Brahmana Vbra-mo-noN Any of a number of discourses on the Vedas that explain their use in ritual sacrifices and the symbolism of the priests’ actions. Dating to 900-600 bc, they constitute the oldest historical sources for Indian ritual. The Aitareya and Kausitaki Brahmana, compiled by fol¬ lowers of the Rig Veda, include discussions of daily sacrifices, the sac¬ rificial fire, new- and full-moon rites, and the rites for installation of kings. The Pancavimsa, Sadvimsa, and Jaiminiya Brahmana discuss the “going of the cows,” soma ceremonies, and atonements for mistakes in ritual. The Satapatha Brahmana introduces elements of domestic ritual, and the Gopatha Brahmana treats the priests’ supervision of sacrifices.
Brahmaputra ^bra-mo-'pii-troX River River, Central and South Asia. From its headsprings in Tibet (as the Zangbo River), it flows across south¬ ern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges (where it is known as the Dihang). It flows southwest through the Assam Valley and south through Bangladesh (where it is known as the Jamuna). There it merges with the Ganges (Ganga) to form the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta. About 1,800 mi (2,900 km) long, the river is an important source for irrigation and transportation. Its upper course was long unknown, and its identity with the Zangbo was only established by exploration in 1884-86.
Brahmo Samaj Vbra-mo-so-'majX Monotheistic movement within Hin¬ duism, founded in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1828 by Ram Mohun Roy. It rejected the authority of the Vedas and the doctrine of avatars, did not insist on belief in karma or rebirth, denounced polytheism and the caste sys¬ tem, and adopted some Christian practices. Roy’s intention was to reform Hinduism from within, but his successor, Debendranath Tagore, rejected Vedic authority. In 1866 Keshab Chunder Sen organized the more radi¬ cal Brahmo Samaj of India, which campaigned for the education of women and against child marriages. After Keshab nonetheless arranged a marriage for his underage daughter, a third group, Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, was formed in 1878. It gradually reverted to the teaching of the Upanishads but continued the work of social reform. The movement, always an elite group without significant popular following, lost force in the 20th century.
Brahms, Johannes (b. May 7, 1833, Hamburg—d. April 3, 1897, Vienna, Austria-Hungary) German composer. The son of a musician, he became a piano prodigy. In 1853 he met the composer Robert Schumann and his pianist wife, Clara (see Clara Schumann); Robert immediately proclaimed him a genius, and Clara became the lifelong object of his affections. In 1863 Brahms moved to Vienna, which would remain his principal home until his death. He took several positions as choral and orchestral conductor and performed as a soloist. The success of his Ger¬ man Requiem (1868) gave him an international reputation; his first sym¬ phony (1876) brought him even greater fame, and his violin concerto (1879) and second piano concerto (1882) led many to acclaim him the greatest living composer. His music complemented and counteracted the rapid growth of Romantic individualism in the second half of the 19th century. He was a traditionalist in the sense that he greatly revered the subtlety and power of movement displayed by the Classical composers Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. His orchestral works include four sym¬ phonies (1876, 1877, 1883, 1885), two piano concertos (1858, 1881), a violin concerto (1878), and a double concerto for violin and cello (1887). His chamber music includes four string quartets, two string sextets, two string quintets, three piano quartets, three piano trios, and violin, cello, piano, and clarinet sonatas. He also wrote choral music and more than 250 lieder (see lied).
Braille \'bral\ Universal system of writing and printing for the blind. The Frenchman Louis Braille invented the system in 1824. Characters embossed on paper are read by passing the fingers lightly over the manu¬ script. The system is based on a matrix of six dots arranged in two col¬ umns of three. The 63 combinations possible in this framework stand for letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and common words such as and and the. A Braille code for English was not adopted until 1932. Modifications
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266 I Braille ► brake
also exist for other languages, for mathematical and technical material, and for musical notation. Braille may be handwritten—from right to left— using a stylus to press dots into a piece of paper between hinged metal plates; when the sheet is turned over, the dots face up and are read from left to right. Braille typewriters and electric embossing machines are also used.
Braille \'bray\, Louis (b. Jan. 4, 1809, Coupvray, near Paris, France—d. Jan. 6, 1852, Paris) French educator who developed the Braille system of printing and writing for the blind.
Himself blinded at the age of three in an accident, he went to Paris in 1819 to attend the National Institute for Blind Children, and from 1826 he taught there. Braille adapted a method created by Charles Barbier to develop his own simplified system.
brain Concentration of nerve tissue in the front or upper end of an ani¬ mal’s body. It handles sensory infor¬ mation, controls motion, is vital to instinctive acts, and in higher verte¬ brates is the centre of learning. Ver¬ tebrate brains consist of the
hindbrain (rhombencephalon), mid¬ brain (mesencephalon), and fore¬ brain (prosencephalon). The
hindbrain comprises the medulla oblongata and the pons, which con¬ nects the spinal cord with higher brain levels and transfers information from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum. The midbrain, a major sensory integration centre in other vertebrates, serves primarily to link the hind¬ brain and forebrain in mammals. Large nerve bundles connect the cer¬ ebellum to the medulla, pons, and midbrain. In the forebrain the two cerebral hemispheres are connected by a thick bundle of nerve fibres (cor¬ pus callosum) and are divided by two deep grooves into four lobes (fron¬ tal, parietal, temporal, and occipital). The cerebrum, the largest part of the human brain, is involved with its more complex functions. Motor and sensory nerve fibres from each hemisphere cross over in the medulla to control the opposite side of the body.