INTANGIBLE HERITAGE TOURISM: THE NEPALESE DIASPORA IN MALAYSIA

Who are you? Where are you from? How did you end up in Malaysia? These are the common questions that the Nepalese community here in Malaysia has had to respond to many a time. We cannot blame the naïve attitudes that our Malaysians possess but it is a matter of regret that most Malaysians from other ethnic groups are not aware of the Nepalese community here, simply because there has been no exposure to their presence. The intangible heritage of one’s ethnicity and culture play a crucial role in pointing out one’s origin, identity and existence. In the context of tourism, it is essential to sustain this minority group as it may arouse the interest of the Nepalese not only in their motherland but also around the globe. Tourists will be interested to learn about how the Nepali diaspora is able to preserve their unique traditions despite the influence of urbanisation and other culturalisations. The authors would apply the functionalist approach to discuss how the intangible tourism not only benefits the nation’s economy but also functions to prevent the extinction of the Malaysian Nepalese customs. The research questions that are posed for this paper are as follows i) How do the Nepalese Malaysians sustain their intangible heritage? ii) What measures are this minority group taking to safeguard their tradition? and iii) In what way will the preservation be able to benefit the country and themselves? In-depth interviews with 15 informants will be conducted along with consensual audio-recording. Transcriptions of the interviews will analyse the thematic patterns coupled with peer checking to reduce bias for the data to be credible and trustworthy. The outcome of this research will be presented.

Prolegomena to the Bon Religion and to the Soteriological Principles of Maternal Tantra (Ma rgyud) in the Bonpo Tradition Through the Work of Yongdzin Tendzin Namdak

The soteriological principles of the Mother tantra (Ma rgyud) in the religious tradition of the Tibetan bon are founded on a different basis from that of the other tantras and consequently are considered inherent to the metaphysical matrix and the eschatology of the philosophical doctrines of Total Perfection (rDzogs chen). Lopon Tendzin Namdak (1926-), the highest spiritual authority of the current bon, illustrates the precepts of the Mother tantra explaining the analogy with those of Total Perfection in the Commentary and Notes to the Essence of the Wisdom of the Mother Tantra (Ma rgyud ye shes thig le’i mchan ’grel), which is part of the vast corpus, still almost unpublished of his vast exegetical production, and of which we intend to present an introduction based on the translation of relevant sections. This is preceded by a general synthesis on bon and the most salient hypotheses on its mysterious origin, identity and formation.

Morphology of Intersectionality

Forensic anthropologists operate within a medico-legal context, performing analyses to estimate a biological profile (ancestry, age, sex, stature) and make observations on trauma, pathological conditions, taphonomy, and other anomalies evident in skeletal remains. These findings are reported to the appropriate requesting agency to narrow down the possible identity of the unknown individual and to understand the death event. Boundaries of identity and the terminology used to describe and explain identity are dynamic and intersectional. Ancestry estimation is important because there is a bridge between ancestral categories and sociocultural labels. Yet, a lack of agreement between ancestry estimates and social identifiers exists for certain groups. To better understand why this disagreement exists, a three-component concept (bio-origin identity, public ancestral-racial identity, and self ancestral-racial identity) modeled after sociological frameworks is employed. This article explores the identity of a single individual within the study sample using the three-component concept. Results highlight that discordance exists between the identity approximated by ancestry estimation and the application of this identity to the sociocultural context. Understanding the importance of the intersectional nature of the terminology used in instances of forensic identification is imperative so as to not hinder identifications and marginalize groups.

Persistent Conflict and Perceived Post-Conflict Peacebuilding in Southern Kaduna Region of Nigeria

The cycle of individual and communal lives from birth to death is supposedly preserved by the government through institutions. However, political, social, and economic activities are engaged to make ends meet wherein the government is to serve as an unbiased regulator. The activities that play out in Southern Kaduna reflected politics of being on one side with interplay on origin, identity, religion, and locality. On the other hand, it reflects politics of belonging that play on kin, reciprocity, and stranger status. It has thus resulted in violence, suspicion, and persistent conflict. The study examines citizen’s inclusiveness in peacebuilding initiatives and the people’s perception of the sincerity of the government. The research relies on secondary sources where governmental and non-governmental publications and documents from relevant and reliable sources enriched the socio-historical approach, particularly those relating to contestation in the region. The study found out that just like situations in the other northwest states of the country, the crisis exacerbates by the government’s inability to mediate fairly between warring parties to ensure fairness and justice as well as failure to apprehend and punish the culprits, even as recommendations from the various interventions were unimplemented. Thus, the spate of violence continues.

Art and Global South: “Playing Venice” at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB)

This article employs artifacts from the KMB’s “material culture” as a lens into this institution’s branding process and, within it, its interaction with the Venice Biennale. It analyzes larger questions about the career of the biennale cultural form as it re-territorializes in a new location that is added to the art world map “in progress.” Historically, geographical location has been crucial for many biennales in the Global South to articulate their origin, identity, and claims vis-à-vis the global art world. Moreover, biennale proliferation especially in the South has produced cartographic re-imaginings aiming to destabilize the “center-periphery” configuration of the art world map. The article shows that the KMB does not reiterate ideological standings put forward by Southern biennales but crafts its positionality on different grounds. These entail simultaneously anchoring the KMB to histories of circulation in and out of South India tracing back at least two millennia and strategically weaving a relation with the archetypical Venice Biennale in the present.

L’origen, la identitat i el nom de la llengua catalana segons Constantí Llombart

Resum: Al segle xix se situa l’inici de la filologia romànica, i cada vegada més eruditscataloguen i estudien les diferents llengües romàniques i la llengua catalana en particular.Progressivament, en aquest període els erudits i escriptors de la catalanofonia realitzenafirmacions sobre el seu origen —compartit amb la llengua occitana o independent des del’inici—, la seua identitat —subordinada a l’occità o autònoma com la resta de llengüesromàniques— i el nom amb què cal referir-s’hi. Aquest treball analitza els coneixements del’escriptor valencià Constantí Llombart (1848–1893) sobre l’origen, la identitat i el nomde la llengua catalana. Paraules clau: Constantí Llombart, segle xix, Origen, identitat i nom de la llengua catalana Abstract: Romance philology emerged in the 19th century and more and more scholarsstarted to categorise and study different Romance languages, the Catalan language amongthem. Progressively, during this period, Catalan-language writers and scholars made statementsabout its origin —either shared with Occitan language or independent from thebeginning—, its identity —subordinated to Occitan or autonomous like other Romancelanguages— and the name given to the language. This paper analyses the knowledge ofValencian writer Constantí Llombart (1848–1893) about the origin, identity and name inCatalan language. Keywords: Constantí Llombart, 19th century, Origin, identity and name in Catalan language

Better mental health through identifying with locals and country of origin among foreign-born people

Background Sense of belonging (SoB) is an important determinant of health among foreign-born population and it has previously been found to be associated with perceived health. In this study we examined: 1) which types of SoB are associated with psychological strain (PS), and 2) whether this varies between different country groups. Methods The data were gathered from the cross-sectional Survey on Well-Being among Foreign-Born Population (FinMonik, n = 6 836), conducted in Finland in 2018-19. SoB was assessed by the question “Which of the following areas or groups you feel you belong to?”, classified into 1) both Finns/local municipality and citizens of country of origin CCO (acculturation identity), 2) only Finns/local municipality (local identity), 3) only CCO (origin identity), 4) only Europeans, world citizens, religious, work-related or political group (other identity), and 5) none of the previous. PS was measured by using the MHI-5 (psychological strain: yes; no). Logistic regression was used to test the association between SoB and PS, with age, sex and country of origin as confounding variables. In the analyses, weights were used to reduce non-response bias. Results Compared to the acculturation identity group, PS was more common among those with local identity (OR = 1.60, p < 0.01), origin identity (OR = 1.99, p < 0.001) or other identity (OR = 3.33, p < 0.001) and those with no belonging to any of the groups presented (OR = 5.40, p < 0.001). The last group was more likely to experience PS than the acculturation identity group in all five country groups included in the analysis. Acculturation identity was associated with less PS especially for those born in EU-, EFTA- and North American countries. Conclusions Acculturation identity was strongly associated with less psychological strain, especially when compared with the group reporting no belonging to any of the groups presented. Key messages Sense of belonging is associated with mental health and should be studied more extensively among different foreign-born population groups. Identification with both the local people and one’s own country of origin should be supported.

The Projection of Cultural Shift Rejuvination about Fostering Islamic Education and its Counterpart within Malay Community

The article projected the cultural identity resistance to preserve the young generations within the Malay community among Southeast Asia nations. The article uncovered the challenge of cultural shifts young people to bear with global life. The Modernism way of life might not suit to the original way of life; it only took to hedonism, personal logic, and contemporary then merely to maturity. At the same time, it might also endanger the existence of Malay Identity for the long term. This article conveyed the friction of cultural shift among Malay young people who influenced to expose the change in their personal identity and role model. The friction carried a serious threat to the whole Malay as an origin identity. The article composed the research focuses on the Malay race tradition who embraces Islam as a way of life. The Malay community embraces Islamic Identity as a cultural feature “adat bersendikan syarak” the collocational Islamic tradition within the cultural identity. The identity-preserved religion and culture inseparable and integrated one to another as ethnographically proposed research articles applied implemented participant and key informant interviewing from issues phenomenon.

Mending the Scars of Colonialism: Expounding Klamath Tribe‟s Efforts to Evolve Back through Theresa May‟s Community Based Play Salmon is everything (2014)

Barry Wayne McCovey, a Yurok member of the Tribal Fisheries Department writes “civilization will come and go, but the river will remain” (Barry, 2018) adding to the many voices that surged against the rotting images of Salmon on the Klamath river - the fish kills of 2002. The Klamath River forms an indispensable part of the native life, and for McCovey and all others in his community, the Klamath defines their origin, identity, sustenance and a spiritual connection. The tragedy of 2002 fish kills not only killed thousands of Salmons but also marked an inconceivable damage to the indigenous lives. Theresa May, a theatre artist and scholar, along with a group of committed collaborators created a community-based play named Salmon is Everything. This issue-engaged play speaks from the perspective of natives, the ones often overlooked in mainstream literature. Salmon is Everything (2014) is an attempt to create an alternative written documentation in order to preserve the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). This study also focuses on how far the genre of community theatre awakens Eco-consciousness. This would also address the question whether this artistic form becomes a tool to reclaim a neo-indigenous narrative? Lastly, this paper also encompasses ways in which community theatre becomes a strategy to secure Indigenous Futurity.