di: …of southern Chinese opera, and bang di, so named because it is used to accompany bangzixi, a form of northern opera. The qu di is about 2 feet (about 60 cm) long, and the bang di a bit over 1 foot (40 cm).

brucellosis, infectious disease of humans and domestic animals characterized by an insidious onset of fever, chills, sweats, weakness, pains, and aches, all of which resolve within three to six months. The disease was initially referred to as Malta fever, having been observed first in the 1850s

Bangkok: Housing: Bang Kapi is perhaps the most affluent neighborhood. High-rise offices, hotels, and condominiums are increasingly common.

Sri Indraditya was the founder and ruler of the kingdom of Sukhothai, the first independent Tai (Thai) state. Bang Klang Hao headed a petty Tai principality near Sukhothai when, about 1245, he joined with another Tai leader, Pha Muang, to rebel against the governor of Sukhothai, who was a deputy of

Sri Indraditya was the founder and ruler of the kingdom of Sukhothai, the first independent Tai (Thai) state. Bang Klang Hao headed a petty Tai principality near Sukhothai when, about 1245, he joined with another Tai leader, Pha Muang, to rebel against the governor of Sukhothai, who was a deputy of

Chon Buri, town, south-central Thailand. Chon Buri is located on the coastal road leading south from Bangkok, on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand. Locally known as Bang Pla Soi, it has food-processing industries and a meteorological station. Rice, sugarcane, and cassava are grown in the

baseball: Baseball and the arts: …Harris that includes the popular Bang the Drum Slowly (1956), began a more realistic tradition, continued in fiction ranging from Eliot Asinof’s Man on Spikes (1955; see also Asinof’s article in Encyclopædia Britannica on Shoeless Joe Jackson) to Eric Rolfe Greenberg’s The Celebrant (1983), one of several historical novels to…

brucellosis: suis, which infects pigs; B. abortus, which occurs in cattle; and B. canis, which infects dogs. The infection may not be apparent in animals, for the brucellae and animals that they infect have become fairly well adapted to one another. In cattle, for example, the only signs of illness…

Bernhard Lauritz Frederik Bang was a Danish veterinarian who in 1897 discovered Brucella abortus (Bang’s bacillus), the causative agent of contagious abortion in cattle and of brucellosis (undulant fever) in human beings. After obtaining his M.D. in 1880, Bang began teaching at the Royal Veterinary

Herman Bang was a novelist who was a major Danish representative of literary Impressionism. His work reflected the profound pessimism of his time. Bang was the son of a clergyman. Rejected as an actor in 1877, he became a journalist and critic. His first novel, Håblose slaegter (1880; “Hopeless

Muhammad Iqbal: Early life and career: …1924 in the Urdu collection Bāng-e darā (“The Call of the Bell”). In those works Iqbal gave intense expression to the anguish of Muslim powerlessness. Khizr (Arabic: Khiḍr), the Qurʾānic prophet who asks the most difficult questions, is pictured bringing from God the baffling problems of the early 20th century.

Patti Smith: Other albums of the 1970s, retirement in the ’80s, and comeback in the ’90s: …the 21st century, among them Banga (2012). If anything, that late work showed her stronger than before, full of the old fire but purged of her more extreme excesses. She later collaborated with the international sound-art group Soundwalk Collective for a trilogy consisting of The Peyote Dance (2019), Mummer Love…

West Bengal: History of West Bengal: …from the ancient kingdom of Vanga, or Banga. References to it occur in early Sanskrit literature, but its early history is obscure until the 3rd century bce, when it formed part of the extensive Mauryan empire inherited by the emperor Ashoka. With the decline of Mauryan power, anarchy once more…

Munakata Shikō: …preferring to call his works banga (“panel pictures”) instead of hanga (“woodblock prints”). Munakata’s style was influenced by fellow artists involved in the revival of Japanese folk crafts and by his growing fascination with Buddhism. In 1956 he became the first Japanese winner of the top prize at the Biennale…

Board of Peace: Membership and governance: Ajay Banga, the president of the World Bank, and Marc Rowan, the chief executive officer of an asset management firm, were also appointed to the Executive Board.

Sirajganj: The Bangabandhu Bridge, one of the largest in South Asia, was completed across the Jamuna River in 1998, connecting Sirajganj with Bhuapur on the river’s east bank. Pop. (2001) 128,144; (2011) 158,913.

Congo River: Life of the river peoples: Among these peoples are the Ngombe—“water people”—who inhabit the Itimbiri-Ngiri and the triangle formed by the Congo and the Ubangi. Other fisherfolk of the marshes dwell in the lagoons and the flooded forests of the region where the confluence of the Congo and the Alima, Likouala, and Sangha occurs.

Bengaluru, city, capital (since 1830) of Karnataka state, southern India. Bengaluru is one of India’s largest cities. It lies 3,113 feet (949 metres) above sea level, atop an east-west ridge in the Karnataka Plateau in the southeastern part of the state, at a cultural meeting point of the Kannada-,

Daft Punk: The two members were Thomas Bangalter (b. January 3, 1975, Suresnes, France) and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (b. February 8, 1974, Neuilly-sur-Seine).

Rajasthan: Drainage: Farther north, the Banganga, after rising near Jaipur, flows east toward the Yamuna before disappearing. The Luni is the only significant river west of the Aravallis. It rises near the city of Ajmer in central Rajasthan and flows some 200 miles (320 km) west-southwest into the Rann of…

Indo-Iranian languages: Nūristānī and Bangani: …was made available suggesting that Bangani, spoken in the area of Bangan—in westernmost Garwhal, Uttarakhand—is a centum language within the Indo-Aryan area. For example, Bangani dɔkɔ ‘ten’ and dɔkru ‘tear’ have k, as does a centum language like Latin (decem, lacrima), as opposed to Indo-Aryan, which has a spirant representing…

India: The Indo-Gangetic Plain: …is an important distinction between bhangar—the slightly elevated, terraced land of older alluvium—and khadar, the more fertile fresh alluvium on the low-lying floodplain. In general, the ratio of bhangar areas to those of khadar increases upstream along all major rivers. An exception to the largely monotonous relief is encountered in…

Bengbu, city, north-central Anhui sheng (province), China. The area is mentioned in the early 1st millennium bce in connection with myths surrounding the cultural hero Emperor Yu. Throughout most of Chinese history, however, it was only a small market town and port on the middle course of the Huai

Goldie Hawn: …groupie in middle age in The Banger Sisters (2002), with Susan Sarandon, and, after a long hiatus, she portrayed the mother of Amy Schumer’s character in Snatched (2017). In The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and its sequel (2020), Hawn and Russell appeared as Mrs. Claus and Santa Claus, respectively.

bangers and mash, a common British dish consisting of sausages (“bangers”) and mashed potatoes (“mash”). It is traditionally served with onion gravy. Bangers and mash is a staple of the country’s overall cuisine and is a popular pub dish. The term bangers supposedly originated during World War I,

Miley Cyrus: Bangerz and Wrecking Ball: …2013 Cyrus released the album Bangerz, which departed from her earlier work in its embrace of hip-hop influences and its frequently adult-themed lyrics. Her new style was epitomized by the single “We Can’t Stop,” a bouncy ode to hedonism that she notably performed, in controversially risqué fashion, at the MTV…

Banggai Islands, archipelago consisting of two major islands and approximately 100 islets in Sulawesi Tengah provinsi (“province”), Indonesia. The archipelago is situated between the Sula and Celebes islands at the entrance to Tolo Gulf. Peleng, the largest of the Banggai Islands, is well forested

Banggai Islands, archipelago consisting of two major islands and approximately 100 islets in Sulawesi Tengah provinsi (“province”), Indonesia. The archipelago is situated between the Sula and Celebes islands at the entrance to Tolo Gulf. Peleng, the largest of the Banggai Islands, is well forested

Benghazi, city and major seaport of northeastern Libya, on the Gulf of Sidra. It was founded by the Greeks of Cyrenaica as Hesperides (Euesperides) and received from the Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy III the additional name of Berenice in honour of his wife. After the 3rd century ce it superseded Cyrene

algae: Annotated classification: …approximately 6,000 described species; includes Bangia, Chondrus, Corallina, Gelidium, Gracilaria, Kappaphycus, Palmaria, Polysiphonia, Porphyra, and Rhodymenia. Division Dinoflagellata (Pyrrophyta)

Bangka, island, Bangka Belitung propinsi (or provinsi; province), Indonesia. The island is situated off the eastern coast of Sumatra across the Bangka Strait, which is only 9 miles (14 km) wide at its narrowest point. On the east, Gelasa Strait separates Bangka from Belitung island. The island has

Bangka Belitung, propinsi (or provinsi; province) of Indonesia, comprising the islands of Bangka and Belitung, which are separated by the Gelasa Strait, as well as a number of smaller surrounding islands. It is bounded to the north by the South China Sea, to the east by the Karimata Strait, to the

Bangka, island, Bangka Belitung propinsi (or provinsi; province), Indonesia. The island is situated off the eastern coast of Sumatra across the Bangka Strait, which is only 9 miles (14 km) wide at its narrowest point. On the east, Gelasa Strait separates Bangka from Belitung island. The island has

Bangkok, city, capital, and chief port of Thailand. It is the only cosmopolitan city in a country of small towns and villages and is Thailand’s cultural and commercial center. Bangkok is located on the delta of the Chao Phraya River, about 25 miles (40 km) from the Gulf of Thailand. It was formerly

Thailand: Finance: …1990s, the government established the Bangkok International Banking Facility (BIBF), an offshore banking entity that became a major conduit for international capital. Originally envisioned as a means to establish Bangkok as a major financial centre rivaling Hong Kong and Singapore and serving all of Southeast Asia, the BIBF in fact…

Bangkok: …Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok Metropolis). The metropolis is a bustling, crowded city, with temples, factories, shops, and homes juxtaposed along its roads and canals. It is also a major tourist destination, noted for bountiful cultural attractions and a nightlife that includes a flourishing sex trade.

Bangkok National Museum, art gallery and archaeological museum housed in the former Royal Palace (built in 1782) and devoted to the major arts of Thailand. Established by King Mongkut (Rama IV) in 1851 to house his private antiques collections and opened to the public by Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in

Bengal, historical region in the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent, generally corresponding to the area inhabited by speakers of the Bengali language and now divided between the Indian state of West Bengal and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Bengal formed part of most of the early

Bengali language, member of the Indo-Aryan group of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is spoken by more than 210 million people as a first or second language, with some 100 million Bengali speakers in Bangladesh; about 85 million in India, primarily in the states of

Bangladesh, country of South Asia located in the delta of the Padma (Ganges [Ganga]) and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers, where the Indian subcontinent meets the peninsula of mainland Southeast Asia. It shares borders with India on most sides and with Myanmar on the southeast. Its coastline opens onto

Awami League, political party in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), formed in 1949. It played a crucial role in the country’s independence from Pakistan in 1971 by leading the liberation movement and wartime government-in-exile. Under Mujibur Rahman (also called Sheikh Mujib), the party led the

Bangladesh cyclone of 1991, (April 22–30, 1991), one of the deadliest tropical cyclones ever recorded. The storm hit near the Chittagong region, one of the most populated areas in Bangladesh. An estimated 140,000 people were killed by the storm, as many as 10 million people lost their homes, and

famine: The role of policy: …for example, that the Bangladesh famine of 1974, which was precipitated by the effects of widespread flooding, would have been less severe if the state’s food-rationing system had not been in place. The rationing system was flawed because it provided subsidized rationed food to only the country’s urban population. In…

Awami League: First government and Mujibur Rahman’s assassination: Subsequently, Mujib established the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL) as the sole legal political party of Bangladesh and compelled politicians to join the new party.

The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict between Bengali nationalists in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and the Pakistani government, based in West Pakistan. Fighting began on March 26, 1971, a day after West Pakistani government forces launched a crackdown in East Pakistan to quash

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), political party in Bangladesh founded in 1978, seven years after the country became independent from Pakistan. In its early decades the party allied itself with conservative expressions of Islam, in contrast with its main rival, the Awami League (AL), which had a

education: Alternative forms of education: …recognized example is BRAC (the Bangladesh Rural Action Committee), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that combines community-based literacy and basic education programs with income generating activities for girls and women. BRAC and other NGOs helped raise enrollments in Bangladeshi schools from 55 percent in 1985 to 85 percent by the 21st…

Bangladesh: Education of Bangladesh: …University (1961) at Mymensingh, the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (1962) at Dhaka, and the Islamic University (1980) at Kushtia. Medical education is provided by several medical colleges and an institute of postgraduate medicine at Dhaka. Each college or institute has a full-fledged hospital attached to it.

From its founding in 1949, the Awami League was the expression of Bengali nationalism in the territory then known as East Pakistan. Following elections in December 1970, which the league won, the military ruler of Pakistan canceled the National Assembly. Opposition to this by the Awami League led

history of Bangladesh, a survey of the notable events and people in the history of Bangladesh, from the 3rd century bce to the present day. Bangladesh, located in the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent, has been independently ruled since 1971, but the land and peoples of the modern

Bangladesh, country of South Asia located in the delta of the Padma (Ganges [Ganga]) and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers, where the Indian subcontinent meets the peninsula of mainland Southeast Asia. It shares borders with India on most sides and with Myanmar on the southeast. Its coastline opens onto

girl groups: …bands as the Go-Go’s and the Bangles, and in the 1990s a new generation of vocal acts interpreted the style with added funkiness. Moreover, latter-day performers such as En Vogue, Janet Jackson, and the British act the Spice Girls (whose success sparked another explosion of girl groups, especially in Asia)…

Nyishi, tribal people of eastern Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh (formerly North East Frontier Agency), a mountainous state in northeastern India. They speak a Tibeto-Burman language of the Sino-Tibetan family. The Nyishi support themselves with a slash-and-burn agriculture and with hunting and

Bangor, town, Ards and North Down district, Northern Ireland. It lies on the southern shore of Belfast Lough (inlet of the sea). About 555 ce, St. Comgall founded a monastery at Bangor, which became a celebrated seat of learning. Incursions by Danes in the 9th century destroyed Bangor. It was

Bangor, cathedral city, Gwynedd county, historic county of Caernarvonshire (Sir Gaernarfon), northwestern Wales. It commands the northern entrance to the Menai Strait, the narrow strip of water separating the Isle of Anglesey from the mainland. Bangor Cathedral is dedicated to the Celtic St.

Bangor, city, seat (1816) of Penobscot county, east-central Maine, U.S. It is a port of entry at the head of navigation on the Penobscot River opposite Brewer. The site, visited in 1604 by Samuel de Champlain, was settled in 1769 by Jacob Buswell. First called Kenduskeag Plantation (1776) and later

Bangor: Bangor Cathedral is dedicated to the Celtic St. Deiniol, who founded a church there in the 6th century; the community was a leading centre of Celtic Christianity. The cathedral, built during the 12th and 13th centuries, later underwent a series of restorations after damage by…

Flintshire: …to legend, the village of Bangor Is-coed, in the present county borough of Wrexham, was the site of the oldest monastery in Britain (c. 180). It was destroyed early in the 7th century by the king of Northumbria in the last great battle between the Britons of Wales and the…

milkfish, (Chanos chanos), silvery marine food fish that is the only living member of the family Chanidae (order Gonorhynchiformes). Fossils of this family date from as far back as the Cretaceous Period (145.5 million to 65.5 million years ago). The milkfish is often collected when young and raised

Rock criticism: …Creem, whose most famous writer, Lester Bangs, had been fired from Rolling Stone after panning one of Wenner’s favourite bands. In raging, humorous polemics like “James Taylor Marked for Death,” Bangs savaged the artistic pretensions and virtuosic self-indulgence of the hippie aristocracy and formulated a countervision of rock as a…

Moro National Liberation Front: …military force, known as the Bangsa Moro Army, had 30,000 fighters at the time of its greatest strength in the 1970s. In 1975 Marcos conceded that the Moros’ economic grievances, at least, were justified, particularly against Christian landowners; but government offers of regional autonomy were rejected by the MNLF, which…

Southeast Asian arts: Chinese and popular entertainments: Bangsawan was created by professional Malay-speaking actors in the 1920s as light, popular entertainment. Songs and contemporary dances were added to a repertory of dramatic pieces drawn from Islamic romances and adventure stories. Troupes traveled to Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sunda, and Java, where their melodramatic plays…

BTS, South Korean K-pop (Korean pop music) band that shot to international stardom in the late 2010s. Comprising seven members—Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—BTS attracted a devoted following (fans called themselves ARMY [“Adorable Representative MC for Youth”]) and became popular on

BTS, South Korean K-pop (Korean pop music) band that shot to international stardom in the late 2010s. Comprising seven members—Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—BTS attracted a devoted following (fans called themselves ARMY [“Adorable Representative MC for Youth”]) and became popular on

bangu, Chinese frame drum that, when struck by one or two small bamboo sticks, creates a sharp dry sound essential to the aesthetics of Chinese opera. It is also used in many Chinese chamber music ensembles. The drum, which is about 25 cm (10 inches) in diameter and 10 cm (4 inches) deep, consists

Bangui, city, capital of the Central African Republic, located on the west bank of the Ubangi River. It is connected by an extended 1,100-mile (1,800-km) river-and-rail transport system with Pointe-Noire on the west-central African coast and with Brazzaville (both in the Republic of the Congo). The

Bangui: …is the site of the University of Bangui (1969), the National School of Arts (1966), and several scientific and technological research institutes. The Boganda Museum in Bangui exhibits traditional musical instruments, weapons, village architecture, hunting tools, pottery, and religious objects. The city suffered significant looting and damage during the coup…

Michaela DePrince was a Sierra Leonean-born American ballet dancer known for her technical prowess and tenacious spirit. DePrince was born Mabinty Bangura during Sierra Leone’s prolonged civil war and spent her early years in that country. Rebel forces killed her father, and her mother died soon

Keystone Kops: …had a central role in Bangville Police (1913), which is often cited as the first Keystone Kops film. All the movies were one- or two-reel short films. The Kops were typically comic bits added to movies rather than being integral to the plots.

South Africa: Growth of the colonial economy: Tlhaping, Hurutshe, and Ngwaketse. For self-defense some of these African communities formed larger groupings who competed against each other in their quest to control trade routes going south to the Cape and east to present-day Mozambique.

Bangweulu, shallow lake with extensive swamps in northeastern Zambia. It is part of the Congo River system. Lying at an elevation of 3,740 feet (1,140 m), the waters of Bangweulu, fluctuating with the rainy season, cover a triangular area of about 3,800 square miles (9,800 square km). The lake, at

Zambia: Drainage: The Bangweulu Swamps and the Kafue Flats are wetlands of international ecological importance.

Chinese music: Forms of the 16th–18th centuries: …myriad regional forms is the clapper opera, or bangzi qiang. In addition to the rhythmic importance of the clappers, the instrumental accompaniment of this form is noted for its emphasis on strings, the principal form being the moon guitar (yueqin), a plucked lute with a large, round wooden body and…

Banhā, town, capital of Al-Qalyūbiyyah muḥāfaẓah (governorate), Lower Egypt. The town lies on the right (east) bank of the Damietta Branch of the Nile River and on the Al-Tawfīqī Canal in the delta area. It is about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Cairo on the highway to Alexandria. Its Arabic name

Devendra Banhart is an American singer-songwriter whose experimental genre-transcending recordings, which blended acoustic folk, psychedelia, and stream-of-consciousness lyrics, formed the cornerstone of an early 21st-century musical aesthetic often termed “freak folk.” Banhart spent the majority

banhu, bowed Chinese fiddle, a type of huqin (Chinese: “foreign stringed instrument”). The instrument traditionally has two strings stretched over a small bamboo bridge that rests on a wooden soundboard. (The sound box of most other Chinese stringed instruments is covered by a snakeskin membrane.)

Baní, city, southern Dominican Republic, situated in coastal lowlands 3 miles (5 km) from the Caribbean Sea. The city is a commercial and manufacturing centre for the fertile agricultural hinterland, whose main products are bananas, rice, and coffee. The city lies on the paved highway linking Santo

Dadu: …collected in a 5,000-verse anthology, Bani (“Poetic Utterances”). They also appear along with selections from other poet-saints (sants) Kabir, Namdev, Ravidas, and Haridas in a somewhat fluid verse anthology called Pancvani (“Five [Groups of] Utterances”), which constitutes scriptures for the Dadu Panth.

Beni Hasan, Egyptian archaeological site from the Middle Kingdom (1938–c. 1630 bce), lying on the eastern bank of the Nile roughly 155 miles (245 km) south of Cairo. The site is noted for its rock-cut tombs of 11th- and 12th-dynasty officials of the 16th Upper Egyptian (Oryx) nome, or province.

Bani River, principal affluent of the Niger River on its right bank in Mali, West Africa, formed by the confluence of the Baoulé and Bagoé headstreams 100 mi (160 km) east of Bamako. The Bani proper flows 230 mi northeast to the Niger at Mopti in the swampy Macina depression. It is navigable only

Banī Suwayf, muḥāfaẓah (governorate), lying along the Nile River in northern Upper Egypt, with an extension into the Libyan (Western) Desert at its southern end. Al-Fayyūm governorate lies to the west and north and Al-Minyā to the south. Its cultivated, settled area consists mainly of a strip of

Banī Suwayf, city, capital of Banī Suwayf muḥāfaẓah (governorate), northern Upper Egypt. It is an important agricultural trade centre on the west bank of the Nile River, 70 miles (110 km) south of Cairo. In the 9th and 10th dynasties (c. 2130–c. 1970 bce), Heracleopolis (modern Ihnāsiyat

Kishangarh painting: …employ of his stepmother called Bani Thani (“Lady of Fashion”), and it is speculated that her features may have been the model for the Kishangarh facial type. The master artist largely responsible for transmitting the romantic and religious passions of his patron into new and fresh visual images was Nihal…

Abolhasan Bani-Sadr was an Iranian economist and politician who in 1980 was elected the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was dismissed from office in 1981 after being impeached for incompetence. Bani-Sadr studied religion and economics at the University of Tehrān and spent four

Abolhasan Bani-Sadr was an Iranian economist and politician who in 1980 was elected the first president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was dismissed from office in 1981 after being impeached for incompetence. Bani-Sadr studied religion and economics at the University of Tehrān and spent four

Bania, (from Sanskrit vāṇijya, “trade”), Indian caste consisting generally of moneylenders or merchants, found chiefly in northern and western India; strictly speaking, however, many mercantile communities are not Banias, and, conversely, some Banias are not merchants. In the fourfold division of

Liliane Bettencourt: …Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, sued celebrity photographer François-Marie Banier, accusing him of exploiting her mother’s frailty, after it was revealed that he had received an estimated €1 billion in cash and gifts from Bettencourt. The dispute escalated until mother and daughter reconciled in 2010; Bettencourt was ultimately placed under the legal guardianship…

Banihal Pass, pass in the Pir Panjal Range in the Indian-held sector of Jammu and Kashmir union territory in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. Banihal—a name that in Kashmiri means “blizzard”—lies at an elevation of 9,290 feet (2,832 metres) in the Doda district. It forms the main

John and Michael Banim: John studied drawing in Dublin and subsequently taught it in Kilkenny. Shortly afterward he went to Dublin, where he earned a living by journalism. In 1821 his blank verse tragedy, Damon and Pythias, was produced at Covent Garden; John married, moved to London, and continued…

John and Michael Banim were brothers who collaborated in novels and stories of Irish peasant life. John studied drawing in Dublin and subsequently taught it in Kilkenny. Shortly afterward he went to Dublin, where he earned a living by journalism. In 1821 his blank verse tragedy, Damon and Pythias,

John and Michael Banim: …Family, written in collaboration with Michael, who had studied for the bar but had had to take over his father’s business. All three Tales—two by John, The Fetches and John Doe, and one by Michael, Crohoore of the Bill Hook—are remarkable for their melodramatic invention and were immediately successful, John…

Ha Jin: Literary works: His other nonfiction work includes The Banished Immortal (2019), a biography of the Chinese poet Li Bai. In addition, with Chinese composer Tan Dun, he cowrote the libretto for Tan’s opera The First Emperor (2006), about Qin dynasty ruler Shihuangdi.

exile and banishment, prolonged absence from one’s country imposed by vested authority as a punitive measure. It most likely originated among early civilizations from the practice of designating an offender an outcast and depriving him of the comfort and protection of his group. Exile was practiced

John Banister was a violinist and composer, a prominent musician of his day and organizer of the first public concerts in England. Banister learned the violin from his father and in 1660 joined the king’s band of 24 violinists. After further training in France he became leader of a group of 12

South American forest Indian: Belief and aesthetic systems: …area; they include species of Banisteriopsis (a tropical liana), from which is made a potion that produces visions. In certain tribes the use of this drug is restricted to shamanistic practices; in others, as in the Uaupés River area, it is an essential element in religious festivals in which the…

ayahuasca: …bark of the tropical liana Banisteriopsis caapi and other botanical ingredients. First formulated by indigenous South Americans of the Amazon basin, ayahuasca is now used in many parts of the world. Some users experience visions and sensations, while others claim that the potion has healing powers.

Native American dance: Northern South America: …example, among the Maipure and Baniva tribes, Mauari, the spirit of evil, is impersonated by a dancer who is fully covered with red and black body paint, a face-covering of puma or jaguar pelt, and a crown of deer antlers. At the initiation of a youth or girl, he emerges…

Native American religions: Initiation: The Baniwa of the northwest Amazon region of Brazil, for example, seclude girls during their initiation. The girls’ bodies are covered with heron down and red paint, and each girl is hidden inside two baskets. The elders deliver dramatic speeches and whip the initiate in order…

Bania, (from Sanskrit vāṇijya, “trade”), Indian caste consisting generally of moneylenders or merchants, found chiefly in northern and western India; strictly speaking, however, many mercantile communities are not Banias, and, conversely, some Banias are not merchants. In the fourfold division of

Jordan River: Physical environment: …east, in Syria, flows the Bāniyās River. Between the two is the Dan River, the waters of which are particularly fresh.