster and the danger across without taking people out of the scary moment."
For example, a scene might show something that was caused by a supernatural creature, such as plants dying, rather than the creature itself. "It's always a case of less is more in the horror genre," Hayden says. "We want the hair on the back of your neck to stand up rather than showing you the blood and guts. We don't want to step into the world of sci-fi and fantasy."
Blu-ray Special Features Include:
--From Legends to Reality -- SUPERNATURAL Effects--Impala Featurette -- A look inside the classic 1967 Chevrolet Impala--Scene Specifics -- Short segments showcasing creative team members discussing favorite aspects of particular episodes--Ghostfacers! Confessionals minifeaturette gallery--Gag reel
WALT DISNEY TREASURES Wave VIII
The popular WALT DISNEY TREASURES series continues with three new double-disc DVD sets from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Each of the specially packaged collections includes never before seen bonus features on DVD that will delight Disney enthusiasts and fans of classic film and television alike. Available on November 11, 2008 in limited supply, all three WALT DISNEY TREASURES DVDs arrive just in time for the holidays.
THE CHRONOLOGICAL DONALD, VOLUME FOUR stars the short-tempered but hilarious Donald Duck in 31 films dating from 1951 through 1961 and presented for the first time on DVD in the original widescreen format. The final volume of the sputtering superstar's collected shorts, THE CHRONOLOGICAL DONALD, VOLUME FOUR includes WORKING FOR PEANUTS, Donald's 1954 foray into 3-D animation.
Special Features Include:
--Donald Goes To Press -- A retrospective look at Donald's prolific career in comic books.--The Unseen Donald Duck: Trouble Shooters -- Storyboards for an unproduced Donald Duck cartoon pitched by famed Disney animator, Eric Goldberg.--Audio Commentary by Leonard Maltin and Jerry Beck
THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB PRESENTS: ANNETTE stars Annette Funicello, Disney's most beloved Mouseketeer, in an original 20-episode serial on DVD for the 50th anniversary of the serial's conclusion. Adorable Annette plays a spunky country orphan who has to make big adjustments when she is sent to live with her sophisticated city cousins. Devoted MICKEY MOUSE CLUB fans will be delighted to see Tim Considine and David Stollery of SPIN AND MARTY in supporting roles.
Special Features Include:--Musically Yours, Annette -- From a 1992 interview, Annette recalls her career as a recording star and her years on THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB. This mini documentary also includes interviews with Annette's fellow teen idols Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon and Fabian.--To Annette, With Love -- A newly produced tribute to everyone's favorite Mouseketeer.--THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB -- The first and last episodes of the popular television program
Based on the popular series of three novels, DR. SYN: THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH tells the story of a mild-mannered parson by day who becomes the Scarecrow, an anonymous champion of the oppressed by night. All three original TV episodes of this WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY miniseries are presented for the first time ever in widescreen format, with an all-new digital restoration 5.1 audio mix as well as the original restored mono track. The DVD also includes the theatrical film version, released exclusively in England.
Special Features Include:--Dr. Syn: The History of the Legend -- A look at the evolution of the legend of Dr. Syn from his literary origins to the Walt Disney film version.--Walt Disney: From Burbank To London -- A featurette about the first satellite studio established by Walt Disney in the 1950s in England.--Walt Disney TV Introductions in Widescreen
Noted film historian, author, and critic Leonard Maltin provides exclusive commentary for the series. Each DVD is individually numbered, with an authenticity certificate, and an exclusive lithograph in the collectible, unique packaging tins. They are available in a limited supply only. Each DVD has a suggested retail price of $32.99 (U.S.) and $35.99 (Canada).
BAND OF BROTHERS On Blu-ray
Based on the bestseller by Stephen E. Ambrose, the epic 10-part miniseries BAND OF BROTHERS tells the story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army. Drawn from interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as soldiers' journals and letters, BAND OF BROTHERS chronicles the experiences of these men who knew extraordinary bravery and extraordinary fear. Airing on HBO in 2001, BAND OF BROTHERS features vfx by Cinesite.
Special Features Include:
--DVD ROM Features: Weblinks to the original BAND OF BROTHERS Website and more--Documentary: "We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company" -- 80 minute documentary featuring interviews with the real men of Easy Company--Featurette: 30-minute "The Making of Band of Brothers"--The Premiere On The Beaches of Normandy - includes interviews with Easy Company vetrans and heads of state for the United States, Great Britian, France and Canada.--Interviews: Ron Livingston's Video Diaries - The experience of making BAND OF BROTHERS through the eyes of one actor.--Other: Interactive "Field Guide": An extensive reference feature that details the people, places and events associated with Easy Company's campaigns through Europe, and World War II as a whole, including sections such as: soldiers, timelines, maps, chain-of-command and glossary of terms.--Scene Access
Blu-ray Exclusives Include:
--Picture-in-picture commentary by the Easy Company veterans--Interactive field guide, featuring timelines, maps, soldier profiles and more.
STORM HAWKS: SHOWDOWN IN THE SKIES On DVD
STORM HAWKS: SHOWDOWN IN THE SKIES soars onto DVD November 11 from Sony Pictures Home Ent. In addition to the final 13 episodes of the first season; the two-disc DVD contains an exclusive bonus feature -- "Storm Hawks Fleet" -- a 360 degree view of the vehicle transformations from the show. Cartoon Network's hit kids 3D animated series was produced by Ken Faier, Asaph "Ace" Fipke and Nerd Corps Ent. This latest volume follows the previously released STORM HAWKS COLLECTORS SET: HEROES OF THE SKY and will be available for $24.94 SRP.
The action-packed series follows five heroic and fearless teens, a squad of Sky Knight protectors who call themselves the Storm Hawks. Riding motorcycles transformed into flying machines and powered by the air's energy-generating crystals, the Storm Hawks defend the people of Atmos against the evil oppressors of Cyclonia. These daring warriors, shifting gears from easy riders to easy gliders, patrol Atmos's largely mountainous world against the worst villains ever to hit the skies.
Episodes Include:
"A Little Trouble""Thunder Run""Escape!""Forbidden City""Leviathan""Infinnity""Terra Neon""The Storm Hawks Seven""Talon Academy""Siren's Song""Calling All Domos""The Lesson""Dude, Where's My Condor"
DVD Special Features Include:
--"Storm Hawks Fleet" -- a 360 degree view of the vehicle transformations from the show.
SHAUN THE SHEEP: OFF THE BAA! On DVD
SHAUN THE SHEEP, an all-new series from Aardman Animations, will have Wallace & Gromit fans cracking up over new barnyard adventures. After Shaun first appeared in the 1995 Oscar-winning Wallace & Gromit short film, A CLOSE SHAVE, the popularity of the character led to a spin-off series of 40 seven-minute episodes, which currently air as one of the top-five shorts on the Disney Channel.
One of the most mischievous, adventurous and entertaining animals on the farm, Shaun deals with situational comedy conflicts in each episode. Combining slapstick humor and classic silent comedy, SHAUN THE SHEEP will have fans of all ages flocking to the new DVD to enjoy all his wacky, wooly antics!
SHAUN THE SHEEP: OFF THE BAA! contains these eight comical adventures:
--"Off the Baa" -- Shaun turns a head of cabbage into a soccer ball for the ultimate midday soccer match. But he has to watch out -- the neighboring Naughty Pigs look to steal the ball for an afternoon snack!--"Timmy in a Tizzy" -- Little lamb Timmy is in tears when his stuffed teddy bear is in the clutches of the Farmer.--"Buzz Off Bees" -- An altercation with a lone bee incites the hive into retaliation against the flock. Can Shaun take the sting out of a bad situation?--"Who is the Mummy" -- The newly-hatched chicks think Shaun is their mom. Will Shaun be able to get rid of them?--"Mower Mouth" -- Here's a goat with an appetite for... everything. When the mad muncher gets loose, he takes Shaun for the ride of his life.--"Fleeced" -- It's wool-shearing time. From sabotaging the clippers to hiding in disguise, the flock will do anything to keep their wool on. It's THE GREAT ESCAPE -- sheep style.--"Shaun Shoots the Sheep" -- Say cheese! When tourists leave a camera behind, the sheep are ready for their close-ups. But when the Naughty Pigs swipe the clicker, it becomes a fight to the photo finish.--"Mountains Out Of Molehills" -- It's a mole lotta trouble! When a mole creates earthly havoc around the barnyard, the flock takes action to get rid of him.
DVD Special Features:
--Meet the Animals--Video Game Sneak Peeks -- Nintendo's SHAUN THE SHEEP and Telltale Games' WALLACE & GROMIT'S GRAND ADVENTURES
PINGU'S SOUTH POLE ADVENTURES On DVD
Join the ultimate party penguin, Pingu, in PINGU'S SOUTH POLE ADVENTURES, a cool new collection of eight snowy and hilarious adventures sliding onto DVD November 11, 2008 from Lionsgate and HIT Ent.
Take a trip to the South Pole where you'll find him chilling with the Abominable Snowman, getting his first job and dancing the night away in his igloo. Laugh along as he learns the hard way that penguins can't fly, plays tag with his sister, and takes a trip on a motorized sled for the very first time.
PINGU'S SOUTH POLE ADVENTURES includes:--"Pingu and the Abominable Snowman" -- Pingu makes a new friend: a snow monster.--"Pingu and the Daily Igloo" -- Pingu gets a paper route, which ends up being a lot more work than our frosty-feathered friend anticipated.--"Pingu Boogaloo" -- Pingu gets his groove on to his favorite song, though getting to hear the song in its entirety takes a lot of maneuvering around several obstacles and distractions.--"Pinga Sleepwalks" -- Pinga is sleepwalking and Pingu follows his baby sister on a harrowing nocturnal stroll.--"Pingu Tries to Fly" -- Pingu sets out to fly (despite being a flightless species of bird) and hilarious results abound.--"Pingu Plays Tag" -- A harmless game of hide-and-seek finds Pingu trapped in an unexpectedly high-perched situation.--"Pingu Gets Carried Away" -- A driving lesson from Father proves even good intentions can quickly turn into mayhem thanks to an out-of-control sled.--"Pingu's Big Catch" -- Pingu goes ice fishing and catches everything but fish. Misfortune soon takes a turn for the better, though, when a junk collector comes along and buys Pingu's trove of trash with an enormous fish.
DVD Special Features:
--Pingu's Family Album -- a character gallery--Snowball Roll and Bowl Game -- an interactive game

subset: commoncrawl


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Casual children's games (by which I mean those without a formal set of rules, generally imposed by adults) represent a significant part of oral tradition. A child first learns the rules from older children, and in turn passes them on to younger chidren, maintaining a tradition that might go back to pre-historic times. Iona and Peter Opie (The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren) show that childen's rhymes, tricks, games, riddles, etc, may be traced back many centuries[1]. Some versions of the game of hopscotch contain eschatological symbols, and this paper puts forward the theory that these may be evidence that hopscotch originated in a pre-Christian ritual so significant that the early Christian Church felt unable to suppress it, and instead assimilated it, diminishing it by making it into a children's game.
... and the rules have many variations, but the essence of the game is the same: the playing area defines a route which players must follow, proceeding according to complex rules into the deepest part of the playing area, and then return to the start. Breaking the rules ends the player's turn, and another player takes a turn. The rules are such that a two-way journey becomes progressively more difficult.
As an example, I describe the play of one version of hopscotch (of no particular significance other than being the version I played in Birmingham in the 1950 and early 1960s). The playing area (see left) was a chalked area divided into 8 rough squares some 2 feet across, numbered 1 to 8, and an unnamed semicircle. The only required equipment was the "piece", a stone or similar object, which was to be thrown into the playing area: this could be wrapped in cloth to stop it bouncing or sliding too much[2]
Having decided the order of play[3], the first player tossed the piece so as to stop in square 1. Then the player had to hop over square 1 into square 2, jump to land with the left foot in square 3 and the right in square 4 simultaneously, hop into 5, jump into 6 and 7, hop into 8, and hop or jump into the semicircle. Having reached the semicircle, the player turned round and hop-jump-hop-jump-hopped back through the playing area, this time continuing into square 1. While standing in one foot the player had then to pick up the piece, without touching the ground, then hop out of square 1 to complete the first sequence.
This sequence was repeated 8 times, the piece being tossed into each of the squares in order.
Players must not toss the piece to land anywhere except the correct square, step on the chalk lines, or outside the proper square, or touch the ground with any body part other that the correct foot. Any infraction of a rule ended the player's turn. When their next turn came around, they started at the point in the sequence at which they had previously failed.
Once a player had sucessfully completed the 8th sequence, they had won a round, and could choose any of the 8 squares (other than any already so chosen) as their prize. The square was marked as being owned, and the player's initial added with the chalk (as are squares 5 and 6 in the diagram) and for the rest of the game the piece was no longer tossed into it, and only they could put a foot in it. Other players had to hop or jump over.
Further rounds then started at the lowest available square. Once 8 rounds had been completed, and all 8 squares won, the player who had won the most squares won the game.
However, this very rarely happened, since it becomes almost impossible to complete a sequence once many of the squares have been won. It is necessary to jump hard enough to avoid several squares, but land controlled enough not to stumble outside the square. It can be done, but so rarely as to make the game very difficult to finish before the players' mothers called them in for tea.
Early written records are rare. J.W.Crombie (History of the Game of Hop-Scotch asserts that the game is mentioned in Poor Robin's Almanac[4] for 1667, which appears to be the earliest clear reference. Pliny[5], it is true, while describing the labyrinths, mentions "mazes formed in the fields for the amusement of children"; but it seems a stretch to take these as early versions of hopscotch without further details of the amusement.
However, the absence of earlier written records does not imply the game was not played earlier. It is a truism that records only exist of matters considered worthy of record by someone in a position to make a record or have a record made. So our written history records only the concerns of those able to write, or able to command others to write for them. In the mediæval era, "those able to write" meant the Church[6] and some of the aristocracy. In pre-Mediæval times, literacy was rare ouside of the Church. And, given the labour involved in making a record (writing by hand, with a quill pen the writer had cut from a goose feather, with ink the writer had made from soot and fat, on a parchment the writer had prepared) only a weighty matter would be considered worthy of record. So the early records cover only things considered important by the Church; the casual games of chidren passed unrecorded.
There has been some speculation of eschatological symbolism in hopscotch. Gomme (The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland) quotes Crombie as saying: "It would seem more probable that the game represented the progress of the soul from earth to heaven through various intermediate states, the name given to the last court being most frequently paradise or an equivalent, such as crown or glory, while the names of the other courts corresponded with the eschatological ideas prevalent in the early days of Christianity"[7]
But Crombie's argument, I feel, misses a number of significant points:-
Firstly, while some of the courts are indeed given names with eschatological significance (see the illustration from Crombie's article, left), and the deepest court is often called "Paradise" or "Heaven". But the object of the game in not to attain this Paradise, whereas that of the Christian is. In most versions, the object is to go to the deepest part of the playing area and return unscathed, although in a few others it is to pass through the playing area and out of the other side; but in no version of which I am aware is the object of the game to reach and remain in any part of the playing area.
Secondly, there are two aspects central to the play of the game that have no obvious analogue in the progress of the soul after death: that players succeed by retrieving some object from within the playing area, and specifically an object that they themselves have placed therein; and that the game is a contest, a player winning only if all others lose. These aspects are so fundamental to the game that they must have had some equivalent in the game's precursor.
Thus it seems the game cannot symbolise "the progress of the soul from earth to heaven" as Combie asserts: rather, if it has any symbolic meaning, it would symbolise some venture into a dangerous place and sucessful return, or some rite of passage. Thus, while the eschatological nomenclature does suggest some Christian beliefs embedded in hopscotch, they appear to have been overlaid on some other foundation.
Such assimilation of aspects of non-Christian belief is frequently seen in early Christianity: the adoption of December 25th, celebrated as the Birthdaay of the Unconquered Sun in Mithraism, as the birthdate of Jesus, unsupported by (and inconsistent with[8]) any biblical tradition, allowed the wholesale adoption of pagan Solstice celebrations as celebrations of the Nativity; the redefinition of the Sabbath from the Jewish Saturday to Sunday allowed claims of consistency with Roman Sun worship, etc.
That such assimilation was a matter of policy is clear from a letter of Pope Gregory, written in 601AD, concerning the conversion of Anglo-Saxon pagans:- "... I have, upon mature deliberation on the affair of the English, determined opon, viz,. that the temples of the idols in that nation ought not to be destroyed; but let the idols that are in them be destroyed; let holy water be made and sprinkled in the said temples, let alters be erected, and relics placed. For if those temples are well built, it is requisite that they be converted from the worship of devils to the service of the true God; that the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may remove error from their hearts, and knowing and adoring the true God, may the more familiarly resort to the places to which they have been accustomed. And because they have been used to slaughter many oxen in the sacrifices to devils, some solemnity must be exchanged for them on this account, as that on the day of the dedication, or the nativities of the holy martyrs, whose relics are there deposited, they may build themselves huts of the boughs of trees, about those churches which have been turned to that use from temples, and celebrate the solemnity with religious feasting, and no more offer beasts to the Devil, but kill cattle to the praise of God in their eating, and return thanks to the Giver of all things ..."[9]
It is, therefore, not unlikely that a Pagan ritual which was too significant to be banned, might have had its threat to the early Christian Church reduced, by being assimilated into the ritual of the Church, overlaid with eschatological symbolism which amost fit; and later, its significance reduced by recreation as a chidren's game.
The most obvious Christian ritual which might parallel hopscotch is that of baptism, particularly baptism by immersion. Baptism has been understood in two ways, as a ritual washing away of sin[10], or as a symbol of being born again[11]. In the first interpretation, we may see Baptism as a continuation of the various Jewish rituals commanded in the Torah to attain or re-attain purity. But in the second, there is no equivalent in Judaism. If immersion and emergence is seen as a symbol of rebirth, then that which is entered into and emerged from is a symbolic grave, suggesting a far more pagan origin.
The precise details of the baptism ritual in the early Christian Church is unclear. The biblical record implies immersion: John 2:23 has John the Baptist choosing a location for baptism "because there was much water there", and Acts 8:38-9 says that both the baptiser and baptised "went down into the water" And the Didache, a Syrian liturgical manual written circa 70 AD, and widely circulated among the churches in the first few centuries of Christianity, recommended baptism in "living water" (ie in running water, as in a river). But it goes on to say the other water may be used if there is no living, and "If you have neither, pour water three times upon the head"[12]
However, early Christian artwork: tile mosaics in early churches, wall paintings in catacombs, designs on ordinary household objects such as cups and spoons, engravings on marble, etc, depict baptism by pouring; and there is some archælogical evidence that some baptistries in early churches were too small for anything beyond dipping. Thus while it may be, as Gonzalez (A History of Christian Thought) argues, that baptism by immersion was the standard form in Early Christianity, it was not exclusively used.
Thus it appears that, in practise, there was no prescribed baptism ritual in the early Church. That would leave an individual Church free to adopt whatever ritual was most convenient, which might have included the assimilation of a local pagan ritual practised in the area, as part of the campaign to christianise the local tribes.
The theory outlined above would be more convincing were a pagan ritual to be found, whose actions were similar to those of hopscotch. Here again we meet the problem of a lack of suitable written records. The Church, which drew up the records, would have no reason to describe such rituals. However, we may perhaps infer such rituals from myths and oral tradition which may have led to such rituals, or from archæological discoveries.
To the Classisist, a journey into the depths and back brings to mind Orpheus' doomed attempt to bring his wife Eurydice, dead from a serpent bite, back from the Underworld. According to the version of the Orphean legend given by Ovid in the Metamorphoses, following the second loss of Eurydice, Orpheus founded the Orphic mystery sect. We have no record of the Orphic rites, but it seems possible that they would re-enact Orpheus' failed enterprise, perhaps with some element of sympathetic magic, a belief that, were the journey to be completed properly, Orpheus' looking back would be counteracted and Eurydice released again.
The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is retold in the Middle English romance of Sir Orfeo. Although not written down until about 1330, this also contains elements of much earlier Celtic faerie lore. Tolkien was of the view that it was "more probably that not that it was translated from a French original"[13], perhaps because the mythic elements are particularly strong in Breton lore.
Sir Orfoe tells how King Orfeo of Thrace (which, the story insists, was the early name for Winchester) rescued his wife Heurodis. She had been stolen her away by the King of Fairy, and taken to his underworld kingdom. Distraught, Orfeo left his court, and wandered into the forest for ten years, then saw Heurodis riding with the fairy host. He followed them to the Court of the Fairy King, whom he entertained by playing the harp. Charmed by the music, the Fairy King asked Orfeo to name his reward, and he asked for the release of Heurodis, returning with her to reclaim his throne.
This legend remained current long enough to appear in song, King Orfeo being one of the ballads collected by Francis James Child. This is one of a corpus of songs in Child's collection, others being Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer, which tell of the recovery or return of someone from Fairyland, suggesting a widespread beief in such occurances. Given such a belief, it seems reasonable to assume there would have been rituals to ward against being taken away with the fairies, which might have taken the form of a symbolic rescue.
One version of the Tam Lin ballad has the curious stanza
First dip me in a stand of milk,
And then in a stand of water;
Haud me fast, let me na gas,
I'll be your bairnie's father.[14]
This is a reference to the belief that someone who had been put into non-human shape by enchantment count be returned to their true shape by immersion in liquid. The similarity to Christian baptism is striking, and perhaps one reason for the Church to baptise by immersion was that pagans would understand this as a ritual to promote "rebirth" in a better form.
Another classical myth which features a journey into peril and safe return, is Theseus' journey into the Labyrinth to kill the Minatour and out again following Ariagne's thread. Following this, according to Plutarch:- "Now Theseus, in his return from Crete, put in at Delos, and having sacrificed to the god of the island, dedicated to the temple the image of Venus which Ariadne had given him, and danced with the young Athenians a dance that, in memory of him, they say is still preserved among the inhabitants of Delos, consisting in certain measured turnings and returnings, imitative of the windings and twistings of the labyrinth. And this dance, as Dicæarchus writes, is called among the Delians the Crane. This he danced around the Ceratonian Altar, so called from its consisting of horns taken from the left side of the head. They say also that he instituted games in Delos, where he was the first that began the custom of giving a palm to the victors."
It seems possible that these dances, "imitative of the windings and twistings of the labyrinth", might have survived long enough to have become a precursor of hopscotch.
At Danebury in Hampshire is an Iron Age hill fort, excavated by a team led by Prof. Barry Cunliffe in the 1970s. The chalk bedrock is peppered with numerous large pits, from which many archæological relics have been recovered. Many grains were found, suggesting the pits had been used for the storage of seed corn. There were also objects apparently deliberately placed in the pits: quernstones, clay plots such as those used for the storage of beer or honey, etc. Other, more gruseome objects included single skulls, animal skeletons, the body of a man spread-eagled on the pit floor covered with flints which may have been used to stone him to death, and (most gruesome of all) the pelvis of a young man, chopped off at the waist and thighs.
Cunliffe suggests that storage of seed grain in pits was a deliberate act designed to place the graon in the protection of the chthonic deities[15], and that the other objects were thanks offerings to the deities:- "... the digging of a grain storage pit may well have been circumscribed by ritual behaviour. After all the domain of the gods of the underworld was being penetrated and society was putting its trust in the gods to preserve the quality and the fertility of the crop stored in the ground. To a superstitious mind it was a risky thing to do unless the proper rituals had been upheld ... The crucial time would have come at the end of the storage period when the pit was emptied and the gads had to be acknowledged."
We can only speculate as to what these "proper rituals" might have been. But the retrieval of the seed corn must surely have been considered a dangerous task: if the quernstones, pots, skulls, etc, are seen as thanks offerings to the chthonic deities, then would not the deities have been expected to have regarded the seed corn as such? If so, then retriving the seed corn from the pits would in effect have been stealing from the gods.
How this would be dealth with must be a matter of conjecture. But it seems not unreasonable to imagine the retrieval to have been preceeded with a ritual of sympathetic magic, in which the retrieval was performed in symbolic form, to ensure safe and successful perfomance when it was done for real. And this ritual could have a competitive element, to allow the deities to indicate who they wished to perform the real task, and what offering they would consider fair recompence for returning the grain.
And perhaps over cinturies the ritual became associated not just with retrieving the stored grain, but with its planting and growth. So eventually it became accepted that before the planting of crops, the blessing of the Gods shoudl be invoked by the performance of a ritual in which participants competed to retrieve a symbolic object.
Primary source evidence on hopscotch, and any possible pre-Christian precursor, is scant. Children's games have, in general, not been felt significant to deserve recording; and those in a position to record primary source evidence for Pagan ritual had a vested interest in not doing so, except as vague condemnatory references such as the "worship of devils"
We may say with certainty that there was eschatological nomenclature within some hopscotch layouts. But these, and the rules by which the game was played, cannot be reconciled with teh Christian doctrines of the soul. And we have primary source evidence that it was the custom of the early Church to assimilate non-Christian practises, so that "they should offer them to God and not to idols"[9], and thus make them less threatening to the Church.
Beyond this is conjecture. One possible explanation is that an early Church observed the local population practising an ancient ritual, inconsistent with Church teaching, involving the competitive retreival of an object. The ritual was of such significance to the people that the Church felt unable to anathamise it. So the Church assimilated the ritual, overlaying it with Christian eschatological symbolism, even though the symbolism didn't quite fit. Later, this emasculated ritual was made even less threatening, by being made into a game for children. While the details of such a ritual are now lost, probably beyond any hope of recall, both mythology and archæological evidence suggests that such rituals were once practised.
We must, of course, say with Prof. Cunliffe (Danebury: Anatomy of an Iron Age Hillfort) "The story is entirely plausible and may even approximate to what really happened, but as with so much of archæological interpretation it is necessary to sound the warning that other explanations are always possible" But I find it an intruiging possibility that children tossing a stone into a rough;y-drawn pattern of chalk squares might be re-enacting a magic rite meant to ensure the safe retrival of seed corn from an Iron Age pit.
Campbell, J. The Masks of God, Vol III: Occidental Mythology
Condor Press, London 1964
Child, F. J. The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
Houghton Mifflin, 1882 - 1898
Cunliffe, B. W. Danebury: Anatomy of an Iron Age Hillfort
Basford 1983
Eliade, M. (trans Mairet, P.) Myths, Dreams and Mysteries
Harvill Press, London 1960
Gonzalez, J. L. A History of Christian Thought, Vol I: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon
Abingdon, Nashville, 1981
Monter, W. Ritual, Myth and Magic in Early Modern Europe
Harvester Press, 1983
Opie, P. and I. A. The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren
Oxford University Press, 1959
Opie, P. and I. A. Children's Games in Street and Playground
Oxford University Press, 1969
Opie, I. A. The Singing Game
Oxford University Press, 1985
Tolkien, J. R. R. (trans) Sir Orfeo
George Allen and Unwin
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June 1, 2012
From left, Jan, Bradley, Ian and Lance MacLaughlin carry the banner on the first lap for cancer survivors Friday at the 16th annual Cole County Relay for Life held at the Jefferson City Jaycees Cole County Fairgrounds.
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Relay for Life offers hope for patients, families
"I am hope." The message was simple, and visible on the backs of hundreds of purple survivor shirts and was repeated throughout the opening ceremony for the 16th annual Relay for Life, which began 6 p.m. Friday and continue until 6 this morning.
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Sotheby's Brings Out a Hefty Sale, Even Bigger Expectations
Note to museum directors: Keep the donors happy.
Fifteen years ago, Tobias Meyer, then a specialist at Sotheby's, visited the small, respectable Kaiser Wilhelm Museum in Krefeld, a German industrial town northwest of Dusseldorf. The museum was replete with 1960s art, seemingly on permanent loan from a pair of powerhouse local collectors, Walther and Helga Lauffs. Impressed, Mr. Meyer, now the worldwide head of Sotheby's contemporary art department, says he began to nurture a friendship with Ms. Lauffs, reminding her to call if the couple ever changed their minds about the collection's fate.
Mr. Meyer's patience has been rewarded. Tonight, Sotheby's will auction off 34 pieces from the Lauffs collection that the family has decided to sell in the wake of a planned renovation of the Krefeld museum. Sotheby's has priced the grouping to sell for at least $49 million, although the auction house likely expects to fetch nearly twice as much; insiders say Sotheby's paid the Lauffs closer to $70 million for the consignment. Stand-out works include a gold-leaf panel by Yves Klein, "MG 9," estimated at up to $8 million, and a Donald Judd first free-standing floor sculpture, an untitled red ring priced at up to $7 million.
If you're not into Judd, there's literally tons of other art on offer this evening: a hefty 85 lots, in fact, nearly 30 more than Christie's offered in its $348 million sale last night. Sotheby's needs its sale to bring in between $291 million and $360 million, in part because it has bought outright or offered guarantees for 58% of the works on the block.
A huge chunk of the sale's potential value is wrapped up in a single painting, however, or rather a trio of mint-green works by Francis Bacon, "Triptych, 1976," which is priced at a record $70 million.
Sotheby's will also need at least two bidders to go after Mark Rothko's "Orange, Red, Yellow," which is priced at around $35 million. Bidding was thin for the Rothko that Christie's sold last night for $50 million, but the abstract expressionist is the new favorite among Middle Eastern buyers. And as dealer David Zwirner says, "The beauty of the art market is that two or three new buyers can make all the difference."–Kelly Crow


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Posts Tagged 'presidential race'
Democratic rallies set
Bill Clinton's sweep through his native Arkansas tomorrow and Saturday on behalf Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama and the rest of the party's election ticket is set.
The former president, along with Gov. Mike Beebe and former Arkansas Govs. and U.S. Sens. Dale Bumpers and David Pryor, will headline a get-out-the-vote rally at 5 p.m. Friday at the corner of Fourth and Main streets in North Little Rock.
The quartet will follow Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. rally in downtown Pine Bluff and a 1 p.m. appearance in Jonesboro. They'll be joined at various stops by Democratic Senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, along with Democratic Congressmen Marion Berry, Vic Snyder and Mike Ross.
Obama has not visited Arkansas since an October 2006 appearance in support of Beebe and other state Democrats. Republican John McCain has visited the state twice since becoming the GOP presidential nominee. Former Arkansas and U.S. first lady Hillary Clinton headlined a rally for Obama in Little Rock two weeks ago.
Coming for Obama
Former President Bill Clinton will join Gov. Mike Beebe, state Democratic Party Chairman David Pryor and former U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers at a series of rallies for Barack Obama this week, the Democratic Party of Arkansas announced today.
The get-out-the-vote rallies will be in North Little Rock on Friday and in Pine Bluff and Jonesboro on Saturday. The times and exact locations of the events have not been determined.
Former Arkansas and U.S. first lady Hillary Clinton headlined a rally for Obama in Little Rock on Oct. 10 and drew a crowd of about 3,000 people.
Painting Arkansas blue UPDATE
Hillary Clinton was warmly received at a rally in Little Rock today for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Standing at a lecturn that read "Paint Arkansas blue" and in front of a banner that read, "Welcome home, Hillary!" Clinton told a cheering audience of about 3,000 people she was appreciative "beyond words" for the 70-percent vote she received in Arkansas' Feb. 5 Democratic primary. She asked Arkansans to give the same level of support to Obama.
Clinton named off a list of issues — the economic crisis, the energy crisis, education, health care, the war in Iraq — repeating after each item, "There is only one answer, and it's Barack Obama."
Others who spoke included actors Mary Steenburgen, an Arkansas native, and her husband Ted Danson; U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln; U.S. Reps. Marion Berry, D-Gillett, and Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock; Gov. Mike Beebe; state Democratic Party Chairman David Pryor; retired general and 2004 presidential candidate Wesley Clark; and state Sen. Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock.
Lincoln had strong words for Republican nominee John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, who have stepped up attacks on Obama in recent days.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the despicable, unhinged tone of the McCain-Palin campaign during the last few days should make us even more determined … We should stand up and call it what it is: It's divisive, it's irresponsible, it's disgusting, it's demeaning and it's unpatriotic, because that's not the country that we are," Lincoln said.
Clinton was scheduled to attend a fundraiser for Obama after the rally at the Little Rock home of Kaki Hockersmith and Max Mehlberger.


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Big Bird's nest
this wiki
Big Bird's nest is the home of Big Bird on Sesame Street. Located to the right of 123 Sesame Street at 123½, with Oscar's trash can between the two, Big Bird's nest is set off by a collection of doors and paneling. Brick walls from surrounding buildings set off the area, giving Big Bird complete privacy, though no roof. One of the windows of Susan and Gordon's apartment looks into the nest, and the former has been a sort-of surrogate mother to him over the years. His bed is a large-scale version of a real bird's nest, made of sticks and twigs.
The furnishings include crates, which serve as table space or benches for visitors, a bookshelf (containing such titles as March of Democracy, Preface to Philosophy, Principles of Chemistry, and Shattered Lamp), and a variety of diverse items. According to the book Sesame Street Unpaved, Big Bird's nest contains: a bubble gum dispenser, a clock with no hands, a feather duster, a football helmet, a golf bag with one club, a hurricane lamp, a megaphone, a Roman bust (which has occasionally worn his red neck tie), a tricycle wheel, a watering can, an old record player, an umbrella, a mailbox, and a pair of snowshoes. Prominent decorations include an alphabet chart and Mr. Hooper's Picture. Among other objects not listed in the book, he has a small wooden alphabet sign, a jack-and-balls game, and a picture of his cousin Abelardo. The opening of a 1974 episode reveals that he also has a pull-string lamp.
When the set was given a complete makeover in 2002 following the hurricane in Season 32, Big Bird acquired some actual, colorful child-like furniture like a couple of multi-colored nightstands with drawers, a colorful bookshelf, and even a small wooden step-ladder to get into Big Bird's nest. Most of the original belongings of Big Bird's mentioned above have been removed with the exception of his snowshoes, and his mailbox (which is now repainted to no longer show his name on the side).
The nest used in Elmo in Grouchland was built by Geoffrey Cormier of the movie's art department. The item was put on eBay, but didn't sell, so in 2005, it was placed for sale on his website.[1] That nest had thicker twisted branches than the contemporary television version.
- "Big Bird's Nest" appears as a property on the Monopoly: Sesame Street Edition game board, in place of Pennsylvania Avenue.
- ↑ Andrew, "Big Bird's nest for sale", PuppetVision Blog, November 22, 2005.
See also
- Pino's nest
- Big Bird's Nest (book)
- Big Bird's New Nest (book)


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by iGlobalTracking
Download this app if: you need to contact emergency services instantly.
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SERIES WON, YANKS LOOK INTO FUTURE; Stengel Talk of Retirement, Status of DiMaggio and Henrich Big Problems
By JAMES P. DAWSON ();
October 09, 1950,
, Section Sports, Page 39, Column , words
Talk of the world series and the 1950 campaign dominated so thoroughly by Casey Stengel's Yankees was dying down yesterday, following a victory celebration in the Hotel Biltmore that rolled noisily all through Saturday night.
October 09, 1950
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Currently in Buntet, another tarekat, the Tijaniyah, is much more dominant than Syattariyah. Tijaniyah seems to gain more and more attraction among the Javanese and thus, with special reference to Buntet, it deserves a special attention. In addition to this, as we shall see, Buntet has been one of the important door-ways for the further spread of this tarekat to other parts of Java, especially West Java. It is this special role that in the subsequent discussion I wish to stress.[11]
Tarekat Tijaniyah was founded by Abu-'Abbas Ahmad who claimed to be the 21st descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He was born in 1150/1737 at 'Ain Madi in south Algeria. His father, Muhammad bin Mukhtar, is said to have been a pious man of learning who lived and taught at 'Ain Madi, whereas his mother, "Sayidah 'Aisyah binti Abdullah bin Al-Sanusy-Attijany" was of the original Tijani tribe of 'Ain Madi and thus the name At-Tijani for Abu-'Abbas Ahmad is derived from his mother.[12]
At seven years of age, Ahmad at-Tijani is said to have read the whole Qur'an well, especially in Nafi' style (qiraat Nafi'). He then studied various religious subjects. He learnt Mukhtashar al-Syeikh Khalil, a summary of Malikite jurisprudence, read Risalah Jama'ah as-Shufiyah bi bilad al-Islam by Abu'l Qasim al-Qusayri, studied Muqaddimas of Ibn Rusyd and al-Akhdari and became a learned figure. He taught a number of students and gave fatwa (legal judgement) when he was 20. At 21 years of age he felt a call to the Sufi life and started travelling. He came to Fez in 1171/1757–8 in search of Sufi syeikh, studied the Prophetic traditions and joined three Sufi brotherhoods, the Qadiriyah, the Nashiriyah and the thariqah of Ahmad al-Habib bin Muhammad.[13] Among the Sufi syeikh whom Ahmad at-Tijani met was Muhammad bin Hasan Al-Wanajaly a great wali of his time who, at mount Zabib, said that At-Tijani would have a position (maqam) equal to Asy-Syadzily. Ahmad at-Tijani became a real Sufi at 31 after contemplation (riyadhah) for a period of time.[14]
1. The Prophet Muhammad
2. Ali bin Abi Thalib
3. Hasan al-Sibthi
4. Hasan al-Mutsanna
5. Abdullah
6. Muhammad an-Nafs az-Zakiyah
7. Ahmad
8. Ali Zain al-Abidin
9. Ishaq
10. Idris
11. Abdul Jabbar
12. Abbas
13. Abdillah
14. Ali
15. Ahmad
16. Ahmad al-'Alwani
17. Salim
18. Muhammad
19. Mukhtar
20. Muhammad
21. Abu 'Abbas Ahmad at-Tijani
Ahmad at-Tijani went to Tunis, then to Mecca on pilgrimage in 1186/1772–3. On his way to Mecca he stopped at Azwawi, a town near Algiers and took an initiation into the Khalwatiyah order with Mahmad b 'Abdul Rahman. He spent a year in Tunis, teaching the Kitab al-hikam of Ibn Ata' Allah, then went to Egypt to meet Syeikh Mahmud al-Kurdi, the Khalwatiyah chief in Cairo. He reached Mecca on Syawwal 1187/1773–4, then performed his Hajj. In Mecca he tried to meet a great Indian Sufi Ahmad bin Abdullah al-Hindy. Although he failed to meet him in person, via al-Hindy's servant, At-Tijani received a written message from him saying that At-Tijani inherited all al-Hindy's occult mystical learning, and that At-Tijani would reach an equal status with Abu'l Hasan Asy-Syadzily. Two months after that al-Hindy died.[15]
After finishing his pilgrimage At-Tijani went to Medina to visit the Prophet's tomb and met Syeikh Abdul Karim as-Samman, the Sammaniyah chief (a branch of Khalwatiyah), who foretold his potential for becoming the dominant qutb (pole). At-Tijani left Arabia in 1191/1777–8 for Africa via Egypt where Mahmud al-Kurdi authorised him to preach the Khalwatiyah order in North Africa. He did not return to 'Ain Madi however, but went to Fez then settled in Tlemsen (Algeria) until 1196/1781–2. From Tlemsen he went to Syallala and settled in Sidi Abi Samghun, an oasis 75 miles south of Geryville. There, in that year (1196/1781–2), he marked the foundation of the Tijaniyah order when he announced to his followers that the Prophet appeared to him in daylight while he was fully conscious and in active mind (yaqdhah), not dreaming. The Prophet, he said, authorised him to start a new work of at-tarbiyah (spiritual guidance) and assigned him his order's wird (litanies), consisting of istighfar (asking God's pardon) 100 times and shalawat (exaltation of the Prophet Muhammad) 100 times.[16]
In AH 1200, At-Tijani claimed, the Prophet reappeared and completed the litanies with hailalah (uttering there is no God but Allah). Fourteen months later, on Muharram AH 1214 At-Tijani claimed to have reached a position of 'the pole of (wali) poles' (al-qutbaniyatul-'udhma) which means that he obtained the 'highest rank of the highest' within the current wali hierarchy. On 18th Shafar of the same year he attained another position, 'the hidden seal of all poles' (al-khatm wa'l-katm) or 'the hidden end of the highest pole.' This implied that there would be no more wali pole whose position is higher than himself.[17] Bearing simultaneously two positions, At-Tijani relinquished his former affiliation with the four orders with the assertion that along with teaching him the litanies for his order in person, the Prophet himself also ordered At-Tijani to give up all his former affiliations with the other orders. This was an official proclamation that At-Tijani only recognised the Prophet as his master and hence the Tijaniyah adherents claimed their order as at-Thariqah al-Muhammadiyah, a name similar to that claimed by the followers of Sanusiyah and Kittaniyah for their own tarekat.[18] At-Tijani died on 12 Syawwal 1230/22 September 1815 when he was 80 years old. He was buried in Fez.
There are some essential doctrines which mark Tijaniyah as being distinct from other tarekat. I wish to mention briefly some of them before discussing the specific role of Pesantren Buntet with regard to this tarekat. Trimingham characterised Tijaniyah as belonging to the 19th century revival movement mainly because:
He (Ahmad At-Tijani, the founder of the tarekat) imposed no penances or retreats and the ritual was not complicated. He emphasised above all the need for intercessor between God and man, the intercessor of the age being himself and his successors. His followers were strictly forbidden, not merely to pay the 'ahd of allegiance to any other shaikh, but to make invocations to any wali other than himself …[19]
It is common belief among the Sufis that their syeikh are organised in a spiritual hierarchy, hence a Sufi of high reputation of sanctity and learning, could claim to have attained a certain rank in the hierarchy. His followers had only to accept on trust what their Syeikh's claimed.[20] In this context, At-Tijani took the liberty of claiming to occupy two of the highest positions simultaneously, one being Qutb al-Aqtab (the Pole of the Poles) the other being Khatm al-Wilayah al-Muhammadiyah (the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood). This twofold position in relation to other wali is drawn parallel to the position of the Prophet Muhammad vis-a-vis other prophets. The Prophet Muhammad was the Khatm (seal) of the prophets in the sense that he was to complete all marvels of the other prophets, and that there would be no prophet sent to earth after him. At-Tijani on the other hand, was the Khatm of the wali in the sense that he bears a complete and perfect embodiment of wilayah before and after him, and that if ever there may be other wali after him, none would surpass or supersede at-Tijani in rank.[21]
At-Tijani is not a unique claimant of the Qutb al-Aqtab and the Khatm al-Wilayah. This position had been claimed by Muhyi ad-Din ibn al-'Arabi for himself. He was the famous Andalusian Sufi in the 13th century whose theosophical concepts influenced much of At-Tijani especially regarding the concept of al-khatm.[22] The position was also claimed in the 14th century by an Egyptian 'Ali bin Wafa for his father, Muhammad bin Wafa, and by the founder of Kittaniyah order, Muhammad bin al-Kabir al-Kittani of Morocco in the 19th century.[23] The Tijanis however, assert that later on, Ibn al-'Arabi found that he himself had been mistaken and thus he wrote in his Futuhat al-Makkiyah that the Khatm al-Wilayah al-Muhammadiyah would be a man of noble Arab origin, living in his (Ibn 'Arabi's) own time, in Fez, and when God would try to locate this man among people, they would not believe him. Beside the fact that no one else in Fez had announced such a claim, except that "the Khatm al-Wilayah would be living in his (Ibn al-'Arabi's) time," all points to Ibn al-'Arabi's formal disavowal for his own status to be taken over by the Tijani to confirm At-Tijani's position.[24]
Claiming this superior position above other wali, along with giving up his affiliation with other orders At-Tijani posited his own order to excel the others. This claim, in turn, was formed into a doctrine which requires that all Tijani followers should neither join any other orders nor seek for barakah from other wali by visiting them, dead or alive. Further, as every Tijani is required to bind his heart completely to his own Tijani Syeikh, no Tijani follower is allowed to associate membership with any other order at the same time. Thus, anyone who would like to become a Tijani should be spiritually free. If he is a member of a certain order he has to give up his membership in his former order. The prohibition for a Tijani to join another tarekat is however accompanied by the Tijaniyah rejoicing doctrines. Kitab Ar-Rimah affirms At-Tijani's assertion that (by the will of God) his faithful companions shall not enter the mahsyar with other laymen.[25] While being at the Mahsyar, Tijaniyah followers will not encounter suffering even for a second until they are settled in the highest heavens. On the Day of Judgement faithful Tijani companions will not stay at the stations amidst the mass of laymen; instead they will rest under the shadow of God's Throne. In addition, the Prophet himself had taught At-Tijani in words, the shalawat Jawharat al-Kamal, and affirmed that whoever recites this shalawat, the Prophet and the Four Companions will be present with him during the recital.[26] All the rejoicing and other doctrines tend to impress exclusiveness, as if the Tijani followers were above the other Muslims and this, certainly, provokes disagreement, even refutations.
Another feature worth mentioning, which distinguishes Tijaniyah from other tarekat, is concerned with the notion of a spiritual genealogy chain (silsilah). In ordinary Sufi traditions, a tarekat, including the already mentioned Syattariyah, will produce a long list of names by which the present Syeikh and the founder of the tarekat are linked together spiritually in terms of master-to-master lineage, back to Al-Junaid or al-Busthami and via 'Ali or Abu Bakr, to the Prophet Muhammad. It is this silsilah that validates that its rituals come from the Prophet and that ensures the flow of barakah. Contrary to this, At-Tijani produced no silsilah because, as At-Tijani himself claimed, and as 'Ali al-Harazim puts it in his Jawahir al-Ma'ani (an official Tijani reference), the Prophet appeared to him when he was awake (yaqdhah) and instructed him in all the litanies and the number of times they were to be repeated.[27] Thus, if present muqaddam (Tijaniyah syeikh), have a silsilah, it will be much shorter than what is ordinarily known for a Sufi silsilah.[28]
Currently Tijaniyah has become an established order throughout the Muslim world including Indonesia, especially Java. With all its peculiarities and crucial points it has encountered opposition and rejection over time. An early serious rejection came from Muhammad al-Khidr bin Ma Ya'ba (1927). In his Musytaha al-kharif al-jani, al-Khidr devoted a full chapter to recount the absurdity of At-Tijani's claim. He also attempted to prove that At-Tijani's claim has no grounds in the Prophetic traditions. The Tijanis, on the other hand, consider that what had happened with their master and the presumed direct communication with the Prophet while he was awake was a sign of the Prophet's favour and thus ensured the status of the tarekat as being above others.[29] In addition, Al-Khidr's attitude towards the Tijaniyah seems to have been motivated, at least partly, by a political outlook rather than purely on theological grounds. This is due to the fact that upon the death of At-Tijani and the collapse of the Turkish rule, At-Tijani's successors, for their own reasons (probably due to the opposition from other tarekat), brought Tijaniyah into subservient co-operation with French colonialism in Algeria at that time.[30]
When Tijaniyah was brought to Java at the end of 1920s and in the early 1930s, similar refutations also came from some already established orders such as Naqsabandiyah, Qadiriyah, Syattariyah, Syadziliyah and Khalwatiyah.[31] The most notable one came from Sayid Abdullah bin Shadaqah Dahlan, an Arab who settled in Java, the nephew of Sayid Ahmad bin Zayni Dahlan, a distinguished Syafi'ite Mufti in Medina. In the same way as Muhammad al-Khidr bin Ma Ya'ba did, Sayid Abdullah referred to the crucial points contained in the Tijaniyah doctrines. He recounted the fallacies of the doctrines and denounced them by saying that some ulama in Morocco, Egypt and Hejaz had accepted Tijaniyah as untrue.[32] The crisscrossing argumentations for and against Tijaniyah that prevailed at that time called for intervention from the NU, the traditionalist Muslim organisation that takes a number of tarekat under its umbrella. In its 6th Congress on August 1931 held in Cirebon, in which Kyai Adlan Ali, a prominent figure of Pesantren Cukir, Jombang (East Java) was appointed Chairman, the Tijaniyah issue was included in the agenda. After a long and exhausting debate chaired by Kyai Hasyim Asy'ari, the Congress finally agreed that Tijaniyah is mu'tabarah. This, nevertheless, did not end the anti-Tijaniyah campaign especially outside the NU circle. Further refutation, for example, came from Kyai Muhammad Ismail of Cracak (Cirebon), a distinguished Syeikh of the Qadiriyah wan-Naqsabandiyah order who personally was not affiliated to the NU Through his pamphlets, he raised renewed and sophisticated arguments similar to those expounded by earlier anti-Tijaniyah proponents.[33]
Quite recently, another refutation even came from within the NU circle when Kyai As'ad of Pondok Kramat in Pasuruan (East Java) issued a 94 page manuscript.[34] The manuscript was a translation in Madurese vernacular of the Wudhuh ad-Dalail, originally written on 26 Rabi' ats-Tsani 1930/19–20 (September 1930). Through this translation he turned the Tijaniyah issue from being a scholarly concern into a public concern. The polemic became complicated, albeit degraded, because some non-ulama became involved in the affair.[35] In a session held on December 1984 at Pesantren Nurul Qadim, Probolinggo (East Java), Kyai As'ad demanded that the NU review the Cirebon decision regarding the legitimacy of the Tijaniyah. In the session which was part of the 27th NU Congress centred at Pesantren Asem Bagus, Situbondo (East Java), Kyai As'ad encountered strong opposition from other kyai and failed to have his demand put into effect.[36] The result was that the status of Tijaniyah as being mu'tabarah remained unshaken.
Under seemingly continuous opposition, Tarekat Tijaniyah keeps growing. It relies on simple rites relative to other tarekat, yet promises its adherents high spiritual efficacy and merit. Together with its friendly attitude towards worldly life rather than the ascetic tendency usually exhibited by other Sufi orders, "Tijaniyah is suitable for every one, even the busy people of modern times; it is even suitable for civil servants," said Kyai Abdullah Syifa, a Tijaniyah muqaddam at Buntet. Currently, Tijaniyah enjoys wide acceptance from many people ranging from ulama, state dignitaries, and intellectuals to ordinary laymen.[37]
In his special account on the rise of Tijaniyah on Java, Pijper states that Tarekat Tijaniyah was not known in Java before 1928. A wandering Arab, born in Medina, Syeikh Ali bin 'Abdullah at-Thayyib al-Azhari, is held responsible for the introduction of this tarekat to Java, especially through his work, Kitab al-Munyah fi 't-thariqat at-Tijaniyah, Tasikmalaya: 1349/January 1928, a treatise on Munyat al-Murid.[38] Pijper points out further that from the age of nine years, Syeikh 'Ali at-Thayyib had studied in Cairo where he remained for 20 years; he then stayed and taught in Mecca for six years. He returned to Medina and worked as a mufti for about ten years, then came to Java. First he stayed in Cianjur, then successively in Bogor, Tasikmalaya and back in Cianjur. In Java he lived from teaching and extensive travel from Banten to Surabaya selling religious books, including his own work, Kitab Misykat al-Anwar fi shirat an-Nabi al-Mukhtar, Tasikmalaya: (undated). Pijper claimed that he had met Syeikh 'Ali at-Thayyib at his house on the slope of mount Gede in Cianjur.[39]
According to local Tijani sources, the spread of Tijaniyah on Java is mainly attributed to two figures, one was 'Ali at-Thayyib al-Madani, an authoritative scholar in Medina who formed the gate for West Java by recruiting seven West Javanese muqaddam, the other was 'Abd al-Hamid al-Futi, also a distinguished scholar in Arabia who formed the gate for East Java by recruiting two East Javanese. Table 8.3 shows that 'Ali at-Thayyib al-Madani, who was held responsible for the spread of Tijaniyah in West Java, traced his spiritual genealogy with Ahmad at-Tijani through two different sources: Syeikh Adam bin Muhammad Shaib al-Barnawi and Syeikh Muhammad Alfa Hasyim.[40] This spiritual link can also be seen from Figure 8.2
1 Ahmad at-Tijani
1 Ahmad at-Tijani
2 Muhammad b Qasim al-Bisri
2 Muhammad a-Ghala
3 Ahmad al-Bani a-Fasi
3 Amr b Sa'id al-Futi
4 Adam b Muhammad Shaib al-Barnawi
4 Al-Haj as-Sa'id
5 Ali at-Thayyib al-Madani
5 Muhammad Alfa Hasyim
6 Ali at-Thayyib al-Madani
The seven West Javanese muqaddam recruited by Syeikh Ali at-Thayyib were his own grandson, Syeikh Muhammad bin 'Ali bin 'Abd Allah at-Thayyib (Bogor), Kyai Asy'ari Bunyamin (Garut), Kyai Badruzzaman (Garut), Kyai 'Utsman Dlamiri (Cimahi, Bandung) and three brothers Kyai Abbas, Kyai Anas and Kyai Akyas (Buntet). It was these West Javanese 'magnificent seven' who were in turn, responsible for the further spread of Tijaniyah, not only in West Java but also in Central and East Java because later, many other Javanese muqaddam were initiated by one or more of them. Among the Tijani, this silsilah grew into a complex crisscrossing spiritual chain as some muqaddam for various reasons, either for seniority or intellectual considerations, took initiation from more than one superior muqaddam (muqaddam min muqaddam). Kyai Hawi, father of a current muqaddam at Buntet, Kyai Fahim, for example, took initiation from Kyai Saleh, Kyai Abbas, Kyai Anas, Kyai Akyas and, when he went to Mecca, from a very senior muqaddam, Syeikh Muhammad Hafiz at-Tijani. The latter had only two Syeikh that spiritually linked him with Ahmad at-Tijani, the founder of the order.[41]
Kyai Abdullah Syifa, another current muqaddam at Buntet, took his initiation from Kyai Hawi and Kyai Akyas. Kyai Fauzan Fathullah (Sidagiri, Prussian, East Java), the writer of Biografi Alquthbul Maktuum, took initiation from Kyai Khozin Syamsul Mu'in (Probolinggo), Kyai Muhammad bin Yusuf (Surabaya) and Syeikh Muhammad bin 'Ali bin 'Abd Allah at-Thayyib (Bogor).
Syeikh Abd al-Hamid al-Futi, the main gate for East Java, traced his authority from Muhammad Alfa Hasyim (source 2 number 4 of table 8.3). In turn, 'Abd al-Hamid al-Futi, initiated two East Javanese, Kyai Khozin Syamsul Arifin and Kyai Jauhar. Kyai Khozin Syamsul Arifin initiated Kyai Mukhlis (Surabaya), whereas Kyai Jauhar initiated Kyai Muhammad Tijani (Madura). Thus, even a muqaddam who took initiation from only one superior muqaddam will automatically inherit multiple silsilah because through Syeikh 'Ali bin Abd Allah at-Thayyib, he can trace at least two lines, those of Syeikh Adam al-Barnawi and Syeikh Muhammad Alfa Hasyim. How complex the silsilah is can be observed from Figure 8.4.
Within the Buntet line, the persons who are considered the most instrumental and are held responsible for the spread of Tijaniyah, are Kyai Anas (1883–1945) and Kyai Abbas and, for the next generation, Kyai Hawi. Kyai Anas was the son of Kyai Abdul Jamil, younger brother of Kyai Abbas. Like Kyai Abbas, Kyai Anas first studied with Kyai Nasuha at Pesantren Sukunsari (Plered), then with Kyai Agus (Pekalongan), and Kyai Hasyim Asy'ari at Tebuireng (Jombang). Together with Kyai Abbas, he was also involved in the foundation of Pesantren Lirboyo (Kediri) led by Kyai Abdul Manaf. He went to Mecca for both pilgrimage and study while his brother, Kyai Abbas, led Pesantren Buntet. It was due to Kyai Abbas' advice that Kyai Anas took Tarekat Tijaniyah. Kyai Abbas himself met Syeikh 'Ali at-Thayyib in Medina but, despite his interest in Tijaniyah, he did not take an initiation at that time because he bore responsibility as a Syattariyah mursyid. Kyai Anas took his brother's advice and upon his return he publicly established tarekat Tijaniyah and thus, there were two tarekat in Pesantren Buntet at the same time, the Syattariyah led by Kyai Abbas, and Tijaniyah led by Kyai Anas. Eventually, when both tarekat grew larger, Kyai Abbas took Tijaniyah initiation, not from his younger brother, Kyai Anas, but from Syeikh 'Ali bin 'Abd Allah at-Thayyib al-Madani when the latter visited Java (Bogor) in 1937. In 1939 Kyai Anas moved from Buntet and established his own pesantren at Kilapat, an adjacent village south-east of Buntet, where adultery and burglary were common. He named his pesantren 'Sidamulya,' meaning 'to become lofty.' Later, the name Kilapat for the village, where the new pesantren is located, was also renamed Sidamulya, following the pesantren's name. The earlier reputation of the village gradually vanished and it gained a reputation as a santri village.
By then, Kyai Abbas was associated with and led the two tarekat, becoming mursyid of Syattariyah and muqaddam of Tijaniyah at the same time. To some people this seemed to show the extent of Kyai Abbas' leadership capacity and open-mindedness. Not only did he successfully lead the pesantren but also two tarekat centred at his pesantren. To others it was puzzling how Kyai Abbas managed his association with the two tarekat, considering Tijaniyah necessitates every Tijani to abandon other orders. Kyai Abbas himself as a Tijaniyah muqaddam broke the Tijaniyah rule because he did not give up his association with Syattariyah. When I asked about the matter, informants in Buntet of either Syattariyah or Tijaniyah always referred to this as an exception due to both Kyai Abbas' intellectual and spiritual excellence. Moreover, it was said that it was necessary especially after Kyai Anas, the muqaddam of Tijaniyah, had established his own pesantren, while in Buntet both tarekat were growing larger. No one directly raised the issue, especially not even Syeikh Ali at-Thayyib himself, the initiator of Kyai Abbas, suggesting that in certain circumstances, Tijaniyah strict rules could also have exceptions.
In their career as Tijaniyah muqaddam Kyai Anas and Kyai Abbas produced a number of new muqaddam. Kyai Anas initiated Kyai Muhammad (Brebes), Kyai Bakri (Kesepuhan, Cirebon), Kyai Muhammad Rais (Cirebon),[42] Kyai Murtadlo (Buntet), Kyai Abdul Khair, Kyai Hawi (Buntet) and Kyai Soleh (Pesawahan). Repeating the initiation made by Kyai Anas, Kyai Abbas initiated Kyai Soleh and Kyai Hawi (Buntet). He also initiated Kyai Badruzzaman (Garut) and Kyai Utsman Dlomiri (Cimahi, Bandung) before both kyai repeated an initiation from Syeikh 'Ali bin 'Abd Allah at-Thayyib al-Madani when the latter made another visit to Java. Among the muqaddam initiated by Kyai Anas and Kyai Abbas, Kyai Hawi excelled himself by producing seven more muqaddam. He initiated Kyai Abdullah Syifa (Buntet), Kyai Fahim Hawi, his son (Buntet), Kyai Junaidi, son of Kyai Anas (Sidamulya), Kyai Muhammad Yusuf (Surabaya), Habib Muhammad Basalamah (Brebes, Central Java), Kyai Baidawi (Sumenep, Madura) and Kyai Rasyid (Pesawahan, Cirebon). Currently, Kyai Hawi's son, Kyai Fahim Hawi, has initiated three new muqaddam, Ustadz Maufur (Klayan, north of Cirebon), Kyai Abdul Mursyid (Kesepuhan, Cirebon) and Kyai Imam Subky (Kuningan). In East Java, Kyai Muhammad bin Yusuf Surabaya initiated Kyai Badri Masduqi (Probolinggo) and Kyai Fauzan Fathullah. Kyai Baidowi (Sumenep) initiated Habib Luqman (Bogor), Kyai Mahfudz (Kesepuhan, Cirebon) and Nyai Hamnah (Kuningan).[43] In turn the new muqaddam have recruited many followers and quite likely further recruitment will continue.
It is clear that Pesantren Buntet has played an important role in the spread of first Syattariyah and then Tijaniyah in Java, especially West Java. Not only has Pesantren Buntet now become the largest pesantren in Cirebon but it also represents one of the oldest pesantren in the area with its inherent mission for the transmission of religious tradition. The notion of 'the oldest' brings further implications in that, firstly, its dynamics and development reflect the dynamics and development of traditional Islam in this area for a period of more than two and a half centuries. Secondly, if the Babad narrative is taken into account, Pesantren Buntet finds its roots in the early stages of the Islamisation of 15th century Java, especially of West Java. Traditionally therefore, Pesantren Buntet stands in an unbroken chain of continuous religious transmission over time from the pre-kraton, early kraton, kraton and post-kraton eras. During the pre-kraton era religious transmission centred in the village as a free and independent undertaking. During the period of the early kraton religious transmission was fully under the auspices of the kraton. Not only did religious transmission enjoy political support and legitimation from the kraton, but also had the kraton homage. Later on, when the kraton came under the subjection of foreign rule, religious transmission was banned from the kraton. A hundred years after the death of Panembahan Ratu, religious transmission rediscovered its way back from the kraton to the village. This was marked by the establishment of Pesantren Buntet. Under considerable strain the pesantren endured and developed into its present form. Its present existence within the community therefore, represents the triumph of its spiritual traditions. Thus, what we can see in Cirebon and probably elsewhere on Java, the maintenance of scriptural and cultural traditions continues within the Javanese Muslim society, most notably, through combination of pesantren and tarekat. By these institutions, religious transmission has never ceased either with or without the support of the political power structure. This is probably one element that contributes to answering Hodgson's question: "why the triumph of Islam in Java was so complete."[44]
[11] For the early stage of the rise of Tijaniyah in Java, see: Pijper, G.F. (1987), "Timbulnya Tarekat Tijaniyah di Pulau Jawa" in G.F. Pijper, Fragmenta Islamica: Beberapa Studi Mengenai Sejarah Islam di Indonesia Awal Abad XX, Jakarta: UI Press, pp 79–101, translated from Fragmenta Islamica, Studien over het Islamisme in Nederlanndsch-Indie, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1934 by Tujimah. For a general account on Tijaniyah, see: Abun-Nasr (1965), The Tijaniyya: A Sufi Order in the Modern World, London: OUP. My own local Tijani sources are Fathullah, K.H.F. (1985), Biografi Alquthbul Maktuum Saiyidul Awliyaa: Syeikh Ahmad Attijaniy dan Thariqatnya Attijaniyah, Pasuruan: (anonymous publisher); Al Masyrabul Kitmani Lil Khotmil Muhammadiy Syekh Ahmad bin Muhammad Attijani, a pamphlet from Panitia Idul Khotmi Attijani Ke: 199, 9/10 Shafar 1413 H = 8/9 Agustus 1992 M, Leces-Probolinggo (East Java).
[12] Fathullah, K.H.F. (1985), p. 52.
[13] Abun Nasr (1965), pp. 16–17.
[14] Fathullah (1985), p. 55.
[15] Ibid, pp 55–59.
[16] Ibid, 55–63; Abun Nasr, pp 18–19.
[17] Ibid, 63–64.
[18] Abun Nasr, p 37.
[19] Trimingham, J.S (1971), p 108. (Words between brackets are my own).
[20] Ibid, pp 27–28; The existence of spiritual hierarchies among wali was first set forth by Abu 'Abdillah al-Tirmidzi during the 11th century. It became an established belief due to the work of Ibn al-Araby (1164–1240) and gained wide spread acceptance after 'Abdul Rahman al-Suyuti (1445–1505), a Hadithist, gave Prophetic traditions for this belief.
[21] Abun Nasr, p 32.
[22] Ibid, p. 32. It says: "The Khatm, who will be the standard of wilaya, will be the end of the line and its completion. He has been a Khatm without being known, and has the command which cannot be repeated or dispensed with … Should a wali appear after him, he will be one of the followers, companions, or attendants (of the khatm) …"
[23] Ibid, p 28.
[24] Ibid, p 30.
[25] Mahsyar is a plain where all the dead, after resurrection, get together to receive a fair judgement.
[26] Fathullah (1985), pp 110–111.
[27] Abun Nasr (1985), p. 38. The rites consists of both the compulsory (lazim) and recommended (ikhtiari). The compulsory consists of wird lazimah (litanies), wadzifah (office) and hailalah (participation in Friday afternoon hadra or seance). See Abun Nasr, pp 50–57; Fathullah, pp 129–139.
[28] See: the subsequent section.
[29] Detailed early refutations and counter refutations see Abun Nasr 1965, especially pp. 38–41.
[30] Ibid, pp 72–75.
[31] Strong reaction against Tijaniyah in Buntet came from Benda, the pesantren established by Kyai Soleh Zamzami of Buntet, the elder brother of Kyai Abdul Jamil. Since Kyai Abbas era, until now, Benda-Buntet opposition is unreconciliable.
[32] Pijper (1985), Fragmenta Islamica, pp 89–96.
[33] Ibid, pp 98–100
[34] This Kyai As'ad is to be distinguished from Kyai As'ad Syamsul Arifin of Pesantren Asem Bagus, Situbondo (East Java), former Chairman of Syuriyah NU.
[35] Fathullah (1985), pp 140–141. In this work (Biografi Alquthbul Maktuum) Without mentioning its writer, Fathullah devoted a full chapter entitled "Fasal Tambahan" (Additional Chapter) to counter the Wudluh ad-Dalail.
[36] The 1984 Situbondo Congress is well known for producing Khittah 1926, by which NU returned to the principle initially adopted when NU was established in 1926. This means that officially NU abstains from direct involvement in politics and is solely concerned with social and religious affairs.
[37] This was claimed by Kyai Fahim Hawi and Kyai Abdullah Syifa, two Tijani muqaddam in Buntet. An example of Tijaniyah's wide acceptance was given by Kyai Fahim Hawi in recounting a number of figures in Tijaniyah. Some of them are Sayid Alfa Hasyim, a Hadithist in Medina, Syeikh Hasan Yamani, father of Zaki Yamani, former petroleum Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Muhammad, a Senegalese envoy to Jakarta on February 1985 who met President Suharto on behalf of the Senegalese President. All, he said, are Tijaniyah Muqaddam. There are also a number of distinguished figures at Al-Azhar in Cairo. Wide acceptance by many Javanese was shown by the huge number of participants in the festivals held to commemorate At-Tijani's spiritual ascendancy, the Idul Khotmi At-Tijani. One of which was performed at Jakarta's main stadium in 1990 had around a 100,000 participants. At a similar festival, the 199th Idul Khotmi, held on 8–9 August 1992 in Leces, Probolinggo (East Java), around 60,000 participants were present. I was among the contingent from Cirebon.
[38] Pijper, G.F. (1985), Fragmenta Islamica, Jakarta: U.I. Press, p 82.
[39] Ibid, pp 86–87. Inspite of his claim of having met 'Ali bin 'Abd Allah at-Thayyib in Cianjur in 1929, Pijper seems to give a quite puzzling explanation. It is rather naive to think that a distinguished scholar holding a prestigious position for ten years in Medina, migrated to Java to become a petty trader of religious books. Pijper also says that when he met, 'Ali bin 'Abd Allah at-Thayyib was already old, did not have disciples from the nearby areas, etc. This contradicts his biographical account stated above, whereby 'Ali at-Thayyib should have been 45 when he came to Java (from the age of 9 years old, he stayed in Cairo for 20 years, then in Mecca 6 years, and in Medina 10 years). According to Kyai Fahim, among the key figures for the development of Tijaniyah on Java was Syekh 'Ali bin 'Abdullah at-Thayyib al-Madani (an Al-Azhar graduate from which the addition of al-Azhari may be derived). He was a prominent scholar with high authority in religious affairs, staying in Medina, not in Java. He, however, visited Java several times to see his son, Muhammad bin 'Ali bin 'Abd Allah at-Thayyib, an Arab immigrant who also had studied at Al-Azhar but stayed in Java (Bogor). The latter became a Tijaniyah Muqaddam with whom Kyai Fauzan Fathullah, the writer of Biografi al-Quthbul Maktuum, one of my references, was initiated. (Syeikh) Muhammad bin 'Ali bin 'Abd Allah at-Thayyib of Bogor lived in the same period with Kyai Abbas, Kyai Anas and Kyai Akyas, three muqaddam from Buntet. They were all authorised as muqaddam by Syeikh 'Ali at-Thayyib al-Madani, father of (Syeikh) Muhammad bin 'Ali bin 'Abdullah at-Thayyib of Bogor. If Kyai Fahim is right, Pijper might have confused the two names, Syeikh 'Ali bin 'Abdullah at-Thayyib al-Madani (al-Azhari) who stayed in Medina, and his son, Syeikh Muhammad bin 'Ali bin 'Abdullah at-Thayyib (al-Azhari) who stayed in Bogor.
[40] Cf: Pijper (1985), p 87.
[41] I could not get the two names because despite I made several visits, I failed to meet Pak Gani, a Maderise businessman in Jakarta who, according to Kyai Fahim Hawi, keeps the document.
[42] A short description of Muhammad Rais, see Pijper (1985), pp 85–86.
[43] For further detail, see figure 8.4.
[44] Hodgson, M (1974), The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilisation, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 551.


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Hello all,
I am in the process of a build. This will be the first time I have built wheels, but I am very mechanically inclined. I am ~200 lbs., and I commute ~20 miles per day. One of the biggest problems I have had on my beater, as well as my mountain bike, is spoke breakage. I have broken spokes on a weekly basis for months, and caused the rear wheel on my mountain bike to fail and require rebuilding. My commute is bad. Seriously. Potholes like crazy, bad pavement, you name it. I have purchased "The Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt, and have read it cover to cover. I have also purchased a pair of Mavic A317 disc rims, 36 hole. The hub that I will be using on the front wheel is the Shimano Deore LX HB-M585, 36 Hole Disc hub. The rear hub will be a Shimano Alfine internal hub, 36 Hole Disc.
Question 1) The Brandt book says that a cross 4 pattern is strongest for a 36 hole wheel, but I typically see cross three as the most common. Can anyone give me a thumbs up or down on the cross 4? I want to build them as strong as possible, no holds barred, I care not about fashion. No concerns about weight, I need bulletproof. I plan to build both of the wheels to these specs.
Question 2) After consulting all of the online spoke length calculators, I cannot find one that has the relevant information for either of these hubs (I didn't expect to find the Alfine, it is not really on the US market yet). Has anyone built up wheels using these specs (or similar), and could they point me in the right direction as far as spoke length is concerned? I need to place an order, and need to get it right the first time.
I know this isn't the "mechanic's" forum, but I figure the commuters on here know a little bit about strong, reliable setups that will last until the end of the Earth...
Joey French


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[UPDATE] April 15th submission deadline: "Poetry & Poetics" panel, 2013 PAMLA Conference
full name / name of organization:
Poetry & Poetics Session of 111th PAMLA Conference. San Diego, CA. Nov. 1-3.
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Inviting paper proposals for panel on "Poetry & Poetics." This is a general call to present poetry scholarship in a standing session of the PAMLA annual conference.
To propose a paper, please use the online submission process: http://www.pamla.org/2013/
This call is open to all papers with a focus on poetry and poetics. Proposals due by April 15.
"The Pacific Ancient & Modern Language Association is the Western regional affiliate of the Modern Language Association. PAMLA is dedicated to the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of ancient and modern languages and literatures": http://www.pamla.org/
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Brian Adler, University of California, Irvine
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