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Possible definitions for waals
Baal
God worshiped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among Canaanites, for whom he was a fertility deity. In the mythology of Canaan, he was locked in combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility; depending on the outcome of their struggles, seven-year cycles of fertility or famine would ensue. Baal was also king of gods, having seized the kingship from the sea god, Yamm. Baal worship was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom to its end (1400-1075 BC). The Aramaeans used the Babylonian pronunciation Bel; Bel became the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus. The Old Testament often refers to a specific local Baal or multiple Baalim.
Falasha
Jewish Ethiopians. The Falasha call themselves House of Israel and claim descent from Menilek I, son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Probably descended from local Agew peoples converted by Jews in S Arabia, they remained faithful to Judaism after the Ethiopian kingdom was converted to Christianity in the 4th cent. AD. Persecuted by Christians, they settled in the area around Lake Tana in N Ethiopia. Though ignorant of the Talmud, members adhered strictly to the Mosaic law and observed some festivals of Judaism. In 1975 the Israeli rabbinate affirmed that Falashas were Jews, and from 1980 to 1992 some 45,000 Falasha emigrated to Israel, leaving probably only a few thousand in Ethiopia.
Haas
U.S. linguist. Born in Richmond, Ind., she studied with E. Sapir at Yale Univ. Her dissertation was on Tunica, a moribund Amer. Indian language, and she continued her fieldwork on and comparative studies of Amer. Indian languages, especially of the SE U.S., incl. Natchez and Muskogean languages, for the rest of her life. She directed the Survey of California Indian Languages while on the UC-Berkeley faculty (1945-77). Her many students have done invaluable descriptive work on languages heading rapidly for extinction.
Halas
U.S. coach and team owner. Born in Chicago, he graduated from the Univ.of Illinois and briefly played baseball for the New York Yankees. In 1920 he founded the Chicago Bears football team, and he served as its coach for most of the next 50 years (1920-30, 1933-43, 1946-55, 1958-67). He is noted for having revived the T-formation with a man-in-motion, variations of which are still in wide use. Under his coaching the Bears won seven league championships and four divisional titles. He retained ownership of the Bears until his death. He helped found the National Football League.
Hals
Dutch portrait painter. Born in Antwerp, he spent his life in Haarlem, where he was registered as a master by the Guild of St. Luke in 1610. His group portraits of members of local guilds and military societies, notably the monumental Banquet of Officers of the Civic Guard of St. George (1616), were painted with a technique close to Impressionism in its looseness, unique in Dutch art at the time. He ...
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