title: Ecological succession

text: Henry Gleason offered a contrasting framework as early as the 1920s. The Gleasonian model was more complex and much less deterministic than the Clementsian. It differs most fundamentally from the Clementsian view in suggesting a much greater role of chance factors and in denying the existence of coherent, sharply bounded community types. Gleason argued that species distributions responded individualistically to environmental factors, and communities were best regarded as artifacts of the juxtaposition of species distributions. Gleason's ideas, first published in 1926, were largely ignored until the late 1950s.


title: Ecological succession

text: Gleason's ideas were, in fact, more consistent with Cowles' original thinking about succession. About Clements' distinction between primary succession and secondary succession, Cowles wrote (1911):


title: Ecological succession

text: A more rigorous, data-driven testing of successional models and community theory generally began with the work of Robert Whittaker and John Curtis in the 1950s and 1960s. Succession theory has since become less monolithic and more complex. J. Connell and R. Slatyer attempted a codification of successional processes by mechanism. Among British and North American ecologists, the notion of a stable climax vegetation has been largely abandoned, and successional processes have come to be seen as much less deterministic, with important roles for historical contingency and for alternate pathways in the actual development of communities. Debates continue as to the general predictability of successional dynamics and the relative importance of equilibrial vs. non-equilibrial processes. Former Harvard professor Fakhri A. Bazzaz introduced the notion of "scale" into the discussion, as he considered that at local or small area scale the processes are stochastic and patchy, but taking bigger regional areas into consideration, certain tendencies can not be denied.


title: Ecological succession

text: The trajectory of successional change can be influenced by site conditions, by the character of the events initiating succession (perturbations), by the interactions of the species present, and by more stochastic factors such as availability of colonists or seeds or weather conditions at the time of disturbance. Some of these factors contribute to predictability of succession dynamics; others add more probabilistic elements. Two important perturbation factors today are human actions and climatic change.


title: Ecological succession

text: In general, communities in early succession will be dominated by fast-growing, well-dispersed species (opportunist, fugitive, or r-selected life-histories). As succession proceeds, these species will tend to be replaced by more competitive (k-selected) species.


title: Ecological succession

text: Trends in ecosystem and community properties in succession have been suggested, but few appear to be general. For example, species diversity almost necessarily increases during early succession as new species arrive, but may decline in later succession as competition eliminates opportunistic species and leads to dominance by locally superior competitors. Net Primary Productivity, biomass, and trophic properties all show variable patterns over succession, depending on the particular system and site.


title: Ecological succession

text: Ecological succession was formerly seen as having a stable end-stage called the climax, sometimes referred to as the 'potential vegetation' of a site, and shaped primarily by the local climate. This idea has been largely abandoned by modern ecologists in favor of nonequilibrium ideas of ecosystems dynamics. Most natural ecosystems experience disturbance at a rate that makes a "climax" community unattainable. Climate change often occurs at a rate and frequency sufficient to prevent arrival at a climax state. Additions to available species pools through range expansions and introductions can also continually reshape communities.


title: Ecological succession

text: The development of some ecosystem attributes, such as soil properties and nutrient cycles, are both influenced by community properties, and, in turn, influence further successional development. This feed-back process may occur only over centuries or millennia. Coupled with the stochastic nature of disturbance events and other long-term (e.g., climatic) changes, such dynamics make it doubtful whether the 'climax' concept ever applies or is particularly useful in considering actual vegetation.


title: Ecological succession

text: Successional dynamics beginning with colonization of an area that has not been previously occupied by an ecological community are referred to as primary succession. This includes newly exposed rock or sand surfaces, lava flows, and newly exposed glacial tills. The stages of primary succession include pioneer microorganisms, plants (lichens and mosses), grassy stage, smaller shrubs, and trees. Animals begin to return when there is food there for them to eat. When it is a fully functioning ecosystem, it has reached the climax community stage.


title: Ecological succession

text: Secondary succession follows severe disturbance or removal of a preexisting community that has remnants of the previous ecosystem. Secondary succession is strongly influenced by pre-disturbance conditions such as soil development, seed banks, remaining organic matter, and residual living organisms. Because of residual fertility and preexisting organisms, community change in early stages of secondary succession can be relatively rapid.


title: Ecological succession

text: Secondary succession is much more commonly observed and studied than primary succession. Particularly common types of secondary succession include responses to natural disturbances such as fire, flood, and severe winds, and to human-caused disturbances such as logging and agriculture. In secondary succession, the soils and organisms need to be left unharmed so there is a way for the new material to rebuild.


title: Ecological succession

text: As an example, in a fragmented old field habitat created in eastern Kansas, woody plants "colonized more rapidly (per unit area) on large and nearby patches".


title: Ecological succession

text: Secondary succession can quickly change a landscape. In the 1900s, Acadia National Park had a wildfire that destroyed much of the landscape. Originally evergreen trees grew in the landscape. After the fire, the area took at least a year to grow shrubs. Eventually, deciduous trees started to grow instead of evergreens.


title: Ecological succession

text: Secondary succession has been occurring in Shenandoah National Park following the 1995 flood of the Moorman's and Rapidan rivers, which destroyed plant and animal life.


title: Ecological succession

text: Unlike secondary succession, these types of vegetation change are not dependent on disturbance but are periodic changes arising from fluctuating species interactions or recurring events. These models modify the climax concept towards one of dynamic states.


title: Ecological succession

text: Autogenic succession can be brought by changes in the soil caused by the organisms there. These changes include accumulation of organic matter in litter or humic layer, alteration of soil nutrients, or change in the pH of soil due to the plants growing there. The structure of the plants themselves can also alter the community. For example, when larger species like trees mature, they produce shade on to the developing forest floor that tends to exclude light-requiring species. Shade-tolerant species will invade the area.


title: Ecological succession

text: Allogenic succession is caused by external environmental influences and not by the vegetation. For example, soil changes due to erosion, leaching or the deposition of silt and clays can alter the nutrient content and water relationships in the ecosystems. Animals also play an important role in allogenic changes as they are pollinators, seed dispersers and herbivores. They can also increase nutrient content of the soil in certain areas, or shift soil about (as termites, ants, and moles do) creating patches in the habitat. This may create regeneration sites that favor certain species.


title: Ecological succession

text: Climatic factors may be very important, but on a much longer time-scale than any other. Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns will promote changes in communities. As the climate warmed at the end of each ice age, great successional changes took place. The tundra vegetation and bare glacial till deposits underwent succession to mixed deciduous forest. The greenhouse effect resulting in increase in temperature is likely to bring profound Allogenic changes in the next century. Geological and climatic catastrophes such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, avalanches, meteors, floods, fires, and high wind also bring allogenic changes.


title: Ecological succession

text: In 1916, Frederic Clements published a descriptive theory of succession and advanced it as a general ecological concept. His theory of succession had a powerful influence on ecological thought. Clements' concept is usually termed classical ecological theory.


title: Ecological succession

text: A seral community is an intermediate stage found in an ecosystem advancing towards its climax community. In many cases more than one seral stage evolves until climax conditions are attained. A "prisere" is a collection of seres making up the development of an area from non-vegetated surfaces to a climax community. Depending on the substratum and climate, different seres are found.


title: Ecological succession

text: Succession theory was developed primarily by botanists. The study of succession applied to whole ecosystems initiated in the writings of Ramon Margalef, while Eugene Odum's publication of "The Strategy of Ecosystem Development" is considered its formal starting point.


title: Ecological succession

text: Animal life also exhibits changes with changing communities. In the lichen stage, fauna is sparse. It comprises a few mites, ants, and spiders living in cracks and crevices. The fauna undergoes a qualitative increase during the herb grass stage. The animals found during this stage include nematodes, insect larvae, ants, spiders, mites, etc. The animal population increases and diversifies with the development of the forest climax community. The fauna consists of invertebrates like slugs, snails, worms, millipedes, centipedes, ants, bugs; and vertebrates such as squirrels, foxes, mice, moles, snakes, various birds, salamanders and frogs.


title: Ecological succession

text: Succession of micro-organisms including fungi and bacteria occurring within a microhabitat is known as microsuccession or serule. Like in plants, microbial succession can occur in newly available habitats (primary succession) such as surfaces of plant leaves, recently exposed rock surfaces (i.e., glacial till) or animal infant guts, and also on disturbed communities (secondary succession) like those growing in recently dead trees, decaying fruits, or animal droppings. Microbial communities may also change due to products secreted by the bacteria present. Changes of pH in a habitat could provide ideal conditions for a new species to inhabit the area. In some cases the new species may outcompete the present ones for nutrients leading to the primary species demise. Changes can also occur by microbial succession with variations in water availability and temperature. Theories of macroecology have only recently been applied to microbiology and so much remains to be understood about this growing field. A recent study of microbial succession evaluated the balances between stochastic and deterministic processes in the bacterial colonization of a salt marsh chronosequence. The results of this study show that, much like in macro succession, early colonization (primary succession) is mostly influenced by stochasticity while secondary succession of these bacterial communities was more strongly influenced by deterministic factors.


title: Ecological succession

text: According to classical ecological theory, succession stops when the sere has arrived at an equilibrium or steady state with the physical and biotic environment. Barring major disturbances, it will persist indefinitely. This end point of succession is called climax.


title: Ecological succession

text: The final or stable community in a sere is the "climax community" or "climatic vegetation". It is self-perpetuating and in equilibrium with the physical habitat. There is no net annual accumulation of organic matter in a climax community. The annual production and use of energy is balanced in such a community.


title: Ecological succession

text: The theory of alternative stable states suggests there is not one end point but many which transition between each other over ecological time.


title: Ecological succession

text: Forests, being an ecological system, are subject to the species succession process. There are "opportunistic" or "pioneer" species that produce great quantities of seed that are disseminated by the wind, and therefore can colonize big empty extensions. They are capable of germinating and growing in direct sunlight. Once they have produced a "closed canopy", the lack of direct sun radiation at the soil makes it difficult for their own seedlings to develop. It is then the opportunity for shade-tolerant species to become established under the protection of the pioneers. When the pioneers die, the shade-tolerant species replace them. These species are capable of growing beneath the canopy, and therefore, in the absence of disturbances, will stay. For this reason it is then said the stand has reached its climax. When a disturbance occurs, the opportunity for the pioneers opens up again, provided they are present or within a reasonable range.


title: Ecological succession

text: An example of pioneer species, in forests of northeastern North America are "Betula papyrifera" (White birch) and "Prunus serotina" (Black cherry), that are particularly well-adapted to exploit large gaps in forest canopies, but are intolerant of shade and are eventually replaced by other shade-tolerant species in the absence of disturbances that create such gaps. In the tropics, well known pioneer forest species can be found among the genera "Cecropia", "Ochroma" and "Trema".


title: Ecological succession

text: Things in nature are not black and white, and there are intermediate stages. It is therefore normal that between the two extremes of light and shade there is a gradient, and there are species that may act as pioneer or tolerant, depending on the circumstances. It is of paramount importance to know the tolerance of species in order to practice an effective silviculture.


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: Peter O'Brien is an Australian actor, best known for his role as an original cast member in 1985 of Australian soap opera "Neighbours" as Shane Ramsay.


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: O'Brien played a regular role in short-lived soap opera "Starting Out "(1983), in then had guest roles in "Carson's Law" in 1983 and "Prisoner" in 1984 and appeared in "The Henderson Kids". He was then cast as Shane Ramsey, a regular original character in soap opera "Neighbours" on the Seven Network in 1985. He became one of the serial's most popular cast members, continuing in the series until 1987. He then played a leading regular role in drama series "The Flying Doctors" from 1988 until 1991.


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: In 1994, O'Brien sent up his soap opera star past by taking a regular role in Psycho Ward 10, a soap opera parody in "The All New Alexei Sayle Show".


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: O'Brien took on the role of surgical registrar Mr. Cyril "Scissors" Smedley in the popular BBC series "Cardiac Arrest" through the second and third series between 1995 and 1996.


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: He later starred in television series "Queer as Folk", "White Collar Blue", "Hell Has Harbour Views" and "Gossip Girl".


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: O'Brien has appeared in numerous mini-series, including "The Day of the Roses" and "Through My Eyes" (the story of Lindy Chamberlain). He has also guest starred on numerous television series, including "Halifax f.p.". For his work, O'Brien has won Australian Film Institute and Logie Awards. He also appeared as Carl Morgan in "", and he appeared in the 1998 Australian/Brisbane comedy television series of "Minty". In 2009 he played Sydney underworld figure and racing identity George Freeman in the series "". He later reprised his role as George Freeman in the follow up in the "Underbelly" series the "Golden Mile".


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: O'Brien was part of the cast of BBC Television series "Casualty" as a new consultant called Stitch. He also appeared in ITV police drama "The Bill" in which he played corrupt Detective Inspector Peter Cavanaugh.


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: In 2022, it was announced O'Brien had reprised his role of Shane Ramsay in "Neighbours" following the news that the serial would be concluding later that year.


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: O'Brien has won several acting awards in his career. He won two Logie Awards - one in 1987 for the 'Most Popular Actor' (for his role in "Neighbours") and one in 2003 for the 'Most Outstanding Actor' (for his role in "White Collar Blue").


title: Peter O'Brien (actor)

text: On 1 January 2003, O'Brien married actress Miranda Otto, after the two had met while performing in "A Doll's House". They have one child, a daughter named Darcey, who was born on 1 April 2005.


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fall of Gondolin is one of the stories which formed the basis for a section in his posthumously-published work, "The Silmarillion", with a version later appearing in "The Book of Lost Tales". In the narrative, Gondolin was founded by King Turgon in the First Age; the city was carefully hidden, enduring for centuries before being betrayed and destroyed.


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: A stand-alone, book-length version of the story edited by Christopher Tolkien was published in 2018. "The Fall of Gondolin" is one of three stories from the First Age of Middle-earth that was published as a stand-alone book: the other two are "Beren and Lúthien" and "The Children of Húrin".


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: Tolkien began writing the story that would become "The Fall of Gondolin" in 1917 in an army barracks on the back of a sheet of military marching music. It is the first traceable story of his Middle-earth legendarium that he wrote down on paper. While the first half of the story "appears to echo Tolkien's creative development and slow acceptance of duty in the first year of the war," the second half echoes his personal experience of battle. The story was read aloud by Tolkien to the Exeter College Essay Club in the spring of 1920.


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: Tolkien was constantly revising his First Age stories; however, the narrative he wrote in 1917, published posthumously in "The Book of Lost Tales", remains the only full account of the fall of the city.


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: The narrative "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin" in the 1997 book "The Silmarillion" was the result of the editing by his son Christopher using the 1917 narrative (minus some elements all too obviously evocative of World War I warfare) and compressed versions from the different versions of the "Annals" and "Quentas" as various sources. The later "Quenta Silmarillion" and the "Grey Annals", the main sources for much of the published "Silmarillion", both stop before the beginning of the Tuor story.


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: A partial later version of "The Fall of Gondolin" was published in the 1980 book "Unfinished Tales" under the title "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin". Originally titled "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin," this narrative shows a great expansion of the earlier tale. Christopher Tolkien retitled the story before including it in "Unfinished Tales", because it ends at the point of Tuor's arrival in Gondolin, and does not depict the actual Fall.


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: There is also an unfinished poem, "The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin", of which a few verses are quoted in the 1985 book "The Lays of Beleriand". In 130 verses Tolkien reaches the point where dragons attack the city.


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: In 2018, the first stand-alone version of the story was published by HarperCollins in the UK and Houghton Mifflin in the US. This version, illustrated by Alan Lee, has been curated and edited by Christopher Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien's son, who also edited "The Silmarillion", "Unfinished Tales", and the twelve-volume "The History of Middle-earth" which included "The Book of Lost Tales".


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: Douglas Kane writes in "Journal of Tolkien Research" that "The Fall of Gondolin" was the first of Tolkien's three "Great Tales" to be written, and the last to be published, the other two being the Great Tale of Túrin Turumbar (published in "The Children of Húrin", 2007, edited into a continuous story) and "Beren and Lúthien" (2017, presented as a set of versions of the story). That left the tale which was "arguably the one in which


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: the world of Middle-earth is most vividly presented and in which Tolkien’s philosophical themes are most profoundly expressed." Kane adds that although the book collects material already published, "it still succeeds in rounding out that task", for instance by putting the "Sketch of the Mythology" in the prologue. He wonders, though, why the editor included part of the poem "The Flight of the Noldoli from Valinor" (already in "The Lays of Beleriand"), but omits the poem fragment "The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin" which is far more obviously relevant. Kane admires Alan Lee's illustrations, both in colour and in black and white, as providing "a perfect complement" to the final book in the "unique and remarkable" collaboration between Christopher Tolkien and his father.


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: Jennifer Rogers, reviewing the book for "Tolkien Studies", writes that it "highlights the power of the Gondolin story in its own right with minimal editorial intrusion." As Tolkien's first tale and the last one to be published by his son, the book is "laden with the sense of weight such a publication brings", taking the reader back to the place where the whole Legendarium began, the story about Eärendel.


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: According to "Entertainment Weekly", "Patient and dedicated readers will find among the references to other books and their many footnotes and appendices a poignant sense of completion and finality to the life's pursuit of a father and son." Writing for "The Washington Post", writer Andrew Ervin said that "'The Fall of Gondolin' provides everything Tolkien's readers expect." According to "The Independent", "Even amid the complexities and difficulties of the book—and there are many—there is enough splendid imagery and characterful prose that readers will be carried along to the end even if they don't know where they are going."


title: The Fall of Gondolin

text: The Finnish entomologist Lauri Kaila named multiple species of moth in the genus "Elachista", such as "E. finarfinella", "E. gildorella", and "E. turgonella", after characters from "The Fall of Gondolin".


title: Samyukta

text: Samyukta, also known as Sanyogita or Sanjukta, was the daughter of Jaichand, the King of Kannauj, and one of three wives of Prithviraj Chauhan. The love between Prithviraj and Samyukta is one of India's most popular medieval romances, composed by Chand Bardai in "Prithviraj Raso".


title: Samyukta

text: At the peak of his reign, Prithviraj had annexed vast regions of India to his kingdom, and his fame had spread all across the subcontinent and to Afghanistan. Many lesser kings were envious and wary of his power, including Raja Jaichand of Kannauj. Jaichand's daughter, Samyukta, was a headstrong girl who was known for her bewitching beauty. She is said to have fallen in love with Prithviraj–like the two other princesses, Shashivrata and Padmavati, before her—as his reputation dazzled her. She desired nobody but him. For his part, Prithviraj had heard of Samyukta's loveliness and fell in love with her as well. However, Jaichand and Prithviraj were rivals.


title: Samyukta

text: On finding out about the affair, Raja Jaichand was outraged that a romance had been budding behind his back. Jaichand decided to insult Prithviraj and arranged a "svayamvara" for his daughter in 1185 CE. He invited royalty from far and wide to the ceremony, every eligible prince and king—except Prithviraj. He then commissioned a clay statue of Prithviraj, which served as a "dvarpala" (or, a figurative "doorman") to Jaichand's court.


title: Samyukta

text: Prithviraj Chauhan, on hearing about the impending "svayamvara", devised a plan to elope with the bride-to-be. On the day of the ceremony, Samyukta walked through the court holding the ceremonial garland, ignoring the gazes of her ardent suitors. She passed through the door and put the garland around the neck of Prithviraj's statue, declaring him her husband. Prithiviraj, who meanwhile was hiding behind the statue, caught Samyukta up in his arms, set her on his horse, and whisked her away to Delhi. Raja Jaichand was enraged. This led to a rift between Delhi and Kannauj, which was later taken advantage of by Mohammad Ghori of Afghanistan.


title: Samyukta

text: The historicity of Samyukta is a matter of debate. "Prithviraj Raso" is a historically unreliable text, having been embellished under the patronage of the Kshatriya rulers since the 16th century. However, some scholars such as Dasharatha Sharma believe that the more reliable "Prithviraja Vijaya", which was composed during the reign of Prithviraj Chauhan, also contains a reference to Samyukta.


title: Samyukta

text: An unfinished theme in the 11th chapter of "Prithviraja Vijaya" refers to Prithviraj's love for an unnamed woman who lived on the banks of the Ganges river (just like Samyukta). This woman is mentioned as an incarnation of Tilottama, a legendary apsara (celestial nymph). However, even if this woman is same as Samyukta, there is no concrete evidence to support the "Prithviraj Raso" narrative of Samyuka's abduction and marriage to Prithviraj Chauhan.


title: Samyukta

text: "Samyukta", which means "united" in Sanskrit, is a popular girl's name in modern India. The life of Prithviraj Chauhan has also been the subject of a television show aired on Star Plus tittled "Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan", the character of Sanyogita was portrayed by Mugdha Chaphekar in that series. A historical film titled "Raani Samyuktha" was made in 1962 with Padmini and M. G. Ramachandran in the lead roles. In the 2022 film "Samrat Prithviraj" by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, the character of Sanyogita is portrayed by Manushi Chhillar.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: The languages of Ethiopia include the official languages of Ethiopia, its national and regional languages, and a large number of minority languages, as well as foreign languages.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: There are 92 individual languages indigenous to Ethiopia according to Ethnologue, with the 1994 Ethiopian census indicating that some 77 tongues were spoken locally. Most of these languages belong to the Afroasiatic family (Semitic and Cushitic languages; Omotic languages are also spoken, but their classification as Afroasiatic remains disputed). Additionally, Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by what the government calls the "Nilotic" people, though scholars distinguish Nilotic from the Surmic languages, Gumuz languages, and Koman languages spoken in Ethiopia.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: Of the languages spoken in Ethiopia, 91 are living and 1 is extinct. 41 of the living languages are institutional, 14 are developing, 18 are vigorous, 8 are in danger of extinction, and 5 are near extinction.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: Charles A. Ferguson proposed the Ethiopian language area, characterized by shared grammatical and phonological features in 1976. This "sprachbund" includes the Afroasiatic languages of Ethiopia, not the Nilo-Saharan languages. In 2000, Mauro Tosco questioned the validity of Ferguson's original proposal. There is still no agreement among scholars on this point, but Tosco has at least weakened Ferguson's original claim.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is the medium of instruction in secondary schools and universities. Amharic was the language of primary school instruction but has been replaced in many areas by local languages such as Oromo and Tigrinya.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: After the fall of the Derg in 1991, the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia granted all ethnic groups the right to develop their languages and to establish first language primary education systems. This is a marked change to the language policies of previous governments in Ethiopia.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: In terms of writing systems, Ethiopia's principal orthography is the Ge'ez script. Employed as an abugida for several of the country's languages. For instance, it was the primary writing system for Afan Oromo until 1991. The Ethiopic script first came into usage in the sixth and fifth centuries BC as an abjad to transcribe the Semitic Ge'ez language. Ge'ez now serves as the liturgical language of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Other writing systems have also been used over the years by different Ethiopian communities. These include Arabic script for writing some Ethiopian languages spoken by Muslim populations and Sheikh Bakri Sapalo's script for Oromo. Today, many Cushitic, Omotic, and Nilo-Saharan languages are written in Roman/Latin script.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: Arabic, which also belongs to the Afroasiatic family, is spoken in some areas of Ethiopia. Many Muslim Ethiopians are also able to speak Arabic because of their religious background.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: Amharic has been the official working language of Ethiopian courts and its armed forces, trade and everyday communications since the late 12th century. Although now it is only one of the five official languages of Ethiopia, together with Oromo, Somali, Afar, and Tigrinya - until 2020 Amharic was the only Ethiopian working language of the federal government. Amharic is the most widely spoken and written language in Ethiopia. As of 2018, Amharic was spoken by 31.8 million native speakers in Ethiopia with over 25 million secondary speakers in the nation.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: Although additional languages are used, Amharic is still predominantly spoken by all ethnic groups in Addis Ababa. Additionally, three million emigrants outside of Ethiopia speak Amharic. Most of the Ethiopian Jewish communities in Ethiopia and Israel speak it too.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: In Washington DC, Amharic became one of the six non-English languages in the Language Access Act of 2004, which allows government services and education in Amharic.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: Furthermore, Amharic is considered a holy language by the Rastafari religion and is widely used among its followers worldwide.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: In Ethiopia, the term "Nilotic" is often used to refer to Nilo-Saharan languages and their communities. However, in academic linguistics, "Nilotic" is only part of "Nilo-Saharan", a segment of the larger Nilo-Saharan family.


title: Languages of Ethiopia

text: A number of Ethiopian languages are endangered: they may not be spoken in one or two generations and may become extinct, victims of language death, as Weyto, Gafat, and Mesmes have and Ongota very soon will. The factors that contribute to language death are complex, so it is not easy to estimate which or how many languages are most vulnerable. Hudson wrote, "Assuming that a language with fewer than 10,000 speakers is endangered, or likely to become extinct within a generation", there are 22 endangered languages in Ethiopia (1999:96). However, a number of Ethiopian languages never have had populations even that high, so it is not clear that this is an appropriate way to calculate the number of endangered languages in Ethiopia. The real number may be lower or higher. The new language policies after the 1991 revolution have strengthened the use of a number of languages. Publications specifically about endangered languages in Ethiopia include: Appleyard (1998), Hayward (1988), and Zelealem (1998a,b, 2004)


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: Since the independence of India in 1947, as per the terms of the Britain–India–Nepal Tripartite Agreement, six Gorkha regiments, formerly part of the British Indian Army, became part of the Indian Army and have served ever since. The troops are mainly from ethnic Gurkha communities of Nepal. A seventh Gorkha Rifles regiment was re-raised in the Indian Army after Independence to accommodate Gorkha soldiers of 7th Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles who chose not to transfer to the British Army.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: Impressed by the fighting qualities displayed by the Gorkhas during the Gurkha War, Sir David Ochterlony was quick to realise the potential of the Gorkhas in the British Indian Army. Until then, Gorkha defectors were generally used as irregular forces. On 24 April 1815, the first battalion of the Gorkha Regiment, was raised as the Nasiri regiment. This regiment later became the 1st King George's Own Gurkha Rifles, and saw action at the Maulun fort under Lieutenant Lawtie.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: They were instrumental in the expansion of the British East India Company throughout the subcontinent. The Gorkhas took part in the Gurkha-Sikh War, the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars, Afghan wars, and in suppressing the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Throughout these years, the British continued to recruit the Gorkhas and kept increasing the number of Gorkha regiments.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: By the time First World War started, there were 10 Gorkha (spelt Gurkha at the time) regiments in the British Indian Army.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: The Gorkha regiments played a major role as part of the Commonwealth armies during both World Wars seeing action from Monte Cassino in the west to Rangoon in the east, and earning extensive battle honours. During the North African campaign, the German Afrikakorps accorded respect to the Nepalese knife khukri-wielding Gorkhas.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: Following India's independence, India, Nepal and Great Britain signed a Britain-India-Nepal Tripartite Agreement in 1947. Provision was made for six of the 10 Gorkha regiments in the British Indian Army to transfer to the new Indian Army: This agreement did not apply to Gurkhas employed in the Nepalese Army. As of 2020, India has 39 Gorkha battalions serving in 7 Gorkha regiments.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: The four Gurkha regiments transferred to the British Army were posted to other, remaining, British colonies. In Malaya and Singapore, their presence was required in the Malayan Emergency, and they were to replace the Sikh unit in Singapore which reverted to the Indian Army on Indian independence. Those units in Malaya (Malaysia and Brunei) and Singapore, after these British colonies gained independence, are still part of Brunei and Singapore armed forces respectively.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: In 1949, the spelling of 'Gurkha' in the Indian Army was changed to the traditional 'Gorkha', while upon becoming a republic in 1950, all royal titles associated with the Indian Gorkha regiments were dropped.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: Following the divisions of the Gorkha regiments, it was decided that transferring to the British Army would be a voluntary decision for the individual Gorkha soldiers affected. As a result, large numbers of men from the 7th Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Gurkha Rifles, which recruited predominantly from eastern Nepal, decided not to remain with their regiments when these became part of the British Army. In order to retain a contingent from this area of Nepal, the Indian Army made the decision to raise the 11 Gorkha Rifles. Although there was an ad hoc regiment with this number, raised during World War 1 with troops drawn from the various existing Gurkha units, the troops mostly retained the uniform and insignias of their respective regiments (with a few exceptions who wore 11 GR badges which was unofficial as no sanction was given for such). This regiment was disbanded in 1922 and has no relation to the present-day 11 Gurkha Rifles, though some do claim so.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: Since independence, the Gorkhas have fought in every major campaign involving the Indian Army being awarded numerous battle and theatre honours. The regiments have won many gallantry awards like the Param Vir Chakra and the Maha Vir Chakra. The 2/8 Gorkha rifles has given one of the most popular and notable Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw to this nation.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: The 5th battalion of 5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), 5/5 GR (FF), fought gallantly in the Hyderabad police action in 1948, during which Nk. Nar Bahadur Thapa of 5/5 GR (FF) earned the first Ashok Chakra Class I of independent India, on 15 September 1948. The 1st battalion, 1/5 GR (FF), captured the Sehjra bulge fighting against a whole Pakistani battalion during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The 4th battalion, 4/5 GR (FF), fought in the Battle of Sylhet, earning the distinction of being the first regiment of the Indian Army to be involved in a heliborne attack. Under the Indian Army, Gorkhas have served in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Siachen, and in the UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, Sudan and Sierra Leone.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: Major Dhan Singh Thapa of the 1st battalion, 8 Gorkha Rifles, 1/8 GR, won the Param Vir Chakra for his heroic actions during the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict. The 1st battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles, 1/11 GR, was involved in the Kargil War of 1999 where Lt. Manoj Kumar Pandey was awarded the Param Vir Chakra


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: posthumously for his gallant actions. Lt Hari Singh Bist of the 3rd Battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles was awarded a Shaurya Chakra posthumously for his gallant close combat encounter with terrorists of JeM in Mendhar in Kashmir. Lt Bist and his patrol party had got information that a group of terrorists were hiding in a village hut. On receiving the intelligence, Lt Bist volunteered to conduct further surveillance. During the actual encounter, Lt Bist killed five of the militants but was shot five times during the encounter.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: Currently, there are 39 battalions serving in 7 Gorkha regiments in the Indian Army. Six regiments were transferred from the British Indian Army, while one was formed after independence;


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: The Regimental Centres of Gorkha Regiments are situated around the major cities in India. Basically there are 4 Gorkha Training Centres across major cities. They are:


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: Apart from this the Gorkhas are mainly recruited from GRD (Gorkha Recruiting Depot) Kunraghat, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: The individual Gorkha rifle regiments of India are collectively known for regimental purposes as the 'Gorkha Brigade' between themselves and are not to be confused with the Brigade of Gurkhas of the British Army.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: The Gorkha hat is wide brimmed and comprises two layers of material. It is made of felt and is worn tilted. It was originally adopted prior to World War I for wear with the khak drill service uniform of the time. The round "pill-box" cap worn with the traditional rifle-green dress uniform of Gorkha regiments was retained after 1947 for off-duty use.


title: Gorkha regiments (India)

text: A platoon of the 1/11 Gorkha Rifles, led by Lt. Manoj Kumar Pandey and commanded by Col. Lalit Rai has been depicted in the Bollywood movie .


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: Bitwise operations are contrasted by byte-level operations which characterize the bitwise operators' logical counterparts, the AND, OR, NOT operators. Instead of performing on individual bits, byte-level operators perform on strings of eight bits (known as bytes) at a time. The reason for this is that a byte is normally the smallest unit of addressable memory (i.e. data with a unique memory address).


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: This applies to bitwise operators as well, which means that even though they operate on only one bit at a time they cannot accept anything smaller than a byte as their input.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: The bitwise AND operator is a single ampersand: codice_1. It is just a representation of AND which does its work on the bits of the operands rather than the truth value of the operands. Bitwise binary AND performs logical conjunction (shown in the table above) of the bits in each position of a number in its binary form.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: The most significant bit of the first number is 1 and that of the second number is also 1 so the most significant bit of the result is 1; in the second most significant bit, the bit of second number is zero, so we have the result as 0.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: Similar to bitwise AND, bitwise OR performs logical disjunction at the bit level. Its result is a 1 if either of the bits is 1 and zero only when both bits are 0. Its symbol is codice_3 which can be called a pipe.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: The bitwise XOR (exclusive or) performs an exclusive disjunction, which is equivalent to adding two bits and discarding the carry. The result is zero only when we have two zeroes or two ones. XOR can be used to toggle the bits between 1 and 0. Thus codice_6 when used in a loop toggles its values between 1 and 0.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: The symbol of right shift operator is codice_7. For its operation, it requires two operands. It shifts each bit in its left operand to the right.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: The number following the operator decides the number of places the bits are shifted (i.e. the right operand).


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: However, do note that a shift operand value which is either a negative number or is greater than or equal to the total number of bits in this value results in undefined behavior. For example, when shifting a 32 bit unsigned integer, a shift amount of 32 or higher would be undefined.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: Here blank spaces are generated simultaneously on the left when the bits are shifted to the right. When performed on an unsigned type or a non-negative value in a signed type, the operation performed is a logical shift, causing the blanks to be filled by codice_18s (zeros). When performed on a negative value in a signed type, the result is technically implementation-defined (compiler dependent), however most compilers will perform an arithmetic shift, causing the blank to be filled with the set sign bit of the left operand.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: The symbol of left shift operator is codice_8. It shifts each bit in its left-hand operand to the left by the number of positions indicated by the right-hand operand. It works opposite to that of right shift operator. Thus by doing codice_21 in the above example (codice_13) we have codice_23.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: However, do note that a shift operand value which is either a negative number or is greater than or equal to the total number of bits in this value results in undefined behavior. This is defined in the standard at ISO 9899:2011 6.5.7 Bit-wise shift operators.For example, when shifting a 32 bit unsigned integer, a shift amount of 32 or higher would be undefined.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: C provides a compound assignment operator for each binary arithmetic and bitwise operation. Each operator accepts a left operand and a right operand, performs the appropriate binary operation on both and stores the result in the left operand.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: Four of the bitwise operators have equivalent logical operators. They are equivalent in that they have the same truth tables. However, logical operators treat each operand as having only one value, either true or false, rather than treating each bit of an operand as an independent value. Logical operators consider zero false and any nonzero value true. Another difference is that logical operators perform short-circuit evaluation.


title: Bitwise operations in C

text: codice_24 has the same truth table as codice_5 but unlike the true logical operators, by itself codice_24 is not strictly speaking a logical operator. This is because a logical operator must treat any nonzero value the same. To be used as a logical operator codice_24 requires that operands be normalized first. A logical not applied to both operands won’t change the truth table that results but will ensure all nonzero values are converted to the same value before comparison. This works because codice_28 on a zero always results in a one and codice_28 on any nonzero value always results in a zero.


title: Campeonato Brasileiro Série B

text: The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B is commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B (Série B), and until 2022 was officially called Brasileirão Sportingbet by sponsorship reasons. It is the second tier of the Brazilian football league system. Although not having been played annually since its founding in 1971, the competition format has changed almost every season. Since 2006 it has been contested by 20 teams in a double round-robin format with the top four teams being promoted to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A group and the bottom four teams being relegated to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C group.


title: Campeonato Brasileiro Série B

text: Below is the table of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B champions according to the Brazilian Football Confederation:


title: Campeonato Brasileiro Série B

text: Módulo Amarelo of the Copa João Havelange. Adhemar scored another six goals in the Knockout Stage of the Copa João Havelange.


title: Swaroop Sampat

text: Dr. Swaroop Rawal (née Sampat; born 3 November 1958) is an Indian actress who has acted in several Hindi language films such as "Naram Garam" and "Nakhuda" and is known for her performance in television serials like "Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi". She won the Miss India contest in 1979 and represented India at Miss Universe 1979.


title: Swaroop Sampat

text: Swaroop obtained a PhD. in Education from the University of Worcester. She did her doctoral thesis on using drama to enhance life skills in children with learning disabilities.


title: Swaroop Sampat

text: Swaroop Sampat became successful with the hugely popular TV comedy show "Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi", where she played the role of Shafi Inamdar's wife. She had reportedly rejected another important serial on television at that time because she found the script of "Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi" very touching and was sure that it connected well with common people and showed their day-to-day activities and living with simplicity. It is a decision she is happy about as the serial turned out to be an all-time hit. She also appeared in the Kamal Haasan-Reena Roy starrer "Karishma".


title: Swaroop Sampat

text: She is a trainer, travelling across India to conduct workshops for teachers to impart this knowledge for the benefit of children.


title: Swaroop Sampat

text: She was selected by the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to head an educational program for children.


title: Swaroop Sampat

text: She was selected as one of the top 10 Global finalists for the Global Teacher Prize conducted by Varkey Foundation, amongst 10,000 nominations from 179 countries worldwide.


title: Swaroop Sampat

text: Swaroop is married to actor Paresh Rawal. She directs and acts in plays starring her husband. They have two sons, Aniruddh and Aditya.


title: SF9

text: SF9 ( ; shortened from Sensational Feeling 9) is a South Korean boy band formed by FNC Entertainment and the company's first dance boy group. Consisting of nine members, the group debuted on October 5, 2016 with the release of their first single album, "Feeling Sensation".


title: SF9

text: The group first performed in Japan on December 11, 2015. The group had consisted of 11 members at that time. In May 2016, they participated as "NEOZ Dance" in FNC Entertainment's survival show" d.o.b (Dance or Band)", competing against NEOZ Band (later known as Honeyst). They later won the show with their first song "K.O.", which was later featured in the "Feeling Sensation" single album. They were renamed SF9 in August.


title: SF9

text: SF9's debut single album "Feeling Sensation" with lead single "Fanfare" was released on October 5, 2016. The album debuted at No. 8, and peaked at No. 6 on the Gaon Album Chart. They made their official stage debut on October 6, 2016 on "M Countdown". The music video ranked at No. 6 on the Yin Yue Tai weekly chart and ranked seventh on the Yin Yue Tai Monthly Chart. Their promotions for "Fanfare" ended on November 6, 2016 on "Inkigayo". The group then started the promotion of their second song of the album, "K.O." on November 15, 2016. The debut single album "Feeling Sensation" was ranked 78th for album sales in 2016.


title: SF9

text: On December 22, they released a music video as a gift to their fans with the title "So Beautiful". The song was originally an OST of their interactive web-drama "Click Your Heart". "So Beautiful" is a digitally released single.


title: SF9

text: Their first EP, "Burning Sensation", was released on February 6. It landed at number six on the February 15 "Billboard" World Albums Chart.


title: SF9

text: On April 4, it was reported that SF9 would have their second comeback, just two months after they concluded "Roar" promotions.


title: SF9

text: On April 18, SF9 released their new six-song EP, titled "Breaking Sensation", which includes the title track "Easy Love". On the same day, the album ranked number two on the U.S. K-Pop Album Chart.


title: SF9

text: On June 6, SF9 debuted in Japan. On June 7, the Japanese version of their debut single "Fanfare" was released. It ranked number one on Tower Records Chart for single albums and number four on the Oricon Chart.


title: SF9

text: On October 12, the group's third EP, "Knights of the Sun," was released. Following the release of their EP, SF9 held a three-stop U.S. solo tour titled "2017 SF9 Be My Fantasy in U.S.A" stopping in Dallas, Seattle, and Boston during November.


title: SF9

text: SF9's fourth EP, "Mamma Mia!" was released on February 26. On May 23, they released their third Japanese single, "Mamma Mia!". To promote the single, a Japanese tour titled "SF9 Zepp Tour 2018 MAMMA MIA!" was held in Osaka, Aichi, and Tokyo on May 29, May 30, and June 1, respectively. In August, they held a South American fanmeeting tour.


title: SF9

text: On July 31, they came back with their fifth EP, "Sensuous", with the lead single "Now or Never". On August 23, they held a fanmeeting in Mexico at Auditorio Blackberry of Mexico City and on August 25 and 26 in Brazil at Tropical Butantã of São Paulo. On September 22, they held a fanmeeting in Taipei.


title: SF9

text: SF9's sixth EP, "Narcissus", was released on February 20 with the lead single "Enough". One month later, SF9 released their second Japanese album "Illuminate" To promote their album, a Japanese tour titled "SF9 2019 ZEPP TOUR “ILLUMINATE” was held in Tokyo, Nagoya and in Namba on April 2, April 4 and 5, respectively.


title: SF9

text: Following their Japanese Tour, SF9 set out on their "2019 SF9 USA – Europe Live Tour ‘UNLIMITED," a ten-stop tour traveling over the United States (Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles) and Europe (Moscow, Warsaw, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, London).


title: SF9

text: They were selected as the new CF models for Korean chicken joint Toreore, alongside actress Shin Ye-eun.


title: SF9

text: On June 17, they released their seventh EP, "RPM", with the lead single of the same name. that consist of 6 tracks. On July 7 they participated at "KCON 2019 New York".


title: SF9

text: SF9's first Korean studio album, "First Collection", was released on January 7 with the lead single "Good Guy". They broke multiple sales, charts and music video records during this comeback, making this comeback their most successful yet. This included selling over 100,000 copies of their album, all songs charting on the Melon Realtime Chart, and their music video reaching over 40 million views.


title: SF9

text: On January 16, SF9 took their first ever music show win with "Good Guy" on M Countdown. They also took their 2nd win the next day on Music Bank, which was their first on a major television network. On January 30, they took their 3rd win for the song on M Countdown, with over 10,000 points. Throughout the "Good Guy" promotion, they also placed 2nd on Inkigayo twice, which gave them their first ever nominations on this show.


title: SF9

text: On July 6, SF9 released their eighth EP, "9loryUS", with the lead single "Summer Breeze". They took their first win for "Summer Breeze" on SBS MTV's The Show on July 14.


title: SF9

text: To celebrate SF9's fourth anniversary, they released their special album "Special History Book" on October 5, consisting of three tracks including the lead single "Shine Together".


title: SF9

text: At the end of the year, "Good Guy" was nominated for "Best Dance - Male" at the Melon Music Awards, marking their first ever MMA nomination.


title: SF9

text: SF9 participated in "", a competition show alongside five other K-pop boy groups, beginning in April 2021.


title: SF9

text: On November 22, SF9 released their tenth EP, "Rumination", with the lead single "Trauma". They took their first win for the song "Trauma" on Music Bank on December 3, with a score of 4971 points.


title: SF9

text: On December 30, SF9 released the digital single "Savior" through Universe Music for the mobile application, Universe.


title: SF9

text: From January 21-23, 2022, SF9 had 4 shows of their third solo concert "Live Fantasy 3: IMPERFECT" in the Olympic Hall, Seoul.


title: SF9

text: On February 5, 2022, it was announced that Inseong will be enlisting for his mandatory military service on March 21, serving as part of the military band.


title: SF9

text: On February 14, it was announced that Youngbin will also be enlisting for his mandatory military service on March 29, serving as an active-duty soldier in the 27th division of the army.


title: SF9

text: On June 24, 2022, it was announced that Rowoon would not be taking part in the group’s promotions for their eleventh EP, "The Wave OF9", which was released in July 13, and SF9 made a comeback as a six-member group.


title: SF9

text: On October 5, 2022, FNC announced that SF9 will be holding a 'Delight Tour' (2022 SF9 LIVE FANTASY #4 DELIGHT TOUR) in five US cities. Starts in Seoul on November 18, New York on the 30th of the same month. and Chicago on December 2.


title: SF9

text: On December 20, 2022, FNC Entertainment announced that SF9 will be releasing its twelfth EP, "The Piece OF9" on January 9, 2023, and Rowoon will rejoin with 6 other members.


title: WWWX

text: WWWX (96.9 FM, "96.9 The Fox") is an Alternative rock formatted radio station licensed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, that serves the Appleton-Oshkosh area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. The station shares a transmitter site with WNAM located along I-41.


title: WWWX

text: The station signed on January 30, 1967 as WMKC, operating on 96.7 FM under the ownership of Kimball Broadcasting. In 1968, the station became an affiliate of the ABC FM network. By 1971, WMKC had a middle of the road format, and devoted 20 hours a week to jazz music. The station changed its affiliation to the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1978; by then, programming also included three hours of classical music.


title: WWWX

text: Kimball Broadcasting, a subsidiary of the Miles Kimball mail order company, sold WMKC to Cummings Communications for $400,000 in 1980. The new owners changed the call letters of the station to WAHC, which at the time carried a Beautiful music format. Several short lived format changes came through the station after the sale. WAHC tried an album oriented rock format which didn't attract listeners, then by December 1982 switched (back) to middle of the road. In September 1983, facing miserable audience ratings of less than 1% of the market, it made another format switch, this time to contemporary hit radio under the moniker SuperHit 97; the station was affiliated with the RKO Radio Network and competed with WIXX. WAHC kept this format until 1987, when it switched to modern country. ODON Communications bought the station in 1988 and changed its call letters to WUSW in 1989. In 1991, a reallocation of various FM frequencies in Wisconsin moved WUSW to 96.9 FM.


title: WWWX

text: In January 1997, WUSW and WNAM were sold to Value Radio Corporation, who in turn sold them to Cumulus Media on August 31, 1997. In 1999, the station began simulcasting a rock format, branded "The Fox", with WEZR (107.5 FM) in Green Bay and changed its call letters to WWWX. The simulcast ended in 2003, when the Green Bay station (which had become WXWX) took on the sports radio format of WDUZ; the "Fox" format would continue on WWWX.


title: WWWX

text: After Cumulus Media swapped its Green Bay radio stations to Clear Channel Communications for two stations in Cincinnati and entered into a local marketing agreement to retain control of the Green Bay stations (which Cumulus reacquired in 2013), WWWX, along with WZNN in Allouez, Wisconsin, was placed into a trust, WI Radio, LLC, that was required to sell the stations. In 2013, WWWX was transferred to another trust, Current Radio, LLC. After Cumulus moved WOGB's city of license from Kaukauna (part of the Appleton market) to Reedsville (part of the Green Bay market) in August 2013, Cumulus was able to reacquire WWWX in 2017.


title: Flag of Libya

text: The national flag of Libya was originally introduced in 1951, following the creation of the Kingdom of Libya. It was designed by Omar Faiek Shennib and approved by King Idris Al Senussi who comprised the UN delegation representing the three regions of Cyrenaica, Fezzan, and Tripolitania at UN unification discussions.


title: Flag of Libya

text: The flag fell out of use in 1969, but was subsequently adopted by the National Transitional Council on August 3, 2011.


title: Flag of Libya

text: The flag consists of a triband red-black-green design, the central black band being twice the width of the outer bands. A white star and crescent is located in the center of the flag.


title: Flag of Libya

text: The first Libyan flag design was based on the banner of the Senussi dynasty from Cyrenaica, which consisted of a black field and star and crescent design, and was later used as the flag of the region.


title: Flag of Libya

text: Omar Faiek Shennib, Chief of the Royal Diwans, Vice President of the National Assembly and Minister of Defense under King Idris Al Senussi is credited in the memoirs of Adrian Pelt, UN commissioner for Libya (1949 to 1951) for the design of the original flag of Libya.


title: Flag of Libya

text: "during deliberations of the Libyan National Constitutional Convention, a paper drawing of a proposed national flag was presented to the convention by Omar Faiek Shennib [distinguished member of the delegation from Cyrenaica]. The design was composed of three colors; red, black and green, with a white Crescent and Star centered in the middle black stripe. Mr. Shennib informed the delegates that this design had met the approval of His Highness Emir of Cyrenaica, King Idris Al Senussi [later to become King of Libya]. The assembly subsequently approved that design."


title: Flag of Libya

text: This flag represented Libya from its independence in 1951 until the 1969 Libyan coup d'état. The symbolism of the star and crescent in the flag of the Kingdom of Libya was explained in an English language booklet, "The Libyan Flag & The National Anthem", issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya (year unknown) as follows: "The crescent is symbolic of the beginning of the lunar month according to the Muslim calendar. It brings back to our minds the story of Hijra [migration] of our Prophet Mohammed from his home in order to spread Islam and teach the principles of right and virtue. The Star represents our smiling hope, the beauty of aim and object and the light of our belief in God, in our country, its dignity and honour which illuminate our way and puts an end to darkness."


title: Flag of Libya

text: In 2011, interviews with Ibtisam Shennib and Amal Omar Shennib, Omar Faeik Shennib's only two remaining children, were cited as confirming Pelt's account of the origin of the flag.


title: Flag of Libya

text: Ibtisam Shennib recalled the morning her father brought a draft of the flag to the breakfast table and showed it to her and her siblings, explaining the original intent behind the selection of the flag's colours and symbols. According to Omar Faiek Shennib, "red was selected for the blood sacrificed for the freedom of Libya, black to remember the dark days that Libyans lived under the occupation of the Italians and green to represent its primary wealth, agriculture, [Libya once being referred to as the 'agricultural basket' or 'breadbasket' of the Ottoman Empire] and the future prosperity of the country. The star and crescent were placed within the black central strip of the flag as a reference to the Senussi flag and the role of King Idris in leading the country to independence". The flag's colours also echo the colours of the flags of the three regions of Libya: Fezzan (red), Cyrenaica (black), and Tripolitania (green).


title: Flag of Libya

text: Under Muammar Gaddafi's dictatorship, Libya had a red-white-black flag from 1969 to 1977, and it was replaced by the all-green flag from 1977 to 2011, during which it was the only flag in the world to have one color and no design.


title: Flag of Libya

text: During the Libyan Civil War against the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, the 1951–69 flag – as well as various makeshift versions without the crescent and star symbol, or without the green stripe – came back into use in areas held by the Libyan opposition and by protesters at several Libyan diplomatic missions abroad.


title: Flag of Libya

text: The National Transitional Council, formed on 27 February 2011, adopted the flag previously used in the Kingdom of Libya between 1951 and 1969 as the "emblem of the Libyan Republic". The flag was officially defined in article three of the Libyan Draft Constitutional Charter for the Transitional Stage:


title: Flag of Libya

text: Its length shall be double its width, its shall be divided into three parallel coloured stripes, the uppermost being red, the centre black and lowest green, the black stripe shall be equal in area to the other two stripes together and shall bear in its centre a white crescent, between the two extremities of which there shall be a five-pointed white star.


title: Flag of Libya

text: On 10 March 2011, France was the first country to recognise the council as the official government of Libya, as well as the first to allow the Libyan embassy staff to raise the flag. On 21 March, the flag was flown by the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations and appeared on their official website, and thereafter in late August by the Arab League and by Libya's own telecommunications authority, the Libya Telecom & Technology, on its own website. In the following months many other Libyan embassies replaced the green flag of Gaddafi with the tricolour flag.


title: Flag of Libya

text: This original flag of Libya is now the only flag used by the United Nations to represent Libya, according to the following UN statement:


title: Flag of Libya

text: "Following the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 66/1, the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations formally notified the United Nations of a Declaration by the National Transitional Council of 3 August 2011 changing the official name of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to 'Libya' as well as a decision to change Libya's national flag to the original." All Libyan diplomatic posts, such as embassies and consulates, use the original flag of Libya.


title: Flag of Libya

text: The flag of Libya is described in Article 7 of the Constitution of 7 October 1951. It was officially adopted on 24 December 1951. The passage from the constitution reads:


title: Flag of Libya

text: Both the precise shade and legal construction is described in a booklet issued by the Ministry of Information and Guidance of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951. The passage reads:


title: Penance

text: Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part in confession among Anglicans and Methodists, in which it is a rite, as well as among other Protestants. The word "penance" derives from Old French and Latin "paenitentia", both of which derive from the same root meaning repentance, the desire to be forgiven (in English see contrition). Penance and repentance, similar in their derivation and original sense, have come to symbolize conflicting views of the essence of repentance, arising from the controversy as to the respective merits of "faith" and "good works". Word derivations occur in many languages.


title: Penance

text: According to dictionary definitions, the primary meaning of "penance" is the deeds done out of "penitence", which also focuses more on the external actions than does "repentance" which refers to the true, interior sorrow for one's hurtful words or actions. Only repentance implies a "purpose of amendment" which means the resolve to avoid such hurtful behavior in the future. The words "true" and "firm" might be added to all but "penance," to specify the depth of change in one's hurtful attitude. "Contrition" is the state of feeling remorseful, and can describe both the show of regret to the deepest and firmest sorrow for one's wrongdoings.


title: Penance

text: Protestant Reformers, upholding the doctrine of justification by faith, held that repentance consisted in a change of the whole moral attitude of the mind and soul (Matthew 13:15; Luke 22:32), and that the divine forgiveness preceded true repentance and confession to God without any reparation of "works". Rather, "God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance" (Romans 2:4, ESV). In his "Of Justification By Faith", Calvin says: "without forgiveness no man is pleasing to God." Nonetheless, in traditions formed by a Calvinist or Zwinglian sensibility there has traditionally been a stress on reconciliation as a precondition to fellowship.


title: Penance

text: The attitude of penance or repentance can be externalized in acts that a believer imposes on themselves, acts that are called penances. Penitential activity is particularly common during the season of Lent and Holy Week. In some cultural traditions, this week, which commemorates the Passion of Christ, may be marked by penances that include flagellantism or even voluntary pseudo-crucifixion. Advent is another season during which, to a lesser extent, penances are performed. Acts of self-discipline are used as tokens of repentance. Easier acts of self-discipline include devoting time to prayer or reading of the Bible or other spiritual books. Examples of harder acts of self-discipline are fasting, continence, abstaining from alcohol or tobacco, or other privations. Self-flagellation and the wearing of a cilice are more rarely used. Such acts have sometimes been called mortification of the flesh, a phrase inspired by : "If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."


title: Penance

text: Such acts are associated also with the sacrament. In the New Testament there was no specific ritual for reconciliation except Baptism. With the delay of the expected Second Coming, there was a recognized need for a means of accepting back into the Christian community those who had been expelled for serious sins. In early Christianity, Bishops did not forgive but rather declared that God had forgiven the sins when it was clear that there was repentance, and the penitent was readmitted to the community. Today the act of penance or satisfaction imposed in connection with the sacrament for the same therapeutic purpose can be set prayers or a certain number of prostrations or an act or omission intended to reinforce what is positive in the penitent's behaviour or to inhibit what is negative. The act imposed is itself called a penance or "epitemia".


title: Penance

text: In the Eastern Orthodox Church, penance is usually called Sacred Mystery of Confession. In Orthodoxy, the intention of the sacramental mystery of Holy Confession is to provide reconciliation with God through means of healing.


title: Penance

text: Similar to the Eastern Catholic Churches, in the Eastern Orthodox Church there are no confessionals. Traditionally the penitent stands or kneels before either the Icon of Christ the Teacher (to the viewers' right of the Royal Door) or in front of an Icon of Christ, "Not Made by Hands". This is because in Orthodox sacramental theology, confession is not made to the priest, but to Christ; the priest being there as a witness, friend and advisor. On an analogion in front of the penitent has been placed a Gospel Book and a Crucifix. The penitent venerates the Gospel Book and the cross and kneels. This is to show humility before the whole church and before Christ. Once they are ready to start, the priest says, “Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages,” reads the Trisagion Prayers and the Psalm 50 (in the Septuagint; in the KJV this is Psalm 51).


title: Penance

text: The priest then advises the penitent that Christ is invisibly present and that the penitent should not be embarrassed or be afraid, but should open up their heart and reveal their sins so that Christ may forgive them. The penitent then accuses themselves of sins. The priest quietly and patiently listens, gently asking questions to encourage the penitent not to withhold any sins out of fear or shame. After the confessant reveals all their sins, the priest offers advice and counsel. The priest may modify the prayer rule of the penitent, or even prescribe another rule, if needed to combat the sins the penitent struggles most with. Penances, known as "epitemia", are given with a therapeutic intent, so they are opposite to the sin committed.


title: Penance

text: Epitemia are neither a punishment nor merely a pious action, but are specifically aimed at healing the spiritual ailment that has been confessed. For example, if the penitent broke the Eighth Commandment by stealing something, the priest could prescribe they return what they stole (if possible) and give alms to the poor on a more regular basis. Opposites are treated with opposites. If the penitent suffers from gluttony, the confessant’s fasting rule is reviewed and perhaps increased. The intention of Confession is never to punish, but to heal and purify. Confession is also seen as a “second baptism”, and is sometimes referred to as the "baptism of tears".


title: Penance

text: In Orthodoxy, Confession is seen as a means to procure better spiritual health and purity. Confession does not involve merely stating the sinful things the person does; the good things a person does or is considering doing are also discussed. The approach is holistic, examining the full life of the confessant. The good works do not earn salvation, but are part of a psychotherapeutic treatment to preserve salvation and purity. Sin is treated as a spiritual illness, or wound, only cured through Jesus Christ. The Orthodox belief is that in Confession, the sinful wounds of the soul are to be exposed and treated in the "open air" (in this case, the Spirit of God. Note the fact that the Greek word for Spirit (πνευμα), can be translated as "air in motion" or wind).


title: Penance

text: Once the penitent has accepted the therapeutic advice and counsel freely given to him or her, by the priest then, placing his epitrachelion over the head of the confessant. The priest says the prayer of forgiveness over the penitent. In the prayer of forgiveness, the priests asks of God to forgive the sins committed. He then concludes by placing his hand on the head of the penitent and says, “The Grace of the All-Holy Spirit, through my insignificance, has loosened and granted to you forgiveness.”


title: Penance

text: In summary, the Priest reminds the penitent what he or she has received is a second baptism, through the Mystery of Confession, and that they should be careful not to defile this restored purity but to do good and to hear the voice of the psalmist: “Turn from evil and do good” (). But most of all, the priest urges the penitent to guard him- or herself from sin and to commune as often as permitted. The priest dismisses the repentant one in peace.


title: Penance

text: Private confession of sins to a priest, followed by absolution, has always been provided for in the Book of Common Prayer. In the Communion Service of the 1662 English Prayer Book, for example, we read:


title: Penance

text: And because it is requisite, that no man should come to the holy Communion, but with a full trust in God’s mercy, and with a quiet conscience; therefore, if there be any of you, who by this means [that is, by personal confession of sins] cannot quiet his own conscience herein, but requireth further comfort or counsel; let him come to me, or to some other discreet and learned Minister of God’s Word, and open his grief; that by the ministry of God’s holy Word he may receive the benefit of absolution, together with ghostly counsel and advice, to the quieting of his conscience, and avoiding of all scruple and doubtfulness.


title: Penance

text: The status of confession as a special friend sacrament is stated in Anglican formularies, such as the Thirty-Nine Articles. Article XXV includes it among "Those five commonly called Sacraments" which "are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel . . . for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God." It is important to note, however, that "commonly called Sacraments" does not mean "wrongly called Sacraments;" and that the Article merely distinguishes confession and the other rites from the two great Sacraments of the Gospel.


title: Penance

text: Until the Prayer Book revisions of the 1970s and the creation of Alternative Service Books in various Anglican provinces, the penitential rite was always part of larger services. Prior to the revision, private confessions would be according to the form of Ministry to the Sick. The form of absolution provided in the order for the Visitation of the Sick reads, "Our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences: And by his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."


title: Penance

text: Despite the provision for private confession in every edition of the Book of Common Prayer, the practice was frequently contested during the Ritualist controversies of the later nineteenth century.


title: Penance

text: In the Methodist Church, as with the Anglican Communion, penance is defined by the Articles of Religion as one those "Commonly called Sacraments but not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel", also known as the "five lesser sacraments". John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, held "the validity of Anglican practice in his day as reflected in the 1662 "Book of Common Prayer"", stating that "We grant confession to men to be in many cases of use: public, in case of public scandal; private, to a spiritual guide for disburdening of the conscience, and as a help to repentance." Additionally, per the recommendation of John Wesley, Methodist class meetings traditionally meet weekly in order to confess sins to one another. "The Book of Worship of The United Methodist Church" contains the rite for private confession and absolution in "A Service of Healing II", in which the minister pronounces the words "In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!"; some Methodist churches have regularly scheduled auricular confession and absolution, while others make it available upon request. Since Methodism holds the office of the keys to "belong to all baptized persons", private confession does not necessarily need to be made to a pastor, and therefore lay confession is permitted, although this is not the norm. Near the time of death, many Methodists confess their sins and receive absolution from an ordained minister, in addition to being anointed. In Methodism, the minister is bound by the Seal of the Confessional, with "The Book of Discipline" stating "All clergy of The United Methodist Church are charged to maintain all confidences inviolate, including confessional confidences"; any confessor who divulges information revealed in confession is subject to being defrocked in accordance with canon law. As with Lutheranism, in the Methodist tradition, corporate confession is the most common practice, with the Methodist liturgy including "prayers of confession, assurance and pardon". The traditional confession of "The Sunday Service", the first liturgical text used by Methodists, comes from the service of Morning Prayer in "The Book of Common Prayer". The confession of one's sin is particularly important before receiving Holy Communion; the official United Methodist publication about the Eucharist titled "This Holy Mystery" states that:


title: Penance

text: Many Methodists, like other Protestants, regularly practice confession of their sin to God Himself, holding that "When we do confess, our fellowship with the Father is restored. He extends His parental forgiveness. He cleanses us of all unrighteousness, thus removing the consequences of the previously unconfessed sin. We are back on track to realise the best plan that He has for our lives."


title: Penance

text: The Lutheran Church teaches two key parts in repentance (contrition and faith). In mainstream Lutheranism, the faithful often receive the sacrament of penance from a Lutheran priest before receiving the Eucharist. Prior to going to Confessing and receiving Absolution, the faithful are expected to examine their lives in light of the Ten Commandments. The order of Confession and Absolution is contained in the Small Catechism, as well as other liturgical books of the Lutheran Churches. Lutherans typically kneel at the communion rails to confess their sins, while the confessor—a Lutheran priest—listens and then offers absolution while laying their stole on the penitent's head. Clergy are prohibited from revealing anything said during private Confession and Absolution per the Seal of the Confessional, and face excommunication if it is violated. In Laestadian Lutheranism penitent sinners, in accordance with the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, practice lay confession, "confess[ing] their transgressions to other church members, who can then absolve the penitent."


title: Penance

text: The Roman Catholic Church uses the term "penance" in a number of separate but related instances: (a) as a moral virtue, (b) as a sacrament, (c) as acts of satisfaction, and (d) as those specific acts of satisfaction assigned the penitent by the confessor in the context of the sacrament. These have as in common the concept that he who sins must repent and as far as possible make reparation to Divine justice.


title: Penance

text: Penance is a moral virtue whereby the sinner is disposed to hatred of his or her sin as an offence against God and to a firm purpose of amendment and satisfaction. The principal act in the exercise of this virtue is the detestation of one's own sin. The motive of this detestation is that sin offends God. Theologians, following Thomas Aquinas (Summa III, Q. lxxxv, a. 1), regard penance as truly a virtue, though they have disagreed regarding its place among the virtues. Some have classed it with the virtue of charity, others with the virtue of religion, Bonaventure saw it as a part of the virtue of justice. Cajetan seems to have considered it as belonging to all three; but most theologians agree with Aquinas that penance is a distinct virtue ("virtus specialis").


title: Penance

text: Penance as a virtue resides in the will. Since it is a part of the cardinal virtue of justice, it can operate in a soul which has lost the virtue of charity by mortal sin. However it cannot exist in a soul which has lost the virtue of faith, since without faith all sense of the just measure of the injustice of sin is lost. It urges the individual to undergo punishment for the sake of repairing the order of justice; when motivated by even an ordinary measure of supernatural charity it infallibly obtains the forgiveness of venial sins and their temporal punishments; when motivated by that extraordinary measure which is called perfect charity (love of God for his own sake) it obtains the forgiveness of even mortal sins, when it desires simultaneously to seek out the Sacrament of penance as soon as possible, and of large quantities of temporal punishment.


title: Penance

text: Penance, while a duty, is first of all a gift. No man can do any penance worthy of God's consideration without His first giving the grace to do so. In penance is proclaimed mankind's unworthiness in the face of God's condescension, the indispensable disposition to God's grace. For though sanctifying grace alone forgives and purges sins from the soul, it is necessary that the individual consent to this action of grace by the work of the virtue of penance, Penance helps to conquer sinful habits and builds generosity, humility and patience. The following is a brief consideration of Our Lady's four requests: penance, prayer, devotion to her Immaculate Heart and the brown scapular. To those seeking help or in suffering please refer yourself through said means.


title: Penance

text: ""The process of repentance and conversion" was described by Jesus in the parable of prodigal son." In the Catholic Church, the sacrament of penance (also called reconciliation, forgiveness, confession and conversion) is one of the two sacraments of healing: Jesus Christ has willed that by this means the church should continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation. Reconciliation with God is both the purpose and effect of this sacrament.


title: Penance

text: Through the priest who is the minister of the sacrament and who acts not in his own name but on behalf of God, confession of sins is made to God and absolution is received from God. In this sacrament, the sinner, placing himself before the merciful judgment of God, "anticipates" in a certain way, "the judgment" to which he will be subjected at the end of his earthly life.


title: Penance

text: Essential to the sacrament are acts both by the sinner (examination of conscience, contrition with a determination not to sin again, confession to a priest, and performance of some act to repair the damage caused by sin) and by the priest (determination of the act of reparation to be performed and absolution). among the penitent's acts contrition holds first place. Serious sins (mortal sins) must be confessed within at most a year and always before receiving Holy Communion, while confession of venial sins also is recommended.


title: Penance

text: The act of penance or satisfaction that the priest imposes helps the penitent to overcome selfishness, to desire more strongly to live a holy life, to be closer to Jesus, and to show to others the love and compassion of Jesus. It is part of the healing that the sacrament brings. "Sin injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relations with God and neighbour. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must 'make satisfaction for' or 'expiate' his sins." This is done by prayer, charity, or an act of Christian asceticism. The rite of the sacrament requires that "the kind and extent of the satisfaction should be suited to the personal condition of each penitent so that each one may restore the order which he disturbed and through the corresponding remedy be cured of the sickness from which he suffered."


title: Penance

text: It may consist of prayer, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, "and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we all must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all."


title: Penance

text: In the 1966 apostolic constitution "Paenitemini" Pope Paul VI said, "Penance therefore—already in the Old Testament—is a religious, personal act which has as its aim love and surrender to God: fasting for the sake of God, not for one's own self... [The Church] reaffirms the primacy of the religious and supernatural values of penitence (values extremely suitable for restoring to the world today a sense of the presence of God and of His sovereignty over man and a sense of Christ and His salvation). In "Paenitemini" it is affirmed that "[b]y divine law all the faithful are required to do penance." "As from the fact of sin we Christians can claim no exception, so from the obligation to penance we can seek no exemption." Chapter 8 of the Didache enjoined Christians to fast every Wednesday and Friday.


title: Penance

text: The conversion of heart can be expressed in many ways. "Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, "fasting, prayer, and almsgiving", which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others." Also mentioned are efforts at reconciliation with one's neighbor, and the practice of charity "which covers a multitude of sins" as in 1 Peter 4:8. “Taking up one’s cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance."


title: Penance

text: In the Liturgical year, the seasons of Advent and Lent are particularly appropriate for penitential exercises such as voluntary self-denial and fraternal sharing. Under canon 1250 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law "The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent." Canon 1253 stated "The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast."


title: Penance

text: In 2001 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a document titled, “Penitential Practices for Today’s Catholics” reiterated their decision to allow U.S. Catholics to substitute another form of penance for abstinence from meat on the Fridays outside of Lent. While the document includes a list of suggested penitential practices, the selection of a Friday penance is left to the individual.


title: Penance

text: In 2011, Catholic bishops in England and Wales reversed their earlier decision to permit Catholics to practice a penance other than meat abstinence on Fridays. They said, in part: “The bishops wish to re-establish the practice of Friday penance in the lives of the faithful as a clear and distinctive mark of their own Catholic identity. … It is important that all the faithful be united in a common celebration of Friday penance. Note that the duty to perform the tasks of your state in life takes precedence over the law of fasting in the precepts of the Catholic Church. If fasting honestly causes one to be unable to fulfill his/her required tasks, it is uncharitable to fast — the law of fasting would not apply.


title: Penance

text: Many acts of penance carry an indulgence, which may be applied in behalf of the souls departed. God alone knows what remains to be expiated. The church in granting an indulgence to the living exercises her jurisdiction; over the dead she has no jurisdiction and therefore makes the indulgence available for them by way of suffrage ("per modum suffragii"), i.e. she petitions God to accept these works of satisfaction and in consideration thereof to mitigate or shorten the sufferings of the souls in Purgatory.


title: Penance

text: In the Irvingian Churches, such as the New Apostolic Church, persons may confess their sins to an Apostle. The Apostle is then able to "take the confession and proclaim absolution". A seal of confession ensures that confidentiality between the Apostle and Penitent is maintained. In cases of grave urgency, any priestly minister can hear confessions and pronounce absolutions. Auricular confession is not necessary for forgiveness, but it may provide peace if a believer feels burdened.


title: Penance

text: In Hinduism, acts of hardship committed on oneself (fasting, lying on rocks heated by the Sun, etc.), especially as part of an ascetic way of life (as monk or 'wise man') in order to attain a higher form of mental awareness (through detachment from the earthly, not punishing guilt) or favours from god(s) are considered penance. In Hinduism penance is widely discussed in Dharmasastra literature. In the Gita, there is a warning against excessive "penance" of a merely physical nature. There is the special term "Tapas", for intense concentration that is like a powerful fire, and this used to be sometimes translated as "penance", although the connotations are different.


title: Penance

text: The Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba stated that "When penance is carefully nourished and practiced, it inevitably results in the mental revocation of undesirable modes of thought and conduct, and makes one amenable to a life of purity and service."


title: Nasreddin

text: Nasreddin () or Nasreddin Hodja (other variants include: Mullah Nasreddin Hooja, Nasruddin Hodja, Mullah Nasruddin, Mullah Nasriddin, Khoja Nasriddin) (1208-1285) is a character in the folklore of the Muslim world from Arabia to Central Asia, and a hero of humorous short stories and satirical anecdotes. There are frequent statements about his existence in real life and even archaeological evidence in specific places, for example, a tombstone in the city of Akşehir, Turkey. At the moment, there is no confirmed information or serious grounds to talk about the specific date or place of Nasreddin's birth, so the question of the reality of his existence remains open.


title: Nasreddin

text: Nasreddin appears in thousands of stories, sometimes witty, sometimes wise, but often, too, a fool or the butt of a joke. A Nasreddin story usually has a subtle humour and a pedagogic nature. The International Nasreddin Hodja festival is celebrated between 5 and 10 July every year in Akşehir.


title: Nasreddin

text: In 2020, an application to include "Telling tradition of Nasreddin Khoja" in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list was jointly submitted by the governments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.


title: Nasreddin

text: Claims about his origin are made by many ethnic groups. Many sources give the birthplace of Nasreddin as Hortu Village in Sivrihisar, Eskişehir Province, present-day Turkey, in the 13th century, after which he settled in Akşehir, and later in Konya under the Seljuq rule, where he died in 1275/6 or 1285/6 CE. It is claimed that the tomb of Nasreddin is in Akşehir, and the International Nasreddin Hodja Festival is held annually in Akşehir, 5–10 July.


title: Nasreddin

text: The Arabic version of the character, known as ""juha"" (), is the oldest attested version of the character and the most divergent, being mentioned in Al-Jahiz's book ""Saying on Mules""— —, according Al-Dhahabi's book "", his full name was ""Abu al-Ghusn Dujayn al-Fizari"", he lived under the Umayyads in Kufa, his mother was said to be a servant to Anas ibn Malik, thus he was one of the Tabi'un in Sunni tradition.


title: Nasreddin

text: The oldest manuscript of Nasreddin dates to 1571. Some of the stories, however, are in the "Philogelos" and Aesop's fables.


title: Nasreddin

text: Today, Nasreddin stories are told in a wide variety of regions, especially across the Muslim world and have been translated into many languages. Some regions independently developed a character similar to Nasreddin, and the stories have become part of a larger whole. In many regions, Nasreddin is a major part of the culture, and is quoted or alluded to frequently in daily life. Since there are thousands of different Nasreddin stories, one can be found to fit almost any occasion. Nasreddin often appears as a whimsical character of a large Turkish, Persian, Adyghe, Albanian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Judeo-Spanish, Kurdish, Romanian, Serbian, Russian, Ubykh, and Urdu folk tradition of vignettes, not entirely different from zen koans.


title: Nasreddin

text: Many peoples of the Near, Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia claim Nasreddin as their own ("e.g.", Turks, Afghans, Iranians, and Uzbeks). His name is spelt in a wide variety of ways: "Nasrudeen", "Nasrudin", "Nasruddin", "Nasriddin", "Nasr ud-Din", "Nasredin", "Nasiruddin," "Naseeruddin", "Nasr Eddin", "Nastradhin", "Nasreddine", "Nastratin", "Nusrettin", "Nasrettin", "Nostradin", "Nastradin" (lit.: Victory of the Deen) and "Nazaruddin". It is sometimes preceded or followed by a title or honorific used in the corresponding cultures: "Hoxha", "Khwaje", "Koja", "Hodja", "Hoja", "Hojja", "Hodscha", "Hodža", "Hoca", "Hocca","Hooka",


title: Nasreddin

text: "Hogea", "Mullah", "Mulla", "Mula", "Molla", "Efendi", "Afandi", "Ependi" ( "'afandī"), "Hajji". In several cultures he is named by the title alone.


title: Nasreddin

text: In Arabic-speaking countries this character is known as "Juha", "Djoha", "Djuha", "Dschuha", "Chotzas", "Goha" ( "juḥā"). Juha was originally a separate folk character found in Arabic literature as early as the 9th century, and was widely popular by the 11th century. Lore of the two characters became amalgamated in the 19th century when collections were translated from Arabic into Turkish and Persian.


title: Nasreddin

text: The Arabic name "Juha" is the reverse of the Turkish word "Hoja" (spelled in Turkish as Hoca), due to his well known story of riding the donkey in reverse position. Arabs used the word to refer the Turkish scolars and reversed the letters in reference to the famous story of Nasreddin.


title: Nasreddin

text: In the Swahili and Indonesian culture, many of his stories are being told under the name of "Abunuwasi" or "Abunawas", though this confuses Nasreddin with an entirely different man – the poet Abu Nuwas, known for homoerotic verse.


title: Nasreddin

text: In China, where stories of him are well known, he is known by the various transliterations from his Uyghur name, 阿凡提 (Āfántí) and 阿方提 (Āfāngtí). The Uyghurs believe that he was from Xinjiang, while the Uzbeks believe he was from Bukhara. Shanghai Animation Film Studio produced a 13-episode Nasreddin related animation called 'The Story of Afanti'/ 阿凡提 in 1979, which became one of the most influential animations in China's history. The musical Nasirdin Apandim features the legend of Nasreddin effendi ("sir, lord"), largely sourced from Uyghur folklore.


title: Nasreddin

text: In Central Asia, he is commonly known as "Afandi". The Central Asian peoples also claim his local origin, as do Uyghurs.


title: Nasreddin

text: Afandi or Afanti originates from Turkish "Efendi" (Effendi) and this is a title still used to show respect in Turkey. The combination "Hoja Efendi" is used in Turkey very often for the Muslim scholars in modern times as well. The word "Efendi" is ultimately derived from Greek "Authentes" (αὐθέντης) into Turkish. "Nasreddin Hoja Efendi" was shortened as "Efendi" in time. Subsequently "Efendi" happened to be the proper name as "Affandi" in Central Asia for Nasreddin Hoja.


title: Nasreddin

text: The Nasreddin stories are known throughout the Middle East and have touched cultures around the world. Superficially, most of the Nasreddin stories may be told as jokes or humorous anecdotes. They are told in the teahouses and caravanserais of Asia and in homes and on the radio. But it is inherent in a Nasreddin story that it may be understood at many levels. There is the joke, followed by a moral and usually the little extra which brings the consciousness of the potential mystic a little further on the way to realization.


title: Nasreddin

text: Uzbeks consider Nasreddin an Uzbek who was born and lived in Bukhara, and stories about him are called "latifa" or "afandi".


title: Nasreddin

text: Nasreddin was the main character in a magazine, called simply "Molla Nasraddin", published in Azerbaijan and "read across the Muslim world from Morocco to Iran". The eight-page Azerbaijani satirical periodical was published in Tiflis (from 1906 to 1917), Tabriz (in 1921) and Baku (from 1922 to 1931) in the Azeri and occasionally Russian languages. Founded by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, it depicted inequality, cultural assimilation, and corruption and ridiculed the backward lifestyles and values of clergy and religious fanatics. The magazine was frequently banned but had a lasting influence on Azerbaijani and Iranian literature.


title: Nasreddin

text: He is known as "Mullah Nasruddin" in South Asian children's books. A TV serial on him was aired in India as "Mulla Nasiruddin" and was widely watched in India and Pakistan.


title: Nasreddin

text: Some Nasreddin tales also appear in collections of Aesop's fables. "The miller, his son and the donkey" is one example. Others are "The Ass with a Burden of Salt" (Perry Index 180) and "The Satyr and the Traveller."