Es Vedrà ()  is a small rocky island off the south western seaboard of the Spanish island of Ibiza. The island, which is 413 metres tall, is part of the Cala d'Hort nature reserve and lies  off the coast at Cala d'Hort, which is in the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia. The island is uninhabited.

Geology

Es Vedrà consists predominantly of mesozoic limestone, and contrary to the esoteric urban myth of being a special magnetic place, has no (magnetic) metal accumulations. The island we see today is as a result of a geological tumble. 155 million years ago, continuous seismic movements in the Earth's crust caused great shifts in the Betica Mountain Range. Eventually this caused the splitting of the range resulting in the formation of the Balearic Islands. Continued movement of the ridge which formed the islands caused portions to sheer and split away from the islands. Es Vedrà, along with the satellite island of Illa Vedranell and the Illa Tagomago, are examples of this action.

Habitation

The island has no human inhabitants, although in 1855 a Carmelite friar by the name of Francis Palau y Quer once lived here for a short time following his exile from Catalonia. The only inhabitants were a sub-species of wild goat but these were slaughtered by the local government in 2016 to protect the fauna of the island. There is also a sub-species of the Ibizan wall lizard on the island. It is also home to a colony of the endangered bird of prey called Eleonora's falcon.

Legends and mythology

The island is said to be home to sirens and sea-nymphs, who tried to lure Odysseus from his ship in Homer's Odyssey. It is also thought of as the holy island of the Tanit the Phoenician lunar goddess, worshiped as the patron goddess and of fertility, who became Ibiza's patroness. Legend has it that specific sacrifices were made to Tanit during full moons on the shore of the island.

The Giant of Es Vedrà

Es Vedrà is also the setting for one of Ibiza's popular fables (). Es Gegant des Vedrà (The Giant of Es Vedrà) is the tale about two brothers who, to cure their father of an incurable illness, had to go to Es Vedrà island to gather rock samphire and face the huge giant who lived on the island, huddled in one of the island's many caves. The two brothers' ingenuity, along with the help of sea urchins, managed to debilitate the giant, and thus collect the samphire for the cure.

Francis Palau y Quer

The Carmelite friar Francis Palau y Quer arrived on Ibiza following his exile from Barcelona in 1855. Needing solitude, he used to retire to Es Vedrà by rowing a boat, to pray there and seek God's will. Legend says that he spent a week meditating surviving on nothing but rainwater he collected from drips from the roof of a cave he used for shelter. Within hours, he began to witness a series of powerful visions. He later described them in a book, called My Relations With the church

He started to write Mis Relaciones Con la Iglesia (My Relations With the Church), a sort of autobiographical journal, partly written in the idyllic solitude of Es Vedrà, transmitting his experience of the Church conceived as God and neighbors. Fr. Francisco Palau, O.C.D. was beatified in Rome by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1988. His liturgical feast day is commemorated on November 7.

Es Vedrà in popular culture

 The island appears on the front cover of Mike Oldfield's 1996 LP Voyager.
 The first track on the CD compilation, by DJ Tiësto called  "In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza", is by Es Vedrà ("La Hacienda").
  Es Vedrà features in the background of a scene in the music video of Reflekt's "Need To Feel Loved".
 DJ and trance producers Aly & Fila collaborated with The Thrillseekers to produce a trance song named after this island: "Es Vedrà".
 The island appears on all front covers of "La Roca" CD compilations from Spanish DJ Nacho Sotomayor.

Gallery

References

Islets of Ibiza
Uninhabited islands of Spain
Sirens (mythology)
Tanit

Es Vedrà


Robert W. Jordan (born October 9, 1945) is an American lawyer and diplomat. He served as the United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2002 to 2003, under President George W. Bush.

Biography

Early life
Jordan received his B.A. degree from Duke University in 1967, his M.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1971 while serving in the U.S. Navy, and his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1974.

Career
Jordan was a partner in the Dallas, Texas office of Baker Botts, the law firm of James Baker. In the early 1990s, he represented George W. Bush in the investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into possible insider trading in Bush's sale of stock in Harken Energy. Jordan was the president of the Dallas Bar Association in 1999.

In 2001, Bush, who had become President of the United States, appointed Jordan as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He held that post from June 2002 through October 2003. When Jordan resigned his ambassadorship, he returned to Baker Botts and is currently a senior partner of the firm. Jordan is currently partner-in-charge of the firm's Middle East offices and divides his time between Dubai and the United States.

Jordan is a member of the American Arbitration Association Commercial Panel of Arbitrators, the National Panel of Distinguished Neutrals of the CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, and The London Court of International Arbitration. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he serves as president of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations and as vice chairman of the board of directors of the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University. Jordan also serves on the executive committee of the board of directors of the Center for American and International Law and the advisory board of the Center's Institute for Transnational Arbitration.

Jordan serves as Diplomat in Residence and adjunct professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, where he teaches a course on the Middle East. In 2007, he received the Fellows Award presented by the Dallas Bar Foundation.

References

Further reading
Jordan, Robert W., and Steve Fiffer. Desert Diplomat: Inside Saudi Arabia Following 9/11. Lincoln: Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2015.

External links
 Biography on Baker Botts website

Duke University alumni
University of Oklahoma alumni
Ambassadors of the United States to Saudi Arabia
Living people
1945 births
People associated with Baker Botts
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American lawyers

Robert W. Jordan


The MN-111 is a Polish air-dropped anti-tank landmine. The mine is designed for use on soft ground. The mine is cylindrical with six spring-loaded fins attached to one end of the mine, with the cylinder drawn to a point at the opposite end which is topped with a small wind vane. The mine is stored with the fins wrapped round the outside of the mine. Once the mine is dropped from the aircraft the fins spring outward, acting as a drag parachute, slowing the rate of descent to a peak speed of about 60 meters per second. As the mine drops the wind vane spins, generating the power used to arm the mine.

The mine is designed to penetrate soft ground up to the fins, which spread out flat across the ground. The mine uses a magnetic influence fuze, which is triggered by the magnetic field of an armoured vehicle. It also has an anti-handling device which triggers the mine if it is disturbed.

The warhead is a shaped charge or Misznay-Schardin effect design that the manufacturer claims can penetrate 70 millimeters of armour at a stand-off of half a meter.

Specifications
 Weight: 3.5 kg
 Diameter: 116 mm
 Height: 225 mm
 Explosive content: 0.8 kg of Hexogen

References
 Jane's Mines and Mine Clearance 2005-2006

Anti-tank mines
Land mines of Poland

MN-111


In poker and other gambling games, table stakes is a rule that a player may bet no more money than they had on the table at the beginning of that hand; they cannot go back to their pocket for more money once a hand is dealt. This limits the amount that a player can lose, while also limiting the amount other players may have to bet.  In between hands, a player is free to re-buy or add-on so long as their entire stack after the re-buy or add-on does not exceed the maximum buy-in.

This rule generally applies to cash or ring games of poker rather than tournament games and is intended to level the stakes by creating a maximum and minimum buy-in as well as rules for adding and removing chips from play when playing with cash. A player also may not take a portion of their money off the table, unless they leave the game and take their entire stack out of play.

Table stakes is the rule in most cash poker games because it allows players with vastly different bankrolls a reasonable amount of protection when playing with one another. Contrary to classic Hollywood poker movie scenes, money taken from the wallet during a hand (called "open stakes") does not play under table stakes.

"Table stake" (singular form) is related, and is the minimum amount of money a player must put on the table, and thus be able to bet under the table stakes rule, to play a hand.

Other uses

In business, "table stakes" are the minimum entry requirement for a market or business arrangement. They can be price, cost model, technology, or other capability that represents a minimum requirement to have a credible competitive starting position in a market or other business arrangement. For example, to be a wireless service provider, the table stakes are the basic features you need to have in order to be in that business to achieve foundation capability—network, handsets, a data service, a mail server, etc. Beyond that, real competitive advantage comes from additional nimbleness and cost or product differentiation.

References

Further reading
 2016, Colon, Geoffrey, Disruptive Marketing: What Growth Hackers, Data Punks, and Other Hybrid Thinkers Can Teach Us About Navigating the New Normal (ISBN 9780814437407)

See also
 Betting in poker
 Glossary of poker terms

External links

Poker gameplay and terminology
Business terms

Table stakes


The Seven Days Battles (June 25, 1862 – July 1, 1862) were a series of six major battles fought near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Union army. In early 1862, Major general George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac landed at Hampton, Virginia and began fighting its way up the Virginia Peninsula. By mid-may his army of over 100,000 soldiers were on the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital. If McClellan could capture Richmond, it could end the war. The city was defended by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The two armies had just fought the Battle of Seven Pines in which the Confederate general, Joseph E. Johnston, was wounded. Jefferson Davis appointed General Robert E. Lee as the new commander. Lee's victory in the Seven Days Battles proved to be among the most decisive battles of the Peninsula Campaign.

References

American Civil War battles
1862 in Virginia
Peninsula Campaign
June events
July events

Seven Days Battles


In linear algebra, a square matrix  is called diagonalizable or non-defective if it is similar to a diagonal matrix, i.e., if there exists an invertible matrix  and a diagonal matrix  such that  or equivalently  (Such   are not unique.) For a finite-dimensional vector space  a linear map  is called diagonalizable if there exists an ordered basis of  consisting of eigenvectors of . These definitions are equivalent: if  has a matrix representation  as above, then the column vectors of  form a basis consisting of eigenvectors of  and the diagonal entries of  are the corresponding eigenvalues of  with respect to this eigenvector basis,  is represented by  Diagonalization is the process of finding the above  and

Diagonalizing a matrix makes many subsequent computations easier. One can raise a diagonal matrix  to a power by simply raising the diagonal entries to that power. The determinant of a diagonal matrix is simply the product of all diagonal entries. Such computations generalize easily to

The geometric transformation represented by a diagonalizable matrix is an inhomogeneous dilation (or anisotropic scaling), meaning that it scales the space by a different amount in different directions. In particular, the direction of each eigenvector is scaled by a factor given by the corresponding eigenvalue.
A inhomogeneous dilation is in contrast to a homogeneous dilation, which scales by the same amount in every direction.

A square matrix that is not diagonalizable is called defective. It can happen that a matrix  with real entries is defective over the real numbers, meaning that  is impossible for any invertible  and diagonal  with real entries, but it is possible with complex entries, so that  is diagonalizable over the complex numbers. For example, this is the case for a generic rotation matrix.

Many results for diagonalizable matrices hold only over an algebraically closed field (such as the complex numbers). In this case, diagonalizable matrices are dense in the space of all matrices, which means any defective matrix can be deformed into a diagonalizable matrix by a small perturbation; and the Jordan normal form theorem states that any matrix is uniquely the sum of a diagonalizable matrix and a nilpotent matrix. Over an algebraically closed field, diagonalizable matrices are equivalent to semi-simple matrices.

Definition
A square  matrix, , with entries in a field  is called diagonalizable or nondefective if there exists an  invertible matrix (i.e. an element of the general linear group GLn(F)), , such that  is a diagonal matrix. Formally,

Characterization
The fundamental fact about diagonalizable maps and matrices is expressed by the following:

 An  matrix  over a field  is diagonalizable if and only if the sum of the dimensions of its eigenspaces is equal to , which is the case if and only if there exists a basis of  consisting of eigenvectors of . If such a basis has been found, one can form the matrix  having these basis vectors as columns, and  will be a diagonal matrix whose diagonal entries are the eigenvalues of . The matrix  is known as a modal matrix for .
 A linear map  is diagonalizable if and only if the sum of the dimensions of its eigenspaces is equal to  which is the case if and only if there exists a basis of  consisting of eigenvectors of . With respect to such a basis,  will be represented by a diagonal matrix. The diagonal entries of this matrix are the eigenvalues of

The following sufficient (but not necessary) condition is often useful.
 An  matrix  is diagonalizable over the field  if it has  distinct eigenvalues in  i.e. if its characteristic polynomial has  distinct roots in  however, the converse may be false. Consider  which has eigenvalues 1, 2, 2 (not all distinct) and is diagonalizable with diagonal form (similar to   and change of basis matrix :  The converse fails when  has an eigenspace of dimension higher than 1. In this example, the eigenspace of  associated with the eigenvalue 2 has dimension 2.
 A linear map  with  is diagonalizable if it has  distinct eigenvalues, i.e. if its characteristic polynomial has  distinct roots in .

Let  be a matrix over  If  is diagonalizable, then so is any power of it. Conversely, if  is invertible,  is algebraically closed, and  is diagonalizable for some  that is not an integer multiple of the characteristic of  then  is diagonalizable. Proof: If  is diagonalizable, then  is annihilated by some polynomial  which has no multiple root (since  and is divided by the minimal polynomial of

Over the complex numbers , almost every matrix is diagonalizable. More precisely: the set of complex  matrices that are not diagonalizable over  considered as a subset of  has Lebesgue measure zero. One can also say that the diagonalizable matrices form a dense subset with respect to the Zariski topology: the non-diagonalizable matrices lie inside the vanishing set of the discriminant of the characteristic polynomial, which is a hypersurface. From that follows also density in the usual (strong) topology given by a norm. The same is not true over

The Jordan–Chevalley decomposition expresses an operator as the sum of its semisimple (i.e., diagonalizable) part and its nilpotent part. Hence, a matrix is diagonalizable if and only if its nilpotent part is zero. Put in another way, a matrix is diagonalizable if each block in its Jordan form has no nilpotent part; i.e., each "block" is a one-by-one matrix.

Diagonalization

If a matrix  can be diagonalized, that is,

then:

Writing  as a block matrix of its column vectors

the above equation can be rewritten as

So the column vectors of  are right eigenvectors of  and the corresponding diagonal entry is the corresponding eigenvalue. The invertibility of  also suggests that the eigenvectors are linearly independent and form a basis of  This is the necessary and sufficient condition for diagonalizability and the canonical approach of diagonalization. The row vectors of  are the left eigenvectors of

When a complex matrix  is a Hermitian matrix (or more generally a normal matrix), eigenvectors of  can be chosen to form an orthonormal basis of  and  can be chosen to be a unitary matrix. If in addition,  is a real symmetric matrix, then its eigenvectors can be chosen to be an orthonormal basis of  and  can be chosen to be an orthogonal matrix.

For most practical work matrices are diagonalized numerically using computer software. Many algorithms exist to accomplish this.

Simultaneous diagonalization

A set of matrices is said to be simultaneously diagonalizable if there exists a single invertible matrix  such that  is a diagonal matrix for every  in the set. The following theorem characterizes simultaneously diagonalizable matrices: A set of diagonalizable matrices commutes if and only if the set is simultaneously diagonalizable.

The set of all  diagonalizable matrices (over  with  is not simultaneously diagonalizable. For instance, the matrices

are diagonalizable but not simultaneously diagonalizable because they do not commute.

A set consists of commuting normal matrices if and only if it is simultaneously diagonalizable by a unitary matrix; that is, there exists a unitary matrix  such that  is diagonal for every  in the set.

In the language of Lie theory, a set of simultaneously diagonalizable matrices generates a toral Lie algebra.

Examples

Diagonalizable matrices
 Involutions are diagonalizable over the reals (and indeed any field of characteristic not 2), with ±1 on the diagonal.
 Finite order endomorphisms are diagonalizable over  (or any algebraically closed field where the characteristic of the field does not divide the order of the endomorphism) with roots of unity on the diagonal. This follows since the minimal polynomial is separable, because the roots of unity are distinct.
 Projections are diagonalizable, with 0s and 1s on the diagonal.
 Real symmetric matrices are diagonalizable by orthogonal matrices; i.e., given a real symmetric matrix   is diagonal for some orthogonal matrix  More generally, matrices are diagonalizable by unitary matrices if and only if they are normal. In the case of the real symmetric matrix, we see that  so clearly  holds. Examples of normal matrices are real symmetric (or skew-symmetric) matrices (e.g. covariance matrices) and Hermitian matrices (or skew-Hermitian matrices). See spectral theorems for generalizations to infinite-dimensional vector spaces.

Matrices that are not diagonalizable
In general, a rotation matrix is not diagonalizable over the reals, but all rotation matrices are diagonalizable over the complex field. Even if a matrix is not diagonalizable, it is always possible to "do the best one can", and find a matrix with the same properties consisting of eigenvalues on the leading diagonal, and either ones or zeroes on the superdiagonal – known as Jordan normal form.

Some matrices are not diagonalizable over any field, most notably nonzero nilpotent matrices. This happens more generally if the algebraic and geometric multiplicities of an eigenvalue do not coincide. For instance, consider

This matrix is not diagonalizable: there is no matrix  such that  is a diagonal matrix. Indeed,  has one eigenvalue (namely zero) and this eigenvalue has algebraic multiplicity 2 and geometric multiplicity 1.

Some real matrices are not diagonalizable over the reals. Consider for instance the matrix

The matrix  does not have any real eigenvalues, so there is no real matrix  such that  is a diagonal matrix. However, we can diagonalize  if we allow complex numbers. Indeed, if we take

then  is diagonal. It is easy to find that  is the rotation matrix which rotates counterclockwise by angle

Note that the above examples show that the sum of diagonalizable matrices need not be diagonalizable.

How to diagonalize a matrix
Diagonalizing a matrix is the same process as finding its eigenvalues and eigenvectors, in the case that the eigenvectors form a basis. For example, consider the matrix

The roots of the characteristic polynomial  are the eigenvalues  Solving the linear system  gives the eigenvectors  and  while  gives  that is,  for  These vectors form a basis of  so we can assemble them as the column vectors of a change-of-basis matrix  to get:

We may see this equation in terms of transformations:  takes the standard basis to the eigenbasis,  so we have:

so that  has the standard basis as its eigenvectors, which is the defining property of

Note that there is no preferred order of the eigenvectors in  changing the order of the eigenvectors in  just changes the order of the eigenvalues in the diagonalized form of

Application to matrix functions
Diagonalization can be used to efficiently compute the powers of a matrix

and the latter is easy to calculate since it only involves the powers of a diagonal matrix. For example, for the matrix  with eigenvalues  in the example above we compute:

This approach can be generalized to matrix exponential and other matrix functions that can be defined as power series. For example, defining  we have:

This is particularly useful in finding closed form expressions for terms of linear recursive sequences, such as the Fibonacci numbers.

Particular application
For example, consider the following matrix:

Calculating the various powers of  reveals a  surprising pattern:

The above phenomenon can be explained by diagonalizing   To accomplish this, we need a basis of  consisting of eigenvectors of   One such eigenvector basis is given by

where ei denotes the standard basis of Rn. The reverse change of basis is given by

Straightforward calculations show that

Thus, a and b are the eigenvalues corresponding to u and v, respectively. By linearity of matrix multiplication, we have that

Switching back to the standard basis, we have

The preceding relations, expressed in matrix form, are

thereby explaining the above phenomenon.

Quantum mechanical application
In quantum mechanical and quantum chemical computations matrix diagonalization is one of the most frequently applied numerical processes. The basic reason is that the time-independent Schrödinger equation is an eigenvalue equation, albeit in most of the physical situations on an infinite dimensional Hilbert space.

A very common approximation is to truncate Hilbert space to finite dimension, after which the  Schrödinger equation can be formulated as an eigenvalue problem of a real symmetric, or complex Hermitian matrix. Formally this approximation is founded on the variational principle, valid for Hamiltonians that are bounded from below.

First-order perturbation theory also leads to matrix eigenvalue problem for degenerate states.

See also
 Defective matrix
 Scaling (geometry)
 Triangular matrix
 Semisimple operator
 Diagonalizable group
 Jordan normal form
 Weight module – associative algebra generalization
 Orthogonal diagonalization

Notes

References

Matrices

Diagonalizable matrix


John Cartwright (born 9 August 1965) is the assistant coach of the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL) and an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and former head coach. He was the head coach for the Gold Coast Titans. A "strong running and skilful passing" Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative second-row forward, Cartwright played his club football with the Penrith Panthers, winning the 1991 premiership with them.

Playing career
Cartwright began with Penrith in 1985 and was a regular first-grade player by 1987.

In 1988, under the guidance of Ron Willey, Penrith developed a heavyweight, aggressive forward pack of which Cartwright and second row partner Mark Geyer were the cornerstones.

Cartwright had a sudden rise through representative ranks in 1989. Initially not chosen for the City Origin team, he took his place in the firsts team after a spate of injuries. John was the named on the bench for New South Wales for the first State of Origin match. Unfortunately, a late injury to Ian Roberts forced him to play in the front row, to which John was ill-suited, and John was dropped after one match. At the end of the year, John was sent off against Balmain and suspended for four matches. Penrith were thrashed 33-6 and could not win either of their two finals without John Cartwright. On returning from suspension, John Cartwright found form very quickly and at the end of the 1990 NSWRL season, John went on the 1990 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France but was dropped after one Test.

Injury affected Cartwright in 1991, and Cartwright was used as a reserve in two of the three Tests against New Zealand. Following the 1991 grand final victory, Cartwright travelled with the Penrith club to England for the 1991 World Club Challenge which was lost to Wigan.

Cartwright had his finest season of all in 1992. During the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, Cartwright helped Australia retain The Ashes. John played in all three games for New South Wales (scoring a rare try in the third) and took over the Penrith captaincy when Greg Alexander was injured.

At the end of 1996, Cartwright left Penrith to play in England.

Coaching career
After he finally retired as a player, John Cartwright became an assistant coach at the Penrith club and the Sydney Roosters. In 2000 he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league.

Cartwright began coaching at Penrith as the reserve coach in 2001. After a period as assistant to Ricky Stuart at the Sydney Roosters, as well as coaching the United States national rugby league team against the Kangaroos in 2004, Cartwright was appointed the inaugural coach of the Gold Coast Titans after their admission to the National Rugby League.

He became involved in a feud with Melbourne Storm winger Steve Turner over contractual obligations. "We flew him up, showed him around for two or three days and he agreed to me that he would come here, we shook hands. He looked me in the eye. The deal was done. He even started looking for accommodation. I only coached him in a couple of games at Penrith and my reaction has been the same as it would be for any player in this situation. But to do what he has done . . . I'm not happy. I'm extremely disappointed, to say the least."

In 2009, he was selected to coach the NSW Country Origin side.  He later guided to the Gold Coast to consecutive finals appearances in the 2009 NRL season and the 2010 NRL season, the latter of which saw the Gold Coast reach the preliminary final.  In 2011, the Gold Coast claimed their first Wooden Spoon under Cartwright's coaching.

After four years without making the finals, on 5 August 2014 he announced that he would stand down as head coach of the Gold Coast, with immediate effect. He would coach the club one last time against the Sydney Roosters in Round 22 before Neil Henry taking over on an interim basis.

In February 2015, Cartwright joined the North Queensland Cowboys as an assistant to head coach Paul Green.

On 4 October 2015, John Cartwright was a member of North Queensland's coaching staff in the side's 17-16 Grand Final victory over the Brisbane Broncos.

In the weeks following the Grand Final win, Cartwright quit the North Queensland club and returned to Sydney as an assistant coach of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

Following the 2020 NRL season, Cartwright was announced as an assistant coach for the Brisbane Broncos, working under their new head coach Kevin Walters.

Personal life
Cartwright is the uncle of former Gold Coast Titans and Penrith Panthers Bryce Cartwright. Cartwright's son is Jed Cartwright who plays for South Sydney.

In 2020, Cartwright was a special guest on the Andy Raymond #UNFILTERED podcast!.

References

Footnotes

External links
Reds gain Titan support

1965 births
Living people
Australia national rugby league team players
Australian rugby league coaches
Australian rugby league players
Gold Coast Titans coaches
New South Wales City Origin rugby league team coaches
New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
Penrith Panthers players
Penrith Panthers captains
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Rugby league players from Penrith, New South Wales
Rugby league second-rows
Salford Red Devils players
United States national rugby league team coaches

John Cartwright (rugby league)


Litoria megalops is a frog from Indonesia. Scientists saw it on the western half of the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's Papua Province.  It is related to L. becki, L. micromembrana and L. modica.

Male adult frogs are about 24.6 to 27.5 mm long from nose to rear end and females are 31.7 to 35.5 mm long.  This frog has very large eyes for its size, which is why scientists named it megalops, which means large eyes.  Its front feet are not webbed, but its hind feet are.  It has teeth on its upper jaw.  Some of the frogs are the yellow-brown color of amber with a green mark over each eye and a green stripe on the body, and some are bright orange in color.

Scientists found this frog living 1070 meters above sea level.  It was found only in the fast-flowing parts of the Wapona River, so they call it a torrent-dwlling frog.  The scientists checked slow-flowing streams nearby and saw that this frog did not live in them.

This frog has clear eggs.  It lays its eggs underneath rocks at the bottoms of streams.  The tadpoles have flattened bodies and suckers on their mouths.

References

Frogs of Oceania
Frogs of Asia

Litoria megalops


Reduction in a general sense means to take of a part of a whole thing or to make it smaller.

'Reduction or reducing may may mean in special

 Reduction (chemistry), the reverse of oxidation, half of a redox reaction, adding of electrons  to a molecule, which means reducing the valence
 Reduction (cooking), the process of thickening a liquid mixture such as a sauce by evaporation
 Reduction (philosophy), in philosophy, the process of explaining a particular concept or phenomenon in terms of more fundamental concepts or phenomena
 Reduction (linguistics), in linguistics, the shortening of the pronunciation of a word. e.g. wanna, lemme, gimme.
 Reduction, in physiology, another name for weight loss or dieting
 Reduction (orthopedic surgery), in orthopedic surgery, a medical procedure to restore a fracture to a correct alignment
 Reduction (town), a form of Catholic mission in South America in the 17th and 18th centuries
 Purchasing reduction, in economics and in waste management, is the process of decreasing the purchase of consumer goods
 Reduction (Sweden), in 1680 a return of lands to the Crown earlier granted to the nobility.
 Waste reduction is the first and most desirable component of the waste hierarchy (reduce, reuse, recycle)

In mathematics and computer science''':
 Reduction (mathematics), the process of manipulating a series of equations or matrices into a desired 'simpler' format
 Reduction property, in descriptive set theory, a pointclass allows partitioning the union of two sets in the pointclass into two disjoint sets in the same pointclass
 Reduction (complexity), in computational complexity theory, the transformation of an instance of one problem into an instance of another
 Reduce computer algebra system, a general-purpose computer algebra system geared towards applications in physics.
 Reduce (higher-order function), a family of higher-order functions that process a data structure in some order and build up a return value.

Reduction


Joseph Kincaid MICE (12 November 1834 in Dublin – 20 August 1907 in London) was an engineer responsible for the construction of a significant number of tramways in Great Britain.

Background
Kincaid's father was an early pioneer of railways, as a promoter of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, and the Midland Great Western Railway. On account of delicate health, Joseph's early tuition was private, but he entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1852, graduating in Arts in 1857, and subsequently obtaining a Master's degree.

Career

On leaving college he obtained practical experience as assistant engineer on the Kingstown harbour works ; in the construction of the harbour at Mullaghmore, County Sligo, as Engineer-in-charge.

From 1860 to 1863, he served under Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet and Charles Blacker Vignoles, and was engaged at home and in Spain on the construction of the Tudela and Bilbao Railway and other undertakings. He also carried out the lighting of Bilbao and Logroño with oil-gas.

His name is identified with the introduction and development of tramways in Great Britain and Ireland; his first was a horse-tramway from Dublin to Black Rock. These early tramways were constructed with a shallow rail spiked to longitudinal wood sleepers, but Kincaid recognized the defects of this and introduced a metallic system, which became known by his name, consisting of channel  shaped rails fixed on cast-iron chairs embedded in concrete. This system was used for a number of years until displaced by the girder type of tramway rail.

Kincaid was amongst the first to introduce mechanical propulsion on tramways ; steam-locomotives, cable-traction, and then electric traction. He was responsible for the first cable-tramway constructed in England, the Highgate Hill Cable Tramway.

In 1892 he associated with himself as partners, Mr. J. E. Waller and Edward Manville, and subsequently Philip Dawson joined the firm, which practised as Kincaid, Waller, Manville and Dawson.

He was elected an Associate of The Institution of Civil Engineers on 5 April 1870 and was transferred to the class of Members on 25 March 1879.

References

Engineers from Dublin (city)
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
1834 births
1907 deaths
Railway civil engineers

Joseph Kincaid


Enrico Dandolo (26 June 1827 in Varese – night of 3 June 1849, during the riots around Villa Corsini, Rome) was an important figure in the Italian Risorgimento, participating in several of its most important battles.

Life
Originating from Dandolo family which produced several other figures involved in the Italian Wars of Independence, Enrico Dandolo was one of the protagonists in the Five Days of Milan (1848) beside his brother Emilio and his friends Luciano Manara and Emilio Morosini.

Gaining experience and maturity in the tactics of guerrilla warfare, he took part (with the Lombard volunteers) in the Legione Manara in the Brescian and Trentine campaigns of the First Italian War of Independence, and participated in the formation of the Roman Republic, in 1849.  During the battle against the French, which finally freed Rome from the insurgents, Dandolo fought at the rank of captain in the Battaglione Bersaglieri Lombardi, under the command of Luciano Manara.

1827 births
1849 deaths
Enrico, Patriot
Italian people of the Italian unification
People from Varese
Italian military personnel killed in action

Enrico Dandolo (patriot)


Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the Confederate States Navy, and also has been a rank in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps) and its ancestor organizations. For over two centuries, the designation has been given varying levels of authority and formality.

Today, it is no longer a specific rank within active-duty or reserve forces or in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps or NOAA Corps, but it remains in use as an honorary title within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard for those senior captains (pay grade O-6) in command of operational organizations composed of multiple independent subordinate naval units (e.g., multiple independent ships or aviation squadrons).

However, "commodore" is a rank that is actively used in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, the civilian volunteer branch of the Coast Guard, for the ranks of District Commodore, Vice National Commodore, and National Commodore.

History

Early days

Use of the term "commodore" dates from 1775 in the then–Continental Navy, the predecessor of the modern U.S. Navy, when it was established (but not used) as a courtesy title reserved for captains in command of a fleet or squadron.

The first U.S. naval officer to become a commodore was John Barry, a senior officer of the Navy, appointed in 1794 after the former Continental Navy was reorganized into what would become the current U.S. Navy.

Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four officer ranks in the navy (captain, master commandant, lieutenant, and midshipman) until 1862, considerable importance was attached to the title of commodore. Captain Isaac Hull, chafing at not being able to progress further in rank, wrote in 1814 that, if no admirals were to be authorized, something should be done to prevent, "...every midshipman that has command of a gunboat on a separate station taking upon himself the name of Commodore".

Like its Royal Navy counterpart at the time, the U.S. Navy commodore was not a higher rank, but a temporary assignment for navy officers, as Herman Melville wrote in his 1850 novel, White-Jacket.

Eventually the title of commodore was defined more strictly, and was reserved for captains so designated by the Navy Department, although the practice of retaining the title for life added some confusion.

Rank of flag officer
In 1857, Congress established the grade of flag officer. This generic title was intended "to promote the efficiency of the Navy", but differed little from the previous practice.  The first flag officer appointed was Charles Stewart, who was appointed as "Senior Flag Officer" in 1857.  The Act to Further Promote the Efficiency of the Navy, passed on December 21, 1861, gave the president the authority to appoint squadron commanders with the "rank and title" of flag officer.   On January 3, 1862 Charles H. Bell, William W. McKean, Louis Goldsborough and Samuel Dupont were promoted to Flag Officer, followed by David Farragut on January 17, 1862.

The rank of flag officer was short lived because it was replaced by commodore in July 1862.

American Civil War

Because of the acute need for officers at the beginning of the American Civil War, naval tradition was ignored and commodore became for the first time a permanent commissioned rank in the U.S. Navy. Eighteen commodores were authorized on July 16, 1862. The rank title also lost its "line command" status when, in 1863, the chiefs of the bureaus of Medicine and Surgery, Provisions and Clothing, Steam Engineering, and Construction and Repair were all given the rank of commodore.

Disestablishment
The rank of commodore continued in the Navy until March 3, 1899, when "An Act To reorganize and increase the efficiency and the personnel of the Navy and Marine Corps" redefined the list of officers on the active list and did not include the rank of commodore, effectively disestablishing the rank for active line officer, but not on the retirement list.

According to Laws Relating to the Navy, 1919, the step was taken, "…on account of international relationships, the consideration of which caused the Navy Department to regard the complications confronting it as inimical to the honor and dignity of this nation, because of the adverse effect upon its high ranking representatives in their association with foreign officers". In short, U.S. Navy commodores were not being treated as flag officers by other navies, or given the respect that the Navy Department thought was their due.

As it would have been expensive to increase the pay of all the former commodores to the level of rear admirals, the U.S. Congress at the time specified that the junior rear admirals which were referred to as rear admirals in the "lower half" of seniority, would have pay equal to brigadier generals of the U.S. Army. If there were an odd number of total rear admirals, the lower half of rear admirals was to be the larger. All rear admirals, regardless whether they are in the lower half or the upper half of seniority, were considered equal to major generals, and flew a blue flag with two-stars, and were entitled to a 13-gun salute. The U.S. Supreme Court later held that the rank of commodore had been removed from the U.S. Navy, leaving it without an actual rank equivalent to brigadier general. This act disgruntled all the brigadier generals, who could now be outranked by officers who were their juniors in terms of service. This was a point of inter-service controversy for many years, especially after 1916, when the U.S. Army made its brigadier generals equivalent to the rear admirals in the lower half of seniority.  This made the rear admirals in the upper half of seniority, the only ones to be equal to that of a major general.

World War II and the Cold War

During the huge expansion of the U.S. Navy during World War II, the Department of the Navy was concerned that the appointment of more flag officers would create a glut of admirals whenever peacetime was achieved. However, some Navy and Coast Guard captains, although not yet selected for rear admiral, were holding commands of significantly higher responsibility than they had earlier and this needed to be recognized. The COMINCH of the U.S. Navy and Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) Ernest J. King, proposed bringing back the older rank of "commodore" for these officers. President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed, making the suggestion that the title be revived.

As a result, the one-star officer rank for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard was re-established in April 1943 with the title of "commodore".  In actual practice, some officers on admiral's staffs were also promoted to the rank of commodore.  By the end of the War in the Pacific in August 1945, there were over 100 commodores in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. With respect to the U.S. Coast Guard, it should be understood that during World War II, the much-expanded Coast Guard was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of the Navy and was involved in combat operations in both anti-submarine warfare and amphibious warfare, thousands of miles away from home, and not just in its usual role of defending the coasts of the United States, detaining smugglers, lifesaving, and search and rescue operations.

After World War II, and with the rapid drawdown in size of both the Navy and the Coast Guard, very few of the wartime commodores were ever promoted to rear admiral. All promotions to commodore ceased in 1947, and nearly all of the commodores who had held the one-star rank had either been promoted to rear admiral or had retired from the Navy by 1950. According to the 1949 edition of the Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Navy, updated to January 1, 1949, the last two commodores on active duty were Tully Shelley (b. 1892) and Antoine O. Rabideau (b. 1884). Shelley retired in July 1949 and was promoted on retirement to rear admiral retroactive to April 3, 1945. Rabideau apparently died July 19, 1970, and his headstone shows him to have held the rank of rear admiral.
However, as the Cold War evolved, the Navy began to rebound from its immediate post-World War II reductions.  This expanding Navy saw growth in several mission areas, and the reintroduction and designation of senior captains in command of units comprising multiple ships (e.g., "flotillas"), multiple aviation squadrons or other similar organizations became increasingly commonplace, leading to increased use of the title of commodore for those senior captains occupying these highly responsible positions.

1982 commodore admiral/1983 rear admiral (lower half)
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, following years of objections and complaints by the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corps, efforts were begun to reinstate commodore as an official rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard with a pay grade of O-7, replacing "rear admiral (lower half)", which were Navy and Coast Guard flag officers who were paid at the one-star rank of an O-7 and carried the relative seniority of a one-star officer, but who, due to the elimination of the rank of commodore at the end of World War II, wore the same two-star rank insignia as a full, or "upper half," rear admiral, an O-8.

In 1982, the rank of commodore was finally and officially reintroduced in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard as the O-7 rank.  The one-star officer's rank and insignia for Navy and Coast Guard officers was thence re-established with the initial title of commodore admiral.

In 1983, following numerous objections by USN officers to the Chief of Naval Operations and USCG officers to the Commandant of the Coast Guard that this new title was unwieldy and confusing, the rank of "commodore admiral" was simplified to "commodore".

However, this action still failed to stem the confusion and the objections of senior officers in the naval services.  This was because the U.S. Navy had long assigned the title (although not the rank) of commodore to selected captains holding major operational sea-going commands. Since at least the late 1940s, "commodore" had been used as a "position title" for senior navy captains who commanded air groups and air wings (other than those officers commanding carrier air groups/carrier air wings, who were historically known and referred to as "CAGs"), destroyer squadrons, submarine squadrons, amphibious squadrons, patrol boat flotillas, patrol hydrofoil missile ship squadrons, special warfare groups, construction regiments, and other large seagoing commands.  The U.S. Coast Guard had never previously used the title.

Later in 1983, the one-star U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard admiral rank was changed back to its original O-7 pay grade title of "rear admiral" with the discriminator in seniority and protocol purposes of "Rear admiral (lower half)," and a rank title abbreviation of RDML versus the O-8 rank title abbreviation of RADM.

From then on, commodore has remained a title for U.S. Navy captains in command of more than a single unit (other than captains commanding carrier air wings, who retained their traditional title of "CAG") and all U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard one-star admirals were subsequently referred to as rear admiral.  The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard rear admirals (lower half), continued to wear the single star for collar insignia and applicable shoulder insignia (i.e., flight suits, jackets, etc.), a single silver star on top of solid gold background shoulder board insignia, and a single broad gold sleeve stripe insignia for dress blue uniforms (service dress blue, full dress blue and dinner dress blue) of all USN and USCG flag officers in pay grade O-7, and for the service dress white and full dress white uniforms of female USN flag officers in pay grade O-7.

The term "commodore" again reverted to that of an honorary title versus an actual rank for the limited number of captains in command of multiple units.

Present-day title usage

Military

U.S. Navy
The U.S. Navy no longer maintains a rank of commodore, but the term has survived as an honorary title. Modern-day commodores are senior captains in the U.S. Navy.  In Naval Aviation, they hold major operational command of functional or "type" air wings or air groups (exclusive of carrier air wings) such as strike fighter wings, electronic attack wings, patrol and reconnaissance wings, airborne early warning wings, strategic communications wings, various helicopter wings, training air wings, or tactical air control groups; in the Surface Warfare community, they lead destroyer squadrons, littoral combat ship squadrons, amphibious squadrons, mine countermeasures squadrons, and naval beach groups; in the Submarine Warfare community they lead submarine squadrons; in the Special Warfare / Special Operations community they lead special warfare (SEAL) groups, riverine squadrons; coastal warfare groups and squadrons and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) groups.  Commodores from the Civil Engineering Corps will lead naval construction regiments.

With the exception of the naval construction regiments that are commanded by senior captains of the U.S. Navy's Civil Engineer Corps, all other commodores are senior captains who are warfare-qualified unrestricted line (URL) officers in that combat specialty (e.g., naval aviators and naval flight officers commanding "functional" or "type" air wings or air groups,

In contrast to the U.S. Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Navy does not use USAF's same wing/group/squadron structure where "groups" are subordinate to "wings."  Within the USN component of Naval Aviation, a "group" is considered equal to a wing if commanded by an O-6 and senior to a wing if commanded by an O-7 or O-8 (e.g., carrier strike group, patrol & reconnaissance group).  This same model applies surface warfare officers commanding destroyer or littoral combat ship squadrons, submarine warfare officers commanding submarine squadrons, SEAL officers commanding special warfare groups, etc.).  These O-6 commanded units will typically report to a higher command echelon "group" led by a USN Flag Officer.

Captains assigned to a commodore billet employ the term "commander" in their organizational command title, this in keeping with the naval tradition of officers commanding a single ship, unit or installation being referred to as a "commanding officer" or "CO", while those captains and flag officers commanding multiple ships, multiple aviation squadrons, multiple air wings, task forces, fleets, etc., being known as a "commander" (but not to be confused with the USN / USCG rank of commander).  Captains in this latter category are referred to, both orally and in correspondence, as "commodore", but continue to wear the rank insignia of a captain.

Captains in command of carrier air wings continue to use the traditional title of "CAG" which dates from when these units were known as carrier air groups.

While technically not flag officers, captains holding a commodore billet are authorized a blue and white broad pennant, also known as a "command pennant", which is normally flown from their headquarters facilities ashore and/or from ships on which they are embarked when they are the senior officer present afloat (SOPA).  Depending on the type of aircraft, it may also be displayed as a plate or decal when embarked on that aircraft, or painted on one of the aircraft in one of their subordinate squadrons that also displays their name on the fuselage.  This swallow-tailed pennant has a white field bounded by two horizontal blue stripes, with the numerical designation or the initials of the command title in blue centered on the white field.

In the U.S. Navy, commodore billets are considered to be O-6 "major command" assignments for Captains, on par with the commanding officers of major combatant vessels (e.g., aircraft carrier, battleship, guided missile cruiser, amphibious assault ship), commanders of carrier air wings, and commanding officers of major shore installations (e.g., naval air station, naval station, naval base, naval support activity, etc.).  In the other U.S. armed services, the level and scope of responsibility of a USN Captain in a commodore billet is equivalent to that of the Commanding Officer of a Marine Regiment, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) or Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in the U.S. Marine Corps, a wing commander in the U.S. Air Force (even when the USN command is designated as a "Group"), or a brigade commander or O-6 level post commander/installation commander in the U.S. Army.

U.S. Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard presently designates the USCG captain commanding those U.S. Coast Guard cutters and other afloat and ashore USCG units comprising Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) as a "commodore".  PATFORSWA is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama, Bahrain and its primary area of responsibility is the Arabian Gulf / Persian Gulf, as well as other areas coinciding with that of United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT).  It is currently the only commodore billet in the U.S. Coast Guard and this usage mirrors the USN's use of the title "commodore".

Auxiliary components of uniformed services

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
In the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary variants of "commodore" are used as position titles for high level leadership positions (e.g. National Commodore, Deputy National Commodore, District Commodore etc.). While Coast Guard Auxiliarists do not hold military ranks per se, it is not usual to address an auxiliarist by position title.  These very senior members of the USCG Auxiliary do use "Commodore" (abbreviated "COMO") as a form of address (e.g. Commodore John Smith; or COMO John Smith).

The National Commodore wears insignia similar to that of a Coast Guard vice admiral (three stars), the Vice National Commodore and the four Deputy National Commodores wear insignia similar to that of a rear admiral upper half (two stars), and the eight Assistant National Commodores and each District Commodore wear insignia similar to that of a rear admiral lower half (one star). There also several Deputy Assistant National Commodores but these members wear insignia similar to that of a Coast Guard captain and are not addressed as "Commodore."

The Coast Guard Auxiliary also occasionally bestows the title of "Honorary Commodore" as a mark of high esteem.  Recipients of this honor include actor and Coast Guard veteran Lloyd Bridges (who was an active member of the Auxiliary and served as its national celebrity spokesman in the 1970s) and television personality Al Roker (who produced the documentary series Coast Guard Alaska).

U.S. Maritime Service
The United States Maritime Service uses the rank of commodore for their one-star flag officers, with the two-star rank being simply designated as "rear admiral".  The rank is usually given to the president of one of the seven federal and state maritime academies who had not attained flag rank during his/her active duty naval career.

Civilian use

Commodore in Yachting Leadership
Civilian yacht clubs, yachting associations and fellowships with formal hierarchical structures, began to use the title "commodore" in countries around the world  for their presidents in the early twentieth century  along with "vice commodore" in the same manner as "vice president,"and "rear-commodore" and "port captain' or "international bridge member" in the same manner as board members.

Commodores, Vice-Commodores and Rear-Commodores are also known as civilian Flag officers because they have an Epaulettes, Regalia and Maritime flags with designated symbols and number of stars for their ranks.  Many of the clubs that are more than a century old, such as the Los Angeles Yacht Club have formal ceremonies, where Commodores from more than 100 surrounding yacht clubs, flag officers of the US Navy and Coast Guard attend a ceremony at the beginning of the year.  The ceremony includes a bagpipe entrance, a presentation of the country flag by commissioned officers of the country's navy and a cannon shot upon the raising of each individual officer's flags on a flag staff, (also known as Flagpoles) for each flag officer (Commodore, Vice Commodore, Rear Commodore) as their term of office officially begins. Sometimes a trumpet fanfare is also include for special occasions like ribbon cutting in 2019 for the 50th Transpacific Yacht Race.   Salutes are given to Commodores for special ceremonies, including Opening Days of the Racing Season.

Popular use

Commodore as mascot or nickname
The athletic teams of Vanderbilt University of the Southeastern Conference use "Commodore" as their mascot, the nickname of the university's founder and namesake Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Florida, also uses the Commodore mascot for its sports teams.

Commodore as a title of recognition by State of Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island has a group of select individuals, appointed by the governor, known as Rhode Island Commodores.  Rhode Island Commodores function as ambassadors for the state and promote its economy and attractions.  It is similar to the title Kentucky Colonel but less commonly awarded.

See also
 Air commodore
 Commodore (rank)
 Commodore-in-Chief
 Commodore admiral
 Rear admiral (lower half)
 Fleet captain
 Senior captain

References

Footnotes

Sources

One-star officers
Military ranks of the United States Navy

Commodore (United States)


Capsicum frutescens is a wild chili pepper having genetic proximity to the cultivated pepper Capsicum chinense native to Central and South America. Pepper cultivars of C. frutescens can be annual or short-lived perennial plants. Flowers are white with a greenish white or greenish yellow corolla, and are either insect- or self-pollinated. The plants' berries typically grow erect; ellipsoid-conical to lanceoloid shaped. They are usually very small and pungent, growing  long and  in diameter. Fruit typically grows a pale yellow and matures to a bright red, but can also be other colors. C. frutescens has a smaller variety of shapes compared to other Capsicum species. C. frutescens has been bred to produce ornamental strains because of its large quantities of erect peppers growing in colorful ripening patterns.

Cultivars

Capsicum frutescens includes the following cultivars and/or varieties:
Wiri Wiri, from Guyana
Cabai Rawit, from Indonesia, used in hot Sambal.
Hawaiian pepper
Malagueta pepper
Piri piri, also called African Bird's Eye or African devil
Siling Labuyo, from the Philippines.
Tabasco pepper, used to make Tabasco sauce
Xiao mi la pepper, literally "little rice pepper", from Yunnan province in China.

Origins and distribution

The Capsicum frutescens species likely originated in South or Central America. It spread quickly throughout the tropical and subtropical regions in this area and still grows wild today. Capsicum frutescens is native to Central America and Northern and Western South America. C. frutescens may be related to C. chinense.

Uses

Ethiopia

According to Richard Pankhurst, C. frutescens (known as barbaré) was so important to the national cuisine of Ethiopia, at least as early as the 19th century, "that it was cultivated extensively in the warmer areas wherever the soil was suitable." Although it was grown in every province, barbaré was especially extensive in Yejju, "which supplied much of Showa as well as other neighbouring provinces". He singles out the upper Golima River valley as almost entirely devoted to cultivating this plant, where thousands of acres were devoted to the plant and it was harvested year-round.

India
This pepper is common in eastern and southern India where it grows readily in a favorable climate. It is known locally by various common names.

Philippines
Siling labuyo, the local cultivar of C. frutescens in the Philippines, developed from plants introduced during the Spanish colonial era. The fruits are widely used for making traditional dips (sawsawan), spiced vinegar (like sinamak), and condiments like palapa. They are also commonly added to various dishes. The leaves are also eaten as a leafy vegetable, most notably in the soup dish tinola.

Pests

Helicoverpa assulta is one of very few insects that can successfully feed on the red pepper because it can tolerate capsaicin.

See also
List of Capsicum cultivars
Capsicum

References

External links

Chili peppers
Crops originating from Ecuador
frutescens
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Capsicum frutescens


Senecio mohavensis, known by the common name Mojave ragwort, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family.

Distribution and habitat
The annual herb is native to the Mojave Desert in California, northwestern Arizona, and southwestern Nevada (southwestern United States); and to the Sonoran Desert in California and Arizona, and Baja California and Sonora (northwestern Mexico).

It grows in sandy and rocky habitats, often in Creosote bush scrub.

Description
Senecio mohavensis produces a single branching erect stem up to 30 or 40 centimeters in maximum height from a twisted taproot. It is mostly hairless and green to purple in color.

The leaves have lobed or toothed blades a few centimeters long, the lower on short petioles and those higher on the plant with wide bases that clasp the stem.

The inflorescence is a spreading array of several flower heads filled with yellow disc florets, typically numbering between 15 and 30. Some heads have tiny ray florets that may be tucked out of view within the phyllaries. The phyllaries are typically green, hairless, mostly fused, and measure about a third of an inch. The bloom period is March to May, and the plant's toxicity is Minor Dermatitis.

References

Jepson Manual Treatment

External links
Photo gallery

mohavensis
Flora of the Southwestern United States
Taxa named by Asa Gray
Plants described in 1884
Flora without expected TNC conservation status

Senecio mohavensis


Dance in India comprises numerous styles of dances, generally classified as classical or folk. As with other aspects of Indian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of India, developed according to the local traditions and also imbibed elements from other parts of the country.

Sangeet Natya Academy, the national academy for performing arts in India, recognizes eight traditional dances as Indian classical dances, while other sources and scholars recognize more. These have roots in the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra, and the religious performance arts of Hinduism.

Folk dances are numerous in number and style and vary according to the local tradition of the respective state, ethnic, or geographic region. Contemporary dances include refined and experimental fusions of classical, folk, and Western forms. Dancing traditions of India have influence not only over the dances in the whole of South Asia, but on the dancing forms of Southeast Asia as well. Dances in Indian films, like Bollywood Dance for Hindi films, are often noted for freeform expression of dance and hold a significant presence in the popular culture of the Indian subcontinent.

In India, a command over either of Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Meitei (Manipuri), Persian, or Arabic, are highly appreciated and respected for learning dances (most significantly Indian Classical Dances) as dancers could have the tools of these languages to go into the primary material texts.

Nomenclature
Classical dance is one whose theory, training, means and rationale for expressive practice is documented and traceable to ancient classical texts, particularly the Natya Shastra. Classical Indian dances have historically involved a school or guru-shishya parampara (teacher-disciple tradition) and require studies of the classical texts, physical exercises, and extensive training to systematically synchronize the dance repertoire with underlying play or composition, vocalists and the orchestra.

A folk Indian dance is one which is largely an oral tradition, whose traditions have been historically learnt and mostly passed down from one generation to the next through word of mouth and casual joint practice. A semi-classical Indian dance is one that contains a classical imprint but has become a folk dance and lost its texts or schools. A tribal dance is a more local form of folk dance, typically found in one tribal population; typically tribal dances evolve into folk dances over a historic period.

Origins of dance in India

The origins of dance in India go back to ancient times. The earliest paleolithic and neolithic cave paintings such as the UNESCO world heritage site at Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh show dance scenes. Several sculptures found at Indus Valley Civilisation archaeological sites, now distributed between Pakistan and India, show dance figures. For example, the Dancing Girl sculpture is dated to about 2500 BCE, showing a  high figurine in a dance pose.

The Vedas integrate rituals with performance arts, such as a dramatic play, where not only praises to gods were recited or sung, but the dialogues were part of a dramatic representation and discussion of spiritual themes. The Sanskrit verses in chapter 13.2 of Shatapatha Brahmana (≈800–700 BCE), for example, are written in the form of a play between two actors.

The evidence of earliest dance-related texts are in Natasutras, which are mentioned in the text of Panini, the sage who wrote the classic on Sanskrit grammar, and who is dated to about 500 BCE. This performance arts related Sutra text is mentioned in other late Vedic texts, are as two scholars names Shilalin (IAST: Śilālin) and Krishashva (Kṛśaśva), credited to be pioneers in the studies of ancient drama, singing, dance and Sanskrit compositions for these arts. Richmond et al. estimate the Natasutras to have been composed around 600 BCE, whose complete manuscript has not survived into the modern age.

The classic text of dance and performance arts that has survived is the Hindu text Natya Shastra, attributed to sage Bharata. He credits the art his text systematically presents to times before him, ultimately to Brahma who created Natya-veda by taking the word from the Rigveda, melody from the Samaveda, mime from the Yajurveda, and emotion from the Atharvaveda. The first complete compilation of Natya Shastra is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE. The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters. The classical dances are rooted in Natya Shastra.

India has a number of classical Indian dance forms, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country.  Classical and folk dance forms also emerged from Indian traditions, epics and mythology.

Classical dance

Classical dance of India has developed a type of dance-drama that is a form of total theater. The dancer acts out a story almost exclusively through gestures. Most of the classical dances of India enact stories from Hindu mythology. Each form represents the culture and ethos of a particular region or a group of people.

The criteria for being considered as classical is the style's adherence to the guidelines laid down in Natyashastra, which explains the Indian art of acting. The Sangeet Natak Akademi currently confers classical status on eight Indian classical dance styles: Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu), Kathak (North, West and Central India), Kathakali (Kerala), Kuchipudi (Andhra), Odissi (Odisha), Manipuri (Manipur), Mohiniyattam (Kerala), and Sattriya (Assam). All classical dances of India have roots in Hindu arts and religious practices.

The tradition of dance has been codified in the Natyashastra and performance is considered accomplished if it manages to evoke a rasa (emotion) among the audience by invoking a particular bhava(gesture or facial expression). Classical dance is distinguished from folk dance because it has been regulated by the rules of the Natyashastra and all classical dances are performed only in accordance with them.

Bharatanatyam

Dating back to 1000 BC, barathanatyam is a classical dance from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, practiced predominantly in modern times by women. The dance is usually accompanied by classical Carnatic music. Bharatnatyam is a major genre of Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and neighboring regions. Traditionally, Bharatanatyam has been a solo dance that was performed exclusively by women, and expressed Hindu religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of Shaivism, but also of Vaishnavism and Shaktism.

Bharatanatyam and other classical dances in India were ridiculed and suppressed during the colonial British Raj era. In the post-colonial period, it has grown to become the most popular classical Indian dance style in India and abroad, and is considered to be synonymous with Indian dance by many foreigners unaware of the diversity of dances and performance arts in Indian culture.

Kathakali

Kathakali (katha, "story"; kali, "performance") is a highly stylized classical dance-drama form, which originated from Kerala in the 17th century. This classical dance form is another "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by its elaborately colorful make-up, costumes and face masks wearing actor-dancers, who have traditionally been all males.

Kathakali primarily developed as a Hindu performance art, performing plays and mythical legends related to Hinduism. While its origin are more recent, its roots are in temple and folk arts such as Kutiyattam and religious drama traceable to at least the 1st millennium CE. A Kathakali performance incorporates movements from the ancient martial arts and athletic traditions of south India. While linked to the temple dancing traditions such as Krishnanattam, Kutiyattam and others, Kathakali is different from these because unlike the older arts where the dancer-actor also had to be the vocal artist, Kathakali separated these roles allowing the dancer-actor to excel in and focus on choreography while the vocal artists focused on delivering their lines.

Kathak

Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards of ancient northern India, known as Kathakas or storytellers. The term Kathak is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit word Katha meaning "story", and kathaka in Sanskrit means "he who tells a story", or "to do with stories". Kathak evolved during the Bhakti movement, particularly by incorporating childhood and amorous stories of Hindu god Krishna, as well as independently in the courts of north Indian kingdoms. It transitioned, adapted and integrated the tastes and Persian arts influence in the Mughal courts of the 16th and 17th century, was ridiculed and declined in the colonial British era, then was reborn as India gained independence.

Kathak is found in three distinct forms, named after the cities where the Kathak dance tradition evolved – Jaipur, Benares and Lucknow. Stylistically, the Kathak dance form emphasizes rhythmic foot movements, adorned with small bells (Ghungroo), the movement harmonized to the music, the legs and torso are generally straight, and the story is told through a developed vocabulary based on the gestures of arms and upper body movement, facial expressions, stage movements, bends and turns.

Kuchipudi

Kuchipudi classical dance originated in a village of Krishna district in modern era Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It has roots in antiquity and developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India. In its history, the Kuchipudi dancers were all males, typically Brahmins, who would play the roles of men and women in the story after dressing appropriately.

Modern Kuchipudi tradition believes that Tirtha Narayana Yati and his disciple an orphan named Siddhendra Yogi founded and systematized the art in the 17th century. Kuchipudi largely developed as a Hindu god Krishna-oriented Vaishnavism tradition, and it is most closely related to Bhagavata Mela performance art found in Tamil Nadu,  which itself has originated from Andhra Pradesh. The Kuchipudi performance includes pure dance (nritta), and expressive part of the performance (nritya), where rhythmic gestures as a sign language mime the play. Vocalists and musicians accompany the artist, and the tala and raga set to (Carnatic music). In modern productions, Kuchipudi dancers include men and women.

Odissi

Odissi originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. Odissi, in its history, was performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism (Vishnu as Jagannath), but also of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism). Odissi is traditionally a dance-drama genre of performance art, where the artist(s) and musicians play out a mythical story, a spiritual message or devotional poem from the Hindu texts, using symbolic costumes, body movement, abhinaya (expressions) and mudras (gestures and sign language) set out in ancient Sanskrit literature.

Sattriya

Sattriya is a classical dance-drama performance art with origins in the Krishna-centered Vaishnavism monasteries of Assam, and attributed to the 15th century Bhakti movement scholar and saint named Srimanta Sankardev. One-act plays of Sattriya are called Ankiya Nat, which combine the aesthetic and the religious through a ballad, dance and drama. The plays are usually performed in the dance community halls (namghar) of monastery temples (sattras). The themes played relate to Krishna and Radha, sometimes other Vishnu avatars such as Rama and Sita.

Manipuri

Manipuri Raas Leela dance is a unique form of dance drama which has its origin in Manipur, a state in northeastern India bordering with Myanmar (Burma). It is particularly known for its Hindu Vaishnavism themes, and performances of love-inspired dance drama of Radha-Krishna called Ras Lila. However, the dance is also performed to themes related to Shaivism, Shaktism. The Manipuri Raas Leela dance is a team performance, with its own unique costumes notably the Kumil (a barrel shaped, elegantly decorated skirt), aesthetics, conventions and repertoire. The Manipuri dance drama is, for most part, marked by a performance that is graceful, fluid, sinuous with greater emphasis on hand and upper body gestures.

Mohiniyattam

Mohiniyattam developed in the state of Kerala, gets its name from Mohini – the seductress avatar of Vishnu, who in Hindu mythology uses her charms to help the good prevail in a battle between good and evil. Mohiniyattam follows the Lasya style described in Natya Shastra, that is a dance which is delicate, with soft movements and feminine. It is traditionally a solo dance performed by women after extensive training. The repertoire of Mohiniyattam includes pure and expressive dance-drama performances, timed to sopana (slower melody) styled music, with recitation. The songs are typically in a Malayalam-Sanskrit hybrid called Manipravala.

Folk and tribal dance forms

Folk dances and plays in India retain significance in rural areas as the expression of the daily work and rituals of village communities.

Sanskrit literature of medieval times describes several forms of group dances such as Hallisaka, Rasaka, Dand Rasaka and Charchari.  The Natya Shastra includes group dances of women as a preliminary dance performed in prelude to a drama.

India has numerous folk dances. Every state has its own folk dance forms like Bihu and Bagurumba in Assam, Garba, Gagari (dance), Ghodakhund & Dandiya in Gujarat, Nati in Himachal Pradesh, Neyopa, Bacha Nagma in Jammu and Kashmir, Jhumair, Domkach in Jharkhand, Bedara Vesha, Dollu Kunitha in Karnataka, Thirayattam and Theyyam in Kerala, Dalkhai in Odisha, Bhangra & Giddha in Punjab, Kalbelia, Ghoomar, Rasiya in Rajasthan, Perini Dance in Telangana, Chholiya dance in Uttarakhand and likewise for each state and smaller regions in it. Lavani, and Lezim, and Koli dance is most popular dance in Maharashtra.

Tribal Dances in India are inspired by the tribal folklore. Each ethnic group has its own distinct combination of myths, legends, tales, proverbs, riddles, ballads, folk songs, folk dance, and folk music.

The dancers do not necessarily fall rigidly into the category of "tribal". However, these forms of dance closely depict their life, social relationships, work, and religious affiliations.  They represent the rich culture and customs of their native lands through intricate movements of their bodies. A wide variation can be observed in the intensity of these dances. Some involve very slight movement with a groovier edge to it, while others involve elevated and vigorous involvement of limbs.

These dances are composed mostly on locally made instruments. Percussion instruments feature in most of these dances. Music is produced through indigenous instruments. Music too has its own diversity in these tribal dances with the aesthetics ranging from mild and soothing to strong and weighted rhythms. A few of them also have songs, either sung by themselves or by onlookers. The costumes vary from traditional saris of a particular pattern to skirts and blouses with mirror work for women and corresponding dhotis and upper-wear for men.  They celebrate contemporary events, and victories and are often performed as a mode of appeasing the tribal deities.

A lot of the dance styles depend upon the regional positioning of the ethnic group. Factors as small as the east or west of a river result in a change of dance form even though the overreaching look of it may seem the same. Religious affiliation affects the content of the songs and hence the actions in a dance sequence. Another major factor affecting their content is the festivals, mostly harvest.

For example, the ethnic groups from the plain land rabhas from the hilly forested areas of Assam make use of baroyat (plate-like instrument), Handa (a type of sword), boushi (adze-like instrument), boumshi (bamboo flute), sum (heavy wooden instrument), dhansi. kalbansi, kalhurang, chingbakak. Traditionally, their dances are called basili. Through their dance, they express their labours, rejoicings and sorrows.  Handur Basu their pseudo-war dance expresses their strength and solidarity.

Tribal dances by territory
From a broader point of view, the different tribal dance forms, as they would be classified in the context of territory are:

Andhra Pradesh

Siddi, Tappeta Gundlu, Urumulu (thunder dance), Butta Bommalata, Goravayyalu, Garaga (Vessel Dance), Vira Ntyam (Heroic Dance), Kolatam, Chiratala Bhajana, Dappu, Puli V Esham (Tiger Dance), Gobbi, Karuva, and Veedhi Bhagavatam.

Arunachal Pradesh

Ponung, Sadinuktso, Khampti, Ka Fifai, Idu Mishmi (ritual) and Wancho.

Assam

Dhuliya and Bhawariya, Bihu, Deodhani, Zikirs, Apsara-Sabah.

Goa

Mussoll, Dulpod or Durpod, Kunnbi-Geet, Amon, Shigmo, Fugdi, and Dhalo.

Haryana

Rasleela, Phag Dance, Phalgun, Daph Dance, Dhamaal, Loor, Guga, Jhomar, Ghomar, Khoria, Holi, Sapela.

Himachal Pradesh

Chambyali dance, ghuraiyan, pahadi nati, Dalshone and Cholamba,jhamakda, Jataru Kayang, Jhoori, Ji, Swang Tegi, Rasa.

Jharkhand

Jhumair, Domkach, Paiki, Chhau, Mundari dance, Santali dance.

Karnataka

Veeragase, Nandi Dhwaja, Beesu Kamshaley, Pata Kunitha, Bana Debara Kunitha, Pooja kunitha, Karaga, Gorawa Mela, Bhuta Nrutya, Naga Nrutya, Batte Kola, Chennu Kunitha, Maaragalu Kunitha, Kolata, Simha Nrutya, Yakshagana

Kerala

Thirayattam, Padayani, Ayyappanvilakku, Vattakkali, Theyyam, Mohiniyattom, Kadhakali, Koodiyattam, Thiruvathira Kali, Ottamthullal, Kerala folk dance, Kalamezhuthum Pattum, Oppana, Marghamkali, Chavittunadakam, Mudiyettu, Dhaphumuttu, Parichamuttukali, Kolkali, Arbhanamuttu, Pulikali, Kummattikali, Poorakali, Arjunanirtham, Pettathullal

Chhattisgarh

Dadariya, Panthii, Suaa, Kaksat, Maria, Shaila, Gondi, Gaur, Karma, Sarhul, Raut Nacha, Danda Nacha, Gerri, Thiski, Bar, Relo, Muriya

Madhya Pradesh

Sugga, Banjaara (Lehangi), Matki dance, Phul Patti dance, Grida dance.

Manipur

Lie Haraoba dance, Chanlam, Toonaga Lomna dance

Meghalaya

Wiking, Pombalang Nongkrem

Mizoram

Cheraw, Khuallam, Chheihlam, Chailam, Tlanglam, Sarlamkai, Chawnglaizawn

Maharashtra

Lavani, Koli, Tamasha, Bala Dindi, Dhangari Gaja

Odisha

Naga, Ghumri, Danda Nacha,Chhau, Goti Pua, Dal khai, Baagha Nacha, Keisabadi

Punjab

Bhangra, Gidha, Kikli, Sammi, Karthi

Rajasthan

Banjaara, Ghoomar, Fire dance, Tera tali, Kachhi Ghori, Geedar

Sikkim

Pang Toed Chaam (Chaam means dance) performed during the Pang Lhabsol festival in honor of the Guardian deity Khang-Chen-Dzonga, Maruni (Nepali Dance), and Tamak.

Tamil Nadu

Karakam, Puravai Attam, Ariyar Natanam, Podikazhi Attam, Kummi, Kavadi, Kolattam, Navasandhi, Kuravaik Koothu, Mayilaattam, Oyil Kummi, Pavakkuthu

West Bengal

Chhau, Santali dance, Jatra, Gazan

Tribal Gypsies

Lozen, Gouyen

Contemporary dance

Contemporary dance in India encompasses a wide range of dance activities currently performed in India.  It includes choreography for Indian cinema, modern Indian ballet and experiments with existing classical and folk forms of dance by various artists.

Uday Shankar and Shobana Jeyasingh have led modern Indian ballet which combined classical Indian dance and music with Western stage techniques. Their productions have included themes related to Shiva-Parvati, Lanka Dahan, Panchatantra, Ramayana among others.

Dance in Bollywood Film

The presentation of Indian dance styles in film, Hindi Cinema, has exposed the range of dance in India to a global audience.

Dance and song sequences have been an integral component of films across the country. With the introduction of sound to the cinema in the film Alam Ara in 1931, choreographed dance sequences became ubiquitous in Hindi and other Indian films.

Dance in early Hindi films was primarily modeled on classical Indian dance styles such as Kathak, or folk dancers. Modern films often blend this earlier style with Western dance styles (MTV or in Broadway musicals), though it is not unusual to see western choreography and adapted classical dance numbers side by side in the same film. Typically, the hero or heroine performs with a troupe of supporting dancers. Many song-and-dance routines in Indian films feature dramatic shifts of location and/or changes of costume between verses of a song. It is popular for a hero and heroine to dance and sing a pas de deux (a French ballet term, meaning "dance of two") in beautiful natural surroundings or architecturally grand settings, referred to as a "picturisation".
Indian films have often used what are now called "item numbers" where a glamorous female figure performs a cameo. The choreography for such item numbers varies depending on the film's genre and situation. The film actress and dancer Helen was famous for her cabaret numbers.

Often in movies, the actors don't sing the songs themselves that they dance too, themselves but have another artist sing in the background. For an actor to sing in the song is unlikely but not rare. The dances in Bollywood can range from slow dancing to a more upbeat hip-hop style dance. The dancing itself is a fusion of all dance forms. It could be Indian classical, Indian folk dance, belly dancing, jazz, hip-hop, and everything else you can imagine.

Dance education
Since India's independence from colonial rule, numerous schools have opened to further education, training, and socialization through dance classes, or simply a means to exercise and fitness.

Major cities in India now have numerous schools that offer lessons in dances such as Odissi, Bharatanatyam, and these cities host hundreds of shows every year. Dances which were exclusive to one gender, now have participation by both males and females. Many innovations and developments in the modern practice of classical Indian dances, states Anne-Marie Geston, are of a quasi-religious type.

Geographic spread
Some traditions of the Indian classical dance are practiced in the whole Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, with which India shares several other cultural traits. Indian mythologies play a significant part in dance forms of countries in Southeast Asia, an example being the performances based on Ramayana in Javanese dances.

Festivals

Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama) organizes dance festivals around India.

See also
Mettu Aata

References

Notes

Narayan, Shovanna (2005). " The Sterling Book: Indian Classical Dance", Nepalian Dawn Press Group, New Delhi, India.
 "Revealing the Art of Surya-namasjarnatyasastra" by Narayanan Chittoor Namboodiripad

External links

 Dance - Indian performing arts, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai
 Center for the Performance Arts in India, University of Pittsburgh
 Dance and Theatre in India, Goethe Institut
 Center for India Studies, Performance Art Series: Classical Dances, Stony Brook University
 Dance in India college exchange programs, City University of New York
 , Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, Ahmedabad
 Dance in India Study Abroad Programs in the USA , Schools for International Training
 The Anthropology of Theater and Spectacle William Beeman (1993)

Dance in India


The Niño Dios (literally Child God) of Mexico is a tradition of venerating the Child Jesus in Mexico which has taken root from the time it was introduced in the 16th century and then synchronized with pre-Hispanic elements to form some unique traditions. Mexican Catholics have their own images of the Child Jesus, which is honored and celebrated during the Christmas season, especially on Christmas Eve and on Candlemas (2 February). One tradition unique to Mexico is to dress the image in new clothing each year for presentation at Mass on Candlemas. This dress can vary from representations of the saints, Aztec dress, football/soccer players and more. Also, there are Niño Dios images which are locally famous and honored year-round.

History

Veneration of the Child Jesus is a European tradition with the best-known examples being the Infant Jesus of Prague and the Santo Niño de Atocha. This
tradition was brought by the Spanish to Mexico after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire;  In Mexico this veneration has taken on indigenous elements, and is considered to be one of the most deeply rooted Catholic traditions in Mexico.  Part of the reason for this was that native Mexicans already had traditions of representing deities in painting or sculpture with rites dedicated to that incarnation, including dramatizations. One of the oldest traditions related to the Child Jesus in Mexico is the "pastorela," a dramatization based on the birth of Jesus. The "Adoración de los Reyes Magos" (The Adoration of the Magi) was probably the first "pastorela" in Mexico which was organized by Friar Andrés de Olmos. It was written in Nahuatl and there were adaptations to indigenous culture in the script as well. The tradition of reenacting scenes from the birth of Christ was recognized by Juan de Zumárraga, the first bishop of New Spain who ordered that this practice be widespread for evangelization. Very early on, these reenactments began to vary by local custom and region and were most frequently done by the lower classes. The main theme of these works is the journey of the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem, but demons try to get in their way. In most versions, the demons are vanquished by the Archangel Michael or another angel and the Wise Men arrive to their destination. Characters most often include shepherds, demons, angels and the Wise Men. Other characters sometimes appear such as Mary and Joseph, Indians, ranchers and monks. At the end of the play, all kiss the image of the infant Jesus.

Christmas Eve

Veneration of the Christ child is strongest during the Christmas season, which officially begins a week or so before Christmas Eve (with posadas) and ends on Candlemas, 2 February.  On Christmas Eve, the figure of the Christ child is laid into the Nativity scene in a celebration which is done in the home. This event is called "put the child to bed." The figure is carried by one or more of the young women while the rest of the family sings lullabies or other children's and/or Christmas songs.  Each member of the family kisses the image as they sing. The figure is laid in the manger, where it stays until the second of February.

This ceremony varies by family and by community. For example, in the community of Dzitnup, in the municipality of Valladolid, the Maya people here have their own variation. In addition to the laying the child in the manger, there is a dance called "Abraham and Isaac." This dance includes people who play the two main characters as well as devils.  The dance is accompanies by a pre-Hispanic wind instrument called a "tunkul," which is similar to the "teponatli" used in other states such as Guerrero and Puebla.

Another Christmas Eve tradition is for children to write letters to the Christ child, typically to ask for things like toys and clothes.

Candelaria

Candlemas (in Spanish, Candelaria), 2 February, marks the end of the Christmas season and nativity scenes generally remain intact in the home until this date. Preparation for Candelaria can begin on 6 January, known as "Three Kings Day". On this day, a ring-shaped sweet bread called a Rosca de Reyes is shared. Inside the Rosca, is one or more miniature figures of an infant are hidden. Those who find these figures have obligations to meet on Candelaria. These obligations always include being responsible for buying tamales and drinks for this day, but it can also signal a more serious commitment. It can mean that the person selected must purchase an outfit for the family's Niño Dios for one, two or three years. The person may also need to buy an outfit for the found miniature infant.

Each year, the Niño Dios of the household is brought to Mass on 2 February to be blessed. After the mass, the family returns home to celebrate, typically with tamales, buñuelos, atole and hot chocolate. The tradition recalls that forty days after Jesus's birth, Mary and Joseph took the child to the Temple to present to the priests.

To present the Niño Dios at Mass, tradition states that the image must be dressed in a new outfit. These outfits can vary widely but a number are most popular. For those who observe the three year commitment, the image is dressed in white for the first year, symbolizing purity. This is also the case if the image being presented is new. Other common  and traditional outfits include Santo Niño de Atocha with crosier and seated on a chair, "Niño de las palomas" (Child of the doves) in a white robe with a dove between the hands, as San Francisco with sandals and brown robe, holding an animal, or "Niño de las azucenas" (Child of the lilies) with a white tunic and holding a bunch of lilies.

The need to buy a new outfit each year has given rise to a market in outfits for the images. Purchase of the outfits generally begins as early as December and continues until 2 February. Outfits range from the very simple made with inexpensive fabrics to elaborate creations in silk. The most common outfits are made with silk, satin, cotton and brocades decorated with silver or gold. Stationery stores generally sell the most traditional of outfits and the more expensive ones. However, these outfits are most commonly bought in traditional open markets called "tianguis."  Here, more original ones can be found and can include various saints, pre-Hispanic dress, mariachis, soccer players and ethnic dress of various nationalities. Custom orders are also taken. Some priests frown upon the non-traditional outfits and only want white. Many of the outfits are original and some cause scandal, such as the Niño Dios dressed as a drug trafficker.

At the Casa de Cultura Griselda Alvarez in Mexico City, there was an exhibit of twenty four Niños Dios dressed in various ways: as a fisherman, as the Pope, as the Archangel Gabriel, as the Sacred Heart and as the Atocha. The collection is from the La Casa de los Niños Dios Uribe. The images vary and size from very small to very large and in material, mostly being of ceramic or wood.

Particular Niño Dios images

In addition to the veneration of household Niños Dios during the Christmas season, there are a number of Child Jesus images that have year-round devotion. These Niños Dios often have a special place in the worship by Mexican Catholics, but sometimes they have been the objects of "kidnapping" and disputes. Most of the best-known images are in Mexico City and central Mexico. Offerings to these images are usually toys or candy, a tradition related to offerings made to the dead for the afterlife in pre-Hispanic times.

One of the earliest of the Niño Dios images in Mexico is the Niño Cautivo which is in the Metropolitan Cathedral. It was sculpted in the 16th century by Juan Martinez Montañez in Spain and purchased by the cathedral. However, on its way to Veracruz, pirates attacked the ship it was on and sacked it. To get the image back, a large ransom was paid. Today, the image is in the Chapel of San Pedro or De las Reliquias.
Traditionally, the image has been petitioned by those seeking release from restrictions or traps, especially financial problems or drug addiction or alcoholism. The cult to the Niño Cautivo is considered to be "inactive" by INAH. However, this particular image has made a comeback since 2000 as one to petition when a family member is abducted and held for ransom.

Another famous Niño Dios is the Niñopa (also written Niño-Paor Niñopan) of Xochimilco, which is also from the 16th century. This image originally belonged to an indigenous chief called El Viejo.  The name "Niño Pa" is a hybrid of the Spanish word for "child" (niño) and the Nahuatl word for "place" (pan) meaning "child of the place." It is said that this image goes about at night to visit people in their dreams and to check the crops of the community. Some claim to have found mud on the image's shoes in the morning.

This image has been housed in one family's home or another for over 430 years.  The host family who become its "godparents" or mayodomos for the year. To be a "godparent" for this image is a great honor in Xochimilco, with the list extending until 2035 with families waiting fifty years. The family prepares a special bedroom in their home to house the child for the year. Those families who have housed the image in past years have replicas of the Niño Pa.

It is claimed that this image made itself invisible when government soldiers came to claim it during the Cristero War. It was presumed that the image was made of orange tree wood because of the writings about it by Martín Serón y Alvarado. However, this was proven false in the 1970s, when the image was dropped and a finger broke off. It is made the wood from a tree called "chocolín" in the workshops of Bernardino of Siena in the 16th or 17th century.

The Niño de las Suertes has a strong following due to its association with Santa Muerte. While the image was created in the 19th century, its popular veneration is a recent phenomenon. The image was found by two evangelists in the rubble of the Hacienda of San Juan de Dios in Tlalpan. It was handed over to Archbishop Francisco Lizana y Beaumont. As a number of monasteries wanted to claim it, the archbishop decided to make the decision by lottery. It is said that this image favored the Convent of San Bernardo due to the vow of poverty by its nuns. This was confirmed by doing the drawing three times. In the 19th century, due to tensions between the Mexican government and the Church, the image was moved to Tacubaya when the convent was secularized. This image has a skull by the infant's head. This originally symbolized the future Passion, but recently it has made this image associated with Santa Muerte, whose devotees visit.

In Tacuba, there is on image called the Niño Futbolista (Child Football/Soccer player) although its real name is "Santo Niño de los Milagros." It is considered to be generous in granting miracles and is in a glass case surrounded by toys given by the faithful to favors received. Every four years, when the FIFA World Cup is played, this image is dressed in the uniform of the Mexico national football team, in the hopes that Mexico wins the cup.

The Santo Niño Doctor de los Enfermos is at a side altar in the parish of San Francisco de Asís en Tepeaca, Puebla. The image is old but devotion to it is relatively recent. The image used to belong to a nun of the Concepción Béistegui Hospital in Mexico City. When the nun was transferred to Tepeaca, she brought the image with her and had it with her as she treated the sick. This image has had its own feast day at this church since 1961 on the 30 of April.

Other locally famous Niños Dios in Mexico City include the Niño Limosnerito in Colonia Santa Maria la Ribera, the Santo Niño del Verbo Encarnado in Colonia Alfonso XIII, and the Santo Niño Muevo Corazones in Colonia Santa Tomás. This last image is credited with the conversion of many people to Catholicism. Outside of Mexico City, there are the Niño Jesús de la Salud in Morelia, the Niño Milagroso de Tlaxcala, the Niño Cieguito (Blind Child) in Puebla (so called because it lacks eyes) and the Santo Niño de Atocha in Fresnillo, the lasat a local version of a Spanish depiction.

See also
 Il Bambino
 Santo Niño de Cebú
 List of statues of Jesus

References

Catholic Church in Mexico
Iconography of Jesus
Statues of the infant Jesus
Children in art

Child Jesus images in Mexico