Prague Vprag\ City (pop., 2001 est.: 1,178,576), capital of the Czech Republic. Situated on both sides of the Vltava River, the site was settled as early as the 9th century ad. By the 14th century it was one of Europe’s leading cultural and trade centres. It was the focal point of opposition to the Habsburgs in the early 17th century (see Defenestration of Prague). The treaty ending the Austro-Prussian War was signed there in 1866. It became the capital of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918. Prague was occupied by Germany during World War II and by the U.S.S.R. and other Warsaw Pact military forces in 1968 (see Prague Spring). In 1989 it was the centre of a movement that led to the peaceful overthrow of the com¬ munist government. Prague is the country’s major economic and cultural centre, famous for its music, literature, and architecture.
Prague, Defenestration of (May 23, 1618) Incident of Bohemian resistance to Habsburg authority. In 1617 Catholic officials in Bohemia closed Protestant chapels in violation of the religious-liberty guarantee of 1609. At an assembly called by the Protestants, the imperial regents were found guilty of violating the guarantee and were thrown from the win¬ dows of the council room of Prague Castle. Though the victims were not seriously hurt, the incident sparked the Bohemian revolt against Emperor Ferdinand II and led to the Thirty Years' War.
Prague Spring (1968) Brief period of liberalization in Czechoslova¬ kia under Alexander Dubcek. In April 1968 he instituted agricultural and industrial reforms, a revised constitution to guarantee civil rights, autonomy for Slovakia, and democratization of the government and the Communist Party. By June, many Czechs were calling for more rapid
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1540 I Praia ► Pratt
progress toward real democracy. Although Dubcek believed he could con¬ trol the situation, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries, alarmed by the threat of a social-democratic Czechoslovakia, invaded the country in August, deposed Dubcek, and gradually restored control by reinstalling hard-line communists as leaders.
Praia Vpri-9\ City (pop., 2000: 94,757), port, and capital of Cape Verde. It is located on the southern shore of Sao Tiago (Santiago) Island, in the Atlantic Ocean, about 400 mi (640 km) off the western African bulge. It ships agricultural products, including bananas, coffee, and sugarcane, and it is a submarine cable station.
prairie Level or rolling grassland, especially that found in central North America. Decreasing amounts of rainfall, from 40 in. (100 cm) at the for¬ ested eastern edge to less than 12 in. (30 cm) at the desertlike western edge, affect the species composition of the prairie grassland. The vegeta¬ tion is composed primarily of perennial grasses, with many species of flowering plants of the pea and composite families. The three main types of prairie are the tallgrass prairie; midgrass, or mixed-grass, prairie; and shortgrass prairie, or shortgrass plains. Coastal prairie, Pacific or Califor¬ nia prairie, Palouse prairie, and desert plains grassland are covered pri¬ marily with combinations of mixed-grass and shortgrass species.
prairie chicken Either of two species of North American grouse (genus Tympanuchus) noted for lek displays (group courtship displays). The greater prairie chicken is about 18 in. (45 cm) long and may weigh almost 2 lbs (1 kg). Its brown plumage is strongly barred below, and it has a short, rounded, dark tail. It occurs locally from Saskatchewan to coastal Texas and Louisiana; northernmost birds are somewhat migratory. The eastern subspecies, the heath hen, is extinct. The lesser prairie chicken, smaller and paler, inhabits the arid western central Great Plains. The sharp-tailed grouse ( Pedioecetes ) is locally called prairie chicken.
prairie dog Any of five species (genus Cynomys) of short-legged, ter¬ restrial squirrels, named for their barklike call. Once abundant through¬ out the plains of the western U.S., part of southern Canada, and northern Mexico, they are now found mostly in isolated or protected areas. They are 12-17 in. (30-43 cm) long, including a 1-5-in. (3-12-cm) tail. Their main diet is grass. Colonies consist of well-defined territories defended by a male, several females, and young. The burrows of the black-tailed prairie dog have carefully tended funnel-shaped entry mounds that pre¬ vent flooding and serve as lookout posts. The white-tailed prairie dog inhabits higher altitudes, hibernates, and is less colonial.
Prairie school Group of architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, who created low-lying “prairie houses” in the U.S. Midwest c. 1900-17. Prai¬ rie houses were generally built of brick, wood, and plaster, with stucco walls and bands of casement windows. The Prairie architects emphasized horizontal lines by using low roofs with wide, projecting eaves. They dis¬ carded elaborate floor plans and detailing for flowing internal spaces orga¬ nized around a central fireplace or hearth. The resulting low, spreading structures are characterized by light, crossing volumes and spaces; they reach out to nature, not to other buildings. Other architects working in the style included George Grant Elmslie (1871-1952) and Barry Byrne
(1883-1967).
Prajapati \pr9-'ja-p9-te\ Creator figure in the Vedic period of India. In early Vedic literature (see Veda), the name was applied to various primal figures. Later it signified one deity, the “lord of all creatures,” who was said to have produced the universe and all its beings after preparing him¬ self through ascetic practices. Other stories allude to his own creation from the primal waters. His female emanation was Vac, the personifica¬ tion of the sacred word; Usas, the dawn, was identified as his female part¬ ner or his daughter. In the post-Vedic age, Prajapati came to be identified with Brahma.
Prajnaparamita Vpr9g- 1 nya- , par-3-me- l ta\ Body of sutras and their commentaries in Mahayana Buddhism. The main texts, written 100 bce- 150 ce, represent prajna (wisdom) as the supreme perfection and the pri¬ mary avenue to nirvana. The content of this wisdom is the realization that all phenomena are illusory. The name Prajnaparamita also refers to the personification of the literature or of wisdom, often depicted as a woman with her hands in the teaching gesture or holding a lotus and sacred book. See photograph opposite.
prakriti and purusha \'pr3-kri-te...'pu-ru-sh9\ In the Samkhya school of Indian philosophy, material nature and the soul. Prakriti is material nature in its germinal state, eternal and beyond perception. When it comes
into contact with the soul or self (purusha), it starts a process of evolu¬ tion that leads through several stages to the creation of the existing mate¬ rial world. In the Samkhya view, only prakriti is active; the self, trapped in materiality, does nothing but observe and experience. The self escapes from prakriti by recognizing its total difference from and noninvolvement in the material world.
Pramoedya Ananta Toer or Pramudya Ananta Tur
Npra-'mud-ya-a-'nan-ta-'tthA (b. Feb. 20, 1925, Blora, Java, Indon.) Jav¬ anese novelist and short-story writer. While imprisoned by the Dutch (1947-49) for his role in the Indonesian revolt against renewed colonial rule, Pramoedya wrote his first published novel, The Fugitive (1950). After Indonesia gained independence in 1949, he began to produce works written in a rich style that incorporates everyday speech and images from classical Javanese culture. Imprisoned (1965-79) for his role in an attempted communist coup, he wrote a series of four novels — This Earth of Mankind (1980), Child of All Nations (1980), Footsteps (1985), and House of Glass (1988)—that depict Javanese society under Dutch rule. He is the preeminent prose writer of postindependence Indonesia.