india and asia ca7 ca8

Mosque

A Muslim place of worship

Muhammad

Arab prophet; founder of religion of Islam.

Qur'an

the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina

5 Pillars of Faith

Prayer, Charity, Fasting, Pilgrimage, and Faith.

Mihrab

(Islam) a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca

qibla

This wall in a mosque always faces Mecca.

minaret

A distinctive feature of mosque architecture, a tower from which the faithful are called to worship.

arabesque

ornate design featuring intertwined curves

Kufic Calligraphy

the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts and consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script

tesselation

A repeating pattern of plane figures that completely cover a plane with no gaps or overlaps

Allah

Arabic word for God

Mecca

the holiest city of Islam; Muhammad's birthplace

Hajj

A pilgrimage to Mecca, performed as a duty by Muslims

Hypostyle Hall

a hall with a roof supported by columns

Umayyads

A dynasty that ruled the Muslim Empire from 661 to 750 and later established a kingdom in al-Andalus (Spain).

Iwan

a rectangular vaulted space in a Muslim building that is walled on three sides and open on the fourth

Muquarnas

3 dimensioanal ceiling decoration of Islam culture, made to resemble the heavens when the viewer gazes up

Finial

an ornament at the top of a spire or gable

axis mundi

believed to connect the heavens and the earth and regarded as the center of the world

Bodhisatva

Buddhist religious figures who held back from entering nirvana to help in the salvation of others

Buddha

Means "Enlightened One." He is said to have found a path for overcoming suffering.

Iconoclasm

Opposing or even destroying images, especially those set up for religious veneration in the belief that such images represent idol worship.

Mandala

a sacred diagram of the universe, often involving a square and a circle

mudra

a symbolic hand gesture in Hindu and Buddhist art

nirvana

The state of englightenment for Buddhists.

relic

an object considered holy because it belonged to, or was touched by, a saint or other holy person

Shakiyamuni

The founder of Buddhism

Shiva

A Hindu god considered the destroyer of the world.

Stupa

Buddhist shrine that is shaped like a dome or mound

Vairocana

universal Buddha, a source of enlightenment

Torana

gateway in the stone fence around a stupa, located at the cardinal points of the compass

Urna

a circle of hair, usually symbolized as a dot, between the eyebrows of a Hindu or a Buddhist figure.

Ushnisha

a protrusion at the top of the head, or the top knot of a Buddha

Wat

Buddhist monastery or temple in Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos

Yakshi

Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain symbol of female fertility often depicted on the façades of temples and stupas

Bi Disk

jade disks carved in ancient China as ritual objects for burial with the dead. decorated with surface carvings.

Coiling

a method of creating pottery in which a rope-like strand of clay is wrapped and layered into a shape before being fired in a kiln

Confucianism

A philosophy that adheres to the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct.

Daoism

A religion in China which emphasizes the removal from society and to become one with nature.

Literati

scholarly or learned persons

Pagoda

multistoried Buddhist temple with eaves that curve up at the corners

Kamakura Period

Period spanning from 1185- 1333 A.D. Feudal Japan began in this period, and the first shogunate was appointed.

Porcelain

a thin, beautiful pottery invented in China

Potters wheel

A device with either a manual (foot powered) or an electric rotating wheel head used to sit at and make pottery forms.

Ukiyo-e

Japanese woodblock printing; translation: "pictures of the floating world"

Zen

The Japanese word for a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on highly disciplined meditation.

aniconic

"no images"; referring to traditions that do not encourage visual imagery in religion

Mahayana Buddhism

Also known as popular Buddhism, is allows people more ways to reach enlightenment and boddhisatvas can help you reach enlightenment.