INITIATION
Initiation, for Chulalongkorn University, is and has always been a crucial process which has great impacts on social lifestyle and spiritual value of the new students toward his/her new institute.
As well as for, faculty of Architecture, this process is considered sacred.
Through the initiation, freshmen will:
Initiation, for Chulalongkorn University, is and has always been a crucial process which has great impacts on social lifestyle and spiritual value of the new students toward his/her new institute.
As well as for, faculty of Architecture, this process is considered sacred.
Through the initiation, freshmen will:
- learn the history of the faculty
- be instructed with rules (both used during initiation period and for the rest of their life in the faculty).
- get to know their new friends and seniors
- learn to respect the older years
- explore buildings in the faculty and its campus <- (This will be discussed more in the up coming post "Distant memories")
It's said that initiation is the process of revealing secrets of the organization
(in this case -> Faculty of Architecture) which can be regarding
- the history of the faculty (its founder, why and how it was established)
- old, remarkable/memorable events which happens within the faculty campus
- ghost stories/bizarre stories/ myth about the faculty (these are regarded by some people as the measure to regulate the freshmen in the building)
for example
- "สถ" sign in the entrance hall
- "red person" in the main elevators.
- haunted restroom on floor 8 or 9 or 10 (sorry for inaccuracy = ='' rumor came from different sources).
- a ghost vender who still sell things at "Tong Eaeng" stationery shop
These stories and belief are fabricated with a purpose, that is to let the freshmen learn the lifestyle and obligation of the faculty quickly though acknowledging them <- this will be an important part which related to the BRAIN subject called "Level of processing".
As you can see, every steps of initiation possess a small memory fragment about the faculty. That is to say , persons who attend the initiation activities more will have more memory fragments which can be recombined through their own experience and create a bigger picture.
This idea can be related to this out standing work by Annish Kapoor:
"Memory" in Guggenheim Museum hallway
- the sculptor choose the narrow hallway to put the oversized work into its space. <-feel the compression
- audiences can only see the work partly and at certain point of view (fragmented).
- the work prevents them from seeing itself as a whole (not in one fell swoop) thus it provokes people to explore, walking around it.
- as the work forces them to navigate, their experience reveal the works.
these can be concluded as in this diagram(?)
Just like this wonderful work, the initiation give pieces of fragments in each activities. It's the duty of the freshmen to be a part of the activities in order to get all the pieces of jigsaw. By doing so, they will get a perfect picture of this sacred passage.
"Memory" gives a fragment of the work as a whole and then provoke the audience to explore the work so that they could experience the work part by part.
Brain and Memory
Memory is organism's ability to store/ retain/ recall information and experience <- in this case initiation
process of info
- encoding/ registration = to receive data
(get the fragments from initiation process/ experiences from interaction with the faculty buildings and
campus)
- storage = to record
(remember what one had done during initiation) Remembering ability of memory and initiation is significantly related. There has been discussed how one can remember one even for a long time (to put memory in the long-term memory storage. One theory states that one have to go through repetition and rehearsal of the data. Another states it's the method of processing that counts)
"Level of processing"
"Person who goes through a great deal of trouble or pain to attain something tends to value it more highly than persons who attain the same thing with a minimum of effort."
Initiation include hazing as one of its method <- not that cruel in this faculty. To humiliate or make freshmen do embarrassing things is the way that initiators use to make the freshmen remember the event well.
- retrieval = to recall recorded memory from the storage
(Memory isn't stored by one single area. Around each region of the brain are associated and integrated with data from specific sense, compared with memories and knowledge and associated with feeling and emotion. Thus once we recall a story from our memory storage, it's not only data alone that come up but also emotion and feeling right at the moment the memory is recorded. )
(This memory retrieval will be discussed more in the up coming post "Distant memories")
Sil Joom
Totem Tom Tom lyrics:
"AHA --- HUM! *3
When my grandpa cheif chickee kotm
took grandma out ti a totem
totem tom tom, totem tom tom
When they moved their feet to a bluelight
the drum would beat tat a too light
totem tom tom, totem tom tom
Then pretty soon it's in tune
was sinking, his throat worth while water kin kin
and faster and faster round
totem they flowed but, AHA --- HUM! *3
Later on all tired and sleepy
they'd go back home to the TEEPEE
totem tom tom, totem tom tom"
The song is used in the most important tradition in faculty of Architecture "Sil Joom"
"Sil Joom" ceremony is almost as old as faculty of Architecture itself. I was told during my initiation period by an older year the ceremony derived from the Native American dance. During the infant period of the faculty, its current students need to declare that a new faculty is established, so they introduced this initiation ceremony. At first it was carried out at the Chula Rugby Field to get the attention from another faculty, but now the ceremony is for the inside only and thus is held in the faculty football court.
The purpose of Sil Joom today is to build solidarity among the freshmen and to let them show their spirit.
During the ceremony, all the freshmen will sing the song as loud as they can and keep on
dancing around the "totem" pole until the song change to the verse "Later on all tired and sleepy" (which usually takes like forever.) and end the dance.
The Totem pole which change the theme every year.
Before the real day of the ceremony, several intense rehearsals took place within the faculty building. And this is remembered and feared by many freshmen because of its harsh practice method. (What is remembered is the intense atmosphere of the practice room and the route that leads to it)
as the diagram shows
- At the football court where freshmen gather before going to rehearsal room is filled with relaxed mood.
- When they go through the transition, the older years will keep quiet and are composed. This will have an emotional effect on those freshmen who walk through them.
This represents the idea of PT house in Thousand dreams of Stellavista in that a house is psychotropic and physically responds to the inhabitants' mood and emotion. In this case, it's the architecture ( the transition and the rehearsal room) that affect the inhabitants (freshmen) and make them emotionally respond to the prepared atmosphere (from noisy to quiet).
After the dance has ended, the spectators, the seniors and long-ago graduates will paint the body of the freshmen as to mark and accept them a part of the faculty. Then all of the freshmen must carry a long rope as in the picture and walk around the campus (start at architecture > Arts> across the chula pond > back to architecture.)
(As they walk through the site of this project too, i want to make an installation which encourage this ceremony.)
Tipi
Introducing Tipi. Tipi is a symbol of native american structure. It's a conical tent made from several wood poles and a animal skins (sometimes canvas) as its covering.
- A tipi is easily disassembled and packed quickly (Temporary, portable structure)
Reasons for using Tipi
- It goes along with the Sil Joom theme which is Native American dance.
- The structure is easily assembled and disassembled . This imply a structure which is temporally just like the initiation period.
(Also the site is a public space of chula it's not wise to put some permanent structure there.)
- It's fabric stuff which is always my interest :3
Normal Tipi
A longer version of tipi which i has my most interest at now
Tipi which has some weak connection between them
suggest the relationship between inside and outside.
a work by John Paananen. Tipi which inspires night usage
My proposals and what I will produce from these research.
Since the Sil Joom ceremony has a very deep connection with the site, I'm now proposing to build a temporary structure around Chula pond and near Rugby field especially for the purpose of initiation.
At the transition between rugby field and chula pond is the recreation area and resting area for the athletes. Many freshmen also find the place a nice place to sit and watch their friends play rugby.
Building the structure, tents supposedly, to resemble the atmosphere of the rehearsal room and the building elements within the faculty building to make the freshmen subconsciously aware that they're in the initiation period.
The structure also serves as a place where freshmen can sit down and combine their memory fragments from the initiation process, cause the place itself is one of the fragments. (Will be discussed more on the next post "Distant memories")
The site which is public space serves the purpose of
- public space for both chula students and outsiders
- initiation area
- rugby playground
The structure will serve as multi purpose installation in which the program there can be adjusted according to the needs.
