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peyotism

(Encyclopedia)peyotism, religion of some Native North Americans in which the hallucinogenic peyote button is used as the sacramental food. It is the most widespread indigenous contemporary Native American religion....

jumping mouse

(Encyclopedia)jumping mouse, rodent slightly larger than the common mouse, found in North America and N Asia, also called the kangaroo mouse. Its long hind legs and tail enable it to leap distances up to 12 ft (3.7...

Cathay

(Encyclopedia)Cathay kăthāˈ [key], name for North China used by medieval Europeans, derived from the Khitan (or Khitai), a Manchurian people who conquered S Manchuria and N China and founded the Liao dynasty (93...

Maritime Territory

(Encyclopedia)Maritime Territory or Primorsky Kray prēmôrˈskē krī [key], administrative division (1992 pop. 2,309,000), c.64,900 sq mi (168,100 sq km), Russian Far East, between China (Manchuria or the Northea...

bean

(Encyclopedia)bean, name applied to the seeds of leguminous trees and shrubs and to various leguminous plants of the family Leguminosae (pulse family) with edible seeds or seed pods (legumes). The genera and specie...

Pentecostalism

(Encyclopedia)Pentecostalism, worldwide 20th–21st-century Christian movement that emphasizes the experience of Spirit baptism, generally evidenced by speaking in tongues (glossolalia). The name derives from Pente...

cypress, in botany

(Encyclopedia)cypress, common name for members of the Cupressaceae, a widely distributed family of coniferous shrubs and trees, several yielding valuable timber. The major genera are Juniperus (juniper), Thuja (arb...

Chiapas

(Encyclopedia)Chiapas chēäˈpäs [key], state, 28,732 sq mi (74,416 sq km), SE Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean ...

Hyperboreans

(Encyclopedia)Hyperboreans hīˌpərbôrˈēənz, –bôrēˈənz [key], in Greek mythology, people dwelling in a state of perfect bliss in the Far North who were Apollo worshipers. ...

shell money

(Encyclopedia)shell money, medium of exchange consisting of shells, the most widely distributed type of ancient currency. Shells are particularly useful as money because they may be strung in long strips of proport...