The Dramatization of Bible Stories: An experiment in the religious education of childrenLobingier, Elizabeth Miller
Philosophy
The Dramatization of Bible Stories: An experiment in the religious education of children
Lobingier, Elizabeth Miller
Children's plays; Drama in education; Religious education
As it may be of interest to those who have access to a library to know
where more definite and detailed information may be secured concerning
the articles that are but briefly described here, the following works
are recommended: The _New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious
Knowledge_; Hastings' _Dictionary of the Bible_; the _Jewish
Encyclopedia_; Kitto, _Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature_; three books
by W. M. Thomson--_Central Palestine and Phoenicia_, _Southern
Palestine and Jerusalem_, _Lebanon, Damascus, and beyond Jordan_;
Elmendorf, _A Camera Crusade through the Holy Land._
CHAPTER XIV
COSTUMING
The question of costuming may be dealt with in much the same manner as
that of stage setting and properties. Costumes are unnecessary in many
of the simpler plays, and even where they are used they should be so
treated that they are of minor importance in the minds of the children.
It is nearly always the case that the very smallest suggestion of a
costume--a sash or a cloth around the head--is satisfying and
sufficient to produce the proper atmosphere of the play. There is
danger of placing so much emphasis upon this phase of the work that the
children attach undue importance to it and thus lose the real spirit of
the dramatization.
If costumes are used they should not be saved for the final
performance, but the children should have the pleasure of wearing them
at each practice where they are actually living over and over the lives
of other people. Children should get their ideas of the dress of the
times from pictures and descriptions and then in very simple ways try
to represent what they have observed. The simplicity of the costumes
among the Hebrew people makes the problem comparatively simple.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--A group of children, showing costumes and a
trumpet]
There is very little definite knowledge about the exact costume of the
ancient Israelites, for they have left no records. The only sources of
information on the subject are the few references to dress in the Old
Testament and the few Jewish figures found among the Egyptian,
Assyro-Babylonian, and Persian carvings. The conclusion has been
reached, however, that the ancient Hebrew costume was in general
similar to that of the modern Arab.
It is fairly certain that among the earliest tribes a simple slip or
short tunic, with close-fitting sleeves, was worn. Later a big loose
mantle was usually thrown over this slip. The little under-garment was
white, woven from wool, or sometimes made out of skins; the outer
garment was frequently striped, a bright color with white. Among the
old patriarchs the outside cloak reached to the ground. It was often in
the shape of a blanket, and was draped by throwing one end over the
left shoulder, then passing it across the front of the body and under
the right arm, then across the back, and to the left shoulder again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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