Gender and Political Participation in the Traditional Political System of the Village: A Study on the Khasi tribe of Mawkynrew village in Meghalaya

The article is a study on the political participation at the village level by both the male and female members of Mawkynrew village in Meghalaya. Meghalaya is inhabited by three major tribes and the Khasi tribe is one of the three tribes. The political system is still based on a traditional system of political administration at all village and locality levels. This political system allows the people to elect a chief and other members for the village council’s office. Traditionally, only male members are allowed to hold the traditional office of village administration. Therefore, the article will highlight the participation of both the gender groups in the village and how changes have taken place over the years. The paper will also attempt to study the factors or determinants that are influencing gender participation in the political system of the village, particularly that of the women in the village.

Feasting Ritually: An Ethnography on the Implications of Feasts in Religious Rituals

Food and feast are integral and key components of human cultures across the world. Feasts associated with religious rituals have special social and cultural significance when compared to those in any other festivities or celebrations in people’s life. In this study, an approach is made to comparatively analyze the feasts at religious festivals of two distinctive groups of people, one with a characteristic of simple society and the other of a complex society. The annual feast happening at the hamlets of the Anchunadu Vellalar community in the last days of the calendar year is an occasion that portrays the egalitarian nature of the people. While this feast is restricted within a single community of particular caste affiliation and geographical limitations, the feast associated with the kaliyattam ritual of village goddess in North Malabar is much wider in scope and participation. The enormous feast brings the people in a larger area and exhibits a solidarity that cuts across boundaries of religion, caste and community. Beyond the factors of social solidarity and togetherness, these events also illustrate its divisive characters mainly in terms of social hierarchy and gender. A comparative study of both the two feasts of two different contexts reveals the characteristic features of religious feasts and the value of food and feast in social life and solidarity and also how it acts as a survival of their past and as a tradition.

The Art of Using Sound: Pengkul (Trumpet) and Its Role in Traditional Kuki Society

The unique way of timekeeping strategy, involving pengkul (a traditional bamboo trumpet) as a communication or signalling device within the Lom institution demonstrates the early Kuki people’s technological adaptability and cognitive development. Pengkul has been an important musical instrument of the early Kuki people since time immemorial. It plays a significant role in traditional Kuki society as a means of public communication and conveyor of time and event rather than a mere instrument of merriments. Firstly, the article focuses on the procurement of raw materials, manufacturing process, uses, maintenance, repairing, and discard pattern of the pengkul. Secondly, the article focuses on the role of pengkul as a communication or signalling device within the organization of the village workforce called “ Lompi.” Wherein, pengkul remains as a guiding element of the socioeconomic survival strategy adopted by the traditional Kukis. Thirdly, the article further analyzes the myths and traditional beliefs associated with pengkul to delineate the ideational aspect of pengkul within their concept of the supernatural realm.

Whether Mahatma Gandhi Was Misinterpreted Through the Dilemma of Irrelevant and Relevant Philosophies?

In one of the articles published in Current Anthropology way back in 1973, David G. Mandelbaum talked about two approaches to understand the life of an individual. For him, to observe the lifestyle of a person or gain the knowledge about a lifestyle of a person, social scientists always succumb to two main approaches: life passage studies and life history studies. Life passage studies understand the contribution of society about the socialization and enculturation of their young ones, whereas life history studies emphasize the personified experiences and requirements of the individuals and how the individual copes up with the society. Here I have adopted the means of life history study to see some of the facets of Gandhiji’s life and its influence in the society. I shall do it by looking at some of his philosophies on health, food, sexual life, rather than going into the details of his whole life history. I shall do it without perplexing my own way of understanding “Mahatma” and linking sometimes my own life experiences that had been influenced by the philosophies of Gandhiji. I shall be carrying out an autoethnography by perceiving the virtues of Gandhiji in my own life. Nevertheless, it will rather be a futile exercise to describe his philosophies in a single paper and that too with a minimum experience on his whole life.

The Transforming City: Exploring the Potential for Smart Cities and Urban Agriculture in Africa

As the world becomes more urbanized and poverty and food insecurity rise, it is inevitable that varied forms of urban agriculture (UA) will play an important role in the future of the global food system. Food security presents a global challenge particularly among vulnerable groups and the poor and the great cities of Africa are no exception. This study presents an overview of two African cities and the evolving presence of UA in these cityscapes. It is an attempt to examine and explore the potential of smart cities toward supporting urban agricultural practices in Africa. The 1st part of the study provides a brief conceptual background on smart cities and UA in the African context, while the 2nd part provides an overview of the development of two smart cities, namely, Cape Town (South Africa) and Arusha (Tanzania) specifically.

Inscribed Space and Occupational Shift: An Anthropological Study from Saltgheri Village of Mousuni Island in South 24 Parganas of West Bengal

Inscribed space is solely a metaphor describing the relationship between humans and their physical or social environment. The present study is an empirical one, representing the inscribed space and its role in the occupational shift of a community dwelling at Saltgheri village in Mousuni Island in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal in India. The most revered firsthand anthropological fieldwork method has been used in the present study. The study shows how inscribed space shapes the social-cultural life of the studied community.

Gendered Acquiescence and Resistance(s) to Coercive Sexual Practices Among Female Students at a Zimbabwean University

High rates of sexual coercion among female students in institutions of higher education are a global concern. Although this phenomenon is universal, female university students’ experiences and reactions to coercive sexual practices vary greatly due to differences in geo-socio-cultural milieus in universities. This study investigated the extent to which female students acquiesced or resisted gendered codes of sexual conduct during experiences of sexual coercion. Using mixed methodology, the study drew on the narratives of 341 female students and three key informants from a Zimbabwean university. The study’s findings revealed that female students showed significant levels of acquiescence to gendered sexual norms and coercive sexual practices. This suggests that normative sexual practices embedded in university cultures subordinate women’s sexuality, resulting in their vulnerability and acquiescence to coercive sexual practices. However, despite being positioned in a restrictive context which worked to instill and reproduce gendered norms of sexuality and acquiescence to coercive sexual practices, some female students demonstrated significant levels of “constrained” sexual agency, power and subjectivity. These students enacted embodied resistances and (re)negotiated gendered norms of sexuality in the form of negotiations, antagonistic reactions and (re)construction of dominant sexual practices and norms. Therefore, the study concludes that, while female university students conform to dominant sexual practices and norms, they also have the capacity to challenge them and actively resist and manage their experiences of sexual coercion

Common Health Problems and Health-seeking Behavior Among the Tribals of Odisha, India

The present study aims to explore the common health problems and the health-seeking behavior among the tribal population in Koraput district of Odisha. In order to assess the common health problems and the treatment-seeking behavior, 300 tribal individuals from 173 households in the age group of 18–64 years and 24 health care staff were recruited for the study. Information regarding health facilities, their affordability, and morbidity status were obtained through pre-structured questionnaires. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS-20 and Microsoft Excel software tools. Anemia, diarrheal problems, cold, pneumonia, vaginal problems, skin infection, fever, malnutrition, and sickle cell anemia were the common health problems reported by the respondents. In addition, the study found that the majority of the respondents relied on traditional health care practices. The initiation of proper awareness can help in reducing traditional health care practices among the tribal communities. Furthermore, the involvement of modern health care practitioners would help to reduce the disease burden in tribal communities.

Nature, Culture and Oriental Heritage: Ethnographic Explorations on Patua and Chhau Communities of Bengal

A culturally vibrant country like India has multiple embedded forms of folk traditions accompanied by an essentially rich history that is constituted by a cultural–ecological heritage. West Bengal, one of the eastern states of India, is inhabited by numerous ecosystem-dependent communities. Nature, culture, and livelihoods remain deeply entangled in the indigenous practices, blurring concrete boundaries that separate tangible from intangible heritage. In mainstream “ecological” and “heritage” discourses, the folk performative customs and their architects are often projected as harbingers of ecological wisdom—relying on nature and, at the same time, giving back to her. Shedding light on Patuas of Naya Pingla, West Medinipur, and Chhau mask makers from Charida, Purulia, we complicate this line of argument by exploring complex interactions between material and cultural variables influencing these “living heritage” traditions. We have been “immersed” in dense ethnographic realms of the field to unpack complexities determining complex human–nature intersections that concurrently offer livelihood provisions and cultural sustenance among folk communities of rural South Asia. By weaving multilayered web of information and exploring the nonlinear ecology–economy–culture correlation along the two case studies, we have brought to the fore the significance of place-based narratives to inform overarching theories on heritage and ecological sustainability beyond mainstream perspectives. The case studies, though in geographical proximity, are neither meant to complement each other or to present a comparative narrative of ecological–cultural connect, but to highlight the importance of unmappable micro-realities and nonlinearities in shaping a community’s resilience.

Land Governance: Paradigm Shift in Tribal Land Records in Indo-Nepal Border

Land ownership is determined by the land title possessed by an individual and protects the rights of the owner. Due to the rampant growth in population and scarcity of land, mutation, unclear land titles, and prices are soaring and have led to benami transactions. Land documentation is not an easy task in India where different methods and departments are involved with a lack of efforts at bringing commonality into the system of land records. Therefore, to bring transparency, accountability, and efficiency in dealing with the cases of land disputes and associated litigation, there is an immediate need for compilation, maintenance, and updation of the land records to instill a sense of security among landowners. Therefore, the central theme of the article revolves around the hindrances and issues in an entire process, flaws in land records, poor updation of data, online mutation, and automatic flow of information. The adequacy of the updated land information can answer to disputes in boundary, unauthorized construction, permission related to land use, fraud registration of the property, and incomplete mutation and could lower the cost of transactions. The other multidimensions which are focused while understanding the land records in a tribal regime are tenure rights, disputes in common areas, customary rights, and acquisition of land by other communities.