Volume 16, Number 2, 2020
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Les statuts sur la pureté du sang, l’Inquisition Ibérique et la question du racisme nazi: quelques éléments de comparaisonby JACQUES J. ROZEMBERG
The history of forced conversions to Christianity in the Iberian Peninsula is complex and differentiated. The question of the purity of blood, because of its racial connotations, was brought closer to the anti-Semitic laws of Nazi Germany. We suggest in this article some reflections on such a rapprochement.
L’histoire des conversions forcées au Christianisme, dans la péninsule Ibérique est complexe et différenciée. Plus précisément, la question de la pureté du sang, du fait de ses connotations raciales, peut être rapprochée des lois antisémites de l’Allemagne nazie. Nous proposons à quelques éléments de réflexion sur un tel rapprochement.
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Logos e magia. La forza della parola nei rituali magici
by ALESSANDRA ROMEO
The magic rites are divided into oral (spells) and manual (sympathetic rites or symbolic rites, sacrificial rites, healing rites, purification rites), complementary to each other. These rites present a recitative part, λόγος, with formulas and spells, and an operational part, πρᾶξις, with particular gestures, tools and substances. In both cases the word is fundamental because it is the magic tool par excellence, thanks to its evocative and expressive power: it is a creative and pragmatic force that acts directly on reality. This act of speech is expressed either through simple pronunciation, as in the case of oral spells, or through writing, generally on particular objects. The study will attempt investigate the power of the logos in magic rites, the ritual formulas and the different types of written objects.
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Healing and the land: cultural perspectives on health and environment. The case of Aboriginal Australia
by CHIARA TELLARINI
In this article, it is questioned whether and how cultural values and ideas play a role in influencing the ways in which we, as humans, behave towards nature, and how then we end up shaping it differently; this is done by bringing at first the instance of “Western” conceptions on the environment from the 17th century onwards. The centre of this issue is mainly developed around how different ways of treating the environment affect people’s wellbeing, and specifically it is brought the example of Aboriginal peoples in Australia, with regard to their experiences during and after colonization. Colonizers, in fact, imposed on Aboriginal communities different ways of living within the environment and also of dealing with health and sickness, causing disrupting consequences for the native peoples’ wellbeing and also for the environment’s one, that ended up being differently managed. Specifically, it is presented the example of the customary use of fire among Aboriginal communities, utilized as a way to take care of the land, a behaviour that positively affects peoples’ lives and wellbeing too. In this way, it is emphasized the positive role that humans can play in shaping a healthy environment when they assume particular behaviours related to specific values and ideas (the example of totemism within First Australians is also reported), while at the same time they can be a negative and dangerous influence, in case they value nature as a mere resource, or as a domain to be kept apart from humans.
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Coping with the weight-centric model of health care: the role of interoception
by FRANCO VIVIANI
Interoception (IC) is mostly self-awareness. IC is a little sense constantly monitoring how we feel inside. It can go awry, potentially distorting our body image. This paper considers different aspects of this sort of sixth sense and its role in a medical and social milieu dominated by the stigma for oversized bodies. IC appears to be related to “body consciousness”. Some preliminary data using the Heartbeat Perception Task (HPT) are added. The test was administered to three subsamples: sports practicing subjects (SP, or 17 sportsmen and 16 sportswomen aged 23,6±8.5 years); 10 overweight (OV, 25,029,9) males and 15 females (aged 44.8±3,3 years); 13 obese (OB, BMI>30,0) males and 12 females, aged 30.4±6,5. For HBT test significant differences emerged among sub-groups. SP and OV did not show gender differences, while high scores (0.85±0.11) and moderate scores (0.67±0.79) were obtained by SP and OV, respectively. In OB, significant gender differences and low scores (0.44±0.10) were found and the latter in 96% of the subjects, mostly males. SP show a better interoceptive capacity. To reprogram IC contemplative practices, yoga, thai chi, mindfulness training, and graded exercise therapy are suggested.
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The adolescent basketball player: the importance of some anthropometric characteristics for speed, resistance, power and agility
by ALBERTO VIGO and FRANCO VIVIANI
Given the paucity of data in relevant literature on the relationships existing between anthropometry and performance in adolescent basketball players (BP), we investigated on 64 adolescent BP aged 13/17 years old belonging to two provincial and élite Italian teams. They were subdivided into under-14 (U-14) and under-17 (U-17) subjects. Body composition and somatotypes were ascertained, together with speed, resistance, power and agility tests. In both U-14 élite and province sub-groups differences emerged for most of the parameters considered, while the U-17 sub-groups did not display a similar neat differentiation. Age appeared to be positively correlated with the athletic tests; stature positively correlated with VO2 max and speed tests but negatively with agility, while weight appeared not to influence the tests. Skinfolds resulted to be negatively correlated with VO2 max and jumps, but positively with speed and agility. Fat mass resulted to be positively correlated with speed and agility and negatively with jumps. Body density appeared to be positively correlated with jumps and resistance and negatively with VO2 max, speed and agility. As the latter aspect (together with strength and power) appears to be an important predictor for success in BP performance, the present small investigation should be improved and more accurately verified..
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The Celtic roots of King Matruk and Saint Augusta in Veneto, Italy
by SANDRA BUSATTA
King Matruk is a well-known character in the Vittorio Veneto area: Archbishop Minuccio de’ Minucci, in full swing Counter-Reformation, narrated that Matrucus, a Germanic-speaking barbarian warrior king, persecuted Christians and did not scruple to torture and kill his daughter Augusta, later Saint Augusta. I believe that Matrucus was not a Germanic warrior, but a Celtic character possibly connected with the archaic cult of the bear and the feasts related to the spring equinox and the end of the harvest, in which the battle between spring and winter was celebrated. An analysis of the legend of St. Augusta and King Matruk shows that Augusta and Matruk belong to the much older Venetic and Celtic layers, which left us a number of toponyms as well as sanctuaries in the area. There are aspects of the landscape that are also connected with Matruk and Augusta. In sum, we have a multi-layered tradition of remarkable antiquity, which shows the merging of Venetic, Celtic and Roman traditions in a border territory, as well as their continuation in both the Christian hagiographic legend and Saint Augusta’s cult.
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Drowning Self. Staging the Charm of the Strange, the Power of the Different, the Beauty of Death
by JERRENTRUP MAYA
In (amateur) model photography, it is very popular to stage women close to or in water. This motif refers to aquatic creatures that can be distinguished into various categories: the gentle Meerjungfrau and the dangerous Nixe (both translate mermaid), as well as the iconic “Ophelia” who is also associated with an aesthetic way of dying. This article, based on long-term participant observation and qualitative interviews, is not only about the reasons why people are fascinated by such beings, but why they want to embody them. All these figures are captivating through their beauty, but also include ambiguity. The research shows that being a mermaid or Ophelia can enable the person to articulate inner conflicts by visualizing them and acting them out. Further, it helps to overcome one’s own body by taking the often challenging effort to impersonate these characters, thus to become something different. The physical effort to pose in the water adds to this effect that was described by (hobby) models as “healing”.
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Gaì: la lingua perduta dei pastori
by VALENTINA BOTTANELLI
The present paper endeavour to explore the sociolinguistic charateristics of gaì, a local jargon spoken by some pastoral communities on Italian Alps, untill mid/late XX century. The article first tackles the classification of gaì as a class language, and identifies its affinity with other local and foreign jargons. After a brief description of gaì’s main linguistic features, the article proceeds by locating its socio-anthropological roots in the relations between shepherds, farmers and miners. Lastly, the article proposes a non-linguistic research on the origins of gaì, with a focus on the introduction of enclosures in Valcamonica.
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Il campo oltre il luogo: l’etnografia digitale ai tempi del distanziamento sociale
by ANUSHKA GHOSH and CHIARA MUSU
Anthropological knowledge relies on a particular methodology, participant observation. The practice of being in the field for a long time, busy in daily contact with the one’s interlocutors, has become anthropology’s distinctive mark. Nowadays, the challenge of Covid-19 and the obligatory restrictions on sociality dynamics require a rethinking of these theoretical and methodological assumptions: what does doing ethnography at the time of social distancing mean? This contribution aims to rethink the concept of the field made inaccessible by the current contingencies, overcoming the idea of a geographical location. Hence, online sociality as becomes a relational location built on people’s communicative practices. Furthermore, researchers are creatively adopting new ways of relating to their interlocutors at a time when social contacts are necessarily limited.
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Determinants of Infant Mortality in rural Bundelkhand region of U.P.
by AANCHAL SHARMA and KETAKI CHANDIOK
Infant mortality is known to be one of the most sensitive and commonly used indicators for determining the socio-economic development of a country and therefore indirectly points towards the maternal child health. In this paper a cross-sectional survey of 100 mothers (age 15-49 years) was done to determine the socio-demographic factors affecting them and hence their infants’ survival in rural Bundelkhand region of U.P. The paper focused on educational status of mother, her socio-economic status, knowledge on childcare practices, family income and influence of distance of healthcare centres from the place of living. Among all the determinants of infant mortality selected in the model study, education of the mother and the socio-economic status (including sanitation and clean drinking water) of her household played an important role in determining the survival status of the infant.
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The Youth of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGS) and their Livelihood Practices in India
by ABRAHAM MUTLURI
This research paper presents the livelihood practices and opportunities of the youth of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) living in Andhra Pradesh, India. The PVTGs are a group of tribes under the scheduled tribes of India. There are 75 PVTGs communities living in India, of which 12 PVTGs communities are living in the state of Andhra Pradesh. PVTGs youth are different in many aspects compared to urban youth and rural youth. PVTGs youth are the less developed among tribal groups, more vulnerable, marginalized, live in remote forest areas and hill tracks with poor connectivity and access. This study used two sampling methods i.e. stratified multistage sampling method and systematic random sampling method and conducted with 240 PVTGs youth between the age group of 18-34 years through a structured interview schedule. The study found that the major livelihood practices of PVTGs youth are agriculture or podu cultivation, daily wage, collection and selling of forest products, farm animals and livestock and small scale entrepreneurship. Still, the PVTGs youth are backward because of low income, poverty, poor connectivity, and living in remote forest areas. The PVTGs youth need separate reservations, separate welfare corporation to access the government employment and other welfare or developmental schemes.
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Socio-economic and Demographic Determinants of Double Burden of Malnutrition among Rajbanshi School-going Children aged 9-14 Years from North Bengal, India
by ANTARA BOSE, ISITA SINHA, PUSHPA LATATIGGA, NITISH MONDAL and JAYDIP SEN
The Double Burden of Malnutrition (DBM) is a recent phenomenon in the nutritional situation among populations belonging to the low-middle-income countries. Socio-economic, demographic factors with adoption of western lifestyle, unhealthy diets and physical inactivities are the main cause of DBM. The study aims to evaluate the socio-economic and demographic determinants among school-going children belonging to the Rajbanshi population of North Bengal, India. Prevalence of dual burden of undernutrition and overweight were among tha Rajbanshi adolescents children 9-14 years. The DBM has associations with sex/gender, age, birth order and house type. Higher associations were seen among higher age groups and those living in pakka houses.
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Reproductive Profile of Two Lesser-Known Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh – Miji and Sartang
by MD ASGHAR and RADHE AMUNG
Identifying and understanding the factors affecting fertility and mortality is important to maintain a balanced, healthy, and prosperous population. The present study is an attempt to understand the reproductive profile of two lesser-known tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, India – the Miji and the Sartang, and to comprehend the relationship between fertility and mortality. The study able to establish a range of factors affecting fertility and mortality. The average age at marriage is below the legal age of marriage for both the populations and affecting fertility. The educational status of the mother and age at first conception is also found to affect the fertility. However, occupation, religion, and uses of birth control measures show no impact on fertility in this study. The maximum prenatal mortality is found in the form of miscarriage. However, the study could not establish any factor influencing prenatal mortality except antenatal checkups. The study also found the impact of mortality on fertility in the form of reproductive compensation.
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Anthropometric traits, Body Composition and Physical Fitness Index: A Micro Level Study Among College Students of Haldia, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal
by BHUBON MOHAN DAS
Anthropometric traits, body composition and physical fitness are considered as important indicators of health and generally executed in different sports to achieve the goal. In view, the objectives of the present study are to evaluate anthropometric characteristics, body composition components and physical fitness index (PFI) of the young college students, to assess nutritional status, and also to find out relationship between anthropometric traits, body composition and PFI of the participants of Haldia, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal. Present cross-sectional study was conducted among 42 college students including 18 College level footballers and 24 non-sports persons. Different anthropometric and body composition traits were measured following standard methods and instruments. Body Mass Index (BMI) was used to assess nutritional status of the study participants. PFI was measured by Harvard Step Test (HST). Descriptive statistics, t-statistics and correlation were used to analyze the data. BMI values indicate that the majority of the footballers were normal weight, while higher percentages of non-sports persons were underweight and overweight. Significantly lower mean values were observed among footballers in anthropometric traits like skinfold thicknesses; bi-iliac diameter; total fat and regional fat percentages than non-sports persons. However, PFI performance was ‘poor’ for both footballers and non-sports persons. PFI shows significant correlation with different anthropometric and body composition traits among non-sports persons, while sports persons show significant correlation between different anthropometric and body composition traits. The study shows the trend that footballers possess better health traits than non-sports persons but footballers have scope for improvement in PFI values.
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Risk factors of hypertension and physical activity level among the adult Wanchos of Arunachal Pradesh.
by DIPAK KUMAR MIDYA
The reproductive health of women has become one of the priority public health concerns since the Cairo conference in 1994. Early marriage of girls has serious implications not only on their own reproductive health but also on the health of the next generation. But till now, early marriage is probably the most significant health and rights concern for women in the developing countries. Surprisingly in India, research on reproductive health of the early married women, particularly among the Muslims, is a neglected area. In the present study we tried to examine the reproductive health behaviour of the early married Muslim women with particular reference to those in the Contai Municipality of West Bengal. The study finds highly significant association between the socioeconomic conditions (like education, poverty, awareness about family planning method) of the early married women and their different reproductive health constraints like abortion, miscarriage, under-weight of babies, etc.
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The Pattern of Livelihood: A Study of Fishing Community Living Along Wular Lake, Jammu & Kashmir
by PHASHMAT HABIB
The increasing impact of fish and fisheries products on socioeconomic standpoints, in terms of income, employment generation, nutrition value, and many more, benefit the livelihood patterns of many fishing communities in the world. But this is not in the case with the fishing community of the Kashmir valley living along the shores of Wular Lake. This fishing community has always remained differentiated and suffered low esteem in the social hierarchy. This community forms the artisanal/traditional fisheries of the Kashmir valley and supplies the bulk of fish consumed by the native residents. This artisanal fishing community forms a most neglected group and often finds itself outside the mainstream of economic, social, and political activities. This research was carried out to study the present livelihood status of the fishing community of the Kashmir valley. The data was collected from two villages, Zurimanz, in the Bandipora district and Ghat, in the Baramulla district.
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Tourism in Arunachal Pradesh: Evolution of Tourism Area and its Effects on the Guest-Host Interactions
by K. ANIL KUMAR and HABU DINDIE
Arunachal Pradesh is a land-locked frontier state of India. It lacks a robust industry and is deficient in infrastructure and other amenities. One of the ways mooted by the state government and entrepreneurs to overcome this challenge was to give an impetus to the tourism sector in the state. It is physically non-invasive unlike other traditional industries and blends in comfortably with the natural and cultural features of the local people. Many clusters of destinations were chosen all over the state to implement tourism policies. Yet, only three of them, namely- Tawang, Ziro and Menchukha has managed to attract and retain some tourists and tourism-based economy. The present paper is based on fieldwork done in the three sites. It seeks to analyse the guest-host interactions and understand how the stage of the tourism industry according to the Butler’s Tourist Area Cycle of Evolution affects the behaviour of both. And also, how it in turn affects the kind of tourism growing in the three sites.
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Family Caregiving in Dementia: Caregivers’ Mental Health and Nature of Caregiving
by IPSITA BASU, SUSMITA MUKHOPADHYAY and NILANJANA MAULIK
Family caregivers are the main lifeline of a person with dementia. In India, research on caregivers’ health is rarely attempted. Present study aims to examine the relationship between selected mental health traits of family caregivers and the duration and level of caregiving focused their care recipients. A cross-sectional empirical study was conducted in Kolkata and Howrah districts of West Bengal. 131 family caregivers of demented person participated, and data were collected using pre-tested questionnaires. Care recipients’ incompetence to perform daily activities predicted the mental health condition of the caregivers. Significant association was found between anxiety and level of support provided by the caregivers. When involved in caregiving for many years and providing caregiving for 9 hours or fewer per day, caregivers are likely to experience adverse mental health condition. Caregiving is very challenging and it affects the psychological health of the caregivers. The health management of dementia caregivers should get priority in health system research.
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Prevalence of Thinness among tribal preschool children of West Bengal: An assessment measured by BMI cut off points
by BISWAJIT MAHAPATRA and KAUSHIK BOSE
Thinness is a major underlying problem among tribal preschool children in the developing countries including India. To assess the prevalence of low body weight/ thinness based on age and sex specific new international BMI (proposed by Cole et al.2007) cut-off points, among 2-5 years tribal preschool children of West Bengal, India. A total 643(328 boys and 315 girls) tribal preschool children were studied from 36 villages using the stratified random sampling method. Commonly used indicators, that is, height, weight, and BMI were used to evaluate the nutritional status. The present study revealed that the nutritional status of the studied tribal preschool children was poor with a very high rate of thinness in boys and girls (69.5% and 69.2%, respectively). Significant age differences in mean height, weight and BMI (p= <0.001) among boys and girls were observed. The results of the present study clearly indicate that the nutritional status of these children is unsatisfactory. Very high prevalence of thinness was present among the pre-school children and this was indicative of major nutritional deprivation. The proposed values may be useful in evaluating growth and nutritional status of tribal preschool children. It may also be used for comparisons with other ethnic groups.
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Social Networking Sites’ Addiction and its ill-effects: A study among youths of Delhi
by SUPRIYA SINHA and KETAKI CHANDIOK
With the onset of Web 2.0 technologies, dynamic user-generated content and growth of social media was seen in the society. Social Networking Sites (SNS) have become an inevitable part of our life. Despite its numerous advantages, uncontrolled extensive usage of social media has resulted in increasing the levels of addiction among the youth. Through quantitative methodology, the present study delineates social media usage among the youth, its levels of addiction and ill- effects caused due to social media usage. A self-designed questionnaire comprising of items from the Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS) and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was used to gauge SNS addiction among youth. 50% of the research participants were found to be ‘somewhat’ addicted to social media platforms which pertains to the threshold of addiction and if preventive measures are not taken it may lead to extreme addiction. 73.3% of the population claimed deteriorating academic performance due to high SNS usage. 63.3% participants showed compulsive behavior when told to part from SNS.
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Gender and Violence in a Domestic Space During COVID-19 in India: Insights from Anthropology
by LOVEENA SEHRA and SUBAL DAS
In the last few decades, gender issues have received importance from scholars across disciplines. The literature on the pathophysiology and epidemiology of domestic violence is extensive but an increase in domestic violence has led the academicians to seek epistemological answers from society. Further, the surge in domestic violence cases during the COVID-19 necessitated quarantine posed challenges for the government in terms of policy, governance and crisis management. In this view, the present article reviews the efficacy in implementation of fast track interventions during the lockdown period (March to August 2020) and their coherence in dealing with domestic violence at the micro and macro levels. The multifaceted aspects responsible for domestic violence have been discussed which have aggravated during the current pandemic. The paper analyzes the scope of the existing government strategies in intercepting violence against women especially during the management of the current crisis. The paper draws majorly from newspaper and government reports since research articles on the social impact of COVID-19 are limited. Studies based on theoretical frameworks from the discipline of anthropology can give an in-depth understanding of domestic violence in a varied socio-cultural context, and reflect upon the structuration of gendered male-female relationships..
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‘Blessing in Disguise’: A Case Study of Spirit Possession among the Meiteis of Manipur
by NAOREM NAOKHOMBA SINGH and RATNA TAYENG
Spirit possession cases are distinct human behaviours and experiences which are associated with the belief that an individual has been taken over by a spirit or deity or other supernatural entities. Diverse cultures and religious systems have their belief and corresponding rituals to deal with these cases. The present paper deals with a particular form of possession among the Meitei people of Manipur, a north-eastern state of India. It tries to highlight how traditional medicine, coupled with indigenous religion, provides a more acceptable and effective treatment mechanism to those cases in the cultural context of the Meitei people. Primary data for this study are collected through observation, interviews, and also with case-studies from one of the villages in Thoubal district of Manipur during the period from 2017 to 2018. The possessed individual becomes a connecting link between the deities, spirits, and mankind. This condition is generally perceived, understood, and dealt with from a religio-cultural perspective rather than from a biomedical one. The need to minimize the gap between cultural understanding and the biomedical perspective while dealing with those cases is also highlighted in this study.
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Pulmonary function test of Coal Miners in Damini colliery, M.P. India
by PRAGYA DUBEY and A. N. SHARMA
Coal mining is an ancient occupation, long-standing identification as being difficult and responsible due to injuries and disease. Spirometry predicts early damage of pulmonary system and respiratory chronic airway disorders. Exposure of coal dust affects various body systems. The present study focused on coal workers who are constantly exposed to air pollutants such as coal dust. Study was conducted among 400 male coal mine workers. Out of total mine workers, 205 workers were smokers and remaining 195 were non- smokers. Spirometry test revealed 9.75 % of workers were mild (26-30 years of age group), 20% moderate (31-35 and 36-40 years of age group), 6.25 % were moderately severe (41-45 years of age) and 12 % (from 46 years and above) of them was found severe obstruction stage among smoking workers. Non smoking workers were not affected by any types of obstruction, so there was significantly correlation between forced vital capacity and smoking workers. The results suggest that there is a need to improve their health and change their habits because it is more harmful to their health.
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Role of Mobile technology in assisting decentralization process among Paniya tribes in Wayanad, Kerala
by SHIJINA A. V.
There has been much discussion amongst academics about the potential of using technology to facilitate greater interaction between the state and its citizens. Associated with the welfare of tribal community government of India has initiated various plans targeted at the uplift of the tribes to the fore front of the society. The present study examines the interaction of the state with the Paniya tribes in Wayanad from the perspective of Communicative Ecology. It discusses the ‘social layer’ wherein the community is connected to different local government institutions that facilitate ‘decentralized governance’. The ‘technical layer’ addresses the incorporation of technologies, particularly mobile technology, in communication practices that connect the processes to the ‘social layer’. It is found that the ‘technical layer’ has mobilised activities occurring at grass root level and provides new solutions to the issues in ways that was not possible before the advent of mobile technologies in this community.The study further suggests the formation of a mobile app based project that facilitate bottom up conversations, where Paniyas tribal people are able to communicate their needs and grievances to the state. The project aims at receiving feedback from the community related to the implementation of various schemes and enable fruitful analysis of day to day issues of the disadvantaged which helps in the proper execution of the ‘tribal welfare programmes’ of the state.
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Use of mid-upper arm circumference and arm-to-height ratio to estimate overweight and obesity among girls aged 5-14 years
by SHREYASI ROY and JAYDIP SEN
Overweight and obesity are major public health concerns that have plagued individuals worldwide pertaining to all age groups. The occurrence of this issue has been skyrocketing among children and adolescents since last few decades. Anthropometric indices such as body mass index (BMI) have always proved to be one of the best parameters in estimating overweight and obesity. However, alternatives such as mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and arm-to-height ratio (AHtR) have recently been observed to yield as potential tools in estimating overweight and obesity especially among children and adolescents. The current paper presented a cross-sectional study among Bengali Hindu Caste Population (BHCP) school-aged girls (5-14 years). Height, weight and MUAC were measured. BMI and AHtR were subsequently calculated. The presence of overweight and obese subjects was evaluated according to World Health Organization (WHO) 2007 population references of 5-19 years. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to check the validity of MUAC and AHtR in determining overweight and obesity among age-groups (5-9 years and 10-14 years). The findings suggest that MUAC and AHtR have potential of proxy measure of overweight (including obesity) among the subjects.
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Socio-Demographic profile and reproductive health status of slum women of Bhilai, Chhattisgarh
by PBHUMIKA TIWARI, PRIYANKA AZAD and SUBAL DAS
A slum is a residential area with substandard housing that is poorly serviced and/or overcrowded, and therefore unhealthy, unsafe, and socially undesirable. The aim of the present study is to explore the socio-demographic and reproductive health status of slum dwelling women of Bhilai, Chhattisgarh. A cross-sectional study was carried out to collect data of 388 ever married slum dwelling women of Bhilai city of Chhattisgarh, India. The age ranges from 18 to 45 years. Two slums; Tankimaroda or Maroda tank” and Ruabandha were selected. Purposive stratified sampling method has been adopted to collect the data. Miscarriage was high among studied women. Still birth showed increasing trend with increased age of pregnancy. Percentage of abortion was also high (10.05 %). Majority (97.42 %) of the women are not aware about their proper hygiene. There were significant age-group differences (p=0.007) in the delivery type of the studied women. Education has significant impact on monthly income (0.05); age-at-first birth (0.01); place of delivery (0.01); age at menarche (p=0.01); first marriage age (p=0.01) and first conception age (p=0.01). The present study helps researchers to design their future research in other slums, that will help policy makers and planners to develop plan accordingly, for overall betterment of the State and nation.
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Nutritional Status and Lifestyle of the Oraon Scheduled Tribe Population of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India
by TANAYA KUNDU CHOWDHURY
Malnutrition (underweight and overweight) is regarded as a risk factor for several cardio-vascular morbidity and mortality. Indigenous groups, due to their daily hardship and poverty, generally remain underweight, but recent studies reported that prevalence of overweight is increasing among them. However, the studies are still scanty. In view, the aims of the study are to know the nutritional status in terms of BMI values and to find out the association between socio-economic status, lifestyle variables with underweight and overweight status of the Oraon of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Findings reveal the presence of both underweight and overweight in the population where lifestyle variables play a significant role. The study will contribute to explore the lifestyle of this indigenous group and its role in eradicating malnutrition.
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Role Conflict and Accommodation in the Hmar Household
by TERESA L KHAWZAWL
This paper examines gender role differentiation and its effect on conflict in the Hmar household and its coping mechanisms. Categorizations of human is crucial based on sex; however, it is the culturally constructed gender differentiation and perceptions into man and woman, feminine and masculine that is fundamental in defining gender roles and behaviour. The division of roles along gender lines places women in a subordinate position. The paper, therefore, argues that gender role differentiation and perception restrict women to claim their position and maintain a submissive role as perceived by the society.
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Anthropology of Food: A Study on the Feeding Habits of Kashmiri Muslims
by FIZA GULL
Understanding the culture by its food pattern has been the interest of anthropologists for a long period because food represents a form of cultural expression. What the people eat in a particular society is usually determined by its culture and same is the case in the Himalayan valley of Kashmir. Forming a blend of multiple ethnicities, there has been the diffusion of cultural traits between various culture circles and this process has led to the unique identity to the Kashmiri culture. As the Muslims are supposed to follow the Islamic way of life but elements of different cultures has diffused within this religious identity, which led to various changes in the Islamic attributes. One of the areas where we witness this change is the way Kashmiri Muslims eat food. So this paper aims to explain how and what the Kashmiri Muslims eat along with the effect of modern feeding habits on the health of people.
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Representation of Folk Tantra: An enquiry into the Rati Khowa Sect in Assam
by TNILAM KAKATI
In recent times, the category of folk Tantra has evolved in the study of the Tantric tradition. The category as initiated by June McDaniel in her work is applied for the case study of the Bengal region in India. The new category marks a sharp distinction from the classical Tantra. The study attempts to explore the category further and expand it into the area of Assam in India. The Rati Khowa sect grew after the schism in the popular Vaishnavite movement in Assam. The sect is of esoteric nature which displays the amalgamation of Vaishnavite and Tantric elements. It could be seen in a few districts of Assam. The rituals practised by the sect comes under the left- hand path of Tantra and thus are not approved by the societal norms. Rituals are open only to the participants practised in secret and excluding the outsiders completely. The study will attempt to view the Rati Khowa sect as a folk tantric category. In the process, it will also examine that the category of folk Tantra in Assam is dissimilar to the category of folk Tantra in Bengal as viewed by June McDaniel
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The Anthropology of Dress: A Study in the change of Assamese women dress in Assam
by SIWANI MECH and DEBARSHI PRASAD NATH
As a cultural artefact, the dress holds an important position in everyday life. Other than covering one’s body, it is representational and can be linked to questions of identity, nationalism, status, class and caste. This paper highlights the importance of clothing as a significant part of material culture and analysing the factors that have influenced the change in women’s dress in different periods during the twentieth century Assam. It discusses the symbolic value and meaning attached to the dress and explains how it becomes a carrier of ethnic identity and class. The finding in the study is based on a structured interview using a visual ethnographic tool (photographs) as well as literature selected purposively.
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Family and Marriage among the Tai Khamti of Arunachal Pradesh: A Study on Social Changes and Continuity
by HEEROCK JYOTI BARUAH
The North-Eastern region of the Indian sub-continent marks the amalgamation of populations and cultures belonging to different ethnic communities that reflect location-specific distinct ways of life but, tend to co-exist peacefully preserving their unique traditions. The state of Arunachal Pradesh shelters a total of twenty-six major tribes and around a hundred sub-tribes, each one of them reflecting a unique cultural tradition. Although most of these tribes inhabit the rural areas of the state devoid of many modern facilities, yet the growing need for better employment, the urge for improving socio-economic conditions has led to migration either temporary or permanent to the urban centres and over years contributed to the loosening of the traditional culture structure. The spread of modern education also bears an impact on the traditional values and beliefs among these tribes. With this in consideration, the present study aims to understand the nature of changes in the institution of marriage and family of the Tai Khamti tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. This study highlights the ongoing process of urbanisation, acculturation, and modernisation among the tribe which has affected their core institutions over years.
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Associations of Menopause and Cancer in Global Scenario in post-menopausal women
by CHHANDIKA ROY and NITISH MONDAL
Cancer is one of the deadliest causes of morbidity and mortality around the world. Menopause is the permanent cessation of menses results in permanent amenorrhea. Menopause causes a vast change in women’s life e.g., physiological and psychological changes. Menopause is not the cause for cancer but it’s a factor to cancer as age increases. The dual burden of cancer and menopause hampers many women globally. There are various other risk factors e.g., obesity, high BMI, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy food habits, smoking, alcohol consumption, age at menopause etc can raise the probability of malignant disease. Some of these risks factor can be changed, whereas some cannot. Among all the reproductive organ cancers, breast cancer is the most common, followed cervical cancer and other cancers in developing countries. Women who attain late menopause after the age of 55 years are more prone to reproductive and other cancers (e.g., uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and breast cancer). In developing countries, women lack basic knowledge which tends to make them more vulnerable to dangerous diseases. Cancer is a major concern over there. Early screening, proper diagnosis and medication are effective measure to control cancer. This review study is in contrast to menopause and its association to recent trends in cancer in a global scenario. It describes current burden, prevalence, prevention, early diagnosis of cancer globally and theoretical analysis of female reproductive cancer among menopausal women.
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Abdominal And Gluteofemoral Fat Distribution As Risk Factor Among The Plains Garo Women Of Kamrup District, Assam
by FLORA RABHA and GULRUKH BEGUM
The Garo women perform vigorous physical activity which is expected to bring changes in their body build and in the complications arising due to metabolic syndrome. The present work is an attempt to assess the disease risk of the Garo women from anthropometric measures of abdominal and gluteofemoral areas taking into account age, education and physical activity of the subjects as covariates. Considering both waist and hip circumference simultaneously identifies almost 20% more people as being at higher risk of death compared with using waist circumference alone. The majority of the women of the present study claimed to be physically fit when asked to self-report their health status. No cases of heart-related ailments were reported from them which might have arisen due to fat deposition in the abdominal and gluteofemoral area. This proposes that improvement of physical activity in an obese patient may improve their health regardless of whether the patient stays fat.
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Netnography as a Research Method in the age of AI and IoT — Trends in India
by DIVYA N. V., MANZOOR K. and JUNAID K. C.
Netnography has been there in the social science stream since 1995 but is mostly used only for market and consumer research. Kozinets (2007) defined Netnography as ‘doing ethnographic research online or on digital networks and also as a combination of internet and ethnography’. The objectives of this study is to understand the current trends & future of digital space of India and an extensive analysis of existing Netnographic studies in India. The study reflects that the digital space and digital users are growing with high penetration rate along with the popularity of 4Gs and Smartphones in India. Research findings further reveal that there exists a substantial gap between the scope of Netnographic studies and the size of the overall Indian digital space, virtual networks/SNSs and number of digital users. Also, there are only a few disciplines currently promoting Netnography as a serious research method in India.
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Time to Rethink Buried Treasure
by EVELYNE GODFREY
The contemporary decolonisation movement necessitates ethical reconsideration of the ownership of archaeological sites and objects, alongside reconsideration of the control of the archaeological and historical narrative. In this article, a British archaeologist argues that as we work towards decolonisation, heritage law must change. Advances in metal detecting technology have made the collection of archaeological artefacts easier than ever before; popular perceptions need to shift away from the hunt for buried treasure. Archaeological and ethnographic material should be legally defined as the patrimony of the local community, and ought to be held in public ownership/stewardship in that country. In England today, unless it is a known archaeological site or monument that is specially designated, there is no permit required to excavate, and no licence needed to go metal detecting, only the private landowner’s permission. In England and in the U.S., it is still legal for dealers and auction houses to trade in archaeological material. Ending the trade in antiquities would be analogous to the proposed worldwide ban on trading in wildlife, an issue that has recently risen up the global agenda. Abolition of sales of archaeological material at British auction houses could eventually have the added advantage of making the global antiquities market unsustainable.
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