Volume 18, Number 2, 2022
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01 – Eastern Sioux Cradleboards. Documentary Evidence and Attributions
by CHRISTIAN F. FEEST
In her useful contribution to the study of the work of Giacomo Costantino Beltrami, Sandra Busatta (2021:47) argues that four pieces of quillwork in collections preserved in Bergamo and Filottrano were the surviving parts of a cradleboard he had collected in 1823 among the Dakota of Minnesota, making them together “the oldest preserved Dakota cradleboard in the world.” The following essay will attempt to place this claim into the wider context of a discussion of what is known about Eastern Sioux baby carriers, focusing on the significance of documentary evidence and its role in the attribution of the provenience in time and space of insufficiently documented objects.
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02 – An enigmatic psychoactive plant: the tenatsali of the Zuñis of New Mexico
by GIORGIO SAMORINI
In the traditional world, the effects of intoxicating plants are usually interpreted as doors for access to, and communication with, the supernatural world. Alongside the more well-known species that have been subjected to in-depth ethnographic and scientific studies, the ethnographic documentation of the last two centuries is sprinkled with references to intoxicating plants about which very little is known, sometimes only the names they are called by local people. Many more plants are not even mentioned within the ethnobotanical treatises. Here, I focus on the tenatsali of the Zuñis, a plant widely mentioned in the oral literature and in the ethnographic descriptions of the ritual practices of this population, long resident in New Mexico. Still unidentified, anthropologists are divided on the question of whether it is a real plant or if it existed only at a mythical level. For the first time the mythological and ethnographic data concerning tenatsali are gathered together and analysed from an ethnobotanical point of view. The author comes to the conclusion that it is probably a real psychoactive plant or, more generally, an intoxicating source, kept secret by Zuñi initiatory groups and medicine-men, who perhaps continue to use it today.
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03 – Anglo-Saxon and Viking Individual Star Names and Traditions: The Dim View Looking Through a Window into the Distant Past
by HERMAN E. BENDER
During the past decade, the ability to have one’s personal DNA tested has become readily available. The results usually come back with surprises. My own experience and evaluation has revealed that I am, indeed, descended from German ethnicity and ancestry but, strictly speaking, not from the perceived ‘modem’ German roots. On my father’s side, my DNA has revealed strongly Anglo-Saxon roots and, on my mother’s side, just as strongly Scandinavian, Norse or Viking roots. Intrigued by these revelations, together with having a life-long interest in Norse mythology and observational astronomy, I felt compelled to research another interest, the individual Anglo-Saxon and Viking stars and names that are known or recorded. Unfortuntely, only a relative handful of Anglo-Saxon and Viking star names are known. In fact, despite the advantage of written languages, few Anglo-Saxon and Viking star names survived over the past millennia. The greatest threat to the survival of proper star names from Anglo-Saxon and Norse/Viking tradition was Christianity, the missionaries doing all in their power to purge any and all of the ancient beliefs deemed ‘pagan’. However, despite the effects of the purges and paucity of information from original sources, it is a fascinating study providing a view through a window into the past of what is oft times a dimly lit world. The goal of this article, therefore, is an attempt to shed some light on the darkness from the medieval times. This endeavour will begin with a brief review of the Anglo-Saxon and Norse/Viking language core, their cultures, beliefs and similar mythological base from which the individual stars took their name.
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04 – Beltrami’s cradles: Not One, but Three. Notes on some items in the Beltrami’s Collections
by SANDRA BUSATTA
In 2021 I wrote Beltrami’s Cradleboard and Other Stories. Beltrami’s is the Oldest Preserved Dakota Cradleboard in the World, an updated version of the article La culla di Beltrami e altre storie, published in Italian in 1993.The examples of cradles of the Eastern Sioux in the literature made me believe that the two pieces in the Caffi Museum, n. 12 and n. 15, and the two “belts” of Filottrano were parts of the same artifact of the cradleboard type, which the Santee Sioux still used at the time when Beltrami visited the area. I was of the opinion that the objects divided between the Beltrami collection at the museum ‘E. Caffi’ of Bergamo and the Luchetti collection of Filottrano formed a single artifact, that is, a cradle of the type called cradleboard. Actually, I had identified a number of objects that had been divided as belonging to the cradle category. Recently, we could take photos not only of the Bergamo pieces, but also new and better photos of the Filottrano pieces, in order to make the replica for the museum. Christian Feest has correctly questioned my thesis on the existence of a Beltrami cradle, based on his photos of pieces in the collection that showed various discrepancies. In conclusion, the Filottrano and Bergamo binders belong to two different toy cradles, the cradle bands in Bergamo belong to a full-size cradle, the Filottrano ‘strap’ or ‘head frame decoration’ is made of a number of pieces that were cut off, and might belong to a fourth cradle.
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05 - COVID-19 and Challenges of Tribal Livelihood: Study on Perception of Oraon Community of Rarha Village, Jharkhand
by MANOJ RAUL, DIPANKAR CHATTERJEE and ABHIJIT GHOSAL
During Covid-19, sustainable livelihood practice is one of the major challenging issues for every individual, community, and group member. The Oraon is one of the dominant agricultural-based tribes of Jharkhand state. The studied village is a multi-ethnic, semi-urban, and forest-covered village situated 25 km from Ranchi city. Their main occupation is cultivation and practicing forestry and day labour. Presently, they face socio-economic issues, which mean domestic and extra community inter-relationship challenges for their sustainable livelihood practices. So, they are mentally dis-balanced and depressed during lockdown reason due to Covid-19. The people are mainly facing economic problems for their livelihood practices. Thus, agriculture is the labour-based and mind set activities of the studies community. During the lockdown period, maintaining social distancing is the main motto for self-defence from covid-19. Therefore, their occupational practices are lost and stopped at that time, which is a significant issue of people’s depression..
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06 - Quality of Life among Mothers of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders
by ABHILASH V. and JASSEER J.
The present study is carried out to understand the quality of life (QoL) among mothers having children with different types of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). The participants were randomly chosen one consisted of 120 mothers, 30 each having children with intellectual disability (ID), specific learning disability (SLD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data are collected using WHOQOL-BREF. The analysis of data using one-way ANOVA revealed that mothers having children with ID and ASD report significantly more impairment in four domains (general health, physical health, environmental health and overall health) of QoL than mothers having children with ADHD and SLD.
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07 - Body as a site of fight: Women and smallpox vaccination in Travancore
by AGNEY G. K. and PRATHEEP P. S.
Due to the heavy death toll inflicted, smallpox was an abhorred visitor in Travancore (the southernmost princely state in pre-independent India). Ayurvedic medicines and prayers to epidemic deities were the only curative techniques practised by the populace before the introduction of vaccination to the princely state in the early 1800s. From 1813 onwards the administration was occupied with building a vaccination infrastructure which culminated in establishing the department of vaccination in 1865, which later was amalgamated with the Department of Public Health in 1895. Since the early years, the vaccination efforts of the princely state were thwarted by its lack of- trained professionals, financial resources, quality lymph, - adverse climate and hostility among certain caste and religious communities. From the beginning, vaccination was despised by both Muslims and Namboothiri Brahmins, citing religious or caste prohibitions. Extending vaccination to the women of these communities was an arduous task, due to the inaccessibility of their bodies or the private spaces of the household to a male outsider. From 1879 onwards the state decided to make vaccination compulsory, first in public spaces and later in private spaces, which led to the body of the women being a site of a fight between men and the state.
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08 - Ceramic Ecology and Pottery: A Study in Bankura, West Bengal
by AMALESH KANRAR and SUTAPA CHOUDHURY
Pottery-making is one of the oldest practices in society. Most of the materials used in pottery work are naturally found. The study is focused on the relationship between ecology and pottery. Interview and observation methods have been used to conduct this study. It is found that Ecology and pottery have a very close relationship with each other. From manufacture to sale everything depends upon the environment. Potters are utilizing nature and ecological principles to give depth to their work. The space acquired by the potters is determined by the ecological conditions.
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09 - An Anthropological Approach to Study Dermatoglyphics through Historical Perspectives
by ANTARA BOSE, SAMPRITI DEBNATH and NITISH MONDAL
The ridge patterns on the palms, fingers, toes, and soles stay constant and are distinct to each individual. Dermatoglyphics is the study of these ridges, which has many applications in medical science, biological anthropology, genetics, pharmaceuticals, dentistry, evolution, genetics and forensic science. Historically, the study of dermatoglyphics began in the 1600s, with Cummins and Midlo coining the name ‘Dermatoglyphics,’. These patterns are crucial in the identification of numerous disorders, both genetically and clinically. Thus, the widespread use of dermatoglyphics have shown to be a unique and important instrument for dental research, personal identification, paternity issues, demographic studies, population variations and the detection of numerous ailments and genetic diseases. The purpose of the present paper is to better understand the history of dermatoglyphics and its applications in anthropological research.
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010 - An Anthropological Impact Assessment on Flood Induced Displacement: A Case study in Dhemaji Development Block, District Dhemaji, Assam
by ANUP HAZARIKA and RIPUNJOY SONOWAL
Floods have a significant negative social, economic and environmental impact on both individuals and communities. The results of floods, both negative and positive, differ greatly depending on the placement and amount of flooding. Global data from a previous couple of decades shows that the number of displaced people by natural disasters is on the increase. In India, the North-Eastern region, especially Assam, is liable to natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, landslides, occasional droughts, etc. Among them, floods are the most common natural disaster that causes displacement every year in Assam. In this backdrop, the present study is an attempt to make an assessment of flood-induced displacement among the people residing in flood-prone areas of the Dhemaji Development Block, Dhemaji District, Assam. A total of 195 respondents were included in the study. The study mainly focuses on the reasons, types as well as problems faced by the displaced people in the Dhemaji District. Due to the effects of flooding, the majority (53.84%) of respondents were displaced from their usual place of residence. They were displaced mainly due to two reasons: silt deposition (13.84%) and soil erosion (28.20%) in their habitat. Among them, temporary displacement (35.89%) is very more common than that of permanent displacement(7.94%).
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011 - Emotional Intelligence and Coping Style Based on The Nature of Family among Young Adults-3 and -4
by ARCHANA CHANDRAN and BINDU P.
A healthy family environment is considered a major force in moulding young adults to become more adaptable and emotionally matured people, to deal with situations. It helps to develop the abilities to set themselves apart from parents or leave from the sheltering care of their own family and lead an independent life. Though researchers and theorists have increasingly recognised the role of parental involvement in the overall development of children, the prominent role of family functioning aspects in developing emotional intelligence and coping style among young adults is still an under researched area. The present study focused on the importance of the nature of family on emotional intelligence and thereby coping style of young adults, who just emerged out from their adolescent period. The participants for the present study consisted of 433 (303 females and 130 males) in the age range of 20 to 24 years. Simple random sampling technique was used for the present study. The instruments used for the study were Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EII) and Coping Style Questionnaire. t-test was used to analyse data. The results of the study showed that the nature of the family itself has a role on emotional intelligence and coping styles among young adults.
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012 - Public Expenditure on the Education Sector in India
by ASHOK PATIL, S. V. HANAGODIMATH and JAI PRABHAKAR S. C.
This paper discusses how gender dynamics shape different facets of everyday life of Muslim women of rural Haryana such as education, aspirations, work, mobility and conformity to gendered norms. It argues that socio-economic conditions forged with culturally experienced gender norms shape the unique identity of these women. Based on qualitative study with in-depth interviews of different castes in Haryana, it explores various gendered roles performed by women. It aims to understand the dynamics of gender experienced by these women in their everyday life. It offers insight into the lives of the women with regard to their regional and religious identity which shapes their everyday being in view of gender stereotypes, stated son preference, family honour and dowry. It brings out that bodies are an integral part of the being and existence of a woman to perform their gendered roles and behaviour, defining her experiences.
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013 - Knowledge of Dietary Diversity, Hygienic Practices of Caregivers and Nutritional Status of under five Children in Rural West Bengal, India
by ATANU GHOSH, SAMIRAN BISAI, SHOUMMO SEN GUPTA, RUNA NATH and SANCHITA CHAKRABORTY
A mother’s knowledge about dietary diversity is the key component for providing a high-quality diet to her children. However, there is a dearth of literature to assess a mother’s knowledge about dietary diversity and its impact on the nutritional status of children. Therefore, an attempt was made in this study to understand a mother’s knowledge on dietary diversity and her hygienic practices on the nutritional status of under-five children. This cross-sectional community based study was conducted in rural West Bengal, India. Data was collected using Android-based ODK data collection tools and analysed using WHO Anthro and SPSS (version 25) software. Frequency distribution, bi-variate cross-tabulation and binary logistic regression analysis were performed. 31% of children found underweight, 41.4% stunted and 17% wasted. About 37% of mothers knew about minimum dietary diversity and 24% used to wash their hands with soap and water before feeding their children. A mother’s knowledge on dietary diversity was significantly associated with lower odds of being underweight (AOR:0.34), stunted (AOR:0.49) and wasted (AOR:0.33). Other significant predictors were a mother’s educational attainment, knowledge on the symptoms of malnourishment and the habit of handwashing. The findings of this study reinforce the importance of enhancing a mothers’ knowledge on child nutrition, dietary diversity and hygienic practices to improve the nutritional status of children.
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p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 125%;">This study was a community-based cross-sectional study carried out among the Galo school-going children of the West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. The total number of participants was 1411 Galo children aged 5–14 years. Among them, 683 were boys and 728 were girls. The nutritional status of the subjects was assessed using height-for-age, weight-for-height, and BMI for-age as per NCHS guidelines. Boys were taller and heavier in most of the ages than girls. Significant age variations were noticed in anthropometric variables. The prevalence of stunting, underweight, and low BMI were 10.69%, 1.90%, and 2.49%, respectively in boys and 17.45%, 3.98% and 1.65% in girls.014 - Nutritional Status of School-going Children: A Study on the Galo Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, India
by JAI CHANDRA PEGU and AVIJIT BORUAH
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015 - Marriage Practice Among the Soliga: A Scheduled Tribe in Karnataka
by T. T. BASAVANAGOUDA and RAJANI. A.
Marriage is a social contract for the satisfaction of male and female physical, biological, psychological and spiritual needs, leading to the formation of a family to bring up children and live together. Sexual relationships and procreation are undoubtedly the primary aims of marriage. Marriage validates sex relationships. The institution of marriage among the tribes differs from that in Hindu society. Marriage among the tribes is not a religious sacrament but a social contract to enjoy sex, procreation, and companionship. The Present paper deals with the different forms of marriage practices followed by the Soliga tribal community based on the Ethnographic Study conducted at four taluks of Yelandur, Chamrajanagar, Kollegal, and Gundulpettaluks of the Chamrajanagar district organized by the Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute, Mysuru.
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016 - Assessment of socio-economic status, food security and socio-demographic factors associated with birth weight among the tribal children of West Bengal, India
by BISWAJIT MAHAPATRA
Socioeconomic status and food security are very important factors related to livelihood. Agriculture is the basic source of income for tribal people. The present study assesses the socio-economic status, food security, agricultural land, paddy crop production and consumption among two tribal communities in West Bengal, India. It determines the relationship between socio-demographic factors and birth weight among tribal children aged 1 to 5 years. Data is collected through house-to-house interviews. A total of 848 households (434 Santal and 414 Bhumij) were studied. The data was analyzed by SPSS software (ver. 16.0). The majority of the households belong to a low socioeconomic status and significant ethnic associations (p= <0.05) were found. Agricultural land, paddy crop production and consumption were higher in the Santal community. High food insecurity was observed in both ethnic groups (Bhumij = 56.3%; Santal = 55.5%). Socioeconomic status was significantly associated with food security in both ethnic groups (p= < 0.001). Birth order and socio-economic status wise positively significant associations found with the birth weight of the tribal children. The present study concludes that the effects of birth order and socio-economic status on child birth weight and similarly, birth weight affect children’s future growth and development.
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017 - Opium Addiction And Poor Pregnancy Outcome Among The Wancho Tribal Population, Arunachal Pradesh, India
by CHAYA RANI HAZARIKA
Pregnancy outcome is a powerful indicator of the health status of its women and the quality of health care available to the community. A two-way relationship between women’s health and pregnancy outcome exists and high rates of foetal and early infant mortality are well known. The use of opium for medicinal or recreational purposes has a long history in many parts of the world and thus continues to be common. Infants born to mothers who use opiates do have impaired growth, smaller head size, and significant neuro-behavioral dysfunction due to withdrawal. This paper reports the adverse pregnancy outcome and its predictors, particularly the opium addiction among 234 married Wancho tribe of the Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Data were collected from women through a pretested questionnaire. Data reveal that a high rate of stillbirths (4.91 percent) and spontaneous abortion (6.06 percent) among addicts than the non-addicts. Pregnancy wastage is not only unwanted in itself but also has an adverse impact on women’s health and hence public health intervention is needed.
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018 - The Symbolic Significance of the Egg in Khasi Ritual and Culture
by CLARISSA CANDACE GIRI
This paper seeks to examine the much-neglected role of the egg in the Khasi creation myth and their connection to its frequent usage in the rites of the original religion of the Khasi people. The paper looks at a few creation myths involving the egg, from different perspectives around the world, along with oral traditions through myth and folklore of the Khasi. Focusing in on the rites of passage observed through anthropological fieldwork at Nangbah, west Jaiñtia hills, Meghalaya, this paper attempts to generate the symbolic significance of the egg as a symbol in ritual and its place in Khasi culture.
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019 - The quality of antenatal care received by the Kabui Naga women of the Tamenglong district of Manipur, India and its impact on their infant and child mortality: A cross-sectional study
by D. K. LIMBU, C. KAMEI and A. HALOI
This paper deals with the status of antenatal care received by the Kabui Naga women of the Tamenglong district, Manipur and its impact on fertility and infant and child mortality. For this study, a cross-sectional method was adopted using purposive sampling. Data on antenatal care and health of the children were collected from a total of 434 ever-married women aged 15-49 years by using Interview Schedule. All data were managed and analyzed using SPSS 16 software by setting the level of significance at 5%. The Kabui Naga women of the Tamenglong district seldom visit health centers for the ANC check-ups due to their lack of awareness about its importance during pregnancy. The present study reveals that certain bio-social factors like improving women’s education, health care practices and socio-economic status play a significant role in lowering fertility as well as infant and child mortality. Among all the independent factors considered, maternal age is significantly associated with ANC attendance. Further, in this population feeding of colostrums to the new born is found very common (97.21%). Among all the immunizations considered, the coverage of polio vaccine shows the highest followed by BCG and then measles and whooping cough respectively.
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020 - CBC data from beta-thalassemia trait and other abnormal hemoglobin screening among the Bengali populations of India and its comparison with other studies
by TAPAS KUMAR BISWAS, SAPTARSHI BISWAS, NITAMONI BHARALI and DIPAK KUMAR ADAK
The Bengali population groups of West Bengal, India was studied for CBC (complete blood count) for the screening of beta-thalassemia trait and other abnormal hemoglobin. Results of the present study were compared with available other studies. In the case of the beta-thalassemia trait, prediction of CBC value was 99.9% positive. And in the case of the HBE trait, frequency of CBC negative (65.67%) value was much higher than CBC positive (34.33%). Biological distance values show that the British and Turkish are comparatively close in this respect. While, the Sardinian, Pakistani and Indian (Bengali) are maintaining far distance among themselves. However, the study population maintains a relatively far distance with the British, Turkish, Sardinian and Pakistani in both the genders.
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021 - Becoming shamans among Digaru Mishmis and Sherdukpens of Arunachal Pradesh, India
by EVA UMPO and MD ASGHAR
Shamanism still plays a significant role among the communities of Arunachal Pradesh. Every community has its particular terminology for a religious specialist, a large population from Digaru Mishmi and Sherdukpen. Both communities still follow their age-long indigenous ways of shamanism, which have been passed from generation to generation. The present work will reflect the presence of different types of shamans in both communities and closely go through the shaman’s journey from the initial phase of their lives to the attainment of the first ritual as a full-fledged shaman. The work will also reflect different categories of shamans and their role in rituals and ceremonies in respective communities..
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022 - Mental Health of Secondary School Students in Relation to Their Self-Esteem: A Sample study in Ganjam District, Odisha, India
by SAMANTARAYA H., GODABARI S., SAMANTROY M., and SWAIN S.
By mental health we mean the state of cognitive, behavioural, and emotional well-being. Often the psychological disorder is affecting ability to enjoy life. Thus, mental health is all about how one thinks, feels, and behaves towards others in her / his daily life and living. Looking after mental health in right perspective can preserve and enhance a person’s ability to enjoy life. Doing this involves balancing life activities, responsibilities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. The stress, depression, and anxiety can all affect mental health and disrupt a person’s routine. This paper intends to study the mental health and its relationships with the self-esteem among school students. The objective here is to assess secondary school students’ mental health in relation to their self-esteem and familial environment and to have a comparison between boys and girls. Empirical data have been taken from 200 adolescent school students of Ganjam district, Odisha through cluster sampling. Mental health inventory and self-esteem scale were used for the collection of data. The data have been analysed through SPSS software, using a correlation test and coefficient of Pearson t-test for a significant relationship. It infers that mental health is directly proportional to person’s self-esteem.
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023 - Awareness of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) among the Females of Manipur, Northeast India
by JEENA WAHENGBAM and HUIDROM SURAJ SINGH
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders leading to poor fertility in women of reproductive age. The prevalence of PCO is on the increase worldwide. It could be because of lack of awareness of PCOS as the disorder is heterogeneous. Moreover, unawareness of PCOS may delay diagnosis leading to long-term reproductive health and metabolic complications. Therefore, an attempt was made to assess the knowledge and attitude of PCOS among the female population of Manipur, North East India. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted on females aged 18-44 using an online structured questionnaire. Most of the participants (57.62%) were unaware of PCOS. Ten percent of the respondents self-reported that they were already diagnosed with PCOS. The finding signifies a high prevalence rate of PCOS in the state. Although, most of the self-reported already diagnosed with PCOS (55.56%) were not well aware of PCOS. The results highlight the high prevalence of PCOS in the studied population. Effective methods of raising awareness and education about PCOS in young age groups would help contribute toward early diagnosis and prevention from the disorder and reduce the risk for many long-term health related complications.
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024 - Mirror of Politics: Studying Social Dynamics through Tamil Cinema
by S. JEEVANANDAM and K. KARTHIK
Cinema is one of the important popular medium of communications in the modern world and India becomes one of the leading cinema producing countries in it. India used to make an average of nearly one thousand films every year. The rich diversified regional, linguistic and cultural variations of the Indian subcontinent lead to the different cinema industries within the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil cinema industry is one among them that is popularly known as Kollywood. Tamil cinema has always functioned as a medium of political communication and reflected the political scenario of the respective periods. It represents an ideological discourse through their cinemas, wherever the technicians dominated the screen. The content of Tamil cinema changed its discourse from time to time. It depends on the political climate of Indian society, especially Tamil society. In this context, this particular paper will trace and discuss the evolution of thematic contents/trends of the Tamil cinemas.
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025 - Ethnoarchaeological Approach To The Interrelation Of Traditional Household Structural Patterns And Occupant’s Affluence Among The Koms Of Manipur (India)
by KARUNG HOINEIKHAM KOM
The Kom tribe is one of the tribal communities in the Northeastern states that inhabit all the hill districts of Manipur. This paper mainly aims to find out and interpret the interrelation between Kom traditional domestic household patterns (such as shape and size, area, walls, post and post spacing, and architecture) and the occupant’s socio-economic and affluence in ethnoarchaeological perspectives. It also seeks to find out the archaeological signatures focusing on the reuse and discard pattern of material remains of household structures and tries to bring out the wealth status of ancestral Koms. Ethnographic data are used to study the structural pattern of traditional domestic buildings. It helps to predict the socio-economic and wealth characteristics that reflect the household structure and thereby reconstruct the wealth status of the past Kom society.
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026 - The status and Types of Haemoglobin among the Toto Community in West Bengal, India
by KAUSTUV DEBSARMA and K. K. N. SHARMA
A large number of populations are suffering from haemoglobinopathies including tribal populations. Sickle-cell-anaemia and Thalassemia are two major genetic mutations in human haemoglobin. Toto is one of the PVTGs in India, living under the foothills of Himalayan region in the Indo-Bhutan border. The objective of the paper is to find out the status of haemoglobin and the types of haemoglobins found among them. CBC and HPLC tests were performed by collecting blood samples from 114 genetically unrelated couples from the community. On the basis of CBC test inferences were drawn that 72.4% individuals have normal blood haemoglobin and 23.2% people have low blood haemoglobin. Different types of haemoglobin like HbF, HbA2 and HbA are also found from HPLC test. Where, 63.6% have HbF and 100% have HbA in low range, 12.3% have HbF and 69.3% have HbA2 in high range, and the rest are normal. From both the tests it is seen that 49.1% people have HbE heterozygous, 19.7% have HbE homozygous type. In conclusion it can be said that besides having HbE type of haemoglobin among the studied population they have very good haemoglobin status and good health.
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027 - Traditional Medicines of the Chakma community: Synthesis of Body, Spirit, Disease and Healer
by SANJEEV KUMAR DEY, KHWAIRAKPAM PREMJIT SINGH and OINAM HEMLATA DEVI
This paper intends to explore the rich traditions of the indigenous Chakma medicine, focusing on the concept of health and illness, causes and treatment of illnesses and diseases. A detailed account of the Chakma healers and their diagnosis process is also described. This study is a product of an ethnographic research conducted among the Chakma people in the Chittagong Hill Tracks (CHT) of Bangladesh and Chawngte of Mizoram in India. The main methods of data collection involve the observation and unstructured interviews. A BOIDDOH OR AN OJHA occupies a respectable position in the traditional healthcare system of the Chakma communities of Mizoram in India and Chittagong in Bangladesh. The contributions made by the traditional healers Boiddoh or Ojha are appreciated. Villagers in far-off places are still living on their traditional medicine. The magico-religious performances for the treatment of different illnesses are also studied. This paper seeks rational answers to these intriguing matters regarding the geographical location and common illnesses encountered by the people of Chakmas.
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028 - Effect of gender, ethnicity and residence on blood pressure and biochemical variables in two caste populations of Andhra Pradesh
by P. VENKATRAMANA, P. CHANDRASEKHAR RAO, P. ANNAIAH and S. A. A. LATHEEF
In this study, an attempt was made to investigate the effects of gender, ethnicity and residence on blood pressure and biochemical variables in a pooled sample of Reddy and Madiga caste populations of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh using two way multivariate analyses of variance. Significant effects of gender, ethnicity and residence was observed on the blood pressure and biochemical variables. In caste groups, differential and different percent of contribution of gender and residence to the blood pressure and biochemical parameters was observed. Discriminant function analyses revealed that blood pressure and lipoproteins variables were able to classify the participants by residence and ethnicity in pooled sample and by residence in both caste groups.
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029 - Prevalence of overweight/obesity among the Tamang adolescent boys and girls of Pakyong sub-division of East District, Sikkim
by MAIBAM SAMSON SINGH and YOGESH SHARMA
Obesity in children and adolescent is becoming a main public health problem in many developing countries. Good nutrition with an adequate, well balanced diet combined with regular physical activity is a corner stone of good health. The Present study was conducted to examine the prevalence of overweight/obesity and its determining factors. The data was collected from 71 adolescent girls and 63 adolescent boys aged between 13 to 19 years through random sampling method from Pakyong sub-division of East district of Sikkim, Northeast India. Z-score of BMI for age and sex was used for assessing overweight/obesity. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 25.39 percent and 23.94 percent among the adolescent boys and girls respectively. The frequency of overweight/obesity among boys (44.44%) and girls (53.33%) was found significantly higher in high income family. The frequency of overweight/obesity was 67.19 percent among girls and 52.94 percent among boys who eat non-vegetables over four times per week. The study indicates that family income, parents’ occupation, physical activity and overall lifestyles are important in determining the prevalence of overweight/obesity in the study population. Awareness is required in rural areas with regards to basic knowledge about health, exercise and basic nutrition for the wellbeing of individual as well as population..
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030 - Detection of Hemoglobin E [β26(B8) Glu-Lys,GAG>AAG] mutation among the Tai-Khampti population of Arunachal Pradesh through Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism
by MITHUN SIKDAR, SAUMITRA BARUA and ABHISHIKTA GHOSH ROY
The Khampti is a unique tribal population of Arunachal Pradesh that belongs to Tai-group of linguistic family and followers of Theravada Buddhism. Northeast India is recognised as one of the core areas where abnormal haemoglobin E is found abundantly. But till date no investigation of abnormal haemoglobin has been reported from this population. The present study tried to find out the frequency of abnormal haemoglobin E among this community with the help of PCR-RFLP method. We have screened 52 individuals, consisting of 25 females and 27 males for the presence of abnormal haemoglobin E. Out of 52 individuals, 7 individuals were found to have carriers of HbE whereas 2 individuals were found to have in homozygous state (HbEE) showing an HbE allele frequency of 0.105 in this population. The findings may help to scale up further genetic screening of abnormal haemoglobin as well as genetic counselling in this population.
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031 - A Study to Assess the Cardiovascular Disease Related Risk Factors among the Rural and Urban Populations of West Bengal, India
by ADITI BARDHAN, PRIYANKA KANRAR, BAIDYANATH PAL and MONALI GOSWAMI
The present study is an attempt to envisage the various cardiovascular diseases risk factors among the rural and urban population of West Bengal. A total number of 224 participants (rural – 93; urban -131) aged 20 to 70 years were apparently selected to participate in the study. Significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed in physical activity, consumption of oil, consumption of fruits and overall and central adiposity variables between the rural and urban participants of both sexes. A significant association of behavioural risk factors with CVDs was observed. The age-specific mean difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001) among the participants. Significant difference was observed between the menopausal and the non-menopausal women. CVDs, a major public health challenge, require identification and implementation of proper health programmes at the grass root.
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032 - A Study on Nutritional Status and the Prevalence of Undernutrition among the Hmar Girls (4 To 12 Years) of Churachandpur District, Manipur
by NANCY MALSAWMKIM and J. W. DKHAR
The present study was carried among 360 Hmar girls of 4 to 12 years of Churachandpur district, Manipur in order to assess the nutritional status and the prevalence of undernutrition among them. In each selected village an attempt was made to include in the sample, all those children who were willing to co-operate in order to get enough sample size. Anthropometric measures were obtained according to standard techniques. The age-sex specific L, M and reference values were used to calculate height-for-age, weight-for age, and weight for height Z-score. The girls with Z-scores -2 to -3 were classified as stunting, underweight and wasting. Similarly, the girls with Z-score less than -3 were classified from severely stunted, severely underweight, and severely wasted. The results of the present study revealed to have 59.45% healthy respondents and 40.55% undernourished respondents. The study shows that there are 10.0% stunting, 10.85% underweight and 8.61% wasting. The present study also reveals that about 3.88%, 3.88% and 3.33% were severely stunted, severely underweight and severely wasted respectively.
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033 - “Lai thang”: a product of the culmination of the Meitei religion, technology, and its environment
by NAOREM ARUN SINGH, DWIPEN BEZBARUAH and MAYANGLAMBAM GOURACHANDRA
Pakhangba consolidated seven clans during the establishment of the Ningthouja dynasty in 33 AD, resulting in the present Meitei. The deity Khamlangba is associated with the discovery of iron. The legend about his search for iron has meticulously been written down in the Puyas (a sacred text of Meitei written with archaic Meitei scripts using indigenous paper and ink). And the Meitei has been associated with iron smelting since time immemorial. The dating of iron-bearing slag indicates a date of around 400 AD. This paper discusses a special type of thang (dao, a long-bladed knife) called Lai thang. They are symbolic of ancient kings or deities or are used for ritualistic purposes. An Attempt has been made to understand the historical significance of these daos as well as the mode of acquisition and measurement. In the process, a variety of Lai thangs are documented and artifact-based interviews are conducted. The study concludes that the so-called Lai thangs are a product of deeply rooted people’s faith and belief in Sanamahism, a traditional practice of worshipping ancestors and deities that adapted to its technology and surrounding environment. Therefore, material culture also reflects religious faith and belief.
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034 - Age At Natural Menopause In India: An Anthropological Study Of Determinants, Symptoms And Attitude Among Rural Women Of North Karnataka
by V. NAYANA and J. SANDEEP
Age at natural menopause is a vital biological event in every woman’s life because of the increase in diseases and other problems after middle age. The timing of the menopause can’t be accurately predicted or determined and differs greatly from one woman to another and from one ethnic group to another. The cross-sectional study was conducted among the rural women of North Karnataka. The study includes 101 rural women who were farmers, labourers and housewives, have achieved menopause naturally (women with oophorectomy were excluded). The main objective of the present study is to find out the age at natural menopause, factors determining the event, examination of symptoms prevailing and to report the attitude of women towards menopause. The multiple regression analysis of the variables with the age at natural menopause showed the significant positive association of age of respondents, occupation, age at menarche, breastfeeding duration and significant inverse correlation with marital status and education with age at natural menopause. The study also found that the great number of women with the habit of consuming gutka, tobacco with betel leaf and nuts had bad oral health and reported much oral distress after menopause. 45.5% women had a positive attitude towards menopause. These women seek independence after menopause. Whereas 42.5% women didn’t find any difference in living before and after menopause.
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035 - Parental Involvement in Secondary Education among Secondary School Going Tribal Children in Sidhi District of Madhya Pradesh, India
by PADMINI SA and K.K.N. SHARMA
Parental involvement plays a major role in the educational success of students. Parental involvement improves student’s achievement, high school completion and reduces the probability of high school dropout and increases the college enrollment rate. So, the present paper aims to examine the parental involvement in secondary education among secondary school going tribal children in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh, India. The present study was carried out among 500 Secondary School Going Tribal Children in Sidhi District, Madhya Pradesh, India. The present study found low level of parental involvement and highly significant relationship between gender, parent’s education, family income and parental involvement. The study also found that highly insignificant relationship between family size and parental involvement.
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036 - Co-existence of Under-nutrition and Central Obesity among Adult Juangs of Keonjhar District in Odisha, India
by BINOY KUMAR KUITI; SUBHENDU ACHARYA; KANHU CHARAN SATAPATHY; DILLIP KUMAR BARIK and PRASANNA KUMAR PATRA
Objective:The population in India still faces the burden of undernutrition and non-communicable diseases, and the prevalence of undernutrition and obesity is gradually increasing. The discourse regarding the dual burden of undernutrition and central obesity has not yet been extensively explored in both sexes at a community level as well as in individuals. The present study assessed the frequency of both mal-formation based on mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) as well as the waist-hip ratio (WHR) among adult Juang males and females of Keonjhar district in Odisha, India. Conclusion:The results of the present study indicated that the prevalence of undernutrition among adult Juangs is very high and simultaneously central obesity also stated there severe position. Most importantly, immediate nutritional intervention programs are needed for implementation among this ethnic group.
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037 - A study on high-risk Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) types 16 & 18 infections among the women of the Barak Valley in Northeast India
by PRITAM DAS, GULRUKH BEGUM, SUNIL THAKUR, PULAKES PURKAIT and DIPNEET KAUR
Despite India has a high incidence of cervical cancer, there aren’t enough large-scale population-based investigations on the prevalence and genotype distribution of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Out of the several high-risk types, HPV-16 and HPV-18 are primarily responsible for the bulk of cancers linked to the virus. The present study investigates the genotype distribution of HPV-16 and HPV-18 with respect to cervical cytology among the women of the Barak Valley, Assam, Northeast India. A total of 80 women were enrolled in the study. After the enrolment of the participants, cervicovaginal smears were collected and processed for (a) HPV genotyping and (b) cytological analysis. HPV DNA detection was done with consensus primers MY09/11, followed by the detection of HPV-16 and HPV-18 with type-specific primers. Liquid Based Cytology (LBC) test was performed, and cytological grading was done. Overall HPV prevalence was 17.5% (14/80) using MY09/11 HPV consensus primers. HPV-16 is found to be the most prevalent single infection (8.75%, 7/80), followed by HPV-18 (6.25%, 5/80). Where co-infection with HPV types 16+18 is found to be 2.5% (2/80). In cytological analysis, a total of 10% (8/80) show abnormal lesions in various cytological categories. The distribution of abnormal cytological lesions is CIN1 (6.25%, 5/80), CIN2 (2.5%, 2/80), and CIN3 (1.25%, 1/80). When HPV infection was checked across different cytological categories, 87.5% (6/8) of abnormal cytological lesions were HPV positive. The present study found that overall HPV infection is high among the women of the Barak Valley Northeast India. Awareness about the virus, information on available screening methods, and vaccination may play a decisive role in reducing the infection rate.
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038 - Dynamics of Tribal Entrepreneurship in India: A case study from Assam
by PROSPERU DAIMARI and M. ROMESH SINGH
Entrepreneurship is considered a vital venture for economic growth and generates economic growth, jobs, and wealth. It is adopted by people from different parts of the world irrespective of the difference in culture, race, ethnicity, religion and caste. The present paper aims to explore and examine socio-cultural factors of entrepreneurship development and the entrepreneurs’ challenges. This is an anthropological case study on traditional and modern entrepreneurship among the Bodo tribe of Assam, Northeast India. The study deals with the micro and small enterprises that are adopting the simple idea of organizing the business within their social relationships. Moreover, the paper examines these entrepreneurs’ problems and issues concerning entrepreneurship even though strict governmental provisions and schemes for entrepreneurship development are available.
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039 - Contacts between the Buddhist borderlands of India and the borderlands of Russia from the pre-modern to the contemporary periods through Lhasa and Little Lhasa
by M. N. RAJESH and LANUCHILA CHANGKIRI
Russia and India are both multi-ethnic countries and have fostered many ethnic groups and cultures through the long course of history. Some of these borderland cultures have also developed contacts with neighbouring and far off regions. In contemporary borderland studies discourse, the borderlands are represented as the other of the core regions, and their relations with other borderland communities are seen as natural and against the hegemonic national spaces. However, the contacts between the Buddhist regions of Russia, namely, Kalmykia, Tuva and Buryatia with Lhasa and later Dharamsala (Little Lhasa), do not reveal any antagonism with the majority nationalities in both countries. This article is a historical narrative of the important contacts between the Buddhist borderlands of Russia and India that have impacted the relations between the Buddhist borderlands of the two countries.
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040 - Health Care Practices Adopted By T1dm Patients Residing In Chandigarh
by RAMANDEEP KAUR, ANIL KISHORE SINHA, SANJAY KUMAR BHADADA and SANDEEP GROVER
Type 1Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease of the endocrine system. It is caused by the destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas, and as a result body produces little or no insulin, hence, external insulin administration is required throughout the patients’ lives. An intensive care regimen is required to successfully manage the disease. Health care practices may vary from individual to individual depending upon the various associated factors with the disease such as glycaemic control, associated diabetes complications, family income, educational status of the family, and treatment satisfaction. In the present study an attempt has been made to explore the health care practices being followed by the respondents to successfully manage the disease and their perceived usefulness. Conclusion: Healthcare practices and their perceived usefulness varies across different cultures. Also, lack of awareness among the sufferers about the management of the disease encourages people to try alternative treatments.
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041 - Health Status Of Menopausal Women: A Study On Menopausal Health Of Mishing Women In Assam
by RITA TAID and B. LANGSTIEH
Menopause is a significant event that occurs in every woman’s life. The main findings on menopausal health reveal that the average age of menopause varies slightly between countries, which shows that fertility drops early in life of those women who attain menopause earlier. Menopause is not only a major signal for fertility loss but also for an increased risk of many midlife disorders and difficulties. The objective of this paper is to analyze the age at menopause, menopausal symptoms and health status of menopausal women. Sample consists of 98 Mishing women residing in several urban areas of Kamrup metro district, Assam. Observation and interview with a pre-tested schedule and anthropometric measurements with standard technique were used for collecting data. The mean age at menopause was 47.4±1.03. There was a high prevalence of arthralgia and myalgia (73.5%) and Fatigue (66.3%) in the present study. The women›s anthropometric measurements revealed further health issues. : 55.1% were in normal range of BMI, while 27.6% were overweight, 11.2 % were obese and 6.1 % were observed as underweight. Common comorbid conditions affecting the women were arthritis (36.7%), hypertension (22.4%) and diabetes (8.2%).
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042 - Tribal Disease Aetiology: A Case Study of the Tangkhul Naga
by ROBERT ANGKANG SHIMRAY
The emergence of humans from their ape ancestors is intertwined with the appearance of the disease. Since then, diseases of varied kinds continue to pose the greatest challenge to human survival and sustenance. Thousands of years of association eventually led humans to develop different strategies to confront disease and health maintenance. As a result, every human group inhabiting varying social and environmental conditions has its medical logic and theories, which are constantly improved with new medical insight and the emergence of new diseases. This paper explores the various existing theories and interpretations of disease among the Tangkhul Nagas of Manipur. It brings out diverse disease theories that continue to shape the understanding of health and diseases among this group of people.
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043 - Nutritional status of ICDS preschool children of Purulia district, West Bengal, India
by SHIULE GOPE, KANAK PRABHA MAHATO, SAMIRAN BISAI and SADARUDDIN BISWAS
Malnutrition, especially undernutrition among preschool children is the most serious health problems in developing countries. It seems to be a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. The present study was aimed to assess the nutritional status among the ICDS pre-school children of the Purulia district, WB, India. This cross-sectional study was undertaken at the randomly selected 25 ICDS Centres at Balarampur Block of Purulia district. A total of 544 (boys 284, girls 260) pre-school children aged between 2 to 5 years were included in this study. Height and weight were measured as per standard techniques. Nutritional status was assessed using the NCHS and WHO growth reference values, <-2 z-score values were used to determine stunting, underweight and wasting status. The overall prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting were very much higher among preschool children using both growth reference. Sex combined age variations in prevalence of undernutrition were also found. It was also observed that prevalence of stunting was found to be higher according to the WHO reference. Whereas the rate of underweight was found to be higher by NCHS standards but the rate of wasting was almost similar as measured by both methods. The nutritional status of the children was unsatisfactory indicating a major public health problem. Parents needs to be aware that their children are to get diverse nutrient rich food to prevent malnutrition. A more effective nutritional intervention program may be adopted by the respective authority.
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044 - A Study on the Chakpa Phayeng Haraoba a Ritualistic Practice of the Meitei of Manipur
by NARENGBAM SANATOMBI DEVI and KH.MANGLEMBI DEVI
The Meitei of Manipur has been possessed rich indigenous cultural heritage. The Lai-Haraoba, a ritualistic practice, is one of the indigenous cultural heritage of the Meitei of Manipur which has been handed down from the past to the present generation. It is broadly divided into four types such as Kanglei Haraoba,Kakching Haraoba,Moirang Haraoba and Chakpa Haraoba.The term Chakpa denotes the native people of Manipur, who belong to the major ethnic group the Meitei of Manipur. The present study aims to explore the ideational and/or symbolic aspects of the Meitei traditional custodianship system of cultural resources within the perspective of Cultural Resource Management (CRM) in order to identify their archaeological significances.
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045 - News Consumption on Social Media-A Online Survey
by SHAIK MOHAMMAD SHAMEER
Over the past ten years, social media have significantly impacted how many individuals access the news. More frequently, people accessing news from social media platforms like You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, snap chat and Instagram. Even political and other prominent personality using twitter to disseminate information through twitter and news aggregators ,newspapers and news channels incessantly monitor prominent personality twitter accounts. The aim of the study is to find out the usage of social media platforms for news consumption. Around 151 members responded to our survey. The results show that nearly sixty percent of the people access news on social media platforms. Facebook is more popular among the respondents and the age group of 18 to 29 years were using social media platforms rigorously.
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046 - Ronghoan Festival of the Nocte Tribe of Tirap District, Arunachal Pradesh, India
by S. SIMON JOHN, WANGLIT MONGCHAN and TARUN MENE
Traditional festivals are the amalgamation of various aspects of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which reflects the worldview and culture of a particular community. Understanding festivals in the natural socio-cultural context is very important to understand the culture of a particular community. This paper attempts to describe the Ronghoan festival of the Nocte tribe inhabiting in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, India and discusses various aspects of the festival by interpreting the associated rituals and symbolic attributes, which largely manifest their worldviews. It also highlights the multifaceted nature and role of festival in Nocte society and tries to identify a variety of tasks performed by festival. Ronghoan is a harvest festival of millet celebrated by Nocte community of Khonsa (Hakhun) village during the month of June-July every year. It is celebrated to propitiate the god, Almighty Rang for his blessing in order to attain good crops and well-being of the village.
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047 - Pilgrimage Tourism to Mount Kailash: A Case Study of the Ladakh Route
by SONAM JOLDAN, DISKIT ANGMO, CHIMAT LADOL and RINCHEN DOLMA
The Changthang region is a part of the high altitude Tibetan plateau. In eastern Ladakh, the Changthang stretches approximately 1,600 kilometers east into Tibet. The region is rich in wildlife and home to vast species of flora and fauna and scenic lakes attracting mainly international tourists and recently saw a huge inflow of mass domestic tourism. The Changthang region shot to limelight in India recently due to the yearlong border standoff in the Galwan valley and Pangong Lake. However, the region is located on a historically important trade route for travelers, pilgrims and traders on their way to Tibet. This centuries old trade route came to an end by 1950’s with the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the subsequent India-China war in 1962. The paper presents a critical analysis of the potential revival of the centuries old trade route for pilgrim tourism and trade fostering cross-border cooperation between India and China. The paper considers the possibility of re-opening the Kailash-Mansarover route through the Leh-Demchok route which will in turn contribute to the sustainable development of the Changthang region. The study encapsulates the potential of developing cross-border tourism which could bring numerous benefits to the border regions of the Changthang in India and China.
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048 - Recapitulation of Rape: A Spatial and Temporal analysis of Rape in West Bengal, India
by SOUMITA CHATTERJEE, SUTAPA CHOUDHURY and ARUP RATAN BANDYOPADHYAY
Rape is one of the burning issues in India, but rape victims are the most ignored ones. Needless to say, victims are the product of victimization. The victimization has a deep impact in the life of a victim and our society too. The prime focus of this paper is to emphasize on the spatial differences of rape in West Bengal the and position of this State in India through the lens of the crime statistics from 2014 to 2019. In this research, data have been collected from secondary sources like National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and State Crime Record Bureau (SCRB) to explore the propensity of rape cases in West Bengal. The collected data have been analysed both in qualitative and quantitative ways. This study reveals some significant findings that while overall rape rate is declining, attempt to commit rape have been increasing in a big way. In West Bengal, mostly adult women, i.e. women above the age of 18 years are targeted as prey for rape and above 70% of such victims know their offenders. Spatial distribution shows that the districts of North Bengal are quite safe compared to the districts in South Bengal.
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049 - Ambience as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic within the Umuri village of Koraput district of Odisha
by SOURABH DWIVEDI, MEERA SWAIN and JAYANTA KUMAR NAYAK
Indigenous knowledge simply refers to health practices, approaches, knowledge, and beliefs incorporating plant, animal, and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises applied singly or in combination to treat, diagnose, and prevent illnesses or maintain well being. The study aims at assessing the situation and effects of COVID in the rural population of the country, and finds the major challenges that the natives had to face during the pandemic. The world in the state of medical emergency trying to find the cause, diagnostic methods, and the possible treatment for this new pandemic diverted all the attention of the medical community towards the corona virus which left the rest of the diseased and patients sort of unattended. The study was conducted in Umuri village of Koraput district, where the effects of COVID on the tribal population in the area and the challenges faced by the inhabitants were studied. There is a strong need for developing awareness among the natives about the genetic disorders and the inhabitants need to be educated to improve the attitude regarding issues of importance.
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050 - Indigenous knowledge of the fishing community of Indian Sundarbans
by BINITA BASU and SRIJA MANDAL
Indigenous Knowledge can be defined as expertise, skills, practices, ideas, experiences and information gained over a long period, sustained and passed on from generation to generation orally within a community in a particular geographic area, often forming part of its culture. The Sundarbans, the largest remaining tract of coastal mangrove wetlands in the world are surrounded by rivers, rivulets, and creeks pushing the islanders to pursue fishing as a source of subsistence. The present paper has sought to understand how the fishing community of the Sundarbans draws upon his repertoire of knowledge and beliefs to cope with the world in which it finds itself. This has required an understanding of not only the Sundarban’s natural world, but its geomorphology, hydrology and also the social world—the people, economy, administration, and governance. Using the ethnographic method, this empirical study deals with the fishers’ means and measures i.e. beliefs, cognitive elements, and techniques—while often preserving the traditional fabric, have evolved with time. This unique and effective indigenous knowledge needs to be conserved. Documentation of the existing valid indigenous knowledge with fishers’ perception as well as scientific rationale will help in adoption and further improvement to fulfil the present need of the people.
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051 - Anthropometric assessment of nutritional status among underprivileged children aged 6-12 years in Umariya Dadar and Rigwar Village, Kota, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh
by AAFREEN SIDDIQUI, PRIYANKA, KUNAL KASHYAP and SUBAL DAS
Adequate nutritional status is perhaps best defined as the maintenance of a normal growth pattern and body composition through the consumption of appropriate amounts and types of food. The present Cross-sectional study has been carried out among underprivileged children aged 6-12 years in adopted gram panchayats of Kota block, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. Two villages randomly selected for the study are Rigwar and Umaria-dadar village of Kota block. Total 201 children i.e., 125 Boys and 76 girls are measured for their nutritional status. For evaluating the nutritional status, body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) was computed following standard equation as BMI = weight (kg)/height (m2). There were no significant sex difference in mean weight, height and BMI of the studied children. The data shows the positive increase in the mean value of height, weight and BMI with the increasing age but it is not significant. There is a significant age difference in mean weight (F=113.85; Sig.=0.000), mean height (F=46.02; Sig.=0.000) and mean BMI (F=18.45; Sig.=0.000). The prevalence of undernutrition (CED-III, CED-II, CED-I) is found to be highest among the boys (64%) than girls (39.4%). In this study a significant relation is found between sex and overall prevalence of nutritional status (x2=14.393; df= 5; Sig.= 0.013). Therefore, studies related to health and nutritional status of children in Chhattisgarh should be conducted, so that proper programs and policies can be framed and implemented for reducing the problems of child undernutrition.
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052 - Biological Determinants of Blood Pressure among Marginalized Elderly Population
by SUDIPTA GHOSH
Several studies have identified a possible association between blood pressure (BP) and body composition (BCP). However, such studies are mostly among the adult populations. Thus, it would be interesting to examine such association in a marginalised elderly population with high prevalence of chronic energy deficiency. The focal point of the present study is to identify biological factors that can discriminate various BP categories among the elderly people of an indigenous community. A cross sectional sample of 477 elderly Santhal (329 males and 148 females) was selected for the present study, from the Bankura district of West Bengal, India. The ages of these elderly adults ranged from 50 to 87 years. Preliminary statistical analyses like descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation were calculated. In addition, canonical linear discriminate (CLD) analysis was computed. This analysis is a dimension-reduction technique related to principal component analysis and canonical correlation. In the present study CLD analysis was used to investigate the factors that can contribute considerably in discriminating various BP categorical groups. Despite old age and gender differences, Santhal elders have shown predominance of mesomorphic component in their physique. Discriminate analysis shows that body composition components like skinfolds and endomorphic component contribute maximum in discriminating BP categories. It can be concluded by saying that adiposity and fat accumulation (both visceral and subcutaneous) are crucial determinants of BP during senescence. Hence, these factors are useful in discriminating individual with low BP category from high or hypertensive BP categories even among marginalised elderly populations with low body mass index (BMI).
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053 - A Study on Anxiety among the College Students of West Bengal during Pandemic
by TANUSREE SHAW and SOUMI DEY
To control the spread of COVID-19, the honourable Prime Minister had announced a complete lockdown in the country from 25th March, 2020. Due to these circumstances, schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions had to close on 16th March, 2020 and it continued for long time. The everyday life of the students has dramatically changed. This study focuses on the mental health through the anxiety level of the students during the lockdown situation. Data was collected from 200 under-graduate students (19-24 years old) from different semester of different colleges of West Bengal. In this research, S-type (state anxiety inventory) scale to determine students’ actual levels of anxiety intensity (how they feel at a particular situation) induced by stressful situation i.e. COVID 19 pandemic. Self-Evaluation questionnaire (STAI Form Y-1) consists of 20 questions. Each question is rated on a 4-point scale (Not at all, somewhat, moderately so and Very much so). The result revealed that the mean attitude score of the participants is 49.9±0.51 and attitude score reflects positive (or higher) anxiety score. Thus, an increased rate of anxiety is seen among the college students. They feel upset, worried, tensed, insecure, depressed, nervous, and indecisive; worsening the situation is the addiction to mobile phone, drugs and motive of suicide. It increases the mental health condition of the students through elevated rate of stress or anxiety.
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054 - The Association of Alcohol and Suicide: A Perspective from the Idu Mishmi Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, India
by TARUN MENE
Many empirical investigations attempt to explain the link between alcohol use and suicide. It has been discovered that alcohol’s effect as a depressive, as well as the deteriorating impact of alcoholism on work, family connections, and social networks, increases a person’s isolation from the others and a sense of hopelessness, leading to extreme acts of suicide. Alcohol has a significant impact on Idu Mishmi individuals, families, society and socio-cultural life. Because alcohol is regarded as a significant cultural commodity, children learn to use and abuse it at an early age as part of the socialisation process. This socially acquired behaviour drives people to drink alcohol in excess during times of personal crisis. The study found intoxication-related violent behaviour, impulsivity, disinhibition, despair, anger, and other behaviours are closely linked to a variety of crimes, including suicidal acts. This study is exploratory in nature and used anthropological methods to explore some of these associations and establishes alcohol use as an important factor for suicidal deaths among the Idu Mishmis. The study also advocates for a more in-depth analysis, citing the scarcity of data and research.
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055 - Assessment of growth pattern and the age at menarche among the adolescent girls of Mising tribe, Assam, India
by THEJAZHANO NAGI and JOHNSLY WELL DKHAR
It is crucial to conduct research on adolescent females to understand their growth patterns and the decreasing age of menarche. The aim of the present study was to determine the age at menarche of adolescent Mising girls from the Borola and Uriamguri villages in the Dhemaji district of Assam, as well as to comprehend the rapid growth changes that occur during this stage. The cross-sectional method was used to conduct the study. Data was collected from 300 adolescent girls from the villages of Borola and Uriamguri, ranging in age from 9 to 18 years. Standard methods were used to take anthropometric measurements. Menarcheal age data was gathered using a retrospective methodology. Statistical tests that were appropriate were used to examine associations between various variables. The findings indicate that the adolescent growth spurt occurred for adolescent Mising girls at the age of 12 years and the mean age of menarche is 12.51 years, indicating that the age at menarche usually occurs right after the growth spurt has taken place.
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056 - Understanding displacement and migration from violence affected Villages in Jammu and Kashmir: Anthropological Insights
by URFAT ANJEM MIR and P. C. JOSHI
The classical village studies in India have focused on ideas of caste, kinship, village as a social reality, with an emphasis on the sociological conditions of life, specifically the socio-cultural and economic aspects of a rural society. The sociological condition of people living in rural areas which have witnessed sustained periods of violence in settings like Jammu and Kashmir, Naxal affected parts of India, and the insurgency affected North-East has not been explored fully and calls for attention of scholars. This paper discusses the experiences of people with an emphasis on displacement from such rural areas- where protracted violence and conflict define everyday life. Some of the questions that need to be addressed include: How can we understand the social life of rural inhabitants whose physical and social setting is profoundly affected by the violence? What about the impacts of displacement, dislocation, exodus from one’s native areas affected by violence and conflict within or outside? What about the narratives of resilience, of coping, living together, holding each other’s hand, and of facing the violence collectively in a rural setting? These are pertinent questions in contemporary times when many rural areas are affected by violence and conflict. There is a need to re-examine the rural areas through a social anthropological lens to understand the disturbed social milieu. The questions this research poses are: do we need to alter the homeostatic model of Indian villages? Do we need a new search for the perspectives that will help us understand this social aspect of everyday rural life? The understanding of the village has to include the accounts of villages affected by violence and conflict and look beyond the perspectives and approaches of understanding caste and kinship. Drawing mainly from the first author’s notes of fieldwork conducted during 2001-2003 in few villages of the then State of Jammu and Kashmir, an attempt is made here in this paper to map the changes in both the physical landscape and social life of the village due to ‘living under threat’, migration and displacement of its inhabitants triggered by violence.
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057 - Intersecting Knowledge with Landscape: Traditional Wisdom and Environmental Sustainability- A Case Study of Santal Community of Purulia District of West Bengal
by SHILPA BISWAS and WORREL KUMAR BAIN
Climate change already has environmental effects and contributes significantly to the present crisis in biodiversity. The indigenous people are sensitive to climate-based changes because of their close link to and dependence on local, sometimes fragile ecosystems. Identifying climate-related disturbances and implementing appropriate adaptation measures will be crucial for increasing indigenous communities’ long-term resilience in the face of climate change. Due to several issues, such as globalization, poverty as a capacity deficiency, and the exclusion of certain groups from education and other facilities, new environmental concerns have been a concern. Ascertaining environmental equilibrium in natural resource management necessitates adopting a concept called “Traditional Ecological Knowledge” (TEK). This empirical study aims to understand the role of indigenous ecological knowledge in ecological sustainability among the Santal community of the Purulia district of West Bengal.
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058 - Textiles as A Cultural Symbol: A Study through the Phanek of Meitei Community
by YUMNAM SAPHA WANGAM APANTHOI M.
The Textiles of the Meitei community carry cultural meanings due to the motif woven, their clothing patterns, and the colours in different contexts. The tradition of weaving has been maintained through the acquisition and sharing of knowledge taught by the elders among the Meitei women folk. The textiles produced by the women folk has been being used as either utility or conceptual purposes. Their textiles serve as cultural symbols that represent something for something else. The cultural meaning of textiles has an abstract nature of representation that manifests their perception and worldview through ritual (personal and communal) practices. There are textiles which are context-based revealing different functional values from either motif or clothing patterns or colour. There are other textiles which are used by a particular person too. This paper tries to highlight the sign and symbols attributed to the Phanek worn by the Meitei women in different contexts. The study will focus on the interpretation of cultural meaning through observing motif, colour, and clothing patterns. This paper is an analytical approach to study cultural symbols of the Meitei community through the ethnographic research method. The data has been collected from the valley region of Manipur where the Meitei people are concentrated densely employing interview and group discussion techniques.
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059 - Problems faced by the Senior Citizens in Jammu and Kashmir: A Study of District Bandipora
by NEELOFER HABIB, ABDUL LATIEF MALIK, SHAHNAZA HABIB and HUMARA HABIB
Every human being goes through the biological process of ageing. This process starts at birth and ends with death. Ageing is a lifelong process of growth and development that starts in childhood, continues through maturity, and finally comes to an end with a person’s death. We are living in this busy world, and it is the duty of each and every young one to spend a little time with our elders: patient listening, loving talks, and careful attention can relieve many of their psychological problems. Traditionally, the care of old age people has been the duty of the family, but as it may new patterns have developed to change the family structure which has reduced the capacity of this foundation to fill in as the security net for the less privileged people. The development of the nuclear family has drastically altered the way people live. In the above context, a study was conducted to highlight the problems of the elderly people residing in the family as well as highlight their health issues in district Bandipora. The sample of elderly men and women was selected using the “Purposive sampling” technique. The data was collected by using the Interview schedule and observation technique through a household survey and above 60 years of age was the criteria for sample selection. Results of the study revealed that elderly people are facing health, economic and psychological problems and they felt that the attitude of the younger generation is unsatisfactory towards them.
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060 - An Investigation on the Effects that the Local Flora and Fauna Have on the Health Care Practices among the Hill Karbis of the East Karbi Anglong District in the Indian State of Assam
by ARIFUR ZAMAN
Based on an empirical anthropological study conducted in that area, this paper describes the impact of the surrounding plant ecology on the health sphere of the Karbis of Kakojan village in the East Karbi Anglong district of Assam, as well as the various ethno-medicinal practices prevalent among them as a means of indigenous health care by utilizing the surrounding plant ecology. The Karbis of the village have a constant man-plant inter-relationship with the surrounding plant ecology, as evidenced by their age-old traditional ethno-medicinal practices that make use of various plants and herbs, both wild and domesticated, available in their surrounding ecology. Aside from these, this paper discusses various ethno-medicinal plants and herbs that they use to treat various diseases and ailments, as well as ethno-medicinal treatments for women’s health and gynecological issues.
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061 - Racism in International Cricket: A Review of Selected Incidents from Media Reports
by MANZOOR HUSSAIN, FARHEENA MUZAFFAR, BILAL AHMAD LONE, SNOWBER HAMID and FAYAZ AHMAD LOAN
The present study aimed to provide a qualitative analysis of the racist incidents of in international cricket, as reported by online and offline newspapers. Website blogs and journal articles were reviewed for a better understanding of the issue. The study highlights the nature and the forms of racism levied against the recipients. It highlights the players’ experiences of racism as reported by the different reliable media sources and examines the marginalization from the recipient’s perspective. The study revealed that the racist behaviour is usually directed towards the people of colour, and the0 people belonging to different ethnicities, religious groups and nationalities. Racism prevails on the cricket field and outside- in dressing rooms, locker rooms, cricket clubs etc. Some racial incidents that occurred in IC were of implicit racial bias and unconscious racism. From Krom Hendricks racial segregation to Azeem Rafiq’s accusation of ‘institutional racism’ racism is still a pervasive problem in the IC. Although ICC and various national cricket boards have formulated and reinforced anti-racist laws yet more stringent enforcement is required to counter the blatant and subtle forms of racism including racial slurs, banters and casual racism.
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062 - Role of Glutathione S-Transferase Genes (GSTM1 and GSTT1) in cardiovascular risk factors impairment among the urban population of Chandigarh, North India
by ABHISHEK RAI, AMIT KUMAR, DEEPTI GOYAL, SUNIL THAKUR, PRITAM DAS, DIPNEET KAUR and PULAKES PURKAIT
Oxidative stress, due to reactive oxygen species (ROS) or free radicals, can increase cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs). Lifestyle, environment, and genetics are the primary reasons for ROS generation. The role of genetics in the causation of CRFs mediated by ROS is still elusive. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of null genotypes of oxidative stress genes (GSTM1 and GSTT1) and cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs) in an urban population. The association of GSTM1 & GSTT1 null genotypes with CRFs was also assessed in this study. A total of 40 participants (permanent residents of Chandigarh, India) were recruited. Anthropometric and physiological data were collected along with blood samples. Biochemical and molecular analysis were performed on all the collected blood samples. More than 90% of the participants had high blood pressure (HBP), 70% had obesity (OBS), and 40% had postprandial hyperglycemia (PPH). The null-genotype of GSTM1 and GSTT1 exhibited 47.50% and 7.50% of participants, respectively. GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes were higher in males than females (50% vs 42.9% and 7.7% vs 7.1%). Age-wise distribution showed that the absence of GSTM1 genotype was more in older participants (56.5% vs 35.3%) while GSTT1 genotype was more absent in younger participants (11.8 % vs 4.3%). Participants with null genotypes had trends of high CRFs, but only diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was significantly high. Although, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was also on the verge of significance. Odd ratio analysis showed a 2.383-fold risk of hyperglycemia in participants with either null genotypes. The present study concluded that studied participants are at greater risk of cardiovascular diseases due to high trends of CRFs. High CRFs may be related to the null genotype of GSTM1 and GSTT1 in the urban environment. Further studies with a bigger sample size are warranted to establish the results of the present study.
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063 - Impact of Age and Sex on Self-esteem among Visually and Locomotor Disabled Adolescents in Manipur
by NAMEIRAKPAM BINO DEVI and TH. RABIKANTA SINGH
Self-esteem is the summary judgement on one’s personal value, system and standards as self-worth, self-respect, self-acceptance, self-regard, self-feeling and self-evaluation. It is a component of personality and relationship between one’s real life and ideal life. Studies of age and sex difference on self-esteem during the onset of adolescence are important for understanding human psychology and behaviour. This study investigates self-esteem levels, impact of age and sex on self-esteem among visually and locomotor disabled adolescents in Manipur. This study was done on the randomly selected 60 visually and 60 locomotor disabled adolescents aged 12-19 years; from institutions at Imphal East and West Districts of Manipur. Data were collected using Sorensen Self-esteem Test (2006) to assess the self-esteem among disabled adolescents. The data were analysed with SPSS (Version 25.0). Descriptive statistics - mean, standard deviation, percentage and chi-square test were adopted and tested the hypotheses. Result showed that majority of the disabled adolescents had moderately low self-esteem. There was no significant difference on self-esteem among disabled adolescents having the mean score of visually disabled 18.12 with standard deviation 7.52 and for locomotor disabled adolescents was 16.57 with standard deviation 7.01,‘t’ value 1.17 with p-value 0.245 > 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that there was no impact of sex on self-esteem among the disabled adolescent boys and girls as ‘t’ value 0.700 with ‘p’-value 0.486 > 0.05 level of significance and there was impact of age on self-esteem among younger group and older group adolescent as ‘t’-test value 2.059 with ‘p’-value 0.049<.0.05.
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064 - The Importance Of Satra And Namghar In The Greater Assamese Society: An Appraisal
by PUJA NATH and UPALA BARUA
Satra and Namghar are the two major religious institutions integral to the Assamese society. Both these institutions have immense contributions towards the growth and development of greater Assamese culture and society, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. The Satra institution’s origin can be traced back to the time when Srimanta Sankaradeva initiated the Neo-Vaishnavite movement in the fifteenth century to propagate and spread the ideals of Neo-Vaishnavism (a sect of Hinduism). The Namghar, on the other hand, is a prayer house where the devotees assemble to sing the names of God. The primary trait of the Satra is the Namghar which is the common feature of every village, town and city of Assam. As a result, the Neo-Vaishnavism of Sankaradeva has become a vibrant religion. This paper is an appraisal of the significance and influence of Satra and Namghar towards the integration of the greater Assamese society. The fieldwork for this paper has been conducted in various Satras of Majuli, the largest river island in the world.
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065 - Traditional Healing Practices and the Role of Traditional Health Care Practitioners among Kulung Rai community in Sikkim
by TENZING ZANGMU LEPCHA
Kulung is one of the clans under Rai community in Sikkim. Traditionally, among Kulung Rai, the concept of somodakha/tobburiri (health), tukkha (illness) and somori (disease) are completely directed by their belief in supernatural beings and have their own traditional system to deal with. Traditional healers have the most important role to play in Kulung Rai society as they are consider as equally important or sometimes more important than modern health care practitioners because the community believes that in case of any health issues, it is essential to consult traditional healers as sometimes it is e-sum-deo-chi (good spirits) or potomaer-chi (bad spirits), that make people suffer from numerous health issues, hence, worshiping or appeasing them or to ward off is crucial. This paper discusses the concept of health, illness and disease and the role of traditional healers among the Kulung Rai community in detail. Further, the paper analyzes how a traditional Kulung Rai community negotiates the modern medical health care facilities with the indigenous/traditional knowledge systems and practices particularly in Sikkim. The paper brings critical perspective on the overall health seeking behaviour of the Kulung Rai community in Sikkim.
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066 – Ema (Ima) Keithel the COVID-19 Lockdown and Post lockdown Situation: An Anthropological account
by RAJKUMARI NONIBALA DEVI, NONGTHOMBAM ACHOUBI DEVI and M.P. SACHDEVA
This research paper is a qualitative-based work on the ethnographic study of Ema keithel of Manipur. The study put forth the after-effect of the economic lockdown of Ema keithel due to COVID-19 and the present condition of women traders after the upliftment of the lockdown. The economic data was comparatively based on the pre-COVID-19 situation and the post-lockdown period. The women in Ema keithel are predominantly the sole bread earners and providers in their families; through their income, financial expenses are sustained. However, with the sudden lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many thousands of women and their families had lost their only hope and financial support system. This study brings out the present situation of the women in the economic activities in the Ema keithel.
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067 - Food habits and body adiposity among the adolescents of Manipur
by NONGTHOMBAM ACHOUBI DEVI, HUIDROM BIDYASAGAR SINGH, JIANGAMPOU KAMEI, ANGOM BIDYA DEVI and SANJENBAM YAIPHABA MEITEI
Increased exposure and consumption of a broader range of foods, primarily Western foods, have resulted in Obesity, overweight, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases, which have become a major public health concern. The study aims to assess the risk factors of food habits associated to body adiposity among the adolescents of Manipur. 728 adolescents (470 boys and 258 girls) were recruited. Height, weight, waist circumference was measured to the nearest 0.5 unit, as per standard protocol. The dietary intake of the participants was assessed using a questionnaire. Body adiposity was measured by Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-height ratio (WHtR). Obesity, overweight, and underweight prevalence rates are 5.5%, 10.0%, and 5.5%, respectively. 10.6% and 16.8% of adolescents are at risk for central obesity as per waist circumference and waist-height ratio, respectively. Obesity and overweight affects both sexes. Consumption of junk foods, oil-rich foods, non-veg consumption, and milk consumption is significantly associated with body adiposity measures. Widespread fast-food restaurants and eating establishments in every nook and cranny of Manipur make junk food readily available to children. Such widespread lifestyle changes in Manipur raise the alarm about the risk of childhood obesity.
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068 - The Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Governance of the Commons: A Study of Gandhamardhan Hills of Odisha, India
by RASHMI SNIGDHA ROUT and VALERIE DKHAR
The belief system of the tribes regarding Traditional Ecological Knowledge enables the community to come up with better solutions for various situations, as it provides not only information about the environment but also an understanding of cultural dimensions such as responsibilities toward others, reciprocity, and sustainability. Using TEK, this paper investigates forest management dynamics among three tribal groups in the Gandhamardhan hill range of western Odisha. The data collected for the study is based on fieldwork conducted in three villages that topographically share the Gandhamardhan forest as their commons. Consequently, TEK can be used as an educative tool to teach effective strategies for conserving biodiversity. Hence, this study attempts to demonstrate the significance of TEK as a means to enhance the governance of the commons.
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069 - Changes in lifestyle habits and its association with depression during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among University students in India
by NEELAM SINGH, SHWETA SINGH, RAJEEV AHIRWAR, SURENDRA K SAGAR and PRAKASH R MONDAL
- To combat COVID-19 pandemic, measures like self-isolation and closure of colleges have struck students with challenges directly impacting their lifestyle habits resulting into psychological problems like depression. The present study analyses the prevalence of depression and lifestyle habits changes in the COVID-19 pandemic among university students and their association. A cross-sectional web-based survey was done with validated questionnaire to assess the changes in lifestyle and depression (PHQ-9) among University students (N=222) across India. About 31.98% students reported mild depression while 5.40% had severe depression. In terms of lifestyle habits, females reported high prevalence of increased positive habits (82.4%) as compared to males (69.8%) and males reported an increase in their negative habits (47.7%) than females (44.1%). A significant increased risk for depression was found among students who had a decrease in positive lifestyle habits and who had an increase in negative lifestyle habits respectively. The measures adopted to control corona-virus have mixed impact on the lifestyle habits. Among students, the adaptation of negative lifestyle habits is one of the potential causes of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. These observations can help aid the development of recommendations to maintain physical as well as mental health of University students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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070 - I passeri di Mao: cibo, agricoltura e ideologia
by FLAVIA BUSATTA
Except for a few catastrophic eruptions, the great famines of the past two millennia have been either the toxic result of the unequal distribution of resources within a society or of ideological experiments by dictatorial regimes. Agriculture, food, and demography have always been related and their control by those in power, whether political or religious figures, is central to every society, as the Nazis knew well. Talking about agriculture and food necessarily leads to talking about population and Africa, the continent of choice for alternative agriculture experiments by the large global agencies/NGOs. Talking about agriculture also means talking about land consumption, a very hot issue if we are to move from fossil fuels to renewable energies that consume much more land. Talking about renewable energies also means considering the environmental devastation generated by the production of the REE, their scarcity, and the developments of space exploration. It begs the question, is it really necessary to maintain the status quo, and who benefits from maintaining the current power structures by braking the climate change?
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