The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope, in Vatican City. Known as the Cappella Magna, the chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored it between 1473 and 1481. Since that time, the chapel has served as a place of both functionary papal activity. Today, it is the site of the process by which a new pope is selected; the fame of the Sistine Chapel lies in the frescos that decorate the interior, most the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment by Michelangelo. During the reign of Sixtus IV, a team of Renaissance painters that included Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, created a series of frescos depicting the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe-l'œil drapery below; these paintings were completed in 1482, on 15 August 1483 Sixtus IV celebrated the first mass in the Sistine Chapel for the Feast of the Assumption, at which ceremony the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Between 1508 and 1512, under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the chapel's ceiling, a project which changed the course of Western art and is regarded as one of the major artistic accomplishments of human civilization. In a different climate, after the Sack of Rome, he returned and, between 1535 and 1541, painted The Last Judgment for Popes Clement VII and Paul III; the fame of Michelangelo's paintings has drawn multitudes of visitors to the chapel since they were revealed five hundred years ago. While known as the location of Papal conclaves, the primary function of the Sistine Chapel is as the chapel of the Papal Chapel, one of the two bodies of the Papal household, called until 1968 the Papal Court. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV in the late 15th century, the Papal Chapel comprised about 200 people, including clerics, officials of the Vatican and distinguished laity. There were 50 occasions during the year on which it was prescribed by the Papal Calendar that the whole Papal Chapel should meet.
Of these 50 occasions, 35 were masses, of which 8 were held in Basilicas, in general St. Peter's, were attended by large congregations; these included the Christmas Easter masses, at which the Pope himself was the celebrant. The other 27 masses could be held in a smaller, less public space, for which the Cappella Maggiore was used before it was rebuilt on the same site as the Sistine Chapel; the Cappella Maggiore derived its name, the Greater Chapel, from the fact that there was another chapel in use by the Pope and his retinue for daily worship. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV, this was the Chapel of Pope Nicholas V, decorated by Fra Angelico; the Cappella Maggiore is recorded as existing in 1368. According to a communication from Andreas of Trebizond to Pope Sixtus IV, by the time of its demolition to make way for the present chapel, the Cappella Maggiore was in a ruinous state with its walls leaning; the present chapel, on the site of the Cappella Maggiore, was designed by Baccio Pontelli for Pope Sixtus IV, for whom it is named, built under the supervision of Giovannino de Dolci between 1473 and 1481.
The proportions of the present chapel appear to follow those of the original. After its completion, the chapel was decorated with frescoes by a number of the most famous artists of the High Renaissance, including Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Pietro Perugino, Michelangelo; the first mass in the Sistine Chapel was celebrated on 15 August 1483, the Feast of the Assumption, at which ceremony the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Sistine Chapel has maintained its function to the present day and continues to host the important services of the Papal Calendar, unless the Pope is travelling. There is a permanent choir, the Sistine Chapel Choir, for whom much original music has been written, the most famous piece being Gregorio Allegri's Miserere. One of the functions of the Sistine Chapel is as a venue for the election of each successive pope in a conclave of the College of Cardinals. On the occasion of a conclave, a chimney is installed in the roof of the chapel, from which smoke arises as a signal.
If white smoke, created by burning the ballots of the election, appears, a new Pope has been elected. If a candidate receives less than a two-thirds vote, the cardinals send up black smoke—created by burning the ballots along with wet straw and chemical additives—it means that no successful election has yet occurred; the first papal conclave to be held on the Sistine Chapel was the conclave of 1492, which took place from 6 to 11 August of the same year and in which Pope Alexander VI known as Rodrigo Borja, was elected. The conclave provided for the cardinals a space in which they could hear mass, in which they could eat and pass time attended by servants. From 1455, conclaves have been held in the Vatican. Since 1996, John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici gregis requires the cardinals to be lodged in the Domus Sanctae Marthae during a papal conclave, but to continue to vote in the Sistine Chapel. Canopies for each cardinal-elector were once used during conclaves—a sign of equal dignity.
After the new Pope accepts his election, he would give his new name. Until reforms instituted by Saint Pius X, the canopies were of different colours to designate which Cardinals had been appointed by which Pope. Paul VI abolish
The Ticuna are an indigenous people of Brazil and Peru. They are the most numerous tribe in the Brazilian Amazon; the Ticuna were a tribe that lived far away from the rivers and whose expansion was kept in check by neighboring peoples. Their historical lack of access to waterways and their practice of endogamy has led to the Ticuna being culturally and genetically distinct from other Amazonian tribes; the first contact with outsiders occurred on the colonization of Brazil when a Portuguese fleet exploring the Amazon came into contact with the Ticuna. Sustained contact with the Portuguese and other outsiders began in 1649. Since the Ticuna lived inland compared to other tribes they were less affected by the diseases and violence caused by colonialism, hence why the Ticuna today have the largest population of any Amazonian peoples; when the Europeans initiated warfare with the neighboring tribes, their land, which consisted of islands and coastal areas, was available to the Ticuna. However the Ticuna still suffered especially in the rubber cultivation that began in the late 19th century where many Ticuna were used for slave labor.
Ticuna as a Brazilian tribe has faced violence from loggers and rubber-tappers entering their lands around the Solimões River. Brazil and Paraguay were in war between 1864-1870, the Ticuna chose to fight in that war; this depleted their population and the Ticuna were forced out of their Brazilian territories. Four Ticuna people were murdered, 19 were wounded, ten had disappeared in the 1988 Helmet Massacre. By the 1990s, Brazil formally recognized the Ticunas' right to their lands, thus protecting the Ticuna people, as well as decreasing conflict in the surrounding areas. Ticuna people speak the Ticuna language, identified as a language isolate, although it might be related to the extinct Yuri language thus forming the hypothetical Ticuna–Yuri grouping; the Ticuna language was once thought to be an Arawakan language, but this has now been discredited as more the Ticuna have adopted many linguistic features due to a long history of interaction with Arawakan-speaking tribes. It is written in the Latin script.
Ticuna people practiced Shamanism, although with the influence of Christian missionaries since contact Shamans have become rare in all but the most isolated communities. Ta'e was the Ticuna creator god who guarded the earth, while Yo'i and Ip were mythical heroes in Ticuna folklore which helped fight off demons. Depending on different estimates some say that the Ticuna practice ethnic religion, while other estimates say that 30% to 90% are Christian; the Ticuna practice a coming-of-age ceremony for girls when they reach puberty called a Pelazon. After the girl's first menstruation her whole body is painted black with the clan symbol drawn on her head. All their hair is pulled out and they wear a dress custom made from eagle feathers and snail shells; the girl must continuously jump over a fire. After four days the girl is eligible for marriage. Ticuana men and women must marry outside their own clans according to customs. Nowadays the ritual is less intense as it was historically; the Ticuna follow the rules of exogamy, in which members of the same moiety are not permitted to marry.
In the past, it was common practice for a maternal uncle to marry his niece. Today, marriage occurs within the same generation. Due to the influence of Catholic missionaries, cross-cousin marriages and polygyny, which were acceptable and common in the past, are no longer viewed as permissible practices. Divorce is infrequent. Today most Ticuna people dress in western clothing and only wear their traditional garments made out of tree bark and practice their ceremonies on special occasions or for tourists. Most Ticuna nowadays are fluent in Portuguese or Spanish depending on the country that they live in, use Spanish and Portuguese names. Poverty and lack of education are persistent problems in most Ticuna communities, leading to government and NGO efforts to increase educational and academic opportunities. In December 1986 the General Organization of Bilingual Ticuna Teachers was founded in order to provide Ticuna children with quality bilingual education and more opportunities. In 1998 there were only around 7,400 ethnic Ticuna children enrolled in elementary school, by 2005 the number has more than doubles to 16,100.
Another goal of the OGPTB was the gradual replacement of non-Indigenous teaches with Ticuna ones for Ticuna students as to better provide bilingual education. By 2005 over half of the teachers where ethnic Ticuna. So effect the OGPTB program has been that it is now being expanded and copied to better serve the educational needs of other indigenous people in Brazil and Colombia; the Ticuna are coming under increasing influence of evangelization and proselytism by Christian missionaries, which has negative and positive changes on the Ticuna way of life. Catholic, Baptist and Evangelical missionaries are all active among the Ticuna. Nimuendaju, Curt. "The Tukuna". University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology. 45. Retrieved 2018-01-27. Sullivan, James Lamkin. "The impact of education on Ticuna Indian culture: an historical and ethnographic field study". North Texas State University. Retrieved 2018-01-27. "Amazon’s Remaining Ticuna Indians Ban Tourists," Talking About Colombia Ticuna mask for girl's puberty ceremony, National Museum of the American Indian
Dobec is a small village in the hills north of Begunje in the Municipality of Cerknica in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia. Dobec was first mentioned in 1262, again in 1292, as a property belonging to the Carthusian monastery in Bistra. In June 2005, part of the settlement ceded from Dobec and merged with the settlement of Pokojišče in the Municipality of Vrhnika. Dobec is the site of three known mass graves associated with the Second World War. Two are located northwest of the settlement in the Ravnik Valley; the Mihec Shaft Mass Grave is known as the Matjaž Shaft Mass Grave. It is believed to have contained the remains of three locals that were murdered because of their opposition to the Yugoslav Partisan movement; the local villagers removed the remains before May 1991. The Vodišek Shaft Mass Grave is 20 m deep, with its entrance at the bottom of a sinkhole. Human remains are located on the floor of the shaft; the victims were people from nearby villages that were murdered. The Cukala Shaft Mass Grave is located north of the settlement, about 2 km west of the village of Pokojišče.
It contains the remains of undetermined victims. The local church, built outside the settlement to the north, is dedicated to Saint Leonard and belongs to the Parish of Begunje pri Cerknici; the church was first recorded in written sources in 1322. Dobec on Geopedia