Intercultural Communication Project
The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California is located a couple miles away from me, being the only museum close to me I chose this site as an object for this paper. I must admit that I did have some information prior to the visit about the secret rosicrucianism and about Francis Bacon”s alleged involvement in its secret society, which is where things got very interesting when I encountered a building in the museum named after him! I’ve previously researched the name because I initially found the relationship between Ancient Egyptian Artifact and a secret or not much known about organization. So as my cultural immersion project I will be discussing two cultural aspects, the first being the Ancient Egyptian aspect and the second will be the Rosicrucian Aspect.
Hypothesis:
Prior to the visit I hypothesised encountering ancient egyptian artifacts which revolved around the concept of theocracy, class society and afterlife. Such as subduing tools and items like gold scepters also I expected to come across fine pieces of art aged with historic significance.
And as for the Rosicrucian secret society, I hypothesize and predict that by the naming of the museum and building within it, that this secret society leans towards idolizing the pharaohs and strive to learn their way in order to implement the same Power and Rule that they once enjoyed. Or maybe they admired their ways of ruling and establishing the world's oldest and longest ruling kingdoms.
Materials and Methods:
The method used throughout this project is a visit to the museum and taking detailed notes on my thought process, emotional and rational status when encountering thousands of years old artifacts and art. This method will ensure that I keep track of all that's going through my mind as I go about exploring the museum.
The Project:
As I arrived first thing that caught my attention was the architecture and design, it was as if the museum is located in egypt and on the inside it gave out the impression of being in a pyramid. I have been curious for years now on this so-called Egyptian museum somewhere in San Jose. What was in store? A very richly curated collection of ancient civilization artifacts (albeit, indeed mostly replicas) from the ancient kingdoms of Egypt. The museum is cozy, moldy and dark, almost reminds me of those very old libraries that used to give me a soothing and comforting feeling that I am surrounded by old friends and kindred spirits. The exterior structure is simple with subtle hints of what you will find inside, a large door greets you with an unwelcoming smile.
The museum itself is not huge. It is divided into four sections: the afterlife to the left, daily living to the right, and in the upper floor a section dedicated to the gods and a section of shrines (Sehkmet, Step Pyramid Replica, replica of Nefertiti's bust). Initially I thought I'd browse through the works in half an hour or so, but I was mistaken. I was hypnotized. Immediately, flashbacks of my 9th grade Ancient Civ class took over my mind, as I vividly recalled my studies of the great civilization which began in the Tigris-Euphrates and culminated in an elaborate immersion on the great Pharaohs of Egypt.
The afterlife section was an infinite fountain of relics including mummy collections. It was a treat to see the merging of very ancient treasures and Silicon Valley technology as multimedia curation demonstrates how a young child's mummy was digitally scanned in order to fathom the body's identity providing the ability to recreate his look and attempt to understand his story. A recreation of a tomb allowed guests to walk inside and experience how our ancestors perceived of the afterlife of man. The descent into the actual burial site reminded me of the Roman catacombs of antiquity, though not as creepy. A synopsis and timeline appears on one of the walls that traces the rise of the Egyptian civilization up until encountering its neighboring territories - Byzantine, Roman, and barbarian conquerors. This provided a nice framework in understanding the dispersion of its culture .
Surely, I did witness first hand the ways of life of the ancient, but what intrigued most was the esoteric Rosicrucian aspect which provides a mysterious, almost weird aspect to the entire experience. Yet, given the corruption and brutal abuse of the powerful Roman Church and its popes during the dark ages, it is no wonder, mysterious cults as the Rosicrucians have emerged. They were mere guerilla warfare soldiers, humans that thirst of knowledge and an open exchange of information that was impossible to attain given the consequences such as the burning at the stake imposed by the Inquisition, as the fate of my favorite scientist and philosopher, a Rosicrucian himself, Giordano Bruno. Culture is not historically shared across generations.
Rosicrucians, creepy? mysterious? ... I don't think so, they were just enslaved thinkers who had to act in subversive and mysterious ways, as knowledge was suppressed by the greed of the corrupt popes of their time.
Bibliography:
1- Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2015.
2- The Rosicrucian Order, AMORC." The Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2015.
3- Hall, Bradford J. "Among Cultures. The Challenge of Communication," 2nd ed.
No comments:
Post a Comment