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Mesoamerican religion from the perspective of conquistadors
Fajkus, Jaromír ; Kostičová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Lyčka, Milan (referee)
Mesoamerican religion from the perspective of conquistadors (Human sacrifice as observed by Spanish conquerors in contrast with contemporary reflection) Annotation The thesis describes human sacrifice in one of the most important ethnic groups in Mesoamerica - the Aztecs - and deals with the overwhelming influence of the ritual that has been performed on a large scale. The two primary contexts, in which the human sacrifice is interpreted, are the political context and the dietary one, more specifically the ritual cannibalism. While the thesis exploits the scientific research of Mesoamerica from the 20th century onwards, the emphasis is put on the textual evidence from the Spanish conquerors, which is used to either prove or disprove the aforementioned research and as the main source of description of the discussed phenomena. The goal of the thesis was to demonstrate the plurality of approach to human sacrifice, the questionable findings of certain research and the complexity of thought that the human sacrifice is based upon.
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The Theme of the Destruction of a World in the Hispanic American Literature
Flanderka, Milan ; Poláková, Dora (advisor) ; Housková, Anna (referee)
(in English) This thesis focuses on the theme of the destruction of a world in the Hispanic American literature. Its principal part is a detailed analysis of the novels The Villagers, written by the Ecuadorian author Jorge Icaza, and The Kingdom of this World, written by the Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier. Additional parts of the thesis are a concise outline of significant literary works which include the theme of the destruction of a world and a brief corpus analysis. The analysis compares the frequency of the usage of several words which are connected with the theme in the Hispanic American and Spanish literature. The thesis aims to answer the following questions: Is the theme of the destruction of a world characteristic for the Hispanic American literature? In which forms does it occur? How is the theme demonstrated in the literary works, and what are its features? The thesis also examines the relation between the Hispanic American reality and the presence of the theme in the writings of the authors born in that part of the World. The relation between the analysed literary works and the historical background of the period in which it was written is important for the theses as well as selected facts of the life stories of the authors. To a certain extent, it determined their literary output.
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The collapses of distant worlds
Kozina, Václav ; Halbich, Marek (advisor) ; Budil, Ivo (referee) ; Horák, Miroslav (referee)
Diploma thesis "The collapses of distant worlds" deals with interpretations of the conquista of Mexico and Peru (i.e. the conquests of Aztec and Inca empires). The basic question, which all the works considering the conquista deal with, is: how could the arrival of small groups of Spanish conquerors disrupt great Indian empires in such a short time? My thesis has two main goals: to define the typology of interpretations of the conquista and offer my own interpretation which places emphasis on the role of mentalities and cultural complexes. I have distinguished four basic types of interpretations of the conquista: 1. the metaphysical ones; 2. the technological ones; 3. the environmental ones; 4. the mentalistic ones. I used the conception of mentalities (derived from the work of Lucien Lévy-Bruhl) and the system conception of cultur, where I worked with the term "cultural complex" especially. After my approach the conquista represented the clash between two different types of mentalities: the archaic one (which Indian societies featured) and the literary one (which was developed in European societies). Differences in mentalities and cultural complexes provided advantages to the Spaniards in their struggles with the Aztecs and the Incas. So finally the Spanish conquest of Indian empires is...
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The collapses of distant worlds
Kozina, Václav ; Halbich, Marek (advisor) ; Budil, Ivo (referee) ; Horák, Miroslav (referee)
Diploma thesis "The collapses of distant worlds" deals with interpretations of the conquista of Mexico and Peru (i.e. the conquests of Aztec and Inca empires). The basic question, which all the works considering the conquista deal with, is: how could the arrival of small groups of Spanish conquerors disrupt great Indian empires in such a short time? My thesis has two main goals: to define the typology of interpretations of the conquista and offer my own interpretation which places emphasis on the role of mentalities and cultural complexes. I have distinguished four basic types of interpretations of the conquista: 1. the metaphysical ones; 2. the technological ones; 3. the environmental ones; 4. the mentalistic ones. I used the conception of mentalities (derived from the work of Lucien Lévy-Bruhl) and the system conception of cultur, where I worked with the term "cultural complex" especially. After my approach the conquista represented the clash between two different types of mentalities: the archaic one (which Indian societies featured) and the literary one (which was developed in European societies). Differences in mentalities and cultural complexes provided advantages to the Spaniards in their struggles with the Aztecs and the Incas. So finally the Spanish conquest of Indian empires is...
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The Theme of the Destruction of a World in the Hispanic American Literature
Flanderka, Milan ; Poláková, Dora (advisor) ; Housková, Anna (referee)
(in English) This thesis focuses on the theme of the destruction of a world in the Hispanic American literature. Its principal part is a detailed analysis of the novels The Villagers, written by the Ecuadorian author Jorge Icaza, and The Kingdom of this World, written by the Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier. Additional parts of the thesis are a concise outline of significant literary works which include the theme of the destruction of a world and a brief corpus analysis. The analysis compares the frequency of the usage of several words which are connected with the theme in the Hispanic American and Spanish literature. The thesis aims to answer the following questions: Is the theme of the destruction of a world characteristic for the Hispanic American literature? In which forms does it occur? How is the theme demonstrated in the literary works, and what are its features? The thesis also examines the relation between the Hispanic American reality and the presence of the theme in the writings of the authors born in that part of the World. The relation between the analysed literary works and the historical background of the period in which it was written is important for the theses as well as selected facts of the life stories of the authors. To a certain extent, it determined their literary output.
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Mesoamerican religion from the perspective of conquistadors
Fajkus, Jaromír ; Kostičová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Lyčka, Milan (referee)
Mesoamerican religion from the perspective of conquistadors (Human sacrifice as observed by Spanish conquerors in contrast with contemporary reflection) Annotation The thesis describes human sacrifice in one of the most important ethnic groups in Mesoamerica - the Aztecs - and deals with the overwhelming influence of the ritual that has been performed on a large scale. The two primary contexts, in which the human sacrifice is interpreted, are the political context and the dietary one, more specifically the ritual cannibalism. While the thesis exploits the scientific research of Mesoamerica from the 20th century onwards, the emphasis is put on the textual evidence from the Spanish conquerors, which is used to either prove or disprove the aforementioned research and as the main source of description of the discussed phenomena. The goal of the thesis was to demonstrate the plurality of approach to human sacrifice, the questionable findings of certain research and the complexity of thought that the human sacrifice is based upon.
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