scholarly journals Ethnic Consciousness in B.P. Koirala’s Sumnima

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Bhanubhakta Sharma Kandel
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Vernacular Language ◽  
The People ◽  
Ethnic Consciousness ◽  
Norms And Values

B. P. Koirala’s Sumnima is more criticized as a Freudian Nepali fiction but it is more than that. The novel is a very beautiful and important gift of the novelist to the practitioners of cultural theory because the novelist has discussed the issues of minority, plurality of meaning in cultural practices, cultural differences and ethnic consciousness through the innocent characters, among others. It also documents the conflict and problems among the people living in the same area and helps us understand the value of respecting the other. The book has talked in favour of the weaker section of the society and has made the indigenous practices and way of life victorious through the use of environment, vernacular language, characters, life style, beliefs, norms and values, art, myth, etc. over the classic living style guided and prescribed by the shashtras. Sumnima is a great documentation of cultural reconciliation among the people of different ethnic origins following different beliefs, norms, values and cultural practices. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ctbijis.v2i1.10810   Crossing the Border: International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Vol.2(1) 2014: 23-30

scholarly journals Ethnic Harmony in BP Koirala's Sumnima

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 106-116
Author(s):  
Bhanu Bhakta Sharma Khandal
Keyword(s):  
Belief Systems ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Ethnic Communities ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Melting Pot ◽  
The People ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Diverse Society ◽  
Better Than

Sumnima, a novel written by Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (BP Koirala in short), has raised voice for social integration through harmonious relationship among the ethnic groups. But it is read as the presentation of binary between Aryan and Kirat cultures, highlighting differences in belief systems, rites, rituals, and day to day lifestyle that create misunderstanding, conflict, and problems among the people of different cultural groups. The main objective of studying the novel, in this article, is to find how the novelist offers an opportunity to the readers to realize the ideas and benefits of harmony among the divergent ethnic communities living in Nepal or elsewhere through understanding differences and celebrating the diversity. Theoretical insights of ethnicity have been used to analyze the primary text. The article argues, taking the reference of the novel, that ethnic misunderstandings and conflicts can be solved by understanding cultural norms and values of others. The article also examines and analyzes how the relations without understanding cannot prosper even within the same ethnic group but love and understanding makes the life beautiful no matter which tribe or ethnicity the people belong to. The implicit intention of the novelist in the novel is that in a culturally diverse society, mutual understanding, compromise, and respect of difference make the society a ‘salad bowl’ that works better than trying to make it a ‘melting pot’.

scholarly journals Re-Reading Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: A Postcolonial Perspective

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.K.M. Aminur Rashid
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Chinua Achebe ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
Igbo People ◽  
Christian Culture ◽  
Things Fall Apart ◽  
The Individual ◽  
To Receive

Being a postcolonial narrative, Things Fall Apart experiences a wide critical acclaim. From the pen of Chinua Achebe, the Igbo cultural complexity has come into being a theme that opens up a historical account of the clash of two cultures. Okonkwo, a very well-known public figure in his community falls under the threat of a new culture brought by the white missionaries preaching the gospels of the Christianity. After the arrival of the Christian culture, the first collision that takes place is the division at the individual, and then at the societal levels. When a number of the Igbo people, including Okonkwo’s son, change their religion, it creates chaos and confusions throughout the community. Although the Igbo people have a well-established way of life, the Europeans do not understand. That is why they show no respect to the cultural practices of the Igbo people. What Achebe delivers in the novel is that Africans are not savages and their societies are not mindless. The things fall apart because Okonkwo fails at the end to take his people back to the culture they all shared once. The sentiments the whites show to the blacks regarding the Christianity clearly recap the slave treatment the blacks were used to receive from the whites in the past. Achebe shows that the picture of the Africans portrayed in literature and histories are not real, but the picture was seen through the eyes of the Europeans. Consequently, Okonkwo hangs himself when he finds his established rules and orders are completely exiled by his own people and when he sees Igbo looses its honor by falling apart.

scholarly journals The Social Classes and Reflection of 18th Century Life in Novel Pamela

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-380
Author(s):  
Dwi Adi Nugroho
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The People ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Show

In social life there are always rules, norms and values that organize the behavior or patterns of society. Yet some members of society cannot fulfill the rights and responsibilities in accordance with the norms and rules. Unequal rights and obligations in social life is the reason why there are social classes in society. It means that the people who have wealth and someone who can carry out many rights and obligations will be in the upper classes and those one with little or even no rights and responsibilities will be grouped in the lower classes. This research therefore aims to explain the phenomenon of social classes in the novel Pamela, and social condition in 18th century life in England that reflected in the novel. This research used descriptive  qualitative  method.  It was conducted by describing the data within literary work which were related to the topic of the research. The analysis of the data was done using sociology of literature approach put forward by Swingewood and Laurenson. The results of this research show that during England 18th century, social discrimination has become a major problem in the community. Social status become the standard of interaction in the society. Success and prestige of a person are measured based on his/her birth. Nobody wants to be at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The character of Pamela never think that money and power is everything. She never despise her identity as a lower class citizen who is always treated unequally in the society.

scholarly journals Displacement as a Diasporic Experience in V.S. Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-30
Author(s):  
Ram Prasad Rai
Keyword(s):  
Life Story ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Immigrant Parents ◽  
Main Stream ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Strong Connection ◽  
Diaspora Literature ◽  
Indentured Labor ◽  
The People

The term ‘displacement’ has a strong connection with diaspora literature that studies the experiences of pain and pleasure of the people in the diaspora. People in the diaspora do not have comfortable life. Since they are away from their homeland, it is not easy for them to get integrated into the new main stream society. Because of several variations such as language, culture, custom, religion, belief etc., they are to face difficulties in the host-land. They come across the feeling of displacement through alienation, homelessness, identity crisis etc. that are interconnected in the diaspora. Being a generation of indentured labor immigrant family, V. S. Naipaul himself has gone through such paining experiences that are indirectly expressed through the life experiences of the characters in his writing. While reading about Naipaul’s life story and of Mr. Biswas in the novel A House for Mr. Biswas, it can be understood that they sound similar strongly. In the novel, Naipaul shows how Mr. Biswas more importantly along with other people as the generation of indentured labour immigrant parents in Trinidad suffer from homelessness, displacement, alienation etc. This paper mainly focuses on the experiences of displacement along with homelessness, alienation etc. faced by Mr. Biswas and other characters as they are from Indian diasporic community.Crossing the Border: International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 5(2) 2017: 25-30

scholarly journals (Mis)representation of Nepali Culture in The Guru of Love

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Bhanu Bhakta Sharma Kandel
Keyword(s):  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Sexual Relation ◽  
Birth Place ◽  
The People ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
Western Perspective

Samrat Upadhyay’s The Guru of Love has (mis)represented Nepali culture, society and thoughts from Western perspective. The writer has applied Western standards of life to represent Orient culture and society where he seems to have misguided somewhere. He has mentioned in the novel that Easterners have suffered from inferior thoughts and practices, the society has slavish mind-set regarding gender issues and sexual psychology, the society is poverty-stricken and it is full of the people with corrupt mind. The novel explains that females have been victimized from males’ domination practicing sexual violence, harassment and gender discrimination and dominance. Upadhayay has discussed about his birth place, cultures, society, language, religion, relatives, illicit sexual relation and political chaos which has helped to create a ‘discourse’ about Nepali society. The article argues how the novelist has (mis) represented the Nepai culture by discussing socio-cultural practices and it analyzes how it has tried to serve the palate of the Western readership.

scholarly journals Nyama Choma Culture: Implications of Increased Red Meat and Alcohol Consumption in East Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Gorski ◽  
Wan-Chen Chung ◽  
Kelli Herr ◽  
Khanjan Mehta
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
The People ◽  
Objective Description ◽  
Food Value

<p>Nyama Choma Culture (NCC) reflects a way of life in East Africa based on the increased consumption of red meat and alcohol which seemingly projects a higher social status. The rising emergence of these cultural practices has positive as well as negative implications on individuals, their families, and larger socio-economic systems. This article draws from a variety of sources to provide an objective description of the implications of NCC on the people adopting it as well as society at large. These concerns are categorized into four primary areas: public health, the food industry, climate change, and community microeconomics. As the dynamics and impacts of NCC are already being felt in developing countries, this cultural phenomenon calls for careful monitoring and consideration in the design of policies and practices to champion the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of community nutrition systems and regional food value chains.</p>

scholarly journals Symbol of light in “Paternal lantern” by Roman Fedoriv

2020 ◽  
pp. 31-46
Author(s):  
Mariana Hirniak
Keyword(s):  
Human Being ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Native Land ◽  
The People ◽  
Symbolic Meanings ◽  
The One ◽  
The Universe

The paper deals with the novel “Paternal Lantern” by Roman Fedoriv, namely with the symbolic meanings the light acquires according to its material representation in the work. The writer interprets this symbol, common for the cultures of the whole world, in a rather original way. In the novel, the sunlight is associated with the human internal strength and power of nature; it is a precondition for life as well as evidence of righteous existence on earth. The sunset symbolizes approaching death and thereby manifests the man’s need to rethink his way of life. The fire is a source of light and heat, and even, in accordance with ancestral beliefs, an abode of the deity; therefore it is frequently treated as a guarantee of family’s happiness and longevity, as a patron of the house. The fire has the power to clear evil and passions out; however, it also symbolizes love, which needs care not less than a bonfire. The ambivalence of the fire, namely the fire of life and the one of death, caused by its origin and destination, represents opposite principles of the universe. The ‘free’ fire, lit in the open air due to the community’s will, resembles the lantern of Halychyna land for the novel’s characters. Hidden in the depths of human being, the outbursts of anger, the experience of happiness and joy, and still untapped potential, which makes a person capable of making great things, are also associated with fire. The candle symbolizing “light that enlightens everyone” accompanies characters’ good thoughts and actions, it can be a prophetic sign or guide to the afterlife. The function of ‘lantern’ in the novel is also performed by the things related not to the physical light but the shine of life, insight, and true understanding. These are home (native land), a righteous person, art and texts, minstrels, scholars and teachers that bring enlightenment to the people, help them search for truth and pass it on to the next generations leaving the trace of light in their descendants’ memory.

scholarly journals THE PORTRAYAL OF INDIAN BACKDROP IN RUDYARD KIPLING’S KIM: A DIASPORIC PERSPECTIVE

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (37) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhagvanbhai H. Chaudhari
Keyword(s):  
English Literature ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Rural Culture ◽  
Rudyard Kipling ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Indian Diaspora ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Diasporic Literature ◽  
The People ◽  
Set Up

The diasporic literature helps us in understanding various cultures in a broader perspective. Indian Diasporic writing seems a very significant set-up linking the entire world. The Indian Diaspora has attempted to bring astonishing realities located in the Indian rural culture. The European travelers and the orientalists have revitalized the varied culture of India and enriched the English literature through their literary work. Rudyard Kipling lived in India for some years, hence was fully acquainted with the people and entire way of life in India. Kim (1901) by Rudyard Kipling, is a remarkable novel which portrays diverse religions of India, its people and culture. The novel represents a multicolored picture of India viewing its indigenous spirit. It focuses on a life of Kim, a boy of Irish descent, who is orphaned and grows up as a native Indian. Taking into consideration the various facets of the novel, it seems that Kipling generates the realistic portrayal of Indian life. He very honestly depicts the indigenous spirit of Indian backdrop through this novel. This beautiful land itself remains the theme of novel.

scholarly journals Qualitative Researches In Social Sciences

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 54-61
Author(s):  
Prakash Upadhyay ◽  
Vikash Kumar KC
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Social World ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Causal Explanations ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Globalized World

Qualitative social science research is fundamentally embedded in grounded theory concerned with how the social world is interpreted, realized, understood and experienced, or produced. Qualitative investigation seeks answers to their questions in the realistic world. They congregate what they see, hear and read from the people and places and from events and activities and their main purpose are to learn about some aspects of the social world and to generate new understandings that can be used by that social world. The main objective of this study is the interpretation of social world especially of cultures and people’s life-ways rather than seeking causal explanations for social-cultural practices. Nevertheless, in very rapidly changing information dominated globalized world, innovative traditions of the perception of emerging local and global contexts and realities need to be exposed and accepted as well as practiced in qualitative social science research. Janapriya Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Vol. III (December 2014), page: 54-61 

The Production and Transmission of Knowledge in Colonial Malaya

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Pannu
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Nationalist Movement ◽  
Cultural Reconstruction ◽  
Transmission Of Knowledge ◽  
The People ◽  
Thought Patterns ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
The Masses

AbstractThis article aims to highlight how knowledge played an integral role in the cultural reconstruction of the Malay world during the colonial period. The British produced knowledge about the Malays through scholarly writings in history books and the creation of the census report. This knowledge was, for the most part, constructed and did not necessarily correspond to the social reality of the Malays. The education system played a vital role in transmitting this knowledge to the masses, thus beginning a process of internalisation on their part. This led to a rapid disintegration of Malay cultural practices and way of life as they comprehended alien Western concepts, such as history, territory and community. The nationalist movement in present day Malaysia with its emphasis on race and boundaries attests to the degree to which the British has succeeded in transforming the identity of the Malays. The core of this paper is aimed at demonstrating the connection between British administrative procedures and its impact in reconstructing the thought patterns of the people. This permanent invasion upon the minds of the Malays can be said to the most lasting legacy of British colonial rule.

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