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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

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The search for El Dorado
The legend of El Dorado predates the arrival of Spaniards in South America. The Chibcha people of present-day Colombia apparently performed an annual ritual where the leader was coated in fine gold dust, which he then washed off in a lake during a solemn ceremony....
By William M. Wisser.
The Mexican Day of the Dead
In The Changing Face of Mexico, page 1.1
Slideshow View a slideshow of photographs from Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico and the United States....
Format: article
The Equinox at Chichén Itzá
In The Changing Face of Mexico, page 4.1
Slideshow View a slideshow of photographs of the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá. ...
Format: article
“Discoverie of Guiana”
In Sir Walter Raleigh and South America, page 5
Raleigh's 1596 account of his search of El Dorado became a sensation when it was published in England. The book describes Raleigh's motives of treasure hunting and empire building. Some excerpts with annotations are included below.*...
By William M. Wisser.
The search for El Dorado
In Sir Walter Raleigh and South America, page 4
The legend of El Dorado predates the arrival of Spaniards in South America. The Chibcha people of present-day Colombia apparently performed an annual ritual where the leader was coated in fine gold dust, which he then washed off in a lake during a ceremony....
By William M. Wisser.
Chinese architecture
In Northern and coastal Vietnam: Waterway settlements and Chinese influences, page 9
The ornamented brick gateway has step-tiered, green tile roofs decorated with carved dragons. A large four-legged ceremonial bronze urn is seen in front of the central doorway, and stylized Chinese characters are visible above the central arches of the first...
By Lorraine Aragon.
A gilded shrine
In Northern and coastal Vietnam: Waterway settlements and Chinese influences, page 18
Although originally built as community meeting halls for the migrant Chinese community, these compounds now are used as temples for the worship of various Fukian Chinese deities, including Thieu Hau, a goddess of the sea. A crowned goddess figure is enthroned...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Saints from East and West
In Contemporary life in Vietnam, page 20
Cao Dai's founder, Ngo Van Chieu, had a vision that the union of East and West, religious and secular philosophies would lead to a more peaceful and tolerant world. The French writer Victor Hugo (at left in the photo above) was among the Westerners particularly...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Po Nagar
In East from India: Cambodia and Southern Vietnam, page 2
Here, a Cham tower with ascending smaller levels and rounded corner towers is seen through an archway in the Po Nagar complex at Nha Trang in southern Vietnam. Tall arched forms are characteristic of these monuments built of brick and stone by ethnic Chams...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Kings and gods
In East from India: Cambodia and Southern Vietnam, page 5
Khmer kings promoted the idea, known as devaraja, that there was an intersection of the ruling king and a validating god, usually the Hindu god Siva. Banteay Srei, shown here, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Siva that was built during the...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Angkor Wat
In East from India: Cambodia and Southern Vietnam, page 8
Angkor was the royal capital of the Khmer empire from 802–1431 CE. Angkor's long-lasting prosperity was based on the local abundance of three resources: water, fish, and the rice crops grown on soil nourished by...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Dancing deities
In East from India: Cambodia and Southern Vietnam, page 11
The asparas in mirror image stances balance on one bent leg in active positions typical of classical Southeast Asian dances. One hand is held above the head and the other in front of the chest with their wrists and fingers stretched...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Geometry of a perfected world
In East from India: Cambodia and Southern Vietnam, page 9
Many Hindu and Buddhist Southeast Asian temples were designed as a mandala, usually with square nested walls and passages leading past deity images towards a high central tower. This view from the main causeway over the moat toward the west face of Angkor...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Reclaimed by the forest
In East from India: Cambodia and Southern Vietnam, page 16
Ta Prohm was built as a double-moated, royal monastery during the reign of Jayavarman VII at the end of the twelfth century. As a Mahayana Buddhist, the king dedicated the monument to his mother envisioned as a "bodhisattva" or saint of compassion. The images...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Great City
In East from India: Cambodia and Southern Vietnam, page 13
The images represent a Hindu myth of creation called the Churning of the Sea of Milk. On one side of the causeway, fifty-four guardian deities (called devas) pull the head of a mythical serpent or "naga." On the other side, fifty-four images of...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Buddhists today
In East from India: Cambodia and Southern Vietnam, page 18
Prior to European colonial rule in the 1800s, Theravada Buddhist monks served as major councillors to ruling Southeast Asian kings. It was the king's job to protect the people and the monasteries, and to rule wisely. It was the monks' job to bless the king...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Shadows of North Carolina's past
In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.2
Students will infer past Native American lifeways based on observation, construct a timeline of four major culture periods in Native American history, and compare these lifeways and discuss how they are different and alike.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)
Hanuman's revenge
In The Ramayana, page 3.11
Hanuman burns Ravana's city in a danced stage performance at held at Prambanan Temple in Java in July 1986. To enact Hanuman's burning of Ravana's city in performance, a bonfire was built behind a columned fence on a stone promontory near the Prabanan temple....
By Lorraine Aragon.
Hanuman courts Ravana's neice
In The Ramayana, page 4.5
A masked dancer wearing a monkey costume performs in a Hindu temple courtyard in Batubulan Village, Bali, during August 1986. The kneeling dancer wears a brown and black monkey head mask with long dark hair attached. His costume includes a spotted grey jumpsuit...
By Lorraine Aragon.
A bridge of stone
In The Ramayana, page 4.8
A carved stone stele at Prambanan Temple shows monkeys helping Rama by bringing stones for the bridge he wants to build to Ravana's demon island of Lanka. Realistically portrayed, the naked monkeys in this carved bas relief walk together in line carrying rounded...
By Lorraine Aragon.